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ISLAMABAD: During the first quarter of 2024, Pakistan witnessed 432 violence-linked fatalities and 370 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, resulting from as many as 245 incidents of terror att­acks and counter-terror operations. This includes 281 fatalities among civilians and security forces personnel. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces, both bordering Afghanistan, accounted for over 92 per cent of all fatalities and 86pc of attacks (including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations) during this period. Individually, the former suffered 51pc and the latter 41pc of all fatalities in the first quarter of 2024. The data indicates that the remaining regions were relatively peaceful, suffering less than 8pc of all fatalities. 432 violence-linked fatalities and 370 injuries recorded; new militant group emerges Interestingly, militant organisations claimed responsibility for less than 20pc of the total casualties attributed to terror...

Ahead of Eidul Fitr, the newly elected government on Sunday hiked the price of petrol by Rs9.66 per litre for the next fortnight. In an an­­nouncement before midnight, the Ministry of Finance said the new price of petrol would go into effect on April 1, as recommended by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). The new price of petrol is now Rs289.41 per litre from the previous Rs279.75 per litre, while the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) has decreased by Rs3.32 to Rs282.24 per litre. The ministry said the changes were due to a corresponding rise in petrol prices and a decrease in HSD prices in the international market. It added the change was in line with the government’s policy of passing on price variations in the international market to the domestic market. In its previous fortnightly review, the government kept the petrol price unchanged at Rs279.75 per litre and reduced HSD’s rate by Rs1.77 per litre to Rs285.56. The petrol price was estimated to go up, owing mainl...

LONDON: The United Kingdom’s Labour party reported a loss of membership by 23,000 over its Gaza policy and environmental messaging, new figures revealed. Official figures showed that memberships fell from 390,000 in January to 366,604 last week, though the party is leading in opinion polls and widely believed to win in the next general election after a 14-year rule of the Conservative party. A report in The Guardian quoted a senior Labour figure saying, “It is a big fall in just two months. People were surprised, even taken aback.” It added that Labour insiders believe the fall is primarily a result of “anger among Muslim and other Labour supporters over Keir Starmer’s position on Gaza” and his refusal over several months to call for an immediate ceasefire. Labour leader Keir Starmer came under heavy criticism soon after the conflict erupted. On October 11, four days after Hamas killed Israeli citizens and Israel responded with an aggressive campaign of air attacks and blockades, ...

• Damascus says civilians, soldiers among those killed • Iran denounces attacks as desperate attempt to expand war • Moscow condemns ‘provocative’ acts BEIRUT: Israel carried out its deadliest strikes in months on northern Syria’s Aleppo province early on Friday. Israel has ramped up airstrikes in Syria against both the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in recent months. The Israeli military also claimed on Friday it had killed Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, deputy commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missiles unit, in an airstrike in Lebanon. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli attack targeted an area “near rockets depots belonging to Lebanese group Hezbollah”. “At least 36 soldiers were killed and dozens wounded,” it said, adding that six Hezbollah fighters were also killed. However, Syria’s defence ministry said Israeli strikes hit several areas in the southeastern part of Aleppo province around 1:45am (2245GMT on...

RAWALPINDI: A member of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) cabin crew on a flight from Lahore to Canada has been suspended after she was briefly detained by customs authorities on arrival in Toronto for carrying the passport of an unrelated person. Hina Sani was detained along with two other crew members who were also on duty with her on flight PK-789. However, the three crew members were later freed and allowed to travel back to Pakistan following investigations. Later, the PIA management suspended Ms Sani and announced it would take further action in line with the Canadian customs’ investigation report. It is against international law to carry someone else’s passport while traveling abroad. PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said the airline management was in touch with the Canadian authorities and cooperating with them in the case. He said the suspended crew member would face further departmental and legal action in the light of the Canadian authorities’ inquiry report. ...

