Cyclone Thane crosses Tamil Nadu coast, 26 killed

It left a trail of destruction and throwing life out of gear in Cuddalore district and neighbouring Union Territory of Puducherry. Cuddalore, about 170 km from here on the east coast, bore the brunt of the cyclonic fury, accounting for nine deaths, Puducherry seven and Chennai two in rain-related incidents such as wall collapse and electrocution, officials said. Thane crossed the coast between Cuddalore and Puducherry bringing in its wake torrential rains accompanied by gale that uprooted hundreds of trees and electric poles, snapping power supply in several areas. The tiny Puducherry was cut off from neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu with the uprooted trees blocking road traffic. After the landfall, Thane moved further westward and weakened rapidly into a deep depression and lay centered at about 100 km west of Cuddalore, the regional weather office here said. "The system is likely to move westwards and weaken further," it said forecasting heavy rainfall for the next 12-24 hours in different parts of the state and Puducherry and advised fishermen against venturing into sea due to rough conditions. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa sanctioned a sum of Rs 150 crore towards immediate relief works including putting back in shape the infrastructure which has taken a hit and directing four of her cabinet colleagues to visit affected districts to oversee relief work. Train services from southern Tamil Nadu were hit as many of them ran late or were stopped in the nearby station while flights to international destinations by private carriers including to Kuwait and Malaysia from Chennai were cancelled. Puduchery District Collector S B Deepak Kumar said that rescue operations were in full swing in the union territory. Uprooted trees were being removed from the roads. The regional weather office here said, "The very severe cyclonic storm  THANE  over southwest Bay of Bengal moved further westward and crossed north Tamil Nadu coast between Cuddalore and Puducherry between 6.30 and 7.30 AM on Friday." It had now weakened into a severe cyclonic storm and lay about 30 km west of Cuddalore and 35 km southwest of Puduchery, it said, adding wind speeds of upto 140 kph was recorded during this period. "Under the influence of this system, rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places would occur over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during next 12 hours and over north interior Tamil Nadu during next 24 hours," a weather bulletin said. Further, isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur over south coastal Andhra Pradesh during next 12 hours and over Rayalseema, north Kerala and south Karnataka during the next 24 hours. Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu was the most affected, with damaged roads rendering it difficult for rescue teams including those from National Disaster Response Force and Fire and Rescue Services to reach the cyclone hit fishing hamlets. District Collector Amuthavalli said even as communication lines remained affected, over 5000 houses of fishermen had been damaged.

Syrian forces kill 25 protesters

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied near Damascus on Thursday as Syrian security forces killed at least 25 civilians nationwide and peace monitors spread out to areas hit by unrelenting violence. Some 30,000 people gathered in a square outside the Grand Mosque in Douma just north of the capital, prompting security forces to pull back from previously held positions, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Earlier, as Arab League observers arrived at Douma city hall, security forces opened fire on protesters outside the mosque, killing at least four and wounding several others, the rights group said. The observers, on the third day of a mission aimed at halting the bloodshed in Syria, also visited the central city of Hama, Idlib in the northwest, and Daraa in the south, according to Syrian television. SANA, the official news agency, said observers visited the Baba Amro neighbourhood of Homs, Harasta city, Daraa and Hama provinces "and met a number of citizens." Daraa is the cradle of the unprecedented nine-month protest movement against President Bashar al-Assad s regime, which has ruled Syria with an iron fist for 11 years. The United States said Thursday the presence of Arab monitors in Syria had offered some benefit to protesters even if it had failed to halt the regime s deadly crackdown. According to UN estimates announced in early December, more than 5,000 people have been killed in the Syrian government crackdown on dissent since mid-March. Activists say that more than 70 civilians have been killed by security forces since a first group of monitors arrived on Monday in Syria on a month-long renewable mission to implement an Arab League peace plan. France, the United States and Human Rights Watch have warned the Syrian regime against trying to hide the facts from the monitors, and Paris charged that the team was not being allowed to see what was happening in Homs. The League mission is part of an Arab plan endorsed by Syria after weeks of stalling. It calls for the withdrawal of armed forces from towns and residential districts, a halt to violence and the release of detainees.

Car Bomb kills 12, injures 30 in Quetta, Pakistan

At least 12 people were killed and 30 were injured in a suspected car bomb attack near the house of former federal minister Naseer Mengal s son Shafiq Mengal on Arbab Karam Khan Road, Quetta Pakistan. Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has taken the responsibility of the deadly blast. Many houses caught fire after the blast. The shockwave of the blast was felt in long distances and nearby shops were also damaged. The fire also broke out after the blast which swathed many nearby houses and shops. Firefighters reached the site and were busy trying to extinguish it. Ambulances and paramedic staff were busy shifting injured to hospitals. Police said the majority of the dead were passers-by making it even harder to piece together what happened. "We are facing difficulties to know about the nature of the blast because many of the witnesses who were present at the scene have been killed," police said. Soon after the blast, private guards hired by the former minister s son, Shafiq-Ur-Rehman, opened fire and gunshots rang out at the scene for up to half an hour. A photo journalist for a local news agency was wounded by the firing in the chaotic aftermath of the blast.