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An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 jolted Japan's Kyushu island on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake hit around 20:32 (local time) at a depth of 28.3km. According to the data by USGS, the epicenter was monitored at 31.322 degrees north latitude and 131.457 degrees east longitude. No casualties have been reported so far.  Kyushu is the southwesternmost of Japan's main islands with a subtropical climate, mostly. The region is majorly known for its active volcanoes, beaches and natural hot springs. (ANI)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Sunday said that the riot and ensuing stampede at a football match in Indonesia that killed 174 people is a "dark day" for the sport.  The violence broke out at a stadium in East Java during a game between Arema and Persebaya Surabaya. At least 174 people died in the stampede, Deputy East Java Governor Emil Dardak told local media on Sunday afternoon.  Other official or government-backed sources put the number between 129 and 182. The resulting stampede led to cases of suffocation. After the match in East Java province between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya ended on Saturday night, supporters from the losing team invaded the pitch to express their frustration, police said.  FIFA issued an official statement in which President Gianni Infantino said that the football world is in a state of shock following the tragic incidents. "The football world is in a state of shock following the tragic incidents that have taken place in Indonesia at the end of the match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya at the Kanjuruhan Stadium," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in an official statement released by FIFA. "This is a dark day for all involved in football and a tragedy beyond comprehension. I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims who lost their lives following this tragic incident," he added.  "Together with FIFA and the global football community, all our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, those who have been injured, together with the people of the Republic of Indonesia, the Asian Football Confederation, the Indonesian Football Association, and the Indonesian Football League, at this difficult time," Gianni said.  Many of the top football clubs around the world, including Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United, and PSG among others expressed condolences to the families affected by the horrific incident. (ANI)

As human rights violations across the war-torn country continue under the Taliban regime, residents of Wardak province of Afghanistan called on the organization to reopen the schools for girls above grade six.  As women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a human rights crisis, a teacher in the central province of Wardak, Shukria Husseini launched a campaign to encourage girls to get education in Afghanistan. "I was the first woman to encourage girls to get education. Now I am very sad that they can't study," she said as she called out the Taliban to reopen the schools for girls in grades 7-12 as soon as possible. "As the girls above grade six are not allowed to go to the schools, the families also prevent their daughters below grade six from going to school. They say when the girls above grade six can't be educated, these girls below grade six also cannot be educated," Husseini added.  Several human rights and education activists had urged world leaders in an open letter recently to mount diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to reopen secondary schools for girls in the war-torn country as the Taliban's brutal regime in Afghanistan will soon complete a year in August.  World leaders, regional allies, and international organizations were urged in the letter to take serious actions to fulfill their commitments in order to promote and protect Afghan girls' rights, especially the right to education which was snatched away from them after the Taliban-led Afghan government banned the education for girls in classes 6 and above.  Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions on women and girls' rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and movement. The Taliban's decision to ban female students above grade six from school has drawn widespread criticism at the national and international levels.  Further, the Taliban regime which took over Kabul in August last year has curtailed women's rights and freedoms, with women largely excluded from the workforce due to the economic crisis and restrictions. As a result, women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a human rights crisis, deprived of the fundamental rights to non-discrimination, education, work, public participation and health. (ANI)

A huge avalanche hit Nepal's Manaslu Base Camp on Sunday. The incident was confirmed by Tashi Sherpa who was trying to climb the eighth-highest mountain in the world at 8,163 metres.  In a video shared by Tashi, avalanches can be seen descending toward the base camp. He further divulged that few tents were destroyed in the avalanche with one person missing. Some of the expedition companies are calling off their attempt for the season. Notably, it comes a week after the last one, which had left two persons dead.  According to the Tourism Department of Nepal, over a dozen people were injured, including an Indian after an avalanche ripped through just below camp 4 on September 26. The weather has not been great throughout the season.  An avalanche occurred in the mountain a few days ago also. Over 400 permits were issued by the Department of Tourism to climb Manaslu this year. An avalanche (also known as a snow slide) is a fast-moving snow flow down a slope, such as a hill or a mountain.  Avalanches may occur spontaneously, as a result of variables such as excessive precipitation or a decreasing snowpack, or as a result of external sources such as people, animals, and earthquakes. Large avalanches mostly made up of moving snow and air, have the power to catch and transport ice, rocks, and trees. It is caused by a number of factors, such as heavy snowfall, increased human activities, wind direction, steep slopes, warm temperatures, layers of snow, and earthquakes.  Notably, the Indian Army and the Defense Geoinformatics and Research Establishment (DGRE) have jointly installed the Avalanche Monitoring Radar, the first of its kind in India, in north Sikkim in September this year. Besides being used for the detection of avalanches, this radar can also be employed to detect landslides.  The avalanche radar was made operational by the Defense Research and Development Organization's wing DGRE, which is involved in forecasting and mitigating avalanche hazards faced by the Indian Army in the Himalayan region. (ANI)

