Russian shopping mall fire: no alarms reported
Witnesses say fire alarms were silent and many doors were locked when a blaze at a Russian shopping mall packed with children and their parents on the first weekend of the school recess killed 64 people in Siberia. Officials also said that the fire escapes were blocked and a public address system was turned off during the fire. The fire at the Winter Cherry mall in Kemerovo, a city about 3,000 kilometres east of Moscow, was extinguished by Monday morning after burning through the night.
Karnataka polls on May 12
Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat, along with Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sunil Arora, announces the schedule for the Karnataka elections at a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The Karnataka Assembly polls will be held on May 12 and the votes will be counted on May 15, Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat announced on Tuesday. There will be a single phase election for the 224-member Assembly, like the last time. The notification for the polls will be issued on April 17 and the last date for filing of nomination will be April 24, Mr. Rawat said at a press conference. April 27 will be the last date of withdrawal of candidates, he added.
Myanmar Army chief tells rebels to stop demanding impossible
Members of Myanmar's military take part in a parade to mark the 73rd Armed Forces Day in the capital Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Tuesday.
Myanmar’s Army chief is urging the country’s ethnic rebel groups to agree to a comprehensive cease-fire agreement now and stop wasting time on demands he describes as impossible. Speaking on Tuesday at the annual Armed Forces Day parade, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said armed conflicts with rebel groups who have been seeking greater autonomy for several decades had caused Myanmar’s development to lag behind its neighbours.
Speculation of Kim Jong-un visit
Chinese policemen and security officials stand guard on a street corner outside of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Tuesday. Unusually heavy security at a Beijing guesthouse where prominent North Koreans have stayed in the past and media reports of a special train arriving have raised speculation that Kim Jong Un is making his first trip to China as the North's leader.
The arrival of a special train in Beijing and unusually heavy security at a guesthouse where prominent North Koreans have stayed in the past have raised speculation that Kim Jong-un is making his first trip to China as the North’s leader.
Japan ex-MOF official Sagawa testifies before Parliament
Nobuhisa Sagawa, a former National Tax Agency head, reads an oath prior to testifying before an upper house panel at the parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday. Sagawa testified over a questionable school land deal linked to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife Akie Abe, in a widening scandal that has sent his support ratings plunging.
Former Japanese Finance Ministry official Nobuhisa Sagawa said on Tuesday that there were no instructions from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his wife, Finance Minister Taro Aso or their top aides to alter documents about a murky land deal at the heart of a suspected cronyism scandal. Mr. Sagawa is testifying in Parliament under oath over the case. The suspected scandal and cover-up have slashed Mr. Abe's support rates and clouded his chances of a third term as ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader in a September party vote.
(With inputs from Agencies)
