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Islamabad, May 21 (IANS) Five people, including three children and two adults, have died and around 38 more injured, many of them critically, in a blast targetting a bus carrying children of Army Public School (APS) in Balochistan’s Khuzdar area on the Zero Line at Karachi-Quetta Highway, on Wednesday.

The attack, suspected to be a planted Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast, targetted an APS bus carrying dozens of school children. The blast completely destroyed the bus, raising concerns of more casualties.Local authorities in Khuzdar confirmed the attack, stating that the injured have been shifted to Central Military Hospital (CMH) in Khuzdar for treatment, while authorities have cordoned off the area to collect evidence from the scene.Condemning the attack, Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said that his government will not only “expose the terrorists” operating in Balochistan but also eradicate them completely.Pakistan Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) also slammed the cowardly and ghastly attack targetting the innocent school-going children of the region.”Planners, abettors and executors of this cowardly attack will be hunted down and brought to justice,” the ISPR maintained.Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also strongly condemned the cowardly attack, stating “Our heartfelt sympathies are with the bereaved families of the children who lost their loved ones”, adding that “the beasts who carried out the cowardly attack on innocent children, deserve no mercy”.Last week, bodies of at least four labourers, hailing from different parts of Pakistan’s Punjab province were found in Balochistan’s Nushki district.Details revealed that the incident happened in Gulangoor area of Nushki district in Balochistan on May 14. The bodies of the victims were shifted to Teaching Hospital in Noshki for medico-legal procedures. Investigation revealed the identities of the victims, confirming that they hailed from different parts of the Punjab province.Labourers, workers, and government officials from the Punjab province have been targetted by separatist Baloch groups in the recent months in major attacks where identities of the citizens were checked before killing them.–IANSint/hamza/as

Seoul, May 21 (IANS) South Korea’s Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday…

Sydney, May 21 (IANS) Thousands of people have been isolated amid record-breaking flooding on the east coast Australian state of New South Wales (NSW).Heavy rainfall on Wednesday continued for a fourth consecutive day in regions over 100 km north of Sydney, exacerbating widespread flash flooding.The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) said that it responded to 887 calls for assistance, including 118 flood rescues, in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning.Around 16,000 people or 7,400 dwellings in the worst-affected areas could expect to be isolated for at least a day, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) quoted SES spokesperson Andrew Edmunds as saying on Wednesday morning.SES was aware of 52 people trapped on tables, verandahs and their roofs, he added.Local power provider Essential Energy has reported about 3,700 homes and businesses, mostly in Taree, Wingham, Tinonee, Burrell Creek, Hillville and surrounds are without power. “Crews will be out again today, assessing damage and completing repairs where it is safe to do so”, it said in a statement on Wednesday.Almost 100 schools in the affected areas were closed on Wednesday.NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib told Radio National Breakfast this morning that he has asked for federal support and said the Australian Defence Force is due to arrive soon to assist with rescues.SES Assistant Commissioner Colin Malone said in a statement that authorities were deploying “every available asset” to assist with rescues, Xinhua news agency reported.”We’ve also had a large number of calls for help that we are still assessing how best to access those locations,” he said.”We’ve advised those people needing assistance to move to higher ground, as we’re unable to currently access by boat, road or air due to the current weather conditions.”A severe weather alert from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said that some parts of the Hunter, Mid North Coast, Northern Tablelands and Northern Rivers regions recorded 20-hour rainfall totals exceeding 200 mm.It said that heavy rainfall is expected to continue through Wednesday and into Thursday for large parts of the state and could lead to “life-threatening” flooding.Senior BOM forecaster Dean Narramore told ABC television that some areas received up to 500 mm of rain in 48 hours.The water level in the Manning River at the Mid North Coast town of Taree, 250 km northeast of Sydney, on Wednesday morning surpassed the record-high set in 1929.Evacuation orders have been issued for residents in eight towns, and residents of three more towns, including Taree, have been told that it is too late to leave.Malone said that most of the rescues for people in trapped homes were being conducted in areas that were advised to evacuate on Tuesday.–IANSint/jk/sd/

Seoul, May 21 (IANS) The Kremlin is coordinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to…

