Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul class="summary-list"><li>At least 41 people have died after a train crashed and derailed in a tunnel in <keyword id="46274" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Taiwan">Taiwan</keyword>.</li><li>Hundreds more remain trapped in the wreckage. </li><li>The incident is the country's worst rail disaster in at least four decades.</li></ul>At least 41 people have died and hundreds remain trapped after a train crashed and derailed in a tunnel in Taiwan, <a href="https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4166946">according to local media.</a>The 408 Taroko Express was carrying more than 350 people when it derailed on Friday morning at Qingshui tunnel in Hualien county.The eight-carriage train reportedly hit a construction vehicle that had slipped onto the tracks at the mouth of the tunnel.36 people, including the driver, were originally reported dead, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/02/taiwan-train-crash-many-injured-at-start-of-holiday-weekend">however Britain's Guardian newspaper said the death toll now sits at 41.</a> Around 100 of the remaining passengers have been rescued, while another 200 remain trapped,<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-56612248"> according to the BBC.</a>The crash, which occurred on the first day of the island's long weekend "Tomb Sweeping" holiday, is its worst rail disaster in at least four decades.Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's president, issued a statement saying she had ordered hospitals to prepare for a mass casualty event."In response to a train derailment in Hualien, Taiwan, our emergency services have been fully mobilized to rescue &amp; assist the passengers &amp; railway staff affected," <a href="https://twitter.com/iingwen/status/1377857484598038528">she tweeted.</a> "We will continue to do everything we can to ensure their safety in the wake of this heartbreaking incident."The cause of the crash is now under investigation by the transport safety council. <a href="https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4166946">But Taiwan News reports</a> authorities suspect the construction vehicle that slipped into the train's path was not parked properly and had slid down from a nearby road."Our train crashed into a truck," one man said in a video aired on Taiwanese television. "The truck came falling down."Another rescued passenger told reporters: "We were asleep and then suddenly there was an intense strike and I fell down on the floor and my head was bleeding."<div type="image" title="Taiwan" height="1125" width="2000" msid="81871343" hostid="261"></div>The last major train derailment in Taiwan occurred in 2018 and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-taiwan-train-accident-kills-at-least-17-2018-10?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">left 18 people dead and 175 injured at the southern end of the same line.</a> The driver of the train was later charged with negligent homicide.In 1981, 30 were killed and 112 injured after two trains collided in northern Miaoli.

Over 40 people have died and hundreds are trapped after a train derailed in a tunnel in Taiwan

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An Ohio train derailment prompted officials to conduct a "controlled release" of chemicals onboard.</li><li>A week later, local streams were full of dead fish and chickens have been found dead in their coop.</li></ul>Days after a <a href="https://www.insider.com/ohio-train-derailment-could-cause-explosion-east-palestine-authorities-warn-2023-2">catastrophic train derailment</a> prompted officials to conduct a "controlled release" of <a href="https://www.insider.com/ohio-train-derailment-chemicals-vinyl-chloride-benzene-2023-2">the toxic chemicals</a> onboard, animals are dying at alarming rates in East Palestine, Ohio.A woman in North Lima, roughly 11 miles away from the village of East Palestine, where the crash occurred, checked on her chicken coop on February 7 only to find her five hens and rooster laying lifeless, with no sign of a predator entering their enclosure."I'm beyond upset and quite panicked, 'cause this, they may be just chickens, but they're family," Amanda Breshears told local news outlet <a href="https://www.abc27.com/news/north-lima-woman-finds-chickens-dead-tuesday-questions-chemical-release-from-train/">ABC27 WHTM</a>.Local officials said during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HRSAqXUDcE">Tuesday press conference</a> that most drinking water in the region is safe to drink. However, residents with private water sources were instructed to drink bottled water until the state can confirm the safety of their water source. The state Environmental Protection Agency is also monitoring air quality and <a href="https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated</a> there is no reason for concern. But Breshears and other Ohio residents aren't fully convinced."My video camera footage shows my chickens were perfectly fine before they started this burn, and as soon as they started the burn, my chickens slowed down and they died," Breshears said. "If it can do this to chickens in one night, imagine what it's going to do to us in 20 years."In addition to domesticated animals possibly suffering from the toxin exposure, locals have reported seeing streams full of dead fish in recent days. An official with the Ohio EPA confirmed toxic material had entered the waterways after the burn and killed fish but reiterated that drinking water is safe and air contaminant levels are not currently cause for concern.Officials with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday they had counted approximately 3,500 dead fish in four nearby waterways. In early sampling in the immediate days following the Feb. 3 crash, officials counted deaths among 12 different species, none of which are currently listed as endangered or threatened. Officials said they haven't noted any increase in the number of dead fish in recent days. Onboard the train — which derailed in a fiery crash earlier this month — were highly flammable hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, used to create a polymer that forms a popular plastic. Worried that the materials could explode, <a href="https://www.insider.com/ohio-train-derailment-could-cause-explosion-east-palestine-authorities-warn-2023-2">sending deadly shrapnel flying up to a mile through the air</a>, officials conducted a "controlled release" of the chemicals and burnt them, sending a <a href="https://www.insider.com/east-palestine-ohio-residents-sue-train-company-chemical-fire-2023-2">toxic cloud of black smoke</a> into the air.<div type="image" title="aerial image if derailed train on fire" height="1579" width="3159" msid="97902045" hostid="261"></div>Rail crews released the chemical by drilling a small hole into the tank car, <a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/ohio/ohio-train-derailment-explosion-concerns-train-derailment-east-palestine-columbiana-county/95-1957b1ff-e6a5-423a-9885-7b710bb74077" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">an official with the railroad told local outlet WKYC</a>. "This will allow the material to come out of the tank car," Scott Deutsch, a Norfolk Southern Railroad official, said on Monday, prior to the fire, according to WKYC. "It will go into a pit and trench that we have dug and set up for this operation. Inside that trench will be flares lining that trench that then will light off the material."Representatives from the East Palestine village council and the Ohio Governor's office did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.Breshears' chickens weren't the only fatalities locals are attributing to the burn. Taylor Holzer, an East Palestine resident who rescues foxes, told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/fox-dies-owners-arms-after-ohio-train-crash-releases-toxic-gas-1780529">Newsweek</a> all four of his animals are experiencing signs of chemical exposure. One rescue fox had such severe symptoms it died before it could receive treatment. "He went downhill very fast," Holzer said, adding that the fox had symptoms including diarrhea and breathing issues. "He crashed so fast and unexpectedly. He wasn't able to blink or function properly as he died in my arms."Officials with the Ohio Department of Agriculture said they haven't seen any widespread symptoms among community livestock to cause concern about how the chemicals may be impacting animals. A state veterinarian told reporters that any residents with dead animals should first call their private veterinarian to seek guidance and consultation. Kurt Rhoads, an environmental engineer and associate professor at Care Western Reserve University, told local news outlet <a href="https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/02/06/explainer-what-chemical-is-board-derailed-ohio-train-before-they-burn-it-off-controlled-release/">Cleveland 19</a> that the impact of the chemicals will be measured for years to come as they seep into the groundwater and likely impact wells used for drinking."If I try to make a scale of things you would not want to have in a derailed, toppled-over rail car that's leaking and burning this is also near the top of that list," Rhodes said. "I can think of some worse things but I would put it at a seven or an eight."While the animal deaths initially alarmed residents, human health problems are also beginning to appear, even among residents who initially evacuated the area. Chelsea Simpson, who lives near the site of the derailment, told <a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/170570/life-ohio-train-derailment-trouble-breathing-dying-animals-saying-goodbye">The New Republic</a> she has had a sore throat since the burn, and her 8-month-old baby has suffered respiratory issues that are being treated with a steroid. Simpson said her eyes were bloodshot and burning after visiting her home for just 10 minutes a few days ago, and she has yet to return. "Re-entry air screenings are underway," read a Monday <a href="https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> by the EPA sent to Insider. "As of yesterday evening, 291 homes have been screened. To date, no detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were identified for the completed screened homes."There are 181 homes in the area that have yet to be screened. It remains unclear whether the burn will have long-term effects on the environment or residents of the region, and residents are concerned over the limited information released so far."It kinda sucks we're all getting the majority of our information from fellow residents on Facebook," East Palestine local Liz Smith told <a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/170570/life-ohio-train-derailment-trouble-breathing-dying-animals-saying-goodbye" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New Republic.</a> "So it's hard to tell what's true or not."

