• Super Admin
• 08 Mar, 2026

Rapper-led party takes hold in Nepal KATHMANDU, Nepal -- Preliminary and partial results released Saturday showed a new political party led by an ex-rapper is in front in Nepal's parliamentary election, the country's first since last year's youth-led revolt. The Rastriya Swatantra, or National Independent, party, had already won 60 of 165 directly elected seats and was leading in 61 other constituencies in the results published by Nepal's Election Commission. Its prime ministerial candidate is rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, who won the 2022 Kathmandu mayoral race and emerged as a leading figure in the 2025 uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli. The 35-year-old highlighted health and education for poor Nepalis as a key focus of his campaign, which rode a wave of public anger toward traditional political parties. Shah, running directly against Oli in a southeastern district, won the seat with a wide margin securing almost four times as many votes as the former prime minister. The 13 seats announced so far for other parties went to the Nepal Congress party and two communist parties. Voters are directly electing 165 members to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Parliament. The remaining 110 seats in the 275-member body will be allocated through a proportional representation system. Nightclub bombing in Peru injures 33 LIMA, Peru -- A bombing at a nightclub in Peru has injured 33 people, including minors, authorities said Saturday. The explosion happened in the predawn hours at the Dali nightclub in the province of Trujillo along Peru's northern coast, according to a statement from the local Emergency Operations Center. It's a region that has recently been plagued by violence and crime. It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible and a motive wasn't immediately known. At least five of the injured were in serious condition, according to the executive director of the Trujillo Health Network, Gerardo Florián Gómez. Some of the victims suffered amputations and shrapnel wounds and were undergoing surgery, he told reporters. Among the injured are three minors: one 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds, Gomez said. Fiorella Mantilla, who was at the nightclub when the blast took place, told reporters that she had glass embedded in her legs and recalled that "it sounded as if the sound system had suddenly been turned off." In a video published by local newspaper La República, some people in the club yelled "Bomb!" and then, "Let's go!" after the explosion. The explosion took place less than a month after another blast in the same city damaged 25 homes but caused no injuries or fatalities. 45 rebels are killed by Nigerian military ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigeria's military killed 45 militants in the country's northwest region, the Katsina state government said Saturday. The clashes between the military and the gunmen happened Friday in the Danmusa area of Katsina, the state's Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Nasir Mua'zu said in a statement. It followed a failed attempt by the gunmen to steal cattle on Thursday. "Seeking revenge, the bandits returned in large numbers on March 6," Mua'zu said. "What followed was an intense and fierce battle. The army successfully neutralized all 45 bandits." Nigeria is battling a complex security crisis from different armed groups, especially in the north of the country. The United States has sent troops to the West African nation to help advise its military on the fight against insecurity. Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province. Swedish coast guard halts ship in Baltic STOCKHOLM -- Swedish authorities are investigating a cargo ship sailing in the Baltic Sea that's accused of transporting stolen grain, officials said Saturday. The Swedish coast guard said during a news conference Saturday that the crew of the Caffa is predominantly Russian, and the ship is on Ukraine's sanctions list, according to Swedish news agency TT. The Caffa was also reportedly sailing under a false flag when Swedish authorities boarded it in Swedish territorial waters Friday to search it and conduct interviews, TT reported. It had been sailing under a Guinean flag. Authorities are concerned about its seaworthiness and a person is under criminal investigation, TT reported. Other details about the Caffa and its crew were not immediately available. Sweden last year said it would step up insurance checks on foreign ships in a move aimed at tightening controls on Russia's so-called "shadow fleet " of aging ships, which are used to transport oil and gas or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The average age of the vessels is around 18 years, meaning they're near the end of their life span and are more vulnerable to accidents. Source: https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2026/mar/08/nightclub-bombing-in-peru-injures-33-45-rebels/