Submit your Article

A man drove his car into a barricade near the US Capitol early Sunday and then began firing gunshots in the air before fatally shooting himself, according to police, who said he did not seem to be targeting any member of Congress, Associated Press Reported.

The incident happened just before 4 a.m. at a vehicle barricade set at East Capitol Street NE and 2nd Street SE in Washington.

It comes at a time when law enforcement authorities across the country are facing an increasing number of threats and federal officials have warned about the potential of violent attacks on government buildings in the days since the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estatein Florida.

The attack is reminiscent of an incident when a man drove a vehicle into two Capitol Police officers at a checkpoint in April 2021, killing an 18-year veteran of the force. And many on Capitol Hill remain on edge after supporters of the then-president stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Authorities said the man, identified as Richard A. York III, 29, of Delaware, crashed into the barricade and that as he was getting out of the car, the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The man then opened fire, firing several shots into the air as police approached.

Capitol Police said the man shot himself as the officers neared. He was later pronounced dead.

Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said officers did not hear the man say anything before he opened fire “indiscriminately” in the street with a handgun and walked toward the Capitol building. Authorities are investigating whether the man may have set his car on fire, the chief said, because the collision did not appear to cause the blaze, according to Associated Press.

Police officers at the scene saw the man fatally shoot himself as they approached, Manger said. 

The chief said investigators located addresses for the man in Delaware and Pennsylvania and learned he had a criminal history in the past decade, though his motive remained unclear and he had no links to the Capitol.,

“We don’t have any information that would indicate his motivation at this point,” Manger said.

Police said “it does not appear the man was targeting any member of Congress” and that investigators are examining the man’s background as they work to try to discern a motive. Both the House and Senate are in recess and very few staff members work in the Capitol complex at that hour.

Authorities said no other injuries were reported and police do not believe any officers returned fire, Associated Press reported.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met Monday with a delegation of US Congress members in a further sign of support among American lawmakers for the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory, Associated Press reported.

Taiwanese media showed the delegation arriving for the talks, but details of the meeting were not immediately released. 

It comes less than two weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which prompted days of threatening military exercises by China, including the firing of missiles over the island and into the Taiwan Strait. 

China has also sent warplanes and navy ships across the waterway’s median, which has long been a buffer between the sides that separated amid civil war in 1949. China regards formal contacts between US politicians and the island’s government as support for its independence from Beijing. 

China says it wants to use peaceful means to bring Taiwan under its control, but its recent saber rattling has emphasized its military threat.

The five-member delegation is led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and is to meet with other government and private sector representatives. Reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and investments in Taiwan’s crucial semiconductor industry are expected to be key topics of discussion, according to Associated Press.

The other members of the delegation are Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a delegate from American Samoa, and Democrats John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia.

Dozens of people have died after a fire broke out at a church in Egypt, many of them crushed during a desperate scramble to escape, BBC reported.

Officials say the number of dead is at least 41, with dozens injured. Children are believed to be among the dead.

An electrical fire broke out as 5,000 worshippers gathered for Mass at the Coptic Abu Sifin church in Giza, security sources told Reuters.

The fire blocked an entrance, causing a stampede, they said.

Citing hospital records, CNN reported that some 18 children, aged between 3 to 16 years old, were killed.

Fire services said the exact cause of the fire remains unclear. However, Father Farid Fahmy, from another nearby church in the Imbaba neighbourhood, told the AFP news agency that it was sparked by a short circuit.

"The power was out and they were using a generator," he said. "When the power came back, it caused an overload."

Worshippers have been explaining their moments since the blaze ignited, according to BBC.

"People were gathering on the third and fourth floor, and we saw smoke coming from the second floor. People rushed to go down the stairs and started falling on top of each other," Yasir Munir told Reuters.

"Then we heard a bang and sparks and fire coming out of the window," he said, adding that he and his daughter were on the ground floor and able to escape.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered his "sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims that have passed on to be with their Lord in one of his houses of worship".

He has ordered the armed forces to rebuild the church.

The prosecutor's office said it had sent a team to the scene to investigate the cause of the blaze.

Giza lies just across the Nile from Cairo and is part of the Greater Cairo metropolis.

Coptic Christians make up at least 10 million of Egypt's 103 million people, BBC reported.

Copts claims they face discrimination and play a lesser part in Egyptian public life than their numbers justify.

Wake Up Ali…Wake Up Now’, a novel by Sumit Sharma Sameer, was launched in Kathmandu amid function on Friday.

