Rescue workers gather near the tunnel that collapsed in India's Uttarakhand state (AFP)
Rescuers were able to make contact on Monday with 40 labourers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand and were hopeful they would be rescued soon, an official said.
The tunnel, which was being constructed on a national highway that is part of a Hindu pilgrimage route, collapsed early Sunday morning.
"Rescue workers are preparing an escape passage by drilling the debris," local police superintendent Arpan Yaduvanshi told Reuters on the phone.
"Food and water was supplied to the labourers and we are hopeful that the rescue operation will be completed soon. Everyone inside, about 40 labourers, is fit," the police officer said.
Uttarakhand in north India is vulnerable to landslides, earthquakes and floods.
The Char Dham pilgrimage project is one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. It aims to connect four important Hindu pilgrimage sites of North India through 889 km of two-lane road being constructed at a cost of $1.5 billion.
Gaza's main border crossing in Rafah will reopen for Palestinians on Monday, Israel said, with preparations underway at the war-ravaged enclave's main gateway that has been largely shut for almost two years.
Nearly 90 people have died in bitter cold affecting areas of the United States from Texas to New Jersey, according to media reports citing local authorities.
Pakistan's security forces killed 145 militants over 40 hours after coordinated attacks across Balochistan, the chief minister of the southwestern province said on Sunday, as the authorities battle one of the deadliest flare-ups in years.
Israel carried out its heaviest airstrikes in Gaza in weeks on Saturday, killing 26 people according to local health authorities, in attacks on a Hamas-run police station and on apartments and tents in an area sheltering displaced Palestinians.
The US government entered what is expected to be a brief shutdown on Saturday after Congress failed to approve a deal to keep a wide swath of operations funded ahead of a midnight deadline.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis and students across the United States staged walkouts on Friday to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota following the fatal shootings of two US citizens.
France has lowered the safety limit for cereulide toxin in infant formula, aiming to strengthen protections after several major groups ordered worldwide recalls over contamination concerns, the farm ministry said on Saturday.
An ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill to ban social media for children, as the world's biggest market for Meta and YouTube joins a global debate on the impact of social media on young people's health and safety.
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Reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing expected Monday
Winter storm death toll in United States reaches 90
Pakistan says 145 militants killed after attacks in Balochistan
Israeli strikes kill 26 in Gaza, health officials say
US government starts likely brief shutdown as House fails to approve deal
Thousands demonstrate in Minnesota and across US to protest ICE
France tightens infant milk rules after recalls
Modi ally proposes social media ban for India's teens as global debate grows
