The World in Brief

Train cars are scattered at the site of a derailment in Yilan County in northern Taiwan on Sunday in this photo released by Taiwan Railways Administration.
Train cars are scattered at the site of a derailment in Yilan County in northern Taiwan on Sunday in this photo released by Taiwan Railways Administration.

At least 18 people killed in train wreck

DONGSHAN TOWNSHIP, Taiwan -- One of Taiwan's fastest passenger trains derailed Sunday on a curve along a popular weekend route, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 170 others, authorities said.

The Puyuma express was carrying more than 360 passengers from a suburb of Taipei in the north to Taitung, a city on Taiwan's southeast coast, when it went off the tracks shortly before 5 p.m. local time, the government said in a statement.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the accident.

Most of the deaths occurred in the first car, and it was unclear whether other people were trapped in the train, according to a government spokesman, who spoke on the customary condition of anonymity.

At the scene, searchers walked through an upright car with flashlights. The search-and-rescue work was to continue until early today to make sure everyone aboard was accounted for, Premier William Lai told reporters shortly after midnight.

"The underlying cause should be investigated to the maximum extent to avoid anything like this happening in the future," Lai said. "We will make the whole thing transparent."

The derailment happened at a railway station called Hsin Ma, but the train was not scheduled to stop there.

Hurricane strengthens off Mexico coast

MEXICO CITY -- A newly formed hurricane rapidly gained force off Mexico's Pacific coast on Sunday and forecasters said it could reach Category 4 status before hitting land by midweek. A hurricane watch was posted for a stretch of shore between San Blas and Mazatlan.

Hurricane Willa was about 260 miles south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes at midday Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. It was moving to the northwest at 7 mph, but was expected to start curving toward the north-northeast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Willa is expected to become a major hurricane by this morning and near the coast by Tuesday night. It said the storm could produce dangerous storm surge, while dumping 5 to 10 inches of rain across parts of western Jalisco, western Nayarit and southern Sinaloa states, with lesser amounts falling as it moves inland.

Conference knocked for inviting Bannon

LONDON -- Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pulled out of an Edinburgh conference because former White House strategist Steve Bannon is scheduled to speak at the event.

In a tweet Saturday, Sturgeon said she believes "passionately in free speech" but that she "would not be part of any process that risks legitimizing or normalizing far-right, racist views."

Bannon is to be interviewed by a BBC journalist and answer questions at News Xchange, a media conference in Edinburgh on Nov. 14-15. BBC News is a host partner.

"The email the BBC sent to my office justifying Bannon's inclusion described him as a 'powerful and influential figure ... promoting an anti-elite movement.' This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalization," Sturgeon said.

In a statement on its website defending its decision to invite Bannon, Edinburgh conference organizers said Bannon is "a key influencer in the rise of populism -- one of the dominant political trends of our times."

Bannon, who played a central role in the 2016 campaign of U.S. President Donald Trump, has been making the rounds in Europe as part of his plans for a foundation, called The Movement, to boost far-right parties in Europe.

Philippine farmers killed in land dispute

BACOLOD, Philippines -- Gunmen killed nine members of a farmers' group who occupied part of a privately owned sugarcane plantation in an apparent land conflict in the central Philippines, police said Sunday.

The victims were resting in a tent Saturday night when about 10 gunmen opened fire, police said. At least four farmers survived the attack at the plantation field in Sagay city in Negros Occidental province, which has a history of bloody land feuds.

At least two of the victims may have fired back at the attackers because spent pistol and shotgun casings were found in the area, Sagay police Chief Inspector Roberto Mansueto said.

The National Federation of Sugar Workers condemned the killings of its members, including four women and two minors. The group said the victims were forced to plant vegetables and root crops to feed their families on idle land that's covered by the government's land reform program but remained undistributed to poor farmers.

The group said that about 45 farmers asserting their land rights have been killed on Negros Island under President Rodrigo Duterte's administration.

Duterte's office condemned the killings, saying the administration "adheres to the principle that the right to life shall remain unthreatened by proprietary interests, and this extends to agrarian settings."

"Families of the victims of this extremely cruel act can count on the government that it will enforce the full wrath of the law against its perpetrators," presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports

photo

AP/JAVIER FERGO

A firefighting truck is seen after crashing near the village of Campillos, Spain, where heavy rain and floods have caused severe damage and the death of a firefighter Sunday, according to Spanish authorities.

A Section on 10/22/2018

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