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At least 20 people were killed and around two dozen others injured early Monday when a truck loaded with concrete stone chips crashed into a passenger bus in southern India, officials said. The state-run transport bus, carrying about 70 passengers to Hyderabad in Telangana state, was struck head-on by the truck near the town of Chevalla, district official K. Chandrakala told The Associated Press. The impact left the front portion of the bus severely damaged, trapping several passengers inside. Rajendra Prasad, superintendent of Chevalla Hospital, said 20 bodies had been sent to the morgue and would be handed over to families after identification. The incident occurred a day after another fatal road crash in the western state of Rajasthan, where a minibus collided with a parked truck late Sunday, killing at least 15 people and injuring two others. Authorities said the passengers were returning to Jodhpur from the pilgrimage town of Kolayat after offering prayers to a Hindu deity. Among the victims were 10 women, four children, and the driver, according to senior official Shweta Chauhan. The injured were admitted to a local hospital. Chauhan said the victims were trapped in the twisted wreckage of the minibus following the impact. Senior police officer Kundan Kanwaria said the driver was attempting to overtake another vehicle when he rammed into the stationary truck. “It appears the driver couldn’t brake before hitting the truck,” Kanwaria said. In India, trucks and trailers are often parked carelessly along highways without warning signs or reflectors, posing serious hazards for night-time drivers and causing numerous deadly accidents in recent years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, expressed condolences to the victims’ families. The Rajasthan crash occurred less than three weeks after a suspected short circuit triggered a fire on a passenger bus in the same state, killing at least 20 people.

United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him Beijing would not attempt to take any military action against Taiwan while he remains in office. Trump made the remarks during an interview aired Sunday on CBS’s 60 Minutes, following his first in-person meeting with Xi in six years. The two leaders met Thursday in South Korea, where discussions focused largely on US-China trade relations. According to Trump, the Taiwan issue “never even came up as a subject” during the meeting. “He has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” he told CBS. Asked whether he would order U.S. forces to respond if China moved militarily on Taiwan, Trump declined to give a direct answer. “You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that,” he said, adding, “I can’t give away my secrets. The other side knows.” Strategic ambiguity on Taiwan Successive U.S. administrations — both Republican and Democratic — have upheld a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan, avoiding a clear commitment to military intervention while maintaining support for the island’s defense. Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is not legally bound to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack but is required to provide it with sufficient means to protect itself and to oppose any unilateral attempts by Beijing to alter the island’s status. Beijing reiterates sovereignty claim Responding to queries from The Associated Press, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, did not confirm whether any assurances were given to Trump. However, he reaffirmed China’s firm stance that Taiwan remains an inseparable part of its territory. “The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair and the core of China’s core interests. How to resolve it is a matter for the Chinese people themselves, and only the Chinese people can decide it,” Liu said in a statement, adding that “China will never allow any person or force to separate Taiwan from China in any way.” No comment from White House The White House did not provide details on when Xi or other Chinese officials may have conveyed the assurance Trump referred to. The CBS interview also marked Trump’s first appearance on 60 Minutes since settling a lawsuit earlier this year against the network over its 2024 election coverage. Trump had accused CBS of editing an interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris in a way that unfairly favored Democrats. He initially sought $10 billion in damages before later raising the claim to $20 billion. Source: Al Zazeera

