Dozens feared dead after ‘massive’ landslide hits Papua New Guinea
Governor of Enga province says the disaster caused ‘loss of life and property’ in at least six villages. A massive landslide has struck Papua New Guinea’s highlands, local officials and aid groups said, with dozens believed to have been killed. The disaster hit Kaokalam village in Papua New Guinea’s Enga province, about 600km (370 miles) northwest of the South Pacific island nation’s capital of Port Moresby, at about 3am local time on Friday (17:00 GMT Thursday). According to reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) about 100 people are believed to have been killed, but authorities have not confirmed this figure. “Authorities say the scale of the landslide is ‘massive’, but they still cannot confirm the death toll,” said Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from Jakarta in Indonesia. She said authorities have assembled a team to assist in the aftermath of the disaster that affected a community of mostly subsistence farmers. “Many homes have been destroyed as well as the gardens that people rely on to feed themselves in these communities,” our correspondent added. Enga’s provincial governor Peter Ipatas told the AFP news agency that a big landslide had caused “loss of life and property”. He said at least six villages had been affected. “It is a quite remote and quite hilly area where landslides are common,” Washington said, adding that “Papua New Guinea is susceptible to natural disasters, landslides, flooding, earthquakes.” Images from the scene of the landslide were posted on social media [AFP] ‘Houses got buried’ Images from the scene posted on social media showed a vast bite of rock and soil cleaved off from a densely vegetated hill. A long and wide scar of car-size boulders, felled trees and dirt stretched down towards the valley floor. The remains of many corrugated tin shelters could be seen at the foot of a large landslide. Dozens of local men and women scrambled over the piles of rock and soil, digging, crying out, listening for survivors or standing scanning the scene in disbelief. Some became instant rescuers, pulling out bodies buried under rocks and trees. “The landslide hit around three last night and it looks like more than 100 houses got buried. It is not yet known how many people were in those houses,” Vincent Pyati, president of the local Community Development Association, told AFP. “The number of victims is unknown.” Elizabeth Laruma, who runs a women’s business association in Porgera, a town in the same province near the Porgera Gold Mine, told the ABC houses in Kaokalam village were flattened when the side of a mountain gave way. “From what I can presume, it’s about 100-plus people who are buried beneath the ground,” she said. Media in the nation said the landslide may have impacted operations at the mine. Aid agencies including the Papua New Guinea Red Cross and CARE said they had received confirmation of the landslide, and were working to find out more. Sitting just south of the equator, the area gets frequent heavy rains. This year has seen intense rainfall and flooding. In March, at least 23 people were killed by a landslide in a nearby province. Adblock test (Why?)
Chad’s Deby sworn in as president as Allamaye Halina named new PM
Inauguration of Mahamat Idriss Deby follows disputed election and marks an end to three years of military rule. Chad’s newly elected president, Mahamat Idriss Deby, has been sworn in to succeed his late father after three years as an interim leader under military rule in the northcentral African country. Shortly after, the country announced that Allamaye Halina would assume the post of prime minister after Succes Masra announced his resignation from the position this week. Speaking at an inauguration ceremony in the capital in N’Djamena on Thursday, which followed contested elections earlier this month, Deby said: “To my brothers and sisters who did not choose me … I would like to say that I respect your choice, which contributes to the vitality of our democracy.” Deby won a sweeping 61 percent of the May 6 vote that international NGOs said was neither credible nor free. He was proclaimed transitional president in April 2021 after rebels killed his father, Idriss Deby, who had himself ruled Chad since a coup in the early 1990s. Deby was quickly endorsed as transitional leader by an international community led by France, whose forces in recent years have been removed by military regimes in former colonies Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. France currently has 1000 soldiers in Chad. The swearing-in on Thursday marked the end of three years of military rule in oil-rich Chad, one of Africa’s poorest countries, making official what the opposition has denounced as a Deby dynasty, accusing the clan and its allies of controlling the main institutions of power. New prime minister Following the inauguration, Chad named Halina, who was previously its ambassador to China, the new prime minister in a decree read out on state television. Masra, who resigned from the post on Wednesday, was Deby’s main rival in the election. He had only served as prime minister since the beginning of the year, having returned to the country under a reconciliation agreement after a period in exile following a crackdown on protests against military rule. The opposition leader came second in the election with 18.54 percent of the vote, unsuccessfully challenging the result on allegations of fraud. After the Constitutional Council rejected his bid, he called on supporters to “remain mobilised” but “peaceful”. Eight African heads of state and foreign dignitaries, including Franck Riester, France’s minister for foreign trade and Francophonie, attended Deby’s swearing-in ceremony. The presidential term runs for five years and can be renewed once. Adblock test (Why?)
