Headline

New Year Stampede At Indian Shrine Kills Scores

Published

4 years ago

January 1, 2022

Twelve people were crushed to death in a stampede at an Indian religious shrine in the early hours of Saturday as tens of thousands of pilgrims massed to offer prayers, officials said.

The disaster unfolded in darkness at around 3:00 am (2130 GMT) on the packed route to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir, visited by millions every year as one of Hinduism’s most revered sites.

“People fell over each other… It was difficult to figure out whose leg or arms were tangled with whose,” survivor Ravinder told AFP by phone.

“I helped pick up eight bodies by the time ambulances arrived after about half an hour. I feel lucky to be alive but am still shaking with memory of what I saw,” he said.

Video footage showed terrified pilgrims clinging onto metal rafters to escape the rush and the blue lights of small minivan ambulances flashing in the darkness as they tried to rush to hospitals through huge crowds.

Officials sought to blame an alleged altercation between two groups of youths and a rush of people for New Year’s Day.

“Police and officials… were quick to respond (after the altercation), and the order within the crowd was immediately restored,” local police chief Dilbag Singh told the Press Trust of India news agency.

“But by that time, the damage had been done,” he said.

But witnesses said that the authorities were badly organised, something denied by the shrine’s management.

Around a dozen people were also injured.

– Holy sites –
Millions of shrines dot Hindu-majority India’s cities, towns and villages as well as remote sites in the Himalayas and jungles in the south.

Some are hugely important pilgrimage sites, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has invested heavily in improving infrastructure to ease access.

Before the pandemic, every day about 100,000 devotees would trek up a steep winding track to the narrow cave containing the shrine to Vaishno Devi.

“There were at least 100,000 people there. No one was checking registration slips of the devotees,” said Ravinder, who only gave one name.

“I have been there many times but (I have) never seen such a rush of people,” he said.

“It was only when some of us managed to lift a dead body up with our hands that people could see (what was happening) and made space for moving the bodies out.”

Another witness who came from Ghaziabad outside New Delhi with a group of around 10 people said there was clearly “mismanagement”.

“If (they had known) that so much crowding was happening, they should have stopped the people,” the man said without giving his name.

– Horse or helicopter –
In 2008, two stampedes in as many months in India left more than 370 Hindus dead. Others in Kerala in 2011 and in Madhya Pradesh two years later each killed more than 100.

The shrine to Vaishno Devi, a manifestation of Hindu goddess Vaishnavi, is in the hills some 60 kilometres from the city of Jammu. It saw 8.5 million visitors in 2018.

People travel to the nearby busy town of Katra and then trek upwards for around 15 kilometres on foot or by pony — there is also a helicopter service — along a winding track lined with stalls as well as monkeys.

Once they have reached the cave entrance they often have to wait for hours.

Modi, wearing a saffron scarf, rode a pony up to the shrine shortly before being elected in 2014.

He said on Twitter that he was “extremely saddened” by the tragedy.

AFP

Headline

Netanyahu Asks Israeli President For Pardon From Corruption Charges

Published

6 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Editor

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has asked the country’s president for a pardon in his long-running corruption case, saying the criminal proceedings are hindering his ability to govern and that ending the trial would benefit the nation.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has denied the bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges.

His lawyers told the president’s office that he still believes the legal process will eventually lead to a complete acquittal.

“My lawyers sent a request for pardon to the president of the country today. I expect that anyone who wishes for the good of the country support this step,” Netanyahu said in a brief video statement released by his Likud party.

The prime minister, who has been on trial for five years, has not admitted guilt, and neither have his lawyers. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu should not receive a pardon unless he admits wrongdoing, expresses remorse and immediately withdraws from political life.

Pardons in Israel are usually granted only after a conviction, but Netanyahu’s lawyers argued the president can step in when public interest is at stake, saying intervention could help heal national divisions and promote unity.

President Isaac Herzog’s office described the request as “extraordinary” with “significant implications”. His office said the president “will responsibly and sincerely consider the request” after receiving the necessary opinions.

United States President, Donald Trump, recently wrote to Herzog urging him to consider approving the pardon, describing the case against Netanyahu as “a political, unjustified prosecution”.

Herzog’s office said the request will be sent to the justice ministry’s pardons department to gather assessments that will be forwarded to the president’s legal adviser, who will prepare a recommendation.

(Reuters)

Headline

US: Four Killed, 10 Others Wounded In California Shooting

Published

18 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Editor

Four people were confirmed dead and 10 others injured after a shooting at a family gathering in California, United States on Saturday night, according to US police, who described the attack as a “targeted incident.”

The incident occurred inside a banquet hall in Stockton, northeast of San Francisco, shortly before 6:00 pm, spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, Heather Brent, told reporters during a news briefing.

Brent said the victims, ranging from “juveniles to adults,” were rushed to nearby hospitals, noting that details about the shooting remained limited.

“What we have confirmed at this time is that there was a banquet hall where a family was celebrating. We have 14 victims of this shooting. Four of those are deceased,” Brent said.

“Early indications suggest that this may be a targeted incident. Investigators are exploring all possibilities at this time.”

The sheriff’s office posted on social media that detectives were “working to determine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy.”

“We are urging anyone with information, video footage, or who may have witnessed any part of this incident to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office immediately,” the post added.

Authorities said no suspect had been identified at the time of the report.

California Governor Gavin Newsom was briefed on the development, his office said in a social media statement.

Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows there have been 504 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, including the Stockton attack.

(AFP)

Headline

FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

2 days ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

A partial travel ban applies to seven additional countries, though some temporary work visas remain allowed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.