INDIA
Nine die in train fire
At least nine people were killed yesterday after a train coach parked in Tamil Nadu caught fire when a passenger tried to make tea, officials said. The coach, which had been detached from a train, was stationed at the Madurai railway yard when the fire broke out before dawn. “It was a single, stationary coach booked by a private tourist operator. Somebody tried to make tea and it caused the fire,” Madurai District spokesman Sali Thalapathi said. “Nine people have died, three of them are women. Nine others are injured, but their injuries are not life-threatening.”
CANADA
Town evacuated due to fire
Wildfires in the Northwest Territories on Friday forced the evacuation of the entire town of Hay River, a community of about 4,000 people on the Great Slave Lake, authorities said. The government of the Northwest Territories ordered everyone in town, including essential workers, to go to the Hay River/Merlyn Carter Airport and await further instructions. “Anyone who remains in Hay River is doing so at their own risk,” the government said in an alert on Friday. “There will be no emergency services or response available.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Web suicide sales probed
The National Crime Agency on Friday said it had launched an investigation into the deaths of 88 people who bought substances to assist with suicide from Canadian Web sites. The agency said that “at this early stage there are no confirmed links between the items purchased from the Web sites and cause of death in any of these cases.” The announcement came after Canadian Kenneth Law, 57, was arrested in Ontario in early May and charged with two counts of counseling and aiding suicide. He is accused of selling a lethal substance to people across the world, with Canadian police alleging that he sent at least 1,200 packages to more than 40 countries.
DENMARK
Koran burnings face ban
The government on Friday said it plans to ban Koran burnings after a string of desecrations of Islam’s holy book in the Scandinavian nation sparked anger in Muslim countries. The government intends to “criminalize the improper treatment of objects of significant religious importance to a religious community,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told reporters. He said the proposed legislation was aimed especially at burnings and desecrations in public places. Hummelgaard said that Koran burnings were a “fundamentally contemptuous and unsympathetic act” that “harm Denmark and its interests.” He said that national security was the main “motivation” for the ban.
UNITED STATES
Jets warn plane near Biden
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Friday scrambled fighter jets to wave off a civilian aircraft that had entered temporarily restricted air space near Lake Tahoe, where President Joe Biden and Jill Biden were vacationing. The crews of two F-16s fired flares to catch the attention of the pilot of the civilian craft and escorted it out of the restricted airspace without further incident, NORAD said in a statement. No information about the civilian aircraft or its pilot was released. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the incursion was “not of protective interest” and had no impact on Secret Service operations.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
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