Streams of fish, a coop of chickens, and a skulk of foxes are among the animals reported sickened and dying after a catastrophic train derailment led to a chemical burn in Ohio

Welcome back! <a href="https://twitter.com/dandefrancesco">Dan DeFrancesco</a> in NYC, and I feel like my entire life has been a lie after <a href="https://www.insider.com/tiktok-artificial-sizzle-fajitas-restaurant-water-special-sauce-chilis-dennys-2023-3">learning the truth about "sizzling" fajitas at restaurants.</a>Today, we've got stories on a fintech that's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fintech-symphony-engineering-office-sophia-antipolis-south-france-2023-3">set up shop in the south of France</a>, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-kings-college-financial-troubles-small-christian-college-2023-3">potential downfall of a small, Christian college with Wall Street ties you've probably never heard of</a>, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/avoid-these-intermittent-fasting-mistakes-for-weight-loss-researcher-2023-3">why you're doing intermittent fasting all wrong</a>. But first, now what?If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-on-wall-street">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a href="https://www.insider.com/app">here</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-bank-failure-long-term-impact-tech-vc-finance-2023-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>1. Picking up the pieces from SVB.Where do we go from here?It's just over a week from Federal regulators announcing they would be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-government-bails-out-silicon-valley-bank-depositors-fdic-2023-3">bailing out depositors of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank</a>. Now, the FDIC said Sunday that New York Community Bancorp's Flagstar Bank will take on <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23021.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly all of Signature Bridge Bank's deposits</a>.The initial bail out was meant to stop panic among the general public and limit contagion.About that...The past week has not been kind to the banking industry. SVB Financial, the parent company, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/svb-bankruptcy-chapter-11-auction-silicon-valley-bank-closure-fdic-2023-3?_gl=1*1r388ph*_ga*NDEwMTkzOTE2LjE2NjYxMjcyNDQ.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3OTA2MDYxNC41MDAuMS4xNjc5MDc2NTU3LjYwLjAuMA..">has filed for bankruptcy</a> as it still awaits a potential buyer. Meanwhile, the biggest US banks <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/first-republic-bank-svb-morgan-stanley-jpmorgan-talks-financial-aid-2023-3?_gl=1*h8ou9k*_ga*NDEwMTkzOTE2LjE2NjYxMjcyNDQ.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3OTI0NzMxOS41MDEuMS4xNjc5MjQ5MjEzLjguMC4w">stepped in to deposit $30 billion into First Republic</a>.Still, that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/first-republic-bank-rescue-sale-problems2023-3">might still not be enough to save the beleaguered bank</a>. It's gotten so bad that famed investor and noted Midwesterner Warren Buffett is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-white-house-investment-in-regional-banks-2023-3">talking to the Biden administration about how to save regional banks</a>. The bad banking vibes have even spread across the pond. Credit Suisse, whose problems long preceded SVB's downfall, to be fair, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-suisse-ubs-offers-up-to-billion-rescue-deal-report-2023-3">is getting acquired by Swiss rival UBS</a>. The deal is worth $2 billion, a considerable amount less than what the bank's market cap was on Friday. Here's a <a href="https://www.snb.ch/en/mmr/reference/pre_20230319/source/pre_20230319.en.pdf">statement from the Swiss National Bank on the news</a>.In an hour-long call held late on Sunday evening, top UBS executives <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-credit-suisse-acquisition-colm-kelleher-2023-3">defended their decision</a> — and analysts began breaking down <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-credit-suisse-acquisition-colm-kelleher-2023-3">what comes next</a>.But, as we look at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-credit-suisse-acquisition-colm-kelleher-2023-3">what the future holds</a> for the world of finance, it's worth remembering how we got here. Insider has you covered with three features looking at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-and-founders-silicon-valley-bank-meltdown-fdic-supporting-bank-2023-3?r=rr">the play-by-play perspective on how SVB fell apart</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-banks-svb-first-republic-jpmorgan-rescue-crisis-2023-3">why big banks came out on top</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-bank-failure-long-term-impact-tech-vc-finance-2023-3">how the knock-on effects will be felt for years to come across industries</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-and-founders-silicon-valley-bank-meltdown-fdic-supporting-bank-2023-3?r=rr">Panic and recrimination: Inside Silicon Valley's first real financial crisis.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-banks-svb-first-republic-jpmorgan-rescue-crisis-2023-3">Wall Street keeps winning even in a banking crisis.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-bank-failure-long-term-impact-tech-vc-finance-2023-3">Silicon Valley Bank was the bank for tech. Its collapse is everyone's problem.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-credit-suisse-acquisition-colm-kelleher-2023-3">Top UBS executives defend their "emergency rescue" of Credit Suisse. Here's what comes next.</a>In other news:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fintech-symphony-engineering-office-sophia-antipolis-south-france-2023-3"></a><div type="image" title="French Riviera" height="4512" width="7033" msid="98811383" hostid="261" sizebytes="3303096"></div>2. Fintech in the south of France. Messaging and workflow startup Symphony opened an engineering hub just outside Nice where employees can split their time between the Alps and the French Riviera. (Must be Nice!) <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fintech-symphony-engineering-office-sophia-antipolis-south-france-2023-3">Check out photos from an office location we are all jealous of.</a>3. VC's LPs weigh in. The people backing venture capitalists, known as limited partners, share their thoughts on how VCs handled the crisis at Silicon Valley Bank. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lp-react-how-venture-capital-responded-svb-collapse-2023-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read more here</a>.4. My college might soon no longer exist. Insider's Paige Hagy has a fascinating first-person look at her experience attending The King's College. The small, Christian school in New York City's financial district is on the brink of going under. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-kings-college-financial-troubles-small-christian-college-2023-3">You're gonna want to read this one.</a>5. Invest in single-family rentals, they said. It'll be easy, they said. From iguanas squatting in the attic to dozens of snakes living in the walls, Wall Street is getting a crash course on being a landlord at scale. <a href="https://www.insider.com/corporate-single-family-rental-landlords-face-peculiar-maintenance-2023-3">More wild examples of the challenges of property management</a>. 6. PE and porn. The parent company of Pornhub (a website I am sure none of you are familiar with) was acquired by a new private-equity firm named, wait for it, Ethical Capital, The Financial Times reports. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/69c3295e-6f45-4b5f-8e7b-3b8d56ca46c8?campaign_id=4&amp;emc=edit_dk_20230317&amp;instance_id=87931&amp;nl=dealbook&amp;regi_id=110905846&amp;segment_id=128004&amp;te=1&amp;user_id=4cbce85b39b05a62487c63187ecd51cd">More on the deal here. </a>7. Forget Deadheads and Parrotheads, the Swifties are on tour. Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" kicked off this weekend in Arizona. We broke down what goes into preparing a city for the arrival of the superstar's rabid fans. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-starts-eras-tour-glendale-arizona-swift-city-2023-3?_gl=1*1kknr4y*_ga*NDEwMTkzOTE2LjE2NjYxMjcyNDQ.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3OTA2MDYxNC41MDAuMS4xNjc5MDg0OTc0LjM5LjAuMA..">From new bars to thousands of cookies, here's how to build out "Swift City."</a>8. So you want to get into the fast-food business? Fast food could mean fast money, but it won't necessarily come cheap. We've got the rundown on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-chick-fil-a-taco-bell-fast-food-franchise-costs-2019-5">how much it costs to open 12 of the biggest fast-food chains in the US.</a>9. How to ride the rails in style. Insider's Joey Hadden has ridden nearly 1,000 miles across multiple countries on business-class trains. <a href="https://www.insider.com/business-class-trains-amtrak-via-rail-trenitalia-canada-europe-ranked-2023-3">Here's where she ranks them all. </a>10. If you're trying intermittent fasting, don't do this. It's a popular diet, but you need to do it right! <a href="https://www.insider.com/avoid-these-intermittent-fasting-mistakes-for-weight-loss-researcher-2023-3">These are five common mistakes to avoid, according to a researcher. </a>Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Feedback or tips? Email <a href="mailto:ddefrancesco@insider.com">ddefrancesco@insider.com</a>, tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/dandefrancesco">@dandefrancesco</a>, or <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=b83e78f6bb45aba7034c3baf1ec66d1b6c1d3afa26264bdb8604d5b9f2351262&amp;postID=6414aa26a5f1ba686b007645&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fdan-defrancesco-29b12449%2F">connect on LinkedIn</a>. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffrey_cane">@jeffrey_cane</a>) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/hallam_bullock">@hallam_bullock</a>) in London.

