NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams have finally returned to Earth after an unexpected nine-month stay in space, following complications during a Boeing test flight. Their homecoming marks the end of a prolonged and uncertain mission that began with a flawed launch last June. Wilmore and Williams made their return aboard a SpaceX capsule, which parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday evening. Their capsule's splashdown occurred just hours after they departed the International Space Station (ISS). According to AP reports, within an hour of landing, both astronauts were out of the capsule, smiling and waving at cameras as they were assisted into reclining stretchers for routine medical checks. Their mission started with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule test flight on 5 June 2024. Initially planned as a brief one-week mission, the journey quickly unravelled when multiple technical issues arose on the way to the ISS. NASA ultimately decided to send the Starliner capsule back empty, forcing the astronauts to extend their stay until February. Further delays due to issues with the replacement SpaceX capsule pushed their return back by another month. The arrival of their relief crew on Sunday cleared the path for Wilmore and Williams' departure. NASA accelerated their return due to an uncertain weather forecast later in the week. They were accompanied to the ISS departure point by NASA's Nick Hague and Russia's Alexander Gorbunov, who arrived last autumn aboard a SpaceX capsule with two empty seats set aside for the Starliner duo. Watch Dragon and Crew-9 return to Earth → https://t.co/ZZEmGU8Aar https://t.co/aqY6RNsEfK — SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 18, 2025 By the time they splashed down, Wilmore and Williams had spent 286 days in space—278 days longer than initially expected. Over the course of their mission, they orbited Earth 4,576 times and travelled approximately 121 million miles (195 million kilometres). "On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home," radioed SpaceX Mission Control in California. Hague, the capsule's commander, responded, "What a ride. I see a capsule full of grins ear to ear." Congratulations to the @SpaceX and @NASA teams for another safe astronaut return!Thank you to @POTUS for prioritizing this mission! https://t.co/KknFDbh59s — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2025 Dolphins circled the capsule as recovery divers prepared to lift it onto the recovery ship. Wilmore and Williams emerged from the capsule one at a time, both giving thumbs up. Williams was next-to-last out, followed by Wilmore, who beamed as he was helped onto the deck. Their prolonged stay captured global attention, with their unexpected extension becoming a talking point worldwide. While other astronauts have logged longer missions, none have faced the uncertainty and last-minute changes that Wilmore and Williams endured. The duo quickly transitioned from test pilots to integral ISS crew members, conducting experiments, repairing equipment, and even carrying out spacewalks together. Williams set a record for the most time spent spacewalking by a female astronaut, with 62 hours logged over nine spacewalks. Williams also took on the role of station commander three months into their stay, holding the position until earlier this month. Both astronauts maintained a professional demeanour despite the political tensions surrounding their delayed return. In January, former U.S. President Donald Trump publicly criticised the Biden administration for the delay and pressed SpaceX founder Elon Musk to expedite their return. SpaceX ultimately swapped the planned capsule with a used one, allowing for an earlier return. Wilmore, 62, and Williams, 59, both retired Navy captains, likened the extended mission to a military deployment. However, the prolonged stay came at a personal cost. Wilmore missed most of his younger daughter's final year of high school, while Williams maintained contact with her family via internet calls from space. "We have not been worried about her because she has been in good spirits," said Falguni Pandya, Williams' cousin. "She was definitely ready to come home." Prayers for their safe return were offered at 21 Hindu temples across the United States, organised by the World Hindu Council of America. Williams, who has Indian and Slovenian heritage, has openly spoken about her cultural roots. Wilmore’s Baptist church in Houston also held prayer sessions for the pair’s safe return. According to AP reports, the astronauts will be flown to Houston once they are off the recovery ship. They will undergo medical evaluations to adjust to gravity after their extended time in microgravity. NASA plans to decommission the ISS by 2030, replacing it with privately operated stations to allow the agency to focus on missions to the Moon and Mars. (With inputs from AP)
19 March,2025 09:22 AM IST | Cape Canaveral | mid-day online correspondentNigeria's leader declared an emergency in oil-rich Rivers state and suspended its governor and lawmakers Tuesday over a political crisis and vandalism to pipelines that contribute to the country's status as Africa's top oil producer. A crisis in Rivers has brewed for months between incumbent Gov. Siminalayi Fubara and state lawmakers, many of whom are backed by his predecessor. This week, some lawmakers initiated an impeachment process against the governor, accusing him of various illegalities regarding the presentation of the state budget and the composition of the legislative chamber. President Bola Tinubu said in a state broadcast he was suspending the governor and other elected officials, including the state lawmakers, for six months. The Nigerian president criticized the governor for not 'taking any action to curtail' fresh incidents of pipeline vandalism reported in the last 24 hours, including a blast that resulted in a fire on the Trans Niger Pipeline. 