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☆ Pakistan senator picked as caretaker PM to oversee elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz agreed on Saturday to name Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as caretaker premier to oversee elections, the Prime Minister's office said. "The prime minister (Sharif) and leader of opposition have jointly signed the advice which will be sent to the president for approval," the statement said. Under Pakistan's constitution, a neutral caretaker government oversees national elections, which must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the parliament's lower house - which in this instance means early November. The choice of caretaker prime minister has assumed heightened importance this time because the candidate will have extra powers to make policy decisions on economic matters, and amid fears the elections may be delayed by as much as six months. Kakar has been serving a six-year term in Pakistan's Senate since 2018.

Persons: Shehbaz Sharif, Raja Riaz, Anwaar, Haq Kakar, Arif Alvi, Kakar, Gibran Peshimam, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Potter Organizations: Pakistani, Geo News, Pakistan's Senate, Senate, Balochistan Awami Party, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Balochistan, Pakistan's

[1/2] A man reads a newspaper, a day after Pakistan's parliament was dissolved by the president on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advice, at a makeshift stall in Karachi, Pakistan August 10, 2023. As it stands, former prime minister Imran Khan, the main opposition leader, cannot fight this election. There are three main contenders to lead the next government: Khan's PTI, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, the brother of the outgoing prime minister and whose PML-N was the senior partner in the outgoing coalition government, is seeking a return from exile. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 34, the young chairman of the PPP and son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, is another key candidate.

Persons: Shehbaz, Akhtar Soomro, Anwaar, Haq Kakar, IMRAN KHAN, Imran Khan, Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Khan's jailing, Asif Shahzad, Gibran Peshimam, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, BE, Monetary Fund, IMF, Balochistan Awami Party, WHO, PTI, Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party, Constitutional, Thomson Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, Balochistan, Shehbaz Sharif

☆ China’s sitting on a goldmine of genetic data – and it doesn’t want to share
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The national survey and restrictions on foreign access are part of new regulations on China’s genetic resources, which came into effect in July. The national genetic surveyBiobanking in China – meaning the collection of biological samples – is still “very fragmented,” and in an “embryonic stage,” said Zhang. But these concerns aren’t new – and the national genetic survey seems to be geared more toward scientific research than other purposes, several experts agreed. But China has another motive, too: establishing what some experts call “genomic sovereignty,” meaning full control of the genetic material within their country. While many other countries also have laws regulating the use and transfer of their population’s genetic material, few are as strict as China’s.

Persons: Guang Niu, ”, Joy Y, Zhang, you’re, Wei Liang, ICHPL, Anna Puglisi, Puglisi, States –, Katherine Wang, ” –, Wang, “, Sun, Xi Jinping, Jiankui, Anthony Wallace, ” Zhang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Central South University, Centre for Global Science, biosciences, Shanxi Province Reproductive Science, Communist Party, Georgetown’s Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Gray, Group, CNN, Ministry of Science, Technology, National Health Service, National Institutes of Health, NIH Locations: Hong Kong, China, Changsha, Shanxi Province, Taiyuan, States, “, Wuhan, Xinijang, Xinjiang, Beijing, AFP, Harvard

☆ China's Hebei province plans for two years of post-flood reconstruction
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Wang Dan, 30, stands in floodwaters near a damaged corn farm, after rain and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, at a village in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China August 7, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File PhotoBEIJING, Aug 11 (Reuters) - China's northern province of Hebei may spend two years carrying out post-flood reconstruction, state media China News Service reported on Friday. Almost 5% of Hebei's 74.2 million residents were affected by the floods, with over 40,000 homes destroyed a further 155,500 houses seriously damaged, officials said. The province will make sure affected residents can move back to their homes or have new homes before this winter, China News Service reported, citing a briefing by officials. Reporting by Laurie Chen and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wang Dan, Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Laurie Chen, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: REUTERS, China News Service, Thomson Locations: Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, BEIJING, Hebei, Beijing

But there are new good deals all the time, you just have to go out to find them." That's what deflation looks like in China. As witnessed by Japan in the 1990s, deflation - if prolonged - can weigh on economic growth. "Good deals are needed to get consumers through the door so there is a lot of pressure on these businesses to find margins," said Ben Cavender, managing director at China Market Research Group in Shanghai. Restaurant worker Dong went to a wet market in central Beijing around lunchtime on Thursday, but did not buy anything.