Picking up the pieces in the wake of SVB's collapse

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="REUTERS/Bryan Woolston" title_caption="Rescue workers search for victims in the wreckage of a derailed Amtrak train in Philadelphia, May 12, 2015." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/555383c9eab8ea5b18fda37c-960/amtrak-philadelphia-train-crash-7.jpg"></div></div></div> <ul><li><a href="http://www.amtrak.com/home" target="_blank">Amtrak</a> has suspended service on its Northeast Corridor line between Philadelphia and New York.</li><li>Limited service may be available on other parts of the route. </li><li>Federal officials believe a new technology, known as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/passenger-train-crumple-zones-2015-5" target="_blank">positive train control (PTC)</a>, could have prevented the accident.</li><li>Using satellites, PTC technology has the ability to send warnings to those in control of the train. </li><li>If there's no response, the tech can automatically slow down or even stop trains that are moving too fast or approaching a dangerous area at too high a speed.</li><li>The federal government has mandated PTC technology be installed on all track in the US by year's end.</li><li>Amtrak has begun installation of the technology on the Northeast Corridor line, but has not completed the work. The system is not yet operational.</li></ul>

Here's everything we know about the Amtrak train wreck in Philadelphia

<div type="image" title="congress economic crisis 2020 nancy pelosi mitch mcconnell CARES act coronavirus pandemic 2x1" height="1200" width="2400" msid="76121752" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>US lawmakers are about to blow the response to the economic crisis, and they're setting the stage for an uneven recovery similar to what followed the <keyword id="488590" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="2008-financial-crisis">2008 financial crisis</keyword>.</li><li>Experts say aid to individuals and small businesses has been slow to arrive, which is deepening the economic pain.</li><li>"We're going to have a really imbalanced recovery where large businesses recover pretty quickly, and regular people don't," said Amanda Fischer, <keyword id="28351" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="policy">policy</keyword> director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.</li></ul>America entered the new decade undergoing its longest economic expansion in history. The onset of 2020 saw employers jostling to hire workers, prompting retirees, disabled people, and others long shut out of the labor force to leap back in. <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/votervital/whose-wages-are-rising-and-why/">Wages rose</a> for workers at the bottom. Jobs were abundant as the US climbed out of the once-in-a-generation crisis from the <keyword id="121429" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="great-recession">Great Recession</keyword>.The coronavirus pandemic abruptly halted that momentum, and caused another generational emergency only a decade removed from the last one. Now, the stunning speed and ferocity of the nation's economic collapse over the last three months rivals the Great Depression nearly a century ago.Nearly 40 million Americans <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-weekly-jobless-claims-unemployment-filings-coronavirus-labor-market-layoffs-2020-5">have filed</a> for unemployment, a figure equivalent to the population of California. Scores of businesses across the country are <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/15/these-companies-have-filed-for-bankruptcy-since-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html">going bankrupt</a>, and many furloughs <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/20/most-americans-see-layoffs-as-temporary-but-research-shows-otherwise.html">threaten</a> to become permanent. Those components are deepening a downturn that's inflicting devastation on millions of livelihoods.In order to help businesses and individuals survive the economic shutdown, Democrats and Republicans in <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> along with the Trump administration have crafted deals authorizing $3.5 trillion in government spending. But the fragile consensus around the early response has quickly melted away — just as the lifeline of federal assistance is set to expire this summer for jobless Americans with little prospect of a quick economic rebound.Despite the bleak economic portrait, conservatives are urging to wait-and-see before electing to support another round of massive spending, citing alarm over the ballooning federal debt. By contrast, the Democratic-controlled House recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cares-2-whats-in-next-coronavirus-stimulus-bill-2020-5">passed a $3 trillion rescue package</a> to aid states and individuals, only to have it declared dead-on-arrival in the GOP-held Senate by Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.These deepening political rifts have created a situation where lawmakers risk blowing the economic response to the pandemic. And it's setting the stage for an uneven recovery similar to the years after the 2008 financial crisis. The subsequent decade saw <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-04-29/how-will-the-coronavirus-pandemic-affect-inequality?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_content=economics&amp;cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-economics&amp;sref=LspfQlRvcs&amp;sref=LspfQlRv">inequality accelerate</a> as incomes stagnated for the middle class while the wealthiest Americans saw increased prosperity. It was ultimately a trend that touched off political revolts in both parties.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-investment-strategy-for-passive-income-turnkey-providers-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A part-time real-estate investor quit his traditional job 5 years after snagging his first deal. He shares his no-hassle strategy that's allowed him to travel the world with his 6 kids.</a>"Absent additional interventions from Congress, we're going to have a really imbalanced recovery where large businesses recover pretty quickly, and regular people don't," said Amanda Fischer, the director of policy at the <a href="https://equitablegrowth.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington Center for Equitable Growth</a>, a left-leaning think-tank focused on inequality.Fischer added that mechanisms to direct government aid to corporations are working efficiently, while it is "very rickety and laggard" for people and small businesses.Still, experts say there are bright spots in efforts to assist struggling people this time. Robert Reich — the former labor secretary under President Bill Clinton — points to the $600 weekly boost in unemployment payments and the one-time $1,200 stimulus checks under the CARES Act, but notes it's not enough to tide people over meaningfully."In implementation, it turns out people have not gotten very much," he told Business Insider. "The real question here is how much money will be trickling down to average working people."<h2>Now is the time to set aside stinginess on federal spending</h2>To illustrate the scale of the current challenge, it helps reviewing the federal government's response to the last crash, which <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/business/economy/26inquiry.html">was largely caused</a> by reckless risk-taking by financial institutions and woefully inadequate government regulation. The ensuing meltdown brought the global <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> to the brink of a depression.In 2008, in order to combat what ended up being the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, Washington <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/a-guide-to-the-financial-crisis--10-years-later/2018/09/10/114b76ba-af10-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html">scrambled to assemble</a> a $700 billion bailout of the financial sector that President <keyword id="32754" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="George-W-Bush">George W. Bush</keyword> signed into law. Then his successor, President <keyword id="15962" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Barack-Obama">Barack Obama</keyword>, approved a $830 billion stimulus package shortly after taking office in February 2009. Even before its signing, the stimulus prompted criticism <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/economist-obama-stimulus-not-enough/">from some economists</a> that the new administration wasn't ambitious enough in its drive to revitalize the economy. It grew dismally for years afterward as a result. The Obama White House had watered down sweeping proposals out of fear Republicans would reject the hefty price tags, <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/3/26/21194227/did-the-stimulus-package-get-passed-checks">Vox reported.</a><div type="image" title="Obama stimulus 2009" height="1934" width="3869" msid="76121756" hostid="261"></div>The economic effects garnered from slimmed-down stimulus were slow to materialize, providing deficit-minded Republicans an opening to attack it as a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars. Yet there's a shared consensus among experts the rescue eventually boosted the economy and the nonpartisan <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/25099">Congressional Budget Office</a> concluded it created up to 4.8 million jobs.The stimulus, though, also represented a missed opportunity to inject a stronger adrenaline shot and speed up growth. The Obama administration <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/09/the-social-and-political-costs-of-the-financial-crisis-10-years-later">also drew criticism</a> for not building a stronger bridge for people crushed by debt, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-oct-14-la-fi-foreclosure-obama-20101014-story.html">particularly distressed homeowners</a> facing foreclosure.Now, a lockdown designed to curb the spread of the virus has thrown every sector from retail to manufacturing into a tailspin. The situation also mirrors the last crisis: An economy in free-fall, along with Republicans and Democrats waging a furious battle over the scope of the next federal intervention.