Asia
13 killed in India bus accident
At least 13 people died after a commuter bus fell off a bridge into a river in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Monday, police said. More than 40 people, including a driver and a conductor, were on board the bus when it veered off the road and plunged into the Narmada river after breaching the railing of the bridge at Khalghat in Dhar district, some 260 kms from state capital Bhopal.
"The accident occurred when the driver lost control of the bus amid light showers. The government-owned bus was on its way to the neighbouring state of Maharashtra," a police officer told the local media.
"Some 13 bodies have been fished out of the river, while we could manage to save 15 lives. The rescue operation is on," he said.
Read:India records over 20,000 COVID-19 cases for third day
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took to Twitter to express grief over the loss of lives in the accident. "Instructions have been given to make arrangements for proper treatment of the injured," he wrote.
"A probe has been ordered into the tragic accident," the police officer said.
Road accidents are common in India, with one taking place every four minutes. These accidents are blamed on poor roads, rash driving and scant regard for traffic laws.
The Indian government's implementation of stricter traffic laws in recent years has failed to rein in accidents, which claim over 100,000 lives every year.
Sri Lanka acting president declares emergency amid protests
Sri Lanka’s acting president on Monday declared a state of emergency giving him broad authority amid growing protests demanding his resignation two days before the country’s lawmakers are set to elect a new president.
Ranil Wickremesinghe became acting president on Friday after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled abroad on Wednesday and resigned after months-long mass protests over the country’s economic collapse.
Wickremesinghe’s move to impose a state of emergency comes as protests demanding his resignation too have continued in most parts of the country, with some protesters burning his effigy.
Lawmakers who met on Saturday began the process of electing a new leader to serve the rest of the term abandoned by Rajapaksa. Nominations for the election of the new president will be heard on Tuesday, and if there is more than one candidate the lawmakers will vote on Wednesday.
Read: Sri Lanka begins choosing leader to replace ex-president
The emergency decree issued by Wickremesinghe invokes sections of the Public Security Ordinance that allow him to make regulations in the interests of public security, the preservation of public order, the suppression of mutiny, riot or civil commotion, or for the maintenance of essential supplies.
Under the emergency regulations, Wickremesinghe can authorize detentions, take possession of any property and search any premises. He can also change or suspend any law.
The South Indian island nation is engulfed in an unprecedented economic crisis that has triggered political uncertainty.
Sri Lanka has run short of money to pay for imports of basic necessities such as food, fertilizer, medicine and fuel for its 22 million people. Its rapid economic decline has been all the more shocking because before the crisis the economy had been expanding, with a growing, comfortable middle class.
Sri Lanka is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund and other creditors, but top officials say its finances are so poor that even obtaining a bailout has proven difficult.
The economic hardships led to political upheaval and widespread protests demanding the government led by Rajapaksa step down. Although many ministers resigned in April, Rajapaksa had remained in power until last week.
The main protests have occurred in the capital, Colombo, where protesters occupied the front of the president’s office for more than 100 days.
The protesters accuse Rajapaksa and his powerful political family of siphoning money from government coffers and of hastening the country’s collapse by mismanaging the economy. The family has denied the corruption allegations, but Rajapaksa acknowledged that some of his policies contributed to Sri Lanka’s meltdown.
Rajapaksa flew first to the Maldives on Wednesday and then to Singapore.
Voting underway to elect new India President
Voting is underway in India to elect a new President, in a high-octane contest where over 4,500 lawmakers across the country are eligible to exercise their franchise.
The front-runner is ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate Droupadi Murmu, a tribal politician and a former state governor. She is being challenged by opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, a former Finance Minister.
In India, the President is elected not directly by the people but by the members of both Houses of Parliament -- the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha -- and state assemblies and federal government-ruled Territories.
Like in Bangladesh, the Indian President is the ceremonial head of state who does not exercise executive powers.
Read: Bengal governor likely to become India's Vice-President
The counting of votes will be held on July 21 and India's 15th President will take oath of office on July 25, replacing incumbent head of state Ram Nath Kovind, according to the Election Commission of India.
Murmu, a former teacher hailing from the eastern state of Odisha, is projected to win as President, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party and its coalition partners commanding over 48% of the electoral vote.
If elected, the 64-year-old will be youngest and first tribal President of India.
Who's Murmu?
Born in independent India on June 20 in 1958, Murmu completed her graduation in 1979 and began her career as a government employee before becoming a school teacher.
She subsequently made a foray into the eastern Indian state of Odisha's politics, first as a local civic body councillor and then as a legislator.
The two-term legislator went on to become a minister in the state government in 2000. And some 15 years later, Murmu was sworn in as the first woman Governor of the eastern state of Jharkhand.
