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At least 15 people were killed and about 50 wounded during a second day of violent anti-United Nations protests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern cities of Goma and Butembo, authorities have said, the Guardian reported.

The dead included demonstrators and UN personnel as UN sites were attacked by crowds.

A Reuters journalist reported seeing UN peacekeepers shoot dead two protesters as people threw rocks, and vandalised and set fire to UN buildings in Goma.

The demonstrations began on Monday, when hundreds of people attacked and looted a UN warehouse in the city, a regional hub for international aid groups, demanding the mission leave the country. They flared again on Tuesday and spread to Butembo, about 124 miles (200km) north of Goma.

The protests were called by a faction of the ruling party’s youth wing that accuses the UN mission, known as Monusco, of failing to protect civilians against militia violence.

“Mobs are throwing stones and petrol bombs, breaking into bases, looting and vandalising, and setting facilities on fire,” deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.

Some stormed the houses of UN workers who were evacuated from Goma in a convoy of vehicles escorted by the army, a reporter said.

One peacekeeper and two UN police personnel were killed when their base in Butembo was attacked, the UN spokesperson said. Butembo’s police chief, Paul Ngoma, said that seven civilians were also killed when the peacekeepers retaliated.

“The situation is very volatile and reinforcements are being mobilised,” Haq said, adding that UN forces had been told to exercise maximum restraint and only fire warning shots.

The government spokesperson, Patrick Muyaya, had said earlier that at least five people were killed and about 50 wounded in Goma. The Reuters reporter in Goma said peacekeepers fired teargas and live bullets at the crowd, killing two and wounding at least two others, according to the Guardian.

Protesters were initially peaceful, but turned violent as some picked teargas grenades off the ground and threw them back at the Monusco warehouse.

Ngoma said demonstrators attacked the Monusco base there with stones and gunfire. “That’s how three Monusco peacekeepers died. On the population side the provisional report shows seven dead as Monusco also reacted with weapons,” he said.

India’s foreign minister said two of the peacekeepers who died were Indian. Ngoma said the third was Moroccan.

Among the demonstrators were militiamen recruited from the bush who brought weapons, he said, adding that the number of wounded was unknown.

Monusco, the UN’s stabilisation mission in the DRC, has been gradually withdrawing from the country for years, the Guardian reported.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s wife and Nepali Congress central member Arzu Deuba, who is currently in India for treatment, held a meeting with Indian BJP foreign affairs Chief Vijay Chauthaiwale in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Chauthaiwale has posted photos of his meeting with Deuba on social media.

He tweeted that he was happy to meet Dr Arju Rana Deuba in New Delhi after six months.

Deuba has been undergoing treatment at the New Delhi-based Max Hospital for the past few days.

She also met CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal who had gone to visit India at the invitation of BJP.

JAR or ‘Just Another Restaurant’ has become a popular hangout joint for many of Kathmandu’s youngsters. It is easy to see why this place at Mid Baneshwor is such a draw. The place serves a wide selection of mouth-watering food and drinks. Try its Buff Philly Sandwich, Chicken Popcorn and JAR Special Chicken Burger. Or maybe their special tea menu will strike your fancy. How about ‘Anxi-tea’ to relieve your stress? The ambience is best suited for family and friends. You can visit the restaurant any time, but we recommend weekends, preferably in the evening when you get to enjoy live music and participate in an open mic session (every alternate week).  

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Two karate coaches have been arrested on the charge of gang rape in Biratnagar on Sunday.

The suspects have been identified as Suraj Subedi aka Amar (50) of Biratnagar Metropolitan City-4 and Binod Raut (50) of Biratnagar-3.

A 19-year-old girl, a student at the Birat Health College in Biratnagar, had filed a case against the duo.

DSP Deepak Shrestha, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Morang, said that Subedi and Raut were arrested based on the complaint filed by the girl.

Police said that the are looking into the case.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines on Wednesday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), CNN reported.

The quake struck in northern Luzon, the country's most populous island, at 8:43 a.m. local time (8:43 p.m. ET), according to USGS. The agency originally designated the quake 7.1-magnitude, before downgrading it to 7.0.

Its epicenter was about 13 kilometers (8 miles) southeast of the small town of Dolores, Abra province, with a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to USGS.

The earthquake's impact was felt in the capital city, Manila, more than 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) away, where workers and residents evacuated from buildings and gathered on the street.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said citizens should brace for any aftershocks, but added it had not issued any tsunami warnings because it was detected inland. Abra is a landlocked region known for deep valleys and mountainous terrain.

In a statement, Rep. Ching Bernos, congresswoman for Abra province, said the quake "caused damages to many households and establishments," and "was also felt in various parts of Luzon and activated preemptive measures in many places."

Photos from Abra show buildings damaged by the quake and debris covering the ground. One building is seen with cracks along the walls, while another lies tilted on its side, according to CNN.

Bernos said her office is monitoring the situation and assessing the extent of the damage, and urged residents to stay alert "in light of the possibilities of aftershocks."

A person died when a truck and a motorbike collided with each other at Bhaisipati in Banepa Municipality-13, Kavre on Tuesday.

Krista Lama (18) of Roshi Municipality-1 died when the truck (Na 8 Kha 80870 heading towards Bhaktapur from Banepa collided head-on with the motorbike (Ba 67 Pa 2892) at around 7 pm yesterday.

District Traffic Police Chief Rajesh Silwal said that Lama breathed his last during the course of treatment at the Banepa-based Shir Memorial Hospital.

Bike rider Andi Lama (26) of Roshi-1 is undergoing treatment at the Banepa Hospital.

Police said that they have impounded the truck and arrested its driver for investigation.

After the parliamentary probe committee failed to find alleged entry of unauthorized persons in the Finance Ministry on the eve of budget announcement, experts have suggested the panel conduct a polygraph test of former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma and the staffers of the Ministry involved in making the budget to find the truth behind the incident.  

Former Home Secretary Govinda Prasad Kusum said that the investigation can be done by other methods to find whether the CCTV footage has been deleted or not.

He said that the authority can also take call records of the accused.

“No one can take the call detail records without taking permission from the concerned authority. It can be taken in a secret way if the investigation does not reach a conclusion,” he said, adding, “There is a provision to take call detail records in the issues of public concern and national security.”

He was of the opinion that it is a violation of the law to say that the hard drive could store the data for only 13 days or 16 days.

Former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Nepal Police Hemanta Malla Thakuri said that both the Parliament and the government are heading towards the wrong path in the finance minister case.

He said that the investigation has not reached a logical conclusion as the parliamentary committee took the wrong way instead of carrying out the investigation by calling police.

“The government had to protect the scene and the evidence soon after the incident came to light,” he said, adding, “The evidence of the incident is not limited to the Finance Ministry.”

Thakuri was of the opinion that the Parliament had made a mistake not by directing the government to conduct investigation of the incident site.

“The Parliament should have taken the help of Nepal Police. The Parliament and the government did not think it was necessary,” he said.

The former DIG suggested an investigation of the incident site.

He went on to say that it is important to take the call detail records and track the location.

Thakuri further said that the parliamentary committee has not fully utilized its rights yet.

“The committee should have made the working procedure. It has the right. Why didn’t the committee use it? This is a matter of doubt,” he said.