India Lok Sabha election 2024 Phase 6: Who votes and what’s at stake?
India’s staggered general election is heading towards its penultimate phase, with voters from eight states and federally-governed union territories poised to decide the fate of 889 candidates on May 25. Among some prominent candidates, Kanhaiya Kumar, a former student leader and fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is challenging sitting MP Manoj Tiwari, regional Bhojpuri language cinema actor and singer, in the North East Delhi constituency, while Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan is seeking to enter the Lok Sabha, the lower House of Indian Parliament, from Sambalpur in the eastern state of Odisha. The sixth phase will see all seven seats in the Indian capital region, a stronghold of the local governing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), go to polls. The first five phases – April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20 – saw voter turnouts of 66.1, 66.7, 61, 67.3 and 60.5 percent, respectively. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), led by the main opposition Congress party, has promised to address the economic distress and lack of employment generation as it aims to challenge the electoral dominance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Who is voting in the sixth phase? Registered voters in the following six states and two union territories will cast their ballots for 58 seats: Haryana: All 10 of the northern state’s constituencies Jharkhand: Four of the eastern state’s 14 constituencies Odisha: Six of the eastern state’s 21 constituencies Uttar Pradesh: 14 of the northern state’s 80 constituencies Bihar: Eight of the eastern state’s 40 constituencies West Bengal: Eight of the eastern state’s 42 constituencies Delhi: All seven National Capital Territory (NCT) constituencies Jammu and Kashmir: Anantnag-Rajouri, one of the union territory’s five constituencies where polling was deferred from Phase 3 to Phase 6 due to weather conditions What are some of the key constituencies? New Delhi, North East Delhi (NCT): The battle for Delhi has gotten ugly with the region’s popular Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal unleashing a sharp attack on Modi after getting out of jail on bail in a corruption case. He has accused the BJP of using investigative agencies to frame him. A number of opposition leaders have either been jailed or are facing corruption cases. Kejriwal’s AAP has joined forces with the Congress to wrest the seven seats from the BJP. It is going to be an uphill task for Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, who lost to BJP’s Giriraj Singh in Bihar’s Begusarai in the 2019 elections, to defeat Tiwari – a two-time MP representing North East Delhi. In 2019, Tiwari defeated Congress stalwart and three-time Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit by a margin of more than 360,000 votes. The BJP, which swept Delhi Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 2019, has fielded Bansuri Swaraj, the 40-year-old daughter of former Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, for the New Delhi seat. She is being challenged by AAP’s Somnath Bharti. Kurukshetra, Gurgaon and Karnal (Haryana): The BJP swept all the 10 seats in Haryana state, primarily an agricultural belt neighbouring Delhi, in 2019. But since then, the party has faced backlash from sections of the state, after cracking down on the 2021 farmers’ agitation. The Modi government, which promised to double farm income by 2022, has been accused of helping corporate groups at the expense of farmers. The BJP, which governs the state, has denied the accusations. Leading industrialist Naveen Jindal is seeking election from Kurukshetra after switching from the Congress to the BJP. He lost the last two elections (2014 and 2019) to the BJP after previously representing the constituency for 10 years. BJP leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is contesting from Karnal against Congress’s Satpal Brahmachari, while the BJP’s Rao Inderjit Singh, a federal minister, is hoping to continue his victory run from Gurgaon – a satellite city on the outskirts of Delhi – with actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar of the Congress as the key challenger. Anantnag-Rajouri (J&K): People’s Democratic Party leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is aiming to enter parliament from Anantnag-Rajouri. She is facing Mian Altaf Ahmad of the National Conference party. Azamgarh, Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh): Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh voted for the BJP in 2019, when Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua, a popular Bhojpuri actor, was elected. The Samajwadi Party, which is the main opposition party in the state, has fielded Dharmendra Yadav, nephew of former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. The constituency has in the past sent Mulayam and his son Akhilesh Yadav, also a former chief minister and the party chief, to parliament. Tamluk (West Bengal): Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who resigned as a judge, is contesting the election on a BJP ticket from this constituency. He will be up against Debangshu Bhattacharya of the governing Trinamool Congress (TMC) party – a constituent of the INDIA alliance. When does the voting start and end? Voting will begin at 7am (01:30 GMT) and end at 6pm (12:30 GMT). Voters already in the queue by the time polls close will get to vote even if that means keeping polling stations open longer. The seventh and final phase of the election will be held on June 1. Vote counting will be done on June 4 and results will likely be announced the same day. Which parties rule the states being polled in the sixth phase? The BJP governs Uttar Pradesh and Haryana outright and governs Bihar in an alliance. Odisha is governed by the NDA-aligned Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Jharkhand is governed by the INDIA alliance led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The TMC of INDIA has been governing West Bengal since 2011. The AAP, a part of the INDIA alliance, rules Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir is governed directly by the central government under Prime Minister Modi. Who won these Lok Sabha seats in 2019? In the last Lok Sabha elections, the Congress, parties now affiliated with the INDIA alliance and the constituents of the erstwhile Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won seven of
Pune Porsche Horror: Accused minor claims family driver was behind wheel at time of crash
The Pune police on Thursday questioned the grandfather of the 17-year-old boy.