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-stocks-to-buy-coronavirus-recovery-top-value-investors-advice-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Miller and 5 longtime value investors share 10 stock picks they're betting on right now — and explain why these are the best companies for the crisis recovery</a>But it's evident additional action is needed to salvage the economy. The CBO projected that unemployment will remain stubbornly high at 10% through next year — a figure matching <a href="https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2012/recession/pdf/recession_bls_spotlight.pdf">the worst unemployment rate</a> during the last recession.There are early signs, though, that top Democrats are anxious about the final price tag. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nancy-pelosi-democrats-fed-aid-on-autopilot-sticker-shock-2020-5?utmSource=twitter&amp;utmContent=referral&amp;utmTerm=topbar&amp;referrer=twitter&amp;fbclid=IwAR1sTXr81FfS20sm5SXc-I6L-ZEgA09DtsxdfFzVOn7edyO5XZjHrWZTj4UedyO5XZjHrWZTj4U">said earlier this month</a> Democratic lawmakers had opted against putting federal aid on autopilot to avoid heightening sticker shock in their sizable spending package.One thing working in favor of further intervention are low interest rates, which makes it cheaper to finance government spending and should enable a larger fiscal response compared to 2008."We're going to have larger debt and deficit numbers than we've seen for a very long time," Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and former economic advisor to Joe Biden, told Business Insider. "But we're also facing as large an economic challenge as we've seen since the Great Depression."Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned in a recent speech that a wave of bankruptcies and prolonged joblessness threatened to stymie a recovery unless the federal government acted fast."Additional fiscal support could be costly, but worth it if it helps avoid long-term economic damage and leaves us with a stronger recovery," he said at a webinar at the Peterson Institute of International Economics. Powell previously said it was time to unleash the "great fiscal power" of the US to battle the pandemic's catastrophic effects.<h2>Government aid efforts should be better targeted </h2>So far, federal efforts to aid individuals has been rooted in the $600 boost in weekly unemployment checks, as well as the one-time $1200 stimulus checks for tens of millions of Americans.Yet unemployment benefits trickled to people, particularly for gig workers and contractors, the product of aging, hollowed-out state safety nets. Around 60% of the 36.5 million people seeking to collect benefits have been paid what they've been owed, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-15/millions-in-u-s-living-on-the-edge-waiting-for-jobless-benefits?sref=LspfQlRv">according to an estimate</a> from Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation.Other forms of assistance were quicker, such as the Payroll Protection Program designed to keep workers employed at small and mid-sized businesses. It's drawn praise from some economists. Douglas Holtz Eakin, the president of the conservative American Action Forum, called it "the best part of the CARES Act" in <a href="https://www.americanactionforum.org/daily-dish/in-defense-of-the-ppp/">a blog post.</a>But PPP missed some of the hardest-hit sectors. Leisure and hospitality — which includes restaurants and hotels — account for <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56368#_idTextAnchor005">half the job losses</a> so far but received only 10% of the money. The program was also criticized for allowing larger publicly-traded companies to suck up funding. Many mom-and-pop shops failed to snag funds as well. "A lot of businesses are going to be left behind," Fischer said.Larger firms, meanwhile, are able to access a $454 billion bailout fund managed by the Treasury Department as well as the Federal Reserve's lending facilities, so they can prop themselves up. While the aid from Treasury comes with a few strings attached on limiting compensation boosts for executives, the same can't be said for help from the Fed.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-why-current-rally-is-trap-david-rosenberg-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Famed economist David Rosenberg says investors are falling into a classic market trap that's historically preceded a further meltdown — and warns 'there's not going to be much of a recovery'</a>"There's no constraints on buybacks, dividends or executive pay," Reich told Business Insider. "Those subsidized loans could easily end up in the pockets of extraordinarily rich people and theres no reason to think anything will trickle down."As a result, Fischer believes there will more concentration among industries as small businesses shutter and corporations come out ahead, pointing to their gains in the stock market. The S&amp;P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose 4% in May, achieving its best two-month performance since 2009, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stock-markets-dow-update-05-29-2020-11590727422">The Wall Street Journal reported.</a>Experts are urging Congress to consider additional measures to provide assistance to more people, including <a href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/RI_Four-Priorities-for-Pandemic-Relief-Effort-WP-202004-1.pdf">rental and mortgage relief</a> and extending the boost in weekly unemployment payments past July 31, the current end date.There are also calls for the government to <a href="https://eig.org/news/main-street-rescue-and-resiliency-program">guarantee zero-interest loans for small businesses</a> that could be repaid over several years.<h2>There's risks of a backlash if the recovery is uneven as it was in the 2010s</h2>The recovery after the Great Recession <a href="https://blog.oup.com/2020/02/why-the-great-recession-made-inequality-worse/">was highly unequal</a>. From 2009 to 2017, US households in the top 1% reaped nearly 49% of the income growth, <a href="https://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2017.pdf">according to an analysis</a> by Emmanuel Saez, a progressive economist at the University of California, Berkeley.That environment prompted a populist backlash and political upheaval. On the left, progressives argued corporations had amassed excessive power and rigged the economy in their favor, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/the-triumph-of-occupy-wall-street/395408/">animating</a> Occupy Wall Street in 2011. Around the same time, the Tea Party movement on the right railed against federal spending and out-of-touch politicians.The legacy of those movements helped unleash the energy behind the progressive presidential campaigns of Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020, who attacked wealth inequality and corporate power. Conservatives rallied behind Trump as he attacked illegal immigration in 2016 and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/us/politics/trump-speech-transcript.html">pledged to fight</a> for the country's "forgotten men and women."<div type="image" title="Donald Trump Minneapolis rally" height="2393" width="4786" msid="76121757" hostid="261"></div>For now, broad majorities of the public back the government's expanded role in the economy. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-means-the-era-of-big-government-isback-11587923184?fbclid=IwAR3ylszpDw_uWj9cKYOqMlodi6TxasxHLv00D9BkjSJDdlegiNzrYDxOcc0">A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll</a> released in April found around two-thirds of Republicans and Democrats support it, signaling confidence that the government is on the right course.But another uneven recovery will cause anger and cynicism to fester and manifest itself in unpredictable ways down the road — similar to the political turmoil of the last decade."There will be some people that like government because of this and some people that are resentful that they got too little, or somebody else got more," said Jason Furman, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisors during the Obama administration and now a Harvard professor.The nation is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/plagued-by-disease-unemployment-and-outrage-at-the-police-america-plunges-into-crisis/2020/05/29/c8329bb2-a1b5-11ea-81bb-c2f70f01034b_story.html?fbclid=IwAR1atjoXp50Ie2SCNGOcutVVxHsdzJw1LolbnVjAYvF74RbM-0kDoT-JO8k#click=https://t.co/pkbtWDCEXH">now convulsed</a> by a wave of large demonstrations against the police killings of black Americans, another element that's deepened the health and economic crises the US is facing.William Galston, a senior fellow studying governance at the Brookings Institution, says relief efforts will backfire if federal dollars flows to corporations and the wealthiest people atop the economic pyramid. The end result will hinge on whether people come to see it that way as well."There is an economic justification for these rescue packages," Galston told Business Insider. "But they're going to flunk a political test if a lot of people come to believe that the rich and powerful once again exploited the rules of the game or they were rigged in their favor."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/8-global-stock-picks-recommendations-post-coronavirus-landscape-david-herro-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Herro was the world's best international stock picker for a decade straight. He breaks down 8 stocks he bet on after the coronavirus decimated markets — and 3 he sold.</a>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-repeating-critical-mistake-2008-financial-crisis-inequality-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Congress' response to the 2008 financial crisis sparked a decade of inequality and resentment. The US is now repeating that mistake.

