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Karnataka MLA among 5 dead in Andhra Pradesh train accident

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train

Hyderabad: Five people including a Karnataka legislator were killed early on Monday morning when a granite-laden truck rammed into an express train at a level crossing in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur, the second fatal accident this month involving the railways.

Around 25 people are said to have been injured in the accident, which occurred at around 2.25am at Madakasira, more than 450 km from capital Hyderabad.

Official sources said Karnataka MLA Venkatesh Nayak and the driver of the truck are among the five people killed when four coaches of the Bangalore-Nanded Express derailed under the impact of the collision with the truck.

The driver of the truck, who was allegedly in an inebriated condition, was driving at a very high speed and failed to notice the closed gates at a level crossing.

Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu expressed condolences.

Immediate medical relief has been sent and injured are being treated, Prabhu tweeted.

The railway ministry tweeted that the accident was caused due to the negligence of the lorry driver.

Earlier this month, at least 35 people died when two trains derailed within minutes of each other while crossing a small bridge near Harda town in Madhya Pradesh.

India has the world’s fourth largest railway network that ferries more than 23 million passengers every day, but infrastructure is poorly maintained and accidents are common.

In 2012, a government report said almost 15,000 people were killed every year on the railways, describing the deaths as an annual “massacre” due mainly to poor safety standards.

(Agencies)

Record number of refugees enter Hungary from Serbia

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More than 2,000 refugees crossed frontier on Monday, just days before Hungary completes a border fence.

After crossing Serbia, refugees enter Hungary to continue their journey to western and northern EU countries [EPA]

After crossing Serbia, refugees enter Hungary to continue their journey to western and northern EU countries [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

A record number of refugees streamed into EU member Hungary from Serbia, police said, just days before Hungary completes a border fence.

A total of 2,093 potential asylum seekers, the highest ever daily total, crossed the border near the Hungarian town of Roszke, a police statement said on Monday.

They were part of a wave of around 8,000 refugees whose journey to the European Union had been blocked last week when Macedonia declared a state of emergency and closed its borders after being overwhelmed by the huge influx of people, amid Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II.

Many refugees said they had passed through Serbia after travelling through Macedonia’s border with Greece.

“We were stopped in Macedonia for two days, the riots were terrible, police used guns and tear gas, I saw an old woman beaten, her money and papers taken,” a 29-year-old IT engineer from Mosul in Iraq told the AFP news agency.

Al Jazeera’s Djordge Kostic, reporting near the border with Hungary, said an estimated 1,500 refugees are currently staying at 28 shelters set up by the UN and Russian-Serbian aid organisation in the city of Kanjiza.

He said the refugee situation at Kanjiza is “better organised” than in other parts of Serbia.

“There water, food, toilet and shower stalls provided to them. They even have Wi-Fi,” he said.

From there, the refugees can proceed to Horgos, about 12-km away, where they can take the train to Hungary, our correspondent said.

Meanwhile,Al Jazeera’s Aljosa Milenkovic, reporting from Presevo on the Serbia-Macedonia border, said more refugees were likely to come, “putting to test the region’s ability to cope with the large number of people transiting through”.

The latest movements came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Fracois Hollande called for a unified system for the right to asylum, and the setting up of reception centres in Greece and Italy.

The issue is set to top the agenda at a summit of Balkan leaders on Thursday, which Merkel will attend.

Razor-wire fence

Hungary has registered more than 100,000 asylum seekers so far in 2015, over double the total for all of last year. In 2012, the figure was just 2,000.

The numbers have sharply increased to around 1,500 a day in August, after Hungary’s conservative government announced it would build a razor-wire fence along its southern border with Serbia.

In recent days, refugees have entered Hungary alongside a cross-border train track near Roszke, one of the few sections of the border with Serbia not yet blocked by three rolls of razor-wire, which the government says will completely seal off the border by August 31.

The fence is one of several measures making it more difficult for refugees to enter and stay in Hungary. The government is also tightening asylum laws, introducing penalties for illegal border-crossing, and the planned closure of permanent refugee camps.