Persons: Gao Yi, Ben Cavender, Zhu Danpeng, Joey Wat, Dong, Sophie Yu, Marius Zaharia, Sam Holmes Organizations: China Market Research Group, Guangdong Provincial Food Safety, Alliance, HK, KFC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China, Japan, Shanghai, Guangdong

☆ How the World Scout Jamboree descended into chaos in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

These were some of the conditions that about 40,000 teenage scouts had to contend with in the past week at the World Scout Jamboree, sending red-faced organisers in South Korea scrambling to fix matters before a looming typhoon forced everyone to leave the ill-fated campsite. As far back as 2017, when South Korea won the bid to host the jamboree, the campsite on reclaimed mud flats was seen as potentially problematic, according to a Reuters review of publicly available government reports. Matt Hyde, UK Scouts' chief executive, told Reuters the group decided to withdraw its contingent - the event's biggest - because toilets weren't being cleaned, rubbish was building up, and scouts weren't getting enough food. [1/5]Participants who left the camping site of the 25th World Scout Jamboree, arrive at a university in Incheon, South Korea, August 8, 2023. "South Korea has been known as a developed country so who would have thought that this country can't fix issues like bugs or toilets?"

Persons: Matt Hyde, weren't, Kim Soo, Kim Hyun, Hong Ki Yong, Josh Smith, Miral Organizations: South, FIFA, South Korea, Saemangeum Development, Investment Agency, Scouts, Reuters, REUTERS, WHO, University of Incheon, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, West Virginia, North Jeolla, Incheon, Korea's, Busan, Korea

☆ Five killed in South Africa's Cape Town amid taxi strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAPE TOWN, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Five people have been killed in the South African city of Cape Town as a strike by mini-bus taxi drivers that began last week turned violent, authorities said on Tuesday. The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) announced a one-week provincial shutdown last Thursday after failing to resolve various issues with the local government in Cape Town. "In Cape Town, violence will never be tolerated as a negotiating tactic. We reiterate our call on SANTACO to return peacefully to the negotiation table," said Cape Town city mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Reporting by Esa Alexander in Cape Town and Catherine Schenck in Johannesburg; Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bheki Cele, Hill, Lewis, SANTACO, Esa Alexander, Catherine Schenck, Wendell Roelf, Bhargav Acharya, Mark Potter Organizations: South, National Taxi Council, Thomson Locations: CAPE, African, Cape Town, City of Cape Town, Johannesburg

Yet the final days of Imran Khan’s political career tell a contrasting tale. Khan’s supporters – some armed with sticks and stones – marched through cities, chanting slogans against the ruling dispensation. To his supporters, Khan was seen as a political martyr, someone they had vowed to defend till the very end. Analysts say Khan’s arrest following a yearlong showdown with the military sends a pointed message to the former prime minister and his supporters. “Imran Khan’s political will wasn’t strong enough to begin with from what we saw.

Persons: Imran Khan’s, Khan, Khan’s, –, ”, Arifa Noor, “, Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith, Patrick Durand, Sygma, Pervez Musharraf, Arif Ali, Noor, “ Imran Khan’s, Shehbaz Sharif, Aamir Qureshi, Mr, Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, Salaar Khan, Khawaja Asif, Khan won’t, “ Imran, ” Noor Organizations: CNN, Cricket, Getty, Oxford University, Movement for Justice, PML, AP, Pakistan’s, PTI, CNN Monday Locations: Pakistan, Lahore, Islamabad, British India, It’s, Melbourne, Australia, Khan, British, AFP, India, Afghanistan, United States, Gujranwala

☆ Moody misses out on NZ squad for World Cup, Retallick included
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Rugby Union - 2018 Bledisloe Cup Rugby Championship - Australia v New Zealand - Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand - August 25, 2018 - New Zealand's Joe Moody celebrates with teammates after scoring a try. "But with the compilation of his time off and our programme, having to go into the first part of this World Cup fully loaded, we just want him to go and get some game time. "So whether it'll be round one, round two of the World Cup, we're not sure. Retallick's frequent second-row partner Sam Whitelock was selected for his fourth World Cup. The All Blacks will play the Springboks at Twickenham in London on Aug. 25 and start their World Cup campaign against hosts France in Paris on Sept. 8.