“I wanted to communicate the stories of our time, the stories that I feel are important and need to be told. The stories of so many Alis have to be spelt out,” author Sameer said while speaking at the program, adding, “Migration has been a permanent feature since the advent of human civilization. It got more accelerated during our age. That acceleration brought varied opportunities to mankind but yet dismantled the very fabrics of our lives.”

“I had always wanted to write something on this very constructive and destructive process connecting South Asia into one thread that could help produce many other stories,” he further said.

Celebrated Nepali author, Buddhisagar said “Ali’s (protagonist) internal journey, self-exploration and realization are three highlights of books which is evenly mixed in a whole story.”

He also said “the book is not merely about migration, but rather has a deep philosophical meaning. The book can be finished in one seating and overall I really liked the book.”

Saguna Shah, author and founder of bOOkahOlics, said the “novel explores the human psychic by exploring the constraints of relationships and desirs’. The content is far and beyond the concerns of migrant workers their status quo and their struggle in a foreign land, but also an internal journey of a protagonist. The book is about an awakening of the protagonist.”

Speaking on the occasion author and columnist Atul K Thakur said that “Nepal’s publishing industry is blossoming and Sumit’s novel reassures it. It is a pure piece of literary fiction with beautiful prose and narrative, should further make Nepal’s spot brighter in the publishing ecosystem.” “The writers and publishers in India and Nepal should enhance cooperation and work in unison, this will be another important pillar of bilateral relations. Sumit will be in great demand among the publishers,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Australian ambassador to Nepal Felicity Volk, who is also a celebrated author, said, “This is a migrant story from South Asia. Number of Nepali people migrating to south Asia has doubled in last five years and I’m struck how well the writer has depicted the migrant story. But, this is also a universal story, story of each one of us. Each one of us is traveler in our own struggle.”

Nepali Congress General Secretary and member of Parliament and former Health Minister Gagan Thapa, remembering his long time association with the writer said, “I have known Sumit for last 25 years and knew that he can write non-fiction, but he took me by surprise by writing fiction.”

He further added ‘this is a sociological fiction. This is about social structure, human relationships and individual relationship to the society. This is a story of migrants. Story of diasporas, struggle in the modern day society. The conflict between migrants and natives, the opportunity cost. How one has to disconnect with your loved ones to get connected to the larger world to grab the opportunities. I could see through the characters how the whole process of globalization on one hand bring people together and at the other, same time, makes them dysfunctional. The protagonist compares his life with the life of an ant, he struggles to find his place, his identity in the larger cosmic design. There is an ongoing conflict between the material world and spiritual thought process. It is a powerful book.”

The book was earlier published in Nepali under the title ‘Prawas’ two years ago and has been translated by Sushrut Acharya in English. The English version, ‘Wake Up Ali…Wake Up Now’ has been published in 2022 by Delhi based, Vitasta Publishing.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari sent the bill to amend the Citizenship Act back to the Parliament for reconsideration on Sunday.

Sagar Aryal, spokesperson at the President's office, said that the President sent the bill on Citizenship Act back to the Parliament citing that it needs reconsideration.

He said that the bill on Nepal Citizenship Act, 2063 was submitted before the President for the certification as per the Article 113 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal.

Earlier, the bill was endorsed from the Parliament as per the Article 113 (3) of the Constitution.

Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal spokesperson Khadga Bahadur Bishwokarma left for China on Sunday.

He left for Chengdu at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party at 12:45 pm on Air China flight CA 438 today.

The Lalitpur District Court, a few days ago, had issued an arrest warrant against Chand and Bishwokarma among other leaders on the charge of possessing arms, crimes against the state and detonating Improvised Explosive Devices.

Though the arrest warrant was issued against him on August 1, he left for China via the Tribhuvan International Airport.

TIA Chief DIG Shyam Gyawali said that he was unaware about Bishwokarma's departure to China,

Nepal recorded 455 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 308 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 305 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 521 people underwent antigen tests, of which 150 tested positive.

As of today, there are 5, 435 active cases in the country.

Locals vandalized and set fire to under construction Sanjen Hydropower Project in Rasuwa on Sunday.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the IPO to be issued for the locals, the people of Gatlang vandalized and set fire to the project.

According to the information provided by the project, the locals vandalized the side office and vehicles among others and set them on fire.

A group of 70-80 people of Gatlang vandalized the office demanding that they be included in the list of the most affected while distributing the share.

They also attacked the staffers of the project.

It has been learnt that property worth millions were destroyed in the attack.