World
Canada's House of Commons elects first Black speaker
Canada’s House of Commons on Tuesday elected Greg Fergus as its new speaker, making the Liberal lawmaker the first Black Canadian to hold the position.
The election was triggered by the resignation of Anthony Rota, who stepped down last week after he invited — and honored — a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II.
Just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke before the Canadian parliament last month, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.
Read: Killing of Sikh separatist: India tells Canada to withdraw over 40 diplomatic staff, reports say
Observers later began to publicize the fact that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis. Rota later apologized saying he had not been aware of that.
Fergus, 54, is a Quebec Liberal lawmaker.
Read: Despite dispute, Canada remains committed to its relationship with India: Trudeau
After lawmakers elected him to the role through a secret ballot, he promised to lead with respect, and encouraged his fellow lawmakers to respect each other. Canadians are watching, he noted.
“The speaker, to use the old hockey analogy, is nothing more than a referee,” Fergus said in his first speech from the chair. “And if there’s one thing I know, it’s that nobody pays good money to go see the referee. They go to see the stars: you.”
Read more: Blinken meets Indian foreign minister as row between India and Canada simmers
Speaker McCarthy ousted in historic House vote, as scramble begins for a Republican leader
Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown — a first in U.S. history, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throwing the House and its Republican leadership into chaos.
It’s the end of the political line for McCarthy, who has said repeatedly that he never gives up, but found himself with almost no options remaining. Neither the right-flank Republicans who engineered his ouster nor the Democrats who piled on seem open to negotiating.
McCarthy told lawmakers in the evening he would not run again for speaker, putting the gavel up for grabs. Next steps are highly uncertain with no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority. Action is halted in the House until next week, when Republicans try to elect a new speaker.
“I may have lost this vote today, but as I walk out of this chamber I feel fortunate to have served," McCarthy said at a press conference at the Capitol, alternating between upbeat assessment of his speakership and angry score-settling of those who ousted him.
Still, he said, “I wouldn't change a thing.”
McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, orchestrated the rare vote on the obscure “motion to vacate,” and pushed ahead swiftly into a dramatic afternoon roll call.
While McCarthy enjoyed support from most Republicans in his slim majority, eight Republican detractors — many of the same hard-right holdouts who tried to stop him from becoming speaker in January — essentially forced him out.
Stillness fell as the presiding officer gaveled the vote closed, 216-210, saying the office of the speaker “is hereby declared vacant.”
Moments later, a top McCarthy ally, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., took the gavel and, according to House rules, was named speaker pro tempore, to serve in the office until a new speaker is chosen.
The House then briskly recessed as lawmakers met privately to discuss the path forward.
It was a stunning moment for McCarthy, a punishment fueled by growing grievances but sparked by his weekend decision to work with Democrats to keep the federal government open rather than risk a shutdown.
But in many ways, McCarthy's ouster was set in motion when, in deal-making with hard-right holdouts at the start of the year, he agreed to a series of demands — including a rules change that allowed any single lawmaker to file the motion to vacate.
As the House fell silent, Gaetz, a top ally of Donald Trump, rose to offer his motion.
Leaders tried to turn it back, but the vote was 218-208, with 11 Republicans against tabling the motion, a sign of trouble to come.
The House then opened a floor debate unseen in modern times, and Republicans argued publicly among themselves for more than an hour.
“It's a sad day,” Republican Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma said as debate got underway, urging his colleagues not to plunge the House Republican majority "into chaos."
But Gaetz shot back during the debate, "Chaos is Speaker McCarthy."
Read: US Speaker Pelosi's husband attacked, beaten by intruder
As the fiery debate dragged on, many of the complaints against the speaker revolved around his truthfulness and his ability to keep the promises he has made.
Almost alone, Gaetz led his side of the floor debate, criticizing the debt deal McCarthy made with President Joe Biden and the vote to prevent a government shutdown, which conservatives opposed as they demanded steeper spending cuts.
But a long line of McCarthy supporters stood up for him, including Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a leader of the conservative Freedom Caucus, who said, “He has kept his word.” Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., waved his cellphone, saying it was “disgusting” that hard-right colleagues were fundraising off the move in text messages seeking donations.
McCarthy, of California, insisted he would not cut a deal with Democrats to remain in power — not that he could have relied on their help even if he had asked.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues that he wants to work with Republicans, but he was unwilling to provide the votes needed to save McCarthy.
“It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War,” Jeffries said, announcing the Democratic leadership would vote for the motion to oust the speaker.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden “hopes the House will quickly elect a Speaker.” Once that happens, she said, "he looks forward to working together with them."
