1 killed, 6 injured as pick-up van hits auto-rickshaw in Mahottari

A person died and six other sustained injuries when a pick-up van hit an auto-rickshaw in Bardibas Municipality-3, Mahottari on Monday.

The deceased has been identified as Kunta Dhungel (26) of Bardibas Municipality-3, DSP Prakash Bista, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Mahottari said. 

Incapacitated in the incident, she breathed her last during the course of treatment at the Janakpur-based Kabya Hospital on Tuesday.

Auto rickshaw driver Om Bahadur Lungeli (45), Yadav Kumar Dungel (45), Pabitra Acharya (29) and Karishma Dungel (8) of Bardibas-3 and Purushottam Chalise (35) and Pabitra Chalise (39) of Dhudhauli Municipallity-2, Sindhuli were injured in the incident. 

They are receiving treatment at the Bardibas-based Janasewa Hospital.  

Police said that the incident occurred when the pick-up van heading towards Smriti Park from Patut hit the auto-rickshaw (Ja 1 Ha 3501) coming from the opposite direction. 

Further investigation into the incident is underway.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi questioned in money-laundering probe

Indian money laundering investigators questioned opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday as his supporters jostled with police outside the financial crime-fighting agency’s office in the capital, New Delhi, Reuters reported.

The investigation by the Enforcement Directorate is linked to a nine-year old complaint by a member of parliament from prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against Gandhi and his mother, Congress party President Sonia Gandhi.

A spokesman for the opposition Congress Party said the Gandhis and the party had done nothing illegal and the investigation was politically motivated.

“We will fight undeterred, we will fight fearlessly,” the Congress spokesman, Randeep Singh Surjewala, told reporters.

“We will answer every question.”

A spokesman for the finance ministry’s Enforcement Directorate, which investigates money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws, was not available for comment.

Police blocked off some parts New Delhi with barricades as Gandhi, along with Congress leaders and party workers, attempted to march to the directorate’s offices for the questioning.

Gandhi was questioned for about three hours, another Congress official said, adding that police had detained scores of party supporters outside, according to Reuters.

The BJP lawmaker behind the complaint, Subramanian Swamy, accused the Gandhis of forming a shell company and illegally gaining control of property worth $300 million.

The assets had belonged to a firm that published the National Herald newspaper, founded in 1937 by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was Rahul Gandhi’s great grandfather.

UK reports 104 more cases of monkeypox, mostly in men

British health officials have detected another 104 cases of monkeypox in England in what has become the biggest outbreak beyond Africa of the normally rare disease, Associated Press reported.

The UK's Health Security Agency said Monday there were now 470 cases of monkeypox across the country, with the vast majority in gay or bisexual men. Scientists warn that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is susceptible to catching monkeypox if they are in close, physical contact with an infected person or their clothing or bed sheets.

According to UK data, 99% of the cases so far have been in men and most are in London.

In May, a leading adviser to the World Health Organization said the monkeypox outbreak in Europe and beyond was likely spread by sex at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium.

Last week, WHO said 1,285 cases of monkeypox had been reported from 28 countries where monkeypox was not known to be endemic. No deaths have been reported outside of Africa. After the UK, the biggest numbers of cases have been reported in Spain, Germany and Canada.

WHO said many people in the outbreak have "atypical features" of the disease which could make it more difficult for doctors to diagnose. The UN health agency also said while close contact can spread monkeypox, "it is not clear what role sexual bodily fluids, including semen and vaginal fluids, play in the transmission."

Meanwhile, countries in Africa have reported more than 1,500 suspected cases including 72 deaths from eight countries. Monkeypox is considered endemic in Central and West Africa, according to Associated Press.

Asian benchmarks decline after bear market hits Wall Street

Asian shares fell across the board Tuesday after Wall Street tumbled into a bear market, indicating that major US benchmarks and individual stocks have fallen 20% or more from a recent high for a sustained period of time, Associated Press reported.

Benchmarks fell in Japan, Australia, South Korea and China. The Japanese yen’s continuing slide against the dollar paused. 

At the center of the selloff was the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is scrambling to get inflation under control. Its main method is to raise interest rates, a blunt tool that could slow the economy too much and risk a recession if used too aggressively. 

Some economists are speculating the Fed on Wednesday may raise its key rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. That’s triple the usual amount and something the Fed hasn’t done since 1994. 

“Another day to digest the recent US inflation data, and another day closer to the June FOMC meeting, and global markets, we well as those here in Asia have been demonstrating that they don’t like where the global economy sits right now,” Robert Carnell, regional head of research Asia-Pacific at ING, said in a report, according to Associated Press.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.9% in morning trading to 26,476.71. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 4.8% to 6,598.30 after reopening from a holiday on Monday. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.0% to 2,479.23. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.4% to 20,782.63, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.8% to 3,230.41.

Adding to worries about the fragile Japanese economy is the sliding yen, recently at 135, the lowest level against the US dollar since 1998. The US dollar fell to 134.40 Japanese yen from 134.46 yen, as the yen’s weakness was mitigated somewhat by Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda’s comments expressing concern about its decline. 

The euro cost $1.0418, up from $1.0409. 

“Against this backdrop, equities in Asia are unlikely to be spared pain,” said Tan Boon Heng at Mizuho Bank in Singapore. 

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index sank 3.9% to 3,749.63. It’s 21.8% below its record set early this year and now in a bear market. The Dow lost 876.05, or 2.8%, to 30,516.74 on Monday, after falling more than 1,000 points. The Nasdaq composite dropped 4.7% to 10,809.23. 

The decline was the first chance for investors to trade after having the weekend to reflect on Friday’s news that inflation is getting worse, not better. 

With the Fed seemingly pinned into having to get more aggressive, prices fell in a worldwide rout for everything from bonds to bitcoin, from New York to New Zealand. Some of the sharpest drops hit what had been big winners of the easier low-rate era, such as high-growth technology stocks and other former darlings of investors. Tesla slumped 7.1%, and Amazon dropped 5.5%. GameStop tumbled 8.4%. 

“The best thing people can do is to not panic and don’t sell at the bottom,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, “and we’re probably not at the bottom.”

Markets are bracing for more bigger-than-usual hikes, on top of some discouraging signals about the economy and corporate profits, including a record-low preliminary reading on consumer sentiment soured by high gasoline prices, according to Associated Press.

 

 

 

Australia book World Cup place on penalties

Australia became the 31st team to book their place at the 2022 World Cup after beating Peru on penalties in an intercontinental play-off in Qatar, BBC reported.

Goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, who replaced Mat Ryan just before the shootout for his third cap, was the hero, saving Alex Valera's final kick.

This will be Australia's fifth World Cup in a row, having qualified every time since 2006.

They will be in Group D alongside holders France, Denmark and Tunisia.

The World Cup's final team will be decided on Tuesday when Costa Rica face New Zealand at the same venue, the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, according to BBC.

That game will be streamed live on the BBC Sport website and app as well as on iPlayer and the Red Button at 19:00 BST


 

Britney Spears' ex Jason Alexander charged with stalking her at wedding

A man once married to singer Britney Spears - for 55 hours - has been charged with felony stalking after showing up unannounced during her wedding to Sam Asghari, BBC reported.

Jason Alexander, 40, pleaded not guilty to the charge, as well as to trespassing, battery and vandalism.

He was arrested last week after allegedly gate-crashing and streaming a video from inside Spears' home.

Mr Alexander was briefly married to the pop star, a childhood friend, in 2004. 

But the union was annulled after less than three days.

Spears, 40, and her longtime partner Asghari, 28, tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in California last week.

But preparations were disrupted when Mr Alexander was arrested after allegedly gatecrashing. He streamed a video apparently from inside the singer's home, before being tackled by security.

Shortly beforehand he had posted an Instagram Live story in which he said he was there to "crash" the wedding, according to BBC.

His video showed him walking through Spears' home looking for her, and then going into a marquee where the finishing touches were being put to a large display of roses. He claimed Spears had invited him, saying: "She's my first wife, my only wife."

Mr Alexander was arrested by officers from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and taken to a local jail.

"He was able to find his way onto the property and was confronted by security," a police spokesman said.

"An altercation occurred with the security officers and that's where the battery occurred... and during the altercation an item was broken, so that's where the vandalism comes into play. And by being on private property, the trespass comes into play."

On Monday, a judge set bail at $100,000 (£82,290) and issued a restraining order requiring Mr Alexander to stay at least 100 yards (91 metres) from Spears for three years.

He attended the hearing virtually.

Spears' wedding ceremony, which went ahead despite the disturbance, was attended by stars including Madonna, Paris Hilton, Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, Ansel Elgort and will.i.am.

In November, the singer was released from a controversial 13-year legal guardianship, under which her father Jamie controlled many aspects of her life, BBC reported.

Her father, mother and sister were reportedly not at the wedding after relations broke down over the arrangement, and Spears' legal battle to end it.

Spears met her new husband, a personal trainer, in 2016 on the set of her music video for the song Slumber Party. She was previously married to dancer Kevin Federline from 2004 to 2007, according to BBC.

 

NI Protocol: UK reveals plans to ditch parts of EU Brexit deal

The UK government has published plans to get rid of parts of the post-Brexit deal it agreed with the EU in 2019, BBC reported.

It wants to change the Northern Ireland Protocol to make it easier for some goods to flow from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

But the EU opposes the move, saying that going back on the deal breaches international law.

The government said there is "no other way" of safeguarding essential interests of the UK. 

It argues the term "necessity" is used in international law to justify situations where "the only way a state can safeguard an essential interest" is by disapplying - or breaking - another international obligation.

It adds that action taken must not "seriously impair" essential interests of other states. 

The alterations are set out in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, to be debated and voted on by Parliament, according to BBC.

The government is promising to remove "unnecessary" paperwork on goods checks and that businesses in Northern Ireland will get the same tax breaks as those elsewhere in the UK.

The bill will also ensure that any trade disputes are resolved by "independent arbitration" and not by the European Court of Justice, it adds.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said it was "a reasonable, practical solution to the problems facing Northern Ireland" and that the UK could "only make progress through negotiations if the EU are willing to change the protocol itself", adding: "At the moment they aren't."

"We are very clear that we're acting in line with the law," she said, BBC reported.

The government said it would prefer a "negotiated solution" with the EU that avoids the need for the bill to become law.

Nepal records 15 new Covid-19 cases on Monday

Nepal reported 15 new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 086 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which nine returned positive. Likewise, 1, 125 people underwent antigen tests, of which six were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 13  infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 102 active cases in the country.