Persons: Joe Moody, Ross Setford, Brodie Retallick, Sam Cane, Loosehead Moody, Ian Foster, We've, he's, Retallick, Josh Lord, Foster, we're, Sam Whitelock, Braydon Ennor, David Havili, Finau, scrumhalf Brad Weber, George Bell, Codie Taylor, Dane Coles, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Ethan de Groot, Fletcher Newell, Nepo, Ofa, Tamaiti Williams, Tyrel Lomax, Scott Barrett, Tupou Vaa'i, Ardie Savea, Dalton Papalii, Luke Jacobson, Shannon Frizell, Aaron Smith, Finlay Christie, Cam Roigard, Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie, Richie Mo'unga, Anton Lienert, Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Caleb Clarke, Emoni Narawa, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Mark Telea, Will Jordan, Nick Mulvenney, Jamie Freed Organizations: Rugby Union, Rugby, REUTERS, All Blacks, Australia, Braydon, Wallabies, last, South, Blacks, Springboks, Twickenham, France, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Eden, Auckland , New Zealand, France, Hawkes Bay, New, Dunedin, Europe, South Africa, London, Paris, Lincoln

CNN —Days of heavy rain have caused severe flooding in China’s leading grain-producing region in the northeast, killing 14 people and raising concerns about food security as floodwater inundated farmlands. As the storm moved further north, another 14 deaths were reported Sunday in the city of Shulan in Jilin province. Firefighters operate a drainage machine near a village in the city of Mudanjiang in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province on August 5. A cornfield is submerged by floodwater in a village in Hebi city, Henan province on August 5. A flooded farm in Xinxiang city, Henan province on August 5.

Persons: Doksuri, Zhang Tao, floodwater, Typhoon Khanun, Xi Jinping Organizations: CNN, Xinhua, Firefighters, China’s Ministry of Water Resources, Communist Party, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Affairs, National Bureau of Statistics, China Meteorological Administration, Qiushi, Communist Locations: China, Beijing, Hebei, Shulan, Jilin province, Heilongjiang, Mudanjiang, China's Heilongjiang, Jilin, Harbin, Shangzhi, Wuchang, Liaoning, Hebi city, Henan province, Henan, Xinxiang city

Coins and banknotes of China's yuan are seen in this illustration picture taken February 24, 2022. BEIJING'S DILEMMALocal government debt reached 92 trillion yuan ($12.8 trillion), or 76% of economic output in 2022, up from 62.2% in 2019. To avoid that risk, the adviser suggested all stakeholders bear some of the burden: financial institutions, local governments, Beijing and society at large. From 2015 to 2018, local governments issued some 12 trillion yuan of bonds to swap for off-balance sheet debt. For the local debt problem to stop re-occuring policymakers need to implement profound changes to how the economy works.

Persons: Florence Lo, China's, Guo Tianyong, Logan Wright, ”, Tao Wang, Guo, Rhodium's Wright, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, Beijing, Communist Party, Central University of Finance, Economics, Monetary Fund, Reuters, Local, UBS, BBVA, Thomson Locations: Beijing, BEIJING, “, China, Lincoln

People ride a boat through a flooded road after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China August 3, 2023. The vast Hai River basin covers an area the size of Poland that includes Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin. On his visit to flood storage areas in Baoding, Ni added that it was necessary to reduce the pressure on Beijing's flood control and create a "moat" for the Chinese capital. "I'd like to know, among all the people living in flood storage areas across the country, how many of them know they are living in such areas?" As of 8:00 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Friday, Hebei had relocated more than 1.54 million people, including 961,200 from flood storage areas, state media reported on Saturday.

