An 18-year-old Indian-origin teenager was stabbed to death at a high school parking lot by another teenager in Canada’s British Columbia province, the police said. The victim, Mehakpreet Sethi, was stabbed at the Tamanawis Secondary School’s parking lot in Surrey by a 17-year-old following a fight between the two, the Vancouver Sun newspaper reported. The 17-year-old suspect is an Indian-origin student. “It is believed the suspect and the victim were known to each other and that this was an isolated incident,” Integrated Homicide Investigation Team’s Sgt Timothy Pierotti was quoted as saying.
Another Indian student dies after being hit by truck
A 20-year-old Indian student was killed after he was hit and dragged by a pickup truck while crossing a road on a cycle, according to a media report. Though the police have not yet identified the victim, news website cbc. quoted the victim’s cousin Parveen Saini as saying that Kartik Saini came to Canada from India in August 2021. Parveen Saini spoke from Karnal, Haryana, where their family is from, the report said. The family is hoping that Kartik’s body will be sent to India as soon as possible for proper burial, Parveen said. Sheridan College has confirmed that Kartik was a student there, the report said.
Pakistan gets a new warship
Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan have jointly inaugurated a corvette warship built by Turkiye for the Pakistan Navy under a strategic cooperation project between the two nations.
Sharif said during the inauguration that the launch of PNS Khyber represents a strengthening of defence cooperation between the two countries. Sharif, along with a delegation of ministers and officials, was in Turkey for a two-day visit at the invitation of the Turkish president. “It was high time that Pakistan and Turkiye transform their ties into a strategic partnership as the world was envious of the relationship between two brotherly countries,” Sharif said.
Indonesia quake toll rises to 310
The death toll from last Monday’s catastrophic earthquake in Indonesia’s most populous province has risen to 310, officials said, after days of rescue efforts that had been impeded by heavy rains, landslide blocked roads and disrupted communication lines. Twenty-four people remained missing. Indonesia is frequently hit by earthquakes, many much stronger than the recent one. But experts said the shallowness of the quake and inadequate infrastructure contributed to the severe damage. The worst-affected area is close to several known faults, said Gayatri Marliyani, an assistant geology professor.
China factory fire kills 38
Investigators said that sparks from welding work appears to have been the cause of a fire that killed 38 people at a company dealing in chemicals and other industrial goods in central China’s Henan province. Two other people were injured in the blaze that tore through the building in the city of Anyang. It took firefighters about 3 1/2 hours to bring the flames under control, the Wenfang district government said. One or more welders operating in violation of safety rules appear to have let loose sparks that ignited cotton fabric in the building, according to officials cited by the official Xinhua news agency. The investigation was ongoing and local government officials being questioned, Xinhua said.
Anwar Ibrahim chosen as Malaysia PM
King Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah of Malaysia has chosen Anwar Ibrahim, 75, as the tenth prime minister - the sixth in less than five years - ending the deadlock brought on by a hung parliament following the general elections. It was the culmination of a stunning comeback for Anwar, whose career has included a stint as deputy prime minister, two jail terms that were considered politically motivated, and, finally, the role of longtime opposition leader. The nation of over 33 million people, which is multiracial and multiethnic, has endured more than two years of political unrest, economic hardship, and corrupt leaders.
Brazilian president contests poll loss
Over three weeks after losing a re-election bid, President Jair Bolsonaro has blamed a software bug and demanded the electoral authority annul votes cast on most of Brazil’s electronic voting machines, though independent experts say the bug doesn’t affect the reliability of results. Such an action would leave Bolsonaro with 51% of the remaining valid votes - and a re-election victory, a lawyer for the president and his Liberal Party, said. The electoral authority has already declared victory for leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Liberal Party leader Valdemar Costa and an auditor hired by the party said their evaluation found all machines dating from before 2020 lacked individual identification numbers in internal logs.
Tanzania begins rationing electricity
Tanzania has begun rationing electricity due to a drop in hydroelectric output after a severe drought, the national power company said, with some areas facing nine-hour blackouts. The East African country can produce nearly 1,695 megawatts of power from hydroelectricity and natural gas, among other sources. But it is currently facing a shortfall of 300 to 350 megawatts, said Maharage Chande, managing director of Tanesco, the national power company. "There are two main reasons for the drop in production: a prolonged drought and ongoing maintenance of certain sites," he told reporters.
Pope links Ukrainians’ plight to Stalin’s ‘genocide’
Pope Francis linked the suffering of Ukrainians now to the 1930s “genocide artificially caused by Stalin”, when the Soviet leader was blamed for creating a man-made famine in Ukraine believed to have killed over 3 million people. The Pope linking of the plight of Ukrainian today to those killed by starvation 90 years ago, and his willingness to call it a “genocide” caused by Josef Stalin, marked an escalation in papal rhetoric against Russia. As of this year, only 17 countries have officially recognised the famine. “Saturday begins the anniversary of the terrible genocide. . . Let us pray for the victims of this genocide and let us pray for so many Ukrainians,” he said.
Ben-Gvir to be Israeli's police minister
Israeli far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir is to become police minister under a coalition deal with PM-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party that is set to create the most right-wing government in the country’s history. The
agreement comes after Netanyahu’s right-wing alliance won a comfortable victory in this month’s parliamentary election. Netanyahu is continuing talks with three other parties on forming the new government. “We took a big step towards a full coalition agreement, toward forming a fully, fully right-wing government,” Ben-Gvir said.
Chiang Kai-shek's great grandson is Taipei mayor
Chiang Kai-shek’s great grandson declared victory in his run for Taipei mayor, as Taiwan held local elections that could shape the race to replace China-skeptic President, Tsai Ing-wen, in little more than a year. Chiang Wan-an, the great-grandson of the late Kuomintang leader - who fought and lost a civil war against Mao Zedong’s Communists and is remembered by many Taiwanese for his repression - becomes the youngest person elected mayor of Taipei at age 43.
“Everyone, we did it!” he said in a short speech to a crowd of thousands outside his campaign headquarters.