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Republican presidential candidate and real-estate magnate Donald Trump released a video on Instagram onn Monday, warning that China could bring the US economy down."I've been telling everybody for a long time China's taking our jobs. They're taking our money. Be careful, they'll bring us down," Trump&#xa0;said in the post. "You have to know what you're doing. We have nobody that has a clue."On Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump">he added</a>: "Depression- be careful of China!"&#xa0;Trump was apparently reacting to Monday's chaos in the stock market,&#xa0;some of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-markets-sell-off-aug-24-2015-2015-8">which has been attributed to China's slowdown</a>.&#xa0;At the market open, the Dow was down more than 1,000 points.Trump, who has constantly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-presidential-candidate-trump-china-devaluation-will-devastate-us-2015-8" target="_blank">railed against China&#xa0;on the campaign trail</a>, released several additional tweets declaring he had been right about the country:<div></div><div></div>Trump also said he is "perhaps" the only presidential candidate who can rescue the&#xa0;US&#xa0;economy from its current turmoil:<div></div>&#xa0;And his Instagram post on&#xa0;the subject&#xa0;can be viewed below:<div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-donald-trump-makes-speaking-fees-compared-everyone-else-2015-8">How much Donald Trump makes in speaking fees compared to everyone else</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="kzZTA0dzriVMCLyIHh1jezeKjVrTi04G" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Donald Trump on stock market tumult: China will 'bring us down'

