HANOVER, Germany, March 29 – A fire broke out at a nursing home in Hanover, Germany, resulting in injuries to around 50 people, police said on Saturday.
According to German newspaper Bild, three individuals sustained serious injuries in the blaze. The fire was detected by nursing staff in a room of the care facility.
The fire department said that they were able to prevent the flames from spreading to other rooms. However, other areas of the nursing home suffered smoke damage.
YANGON, March 29 – Two survivors with vital signs were found by China’s Yunnan Rescue Medical Team in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar, on Saturday, following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on Friday.
The Chinese rescue team arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Saturday and immediately joined forces with local Myanmar firefighters to search for survivors.
The quake caused severe damage to a three-story hospital, with the first floor completely collapsed, trapping patients beneath the rubble.
Using life detection equipment, the Yunnan rescue team located two survivors with vital signs.
According to a local fire department official, many of the casualties in the city were elderly and children, as the earthquake hit during working hours when most adults were away from home.
YANGON, March 29 – Myanmar’s powerful earthquake on Friday caused the collapse of Mandalay University’s main building, which later caught fire, according to the Information Team of the State Administration Council on Saturday night.
As a result, matriculation exam answer papers for the 2024-25 academic year, which had been sent to the university for processing, were burnt and destroyed.
Those included 280,940 answer papers of 46,944 students from Mandalay region, 43,827 papers of 7,311 students from Sagaing region and 52,189 papers of 8,699 students from Kachin state.
ACCRA, March 29 – Three Chinese nationals are missing from Ghanaian waters and believed to have been kidnapped after a “suspected pirate attack” on Thursday on their Ghanaian-registered fishing vessel, the West African nation’s military said in a statement Saturday.
Seven armed people boarded the ship and fired warning shots shortly before 6 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Thursday, the statement said, adding that they stayed on board for about three hours while some crew members hid.
After the suspected pirates left and the crew came out of hiding, they discovered that the ship’s captain, chief mate and chief engineer were missing, according to the armed forces.
The vessel, MENGXIN 1, is now docked at Tema Fishing Harbour, the statement said.
It said Ghana’s navy is investigating a “suspected pirate attack”.
ISTANBUL – Muslims in most Arab countries will celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, on Sunday, while others will mark the festival on Monday.
Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, and Bahrain said that the new crescent of Shawwal (the 10th month of the Islamic calendar) was sighted on Saturday and that Eid al-Fitr will be observed on Sunday.
Authorities in Palestine, Sudan, and Yemen made similar announcements. Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abd al-Latif Drian said that Sunni Muslims in the country will also celebrate the festival on Sunday.
Eid al-Fitr, however, will be celebrated on Monday in Oman, Egypt, and Syria as the new moon could not be sighted. Iraq’s Sunni and Shia Muslims will also mark the festival on Monday.
Eid al-Fitr, a festival of breaking the fast at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, is the first of the two main festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha.
March 29 – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukraine expected a strong response from Western countries to the nearly daily Russian drone attacks on its territory.
“Our partners must understand that these Russian strikes target not only our people, but also all international efforts, diplomatic efforts aimed at ending this war,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address, noting that 172 drones had been directed at Ukraine overnight.
“Russia is striking against everyone who seeks to end the war. It is impossible to ignore hundreds of (Iranian-designed) Shaheds every night.
“We expect a response, a serious response. We are working to ensure there is a strong reaction, especially from America, Europe and all those in the world who rely on diplomacy.”
Supporters wave Turkish and CHP party flags during a rally protesting the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Mar. 29, 2025. (AP)
ISTANBUL – Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators rallied Saturday in Istanbul in defense of democracy after the arrest of mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkiye’s worst street unrest in over a decade.
Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkiye’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid Al-Fitr celebration which starts Sunday, marking the end of Ramadan.
Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition party CHP which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but AFP was unable to independently confirm the figure.
The mass protests, which began with Imamoglu’s March 19 detention on contested fraud and “terror” charges, have prompted a repressive government response that has been sharply condemned by rights groups and drawn criticism from abroad.
Widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the ballot box, Imamoglu was elected as CHP’s candidate for the 2028 race on the day he was jailed.
