Authorities in the capital of the Maldives said that a major fire that started in the garage below a small apartment building housing foreign workers killed 10 people, nine of whom were Indians. The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), which was active on site with an emergency response team, said that they recovered bodies included nine Indians, and one Bangladeshi national. “Authorities are currently investigating the scene of incidence, and attempting to scan the area for possible further casualties," the MNDF said. In New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that local authorities are engaged in identifying the dead bodies.
6 killed as powerful quake jolts Nepal
At least six people were killed and five others were injured in a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayan region close to Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand along the Nepal border last week. Strong tremors were felt across north India and parts of Nepal in the early hours of Thursday. The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) stated that the epicentre of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake was in Doti, Nepal, about 90 km east-southeast of Pithoragarh. Bhola Bhatta, the acting chief at the District Police Office in Nepal's Doti, stated that all the six victims were killed by the debris of the houses damaged during the earthquake. The tremors were felt in Delhi and the surrounding areas of Ghaziabad and Gurugram and even in Lucknow, jolting people out of their sleep.
6 die in mid-air collision of 2 planes at US air show
Six people were killed when a pair of World-War II-era planes collided in mid-air at a show in Texas and crashed to the ground in a ball of fire, authorities said. “According to our Dallas county medical examiner, there are a total of 6 fatalities over Dallas air show incident,” Dallas county judge Clay Jenkins said. The accident involved a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a smaller Bell P-63 Kingcobra. Dallas mayor Eric Johnson called the incident “a terrible tragedy,” adding that videos of accident “are heartbreaking. After the collision, the planes appeared to break apart into several large pieces before crashing to the ground and exploding in a ball of fire. The scattered debris across the airport grounds as well as on a strip mall and a nearby highway, which was closed for hours.
Explosion in Istanbul kills 6
An explosion on Sunday shook a bustling pedestrian thoroughfare in Istanbul, killing at least six people and leaving 53 wounded, the provincial governor said. The governor, Ali Yerlikaya, did not specify the cause of the blast. The blast hit Istiklal Avenue, one of the city’s busiest areas for shopping, tourism and transit. A football game scheduled for Sunday evening nearby may have brought even more people than usual to the area. Videos showed an orange fireball rising from the street and crowds of people panicking and rushing to flee the area. Other videos showed a number of wounded people on the ground, some of them covered in blood and not moving. A TV reporter at the scene said he had seen at least five people wounded but walking, and at least four others lying on the ground.
Iran hypersonic missile claim raises concerns
An Iranian general claimed that the Islamic republic had developed a hypersonic missile capable of penetrating all defence systems, raising concerns from the UN nuclear watchdog. Hypersonic missiles can also deliver nuclear weapons. “This hypersonic ballistic missile was developed to counter air defence shields,” General Amirali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace unit said. “It’ll be able to breach all the systems of anti-missile defence,” he said, adding that he believed it would take decades before a system capable of intercepting it is developed. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Gross expressed concerns about the announcement. “We see these announcements increase the attention, increase the concerns. ”
Man on extremist list stabs police officer
Belgian authorities said that a lone assailant who killed one police officer and wounded another in a stabbing attack had been on a list of potential extremists. The suspect, who had served six years in prison for common law crimes, had gone to a police station to express hatred for them, but couldn’t be arrested before he launched his stabbing attack on two police officers. “The man was on the list of OCAD,” said Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office. Brussels prosecutor spokeswoman Sarah Durant said the suspect had made “unhinged remarks” during a discussion with officers hours before the attack.
Sikh prayer books issued to British army personnel
London : Nitnem Gutkas, the prayer books of the Sikhs have been issued to military personnel in the British army for the first time in a century, a report said on Thursday, a move the ministry of defence said will “directly support Sikh practice, a key component of their faith”. The prayer books were issued by UK Defence Sikh Network at a ceremony in London, according to BBC.
“The army has been providing Christian religious texts for many years and I saw the opportunity there to open the door for the Sikh faith to provide Sikh texts,” said Major Daljinder Singh Virdee, who is in the British army and has spent two years campaigning for the return of the religious books. The prayer books have been printed in three languages to withstand the rigours of military life, the report said. They were transported to the library of Central Gurdwara temple in London, where they were officially issued to military personnel onOctober 28, it said.
Qatar and Israel to operate special flights for WC
Direct charter flights will operate between Israel and Qatar, which do not have formal diplomatic ties, during the upcoming World Cup in Doha, Fifa said, facilitating attendance by eligible Israeli and Palestinian fans. Soccer’s world governing body said it brokered the deal that would allow holders of match tickets and a valid Hayya fan ID on flights from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to Doha's Hamad International during the one month event. “With this deal, Israelis and Palestinians will be able to fly together and enjoy football together,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said in the statement. The statement did not specify which Palestinians, who live in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, this might apply to.
Estonia removes Soviet Union war monuments
Estonia will remove war monuments dating to the Soviet Union in the eastern city of Narva, the government announced. “Today’s decision helps to keep our focus on our most important tasks: ensuring Estonia’s security and helping all the people of Estonia weather the crises caused by the war in Ukraine,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said during a press conference. The government announced a bill to remove Soviet monuments from public spaces, arguing that they incite hatred amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. The parliament of fellow Baltic state Latvia had earlier voted to remove all remaining Soviet statues and plaques by mid-November.
Murder suspect on run for 29 years in China held
Police in southern China have arrested a murder suspect who became a millionaire during 29 years on the run, Chinese media reported. The suspect, surnamed Xiong, was wanted for the fatal stabbing of another man during a dispute in 1993, the Beijing Youth Daily reported. Police from Xiangyang city in central China’s Hubei province travelled more than 1,200 km to the city of Huizhou in Guangdong province to make the arrest. They led him out of his residence, where his elderly mother also lived, by posing as anti-pandemic workers, according to the video report. In the decades after his alleged crime, Xiong transformed from an ordinary worker to a millionaire boss living in a luxury flat, the report said, without revealing how he amassed his fortune.
Screenwriter found guilty of raping publicist
A New York jury found Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis liable for raping a publicist at his Manhattan apartment in 2013, ordering him to pay at least $7. 5 million in damages in the civil case, an attorney said. The verdict came after a 15-day civil trial in Manhattan state court. Plaintiff Haleigh Breest alleged in a 2017 complaint that Haggis, known for writing the films ‘Million Dollar Baby’ and ‘Crash’, raped her after pressuring her to join him at his SoHo loft following a movie premier. Breest was one of four women who publicly accused Haggis of sexual misconduct in 2018. Haggis denied the allegations.