ISLAMABAD: Ahead of Eidul Fitr, the petrol price is estimated to go up by about Rs10-11 per litre on Sunday (March 31) for the next fortnight, owing mainly to higher import premiums and global prices. However, the price of another key fuel, high-speed diesel (HSD), is likely to drop by up to Rs2 per litre. Given petrol’s current ex-depot price of around Rs280 per litre, the coming review may take its rate beyond Rs290. Informed sources said the import price of petrol has increased by about $4 per barrel, and its import premium has further gone up to $13.5 per barrel from $12.15 a fortnight ago because of the geopolitical situation. As a result, the price of petrol is estimated to rise by Rs10-11 per litre, depending on the final exchange rate calculation. Price of high-speed diesel expected to drop by up to Rs2 per litre On the other hand, the HSD price was down in the international market, and the import premium paid by Pakistan State Oil (PSO) remained unchanged at $6.50 per b...

BEIJING: Chinese consumer tech giant Xiaomi launched its first electric vehicle in Beijing on Thursday, injecting itself into a fiercely competitive sector in the world’s largest car market. China’s EV sector has grown rapidly in recent years — propelled by purchasing subsidies that were discontinued in late 2022 — and dozens of domestic automakers are engaged in a stiff price war to get ahead in a crowded market. Xiaomi is known for its affordable smartphones and home appliances, and CEO Lei Jun says he is now putting his “reputation on the line” with the SU7 EV, challenging Chinese car giant BYD and Elon Musk’s Tesla. A basic SU7 model will cost 215,900 yuan ($29,868), Lei told a glitzy launch news conference in Beijing on Thursday evening. The sleek and sporty SU7 will be available in nine colours and includes “sound simulation”, Lei said, “to recreate the thrill of driving a sports car”. It also offers plenty of other gimmicks, such as karaoke equipment and a mini-fridge. Xi...

• Commission irked at provincial assembly speaker’s refusal to administer oath to members elected on reserved seats • Former caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar among nine senators elected unopposed from Balochistan ISLAMABAD: The controversy over a delay in the oath-taking of Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Assembly members took a new turn on Thursday, as the Election Commission of Pakis­tan (ECP) hinted at postponing Senate elections if the provincial assembly speaker keeps on dragging his feet on administering the oath to MPAs elected on reserved seats. The order was issued by a five-member ECP bench led by Chief Election Commi­ssioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. The bench deliberated on several petitions urging the KP Assembly speaker to perform the oath-taking ceremony for members allocated reserved seats for women. “Under Article 17 of the Constitution, every citizen has the right to vote to participate in the governance of the country through their chosen representatives,” the bench ...

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly on Wednesday condemned the suicide attack on Chinese nationals and termed it a conspiracy to sabotage the Pakistan-China friendship. Through a unanimously adopted resolution, the lawmakers vowed to protect the CPEC and Chinese nationals. During the session cha­i­red by Deputy Speaker Sadia Danish, opposition leader Kazim Mesum and Javed Ali Manwa and Wazir Saleeem from the opposition benches tabled the resolution. The resolution condemned the suicide attack on Chinese citizens in Bisham and the terrorist assault on a navy base at Turbat in Balochistan and said that attacks at the beginning and end of the CPEC route are alarming. It paid great respect to all those who sacrificed their lives in the war on terrorism. Speaking on the issue, GB Minister for Law Sohail Abbas Shah suggested the resolution be declared unanimous. Opposition member Manwa said the attack on Chinese nationals amid talks for IMF loan seems to be aimed at discouraging in...

ISLAMABAD: Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — has been asked to lift a ban on the use of the Arabic word shaheed (meaning martyr) on its platforms, though the restrictions on describing “terrorists” as such will continue. Meta’s Oversight Board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, said in its advisory opinion that the policy to refer the term shaheed to individuals designated under its dangerous organisations and individuals policy disproportionately restricts free expression. The board has suggested that Meta’s current policy was unnecessary, and that the company should end this blanket ban. The ruling comes after years of criticism of the company’s handling of content involving the Middle East, including in a 2021 study Meta itself commissioned that found its approach had an “adverse human rights impact” on Pales­tinians and other Arabic-speaking users of its services. Those criticisms have escalated since the onset of hostilities be...

