09:06 Amritsar tragedy: Locals demand action against train driver:
The situation remained tense on Sunday as locals continued with their sit-in at Joda phatak in Amritsar where 59 people were mowed down by a train.
The locals had started protesting Saturday, raising slogans against the state government and demanding action against the train’s driver, a day after the accident.
Police said locals are sitting on railway tracks and do not want to leave.
“We hope that the normalcy will be restored in the area by Sunday evening as the number of protestors have come down since Saturday,” a senior police officer said.
The Punjab Police has deployed its personnel, including commandoes, to manage the crowd. The Rapid Action Force is also present in the Joda Patak area.
The district administration has said out of 59 people who were mowed down by the speeding Jalandhar-Amritsar train Friday, 40 have been identified.
The process of identifying the other persons is underway, it said.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who visited the accident site Saturday, has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. — PTI
Image: Local people gather at the scene of the accident along train tracks in Amritsar on Saturday, October 20. Photograph: PTI Photo
08:54 Encounter underway in J-K’s Kulgam:
An encounter is currently underway between terrorists and the security forces in Larro area of Kulgam district of South Kashmir.
One or two terrorists are believed to be holed up in a house.
The encounter comes two days after two terrorists were gunned down when they tried to attack the police in Kralhaar area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir.
The police recovered two AK-47 rifles with Under Barrel Grenade Launcher, three grenades, two Chinese pistols and other weapons from their possession. — ANI
08:16 Trump says US to pull out of nuclear arms treaty with Russia:
United States President Donald Trump on Saturday confirmed that the US will be pulling out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a nuclear deal signed between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War.
“We’re going to terminate the agreement and we’re going to pull out. We’ll have to develop those weapons,” The Hill quoted Trump, as saying.
Trump further claimed that Russia has been violating the treaty and has not adhered to the agreement.
The INF was signed in 1986 between former US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and allows the US to counter Chinese efforts to accumulate arms in the Pacific.
It, however, prevents Washington from deploying new weapons in response.
A nuclear strategy document from the Trump administration, which was accessed by The Hill, noted that Russia’s decision to violate the INF Treaty and other commitments was a clear indication of the fact that Russia has “rebuffed repeated US efforts to reduce the salience, role, and the number of nuclear weapons.”
The US’ withdrawal from the treaty comes a week ahead of National Security Adviser John Bolton’s trip to Moscow to meet with top Russian officials. — ANI
Source: Rediff