Quarry collapse kills ten in Indonesia
At least ten people were killed after a quarry collapsed on Friday at the Indonesia’s West Java province. Authorities say several others remain missing, and rescue teams are working around the clock to locate them, Al Jazeera reported.
Indonesia’s disaster agency reported that heavy machinery, including three excavators, was buried in the collapse. So far, at least a dozen injured individuals have been pulled from the rubble.
The cause of the collapse is still under investigation as search operations continue.
Supreme Court allows end of migrant parole protections
The US Supreme Court on Friday lifted a lower court order that had blocked the Trump administration from ending humanitarian parole protections for over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, according to Associated Press.
The Biden administration introduced the program in late 2022, allowing qualifying migrants to stay and work in the United States for two years. It aimed to relieve strain on the southern border.
President Donald Trump ordered the termination of all parole programs shortly after commencing his second term. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem carried out the directive in March.
The Court's judgment also allows the end of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans, putting roughly one million migrants at risk of deportation, Associated Press reported.
Bhotojatra festival to be observed on Sunday, public holiday in Kathmandu Valley
The Bhotojatra festival will be observed on Sunday.
The cultural festival includes the ritual of displaying the legendary gem-studded Bhoto or vest believed to belong to the Rato Matsyandranath, the deity of good harvest.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has, through a notice today, declared a public holiday in the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley – Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur - for Sunday on the occasion of the Bhotojatra.
Mexico demands explanation on US deal with Mexican drug trafficker
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday questioned the US government for reaching a plea deal with Damaso Lopez Serrano, a former Sinaloa Cartel leader, despite labeling the cartel a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
“The US says it doesn’t negotiate with terrorists, yet it makes deals with them,” Sheinbaum said, demanding an explanation, according to Xinhua.
Lopez Serrano, known as “El Mini Lic,” pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in the US. He was first arrested in 2017 and again last year on similar charges. The US designated the Sinaloa Cartel a terrorist group in February.
