KATHMANDU – An American climber attempting to ascend Mount Makalu passed away on Sunday evening in the course of acclimatization, the Department of Tourism said on Monday.
Alexander Pancoe, 39, died at 20:00 while taking a rest at Camp II after descending from Camp III as part of acclimatization.
“The department is coordinating with the concerned agencies to ferry his body to Kathmandu,” Liladhar Awasthi, director of the department, said in a statement. Pancoe was one of 77 climbers permitted to climb the world’s fifth tallest peak at 8,463 meters.
As many as 1,092 climbers from 73 countries and regions had received permits to summit 26 mountains in Nepal in the spring climbing season which started in April and runs through May.
Pakistan paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint near Wagah, a joint border crossing point between the Pakistan and India border, April 24, 2025. AP
ISLAMABAD/BELA NOOR SHAH, Pakistan – Pakistan carried out a second missile test in three days on Monday after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India, as Moody’s warned that the standoff over violence in Kashmir could set back Islamabad’s economic reforms.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have nosedived since gunmen killed 26 people on April 22 in an attack targeting Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir, the worst such assault on civilians in India in nearly two decades.
India has accused Pakistan of involvement. Islamabad has denied the allegations but said it has intelligence that New Delhi intends to launch military action against it soon.
The diplomatic flare-up and exchanges of small arms fire across the border in Kashmir has alarmed world and regional powers.
Moody’s said the standoff could hurt Pakistan’s $350 billion economy, which is on a path to recovery after securing a $7 billion bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund last year and staving off a default threat.
“Sustained escalation in tensions with India would likely weigh on Pakistan’s growth and hamper the government’s ongoing fiscal consolidation, setting back Pakistan’s progress in achieving macroeconomic stability,” Moody’s said.
“A persistent increase in tensions could also impair Pakistan’s access to external financing and pressure its foreign-exchange reserves,” it added.
The report comes two days after Reuters reported that India has asked the IMF to review its loans to Pakistan.
India’s economy is not expected to see major disruptions since it has “minimal economic relations” with Pakistan – although higher defence spending could weigh on New Delhi’s fiscal strength and slow fiscal consolidation, Moody’s added.
MISSILE TEST
The Himalayan region of Kashmir lies at the heart of decades of hostility, between Hindu-majority India and Islamist Pakistan, both of which claim it in full but rule it in part.
India has accused its neighbour of supporting Islamist separatists battling security forces in its part of the region. Pakistan says it only provides diplomatic and moral support for Kashmiris seeking self-determination.
The Pakistani army said it had tested a Fatah series surface-to-surface missile with a range of 120 km (75 miles), two days after a successful launch of the Abdali surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 450 km.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the successful test launch “made it clear that Pakistan’s defence is in strong hands”.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told visiting journalists that there was no communication channel open with India at the moment.
The missile test came as Iran’s foreign minister, who earlier said his country was ready to help India and Pakistan “forge greater understanding” after the attack, was in Pakistan to meet leaders. He will visit India on Thursday.
Russia said on Monday it was following the situation with great concern and that it valued its ties with both countries.
President Vladimir Putin “strongly condemned” the Kashmir attack in a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed full support to India in its “fight against terrorism”, India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X.
Pakistan said on Monday it will “formally apprise” the United Nations Security Council of the situation and call upon it “to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security by taking appropriate measures”.
People walk past the closed entrance of Al-Karawan nightclub, which was attacked by gunmen overnight, on Damascus’ Saadallah Al-Jabri street on May 5, 2025. (AFP)
DAMASCUS – Armed men opened fire inside a club in Damascus on Monday, killing a woman, according to a witness and a war monitor, the second attack in a week targeting the Syrian capital’s nightlife.
The perpetrators or their motives were unknown. Some Syrians have expressed fears that the country’s new authorities would seek to impose restrictions on public behavior but it was unclear whether the attackers were linked to them.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported that “unidentified gunmen attacked the Al-Karawan nightclub in the Hijaz area with automatic weapons and opened fire, killing a woman and wounding others.”
A witness, requesting anonymity for security reasons, said he “heard gunfire at dawn” as he was near the nightclub.
He told AFP that he “did not dare to enter the club until some time after the firing stopped.”
Inside the club, “I saw a woman’s body, blood stains on the ground, and chaos after the shooting,” he said.
Contacted by AFP, the interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the deadly attack.
The club is located in a commercial area in the heart of Damascus, where many licensed nightclubs and bars have been operating for decades.
A resident of the same street said security forces had been monitoring the venue from a vehicle for days.
