QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A passenger bus plunged into a ravine in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday killing 20 people, a government official said. The road crash also injured another 13 people aboard the bus that was travelling from garrison city of Rawalpindi to Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, said Ijaz Jaffar, deputy commissioner of Sherani district. The ravine is some 350 kilometres north of Quetta. Poor road infrastructure and rash driving often cause deadly road crashes in Pakistan.

 

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LONDON (The Guardian) – The UK government has been accused of an “outrageous” cover-up after refusing to reveal how much its plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will cost. The Home Office claimed that it needed a “safe space” to negotiate agreements and releasing the actual or estimated costs of the scheme would “prejudice relations between the UK and Rwanda”. An initial £120mn payment has already been made to the country’s government and the Home Office has confirmed its intention to spend around £100,000 on publicizing the deal to migrants in the hope of deterring small boat crossings of the English Channel.

 

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NEW YORK (News Week) -Donald Trump is reportedly looking to make an early announcement of a 2024 presidential election run, which might help deflect attention away from damaging January 6 committee revelations and take advantage of the waning popularity of President Joe Biden. The New York Times reported that Republicans are “bracing” themselves for the former president to announce “an unusually early bid for the White House” which could divert attention from allegations about his alleged attempts to cling on to power after losing to Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

 

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PARIS (AFP) -Thousands of people joined protests in North Macedonia over the weekend against a French proposal that could clear the way for the southern Balkan country’s accession to the EU. Protests were led by the nationalist, right-wing opposition party VMRO-DPMNE on Saturday and Sunday. The protesters oppose a French proposal to resolve conflicts with Bulgaria over questions of national identity, language and history which Bulgaria — already an EU member — has been using to veto North Macedonia from starting formal talks to join the bloc. “We do not need Europe if we have to be assimilated,” opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski said on Saturday. “The answer is no for the latest French proposal.”

 

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BERLIN (DW) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged the public to face the country’s economic problems together, as inflation in Europe’s leading economy remained stubbornly high. Scholz published a new video in his weekly podcast, admitting that rising prices were troubling many citizens. He called for the population to “link arms and stick together.” Just days after data showed prices rose 7.6% in Junecompared to a year earlier, Scholz said he would convene a meeting of experts to tackle the cost of living crisis.