Persons: Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Xi Jinping, Secretary Ni Yuefeng, netizens, netizen, David Kirton, Ryan Woo, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Beijing, Hebei's Communist, Secretary, Reuters, China Water Resources, Ministry of Water Resources, Thomson Locations: Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, BEIJING, China's, Hebei, Poland, Beijing, Tianjin, Baoding prefecture, Baoding, Xiongan, Ni, Weibo, Bazhou, Shanghai

☆ Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan's lawyers cannot reach him in jail, spokesperson says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lawyers gather to protest following the arrest of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, outside his residence in Lahore, Pakistan August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza/File PhotoISLAMABAD, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Pakistani former Prime Minister Imran Khan's lawyers could not reach him on Sunday after he spent the night in a jail near the capital following his arrest the previous day on a corruption conviction, a spokesperson said. Pakistan's information minister referred a request for comment on Khan's access to his lawyers to provincial authorities in Punjab, where the jail is located. Thousands of Khan's aides and supporters have been arrested since May, according to the interior minister. Pakistan's government denies Khan's arrest was related to the election.

Persons: Imran Khan, Mohsin Raza, Imran Khan's, Khan, Naeem Haider Panjotha, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Charlotte Greenfield, Mubasher Bukhari, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, PTI, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Attock, Punjab

☆ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie are separating after 18 years of marriage. Here's a complete timeline of their relationship.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Maria Noyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau met as kids, but only began a romantic relationship after reconnecting as adults in the early 2000s. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau during the G20 Summit on July 7, 2017, in Hamburg, Germany. Sophie told Maclean she recalled having her first kiss with Justin when they were kids in his childhood home. Sophie went on to become an entertainment journalist. "I'm a dreamer and a romantic," Sophie said.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Mikhail Svetlov, Sophie, Justin, Michel Trudeau, Maclean, Michel, Pierre Trudeau, cohosting, Justin the, Justin didn't, I've Organizations: Canadian, Montreal Gazette, Vogue Locations: Hamburg, Germany, Mount Royal, Montreal, British Columbia

☆ China's northeast inundated in Doksuri's wake
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People ride a boat through a flooded road after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China August 3, 2023. Bridges have collapsed and roads were damaged across the city, state media reported. Rainfall this past week broke many records in Beijing and northern China, with the vast Haihe river basin hit with its worst flooding since 1963. Floodwaters could take up to a month to recede in Hebei province, a water resources department official told state media. Zhuozhou southwest of Beijing is the hardest hit city in Hebei province, with about 100,000 people - a sixth of its population - evacuated.

Persons: Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Typhoon Doksuri, David Kirton, Tom Hogue Organizations: REUTERS, China News Service, Thomson Locations: Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, SHENZHEN, Shulan, Jilin, State, Beijing, China's Heilongjiang

Evacuated residents have been transferred to makeshift shelters in hotels and schools, according to state media reports. A woman sits next to a flooded road following heavy rains in Zhuozhou, in northern China's Hebei province on August 2, 2023. Jade Gao/AFP/Getty ImagesFlood control zonesSome 857,000 people have been relocated from these areas, state media reported. Under national rules, the cost of properties damaged due to the release of waters in flood control areas will be compensated by 70%. Floods inundate a village in Baoding city, Hebei province, on August 2, 2023.

Persons: Typhoon Doksuri, Jade Gao, ” Yang Bang, Yang, Ni Yuefeng, “, –, Cheng Xiaotao, Shao Sun, Sun, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Ministry of Water Resources, Getty, University of California, CNN, Sun Locations: Hong Kong, China’s Hebei province, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Zhuozhou, China's Hebei, AFP, Hebei province, “, ”, Baoding, –, China, University of California Irvine, North China

In the waterlogged provincial capital Harbin, two vehicles plunged into a sinkhole that appeared on an expressway near a swollen river, local media reported. Paddy fields have also been inundated, and villagers in low-lying areas told to evacuate, local media reported. The storms and floods also triggered power cuts in nearby Shangzhi city, where supermarkets were running low on provisions, according to media reports. "I only managed to get a few bottles of mineral water and two boxes of instant noodles," a Shangzhi resident told local media after rushing to the supermarket after the storm alerts. "Some production and power equipments were damaged, and production had been suspended," the company said in an exchange filing on Friday.

