A suicide car bomber targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, killing two soldiers, a policeman and a civilian, the military and security officials said. It was the second militant attack to hit Pakistan in as many days. The bombing happened in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and is a former stronghold of the militant Pakistani Taliban group. Several civilians were also wounded in the attack, Rehmat Khan, a police officer said. The military also confirmed the attack. It said the attacker wanted to target a nearby public gathering but security forces “prevented a major catastrophe” by intercepting the car bomber. No one claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on Pakistani Taliban.
Avalanche kills 11 of Pak nomadic tribe
A snowy avalanche in northern Pakistan killed 11 people, including a 4-year-old boy, and injured 25 from a nomadic tribe as they crossed a mountainous area with their goat herds, police said. The avalanche struck the nomads in the Chambeli area of Shounter Pass that connects the Astore district of the Gilgit Baltistan region to the bordering Azad Kashmir region.
Writer seeks $10m in new damages from Trump
Writer E Jean Carroll sought to amend the first of her two defamation lawsuits against Donald Trump to demand at least $10 million in additional damages, citing comments he made after a court verdict favouring her. “She’s a whack job,” the 2024 Republican primary candidate said on CNN the day after a New York jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the Elle magazine writer earlier this month. The jury had ordered him to pay Carroll $5 million in damages. Those comments - with Trump adding that Carroll was telling a “made-up story” and that he didn't know her - constitute further “defamatory statements,” Carroll’s lawyers argue.
US bill seeks hiring of foreign health staff on H-1B visas
A legislation aiming at hiring foreign healthcare professionals on H-1B visas to help the US department of veteran affairs meet the medical needs of people has been introduced. The ‘Expanding Health Care Providers for Veterans Act’ was introduced by Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Delia Ramirez. If signed into a law, the legislation would make it easier for VA (veteran affairs) and State Veterans Homes to hire foreign employees on H-1B visas when they cannot find a suitable applicant in US. Specifically, the bill designates the Department of Veterans Affairs and State Veterans Homes as cap exempt institutions for the purposes of H-1B visa programme. “Our veterans deserve high-quality healthcare, and our district knows first hand the importance of providing access to care,” Tlaib said.
S Korea detains flyer for opening plane door
South Korean police detained a man who opened a door of an Asiana Airlines plane minutes before it was due to land in Daegu, causing panic among the passengers, officials said. The Airbus A321-200 plane landed safelylater. It had set off from the island of Jeju an hour earlier. Nine passengers, all teenagers, were sent to hospital after suffering breathing issues, a Daegu fire department official said. “I thought the plane was going to explode . . . It looked like passengers next to the open door were fainting,” an unidentified passenger said. The official said it was possible to open the emergency exit when the plane was near the ground as the pressure inside and outside were similar. The plane was two or three minutes away from landing when the male passenger sitting next to an emergency exit opened a cover and pulled a lever, so the door opened with the plane 656 feet off the ground, an airline spokesperson said.
Black boy who called for help shot by cop in US
A Mississippi family demanded a police officer be dismissed and charged with aggravated assault for shooting an 11-year-old boy when police responded to the child’s own domestic disturbance call at his home. Aderrien Murry, who called police at the request of his mother, was unarmed and following instructions from Indianola officer Greg Capers when Capers shot him in the chest, family attorney Carlos Moore said. The boy had called police after his mother, Nakala Murry, was threatened by a man, but Capers “escalated the situation,” Moore said. The man was his father, ABC News reported, citing Murry. Moore called for bodycam video to be released and objected to Capers being placed on paid leave pending the investigation. “We are demanding justice. An 11-year-old black boy in the city of Indianola came within an inch of losing his life,” Moore said.
Zimbabwe named most miserable country in the world
Zimbabwe has emerged as the least happy nation in eminent economist Steve Hanke's Annual Misery Index (HAMI), which evaluates nations primarily on their economic conditions. The African country that has surpassed war-torn nations like Ukraine, Syria, and Sudan and has majorly been plagued with skyrocketing inflation, which touched 243.8 per cent last year. A total of 157 countries were analysed for the rankings, as per reports. ''Thanks to stunning inflation, high unemployment, high lending rates and anemic real GDP growth, Zimbabwe clocks in as the world's most miserable country in the Hanke 2022 Annual Misery Index. Need I say more?'' Steve Hanke tweeted.
US state exonerates 12 ‘witches’
The US state of Connecticut has exonerated 12 people convicted of witchcraft in colonial America almost 400 years ago following a campaign to clear their names. Eleven of the accused witches were hanged after trials in the northeastern state of Connecticut in the mid-1600s, with one receiving a reprieve. Lawmakers in the New England state passed a resolution proclaiming their innocence and condemning the deaths of the nine women and two men as a “miscarriage of justice. ” It followed a campaign by the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project, a group that includes descendants of some of those killed. The group said in a statement that it was “ecstatic, pleased, and appreciative” of the senators who voted 33-1 in favor of the move.
Iran, Taliban exchange heavy gunfire
The Taliban and Iran exchanged heavy gunfire on the Islamic Republic’s border with Afghanistan, killing and wounding troops while sharply escalating rising tensions between the two countries amid a dispute over water rights. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said the Taliban of opening fire first on the border of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province and the Afghan province of Nimroz. The clash comes as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi earlier this month warned the Taliban not to violate Iran’s water rights to the Helmand River. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97% of the country now faces some level of drought.
US man shoots roommate for eating his snack
A man in the US state of Kentucky is facing criminal charges after allegedly shooting his roommate during a dispute over a Hot Pocket, which is a type of microwaveable patty. Clifton Williams, 64, was arrested on assault charges Sunday after he accused his roommate of eating their last Hot Pocket and attacked him, shooting him in the buttocks, police in Louisville said. The victim was taken to hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.