Live! Migrant crisis: Thousands overwhelm Croatia

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Thu, 17 September 2015

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21:55 Migrant crisis: Thousands overwhelm Croatia

A day after Croatia opened its border to migrants, chaos erupted as thousands of people broke through police barriers set up at the train station in the border town of Tovarnik.

Women were wailing and police tried to help children as masses of people pushed their way out of the holding area set up for processing, CNN's Ivan Watson reported.

Police did not use force against the migrants, as they tried to keep the barriers in place. They finally gave up and the migrants started running into Croatia.

In just 24 hours, more than 7,600 migrants have arrived in Croatia through at least seven border crossings.

Burkina Faso's military declared it's in control of the nation after presidential guards stormed a Cabinet meeting and seized the President and the Prime Minister -- days before the general elections.

Guards detained interim President Michel Kafando and other government ministers during the raid in the capital Wednesday, the United Nations said.

20:03 West Bengal: Hooch tragedy toll mounts to 5

The death toll in the hooch tragedy in South 24-Parganas district today rose to five while 20 people were hospitalised, police said today.

One more person died today at Ramgopalpur in Kakdwip taking the toll to five, the official said.

Earlier, three people had died Tuesday in Ramgopalpur and one at Madhusudanpur in Kultali area after drinking hooch.

Four persons were admitted to Kakdwip hospital while 16 others undergoing treatment at Diamond Harbour hospital, the official said.

Two hooch den owners were arrested from Kakdwip area and produced in a court, which remanded them to 14-day judicial custody.

In a fresh case of ceasefire violation by Pakistan, shots were fired in Balakote sector in Poonch in Jammu & Kashmir.

The firing has been continuing since 6.45 pm.

More details awaited.

19:09 Eating cow meat "crime": Ramdev

Consuming cow meat in the name of scriptures such as Quran and Bible is an act of crime and amounts to "violence", yoga teacher Ramdev today said, demanding it be declared as the "national animal".

Ramdev's remarks come at a time when a controversy has erupted over a Jammu and Kashmir High Court order for enforcement of beef ban in the state.

The yoga guru said his demand should be considered from a scientific and not any religious point of view as "thousands of vareities" of cow breeds have been "destroyed" in the name of "genetic alteration".

"Few people who consume cow meat in the name of Quran and Bible are also committing violence. It's a crime. Don't use scriptures to justify your action as no holy book advocates violence. If killing humans amounts to violence, killing cow amounts to violence as well," he said.

Ramdev said cows hold a special place in India due to a host of factors that were societal, economic, religious and spiritual in nature. "If the government announces cow as the national animal it would be respecting all those ethos."

A day after Nepal approved a new Constitution, China today welcomed the move, saying it hopes to see political stability and economic development in the neighbouring country.

"As a friendly neighbour, China is happy to see that Nepal's Constituent Assembly approved the new constitution," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

Nepal's Constituent Assembly, constitution-making body, last night overwhelmingly approved a new constitution after seven years of painstaking efforts and deliberations, splitting the country into seven federal provinces.

"[We] support and respect Nepal's choice of social system and development path," Hong said, adding that China looks forward to political stability and economic development in Nepal.

17:30 Nehru Memorial Museum director resigns

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Director Mahesh Rangarajan's resignation has been accepted by the Centre.

The museum, critics say, is up for a "revamp" by the Centre which is not in favour of the legacy of Pandit Nehru.

"The post will be filled up soon," Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said on Thursday.

17:10 Kids thrown from window during fire

More than 100 people, most of them children, have been hospitalized after a fire at a flower shop in east China. A kindergarten class was underway on the second floor.

16:45

Just in: Delhi HC reserves its order on Somnath Bharti's anticipatory bail. No action till HC decides on the matter.

