Thousands mourn beloved leader Jayalalithaa in south India

Hundreds of thousands of people thronged the southern Indian city of Chennai on Tuesday to honor their late beloved leader, Jayaram Jayalalithaa, a former film actress and popular politician.

Jayalalithaa, chief minister of Tamil Nadu state, died overnight following a heart attack a day earlier.

Indian actress-turned-politician Jayaram Jayalalithaa dies

Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the hugely popular south Indian actress who later turned to politics and became the highest elected official in the state of Tamil Nadu, died Monday. She was 68.

The Apollo Hospital in the southern Indian city of Chennai said Jayalalithaa died at 11:30 p.m. local time Monday after undergoing surgery following a heart attack on Sunday night.

Known by her followers as "Amma," which means "Mother" in the Tamil language, Jayalalithaa inspired intense loyalty among film fans and political supporters alike.

Two-time defending champion Wawrinka in Chennai semifinals

Stan Wawrinka advanced to the semifinals of the Chennai Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain Friday.

The top-seeded Swiss, a two-time defending champion, fired 14 aces to set up a clash with third-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire.

Paire also served 14 aces as he defeated Thomas Fabbiano of Italy 6-4, 7-5.

India officials investigate negligence after 18 patients die

Indian authorities were investigating possible negligence after 18 hospital patients died when rainwaters from massive floods in southern Tamil Nadu state knocked out generators and switched off ventilators.

The patients were in the intensive care unit at MIOT International hospital in the state capital of Chennai when floodwaters seeped into the room with the generators, cutting off power to the building and the ventilators earlier this week, state Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said Saturday.

18 die in India hospital as floods cut off power

Severe floods that hit the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu this week have killed 18 patients after rain waters knocked out generators, officials said Saturday.

State officials were investigating complaints of negligence by hospital authorities in the state capital Chennai, which is reeling from unprecedented floods.

The 18 patients were in the intensive care unit when a power outage affected ventilators in the hospital, leading to their deaths over the past two to three days, said Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan.

More rains coming as south India grapples with massive flood

The heaviest rainfall in more than 100 years has devastated swathes of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, forcing thousands to leave their submerged homes as schools, offices and an airport remained shut for a second day Thursday.

Chennai, the state capital, received more than 330 millimeters (13 inches) of rain over 24 hours, significantly higher than the average for the entire month of December, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.

More rains coming as south India grapples with massive flood

The heaviest rainfall in more than 100 years has devastated swathes of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with thousands forced to leave their submerged homes and schools, offices and a regional airport shut for a second day Thursday.

At least 269 people had been killed in the state since heavy rains started in the beginning of November, said India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh, although no deaths have been reported in the latest deluge.

Rights group: Release Indian folk singer accused of sedition

An international rights group on Tuesday demanded the release of an Indian folk singer arrested on charges including sedition for writing songs criticizing a state official for not banning liquor sales.

Police arrested S. Kovan on Friday for accusing J. Jayalalitha, the chief minister of southern Tamil Nadu state, and her government of profiting from state-run liquor shops at the expense of the poor. A large number of poor people die in India every year from drinking cheap tainted liquor.

Labor laws questioned after Indian maid loses arm in Saudi

Kasthuri Munirathinam, a 55-year-old mother of four from southern India, was plunged into debt after borrowing money to marry off her daughters. Like many before her, she was recruited through an agency and promised an opportunity to earn 1,000 Saudi riyals ($267) a month by working as a live-in maid in Saudi Arabia, the Arab region's largest economy where domestic help is in high demand.

On Sept. 29, just a few weeks after arriving in the kingdom, she tried to escape from her employer's house, using two of her saris to fashion a rope and climb from a third-floor window.

India's building collapse death toll rises to 42

Rescuers in India pulled another 13 bodies from the ruins of a collapsed building on Wednesday, bringing to 42 the death toll since the weekend with slim chances of finding more survivors, police said Wednesday.

5 detained, 26 dead in India building collapses

Police in southern India detained five construction company officials Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for dozens of workers believed buried in the rubble of a building that collapsed during monsoon rains. It was one of two weekend building collapses that killed at least 26 people.

2 buildings topple in India, killing at least 19

Rescuers using gas cutters and shovels were searching in construction rubble Sunday for more than a dozen workers feared trapped in the second of two building collapses in India that together have killed at least 19 people.