 |
|
|
Brazil mudslides kill 369
Ship carrying acid sinks in Germany
Arizona shooting |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Taseer killer also guarded Zardari, Gilani
Islamabad, January 13 The police guard who gunned down Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was assigned to protect key personalities, including Pakistan's President, Prime Minister and foreign delegations and has heightened security fears among the country's elite.
|
|
Brazil mudslides kill 369
Teresopolis, January 13 The death toll from the devastated mountainous region near the city of Rio de Janeiro was expected to rise as rescuers reached the more remote areas. Heavy rains earlier in the week killed 13 persons in Sao Paulo state, bringing the total number of deaths in southern Brazil to at least 369. Hillsides and riverbanks in the scenic Serrana region north of Rio collapsed after the equivalent of a month's rain fell in 24 hours, destroying houses and killing entire families as they slept early on Wednesday. Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said it was the worst natural disaster to hit Brazil in four decades. Television footage showed raging flood waters and rivers of mud that laid waste to the town of Teresopolis, where at least 152 persons died, and nearby Nova Friburgo, where the death toll was 168, according to local officials. "The city is finished," Nova Friburgo resident Carlos Damasio was quoted as saying on the online edition of local newspaper O Globo. At least 36 persons also died in Petropolis, a picturesque town nestled in the mountains that served as the summer residence for Brazil's royal family in the 19th century. Many stranded residents were forced to fend for themselves as rescue operations were hampered by destroyed roads and treacherous terrain. More rain is forecast for the coming days, raising the risk of further mudslides. "Many roads are impassable," said Gilberto Junior, a spokesman for Teresopolis city authorities. "We have information that there are some victims in these (unreachable) areas." The disaster is an early challenge for new President Dilma Rousseff, who was due to fly over the region on Thursday. She has already made 780 million reais ($460 million) in emergency funds available for the rescue and reconstruction efforts. Two Navy helicopters are assisting rescue operations and the Navy is also sending a mobile field hospital to the area. Landslides and floods are common in much of Brazil, exposing poor urban planning and a lack of preventive action by the authorities.
Reuters
|
|
Ship carrying acid sinks in Germany
Berlin, January 13 Initial measurements carried out downstream from the scene showed no abnormalities and there were no indications that the load was leaking, the shipping office said. The authorities closed the river to shipping. They were working to secure the tanker and find missing crew members. The ship was on its way from Ludwigshafen in southwestern Germany to Belgium. AP
|
|
Arizona shooting
Washington, January 13 Cancelling all his pre-scheduled engagements, Obama accompanied by the First Lady, Michelle, travelled to Tucson in Arizona, the venue of the deadly shooting, to personally mourn the tragic incident that killed six persosn and injured several others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is now battling for life in hospital. "For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man's mind," Obama said. "So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future," Obama said in his speech before a packed auditorium of more than 14,000 people at Tucson, Arizona. PTI
|
|
Taseer killer also guarded Zardari, Gilani
Islamabad, January 13 Self-confessed killer, Mumtaz Qadri, was detailed on protection duties on as many as 509 occasions in the past three years, including for US delegations who are prime targets, according to a media report today.
The reports attributed to police investigations have also cast suspicions that other elite bodyguards may have been radicalised. The media reports said this could be alarming as the police force was part of the frontline in the war against terror groups, specially Taliban and Al-Qaida. The report highlights the dangers of radicals infiltrating into the security agencies of unstable and nuclear-armed Pakistan. Qadri was assigned to protect VIPs and VVIPs on 509 occasions despite being declared a "security risk" in 2004 due to his extremist leanings, The News daily quoted a report compiled by intelligence agencies as saying. The policeman was also part of a team that was used by Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence to conduct raids against terrorist groups in 2008. Among the prominent personalities he was assigned to protect were President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. He was also part of the security detail for a foreign delegation on two occasions last year. Qadri had also been part of the security detail for several politicians, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Leader of Opposition in Parliament. PTI Plea to declare Kasab, Ansari as fugitives in
Pak
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Rescue workers struggled on Thursday to reach areas cut off by floods and landslides that have killed at least 356 persons in one of Brazil's worst natural disasters in decades.
A tanker loaded with sulfuric acid capsized early today on the Rhine river in Germany and two crew members were missing, authorities said.