Nigeria has firmly rejected any potential U.S. military intervention following President Donald Trump’s recent warning over alleged persecution of Christians in the West African nation. A spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu said Sunday that the United States cannot unilaterally conduct military operations in Nigeria, describing Trump’s comments as being based on misleading reports. Daniel Bwala, Tinubu’s spokesman, told The Associated Press that Trump’s warning appeared to reflect his typical “forceful approach” aimed at compelling dialogue. Trump on Saturday claimed he had instructed the Pentagon to begin planning for possible action in Nigeria, alleging widespread attacks on Christians. Trump’s ‘guns blazing’ threat Reiterating his stance, Trump accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians, warning that Washington would halt aid and could even “go in guns-a-blazing” to “wipe out the Islamic terrorists” responsible for the violence. He also announced Nigeria’s designation as a “country of particular concern” — a formal U.S. classification for nations accused of violating religious freedom — following calls from Senator Ted Cruz and several U.S. celebrities who alleged, without evidence, that a “Christian genocide” was underway. However, The Associated Press reported that both Christians and Muslims are victims of Nigeria’s long-running security crises, with attacks often driven by geography and local conflicts rather than religion. Nigeria denies Christian persecution Bwala dismissed the U.S. claims as outdated, saying they rely on reports from more than a decade ago when Boko Haram began its insurgency to impose its version of Shariah law. “Military operations in Nigeria can only happen through mutual agreement between two sovereign leaders. It cannot be a unilateral decision,” he said. President Tinubu has also rejected Trump’s designation, reaffirming his commitment to work with Washington and other partners to protect communities of all faiths. Joseph Hayab, a former chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna state, likewise dismissed allegations of systematic persecution, though he urged the government to strengthen security in violence-prone areas. Shared suffering across faiths Nigeria has for years battled widespread insecurity that affects both Christians and Muslims, who make up roughly equal parts of its 220 million population. Much of the violence in the north has been driven by Boko Haram insurgents and by armed groups — often former herders — who have taken up weapons against farming communities after years of land disputes. “The crisis is far more complex than a simple religious framing suggests. Geography largely determines who becomes the victim,” said Taiwo Hassan Adebayo, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies. Nigeria’s military continues to launch air strikes and special operations targeting armed gangs, while Tinubu has recently overhauled the nation’s security leadership to strengthen counterinsurgency efforts. Massive state failure Analysts say that while the religious persecution narrative is exaggerated, the Nigerian state has failed to act decisively against armed groups. “In too many cases, perpetrators have escaped punishment. The impunity is a clear sign of massive state failure,” said Cheta Nwanze, a partner at Lagos-based SBM Intelligence. Adebayo warned that Nigeria must address its security challenges more effectively to avoid external interference. “The criticism from Washington did not emerge in a vacuum,” he said. “It stems from years of inaction.” Source: AP

Five German mountaineers died after being hit by an avalanche in South Tyrol, in northern Italy, rescuers said on Sunday. Three victims — two men and a woman — had already been recovered dead on Saturday, while the bodies of two other missing people, a man and his 17-year-old daughter, were found on Sunday morning. “They had been dragged to the lower part of the gully where the avalanche occurred,” said Alpine rescue spokesman Federico Catania. “Rescue teams are now returning to the valley, also considering the worsening weather conditions at high altitude.” The mountaineers, all Germans, were hit by the avalanche at about 4 p.m. on Saturday while climbing near the Cima Vertana, in the Ortles mountains, at an altitude of more than 3,500 meters (11,500 feet). It is unknown why the climbers were still on their way up at this relatively late hour, rescuers said. According to initial information, the climbers were in three groups and were traveling independently of each other. Two men survived the accident and were taken by helicopter to a hospital in the near city of Bolzano. South Tyrol is a popular region for mountaineering among tourists from Germany. The region’s highest peak is Ortles, which rises to 3,905 meters. Avalanche accidents are a persistent issue in the Italian Alps, with the country registering one of the higher 10-year average annual death tolls among major ski nations. Victims are frequently ski mountaineers or freeriders. Some analysis suggests that the number of accidents has increased in recent years possibly due to more people heading to backcountry areas immediately after fresh snowfall.

More than a century after they were written, messages in a bottle penned by two Australian soldiers in 1916 have been discovered along the country’s south-western coastline. The letters, written just days into their voyage to join the battlefields of France during World War One, carried light-hearted notes. Pte Malcolm Neville told his mother that the food on board was “real good” and that they were “as happy as Larry.” He was later killed in action at the age of 28. The other soldier, 37-year-old Pte William Harley, survived the war and eventually returned home. Earlier this month, local resident Deb Brown and her family found the bottle on Wharton Beach near Esperance, Western Australia, during one of their regular quad bike trips to clean up litter. “We do a lot of cleaning up on our beaches and so would never go past a piece of rubbish. So this little bottle was lying there waiting to be picked up,” Ms Brown told the Associated Press. Though the paper was damp, both notes were still readable. Ms Brown began tracing the soldiers’ families to return the long-lost letters. She found Pte Neville’s great-nephew, Herbie Neville, after searching his name and hometown online, as the soldier had included his mother’s address in the message. Mr Neville told ABC News the experience was “unbelievable” for his family. Pte Harley’s letter, meanwhile, was addressed “to whoever found the bottle” since his mother had passed away years earlier. His granddaughter, Ann Turner, said she and his four other surviving grandchildren were “absolutely stunned” by the discovery. “It really does feel like a miracle and we do very much feel like our grandfather has reached out for us from the grave,” she said. The letter mentioned the bottle had been thrown “somewhere in the Bight,” referring to the Great Australian Bight. According to an oceanography professor quoted by ABC, it may have drifted only a few weeks before washing up at Wharton Beach, where it likely remained buried for over a century. With inputs from BBC