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to visit China in the last week of November, local media reported. "Last minute details are being worked upon, but the visit is very much on," sources told on Saturday.  Meanwhile, the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing hosted an event on floods in Pakistan to lay stress on the need for proactive climate action and international solidarity to mitigate the effects of climate change. "Delighted to host representatives of multilateral organizations, Chinese think tank and academia at the embassy. Briefed them on recent floods in Pakistan and Pakistan's vulnerability to climate change. Touched by their desire to contribute," Pakistan's Ambassador Moinul Haque said.  According to the News International citing a statement, international organizations, Chinese think tanks, NGOs, Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) members and Pakistani community members attended the Beijing event. Speaking at the event, the Pakistani Ambassador briefed the audience about the extent and nature of the recent unprecedented floods in Pakistan. During the occasion, the Ambassador also expressed gratitude for the support extended by the international community, particularly China and the UN. He reiterated the need for proactive climate action and international solidarity to mitigate the effects of climate change.  Haque stressed that it was unfortunate that despite being a low carbon emitter, Pakistan was among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. He called on rich countries to help the developing states affected by climate change. The Ambassador hoped that the international community would remain engaged with Pakistan in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase.  Earlier, on Friday, newly appointed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar sought the support of the Chinese ambassador for securing the rollover of State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) deposits of $2bn due in March 2023 to materialize financing requirements under the International Monetary Fund's programme. Pakistan has to secure a rollover of $2bn in SAFE deposits for the current fiscal year, as per the IMF's condition.  The development came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Pakistan to seek debt relief from its close partner China in view of the countrywide cataclysmic floods.  The remarks had drawn a censorious response from China, whose foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin had called out the US for "passing unwarranted criticism against Pakistan-China cooperation" and urged it to do something "real and beneficial" for the people of Pakistan, reported Dawn. (ANI)

Former mayor of Itahari Sub-metropolitan Dwarika Lal Chaudhary has joined CPN (Maoist Center). Chairman of the Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal welcomed CPN-UML leaders and cadres along with Chaudhary on Sunday morning. Chaudhary, resident of Itahari-17, was involved in politics from the student wing of UML in 1985. He became the president of UML Sunsari district in 2015 and was elected mayor of Itahari sub-metropolitan city in the local elections of 2017.

At least 127 people died after riots broke out in a football match in Indonesia on Saturday night. Children and police officers are among the dead.  The soccer match took place inside the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, a landlocked city in the Indonesian province of East Java. The defeat of Arema Football club by their arch-rivals Persebaya on their home ground prompted a large number of their supporters to storm the pitch following which mass riots broke out, killing more than 100 football fans and two police officers on the scene.  Numerous footage that circulated on social media showed fans climbing over fences as they tried to escape from the smoke clouds after tear gas was released at the incident site in order to disperse the masses. Notably, after the chaos ended on the soccer ground, the stampede continued on the streets. (ANI)

Dean Thompson has been sworn-in as the US Ambassador to Nepal. Wendy R Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State, swore him in who replaced Randy Berry. Thompson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He has served as the State Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs and was the acting Assistant Secretary from 2020 to 2021. Prior to that, Thompson was the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Bucharest, Romania. Thompson also was the Consul General of the US Consulate in Kolkata, India, the statement read. Among other assignments, he served as Director of the State Department’s Executive Secretariat Staff, Deputy Director of the State Department Operations Center, Director of the Operations Center Crisis Management Staff, and Deputy Director for Information Resources Management for the Executive Secretariat. Thompson earned a BA degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, a MA degree from the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs, and a MS in National Security Strategy from the National War College, National Defense University. His foreign languages include Romanian and Bengali.