About 102,000 “migrants” entered the EU via Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro or Kosovo between January and July this year, versus just 8,000 for the same period in 2014, according to EU border agency Frontex.

The number of refugees now making their way from Greece towards the EU is worrying many EU politicians and has left the Balkan countries struggling to cope with the humanitarian crisis.

Muslim youth beaten up in Mangalore for talking to Hindu girl

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mangalore-youth-muslim

Mangaluru: In a suspected case of moral policing, a 28-year-old Muslim man was assaulted by a group of people, suspected of belonging to a Hindutva group, for talking to a Hindu girl, police said.

The victim, Shakir, is a resident of Kulur and he worked in a supermarket at Attavar in the city, they said.

The group allegedly almost stripped him and tied him to an electric pole last evening before publicly flogging him for talking to the girl, who also worked with him in the same supermarket.

Shakir has been hospitalised, police added.

Cases of assault and attempt to murder have been registered against unidentified assailants, they said.

Investigations are ongoing, and four people belonging to a right-wing Hindu organisation have been detained for questioning, police said.

Sporadic incidents of moral policing, particularly cases involving different communities have been reported in Dakshina Kannada district, raising concerns over growing intolerance in the state.

(Agencies)

Modi hails BJP win in Bengaluru civic polls

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Narendra_Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the BJP’s winning show in the Bengaluru civic polls, saying people’s faith in his party “is humbling and gladdening”.

“People’s continuous faith in the BJP is humbling and gladdening,” Modi tweeted as results showed the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Congress in the election.

“We are fully committed to fulfilling (the) aspirations of 125 crore Indians,” he said.

The prime minister said after similar civic polls wins in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Bengaluru results “complete a hat-trick of wins for the BJP”.

“This is a win for politics of development and good governance.

“Thank you Bengaluru! My gratitude to (the) people and congratulations to Karnataka BJP leaders and workers for the great election results,” he added.

(Agencies)

BJP all set to regain power in Bengaluru, big setback for Congress

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bjp

Benagluru: As the BJP is all set to grab power in BBMP after winning 100 seats, the ruling Congress suffer their biggest setback after the 2013 elections.

Siddaramaiah has called for an emergency meeting of his close aids to discuss the situation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party won 100 seats, the Congress is in 75 and the JD( S) in 14 in the 198-member council of the greater Bengaluru Municipal Corporation. The final results are expected to be out by 2pm.

KPCC President, G Parameswar said that the Congress party accepts the people’s mandate. “We had approached the people with the blue print to develop Bengaluru city, but people has rejected Congress. This is not our party’s defeat as we are close to the victory line,” he added.

BJP chief Amit Shah tweeted, “I congratulate our karyakartas for victory in Bengaluru civic polls & also thank people of Bengaluru for showing faith in BJP”

The century-old BBMP was expanded in 2007 by including seven city municipal councils, one town municipal council and 111 surrounding villages to increase civic wards to 198 from 100.

Delimitation of the wards on the basis of the 2011 population census with 50 percent of them reserved for women have forced political parties to field wives or relatives of former corporators as contestants in many wards.

In all, 1,120 candidates, including 197, 198 and 187 from BJP, Congress and JD-S respectively, a dozen from regional outfits like Vatala Chaluvali Paksha, AIADMK and Socialist Democratic Party of India and 399 Independents, including many rebels contested in the bitterly fought civic election.

In the previous five-year term (2010-2015), the BJP ruled the BBMP for the first time by winning in 116 wards, as against 62 wards by the Congress, 14 by JD-S and eight by Independents.

(IANS)

China stocks suffer biggest one-day loss in eight years

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China market plummets more than eight percent as investors disillusioned with measures taken dump shares.

EPA/WOO HE

EPA/WOO HE

by Al Jazeera

China’s stock market has fallen by its biggest margin in eight years at the end of trading, defying the government’s multibillion-dollar effort to stop a slide that has wiped out the gains of this year’s price boom.

The plunge on Monday in China’s equities followed last week’s losses of 11 percent, and hammered stock prices across Asia, as fears grew that a slowdown in China could send the rest of the world into a recession.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.5 percent to close at 3,209.91 points, its biggest one-day loss since an 8.8 percent decline on February 27, 2007. The index is down 38 percent from its June 12 peak.

