News Headlines - 22 July 2020
▽Afghan girl 'kills two in fightback against Taliban' - BBC News
An Afghan girl has been hailed on social media for her "heroism" after fighting back against Taliban militants who reportedly killed her parents.
The girl took the family's AK-47 assault rifle, shot dead two of the gunmen and wounded several others, local officials in Ghor province said... A photo of the girl holding the gun has gone viral in recent days.
Later in the shoot-out, which took place last week, more militants came to attack the house, in the village of Griwa, but were beaten back by villagers and pro-government militia.
▽UK passport application backlog reaches 400,000 - BBC News
A backlog of more than 400,000 passport applications has mounted due to disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.
Home Office minister Baroness Williams said reduced staffing to allow social distancing meant forms were taking longer to process.
She said steps were being taken to increase capacity after travel restrictions were eased.
▽Major Quake Strikes Off Alaska, Briefly Sounding Tsunami Warning - The New York Times
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck near the Alaskan peninsula late Tuesday, shaking buildings, but there were no immediate reports of injuries and the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center canceled an earlier warning of potentially hazardous waves... The quake struck off the coast, 65 miles (105 km) south-south east of Perryville, Alaska, at a depth of 17.4 miles (28 km), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
▽Chinese ships spotted near Senkakus for 100 days | NHK WORLD
Japan's Coast Guard says Chinese patrol ships have been spotted just outside Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea for 100 straight days... Chinese patrol ships have been present outside Japan's territorial waters since April 14. That's the longest period of time since the Japanese government purchased some of the islands from a private Japanese owner in 2012. The ships have also repeatedly entered the territorial waters and approached Japanese fishing boats.
▽Tomoya Nagase to leave all-male pop group TOKIO next March - The Mainichi
Tomoya Nagase, a member of the Japanese all-male pop group TOKIO, will leave the group next March, its talent agency said Wednesday, marking the departure of yet another member from the original group of five.