16:39 British pilots killed 330 ISIS terrorists in a year

About 330 Islamic State fighters have been killed in air strikes by Britain's Royal Air Force since the UK began its campaign as part of a US-led global coalition against the dreaded terrorist group in Iraq in September 2014.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the figure was "highly approximate", partly because there were no UK troops on the ground to confirm the impact of the Iraq campaign.

"The estimated number of ISIL fighters killed as a result of UK strikes from September 2014 to 31 August 2015 is around 330. This figure is highly approximate, not least given the absence of UK ground troops in a position to observe the effects of strike activity," Fallon said in a written answer to the UK Parliament. ISIS also goes by another acronym, ISIL.

"We do not believe there have been any civilian casualties as a result of UK strike activity. Any overall estimates would be a matter for the coalition," he said.

In September 2014, British MPs had approved British participation in air strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas had specifically asked Fallon what estimate the US-led global coalition to counter ISIS - made up of more than 60 countries - has made of civilian casualties arising from its activities.

However, he was able to give an assessment on the impact of UK action only between September 2014 and August 31 this year.

The Danish government said today it had voluntarily agreed to accept 1,000 refugees out of the 120,000 migrants the EU plans to relocate to ease the burden on frontline states.

"In light of the extraordinary situation, we have today told the parties in parliament that the government will offer to receive a limited number of asylum-seekers. The number is 1,000 people," Integration Minister Inger Stojberg said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Lars Lokke

Rasmussen.

The government said it has yet to decide the period of time over which the refugees will be accepted. The issue will be discussed next week.

Denmark would also give an additional 750 million kroner (100 million euros, USD 114 million) to humanitarian efforts in the areas bordering conflict zones, and to the EU's Frontex border agency, Rasmussen said.

"The time has come for common solutions in Denmark as well as in Europe. It is not easy. There are no easy solutions," he said.

Delhi Police strongly opposes anticipatory bail application of Somnath Bharti, claiming that Bharti has made mockery of law.

While arguing before a single judge bench of Delhi HC, Delhi Police counsel said, "He (Bharti) went to police station at 2 am in night and also made application for cancellation of NBW against him after getting protection from HC. Its not a simple case of dispute between husband-wife."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke to new Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull and congratulated him on his appointment to the top post.

"Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and I spoke a short while ago. I congratulated him and conveyed best wishes," Modi said.

He said that he also thanked Turnbull for his birthday greetings to him.

Modi said he also spoke to outgoing Prime Minister Tony Abbott and appreciated his efforts in improving ties between India and Australia.

60-year-old Turnbull was made the Prime Minister after a hastily-arranged party leadership ballot on Monday night gave him 54 votes against 44 for incumbent Abbott.

Turnbull's victory is reminiscent of the coup Julia Gillard staged against the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2010 to get the top post.

14:33 Pak violates ceasefire again

Violating the ceasefire again, Pakistani troops fired on forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Pakistani troops resorted to firing on forward posts along the LoC in Poonch sector around 0955 hours", a Defence Spokesman said here.

Pakistan troops overnight fired mortar bombs and used automatic weapons to target forward posts along the LoC in Balakote sector of Poonch district from 7.45 PM to 12 AM, Spokesman said.

With today's ceasefire, Pakistani troops have violated the ceasefire 21 times in September this year.

Pakistani troops had yesterday violated the ceasefire thrice in Krishnagati and Balakote sectors of Poonch district.

14:31 Google doodle on modernist painter M F Husain

On his 100th birth anniversary M F Husain, one of the best known painters in modern and contemporary India, has been honoured with a Google Doodle.

The late painter, who died at the age of 95 on June 9, 2011 has been pictured in the doodle with a paintbrush in hand flanked by colourful circles suggestive of the search engine Google's logo.

Born Maqbool Fida Husain in Pandharpur, in Maharashtra he exhibited mastery over techniques of line and colour and over a career that spanned decades turned out a prolific amount of artworks.

He was particularly fond of creating large sized canvases and he had begun his career in his 20s as a painter of cinema hoardings.

