At least 12 pilgrims died, and many more were injured in a stampede at a Hindu shrine in Kashmir, India, on Saturday morning, according to police.
“Twelve pilgrims died and 14 were injured in a stampede in the early morning today at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine,” said senior police officer, Mukesh Singh.
All of the injured have been hospitalized, he said.
The stampede broke out when a huge crowd of devotees, who had come to mark the beginning of the New Year, entered the Vaishno Devi Bhawan shrine, another official said.
“Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a condolence message.
The official said that a high-level inquiry has been ordered.
Georgian lawmakers elected Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, as the country’s new president on Saturday, setting him up to replace a pro-Western incumbent amid major protests against the government over a halt to the country’s European Union accession talks last month.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed on Saturday to fight for his political future after he was impeached in a second vote by the opposition-led parliament over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, a move that had shocked the nation.
Thousands of South Koreans flooded the streets of Seoul on Saturday in competing rallies, both supporting and opposing President Yoon Suk Yeol, just hours before a parliamentary vote on his impeachment.
French President Emmanuel Macron has named Francois Bayrou his third prime minister of 2024, tasking the veteran centrist with steering the country out of its second major political crisis in the last six months.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks focused on establishing stability in Syria after clashes between forces backed by the US and Turkey erupted in the north.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister, attended the prestigious graduation ceremony of the Ruler of Dubai's grandson at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom.
Lawmakers elect new president in Georgia
Korea MPs vote to impeach president over martial law
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Macron appoints new Prime Minister amid political crisis
Blinken meets Erdogan over clashes in Syria
