HK police seize arms, dangerous raw materials
Peru president dissolves congress
LIMA, Oct 01: Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra dissolved congress Monday, exercising seldom used executive powers to shut down the opposition-controlled legislature that he accuses of stonewalling attempts to curb widespread corruption. In a televised address, Vizcarra told the South American nation that he had decided to call new legislative elections after lawmakers proceeded with holding a controversial vote to replace almost all the members of the Constitutional Tribunal. — AP
Nepal's Speaker quits over rape allegation
KATHMANDU, Oct 01: Bahadur Mahara, resigned on Tuesday to allow an investigation into an accusation made by a female parliament employee that he raped her. In a letter to the deputy speaker of the house printed by the local newspaper My Republica, Mahara said he was stepping down "on moral grounds to facilitate a fair probe into the allegations raising serious questions about my character." The woman has accused Mahara of assaulting her while drunk at her apartment in the capital Kathmandu on Sunday, Kathmandu Police Chief Uttam Subedi said on Tuesday. —Reuters
Record number of candidates to contest Swiss polls
GENEVA, Oct 01: A record number of candidates will run for election to the Swiss parliament on Oct. 20, including more young people and women, the Swiss government said on Monday. The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said in a statement that 511 lists, under the Swiss system, were registered by political parties in the 26 cantons with a proportional system in preparation for the 2019 elections. — Xinhua
Red meat maybe not unhealthy, after all
WASHINGTON, Oct 01: Cutting back on red meat is standard medical advice to prevent cancer and heart disease - but a review of dozens of studies has concluded that the potential risk is low and evidence uncertain. In new guidelines published on Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a panel of researchers from seven countries suggested that "adults continue current unprocessed red meat consumption." — AFP
We can't be ordered to investigate Biden: Zelenskiy
KIEV, Oct 01: Ukraine's president says his country can't be pressured into opening an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden or his son. And both Ukraine and rival Russia are pushing back at the White House for releasing a transcript of a private phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and another world leader — AP
Outcry as Pakistan appoints new envoy to UN
ISLAMABAD, Oct 01: A decision by Pakistan to appoint a former diplomat as its ambassador to the United Nations has sparked criticism over his alleged involvement in a domestic violence dispute in 2002. Munir Akram "has been appointed as Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York, in place of Dr. Maleeha Lodhi," the country's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement late Monday. — AFP