Author: Himalaya Post

GENOA, Italy – Italian rescuers searched through the night Wednesday for any survivors under the shattered remains of a motorway bridge in Genoa as investigators probed what could have caused such a catastrophic collapse. More than 30 people were killed on Tuesday when a vast span of the Morandi bridge collapsed during a heavy rainstorm, sending about 35 cars and several trucks plunging 45-metres (150 feet) onto railway tracks below. Rescuers spent the night within the tangled remains of the bridge under floodlights and there are fears the toll could rise in what the Italian government has called an “immense tragedy”. The collapse came as the bridge was undergoing maintenance work and as the Liguria region, where Genoa is situated, experienced torrential rainfall. “Unfortunately there are around 30 dead and many injured in a serious condition,” Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday, vowing that those responsible would “pay, pay everything, and pay dearly”. On Wednesday morning, sources in the interior ministry quoted by Italian media estimated that the death toll had risen to 35, including three children aged from eight to 12 years old. Sixteen people are also wounded, including 12 in serious condition. Italian President Sergio Mattarella said a “catastrophe” had hit Genoa and the whole of Italy.”Italians have the right to modern and efficient infrastructure that accompanies them safely through their everyday lives,” Mattarella said in...

KABUL – At least 45 Afghan security force members were killed after Taliban militants stormed a joint military camp in northern Baghlan province overnight, reported local media Tolo News TV on Wednesday. The brazen attack occurred at midnight after hundreds of Taliban militants attacked Allahuddin Base in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of the province, 160 km north of Kabul, triggering heavy clashes lasting for hours, the report quoted a provincial security source as saying. Those among the killed were 35 army soldiers and 10 Afghan Local police personnel, the report said.At least five soldiers were injured and eight local policemen went missing after the fighting. The Taliban seized several military vehicles, weapons and ammunition after the seizure of the camp. This is the second attack against Afghan security forces this week. On Monday, 17 Afghan army soldiers were killed, 15 injured and five others were captured by Taliban after the militants overran a military base in northern Faryab province. Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east to the once peaceful region in the north, where Taliban have been recruiting from among the...

SEOUL –  Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “at an early date”, the North’s state media reported Wednesday, amid a rapid diplomatic thaw on the peninsula. Putin invited Kim and the South’s President Moon Jae-in in June to an economic forum in Vladivostok next month although it is not known whether the North Korean leader responded to the invitation. In a message to Kim on the North’s National Liberation Day — marking the end of Japanese rule over Korea at the end of the Second World War — Putin reiterated his intention for a summit. “I affirm that I am ready to meet you at an early date to discuss urgent issues of bilateral relations and important matters of the region,” Putin said in a message carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency. The message did not offer a specific date for the meeting.Putin expressed hopes to further develop “reciprocal cooperation including the realisation of the tripartite project” that would also involve South Korea. Kim also sent a message to Putin, KCNA reported, noting the “valuable tradition” of their joint wartime struggle against Japan was the “strong roots” of their bilateral relations.The message gave no response to Putin’s invitation, although KCNA did not make it clear if Kim’s message came before or after the letter from Moscow. The...

BEIJING – China has blasted US tariffs on solar panel imports, filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization in the latest salvo of the trade battle between the world’s two economic giants. US President Donald Trump approved steep tariffs on solar panel imports in January to protect US producers, triggering an outcry from China, South Korea and even protests from the US solar industry. China’s commerce ministry accused Washington of erecting trade barriers while subsidising its domestic industry. “While taking protectionist measures against imported photovoltaic products, the US provided subsidies to domestically produced photovoltaics and other renewable energy products,” the ministry said in a statement. China lodged its challenge at the WTO on Tuesday, the statement said. The US subsidies have given an unfair advantage to domestic companies and “damaged the legitimate rights and interests of China’s renewable energy companies,” it said. Beijing said the US measures are suspected of violating trade rules and that it would turn to the WTO’s dispute resolution mechanism to protect its interests. Trump’s tariffs were not popular with the US solar industry, which claimed the rising cost of imports would cause the loss of thousands of jobs.Imports of cheap Chinese panels helped triple US annual solar electricity generation between 2012 and 2016. But they also drove prices down by 60 percent, causing most US producers to stop production or declare bankruptcy, the...