Deadly earthquake rocks Mexico on ‘cursed’ anniversary
A powerful, 7.6 magnitude earthquake has struck western Mexico, killing at least one person and causing panic in the country’s capital on the anniversary of two previous quakes, Aljazeera reported. The earthquake hit shortly after 1pm local time (16:00 GMT) on Monday and was centred in the border area between the states of Michoacan and Colima at a depth of about 15km (9 miles), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The Mexican government said one person was killed in the Pacific port of Manzanillo when a department store roof collapsed on them, while regional officials reported damage to several hospitals in Michoacan. One person was injured by falling glass at one of the hospitals, they said. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of damage in the capital after the earthquake, which rumbled through Mexico on the same day that major quakes battered the country in 1985 and 2017. “It’s this date, there’s something about the 19th,” said Ernesto Lanzetta, a business owner in the Cuauhtemoc borough of the city. “The 19th is a day to be feared.” The earthquake on September 19, 2017, killed more than 350 people, while the other on the same date in 1985 killed thousands. “It seems like a curse,” Isa Montes, a 34-year-old graphic designer, said of the quake’s timing as helicopters flew overhead, surveying the city. Al Jazeera’s John Holman, reporting from Mexico City, said many in Mexico viewed the timing of Monday’s quake as “really bizarre”. “It’s happened exactly on the anniversary – the 19th of September – as two other major earthquakes in Mexico,” Holman said. “Those last two earthquakes really wreaked havoc, especially here in the capital.” Many Mexicans reacted to the latest quake by posting an array of memes online venting their amazement. There was one of a bird reading a book titled “how to skip from September 18 to September 20,” while another, mimicking an announcement by the Mexican government, invites outsiders to “Visit Mexico” and “on every September 19, come live the experience of a real temblor”. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), one of the country’s most prestigious seats of higher learning, said there was no scientific explanation for three major quakes on the same day and attributed it to pure coincidence, according to Aljazeera.
Elderly woman killed in Morang bike hit
An elderly woman died after being hit by a motorbike in Dhanpalthan Rural Municipality-7 of Morang district on Monday. According to Morang Traffic Police Chief Inspector Raj Kumar Karki, the deceased has been identified as Kalawati Mandal (65) of Dhanpalthan-7. The two-wheeler (Province 1-04-001 Pa 8894) heading towards south from north hit her at around 6:30 pm yesterday. Critically injured in the incident, she was rushed to the Golden Hospital in Biratnagar but doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. Police said that they have arrested bike rider Bikash Yadav (17) of Dhanpalthan-7 for investigation.
Nanmadol: Mudslides and flooding as typhoon batters Japan
Rescue workers in Japan have warned of mudslides and flooding as one of the biggest storms in recent decades batters the country, BBC reported.
Typhoon Nanmadol has killed at least two people and injured 90 others since it made landfall on the southernmost island of Kyushu on Sunday morning.
Nine million people have been told to evacuate, and more than 350,000 homes are without power.
Forecasts predict up to 400mm (16 inches) of rain over the next 24 hours.
State broadcaster NHK said one man was killed when his car was submerged in flooding, and another died after being buried in a landslide. One more person remains missing, and reports say 87 others have been injured.
The super typhoon brought gusts of up to 234km/h (145mph), destroying homes, and disrupting transport and businesses. It's equivalent to a category four or five hurricane.
The capital, Tokyo, experienced heavy rain, with the Tozai underground line suspended because of flooding. Bullet train services, ferries, and hundreds of flights have been cancelled; shops and businesses have shut. Local video footage showed roofs ripped off of buildings and billboards toppled over.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delayed a visit to New York, where he is due to give speech at the UN General Assembly, until Tuesday, to monitor the storm's impact, according to BBC.
The storm is forecast to turn east and pass over Japan's main island of Honshu before moving out to sea by Wednesday.
Scientists have predicted an active hurricane season this year, influenced by a natural phenomenon known as La Niña.
Warmer sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and Caribbean as a result of climate change may also impact the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, BBC reported.
Covid-19 pandemic is over in the US - Joe Biden
President Joe Biden has declared the pandemic over in the US, even as the number of Americans who have died from Covid continues to rise, BBC reported.
Mr Biden said that while "we still have a problem", the situation is rapidly improving.
Statistics show that over 400 Americans on average are dying from the virus each day.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that the end of the pandemic is "in sight".
In an interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes aired on Sunday, Mr Biden said that the US is still doing "a lot of work" to control the virus.
The interview - aired over the weekend - was partly filmed on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show, where the president gestured towards the crowds.
But administration officials told US media on Monday that the comments did not signal a change in policy and there were no plans to lift the ongoing Covid-19 public health emergency.
In August, US officials extended the public health emergency, which has been in place since January 2020, through to 13 October.
To date, more than one million Americans have died with the coronavirus disease, according to BBC.
Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the seven-day average of deaths currently stands at over 400, with more than 3,000 dead in the past week.
In January 2021, by comparison, more than 23,000 people were reported dead with the virus over a single week-long span. About 65% of the total US population is considered fully vaccinated.
Top Republicans criticised the president's remarks, with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeting: "Biden now says 'the pandemic is over' as he's kicking tens of thousands of healthy soldiers out of the military with his COVID vaccine mandate."
Public health officials have expressed cautious optimism in recent weeks that the world is edging towards a pandemic recovery, but continue to urge people to be careful.
On Monday, Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, acknowledged the situation had improved.
But in comments made at a Washington DC think tank, he said the daily death rate remained "unacceptably high".
"We are not where we need to be if we're going to be able to 'live with the virus,'" Dr Fauci said.
The US recently authorised new vaccines that match the version of the Omicron variant currently dominant in the country, with federal health officials asking Americans to keep their jabs up-to-date.
Last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the world has "never been in a better position to end the pandemic".
"We are not there yet," he said. "But the end is in sight."
Covid-19 also continues to have a significant impact on the US economy, with the National Bureau of Economic Research reporting last week that Covid-related disease had slashed the US workforce by about 500,000 people.
Mr Biden said he believes that the pandemic has had a "profound" impact on the psyche of Americans.
"That has changed everything... people's attitudes about themselves, their families, about the state of the nation, about the state of their communities," he said.
"It's been a very difficult time. Very difficult."
More than 6.5 million people have died since the beginning of the pandemic around the world. The US has had the highest death toll, followed by India and Brazil, BBC reported.
