Powerful earthquake hit Nepal death toll crosses 600

A powerful earthquake struck Nepal Saturday, killing at least 479 people across a swath of four countries as the violently shaking earth collapsed houses, leveled centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches in the Himalayas. It was the worst temblor to hit the poor South Asian nation in over 80 years.

At least 449 people were confirmed dead in Nepal, including 181 in the capital, Kathmandu alone, according to the police. Another 20 were killed in India, six in Tibet and two in Bangladesh. Two Chinese citizens died at the Nepal-China border.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 struck before noon and was most severely felt in the capital as well as the densely populated Kathmandu Valley. A magnitude-6.6 aftershock hit about an hour later, and smaller aftershocks continued to ripple through the region for hours.

Dozens of people with injuries were being brought to the main hospital in central Kathmandu.

Pushpa Das, a labourer, ran from the house when the first quake struck but could not escape a collapsing wall that injured his arm.

“It was very scary. The earth was moving ... I am waiting for treatment but the (hospital) staff is overwhelmed,” he said, gingerly holding his right arm with his left hand. As he spoke dozens of more people showed up with injuries, mostly from falling bricks.

The earthquake also shook several cities across northern India, and was felt as far away as Lahore in Pakistan, Lhasa in Tibet, and in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Following the quake, Kathmandu’s international airport was shut down.

A senior mountaineering guide, Ang Tshering, said an avalanche swept the face of Mt. Everest after the earthquake, and government officials said at least 30 people were injured.

Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said the avalanche occurred between the Khumbu Icefall, a rugged area of collapsed ice and snow, and the base camp where most climbing expeditions have their main camps.

Carsten Lillelund Pedersen, a Dane who is climbing the Everest with a Belgian climber Jelle Veyt, said on his Facebook page that they were at Khumbu Icefall , a rugged area of collapsed ice and snow close to base camp at altitude 5,000 meters (16,500 feet) when the earthquake hit.

“He was blown away by the avalanche and broke both legs. For the camps closer to where the avalanche hit, our Sherpas believe that a lot of people may have been buried in their tents,” he wrote in English.

“There is now a steady flow of people fleeing basecamp in hope of more security further down the mountain”

The quake’s epicenter was 80 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu, and it had a depth of only 11 kilometers, which is considered shallow in geological terms. The shallower the quake the more destructive power it carries, and witnesses said the trembling and swaying of the earth went on for several minutes..

As the quake began to intensify, residents ran out of homes and buildings in panic. Clouds of dust began to swirl around them. Large cracks opened up on streets and walls.

Several buildings collapsed in the center of the capital, the ancient Old Kathmandu, including centuries-old temples and towers, said resident Prachanda Sual.

Among them was the nine-storey Dharahara Tower, one of Kathmandu’s landmarks built by Nepal’s royal rulers as a watchtower in the 1800s and a UNESCO-recognized historical monument. It was reduced to rubble and there were reports of people trapped underneath.

Video footage showed people digging through the rubble of the bricks form the collapsed tower, looking for survivors.

In Kathmandu, dozens of people were gathered in the parking lot of Norvic International Hospital, where thin mattresses were spread on the ground for patients rushed outside, some wearing hospital pajamas. A woman with a bandage on her head sat in a set of chairs pulled from the hospital waiting room.

Doctors and nurses hooked up some patients to IV drops in the parking lot, or were giving people oxygen.

The U.S. Geological Survey revised the magnitude from 7.5 to 7.9 but then lowered it to 7.8. It said the quake hit at 11-56 a.m. local time (0611 GMT) at Lamjung. It was the largest shallow quake since the 8.2 temblor off the coast of Chile on April 1, 2014.

The quake with the same magnitude as the one that hit San Francisco in 1906 was about 16 times more powerful than the 7.0 quake that devastated Haiti in 2010.

A magnitude 7 quake is capable of widespread and heavy damage while an 8 magnitude quake can cause tremendous damage.

A Swedish woman, Jenny Adhikari, who lives in Nepal, told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that she was riding a bus in the town of Melamchi when the earth began to move.

