South Asia
Imran gets bail in state gifts case
A court in Pakistan has granted bail to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan in a case relating to the illegal sale of state gifts, his party said yesterday.
46 US lawmakers ask Biden to seek Imran Khan's release
The letter, sent by 46 Democrat and Republican lawmakers on Friday, was the second such communication in less than a month
Baloch separatists kill 7 Pak soldiers
Separatists fired on a paramilitary border post in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, killing seven soldiers, local authorities said yesterday, a week after the same militant group killed 26 people at a railway station.
SRI LANKA POLLS: President’s leftist bloc wins by a landslide
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist coalition won a thumping victory in a snap general election, gaining power to push through his plans to fight poverty and graft in the island nation recovering from a financial meltdown.
TOXIC SMOG / Pakistan’s Punjab declares health emergency
Pakistan’s Punjab declared a health emergency due to toxic smog yesterday, banning construction, shutting schools for another week and moving universities online, with a 3-day lockdown possible, the province’s senior minister said yesterday.
Sri Lanka president eyes parliament win in snap election
Sri Lankans began voting in snap parliamentary elections, with new leftist President Dissanayake's party expected to secure a big majority to drive through economic reforms
Bhutan to build ‘mindfulness city’ to woo investment
Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom that brought the world the concept of gross national happiness, is set to build a “mindfulness city” and began raising funds yesterday to help start the ambitious project.
Railway station blast: Separatists kill 26 in Pakistan
A bombing claimed by Pakistani separatists killed 26 people including 14 soldiers at a railway station in the southwestern Balochistan province, a hospital spokesman said Saturday.
26 killed in Pakistan train station blast
Banned militant group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack
4 soldiers killed in firefight with militants
The Pakistan army said on Thursday that four of its soldiers were killed in a firefight with militants near the northwestern border with Afghanistan.
‘Anti-govt’ samosa theft prompts India police probe
Missing samosas sparked a police probe in India with five officers facing disciplinary action for allegedly eating a plate of the savoury treats intended for a senior politician, media reports said yesterday.
2 ‘rebels’, 2 militia members killed in gunfights
Soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir killed two suspected rebels during a firefight, police said yesterday, hours after gunmen in a separate incident shot dead two members of a government-backed militia.
Pakistan’s Punjab bans entry to parks, zoos
Pakistan’s Punjab banned entry to many public spaces from yesterday, including parks and zoos, as it sought to protect people from severe air pollution in parts of eastern province.
5 schoolchildren among 7 killed in Pakistan blast
At least seven people including five school students were killed and 23 injured in a blast in southwestern Pakistan yesterday, a police official said.
Eight killed in western Pakistan suicide bombing
A suicide bomber detonated at a checkpoint in western Pakistan yesterday, killing eight people and wounding five more, officials said.
Pakistan militant attack kills 10 frontier police
At least 10 Pakistani frontier police were killed in a militant attack on an outpost near the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan, the interior ministry said in a statement.
10 Pakistan border police killed in militant attack: officials
Ten Pakistan border police were killed in an overnight attack on a check post by at least 20 militants, officials said Friday
Pakistan MPs get more power to appoint top judges
Pakistan’s government narrowly passed constitutional amendments yesterday giving lawmakers more power to appoint top judges, who have issued a series of recent decisions favouring opposition chief Imran Khan.