14:31

Just in: Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party and Samajwadi Janata Dal-Democratic are set to contest Bihar assembly polls as a third front, SP member Ram Gopal Yadav announced on Thursday.

13:47 US warns North Korea against nuclear 'provocation'

The United States has warned that North Korea will face "severe consequences" if it continues with what Washington sees as its provocative decision to restart a nuclear reactor.

Pyongyang has said it has restarted the long-mothballed Yongbyon reactor, which is capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium, and has threatened to launch a rocket which US officials see as a test-bed for ballistic missile technology.

Challenged as to whether Washington could respond credibly to the North Korean moves after earlier striking a deal to allow Iran's nuclear program to continue under international supervision, Secretary of State John Kerry insisted it could.

"There will be severe consequences as we go forward if North Korea does not refrain from its irresponsible provocations that aggravate regional concerns, make the region less safe, and if it refuses to live up to its international obligations," he said.

"Our position is clear: We will not accept a DPRK - North Korea - as a nuclear weapons state, just as we said that about Iran."

Paris authorities are evacuating more than 500 Syrian and other migrants from tent camps and moving them to special housing as the country steps up efforts to deal with Europe's migrant wave.

City social workers and charity workers woke the migrants before dawn Thursday, and they gathered their belongings calmly, watched over by police.

The operations took place at a large camp near the Gare d'Austerlitz train station in southeast Paris, and another in the 18th arrondissement of northern Paris.

Paris city hall said migrants are being bused to special migrant housing centers in Paris and the surrounding region, and offered help applying for asylum.

France has been criticized for its relatively slow response to the migrant crisis even as neighboring Germany has taken in hundreds of thousands of people.

13:34 Nun found dead in convent room

A 69-year-old Catholic nun was found dead in her convent room at Pala near here this morning, police said.

Sister Amala was found dead by other nuns at Carmel Convent who had gone to her room after she missed the morning mass at the chapel, police said.

The doors of her room were not locked from inside and they found Amala, who had sustained a deep injury on her forehead, lying in a pool of blood, police said.

Police said they have a launched a probe as it is a case of a suspected murder.

The sister, who was leading a retired life, was suffering from fever since the last couple of days.

Kottayam District Police Chief Sateesh Bino and other officials visited the place and a team of dog squad and forensic experts were called to collect evidence.

Pakistan will allow 65,000 nationals to go on foreign trips after removing their names from lists that bars them from leaving the country.

Among the people still on the list is name of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf who has been barred by the courts from leaving the country.

The decision was announced by Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan yesterday.

Thousands of people have been placed on Exit Control List (ECL) and visa blacklist for years for reasons ranging from militancy to petty family disputes.

"After thorough review, the government decided to delete 4,987 names from the ECL," Khan said.

13:23 Prez greets Modi on birthday

President Pranab Mukherjee greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi who turned 65 today and complimented him for his "dynamism" and "out of the box thinking" which have been appreciated in the country as well as abroad.

In his message to Modi, Mukherjee said the last year has been an important period filled with significant achievements for the Prime Minister as well as the country.

"This special day comes as you complete more than fifteen months as the Prime Minister of our great nation. The last year has been an important period filled with significant achievements for you personally and our country.

"Your hard work, dynamism and out of the box thinking has received wide appreciation in the country and abroad," the President was quoted by his official spokesman Venu Rajamony

as saying.

SC refuses to entertain plea filed against Bombay HC order staying the decision to ban sale of meat in Maharashtra during Jain festival.

While refusing to interfere with Bombay HC order, Bench of Justice Thakur observed "there has to be a spirit of tolerance.

Bench of Justice Thakur also observed that "these are not issues which can be forced down somebody's throat" #MeatBan

The Congress party is carrying out protests outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence over the rising cases of dengue in the city.

The surge in dengue cases in the national capital have led to a serious space crunch in government hospitals with a facility in east Delhi operating a fever clinic from the driver's room while another prominent hospital has emptied its ortho and eye wards to accommodate patients.