60 Indians rescued from job scam in Cambodia return home
The first batch of 60 Indian nationals rescued by the Indian Embassy in Cambodia from fraudulent employers have returned home, the embassy said on Thursday.
EPA shoots down Alabama coal ash regulation proposal
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday rejected Alabama’s proposal to take over coal ash regulation, saying the state plan does not do enough to protect people and waterways. The agency said the state’s proposal was “significantly less protective” than required by federal regulations, and that it “does not require that groundwater contamination be adequately addressed during the closure of these coal ash units.” “EPA is laser focused on protecting people from exposure to pollution, like coal ash, that can cause cancer risks and other serious health issues,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a news release. PETROCHEMICAL COMPANY FINED MORE THAN $30 MILLION FOR 2019 EXPLOSIONS NEAR HOUSTON Coal ash is what remains when coal is burned to generate electricity. Coal ash contains contaminants such as mercury, chromium and arsenic associated with cancer and other health problems. States can assume oversight of coal ash disposal but must meet minimum federal requirements. Alabama Department of Environmental Management spokeswoman M. Lynn Battle wrote in an email that the agency was reviewing the 174-page document and would comment later on the decision. The EPA warned last year that it was poised to reject Alabama’s program, citing deficiencies in Alabama’s permits for closure requirements of unlined surface impoundments, groundwater monitoring and required corrective actions. The Southern Environmental Law Center and other groups praised the decision. “Today marks a significant victory for every Alabamian who values clean water,” Cade Kistler of Mobile Baykeeper said in a statement. “The EPA’s final denial underscores what our communities have said all along — that leaving toxic coal ash in unlined leaking pits by our rivers is unacceptable.”
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: SC to hear plea on actual voter numbers today, EC under scrutiny
In recent weeks, opposition parties including Congress, CPM, and Trinamool Congress have written to the EC, criticizing the delay in releasing the final voter turnout.
