TASHKENT -- A powerful blast hit a warehouse here in the Uzbek capital on early Thursday, killing one person and injuring over 160 people, the Ministry of Health said.
A teenager born in 2006 died on the spot and 24 people sustained light injuries, the ministry said in a statement. (Uzbekistan-Blast-Casualties)
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SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has incorporated the state nuclear force policy that was codified a year ago into the country's constitution, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Thursday.
At a Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) session held from Tuesday to Wednesday at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, an amendment on supplementing the state nuclear force policy to the DPRK constitution was unanimously adopted. (DPRK-Nuclear Force Policy)
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MANILA -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it has approved an additional financing package of 42 million U.S. dollars to support the delivery of affordable and high-quality health services in Papua New Guinea.
The Manila-based bank said the financing package comprises a concessional loan worth 35 million dollars and a 7 million dollar grant sourced from the Asian Development Fund, which provides grants to ADB's most vulnerable developing economies. (ADB-Health-PNG)
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TRIPOLI -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Wednesday highlighted the humanitarian needs in eastern Libya hit by recent deadly floods.
"Humanitarian needs remain critical. UN agencies found that half of the 78 health facilities assessed in Derna and parts of Al-Jabar Al-Akhdar are either partially or totally non-functioning. Rushing floodwaters also destroyed water networks and sewage pipes," UNSMIL said in a statement. (Libya-UNSMIL-Flood)
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BAGHDAD -- More than 50 people were poisoned at a wedding in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk on Wednesday evening due to spoiled food, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
The INA quoted the provincial health chief Ziyad Khalaf as saying that the incident occurred in the town of Hawija, west of Kirkuk, the capital city of the cognominal province. (Iraq-Wedding-Poisoning)
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JERUSALEM -- The highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu, was detected in northern Israel, the state's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement on Wednesday.
The viral disease was discovered in a petting zoo in the village of Sde Yaakov in the Jezreel Valley, and about 250 birds, including peacocks, ducks, pigeons, and ornamental chickens, were infected. (Israel-Bird Flu)