Civilian Deaths

US expresses concern over sentencing of 25 civilians by Pak military court

Expressing concern over the sentencing of 25 civilians by a military court in Pakistan, the United States on Monday said it lacked judicial independence, transparency and due process guarantees. The United States is deeply concerned that Pakistani civilians have been sentenced by a military tribunal for their involvement in protests on May 9, 2023. These military courts lack judicial independence, transparency, and due process guarantees, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. The United States continues to call on Pakistani authorities to respect the right to a fair trial and due process, as enshrined in Pakistan's constitution, he added. However, a close aide of President-elect Donald Trump described it as too little and too weak. You are late. And this is too little and too weak. Speak normally. Free Imran Khan, said Richard Grenell, who served as acting director of national intelligence under President Trump in 2020 and was the US ambassador to Germany from 2018 to

38 dead, 100+ missing in Congo after ferry capsizes in Busira river

Thirty-eight people are confirmed dead, and over 100 remain missing in Congro after an overloaded ferry -- full of people returning home for Christmas -- capsized in the river Burisa late on Friday night, according to local officials and eyewitnesses. Twenty people are confirmed to have been rescued so far. The boat was travelling in the northeast of the Congo as part of a convoy of other vessels, and the passengers were primarily merchants returning home for Christmas, said Joseph Joseph Kangolingoli, the mayor of Ingende, the last town before the site of the accident. The capsizing occurred less than four days after another boat in the northeast of the country capsized, killing 25. According to Ndolo Kaddy, a resident of Ingende, the ferry contained "more than 400 people because it made two ports, Ingende and Loolo, on the way to Boende, so there is reason to believe that there were more deaths". Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those

Russian missile strike damaged vessel carrying grain in port, says Ukraine

The ministry said this was the 20th civilian vessel to be damaged by Russian attacks

Probe into EY India office reveals it lacked labour welfare permit

The law caps the maximum working hours for adults at nine hours each day and 48 hours each week

Lucknow building collapse: 3 more bodies recovered, toll rises to 8

The death toll in the building collapse here climbed to eight with rescuers pulling out three more bodies from the debris, officials said on Sunday. Twenty-eight people were injured when the three-storey building housing godowns and a motor workshop collapsed in the Transport Nagar area here on Saturday evening. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) recovered the bodies of three people, who were identified as Raj Kishore (27), Rudra Yadav (24) and Jagrup Singh (35), during the rescue operation, Relief Commissioner G S Naveen said. The operation is still underway. A senior district administration official said they are now focusing on ensuring that no one else is trapped under the rubble. Police said the building was constructed around four years ago and some construction work was underway at the time of the incident. Most of the victims were working on the ground floor when the incident occurred at 4:45 pm on Saturday. The injured have been admitted to various hospitals, inclu

3 dead, 3 others injured after overspeeding car overturns in Mumbai

The deceased have been identified as Pramod Shankar Prasad (25), Harichandan Dillip Das (23) and Hussain Sheikh (40)

Plea in Delhi HC concerning death of woman, child in waterlogged drain

The plea seeks accountability from the contractor responsible for the drain and requests a comprehensive audit of ongoing drain construction projects, including flood mitigation measures

Drishti IAS to provide Rs 10L each to families of deceased UPSC aspirants

Three UPSC aspirants died after a basement library at Rau's IAS campus was flooded during heavy rain on July 27 in Old Rajendra Nagar

Ghatkopar hoarding crash: Maharashtra govt sets up panel to conduct inquiry

The Maharashtra government on Monday set up a six-member committee to conduct a high-level inquiry into the illegal hoarding collapse tragedy that killed 17 persons in Ghatkopar area of Mumbai, officials said. The committee is headed by Dilip Bhosle, former Chief Justice of the High Court, and includes the Director General of Police, Additional Commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a structural engineer from IIT Bombay, an Income Tax Officer, and a Chartered Accountant. At least 17 people were killed and 74 injured after a huge iron hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar on May 13 amid a dust storm. The committee's mandate, as detailed in the order issued by the state Home department, includes investigating the roles of the entities responsible for the hoarding and the petrol pump. This will involve examining their previous records, financial transactions, and any potential collusion with officials from various agencies. The committee is also tasked wi

40 mn people living with HIV in 2023, over 9 mn not getting treatment: UN

Nearly 40 million people were living with the HIV virus that causes AIDS last year, over 9 million weren't getting any treatment, and the result was that every minute someone died of AIDS-related causes, the UN said in a new report launched Monday. While advances are being made to end the global AIDS pandemic, the report said progress has slowed, funding is shrinking, and new infections are rising in three regions: the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America. In 2023, around 6,30,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses, a significant decline from the 2.1 million deaths in 2004. But the latest figure is more than double the target for 2025 of fewer than 2,50,000 deaths, according to the report by UNAIDS, the UN agency leading the global effort to end the pandemic. Gender inequality is exacerbating the risks for girls and women, the report said, citing the extraordinarily high incidence of HIV among adolescents and young women in parts of .

