At least five security personnel were killed and 28 others injured in a blast in Sibi district of Pakistan's troubled southwestern Balochistan province during President Arif Alvi's visit to the area to attend an annual cultural festival, police said. The blast took place near an open area where the festival was being held. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and security personnel in the region. According to local media reports, the blast took place after President Alvi, who had attended the annual festival, left the area.
Pak SC raps Imran’s govt for ‘excessive’ ordinances
In a landmark ruling, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has rapped the government of PM Imran Khan for promulgating an excessive number of ordinances, observing that an ordinance could only be issued in “emergent matters”. The president or the governors cannot promulgate an ordinance without satisfying constitutional requirements, the apex court said. The landmark 30-page verdict by a SC bench that also elaborated the course of action for promulgating ordinances comes after Islamabad high court was told in July 2021 that the Pakistani government led by Khan had issued at least 54 presidential ordinances during the three years of power since July 2018. The provincial court was told that some ordinances were issued to even run the routine business of the federal government. According to Pakistan National Assembly’s website, over 16 ordinances have already been promulgated in the third parliamentary year of the current government.
Obama tests positive for Covid-19
“I just tested positive for Covid,” former US president Barack Obama, 60, said in a tweet. “I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative. It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down.” Falling case rates in the US have triggered the relaxation of most public health measures imposed by cities, states and the federal government. There were roughly 35,000 infections on average over the past week, down sharply from mid-January when the average was closer to 800,000. According to Johns Hopkins University, the US death toll from the two-year coronavirus pandemic stood on Sunday at a little over 967,000, from nearly 79.5mn cases.
Bodies of Covid patients pile up in HK hospital
A shocking photo has emerged showing bodies lying abandoned on stretchers next to living patients in a Hong Kong hospital as Covid deaths spiral in the city fueled by a low vaccine uptake. A medic working at the hospital said that the photo was taken inside the accident & emergency ward of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong. The photo showed six body bags lying on stretchers as bed-bound patients struggled to prop themselves up. Health authorities reported 29,381 new infections and 196 deaths last week. A hospital authority said that sometimes bodies cannot be transferred to the mortuary in time, adding that the situation has since been dealt with.
US bans entry of former Nairobi governor, family
Former Nairobi governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has been banned from traveling to the US along with his immediate family members over corruption allegations while he was in office. According to the announcement by Counselor for Public Affairs Eric Watnik at the US Embassy in Nairobi, Sonko’s ban from the US is based on "involvement in significant corruption” during his short tenure at City Hall. His wife Primrose Mbuvi, his daughters Saumu and Salma and his underage son have been deemed ineligible for entry into the US and have also been banned to engage in any form of business with the US. The flashy politician is currently facing over 30 charges of money laundering, receiving bribes and conflict of interest in Kenya, accusations he pleads not guilty.
Chinese Premier to step down in 2022
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is at the helm of managing the country’s economy for a decade, said that he will be stepping down this year, setting in motion the once-in-a decade sweeping leadership change in the Communist country. Barring President Xi Jinping, who has emerged as the most powerful Chinese leader after the ruling CPC founder Mao Zedong, the rest of the leadership of the party and the government is expected to undergo a change. “This is my last year as a premier,” Li, 66, said in a matter of fact voice. Li, who was groomed into various leadership positions by the previous President Hu Jintao, settled for the second rank in the party as 68-year-old Xi emerged victorious in the race for the leadership in the CPC Party Congress in 2012.
New IS chief is Baghdadi’s brother
The new leader of Islamic State, whose appointment the group announced last week, is the brother of slain former caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to two Iraqi security officials. Islamic State named its new leader Abu al-Hassan al- Hashemi al-Quraishi in a recorded audio message distributed online. The announcement came weeks after the death last month of Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, the man who in turn succeeded Baghdadi in 2019 and became the group’s second so-called caliph. Both Baghdadi and Quraishi died by blowing themselves and family members up during US raids on their hideouts in northern Syria. The new leader’s real name is Juma Awad al-Badri, he is Iraqi and Baghdadi’s elder brother, two Iraqi security officials said.
S Korea elects conservative outsider as prez
Conservative South Korean opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol rode to victory in a tight presidential election on a wave of discontent over economic policy, scandals and gender wars, reshaping the political future of Asia’s fourth-largest economy. His victory in the bitterly fought election marks a stunning turnaround for the main conservative bloc, now known as the People Power Party, which has regrouped since the 2017 snap election after the impeachment and ouster of then President Park Geun-hye. Yoon is a former prosecutor-general involved with Park’s case who fell out with outgoing President Moon Jae-in after being appointed by him, gaining notoriety for his investigations of top presidential aides.
Dutch diamond dealer found guilty over staged robbery
One of the most renowned diamond dealers in the Netherlands has been convicted of fraud and money laundering after staging an armed robbery of £3.4mn diamonds from one of his stores as part of an insurance scam. Mischa van Gelder, 55, told a court in Amsterdam that he now found his plot “incomprehensible” but that he had been motivated by financial difficulties when he hatched it with three other men in 2016. Van Gelder, whose family company, Van Gelder Diamonds, has sold to private individuals and traded in wholesale diamonds since 1904, pretended to police that he had been forced at gunpoint to open his vault during a raid.
