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At least 14 Indian nationals were arrested in three separate cases of drug smuggling in Nepal on Sunday and a total of 149 kg of the contraband was recovered from their possession, police said. All of them were arrested in Dharan city. While four Indians were arrested and 50 kg of hashish were recovered from their possession, in a separate incident, five Indian nationals were arrested with 99 kg of drugs. In another incident, a 23-year-old Indian national along with his four accomplices were arrested for their involvement in drug peddling, police said. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/JxnWeIq

A 71-year-old Ukrainian man died in Russia in December awaiting trial for espionage and other crimes, human rights organisation Memorial said on Sunday, citing court documents. Several Ukrainian citizens have been accused of espionage by Russia following the start of what the Kremlin calls a special military operation almost two years ago. Memorial said there was little information about Viktor Demchenko, who was thought to have died at a pre-trial detention facility in the southern Rostov region. His case was sent to a military court in the city of Rostov-on-Don in August. TASS news agency said the court had closed the case against Demchenko, also accused of participation in a "terrorist group" and illegal possession of arms and munitions, due to his death. It cited law enforcement officials as saying he died on Dec. 31 from the consequences of a stroke he had suffered earlier. It was unclear why information about Demchenko's death had emerged only weeks after. (Ex...

Britain's King Charles on Saturday expressed gratitude to well-wishers following his cancer diagnosis, his first public comment since Buckingham Palace announced he would postpone some engagements to undergo treatment. "I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days," Charles said in a statement. The palace announced on Monday that Charles, 75, had been diagnosed with a form of cancer, less than 18 months into his reign. "As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement," Charles said. The king said it was heartening to hear how his diagnosis had helped to shine a light on the organisations that support cancer patients in Britain and elsewhere. News of his cancer came after Charles spent three nights in hospital last month where he underwent a corrective procedure for a benign enlarged prostate. Buckingham ...

Relatives found the body on Saturday of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who had begged Gaza rescuers to send help after being trapped by Israeli military fire, along with the bodies of five of her family members and two ambulance workers who had gone to save her. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) accused Israel of deliberately targeting the ambulance it sent to rescue Hind Rajab after she had spent hours on the phone to dispatchers begging for help with the sound of shooting echoing around. "The occupation deliberately targeted the Red Crescent crew despite prior coordination to allow the ambulance to arrive at the site to rescue Hind," the Red Crescent said in a statement. Israel's military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the Red Crescent statement. Family members found Hind's body along with those of her uncle and aunt and their three children still in a car near a roundabout in the Tel al-Hawa suburb of Gaza City, the of...

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that Israel's planned army operation in overcrowded Rafah would cause a "humanitarian catastrophe" and called for the United Nations Security Council to intervene. The kingdom "warned of the extremely dangerous repercussions of storming and targeting" Rafah and affirmed its "categorical rejection and strong condemnation of their forced deportation", in a foreign ministry statement carried by state media. "This continued violation of international law and international humanitarian law confirms the necessity of convening the Security Council urgently to prevent Israel from causing an imminent humanitarian catastrophe," the statement added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered the army to prepare to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned ground operation against Hamas in the city. More than one million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge in the city in Gaza's far south,...

West Bengal Governor on Saturday said that the present situation in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district is the "worst that could happen in a civilised society" and called upon the state government to take effective action, seeking a report from it. His assertion came hours after the BJP demanded his intervention in the violent protests that rocked Sandeshkhali, where prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were clamped after local women brought out processions demanding the arrest of missing TMC leader Sheikh Shajahan and his aides. "The Sandeshkhali incident shows the worst that could happen in a civilised society. Women are harassed and assaulted there. The established government has to act firmly and effectively," CV Ananda Bose said in a video message released by the Raj Bhavan on Saturday night. "No one will be allowed to take the law in their hands. The government has a responsibility to put an end to this. I understand that prohibitory ord...

Below huge wall-mounted photos of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Naila Khan Marwat cheered with scores of young volunteers on election night whenever counts on TV channels suggested their candidate was in the lead. Then she returned to her laptop to collect complaints of alleged electoral rules violations from candidates, compiled with 50 other young women to give to party lawyers launching legal challenges. Marwat, 26, worked until the early hours of Friday at the party headquarters in Pakistan's capital, tracking the results closely, a more confusing task than usual after former cricket hero Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters were barred from running as PTI candidates and using the cricket bat party symbol. They had to run as independents. "We have memorised all of the symbols and all the names of our candidates," said Marwat, a law student. "We know every candidate and every symbol." Pakistan voted on Thursday in a critical...