510 die in Spain in first week of heatwave as temp touches 45 deg C
Spain's Health Ministry has said that 510 people died from heat-related causes in the first week of a heatwave when the mercury reached 45 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country, Xinhua reported.
The fatalities were reported by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) on Monday, which forms part of the Ministry, between July 10 and 16, with Saturday the deadliest to date with 150 victims.
According to the ISCIII System of Monitorisation of Daily Mortality, the number of heat-related deaths increased sharply as the heatwave escalated, Xinhua news agency reported.
It said deaths quadrupled from 15 to 60 in the four days from July 10 to 13. The figure then jumped further to 93 last Thursday and 123 on Friday, before reaching a climax of 150 on Saturday.
The toll is feared to rise even further when new figures are published for Sunday.
The heat is especially affecting the elderly, with 321 of the 510 victims aged 85 years or above, 121 between 75 and 84 years of age, and 44 between 65 and 74 years of age.
However, deaths were also reported among the younger population, including two municipal workers in Madrid who died of heatstroke. This prompted the city hall to adopt more flexible working hours, so that workers could avoid working outdoors during the hottest hours of the day.
Among the younger victims were also a fireman and a shepherd, who died in the wildfires that are engulfing Spain as well as some other areas in Southern Europe, according to Xinhua.
This is Spain's second heatwave of the summer. The previous one, from June 11 to 17, caused 829 deaths, according to ISCIII.
Bus hit kills cyclist in Kailali
A man died after being hit by a bus near Chaumala Multiple Campus in -Gauriganga Municipality-1 of Kailali on Tuesday.
According to the District Police Office, Kailali, the deceased has been identified as Khadak Thapa (46) of Katan, Gauriganga-2.
Police said that the incident occurred when the bus (Na 6 Kha) hit a bicycle Thapa was riding on today.
Critically injured in the incident, Thapa breathed his last during the course of treatment at the Dhangadhi-based Nisarga Hospital.
Police said that they have impounded the bus and arrested its driver for investigation.
Rare in US for an active shooter to be stopped by bystander
A bystander’s decision to shoot a man who opened fire at an Indiana mall was a rare occurrence of someone stepping in to try to prevent multiple casualties before police could arrive, Associated Press reported.
Police on Monday praised the quick actions of 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken, an armed shopper who killed 20-year-old Jonathan Sapirman after Sapirman killed three people and wounded two others at a mall in the Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood.
“Many more people would have died last night if not for a responsible armed citizen,” police Chief Jim Ison said Monday, repeatedly calling Dicken a “good Samaritan” and his response “heroic.”
It isn’t common for mass shootings to be stopped in such fashion. From 2000 to 2021, fewer than 3% of 433 active attacks in the U.S. ended with a civilian firing back, according to the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University. The researchers define the attacks as one or more people targeting multiple people.
It was far more common for police or bystanders to subdue the attacker or for police to kill the person, according to the center’s national data, which were recently cited by The New York Times.
In a quarter of the shootings, the attacker stopped by leaving the area, similar to what happened during the July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, where seven people were killed, according to Associated Press.
“There’s been this statement: ‘The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.’ That’s factually inaccurate because of the word ‘only,’” said Adam Lankford, a criminal justice expert at the University of Alabama who has written books and research papers about mass shootings.
Nonetheless, gun-rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, used that phrase on social media to draw attention to what happened in Indiana.
Since July 1, Indiana has allowed anyone 18 or older to carry a handgun in public, though private property owners can prohibit firearms. The Greenwood mall has a ban on weapons, according to its conduct code.
Gun Owners of America hopes the mall reconsiders, saying gun-free zones create a false sense of security.
The Greenwood Park Mall, which is owned by Simon Property Group, didn’t reply to a request for comment but released a statement commending first responders and the “heroic actions of the good Samaritan who stopped the suspect.”
Lankford believes it would be a mistake to think armed civilians can be relied upon to regularly stop mass shootings.
“While it’s certainly a good thing in this mall shooting that someone was able to stop it before it went any further, let’s not think we can substitute that outcome in all past and future incidents,” Lankford said. “If everyone’s carrying a firearm, the risk that something bad happens just gets much larger.”
There have been other examples of armed people defending large groups. In May, a woman fatally shot a man in Charleston, West Virginia, after he fired an AR-15-style rifle into a crowd at an outdoor party. She was praised by police, not charged.
In 2017, Devin Patrick Kelley crashed his car and killed himself after bystanders, including one who was armed, chased him after he massacred 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Associated Press reported.
Sustainable solution sought for Kathmandu valley's waste
National Assembly members have demanded management of waste in Kathmandu valley soon.
In a session of the Upper House today, CPN (Unified Socialist)'s Gomadevi Timilsina said, "The streets in Kathmandu have turned almost unwalkable due to piles of waste."
The report of the outbreak of cholera is creating panic. When will Kathmandu folks be free from the constant struggle for waste management," she questioned.
She advised that the government could use a machine manufactured in Hetauda to segregate waste.
Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal's Pramila Kumari said the provision of inclusion guaranteed by the constitution was yet to be brought into practice.
Shekhar Kumar Singh of Loktantrik Samajbadi Party urged the House not to delay endorsement of the Citizenship Amendment Bill.
Dil Kumari Rawal of the CPN- UML accused the government of not being serious about people's issues and urged political leaders to rise above personal and partisan interests.
CPN-Maoist Centre's Suresh Alemagar drew the government's attention to the problems facing Nepalis in the British Gurkha force.
CPN (Unified Socialist)'s Rajendra Laxmi Gaire asked the government to monitor the market to control skyrocketing prices, while CPN-Maoist Centre's Nar Bahadur demanded investigation into the rumour that 'M Adhikari' and Nepal Rastra Bank's governor Maha Prasad Adhikari are the same person.
Anita Devkota demanded a proper space for women in the upcoming election.



