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☆ India train crash: Family hopes DNA test will help claim for body
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Francis Mascarenhas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Four days after the disaster, Haq has found no trace of his brother, who was travelling with the boys. "We are left with no option but to do a DNA test to determine whose body it is. The whole process takes really long," a distraught Haq told Reuters at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), one of the main hospitals in Odisha's capital of Bhubaneswar. Authorities had taken DNA samples from all the dead bodies in hospitals across the state, senior police official Prateek Singh told reporters on Tuesday. "In cases where there are multiple claimants, we have taken DNA samples from family members and we will preserve the bodies until the DNA matches," Singh told local media.

Persons: Imam Ul Haq, Tavseer Ansari, Francis Mascarenhas, Mohammed Imam Ul Haq, Haq, Prateek Singh, Singh, Francis Mascerenhas, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Bernadette Baum, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Francis Mascarenhas BHUBANESWAR, Reuters, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, Odisha's, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh

☆ Probe into Indian rail disaster opens as trains start running
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jatindra Dash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Following non-stop efforts to rescue survivors, and clear and repair the track, trains resumed running over that section of the line on Sunday night. The inquiry is underway," a senior railway officer told a Reuters reporter, as officials checked documents being submitted for examination. India's Railway Board, the top executive body, has recommended that the Central Bureau of Investigation take over the investigation into the cause of the disaster. "We have to move towards normalization... Our responsibility is not over yet," railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters. "Passenger occupancy is almost 99%," Aditya Chaudhary, chief public relations officer of South Eastern Railway, told Reuters.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, A.M, Chowdhary, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Aditya Chaudhary, Jatindra Dash, Subrata, Tanvi Mehta, Sudipto Ganguly, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Railway Board, Central Bureau of, Express, South Eastern Railway, Thomson Locations: Balasore district, Odisha, India, Adnan, Adnan Abidi KHARAGPUR, Balasore, Kharagpur, West Bengal, Chennai, Kolkata, Howrah, New Delhi

☆ Germany to send two warships to Indo-Pacific in 2024 amid South China Sea tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, June 4 (Reuters) - Germany will send two warships to the Indo-Pacific in 2024, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday, amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan and over the disputed South China Sea. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's most important security conference, Pistorius said countries needed to stand up for the rules-based international order and the protection of major maritime passages. By showing a greater military presence in the region, Germany is walking a tightrope between its security and economic interests as China is Berlin's most important trading partner. In 2021, a German warship sailed into the South China Sea for the first time in almost 20 years, a move that saw Berlin joining other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region amid growing alarm over China's territorial ambitions. Some 40% of Europe's foreign trade flows through the South China Sea.

Persons: Boris Pistorius, Pistorius, Sabine Siebold, Nick Macfie Organizations: German Federal Government, Berlin, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Berlin, Bay, Bengal, South China, German, Beijing

The crushed train cars were cleared and the jumbled tracks straightened and rejoined, as workers labored on Sunday to quickly restore an important rail line in east India two days after the country’s worst train disaster in decades. Families of the victims were still struggling to reach the site of the wreck, near the town of Balasore in Odisha State. The desperate journey to claim the bodies of loved ones was complicated for many families by a lack of train service, though by late Sunday night, some rail movement on restored tracks began in both directions. Officials said a special train would ferry relatives from the city of Kolkata, in the neighboring state of West Bengal, to Odisha. And the government of Odisha announced free bus service on the disrupted train route.

Persons: Odisha, ”, Rahul Kumar Organizations: Officials Locations: India, Balasore, Odisha State, Kolkata, West Bengal, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