NDRF developing app, national plan to bring down number of drowning deaths

Drowning accounts for more than 100 deaths per day or about 38,000 fatal casualties in a year in the country and the NDRF has decided to minimise these incidents by preparing a national contingency plan and a mobile app, a senior officer said Friday. On Thursday, sixteen people died, including 12 students and two teachers, when their picnic boat capsized in the Harni lake on the outskirts of Vadodara city in Gujarat. "We are taking the help of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for this task and are also looking at getting an in-house app that will work as a 'heat map' for NDRF teams. "As soon as there is a blip on the online crime tracking system (CCTNS) about a drowning incident, we will get to know the police station and the state where the incident has taken place," NDRF Director General Atul Karwal told PTI. He said that the agency's efforts to curtail such incidents include visits to the drowning spots and finding out solutions and safety measures with the help of local

China's population drops for a second straight year as deaths jump

China's population dropped by 2 million people in 2023 in the second straight annual drop as births fell and deaths jumped after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the government's statistics bureau said on Wednesday. The number of deaths more than doubled to 690,000. Demographers were expecting a sharp rise in deaths because of COVID-19 outbreaks that started at the end of the previous year and continued through February of last year. The total population stood at 1.4 billion, the statistics bureau said. The drop in births reflected a fall in the birth rate that is a long-running economic and societal challenge for China. The population is aging steadily, which could slow economic growth over time and challenge the nation's ability to provide for a larger elderly population with fewer workers. The number of births fell for the seventh year, though by less than in previous years. About 9 million babies were born last year, half of the total in 2016. China, which once sought to .

Russia unleashes one of biggest aerial barrages against Ukraine: Zelenskyy

Russia launched about 110 missiles as well as drones against Ukrainian targets during the night Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, killing at least seven civilians in what appeared to be one of the biggest aerial barrages of the 22-month war. Most of the incoming missiles and drones were shot down during the roughly 18-hour onslaught, according to Zelenskyy. However, scores of people were injured and an unknown number of people were buried under rubble, Ukrainian officials said. Among the buildings damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks and schools. Zelenskyy said the Kremlin's forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles. Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal, Zelenskyy said on sopcial media platform X, formerly Twitter. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russia apparently launched everything they have in the attack. If Zelenskyy's count is confirmed, it would be the

Army initiates Court of Inquiry over killing of 3 civilians in J&K's Poonch

The Army has initiated a Court of Inquiry as police lodged a murder case against unknown persons over the death of three civilians picked up for questioning by the force after three soldiers died in a terrorist attack in Poonch recently, official sources said on Monday. In a related development, a brigadier-level officer was shifted and action is being taken against three officers of 48 Rashtriya Rifles as the Army has taken a serious note of the incident which sparked allegations of custodial torture and widespread outrage. The soldiers lost their lives when their vehicles were ambushed by terrorists at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Buffliaz in the Surankote area of Poonch on December 21. Three civilians, aged between 27 and 42, were allegedly picked up by the Army for questioning following the attack and they were found dead on December 22. Video clips purportedly showing their torture were shared widely on social media. In a post on X on December 23, the Additional ...

Nagaland civilian killings: Centre denies permission to prosecute army men

Human rights group and state legislator protest decision, say 'justice is being denied'

Stroke 2nd commonest cause of death in India with one death every 4 mins

Stroke is the second commonest cause of death in India with the country recording one stroke death every four minutes, neurologist M V Padma Srivastava said. Speaking at an event, Srivastava stated India bore the maximum burden of stroke with 68.6 per cent incidence of stroke, 70.9 per cent stroke deaths and 77.7 per cent disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost. She was speaking at an oration organised at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to celebrate International Women's Day. Srivastava delivered the oration on "stroke care and its primary preventive methods in poor resource settings in India". "Stroke is the second commonest cause of death in India. About 1,85,000 strokes occur every year in India with nearly one stroke every 40 seconds and one stroke death every 4 minutes. "According to Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), India bore the most of the burden of stroke with 68.6 per cent incidence of stroke, 70.9 per cent stroke deaths and 77.7 per cent disability adjusted life years ..

Director have to face criminal trial: Gujarat HC on Morbi bridge collapse

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday said that even if Oreva Group pays compensation to kith and kin of Morbi bridge collapse victims, criminal trial against its director will continue

74% dip in insurgency in Northeast, civilian deaths down by 89%: Minister

There has been a 74 per cent reduction in insurgency-related violence, 60 per cent reduction in attacks on security forces and 89 per cent decrease in civilian deaths in the Northeast, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Thursday. Addressing a press conference here, the Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) said about 8,000 youths, who were involved with insurgent groups, have surrendered and have joined the mainstream, welcoming a better future for themselves and their families. "There has been a 74 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents, 60 per cent reduction in incidents of attacks on security forces and 89 per cent reduction in civilian deaths in the Northeast," he said. Reddy said the development of the Northeast has been made a major priority by the central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the region more than 50 times in last eight years and 74 ministers have also visited the region over 400 times. "The Northeast was previou

2 civilians killed, 1 injured as Army sentry opens fire in J-K's Rajouri

Two civilians were killed and one person was injured when an Army sentry allegedly opened fire on them in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday morning, officials said. The victims, who were reportedly working as porters with the Army, were approaching the alpha gate of an Army camp in the district around 6.15 am when they were fired upon, they said. The officials said Shalinder Kumar and Kamal Kishore, both residents of Rajouri, died in the firing, while another person was injured. The cause of the firing is not yet known, they said, adding that the situation in the area is tense and some agitated people pelted stones at the camp. Reinforcements have been rushed in and further details are awaited, the officials said.

M23 kills 131 civilians including 17 women, 12 children in east Congo: UN

In eastern Congo last week, M23 rebels killed at least 131 civilians, including 17 women and 12 children, a UN spokesman said