RAE BARELI :
At least 34 people were killed and about 150 others injured today when the engine and two adjoining coaches of the Dehradun-Varanasi Janata Express derailed near Bachrawan Railway Station in this district.
Though the exact cause of the derailment was not immediately known, officials at the mishap spot said the train apparently overshot a signal because of a possible brake failure before coming off the rails. The scene of the accident that occured at 9.10 AM was some 50 km from Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow.
“The death toll has mounted to 34. While 30 persons died in Rae Bareli, four were declared brought dead in Lucknow,” UP Minister Manoj Kumar Pandey said. Officials feared that the casualties could go up.
One of the coaches was a general compartment, which lay mangled along the tracks as rescuers used gas cutters to rip apart the wreckage to find trapped people. Most of the casualties were from this coach, officials said.
The other was a guard compartment which is likely to have been vacant. If it was not vacant, the number of casualties would have been higher, the officials said.
The locomotive driver apparently overshot the signal and as a result, the engine and two adjoining coaches derailed, Railway Spokesperson Anil Saxena said in Delhi.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner Railway Safety of Northern Circle to ascertain the cause of the derailment.
The Railways announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed in the accident. While Rs 50,000 will be given to those injured seriously, Rs 20,000 will be given to people with minor injuries. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI:
Swine flu claimed the lives of 33 more persons pushing the toll towards the 1900 mark, while the total number of persons affected by the H1N1 virus touched 32,000.
According to the Union Health Ministry, as on March 19, 1874 persons have perished to the disease while the number of affected persons across the states stood at 31,681.
The Ministry had yesterday said that, as on March 18, 1,841 people have succumbed to the disease while the number of people affected by the H1N1 virus stood at 31,156.
In Gujarat, the number of people who have died of the disease has climbed to 404 while the number of affected persons were 6301.
In Rajasthan, which is another of the worst affected states, 397 people have died while the number of affected persons stood at 6331.
Union Health ministry said that the death toll in Maharashtra is 334 with 3,907 people having contracted the H1N1 virus. In Madhya Pradesh, 274 people have perished with 2040 persons affected.
The toll in Telangana has reached 75 with the death of another person while in Karnataka, the death toll has risen to 77. One more person has died in Punjab taking the death toll to Fifty-three.
The toll in West Bengal is 23 while the toll has increased to 36 in Uttar Pradesh. Jammu and Kashmir has seen 16 swine flu fatalities. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI:
President Pranab Mukherjee today strongly condemned the terrorist attack on a police station in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The President called upon security forces to remain vigilant against any threat to the peace, prosperity and security of the nation.
He conveyed heartfelt condolences to the grieving families of those who have lost their lives in the attack and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Two terrorists dressed in Indian Army uniform crossed the international border, hijacked a jeep and stormed a police station in Kathua district, killing four people early today. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI:
India today said there will never be any scope for third party involvement in Indo-Pak issues while asserting that it was committed to resolving all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, through bilateral dialogue.
“We are committed to resolving all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, bilaterally with Pakistan through peaceful dialogue and there was never and there will never be any scope, whatsoever, for involvement of any third party,” Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry, Syed Akbaruddin, said.
He was asked about the consultations between Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit and Kashmiri separatist leaders, who are also invited for the Pakistan National Day on March 23.
Justifying the invitation to separatist leaders, Basit had said, “There is nothing new about it. We always invite our Indian and Kashmiri friends to the reception. We do not find anything wrong so please take it in the same spirit.”
On Basit’s visit to Kolkata where he talked about setting up of a Pakistan Consulate, Akbaruddin said it cannot happen without the permission of the Centre and “at this stage there is nothing on the table”. (AGENCIES)

ADELAIDE:
Misbah-ul-Haq and Shaid Afridi left behind many unfulfilled dreams in their successful careers as they bowed out of one-day international cricket after Pakistan crashed to a six-wicket loss to Australia in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, here today.
The duo had called time on their respective ODI careers before the 50-over showpiece event and if Misbah continues to play in Tests, Afridi will feature only in T20 cricket.
The 40-year-old Misbah served Pakistan cricket for long but failed to register a single ODI ton in 162 matches since making his international debut in 2001 in a Test match against New Zealand.
An unflappable middle-order mainstay, Misbah has 42 ODI half-centuries to his credit but doesn’t have a single 50-over ton under his belt. He has accumulated 5,122 runs — the most runs by any player in ODIs without a ton.
The captain managed 34 in Pakistan’s disappointing 213 all out against Australia in the last-eight game at the Adelaide Oval.
Afridi, who shot to fame with a then fastest 37-ball hundred against Sri Lanka in his debut ODI series in 1996, became famous as ‘boom boom’ who blew away any opposition with his attacking batting.
