West Bengal

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Massive Cyclone Is Bearing Down on 2 Nations

Amphan, headed toward India and Bangladesh, is 2nd super cyclone ever to form over Bay of Bengal

(Newser) - A powerful cyclone was moving toward India and Bangladesh on Tuesday as authorities tried to evacuate millions of people while maintaining social distancing. Cyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall on Wednesday afternoon, and forecasters warned of extensive damage from high winds, heavy rainfall, tidal waves, and some flooding in...

Forest Ranger Foolishly Decides to Pose With Python

India ranger Sanjoy Dutta nearly got strangled

(Newser) - India has racked up the most "deaths by selfie," researchers say, and one forest ranger almost joined that statistic. Gulf News and the Tribune report on a recent close call in the West Bengal city of Jalpaiguri, where ranger Sanjoy Dutta showed off to a crowd the 18-foot...

Cops: Village Council in India Ordered Gang Rape

13 arrested in attack of woman who had relationship with man outside village

(Newser) - Yet another gang rape is making headlines in India, but this one has an especially horrific twist: Police say village elders ordered the assault on a 20-year-old woman who made the mistake of falling for a guy from a different tribal group. The AP reports that 13 men have been...

Bad Hooch Kills 102 in Calcutta
 Bad Hooch Kills 102 in Calcutta 
Dec 15, 2011 1:19 AM CST

Bad Hooch Kills 102 in Calcutta

Methanol-spiked booze blamed for villagers' deaths

(Newser) - A bad batch of illegal liquor has killed at least 102 people in villages that fringe Calcutta. Dozens more are critically ill with alcohol poisoning. Traces of highly toxic methanol were found in the victims, who were mostly poor day laborers and rickshaw-pullers who bought the hooch in pouches for...

Attacks by Elephants, Tigers Rise in India

In some cases, humans have become prey

(Newser) - In parts of India such as the Sundarban Islands of West Bengal, humans are encroaching more than ever into the habitat of local wildlife. But here, the familiar story has a twist: elephants and tigers are responding by killing and even eating humans, ABC News reports. The latter is a...

Indian Train Kills Elephants Trying to Save Calves

5 adults crushed as they huddled around stuck babies

(Newser) - A speeding Indian train killed a group of elephants as adult herd members tried to protect two calves who had become stuck in the tracks. Five adults and the two young animals died in the accident. Train traffic was suspended as surviving members of the herd huddled around the dead....

Scores Killed in 'Maoist Train Attack' in India

At least 65 dead after blast

(Newser) - At least 65 people have been killed by a train crash in eastern India that officials believe was the work of Maoist rebels. A blast hit an overnight passenger train from Calcutta as it passed through a rebel stronghold, sending 13 cars into the path of an oncoming cargo train....

Cyclone Kills 90 in Bangladesh, India

Hundreds of thousands flee as Aila lashes Bengal region

(Newser) - At least 90 people were killed when a cyclone ripped into Bangladesh and eastern India yesterday, Reuters reports. Tens of thousands of others lost their homes and crops as Cyclone Aila caused tidal waves and flooding. Troops in both countries are scrambling to rescue marooned people and deliver emergency supplies....

Protests Close Plant Making World's Cheapest Car

Company to move factory building 'People's Car,' billed as world's cheapest at $2,500

(Newser) - Tata Motors has halted work at the Indian factory where it was producing its Nano model, billed as the world’s cheapest car. A 2-year-long land dispute escalated when West Bengal farmers trapped workers inside, the AP reports, and the company instructed employees to stay home this week. "A...

Circus Elephant Elopes With Wild Suitor

Escape from Indian pen makes for mammoth romance

(Newser) - In perhaps the heaviest love story ever told, a wild bull elephant broke into a traveling circus in India and snatched away a tame but captivated female. Wildlife experts say the male was probably in must when he broke a gate to free his beloved; three other elephants also escaped,...

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