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

US Threatens Visa Overstayers With Lifetime Ban

Published

15 hours ago

July 14, 2025

Editor

The United States government has issued a severe warning to foreign nationals who overstay their visa validity.

The embassy also cautioned that such action could lead to deportation and a permanent ban from re-entering the country.

In a statement made available to the press on Monday, US immigration authorities reiterated their longstanding policy on visa compliance, saying, “If you remain in the United States beyond your authorised period of stay, you could be deported, and could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States.”

This warning comes amid rising migration figures, especially among young Africans, many of whom travel to the United States in pursuit of better education and economic opportunity.

According to recent data from the US Department of Homeland Security, visa overstays represent a significant portion of immigration violations annually, prompting tighter enforcement measures and renewed public awareness campaigns by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

However, under US immigration law, individuals who remain in the country unlawfully for more than 180 days can face a three- or ten-year ban and, in some cases, a lifetime bar from returning.

For Nigerians seeking to relocate or study in the US, the warning serves as a reminder to comply strictly with immigration terms, especially as global scrutiny on migration grows fiercer.

Headline

US Will Send Ukraine Patriot Air Defense Systems

Published

22 hours ago

July 14, 2025

Editor

President Donald Trump on Sunday said the United States would send Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine to help it fight off a Russian invasion, as his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin soured.

“We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need,” Trump said, without specifying how many, just two weeks after Washington said it would pause some arms deliveries to Kyiv.

“I haven’t agreed on the number yet, but they’re going to have some because they do need protection,” he told reporters.

The weapons delivery will be part of a new deal which Trump says will involve NATO paying the United States for some of the weapons it sends to Ukraine.

“We basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military and they’re going to pay us 100 percent for them,” Trump told reporters.

The US president repeated that he was “disappointed” in Putin.

When he first returned to the White House in January Trump insisted he could work with the Russian leader to end the war, but grew increasingly frustrated as Russian missiles continued with no ceasefire in sight.

“Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening,” said the disgruntled Trump.

US special envoy Keith Kellogg is due to begin his latest visit to Ukraine on Monday.

Trump also said he would meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday, when he previously said he would make a “major statement… on Russia.”

Headline

Canadian Province Quebec Stops New Sponsorships For Partners, Dependents Until 2026

Published

23 hours ago

July 14, 2025

Editor

The Quebec government, one of the 10 provinces in Canada, has suspended new applications under its family reunification program for spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partners, and dependent children aged 18 or over until June 25, 2026.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) on July 10, the province has reached its annual cap of 13,000 family sponsorship applications. Of these, 10,400 were allocated for immediate family members, while 2,600 slots were for parents, grandparents, and other eligible relatives.

The halt, effective from July 9, is aimed at aligning immigration levels with the province’s capacity to provide housing and public services. Quebec is currently grappling with a housing crunch, particularly in urban areas like Montreal.

Applications submitted after the cut-off will be returned unprocessed. However, exemptions apply for unmarried dependent children under 18, adopted children, orphaned minors, dependents with disabilities, and additions to ongoing applications.

MIFI advised potential sponsors to prepare in advance for the next intake and monitor updates ahead of the 2026 window.