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25 Blasts rock Assam; 40 dead, over 200 injured
Twenty-five co-ordinated blasts rocked busy areas
of Guwahati and three other districts in Assam
on Thursday, killing at least 40 people and injuring
over 200 others, police and eyewitnesses said.
While four high-intensity blasts are reported
to have taken place in the capital Guwahati, three
each occurred in Barpeta and Kokrajhar, and one
in Bongaigaon district of the northeastern state.
The remaining blasts were reported to be of low-intensity.
In Guwahati, the blasts took place at Ganeshguri
flyover, Fancy Bazaar, Pan Bazaar and near the
district Deputy Commissioner's office. The authorities
have imposed curfew in the city following the
explosions. Also, the state’s borders have
been sealed. TV channels showed footage of extensive
damage, with thick black smoke billowing into
the sky. The mangled remains of cars littered
Guwahati's streets even as fire brigade personnel
and rescue workers rushed in to control the flames.
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US offers to send quake relief to Pakistan
The United States offered on Thursday to send
humanitarian relief to southwest Pakistan after
at least 170 people were killed and many others
displaced in a powerful earthquake. "We are
deeply saddened to learn about the earthquake...
Our sympathies go out to the victims of this tragedy
as well as to those who have been displaced by
it," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
told reporters.
"We are currently working with the Pakistani
government, the UN (United Nations) and other
potential donors to assess the damage," he
told the daily press briefing. "Once we are
able to make that assessment and also talk to
the Pakistani government about what their needs
might be, we will stand ready to provide an assistance
package," McCormack said. The earthquake
struck southwest Pakistan before dawn on Wednesday,
killing at least 170 people, destroying mud homes
and sending survivors screaming into the streets
in panic.
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Punjab sub-soil water level shows upward trend
There is some good news for Punjab. For the first
time in the past decade, the sub-soil water level
has shown an upward trend. In testing done by
a Central agency, results have shown that with
excessive monsoon this year, coupled with late
and regulated sowing of paddy, water levels in
some parts of Punjab have risen by up to 4 mts.
Over the past 10 years, excessive use of groundwater
for agricultural and other purposes had depleted
water levels to an alarming level. Though the
final report on the subject will be compiled in
November, the tests conducted from May to August
indicate that water in 62 per cent of Punjab’s
area has gone up between 0 to 2 mts, while some
areas in Bathinda district have recorded a rise
of up to 4 mts.
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Oil climbs on weak dollar, market rally
Oil prices climbed above $69 a barrel in Asia
on Thursday, steadily extending gains as the dollar
tumbled and stock markets in the region rallied
after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates
to boost the world's largest economy. Light, sweet
crude for December delivery was up $2.11 to $69.61
a barrel in electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore.
The contract overnight rose $5.56 to settle at
$68.29. Oil prices have fallen by about 54 percent
since peaking at nearly $150 a barrel in mid-July.
"Oil prices rose last night and we see a
marginal continuation of that trend in trade this
morning," said David Moore, commodity strategist
at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. But
Moore warned the rally may not be sustainable
amid persistent concerns of a global economic
recession.
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Anand wins World Chess championship
Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand on Wednesday retained
the world chess championship crown after drawing
with Russian challenger Vladimir Kramnik in the
11th game, capping a remarkable victory in a tension-filled
match in Bonn. Playing white, Anand did not give
any chance to a resurgent Kramnik who had got
a bit of life after winning the 10th game of the
match. (Watch)
Anand finished the match with an overall score of 6.5-4.5 points, which means
a handy two point lead for the Indian ace in the
12-game match. Kramnik, who had got a whiff of
life after winning the 10th game of the match,
could not do an encore with the black pieces and
turned out to be a graceful loser in the end.
Anand won three while Kramnik won one game in
the 11 games played in the match while rest of
the games were drawn.
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