International

Nepal counts 148 deaths and massive damage after the worst rains in decades

The intense monsoon rains have caused floods and landslides in Nepal, causing the death of at least 148 people and the disappearance of dozens. The Kathmandu Valley, the epicenter of the catastrophe, has been the most affected, with 73 fatalities reported.

Floods have caused massive damage to infrastructure such as homes and bridges, leaving thousands of people homeless. Rescue teams work hard to locate the missing and provide assistance to those affected, but they face great challenges due to adverse weather conditions and blocked roads.

The deputy inspector general of the Armed Police, Kumar Neupane, explained to EFE that security forces have been mobilized to remove debris and open key roads throughout the country. So far, 3,626 people have been rescued and transferred to a safe area.

Nepalese authorities have reported that the death toll may continue to rise as search and rescue operations progress.

In addition to the deaths, dozens of injuries and thousands of displaced people have been reported.

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The Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, has been one of the areas most affected by floods. Saturday recorded the highest level of rain in decades, which caused rivers to overflow and flood entire neighborhoods.

According to Neupane, the rescuers have recovered 35 bodies buried by landslides in the Jhyaple Khola area of Dhading, on the Prithvi road, which connects the Kathmandu valley.

“A bus and two minibuses were found buried in the landslide. The police have been recovering the bodies since Sunday morning,” he said.

A low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal caused prolonged rains this year. The monsoon, which normally begins in mid-June and ends at the end of September, will extend this year until the first week of October.

The Government of Nepal today ordered the closure of schools in the Himalayan country for at least three days, in an effort to mitigate the impact of widespread floods.

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This decision, taken at an emergency cabinet meeting, seeks to protect the safety of students and educational staff, the spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Laxmi Prasad Bhattarai, said in a statement.

The interruption of transport, the damage to school buildings and the serious impact on the communities have forced the Government to take this measure. In addition, it has been decided to postpone all ongoing exams due to extreme weather conditions.

The Kathmandu valley, the epicenter of the floods, recorded yesterday the highest level of rain since 1970. Thousands of homes have been submerged and authorities fear that the number of fatalities will continue to increase.

Sharmila Sharma, who lives in a rented room in the Nepalese capital, told EFE how the water flooded her home up to a meter high. “This has been one of the worst floods I have seen in Kathmandu in the last 30 years,” he said.

Videos and photos on social media platforms and local media showed people trying to move with water up to their waists. In many places, residents used buckets to empty their water-filled houses.

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International

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.