Washington, May 21 (IANS) US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has instructed the Pentagon to launch a comprehensive review of the “disastrous and embarrassing withdrawal” of the US from Afghanistan in 2021. The withdrawal ended nearly 20 years of American military presence in Afghanistan and was overseen by then-US President Joe Biden and his national security team in August 2021.In a memorandum issued on Tuesday, Hegseth said that on August 26, 2021, President Biden’s administration led a withdrawal of US military and embassy officials from Afghanistan that led to the deaths of 13 US Service members and 170 civilians in a suicide bombing at the Kabul International Airport’s Abbey Gate.”This remains an important step toward regaining faith and trust with the American people and all those who wear the uniform, and is prudent based on the number of casualties and equipment lost during the execution of this withdrawal operation,” read the memo.He further stated that the Department of Defence had a duty to investigate the operation, as the US administration has an obligation to the American people and to the warfighters who fought in Afghanistan to get the truth.”Three and a half years ago, the Biden Administration’s disastrous and embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the deaths of 13 US service members and 170 civilians in a suicide bombing at the Kabul International Airport’s Abbey Gate. President Trump promised accountability for what transpired during that military withdrawal, and I am committed to delivering on that promise,” Hegseth said in a statement.The US Defence Secretary directed the Chief Pentagon Spokesperson and Senior Advisor, Sean Parnell, to spearhead a special review panel on the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.”Today, I am directing the Assistant to the Secretary of Defence for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell to convene a Special Review Panel for the Department into the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.”Sean Parnell spent 485 days serving in Afghanistan. He was wounded in action along with 85 per cent of his platoon and lost countless friends to the War on Terror. It is fitting that he will lead the effort to reexamine previous Abbey Gate investigations conducted by US Central Command during the Biden Administration,” the statement added.He also highlighted that Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a combat-decorated Marine officer who spoke out about the Afghanistan withdrawal, and Jerry Dunleavy, an author, journalist, and investigator who helped lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal, will also serve on the Special Review Panel.”Sean and his team will look at the facts, examine the sources, interview witnesses, analyse the decision making, and post-mortem the chain of events that led to one of America’s darkest moments. Sean and his team will provide updates at appropriate times to keep the American people informed of our findings and any directed actions resulting from our review,” the statement concluded.–IANSint/scor/sd/

Sindh, May 21 (IANS) One person died and several others were injured after police resorted to a baton charge and reportedly opened fire to disperse anti-canal demonstrators in Pakistan’s Sindh province, local media reported.

The unrest erupted in the city of Moro, in Sindh’s Naushahro Feroze district, where protesters, demonstrating against the construction of proposed canals over the Indus River, had blocked the motorway bypass road.Police, attempting to restore traffic, prompted the use of force. As the situation escalated, reports of gunfire added to the chaos, according to local media.Amid the crackdown, a planned roundtable conference by the Sindhi nationalist organisation Sindh Sabha was thwarted following a heavy deployment of security forces and road blockades near the Hyderabad Press Club, as reported by The Express Tribune.Police detained several individuals, and multiple Sindh Sabha leaders were confined within the conference hall. The group later confirmed that a team of lawyers intervened and safely escorted their leaders out of the premises.Sindh Sabha, which has long raised its voice against the enforced disappearances of Sindhi nationalist activists, had organised the conference under the theme “Let’s Join Hands to Take Steps for the Survival of Our Natural Homeland Sindh.”The event was meant to gather various nationalist parties to strategise against the exploitation of Sindh’s natural resources by the Sharif-led government.Local media, Dawn, reported that over four dozen activists affiliated with the Sindh Sabha Party, led by Ashfaq Malik, had initiated the road blockade to protest against corporate farming and the construction of canals as part of the controversial Cholistan project.The Cholistan irrigation project, inaugurated on February 15, has sparked widespread unrest in Sindh, where residents fear it will divert precious water resources from the Indus River to benefit agricultural lands in South Punjab.In March, the Sindh Assembly passed a unanimous resolution opposing the initiative, echoing long-standing regional concerns.In recent months, several political factions, including the ruling coalition’s key partner PPP, have staged protests demanding the project’s cancellation.Public opposition has intensified following what many see as the federal government’s disregard for Sindh’s water rights.The situation has been further complicated by the diplomatic fallout between India and Pakistan after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed by four heavily armed terrorists, two of whom were Pakistanis.The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan-based terrorist organisation, Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) as part of a broader response to Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism.The Sharif government, under increasing pressure, announced last month that it would halt the canal construction until consensus was achieved through the Council of Common Interests.However, the legal fraternity in Sindh has refused to end its sit-ins across the province, demanding a formal and permanent cancellation of the Cholistan project.–IANSint/sd/