☆ Families, rescuers search for victims of India's worst train crash in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Jatindra Dash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A drone view shows derailed coaches after trains collided in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, India, June 3, 2023. REUTERS/StringerBAHANAGA, India, June 4 (Reuters) - Rescuers and families searched through mangled train carriages on Sunday for more victims of India's worst rail crash in more than two decades with signal failure emerging as the likely cause. At least 288 people were killed on Friday when a passenger train went off the tracks and hit another one near the district of Balasore in the eastern state of Odisha. The South Eastern Railway has said a preliminary report indicated that the accident was the result of signal failure. "The target is by Wednesday morning the entire restoration work is complete and tracks should be working," said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Persons: Stringer BAHANAGA, Narendra Modi, Baisakhi Dhar, Nikhil Dhar, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Kanchan Choudhury, Vaishnaw, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Rishi Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, Jathindra Dash, Jayshree Upadhyay, Ira Dugal, Robert Birsel, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Railways, Eastern Railway, Workers, Railway Ministry, Twitter, Wednesday, Reuters, . U.S, Canadian, British, Thomson Locations: Balasore district, Odisha, India, Balasore, West Bengal, .

A second passenger train, heading in the opposite direction, then struck some of the dislocated cars. More than 2,200 passengers in all were onboard the passenger trains, according to railway officials, and at least 23 cars were derailed. The other passenger train was a Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express train, running from a commuter hub in the southern city of Bengaluru to Kolkata, the capital of the northeastern state of West Bengal. Site of the train crash An initial government report said that the Coromandel Express passenger train derailed while traveling at full speed. In 2016, 14 train cars derailed in India’s northeast in the middle of the night, killing more than 140 passengers and injuring 200 others.

Persons: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Vaishnaw, Derailments, Jitendra Prakash, Narendra Modi, Modi, Modi’s, Amit Dave, Suresh Prabhu, Mr, Mujib Mashal Organizations: Chennai Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway, Express, Coromandel, INDIA, Economic, Disaster Management, Reuters Rail Locations: India, Balasore, Odisha State, Shalimar, Chennai Coromandel, India’s, Howrah, Bengaluru, Kolkata, West Bengal, Odisha, Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s, Bihar, Pukhrayan, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad

The other passenger train was a Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express train, running from a commuter hub in Bangalore to Kolkata, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal. India’s railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that he had ordered an investigation into the cause and that those affected by the crash would receive compensation. Site of the train crash An initial government report said that the Coromandel Express passenger train derailed while traveling at full speed. Dozens of trains had been canceled but crews were rushing to restore service after pushing off the train cars involved in the crash off the tracks. In 2016, 14 train cars derailed in India’s northeast in the middle of the night, killing more than 140 passengers and injuring 200 others.

Persons: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Derailments, Jitendra Prakash, Narendra Modi, Modi, Modi’s, Amit Dave, Suresh Prabhu, Mr, Vaishnaw, Mujib Mashal Organizations: Chennai Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway, Express, Coromandel, INDIA, Sunday, Economic, Disaster Management, Reuters Rail Locations: India, Balasore, Odisha State, Shalimar, Chennai Coromandel, India’s, Howrah, Bangalore, Kolkata, West Bengal, Bahanaga Bazar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s, Bihar, Pukhrayan, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad

☆ India Train Crash Live Updates: Relatives Identify Crash Victims as Modi Visits Derailment Site
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Sameer Yasir | Mujib Mashal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The other passenger train was a Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express train, running from a commuter hub in Bangalore to Kolkata, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal. India’s railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that he had ordered an investigation into the cause and that those affected by the crash would receive compensation. Site of the train crash An initial government report said that the Coromandel Express passenger train derailed while traveling at full speed. In 2016, 14 train cars derailed in India’s northeast in the middle of the night, killing more than 140 passengers and injuring 200 others. Within hours of Friday’s disaster, some opposition politicians were already calling for the resignation of Mr. Vaishnaw, India’s railway minister.

Persons: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Derailments, Jitendra Prakash, Narendra Modi, Modi, Modi’s, Amit Dave, Suresh Prabhu, Mr, Vaishnaw, Mujib Mashal Organizations: Chennai Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway, Express, Coromandel, INDIA, Economic, Disaster Management, Reuters Rail Locations: India, Balasore, Odisha State, Shalimar, Chennai Coromandel, India’s, Howrah, Bangalore, Kolkata, West Bengal, Bahanaga Bazar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s, Odisha, Bihar, Pukhrayan, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad

BALASORE, India, June 3 (Reuters) - Ompal Bhatia, a survivor of the three-train crash in India on Friday, had first thought he was dead. When the train he was traveling in went off-track, Bhatia was with three friends on his way to Chennai for work. The 25-year-old had spent most of the four-hour journey on the Coromandel Express standing. The train, traveling past hills along India’s eastern coast, takes more than 24 hours to complete the journey of more than 1600 kilometres. Archana Paul, a housewife from West Bengal, was in the other train, the Howrah Yesvantpur Express, when the crash happened.