In her personal life, Murmu lost her husband and their two sons. While her husband died of a cardiac arrest, one of her two sons was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 2009. She has a daughter.
China floods leave at least 12 dead, thousands evacuated
Flash floods in southwest and northwest China have left at least a dozen dead and put thousands of others in harm's way, state media reported Sunday.
In the southwestern province of Sichuan, at least six people have died and another 12 are missing after torrential rain triggered flash floods, state-owned news outlet CGTN reported.
Some 1,300 people had been evacuated as of Saturday, the report said.
Meanwhile, in Longnan city in the northwestern province of Gansu, another six deaths were reported and 3,000 people have been evacuated, state broadcaster CCTV said. Rainfall in 1 1/2 day was as much as 98.9 millimeters (3.9 inches) in the worst affected areas, almost double the July average.
The rains come amid a heat wave in parts of the country including eastern Zhejiang province and the city of Shanghai, with temperatures soaring as high as 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit) last week.
Experts say such extreme weather events are becoming more likely because of climate change. Warmer air can store more water, leading to bigger cloudbursts when it’s released.
The flooding adds to economic woes brought on partly by stringent “zero-COVID” measures restricting travel and disrupting supply chains.
China is not the only country experiencing extreme weather this summer. In Germany, low water levels in the Rhine due to droughts have disrupted the supply chain for commodities into the country. Heat waves have also hit the southern part of the U.S., with temperatures expected to soar over 38 C (100 F) in coming days.
Bengal governor likely to become India's Vice-President
Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar is likely to become the country's next Vice-President, with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday naming him as its candidate for the coveted constitutional post.
"Dhankhar is a 'kisan putra' (son of a farmer) who established himself as people's governor," party chief JP Nadda told the media, following the ruling outfit's parliamentary board meeting in Delhi this evening.
The country's vice-presidential polls are slated for August.
Born on 18 May, 1951, in Kithana, a small village in the western state of Rajasthan, to a farmer family, Dhankhar completed his graduation in law and entered politics at a young age.
He subsequently became a member of the Rajasthan state assembly and then India's Parliament. He also served as a senior advocate with India's Supreme Court.
The Vice-President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament -- the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and the Lok Sabha (Lower House).
The incumbent Vice-President, Venkaiah Naidu's five-year term ends on August 10.
Sudan says 31 killed in tribal clashes in Blue Nile province
At least 31 people were killed in tribal clashes in a Sudanese southern province, authorities said, the latest bloodshed in a country in turmoil since an October military coup.
The fighting between the Hausa and Birta ethnic groups in the Blue Nile province grew out of the killing of a farmer earlier this week, according to a statement from the local government late Friday.
The clashes also left at least 39 people injured and damaged some 16 shops shops in the town of Roseires, it said.
The local government deployed the military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — or RSF — to bring stability to the region.
Authorities also imposed a nightly curfew and banned gatherings in the area where the clashes took place.
Read: Sudan's top general lifts state of emergency from coup
The violence came amid chaos in Sudan since the military’s took over in October, removing a transitional government that ruled the country since a popular uprising forced the overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
The coup upended the country’s transition to democracy and raised questions about military leaders’ ability to bring security to Sudan’s far-reaching areas. In April, tribal clashes killed over 200 people in war-wrecked Darfur.
Gunmen kill 10 traders, hurt 2, in Indonesia's restive Papua
Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels killed 10 traders and wounded two others in an attack Saturday in Indonesia’s restive Papua province, police said.
Clashes have escalated in country's the easternmost province since last year, when rebels set fire to several schools and killed two teachers.
Attackers were believed to be members of the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization, police said.
Read: Indonesian troops kill Papuan rebel commander
About 20 gunmen stormed the village of Nogolait in Nduga district while a grocer was preparing to open his wares. They shot him and seven other traders who were on an open freight truck, along with four passersby, said Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal.
He said that most of the victims, all men, were immigrants from other Indonesian islands. Security forces found the bodies scattered in four separate areas.
Seven men were killed instantly while three others died at a nearby clinic, Kamal said. He said police and the military were searching for the attackers.
A spokesperson for the Free Papua Organization couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
On many occasions, rebel spokesman Sebby Sambom has said the group’s fighters had warned civilians to leave areas the rebels consider a “war zone.” He also urged workers to leave all Indonesian government projects, or they would be considered part of security forces.
Papua is a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces have raged for years.
Indonesia’s government, which for decades had a policy of sending Javanese and other Indonesians to settle in Papua, is now trying to spur economic development to dampen the separatist movement.
In March, rebel gunmen killed eight technicians repairing a remote telecommunications tower. In December 2018, at least 31 construction workers and a soldier were killed in one of the worst attacks in the province.
