PRAGUE, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis's opposition ANO party won most of the country's major cities in municipal elections seen as a test for the ruling coalition's handling of the energy crisis.

The Czech Republic, similar to other European Union member countries, has been struggling with soaring inflation pushed up mainly by high energy prices. The opposition has been saying that the government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala has done too little too late to help the people.

KAMPALA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A Ugandan military helicopter crashed in the western district of Kabarole Saturday but no casualties were caused, a military spokesperson confirmed.

Felix Kulayigye, a military spokesperson, tweeted that the MI-24 helicopter developed a mechanical fault while in flight and the pilot made an emergency landing.

"Fortunately no casualties both to the occupants of the plane and on the ground," he said.

Kulayigye said a team has been dispatched to the crash site from the air force headquarters to establish the cause of the accident.

NEW YORK, Sep 25 (APP): The Azad Kashmir President, Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, has urged United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a special envoy in a decisive move to resolve the decades-old Kashmir dispute on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions that pledged the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people.

LUGANSK, September 25. /TASS/: The referendum on the accession to Russia in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) has been recognized as valid, since the voter turnout has exceeded 50%, Yelena Kravchenko, chairperson of the LPR’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Sunday.

"High voter turnout is reported from the entire territory on the Lugansk People’s Republic. After three days of voting, the voter turnout exceeded 50% So, the referendum is recognized as valid," she said.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful typhoon shifted and abruptly gained strength Sunday as it blew closer to the northeastern Philippines, prompting evacuations from high-risk villages and the capital, which could be sideswiped by the storm, officials said.

Typhoon Noru was swirling at sea about 115 kilometers (71 miles) east of Infanta town in Quezon province with sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 240 kph (149 mph) at midafternoon. Forecasters expect it to smash into the coast later Sunday.

LUSAKA, Sept 25 (NNN-ZNBC) — Government says it will continue to strengthen bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia in the promotion of Zambia’s sustainable development and economic growth.

Information and Media Minister CHUSHI KASANDA says Government will continue to foster relations with the Saudi government as a way of creating synergies that will enhance development and create opportunities for people in both nations.

KASANDA said this when she graced the Saudi Arabia 92nd National day in Lusaka.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Edward Davis said Saturday that taking climate action is "in the interests of every country."

For a long time, decision-makers in both the public and private sectors believed that climate action must come at the expense of economic growth, but now, many are beginning to understand that climate inaction is the most expensive option of all, he told the General Debate of the UN General Assembly.

LONDON, Sep 25 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres had assured that they would be soon arranging a donors’ conference for the rehabilitation of the flood affected people of Pakistan. 

 The prime minister chaired a meeting via videolink to review relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood hit areas of the country.  

The meeting was attended by federal ministers and the relevant authorities, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. 

SANAA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The protracted war in Yemen not only brings physical suffering to millions of children but also inflicts a kind of pain that last longer -- psychological trauma.

"Many children displayed aphasia or other symptoms of PTSD after they went through heavy bombings. They were overwhelmed by horror and fear," said Suad Al-Haimi, the director of the Al-Tahadi Association for the Disabled in the capital Sanaa.

DUSHANBE, September 25. /TASS/: Peace on the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is possibly only if the sides strictly observe the peace agreements, Saymumim Yatimov, chief of Tajikistan’s State Committee on National Security, said on Sunday.

"Peace on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border will be possible if we strictly obey the protocols and documents we have signed," he said after signing a protocol on settling the situation on the border.

MATERA, Italy (AP) — Pope Francis traveled to southern Italy on Sunday to close out an Italian church congress that coincided with Italy’s national election, and delivered a message that hit on key domestic campaign issues including immigration.

Neither Francis nor his hosts referred to the vote during the open-air Mass, though Italy’s bishops conference had earlier urged Italians to cast ballots in the eagerly watched election that could bring Italy its first far-right government since World War II.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 25 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed the strategic and historical relations between the two countries, and also expressed the willingness to carry them out in a great number of fields.

In a meeting held at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Lavrov and Al-Mekdad discussed issues of common interest and various regional and international developments, official reports said.