As his wife, Dilek, arrived on stage, massive applause arose from the crowd which was a sea of Turkish flags and pictures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkiye’s founding father.
Imamoglu was resoundingly re-elected mayor for the third time last year. The anger over his arrest which began in Istanbul quickly spread across Turkiye.
Nightly protests outside Istanbul City Hall drew vast crowds and often degenerated into running battles with riot police, who used teargas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.
“We are here today for our homeland. We, the people, elect our rulers,” insisted 17-year-old Melis Basak Ergun, a young protester who vowed they would never be cowed “by violence or tear gas.”
“We stand behind our mayor, Imamoglu.”
Turkish authorities did not comment on the latest mass protest. Erdogan has previously branded the demonstrations “street terror.”
In a letter read out to the crowd, Imamoglu addressed Turkiye’s youngsters, saying: “If young people are on the front line, it’s because they’re the ones who feel most anxiety about the future.
“The youth are telling Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Show the people respect. Don’t touch the nation’s will. Don’t cheat — compete fairly. But Erdogan is closing his ears to these voices,” he wrote.
“This is not about Ekrem Imamoglu, it’s about our country… It is about justice, democracy and freedom,” he said, as the crowd roared back: “Rights! Law! Justice!”
“Everywhere is Taksim, resistance is everywhere!” they chanted, referring to Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square, site of the last massive wave of protests in 2013.
The last major demonstration called by CHP was Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s big rally, although students have continued to protest throughout the week.
Speaking to French newspaper Le Monde, Ozel said there would be weekly rallies every Saturday in different cities across Turkiye as well as a weekly Wednesday night demo in Istanbul.
“If we don’t stop this attempted coup, it will mean the end of the ballot box,” he said.
“I joined the rallies outside City Hall for four days together with university students. I told them not to give in,” protester Cafer Sungur, 78, told AFP.
“There is no other way than to keep fighting,” he said.
“I was jailed in the 1970s but back then there was justice. Today we can’t talk about justice anymore.”
Student groups have kept up their own protests, most of them masked, in the face of a police crackdown that has seen nearly 2,000 people arrested.
The authorities have also cracked down on media coverage, arresting 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deporting a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arresting a Swedish reporter who flew into Istanbul to cover the unrest.
Eleven journalists were freed Thursday, among them AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.
Swedish journalist Joakim Medin was jailed on Friday, his employer Dagens ETC told AFP.
Reporters Without Borders’ Turkiye representative Erol Onderoglu said Medin had been charged with “insulting the president” — a charge often use to silence Erdogan’s critics.
“The judicial pressure systematically brought to bear on local journalists for a long time is now being brought to bear on their foreign colleagues,” he told AFP, two days after the deportation of BBC correspondent Mark Lowen.
He said authorities had accused him of being “a threat to public order.” Baris Altintas, co-director of MLSA, a legal NGO helping many of the detainees, told AFP the authorities seem to be very determined to limit coverage of the protests.
“We fear the crackdown on the press will not only continue but increase,” she said.
ANKARA – At least 26 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip over the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll since October 2023 to 50,277, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
A ministry statement said that the toll included one body retrieved from the rubble in the last 24 hours.
The ministry said 70 more injured people were taken to hospitals, bringing the number of injuries from the Israeli onslaught to 114,095.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads, with rescuers unable to reach them,” the ministry said.
At least 921 Palestinians have been killed and 2,054 others injured in a surprise aerial campaign by Israel on Gaza since March 18, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.
A view shows debris after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar, in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 29, 2025. REUTERS
GENEVA, March 29 – Humanitarian operations in Myanmar have been hindered by damaged roads and infrastructure, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday severely damaged critical infrastructure including major bridges and roads, making it difficult for humanitarian operations to access areas in need, OCHA said.
“Damage to the Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw-Mandalay expressway led to service disruptions, with cracks and surface distortions forcing highway buses to halt operations”, the UN agency said in a statement.
Hospitals in central and northwestern Myanmar are struggling to cope with the influx of people injured in the earthquake, the agency stated. Seventeen cargo trucks of shelter and medical supplies are due to arrive on March 30, to address current shortages of medicines including blood bags and anaesthetics.