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement thanking McCarthy for "what is often a thankless role.
Read: Biden says there’s ‘not much time’ to keep aid flowing to Ukraine and Congress must ‘stop the games’
At the Capitol, both Republicans and Democrats met privately ahead of the historic afternoon vote.
Behind closed doors, McCarthy told fellow Republicans: Let’s get on with it.
McCarthy invoked Republican Speaker Joseph Cannon, who more than 100 years ago confronted his critics head-on by calling their bluff and setting the vote himself on his ouster. Cannon survived that takedown attempt, which was the first time the House had actually voted to consider removing its speaker. A more recent threat against John Boehner in 2015 didn't make it to a vote but led him to early retirement.
Gaetz was in attendance, but he did not address the room.
Across the way in the Capitol, Democrats lined up for a long discussion and unified around one common point: McCarthy cannot be trusted, several lawmakers in the room said.
“I think it’s safe to say there’s not a lot of good will in that room for Kevin McCarthy,” said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass.
“At the end of the day, the country needs a speaker that can be relied upon,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. "We don’t trust him. Their members don’t trust him. And you need a certain degree of trust to be the speaker.”
Removing the speaker launches the House Republicans into chaos heading into a busy fall when Congress will need to fund the government again or risk a mid-November shutdown.
Typically, top leaders would be next in line for the job, but Majority Leader Steve Scalise is battling cancer and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, like any potential candidate, may have trouble securing the vote. Another leading Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, is also a Trump ally.
One of McHenry's first acts in the temporary position was to oust Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi from her honorary office at the Capitol while she was away in California to pay tribute to Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“No matter who is going to be the speaker, the challenges still remain," Scalise said. “But I think the opportunity is there to continue moving forward.”
Asked if he was physically up to the job, Scalise said, “I feel great.”
It took McCarthy himself 15 rounds in January over multiple days of voting before he secured the support from his colleagues to gain the gavel.
Read more: Attorney General Garland says in interview he'd resign if Biden asked him to take action on Trump
Trump, the former president who is the Republican front-runner in the 2024 race to challenge Biden, complained about the chaos. “Why is it that Republicans are always fighting among themselves," he asked on social media.
Asked about McCarthy's ouster as he exited court in New York, where he is on trial for business fraud, Trump did not respond.
One key McCarthy ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who is also close with Trump, took to social media urging support for “our speaker.”
Republicans left the chamber in a daze, totally uncertain about next steps. “I honestly don’t know,” said Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. “This is a total disaster.”
Many had lined up to hug McCarthy, some to shake his hand.
Democrats, who have bristled at McCarthy's leadership — cajoling them one minute, walking away from deals the next — said they were just holding back, waiting for Republicans to figure out how to run the House.
Rep, Don Bacon, R-Neb., the leader of a centrist group, said the only option was to leave the eight hardliners behind and try to work across the aisle. “We’re going to stay with Kevin,” he said. “He told us earlier he’ll never quit.”
But McCarthy made it clear Tuesday night that he would not try to win back the job.
Bus crash near Venice, Italy, kills at least 21 people, including Ukrainian tourists
At least 21 people were killed and 18 injured in a fiery bus crash in Mestre, Italy, just across the Venetian Lagoon from old Venice, where firefighters and other emergency responders worked into the night trying to extract bodies and squelch the flames.
The bus was carrying foreign tourists, including Ukrainians, according to a Venice official, when it fell from an elevated street Tuesday en route to a camping site near the community of Marghera.
“The people in the bus found themselves surrounded by flames, ” said Mauro Luongo, commander of the Venice firefighters team. “The scene we found was terrible. It took about one hour to extract some of the bodies.”
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that the crash scene was “apocalyptic” and declared the city in a state of mourning.
Four of the injured were in serious condition following the accident, which happened on the mainland just 9 km (3.7 miles) northwest of the old city of Venice, said Renato Boraso, a Venice city official. Two of the dead were children, Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said.
Read: A bus crashes off the road in central Turkey, leaving 12 passengers dead
The injured were transferred to five different hospitals in the region.
According to local media, the bus fell a few meters before crashing close to Mestre's railway tracks, where it caught fire.
The Veneto region governor, Luca Zaia, told RAI state television that the cause of the accident was still unclear.
“This is an important tragedy, but it's difficult to understand how it happened," he said. "The bus was new and electric, and that street wasn't particularly problematic.”
Read: 25 dead after bus crashes and catches fire in western India
In 2017, 16 people on a bus carrying Hungarian students died in an accident near the northern city of Verona. And in 2013, 40 people were killed in one of Italy's worst vehicle accidents when a bus plunged off a viaduct close to the southern city of Avellino.
