The Washington Post - USA (2020-08-01)

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

The World

AFGHANISTAN

Up to 15 dead in clashes

at the Pakistan border

A s many as 15 Afghan civilians
were killed and many others
wounded Thursday when clashes
broke out on the border between
Afghanistan and Pakistan,
Afghan officials said.
Ahmad Bahir Ahmadi, a
spokesman for the governor of
Kandahar province, which
borders Pakistan, said 15 people
were killed and 80 wounded.
The Afghan Defense Ministry
said at least nine, including a
child, were killed and blamed
Pakistani forces for the attack. In
a statement, the ministry warned
that the Afghan air force and
special forces units are on high

alert and prepared to reciprocate

if violence continues.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry

rejected the Afghan assertion,

saying Friday that “Afghan forces

opened unprovoked fire on

innocent civilians gathered

towards Pakistan’s side of the

international border.”

“ Pakistan troops responded to

protect our local population and

acted only in self-defense,” it said.

Afghan forces fired first, it said,

and casualties also occurred on

Pakistan’s side of the border.

Movement at the border has

been restricted because of the

coronavirus, but some rules were

relaxed to allow crossings for the

Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Crowds had g athered on both

sides to cross, Reuters said.

— Sharif Hassan, Siobhán O'Grady

VIETNAM

Country confirms its

1 st coronavirus death

Vietnam, which for more

t han three months appeared to

have beaten back the novel

coronavirus, confirmed Friday its

first death from the pandemic

after a cluster of cases emerged in

the coastal city of Danang.

The death of the 7 0-year-old

man comes about seven months

after the nation recorded its first

virus cases. He was being treated

for kidney disease at a Danang

hospital when he tested positive

for the coronavirus Monday.

The fatality, followed by a

second also announced Friday, is

the latest sign that Vietnam’s

virus situation is worsening amid

the local surge in Danang. The

country is joining a number of

other areas that had appeared to

control outbreaks, such as Japan

and Australia’s state of Victoria,

only to find they can’t entirely

keep the virus out.

Vietnam was one of the few

countries in Asia to have zero

confirmed deaths. Laos and

Cambodia still have not reported

a fatality tied to covid-19.

On Friday, Vietnam confirmed

56 new cases, with most of those

in Danang. The country’s overall

number of infections is 546.

— Bloomberg News

Eastern Libya military court

gives journalist 1 5 years: A

military court in eastern Libya

sentenced a local photojournalist

to 15 years in prison on vague

terrorism-related charges,

prompting an outcry from rights

groups. I smail Bouzreeba al-

Zway, 39, was detained by

security agents while covering a

news event in his hometown of

Ajdabiya in 2018, according to the

international Committee to

Protect Journalists. He was

accused of working for Al-Nabaa,

a privately owned Libyan news

channel broadcast from Turkey

that eastern Libyan authorities

consider to be affiliated with

Islamist “terrorism.” Turkey

backs Libya’s U.N.-recognized

government in Tripoli against the

rival government in the east.

Moscow demands that Belarus

free 33 detained Russians: The

Kremlin demanded that Belarus

quickly release 33 Russian private

security contractors it detained

on terrorism charges, dismissing

accusations of plots amid the

Belarus presidential campaign as

bogus. The allegations represent

an unprecedented escalation of

tension between the traditionally

close allies, as Belarus President

Alexander Lukashenko seeks a

sixth term in the Aug. 9 election.

Two killed in crash of high-speed

train in Portugal: A crash

between a high-speed train and a

maintenance machine in the

central Portuguese town of Soure

killed two people and injured at

least 37, the country’s relief

operations agency said. It said

2 12 passengers were on the Alfa

Pendular train, the nation’s

fastest. Seven were seriously hurt.

— From news services

DIGEST

In seemingly

prepared

South Africa,

a bleak tally

Despite s trict lockdown, nation h as

5th-highest coronavirus case count

BY MAX BEARAK

At first, it seemed South Africa’s imposition of one of the world’s strictest lockdowns had

shielded it from the pandemic’s exponential growth patterns. Other African countries

looked south toward the continent’s most developed economy as an example of prepared-

ness. ¶ Now, the country of fewer than 60 million people has the fifth-highest case count

in the world — more than 480,000 — behind the much more populous United States,

B razil, India and Russia. Deaths nationwide are nearly 60 percent higher than last year,

according to government data, suggesting the coronavirus death toll is almost certainly

higher than the government’s official count of 7,812. ¶ A backlog of tests has prevented

many from knowing their status before it is too late. The country’s hardest-hit province,

home to Johannesburg and Pretoria, is now testing only medical staff and those in clear

need of hospitalization. ¶ The government has begun digging large makeshift cemeteries

in preparation for further deaths. In Cape Town and Johannesburg, hospitals are at capac-

ity. In poorer provinces, medical workers have gone on strike, saying they aren’t being sup-

ported with adequate protective gear or pay. ¶ South Africa was battling massive unem-

ployment — about a third of the workforce — before the pandemic. Its economy is expect-

ed to shrink by more than it ever has since the end of apartheid in 1994. As many as half of

South African households are struggling to buy food. ¶

[email protected]

TOP: Burials of covid- 19 victims take place at Olifantsvlei Cemetery in Soweto,

South Africa, on July 25. The country has the fifth-highest case count, behind the

United States, Brazil, India and Russia, a nd its death toll is probably higher than

its official tally. ABOVE: An undertaker directs traffic during a burial in Soweto.

PHOTOS BY MARCO LONGARI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Children try to keep social distance as they line up for food from the

charity Hunger Has No Religion on July 18 in Johannesburg.

A woman comforts a mourner at the funeral of a covid- 19 victim on

July 26 in Johannesburg. Hospitals are at capacity in the city.