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Explosive Device Blows Up at Convention Center in South India Killing at Least One and Wounding 36

Indian citizens stand at the site of the incident (local media)
Indian citizens stand at the site of the incident (local media)
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Explosive Device Blows Up at Convention Center in South India Killing at Least One and Wounding 36

Indian citizens stand at the site of the incident (local media)
Indian citizens stand at the site of the incident (local media)

An explosive device blew up at a convention center in southern India killing at least one person and wounding 36 others Sunday, authorities said.
Hundreds of Jehovah’s Witness faithful were gathered for a prayer session at the Zamra International Convention Center in the town of Kalamassery in Kerala state when the explosion took place, The Associated Press said.
The state’s top police officer, Sheik Darvesh Saheb, said an initial investigation has revealed an improvised explosive device was used.
The wounded, many of them with burn injuries, were transported to hospital for treatment, he said.
Videos filmed right after the blast and shared online showed fire inside the convention center and rescuers helping people evacuate the building.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters police were investigating the “unfortunate incident.”
Police and medical personnel were put on high alert state-wide.
Jehovah’s Witnesses identify as Christians but are guided by distinctive beliefs and practices. They are known for their door-to-door proselytism.

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Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
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Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

More than 10,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Thursday.
On average, that means 30 migrants died every day this year attempting to reach the country by boat, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said. Overall deaths rose 58% compared to last year, the report added, according to The Associated Press.
Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that has increasingly been used as a stepping stone to continental Europe.
Caminando Fronteras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded up until Dec. 15. took place along that crossing, the so-called Atlantic route — considered one of the world's most dangerous.
The organization compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 1,538 children and 421 women among the dead. April and May were the deadliest months, the report said.
Caminando Fronteras also noted a “sharp increase” in 2024 in boats leaving from Mauritania, which it said became the main departure point on the route to the Canary Islands.
In February, Spain pledged 210 million euros (around $218 million) in aid to Mauritania to help it crack down on human smugglers and prevent boats from taking off.
Spain’s interior ministry says more than 57, 700 migrants reached Spain by boat until Dec. 15 this year, a roughly 12% increase from the same period last year. The vast majority of them came through the Atlantic route.