SOUTHPORT: Hundreds of mourners gathered on Sunday in Southport for the funeral of a nine-year-old girl killed in last month’s knife attack, which sparked more than a week of nationwide disorder. The parents of one of three girls, who were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed event, called for an end to the nationwide rioting that followed their deaths at an emotional funeral for their young daughter. Family, friends, community leaders and emergency responders all joined Alice da Silva Aguiar’s parents for an emotional ceremony at a Catholic church in the seaside town, nearly two weeks after the mass stabbing that shocked the…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
KABUL: A bomb blast on a minibus in a neighbourhood of Afghanistan’s capital killed one person and wounded 11 others on Sunday, a Kabul police spokesman said. The blast went off in Dasht-i-Barchi — home to many Shias, a historically persecuted community in Afghanistan and a frequent target of the Islamic State group that considers them heretics — in the western neighbourhood of Kabul. “An IED (improvised explosive device) was planted on a minibus in the Dasht-i-Barchi area,” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said in a statement. He added that an investigation was under way. There was no immediate claim…
BELFAST: A week of racism-fuelled disorder in Northern Ireland, sparked by disturbances in English towns and cities, is proving harder to end, with fears the UK region’s sectarian divisions are feeding into the violence. “They burned every single thing, there is nothing left inside, just ashes,” said Bashir, whose supermarket in Belfast was torched during attacks against foreign-owned shops and businesses. A mosque in a town near Belfast was also targeted late on Friday. “We are scared at what may happen next, there is lots of hostility against the Muslim community,” said the 28-year-old from Dubai, who did not want to give…
Indian doctors in government hospitals across several states halted elective services “indefinitely” on Monday to protest the rape and murder of a young medic. The 31-year-old woman’s brutalised body was found bearing multiple injuries on Friday in a state-run hospital in West Bengal’s Kolkata, where she was a resident doctor. A subsequent autopsy confirmed sexual assault and homicide. Police have detained a man who worked at the victim’s hospital helping people navigate busy queues, according to local media reports. Demonstrations by doctors demanding justice and better workplace security that initially began in Kolkata have now spread to other parts of…
KHAN YUNIS: Israel expanded evacuation orders in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip overnight, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinian residents and displaced families to leave in the dark as explosions from tank shelling reverberated around them. Palestinians already displaced numerous times by Israeli air strikes were forced to flee Al-Halaa and other northern neighbourhoods of Khan Yunis on Sunday, a day after an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City killed at least 90 Palestinians. “We’re exhausted. This is the 10th time I and my family have had to leave our shelter,” said Zaki Mohammad, 28, who lives in the…
India has arrested nearly a dozen Bangladeshis attempting to cross the border to escape violence and political tumult following deadly protests that led to the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, border officials said on Monday. Hundreds more are waiting along the frontier pleading for permission to cross, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) said. Hindus are the largest minority faith in mostly Muslim Bangladesh, and are considered a steadfast support base for Hasina’s party, the Awami League. After Hasina’s abrupt resignation and escape to India ended her 15 years of autocratic rule on August 5, there were numerous reports of attacks against Hindu households,…
KARACHI: The convener of the newly-formed Awaam Pakistan (AP) party on Sunday stated that political stability cannot be achieved in a country where elections are rigged. “Every system in the world has been tried in this country, and now it’s time to turn to the Constitution,” former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi emphasised during the launch event of the ‘Foundation and Vision Document’ for the AP manifesto. In the event of a rigged election “the country doesn’t function because no one adheres to their oaths”, he said, adding that without reforms, the country will not move forward. He stressed that unless the…
ISLAMABAD: The Faizabad Interchange on the border of Rawalpindi and Islamabad has been shut down by protesters so many times that a lingering fear persists among the residents living in its vicinity about how long the interchange will remain open before being blockaded, again. The closure of the key artery between the twin cities has become a routine feature for political and religious groups, causing traffic problems for the residents. The recently concluded sit-in by the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) activists was one such protest. On July 26, the JI protesters entered Islamabad amid roadblocks at various points around Faizabad, halting the public life on Murree…
QUETTA: The sister of Abdul Hai, who allegedly went missing from Awaran, on Sunday announced that if her brother was not recovered by August 16, she would hold a protest rally from the University of Balochistan to the Red Zone in Quetta on August 20. Addressing a presser along with Mama Qadeer Baloch, the vice chairman of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, outside of the press club, she expressed serious concern over the alleged forced disappearances of her brother and other people. She said her brother went missing on June 1 from the Awaran district hospital where he was on…
ISLAMABAD: Minorities Alliance Pakistan Chairman Akmal Bhatti on Sunday called for action to address pressing issues faced by minority communities across the country. He was speaking at a conference held in connection with Minorities Day that served as a crucial opportunity to acknowledge the challenges and renew commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable society. According to a statement, speakers at the conference argued that society had fallen to extremism and terrorism due to the wrong policies of successive governments. Hate, prejudice and killings in the name of religion were increasing day by day. Religious minorities are insecure in society. Political…
