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Nepal’s election commission said it is ready to hold elections as planned, despite concerns over weather conditions in high-altitude regions when the vote takes place on March 5. The poll follows anti-corruption protests in September that toppled the previous government, prompting an accelerated election schedule and an unusual early-year date for voting. “We are prepared to conduct the election in all locations,” the commission’s assistant spokesman, Prakash Nyaupane, said adding logistical, administrative and security arrangements were progressing as planned. Source link
European Union foreign ministers have agreed to include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the bloc’s list of terrorist organisations, marking a symbolic shift in Europe’s approach to Iran’s leadership.Set up after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shia clerical ruling system, the IRGC has great sway in the country, controlling swathes of the economy and armed forces. The guards were also put in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi criticised the EU ministers’ decision. Europe is “making another major strategic mistake”, the Iranian minister wrote on X, adding that “the EU’s current posture is deeply damaging to its own interests”.The EU’s move is expected to have little practical impact, as the IRGC and senior commanders are already under EU sanctions. Iranian officials have also ratcheted up warnings that Tehran would respond forcefully to any US military action, while not ruling out diplomatic solutions. Turkiye said yesterday that it would offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran during an upcoming visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, after Ankara’s top diplomat urged Washington to start nuclear talks with Tehran. Source link
As the blue-and-white tram carriages rattle into a large square in the heart of Alexandria, doors creak open to a crush of passengers, many of whom can recite every stop by heart.However, the clatter of single and double-deck trams along this century-and-a-half-old line – a source of civic pride and transport alike for tens of thousands of daily commuters in Egypt’s second city – is soon to be stopped.Next week, authorities are starting a sweeping renovation aimed at replacing the nearly 14km (nine-mile) line’s worn but beloved trams with a digitally controlled light rail system, one of the latest projects in a broader push to revamp Egypt’s road and rail networks under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Passengers are seen inside a moving tram in Alexandria. – Reuters The National Authority for Tunnels says the renovations should roughly double current speed, cutting end-to-end travel time along a similar route by over half an hour, and boost passenger capacity.While some commuters welcome the renovation plan, others worry that construction could ensnarl narrow streets, that ticket prices could jump, or that works, planned over two years, might have to be extended.Some are mourning the loss of one of the Mediterranean city’s most treasured features.”It’s not just a means of transport,” said Fatma Hussein, 63, a retired agricultural engineer who has ridden the tram since her school days. “It’s our memories… our history. You can develop it, but why stop it? Why deprive employees, students and the people who use it all the time?”Launched in the 1860s, the Raml line is a rare holdout of double-decker trams.Wide carriage windows frame Alexandria’s tree-lined streets, dilapidated apartment blocks and historic villas.With standard tickets costing just five Egyptian pounds (about $0.10), it also remains an affordable option for workers, students and pensioners amid rising living costs.Alexandrian novelist Alaa Khaled, who grew up near the tramline, recalls how he used to make rides into a game with his father, climbing between the tram’s floors to see the city from different angles.”Even now, I still take the whole journey and gaze at the villas and trees as a window onto the history of the city, or just sit down and read,” he said.Architect and urban mobility specialist Yasmin Kandil said she worried that the light rail project, which includes elevating parts of the line to bypass intersections, will prioritise vehicles and speed while distorting the city’s aesthetics.Residents’ concerns have been fuelled by the recent suspension of the local Abu Qir rail line for conversion into a metro line, which commuters say worsened congestion and left travellers scrambling for alternatives.Authorities say they will deploy replacement buses during the construction of the light rail to limit disruption.The National Authority for Tunnels, which manages the tram and its renovation, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.The European Investment Bank is providing €138mn ($165mn) for the project and lists the total cost at about €592mn ($708mn).France’s development agency is also providing financing.Alexandria has another tram line, the City Line, which has newer trams and has yet to be slated for renovations.However, the loss of the Raml line will be “painful”, said 52-year-old tram driver Mahmoud Ramadan, who has worked on the tram network since 1997 and said he met his wife on the job.”Not everyone will understand,” he said. “It’s your home and your life for 30 years.” Related Story Source link