Battling to provide treatment to the increasing number of patients pouring in at government facilities, hospitals such as Ram Manohar Lohia have asked patients to share beds with saline in many cases being administered to patients on the stretcher itself.

US-based Sikhs have raised USD 80,000 for a national campaign to tackle the growing misperceptions about their community in the country post 9/11 terror attacks, days after an elderly Sikh-American man was

brutally assaulted in Chicago.

Over 300 Sikhs gathered from all around Los Angeles area to increase awareness about their religion and the positive contributions the Sikh-Americans have made so that they do not become victims of hate crime.

The National Sikh Campaign's gala over the weekend featured Devenderpal Singh of Indian Idol fame. The event was successful in raising USD 80,000 to support the national campaign, a media release said yesterday.

One-year-old NSC has worked with President Obama's campaign media team, AKPD, to design a national media strategy to educate Americans about the Sikh community's presence and its contribution in the US.

NSC provides an opportunity to adopt a strategy to present our community's struggle and triumph to the American audience

with courage and integrity, said Rajwant Singh, co-founder and senior advisor of NSC.

Sikhs need to launch a world class website and create ad campaign to bring awareness about appearance, he said.

"The turban is a symbol of human rights and justice but now is seen as cause of anxiety among Americans due to it being confused with people who stand against democracy and American values, Singh said.

A 2000-year-old lost Stupa, one of the 19 built with Lord Buddha's relics sent by Emperor Ashoka to China, has been renovated and restored with religious rites by an Indian monk in this remote Tibetan town, making it a symbol of the advent of Buddhism from India to China.

The renovated Stupa and Ashoka pillar along with a huge golden statue of Buddha was consecrated by Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual head of Drukpa lineage of Buddhism based in Ladakh, on Tuesday in China's Qinghai province, located adjacent to Tibet Autonomous Region.

Legend has it that over 2,500 years ago, Buddha's disciples retrieved one skull bone, two scapulas, four teeth and 84,000 pearl-like sariras (relics) after Lord Buddha's body was cremated.

According to Buddhist records, Emperor Asoka collected all of Sakyamuni's sarira, stored them in pagoda-shaped shrines before sending them to different parts of the world.

China is believed to have received 19 of them including the one in Nangchen but most of them have collapsed due to natural wear and tear as well as negligence.

Three more such Stupas were discovered in Chinese cities of Xian, Nanjing and near Ayuwang in Zhejiang Province.

The Nangchen Stupa is the first to be discovered in the Tibetan region. The fate of the other 15 sent by Ashoka to China is unknown.

Some 4,000 migrants have entered Croatia from Serbia in the past 24 hours after Hungary sealed its border, national state-run HRT television reported today.

New migrants were continuing to enter the European Union (EU) member on its eastern border, which became their new route on the journey to western Europe, the Croatian channel reported.

A special train transporting some 800 migrants from Tovarnik, near the Serbian border, arrived in Dugo Selo, near Zagreb, around 0330 GMT, an AFP photographer reported.

The migrants were being transferred to a reception centre in nearby Jezevo.

Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic said late Wednesday that the country was prepared for the arrival of migrants but could not cope if the numbers increased dramatically.

12:06

Just in: Delhi HC seeks response from Centre, Delhi govt, MCD and NDMC on steps taken to contain dengue.

11:37 Tsunami advisory for Hawaii, California after Chile quake

Hawaii and part of California's coast are under tsunami advisories after an 8.3-magnitude earthquake off the coast of north Chile.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had originally issued a watch for Hawaii, saying a tsunami may have been generated by yesterday's earthquake.

They later downgraded the alert to an advisory, saying that current data indicated there would be no major tsunami in the state, but that sea-level changes and dangerous currents could pose a threat to those in or near the water.

The center estimated that the effects from the tsunami would arrive in Hawaii about 3 am (6 am PDT) today. A similar advisory was issued for southern and central California.