A local vendor said “there has never been any problem with the nightclub” in the five years he has worked in the area.
Hours before the shooting, a video circulated on social media showing security camera footage from a previous attack on a nightclub in the same area.
The footage, verified by AFP, shows gunmen entering the venue before beating fleeing men and women with their weapons.
Authorities said on Sunday that the gunmen involved in the first incident had been arrested.
“After initial investigations and reviewing the recordings, the individuals involved in the assault were identified, arrested and transferred to the judiciary,” the interior ministry said in a statement carried by Alekhbariah television.
“Any transgression or assault affecting citizens or public facilities will be met with strict legal measures,” it added.
Since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December, the intentional community has been pressing Syria’s new rulers to respect personal freedoms, protect minorities and include all components of society in the transitional period.
BEIJING – A 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted the waters off Hualien County, Taiwan, at 6:53 p.m. Monday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
The epicenter was monitored at 23.87 degrees north latitude and 121.94 degrees east longitude. The earthquake struck at a depth of 15 km, the center said.
The earthquake was strongly felt in many parts of Taiwan, including Taipei. No casualties or damage has been reported so far.
KUNMING – Five people were trapped in the collapse of a dumping site of a mine, in Lufeng City, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Monday morning.
Rescue efforts are underway, according to local authorities.
NAIROBI – Over 70 football fans were injured on Sunday, but there were no fatalities, after skirmishes broke out before a highly-charged Kenyan Premier League game between home side Shabana FC and domestic champions and record winners, Gor Mahia FC.
Violence broke out some two hours before kick-off at the 5,000-seater Gusii Stadium located in Kisii, a western Kenyan town, about 310 km from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Mayhem started when hundreds of vocal rival supporters started pelting each other with stones and other projectiles at the jam-packed venue that was already filled to over-capacity.
The clash sparked panic among the fans who scrambled for the exits, causing a stampede as police, including officers from the paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU), tried to quell the fighting.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) released a statement on Sunday night, announcing there were no fatalities despite earlier media reports stating that at least one fan had succumbed to their injuries.
FKF said it had received confirmed reports from four hospitals in Kisii and the police, indicating that a total of 72 individuals were treated for injuries.
Police were eventually able to contain the disorder and ejected the troublesome fans before the match progressed as scheduled from 4 pm local time.
FKF is working closely with the relevant authorities to establish the circumstances that led to the unrest, warning that decisive disciplinary measures will be taken upon conclusion of ongoing investigations.
JORDAN – The bodies were evacuated from the area, and an official investigation into the incident has been launched to determine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
A major search and rescue operation had been launched in Jordan after flash floods ripped through vast parts of the country at the weekend.
Hundreds of tourists were evacuated on Sunday as the floodwaters continued to rise.
The Petra Development of Tourism and Region Authority said heavy rain triggered flash floods in the city on Sunday.
A Public Security Directorate spokesman said specialized teams of personnel from Civil Defense, local police directorates, and the Gendarmerie Forces, conducted extensive search operations under what they described as “challenging weather conditions and difficult terrain”.
“Their efforts extended over many hours before the two victims were found deceased”, the report added.
Yazan Mahadin, commissioner of Petra Archaeology Park and Tourism at PDTRA said most of 1,785 tourists that visited on Sunday had been evacuated.
A further 14 who were trapped by floodwaters in the Western Ma’an Police Directorate were rescued uninjured.
Meanwhile a separate team was sent to Tafileh to search for a teenager who went missing while herding sheep in the Hasa area.
The areas evacuated by the civil defense were Al-Khazneh, the Siq, the Roman Soldier’s Tomb, the Monastery, and the slopes of Prophet Harun.
Ticket sales to all major tourist attractions were suspended as a safety precaution, and the PDTRA is encouraging people to avoid flood paths and low-lying areas.
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Nine people were shot at a restaurant in a Phoenix suburb Sunday night, police said.
Police received calls reporting shots around 7:45 p.m. at El Camaron Gigante Mariscos & Steakhouse, Glendale Police Department Officer Moroni Mendez said during a briefing at the scene.
The number of victims was not immediately clear as the initial investigation moved forward but it was believed to be “approximately nine,” Mendez said.
The medical conditions of the victims were not immediately available.
Police believe there was more than one shooter involved. Investigators did not have a suspect in custody but multiple people were being questioned, Mendez said.
Travelers wait for news about their delayed trains at the Madrid train station, Spain, Monday, May 5, 2025. AP
MADRID – Thousands of rail passengers in Spain were hit with delays after the cable used in the signaling system of the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville was stolen at four locations, Spanish rail authorities said Monday.