The 35-year-old all-rounder, also came in handy with his quickish leg-spinners, played 398 ODIs to manage 8,064 runs and 395 wickets.
Afridi also captained the side in the 2011 World Cup, where Pakistan lost to eventual champions India in the semi-finals at Mohali.
The flamboyant right-hander will also be remembered for his striking good looks and a steady stream of female fans around the world. (AGENCIES)

JAMMU: Former chief minister Omar Abdullah today accused BJP and PDP of engineering communal polarisation of votes and spreading fear in the minds of people during recently-held assembly polls.
“In Kashmir Valley and Muslim-dominated areas of Jammu region, especially the Chenab Valley, PDP created fear psychosis about BJP and RSS trampling and mutilating their distinct identity to garner votes but later joined them as per a prefixed game-plan,” Abdullah said at the merger of the state unit of Samajwadi Party with National Conference.
Omar said Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed pretended to be engaged in anti-saffron campaigning but did not tell his voters that PDP was going to forge an alliance with BJP.
“In fact, he projected both BJP and RSS as the number one enemy of Muslims and subtly coerced them to vote for his party. After bagging 28 seats, he virtually threw his party into the BJP’s lap by dramatising and delaying Government formation.”
Omar attacked BJP, saying it bartered everything for the loaves of power.
“At the end of the day, what BJP has gained out of an alliance with PDP and with what face they will be returning back to their constituencies after making tall promises and generating euphoria?” he asked.
He said PDP and BJP has polarised the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and caused enormous damage to its secular fabric. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI:
The crucial bill that provides legal framework for auction of coal blocks was passed by Parliament today, replacing an ordinance that was to expire on April 5.
The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015 was approved by Rajya Sabha after several amendments moved by the Congress and Left were defeated, on the last day of the first half of Budget session.
The bill was passed with 107 members voting in favour and 62 against in the Upper 245-member House where the ruling BJP-led coalition is in a minority, indicating that some non-NDA parties back the Government.
Lok Sabha had already passed the bill on March 4.
However, the Government was on tenterhooks till the Rajya Sabha cleared it as today was the last day of the first leg of Budget session and the ordinance was set to expire on April five.
The bill, when introduced in the Upper House after passage in Lok Sabha, was sent to a Select Committee on March 11 as the opposition parties insisted on proper scrutiny and changes in the proposed legislation. The Committee gave its report on Wednesday.
The legislation replaces an Ordinance issued by the Government on October 21 last year and then re-promulgated on December 26 after the Supreme Court cancelled allocation of 204 coal blocks terming the allocations as fatally flawed.
Passage of the bill provides legal framework for the auction of the coal blocks.
Government has already auctioned 33 blocks garnering a revenue to the tune of over Rs 2.13 lakh crore, surpassing the former CAG Vinod Rai’s estimates of Rs 1.86 lakh crore loss.
Amendments were moved by Congress members Digvijay Singh and P Bhattacharya, CPI-M’s P Rajeev, K N Balagopal, T N Seema and Tapan Kumar Sen and CPI’s D Raja but all of them were defeated. Some members, including DMK Tiruchi Siva, withdrew their amendments. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI :  Taking a dig at its ally PDP, Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said the terrorist attack in Kathua should be an “eye opener” for those who have been pressing for withdrawal of AFSPA from Jammu and Kashmir and called for taking “appropriate” steps to contain terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Reacting strongly, senior Congress leader from the state Ghulam Nabi Azad termed the attack as a “backstabbing” by the Pakistan and said militancy and peace can’t go hand-in-hand.
Union Minister Singh, who is an MP from Udhampur in J-K, said the attack reflected that Pakistan was refusing to mend its ways and it was time to take an “appropriate position” to deal with problem of cross border terror.
“As an elected representative from Kathua, two important observations come to my mind that possibly Pakistan is refusing to mend its ways and, therefore, we would have to take an appropriate position to that extent.
“Secondly and most importantly, I think this should also be an eye opener and loud and clear message for those political votaries who have been advocating revocation of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, partially or wholly,” Singh said.
He said the Centre has been adopting “zero tolerance” policy towards terrorist activities.
A ‘fidayeen’ squad of militants in Army fatigues stormed a police station in Kathua, killing three security personnel and leaving 11 others, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police injured, in the wee hours today. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI :  President Pranab Mukherjee today condemned terror strike on a police station in Jammu region and asked security forces to remain vigilant against any threat to peace and security of the nation.
Expressing condolence to the grieving families of those who lost their lives in the attack, the President called upon security forces to remain vigilant against any “threat to the peace, prosperity and security of our nation.”
President Mukherjee also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Militants stormed a police station in Kathua district of Jammu region this morning killing four people including three security personnel. (AGENCIES)