Myanmar’s military rulers let in hundreds of foreign rescue personnel on Saturday after the earthquake killed more than 1,600 people, the deadliest natural disaster to hit the impoverished, war-torn country in years.
Friday’s quake, among the biggest to jolt the Southeast Asian nation in the last century, crippled airports, bridges and highways amid a civil war that has wrecked the economy and displaced millions.
Funding cuts are threatening the health of nearly 13 million displaced people, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR warned Friday, with the financial uncertainty already having an impact. (AFP/File)
GENEVA – Funding cuts are threatening the health of nearly 13 million displaced people, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR warned Friday, with the financial uncertainty already having an impact.
Humanitarian organizations worldwide have been reeling since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, pushing an anti-refugee and anti-migrant agenda and immediately freezing most US foreign aid funding.
The United States has traditionally been UNHCR’s top donor, making up more than 40 percent of total contributions received.
“Without adequate resources, an estimated 12.8 million displaced people, including 6.3 million children, could be left without life-saving health interventions in 2025,” said UNHCR’s public health chief Allen Maina.
“The current humanitarian funding crisis, exacerbated by declining health spending in hosting countries, is affecting the scope and quality of public health and nutrition programs for refugees and host communities, disrupting access to essential services and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, malnutrition, untreated chronic conditions and mental health issues.”
Citing examples of cutbacks, Maina said around a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were facing a severe health crisis with funding freezes threatening access to medical services.
In Burundi, the suspension of nutrition programs in several camps means thousands of refugee children under five may not receive adequate treatment for malnutrition, he added.
And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, UNHCR’s 2025 health budget has been cut by 87 percent compared to 2024.
In the DRC, “the health consequences of funding cuts are expected to be devastating, putting over 520,000 refugees at heightened risk of infectious diseases and death,” said Maina.
And in Egypt, all UNHCR’s medical treatment for refugees has been suspended, except emergency life-saving procedures.
The estimate of 12.8 million displaced people potentially being left without health support was based on a survey by UNHCR’s health team of all the global operations where the agency has health programs.
UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said other traditional top donors were also reducing their funding.
The crescent moon for the Hijri month of Shawwal has been sighted in Saudi Arabia, marking the end of the month of Ramadan, the Saudi Supreme Court said on Saturday. (X/@HaramainInfo)
RIYADH/JEDDAH – The crescent moon for the Hijri month of Shawwal has been sighted in Saudi Arabia, marking the end of the month of Ramadan, the Saudi Supreme Court said on Saturday.
Eid Al-Fitr — the annual Islamic celebration that runs for the first five days of Shawwal, the 10th month of the Hijri calendar — begins on Sunday, March 30.
The Eid Al-Fitr prayer will take place across the Kingdom on Sunday shortly after sunrise.
Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Alsheikh has instructed the ministry’s branches that the prayer will be held in all designated Eid prayer areas and all mosques — except those adjacent to Eid prayer areas, as residents will use their local Eid prayer areas instead — and that all necessary preparations must be made, including maintenance and cleaning, to ensure a comfortable and tranquil experience.
There are currently 19,887 mosques and prayer areas in the Kingdom.
Riyadh resident Maher Aldossary shared his excitement for Eid. “The joy of Eid is already in the air. We are saying goodbye to the blessed days of Ramadan and eagerly welcoming Eid with open hearts,” he said.
“Families are busy preparing new clothes, collecting fancy chocolates, and making sure everything is set for the celebrations and breakfast feast. The streets are alive with hustle and bustle, and you can feel the excitement everywhere,” Aldossary added.
Samar Alwan, who is spending the final days of Ramadan in Istanbul, is cherishing the remainder of the holy month while eagerly anticipating Eid.
“Ramadan in Istanbul has been truly special, and part of me wishes it could last just one more day,” Alwan said.
“But now, the excitement for Eid is building. The streets are filled with lights, the markets are bustling, and everyone is getting ready, buying gifts, preparing sweets, and planning gatherings. It’s a beautiful time of joy and togetherness.”
Sami Hijazi, a teacher from Jeddah, shared how he and his family are fully immersed in Eid preparations.
