INDIA
Truck crash kills at least 14
Police said that at least 14 people died when a small truck carrying them fell into a canal after smashing into a concrete railing on a highway in the nation’s north. Police officer Hem Pal Singh said another 22 people were injured in the accident early yesterday in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district. Singh said the victims were returning home after attending a pre-wedding ceremony, adding that the driver apparently dozed off and lost control of the vehicle. Police figures showed that the nation has the world’s highest road accident death toll, with more than 110,000 people dying each year in crashes.
JAPAN
Patrol aircraft to be donated
The government plans to donate retired military patrol aircraft to Malaysia, a report said yesterday, as alliances strengthen in response to China’s maritime claims. The two countries are among a number in the region stepping up defense cooperation against what they see as Beijing’s aggressive stance on the high seas. Beijing insists it has sovereign rights to almost all of the South China Sea — strategically vital waters, where Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims. Responding to a request by Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo plans to offer decommissioned Lockheed P-3C Orion patrol aircraft, the Nikkei said, quoting an unnamed official at the Ministry of Defense. The National Diet is deliberating a bill that would allow the nation to provide military equipment to other countries at no cost. Malaysia would likely be the first beneficiary once the bill is passed, the Nikkei said, without clarifying how many P-3Cs the government plans to hand off. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has about 60 P-3Cs in operation and plans to retire those that have logged about 15,000 hours of flight time. Immediate confirmation of the report was not available.
NEPAL
Sherpas prepare for climbs
Sherpas are fixing the final route to the summit of Mount Everest and the first climb of the season could be days away, an official said. High winds and snow near the summit were yesterday slowing down the work, but the first climb could happen as early as tomorrow, said government official Gyanendra Shrestha, who is stationed at base camp. The workers were fixing ropes above the last camp before the final approach to the summit, at the South Col, located at about 8,000m, he said. The Department of Tourism has issued a record number of permits to 317 climbers to attempt to scale the 8,850m summit this year. An equal number or more of Sherpa guides are to accompany them. May is the best month to climb Everest and there are at least a couple of windows of favorable weather on the summit. Last year, the government issued permits to 289 climbers.
OUTRAGE: The former strongman was accused of corruption and responsibility for the killings of hundreds of thousands of political opponents during his time in office Indonesia yesterday awarded the title of national hero to late president Suharto, provoking outrage from rights groups who said the move was an attempt to whitewash decades of human rights abuses and corruption that took place during his 32 years in power. Suharto was a US ally during the Cold War who presided over decades of authoritarian rule, during which up to 1 million political opponents were killed, until he was toppled by protests in 1998. He was one of 10 people recognized by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in a televised ceremony held at the presidential palace in Jakarta to mark National
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
LANDMARK: After first meeting Trump in Riyadh in May, al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House today would be the first by a Syrian leader since the country’s independence Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the US on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country’s state news agency SANA reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted long-time former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House today. It is the first such visit by a Syrian president since the country’s independence in 1946, according to analysts. The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president’s regional tour in May. US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack earlier
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
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