Opposition leader becomes new Spanish PM after Rajoy forced out
Madrid, June 1: Pedro Sanchez, the leader of Spain's opposition Socialist Party, took over as the country's new Prime Minister on Friday after Mariano Rajoy was forced out of office by a no confidence vote in Parliament.
Rajoy was toppled by a corruption scandal involving members of his Popular Party (PP) and became the first leader in Spain's modern democracy to lose a vote of no trust in Parliament, the BBC reported.
Sánchez, 46, secured the needed majority of 176 votes out of 350 seats in Spain's lower chamber. "We're going to sign a new page in the history of democracy in our country," Sánchez said.
A loose multi-party coalition decided to oust Rajoy and his right-wing party following a national court verdict in which several of its former top officials were found guilty of setting up a vast network of corruption in fraudulent financial dealings including bribery, embezzlement, forgery, misuse of public funds, money laundering, tax crimes and influence peddling, among others.
Rajoy's party had also been found guilty of profiting from fraudulent financial practices perpetrated by some of its senior officials. He had been Prime Minister since 2011.
The deciding votes in Rajoy's ouster were cast by the small Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which only has five lawmakers in Parliament but was crucial to bringing the motion over the 176-vote hurdle for the absolute majority required for Rajoy's eviction and Sánchez's elevation to the country's highest political office.
Sánchez also had the backing of the chamber's third-largest party, the progressive-populist alliance Unidos Podemos ("We Can," UP), whose 71 MPs all voted for a change in government.
During the second day of debate on Friday, Rajoy admitted facing defeat and told MPs that it has been "an honour to leave a better Spain than I found".
Sánchez said Rajoy had failed to take responsibility for his party's involvement in the scandal, which hit the headlines again last week after one of its former treasurers was given a 33-year jail sentence.
The High Court in Madrid convicted Luis Barcenas of receiving bribes, money laundering and tax crimes. The case centred on a secret campaign fund which the PP ran from 1999 until 2005.
Sánchez was yet to disclose the members of his future cabinet, which could either be a minority government made up of only Socialist ministers or a mixed one with members from other parties such as UP, its largest partner in this unprecedented vote.
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10 children dead, 16 battle for life after fire at Jhansi medical college
Jhansi (UP) (PTI): At least 10 children died in a fire that engulfed the children's ward of a medical college in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi district, officials said, as 16 others injured battled for life on Saturday.
District Magistrate (DM) Avinash Kumar told reporters that the fire broke out around 10.45 pm on Friday in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, possibly due to an electrical short circuit.
The children who were in the outer part of the NICU were rescued, along with some of those who were in the interior part.
"Prima facie there is information of the death of 10 children," the DM said.
Those less critical are admitted in the outer section of the NICU while the more critical patients are kept in the interior part, Kumar said.
Divisional Commissioner Jhansi Bimal Kumar Dubey, who reached the hospital around midnight, told reporters that there were about 30 children in the interior section of the NICU and most of them were rescued.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jhansi Sudha Singh on Saturday said another 16 children who suffered injuries in the episode were undergoing treatment. There were over 50 children admitted in the NICU when the incident took place.
A fire brigade was rushed to the spot while senior officers of the district also reached the medical college, Jhansi police said in a brief statement on social media.
A couple hailing from nearby Mahoba district grieved the demise of their newborn child. The mother told reporters that the child was born on November 13 at 8 am. "My child has been killed in fire," the inconsolable mother told reporters.
Purported visuals from the medical college showed panic-struck patients and their caretakers being evacuated, even as several police personnel aided rescue and relief measures.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and directed officials of the district administration to ensure proper treatment to the injured, according to a statement issued in Lucknow.
"The death of children in an accident that took place in the NICU of the medical college located in Jhansi district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. District administration and concerned officials have been instructed to conduct relief and rescue operations on a war footing," he posted in Hindi on X.
He also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.
The chief minister directed the district administration officials and the fire brigade vehicles to reach the spot and expedite the relief work.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who also holds the health portfolio, said on X he was en route to Jhansi. He said the incident was extremely said and heartbreaking.
The state's principal secretary of health was accompanying Pathak on the directions of Adityanath, an official statement said.
Adityanath directed Divisional Commissioner Bimal Kumar Dubey and Deputy Inspector General (Jhansi police range) Kalanidhi Naithani to submit a report on the matter within 12 hours, the statement added.
"I am extremely pained by this incident," Jhansi Lok Sabha MP Anurag Sharma told a news channel, adding that he was out of station at the moment.
Sadar MLA Ravi Sharma also reached the hospital shortly after the incident.
In the early hours of Saturday, SSP Sudha Singh told reporters that the 16 injured children are being treated and efforts are underway to save their lives. All the doctors are available for them, along with adequate medical facilities, she said.
On the cause of the incident, the SSP reiterated the DM's remarks, saying prima facie the fire appears to have been triggered by a short circuit.
"However, a detailed investigation has been launched to ascertain under what conditions or due to whose laxity this happened," Singh said.
The district police chief said while 10 children died and others were either rescued or found injured, there were also inputs that some parents took their kids home after the fire erupted in the NICU.
She said the police were making efforts to verify the tally of the children who were in the NICU and their current status.
"The medical college has informed that 52 to 54 children were admitted at the time of the incident. 10 of them have died, 16 are undergoing treatment while verification for others is ongoing," Singh said.
The rescue operation in the NICU has been completed, she said around 1 am.
The state-run medical college started services in 1968 and is one of the largest government hospitals in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.