The Punjab Government issued a show-cause notice to PML-N MPA Malik Waheed on Tuesday after a video of the lawmaker’s “misbehaviour” with a sub-inspector surfaced. In a video doing the rounds on social media, the PML-N lawmaker was seen exerting pressure on Naseeb after the policeman had allegedly searched the MPA’s vehicle at Lahore’s GT Road on Sunday night. “Why did you knock on my car door?” Waheed could be seen saying in the video. Waheed also threatened the officer that things would be “very bad” for him if he did not apologise. The policeman could be seen excusing himself to the lawmaker in the video. The chief minister was alerted about the incident a day ago and said an inquiry was underway, adding that action would be taken. The show-cause notice from the chief minister’s office, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , said CM Maryam had raised serious concerns over the matter and directed the lawmaker to submit a response within three days. Separately, a pres...

A suspect in the shooting attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue is led to court by security personnel, ahead of a hearing in Moscow, on Monday.—Reuters • Seven booked on terror charges • Putin blames ‘Muslim extremists’, insinuates link to Ukraine • Macron says IS-K plotted to attack France, too MOSCOW: Russia has ordered at least seven men, accused of killing at least 137 people in a massacre at a concert hall in the Russian capital, to be held on “terror” charges, even as the death toll is expected to climb. The men face life in prison, although Russian officials have clamoured for the lifting of a moratorium on the death penalty to deliver even harsher sentences. In a series of late-night court hearings in Moscow that ran into the early hours of Monday, four of the men — with bruises and cuts over their faces — were dragged into the court in front of dozens of reporters who had assembled at the capital’s Basmanny district court. Russia’s FSB said it had detained a...

Adeel Abdullah Mangi WASHINGTON: The confirmation prospects for Adeel Abdullah Mangi, a Pakistani American nominated by President Joseph Biden for a US circuit judge of Appeals, seem increasingly precarious as partisan divisions deepen in the Senate. With Democrats holding only a slim 51-to-49 majority in the Senate and lacking Republican support, Mangi faces challenges securing the simple majority needed for confirmation. If confirmed, Mangi would make history as the first Muslim American to serve as a judge on an appeals court, which has the final say on most federal legal disputes. Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Joe Manchin recently declared their opposition to Mangi’s nomination. Cortez Masto cited Mangi’s affiliation with the Alliance of Families for Justice, a non-profit organisation advocating for criminal justice reform, particularly regarding cases involving individuals convicted of killing law enforcement officers. She stated, “I cannot support this nomi...

PESHAWAR: More than a dozen candidates belonging to the main opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who were notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on reserved seats , have urged the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to ensure they are administered oath of office before the upcoming Senate elections. Six women MPAs-elect of the JUI-F on Monday filed a writ petition asking the PHC to declare the non-administration of oath to them “illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional”, while eight returned candidates of the PML-N and PPP challenged the same in a joint petition. As the PPP had also filed a similar petition last Friday, the PHC is expected to club all the petitions together at its hearing, scheduled for today (Tuesday). The petitions have been filed after the KP Assembly Secretariat declined to hold the sitting, despite an order issued by the governor to convene a session on March 22. On behalf of JUI-F MPAs-elect Aiman Jalil, Madina Gul, Rabia Shaheen, Neelofar Begum, N...

NEW YORK: Donald Trump was thrown a huge lifeline on Monday when an appeals court slashed what could have been a crippling demand for a nearly half-billion-dollar bond payment and also gave him 10 more days to pay. The Republican presidential candidate got the unexpectedly positive news about his New York civil fraud case while he was sitting in court for another case — a hearing in his upcoming criminal trial over paying hush money to a porn star. Trump had been facing a Monday deadline to pay the huge original bond pending an appeal against a judge’s decision that he is liable for fraudulently conspiring to inflate his net worth. Trump had made clear he was unable to find the $454 million and he risked seeing New York state confiscate parts of his property empire in response. Now with Monday’s decision, he will have 10 more days to pay just $175 million. Writing on his Truth Social app, Trump said he would “abide by the decision of the Appellate Division and post either a bond,...