United States President Donald Trump will host Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on November 10, marking the first visit by a Syrian president to the US capital in over eight decades. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said the visit aims to open a “new chapter” in Syria-US relations. “President Ahmed al-Sharaa will be at the White House at the start of November. This is a historic visit, the first by a Syrian president in more than 80 years. Key issues on the table will include lifting sanctions and forging a strong partnership between the two countries,” he said during a speech in Bahrain on Sunday. According to US news outlet Axios, al-Sharaa is expected to sign an agreement during his visit to join an international US-led alliance against ISIL (ISIS). Al-Sharaa, who took power from Bashar al-Assad in December, has been working to re-establish Syria’s relations with global powers that had largely isolated Damascus under Assad’s rule. He previously met Trump in Saudi Arabia in May, the first such meeting between leaders of the two nations in 25 years. Al-Sharaa also addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. He previously led a Syrian offshoot of al-Qaeda, which later broke away and fought ISIL. Al-Sharaa had been targeted with a $10 million US reward and was imprisoned by US forces in Iraq before joining the Syrian war. The US-led coalition, alongside local partners, eventually expelled ISIL from its last stronghold in Syria in 2019. His planned Washington visit comes as Trump urges Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build lasting peace following last month’s ceasefire and captives exchange between Israel and Hamas, which aims to end Israel’s two-year war in Gaza. Syria and Israel are also in talks to secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes in Syrian territory and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Syria, according to Damascus. Source: AP

Survivors and aid agencies have reported widespread killings, abuse and disappearances after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized el-Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, raising fears of a new humanitarian catastrophe. El-Fasher, the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in Darfur, fell to the RSF on Sunday after an 18-month siege. Since then, the United Nations and international aid organisations have warned of mass killings, rape, and other atrocities. Alkheir Ismail, a young man who fled to Tawila, about 50 km from el-Fasher, recounted how RSF fighters stopped a group of 300 people as they tried to escape. Only he survived after being recognised by one of the captors. “There was a young man I studied with in Khartoum University. He told them, ‘Don’t kill him.’ After that, the rest of the youths with me were killed,” he said. Other survivors described being humiliated, beaten, and robbed. Tahani Hassan said RSF fighters assaulted her and threw their clothes on the ground. Fatima Abdulrahim, who fled with her grandchildren after walking five days under harsh conditions, said RSF fighters took all their possessions, and later learned that other girls in the group were raped. Rawaa Abdalla, another survivor, said her father remains missing. RSF head Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo later urged fighters to protect civilians and promised violations would be prosecuted. The RSF claimed to have arrested soldiers accused of abuses, but the UN questioned their commitment to investigating violations. High-level RSF commanders dismissed survivor accounts as “media exaggeration” aimed at covering the army’s defeat. Both the RSF and the Sudanese army have faced repeated war crimes accusations during the conflict, which has killed tens of thousands, displaced around 14 million people, and triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN. Widespread famine and outbreaks of cholera and other deadly diseases are also reported. More than 62,000 people fled el-Fasher between Sunday and Wednesday. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said only about 5,000 reached Tawila, with many others believed to have been “killed, blocked, or hunted down” while trying to flee. MSF reported acute malnutrition among nearly all children under five who arrived on October 27. Survivors told aid agencies that RSF fighters separated people by gender, age, or ethnicity, held many for ransom, and in some cases killed those unable to pay. UNFPA confirmed at least 460 people were killed at the el-Fasher maternity hospital on October 29. In North Kordofan, over 36,000 people have fled the Bara locality, captured by the RSF last week. UN officials warned of killings and sexual violence in the area, with the region expected to be the next battleground. Mohammed Elsheikh of the Sudan Doctors Network described the dire conditions of fleeing civilians, citing extreme temperatures and unsafe desert roads. Bara has seen intense fighting, with previous RSF attacks in July killing nearly 300 people, including children and pregnant women. Source: AP

