World Echo

Austria's ban on headscarves for under-14s faces an initial test on Monday as schools reopen in Vienna and other states, with groups ​including the country's main Muslim organisation denouncing it as discriminatory ‌and legal challenges likely. Austria's ruling coalition of three centrist parties proposed the ban in schools, arguing it was acting to protect girls' freedom. The legislation was passed in ​parliament in December with the support of the far-right Freedom ​Party. Only the smallest party in parliament, the left-wing Greens, ⁠opposed it. The group that formally represents Austria's Muslims, the Islamic Religious Community ​in Austria (IGGO), has said the move was an infringement of fundamental rights, ​pledging to fight it before the Constitutional Court, which rejected challenges in July because the legislation had not yet gone into force. The court ruled in 2020 that a ​previous ban, which applied to under-10s in schools, was illegal because ...

The death toll in a building collapse in the Indian capital New Delhi reached six on Monday as the rescue operation entered its second day to find people trapped under the rubble, according to a hospital statement. A building that housed a boys' paying guest hostel in New Delhi’s Satya Niketan area collapsed around noon Sunday, triggering a massive rescue operation by different teams. On Monday, a statement by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in New Delhi confirmed six fatalities. Narendra Bundela, a senior officer of the National Disaster Response Force, which is involved in the rescue, told reporters that "six were declared dead, and five were admitted to hospitals", while “one body is yet to be extricated”. Read: India’s claims have 'no bearing' on Kashmir status: FO Delhi Police said that the building was a “40- to 50-year-old building" and repair work was underway in the basement when the inciden...

Crammed into crowded shelter camps, thousands of expectant and new mothers are struggling for care and privacy as the death toll from devastating flash floods in Nepal reached 1,341, with thousands remaining missing Sunday, officials and local media reports said. The combined death toll from flash floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border rose to 1,372, while 5,531 people remained missing 11 days after the disaster struck, according to official data. Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said around 5,000 people, including 589 foreigners, remained missing. Chinese authorities said at least 31 people were killed, while 531 others remained missing in the southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region, also known as Tibet. Of those missing, 850 are foreigners, according to official figures from Nepal and China. Read: Nepal flood survivors cling to zipline With roads and bridges damaged due to massive floods and landslides, displaced mothers are...

An eruption of Indonesia's Mount Anak Krakatau caused six airports to suspend flight operations on Sunday, affecting hundreds of flights at Jakarta's main airport, after some school activities and fishing were halted. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport suspended flight operations until 5:30pm (1030 GMT) due to volcanic ash, the airport posted on Instagram, stranding hundreds of passengers at the facility. The suspension, extended several times, has affected 301 flights, including 58 international flights, airport operator Angkasa Pura said in a statement. Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines said they had cancelled flights to and from Jakarta for the rest of the day. Anak Krakatau, which is roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia's vast island chain, has been erupting since late on Friday, with volcanic ash detected at the airport early on Sunday, the tr...

The death toll from flash floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border rose to 1,375 on Saturday, while 5,531 people remained missing 10 days after the disaster struck, according to official data. Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 1,344 people were killed, while 5,000 others, including 589 foreigners, remained missing. Chinese authorities said at least 31 people were killed, while 531 others remained missing in the southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region, also known as Tibet. Of those missing, 850 are foreigners, according to official figures from Nepal and China. Read: Death toll from Nepal-China flash floods rises to 1,318, search continues for 5,614 missing The disaster struck Aug. 26 when a glacier on Nepal's Mount Langtang Lirung fractured at an altitude of about 5,200 meters (17,060 feet). The fracture triggered an ice-rock avalanche that developed into a massive debris flow and swept through valleys along the border. Fl...

The United States on Friday approved a possible $5 billion sale of bombs, guidance kits and related equipment to Saudi Arabia amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and repeated attacks on the kingdom during the US-Israeli war against Iran. The US State Department said the proposed sale was intended to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s airborne and homeland defence capabilities, help it counter current and future regional threats and improve interoperability with US forces and other Gulf partners. The department said the package would also support US foreign policy and national security objectives by strengthening the security of Saudi Arabia, which it described as a major non-NATO ally. Read: High-ranking US military officials subjected to polygraph tests over information leaks: CBS The proposed sale included thousands of guidance kits and bombs, as well as fuzes, target detectors, containers, support equipment, spare parts and technical assistance. Boeing was identified as...