US agency assessment backing Covid lab leak theory raises more questions than answers — and backlash from China | CNN

US agency assessment backing Covid lab leak theory raises more questions than answers — and backlash from China | CNN

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here. Hong Kong CNN  —  The US Department of Energy’s assessment that Covid-19 most likely emerged due to a laboratory … Read more

Death toll from rail disaster rises to 57 as anger boils in Greece | CNN

Death toll from rail disaster rises to 57 as anger boils in Greece | CNN

CNN  —  Anger in Greece over poor railway safety grew on Thursday as the death toll from one of the country’s worst train crashes in recent years reached 57. Demonstrators poured onto the streets after the head-on collision between a passenger train carrying more than 350 people and a freight train on Tuesday evening in … Read more

Venice canals run dry amid fears Italy faces another drought | CNN

Venice canals run dry amid fears Italy faces another drought | CNN

Venice Reuters  —  Weeks of dry winter weather have raised concerns that Italy could face another drought after last summer’s emergency, with the Alps having received less than half of their normal snowfall, according to scientists and environmental groups. The warning comes as Venice, where flooding is normally the primary concern, faces unusually low tides … Read more

US announces $100 million in earthquake relief funding for Turkey and Syria | CNN Politics

US announces 0 million in earthquake relief funding for Turkey and Syria | CNN Politics

CNN  —  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday announced $100 million in disaster relief aid for Turkey and Syria as the countries grapple with the aftermath of a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has killed at least 46,000 people. The top US diplomat, who took a helicopter tour Sunday of some of the … Read more

Turkey halts most rescue efforts for earthquake survivors | CNN

Turkey halts most rescue efforts for earthquake survivors | CNN

Istanbul, Turkey CNN  —  Turkey has ended most search and rescue operations, nearly two weeks after a huge earthquake killed tens of thousands of people, the country’s disaster management authority said. Search and rescue efforts are still underway in 40 buildings in two provinces, Kahramanmaraş and Hatay, the agency’s head Yunus Sezer said, according to … Read more

Ghanaian soccer player Christian Atsu found dead under earthquake rubble in Turkey | CNN

Ghanaian soccer player Christian Atsu found dead under earthquake rubble in Turkey | CNN

CNN  —  The body of Ghana soccer star Christian Atsu was found under rubble on Saturday, according to his agent, almost two weeks after the earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce to all well wishers that sadly Christian Atsu’s body was recovered this … Read more

Isolated Iran finds ally China reluctant to extend it a lifeline | CNN

Isolated Iran finds ally China reluctant to extend it a lifeline | CNN

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in today’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, CNN’s three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here. Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN  —  Shortly before leaving for his first state visit to China on Tuesday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi issued a thinly veiled criticism of his … Read more

Three survivors pulled alive from earthquake rubble in Turkey, more than 248 hours after quake | CNN

Three survivors pulled alive from earthquake rubble in Turkey, more than 248 hours after quake | CNN

CNN  —  At least three more people, including two minors, have been incredibly pulled alive from the rubble of a devastating earthquake, 10 days after it struck parts of Turkey and Syria. A 17-year-old Aleyna Ölmez was dubbed the “miracle girl” when she was pulled alive from the rubble in Turkey on Thursday, 248 hours … Read more

Duangphet Phromthep, one of 12 boys rescued from a Thai cave in 2018, dies in UK | CNN

Duangphet Phromthep, one of 12 boys rescued from a Thai cave in 2018, dies in UK | CNN

London CNN  —  Duangphet Phromthep, one of the 12 boys rescued from a flooded Thai cave after a weekslong operation that drew global attention in 2018, has died in the UK, British and Thai officials announced Wednesday. Phromthep, who was enrolled in a soccer academy in Leicestershire, England, died after being rushed to hospital on … Read more

South Africa bus crash kills 20, dozens taken to hospital | CNN

South Africa bus crash kills 20, dozens taken to hospital | CNN

CNN  —  A head-on collision between a bus and a cash-in-transit van left 20 people dead on Monday on a major road in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province, with dozens taken to hospital, transport officials and emergency medical company said. After the crash, the bus rolled from a bridge on the N1 freeway into a … Read more