Today's headlines: South Asia has the highest number of child brides, accounting for 45% of the total; In Japan, one of the world's oldest populations, a football championship for the over 80s kicks off; Jakarta confirms the death of three soldiers ambushed by separatists in Papua; Two protesters arreseted over lockdown for Covid-19 in Beijing released after four months; In Lebanon free museums and archaeological sites until 25 April.
The Nepali Congress candidate wins with the support of the prime minister and the Maoists. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) pulled out of the ruling coalition as a result. According to analysts, Nepal’s period of political instability has not yet ended.
Today's headlines: emergency landing in Nepal for a Shree Airlines plane; for Women's Day, the Pyongyang regime calls for more children for the army; three more Palestinian victims today in the West Bank from an Israeli raid. More than 14,000 Protestant Christians attend Spring Love Festival in Vietnam; more and more Japanese companies leave Russia.
Prachanda is back in power for a third time. He wants friendly relations with China and India, both of which are vying for influence in the Himalayas. In Nepal, the parties in the ruling coalition have different views on foreign policy. In the past, the Nepali Congress slammed encroachment by Chinese troops into Nepal.
The other news of the day: Christmas saw some 35,000 people displaced due to heavy rains in northern Mindanao; faced with the spread of COVID-19, India reintroduces testing for travellers entering from China and three other countries; five major NGOs are set to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban ban them from employing female staff; two Tajik nationals convicted in Russia for drug trafficking die in the war in Ukraine.
The coalition led by Sher Bahadur Deuba and his pro-India Nepali Congress is close to victory. Turnout drops significantly.