“We have already taken down our Ramadan decorations and started setting up for Eid. The house is buzzing with activity, getting new clothes ironed, preparing delicious treats for the kids, and making sure everything is perfect,” Hijazi said.
“The anticipation is so high, and now we’re just waiting for the official announcement. No matter when it comes, we are ready to celebrate with full hearts.”
Earlier, on Thursday, the Supreme Court called on Muslims across the Kingdom to look for the crescent moon of Shawwal on Saturday evening, and called on anyone who sights the crescent moon with the naked eye or through binoculars to report to the nearest court and register their testimony.
A view shows debris after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar, in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 29, 2025. REUTERS
BANGKOK – Myanmar’s military rulers let in hundreds of foreign rescue personnel on Saturday after an earthquake killed more than 1,600 people, the deadliest natural disaster to hit the impoverished, war-torn country in years.
Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake, among the biggest to jolt the Southeast Asian nation in the last century, crippled airports, bridges and highways amid a civil war that has wrecked the economy and displaced millions.
The death toll in Myanmar climbed to 1,644, the military government said on Saturday, according to BBC Burmese news service.
In neighbouring Thailand, where the quake rattled buildings and brought down a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, at least nine people were killed.
Survivors in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, dug with their bare hands on Friday in desperate attempts to save those still trapped, lacking heavy machinery and with authorities absent.
In Bangkok on Saturday, rescue operations continued at the site of the 33-story tower’s collapse, where 47 people were missing or trapped under the rubble – including workers from Myanmar.
The U.S. Geological Service’s predictive modelling estimated Myanmar’s death toll could exceed 10,000 and losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.
A day after making a rare call for international assistance, Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, travelled to hard-hit Mandalay near the epicentre of the quake, which brought down buildings and triggered fires in some areas.
“The Chairman of the State Administration Council instructed authorities to expedite search and rescue efforts and address any urgent needs,” the junta said in a statement on state media, referring to Min Aung Hlaing.
ISTANBUL – At least one worker was killed and four others injured in an explosion on Saturday at a chemical factory in Türkiye’s western province of Izmir, local media reported.
According to the state-run Anadolu agency, the incident occurred in the morning at a factory in the organized industrial zone of the Aliaga district. The agency stated that the explosion was caused by gas compression, which also sparked a fire.
The four wounded workers are in critical condition, Anadolu reported, noting that numerous gendarmerie teams, firefighters, and medical units have been dispatched to the scene.
An investigation has been launched into the incident, it said.
Rescue personnel work at the site of a building that collapsed, following a strong earthquake, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 29, 2025. REUTERS
BANGKOK – Myanmar’s military rulers let in hundreds of foreign rescue personnel on Saturday after an earthquake killed more than 1,000 people, the deadliest natural disaster to hit the impoverished, war-torn country in years.
Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake, among the biggest to jolt the Southeast Asian nation in the last century, crippled airports, bridges and highways amid a civil war that has wrecked the economy and displaced millions.
The death toll in Myanmar climbed to 1,002, the military government said on Saturday.
In neighbouring Thailand, where the quake rattled buildings and brought down a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, at least nine people were killed.
Survivors in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, dug with their bare hands on Friday in desperate attempts to save those still trapped, lacking heavy machinery and with authorities absent.
In Bangkok on Saturday, rescue operations continued at the site of the 33-story tower’s collapse, where 47 people were missing or trapped under the rubble – including workers from Myanmar.
The U.S. Geological Service’s predictive modelling estimated Myanmar’s death toll could exceed 10,000 and losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.
A day after making a rare call for international assistance, Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, travelled to hard-hit Mandalay near the epicentre of the quake, which brought down buildings and triggered fires in some areas.
“The Chairman of the State Administration Council instructed authorities to expedite search and rescue efforts and address any urgent needs,” the junta said in a statement on state media, referring to Min Aung Hlaing.
AIRPORTS CLOSED
An initial assessment by Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government said at least 2,900 buildings, 30 roads and seven bridges had been damaged by the quake.
“Due to significant damage, Naypyitaw and Mandalay international airports are temporarily closed,” said the NUG, which includes remnants of the elected civilian government ousted by the military in a 2021 coup that triggered the civil war.
