International

The death toll from a bridge collapse in Gujarat in India rose to 132, a local government official told Reuters on Monday. A footbridge over the Machhu River in the town of Morbi was packed with sightseers enjoying holiday festivities when it collapsed on Sunday, plunging people into the river below. “The death toll in the bridge collapse incident has gone up to 132. …

UNITED NATIONS: The United States will next week put the United Nations spotlight on protests in Iran sparked by the death of a young woman in police custody and look for ways to promote credible, independent investigations into Iranian human rights abuses. The United States and Albania will hold an informal UN Security Council gathering on Wednesday, according to a …

DURBAN: A new Zulu King was formally enthroned as the head of South Africa’s most influential traditional monarchy at a colourful ceremony on Saturday attended by tens of thousands. President Cyril Ramaphosa handed over a giant framed certificate officially recognising the 48-year-old new ruler Misuzulu Zulu in the coastal city of Durban. “Our king, is indeed officially the King of …

WASHINGTON: The frequent targeting of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by online extremists and political opponents likely contributed to the violent attack on her husband Paul, terrorism and extremism experts said. The intruder at the Pelosis’ home yelled “Where’s Nancy?” before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer, according to a person briefed on the incident. An internet user with the …

DATU SINSUAT: Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae whipped the Philippines on Saturday after unleashing flash floods and landslides that officials said left at least 45 people dead. Nalgae pounded the archipelago nation’s main island of Luzon with maximum winds of 95 kilometres (59 miles) an hour after making landfall on the sparsely populated Catanduanes island before dawn. The destruction began well …

BEIJING: Dressed in matching navy windbreakers and flanking President Xi Jinping, China’s freshly appointed top leadership this week made their first group outing to the Communist Party’s “holy land”. Xi’s choice to visit Yan’an — a site inextricably linked with Communist China’s founder Mao Zedong — was an important, deliberate indication of the themes of his next five years at …

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning on Sunday after a Halloween crush killed some 151 people in a packed nightlife area in Seoul. Yoon expressed condolences to the victims, mostly teenagers and people in their 20s, and his wishes for a speedy recovery to the many injured. “This is truly tragic,” he said in a statement. “A …

At least 100 people were killed and 300 injured in two car bombs that exploded outside the education ministry in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Saturday, the country’s president said in a statement early on Sunday. “Our people who were massacred … included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that he expects to further deepen strategic relations and enhance trade and business ties with China during his visit on Tuesday. “This visit — most definitely — I hope will result into further cementing our relations, further enhancing business, our trade, our strategic relations with China,” he told China Global Television Network (CGTN) in an interview. The prime minister …

DOHA: Asian and African workers on Friday accused Qatar of emptying apartment blocks housing thousands of foreigners in the centre of the capital Doha where visiting soccer fans will stay during the World Cup. They said more than a dozen buildings had been evacuated and shut down by authorities, forcing the mainly Asian and African workers to seek what shelter …