Persons: Ompal Bhatia, Bhatia, Moti Sheikh, Sheikh, ” Bhatia, ”, Archana Paul, Paul, “, Das, Jatindra Dahs, Krishn Kaushik, Christina Fincher Organizations: Reuters, Express, Thomson Locations: BALASORE, India, Chennai, Bangalore, West Bengal, Howrah, Balasore, New Delhi

June 3 (Reuters) - At least 233 people were killed and 900 were injured when two passenger trains collided in India's Odisha state, a government official said on Saturday, making the rail accident the country's deadliest in more than a decade. The death toll from Friday's crash is expected to rise, the state's Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said on Twitter. Early on Saturday morning, Reuters video footage showed police officials moving bodies covered in white cloths off the railway tracks. [1/5] A drone view shows derailed coaches after two passenger trains collided in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, India, June 3, 2023. Although Chief Secretary Jena and some media reports have suggested a freight train was also involved in the crash, railway authorities have yet to comment on that possibility.

Persons: Pradeep Jena, sobbed, Naveen Patnaik, Abinaya Vijayaraghavan, Akriti Sharma, Jatindra, Subrata Nag Choudhury, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Twitter, Reuters, REUTERS, Stringer Authorities, Ministry of Railways, Jena, Force, Indian Railways, Thomson Locations: India's Odisha, Balasore, Howrah, Bangalore, Howrah , West Bengal, Kolkata, Chennai, Balasore district, Odisha, India, Odisha's, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar

Two passenger trains and a goods train collided in an accident in the city of Balasore in Odisha state, according to a video statement by state chief secretary Pradeep Jena. Press Trust of India/APA view of a damaged compartment, following the deadly train collision in Balasore, India June 2, 2023. The train travels through India’s east coast, between West Bengal’s capital Kolkata to the South Indian city of Chennai. “Distressed by the train accident in Odisha. The following November, at least 39 people died and 50 others were seriously injured in a train derailment in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Persons: Pradeep Jena, “, ”, Mamata Banerjee, Narendra Modi Organizations: CNN, News18, ”, Jena, Twitter, Press Trust of, Indian, Local, AP India’s, Railways, Communications, Electronics, Information Technology, National Crime Records Locations: India, Balasore, Odisha, Balarore, Press Trust of India, Shalimar, Chennai Coromandel, West Bengal, India’s, West Bengal’s, Kolkata, Indian, Chennai, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh

☆ At least 50 dead, 350 injured in train crash in eastern India, media report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BHUBANESWAR/KOLKATA June 2 (Reuters) - At least 50 people were killed and 350 injured when two passenger trains collided in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Friday, Indian media reported. The Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai, collided with another passenger train, the Howrah Superfast Express, railway officials said. The Howrah Superfast Express derailed and became entangled with the Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway authorities said in a statement. Media reports had earlier said that the crash was between the Coromandel Express and a goods train. Media reports said at least 50 people had died.

Persons: Pradeep Jena, Naveen Patnaik, Narendra Modi, Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, Abinaya, Jatindra, Nag Choudhury, Shubhendu Satish Deshmukh, Andrew Heavens, David Holmes, Frances Kerry Organizations: Eastern Railway, Media, Coromandel, Reuters, REUTERS, Railways, Force, Thomson Locations: BHUBANESWAR, KOLKATA, Odisha, Kolkata, Chennai, Howrah, Balasore district, Balasore, India, Odisha's Bhubaneswar, West Bengal, Bengaluru

☆ Passenger trains derail in India, killing at least 50, trapping many others
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Rescuers work at the site of passenger trains that derailed in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Friday, June 2, 2023. Two passenger trains derailed Friday in India, killing at least 50 people and trapping hundreds of others inside more than a dozen damaged rail cars, officials said. The debris was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction, and up to three coaches of the second train also derailed, Sharma said. In August 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi, killing 358 people in the worst train accident in India's history. More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track.

