ASIA
Japan- A high school teacher and seven high school students were killed at a local ski resort after being caught in an avalanche, the local fire department reported. The incident took place on a small ski slope on the side of Mount Nasu in Tochigi Prefecture, which is about 200 kilometers north of Tokyo.
The local police explained that the students were a part of a mountaineering club and had been taking part in a climbing event. There were a total of sixty-two teachers and students participating. Forty-eight were in the area of the avalanche.
The incident led to forty people getting hurt, including two who sustained severe injuries.
China- According to a new satellite image by a US-based think tank, dozens of aircraft hangars and high-end radars are almost operational on China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea.
These new facilities will help in establishing China’s dominance over South China Sea, which is a highly-contested region. This will also help establish the controversial Air Defense Identification Zone in the area.
The pictures were taken in early March and show a new aircraft hangar on each island, each capable of holding 24 military aircraft, as well as several larger hangars that can hold bombers and surveillance planes.
EUROPE
London- The British government released a statement that it will have to consider reintroducing direct rule in Northern Ireland if their power-sharing talks fail.
Secretary of Northern Ireland James Brokenshire expressed with regret that a legal deadline to form a new coalition at Stormont passed on Monday without success. He said that talks will continue for a short while to look for mutual solutions.
Moscow- Putin took notice of the protests that happened in the streets of Moscow as thousands of Russians came out in what was the largest mass demonstration in Russia in years.
The crowds took part in the anti-corruption rallies, as the younger generation felt like the politicians were “swimming in gold” while civilians were just scraping by. The Interior Minister of Russia has said in a statement addressing the protests that the ministry will use the full extent of its power to stop any future unauthorized gatherings.
AFRICA
Democratic Republic of Congo- Two UN officials, US citizen Michael Sharp and Swedish National Zaida Catalan, and their Congolese interpreter, Betu Tshintela were found dead on Monday outside the city of Kananga.
The Congo government officials said that Catalan’s body was found decapitated, while the cause of death for the other two is still not clear. Sharp and Catalan were members of the UN Group of Experts on Congo who were investigating large-scale human rights violations in the region.