“A huge stone crashed only about 20 meters (yards) from the bus,” she was quoted as saying. “All the houses around me have tumbled down. I think there are lot of people who have died,” she told the newspaper by telephone. Melamchi is about 45 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Kathmandu.

Residents reported seeing trails of destruction -- collapsed walls, broken windows and fallen telephone poles -- as they drove through the capital, along with streets filled with terrified people.

But scattered reports also indicated that most buildings in the capital did not collapse.

“It’s too early to make any assessment but the damage isn’t as bad as it could have been,” said Liz Satow, the Nepal director for the air group World Vision. She said she drove from Kathmandu to the nearby town of Lalitpur and said that while there was considerable damage, most buildings were still intact.

Nepal suffered its worst recorded earthquake in 1934, which measured 8.0 and all but destroyed the cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.

The sustained quake also was felt in India’s capital of New Delhi and several other cities.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif offered “all possible help” that Nepal may need.

Modi talks to Nepal PM, assures all help

With massive earthquake hitting Nepal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to his counterpart Sushil Koirala as well as President Ram Baran Yadav and assured all help in dealing with the “tough” situation.

“Spoke to PM Sushil Koirala, who is in transit in Bangkok on his way to Kathmandu. Assured all support & assistance during this tough time,” Mr. Modi tweeted.

Mr. Modi, who is personally monitoring the situation at home as well as in Nepal, spoke to Mr. Yadav first as Mr. Koirala was abroad and not reachable.

Later, Mr. Modi talked to Mr. Koirala and assured him of “all assistance to deal with the situation arising due to the earthquake”, the PMO said.

-The Hindu

US is indian global partner says PM Narendra Modi

After an overnight transit halt in Frankfurt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left on Friday for his maiden visit to the US during which he will address the UN General Assembly, hold talks with President Barack Obama and meet top American corporate honchos besides a series of other engagements.

Modi will have a summit-level meeting with US President Barack Obama during his tour.

Describing America as India's "natural global partner", Modi said on Friday the complementary strengths of the two democracies can be used for inclusive and broad-based development to transform lives across the globe.
A grand welcome awaits the PM in the US. On his first leg of the high-profile five-day visit, Modi will land in New York, where he will address the 69th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Saturday and a rally at the famous Madison Square Garden, which is likely to be attended by around 20,000 people from the Indian-American community.
"The US is our natural global partner. India and the US embody the enduring and universal relevance of their shared values," Modi wrote in an op-ed in the The Wall Street Journal.

Modi, who in recent interview to a TV channel had expressed hope about better India-US ties, also said the thriving Indian-American community in the United States was a metaphor for the potential of India-US partnership, and for the possibilities of an environment that nurtures enterprise and rewards hard work.

He added the two countries had a fundamental stake and many shared interests in each other's success.

"That is also the imperative of our partnership. And it will be of great value in advancing peace, security and stability in the Asia and Pacific regions; in the unfinished and urgent task of combating terrorism and extremism; and in securing our seas, cyber space and outer space, all of which now have a profound influence on our daily lives," he said.

Observesrs are keenly watching Modi's visit to the US, which had denied him a visa in 2005 in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots three years before that. However, the US had signalled the end of its nine-year boycott of Modi ahead of the general elections that brought him to power.

US ambassador Nancy Powell met him in Gujarat in February, marking a thaw in the relationship. US President Barack Obama congratulated him after his poll vistory.
US defence secretary Chuck Hagel and vice-president Joe Biden have already visited India during the BJP government's tenure.

In the op-ed piece, Modi said the complementary strengths of India and the US can be used for inclusive and broad-based global development to transform lives across the world.

"This is a moment of flux in the global order. I am confident in the destiny of our two nations, because democracy is the greatest source of renewal and, with the right conditions, offers the best opportunity for the human spirit to flourish," Modi said.

"With sensitivity to each other's point of view and the confidence of our friendship, we can contribute to more concerted international efforts to meet the pressing global challenges of our times."

Modi emphasised the role of technology in building partnerships between the two nations.

