Sikh Granthi starts US House of Representatives proceedings
Washington: In a first, a Sikh Granthi from New Jersey offered prayers to start the proceedings of the US House of Representatives. Granthi Giani Jaswinder Singh from Pine Hill Gurdwara in New Jersey started the day’s proceedings at the House on Friday. The prayers before the proceedings are normally offered by a Christian priest. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced that Singh would start the proceedings. Taking up the floor soon after the prayers, Congressman Donald Norcross described this as a historic occasion. He is the first Sikh chaplain to make prayers in the US House of Representatives. “The history made today is a reminder that the United States welcomes and values and will remain committed to free expression of religion. Giani Singh has made South Jersey proud today and it is an honour to be a part of this moment with him,” Norcross said.
Illinois accident kills 1, injures 5
Teutopolis: A semitruck carrying ammonia overturned in an Illinois county, spilling the chemical and causing an evacuation of area residents Friday night, police said. The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office said the accident happened less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) east of Teutopolis near an intersection of Route 40 and residents were evacuated from the area and provided shelter, WCIA-TV reported. Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes told the television station that one person was killed and five people were transported for emergency medical care with unknown injuries, Rhodes said a hazardous materials unit was at the scene and additional details about the accident were not immediately available, WCIA reported. Teutopolis is about 92 miles southeast of Springfield, the capital of Illinois.
Italy, Libya resume commercial flights
Cairo: Italy and war-torn Libya on Saturday resumed commercial flights for the first time in a decade, authorities in the Libyan capital said. Flight MT522, operated by the Libyan carrier Medsky Airways, departed Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli for Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, according to Libyan airport authorities. There were 25 passengers on the flight, said Hamdi al-Zanad, head of the Libyan airline. A return flight was scheduled to land in Tripoli on Saturday afternoon, according to Mitiga International Airport. There will be a round-trip flight between the Libyan and Italian capitals on Saturdays and Wednesdays, according to the Mitiga airport announcement. The government of Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli lauded the resumed flights, posting photos on social media that showed passengers boarding the flight and officials celebrating.
Zimbabwe gold mine collapse: 6 dead, 15 trapped
Harare: Six people have died in the collapse of a gold mine in Zimbabwe, and 15 others are still trapped underground, according to state media reports. State-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation quoted deputy mines minister Polite Kambamura as saying 34 miners had been caught in Friday’s collapse. Thirteen managed to escape. The broadcaster on Saturday said rescue operations were underway at Beyhose mine in the gold rich town of Chegutu, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the capital, Harare. The police and the mines ministry could not be reached for comment on Saturday. Incidents of mine collapses, often involving artisanal miners, are rampant in the southern African country that is rich in gold, coal and diamonds.
Germany, Musk spar over migrant rescue ships
Berlin: Germany’s government rebuked X owner Elon Musk after he criticised the recent work of migrant rescue ships that German humanitarian groups operate in the Mediterranean Sea. Musk on Friday shared a video that showed migrants and aid workers on a boat. The right-wing account that first put the content on X, formerly known as Twitter, praised the populist far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has taken a hard line on migration issues. “Is the German public aware of this?” Musk wrote in his repost.