Afghanistan tops Terrorism Index
Kabul, Dec 13: The Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in its annual World Terrorism Index placed Afghanistan as the most-affected country on earth, imposing devastating loss to the countrys economy, the media reported on Sunday. According to the report released on Saturday, in 2019, deaths from terrorism fell for the fifth consecutive year, after peaking in 2014, Khaama Press reported. “The total number of deaths fell by 15.5 percent to 13,826. “Afghanistan was the country with the highest economic impact, equivalent to 16.7 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” said the report. (IANS)
100’s of Nigerian students missing
Lagos (Nigeria), Dec 13: Hundreds of Nigerian students are missing after gunmen attacked a secondary school in the country’s northwestern Katsina state, police have confirmed. The Government Science Secondary School in Kankara was attacked Friday night by a large group of bandits who shot “with AK 47 rifles,” Katsina State police spokesman Gambo Isah said in a statement. Police engaged the attackers “in a gun duel which gave (some of) the students the opportunity to scale the fence of the school and run for safety,” Isah said. About 400 students are missing, while 200 are accounted for, Isah said. The school is believed to have more than 600 students. “The police, Nigerian Army, and Nigerian Air Force are working closely with the school authorities to ascertain the actual number of the missing and/or kidnapped students,” said Isah. (AP)
Global COVID cases top 71.6mn
Washington, Dec 13: The overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 71.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 1.60 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Sunday, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 71,623,753 and 1,603,577, respectively. The US is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 16,045,596 and 297,789, respectively, according to the CSSE. India comes in second place in terms of cases at 9,826,775, while the country’s death toll soared to 142,628. The other countries with more than a million confirmed cases are Brazil (6,880,127), Russia (2,602,048), France (2,405,255). (IANS)