Briefly

IRELAND

PM to call general election this week

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said on Tuesday that he plans to call a parliamentary election later this week, likely setting up a polling date for the end of the month. Harris has until March to go to the polls but has been laying the ground for an earlier election since last month's 10.5 billion euro ($11.2 billion) budget giveaway, with many voters starting to benefit from the package this week. "We need to get through the business of the next few days first," he added, referring to legislation the government aims to pass through parliament by Thursday before Harris names the election date, expected to be Nov 29.

SPAIN

Flood-hit areas to get 10.6b euro aid

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday that the government would provide economic and fiscal aid of 10.6 billion euros ($11.3 billion) for the areas affected by the devastating floods. Sanchez said the regions of Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia affected by last week's torrential floods had been designated as disaster zones, which means the government could apply an urgent law to pass the massive aid package. Authorities said on Tuesday that 89 people are confirmed missing one week after the catastrophic floods in the eastern Valencia region. It is the first figure of those missing to be made public.

JAPAN

Snow on Mount Fuji after record absence

Japan's Mount Fuji finally got its trademark snowcap early on Wednesday, more than a month after it normally would and after setting a record for the most delayed snowfall in 130 years. The first snowfall could be seen from the southwestern side of the mountain, according to the Shizuoka branch of the Japan Meteorological Agency, or JMA. The lack of snow on Mount Fuji on Tuesday broke the previous record set on Oct 26, 2016, meteorological officials said. Global warming is one factor that has led to the slow snow cover, said a JMA official at the Kofu office.

NEPAL

TikTok registered after govt lifts ban

The popular short-video app TikTok has been registered in Nepal, two months after the government lifted a monthslong ban on it, a government official said on Wednesday. "TikTok was registered at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology formally last week and we issued the certification of registration on Tuesday," said Gajendra Thakur, spokesman for the ministry. In early September, Nepal's internet and mobile service providers were directed to lift the ban imposed on TikTok in November 2023, after the cabinet made a similar decision in late August.

Agencies - Xinhua