Afghanistan provincial government: road accident in western Afghanistan kills 71
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UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Nearly 80 Afghans, including children dead after bus crash via Iran
A Kabul-bound bus crashed late Tuesday night during a long ride on treacherous Afghani terrain after colliding with another vehicle and a motorbike near the Iranian border in the western Afghan province of Herat. Photo by Stringer/EPA Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Nearly 80 Afghan nationals, including more than a dozen children, died in a fiery bus crash on its way out of Iran to Afghanistan in Iran's ongoing push to rid millions of foreigners. The Kabul-bound bus crashed late Tuesday night during a long ride on treacherous Afghani terrain after colliding with another vehicle and a motorbike near the Iranian border in the western Afghan province of Herat. According to officials, 78 people died that included 17 children. "The car was carrying fuel and it caught fire after a head-on collision with the bus, fully loaded with passengers," according to Ahmadullah Muttaqi, a government communications official in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, told NBC and The New York Times. Muttaqi added the bus also caught fire and "the majority of people on the bus died of burn injuries." On Wednesday, the bodies were transferred to Afghanistan's capital Kabul. Video footage by Afghan news outlet Etilaatroz depicted the large bus engulfed in flames as firefighters battled the blaze and Afghans joined in to aid and its charred remain later hauled away by a larger truck. "These Afghan refugees were returning home after spending a long time in Iran, but they could not reach their destination as their bus met with a tragic accident," Muttaqi stated. The Iranian regime has cracked down on undocumented nationals. It comes as Iran has moved to expel nearly 2 million Afghan nationals from within its border, some who have lived in Iran for decades. More than 1.2 million since June have forcibly been returned to troubled Afghanistan as Iranian officials have accused Afghans of spying for Israel following its brief military conflict around spring.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Councils consider legal bids as ministers face Epping hotel ruling aftermath
Councils across England are considering legal challenges as the Government scrambles to draw up contingency plan for housing asylum seekers set to be removed from a hotel in Epping, Essex. Ministers are now bracing for further legal challenges from councils after Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction by the High Court on Tuesday. The ruling blocks asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town, and current residents must be removed by September 12. On Wednesday, some Conservative and Reform UK-led authorities said they were looking at their options to take similar action. Conservative-run Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire has said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency', while Tory-run East Lindsey District Council in Lincolnshire said officers are investigating and 'will take appropriate action'. Reform UK-led councils, West Northamptonshire Council and Staffordshire County Council, also said the authorities would look at the options available after the High Court ruling. Ian Cooper, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: 'The control and protection of our country's borders is a national issue, but the impact of central government policy is felt in communities across Staffordshire.' It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has indicated that councils run by his party will consider their own legal challenges. However, a number of these councils do not have responsibility for planning permission, which may limit their ability to launch legal challenges. Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel after it had been at the centre of protests in recent weeks. The demonstrations came after an asylum seeker, who was staying there, was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He denies the charge and is due to stand trial later this month. The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction could 'interfere' with the department's legal obligations, and lawyers representing the hotel's owner argued it would set a 'precedent'. Reacting to the ruling on Wednesday, security minister Dan Jarvis told Times Radio: 'We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do.' Asked whether other migrant hotels have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: 'Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks. 'Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) District Council have. 'I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers. 'That's precisely why the Government has made a commitment that, by the end of this Parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.' On Wednesday shadow home secretary Chris Philp also pressed ministers not to re-house the asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel into other hotels or flats 'sorely needed by young people'. In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Mr Philp wrote: 'Up and down the country people are furious about the number of illegal migrants being housed in hotels – which rose in the nine months following the election under Labour. 'People are also concerned that you are now moving people from hotels into apartments and other accommodation which is sorely needed by young people here who are struggling under this Labour Government.' The Conservative MP also called for an emergency Cabinet meeting to set up plans to deport migrants crossing the Channel on arrival. Meanwhile Mr Farage has called for peaceful protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers to put pressure on local authorities to take the same route as Epping Forest. Writing in The Telegraph, he said: 'Now the good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain. 'Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex. 'Let's hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels, and put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out; we now know that together we can win.' The latest Home Office data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. New figures – published among the usual quarterly immigration data release – are expected on Thursday, showing numbers in hotels at the end of June. Figures for hotels published by the Home Office date back to December 2022 and showed numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023 when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Firefighters battled deadly Fripp fire in extreme heat for hours. Still no cause
Insurance inspectors looked over the twisted metal and collapsed rooftops of three houses on Bonito Drive on Fripp Island. The smell of the fire still hung in the air as ashes blew around the nearby Ocean Creek Golf Course. Scores of plastic water bottles littered the scene, left behind by firefighters from four area departments who baked in the extreme Lowcountry summer heat as they fought the intense flames threatening to leap to adjacent houses. This was Monday's aftermath of a deadly, intense blaze over the weekend on Fripp Island, which swept across a row of houses in the beachfront community on a blistering hot day, claiming one man's life and three structures. At the scene Monday, Christian Gonzales, head of the island's security, called the fire 'terrible for the Fripp Island community' but referred questions to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. SLED officials would not comment on their investigation, where they are hoping to answer the question: How did this tragedy happen? The fire was reported at 718 Bonito Drive at 10:16 a.m. Saturday. Fire Chief Josh Horton said Monday that fire units were on the scene within minutes but found the home fully engulfed in flames with two adjacent residences 'heavily threatened.' Those properties also were destroyed. The cause remains under investigation, Horton said. 'Reports initially indicated that one individual was unaccounted for from the primary residence,' Horton said. 'Despite exhaustive efforts to locate the person outside the structure, fire personnel ultimately discovered a victim within the debris.' The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said previously that the body of a 59-year-old man was found in the rubble, along with a dog. On Monday, the Beaufort County Cornoner's office said it still was in the process of positively identifying the man, which could take a few days. Due to the intensity of the fire and extreme seasonal heat, Fripp called for help from Lady's Island-St. Helena, Beaufort-Port Royal and Burton fire departments. Fire officials remained on the scene for more than 14 hours and were joined by Beaufort County EMS, Fripp Island Public Service District and Fripp Island Resort. Residents of Fripp also provided food, drinks, ice and support throughout the response, which occurred in temperatures that reached almost 90 degrees, Horton noted. According to reports from those who were in the vicinity, two explosions were heard, possibly from a propane tank or a vehicle parked in the garage. The houses that were involved are two stories on top of main level garages. A special agent with SLED's Arson Investigations Unit is working the case. Located 18 miles east of Beaufort, the 3,000-acre barrier island with 3.5 miles of Atlantic Ocean beachfront is a private, gated residential and resort community with trails, golf courses and tennis courts. The homes there are a mix of owner-occupied houses and short-term rentals that attract thousands of vacationers each year.
