Almaty, Dec 27: At least 14 people died when a passenger plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Almaty airport in Kazakhstan, the government said on Friday.
"There are 14 dead at the (crash) site," Almaty city government said in a statement via its official channel on the Telegram messenger app.
It added that a further 17 patients were being treated in hospital in a "serious condition".
New Delhi, Jan 11: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the curative petition of two death row convicts in 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case on January 14.
A five-judge Bench of Justices N V Ramana, Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan will hear the petition filed by Vinay Sharma and Mukesh.
The duo had moved a curative petition in the top court after a Delhi court issued a death warrant in their name and announced January 22 as the date of their execution.
Besides them, two other convicts named Pawan and Akshay are also slated to be executed on the same day at 7 am in Delhi's Tihar Jail premises.
They were convicted and sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in the national capital on the night of December 16, 2012.
The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, died at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment.
A curative petition is the last judicial resort available for redressal of grievances. It is decided by the judges in-chamber.
If it is rejected, they are legally bound to move a mercy petition. It is filed before the President who has the power to commute it to life imprisonment.
The court after issuing a black warrant in their name gave them two weeks' time to file both the curative and mercy petition.
Colombo, Aug 7: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's party and its allies won an overwhelming two-thirds majority in a parliament election, results showed on Friday, giving him the power to enact sweeping changes to the constitution.
The governing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and its allies had won 150 seats in the 225-member parliament, according to the tally published by the election commission from Wednesday's vote.
Rajapaksa had sought a two-thirds majority in parliament to be able to restore full executive powers to the presidency, which he says are necessary to implement his agenda to make the tiny island economically and militarily secure.
He is likely to install his older brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the next prime minister. The brothers are best known for crushing the Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils during the elder Rajapaksa's presidency in 2009.
On a congratulatory phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, which is keen to check Chinese influence on its southern neighbour, Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed to deepen ties between the two countries.
"With the strong support of the people of Sri Lanka, I look forward to working with you closely to further enhance the long-standing cooperation between our two countries," he told Modi. "Sri Lanka and India are friends and relations."
The tourism-dependent nation of 21 million people has been struggling economically since deadly Islamist militant attacks on hotels and churches last year followed by lockdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Beijing, Jan 24: As China stepped up measures to control the spread of coronavirus, locking down Wuhan and Huanggang cities in the Hubei province where several Indians live, the Indian Embassy here has set up hotlines for their assistance.
Chinese officials assured all assistance, including food supply, to the Indians who stayed put in the province, the Indian Embassy here said in a press release on Thursday.
Wuhan and its surrounding area became the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak as the confirmed cases climbed to over 600 mostly from the city and the province with 17 deaths so far.
China has virtually sealed Wuhan and Huanggang cities, halting all public transport, including flight services, and advised people to stay at home and follow the precautions. The two cities put together have a population of over 17 million people.
Chinese officials said the measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the virus to other cities and the world.
Concerns arose for India too as about 700 Indian students, mostly studying medicine in different Chinese universities, resided in Wuhan and its neighbouring areas.
While many of them were believed to have left home for the Chinese New Year holidays, others remained in the city to complete their academic work. However, the exact number is not yet known.
“The Embassy of India has been receiving queries from Indians in Hubei province as well as their relatives in India in connection with the evolving situation of coronavirus infection in China,” the embassy press release said.
The embassy is in touch with relevant Chinese authorities in Beijing and Wuhan as well as Indians in Hubei Province, especially in Wuhan, it said.
“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation in China, including the advisories issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” the embassy said.
According to the embassy, Chinese authorities have assured all assistance to residents of Wuhan, including food supply.
“At present, it is reported that supermarkets (particularly those that are government-run) and e-commerce services, including food delivery, continue to remain operational in Wuhan,” it said.
The embassy has started two hotlines for those who wish to get in touch with the Mission in this regard in the following phone numbers: +8618612083629 and +8618612083617.
“All are advised to also keep track of the embassy's social media accounts (Twitter:@EoIBeijing; Facebook: India in China) for updates on this evolving situation,” the release said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign ministry said all assistance would be provided to consular officials of the foreign missions to ensure the safety of the foreigners in the country.
Asked whether China would consider any request from the respective countries to move their citizens out of Wuhan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, “We always help foreign consular officials in China in their official jobs, we offer them all the assistance and convenience necessary and we work to guarantee foreign citizens' legitimate rights and interest in China.”
He said while specific detailed would be provided by local officials, China in principle, has always handled issues according to domestic laws, international laws and bilateral consular agreements.
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