Analysts blame the fall on both weak onshore performance and investors moving money out of yuan-denominated assets after a surprise devaluation in the Chinese currency earlier in August.

The further decline threatened to weigh anew on global markets after last week’s Chinese losses triggered a worldwide selloff.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell for the seventh straight day, dropping 5.2 percent to 21,251.57 points as Taipei stocks tumbled 583.85 points to 7,203.07 in morning trading, a drop of 7.49 percent.

More than $5 trillion has been wiped off the value of global equities markets since China’s shock devaluation.

Many investors had expected the People’s Bank of China would over the weekend cut the amount banks have to keep in reserves, which could boost stocks by increasing market liquidity and address weakness in China’s vast manufacturing sector.

No such move materialised, and the only policy support in evidence was an announcement formalising rules allowing pension funds to buy stocks, a policy initiative that had already been trailed.

Earlier measures taken

Beijing already carried out rounds of cuts to transaction fees and encouraged companies to buy back their own stock. Such buybacks usually result in increased valuations of outstanding shares by reducing net supply.

Rajiv Biswas, a senior director and economist for IHS Global Insight in Singapore, told Al Jazeera that Beijing needs to do more to prop up the economy.

“It doesn’t seem that they are prepared to really put in a big package of measures, but would rather put in dribs and drabs along the way. And that is not convincing anybody that the economy is about the turn around anytime soon,” he said.

“One of the problems is that they are directing their efforts towards stabilising the stock market. But we are not seeing enough initiatives to support the real economy,” Biswas added.

“It’s the real economy that investors in the country are not confident about. All the signs are showing that the economy is cooling.”

Al Jazeera’s Adrian Brown, reporting from Beijing, said that malaise on the markets could continue as investors awaited US gross domestic product or GDP figures set for release this week, and a decision on whether the US Federal Reserve would lift interest rates.

Monday’s falls followed heavy falls on Wall Street on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst single-day session in four years and all benchmark indices losing more than three percent.

‘You Stink’: Beirut protesters now calling for revolution

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Thousands of protesters pour into Lebanese capital’s streets demanding government’s resignation.

Lebanese activists shout 'Revolution! Revolution!' as they are sprayed by riot police using water cannons Sunday evening in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 23, 2015. (AP photo)

Lebanese activists shout ‘Revolution! Revolution!’ as they are sprayed by riot police using water cannons Sunday evening in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 23, 2015. (AP photo)

by Common Dreams

Tens of thousands anti-government protesters clashed with police in central Beirut on Sunday evening just hours after Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam hinted he might step down following violence triggered by the month-long ‘You Stink‘ trash protests.

Gunfire was heard as government riot police opened fire in an apparent effort to drive protesters away from central Beirut government offices, witnesses said.

Chants of “Revolution! Revolution!” were ringing through the crowds as police attacked Sunday night.

Thousands of protesters had camped overnight Saturday in the capital’s Riad al-Solh square waiting for Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s response to Saturday’s police violence.

Al-Jazeera reports that in a televised address Sunday morning, Salam said members of the security forces will be held accountable for the violence against protesters . Salam also called on an emergency parliament session on Thursday to deal with the country’s ongoing political crisis. “I have been, like many other fellow Lebanese, patient enough, but yesterday’s outcry should not be ignored,” he said. “I was never in this for a position in government, I am one of you. I am with the people. Do not pit this conflict [as] one camp against the other. Target all the politicians.”

Angered by Salam’s speech, the protesters chanted: “The people want the fall of the regime”.

Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Beirut, said the protests had drawn people from across Lebanon’s political divide.

“This is very much a grassroots movement that has come out on to the streets…there seems to be a very significant movement forming here in Beirut. “(The protests) were triggered by the trash crisis but the people we’ve been speaking to say that this is the straw that broke the camel’s back…they point to power shortages, water shortages, inherent corruption within the state.”


Iraqi forces clash with ISIL in push for Anbar

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Dozens of casualties reported as army backed by militias expand offensive to retake western province.

