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Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/30/israels-war-on-gaza-live-no-safe-shelter-as-dozens-killed-in-rafah

Fighting Politics and diplomacy Weapons Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-824

At least 28 people have been killed in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan after a bus they were travelling in fell into a ravine, officials say. The bus from Turbat city in southern Balochistan was headed towards the provincial capital of Quetta, about 750km (466 miles) to the north, when it crashed in the mountainous region early on Wednesday morning. Noorullah Essazai, a government health official in Washuk district where the incident happened, confirmed the number of deaths to Al Jazeera, adding that a total of 54 passengers were travelling in the bus. Some of the survivors have sustained serious injuries, he said, and are being treated at a local hospital. “We have eight to 10 critically injured patients and are making arrangements to send them to Quetta by helicopter while some others will be shifted to a hospital in Khuzdar,” said Essazai, referring to a town 120km (75 miles) away. Muhammad Ismail, a government official in Washuk, said the bus crashed through a bridge and fell into a rocky ravine. The bus driver is among the dead. In a statement, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences over the incident and directed the authorities to help the injured. “We stand with the bereaved families in this difficult time and express our heartfelt sympathies with them,” said the statement issued by the prime minister’s office. In another statement, Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti expressed his sadness at the loss of lives. “We share the grief of the families who lost their loved ones. We will provide medical facilities at the earliest to those injured in the accident,” said the statement. Road accidents are common in Pakistan, mainly in its mountainous regions in Balochistan and the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Earlier this month, at least 20 people were killed and dozens of others wounded when a passenger bus fell off a ravine in the country’s northern area of Gilgit-Baltistan. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/29/at-least-28-killed-after-bus-falls-into-ravine-in-pakistans-balochistan

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/29/israels-war-on-gaza-live-tent-cities-attacked-as-tanks-roll-into-rafah

At least 23 terrorists have been killed in three separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) by security forces from May 26 to 27, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Monday. On May 26, an IBO was conducted in the general area of Hassan Khel, Peshawar district, where six terrorists were gunned down by the security forces and multiple hideouts were busted. Captain Hussain Jehangir and Havildar Shafiq Ullah also embraced martyrdom in the IBO, while fighting gallantly. On May 27, in another operation conducted in the Tank district, 10 terrorists were killed after troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location. The third engagement occurred in the general area of Bagh, Khyber district, wherein, the security forces killed seven terrorists and injured two terrorists. During the intense exchange of fire, five brave soldiers, including Naik Muhammad Ashfaq Butt (age 32 years; resident of district Kahuta), Lance Naik Syed Danish Afkar (age 30 years; resident of district Poonch), Sepoy Taimoor Malik (age 32 years; resident of district Layyah), Sepoy Nadir Sageer (age 22 years; resident of district Bagh) and Sepoy Muhammad Yasin (age 23 years; resident of district Khushab), having fought gallantly, embraced martyrdom, the military’s media wing said. A large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered from the killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as the innocent civilians. Sanitisation operations are being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area. “Security forces are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the statement concluded. Last week, the Pakistan Army reiterated its concerns over the use of Afghan soil by militants, saying that there has been a surge in infiltration attempts by terrorists at the Pak-Afghan border as well as terror incidents orchestrated from the neighbouring country. The statement also shed light on the army’s counter-terror operations including the ones being carried out in the Sambaza area in Balochistan’s Zhob district since April 21. The operations, as per the army’s media wing, have so far resulted in the neutralisation of as many as 29 terrorists. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1193836-23-terrorists-killed-in-three-kp-ibo-ispr

