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Church Scaffold Collapse Kills 36

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Makeshift scaffolding set up at a church in Ethiopia collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least 36 people and injuring more than 200, state media said.

The incident occurred at around 7:45 am in the town of Arerti, roughly 70 kilometres (40 miles) east of the capital Addis Ababa, when a group was visiting for an annual Virgin Mary festival.

District police chief Ahmed Gebeyehu told state media Fana: “The number of dead has reached 36 and could increase more”, adding “more than 200 people have suffered injuries” and were receiving treatment at a local hospital.

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Some people remained under the rubble, local official Atnafu Abate told the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), without giving further details about those trapped or possible rescue efforts.

He said some of the more seriously hurt were taken to hospitals in the capital.

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Images shared on the EBC’s official Facebook page showed a mess of collapsed wooden poles, with crowds gathering amid the dense debris.

Other pictures appeared to show the outside of the church where scaffolding had been precariously constructed.

READ ALSO:Four Miners Feared Dead, Others Trapped As Illegal Mining Site Collapses In Plateau

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A government statement shared by EBC expressed condolences and added that “safety must be given priority”.

Health and safety regulations are virtually non-existent in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, and construction accidents are common.

The sprawling country is a mosaic of 80 ethnic groups and has one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.

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Its predecessor, the Axumite Empire, declared Christianity the state religion in the fourth century.

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UK Links Nigeria, Others To Poisonous Alcoholic Drinks

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Nigeria and seven other countries have been added to a UK Foreign Office list warning of the risks of methanol poisoning from counterfeit or tainted alcoholic drinks.

Other affected countries that have warned of potential risks include Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Uganda, and Kenya.

The countries are included in the updated travel guidance following incidents involving Britons in those countries.

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The advice previously covered Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, Costa Rica and Fiji and followed a number of high-profile incidents, including the death of six tourists in Laos last year.

The UK foreign Office warned travellers to watch out for signs of methanol poisoning such as blurry vision and confusion, which could lead to serious illness and death.

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Methanol is an industrial chemical found in antifreeze and windscreen washer fluid. It is not meant for human consumption and is highly toxic.

READ ALSO:Transgender Woman Jailed For Deceiving Man About Gender In UK

With instances of unscrupulous backyard brewers adding methanol to drinks to extend their reach, and some bars and street vendors mixing it with spirit-based drinks and cocktails to cut costs, the Foreign Office has said it is crucial to be cautious.

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The Foreign Office advised British nationals going abroad to purchase sealed drinks from licensed establishments, avoid homemade alcohol and pre-mixed spirits, cocktails and drinks served in buckets or jugs.

Travellers are advised to watch out for warning signs of poisoning, which include nausea, vomiting, dizziness and confusion.

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Mosquitoes Discovered In Iceland For First Time

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Mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland in a first for the island nation, which has long been one of the world’s mosquito-free places, a researcher told AFP Monday.

Three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes, two females and one male, were sighted around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital Reykjavik, according to Matthias Alfredsson, an entomologist at the Natural Science Institute of Iceland.

“They were all collected from wine ropes… aimed at attracting moths,” the researcher said in an email, referring to a method of adding sugar to heated wine and dipping ropes or strips of fabric into the solution, which are then hung outside to entice the sweet-toothed insects.

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Along with Antarctica, Iceland has long been one of the few places on earth without a mosquito population.

It is the first record of mosquitoes occurring in the natural environment in Iceland. A single Aedes nigripes specimen (arctic mosquito species) was collected many years ago from an airplane at Keflavik airport,” Alfredsson said, adding that “unfortunately, that specimen is lost”.

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Their presence could “indicate a recent introduction to the country, possibly via ships or containers”, he said, but further monitoring in spring would be necessary to determine their further spread.

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Rising temperatures, longer summers, and milder winters, all brought on by climate change, create a more favourable environment for mosquitoes to thrive.

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But Alfredsson did not believe that a warmer climate explained the discovery.

The species “appears to be well adapted to colder climates”, which “allows them to withstand long, harsh winters when temperatures drop below freezing”, he said.

He added that its “diverse breeding habitats… further enhances its ability to persist in Iceland’s challenging environment”.
AFP

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Trump Urged Ukraine To Give Up Land In Peace Deal Talks — Official

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United State President Donald Trump pressured Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to give up the eastern Donbas region in exchange for peace during “tense” talks last Friday in Washington, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

The source added that the talks with Trump were “not easy”, and that diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war felt like they were being “dragged out” and “going in circles”.

Zelensky met Trump at the White House last week, hoping to capitalise on the US leader’s growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to accept a ceasefire.

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But he instead left empty-handed after Trump — who spoke with Putin the day before — denied his request for long-range Tomahawk missiles and pressured him into making a deal.

When asked if Trump urged Zelensky to pull out of land Ukraine still controlled — one of Putin’s key demands — the Ukrainian official told AFP: “Yes, that’s true.”

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Following his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said on social media that their talks were “very interesting and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing and make a DEAL!”

READ ALSO:White House Slams Trump’s Nobel Prize Snub

Trump promised to end Russia’s three-and-a-half-year invasion within “24 hours” of his inauguration in January, but has failed to extract any concessions from Putin.

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His position on the war has repeatedly shifted following his conversations with both Putin and Zelensky.

AFP

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