The theft, which happened late Sunday, affected dozens of trains traveling between Madrid and Andalucia, just as many people were returning home to the capital after a holiday weekend.
Spain’s railway infrastructure company ADIF said on X that the high-speed train connecting Madrid and cities in the South was expected to resume service around 9:30 a.m, from Madrid and in Seville, Malaga and Granada.
Álvaro Heredia, president of Spain’s state-owned rail operator Renfe, said it expected a resumption of normal schedules by mid morning in an interview with Spanish national radio broadcaster RNE.
Droves of travelers crowded Madrid’s Atocha station Monday seeking information about their trains from rail employees and screens with updated departure times. Renfe advised passengers to not arrive too early to avoid further crowding.
By 9 a.m, Alberto Valero and his family had spent hours at the station due to train delays between Madrid and Seville, where they were headed. Valero was on vacation in Spain from Mexico, and expressed frustration about the lack of information.
“We’re here with tourists from everywhere — France, Portugal,” Valero said. “Everyone is at a loss for what to do because of the total disarray.”
The cable theft took place at four points on the high-speed line in Toledo in central Spain, ADIF said on X.
The incident came a week after a massive power outage in Spain and Portugal ground high-speed train traffic in Spain to a halt, stranding thousands of passengers for several hours.
GUIYANG – The last missing person in a boat capsize incident in southwest China’s Guizhou Province has been confirmed dead, according to local rescue headquarters.
All those involved in the boat capsize accident have been found as of 12:45 pm local time on Monday, with 10 people dead, 70 injured and 4 uninjured.
Four boats capsized in sudden strong winds in a river of Qianxi City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province on Sunday afternoon, plunging 84 individuals into the water. Provincial authorities have deployed nearly 500 emergency responders to coordinate rescue efforts. The aftermath handling of the accident is still proceeding.
LOS ANGELES – Three people were hospitalized Sunday afternoon after a shooting at a park in Orange County, the U.S. state of California, authorities said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a post on X that “Deputies responding to reports of a shooting at Featherly Regional Park in Yorba Linda.”
The Sheriff’s Department added later in an update that the three victims in unknown conditions were transported to a local hospital.
The public is urged by local law enforcement to avoid the area. Officials haven’t released information on a suspect in the shooting.
An aerial drone photo taken on May 5, 2025 shows capsized boats in Qianxi City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province. XINHUA
GUIYANG – Nine people died and one is missing in boat capsize accident in a river of Qianxi City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, on Sunday afternoon, according to local authorities.
Four boats capsized in sudden strong winds, plunging 84 individuals into the water. So far, nine people have died, 70 are being treated and are in non-life-threatening conditions, and four people are uninjured, according to local rescue headquarters.
The search continues for the last missing person. Provincial authorities have deployed nearly 500 emergency responders, including police, firefighters and medical personnel, to coordinate rescue efforts.
BANDAR ABBAS, Iran – A local official in Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province reports that last week’s explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port resulted in 57 confirmed deaths.
Mojtaba Ghahremani, the Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province, said that 46 bodies have been identified so far.
Addressing previous reports that had put the death toll at 70, Ghahremani explained that some fatalities were mistakenly counted due to body fragments later determined to belong to the same individual.
The massive explosion, which struck Shahid Rajaee Port on April 26, caused significant casualties and widespread damage.
As one of Iran’s key economic hubs, the port handles 70 million tons of goods annually. The cause of the blast remains under investigation.
RIO DE JANEIRO – Police in Brazil said on Sunday that two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to detonate explosives at a free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro.
The Rio event on Saturday was the biggest show of the pop star’s career that attracted an estimated 2.5 million fans to Copacabana Beach and had crowds screaming and dancing along.
Felipe Cury, secretary of the Rio police, said authorities believed the suspects sought to target Brazil’s LGBTQ community.
“They were clearly saying that they were planning an attack at Lady Gaga’s concert motivated by sexual orientation,” Cury told a press conference on Sunday.
Rio Police chief Luiz Lima said the group disseminated hate speech and violent content online “aimed at gaining notoriety in order to attract more viewers, more participants — most of them teenagers, many of them children.”
Even as Brazilian authorities said they arrested suspects in the hours before Lady Gaga’s show, the event went ahead without disruption — leading some to question the seriousness of the threat. Serious security concerns typically lead organizers to cancel such massive events — as happened with Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna last year.
Police said said nothing about the alleged plot at the time to in an effort to “avoid panic” and “the distortion of information.”
A spokesperson for Lady Gaga said the pop star and her team “learned about this alleged threat via media reports this morning. Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks.”