Persons: Typhoon Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Doksuri, Jinrui, Liz Lee, Ella Cao, Samuel Shen, Ryan Woo, Gerry Doyle, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Aerospace, Holdings Group, Mineral Development, Thomson Locations: Mentougou district, Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, Northeastern Heilongjiang, Heilongjiang, Daqing, Harbin, Shangzhi, Jilin, Shulan, Zhuozhou, Hebei province, Hebei, Qinghai, Chongqing, Shanghai

☆ Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.25 billion. Here’s how it benefits the government
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Mega Millions jackpot grew to $1.25 billion on August 3, 2023. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesAfter months of no winners, the Mega Millions jackpot has grown to an estimated $1.25 billion this week, the fourth-largest prize in the game's history. The next Mega Millions drawing is Friday at 11 p.m. Lottery revenue isn't as consistent as income tax revenue, which may cause program funding shortfalls. Federal tax bill on a $1.25B Mega Millions jackpotThe federal government receives a sizable chunk of revenue after the lottery announces a winner because there's a mandatory 24% federal withholding.

Persons: Justin Sullivan, there's, Aravind Boddupalli, Boddupalli Organizations: Mega, Brookings Tax, North American Association of State, Provincial, Tax, Tax Foundation Locations: Federal

People sort items outside a supermarket, after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Beijing, China August 2, 2023. Zhuozhou borders Beijing, which was inundated with the most rainfall in 140 years between Saturday and early Wednesday, official data showed. Residents forced to leave their homes were temporarily resettled in high-rise buildings, but lacked access to electricity and water, local media reported. Many Zhuozhou residents took to social media to complain about how long rescue and recovery efforts were taking. Nearly 100 employees were trapped without food and water, and a toxic gas leaking from a neighbouring tape factory complicated rescue efforts, local media reported.

Persons: Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Liz Lee, Ryan Woo, Ella Cao, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Weibo, Global Times, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, Zhuozhou, Paris, Hebei province, Hebei, Weibo, Yongding River, Shanghai

☆ From Washington to Warsaw, a ‘greenlash’ is picking up steam despite extreme heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

A pushback against climate policies is not just a U.S. issue. Reprisals over climate policies come at a time of record-breaking extreme heat across the globe, with July poised to be the hottest month in human history. Ruling party leader Jarosław Kaczyński described the bloc's green policies as "madness" and akin to "green communism." "At the moment, it looks like green parties are not doing going fantastically well. "The IRA is called an IRA, it is not called a climate act because there's no way that you could get Democrats and Republicans to agree on something called climate," Tocci said.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, ESG, —, Kevin McCarthy, Drew Angerer, Nathalie Tocci, Tocci, U.N, António, Sadiq Khan's, Jarosław Kaczyński, Emmanuel Macron, Alexander De Croo, Ursula von der, Kenzo Tribouillard, Joe Biden's, Mark Rutte's, …, Jan Willem Erisman, Mateusz Morawiecki, Michal Hetmanski Organizations: Afp, Getty, Republican Gov, House, Biden, U.S, Capitol, Istituto, CNBC, Farmer, Movement, Internazionali, Belgian, Belgium's, IRA, BBB, Farmers, Anadolu Agency, Getty Images, Leiden University Locations: London, Marble, U.S, Europe, Florida, Washington ,, Italian, Poland, Ostend, European, Netherlands, The Hague, Polish, Warsaw

☆ ISIS Affiliate Claims Responsibility for Deadly Attack at Rally in Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | More About Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Islamic State affiliate in South Asia claimed responsibility on Monday for a suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan that killed dozens of people and injured about 200 more, in the latest bloody sign of the deteriorating security situation in the country. The death toll from the explosion on Sunday, which targeted a political rally in the Bajaur district near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, rose to at least 54 people, Shaukat Abbas, a senior officer at the provincial police’s counterterrorism department, said on Monday. The Islamic State affiliate, known as the Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, claimed on Monday that a suicide bomber had carried out the attack, characterizing it as part of the group’s war against democracy as a system of government, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. The blast was among the deadliest terrorist attacks in months in Pakistan, where some militant groups operating along the border with Afghanistan have become more active over the past year. The rise in violence represents a grim shift: Since 2014, when security forces carried out a major military operation to flush militants out of Pakistan, the country has experienced relative calm.

