asia
Traffic accident in southern Afghanistan leaves 21 dead and 38 injured
A traffic accident in southern Afghanistan left at least 21 people dead and 38 others injured, according to a provincial traffic department.
The accident occurred on Sunday morning in Gerashk district of Helmand province on the main highway between southern Kandahar and western Herat provinces, a statement from the department in Helmand said.
A motorbike crashed into a passenger bus, which then hit a fuel tanker on the opposite side of the road, said Qadratullah, a traffic official in Helmand. An investigation into the accident was underway, he added.
Eleven of the 38 injured people were transferred to hospitals with serious injuries, said Hzatullah Haqqani, a spokesman for the Helmand police chief.
Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, mainly due to poor road conditions and driver carelessness.
Indian navy takes control of Maltese-flagged vessel hijacked by Somali pirates and evacuates crew
The Indian navy said late Saturday that it had taken control of a bulk carrier hijacked by Somali pirates and evacuated the 17 crew members on the vessel.
In a statement on X, the navy said all 35 pirates on board the Maltese-flagged MV Ruen had surrendered and the vessel was checked for illegal arms, ammunition and contraband.
The development came after men on the bulk carrier fired at an Indian warship in international waters Friday.
The vessel was first boarded by pirates Dec. 14 near the Yemeni island of Socotra, around 240 kilometers (150 miles) off Somalia.
Activity from Somali pirates has dropped in recent years, but there has been growing concern it could resume amid the political uncertainty and wider chaos in the region that has included attacks on ships by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
India recently began to flex its its naval power in international waters, including anti-piracy patrols and a widely publicized deployment close to the Red Sea to help protect ships from attacks during Israel’s war with Hamas.
The navy has helped at least four merchant vessels that were attacked in high seas by Houthi forces. Indian forces include three guided missile destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft.
India announces 6-week general elections starting April 19 with Modi's BJP topping surveys
India on Saturday announced its 6-week-long general elections will start on April 19, with most surveys predicting a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Voting in the world's largest democracy will stretch over seven phases, with different states voting at different times and results will be announced on June 4. Over 970 million voters — more than 10% of the world’s population — will elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for a term of five years.
Modi, who is seeking a third consecutive term, faces little challenge as the main opposition alliance of over two dozen regional parties led by the Indian National Congress party appears to be cracking, riven by rivalries, political defections and ideological clashes.
Analysts say the elections are likely to cement Modi as one of India’s most enduring most consequential leaders who has sought to transform the country from a secular democracy into an avowedly Hindu nation.
Each election phase will last one day and several constituencies — spread across multiple states, densely populated cities and far-flung villages — will vote that day. The staggered polling allows the government to deploy tens of thousands of troops to prevent violence and transport electoral officials and voting machines.
India has a first-past-the-post multiparty electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins.
Ahead of the polls, Modi has been travelling across the country inaugurating new projects, making speeches and engaging with voters. Support for the leader surged after he opened a Hindu temple in northern Ayodhya city in January, which many saw as the unofficial start of his election campaign because it fulfilled his party’s long-held Hindu nationalist pledge.
The 73-year-old Modi first swept to power in 2014 on promises of economic development, presenting himself as an outsider cracking down on the political elite. Since then, he has grown increasingly popular and mixed religion with politics in a formula that has resonated deeply with the country’s majority Hindu population even if it undermines India's secular roots.
The elections come as India’s clout on the global stage has risen under Modi, thanks to its large economy and partly because it is seen as a counterweight to a rising China.
Critics say that nearly a decade of Modi’s rule has been marked by rising unemployment even as its economy swells, attacks by Hindu nationalists against the country’s minorities, particularly Muslims, and a shrinking space for dissent and free media. The opposition says a win by Modi’s party could threaten India’s status as a secular, democratic nation.
A victory for Modi’s BJP would follow a 2019 electoral triumph, when it secured an absolute majority with 303 parliamentary seats against 52 held by the Congress party.
Mamata Banerjee suffers "major injury": Trinamool Congress
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee suffered major injuries to her forehead on Thursday, her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) informed through a post on X.
