Algeria forest fires: At least 26 dead, minister says
At least 26 people have been killed and dozens more injured in forest fires that have devastated northern Algeria, BBC reported.
Kamel Beldjoud, the country's interior minister, said 24 died in El Tarf, near the border with Tunisia, as well as a mother and daughter in Setif.
Firefighters, supported by helicopters, were still trying to contain several blazes on Wednesday evening.
Reports say some 350 residents have been evacuated in various provinces.
The civil protection agency said that El Tarf was the worst hit area with 16 fires in progress.
Kabul mosque attack: 'Many casualties feared'
A huge explosion has ripped through a mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, police say, BBC reported.
The blast is thought to have occurred during evening prayers, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more, according to the NGO Emergency.
Khalid Zadran, the Taliban's Kabul police spokesman, was quoted by local media as saying there had been an explosion in the city's north-west.
Reports say the Siddiqi mosque's imam was among the dead.
It is unclear who was behind the attack, which comes the week after a prominent pro-Taliban cleric was killed in a suicide bomb blast, also in Kabul. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the earlier attack.
Security forces have arrived at the scene, in a northern Kabul neighbourhood, the spokesman added.Italian NGO Emergency - which operates in Kabul - said three deaths have been recorded so far.
The NGO also tweeted to say it had received 27 people wounded in the blast, including children. "Five children [were] among them, including a seven-year-old," it said, according to BBC.
A Taliban intelligence official told news agency Reuters that as many as 35 people may have been wounded or killed, and the toll could rise further.
Witnesses described hearing a powerful explosion which shattered windows in nearby buildings.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the explosion took place at a mosque among worshippers in the Khair Khana area of Kabul.
Intelligence teams were at the blast site and investigations are ongoing, they added.
Bhattarai and Pokharel to headline Dashain musical festival in Australia
Nabin K Bhattarai and Sugam Pokharel are set to headline the Dashain Dhamaka Musical Fest that will be held in Australia from Sept 23 to the last week of October. The duo will be accompanied by Adesh Paudel, contestant of Nepal Idol 4. The event is presented by Versatile Education and Migration in partnership with NEP Sydney Events and will be held in cities like Darwin, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Launceston, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns and Newcastle. Bhattarai said he was excited about the event, since he would be performing in Australia after a long time. Pokharel said he was planning to sing both his old hits as well as new numbers. “I am expecting a huge crowd,” said the event coordinator Yustal Dahal.
Editorial: Handle with care
Amending citizenship-related laws has never been easy. Diverse opinion among the political parties and stakeholders always complicates the process. Most recently, the amendment bill to the Citizenship Act had been pending in the House of Representatives for two years. Looming elections may have prompted the five-party ruling coalition to ditch that and table a new one. The ruling coalition fast-tracked the parliamentary endorsement process and forwarded the bills to the president for authentication. Usually, the president does not censure such bills. But in a rare move, President Bidya Devi Bhandari returned the bill to Parliament, raising concerns over some of its provisions. Questions can be raised over the President’s intent as some of her past decisions were motivated by her political inclinations but on this occasion her decision cannot be termed unconstitutional. Article 113(2) of the constitution allows her to do so. But irrespective of what has happened, the issue of citizenship is a sensitive one and major political stakeholders must now refrain from politicizing it—elections or no elections. The ruling parties made a mistake by fast-tracking the bill’s endorsement instead of holding intensive discussions on it in parliament as well as in public. Lawmakers had filed dozens of amendment proposals, all of which were sidelined. The president’s move has now given them another opportunity to correct their earlier error. Time has come for sober reflection. The ruling and opposition parties need to sit down and find an amicable solution. Their common goal should be to ensure that every eligible citizen gets citizenship without hassles, and without any kind of discrimination based on gender, identity or orientation. The bill sent by the president with her suggestions has already been tabled in the HoR. If parties are honest and mindful of national interest, they can easily find a compromise because they know what is the right thing to do. Just heed the larger public opinion on citizenship which is increasingly accommodative rather than restrictive. The question is: can our major parties for once rise above partisan interests and cynical electoral politics?
Five killed in Darchula jeep accident
Five persons died when a jeep met with an accident at Ullani in Shailyashikhar Rural Municipality-6 of Darchula on Wednesday. Police said that four men and a woman died in the jeep (Se 1 Ja 551) accident. Shailyashikhar Rural Municipality-6 Secretary Manohar Dhami said that a team from the Area Police Office, Gokuleshwor has reached the incident site to carry out an investigation.
Nepal records 852 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday
Nepal reported 852 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 3, 876 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 531 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 507 people underwent antigen tests, of which 321 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 328 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 5, 462 active cases in the country.
Nepse plunges by 0. 36 points on Wednesday
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 0. 36 points to close at 2,040.70 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0. 28 points to close at 394. 67 points. A total of 3,497,881 unit shares of 220 companies were traded for Rs 1. 40 billion. Meanwhile, Swet-Ganga Hydropower and Construction Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10 percent. Likewise, Samling Power Company Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 5. 14 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 93 trillion.
Police, locals clash in Banchare Danda
A clash ensued between police personnel and locals at Banchare Danda on Wednesday. The clash erupted after the police tried to take the trucks carrying garbage to the landfill site by escorting amid protest from the locals. Nuwakot police have taken a person under control for trying to obstruct the vehicles. Police spokesperson Rupak Khadaka said that Dipesh Karki has been arrested for trying to stop the garbage carrying trucks from reaching the landfill site. The locals have been staging protests after the government started dumping garbage forcefully in Banchare Danda.
