Chinese President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte participated in the virtual opening ceremony of the Chancay Port on November 14. Xi arrived in Peru earlier in the day to begin a state visit and attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. During the ceremony, the leaders listened to updates from transportation officials from both nations and watched a video presentation on the Chancay Port project. Representatives on-site sought approval from the leaders to commence port operations. Both Xi and Boluarte jointly announced the opening of the port.Located 80 kilometres north of Lima in Chancay Bay, the port is a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative and the first smart port in South America. It is set to become a key hub in Latin America and a gateway to the Pacific. The first phase of the project will reduce shipping time from Peru to China to 23 days and cut logistics costs by over 20 percent. It is projected to generate 4.5 billion US dollars annually for Peru and directly create more than 8,000 jobs.

A special investigation team has been formed to probe complaints where students, eligible to receive a government grant to buy smartphones or tablets under the Taruner Swapna scheme, have not received the money. The funds have been fraudulently transferred to someone else’s bank accounts

Ten children were killed in a fire that broke out at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi Friday evening. The fire, possibly due to a short circuit, broke out in the children’s ward of the Jhansi Medical College which led to a stampede-like situation in the hospital. Doctors and medical staff were seen evacuating patients by breaking the windows of the ward filled with smoke.

“As per the staff present in the ward, the fire broke out around 10.35 pm. The fire broke out in one of the two units of the children’s ward possibly due to a short circuit. We have formed a committee to probe the cause of the fire. While most of the children were rescued, as per initial information, 10 children were killed in the accident,” said Avinash Kumar, district magistrate of Jhansi.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took note of the tragic accident and expressed his condolence to the families of the victims. He also directed officials and doctors to reach the spot immediately for relief work.

Heartbreaking visuals showed relatives wailing for the children who died in the accident. “My baby has burnt to death,” said a devastated woman who lost her child.