Hafiz Saeed’s outfit partners with Pak’s Punjab for flood aid
LAHORE, Sep 4: Floods in Pakistan’s Punjab have left 37 lakh people homeless, prompting Hafiz Saeed’s political wing and the provincial government to become active in flood-affected districts. The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political wing of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has visited flood-affected areas with its members. Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist, has been in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019. The PMML has become even more active since Operation Sindoor, with the PML-N government’s patronage. Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reports that 37 lakh people have been affected by floods, with over 3,900 villages submerged in the last two weeks. The death toll has risen to 46 people since the flooding began on August 23. As many as 1.4 million residents and 1 million animals have been relocated to safer locations. (PTI)
15 hospitalised after bus crashes in London
LONDON, Sep 4: Fifteen people were hospitalised Thursday after a double-decker bus mounted the sidewalk and crashed outside one of London’s busiest railway stations. Police said another two people were treated by medics at the scene of the crash near Victoria Station. None of the injuries is believed to be life-threatening. The driver of the Route 24 bus was among the injured in the morning rush-hour collision. Footage showed the bus stopped with a smashed windshield and emergency vehicles, including police cars, ambulances and a fire engine in attendance. Witness Emit Suker said the bus “was going really fast and came off the road.” “There were about 15, 16 people inside the bus. People were screaming – it was terrible,” Suker said. The Metropolitan Police force appealed for witnesses to send in phone or dashcam footage as it investigates. There have been no arrests. Victoria is a major rail, subway and bus hub not far from Buckingham Palace, and is usually thronged with commuters and tourists. Two pedestrians have been killed by buses near the station since 2021. (AP)
Portugal mourns after Lisbon streetcar crash kills 15
LISBON, Sep 4: Portugal has declared a national day of mourning after a famous Lisbon streetcar derailed and killed 15 people in the capital’s worst accident in recent history. The 19th-century streetcar, known as Elevador da Gloria, is a popular tourist attraction and is usually packed with foreigners during the city’s steep hills. The accident occurred at the start of the evening rush hour, around 6 pm local time. The streetcar, which is classified as a national monument, is harnessed by steel cables and can carry more than 40 people, seated and standing. The company that operates the streetcar, Carris, has offered its condolences to the victims and their families and promised to take due diligence in finding the causes of the accident. Lisbon’s City Council halted operations of three other famous funicular streetcars while immediate inspections were carried out. (AP)