Page 29 - International News

Nepal's political leaders start efforts for govt formation amid vote count

As the counting of votes in Nepal's parliamentary election is on, the country's top leaders have initiated efforts to explore possibilities for the formation of a new government to end the political instability that has plagued the Himalayan nation for more than a decade. Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on Sunday. The counting of votes started on Monday. Communist Party of Nepal (Unified MarxistLeninist) (CPN-UML) chairman K P Oli on Thursday called CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda and the two leaders congratulated each other on getting elected to the HoR. Prime Minister and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba also telephoned Prachanda and Oli to congratulate them on their victory. All three top leaders have been elected to the HoR after registering victories in the election. During their telephonic conversation, Oli offered Prachanda to move ahead by forging collaboration in the process of ...

Single-pilot operations only after thorough investigation, EASA says

European Aviation Safety Agency's proposal draws flak from pilots who say it is too risky

Official claims deadly Gaza house fire caused by party stunt

Investigators said Sunday that last week's massive apartment fire in the Gaza Strip was ignited accidentally by a man using gasoline in a party trick, but did not explain how they reached that conclusion. The blaze killed 22 members of the same family and there were no survivors who could have described the events. The fire had erupted Thursday in the third-floor apartment of the Abu Raya family home in the crowded Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Officials initially said 21 people were killed. Gaza attorney general Mohammed al-Nahal said Sunday the death toll reached 22, without elaborating. He told reporters that Nader Abu Raya invited his parents, siblings and their children to celebrate the return of his older brother from a trip abroad. With all the guests together at the family home, Nader began preparing in the living room what was suggested to be a party trick involving gasoline, al-Nahal said. The cause of the blaze was Nader using gasoline in a celebratory show w

Nepal elections pass off largely peacefully, total turnout 61%: CEC

Nepal on Sunday held largely peaceful elections to the federal Parliament and provincial Assemblies with some cases of violent clashes between party cadres reported

US House speaker Pelosi's husband undergoes surgery after deadly attack

Paul Pelosi, who a male assailant attacked on Friday morning, has undergone surgery for a skull fracture

'The Astronaut' by K-Pop band BTS' Jin sells 700,000 copies on day 1

The first official solo single by BTS' Jin has sold more than 700,000 copies on the first day of its release, his agency said Saturday

47 dead, dozens feared missing as storm lashes parts of Philippines

Flash floods and landslides set off by torrential rains left at least 47 people dead, including in a hard-hit southern Philippine province, where as many as 60 villagers are feared missing and buried in a deluge of rainwater, mud, rocks and trees, officials said Saturday. At least 42 people were swept away by rampaging floodwaters and drowned or were hit by debris-filled mudslides in three towns in Maguindanao province from Thursday night to early Friday, said Naguib Sinarimbo, the interior minister for a five-province Muslim autonomous region run by former separatist guerrillas. Five other people died elsewhere from the onslaught of Tropical Storm Nalgae, which slammed into the eastern province of Camarines Sur early Saturday, the government's disaster-response agency said. But the worst storm impact so far was a mudslide laden with rainwater, rocks and trees that buried dozens of houses with as many as 60 people in the tribal village of Kusiong in Maguindanao's Datu Odin Sinsuat .

Two people killed, 7 injured in armed attack in Pakistan's Quetta

Two people were killed in Quetta city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan after armed men attacked the victims and opened fire on Thursday

Joint probe underway after Pelosi's husband assaulted during home break-in

A joint investigation is underway to look into an attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband during a home break-in.

Elon Musk walks into Twitter office with kitchen sink in his hands

Tesla CEO Elon Musk visited the Twitter headquarters with a sink in his hand, ahead of the micro-blogging platform's takeover deal

President Erdogan invites new Swedish PM Kristersson to visit Turkey

Turkish President Erdogan said he would be pleased to host new Swedish PM Kristersson during a phone talk between the two leaders, after months of tension with the Nordic country over its NATO bid.

