Nepal has declared three days of mourning for thevictims of Saturday's 7.8 magnitude earthquakethat left nearly 5,000 dead and thousands more indesperate need of aid.
In a televised news conference Tuesday, NepalesePrime Minister Koirala thanked donors for theirassistance. He added that getting help to remoteareas remains a major challenge.
The United Nations says the disaster has affectedeight million people with 1.4 million in need of food.The U.N. says it would draw $15 million from its emergency fund for relief operations.
Officials said Tuesday the death toll had climbed to more than 4,600 people. About 9,000others are injured. They said those numbers could go higher as workers clear more of thedamaged areas.
Indonesia executes eight drug convicts, spares one
Indonesia has executed eight drug convicts, including several foreign nationals, despite strongopposition abroad.
The convicts included two Australian members of a heroin trafficking ring, a Brazilian national,and an Indonesian citizen.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo refused to reduce the severity of the convicts' punishment,despite opposition and appeals from the international community. The president describedthe executions as necessary to control what he calls Indonesia's "drug emergency."
Local media reports say a ninth convict, a woman from the Philippines, was to be executed, butsuddenly was not. Officials say her execution was delayed because of a request from thePhilippine president. The Filipina convict has been asked to testify in the trial of a personsuspected of human trafficking in the Philippines.
Obama, Abe pledge to complete Pacific Rim trade pact
U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Tuesday tocomplete a 12-nation Pacific Rim trade agreement. Mr. Abe is in the middle of a state visit to theUnited States.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Abe spoke at a news conference Tuesday at the White House. Mr. Obamasaid the trade bill would boost U.S. exporters and the country's labor market. But he alsoaccepted that there is opposition to a Pacific Rim trade agreement in both the U.S. and inJapan.
The two leaders did not announce any details about the remaining difficulties to completing anagreement. The proposed trade bill would open up exports for both Japanese and Americanmanufacturers, along with those in 10 other nations that border the Pacific.