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Xoan A. Soler/Monica Ferreiros/La Voz de GaliciaA wounded victim sits next to a body covered with a blanket after a <keyword id="41341" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="train">train</keyword> crashed near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern <keyword id="6363645" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Spain">Spain</keyword>, July 24, 2013. At least 56 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain's Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia.</div></div>SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - A train derailed outside the ancient northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday night, on the eve of a major religious festival, killing at least 78 people and injuring up to 131 in one of Europe's worst rail disasters.
In what one local official described as a scene from hell, bodies covered in blankets lay next to the overturned carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage after the disaster.
Firefighters clambered desperately over the twisted metal trying to get survivors out of the windows, while ambulances and fire engines surrounded the scene. Cranes were still pulling out mangled debris on Thursday morning, 12 hours after the crash.
The government said it was working on the assumption the derailment was an <keyword id="6354769" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="accident">accident</keyword>.
One official source said speeding was a likely cause of the derailment, which occurred as the train reached a curve in the track, but the public works minister said it was too early to draw conclusions on what had happened.
El Pais newspaper cited sources close to the investigation as saying the train was travelling at over twice the speed limit on a sharp curve and Santiago's mayor said the train was probably going too fast.
"We heard a massive noise and we went down the tracks. I helped getting a few injured and bodies out of the train. I went into one of the cars but I'd rather not tell you what I saw there," Ricardo Martinez, a 47-year old baker from Santiago de Compostela, told Reuters.
<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Oscar CorralRescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 35 people were killed and 50 injured when a train derailed on the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday in one of the country's worst rail disasters. Bodies covered in blankets lay next to carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage a few hundred meters away from the entrance to the city's main station.</div></div>
The Santiago de Compostela train operated by state rail company Renfe, which had 247 people on board, derailed as the city prepared for the renowned festival of Saint James, when thousands of Christian pilgrims from across the world pack the streets.
The city's tourism board said all festivities, including the traditional High Mass at the centuries-old cathedral, had been cancelled as the city went into mourning following the crash.
Passenger Ricardo Montesco told Cadena Ser radio station the train approached the curve at high speed, twisted and wagons piled up one on top of the other.
"A lot of people were squashed on the bottom. We tried to squeeze out of the bottom of the wagons to get out and we realized the train was burning. ... I was in the second wagon and there was fire. ... I saw corpses," he said.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was born in Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia region, visited the site on Thursday morning. He was due to go to the main hospital later in the day and hold an emergency meeting with local authorities.
"In the face of a tragedy such as just happened in Santiago de Compostela on the eve of its big day, I can only express my deepest sympathy as a Spaniard and a Galician," he said in a written statement late on Wednesday.
<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Monica Ferreiros/La Voz de GaliciaRescue workers help a victim of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 56 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain's Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia MANDATORY CREDIT.</div></div>INVESTIGATION
Both Renfe and state-owned Adif, which is in charge of the tracks, had opened an investigation into the cause of the derailment, Renfe said.
The official source said no statement would be made regarding the cause until the black boxes of the train were examined, but said it was most likely an accident.
"We are moving away from the hypothesis of sabotage or attack," he said. "It's too early to be 100 percent sure but speeding is a likely cause for the accident."
Santiago mayor Angel Curras told Cadena Ser radio: "It seems the speed of the train was likely not the right one."
Clinics in Santiago de Compostela were overwhelmed with people flocking to give blood, while hotels organized free rooms for relatives. Madrid sent forensic scientists and hospital staff to the scene on special flights.
The <keyword id="6355784" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="death">death</keyword> toll was 78, a spokeswoman for Galicia's Supreme Court said, adding that the figures were still provisional. Judges in Spain are responsible for recording deaths.
Up to 131 people were injured, a Galicia-based spokeswoman for the office of the central government said earlier.
"The scene is shocking, it's Dante-esque," said the head of the surrounding Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo,in a radio interview. He said he had declared seven days of official mourning in the Galicia region.<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Oscar CorralRescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 35 people were killed and 50 injured when a train derailed on the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday in one of the country's worst rail disasters. Bodies covered in blankets lay next to carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage a few hundred meters away from the entrance to the city's main station.</div></div>NO BUDGET CUTS
The eight-carriage train was travelling from Madrid to Ferrol on the Galician coast when it derailed, Renfe said ina statement.