India records over 20,000 COVID-19 cases for third day
India on Saturday recorded over 20,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day, officials said.
According to federal health ministry data released on Saturday morning, 20,044 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,730,071.
Read: Covid claims five more lives in Bangladesh, infects 1,007 others
With the new infections, India's active caseload stands currently at 140,760.
The South Asian country also logged 56 deaths from the pandemic during the cited period, bringing the death toll to 525,660 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Currently the daily positivity rate stands at 4.80 percent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.40 percent, the ministry data showed.
Macao extends lockdown to curb biggest COVID-19 outbreak
The Chinese gambling enclave of Macao on Saturday extended its lockdown by five days as it grapples with the biggest outbreak of the coronavirus in over two years.
Authorities said that industries and commercial companies will remain closed until July 23. The lockdown, which began July 11, had initially been set to expire Sunday.
As part of the lockdown, authorities have suspended dine-in services and ordered all residents to avoid leaving their homes unless absolutely necessary. Those who need to go out must wear KN95 masks or similar.
The city, which has a population of 680,000, recorded 31 infections on Friday. Since its latest outbreak that began June 18, the city has reported some 1,700 infections.
Read: G20 finance leaders in Bali to tackle Ukraine, inflation
The government also said in a separate statement that it would allocate 10 billion patacas ($1.24 billion) as handouts for businesses affected by the outbreak.
Casinos, which are the city’s largest employers and the main income generator for the government, were initially allowed to operate in spite of the flare in cases in June but have since been ordered to close as part of the lockdown last week.
G20 finance leaders in Bali to tackle Ukraine, inflation
Top financial officials from the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations met on the Indonesian island of Bali on Friday seeking strategies to counter inflation, food insecurity and other troubles that have worsened due to the war in Ukraine.
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati opened the two-day meeting by urging fellow finance ministers, central bank chiefs and other leaders to find ways to “build bridges, not walls.” The consequences of failure, especially for less wealthy nations, would be “catastrophic,” she said. “Millions and millions if not billions of people are depending on us."
In their closed door meetings, the financial leaders are searching for ways to coordinate how they shepherd their economies through inflation that is running at 40-year highs, unsnarling supply chains and bottlenecks due to the coronavirus pandemic and fortifying financial systems against future risks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for the G-20 to take action to fight food insecurity as millions go hungry due to soaring costs for food and other necessities. It is crucial, she said, to avoid stockpiling and export bans, to provide financial help to the needy and to ensure all organizations, such as development banks and food agencies, do their part to alleviate hunger.
“The speed and wisdom of our decisions now will make the difference on whether we get the current crisis under control," Yellen said. “The G-20 must work together to tackle these challenges and protect vulnerable families from the threat of hunger today and tomorrow."
Indonesia is among the developing countries contending with shortages and rising prices of fuel and grain due to the war and it says the G-20 has a responsibility to step up and ensure the rules-based global order remains relevant.
Read: G20 make commitments on climate neutrality, coal financing
This week's meetings in Bali's heavily guarded Nusa Dua resort town follow a gathering there of foreign ministers earlier this month that failed to find common ground over Russia’s war in Ukraine and its global impacts.
At that meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were present in the same room at the same time for the first time since the Ukraine war began but they pointedly ignored each other.
A G-20 finance meeting in Washington, D.C. in April saw officials from the U.S., Britain, France, Canada and Ukraine walk out to protest the attendance of Russian envoys. That meeting ended without the release of a joint statement.
Caught in the middle as host, Indonesia has urged officials from all sides to overcome mistrust for the sake of a planet confronting multiple challenges from the coronavirus to climate change to Ukraine.
G-20 financial meetings have the advantage of being less political in nature, Indrawati said. She said Indonesia, as host, has tried to act as an “honest broker," uniting a divided East and West, but there's no “playbook" for how to find agreement given the unprecedented tensions over the war.
Still, the G-20 managed to bridge differences in coping with the 2008 global financial crisis and the pandemic, Indrawati said.
Also read: G20 leaders to tackle energy prices, other economic woes
One key goal for Yellen and some other Western financial officials is gaining support for setting a price cap on Russian oil that might help bring energy costs under control and alleviate the decades-high inflation seen in many countries while also limiting Moscow's access to revenues to fund its war effort.
Yellen said Thursday that no price had yet been determined for such a cap, but the level would have to be one “that clearly gives Russia an incentive to continue to produce, that would make production profitable for Russia.”
Without a price cap, a European Union and probably a U.S. ban on providing insurance and other financial services would take effect.
Yellen said she was “hopeful” that countries such as China and India that recently boosted imports of Russian crude oil, sold at steep discounts, would see it as being in their own self-interest to observe the price cap.