INDIA
Death toll hits 77
At least 77 people are confirmed dead in the floods that hit the northeast, authorities said yesterday, with destroyed roads and bridges leaving thousands more still cut off despite waters receding. Violent torrents struck Sikkim state on Wednesday after a high-altitude glacial lake suddenly burst. “A total of 29 bodies have been retrieved from different parts of Sikkim,” Sikkim State Relief Commissioner Anilraj Rai said. In neighboring West Bengal state, Jalpaiguri District police said that another 48 bodies had been recovered. More than 100 people are still missing, official figures showed.
UKRAINE
Shelling wounds dozens
Russian shelling on residential areas of Kherson overnight wounded almost a dozen people including nine-month-old baby, local authorities said yesterday. Kyiv took back the regional capital of Kherson in November last year, but the southern city remains within reach of Russian fire. “Kherson experienced another terrible night” as Russian forces “repeatedly shelled the city and settlements,” Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. “Eleven residents were injured. A 27-year-old woman and her nine-month-old daughter were hospitalized in moderate condition,” he added. Among the wounded was a 33-year-old Red Cross medic who was hospitalized.
MYANMAR
Suu Kyi appeals denied
The Supreme Court has rejected appeals against six corruption convictions for jailed former state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, media reports said. In detention since the military toppled her government in a 2021 coup, Aung San Suu Kyi faces 27 years in prison. She is appealing dozens of convictions for crimes ranging from treason and bribery to contraventions of the telecommunications law. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has denied wrongdoing. The junta recently granted a partial pardon that shaved six years off her prison sentence, a move that critics, including her son, said meant nothing.
GUATEMALA
OAS names representatives
The Organization of American States (OAS) on Saturday named the representatives that are to lead its mission to mediate between officials and street protesters seeking an orderly transfer to power to President-elect Bernardo Arevalo, a statement published on X, formely known as Twitter, said. OAS President Luis Almagro late on Friday said that he accepted the invitation from Guatemala City that asked to achieve “consensus among different sectors” of the country. Former Uruguayan minister of defense Luis Rosadilla and the OAS Secretary of Access to Rights and Equity Maricarmen Plata are to lead the mission. Tens of thousands took to the streets this week, demanding the resignation of powerful senior prosecutors accused of working to undermine Arevalo’s ability to take office.
UNITED STATES
Lottery climbs to US$1.55bn
The Powerball jackpot on Saturday climbed to an estimated US$1.55 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers and won the giant prize. The numbers drawn on Saturday night were: 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19. The US$1.55 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 30 years. Most jackpot winners opt for cash, which for the next drawing tonight would be an estimated US$679.8 million. The jackpot is the world’s fourth-largest lottery prize after rolling over for 34 consecutive drawings.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
RSS