The control tower at the airport in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s purpose-built capital city, collapsed, rendering it inoperable, a person with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
A Myanmar junta spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.
A Chinese rescue team arrived at the airport in Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon, hundreds of kilometres from Mandalay and Naypyitaw, and will travel upcountry by bus, state media said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with the junta chief, China’s embassy in Myanmar said on Saturday, and said Beijing would provide $13.77 million worth of aid, including tents, blankets and emergency medical kits.
The United States, which has a testy relationship with the Myanmar military and has sanctioned its officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, has said it would provide some assistance.
Relief supplies from India on a military aircraft also landed in Yangon, according to Myanmar state media, and India’s government said it was also dispatching ships with 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid.
Russia, Malaysia and Singapore were also sending planeloads of relief supplies and personnel.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-country bloc that includes Myanmar, said that it recognised the urgent need for humanitarian assistance. “ASEAN stands ready to support relief and recovery efforts,” the group said a statement.
South Korea said it would provide an initial $2 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar through international organisations.
‘NO HELP COMING’
Residents in the hardest-hit areas are desperate for the help.
The quake, which hit around lunchtime on Friday, affected wide swathes of Myanmar, from the central plains around Mandalay to the hills of Shan in the east, parts of which are not completely under the junta’s control.
Rescue operations in Mandalay could not match the scale of the disaster, one resident said by phone, asking not to be named because of security concerns.
“Many people are trapped but there is no help coming just simply because there isn’t manpower or equipment or vehicles,” he said.
In Bangkok, 1,000 km (620 miles) from the epicentre, authorities on Saturday pushed ahead with efforts to find construction workers trapped under the rubble of the collapsed tower, using excavators, drones and search-and-rescue dogs.
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said all possible resources had been deployed to search for survivors and to bring out bodies of the deceased.
“We always have hope,” he told reporters. “We’re still working around the clock.”
Chanpen Kaewnoi, 39, said she rushed over on Friday afternoon after seeing news reports that the under-construction building where her mother and younger sister were working had collapsed.
“I called my sister, but no matter how many times I tried to call her there was no connection,” she said after a sleepless night at the site.
“I want to wait for my mother and sister,” said Chanpen, herself a construction worker, “I want to see their faces again.”
Across the sprawling metropolis, where such quakes are rare, there may be up to 5,000 damaged buildings, including residential towers, said Anek Siripanichgorn, a board member of Council of Engineers Thailand, which is helping municipal authorities.
“We are going through hundreds of cases,” he said. “If we see cases where there is potential danger, we will immediately send engineers.”
KUNMING – The homes of 847 households in Ruili City, southwest China’s Yunnan Province that borders Myanmar, were damaged in a massive earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday.
As of Saturday noon, a total of 2,840 people in the city, which is about 300 km from the epicenter, have been affected, according to sources from the Ruili municipal government.
Following the quake, local governments have deployed task forces for disaster relief, monitoring geological hazards, inspecting water conservancy projects, repairing electrical facilities, and carrying out emergency road maintenance.
Two people sustained minor injuries in the quake and have received medical treatment. The city government is currently assessing the extent of the losses suffered by local residents.
Water, electricity, transportation and communication in Ruili have returned to normal.
So far the devastating quake has killed 1,002 people, injured 2,376 and left 30 missing in Myanmar.
SANAA, March 28 – The U.S. military launched 26 fresh airstrikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa and other provinces on Friday evening, killing at least one and injuring three others, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
Eight airstrikes were launched on the Al-Sawad area in southern Sanaa, and 18 airstrikes targeted several parts of the provinces of Saada and al-Jawf, al-Masirah TV said.
The U.S. side has yet to comment on the incident.
Earlier in the day, al-Masirah TV reported that the U.S. military launched more than 40 airstrikes on Yemen on Friday before dawn, targeting Sanaa International Airport, the Command Camp, the Sarif area and the Jarban site in the Sanhan area, as well as several other places in northern provinces.
One person was wounded, it said.
The strikes before dawn occurred a few hours after the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching two ballistic missile attacks at Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel and a military target south of Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon.
