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A passenger bus slid off a mountain road and fell into a deep ravine in heavy rain in southwest Pakistan on Sunday, killing 19 people and injuring 12 others, a government official said, According Press reported.

Mahtab Shah, assistant administrator for the district of Shirani in Baluchistan province, said about 35 passengers were traveling in the bus. He said rescue workers were searching for survivors in the wreckage of the destroyed vehicle and surroundings.

Shah said apparently the bus slid on the wet road amid heavy rain and the driver lost control of the vehicle, which fell about 200 feet (61 meters) into the ravine, according to Associated Press.

Deadly road accidents are common in Pakistan due to poor road infrastructure and disregard for traffic laws, as well as poorly maintained vehicles. Last month, 22 people were killed in a similar accident when a bus fell into a ravine in Qila Saifullah district.

Ukraine's military has confirmed that the eastern city of Lysychansk has fallen to Russian forces, BBC reported.

"After heavy fighting for Lysychansk, the defence forces of Ukraine were forced to withdraw from their occupied positions and lines," the army general staff said.

Earlier Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said his forces had captured Lysychansk and taken full control of Luhansk region.

Ukraine's troops were outgunned there.

Its general staff said that "in order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders, a decision was made to withdraw".

It said the Russians had multiple advantages in artillery, aircraft, manpower and other forces.

President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged that Ukrainian forces would return to Lysychansk thanks to their tactics and "thanks to the increase in the supply of modern weapons".

Earlier, the head of Russia's Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, published video apparently showing Chechen fighters in the centre of Lysychansk, according to BBC.

Further west, the Ukrainian-held city of Slovyansk came under heavy shelling, with at least six people killed.

It is in Donetsk region, which with Luhansk forms the industrial Donbas.

Just before he launched the war, President Vladimir Putin recognised all of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent of Ukraine. Russian proxy forces began an insurgency there in 2014.

Just over a week ago Russian troops captured Severodonetsk, a city reduced to ruins by weeks of Russian bombardment, BBC reported.

A gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping mall in the Danish capital Sunday, killing three people and critically wounding three others, police said, Associated Press reported.

A 22-year-old Danish man was arrested after the shooting, Copenhagen police inspector Søren Thomassen told reporters, adding there was no indication that anyone else was involved in the attack, though police were still investigating. 

Gun violence is relatively rare in Denmark.

Thomassen said it was too early to speculate on the motive for the shooting, which happened in the late afternoon at Field’s, one of the biggest shopping malls in Scandinavia and located on the outskirts of the Danish capital. When the shots rang out, some people hid in shops while others fled in a panicked stampede, according to witnesses.

“It is pure terror. This is awful,” said Hans Christian Stoltz, a 53-year-old IT consultant, who was bringing his daughters to see Harry Styles perform at concert scheduled for Sunday night near the mall. “You might wonder how a person can do this to another human being, but it’s beyond … beyond anything that’s possible.”

Thomassen said the victims included a man in his 40s and two “young people,” without giving details. Several others were injured, three of them critically, he said.

He said police received the first reports of a shooting at 5.37 p.m., and arrested the suspect 11 minutes later. Thomassen described the suspect as an “ethnic Dane,” a phrase typically used to mean someone is white. 

Danish broadcaster TV2 published a grainy photo of the alleged gunman, a man wearing knee-length shorts, a vest or sleeveless shirt, and holding what appeared to be a rifle in his right hand. “He seemed very violent and angry,” eyewitness Mahdi Al-Wazni told TV2. “He spoke to me and said it (the rifle) isn’t real as I was filming him. He seemed very proud of what he was doing.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the Scandinavian country had been hit by a “cruel attack.” 

“It is incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Pointless,” she said. “Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second.”

Images from the scene showed people running out of the mall, and TV2 posted a photo of a man being put on a stretcher. After the shooting, an enormous contingent of heavily armed police officers patrolled the area, with several fire department vehicles also parked outside the mall, according to Associated Press.

Laurits Hermansen told Danish broadcaster DR that he was in a clothing store at the shopping center with his family when he heard “three, four bangs. Really loud bangs. It sounded like the shots were being fired just next to the store.”

The shopping center is on the outskirts of Copenhagen just across from a subway station for a line that connects the city center with the international airport. A major highway also runs adjacent to the mall.

Organizers called off the Harry Styles concert, which had been scheduled at the nearby Royal Arena, by order of police.

