The Global News Desk 115

Indian naval speedboat collided with a mini passenger ship conveying more than 100 passengers to a well-known tourist spot off the coast of Mumbai on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, according to the navy.  The Indian Navy reported in a statement that 99 ferry passengers were rescued. When the speedboat swerved and rammed into the ferry "Neelkamal," passengers were en route to Elephanta Island.  The Indian Navy issued a statement expressing grief for the "shocking loss" of life caused by a speedy boat accomplishing engine tests losing control and colliding with a civilian ferry.  One naval service member and a couple workers of an equipment company participating in the testing were among the 13 people declared dead by doctors, according to the naval and government officials. According to the Indian Naval officials, 11 navy vessels, four coastguard boats, and four naval helicopters moved into the region as part of "search and rescue efforts that were immed...

BERLIN, Germany —  Barbel Bas, the president of the Bundestag, said on Monday that most of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) voted against Chancellor Olaf Scholz's cabinet, opening the door for early elections in February. Of the 717 lawmakers who cast ballots, 394 opposed Scholz's bid for chancellor, 207 voted in favor of him, and 116 refused to vote. He slumped very short of the 367 majority required to win. The elections for a new parliament will take place on February 23, 2025. Early in November, Scholz's coalition government fell apart after he dismissed Christian Lindner, the head of the Free Democratic Party and Finance Minister, for refusing to approve new budget projections for 2025 and increased aid for Ukraine.  The opposition also attributes the deteriorating economic situation to Olaf Scholz's coalition government.  Source: Sputnik 

A Chinese business delegation has shown an interest in investing $1 billion in Thatta's Dhabeji Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to create a medical city.  12 large Chinese enterprises joined Syed Qasim Naveed Qamar, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh, on a visit to the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone. The Sindh government has approved the scheme. During the meeting, Syed Qasim Naveed Qamar, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh, highlighted that the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone is a CPEC priority project.  Syed Qasim Naveed Qamar says that Sindh has a lot of appealing investment opportunities. Because of its advantageous location close to the port, highways, and railroads, he said, the Dhabeji Zone will be the province's most important economic zone in terms of industrial expansion, technology transfer, and job creation.   This effort is a well-known example of China and Pakistan's strong and honored relationship. Naveed Qamar further said that  t...

European News — A security source informed the media on Sunday that 14 people were killed and 249 more were seriously injured by a Cyclone on the French island territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean.  The powerful hurricane progressed close to Mozambique's coast after wreaking havoc on Mayotte's shantytowns, the French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned that the final toll might be high.  Damage to airports and electrical distribution will likely hamper the efforts of rescue workers and supplies being transported by air and sea in an area where even clean drinking water was already facing chronic shortages.  Government officials in the French area in the Indian Ocean said Sunday that Cyclone Chido's route of devastation over Mayotte might kill "several hundred people. "All stuff has been swept away, everything is destroyed," said one of the Cyclone victims, whose property was wrecked in the Kaweni neighborhood in Mamoudzou's east - France's l...

The Palestinian health ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday martyred at least 22 Palestinians. After recent brutal bombings on the Gaza Strip, Palestinians' death toll increased to 44,930 martyred and 106,624 wounded.  Doctors said in a statement that an assault near the municipality building in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, where civilians had gathered to receive aid, killed at least 10 people. According to a Gaza source, the assault martyred Diab Ali al-Jaru, the leader of the Hamas administrative committee in central Gaza, wounded were transported to the hospital. 4 others were killed in another incident in the area.

KABUL, Afghanistan  —  Khalil Haqqani, Afghanistan's minister for refugees, was killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghan state television said yesterday. Khalil Haqqani, Minister for Refugees, was killed on Wednesday when an assailant entered the ministry's Kabul headquarters and blew himself up, according to a news report.  However, the Afghan local news source said that the explosion was a suicide attack and that Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani was heading toward the mosque when it happened.  Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani network, has a brother named Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani. Sirajuddin Haqqani, the current interior minister, was also his uncle. Anas Haqqani, Khalil-ur-Rehman  Haqqani's nephew acknowledged the death.  The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that assassinated Afghanistan's refugee minister in his Kabul office, according to a  terrorist watchdog Website.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  —  FIFA, the worldwide governing body of men's football, has announced that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 tournament, with Spain, Portugal, and Morocco sharing the hosting responsibilities for the 2030 tournament.  The report said that to celebrate the competition's 100th anniversary, the 2030 tournament shall include matches in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.  The hosts of both World Cups were confirmed after a vote during Wednesday's Special Fifa Session.  Before the approval, Fifa Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom said that "all 211 member associations have effectively cast their vote before the conference" and that there was only one voting option for each of the three decisions.   Switzerland's Football Association (FA) said on Tuesday that it will approve Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup, but that FIFA and the International Labour Organization must observe human rights. Norway decided not to participate du...