ROME: Pope Francis, at the last minute, skipped reading his homily during a Palm Sunday Mass for tens of thousands of people in St Peter’s Square. It is very unusual for a pope to totally skip a homily at a major event such as Palm Sunday, which marks the start of Holy Week, a busy period leading to Easter. In recent weeks, the 87-year-old pope has been suffering on and off from bronchitis and influenza and has delegated an aide to read his addresses for him, but on Sunday his prepared text was not read at all. The Vatican gave no immediate explanation for why the pope skipped the homily. An announcer on Vatican Radio then said the pope had decided to not read the homily. However, the pope, dressed in red vestments, continued presiding, reading parts of the Mass and was driven around the crowd in a popemobile. The clerics, along with participants held palm fronds and olive branches at the service. Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2024 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/GkM...

QUETTA: Armed men kidnapped three coal miners in the Duki coal field area of Balochistan on Friday night, officials said. The officials said miners were identified as Johar Khan Ishaqzai, Shah Khan and Bacha Khan Yousafzai and two of them belonged to Shangla area of Swat while the third one hailed from Quetta. A heavy contingent of Levies Force and personnel of other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site and challenged the armed men. However, in an ensuing exchange of fire, the kidnappers managed to flee along with the coal miners. While no one claimed responsibility, officials believed the armed men belonged to a banned outfit and kidnapped the miners for ransom. Protest in Quetta Protesters demand compensation for Harnai blast victims On Saturday, hundreds of coal mine workers staged a sit-in to press the authorities to ensure safety and protection of miners in Balochistan, after the kidnapping of miners in Duki area and the methane gas explosion that claimed 12 lives ...

HONG KONG: A new national security law came into force in Hong Kong on Saturday despite growing international criticism that it could erode freedoms in the China-ruled city and damage its international financial hub credentials. The law, also known as Article 23, took effect at midnight, days after Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing lawmakers passed it unanimously, fast-tracking legislation to plug what authorities called national security loopholes. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the law “accomplished a historic mission, living up to the trust placed in us by the Central (Chinese) Authorities”. The United States expressed concerns that the law would further erode the city’s autonomy and damage its reputation as an international business hub. “It includes vaguely defined provisions regarding ‘sedition’, ‘state secrets’, and interactions with foreign entities that could be used to curb dissent,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Australia and Britain on Friday...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday assured Chinese workers of top-level security as it pushed for the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the launch of five special industrial zones. At a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal assured the Chinese side that Pakistan had made significant efforts to safeguard the security of Chinese workers and would further implement top-level security measures for Chinese personnel. He said security was a prerequisite for development, and Pakistan acknowledged the full recognition of CPEC construction and security risks. However, these risks would not disrupt work on CPEC projects, he added. The two sides agreed to intensify efforts to establish a new working group on five new economic corridors under the second phase, aligning with the Five Es framework — export, energy, equity, environment and e-Pakistan — already prepared by the planning ministry. ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, has said there is no pause in relations with the Taliban administration in Kabul despite recent military actions. Talking to Dawn on Friday after a meeting with Afghan Charge d’Affa­ires Sardar Ahmad Shakib, Ambassador Durrani described the meeting as a continuation of engagement with Taliban officials after the strikes against Gul Bahadur Group hideouts in Afghanistan. A day earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Office had publicly voiced desire for addressing the issue of terrorism with Afghanistan through dialogue and cooperation. The strikes, aimed at the hideouts of the Gul Baha­dur Group in Afghanistan, marked a significant mom­ent in the complex relationship between Islamabad and the Taliban government, which has been strained by the issue of terrorist sanctuaries since the Taliban’s ascension to power in 2021. This incident was notably the first instance of Pakistan deploying fighter jets into Afghan airspace for s...