Persons: Shaukat Abbas Organizations: Islamic State, SITE Intelligence Group Locations: South Asia, Pakistan, Bajaur, Pakistan’s, Afghanistan, State Khorasan

[1/2] Rescue workers and other people transport an injured person to the hospital, after a blast in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan July 30, 2023. Rescue 1122/Handout via REUTERSDERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, July 30 (Reuters) - At least 40 people were killed and over 130 injured when a suicide bomber set off explosives at a political rally in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, police said. The provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat told Reuters the explosion was caused by a suicide bomb. "The JUI-F organised a workers convention in Khar town of Bajaur in which 40 people lost their lives and more than 130 were injured," Khan said. Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by Islamist militants since last year when a ceasefire between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad broke down.

Persons: DERA ISMAIL, Fazl, Akhtar Hayat, Nazir Khan, Khan, Zabihullah Mujahid, Shehbaz Sharif, Saud Mehsud, Dera Ismail Khan, Jibran Ahmad, Nilutpal, Gibran Peshimam, Andrew Cawthorne, Christina Fincher Organizations: Sunday, Ulema, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Bajaur district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Bajaur, Afghanistan, Peshawar, Khar, Taliban Pakistan, Islamabad, Islamic State

☆ Suspected Pakistan suicide bombing kills at least 55, injures 135 more at political rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Mushtaq Yusufzai | Associated Press | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

At least 16 people were killed and dozens more wounded on July 30 by a bomb blast at a political gathering of a radical Islamic party in northern Pakistan, police said. At least 55 people were killed and 135 were wounded in what one official said was a suicide attack. Jalil Jan, a spokesperson for the political party, told NBC News the death toll had risen to 55 and that some of the 135 injuries were critical. Party officials said Rehman was not in the rally. Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad.

Persons: Farooq NAEEM, FAROOQ NAEEM, Nazir Khan, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Khan, Jan, Azam Khan, Jalil Jan, Mohibullah Khan Yousufzai, Maulana Ziaullah, Abdur Rasheed, Maulana Jamaluddin, Rehman, Zabihullah Mujahid, Mujahid Organizations: Getty, Sunday, Senior, NBC News, Islam, NBC, Government, Islamic State Locations: Bajaur district, Pakistan, AFP, Bajur, Afghanistan, Khar, Peshawar, Islamabad, Islamic Emirate

☆ At Least 35 Dead in Blast at Political Rally in Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | More About Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An explosion at a political rally on Sunday in northwest Pakistan killed at least 35 people and injured 200 more, officials said, the latest sign of the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan, where some militant groups have become more active over the past two years since finding a haven in neighboring Afghanistan under the Taliban administration there. The blast occurred about 4 p.m. in Bajaur, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, said Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister. It targeted a political rally organized by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, an Islamist party that is part of the governing coalition in Pakistan. A state of emergency has been imposed in the hospitals in Peshawar, the provincial capital. A local leader of the political party who was onstage when the explosion occurred, Maulana Ziaullah, was among those killed.

Persons: Feroz Jamal, Fazl, Mr, Jamal, Maulana Ziaullah Organizations: Jamiat Ulema, Islamic Locations: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan’s, Peshawar, Islamic State, Jamiat

CNN —At least 39 people died and over 120 were injured after a blast tore through a political convention organized by an Islamist party in northwestern Pakistan, police said. The Inspector General of Police for the region of Bajaur, Akhter Hayat Gandapur, said the injured in Sunday’s suspected suicide blast had been rushed to hospital. The explosion targeted members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party who had gathered in the town of Khar, close to the border with Afghanistan. But the local branch of ISIS has previously targeted JUI-F party leaders as they consider them apostates. The leader of the JUI-F party, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, expressed “deep sorrow and regret” following the blast, in a statement released by his press office.

Persons: Akhter Hayat Gandapur, Sunday’s, Fazl, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, ”, ” Rahim Shah, Dawn.com Organizations: CNN, Police, ISIS Locations: Pakistan, Bajaur, Jamiat, Khar, Afghanistan

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