While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 15
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A view of the damage caused by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Los Cayos, Haiti, on Aug 14, 2021.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Over 300 people killed in magnitude 7.2 quake in Haiti
At least 304 people died and hundreds were injured or missing after a major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, authorities said, reducing churches, hotels and homes to rubble in the latest tragedy to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation.
The 7.2-magnitude quake, which was followed by a series of aftershocks, struck 8km from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10km, the United States Geological Survey said.
That made the temblor which was felt as far away as Cuba and Jamaica potentially bigger and shallower than the magnitude 7 earthquake 11 years ago that killed tens of thousands in the poorest nation in the Americas.
This one - which occurred around 8.30am local time - hit farther away from the capital, however. In Port-au-Prince, it was strongly felt but did not appear to have caused major damage, according to Reuters witnesses.
Taleban capture major Afghan city, draw closer to Kabul
Taleban forces captured a major city in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, sending Afghan forces fleeing, and drew closer to Kabul, where Western countries scrambled to evacuate their citizens from the capital.
The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, confirmed by a provincial council official, was another major capture for the hardline militants, who have swept through the country in recent weeks as US-led forces withdrew.
The United States and Britain are now rushing several thousand troops back into the country to evacuate citizens amid concern Kabul could soon be overrun.
Children hospitalised with Covid-19 in US hits record number
The number of children hospitalised with Covid-19 in the United States hit a record high of just over 1,900 on Saturday, as hospitals across the South were stretched to capacity fighting outbreaks caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant.
The Delta variant, which is rapidly spreading among the unvaccinated portion of the US population, has caused hospitalisations to spike in recent weeks, driving up the number of paediatric hospitalisations to 1,902 on Saturday, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Children currently make up about 2.4 per cent of the nation's Covid-19 hospitalisations..
Messi unveiled ahead of PSG match, but is not included in squad
Paris St Germain presented Lionel Messi to fans inside the Parc des Princes stadium ahead of their Ligue 1 clash with Strasbourg on Saturday, but the Argentine was not included in the squad for the match.
Messi took to the field pre-match along with fellow new recruits Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Georginio Wijnaldum, and spoke to the raucous crowd.
"It has been a very special week for me," he said. "I want to thank everyone for the reception since I arrived in Paris. It has been truly incredible. I feel very happy and excited."
Fernandes fires Man Utd past Leeds, Chelsea and Liverpool cruise
Manchester United enjoyed a dream start to the Premier League season as Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 thrashing of Leeds in front of 73,000 at Old Trafford, while Chelsea and Liverpool also got their campaigns off to a winning start on Saturday.
Over 300,000 fans are expected to attend the opening weekend of the season with full crowds restored following the easing of coronavirus restrictions in England.
United were inspired by a raucous atmosphere as Fernandes and Paul Pogba combined to blow away Marcelo Bielsa's men.