The United States and China have agreed to establish direct military-to-military communication channels, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday, describing bilateral ties as “never better.” Hegseth said he discussed the issue with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, late Saturday on the sidelines of a regional security meeting. The two officials agreed that “peace, stability and good relations are the best path for our two great and strong countries,” Hegseth noted in a post on X. Earlier, Hegseth had urged Southeast Asian nations to strengthen their maritime forces to counter what he described as China’s increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea. “China’s sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea contradict their commitments to resolve disputes peacefully,” he said at a meeting with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Saturday. He added, “We seek peace. We do not seek conflict. But we must ensure that China is not seeking to dominate you or anybody else.” The South China Sea remains one of Asia’s most volatile flashpoints. China claims nearly the entire region, while ASEAN members including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei also assert ownership of coastal areas and features. The Philippines, a key U.S. ally, has frequently clashed with China’s maritime fleet. Manila has repeatedly called for a stronger regional response, but ASEAN has traditionally sought to balance caution with its economic ties to Beijing, the region’s largest trading partner. Hegseth also said he spoke with President Donald Trump, and the two agreed that “the relationship between the U.S. and China has never been better.” Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea earlier this week, Hegseth added, “set the tone for lasting peace and success for the U.S. and China.” Analysts said the contrasting messages — a firm warning at the ASEAN meeting and conciliatory remarks online — reflect Washington’s effort to balance deterrence with diplomacy amid rising tensions with Beijing. “This is damage control. More importantly, it reflects two currents in U.S.-China relations — one viewing China as a threat and another as a potential partner,” said Southeast Asian political analyst Bridget Welsh. At the ASEAN meeting, Hegseth criticized Beijing’s recent declaration of the Scarborough Shoal, seized from the Philippines in 2012, as a “nature reserve,” calling it “yet another attempt to coerce new and expanded territorial and maritime claims at your expense.” He urged ASEAN to finalize a long-delayed Code of Conduct with China to govern behavior in the sea and proposed shared maritime surveillance and rapid-response systems to deter provocation. A “shared maritime domain awareness” network, he said, would ensure that any member facing aggression “is not alone.” Hegseth also welcomed an ASEAN-U.S. maritime exercise planned for December to strengthen regional coordination and uphold freedom of navigation. China has rejected U.S. criticism, accusing Washington of interfering in regional affairs and provoking tensions through its military presence. Chinese officials maintain that their patrols and construction activities are lawful and aimed at securing what they consider Chinese territory. On Saturday, Chinese officials criticized the Philippines for being a “troublemaker” after Manila conducted joint naval and air drills with the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand in the South China Sea. The two-day exercise, which ended Friday, was the 12th such operation the Philippines has carried out with partner nations since last year to protect its claims in the disputed waters. Tian Junli, spokesperson of China’s People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command, said the drills “seriously undermined regional peace and stability” and accused the Philippines of being “a saboteur of regional stability.”   Source: AP

The foreign ministers of Germany, Jordan, and the United Kingdom on Saturday called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis after a paramilitary force seized the last major city in Darfur. At the Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described the situation in el-Fasher as “truly horrifying,” citing mass killings, starvation, and sexual violence against civilians, particularly women and children. She stressed that “no amount of aid can resolve a crisis of this magnitude until the guns fall silent.” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described Sudan’s situation as “absolutely apocalyptic” and directly condemned the violence by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in el-Fasher. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi echoed the concern, saying Sudan has not received the international attention it deserves and calling the crisis “of inhumane proportions.” United Nations officials reported that RSF fighters have killed more than 450 people at a hospital in el-Fasher, with reports of ethnically targeted killings and sexual assaults. While the RSF has denied responsibility, survivor accounts, satellite images, and social media videos indicate widespread violence in the city. The ministers’ statements come amid rising international concern over the conflict in Sudan, which has escalated into one of the largest humanitarian crises of the 21st century. Earlier this week, Bahrain revoked The Associated Press’s accreditation to cover the summit, following a story on the hunger strike of long-detained activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. Al-Khawaja ended the strike after receiving letters from the European Union and Denmark, his daughter Maryam said.  

Foreign ministers from Germany, Jordan, and the United Kingdom on Saturday called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, describing the situation as catastrophic following a paramilitary takeover of the last major city in the Darfur region. United Nations officials have reported that fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the city of El-Fasher, allegedly killing more than 450 people in a hospital, alongside ethnically targeted killings and sexual assaults. While the RSF denies the hospital killings, survivors, satellite images, and videos circulating on social media indicate widespread violence in the city. Speaking at the Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper highlighted the scale of the humanitarian disaster. “Mass executions, starvation, and the use of rape as a weapon of war are devastating women and children in what is becoming the largest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century,” she said. Cooper emphasized that “no amount of aid can resolve a crisis of this magnitude until the guns fall silent.” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described Sudan’s situation as “absolutely apocalyptic,” while Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi noted that the country has not received adequate international attention. “A humanitarian crisis of inhumane proportions has taken place there. We’ve got to stop that,” he said. Earlier in the week, Bahrain revoked an accreditation for The Associated Press to cover the summit following a review, coinciding with reporting on activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who had begun an open-ended hunger strike over his long detention. Al-Khawaja ended his strike on Friday after receiving letters from the European Union and Denmark, his daughter Maryam al-Khawaja said.   Source: AP