Monday, 23 December 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024
The number of casualties in the train accident on the Howrah-Chennai line in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh rose to 14, Vizianagaram Joint Collector Mayur Ashok said, while the number of injured stood at 50. East Coast Railway (ECoR) said a human error could have resulted in the collision of two trains in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marandi to visit neighbouring Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for an immediate inquiry into the train derailment, contending that such rail accidents have become an 'unfortunate and repetitive trope'. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at the Modi government over the train derailment, saying the enthusiasm shown in flagging off trains with fanfare should also be shown in action towards railway safety and the well-being of passengers. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy visited the train accident victims at the Vizianagaram Government General Hospital and enquired about their treatment and facilities.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the family members of eight Indian nationals who were handed down death sentence by a Qatari court, and conveyed to them that the government attaches 'highest importance' to the case. The eight former Indian Navy personnel were on October 26 handed down death sentence by Qatar's Court of First Instance.
The death toll in the blasts at a Christian religious gathering near this port city of Kerala has risen to three, while four others are in critical condition, the state Health Department said. An all-party meet, called by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the wake of the multiple blasts resolved to resist attempts to create mistrust and intolerance in society. Thammanam, a suburban residential area within the Kochi city limits, was shaken to its core as a man, described as 'nice' by his neighbours, claimed responsibility for the devastating blasts. Vijayan said that the probe into the multiple blasts at a religious gathering that claimed three lives, was 'progressing efficiently'.
In a setback for former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, the Supreme Court rejected his regular bail pleas in corruption and money-laundering cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, saying that tentatively transfer of Rs 338 crore was established in the matter. But if the trial proceeds in a 'sloppy manner', Sisodia will be at liberty to apply for bail in these cases in three months, the bench said.
Observing that the sanctity of the 10th schedule of the Constitution should be maintained, the Supreme Court directed Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs on or before December 31. "We are concerned that the sanctity of the tenth schedule must be maintained. Otherwise, we are throwing these provisions to the wind," it said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded the removal of the 'insulting plaques' which omit the name of Rabindranath Tagore from Visva Bharati’s stone tablets commemorating UNESCO’s award of World Heritage Site to the Santiniketan-based university. Since October 27, TMC party workers have been protesting in front of the university demanding removal of the plaques.
A group of Maratha reservation activists torched the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building and vandalised it in Maharashtra's Beed district, soon after setting on fire the residence of local NCP MLA Prakash Solanke on Monday, police said. No casualties were reported in the twin incidents.
BRS assembly election candidate Kotha Prabhakar Reddy was stabbed while he was campaigning in Siddipet district by a 38-year-old man, police said. Prabhakar Reddy, who is an MP from Medak Lok Sabha constituency, suffered injuries in his stomach and was shifted to a hospital in Hyderabad after initially being rushed to a hospital in Gajwel of Siddipet district.
A man from Uttar Pradesh died of injuries after being shot at by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said. This was the second terror attack in the Kashmir Valley in the past 24 hours.
Twenty-two parked private buses were burnt after they caught fire at a garage in Bengaluru, police said. "As per preliminary probe, we suspect that a spark from the welding machine led to the fire. The fire later spread to other buses which were parked at the garage causing heavy damages," a senior police officer said.