The disaster stirred memories of a train bombing in Madrid in 2004, carried out by Islamist militants, that killed 191 people, although officials do not appear to suspect an attack this time.
Spain is struggling to emerge from a long-running recession marked by government-driven austerity to bring its deeply indebted finances into order.
But Adif, the state railways infrastructure company, told Reuters no budget cuts had been implemented on maintenance of the line, which connects La Coruna, Santiago de Compostela and Ourense and was inaugurated in 2011.
It said more than 100 million euros a year were being spent on track maintenance in Spain.
Firefighters called off a strike to help with the disaster, while hospital staff, many operating on reduced salaries because of spending cuts, worked overtime to tend the injured.
The city's festival focuses on St James, one of Jesus' 12 disciples, whose remains are said to rest there and who is patron saint of Galicia.
The apostle's shrine is the destination of the famous El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across the Pyrenees, which has been followed by Christians since the Middle Ages.
Wednesday's derailment was one of the worst rail accidents in Europe over the past 25 years.
In November 2000, 155 people were killed when a fire in a tunnel engulfed a funicular train packed with skiers in Austria.
In Montenegro, up to 46 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in 2006 when a packed train derailed and plunged into a ravine outside the capital, Podgorica.
In Spain itself, 41 people were killed the same year when an underground train derailed and overturned in a tunnel just before entering the Jesus metro station in Valencia.
(Additional reporting by Inmaculada Sanz, Sonya Dowsett, Sarah White, Andres Gonzalez, Blanca Rodriguez, Julien Toyer, Emma Pinedo and Raquel Castillo; Writing by Sonya Dowsett and Julien Toyer; editing by Mike Collett-White and Barry Moody)

At Least 78 Killed, 131 Injured, In Spain Train Disaster

<a><div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image">REUTERS/Luke MacGregorA man stands alone at London Bridge Station after numerous trains were cancelled due to storms in London December 24, 2013.</div></div>LONDON</a>/<a>PARIS</a> (<keyword id="76338" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Reuters">Reuters</keyword>) - Hurricane-force winds and torrential rain disrupted transport networks and cut power supplies in <a>Britain</a> and <a>France</a> on Tuesday, one of the busiest <keyword id="6354692" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> days of the year just before Christmas, pushing the death toll to at least six people.
Winds of up to 90 mph hit both sides of the Channel with heavy downpours causing flooding, traffic jams, and cancellations of rail, flight and ferry services.
In <a>Britain</a> the number of people killed in two days of storms rose to at least five after a man died trying to rescue his dog from fast-flowing waters in Devon, <a>southwest England</a>. A teenager died in <a>France</a> on Monday after a wall collapsed on him.
Airports in <a>southern England</a> were disrupted, with some flights from <a>Britain</a>'s busiest airport, Heathrow, canceled or delayed. <a>Britain</a>'s second busiest airport, Gatwick, said one terminal had been hit by a major power outage on Tuesday and storm damage had temporarily cut all trains to the airport.
Passengers on a train heading to <a>Plymouth</a> in Devon spent the night stranded in the town of <a>Taunton</a>, tweeting photos of their 'bed', a seat, but praising staff.
British train operators canceled hundreds of services on Tuesday morning, by which time the storm had abated, leaving hundreds of thousands of people scrambling to get onto later services in and out of <a>London</a>.
The weather was expected to hurt British retailers, eager to cash in on the traditional pre-Christmas rush.
"Given retailers' hopes that the last couple of days before Christmas would see a final strong surge in sales, the awful weather could not have come at a worse time," IHS analyst <a>Howard Archer</a> said.
POWER CUTS FOR CHRISTMAS
Brittany and Normandy were among the regions worst hit in <a>France</a>, where 240,000 homes lost electricity, while in <a>southern England</a>, 150,000 homes were cut off from the power grid, according to the <a>Energy Networks Association</a>.
Spokeswoman <a>Morven Smith</a> from energy company <a>Southern Electric</a> told <a>BBC</a> Radio that some customers would be without power on Christmas Day.
British Prime Minister <a>David Cameron</a> tweeted: "I'm across plans to get electricity to many without power. My thoughts are with them and those facing travel problems this Christmas Eve."
Among those killed by the storm was a 48-year-old man who drowned on Monday in the Rothay River near Ambleside, Cumbria, in <a>northern England</a>.
A woman's body was found in a river in <a>North Wales</a> on Monday, another woman died in a three-car crash in Shropshire blamed on the difficult driving conditions while a body, yet to be identified, was found in a stream by a dogwalker in Telford.
In <a>France</a>, a teenager was killed and another seriously injured on Monday when a wall in a building site collapsed in Normandy. Naval authorities said a Russian sailor was reported missing after being blown overboard a cargo ship off the coast of Brest in western Brittany.
<a>France</a>'s SNCF national rail service reported numerous delays but said no rail lines had been put out of service so far.
<a>Britain's Environment Agency</a> said flooding was expected to affect much of the country, with 245 flood alerts, 125 flood warnings and one severe flood warning in place. Some towns in <a>France</a>'s Brittany region also faced severe flooding.
<a>Britain</a>'s weather forecasting agency, the <a>Met Office</a>, said conditions would ease on Christmas Day and Boxing Day but warned of further wet and stormy weather on Friday, causing more headaches for retailers during "the sales", the usually busy post-Christmas discounting period.
(Reporting by Sarah Young, Belinda Goldsmith and Kate Holton in <a>London</a>, and Yann Le Guernigou, Benjamin Mallet and Mark John in <a>Paris</a>; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Storms Wreak Havoc In Britain, France On Christmas Eve