Read more: At least 15 people killed and dozens injured in bus crash in Mali
Bangkok mall shooting: Gunman's motives remain unclear
Thailand’s police chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol has said the motive behind the shooting at Bangkok’s upscale Siam Paragon mall that killed two and wounded several people on Tuesday remained unclear.
Earlier, a 14-year-old was arrested from the third floor of the shopping mall after he opened fire at shoppers inside the Thai capital’s busy shopping malls, BBC reports.
Also read: Two dead in shooting at Bangkok’s Siam Paragon mall
Shoppers inside the mall could be seen running for the exits after they heard multiple shots being fired.
By the time the police arrived and were able to disarm the shooter, several people had been hit.
Ambulances had to battle with the notoriously busy rush hour traffic in this part of Bangkok to carry the victims to hospital.
The police have confirmed the 14-year-old shooter attended a school not far from the Siam Paragon mall.
The police chief, Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, said the boy had a record of getting treatment for a mental health condition at Rajvithi hospital, but had recently stopped taking his medication, the BBC report said.
Also read: Gunman kills 3 people in twin Rotterdam shootings
Two dead in shooting at Bangkok’s Siam Paragon mall
A shooter opened fire inside a major shopping mall in the center of Thailand's capital Tuesday afternoon, killing at least two people before being apprehended, authorities said.
Police said a suspect was taken into custody less than an hour after the first reported gunshots at the Siam Paragon Mall, long been seen as one of Bangkok's biggest and most upscale shopping destinations.
Video uploaded to social media and broadcast on television showed a long-haired teenage boy in the custody of police. Major Thai media said he was 14 years old, though recently appointed police chief Torsak Sukvimol confirmed only that he is a minor and appeared to be suffering from mental illness.
Torsak said two people had been killed, a visitor from China and a Myanmar national. Earlier, Yutthana Sretthanan, director of Bangkok's Erawan Emergency Medical Center, had said three people were killed and six were injured. There was no explanation of the discrepancy, though Yutthana later supported the police number.
Read: World Bank forecasts Sri Lankan economy to grow by 1.7% in 2024
Police spokesman Archayon Kraithong told reporters the situation was under control at the mall, which sells high-end fashions and luxury cars, and includes a cinema, an aquarium and the attached five-star Siam Kempinski Hotel.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told reporters that he was informed by police that one of the dead was a Chinese tourist about 30 years old.
"I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family of the deceased following the shooting inside Siam Paragon," Srettha, who took office in August, said in an earlier statement. "I would like to give my moral support to the families of all who died and were injured."
Gun violence is not uncommon in Thailand, though mass shootings are rare.
The incident happened days before Thais were planning to mark the anniversary of the country's biggest mass killing by an individual, a grisly gun and knife attack at a rural day care center in a northeastern province that killed 36 people, most of them preschoolers, on Oct. 6, 2022.
Tuesday's shooting prompted authorities to temporarily shut access to the nearby Siam Square elevated train stop, preventing commuters from exiting as the evening rush hour began and intense rain pounded the city, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene.
First responders could be seen entering the mall as sirens wailed outside.
Read: Two earthquakes strike Nepal, sending tremors through the region
Witnesses said crowds of people left the building, one of several shopping centers in the area popular with tourists and well-heeled Thais alike.
Chinese tourist Liu Shiying told the AP that she saw people running and saying someone had opened fire. She said she heard gunshots and an alarm ringing, and that the lights in the mall went out.
"We're temporarily hiding. Who dares to go out?" she said while taking cover. She was later able to leave.
Gautam Vora, 45, an Indian national who works in finance in Bangkok, was at the mall with his wife and child. He said it was "quite scary," even though he was initially unsure whether he had heard gunshots or "somebody playing a hoax with some firecrackers."
"Everybody was screaming and running," he said. "There was a lot of chaos and that was almost like a stampede."
"I don't think they were well prepared for this," he added. "I think most of the staff inside the shopping mall were confused and they were running helter-skelter, too."
Multiple videos uploaded to social media showed people running out of the building, and several showed a person dressed in a baseball cap, dark shirt and camouflage pants inside the mall, holding a handgun. A video believed to be of the shooter after his arrest showed a long-haired boy wearing glasses dressed like that, with an American flag on his cap. Videos and photos also showed the pistol he was said to have been carrying before he was disarmed.
In 2020, a disgruntled soldier opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them.
World Bank forecasts Sri Lankan economy to grow by 1.7% in 2024
Sri Lanka's economy is expected to grow by 1.7 percent in 2024 after contracting by 3.8 percent in 2023, the World Bank said in its twice-a-year update on Tuesday.
The World Bank said that the outlook is clouded with uncertainty and that growth prospects depend on progress with debt restructuring and the implementation of critical structural reforms.
Read: World Bank approves $102 million to improve navigability of Jamuna, riverbank protection
The World Bank released on Tuesday its latest Sri Lanka Development Update, Mobilizing Tax Revenue for a Better Future, saying that improved revenue mobilization is critical to Sri Lanka's return to macroeconomic stability.
A government-led tax reform package has been under implementation since May 2022, which includes the introduction of new taxes, a wide range of adjustments to the tax rates and bases, and an intention to improve the efficiency of tax collection and increase compliance, it said.
Read: World Bank approves $200 million to help Bangladesh improve primary healthcare for common illnesses including dengue
"Sri Lanka has carried out critical reforms since the start of the economic crisis. Staying on the course of reforms while managing fiscal risks is crucial to restoring a sustainable growth path," said Faris H. Hadad-Zervos, World Bank country director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
He said current efforts to mobilize tax revenue should be coupled with continued reforms towards transparency of expenditures to build public confidence and to deliver better public services.
South Asia is expected to grow by nearly 6% this year, making it the world's fastest-growing region
South Asia is expected to grow by 5.8% this year, making it the fastest-growing region in the world even as the pace remains below pre-pandemic levels, the World Bank said on Tuesday.
The latest South Asia Development Update from the World Bank projected growth in the region to slow slightly to 5.6% in 2024 and 2025, as post-pandemic rebounds fade and reduced global demand weighs on economic activity.
At almost 6% this year, the region is growing faster than all other emerging markets, said Franziska Ohnsorge, the organization's chief economist for South Asia.
“While high inflation and interest rates have bogged down many emerging markets, South Asia seems to be forging ahead,” the World Bank noted in its report.
Still, "for all of the countries here this represents a slowdown from pre-pandemic levels,” Ohnsorge said, adding that the growth wasn’t fast enough to meet various development goals set by countries in the region.
Despite the progress, the region still has a long way to go, the report said. Per capita incomes in South Asia are around $2,000 — one-fifth of the level in East Asia and the Pacific region. The current growth rates, while high, are not sufficient for South Asian nations to achieve high-income status within a generation, it said. Additionally, the growth is not necessarily equal.
Read: Indonesia launches Southeast Asia's first high-speed train, funded by China
India, which accounts for most of the regional economy, is set to remain robust with 6.3% growth in the 2023-24 fiscal year, while others like Maldives and Nepal are also expected to grow thanks to a rebound in tourism.
But things are bleaker in other countries. Bangladesh's growth may slow to 5.6%, while projections for Pakistan's growth —only 1.7% — are below the rate of its population growth, the World Bank said. Sri Lanka, whose economy collapsed last year, is recovering slowly from a severe recession, but the IMF last week held off from releasing a second tranche of a funding package after concluding that the country had failed to make enough progress in economic reforms.
The World Bank said another concern was that government debt in South Asian countries averaged 86% of GDP in 2022, which is higher than other emerging markets. It added the high debt could increase the risk of defaults and raise borrowing costs.
The region's economic outlook could also be affected by the slowdown in China's economy and is vulnerable to further shocks from natural disasters, which have become more frequent and intense due to climate change, the report said.
Ohnsorge said that governments in South Asia could improve fiscal conditions by seizing on opportunities for energy transition, which could create jobs, reduce reliance on energy imports and cut pollution levels.
Read: Climate change and the shift to cleaner energy push Southeast Asia to finally start sharing power
“Almost one-tenth of the region's workers are employed in pollution-intensive jobs,” many of which are concentrated among informal and lower-skilled workers who are more vulnerable to changes in the labor market, the World Bank said. The region currently lags behind others in adopting energy-efficient technologies and creating more green jobs, Ohnsorge added.
The World Bank on Tuesday also released its latest India Development Update, which found that despite a challenging global economic environment, India was one of the fastest-growing major economies in the previous fiscal year at 7.2%. This put it as the second highest among the Group of 20 countries and was almost twice the average for emerging market economies, it said.
With global challenges expected to continue on the back of high interest rates, geopolitical tensions and sluggish global demand, overall economic growth is likely to slow in the medium-term. The World Bank forecasts India's GDP growth for the current fiscal year to be 6.3%, attributing it mainly to external factors and waning pent-up demand after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more: Myanmar burns $446 million worth of seized drugs as illicit trade booms in Southeast Asia
Two earthquakes strike Nepal, sending tremors through the region
Two earthquakes struck northwest Nepal on Tuesday, sending tremors through the region, the country's earthquake monitoring center said.