Donald Trump’s border chief has vowed to press on with the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis while acknowledging the mission needed to improve and promising to hold agents to account.“We’re going to make sure we do targeted enforcement operations,” Tom Homan told reporters in the Minnesota city. “We are not surrendering our mission at all. We’re just doing it smarter.”“President Trump wants this fixed,” he said. “And I’m going to fix it.” The border czar called on Minnesota’s residents to turn down the temperature and stop what he called “hateful rhetoric” against federal agents carrying out immigration raids.Minneapolis has been gripped by weeks of protests against the roundup of migrants. Two Americans demonstrating against the sweeps have been shot dead by federal agents.Homan struck a conciliatory tone at his first press conference, a marked difference from the Border Patrol commander who was previously heading the mission on the ground and has since been removed. “One thing everybody I talked to agreed on was that community safety is paramount,” Homan said.“The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making internally,” he said. “President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognised that certain improvements could and should be made.” “That’s exactly what I’m doing here,” he said.Homan also said he would reduce the 3,000-strong force of agents deployed to the city if he received “co-operation” from state and local leaders, noting that he has had productive meetings with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both vocal critics of the surge. “We can do better,” he said, in a rare acknowledgment from a Trump official that the operation has not been perfect. “We made some significant gains, significant co-ordination and co-operation, and you’re going to see some massive changes occurring here in this city.”Homan said any federal agents who breach codes of conduct “will be dealt with”. The two agents involved in the latest shooting – that of 37-year-old Veterans Hospital nurse Alex Pretti – have been placed on leave pending an investigation.Trump has scrambled to stem outrage across the political aisle over the killing, saying on Tuesday that he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minneapolis. However, the president on Wednesday accused mayor Frey of “PLAYING WITH FIRE” for refusing to rally local police to enforce the federal immigration sweeps.The political battle could soon move to Congress, where Democrats are threatening to hold up authorisation for swathes of government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling military-style immigration agencies. Frey responded on Wednesday to Trump ramping up his rhetoric, writing on X: “The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce federal immigration laws.”In another challenge to Trump’s crackdown, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday to halt the detention of refugees in Minnesota awaiting permanent resident status and ordered the release of those in custody. Another federal judge has slammed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Todd Lyons, claiming that he “has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence”.The White House initially justified Saturday’s fatal shooting of Pretti, an intensive care nurse, whom Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem described as a “domestic terrorist”.However, a widespread backlash forced Trump to shuffle leadership of immigration operations in Minneapolis, replacing Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino with Homan. Source link
The World Food Programme (WFP) is ending the contracts of all 365 staff in Houthi-controlled Yemen, a UN official told AFP yesterday, effectively ending operations in a zone gravely afflicted by hunger.The United Nations agency suspended work in rebel-held areas in late August after the Iran-backed Houthis detained 38 employees in a series of raids, the official said, requesting anonymity. “These circumstances, combined with a challenging funding environment, have resulted in the need for WFP to end the contracts of 365 staff members” from the end of March, he said.The 365 Yemeni employees constitute “all the WFP members in the areas under the control of the de facto Houthi authorities”, the official added. International staff have already been pulled out. Around 19.5mn people in Yemen – more than half the population – were in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025, according to UN figures.Most Yemenis live under Houthi rule. In November, the WFP and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) named Yemen as one of the countries with populations at “imminent risk of catastrophic hunger”.However, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted UN agencies as part of a crackdown on alleged Israeli espionage rings since the start of the war in Gaza. “Work stopped at our facility on August 25 due to the campaign of arbitrary arrests,” the official said.Sixty-nine UN staff have been detained altogether, the official said, with the world body having strongly rejected allegations of spying. The Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa in 2014, forcing out the internationally recognised government.The war, largely on hold since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, left hundreds of thousands dead and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.The global aid sector is grappling with a sharp drop in funding, with key donor countries led by the United States slashing their contributions. – AFP Source link
Direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed yesterday after more than a decade, as ties warm between the two nations that have long had an uneasy relationship.Bangladesh and Pakistan – geographically divided by about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) of Indian territory – were once one nation. They split after a bitter war in 1971. Since 2012, travellers between Bangladesh and Pakistan had to use connecting flights through Gulf hubs such as Dubai and Doha.Yesterday national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines departed for the Pakistani city of Karachi, the first regular flight since 2012. Mohammad Shahid, one of 150 Karachi-bound passengers on board, said he was happy to be able to travel more frequently than before, when he could only make the journey once every two or three years.“We had been waiting for such an opportunity because we travel continuously,” he told AFP in Dhaka. “There are so many people waiting in Pakistan to come here, and some waiting here to go there.”Direct flights will now operate twice weekly. Biman said in a statement that their resumption would “play a significant role in promoting trade and commerce, expanding educational exchanges, and fostering cultural ties between the two countries”.Ties with fellow Muslim-majority nation Pakistan have warmed since a student-led revolt in Bangladesh overthrew Sheikh Hasina in 2024, ending her autocratic 15-year rule. Over the same period, relations between Bangladesh and Hasina’s old ally India have turned frosty. Cargo ships resumed sailing from Karachi to Bangladesh’s key port of Chittagong in November 2024.Trade has risen since then and cultural ties have grown, with popular Pakistani singers performing in Dhaka, while Bangladeshi patients have travelled to Pakistan for medical care. Source link
Noble International School celebrated the 77th Republic Day with great patriotic zeal at the Al Wukair Campus. The solemn ceremony began with the unfurling of the national flag by the directors of the school, R S Moideen, and Nazer, in the presence of the principal, Dr Shibu Abdul Rasheed, vice-principals, teachers, and students. Following the national anthem, the campus resonated with the spirit of the motherland through a series of vibrant cultural programmes, including stirring patriotic songs, energetic dance performances, and an impressive school orchestra. The formal event commenced with a welcome address by the vice-principal (Academics), Jayamon Joy. In his keynote address, Principal Dr Shibu Abdul Rasheed highlighted the vital role of youth in shaping the nation’s future and reflected in the guiding principles enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution. He encouraged teachers to instil in students a deep understanding of the fundamental rights and the values embodied in the preamble. The principal further highlighted the life and contributions of Dr B R Ambedkar and reflected on the history of the nation, emphasising that great leaders emerged through their own potential and calibre, not through patronage or external influence. The celebration, which beautifully blended solemnity with cultural pride, concluded with a gracious vote of thanks by Shihabudheen Maruthath, vice-principal (CCA), leaving the students inspired to uphold the democratic values of the nation. Related Story Source link
The 77th Republic Day of India was celebrated at Ideal Indian School with great enthusiasm, patriotism, and solemnity. Observed on January 26 each year, Republic Day commemorates the day the Constitution of India came into effect, establishing India as a sovereign democratic republic. The celebrations began with the hoisting of the national flag by school president Dr Hassan Kunhi MP, accompanied by the school choir’s rendition of the national anthem.The event was attended by Zaheeruddin Ibrahim, chairman of the HR and Finance Committee; Binu Kumar, member of the committee; acting principal Mohammad Azam Khan; heads of departments and sections; staff; scouts and guides; parents; and students. In his address, Dr Hassan Kunhi MP emphasised that the Republic Day is a reminder of the Constitution’s strong foundations, highlighting the ideals of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. He encouraged students and attendees to uphold these values, stressing the importance of responsible citizenship in building a united and progressive India. Khan urged students to take pride in their heritage while embracing progress and innovation. He motivated them to pursue careers in the humanities and civil services to contribute meaningfully to the nation. He reminded them to represent India with discipline, civic sense, and dignity wherever they go. A guard of honour by the School Scouts and Guides added solemnity to the occasion. The flag-hoisting ceremony commenced with a prayer by Mohammed Misbahuddin (class IX). Students expressed their patriotic sentiments through speeches, with Danish Ishaq Rasulbhai (class VIII) speaking in Hindi and Hishana Manoj (class IX) delivering her address in English. Performances by students from boys’, girls’, and junior sections of the morning and evening sessions enthralled the audience with a stirring patriotic song. During the ceremony, the school’s academic excellence was recognised at the CBSE Gulf Sahodaya Principals’ Conference for outstanding performance in the grade XII Examinations 2025. Certificates and mementoes were presented to parents, and Scouts and Guides received awards for their services. Saja Amina, assistant head-girl, welcomed the gathering, while Leonel Mathew, assistant head-boy, proposed the vote of thanks. The programme was conducted by Tanu Madvi, a teacher in the junior section. Related Story Source link
