NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Taiwan derailment: At least 18 people were killed and 171 others injured Sunday when one of Taiwan’s newer, faster trains derailed on a curve along a popular weekend route. The Puyuma express train was carrying several hundred passengers from a Taipei suburb to Taitung, a city on the southeast coast when it went off the tracks, officials said. The train’s cars ended up in a zigzag formation near the tracks just south of the city of Luodong. Five of the cars toppled onto their sides. The Puyuma trains travel up to 93 mph, faster than any other in Taiwan except for high-speed rail. Authorities are investigating the cause of the derailment.
2 Syria fighting: The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said Sunday that an air strike on a mosque in Syria last week hit insurgent command and control center and killed a dozen fighters. The coalition said in a statement that while the law of war protects mosques, the use of the building as a headquarters by the militants caused it to lose protected status. Syrian state media said a series of strikes in Sousa near the Iraq border killed and wounded dozens, civilians as well as militants. The coalition’s statement, focused on the mosque, said the strike took place Thursday when it was being used to coordinate attacks on the coalition and on U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
3 Mexico storm: Newly formed Hurricane Willa rapidly gained force and grew into an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm in the Pacific on Sunday, with a potential to make landfall on a stretch of coast between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta in the coming days. A hurricane watch was posted between San Blas and Mazatlan. Willa was southwest of Cabo Corrientes on Sunday night and moving to the northwest. Up to 10 inches of rain is possible.
4 Kashmir violence: Three rebels were killed in a gunbattle with Indian government forces in disputed Kashmir on Sunday, and six civilians died in an explosion at the site after the fighting was over, officials said. The fighting erupted after troops cordoned off a village in the southern Kulgam area on a tip that rebels were hiding there, India’s military said. The exchange lasted for several hours, and three militants were killed and two soldiers injured, the military said. As counterinsurgency police and soldiers hastily left the area after the fighting was over, hundreds of civilians converged on the site. The explosion occurred as people tried to extinguish a fire, residents said. Also Sunday, three Indian army soldiers and two suspected militants were killed in a gunbattle along the highly militarized line of control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Separatist leaders who challenge India’s sovereignty over Kashmir called for a general strike on Monday.
5 Costa Rica drownings: Four American tourists and a Costa Rican guide were killed in a weekend rafting accident, authorities said Sunday. Three rafts flipped on the Naranjo river Saturday near Liverpool de Quepos and the five victims were carried away downstream, according to investigators. Other passengers managed to cling to the rafts and some were rescued by another guide in a kayak. The victims were identified as Ernesto Sierra, Jorge Caso, Sergio Lorenzo and Andres Dennis. Their hometowns were not disclosed. Authorities said the river was swollen by rains and the National Emergency Commission maintained an alert in the area because of the possibility of flooding.