The All India Trinamool Congress shared photos of Ms Banerjee on a hospital bed with a deep cut in the middle of her forehead and blood on her face, reports NDTV.
Mamata calls for staging sit-in against eviction notice to Amartya Sen
Sources said the Chief Minister suffered a fall at her home and was taken to the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. Currently, the wound is being stitched.
"Our chairperson Mamata Banerjee sustained a major injury. Please keep her in your prayers," the party said in a post on X.
‘No compromise’: India’s Home Minister Amit Shah defends Citizenship Amendment Act
In a strong response to the growing opposition against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Indian Home Minister Amit Shah declared the legislation irrevocable. He affirmed the BJP-led government’s steadfast stance during remarks reported by NDTV, emphasising, “This is our sovereign right to ensure Indian citizenship in our country. We will never compromise on it and CAA will never be taken back.”
Shah’s comments come in the wake of criticism from the opposition coalition INDIA, particularly a Congress politician who suggested the law would be repealed if they were elected. Shah confidently countered, acknowledging the opposition's recognition of their limited chances at the polls. “Even the INDIA alliance knows that it will not come into power. CAA has been brought by the BJP and the Narendra Modi-led government. It is impossible to repeal it. We will spread awareness about it in the whole nation so that those who want to repeal it do not get a place,” he stated.
Indian citizenship act against humanity: Manoj Bhattacharya
The Indian home minister robustly defended the constitutionality of the CAA, dismissing allegations of it violating the nation’s constitution. He elucidated on the law’s compatibility with Article 14, explaining, “They always talk about Article 14. They forget that there are two clauses in that Article. This law does not violate Article 14. There is a clear, reasonable classification here. This is a law for those who, due to partition, remained in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and were facing religious persecution and decided to come to India.”
Shah further clarified BJP’s motives behind the enactment of the CAA, stating there is “no question of political gain as the BJP’s main aim is to provide rights and justice to persecuted minorities coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.”
Citizenship Act protests: Three dead and thousands held in India
Addressing the concerns of the country’s minorities, Shah reassured, “I have spoken on CAA at least 41 times on different platforms and spoken on it in detail that the minorities of the country need not be afraid because it has no provision to take back the rights of any citizen.” He elaborated on the CAA’s objective to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians – who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, aiming to alleviate their suffering.
In a critique of opposition leaders like AIMIM’s Asaddudin Owaisi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shah condemned their claims that the CAA was anti-Muslim, highlighting a broader political discourse surrounding the legislation.
Bangladeshi minorities worried over Indian Citizenship Act: BHBCKF
North Korea's Kim drives new-type tank during drills and calls for efforts to prepare for war
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un joined his troops in training to operate newly developed battle tanks as he called for bigger efforts to prepare for war, state media reported Thursday.
The North’s tank training was seen as a response to the annual 11-day South Korean-U.S. military drills that are to end later Thursday. The North views its rivals’ exercises a rehearsal for invasion.
North Korea conducts artillery firing drills in likely response to South Korea-US military training
The North’s training on Wednesday was designed to inspect tankmen’s combat capabilities and involved the new-type main battle tank that Kim called “the world’s most powerful,” the official Korean Central News Agency.
During the training, heavy tanks moved around various simulated harsh combat circumstances and fired rounds at targets. Kim mounted one of the new-type tanks and drove it himself, “adding to the high militant spirit of the tankmen of our army,” KCNA said.
North Korea's Kim calls for stronger war fighting capabilities against the US and South Korea
North Korea's Defense Ministry earlier vowed to carry out “responsible military activities” in reaction to the ongoing South Korea-U.S. military exercises in the South. Kim later supervised artillery firing drills.
The South Korean-U.S. training involve a computer-simulated command post training and 48 kinds of field exercises, twice the number conducted last year.
North Korea has dialed up its weapons testing activities since early 2022 in a bid to modernize and enlarge its nuclear and missile arsenals. The U.S. and South Korea have expanded their training exercises and a trilateral drill involving Japan in response.
