Italy Ship Crash into Control Tower Leaves Three Dead

The crash of a container ship named the Jolly Nero into a control tower at the port of Genoa has left at least three people dead and several missing in the early hours of Wednesday.

The tower was said to have crashed into the water after the hit. Although, there weren’t an accurate number of people who were in the tower, witnesses put the number at 10 to 14 people.

A search operation is underway for survivors in the waters around the towers, while some victims have been rushed to the hospital. The cause of the collision has yet to be identified.

An investigation has begun into the incident, as the authorities have had the ship impounded and the captain taken in for interrogation.

“We are all utterly shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened before, we are desperate”, the ship owner Stefano Messina told journalists in tears. He arrived at the port immediately he got news of the tragic incident.

According to reports, the Jolly Nero is almost 240 metres long, 30 metres wide and weighs 40,500 tonnes. Owned by the Italian firm Ignazio Messina & Co., it was leaving the port with the help of tugboats in calm condition before the crash.

Port Authority and the Coast Guard staffs were in the tower working at the time of the crash. It is not clear if those still missing were in the sea, or trapped under the debris.

Explosion at a JUI-F Rally in Pakistan Leaves Many Injured

There have been reports of an explosion killing at least 15 people, and leaving several injured at a political rally of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam faction candidate, Munir Orakzai in Kurram Agency on Monday.

Although, Orakzai was believed to have escaped the bombing unhurt, a government administrator in the region claimed about 50 people were injured in the attack.

He also added that the bomb appeared to have been placed in the building where the rally was to be held by the national assembly candidates of JUI faction.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but, it is not news that the Pakistani Taliban has strongly opposed the elections, calling it “un-Islamic”, and carrying it out its threats to disrupt the activities of the main parties in the outgoing coalition.

Interim Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mir Hazar, has strongly condemned the attack, as the violence has continuously risen ahead of the general elections, with over 60 people killed in the attacks directed at the political parties and their candidates since April 11.

  

Car Bomb Explosion at Karachi Election Office Kills 10, Injures Dozens

A car bomb went off near the Awami National Party office in Mominabad area, Karachi, killing at least 10 people, and injuring dozens of others on Friday, according to reports.

Police spokesman, Imran Shaukat, said that the car bomb was an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) planted in a Suzuki car.

Officials reported that the target of the attack was the local candidate of secular Awami National Party, Bashir Jan, as the explosion occurred just minutes before the ANP candidate was about to give a speech. Although, He escaped the attack unhurt.

Unfortunately, Dr. Azizuddin Shamezai, brother to late cleric Mufti Nizamuddin Shamezai, was in his clinic when the explosion took out the ANP office. His body has been recovered amongst the dead.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman, Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack in telephone to AP news agency from an undisclosed location.

Just on Thursday, five people were killed in a similar fashion outside the office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement party (MQM), which makes Friday attack the second to hit the city within 24 hours.

For some time now, the Taliban has been issuing and implementing its threats towards both parties for backing military operations against its people.

The ANP and MQM were coalition partners in the outgoing Pakistan People’s Party-led government, which will see the national polls pass power to one through the ballot box, come May 11.

Bangladesh Building Collapse Leaves Dozens Dead and Several Others Trapped

Bangladesh media outlets and government officials reported that an eight-storey building on the outskirts of Dhaka collapsed a few hours ago killing dozens of people instantly, with an unknown number of others feared dead in Bangladesh.

Hiralal Roy, a senior emergency ward doctor at the nearby Enam Hospital, said that the death toll is now 82. So far, at least 700 people have also been treated at the hospital where victims are being transferred.

While hundreds of people are still trapped in the rubble, a massive rescue mission is underway, according to the officials on Wednesday.

The 8-storey building, which housed several government factories, collapsed on Wednesday morning in Savar, a Dhaka suburb. The incident, which is the latest in a series of mishaps, came only five months after a Tazreen Fashions factory fire burnt alive at least 112 government workers.

An Al Jazeera correspondent in Bangladesh described the scene as one of ‘complete mayhem and chaos.’ Hundreds of people are trapped under the rubble and are still being pulled out.

She also said, ‘the army has taken over rescuing people from the disaster. The army, police, and volunteers are working collectively to pull people out of the rubble.’

‘The situation was disastrous and at least 100 people are feared trapped’, Local police chief M Asaduzzaman said.

The accident has raised unanswered questions about the safety conditions in Bangladesh, because workers revealed at the media outlets that they had been forced to come to work by the supervisors on Wednesday, even when cracks were clearly visible in the building on the previous day.

Critics have constantly blamed the Bangladesh government, factory owners and global brands for paying no attention to the protection and safe working conditions of workers, while less is being said about the little wage they are being paid.

Labor unions are close to being extinct inside these factories. The unsolved death of Aminul Islam, a labor organizer who was tortured and killed, remains a mystery.