Eighteen people, including a 12-year-old girl, are among those killed in a Russian strike that hit a large store in Kharkiv at the weekend, regional officials have said, making it the deadliest attack Ukraine has endured in several weeks. Five people remain missing, Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv region military administration, said Monday. He said that 48 people were injured in the strike that hit the Epicenter hypermarket shopping center building while nearly 200 people were inside. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city, which sits near its border with Russia, has seen a spate of Russian attacks in recent weeks. Security camera footage of the moment of the strike shows the building shake on impact, with the whole site immediately engulfed in thick smoke and flames. Police and witnesses described at least two explosions taking place. Oleksandr Lutsenko, director of the Epicenter shopping center, said he was in his office on the second floor at the time of the two explosions. “I started to make my way down the corridor to the evacuation exit, but it was dark and the whole corridor was covered in dust. There was no air to breathe,” he told CNN over the telephone. “The employees were also leaving. Everyone was groping, and people were holding each other. We could hear the ceiling falling.” Once outside, he saw the hypermarket was on fire. “There was black smoke everywhere, and it was hard to breathe. Some people were jumping out of the windows,” Lutsenko added. Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said the hours following the strike were “hellish” and thanked everyone who helped to put out the fires. Photographs from inside the store following the attack show the building in complete ruin, with burnt stock and collapsed walls. Emergency workers carry out the body of a victim of a Russian strike that hit a large store in Kharkiv. Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images Ukrainian Catholic University identified the killed 12-year-old as Maria Myronenko, saying in a Facebook post that she had died in the strike alongside her mother, Iryna, who was a student at the institute. Her father had also been injured and was being treated in hospital, it said. Serhii Bolvinov, Chief of the Investigative Department of the Kharkiv Regional Police, said the family had been shopping when the two bombs hit. Maria’s elder sister, Nadiya, 20, was not with them at the time, and learned of the deaths only after finding her father in hospital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the strike as a “brutal attack,” saying that “Russia is run by men who want to make it a norm – burning lives, destroying cities and villages, dividing people, and erasing national borders through war.” Zelensky, who was in Spain for an official visit on Monday, urged Ukraine’s allies to provide it with more air defenses. Meeting with Zelensky in Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Monday a new $1.08 billion weapons deal for Ukraine that “aims to reinforce air defense systems” and protect Ukrainian citizens and infrastructure from Russia’s attacks. “We are sending Patriot missiles,” Sanchez said of the American-built air-defense system. “Zelensky asks for the platforms to launch those, asking how many we can give. We are sending another batch of Leopard tanks and above all, munitions that the [Ukrainian] troops need.” Zelensky was due to visit Spain earlier this month but postponed the trip due to Russia’s offensive around Kharkiv and other parts of Ukraine. That offensive appears to continue, with Kharkiv enduring intense attacks daily. The United States announced on Friday that it’s sending $275 million in military assistance to Ukraine as part of “efforts to help Ukraine repel Russia’s assault near Kharkiv,” according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The top US diplomat said the new tranche of assistance “contains urgently needed capabilities” for Ukrainian troops as they fight to hold back Russia’s advances toward the key northeastern city. Ukraine tamps down French trainer comments News of the new military assistance came as Ukraine’s Defense Ministry tamped down expectations that French military trainers could soon be in Ukraine after online comments from army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi appeared to suggest their arrival in country was a done deal. “I welcome the initiative of France to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian military personnel,” Syrskyi had written on Telegram following a video conference between himself and the two countries’ defense ministers. “I have already signed the documents that will allow the first French instructors to visit our training centres and get acquainted with the infrastructure and personnel.” Syrskyi’s statement gave no possible timeline, but seemed to indicate France was ready to make what would be a very significant shift in NATO countries’ involvement in Ukraine’s war with Russia. Further heightening that sense, Syrskyi went on to write, “I believe that France’s determination will encourage other partners to join this ambitious project. I thanked the minister for the friendly support of the French people and military and economic assistance to Ukraine to repel Russian military aggression.” In a later comment to CNN, apparently designed to lower expectations, and possibly soothe key allies, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry toned down the language, saying Kyiv had “expressed interest in the prospect of welcoming foreign instructors in Ukraine” ever since a conference in Paris at the end of February. “We have ongoing discussions with France and other countries on this issue and have started internal paperwork to move forward when the decision is taken,” the short statement concluded. The French Defense Ministry, in a comment to CNN, had a similar message about military trainers. “As with all the projects discussed at the conference, we are continuing to work with the Ukrainians to understand their exact needs,” the statement said. At the Paris conference, French President Emmanuel Macron had floated the idea that sending military trainers to Ukraine was one way Kyiv’s western allies could deploy troops in the country. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/27/europe/russian-strike-kharkiv-megastore-intl/index.html

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/28/israels-war-on-gaza-live-intense-israeli-artillery-shelling-across-rafah