North Korea threatens to take military moves in response to US-South Korean drills
Experts say Kim likely wants to use his upgraded weapons arsenal to win U.S. concessions like extensive relief of international sanctions on North Korea. They say North Korea is expected to extend its testing activities and ramp up warlike rhetoric this year as both the United States and South Korea hold major elections.
End/UNB/AP/MB
An explosion in a building outside Beijing kills 2 people and injures 26
Rescuers were responding to a suspected gas leak explosion Wednesday in a building in northern China that has killed two people and injured 26, authorities said.
The explosion came early in the morning from a fried chicken shop in the city of Sanhe, authorities said in a short statement. The city is just an hour drive west of Beijing.
Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if threatened, Putin tells state media
Police cordoned off streets 1 kilometer (over half a mile) out from the explosion, Associated Press reporters saw, and were directing people away.
Fire engines were still arriving at the scene as of 11 a.m., and a truck could be seen hauling away a burnt-out car with its windows gone. Pieces of the building's frame stood at a tilt above piles of rubble.
What is India's new citizenship law and why are Muslims in the country worried?
Over 150 firefighters were sent to bring the flames under control, according to national broadcaster CCTV. Videos online showed smoke billowing out of a mid-level commercial building at an intersection.
What is India's new citizenship law and why are Muslims in the country worried?
India has implemented a controversial citizenship law that has been widely criticized for excluding Muslims, a minority community whose concerns have heightened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government.
The rules for the law were announced Monday. It establishes a religious test for migrants from every major South Asian faith other than Islam. Critics argue that the law is further evidence that Modi's government is trying to reshape the country into a Hindu state and marginalize its 200 million Muslims.
WHAT IS THE NEW CITIZENSHIP LAW?
The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before Dec. 31, 2014. The law excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations.
It also amends the old law, which prevents illegal migrants from becoming Indian citizens, and marks the first time that India — an officially secular state with a religiously diverse population — has set religious criteria for citizenship.
The Indian government has said those eligible can apply for Indian citizenship through an online portal.
India announces steps to implement a citizenship law that excludes Muslims
The implementation of the law has been one of the key poll promises of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the run-up to the general election, which is scheduled to be held by May.
Modi's government has dismissed the notion that the law is discriminatory and defended it as a humanitarian gesture. It argues the law is meant only to extend citizenship to religious minorities fleeing persecution and would not be used against Indian citizens.
WHAT MAKES THE LAW SO CONTROVERSIAL?
The law was approved by India's Parliament in 2019, but Modi's government held off its implementation after deadly protests broke out in New Delhi and elsewhere. Scores were killed during days of clashes.
The nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India's foundation as a secular nation. Muslims were particularly worried that the government could use the law, combined with a proposed national register of citizens, to marginalize them.
The National Register of Citizens is part of the Modi government's effort to identify and weed out people it claims came to India illegally. The register has only been implemented in the northeastern state of Assam, but Modi's party has promised to roll out a similar citizenship verification program nationwide.
Critics and Muslim groups say the new citizenship law will help protect non-Muslims who are excluded from the register, while Muslims could face the threat of deportation or internment.
WHY ARE INDIA'S MUSLIMS WORRIED?
Opponents of the law — including Muslims, opposition parties and rights groups — say it is exclusionary and violates the secular principles enshrined in the constitution. They say faith cannot be made a condition of citizenship.
On Monday, Human rights watchdog Amnesty India said the law "legitimizes discrimination based on religion."
Some also argue that if the law is aimed at protecting persecuted minorities, then it should have included Muslim religious minorities who have faced persecution in their own countries, including Ahmadis in Pakistan and Rohingyas in Myanmar.
To critics, Modi is pushing a Hindu nationalist agenda that threatens to erode the country's secular foundation, shrink space for religious minorities, particularly Muslims, and move the country closer to a Hindu nation.
India is home to 200 million Muslims who make up a large minority group in the country of more than 1.4 billion people. They are scattered across almost every part of India and have been targeted in a series of attacks that have taken place since Modi first assumed power in 2014.
