29/09/2025

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At least 39 dead, 51 injured in India rally stampede

Thousands evacuated as typhoon nears Vietnam HANOI: Vietnam closed airports and evacuated thousands of people yesterday as intensifying Typhoon Bualoi barrelled towards the country, days after causing at least 10 deaths and widespread flooding in the Philippines. The typhoon, which was packing wind speeds of up to 133kph, was expected to make landfall in central Vietnam yesterday, earlier than previous forecasts as it was travelling fast, according to Vietnam’s national weather forecast agency. “This is a rapidly moving storm, nearly twice the average speed, with strong intensity and a broad area of impact. It is capable of triggering multiple natural disasters simultaneously, including powerful winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, flash floods, landslides and coastal inundation,” the agency said. Authorities in the central province of Ha Tinh have started to evacuate more than 15,000 people, the government said, adding that troops were on standby. Vietnam suspended operations at four coastal airports yesterday, including Danang International Airport, and adjusted the departure time of several flights, the Civil Aviation Authority said. Heavy rain has already caused flooding in Hue and Quang Tri, the government said. With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam is prone to typhoons that are often deadly. Last year, Typhoon Yagi killed about 300 people and caused US$3.3 billion (RM13.9 billion) of property damage. – Reuters

o Commission to probe incident

CHENNAI: At least 39 people were killed and over 50 injured on Saturday in a stampede at a rally held by actor Vijay, who is campaigning for election. “So far, 39 people have died, including 13 men, 17 women, four boys and five girls – while 51 people, including 26 men and 25 women, are receiving intensive treatment,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin told reporters in Karur, the district where the incident occurred. Earlier, state lawmaker Senthil Balaji told reporters that 58 people were hospitalised. A senior police official said a criminal case has been registered against the party. Vijay, one of Tamil cinema’s most bankable actors of three decades, has drawn massive crowds to his public meetings since launching his political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam last year, which has targeted the state ruling party DMK and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. He is campaigning ahead of state elections that are to be held early next year. Videos show thousands of people surrounding a large campaign vehicle on top of which Vijay is seen standing and speaking. During the rally, visuals showed Vijay throwing water bottles from WASHINGTON: Vacationing in India, engineer Amrutha Tamanam rushed to return to the United States after US President Donald Trump abruptly announced a US$100,000 (RM422,148) fee for the visa she holds. As she scrambled to get back to the country she has called home for a decade, far-right trolls launched coordinated efforts to disrupt flight bookings from India, calling their campaign “clog the toilet”. The White House would later clarify that the new H-1B fee was a one-time payment not applicable to current holders. But leading US companies had already advised their employees abroad to swiftly return to avoid the fee or risk being stranded overseas. Tamanam, an Austin-based software engineer, began searching for a flight from the city of Vijayawada, as users on the far-right message board 4chan moved to overwhelm reservation systems, in a bid to block Indian visa holders from booking tickets. One 4chan thread encouraged users to find India-US flights, “initiate the checkout process” but “don’t checkout”, thereby clogging the system and preventing the visa holders from reaching the United

Relatives of the victims mourn in front of Karur Government Medical College Hospital yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

This is not the first time Vijay’s rallies have faced safety concerns. At least six deaths were reported by media following the first meeting of his political party when it was launched in October last year. Despite restrictions, including limits on convoy size and venue changes, the massive crowds have repeatedly overwhelmed local infrastructure. “The unfortunate incident at the rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu, is deeply saddening,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. – Reuters

nearby districts of Tiruchirappalli and Salem were sent to Karur, media reports said. When asked about the cause of the stampede during a press briefing early yesterday, Stalin said: “Tamil Nadu has appointed a commission headed by retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan to investigate and submit a report to the government, after which further action will be taken.” He earlier announced one million rupees (RM47,618) each to the families of dead victims.

the top of the vehicle to fainting supporters and calling for police help when the crowd became uncontrollable. “My heart is broken. I am in unbearable, indescribable pain and sorrow,” Vijay wrote on X. “I express my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of my dear brothers and sisters who lost their lives in Karur. I pray for a speedy recovery for those who are undergoing treatment in the hospital.” At least 44 doctors from the States before the announcement took effect. The campaign may have had a direct impact on Tamanam, who encountered repeated crashes on airline websites. The checkout page, which typically allows users a window of a few minutes, timed out much faster. After multiple attempts, she eventually managed to rebook a one-way ticket to Dallas on Qatar Airways, spending around US$2,000 – more than double the cost of her original round-trip fare. “It was hard for me to book a ticket and I paid a huge fare for the panic travel,”Tamanam said. The 4chan thread, which also circulated among far-right Trump supporters on Telegram and other fringe forums, read: “Indians are just waking up after the H1B news. Want to keep them in India? Clog the flight reservation system!” Responding posts, many riddled with racist slurs, advised users to hold seats for popular India-US routes on airline websites and booking platforms – without completing the purchase. The stated goal was to block availability on high-demand flights,

‘Clog the toilet’ trolls hit Indian visa holders

making it harder to find available seats and inflating prices. Illustrating the scale of the operation, one 4chan user posted a screenshot of their browser and claimed: “I got 100 seats locked.” “Currently clogging the last available seat on this Delhi to Newark flight,” another wrote. Several 4chan users also posted about holding up seats on Air India and slowing the airline’s website. However, an Air India spokesperson told AFP the site experienced no disruptions, with systems operating normally. Although difficult to measure the campaign’s overall effectiveness, the trolling was an attempt to “cause panic among H-1B visa holders”, said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. “The real scary thing about 4chan is its ability to radicalise people into extremist beliefs,” Beirich said, adding that several US mass shooters had published manifestos to the site. H-1B visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialised skills – such as scientists and computer programmers – to work in the United States, initially for three years but extendable to six.

H-1B visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialised skills to work in the United States.– REUTERSPIC

“As nationalistic politics takes hold, an informal international association of opponents will use an array of aggressive tools, including the internet,” Levin said. “What I think is so relevant is how rapidly it spread, how diverse the nations represented were, and how shared antipathy across international borders can be mobilised online.” – AFP

The United States awards 85,000 H-1B visas per year on a lottery system, with India accounting for around three-quarters of the recipients. In an age of information warfare, the troll operation illustrates how bad actors can launch disruptive attacks “with the stroke of a keyboard”, said Brian Levin, founder of the Centre for the Study of Hate and Extremism.