PESHAWAR: The opposition and government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are headed for legal confrontation after the government refused to follow the order of the governor, who had called a session of the provincial legislature. On Friday, opposition members staged a protest demonstration against the government for refusing to call a sitting of the KP Assembly. They alleged that the government wanted to deprive the women and minority members, elected on reserved seats and notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan, of casting their vote [in the Senate polls slated for next month]. “This is their [women and minority members’] right to take oath. They [Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf] want to take four extra seats in the Senate polls,” said Dr Ibadullah Khan of PML-N, who is leader of the opposition in the KP Assembly. Dr Ibadullah, who was joined by opposition members from other political parties, regretted that on one hand PTI was complaining about alleged changes in Form-45s and Form-47s ai...

The PTI on Friday refused to accept Hammad Azhar’s resignation from his offices as the general secretary and acting president of the party’s Punjab chapter and urged him to continue performing his duties. Azhar had submitted his resignation on Wednesday, citing the litany of cases against him and the legal hurdles impeding him from acting out his party responsibilities of the two offices. Today, PTI leader Barrister Gohar Khan said that he had put the issue before party founder Imran Khan for consideration. He added that he was not accepting Azhar’s resignation based on Imran’s special instructions. “I request Hammad Azhar to continue to perform his organisational duties with full diligence, zeal and dedication as he has been doing since the first day. “He has the full confidence of founder chairman Imran Khan, me and the entire party,” Barrister Gohar said. He praised Azhar as one of the party’s loyal workers who had performed his organisational duties with “great persistence an...

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has directed pharmaceutical companies to print barcodes on the packaging of all local and imported drugs within one month. The companies are bound to implement the directives issued for all pharmaceutical and biological drugs for human use by April 20. The decision was made during the 51st meeting of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) Policy Board held in Islamabad on Wednesday. The meeting, chaired by the federal health secretary, was attended by the board members, Drap CEO Dr Asim Rauf and the authority’s divisional directors. QR codes will allow citizens to scan, verify prices and authenticity of medicines via smartphones A statement issued by the health ministry stated that the step had been taken to ensure the “provision of quality medicines and eradication of spurious/falsified drugs”. “The board also directed Drap to closely monitor the compliance and take all the measures including legal actions to ...

DERA ISMAIL KHAN/QUETTA: Two soldiers were martyred after a suicide bomber struck a military convoy on Tank Road, in the jurisdiction of the Hathala police station, Dera Ismail Khan, on Thursday. Police said the attack also injured at least 22 personnel. According to a police report, the convoy was on its way to Tank from Dera Ismail Khan when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the convoy, resulting in the martyrdom of two soldiers on the spot and injuries to almost two dozen others. Following the attack, heavy contingents of police and security forces reached the site and cordoned off the area. The medical teams of Rescue 1122 rushed the dead bodies and injured to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dera Ismail Khan. Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Army, had not issued an official statement about the suicide attack until the filing of this report. ISPR says militant killed in Panjgur operation Panjgur operation Separate...

GAZA STRIP: US top diplomat Antony Blinken touched down on Wednesday in the Middle East to bolster international efforts to secure a truce in the war, as the threat of famine looms in besieged Gaza. Global concern has mounted over the military conflict now in its sixth month. The latest flare-ups included an Israeli assault on Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital complex, an area crowded with thousands of patients and people seeking refuge. Overnight bombings and battles across the territory killed 90 people, said the health ministry in Gaza, which put the overall Palestinian death toll at close to 32,000. A senior Hamas official said on Wednesday that Israel’s response to the group’s latest Gaza ceasefire proposal was negative after mediators handed it over. Hamas says Israeli response to its truce proposal is negative “On Tuesday evening, our brothers, the mediators, informed us of the occupations position on the proposal … it is a negative response in general and does not respond ...

BEIJING: Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China in May for talks with Xi Jinping, in what could be the Kremlin chief’s first overseas trip of his new presidential term , according to five sources familiar with the matter. Western governments on Monday condemned Putin’s re-election as unfair and undemocratic. But China, India and North Korea congratulated the veteran leader on extending his rule by a further six years, highlighting geopolitical fault lines that have widened since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “Putin will visit China,” one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters . The details were independently confirmed by four other sources, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Another of the sources said Putin’s trip to China would probably take place in the second half of May. Two of the sources said the Putin visit would come before Xi’s planned trip to Europe. The Kremlin, when asked about the Reuters report, said information...

