8 killed in Salyan jeep accident
Eight persons died when a jeep met with an accident at Mulpani in Kapurkot of Salyan on Wednesday. The deceased have been identified as jeep driver Jit Bahadur Bohara (21) of Jalbang, Kapurkot Rural Municipality-6, Salyan, Dharma Oli (37), Top Bahadur Oli (40), Basanta Oli (11), Suresh Khatri (30), Kum Lal Oli (70), Kumari Oli (55) and Lalit Oli (35). Police said that they died on the spot. Critically injured in the incident, Tilak Oli (35) of Jalbang, Kapurkot Rural Municipality-6 is undergoing treatment at the Provincial Hospital. Santosh Khanal, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Salyan, the jeep (Ra 1 Ja 563) was heading towards Jalbang, Kapurkot Municipality-6 from Nepalgunj when the incident occurred at around 2 am today.
Cuba without electricity after hurricane hammers power grid
Hurricane Ian knocked out power across all of Cuba and devastated some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it slammed into the island’s western tip as a major hurricane Tuesday, Associated Press reported.
Cuba’s Electric Union said in a statement that work was underway to gradually restore service to the country’s 11 million people during the night. Power was initially knocked out to about 1 million people in Cuba’s western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed.
Ian hit a Cuba that has been struggling with an economic crisis and has faced frequent power outages in recent months. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the island’s western end, devastating Pinar del Río province, where much of the tobacco used for Cuba’s iconic cigars is grown.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated and others fled the area ahead of the arrival of Ian, which caused flooding, damaged houses and toppled trees. Authorities were still assessing the damage, although no fatalities had been reported by Tuesday night.
Ian’s winds damaged one of Cuba’s most important tobacco farms in La Robaina.
“It was apocalyptic, a real disaster,” said Hirochi Robaina, owner of the farm that bears his name and that his grandfather made known internationally.
Robaina, also the owner of the Finca Robaina cigar producer, posted photos on social media of wood-and-thatch roofs smashed to the ground, greenhouses in rubble and wagons overturned.
State media said Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the affected region.
Cuba’s Meteorology Institute said the city of Pinar del Río was in the heart of the hurricane for an hour and a half.
“Being in the hurricane was terrible for me, but we are here alive,” said Pinar del Rio resident Yusimí Palacios, who asked authorities for a roof and a mattress.
Officials had set up 55 shelters and took steps to protect crops, especially tobacco.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Cuba suffered “significant wind and storm surge impacts” when the hurricane struck with top sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph).
Ian was expected to get even stronger over the warm Gulf of Mexico, reaching top winds of 130 mph (209 kph) approaching the southwestern coast of Florida, where 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate.
As the storm’s center moved into the Gulf, scenes of destruction emerged in Cuba. Authorities were still assessing the damage in its world-famous tobacco belt, according to Associated Press.
Local government station TelePinar reported heavy damage at the main hospital in Pinar del Rio city, tweeting photos of collapsed ceilings and downed trees. No deaths were reported.
Videos on social media showed downed power lines and cut off roads in the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa and Mayabeque. A hospital in Pinar del Río was damaged.
“The town is flooded,” said farmer Andy Muñoz, 37, who lives in Playa Cajío in Artemisa.
He said many people lost their belongings due to the storm surge.
“I spent the hurricane at home with my husband and the dog. The masonry and zinc roof of the house had just been installed. But the storm tore it down,” said Mercedes Valdés, who lives along the highway connecting Pinar del Río to San Juan y Martínez. “We couldn’t rescue our things ... we just ran out.”
Iran protests: Death toll rises to 76 as crackdown intensifies - rights group
At least 76 protesters have been killed by Iranian security forces during 11 days of unrest sparked by the death of a woman in custody, activists say, BBC reported.
Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based organisation, accused authorities of using disproportionate force and live ammunition to suppress the dissent.
State media have put the number of dead at 41, including several security personnel, and blamed "rioters".
Hundreds of people have also been arrested, 20 of them journalists.
"The risk of torture and ill-treatment of protesters is serious and the use of live ammunition against protesters is an international crime," said IHR's director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. "The world must defend the Iranian people's demands for their fundamental rights."
The UN human rights office also said it was very concerned by the authorities' violent response and urged them to respect the right to protest peacefully, according to BBC.
The anti-government demonstrations have spread to more than 80 cities and towns across Iran since the funeral of Mahsa Amini on 17 September.
She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be "educated" and died in hospital following three days in a coma.
The police said Ms Amini died after suffering sudden heart failure, but her family have dismissed that and alleged that she was beaten by officers.
The protests against the morality police and hijab law triggered by her death quickly evolved into the most serious challenge that Iran's Shia Muslim clerical establishment has faced in years, BBC reported.
Videos posted on social media have shown women defiantly burning their headscarves on bonfires and cutting their hair in public to cheers and chants of "Women, life, freedom" and "Death to the dictator" - a reference to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Nepal reports 54 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday
Nepal reported 54 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 729 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 42 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 100 people underwent antigen tests, of which 12 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 76 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 1, 144 active cases in the country.
