The mangled remains of the coaches, which were involved in the collision at Kantakapalli in Vizianagaram district on Sunday evening.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

At least 9 dead, 32 injured as two trains collide near Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh

At least nine people were killed and more than 32 injured after two trains collided on the Howrah-Chennai line in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh on October 29 evening, officials said. PTI quoted Biswajit Sahu, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the ECR as saying that at least nine people were killed in the incident. According to the information provided by Vizianagaram District Collector S. Nagalakshmi, at least 32 people were injured.

IND vs ENG | India wallops England to continue its majestic march

In the sprawling Gangetic Plains, India’s fertile run in the current World Cup continued unhindered. At the Ekana Stadium here on Sunday, the Men in Blue notched their sixth win on the trot, defending 229 for nine with tigerish zeal and keeping it well beyond England’s grasp. India bowled out the visitors for 129 in 34.5 overs and won by 100 runs.

Bomb blasts kill two, injure 41 worshippers at Jehovah’s Witnesses convention in Kerala’s Kalamassery

At least two successive explosions ripped through a crowded Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer convention at Kalamassery in Ernakulam on October 29 morning, killing two people and injuring 41 other worshippers. The police identified one of the deceased as 53-year-old Kumari from Thodupuzha. The other victim remained unidentified.

Shiv Sena MLAs disqualification row | Maharashtra Speaker to meet Solicitor-General ahead of Supreme Court hearing

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Sunday left for New Delhi to meet with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta ahead of the Supreme Court’s scheduled hearing on October 30 of the plea filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) faction, which has been urging the Speaker to expedite disqualification proceedings against legislators of the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena group.

Security tightened at Jewish places of worship

The Tamil Nadu police have deployed armed security guards at five Jewish places of worship across the State, Director-General of Police/Head of Police Force Shankar Jiwal has said. Following the alleged blasts at a convention centre in Kalamassery near Kochi on Sunday, which left one person dead and 30 others injured, the State police put in place access-control measures at Jewish settlements in different locations, including the one near Kodaikanal in Dindigul district.

Crowd storms Russian airport to protest flight from Israel

Hundreds of people on Sunday stormed into the main airport in Russia’s Dagestan region and onto the landing field to protest the arrival of an airliner from Tel Aviv, Israel, Russian news agencies and social media reported. Authorities closed the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, and police converged on the facility. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.

12 people die in a plane crash in the Brazilian Amazon

Twelve people aboard a small aircraft died in a crash Sunday morning in Brazil’s Amazon region. The plane went down near the main airport in Rio Branco, the capital of Acre state, according to the press office of Gov. Gladson Cameli. Video supposedly of the crash site on social media showed flaming wreckage in the forest.

If Shinde is disqualified, he will be elected via Legislative Council to continue as CM, says Fadnavis

Amid the raging disqualification tussle between the rival Shiv Sena groups, Maharashtra Deputy CM and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis exuded confidence that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde would not be disqualified, remarking that even if that happened in the unlikely event, then Mr. Shinde would be elected as an MLC and retain the top post.

U.S. says burden on Israel to distinguish between Hamas, Gaza civilians

Israel must protect innocent Gaza residents by distinguishing between Hamas militants and civilians in the Palestinian territory, the White House warned on Sunday ahead of a call between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s military has been urged to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, where health officials in the Hamas-run territory say more than 8,000 people have already died in three weeks of air strikes that Israel has conducted in retaliation for Hamas’s unprecedented deadly attacks on October 7.

New Delhi:

The death count from the series of blasts at a convention centre in Kerala’s Kalamassery increased to three on Monday.

A 12-year-old girl, who was among over 50 people injured in the blast at a Christian religious gathering on Sunday, died at the Kalamassery Government Medical College Hospital.

Libina from Kerala’s Ernakulam district was admitted to the hospital with severe burns covering 95 per cent of her body and was put on ventilator support.

Earlier, two women died and over 50 people were injured in multiple blasts at a Christian religious gathering in a convention centre in Kalamassery in the Ernakulam district. 

The blasts took place when hundreds of followers of the minority Christian group Jehovah’s Witnesses had assembled on the concluding day of a three-day-long prayer meeting.

Hours after the blasts, which sent shockwaves across the country and put Delhi and Mumbai on high alert, a man claiming to be a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, surrendered before police in Kerala’s Thrissur district.

IED used in Kerala blasts

The Kerala Police said that the Improvised Explosive Device was used in the blasts. The explosives were kept in a tiffin box, said sources.

According to officials, there were around 2,000 people at the convention centre when the blasts took place. Sunday was the last day of the three-day meeting, which started on October 27.

The blasts will now be probed by the National Investigation Agency, which specialises in counter-terrorism operations. The agency’s forensic team reached the spot on Sunday and collected evidence.

Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC as well as provisions of the Explosives Act and the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Thiruvananthapuram:

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday slammed senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar for his social media posts criticising him over a blast at a convention centre in Kalamassery, saying it was part of his communal stand.

Without naming Rajeev Chandrasekhar, he, during a press conference here, sought to know based on what information the union minister made such remarks against him and how a person holding a responsible position could come out with such statements while the investigation was going on.

During the brief press meet held at the Secretariat complex here, the Chief Minister also read out the English and Malayalam statements by Rajeev Chandrasekhar posted on his X handle.

“Dirty shameless appeasement politics by a discredited CM (and HM) @pinarayivijayan besieged by corruption charges.”

Sitting in Delhi and protesting against Israel, when in Kerala open calls by Terrorist Hamas for Jihad is causing attacks and bomb blasts on innocent Christians,” the minister posted on social media earlier in the day after the reports about the multiple blasts came out.

Pinarayi Vijayan alleged the statements were the reflection of an absolute communal outlook.

Indirectly attacking other BJP leaders who also responded on similar lines, he said those who were with the minister also came out with similar statements.

“A person who holds the post of minister should have shown at least some respect to the investigating agencies. Though the Kerala police is probing the incident now, we all saw reports that central agencies have also reached the site,” the Chief Minister said.

He further said they have taken a stand targeting a particular group, and it was part of their communal stand, but Kerala has never been on that agenda.

Noting that such statements should be viewed with seriousness, Pinarayi Vijayan also urged people not to fall for such campaigns.

He also warned stringent action against those who unleashed venomous campaigns through social media platforms with regard to the incident.

The Chief Minister also assured that whoever be the accused, they would be brought before the law to ensure maximum punishment.

Meanwhile, a 21-member special investigation team (SIT) of the Kerala Police, headed by ADGP Ajith Kumar, has been constituted to probe the case.

Two women died and 51 others were injured, some seriously, in multiple blasts at a Christian religious gathering in a convention centre near this port city on Sunday morning, sending shockwaves across Kerala.

The blasts took place at an international convention centre in Kalamassery, where hundreds of followers of the minority Christian group Jehovah’s Witnesses had assembled on the concluding day of a three-day-long prayer meeting.

A few hours after the incident, a man claiming to be a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, surrendered before police in Thrissur district of the state, saying that he carried out the multiple blasts.

Police has registered an FIR against unknown persons under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC as well as provisions of the Explosives Act and the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)