"Our strengths in information technology are especially important for leadership in the digital age. The partnership between our businesses takes place in the comfort and certainty of similar political systems and shared commitment to rule of law. In education, innovation, and science and technology, the US continues to inspire India," he said.

The Prime Minister will have a gruelling schedule in New York which includes a meeting with as many as 11 top corporate honchos over breakfast on September 29 apart from one-on-one meetings with six more business captains the same day.

Modi will pay a visit to the 9/11 memorial on Saturday following which he is expected to drive down to the United Nations headquarters to address the 69th annual session of the UNGA.

Obama will host a rare private dinner for Modi at the White House on September 29, so as to establish a personal relationship with the Indian leader ahead of summit talks the next day. The two leaders are meeting for the first time.

Modi will also be participating in a business meet, to be organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), expected to be attended by 300-400 businessmen in Washington on September 30.

In the op-ed, Modi asserted that there was a "high tide of hope for change" in India, adding the country will be open and friendly for business and ideas to make it a new global manufacturing hub.
"We will create world-class infrastructure that India badly needs to accelerate growth and meet people 's basic needs. We will make our cities and towns habitable, sustainable and smart; and we will make our villages the new engines of economic transformation."

Ahead of his US visit, Modi unveiled a campaign on Thursday to turn India into a manufacturing powerhouse, vowing to remove bureaucratic sloth and make the country more investor friendly.

The 'Make in India' campaign is as much an invitation to domestic and foreign companies as a promise to rectify everything that has kept the country at almost the bottom of World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ index.

PTI

First pictures from Mars arrive Mangalyaan

Mangalyaan's first offering to India is out in the open.

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) released on Thursday the first image of Mars clicked by the indigenous Mangalyaan, which took India to soaring heights a day ago by slipping into the Red Planet's orbit on the country's maiden attempt.

Isro said the photograph it posted on its Facebook page and Twitter account was taken from "a height of 7300 km; with 376 m spatial resolution".

And more are expected to come. Isro chief K Radhakrishnan handed over hard copies of snaps clicked by Mangalyaan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Speculation is rife that Isro might release them later in the day.

The photographs bear a testimony to the fact that Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which helped India join an elite club of successful Mars explorers, is in 'good health' and performing its duties well.

"Images are clicked. Data is downloaded. Process is going on," a top Isro official had told HT, confirming all is well.

MOM, according to Isro scientists, started sending its first high-quality images of the Red Planet late on Wednesday.

The snaps were expected to arrive in the afternoon on the momentous day, but there was no news about them till evening, causing some concerns.

Pull back your troops who have entered Ladakh Modi tells Xi

The past caught up with the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping to elevate bilateral ties, leading the PM to protest against China's bid to escalate tensions in Ladakh.

It was the festering border row which Modi sought to address first in his meeting with Xi on Thursday as he told him that peace and tranquillity along the borders was imperative for mutual trust and for realizing the full potential of Sino-Indian relations.

"This is an important understanding, which should be strictly observed," Modi said as he raised "serious concerns" over what India calls serial transgressions by the Chinese.

Pitching for a quick clarification of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Modi told Xi that China had to restore the status quo that existed before September 10 in Ladakh this year. Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj also raised the issue with her counterpart Wang Yi.

Modi, in fact, set the tone on Wednesday evening itself when, just after the public display of bonhomie, he raised the latest Chinese transgressions at Chumar in Ladakh in an after-dinner "pow-wow" with Xi.

The Chinese president came back with a response on Thursday when he told Modi that he had "noted'' India's concerns and that the incidents in Ladakh may be a fallout of the non-demarcated border.

Sources said Modi took up the border issue strongly because the understanding in the government was that the incidents at Chumar could not have taken place without the concurrence of the top Chinese leadership.

In fact, even as vigorous diplomacy continued, the Army had ensured enough presence in the region to outnumber the Chinese troops. Sources said more Indian troops were ready to move into the region where civilians formed a human wall to prevent the Chinese from moving into what India claims to be its territory.