RAWALPINDI: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 777 plane, which made an emergency landing at Muscat International Airport due to engine failure 13 days ago, returned home on Monday after its engine was replaced with another one. The engine was replaced with one removed from another Boeing 777 plane grounded at Jinnah International Airport. The engine was airlifted to Muscat on March 10 on a C-130 cargo plane. Flight PK-714 from Madina to Islamabad carrying 392 passengers had to make an emergency landing at Muscat airport after one of its engines suddenly stalled and failed at 35,000 feet. The aircraft, with 357 passengers and 35 crew members, had taken off from Madina one hour and 50 minutes late. After attaining an altitude of 35,000 feet, the pilot noticed some problem in the engine. The plane was flying over Muscat when its left engine (engine number 1) suddenly stopped working. The cockpit crew decided to land at Muscat as it was the nearest airport. After gettin...

NEW DELHI: Students from different countries were assaulted on Gujarat University campus on Saturday evening, allegedly by a group that did not want them to offer namaz at the hostel, The Wire said on Sunday. It said some injured students have been admitted to SVP Hospital in Ahmedabad. “Around 300 foreign students from Africa, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and other countries study here at the Gujarat University,” Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik said, according to The Hindu . “In Block A, around 75 foreign students, who live there, were offering prayers at their hostel yesterday around 10:30pm. Stones hurled at 75 students in Gujarat University “Some 20-25 people entered the hostel premises and objected to the international students offering namaz there, asking them to do so in a mosque. They argued over the issue, assaulted them and hurled stones.” However, the police commissioner claimed, the situation was under control. An FIR was registered against 20-25 suspects and...

• Technical, operational details finalised • Facilities to be offered through foreign missions abroad • Set to start from Saudi Arabia, followed by other states ISLAMABAD: The government has finalised technical and operational details for providing online digital land record services to overseas Pakistanis through its foreign missions abroad and is set to formally launch the programme next month, starting from Saudi Arabia, to attract foreign inflows. This initiative will expand to other countries with large Pakistani diasporas such as the UAE, US, and UK within the next couple of months, followed by Spain, Italy, Canada, and so forth. The scheme, initially to be launched jointly by the Ministry of Overseas Pak­istanis (MOP) and Punjab Land Revenue Authority (PLRA), with the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to attract investments and remittances from Pakistanis abroad. “In order to facilitate overseas Pakistanis ...

LAHORE: The ruling PML-N on Sunday accused the PTI of running a smear campaign against the country’s martyrs, an allegation swiftly rejected by the opposition party. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar warned the party of action over its alleged campaign against martyrs of the Mir Ali checkpost attack, while Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif regretted that the PTI’s ‘love of power’ had become so intense that “you make fun of those who sacrificed their lives for Pakistan”. In a rejoinder, senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser censured both Mr Asif and Mr Tarar for criticising his party over its alleged involvement in an “insulting campaign” against the martyrs of Pakistan Army and security forces personnel, saying they were running “misleading propaganda” against PTI. Seven troops, including two officers, embraced martyrdom when militants targeted a paramilitary camp in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan on Saturday. The security forces later killed six militants in a clearance oper...

MOSCOW: A Ukrainian missile attack killed two people in western Russia, and a separate drone strike set an oil refinery ablaze on Saturday, the second day of an election that President Vladimir Putin has accused Kyiv of trying to disrupt. The Ukraine war has cast a shadow over the three-day presidential election , which is all but certain to hand Putin six more years in the Kremlin . In the Belgorod region, where cross-border attacks from Ukraine have become part of daily life, the governor reported the deaths of a man and a woman. Video obtained by Reuters showed fires ablaze and air raid sirens sounding on the empty streets of Belgorod city. Moscow accuses Kyiv of stepping up ‘terror attacks’ to disrupt presidential elections Dmitry Azarov, governor of the Samara region 850km southeast of Moscow, said the Syzran refinery was on fire, but an attack on a second refinery had been thwarted. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had repelled attempts by Ukrainian forces to cros...