Tokyo, May 21 (IANS) Japanese Agriculture Minister Taku Eto resigned on Wednesday following backlash over a controversial remark about getting rice from supporters. Addressing a fundraising party over the weekend, Eto had said, “I’m not buying rice. Thanks to my supporters giving me plenty of it, I have so much of it in my house that I could sell it.”The comment drew public ire as the consumers in Japan face soaring food prices, local media reported.Eto submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, hours before latter was set to face off in parliament with leaders of the opposition parties of the country. The Opposition was united in its demand for the removal of Eto from the Minister’s post, threatening a no-confidence motion against him.”I asked myself whether it is appropriate for me to stay at the helm (of the ministry) at a critical time for rice prices, and I concluded that it is not. I don’t think I can be the one implementing the government’s policy on rice at this time. Once again, I apologise to the people for making extremely inappropriate comments as Minister when they are struggling with surging rice prices,” Eto said, addressing reporters at the Prime Minister’s office after tendering his resignation.Eto’s controversial comments came when his ministry decided to release rice from emergency stockpiles to help curb prices that have roughly doubled from a year earlier due to a poor harvest, and the prices for the staple food remained high, Japanese news agency Kyodo News reported.The opposition lawmakers termed the comments as “insensitive” and “inappropriate,” while Ishiba apologised in an effort to control further damage as the regular Parliamentary session approaches.”I myself have to apologise deeply as someone who appointed him. The responsibility also lies with me,” Ishiba told reporters.Later on Monday, Eto told reporters that he was ready to step down if Prime Minister Ishiba wanted him to.”I retract my remarks fully and apologise,” said Eto, a lawmaker representing a constituency in Miyazaki Prefecture on Kyushu in Japan.According to a report of Kyodo News, the average price of rice sold at Japanese supermarkets between May 5 and 11 reached a record 4,268 yen ($29) per 5 kilograms, up from 4,214 yen between late April and early May, when it dropped for the first time in 18 weeks.–IANSint/scor/sd/

Seoul, May 21 (IANS) The top military officers of South Korea and the US vowed to further strengthen the allies’ trilateral security cooperation with Japan during their first video talks earlier this week, the South’s military said Wednesday.Adm. Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and his US counterpart, Gen. John Daniel Caine, held the talks Tuesday, which marked the first between the two sides since Caine took office last month.”Through the South Korea-US-Japan Trilateral Chief of Defense meeting set to take place in South Korea in July, (the two sides) agreed to further strengthen the momentum of trilateral security cooperation,” the JCS said in a release.The three countries have recently ramped up trilateral security cooperation through joint military drills amid growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.Kim and Caine also stressed the importance of establishing the capabilities and posture to effectively respond to advancing North Korean threats in line with Pyongyang’s expanding cooperation with Moscow, according to the JCS.North Korea is suspected to have received military technology assistance from Russia in return for deploying troops in support of Moscow’s war against Ukraine.Earlier in March, 2025, South Korea, the US and Japan have conducted joint naval drills involving the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, Seoul’s defence ministry said, in efforts to better deter and counter North Korea’s chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) threats.The trilateral naval drills, was the first such exercise conducted this year and since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January — took place in international waters south of the southern resort island of Jeju.–IANSint/rs

United Nations, May 21 (IANS) While the Security Council was debating maritime security and expressing concern over terrorism on the seas, Pakistan tried to bring up a river issue, the Indus water.That was in keeping with Islamabad’s total obsession with matters relating to India, regardless of the topic of discussion, which often makes for a theatre of the absurd.Without directly naming India but referring to it as “one major country”, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said it “displayed a concerning propensity to usurp and weaponise shared natural resources — including transboundary rivers — in flagrant breach of treaty obligations and the principles of good neighbourliness”.After the terrorist group, The Resistance Front, based in and backed by Pakistan, massacred 26 people in Pahalgam last month, India put the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance.Smarting under the action, Ahmad said India was “leveraging geography” to “the detriment of the lower riparian state that is Pakistan”.By avoiding mentioning by name, and using innuendos, he tried to avoid India using the right of reply to expose the assertions.India’s Permanent Representative P. Harish, who spoke in the session, contemptuously ignored it.Ahmad pouted over Pakistan’s exclusion from the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), a 23-member group of nations that, besides cooperating on a range of maritime issues, also take a strong stand against terrorism.The “coercive diplomacy” of “the one major country” has led to “the systematic exclusion of neighbouring states from regional maritime security frameworks, including the Indian Ocean Rim Association”, he griped.India took the initiative to found the IORA and objects to Pakistan’s membership because of its terrorism links. As Pakistan is unable to afford an aircraft carrier and is dependent on the arms alms of China and Turkey, Ahmad also complained about what he called the “aggressive naval expansion” by the “one major country”.–IANSarul/dpb