Iraqi forces and loyalists launched an offensive to recapture Anbar province in July [Reuters]

Iraqi forces and loyalists launched an offensive to recapture Anbar province in July [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Dozens of Iraqi forces have reportedly been killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq’s Anbar province, which has witnessed heavy fighting since Iraqi forces launched an offensive in July.

Three car bombs in Al Toui, northwest of Ramadi, killed at least 18 Iraqi forces and members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces on Monday, sources told Al Jazeera.

A total death toll of 46 Iraqi forces and Popular Mobilisation Forces has been reported following days of heavy clashes in several areas as Iraqi forces advanced in their offensive to recapture Anbar province.

At least seven ISIL fighters have been killed, military sources said.

Karim al-Nouri, a spokesman for the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella organisation of mainly Shia militiamen, said the operation to recapture Anbar has been difficult but the forces have been able to advance towards Ramadi, the capital of Anbar.

“We entered from near Fallujah and pushed northwest of the city. We lost forces along the way but the army and several government hospitals have been a great help,” al-Nouri told Al Jazeera.

“Our aim is to trap ISIL, and it is no longer about who outnumbers who – it’s about the type of weapons being used and we are prepared.”

Al-Nouri said a large number of Iraqi soldiers, moblisation forces and tribal fighters were taking part in the operation.

Significant province

ISIL captured Ramadi in early May and controls most of Anbar, including the city of Fallujah.

Anbar stretches from Iraq’s western borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all the way east along the Euphrates to the outskirts of Baghdad.

Iraqi forces and loyalists launched an offensive to recapture Anbar province in July, and have been trying to enter the province from several points but have been met with strong resistance from ISIL.

On Friday, ISIL ambushed Iraqi forces and loyalists west of Ramadi, killing up to 50 soldiers.

Anbar has been rocked by violence since the beginning of 2014, months before ISIL launched a nationwide offensive that saw it advance through northern Iraq.

It is currently the main focus of the Iraqi government’s efforts to regain lost ground, with large military operations under way in several parts of the province and multiple daily air strikes by jets from the US-led coalition.

UN Tribunal asks Italy, India to stop court proceedings on Italian marines

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Salvatore Girone Massimilliano Latorre

Hamburg /New Delhi: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on Monday asked India and Italy to suspend all court proceedings in the marines case. It has also asked both countries to submit reports by September 24.

The Tribunal also asserted its jurisdiction in the case. It maintained that the Italy’s action of filing appeal twice was wrong and unacceptable.

There were differences in the Tribunal regarding the case and it sought more time for a final judgement.

The Tribunal had examined which country has the power to try the two Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone who have been charged with shooting dead two Indian fishermen in February 2012 off Kerala coast.

India had claimed that it could finish the trial in four months. Italy sought the intervention of the Tribunal based on a UN clause meant for solving issues occurred on seas between countries. Italy’s main argument is that the issue occurred in international waters at the time of the incident. Italy had also demanded that India “refrain from taking or enforcing any judicial or administrative measures” against the marines.

However, India rejected the request, arguing that the case is not a maritime dispute but “about a double murder at sea”, in which one fisherman was shot in the head and the other in the stomach. India alleged that Italy did not even fulfil the basic legal procedures to be followed in the country.

Salvatore Girone and Massimilliano Latorre were part of an anti-piracy mission allegedly fired shots in 2012 that killed two Indian fishermen on a boat off the coast of Kerala.

India detained the two marines days later and a court case is pending.

Massimiliano was last year allowed to temporarily return to Italy for medical treatment and is still there. Salvatore has been living at Italy’s embassy in New Delhi ever since.

(Agencies)

India beat Sri Lanka by 278 runs, level series at 1-1

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Sri Lanka

Colombo: India defeated Sri Lanka by massive 278 runs in the second cricket Test to level the three-match series just after lunch on the fifth and final day here Monday.

Brief Scores:

India: 393 and 325/8 declared

Sri Lanka: 306 and 134 all out in 43.4 overs (Dimuth Karunaratne 46; Ravichandran Ashwin 5/42, Amit Mishra 3/29).

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