That advisory affects about 300 miles of coastline stretching from the southern end of Orange County to most of San Luis Obispo County on the central coast.

The possible changes associated with the advisory are expected to hit first in the south at about 4:45 am PDT today and move north in the minutes that follow.

A watch means that a tsunami is possible, but it doesn't mean it will happen, said Chevy Chevalier, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

Pakistani police have arrested a former air force pilot who allegedly helped finance al-Qaida's newly formed South Asian affiliate, officials said today. Counter-terrorism official Naveed Khawaja announced the arrest in Karachi.

He didn't say when the man, identified as Syed Sheaba Ahmad, was detained in the southern port city. Police initially announced a name that sounded very different during a press conference, before releasing a copy of the man's ID with the correct spelling.

US President Barack Obama today invited a Muslim schoolboy to the White House after he was arrested and dragged off in handcuffs for bringing a homemade clock to class.

Obama congratulated 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed on his skills and issued a presidential invitation, in what amounts to a pointed rebuke to school and police officials who precipitated his arrest.

Ahmed Mohamed is going to have a busy couple of weeks. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has joined the list of high-profile names showing support by extending an invite to meet the 14-year-old Irving, Texas student arrested Monday for bringing a clock to school.

"Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest. The future belongs to people like Ahmed,"

Zuckerberg wrote on his personal Facebook page shortly after 1:30PM. "Ahmed, if you ever want to come by Facebook, I'd love to meet you."

After months of chilly relations, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet at the White House on Nov. 9 to talk about the Iran nuclear deal that Israel's government has harshly criticised and tried without success to block.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the leaders also would discuss efforts to counter the Islamic State group's activities in the Mideast. He called the meeting a demonstration "of the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel as well as our unprecedented cooperation to further enhance Israel's security."

It took a nerd with guts to stand up against the most Islamophobic part of the country. Today a Muslim boy is a hero in America. I surprisingly woke up to #IStandWithAhmed being the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter.

Typically hashtags with a Muslim name in it involve Islamophobes trying to demonise Muslims, but this was different. In fact, it's nothing short of amazing.

The Obama administration is weighing an offer from Russia to have military-to-military talks and meetings on the situation in Syria amid increasing US concern and uncertainty about Russia's military buildup there, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.

Kerry said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had proposed the consultation in a phone call on Tuesday and that the White House, Pentagon and State Department were considering it. Kerry suggested that he favored such an idea, noting that the United States wants a clear picture of what Russia's intentions are in Syria following a recent military buildup there.

Secretary of State John Kerry says it may take more than sanctions to end North Korea's nuclear weapons threat. Kerry says the US goal remains the same: A peaceful solution that leads North Korea to disarm.

But he acknowledges that North Korea's isolation makes it hard to use economic levers to advance diplomacy, as the U.S. and its partners did with Iran.

The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday it has spent "around USD 1.1 billion" helping Syrian refugees and on the fight against the Islamic State group.

The announcement follows criticism of rich Arab states for failing to take in Syrian refugees, as hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the conflict risk their lives to reach Europe.

A Russian prankster today claimed he duped British superstar singer Elton John into believing he was talking to President Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Krasnov -- who goes under the nickname Vovan -- said he called up the pop star pretending to be Putin after the singer said he wanted to meet the Kremlin strongman to discuss gay rights.

"He was very happy and said that the call had made his day and that it was a miracle that it had taken place," Krasnov told AFP.

00:35 Top headlines in that last 24 hours

Saudi Arabian diplomat accused of rape leaves India
Two Indians kidnapped from Sirte in war-torn Libya: MEA
Delhi's dengue diktat: Don't refuse patients, charge only Rs 600 for tests
Robert Vadra's name dropped from 'no-frisking' list at airports
The man who doesn't want precious water wasted at Kumbh Mela
Beware! China's military games in Ladakh
'I was used to woo Muslim votes and later left in the lurch'
'When we fight a war we forget the danger'

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