Foreign News
At least eight killed after car explodes near Delhi’s Red Fort
At least eight people have been killed and more injured after a car exploded near Delhi’s historic Red Fort, authorities have said.
Delhi City police spokesperson, Sanjay Tyagi confirmed the deaths to the BBC, and said a further 20 people had suffered injuries.
Police are investigating the cause of the explosion and “exploring all possibilities”, Mr Tyagi said.
Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha has told reporters that the incident happened at around 18:52 local time (13:52 GMT), when a slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light before it exploded, damaging nearby vehicles.
Mr Tyagi told the BBC the explosion happened in a Hyundai i20 car that was moving and carrying three people at the time.
Mumbai, India’s financial capital, has been put on high alert, as has the Uttar Pradesh state which borders Delhi.
The blast happened near a metro station close to the Red Fort, one of Delhi’s most high-profile landmarks.
The Mughal fortress, which is visited by thousands of tourists each year, was built in the 17th Century and is where Indian prime ministers give their Independence Day speeches every year.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the blast.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in a statement that the news was “extremely heartbreaking”.
The federal home minister Amit Shah said teams from India’s National Security Guard, and National Investigation Agency are investigating the explosion, along with forensic experts.
“We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation, taking all possibilities into account. All options will be investigated immediately and we will present the results to the public,” he added.
The minister, who visited the site of the explosion and a nearby hospital, said a meeting involving senior officials would be held on Tuesday morning.
Security is being stepped up at “sensitive religious sites, vulnerable districts and border areas” in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, according to senior police official Amitabh Yash following the blast in neighbouring Delhi.
Uttar Pradesh is home to famous sites such as the Taj Mahal and is a densely populated state.
Veeru Sindhi, a local businessman at the site when the explosion happened, described scenes of devastation, with multiple bodies and vehicles engulfed in flames.
“I am fully shaken by what I have seen,” he told the BBC. “We tried to rescue people who were trapped inside the vehicles.”
One eyewitness described the aftermath of the blast as chaotic and confusing.
He was just a few hundred metres away from the spot when he heard a loud explosion.
“It felt like everything stopped for a few seconds before everyone started running in all directions,” he told the BBC.
He did not go near the site but could see mangled car parts on fire and locals trying to help the injured.
There has been a heavy security presence at the blast site with personnel from the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), the National Security Guard (NSG), and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Armed officers have been seen moving towards the area as investigations continue.
[BBC]
A head teacher’s quick decision to evacuate his school saved 900 pupils from deadly flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border
Rajendra Dawadi tells the BBC he was tipped off about incoming flood waters and moved students to higher ground with just minutes to spare. One pupil says she and her friends survived by just 10 seconds and watched as a nearby bazaar was swept away
Wednesday’s disaster has killed at least 794 people and more than 2,500 people are missing in Nepal, local officials say
In Tibet, the official death toll is 16, with 546 reported to be missing, according to Chinese state media –
[BBC]
A ferry carrying around 260 people has capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus with a search underway for survivors, according to local media.
The catamaran-style boat was travelling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, and started sinking a few kilometres off the coast of the island state on Sunday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
[Aljazeera]
A former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to pay more than $172,000 (£127,000) for using inside information to bet on US President Donald Trump’s speeches.
Gabriel Perez was found to have made trades on what the president would say during addresses between December 2025 and February 2026 on Kalshi – a prediction markets platform where users can bet on real-world events.
Its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said Perez would have to surrender profits of $107,539.02 (£79,452) and pay a civil penalty of $65,000 (£48,000).
The White House has not yet commented. In July then press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Perez was on unpaid leave and would not return to his post.
Announcing the settlement on Friday, the CFTC said Perez had “misappropriated” his prior knowledge of Trump’s speeches to place bets “in breach of his duty of trust and confidence”.
It said his civil penalty had been reduced due to his “exemplary co-operation” with the investigation.
Perez has also been banned from trading for three years.
Writing on X, Kalshi’s lead lawyer Bobby DeNault welcomed the decision: “It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the consequences.”
(BBC)
Showers will occur in the Western, North-western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.
Sun directly overhead Neriyakulam, Punewa, Kebithigollewa, Pankulam and Sinhapura at about 12.10 noon today (31)
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