<keyword id="24349" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hong-Kong">HONG KONG</keyword> (AP) - The year's most powerful typhoon was grinding closer to Hong Kong on Sunday, forcing hundreds of flights to be canceled and shutting down shipping after pummeling island communities in the Philippines and Taiwan with heavy rains and fierce winds.
Typhoon Usagi was expected to make landfall just north of Hong Kong late Sunday or early Monday, with forecasters warning that it posed a "severe threat" to the southern Chinese city.
Usagi - Japanese for rabbit - was classified as a severe typhoon, packing sustained winds of 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour, with gusts of up to 213 kph (132 mph).
The storm was downgraded from a super typhoon on Saturday - when its sustained winds fell below 241 kilometers (150 miles) per hour - as it passed through the Luzon Strait separating the Philippines and Taiwan, likely sparing residents in both places from the most destructive winds near its eye.
In the Philippines, Usagi left at least two people dead and two others missing, while in Taiwan nine people were hurt by falling trees on Kinmen island off China's coast.
By late Sunday afternoon, the typhoon was about 210 kilometers (130 miles) east of Hong Kong, moving west at 20 kph (12 mph), the Hong Kong Observatory said.
It was expected to skirt Hong Kong about 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the north between Sunday night and Monday morning.
The observatory said that by 7 p.m. local time it would raise the No. 8 storm warning signal, the third highest on a five-point scale, up from the current No. 3 standby signal.
The typhoon wreaked havoc on flight schedules at airports in Hong Kong, nearby Macau and mainland China, upsetting travel plans for many passengers who were returning home at the end of the three-day mid-autumn festival long weekend.
Hong Kong International Airport said 353 arriving and departing flights were canceled and another 67 delayed.
Two of Hong Kong's biggest airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair, said flights to and from the city's airport would be canceled from 6 p.m. Sunday and resume Monday if conditions permit.
Major Chinese airlines also canceled flights to Hong Kong, Macau and cities in neighboring Guangdong and Fujian provinces, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
Fujian province suspended shipping between mainland China and Taiwan, Xinhua said.
The Guangdong provincial government urged people to prepare for the storm, which was forecast to slam into the manufacturing heartland of the Pearl River Delta as it skirted Hong Kong.
Guangdong authorities asked more than 44,000 fishing boats to return to port, while Fujian province evacuated thousands of people from low-lying coastal areas, Xinhua said.
In Taiwan, more than 3,300 people were evacuated from flood-prone areas and mountainous regions. The storm also caused a landslide that buried a rail line on Taiwan's southeast coast, but rail services were restored by Sunday morning.
Another landslide late Saturday at a village in the southeast sent mud and rocks crashing through the ground floor of a resort spa, forcing the evacuation of frightened guests. The Chihben River breached its levies upriver, turning the town's main street into a rock-strewn stream, flooding homes and damaging vehicles.
In the Philippines, a 50-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman drowned when a passenger boat capsized in rough waters off northeastern Aurora province, the Office of Civil Defense said Saturday. Two other people were missing in the incident, while the remaining nine passengers and crew were rescued.
<div class="nc_footer">
Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
</div>

You Searched For "rail crash rescue" and got 9 results

Over 40 people have died and hundreds are trapped after a train derailed in a tunnel in Taiwan

Barnaby Lane

Streams of fish, a coop of chickens, and a skulk of foxes are among the animals reported sickened and dying after a catastrophic train derailment led to a chemical burn in Ohio

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert

Picking up the pieces in the wake of SVB's collapse

Dan DeFrancesco

Here's everything we know about the Amtrak train wreck in Philadelphia

Benjamin Zhang

Congress' response to the 2008 financial crisis sparked a decade of inequality and resentment. The US is now repeating that mistake.

Joseph Zeballos-Roig

Donald Trump on stock market tumult: China will 'bring us down'

Colin Campbell

At Least 78 Killed, 131 Injured, In Spain Train Disaster

Teresa Medrano and Miguel Vid…

Storms Wreak Havoc In Britain, France On Christmas Eve

Reuters

Hong Kong Braces For Gigantic Typhoon

Kelvin Chan, AP

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides