KATMANDU, Nepal: Flash floods from a mountain river swept away dozens of people along with their cattle and houses in western Nepal, officials said.
Police official Shailesh Thapa said 13 bodies have been recovered from the Seti river south of Mount Annapurna in Kaski district. Police were searching for dozens of missing people, including three Russian tourists who were trekking in the area, Thapa said. The names of the Russians were not immediately available.
The flooding reached the tourist resort town of Pokhara, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Katmandu.
Thapa said the floods were apparently triggered by an avalanche on Annapurna.
Thousands of trekkers visit the Annapurna region each year. May is the end of the trekking season, so not many tourists were still in the area.
Many villages are located on the banks of the Seti river, which is a main source of water in the region.
13 killed in floods near Nepal’s Mount Annapurna
13 killed in floods near Nepal’s Mount Annapurna
UK police arrest former ambassador Peter Mandelson in probe into Epstein ties
- Former UK ambassador to the US arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office
LONDON: British police on Monday arrested Peter Mandelson, a former UK ambassador to the United States, in a misconduct probe stemming from his ties with Jeffrey Epstein.
London’s Metropolitan Police force said “officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office” at an address in north London.
It did not name Mandelson, in keeping with British police practice, but the suspect in the case has previously been identified as Mandelson.
Police are investigating Mandelson over documents suggesting he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. He does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.
His arrest comes four days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, was arrested on suspicion of a similar offense related to his friendship with Epstein.
Mandelson was fired from his diplomatic post in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. When more details emerged in documents released by the US Justice Department last month, police opened a criminal probe.