Vietnamese founder and creative director Phan Huy grabs an item of his collection in Paris on Thursday. (AFP) Vietnam’s Phan Huy became the youngest-ever designer to present a collection on the official Haute Couture calendar in Paris aged just 27 Thursday, rounding out a week of major fashion debuts and celebrity sightings. Phan thrilled the fashion scene at a venue in western Paris, having had a whirlwind rise into the world’s most exclusive design club since creating his eponymous label in 2023.His airy Spring/Summer 2026 collection of evening dresses made abundant use of light muslin and tulle fabric, as well as hand-stitched floral and beaded embellishments, all inspired by Vietnam’s former royal Nguyen dynasty. “I’m very happy and very proud because I can represent and bring the culture and creativity of Vietnam to the world,” Phan told AFP earlier this week. As well as being the youngest, he is the first Vietnamese designer on the programme. Although Vietnam is well-known as a manufacturing hub for mass-market Western clothes, Phan’s business partner Steven Doan stressed that the duo “want to prove that we can do fashion as well”. Phan has been fast-tracked into a field that is becoming increasingly diverse under the impulse of the French fashion federation, FHCM. The last day of Haute Couture Week included shows by Saudi label Ashi Studio as well as Syrian designer Rami al-Ali, who joined the official schedule for the first time last year.DebutsThe most-followed events of the last four days have been the Haute Couture debuts of new Chanel and Dior designers Matthieu Blazy and Jonathan Anderson, who took over the labels last year. The two 40-something contemporaries were promoted as part of a vast overhaul of creative director positions in the European luxury clothing sector in the last 12 months. Seen as new generational talents, the Franco-Belgian and Northern Irish designers have the daunting task of modernising some of the most venerable and profitable labels in fashion. Blazy turned to birdlife for inspiration for his collection, producing designs that made waves for appearing both wearable and relatable – and modelled by an unusual number of older models. A-listers from actor Nicole Kidman and singer Dua Lipa to rapper A$AP Rocky sat in the front row. The Business of Fashion website called it a “slam dunk”, while Paris-based fashion commentator Diane Pernet told AFP it was “everything that couture is supposed to be.” Anderson has had more mixed appraisals, with some critics seeing the more risk-taking designer as still searching for a clear identity for his LVMH-owned mega-brand. Singer Rihanna was full of praise for the son of a rugby player backstage, telling him that the “show took my breath away. People were stunned”, according to a video of the encounter posted online by a fashion journalist. Source link
MES Indian School celebrated the 77th Republic Day of India on January 26 with vibrancy and patriotic spirit. The occasion was graced by the esteemed presence of the directors and members of the school management. The chief guest, Kashif Jaleel, president, officiating, MES Governing Board, hoisted the national flag, inspiring a deep sense of patriotism. This was followed by a soulful patriotic song rendered by the school choir, stirring patriotic feelings and pride among the audience. In a speech, principal Dr Hameeda Kadar highlighted the vital importance of discipline, civic responsibility, and ethical values in shaping a progressive society. She underscored the enduring significance of the constitution and urged students to uphold its core values: democracy, unity, and integrity. The cultural segment came alive with a sequence of flawlessly co-ordinated performances. Patriotic dance presentations by students from the junior, girls’, and boys’ sections, along with the evening session of the school, captivated the audience, evoking patriotic spirit through their expressive movements. Traditional costumes and vibrant props added colour and authenticity to the performances. The inspiring speech delivered by Mukesh Adhityan underscored the ideals of national unity and social responsibility, while highlighting the pivotal role of youth in nation-building. The event served as a reminder of the responsibilities entrusted to every citizen to uphold the sovereignty and harmony of the nation. The event witnessed the participation of distinguished guests, school officials, faculty members, parents and students. Fiona D’Cruz and Davidson, members of the teaching faculty compered the proceedings with poise and professionalism. The event was meticulously co-ordinated by Anwar and Sumitha Nassar, cultural co-ordinators, along with a dedicated team of teachers, ensuring its resounding success. Related Story Source link