AP, Kabul
Cold weather and freezing temperatures that engulfed a remote northern province in Afghanistan this week killed at least 20 people, all of them internally displaced and including several children, Afghan officials said Friday.
The deaths occurred in Jawzjan province’s district of Darzab, which has seen heavy snowfall, with half a meter, or almost two feet of snow on the ground, according to provincial police chief Rahmatullah Turkistani.
Qatar PM to visit India on Dec 3
PTI, New Delhi
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani will visit India on December 3 and hold discussions with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of common interest.
With Qatar being the largest supplier of LNG to India, the two leaders are also likely to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in the strategic areas of energy.
German zoo shuts down over bird flu
AP, Berlin
A zoo in northern Germany has been temporarily closed after an emu died of bird flu.
Ueckermuende zoo director Katrin Toepke told the dpa news agency Friday that the emu had died of the H5N8 strain of the virus, which can easily spread among birds but isn’t known to infect humans.
As a precaution, the zoo in northeastern Germany near the Polish border was shut down as veterinary officials determine how to protect the other birds in the facility, including swans, storks and many varieties of ducks.
The H5N8 strain of bird flu has been found this year in wild birds in 12 of Germany’s 16 states, and in poultry farms in four states.
It has also been detected in several other European countries, including Denmark, Austria and Switzerland.
