19 dead, dozens injured in Senegal road crash
A bus swerved to avoid hitting a donkey and collided with a truck, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens of others in Senegal on Monday, authorities said.
The collision happened near Ngeun Sarr in the country's north, President Macky Sall tweeted.
"Yet another fatal accident on our roads,'' he said.
"My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Speedy recovery to the injured.''
The crash involved a public bus and a transport truck, the fire department said.
The bus was apparently trying to avoid hitting a donkey, local fire department commander Lt. Ousseynou Ndiaye said.
Last week, 40 people were killed in a bus crash in Gnivy village, in Senegal's Kaffrine region. After that crash, the government announced reforms to try and stem collisions. Traffic crashes happen regularly in the West African nation because of poor roads, bad cars and drivers not adhering to the rules, locals say.
In 2017, at least 25 people were killed when two buses also crashed. Many of those people were heading toward the central town of Touba for the annual Muslim pilgrimage.
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Waqf Bill anti-secular, will snatch rights of Muslims: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday described the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as “anti-secular”, claiming that it would snatch the rights of Muslims.
Banerjee, speaking in the assembly, also said the Centre did not consult with states over the matter.
“The bill is anti-federal and anti-secular; it is a deliberate attempt to malign a particular section. It will snatch the rights of Muslims... The Centre did not consult with us on the Waqf Bill,” she said.
The chief minister added that “if any religion was attacked”, she would wholeheartedly condemn it.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging that they violate the religious rights of Muslims.
The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the Waqf boards and make them accountable.
A parliamentary committee has been constituted to scrutinise the contentious bill.
