Nepal to nationalise more palaces, jungles of king

A top panel tasked to nationalise the king’s property in Nepal decided on Sunday to register three more palaces and eight jungles owned by the royal family in government’s name after the ministerial committee earlier decided to deprive him of seven other palaces, reports PTI from Kathmandu.

A meeting of the five-member committee held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durbar decided to nationalise Nagarjuna and Gokarna palaces in the capital, Ratna palace in Pokhara, Kanti Iswari palace in Hetauda and Diyalo palace in Chitwan.

It also decided to nationalise forests spread over 35,000 square kilometres in Nagarjuna, Gokarna, Balaju, Thanksen of Nuwakot and Bharatpur of Chitwan.

King Gyanendra moved out of the Narayanhiti royal palace on Friday to a summer retreat in Kathmandu’s suburb a day after the cabinet approved the ministerial committee’s recommendation to nationalise seven royal palaces.

Fires engulf southern Greece, toll touches 51

Fires raged unabated on Sunday on the Peloponnese peninsula of southern Greece where at least 51 people have died in the flames, and officials at the inferno’s frontline said the situation remained critical, reports AFP from Athens.

The death toll climbed to 51 after two more charred bodies were found near the town of Megalopoli in central Peloponnese. Most of the victims of the fire since Friday have been found in the region of Zacharo, to the west of the peninsula, and include seven children, according to police.

“The situation is still very critical,” a spokesman for the firefighers at the front of the battle against the violent blazes told AFP. Fires have also erupted on Euboea, the second-largest Greek island, north of Athens, where several seaside resorts have been evacuated.

SC to pronounce order in Hasina’s case today

Bangladesh Supreme Court is set to pronounce on Monday the crucial order on a government appeal against a High Court ruling directing the interim government to release on bail former prime minister Sheikh Hasina accused in “extortion” charges, reports PTI from Dhaka.

A full bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court chaired by Chief Justice M Ruhul Amin, which was earlier expected to deliver its order on Sunday, re-fixed the date for Monday after hearing fresh arguments of Attorney General Fida M Kamal and Hasina’s lawyer Rafiqul Haq.

Hasina was arrested last month on two “extortion” charges filed earlier by Bangladeshi businessmen Noor Ali and Ajam J Chowdhury.

Storms pound US Midwest, thousands without power

Storms slammed the rain-soaked Midwest and hundreds of thousands of people in the region were without power after their homes were battered by lashing winds and flooding rains, reports AP from Colombus.

Tornado warnings were issued on Saturday for parts of central and southeast Ohio. Downed trees and power lines were reported in the southern part of the state, said National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Hatzos.
Powerful storms rolling through the Upper Midwest during most of the past week caused disastrous floods from southeastern Minnesota to Ohio that were blamed for at least 18 deaths.

In southern Michigan, the skies were clearing but more than 100,000 customers were without power, utilities said. The National Weather Service confirmed multiple tornadoes touched down Friday in areas north and west of Detroit.