World this week

Photo: AP/UNB
At least 66 people are still missing a week after flash floods hit the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, according to an official statement. Only one body has been recovered so far, the statement added, revising an earlier death toll of four. Nearly half of Dharali village was submerged on August 5 in a mudslide caused by heavy rains and flash floods. An army camp nearby also suffered extensive damage. Rescue operations are continuing at the site of the disaster as workers search for missing people.
The work has been affected by inclement weather and the blockage of a key highway near the site due to the mudslide. Around 1,300 people have been rescued from near Dharali since last week, officials said. Heavy rains last week had led to the swelling of the Kheerganga river in the region, sending tonnes of muddy waters gushing downwards on the hilly terrain, covering roads, buildings and shops in Dharali and nearby Harsil village.
US President Donald Trump extended a trade truce with China for another 90 days Monday, at least delaying once again a dangerous showdown between the world's two biggest economies. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he signed the executive order for the extension, and that "all other elements of the Agreement will remain the same." Beijing at the same time also announced the extension of the tariff pause, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The previous deadline was set to expire on Tuesday. Had that happened the US could have ratcheted up taxes on Chinese imports from an already high 30%, and Beijing could have responded by raising retaliatory levies on US exports to China. The pause buys time for the two countries to work out some of their differences, perhaps clearing the way for a summit later this year between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it has been welcomed by the U.S. companies doing business with China.
London police said Sunday (Aug. 10) that 532 people were arrested the previous day when supporters of a pro-Palestinian group recently outlawed as a terrorist organization intentionally broke the law to test the government's ability to enforce the ban. The Metropolitan Police Service released the updated figures as protesters demanding the immediate release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza held their own march through central London on Sunday afternoon.
The vast majority of those detained on Saturday were arrested for displaying placards declaring their support for the group known as Palestine Action. Police updated their earlier totals and said 522 people were arrested for supporting a proscribed organization in violation of anti-terror laws. Another 10 people were arrested on a variety of charges, including assaulting and obstructing police officers. Backers of Palestine Action staged the protest to underscore their belief that the government is illegally restricting freedom of expression by banning a direct action organization that has challenged its policies.
Mexico sent 26 inmates suspected of playing high-profile roles in some of the country's most powerful drug cartels to the US, the second transfer of its kind this year. US officials said the individuals extradited included "key operatives" of major drugs gangs, and have been charged with violent offences or links to organised crime in American courts. Mexico said the individuals - who have not been publicly identified - represented "a permanent risk to public security".
The latest prisoner transfer came as the White House continued to put pressure on its southern neighbour to crack down on drug trafficking across the shared border, including by imposing tariffs on some products. Mexican officials said they had agreed the inmates could be sent to the US as long as none were considered eligible for the death penalty, a condition successive governments have insisted on when considering extraditions.
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