Tremors were also felt in the Indian capital New Delhi.
Read: 5.4 magnitude earthquake jolts Bangladesh
There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage in the region.
Nepal's National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center said the epicenter for both quakes, with initial magnitudes measuring at 5.3 followed by 6.3, was Bajhang district in northwest Nepal, close to the Indian border.
Read: Dhaka feels 4.2 magnitude earthquake
Narayan Pandey, the chief officer in Bajhang district, said that tremors were felt in the region, which is a mountainous area and sparsely populated.
Niger's junta says jihadis kill 29 soldiers as attacks ramp up
At least 29 Nigerien soldiers have been killed by jihadis near the country’s border with Mali, Niger's junta said, as they struggle to end a spate of attacks.
More than 100 extremists used homemade explosives to target the West African nation's security forces who were deployed at the border area on a clearance operation, Niger Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Salifou Mody said in a statement late Monday. It's the second such attack against Nigerien soldiers in a week.
During the month after Niger’s military seized power, violence primarily linked to extremists soared by more than 40%, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Jihadi attacks targeting civilians quadrupled in August compared with the month before, and attacks against security forces spiked in the Tillaberi region, killing at least 40 soldiers, the project reported.
Read: At least 103 wedding guests killed when boat capsizes in northern Nigeria
“This attack unfortunately caused the loss of several of our valiant soldiers,” Mody said Monday. “The provisional assessment of this attack is as follows: on the friendly side, 29 soldiers fell. … On the enemy side, several dozen terrorists were neutralized, fifteen motorcycles destroyed, a large quantity of weapons and ammunition seized.”
The junta, which took over power after a July coup against Niger’s democratically elected government, declared a three-day national mourning period for the dead.
It repeated claims made in the past that “destabilization operations” were being carried out by “certain foreign powers with the complicity of Nigerien traitors,” without further details or proof.
Read: Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu sworn in as president
Under growing pressure since the coup against Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, which the military said was carried out because of Niger’s security challenges, the junta promised that “all efforts will be made to guarantee the security of people and their property throughout the national territory.”
Niger has battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for years. And the junta’s capacity to improve Niger’s security has increasingly been questioned recently as attacks have increased since mutinous soldiers toppled in July.
Niger was seen as one of the last democratic countries in Africa’s Sahel region that Western nations could partner with to beat back the jihadi insurgency in the vast expanse below the Sahara Desert. The United States, France and other European countries poured hundreds of millions of dollars into shoring up the Nigerien military.
Read more: Death toll tops 80 after attack in north Nigeria; 7 suspects arrested
Maldives president-elect says he's committed to removing the Indian military from the archipelago
The president-elect of the Maldives said he will stick to his campaign promise to remove Indian military personnel stationed in the archipelago state, promising he would initiate the process.
Mohamed Muiz told his supporters gathered Monday night at a celebration of his election victory that he wouldn't stand for a foreign military staying in the Maldives against the will of its citizens.
“The people have told us that they don't want foreign military here,” he said.
It’s a serious blow to India in its geopolitical rivalry with China in the India Ocean region, where the Maldives' presidential runoff election Saturday was seen as a virtual referendum on which of the regional powers would have the biggest influence on the archipelago. Outgoing President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who was elected president in 2018, was battling allegations by Muiz that he had allowed India an unchecked presence in the country. Muiz’s party, the People’s National Congress, is viewed as heavily pro-China.
Read: President, PM extend greetings to Maldives president-elect
Muiz's main campaign theme was about an alleged threat to the Maldives' sovereignty by some Indian military personnel on an island, part of the party's yearslong “India out” strategy.
Solih insisted that the Indian military’s presence in the Maldives was only to build a dockyard under an agreement between the two governments and that his country’s sovereignty won’t be violated.
Former President Abdulla Yameen, leader of the People’s National Congress, made the Maldives a part of China’s Belt and Road initiative during his presidency from 2013 to 2018. The initiative is meant to build railroads, ports and highways to expand trade — and China’s influence — across Asia, Africa and Europe.
Read: Jailed Maldives' ex-president transferred to house arrest after his party candidate wins presidency
Yameen was transferred Sunday from prison to house arrest, already fulfilling one of Muiz's campaign promises before he officially takes office on Nov. 17.
The Maldives is made up of 1,200 coral islands in the Indian Ocean, located by the main shipping route between the East and the West.
Read more: Maldives opposition candidate Mohamed Muiz wins the presidential runoff, local media say