Thousands flee intensifying India-Pakistan clashes

Wednesday, 7 January 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Thousands of Indians have fled from their homes as fighting between India and Pakistan spread along a 200-km stretch of the border in the disputed region of Kashmir.

An Indian villager clears the debris from his house, which locals said was damaged by firing from the Pakistan side of the border, at Bainglad village in Samba sector, south of Jammu – REUTERS Tension between the nuclear-armed rivals has risen since Prime Minister Narendra Modi called off peace talks in August and clashes along stretches of their border have been erupting intermittently since October. At least 10 Indian and Pakistani soldiers and civilians have been killed in fighting over the past week. About 6,000 civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir fled from their homes late on Monday as fighting moved to civilian areas, said Shantmanu, the divisional commissioner of Jammu region. About 4,000 left after fighting began last week.

Swine flu claims 16 lives so far in southern India

Reuters: The number of death cases due to swine flu in southern India climbed to 16 on Tuesday (6) after one more person succumbed to the disease. A total of 105 cases have been reported so far in southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Dr. K. Subhakar, who has been appointed as coordinator of swine flu for both the states, said seven fresh cases were reported on Monday (5), one from Andhra Pradesh while remaining others from Telangana. “And there were (are) 16 deaths altogether, 11 from Telangana and five from Andhra Pradesh. In view of the low temperatures in the environment the virus is spreading,” said Subhakar in southern Hyderabad city. Swine flu is caused by the H1N1 virus. H1N1 symptoms are similar to those produced by other influenza viruses - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches and respiratory problems. The 2009 global outbreak of swine flu, or H1N1, claimed over 17,000 lives including 2,725 in India between May 2009 and November 2010.