On Snapchat, Styles wrote: “My team and I pray for everyone involved in the Copenhagen shopping mall shooting. I am shocked. Love H.

The royal palace said a reception with Crown Prince Frederik connected to the Tour de France cycling race had been canceled. The first three stages of the race were held in Denmark this year. The reception was due to be held on the royal yacht that is moored in Soenderborg, the town where the third stage ended.

In a joint statement, Queen Margrethe, her son Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, said: “We do not yet know the full extent of the tragedy, but it is already clear that more people have lost their lives and that even more have been injured.”

“The situation calls for unity and care,” they said in a statement.

The shooting came a week after a mass shooting in neighboring Norway, where police said a Norwegian man of Iranian origin opened fire during a LGBTQ festival, killing two and wounding more than 20, Associated Press reported.

It was the worst gun attack in Denmark since February 2015, when a 22-year-old man was killed in a shootout with police after going on a shooting spree in the capital that left two people dead and five police officers wounded.

Nepal reported 53 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 162 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 39 returned positive. Likewise, 958 people underwent antigen tests, of which 14 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 20 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 333 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 57. 65 points to close at 2,086.42 points on Sunday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 10. 21 points to close at 398. 82 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 6,227,692 unit shares of 231 companies were traded for Rs 2. 48 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Manu. & Pro. topped the chart with 250. 41 points.

Meanwhile, Salt Trading Corporation, Himalayan Power Partner Limited, Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Limited, Sanjen Jalavidhyut Company Limited and NESDO Sambridha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited were the top gainer today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. BOK Debenture was the top loser as its price fell by 9. 31 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalisation stood at Rs 2. 97 trillion.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that preparations are being made for Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's US visit.

Speaking at a press conference organized on Sunday, Ministry's spokesperson Sewa Lamsal said that the visit and was expected and preparations are going on for the same.

"The Prime Minister's visit to the United States is being discussed. Preparations are being made. We will provide more information after the date is announced," she said.

Prime Minister Deuba is visiting at the official invitation of the United States.

Foreign Minister to leave for China

During the press conference, spokesperson Lamsal said that preparations are also being made for Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka's China visit.

"Preparations are bring made for the Foreign Minister's China visit. This is a regular visit. Agendas are yet to be fixed. As China is out important neighbour, exchange is visits is in our program," she said, adding, "China's Foreign Minister visited Nepal a few months ago. In that way, our Foreign Minister's will also have an appropriate time. We will inform about it later."

Prior to the visit, Foreign Minister Khadka held a virtual meeting with the International Laison Department Chief of the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday.

During the meeting, the duo discussed issues of bilateral ties, upcoming visit and border among others, Lamsal said.

Government intensifies efforts to address demands of ex-Gurkhas

Spokesperson Lamsal said that the government is committed to address the genuine demands of the ex-Gurkhas.

Saying that the Nepali ambassador to the UK and a talks team of the UK held a preliminary meeting, she said that the Nepali Embassy is in regular consultation with the Defense Ministry of the UK.

9 ambassadors appointed, 11 in process

Lamsal said that out of 20 ambassadors recommended by the Cabinet on April 7, nine have been appointed.

She said that the remaining 11 ambassadors will be appointed soon.

During the conference, she said Nepal has established diplomatic relations with 177 countries.

Meanwhile, Lamsal said that the government has distributed 416, 200 electronic passports so far.

According to the Ministry, the government has collected Rs 3.17 billion in revenue till mid-June.

Trade talks with Bhutan

Lamsal Sid that bilateral talks were held with Bhutan on trade.

She also said that the government has been continuously raising the issue of Bhutanese refugees with Bhutan.

Ambika Chalaune, Mayor of Panchadewal Binayak Municipality, Achham, has been apprehended for her alleged involvement in the murder of Kishor Binod Shahi of the same municipality.

Shahi was found on a cliff near the village at around 10 am on June 4.

The family filed a complaint against 13 persons including the mayor alleging that he had been murdered.

Five persons, whose names were included in the complaint, have already been arrested.

The District Police Office, Achham said that the investigation into the incident has reached the final stage.

Police said that they will submit the report to the court after completing the investigation in a few days.

Youths have staged a demonstration outside the Passport Department to protest the government's dilly-dallying in distributing the passports.

They staged the demonstration to pile pressure on the government.

They demanded that the government distribute the passports in an easy way.