Tensions between the Houthis and the U.S. military have escalated since Washington began its air attack on the Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen on March 15. The attack followed Houthi threats to resume attacks on Israeli targets unless humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis would continue.
March 28 – A Russian drone attack killed one person, injured six and sparked a large fire in a hotel and restaurant complex and other buildings late on Friday in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said.
Serhiy Lysak, governor of the surrounding Dnipropetrovsk region, said two of the injured were in serious condition. Firefighters were bringing the blaze under control.
“A large fire has broken out in the restaurant complex,” Lysak wrote earlier on the Telegram messaging app. “There was also a fire in a multi-storey apartment building and private houses.”
Pictures and videos posted online showed flames, large plumes of smoke wafting skyward in the city and streets strewn with shattered glass and building materials.
People protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 26, 2025. REUTERS
ANKARA, March 28 – Swedish journalist Kaj Joakim Medin, who was in Turkey to cover protests against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s arrest, was jailed pending trial on terrorism charges, Turkey’s Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Friday.
Medin was detained in Istanbul as part of an investigation launched after a protest in Stockholm in January 2023, where a mannequin resembling President Tayyip Erdogan was hung outside the city hall.
Authorities said Medin was among 15 suspects identified for organizing, promoting, or being linked to the demonstration.
Medin was charged with “insulting the president” and “membership in a terrorist organization.”
His employer, Dagens ETC newspaper, had raised concerns over his whereabouts after he was unreachable for two days.
Dagens ETC Editor-in-Chief Andreas Gustavsson told Swedish TV4 that Medin had done nothing wrong and was merely being punished for doing his job as a reporter.
Turkish authorities also cited Medin’s past reporting from conflict zones in Syria, Iraq and southeastern Turkey between 2014 and 2017.
He was formally arrested via video conference by an Ankara court after being questioned in Istanbul.
Sweden has asked the Turkish ambassador to Stockholm to clarify the allegations against Medin and to demand that he receive urgent access to consular services, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told public broadcaster SVT.
Nepal police fire tear gas to disperse pro-monarchy demonstrators demanding a Hindu state, in Kathmandu on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
KATMANDU – Nepal police fired tear gas and water cannon on Friday to disperse thousands of people gathered in Katmandu demanding the restoration of the monarchy, prompting authorities to impose a curfew in the area.
The Himalayan nation adopted a federal and republican political system in 2008 after parliament abolished the monarchy as part of a peace deal that ended a decade-long civil war responsible for more than 16,000 deaths.
Support for the restoration of the monarchy re-enshrining Hinduism as the state religion has grown in tandem with popular dissatisfaction over political instability, corruption and lackluster economic development.
“The country should have developed significantly. People should have had better job opportunities, peace and security and good governance. We should have been corruption-free,” Mina Subedi, 55, who joined the demonstration, told AFP.
“But things have only deteriorated.” Protesters gathered near the national parliament chanting that the king and country were “dearer to us than life.”
Police spokesman Dinesh Kumar Acharya told AFP that police fired tear gas and water cannon to clear the demonstrators after they broke into a restricted area and vandalized buildings.
Local authorities announced a curfew in the area after the clash.
Opposition parties marshalled thousands more people at a counter-demonstration elsewhere in the capital to “safeguard the republican system.”
“Nepalis will not return to the past,” said Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former guerrilla chief who led the decade-long Maoist insurgency before entering politics and has since served as prime minister three times.
“Maybe they have dared to raise their heads because us republic supporters have not been able to deliver as per the wishes and wants of the people.”
Abdicated king Gyanendra Shah, 77, had largely refrained from commenting on Nepal’s fractious politics, but recently made several public appearances with supporters.
Shah was crowned in 2001 after his elder brother king Birendra Bir Bikram Shah and his family were killed in a palace massacre that wiped out most of the royal family.
His coronation took place as the Maoist insurgency was raging in far-flung corners of Nepal.
Shah suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament in 2005, triggering a democratic uprising in which the Maoists sided with Nepal’s political establishment to orchestrate huge street protests.
That eventually precipitated the end of the conflict, with parliament voting in 2008 to abolish Nepal’s 240-year-old Hindu monarchy.