Rishi Sunak's real challenge as PM is not economic or political but social

Sunak has to govern a fractious and self-indulgent mob, which has resulted from a near-total breakdown of authority of all sorts

UN envoy: Myanmar crisis deepens, taking 'catastrophic toll on people'

The UN special envoy for Myanmar warned Tuesday that the political, human rights and humanitarian crisis in the military-ruled Southeast Asian nation is deepening and taking a catastrophic toll on the people. Noeleen Heyzer told the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee that more than 13.2 million people don't have enough to eat, 1.3 million are displaced and the military continues operations using disproportionate force including bombings, burnings of homes and buildings, and the killing of civilians. Heyzer's briefing was her first at the U.N. in New York since she visited Myanmar in August and met the head of the military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. She said the meeting was part of broader efforts by the U.N. to urgently support a return to civilian rule. She stressed that there is a new political reality in Myanmar: a people demanding change, no longer willing to accept military rule. Heyzer said she made six requests during the meeting with the military's

For the first time, women outnumber men in New Zealand's parliament

For the first time in New Zealand's history, a majority of lawmakers are women. Soraya Peke-Mason from the liberal Labour Party was sworn in to Parliament on Tuesday, replacing former Speaker Trevor Mallard, who left to become ambassador to Ireland. With the resignation of another male lawmaker, it has tipped the balance in Parliament to 60 women and 59 men. Whilst it's a special day for me, I think it's historic for New Zealand, Peke-Mason told reporters. The milestone places New Zealand among a half-dozen nations in the world that this year can claim at least 50% female representation in their parliaments, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Other nations include Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates. Globally, about 26% of lawmakers are women, according to the union. New Zealand has a history of strong female representation. In 1893, it became the first nation to allow women to vote. Current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is the nation's third fema

Rishi Sunak edges closer to UK leadership prize as Boris Johnson caves

In a brief statement on Twitter late Sunday, shortly after Johnson said he wouldn't stand for fear of dividing the Conservative Party, Sunak vowed to lead with "integrity, professionalism

Earthquake of magnitude 5.0 shook southern part of China's Xinjiang

An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 shook the Southern part of the Xinjiang region of China on Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Kyrgyzstan conference stresses importance of INSTC and Chabahar Port

An International Conference titled "INSTC (International North South Transport Corridor) and Chabahar Port in Iran

Man fatally shot in parking lot after California high school football game

A man died in a California shooting in a Sacramento parking lot after a high school football game, police said. Investigators believe the shooting Friday night broke out after a disturbance involving about 20 people near the end of the game at Grant Union High School. Officers found a firearm and shattered glass in a school parking lot. Police said the shooting victim a man in his mid-20s was able to get to a nearby hospital but later died. Police provided no information on a suspect or motive. The Sacramento Bee reported that about 2,000 people attended the game and police believe those involved in the disturbance were not students, though that information is preliminary.

Biden juggling long list of issues to please Democratic coalition

President Joe Biden wants to tame inflation. He wants Congress to protect access to abortions. He wants to tackle voting rights. And he's taking on China, promoting construction of new factories, addressing climate change, forgiving student debt, pardoning federal marijuana convictions, cutting the deficit, working to lower prescription drug prices and funneling aid to Ukraine. Biden is trying to be everything to everyone. But that's making it hard for him to say he's focused on any single issue above all others as he tries to counter Republican momentum going into the November 8 elections. There's no one thing, Biden said Wednesday when questioned about his top priority. There's multiple, multiple, multiple issues, and they're all important. ... We ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. You know, that old expression. Biden's exhaustive to-do list is a recognition that the coalition of Democratic voters he needs to turn out Election Day is diverse in terms of race,

Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine advise civilians to evacuate

Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine told all residents of the city of Kherson to leave immediately Saturday ahead of an expected advance by Ukrainian troops waging a counteroffensive to recapture one of the first urban areas Russia took after invading the country. In a post on the Telegram messaging service, the pro-Kremlin regional administration strongly urged civilians to use boat crossings over a major river to move deeper into Russian-held territory, citing a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged plans for terror attacks by Kyiv. Kherson has been in Russian hands since the early days of the nearly 8-month-long war in Ukraine. The city is the capital of a region of the same name, one of four that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last month and put under Russian martial law on Thursday. On Friday, Ukrainian forces bombarded Russian positions across the province, targeting pro-Kremlin forces' resupply routes across the Dnieper .