Page 10 - atoday
P. 10
A10
WORLD NEWSSaturday 2 April 2016
3 construction officials arrested over Indian overpass China news group
tells its readers to
RISHI LEKHI General view shows a partially collapsed overpass in Kolkata, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. ignore April Fools
RISHABH R. JAIN (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Chi-
KOLKATA, India (AP) — In- contracted in 2007 to build formally charging them in ernment statement said. na’s Communist Party has
dian police on Friday ar- the overpass. Police also the case, a police officer The partially constructed a new target in its cam-
rested three officials and sealed the firm’s Kolkata said on condition of ano- overpass had spanned paign against pernicious
detained seven more from office. nymity as he was not au- nearly the width of the Western cultural influenc-
a company constructing They are being questioned thorised to talk to reporters. street and was designed es: April Fools’ Day.
an overpass that collapsed over possible culpable ho- The Press Trust of India news to ease traffic through the “The so-called Western
onto a crowded Kolkata micide, punishable by life agency said seven other densely crowded Bara Ba- April Fools’ Day does not
neighborhood, killing at imprisonment, and criminal employees have been de- zaar neighborhood in the conform to Chinese cul-
least 24 people and injur- breach of trust, which car- tained for questioning. capital of the east Indian tural traditions or socialist
ing more than 80. ries a prison sentence of up Two West Bengal state state of West Bengal. With- core values,” the party’s
Rescuers cleared the crum- to seven years, police said. engineers overseeing the in hours of concrete being leading propaganda or-
bled concrete and twisted Those arrested are sched- construction of the over- poured into a framework gan, Xinhua News Agency,
metal rods a day after the uled to appear before pass were suspended from of steel girders on Thursday, said in a brief message on
collapse in the crowded a court Saturday which jobs pending an inquiry into about 100 meters (300 feet) its official microblog Friday.
area of the eastern Indian would hear arguments for the disaster, a state gov- of the overpass collapsed. “Hope people won’t be-
city. They have pulled out lieve in rumors, start rumors
67 people alive. or spread rumors,” the
“There is no possibility of message concluded.
finding any person alive,” Along with official newspa-
said S.S. Guleria, depu- pers including the flagship
ty inspector general of People’s Daily and state
the India’sNational Disaster broadcaster CCTV, Xinhua
Response Force. He said has been key in the party’s
engineers were being con- campaign to rid China of
sulted about part of the Western cultural influences
overpass still hanging over seen as challenging its po-
the disaster area, after litical orthodoxy.
which workers will “slowly Those include basic human
start dismantling this par- rights and political con-
ticular section to avoid cepts including freedom of
any collateral damage to speech and separation of
houses around it.” powers, with professors, sol-
The arrested and detained diers and rank-and-file par-
employees worked for Hy- ty members all being told
derabad-based IVRCL In- to keep their minds clean
frastructure Co., which was of such thoughts. The fact
that communism is itself an
South African president apologizes for scandal imported Western politi-
cal concept has not been
CHRIS TORCHIA ruption at the highest lev- agency’s recommenda- no-confidence motion openly discussed.
Associated Press els of government as well tions that he should pay Despite its admonition
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — as opposition calls for the back some of the more against Zuma this year. The against jokes and pranks,
South African President Ja- president to resign. than $20 million spent on his Xinhua’s statement gave
cob Zuma on Friday apolo- “The matter has caused a compound. Constitutional Court also rise to credible attempts at
gized for a scandal over lot of frustration and confu- “Jacob Zuma is the can- humor from ordinary Chi-
millions of dollars in state sion for which I apologize cer at the heart of South ruled Thursday that parlia- nese who mocked it on
spending on his private resi- on my behalf and on be- African politics,” Mmusi the country’s wildly popu-
dence and said he would half of government,” Zuma Maimane, leader of the ment failed in its obliga- lar Weibo microblogging
abide by a Constitutional said. Democratic Alliance party, service.
Court ruling that he should Despite the president’s said in a statement. tions by not holding Zuma Even the official Beijing
pay back some funds. apology, the main opposi- However, impeachment News newspaper took is-
In a nationally televised ad- tion party said it would still requires a two-thirds major- to account in the spending sue with Xinhua’s kill-joy
dress, Zuma said he acted move to impeach Zuma af- ity in a parliament where attitude, asking, “what’s
“in good faith” in the long ter South Africa’s top court the ruling African Nation- scandal. wrong with giving people
dispute over his Nkandla said he had violated the al Congress party has a a holiday to express them-
home, which fueled con- constitution by not adher- comfortable majority and Under the court’s ruling, the selves, joke around and
cerns about alleged cor- ing to a state watchdog has already defeated a find some release?”
national treasury must cal-
culate costs of upgrades
unrelated to security at Zu-
ma’s home within 60 days,
and the president must re-
pay that amount within 45
days thereafter. Those up-
grades include a swimming
pool and a chicken run.