Pune Porsche Accident: Grandfather of teen accused grilled along with his father, driver, friend for leads
Amid a growing chorus for justice for the two IT professionals, who were mowed to death by a teen driving a Porsche; the Pune City Police on Thursday questioned the 17-year-old’s grandfather in connection with the horrific hit-and-run incident.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul calls Trump supporters ‘clowns’ in her own ‘basket of deplorables’ moment
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appeared to call Trump supporters “clowns” on Thursday during a media appearance ahead of the former president’s New York City rally in the Bronx. “Well, I’ll tell you what won’t make a difference at all, Jake, and that’s for Donald Trump to be a ringleader and invite all his clowns to a place like the Bronx,” ochul told CNN’s Jake Tapper. She continued, “New York will never, ever support Donald Trump for president. We know him better than anyone and that means we understand what he’s all about. He’s just for himself. So, this state will go solidly behind Joe Biden for president as it has in the past. So, if he wants to spend his time doing these made-up, fake rallies and pretending there’s support here, be my guest, because while you’re doing that, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s out there on the other side making sure he’s delivering for all Americans.” In response to Hochul’s comments, the Trump campaign told Fox News Digital: “Kathy Hocul is just upset that President Trump is pulling crowds in her state that she could only dream of; and Democrats are in disarray because Americans, including Hispanics and Blacks, are waking up to the fact that Joe Biden and the Democrat Party have been using them for votes and ripping them off for decades.” TRUMP VOWS TO ‘SAVE’ DEEP-BLUE NEW YORK CITY IN MASSIVE, HISTORIC BRONX RALLY Trump, who has been in the state recently for his hush money trial, has said he thinks he has a good chance of winning the state in November despite the fact that it hasn’t voted Republican since 1984. A recent Siena College poll showed President Biden with just a nine-point lead over Trump (47% to 38%) in the state. Biden won the state handily in 2020 with 60.8%. Two years ago, Hochul also raised the ire of Republicans when she told GOP candidates in the state to “get out of town” and “head to Florida” where they belong. “We’re here to say that the era of Trump and Zeldin and Molinaro — just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong. Get out of town,” Hochul said in 2022. “You don’t represent our values.” The comments reminded some of Former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton‘s infamous “basket of deplorables” comments from a New York fundraiser in 2016. “You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” Clinton said at the time. “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump vows to ‘save’ deep-blue New York City in massive, historic Bronx rally
Former President Donald Trump has broken political norms by visiting one of the most deep-blue areas in New York City, a town not necessarily known for its kindness to Republicans. Trump rallied a crowd of what his campaign estimated to be 25,000 supporters at Crotona Park in the Bronx on Thursday, far more than the initial 3,500 it said were expected to attend. Those numbers appeared to also include those lined up outside the event. “I’m here tonight to declare we are going to turn New York City around, and we are going to turn it around very, very quickly,” Trump said after taking the stage, vowing to bring back safety and better schools to the city. “We are going to make New York bigger, better and greater than ever before.” BIDEN’S ABORTION SCRIPT FLIPPED BY BUSINESSWOMAN’S BOOST TO PRO-LIFE GROUPS Trump praised the history of New York, but lamented that it was “now a city in decline.” “I’ve never seen it quite like this,” he said, noting the violent crime taking place on subways and homeless encampments across the city. Trump went on to rail against President Biden, saying he wasn’t “getting the job done” for the people of the Bronx, and that he was “grossly incompetent.” “If a New Yorker can’t save this city, no one can,” Trump declared to loud cheers. “Who said we’re not going to win New York?” TOP KENNEDY STAFFER STEPS DOWN FROM ROLE CITING ‘HATEFUL AND DIVISIVE ATMOSPHERE’ He vowed, if elected, to work with Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democrat Mayor Eric Adams to fix the city and state, including renovating the subway system, cleaning up the parks and removing the homeless and mentally ill from the streets. Trump also used the speech to rail against the economic downturn facing the country under the Biden administration, with an emphasis on how he said it affected Black and Hispanic families the most, and repeated some of his often used lines about energy, inflation and being “weak” on the foreign stage. Near the end of the speech, he recited Al Wilson’s song, “The Snake,” which he often uses as a metaphor to criticize uncontrolled illegal immigration. The thousands of people gathered to see the former president were a diverse group of people, including what Fox News Digital noted were Black, Hispanic, White, Asian and Muslim supporters. A number of attendees traveled from as far as Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. The former president touted his visit on social media ahead of the rally, while his campaign declared he was “unafraid to bring his message to every borough of New York, to every corner of this great country, because he believes his message is a winning one.” EXPERTS QUESTION RFK JR.’S SUDDEN ‘BIZARRE’ MEDICAL CLAIMS THAT INCLUDE BRAIN WORMS, MERCURY POISONING Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to actively campaign for the general election in New York City in decades, and, should he pull off what many expect to be an impossible feat, would be the first to win the Empire State in 40 years. Trump won less than 10% of the vote in the Bronx in his 2016 presidential election victory. His support in the Bronx edged up to 16% in his 2020 re-election defeat, with Biden winning 83.5% of the vote, but current polls suggest the former president is making more gains with Black and Hispanic voters. Trump’s campaign thinks the former president can make a dent in Biden’s support among both demographics. Democrats planned a counterprotest to the massive rally, with the Bronx Democratic Party holding their own event in the same park. Fox News Digital noticed a small group of about a few hundred protesters outside the event, but police cleared them out with no massive disruption. The event came during a brief pause in Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan. Closing arguments are expected when court resumes on Tuesday, following a break for the Memorial Day federal holiday. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.