Xi, however, said such incidents should not be allowed to impact bilateral relations. "There may be some incidents as the area is not clearly demarcated," Xi said in a media statement, but added that both sides were capable of not just effectively managing the border but also of resolving the border dispute "at an early date''.

The NDA government's first bilateral engagement at the highest level with China yielded as many as 16 agreements and MoU, including one expected to ensure investments worth $20 billion into India from China over the next five years.

Modi also raised India's concerns over China's visa policy for residents of Arunachal Pradesh and J&K and also over trans-border rivers, saying their resolution would take mutual trust to a new level.

India wants the Ladakh standoff to end immediately, with Modi telling Xi that a clarification of LAC and settlement of the dispute "would greatly contribute to our efforts to maintain peace and tranquillity". He requested Xi to look at resuming the stalled process of LAC clarification. Modi had an extended interaction with Xi which included 75 minutes of restricted meeting, 50 minutes of delegation talks and a 15-minute one-on-one.

Apart from the assurance from Xi that the border dispute could be resolved soon, an important takeaway for India was the declaration, for the first time, of support from the Chinese president for India's full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a central Asia security grouping of six countries dominated by Russia and China.

India currently has observer status at SCO which is expected to play a crucial role in Afghanistan once the Nato forces depart from there. Xi added in the same breath though that India too would support China's role in Saarc. Indian officials later clarified though that this wasn't a condition for Chinese support for India's SCO membership.

India and China, said Indian officials, also decided to hold the first round of maritime cooperation dialogue within this year to exchange views on security, including anti-piracy, freedom of navigation and cooperation between maritime agencies of both countries. Progress was also made in promoting cooperation under the framework of the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar) Economic Corridor. "Located at the crossroads of Asia, India believes that reconnecting Asia is important for its collective prosperity," Modi said.

The two countries also decided to have annual visits at the level of head of state/government with Xi inviting Modi to visit China early next year.

-TOI

PM Narendra Modi reception in New York Big stars are lining up

Young Indian-American pop star sensation Anjali Ranadive, popular playback singer Kavita Subramaniam along with renowned violinist L Subramaniam would perform at a public reception being hosted by Indian-American community for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York.

Ranadive, the daughter of the Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, would sing the US anthem, and Subramaniam would lend her voice to the Indian anthem before Modi's much anticipated speech to the Diaspora at the historic Madison Square Garden on September 28.

Subramaniam would enthrall the audience with his mesmerizing violin performance at Modi's reception being organised by the Indian-American Community Foundation (IACF), which was created recently to promote cooperation between the US and India and advance the shared values of democracy.

IACF had earlier announced that Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri and PBS NewsHour Weekend Anchor Hari Sreenivasan will emcee the event; thus adding a star line up to the Modi's reception, which is expected to be attended by a number of US lawmakers, governors and city leaders.

In a statement, IACF spokesperson Anand Shah said a spectacular laser light show, holograms of India's historical luminaries, and live folk dances will precede Modi's speech.

"Prime Minister Modi taking the stage along with dozens of America's most important political leaders in front of tens of thousands of cheering supporters will demonstrate the potential of a relationship across borders," Shah said.

"The time has come for the world's most significant democracies - India and America - to join together on a platform of mutual respect and shared values," he said.

To accommodate the thousands of people who were not lucky enough to get one of the 18,000 free tickets, the event would be broadcast live at the iconic Crystal Tower of the Times Square, with real time English sub-titles.

"The incredible demand to be a part of Indian American history in greeting Prime Minister Modi has pushed us to find more ways to let the community participate," Shah said.

 "And that is why we decided to broadcast the event in Times Square, stream it online at www.pmvisit.org, and provide English subtitles and audio translation - ensuring that as many people as possible could be part of what promises to be one of the largest ever gatherings to hear a foreign leader speak on American soil."

The IACF is also helping student groups and community organizers arrange "viewing parties" in their local areas.

 Anticipating that thousands of people would be converging to mid-town Manhattan on September 28, local public transportation system in co-ordination with IACF have announced to run special buses, trains throughout the day.

et-indiatimes