Briefly

NEPAL

Party led by ex-rapper heads for election win

Nepal's centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, or National Independent Party, is set for a landslide victory, according to official trends. The party, formed only four years ago, had already won 117 of 165 directly elected seats and led in 21 other constituencies in the results published on Sunday morning by Nepal's Election Commission. Other political parties and independent candidates had won 36 seats in total so far. Officials were still counting the votes on Sunday and final results were expected later in the week. The party's prime ministerial candidate is rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, who won the 2022 Kathmandu mayoral race.

NORWAY

Blast rocks US embassy in Oslo; probe underway

The United States embassy in Norway's capital Oslo was hit by an explosion early on Sunday, causing minor damage but no injuries, police said, adding the cause was not immediately known. The blast occurred around 1 am and caused only "minor material damage" to one of the building's entrances, Oslo police said in a statement. Investigators were examining the scene, while dogs, drones and helicopters were involved in the search "for one or more potential perpetrators", it said. Police commander Michael Dellemyr told TV2 that there was no indication as yet that the incident was connected to the conflict in the Middle East.

SUDAN

33 killed in drone attack on markets

A drone attack hit two markets in southwestern Sudan, killing 33 people, a medical source told Agence France-Presse on Sunday. The strikes targeted the markets of Abu Zabad and Wad Banda in West Kordofan state — part of the resource-rich Kordofan region that is currently the fiercest battlefield in the nearly three-year war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. A doctor at Abu Zabad Hospital said two drones struck the markets on Saturday, injuring 59 people, 30 of whom remain receiving treatment.

Agencies via Xinhua