Persons: Amitabh Sharma, Sharma, Kaleda, Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde, Pradeep Jena, Shinde, Narendra Modi, Modi Organizations: The Press Trust of India, New Delhi Television, Press Trust, Rescuers, The Press Trust, Indian Locations: Balasore district, Orissa, India, Kolkata, Balasore, Howrah, West Bengal, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, New Delhi

☆ India monsoon advances after stalling for 11 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains advanced into some more parts of southwest Bay of Bengal after stalling for the past 11 days at a far-flung island, weather department said on Tuesday. The monsoon, the lifeblood of the country's $3 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70% of the rain that India needs to water farms and recharge reservoirs and aquifers. Monsoon rains arrived over the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands on May 19, but then didn't make any progress until May 30, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. This year, the onset of the monsoon over Kerala is likely to be slightly delayed. The onset of monsoon rains over the southern Indian state is likely to be on June 4, with a model error of plus/minus 4 days.

☆ Cyclone Mocha tears into Myanmar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cyclone Mocha barrels into Myanmar The powerful storm unleashes its fury, disrupting communications in the regionAround midday on Sunday, Cyclone Mocha pummelled western Myanmar and southern Bangladesh. Map shows the path of Cyclone Mocha. It originated in the Bay of Bengal three days before it hit the coast of Myanmar on May 14. Satellite images show Sittwe before and after landfall of Cyclone Mocha, in Myanmar. Myanmar’s coast bore the brunt of the storm surge from Mocha, according to data from the EU’s Joint Research Centre.

It is in these poorly constructed camps that aid agencies fear Cyclone Mocha has hit the hardest. A man walks past destroyed buildings in Sittwe, in Myanmar's Rakhine state, on May 15, 2023, after Cyclone Mocha made landfall. Residents ride motorcycles past broken utility poles in Sittwe, in Myanmar's Rakhine state, on May 15, 2023, after Cyclone Mocha made landfall. At one point Cyclone Mocha had been predicted to hit the camp but it was spared a direct hit with the storm making landfall further down the coast. According to the UN, roughly 15,000 homes were destroyed in Rakhine state during that storm.

☆ Powerful storm snaps communications network in Myanmar's Rakhine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Strong winds and heavy rainfall is seen at ThekayPyin Rohingya camp, as Cyclone Mocha approaches, in Sittwe, Rakhine, Myanmar, May 14, 2023 in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Some 400,000 people were evacuated in Myanmar and Bangladesh ahead of Cyclone Mocha making landfall, as authorities and aid agencies scrambled to avoid heavy casualties. "All communication is still down and people are in trouble because all the roofs are gone," said Khine Thu Kha, a spokesman for the Arakan Army, which control swathes of Rakhine state. Benjamin Small, a consultant with the United Nations Development Programme, said it was hard to understand the scale of destruction because of ruptured communications in Rakhine. "The storm itself is a trigger for more problems as heavy rains continue and landslides and flooding tend to follow."

☆ Cyclone Mocha: Early reports of 'extensive damage' as storm hits the Myanmar coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Video from the conflict-racked Rakhine state showed powerful gusts of wind blowing trees to the ground. “But early reports suggest the damage is extensive and needs among already vulnerable communities, particularly displaced people, will be high. A resident drives his motorbike past fallen utility poles in Kyauktaw in Myanmar's Rakhine state on May 15, 2023, after Cyclone Mocha crashed ashore. However, torrential rain battered Rakhine state in western Myanmar, bringing threats of flooding and landslides. According to the United Nations, roughly 15,000 homes were destroyed in Rakhine state during the storm.