The statement added: “Her team worked closely with law enforcement throughout the planning and execution of the concert and all parties were confident in the safety measures in place.”
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia stands on top of his car after winning the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. AP
MIAMI GARDENS, US – Oscar Piastri grabbed his fourth win in six races with victory in the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday as McLaren enjoyed a one-two on the podium.
Australian Piastri finished 4.6 seconds ahead of British team-mate Lando Norris with George Russell of Mercedes finishing third.
LIMA, Peru – The bodies of 13 security guards kidnapped from a major Peruvian gold mine just over a week ago were found Sunday, the mining company said, their deaths coming as violence escalates in the Andean nation’s crucial mining industry.
The Peruvian company, La Poderosa, said that a search-and-rescue team had recovered the staff members’ remains Sunday. It blamed their abduction on informal miners allegedly linked to criminal gangs that ambushed the gold mine on April 26.
Peruvian police and the country’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
La Poderosa, a private firm based in Peru’s capital of Lima, said that criminal groups fighting for control of the mine in Peru’s remote northwestern city of Pataz have killed 39 of the company’s workers since it began extraction in 1980, including the latest 13.
In a particularly brazen incident in December 2023, illegal miners attacked the same Poderosa mine with explosives, killing nine people and wounding 15. La Poderosa sent in more security guards in response to the string of attacks.
A major gold and copper supplier for the world, Peru is unique in allowing informal miners to operate with some protections as long as they plan to legalize their operations. But illegal mining quickly boomed into a vast industry as the metals became increasingly lucrative, new mining techniques emerged and the government struggled to mount a response.
With much of Peru awash in a wave of crime that prompted the government to declare a state of emergency last month, reports of extortion from artisanal miners and entrepreneurs in the country’s northern mining area have surged in recent months.
JERUSALEM – An officer and a soldier were killed and four others injured in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said Sunday.
Captain Noam Ravid and Staff Sergeant Yaly Seror, from the Yahalom elite engineering unit, were killed when an explosive device detonated in a tunnel shaft they were inspecting inside a building in the southern city of Rafah, said the military.
One soldier was seriously wounded and another moderately injured in the same blast, the military said. Both were evacuated to a hospital in Israel.
In a separate incident in northern Gaza, two reservists with the Jerusalem Brigade’s 7007th Battalion were wounded, one of them seriously, it added.
The Israeli Army Radio reported that the two were injured after a tank shell malfunctioned and exploded. The soldiers had fired the shell from an Israeli position when the explosion occurred.
The incidents came as the military was preparing to expand its operation in the Gaza Strip, saying on Saturday that it would mobilize thousands of reservists in the coming days.
Six Israeli soldiers have been killed since Israel resumed its military operation in Gaza on March 18, according to an Israeli tally.
ZAGREB – Two people were killed and 31 injured in a serious accident in the early morning, Croatian Minister of Health Irena Hrstic confirmed at a press conference on Sunday.
A bus and a passenger car collided on the A3 Bregana-Lipovac motorway between the Popovaca and Kriz junctions, some 60 km southeast of Zagreb. According to local police, the traffic accident happened at around 3:10 a.m. (0110 GMT) on Sunday.
Among the injured, 29 were hospitalized due to serious wounds. “Several people are currently undergoing surgery, but none of them are in a life-threatening condition,” Hrstic said.
The Croatian health system has been fully engaged after the accident, and nine emergency medical service teams have been dispatched to the scene.
“We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and wish a speedy recovery to those who are receiving treatment in our hospitals,” Hrstic said.
GUIYANG – Two passenger boats capsized in Liuchong river of Qianxi City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, on Sunday afternoon, according to local authorities.
About 70 people fell into the water, and more than 50 of them have been pulled out as of 7 p.m., local authorities said.
HOUSTON – Sixteen people were shot and at least one was killed Sunday during a large party at a home in Houston, where police said gunfire broke out after an uninvited guest was asked to leave.
An 18-year-old man was pronounced dead at the hospital, and the injured ranged in age from 16 to 40, the Houston Police Department said in a statement Sunday evening. No suspect is currently in custody, though several people were detained, questioned and then released.
The department began receiving calls reporting shots fired around 12:50 a.m. at a home in southeast Houston, Assistant Police Chief Patricia Cantu said during a news briefing earlier Sunday.
Officers reported hearing gunshots when they arrived minutes later, Cantu said. They saw multiple people wounded in the area outside the home.
Cantu said a family party was taking place and an uninvited guest was asked to leave the home. That person is believed to have started shooting, she said, which prompted others to draw guns and return fire.