Scores of Muslims have been lynched by Hindu mobs over allegations of eating beef or smuggling cows, an animal considered holy to Hindus. Muslim businesses have been boycotted, their localities have been bulldozed and places of worship set on fire. Some open calls have been made for their genocide.
Critics say Modi's conspicuous silence over anti-Muslim violence has emboldened some of his most extreme supporters and enabled more hate speech against Muslims.
Modi has also increasingly mixed religion with politics in a formula that has resonated deeply with India's majority Hindu population. In January, he opened a Hindu temple at the site of a demolished mosque in northern Ayodhya city, fulfilling his party's long-held Hindu nationalist pledge.
India announces steps to implement a citizenship law that excludes Muslims
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Monday (March 11, 2024) announced rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that excludes Muslims, weeks before the Hindu nationalist leader seeks a third term in office.
The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before Dec. 31, 2014. The law excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations.
The law was approved by Indian Parliament in 2019, but Modi’s government had held off with its implementation after deadly protests broke out in capital New Delhi and elsewhere. Scores were killed during days of clashes.
The nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India’s foundation as a secular nation. Muslims were particularly worried that the government could use the law, combined with a proposed national register of citizens, to marginalize them.
The National Register of Citizens is part of Modi government’s effort to identify and weed out people it claims came to India illegally. The register has only been implemented in the northeastern state of Assam, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to roll out a similar citizenship verification program nationwide.
19 dead and 7 missing as landslide and flash floods hit Indonesia's Sumatra island
Modi’s government has defended the 2019 citizenship law as a humanitarian gesture. It argues that the law is meant only to extend citizenship to religious minorities fleeing persecution and would not be used against Indian citizens.
“These rules will now enable minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to acquire citizenship in our nation,” Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
India’s main opposition Congress party questioned the announcement, saying “the timing right before the elections is evidently designed to polarise the elections.”
Human rights watchdog Amnesty India in a statement called the law “discriminatory” and said it “goes against the constitutional values of equality and international human rights law.” It said the law “legitimises discrimination based on religion” and is “exclusionary in its structure and intent.”
India is home to 200 million Muslims who make up a large minority group in the country of more than 1.4 billion people. They are scattered across almost every part of India and have been targeted in a series of attacks that have taken place Modi first assumed power in 2014.
Critics say Modi’s conspicuous silence over anti-Muslim violence has emboldened some of his most extreme supporters and enabled more hate speech against Muslims.
Modi has increasingly mixed religion with politics in a formula that has resonated deeply with India’s majority Hindu population. In January, he opened a Hindu temple at the site of a demolished mosque in northern Ayodhya city, fulfilling his party’s long-held Hindu nationalist pledge.
North Korea threatens to take military moves in response to US-South Korean drills
Most poll surveys suggest Modi will win a majority in a general election that is scheduled to be held by May.
19 dead and 7 missing as landslide and flash floods hit Indonesia's Sumatra island
Torrential rains have triggered flash floods and a landslide on Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing at least 19 people and leaving seven others missing, officials said Sunday.
Tons of mud, rocks and uprooted trees rolled down a mountain late Friday, reaching a river that burst its banks and tore through mountainside villages in Pesisir Selatan district of West Sumatra province, said Doni Yusrizal, who heads the local disaster management agency.
Rescuers by Saturday pulled out seven bodies in the worst-hit village of Koto XI Tarusan, and recovered three others in two neighboring villages, Yusrizal said.
Rescuers retrieved six bodies in Pesisir Selatan and three more in the neighboring district of Padang Pariaman, bringing the death toll to 19, the National Disaster Management Agency said on Sunday.
The agency in a statement said at least two villagers were injured by the flash flood and rescuers are searching for seven people who are reportedly still missing.
It said more than 80,000 people had fled to temporary government shelters after the flood and landslide buried 14 houses, while 20,000 houses were flooded up to the roof in nine districts and cities in West Sumatra province.
"Relief efforts for the dead and missing were hampered by power outages, blocked roads covered in thick mud and debris," Yusrizal said.
Heavy rains cause frequent landslides and flash floods in Indonesia, where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near floodplains.