As many as 2,000 people are feared to have been buried by last week’s massive landslide in Papua New Guinea, according to the country’s National Disaster Centre, as rescuers scramble to find any survivors in the remote region. The landslide occurred in the mountainous Enga region in northern Papua New Guinea on Friday and the latest figure is a sharp rise from earlier estimates. Soon after the disaster occurred, the United Nations said as many as 100 may have died. That was later revised up to 670, according to estimates from the Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the country. But that may now be a major underestimate according to the latest projection from Papua New Guinea’s disaster agency. “The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive and caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country,” Lusete Laso Mana, Acting Director the National Disaster Centre, said in a letter to the UN. “The situation remains unstable as the landslip continues to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both rescue teams and survivors alike,” he added, saying the main highway to the area had been completely blocked by the landslide. “Following the inspection conducted by the team, it was determined that the damages are extensive and require immediate and collaborative actions from all players.” The landslide hit the remote village of Kaokalam, about 600 kilometers (372 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby, at approximately 3 a.m. local time on Friday, leaving a scar of debris that humanitarian workers said was as big as four football pitches. More than 150 houses in Yambali village were buried in debris, officials said on Sunday. The area continues to pose an “extreme risk,” officials said, as rocks continue to fall and the ground soil is exposed to constant increased pressure. Papua New Guinea is home to around 10 million people. Its vast mountainous terrain and lack of roads have made it difficult to access the affected area. Pierre Rognon, an associate professor from the University of Sydney’s School of Civil Engineering, said it’s “particularly challenging” for rescuers to find survivors after a landslide. “Landslides can bury collapsed structures and people under dozens of meters of geomaterials,” he said. “To make things worse, they can move structures and trap people over hundreds of meters. No one can predict exactly where potential survivors may be located and where to start looking for them.” It’s not clear what caused the landslide, but geology professor Alan Collins from the University of Adelaide said it occurred in a region of “considerable rainfall.” “Although the landslide does not appear to have been directly triggered by an earthquake, frequent earthquakes caused by plates colliding build steep slopes and high mountains that can become very unstable,” Collins said. He said rainfall could have altered the minerals making the bedrock, weakening the rock that forms the steep hillsides. “Vegetation mitigates this as tree roots can stabilise the ground and deforestation can make landslides more prevalent by destroying this biological mesh,” he said. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/27/world/papua-new-guinea-landslide-thousands-feared-buried-intl-hnk/index.html

 Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said that Pakistan has evidence that Afghanistan’s soil was used for an attack on Chinese engineers in Bisham, and it is a matter of great concern for Islamabad. He demanded that the interim Taliban government in Afghanistan should hand over banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists involved in the Bisham terror attack to Islamabad. Addressing a joint press conference along with officials of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta), Naqvi said: “Whether Afghanistan try the terrorists [in the court of law] or not, it should hand over the militants to Pakistan.” At least six people, including five Chinese nationals, were killed after a suicide bomber rammed into the bus transporting the staff working on the Dasu hydropower project in Bisham, Shangla district, in March this year. In view of the investigation report, the interior minister said the TTP operated the Bisham terror attack on Chinese citizens from inside Afghanistan. “[Pakistan has formally] requested the interim government in Afghanistan to arrest the leadership of [banned] TTP,” he added. Briefing the media about the progress of the probe, Naqvi said: “Probe agencies have prepared an investigation report.” He said they had concrete evidence that the TTP carried out the terror attack on the Chinese engineers and Afghan soil was used for it. The minister said they wanted friendly ties with Kabul, adding that “it is only possible if they cooperate with Islamabad”. Responding to a question, he said the government had contacted the interim authorities in Kabul but “good results are not coming from there”. The interior minister said Pakistan gave great importance to its ties with China, adding that both friendly nations support each other at different global forums. “The security of Chinese nationals is very important to us.” He said the government “is taking all possible measures to ensure the security of Chinese nationals” in the country. To another question about the suicide attack on the Chinese nationals, Naqvi said that it was a planned attack. “The government knows very well which forces want to create a law and order situation in the country.” The minister said such threats coming from across the borders make regional security more complex. Mohsin Naqvi said Pakistan had beefed up its security at borders, adding that the government was well aware of the elements behind such incidents, which wanted to harm relations between Pakistan and China. He said support was being provided to TTP-like terrorists in border areas. He said Chinese security was very important and new standard operating procedures (SOPs) had been made in this regard and were being strictly implemented. The minister said that in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Counter-Terrorism Department was doing great work and they had developed themselves in very short span of time. Mohsin Naqvi said the Pakistan government had requested the interim Afghan government to arrest Bakhtiar Shah, Qari Asadullah and Khan Lala and specially TTP Ameer Noor Wali Mehsud, TTP Malakand Commander Azmatullah Mehsud and other senior leaders of the TTP. National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) Coordinator Muhammad Tahir Rai gave a detailed briefing about the investigation carried out so far. He said the entire incident was planned in Afghanistan and objective was to harm the Pakistan-China relations. He said 11 accused namely Adil Shehbaz, Shafiq Qureshi, Zahid Qureshi, Nazeer Hussain, Faizullah, Fasihullah, Imran Swati, Sakha-Ullah, Abdullah, Abdul Rehman and Kamal Khan had been arrested so far. He said the accused were in police custody on physical remand. The remaining accused including Hazrat Bilal would be arrested soon. Tahir said a cellphone, which the suicide bomber had been using to communicate with his local handlers, led to the arrest of suspects. The investigation and evidence show the militants had been taking instructions from TTP leaders in Afghanistan. He said one of the SIMs was issued in the name of Adil Shah, a resident of Mansehra, and the other one in the name of Shafique Qureshi. “Adil Shah was in contact with terrorist Hazrat Bilal.” Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1193550-bisham-attack-islamabad-asks-kabul-to-hand-over-ttp-terrorists

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/27/israels-war-on-gaza-live-news-35-killed-in-rafah-tent-bombings