A suicide bomber targeted a memorial service in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province, killing at least 13 people, officials said. A former Taliban police official was among those killed and at least 30 people were wounded in the explosion near Nabawi Mosque, according to Abdul Nafi Takor, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the interior ministry. He added that the casualty numbers could rise further as more information comes in. The Badakhshan provincial governor’s office said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber and that “several of the seriously wounded were transferred by military helicopters to Kabul for further treatment.” The memorial service was held for Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Badakhshan who was killed in a car bombing recently.
Wind, heavy rains kill at least 27 in Pakistan
Heavy rains followed by strong winds killed at least 27 people, including eight children, in northwest Pakistan, officials said. “At least 12 people were buried alive after the roofs and walls of their houses collapsed,” Taimur Ali Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority said. The storms hit four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with 15 people killed in Bannu district, including five siblings aged between two and11. More than 140 people were injured and more than 200 livestock died, he said. Authorities have declared an emergency in all four of the districts.
Uganda president tests positive for Covid
Uganda president Yoweri Museveni has tested positive for Covid-19. The President made the revelation at the end of his state of the nation address to parliament. "In the morning I was feeling as if I have a slight cold, so I called my medical team to check Corona. They took samples as usual...there is what they call a rapid one, that one was negative...then there are two which go for deep analysis, one was negative, the other one was positive," Museveni said. The WHO recently declared an end to Covid as a public health emergency, but stressed that it does not mean the disease is no longer a global threat.
Pope undergoes abdominal surgery
Pope Francis underwent a successful, three-hour operation on his abdomen, the Vatican said, after renewed fears over the 86-year-old’s fragile health. There were no reported complications, the Vatican said. It had earlier said the pope would remain in the hospital for several days. Francis reacted well to the surgery and to the anesthesia, and had already made a joke since, according to one of the doctors involved in the procedure. “He has been in pain. This wasn’t an urgent surgery …. He continued to feel the pain, so a surgery was decided,” Dr. Sergio Alfieri said at a press conference in Rome.
Gunman kills 2, injures 5 during US school shooting
A man armed with four handguns killed two people and wounded five others when he fired into a crowd outside a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia. Police said they arrested one suspect, a 19-year-old man who knew one of the victims and shot at him amid the crowd that had just emerged from the Huguenot High School’s commencement ceremony inside a theater on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. The suspect was likely to be charged with two counts of second-degree murder in addition to other offenses, interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards told a press conference. Edwards called the shooter’s behaviour “disgusting and cowardly,” since his dispute appeared to be with just one person.
Marriages in China drop to a record low
Marriages in China dropped in 2022 to their lowest since records began, local news outlet Yicai reported, continuing a steady decline over the past decade although the matrimonial total may have been affected by stringent Covid lockdowns. Just 6. 83 million couples completed their marriage registrations last year, data published on the website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed, down about 8,00,000 from the previous year. The drop in couples tieing the knot, which follows pandemic restrictions keeping tens of millions lockedin their homes or compounds for weeks last year, comes as authorities deal with a declining birth rate and a falling population. In 2022 China’s population fell for the first time in six decades, a decline that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers with profound implications for its economy.
Millionaire sits for exams for the 27th time
Among the millions of fresh-faced high schoolers sitting China’s dreaded “gaokao” college entrance exam, Liang Shi sticks out like a sore thumb - a grey-haired, self-made millionaire stubbornly taking the test for the 27th time. Liang, 56, is no fool. He worked his way up from a menial job on a factory floor to establishing his own successful construction materials business. But one dream has always eluded him: getting a high enough score on the notoriously gruelling gaokao to study at the top-tier Sichuan University. To compete with the nearly 13 million high school seniors taking the exam this year, Liang said he has been living “the life of an ascetic monk” for the past few months, rising just after dawn to furiously study textbooks for 12 hours a day.
Batman wins trademark battle for logo
Caped crusader Batman won a trademark fight with an Italian clothing retailer after Europe’s second-top court sided with an EU patent office, ruling that the Batman logo is distinctive enough to warrant its EU trademark. Warner Bros Discovery’s DC Comics, which registered the Batman logo with the European Union Intellectual Property Office over two decades ago, faced a challenge from Commerciale Italiana Srl in 2019.
New make-up rules for Qantas crew
Australia’s national airline announced that it will scrap its gender-based uniform guidelines, allowing male cabin crew to wear make-up and giving women the option to ditch high heels. Qantas said it had overhauled its guidelines to better reflect modern expectations, and to make uniforms more comfortable for staff from “diverse cultural backgrounds”. The airline has drawn attention for its fastidious style guide in the past, which banned handlebar moustaches, policed the length of sideburns, and specified the ideal shades of eyeliner. The changes came at the insistence of labour unions. Now cabin crew can have long hair as long as it is in a ponytail or bun.
First self-driving urban ferry sets sail in Stockholm
A self-driving electric ferry set sail in Stockholm recently, making the Swedish capital the world’s first city to put the technology to use. A captain oversees the autonomous craft but doesn’t need to touch the controls and from the MF Estelle will begin plying short routes between islands in Stockholm. The boat is fitted with radar, cameras, lidar laser and ultrasonic systems. The first ten-metre boat cost $1. 6 million and will be able to carry up to 30 passengers. A single ticket will cost around $3.