News in brief
Rare quintuplets die
NAIROBI: A Kenyan mother who gave birth to extremely rare naturally-conceived quintuplets has lost all five babies, according to a hospital in the south west of the country. The mother, Jacintah Akinyi, 30 - who did not know she was carrying five babies-went into labor on Sunday and gave birth to two babies at home, who both died, before being transferred to the Kisii Teaching and Referral hospital. Nurse Manager Florence Ogero said a third baby died that night, due to being underweight and suffering a condition caused by low levels of blood platelets. “The other one had severe pneumonia and from all those birth-related complications, these babies have succumbed,” she said. “It was a premature delivery and the mother did not attend antenatal clinic. The multiple deliveries were diagnosed upon delivery so there was no anticipation,” she added. “We have tried our level best because they were being taken care of by a competent team.”
22 police, 8 soldiers killed
KANDAHAR: The Afghan Taleban attacked more than a dozen checkpoints over six hours in the southern province of Kandahar, killing 22 police and wounding 15, officials said yesterday, as militants killed eight soldiers in the west in a growing insurgency. Government forces killed 45 insurgents and wounded 35 and none of the police checkpoints was captured in the overnight attacks, officials said. “Our forces resisted until they received reinforcements and air support,” said Zia Durrani, spokesman for Kandahar’s police chief. “The Taleban were defeated.” The Taleban told reporters by WhatsApp that they killed 43 police and members of a militia and destroyed 13 armoured vehicles. The insurgents often exaggerate battlefield casualties. The Taleban, fighting to restore Islamic rule after their 2001 ouster by US-led troops, also attacked Bala Boluk, in the western province of Farah yesterday, killing eight soldiers and wounding three, according to the provincial government.
Bangladesh arrests Hindu
DHAKA: Bangladesh police said yesterday they have arrested a Hindu man suspected of being behind a Facebook post that triggered violent reprisals on the religious minority. Around 5,000 Muslims went on the rampage on Friday after the post, which local media said “defamed” the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), torching Hindu homes and temples. At least one person died when police opened fire on the rioters. Khandker Golam Faruq, regional police chief in Rangpur district where the violence occurred said a man named Titu Roy had been arrested yesterday morning. He said police had also arrested at least 108 people suspected of involvement in the violence. It is not the first attack on the minority Hindu community in mainly Muslim Bangladesh, which has seen a rise in communal tensions in recent years. In October last year a mob angered by another Facebook post smashed Hindu temples.
Indian beggars rounded up
HYDERABAD: Authorities in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad are rounding up beggars ahead of a visit by Ivanka Trump. Over the past week, more than 200 beggars have been transported to separate male and female shelter homes located on the grounds of two city prisons. Authorities have been strictly enforcing a begging ban on the city’s streets and in other public places. The crackdown seems to be having the desired effect, with most of the city’s thousands of beggars vanishing from sight. Trump is a senior adviser to her father, President Donald Trump. Officials say the drive against begging was launched because two international events are taking place in Hyderabad - the Global Entrepreneurship Summit that Ivanka Trump is scheduled to attend and the World Telugu Conference in December.