International
Tragedy in India: More Than 280 Dead, Hundreds Injured In a Triple Train Accident
A disaster has occurred in India where at least 288 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a three-train collision, officials said Saturday, the country’s deadliest rail accident in more than 20 years.
Wreckage debris was piled high at the crash site near Balasore, in the eastern state of Odisha, where some carriages had been tossed far from the tracks and others flipped over entirely.
Smashed train compartments were torn open in the impact late on Friday, leaving blood-stained holes in their sides.
Rescue workers search for survivors amid damaged carriages at the accident site of a three-train collision near Balasore, about 200 km (125 miles) from the state capital Bhubaneswar in the eastern state of Odisha, on June 3, 2023. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP)
Survivor Arjun Das told a Bengali television channel he heard a thundering sound, then saw people falling from upper berths.
He jumped out of the train. “People were screaming, shouting for help,” he said.
“There were injured lying everywhere inside coaches and along the tracks. I want to forget the scenes.”
Rescue workers and military personnel gather around damaged carriages at the accident site of a three-train collision near Balasore, about 200 km (125 miles) from the state capital Bhubaneswar in the eastern state of Odisha, on June 3, 2023. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP)
The disaster began when an express train running north from India’s tech hub Bengaluru to Kolkata derailed, falling onto the adjacent southbound track.
Minutes later, the Coromandal Express heading from Kolkata to Chennai smashed into the wreckage, some of its coaches also colliding with a goods train parked nearby.
Researcher Anubhav Das was in the last carriage of the second train when he heard “screeching, horrifying sounds coming from a distance”.
An army personnel searches for survivors at the accident site of a three-train collision near Balasore, about 200 km (125 miles) from the state capital Bhubaneswar in the eastern state of Odisha, on June 3, 2023. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP)
International
India’s Gen Z protesters force out education minister
The latest education protests erupted in May after NEET, India’s biggest medical entrance exam, was cancelled following a question paper leak, forcing nearly two million students to retake the test. More than 20 students died by suicide, with their families blaming the scandal.
Indian’s Gen Z protesters have forced out the education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation on Saturday, after more than a week of intense street protests.
In the words of 22-year-old Sakhi, a student activist in Delhi, “for the first time, it felt like we can make things happen through protests”.Soon after Pradhan quit, social media seized on an old video of a senior Modi minister boasting that “resignations do not happen in our government”, reflecting the confidence of the nationwide youth movement that had demanded his exit.
The latest education protests erupted in May after NEET, India’s biggest medical entrance exam, was cancelled following a question paper leak, forcing nearly two million students to retake the test. More than 20 students died by suicide, with their families blaming the scandal.
The outrage was channelled by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), an online campaign launched after India’s chief justice likened unemployed people with “fake and bogus degrees” to cockroaches.
Its founders staged a sit-in in Delhi, demanding Pradhan’s resignation, education reforms and compensation for the bereaved families.
International
Spain and France wildfires force more than 300,000 to flee as Macron calls crisis meeting
The fire, which began in the Southwest of France in Gironde on Wednesday, has burned 42,000 hectares and has forced one of the largest evacuations in France’s history.
•Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) and Castilla-y-Leon unit’s firefighters battle a fire in a forest next to La Atalaya residential area in El Tiemblo, 80 kms west of Madrid, on July 25, 2026. (Photo by Cesar MANSO / AFP via Getty Images)Cesar Manso | Afp | Getty Images
Wildfires are ravaging southern France and spreading into Spain, forcing more than 300,000 people to flee ahead of further expected heatwaves during the week.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to hold a crisis cabinet meeting on Monday, while Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit areas hit by fires in Valencia, in the East of Spain.
The fire, which began in the Southwest of France in Gironde on Wednesday, has burned 42,000 hectares and has forced one of the largest evacuations in France’s history, according to French broadcaster France 24 and local news outlets.
The wildfires have also affected 77,000 hectares of the Avila and Toledo areas in Western Madrid.
The situation remains highly unfavorable,” France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X on Saturday, according to a Google translation.
“At the start of the night, in Gironde, the fire became extremely virulent and unpredictable again, generating its own wind and spreading erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area. By the end of the night, it had calmed down somewhat.”
Source: CNBC
International
UK List Items Visitors Can And Cannot Bring
The updated guidance warned that failure to comply with customs regulations could lead to confiscation of goods, fines or even prosecution.
[File photo] UK PM, Andy Burnham
The United Kingdom has released updated lists of items travellers can and cannot bring into the country.
The updated guidance warned that failure to comply with customs regulations could lead to confiscation of goods, fines or even prosecution.
In the new listings while visitors are allowed to bring a range of personal belongings into the UK without paying customs duty or tax, strict limits apply to alcohol, tobacco and the value of other goods.
Certain items are also completely banned, while others require permits or licences before they can be imported.
BREAKING: Two-Storey Building Collapses in Ajuwon, Residents Feared Trapped
IEA Cushions Global Oil Supply By 290 Million Barrels March -July
Ex-Int’l Football Player Bag 24 Years Jail Term for Cocaine Importation
Tech Expert, Zuckerberg trains with UFC champions, Adesanya, Alexander
Organ Trafficking: Ekweremadu bags 10 years in UK prison
SAINT OBI: Between his marriage and his death
-
Business22 hours agoNaira Exchange Rates To Foreign Currencies Monday, July 27
-
Business21 hours agoPhillips Consulting Report Ranks Enugu Nigeria’s Fastest Improving State
-
Sports21 hours agoSaudi’s Club Al-Ittihad Table €10.5m Bid For Super Eagles Captain Ndidi
-
News2 days agoZamfara LG Chairman Abduction: Security operatives intensify rescue efforts
-
Politics20 hours agoWhy I committed to one term presidency – Peter Obi
-
Business22 hours agoRural Electrification Agency targets 3.7GW solar manufacturing to close Nigeria’s power gap
-
Business22 hours agoIMF Warns of AI Financial Shocks Across Institutions, Markets
-
Business20 hours agoNigerian Exchange Emerges Top In Africa By Dollar Values