CNN —Western Myanmar is being battered by strong winds and heavy rain after Cyclone Mocha made landfall on the Bay of Bengal coastline Sunday. Local residents check the damages after Cyclone Mocha's crashed ashore in Kyauktaw in Myanmar's Rakhine state on May 14, 2023. Two children stand under a roadside shelter to protect from rain before Cyclone Mocha hits in Sittwe, Rakhine State, on Sunday, May 14, 2023. APTropical Cyclone Mocha has intensified to the equivalent of a category 5 Atlantic hurricane. Most live in bamboo and tarpaulin shelters perched on hilly slopes that are vulnerable to strong winds, rain, and landslides.

☆ Powerful cyclone barrels towards Myanmar, Bangladesh; 400,000 evacuated
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But many more could suffer as the storm moves inland from the Bay of Bengal, the United Nations Satellite Centre has warned. "People at risk are in the process of being transferred to safe shelters and we are also arranging relief packages," said Farah Kabir of ActionAid Bangladesh. Most refugees live in makeshift dwellings in the densely packed camps after having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. "We have arranged for meals in co-operation with local residents but if this becomes long-term, there will be more problems." About 6 million people are already in need of humanitarian assistance and 1.2 million are displaced in Rakhine and the northwest, OCHA says.

Since forming in the Bay of Bengal early Thursday, tropical Cyclone Mocha has intensified to a high-end Category 4 Atlantic hurricane, with sustained winds of 240kph (150mph). Tropical cyclones (also known as hurricanes, typhoons and tropical storms depending on ocean basin and intensity), feed off ocean heat. They need temperatures of at least around 27 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit Fahrenheit) to form, and the warmer the ocean, the more moisture they can take up. The waters in the Bay of Bengal are currently around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit Fahrenheit), about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than average for May. Climate-change fueled sea-level rise adds to the risks, worsening storm surges from tropical cyclones and allowing them to travel further inland.

☆ Column: India's pledge to stop new coal power plants to hit key states
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

IN CONSTRUCTIONThe new proposals make clear that whatever coal capacity is already under construction in India will proceed. A total of 32,000 megawatts of new coal power is currently being built in India, according to the Global Energy Monitor (GEM). India coal capacity under constructionOnce completed, that would boost current operating capacity by close to 14%, and lift total Indian coal capacity to beyond 266,000 MW, GEM data shows. Alongside the widespread swell in coal capacity is even faster growth in renewables energy supply capacity across India. Proponents of immediate cuts to coal power use may be disappointed that several new coal projects will still emerge.

☆ Bollywood film on Islamic State recruits sparks debate in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Shilpa Jamkhandikar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, May 9 (Reuters) - A low-budget Bollywood film about young women recruited by the Islamic State has stirred up passionate debate, helping to make it an instant box-office hit in India. "The Kerala Story," set in the coastal southern state of the same name, follows three women who are indoctrinated, converted and sent to IS camps. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the film by director Sudipto Sen, saying it showed the consequences of terrorism. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, two states ruled by his Bharatiya Janata Party, have exempted the film from state taxes, making tickets cheaper. However, the Kerala High Court has refused to impose a ban in the state where the film is set, saying it was "inspired by true events."

☆ Hurricanes of Data: The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Porter Fox | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +35 min

The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea Shortly after dawn on Sept. 30, 2021, Richard Jenkins watched a Category 4 hurricane overrun his life’s work. That August, a sister ship, SD 1031, successfully entered Tropical Storm Henri, but only in its early stages. Hurricane research, modeling and forecasting requires many terabytes of data for every square mile the storm passes through, including vitally important sea-level data from inside a storm. The next day, the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and officially given the name Sam. And four months later, Tropical Storm Megi killed more than 150, wiped out several villages with landslides and displaced more than a million people.

In Southeast Asia, some countries posted their highest ever recorded temperatures this week, while searing heat in the Indian subcontinent has killed more than a dozen people. Neighboring Myanmar set an April temperature record on Monday as Kalewa, in central Sagaing region, reached 44°C (111°F), Herrera tweeted. April and May are typically the hottest months of the year for South and Southeast Asia as temperatures rise before monsoon rains begin and bring some relief. On Monday, more than 100 weather stations in 12 provinces broke their April temperature record, according to climatologist Jim Yang. Extremely hot temperatures across South and Southeast Asia are expected to continue.

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