'With all these and many more, no good and responsible president will stand by and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the constitution to address the situation in the state,' Tinubu said. Nigeria's former navy chief Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas, who is retired, will become the military administrator of Rivers state and the judiciary will continue to function, Tinubu said. Military trucks were quickly deployed to the Rivers State Government House following Tinubu's announcement. The Nigerian Constitution allows emergency rule to maintain law and order in rare circumstances. This is the first such emergency declared in more than a decade in the country of more than 210 million people whose democracy has been tested by many years of military rule and instability. The Nigerian Bar Association criticized the suspensions of the governor and other elected officials as illegal. 'A declaration of emergency does not automatically dissolve or suspend elected state governments,' Afam Osigwe, the association's president, said in a statement. The last such emergency in Nigeria was declared under President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency. However, the state governors were not suspended at the time. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 March,2025 09:11 AM IST | Nigeria | APA federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender people from military service on Tuesday U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trump's order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. She delayed her order by three days to give the administration time to appeal. The judge issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for six transgender people who are active-duty service members and two others seeking to join the military. On January 27, Trump signed an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members "conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life' and is harmful to military readiness. In response to the order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies people with gender dysphoria from military service. Gender dysphoria is the distress that a person feels because their assigned gender and gender identity don't match. The medical condition has been linked to depression and suicidal thoughts. Plaintiffs' attorneys contend Trump's order violates transgender people's rights to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment. Government lawyers argue that military officials have broad discretion to decide how to assign and deploy servicemembers without judicial interference. Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 March,2025 09:11 AM IST | Washington | APNASA Crew-9 astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov breathed earthly air for the first time in over nine months on Wednesday after the successful splashdown of SpaceX's Dragon capsule. The astronauts disembarked the capsule on stretchers, as is customary, CNN reported. This precaution is taken by SpaceX for all astronauts returning from long-duration space missions. Earlier, a worker rinsed the Crew Dragon spacecraft with fresh water to remove as much salt water as possible. "Saltwater is corrosive, and we want to try and rinse out as much of the salt water as possible to reduce that corrosion on the metallic structures," SpaceX's Kate Tice said. The side hatch of the Crew Dragon remains closed throughout its time in orbit. After docking with the ISS, astronauts enter and exit through a different hatch on top of the vehicle, CNN reported. SpaceX's recovery ship, Megan, used a large rig to lift the capsule carrying the four astronauts out of the water. Nearby crew members closely monitored the spacecraft to ensure there were no fuel leaks. As the capsule splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, several dolphins were seen swimming around it, welcoming the astronauts home. At least five dolphins were captured on video circling the capsule as it bobbed in the water, CNN reported. Boats in the area assisted in stabilizing the capsule and ensuring the astronauts' safety. President Trump promised to look out for the forgotten man and woman. At 5:57PM ET tonight — promise made, promise kept! ππΊπΈπ§π»ππ©π½π pic.twitter.com/DU4kJGRuuw — Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 18, 2025 NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov have been in space since September 2024. However, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams had been away much longer--their journey began last June. Initially expected to last just a week, their mission was extended to more than nine months due to issues with their Boeing Starliner capsule, which delayed their return. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier stated that US President Donald Trump had fulfilled his promise to bring home the "forgotten" astronauts. "President Trump promised to look out for the forgotten man and woman. At 5:57 PM ET tonight -- promise made, promise kept!" she said in a post on X. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 March,2025 09:06 AM IST | California | ANIThe family of missing 20-year-old Indian student Sudiksha Konanki has asked police in the Dominican Republic to declare her dead, according to US media reports. Konanki, a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States, was last seen on March 6 at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana town. She has gone missing while on vacation in the Dominican Republic and US law enforcement agencies are working with authorities in the Caribbean country in the probe into her disappearance. Despite an extensive search, her body has not been found. Dominican Republic National Police spokesperson Diego Pesqueira said Konanki’s family has sent the agency a letter requesting a declaration of death, NBC News reported on Tuesday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 March,2025 09:06 AM IST | New York | AgenciesThe relative calm of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came to an abrupt end on Tuesday, when Israel launched dozens of attacks on targets across the Gaza Strip. Palestinian hospital officials say 413 people have been killed, including women and children. Israel says the operation is open-ended and expected to expand, raising fears of the 17-month-old war fully reigniting. A Palestinian man carries the shrouded body of a child killed in the overnight Israeli airstrike. Pics/AFP What happened to the ceasefire? The ceasefire agreed to in mid-January was a three-phase plan, the first of which actually ended two weeks ago. Israel balked at entering substantive negotiations over the second phase, which were meant to lead to a long-term ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the return of all hostages taken by Hamas in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that started the war. The ceasefire was supposed to continue as long as talks over the second phase went on, according to the agreement reached after more than a year of negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. What happens to hostages? Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander whom Hamas promised to release three days ago During the first phase, Hamas returned 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces also withdrew to buffer zones inside Gaza, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians returned to northern Gaza. No further hostage releases were called for under the agreement until the second phase. Demonstrators chant slogans during an anti-government protest calling for release of hostages on Monday. Pics/AFP Two weeks ago, Israel cut off all food, medicine, fuel, electricity and other supplies to the territory’s around 2 million people to pressure Hamas to accept a new proposal. The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages—the militant group’s main bargaining chip—in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners—a key component of the first phase. Hamas refused the new proposal, accusing Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement. What is Netanyahu’s situation? Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu has come under mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests planned over his handling of the hostage crisis and his decision to fire the head of Israel’s internal security agency. Families of hostages still held in Gaza expressed concern Tuesday over their loved ones. But Netanyahu has also faced demands from his hard-line allies not to allow any deal in Gaza that falls short of Hamas’ destruction. Negotiations with Hamas over a second phase could have brought pressure for compromises over how Gaza will be ruled in the future. Netanyahu’s critics say his firing of the security agency chief and a string of other dismissals are part of a broader campaign aimed at undermining independent government institutions. What else is happening? Houthi supporters chant slogans during an anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on Monday. Pic/AFP A resumption of fighting in Gaza could have repercussions around the region. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels denounced the Israeli strikes, saying “the Palestinian people will not be left alone in this battle” indicating a possible resumption of the Houthis’ strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The United States launched new airstrikes over the weekend targeting the Houthis in Yemen in retaliation for its attacks on shipping. At least 53 people were reported killed. US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Iran would “suffer the consequences” for any further Houthi attacks, threatening to widen the conflict further. New Gaza violence could also shake the ceasefire that Israel reached with Hezbollah in November, which stopped months of deadly exchanges of fire over the Israeli-Lebanon border. So, is the ceasefire over? Unless mediators step in, Israel’s surprise attack could mean a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly threatened to resume the war, said he ordered the strikes because of Hamas’ rejection of the new proposal. He said Israel “will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength”. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions. Hamas accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire agreement and exposing the remaining hostages “to an unknown fate”. In a statement, it called on mediators to hold Israel “fully responsible for violating and overturning the agreement”. The attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. No major fighting has occurred in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold on January 19, but Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military said had entered unauthorised areas, engaged in militant activities or otherwise violated the truce. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 March,2025 09:05 AM IST | Tel Aviv | AgenciesUnited States (US) President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) described his telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin as "productive," stating that both leaders had agreed to an immediate ceasefire in all energy and infrastructure sectors, news agency ANI reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, said they discussed elements of a peace agreement and that the ceasefire process is now underway. "My phone conversation today with President Putin of Russia was a very good and productive one. We agreed to an immediate ceasefire on all energy and infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to establish a complete ceasefire and, ultimately, an end to this very horrible war between Russia and Ukraine. This war would have never started if I were President! Many elements of a contract for peace were discussed, including the fact that thousands of soldiers are being killed, and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy would like to see it end. That process is now in full force and effect, and we will, hopefully, for the sake of humanity, get the job done!" his post read. The phone call between Trump and Putin focused on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, during which both leaders agreed on the necessity of lasting peace. They also discussed a proposed ceasefire in the Black Sea and broader regional stability in the Middle East. During the conversation, both leaders acknowledged that improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia could bring significant benefits, which could be realised once peace is achieved. "Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace. They also stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia. The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people," read a statement from the White House Press Secretary. Trump reportedly initiated the call with Putin to negotiate a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. According to ABC News, the Trump administration is pushing for an immediate halt to hostilities, following Ukraine's agreement to a temporary cessation of fighting—provided Russia reciprocates. (With ANI inputs)
19 March,2025 01:37 AM IST | Washington DC | mid-day online correspondentA small plane that was headed for Denmark has crashed in the Alps in southeastern Switzerland, killing the three people who were believed to be on board, police said Tuesday. The Extra EA-400 propeller plane took off from the Samedan airfield at 5:20 pm Monday, police in Graubuenden canton (state) said in a statement. The plane had arrived from Denmark on March 13 and was en route back to Roskilde, near Copenhagen. The plane crashed two minutes after takeoff on the edge of the village of La Punt Chamues-ch and burned out, police said. They added that the victims have still to be formally identified. There was no immediate word on the possible cause of the crash. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 March,2025 03:48 PM IST | Geneva | APPope Francis is registering new slight improvements in his monthlong treatment for pneumonia in both his lungs, the Vatican said Monday, as it also provided some details on the first photo of the pope released since his hospitalization. The 88-year-old pontiff is now able to spend some time during the day off high flows of oxygen and use just ordinary supplemental oxygen delivered by a nasal tube, the Holy See press office said. Doctors are also trying to cut back on the amount of time he uses a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night, to force his lungs to work more. While those amount to "slight improvements," the Vatican isn't yet providing any timetable on when Francis might be released from the Gemelli hospital or confirming any upcoming events. Known events include a planned visit by King Charles III and Holy Week in April. When Francis is being wheeled to his private chapel down the hall from his hospital room, he doesn't need to be attached to the oxygen, the press office said. It was at that moment that Francis was photographed on Sunday, from behind, as he sat in his wheelchair before the chapel altar in prayer without any sign of nasal tubes. The photo, showing Francis wearing a Lenten purple stole, marked the first image of the pope since he was admitted to Gemelli February 14 with a complex lung infection that developed into double pneumonia. It followed an audio message Francis recorded March 6 in which he thanked people for their prayers, his voice soft and labored. Together, they suggested Francis is very much controlling how the public follows his illness to prevent it from turning into a spectacle. While many in the Vatican have held up St. John Paul II's long and public battle with Parkinson's disease and other ailments as a humble sign of his willingness to show his frailties, others criticized it as excessive and glorifying sickness. Francis' doctors told reporters on February 21 that the pope authorized them to clearly explain the gravity of his situation, in detail, and their regular medical bulletins have suggested that Francis is comfortable with such information being in the public domain. The Vatican press office said Monday that Francis approved the photo of him being released. But the fact that his face was hidden suggested something of a compromise in terms of how he wanted his current state to be recorded visually. Francis doesn't want to hide his illness and the difficult moment he is going through but he's "not dramatizing it either," La Repubblica's Vatican correspondent, Iacopo Scaramuzzi, wrote Monday. The image certainly reassured some well-wishers who came to Gemelli on Monday to pray for Francis. "After a month of hospitalization, finally a photo that can assure us that his health conditions are better," said the Rev. Enrico Antonio, a priest from Pescara. At the Vatican, Sister Mary, a nun from Kenya, said she thought "he looks great." "The situation was very critical. But now seeing the photo, it makes me smile. It makes me feel better," she said. "It makes me even feel safer that the church is still going on, that our pope can come back to us." But Benedetta Flagiello of Naples, who was visiting her sister who is a patient at Gemelli, wondered if the photo was even real. "Because if the pope can sit for a moment without a mask, without anything, why didn't he look out the window on the 10th floor to be seen by everyone?" she asked. "If you remember our old pope (John Paul II), he couldn't speak up, but he showed up." The first three weeks of Francis' hospitalization were marked by a rollercoaster of setbacks, including respiratory crises, mild kidney failure and a severe coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit. Over the last week, his condition has stabilized and doctors said he was no longer in imminent danger of death. With gradual improvements, the Vatican has suspended morning updates and is issuing less frequent medical bulletins. The next one is not expected before Wednesday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 March,2025 02:11 PM IST | Rome | AP | PTIUS President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in a possible pivot point in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy. Trump disclosed the upcoming conversation to reporters while flying from Florida to Washington on Air Force One on Sunday evening, while the Kremlin confirmed Putin's participation on Monday morning. "We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday," Trump said. "A lot of work's been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday morning confirmed the plans for the two leaders to speak on Tuesday, but declined to give details, saying that "we never get ahead of events" and "the content of conversations between two presidents are not subject to any prior discussion." European allies are wary of Trump's affinity for Putin and his hardline stance toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who faced sharp criticism when he visited the Oval Office a little more than two weeks ago. Although Russia failed in its initial goal to topple the Ukrainian government with its invasion three years ago, it still controls large swaths of the country. Trump said land and power plants are part of the conversation around bringing the war to a close. "We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants," he said, a process he described as "dividing up certain assets." Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow last week to advance negotiations. Russia illegally annexed four Ukrainian regions after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 " the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the southeast of the country " but doesn't fully control any of the four. Last year, Putin listed Kyiv's withdrawal of troops from all four regions as one of the demands for peace. In 2014, the Kremlin also annexed Crimea from Ukraine. In the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, Moscow controls the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant " the largest in Europe. The plant has repeatedly been caught in the crossfire since the invasion. The International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. body, has frequently expressed alarm about the plant because of fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said during an interview with India's NDTV that Trump and Putin "are very good friends" and are focused on ways to strengthen the bonds between the U.S. and Russia. "We have two leaders of two great countries who are very good friends and very focused on how we can strengthen the shared objectives and shared interests," Gabbard said in the interview, portions of which were released Monday before its broadcast. During his conversation with reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he was pushing forward with his plans for tariffs on April 2 despite recent disruption in the stock market and nervousness about the economic impact. "April 2 is a liberating day for our country," he said. "We're getting back some of the wealth that very, very foolish presidents gave away because they had no clue what they were doing." Trump has occasionally changed course on some tariff plans, such as with Mexico, but he said he had no intention of doing so when it comes to reciprocal tariffs. "They charge us and we charge them," he said. "Then in addition to that, on autos, on steel, on aluminum, we're going to have some additional tariffs." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 March,2025 02:08 PM IST | Washington | AP | PTIPeru's President declared a state of emergency in the capital on Monday and ordered the deployment of soldiers to help police address a surge of violence, amid widespread outcry a day after the killing of a popular singer. President Dina Boluarte's government published a decree saying that the state of emergency will last 30 days, and authorities will restrict some rights, including the freedom of assembly and movement. That means the police and the army would be able to detain people without a judicial order. Peru has seen an increase of killings, violent extortion and attacks on public places in recent months. Police reported 459 killings from January 1 to March 16, and 1,909 extorsion reports in January alone. But outrage crested after the killing Sunday of Paul Flores, the 39-year-old lead singer of the cumbia band Armonia 10. In Congress, opposition lawmakers requested a vote of no confidence against Interior Minister Juan Jose Santivanez for what they say is a lack of a plan to fight rising violence. The vote is expected to be discussed in the Congress' plenary later this week. Flores was shot to death early Sunday when assailants attacked the bus he and bandmates were traveling after a concert in Lima. Cumbia is a Latin music style that people dance to the rhythm of drums, maracas and other instruments. The attack against the popular singer was not the only violent event over the weekend. On Saturday, an object exploded at a restaurant in the capital, injuring at least 11 people. Boluarte's government previously decreed a state of emergency in an attempt to stem the violence between September and December. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
18 March,2025 01:54 PM IST | Lima | APADVERTISEMENT
