Flash flooding kill at least 60 people in Afghanistan

Today's headlines: Arvind Kejriwal, one of India’s top opposition leaders, is granted bail. North Korea continues to test new weapons, which experts say will be transferred to Russia. In Thailand, the record heat has already killed more than 60 people. Japanese trains are becoming a new place of entertainment.

AFGHANISTAN

At least 60 people have died and 100 have been injured as a result of flash flooding in the northern province of Baghlan, but the death toll could rise, Taliban authorities report. Pictures and videos posted on social media show torrents of water running through homes in several villages. More than 200 people are trapped in their homes, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

INDIA

India's Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, allowing him to campaign until 1 June, the last day of voting. On 2 June he will have to surrender to the authorities for pre-trial detention in a corruption case. Kejriwal is a harsh critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is running for a third term.

JAPAN

One of the post-pandemic trends that have taken off in Japan is wrestling matches on shinkansen trains. In September, tickets for premium seats to the event sold out for 25,000 yen (US$ 161) in 30 minutes. Exclusive restaurants have also started to charter cars, serving gourmet food. “It seems enjoying the journey itself fills the void left by dwindling enthusiasm for travel during the pandemic," one expert commented.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea will equip its armed forces with a new 240-mm multiple rocket launcher, the regime's news agency said today. According to experts, different types of weapons are being tested and then sent to Russia, which will use them in the war against Ukraine. It seems that the new missile system was tested yesterday.

THAILAND

According to Thailand's Ministry of Health, 61 people have already died this year from record heat, compared to 37 for the whole of 2023. The greatest number of deaths occurred in the northeast, the country’s agricultural heartland. Authorities have urged people with medical conditions not to leave their homes.

ARMENIA – AZERBAIJAN

Thousands of people have gathered in downtown Yerevan to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation and protest against the process of demarcating the borders with Azerbaijan. Protesters have come from different parts of the country, in particular from the Tavush, the region most affected by the negotiations.

RUSSIA

In the Russian republic of Tatarstan, manuals have been published for the wives of soldiers at the front, prepared by the Popular Front movement with instructions on how to support their husbands, such as avoiding asking them to talk about events they experienced during fighting, “being close to them in silence”, and not uttering irritating phrases such as “but how you have changed”.

• afghanistan
• india
• japan
• north korea
• thailand
• armenia
• azerbaijan
• russia