Month: November 2024

Raging orange flames and thick black smoke billowed into the sky Sunday as fire ripped through hundreds of houses in a closely built slum area of the Philippine capital Manila.

Manila Fire District said around 1,000 houses were burned in the blaze that is thought to have started on the second floor of one of the homes.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Drone footage shared online by the city’s disaster agency showed houses in Isla Puting Bato village of Manila razed to the ground.

The structures housed around 2,000 families, according to the fire department.

Village resident Leonila Abiertas, 65, lost almost all her possessions, but managed to save her late husband’s ashes.

“I only got the urn with the ashes of my husband,” a crying Abiertas told AFP.

“I really don’t know how I can start my life again after this fire.”

Fire and disaster services deployed 36 trucks and four fire boats while the country’s airforce sent in two helicopters to help extinguish the fire.

“That area is fire-prone since most of the houses there are made of light materials,” firefighter Geanelli Nunez told AFP.

Two opposition mayors in eastern Turkey have been removed from office after being convicted of “terrorism” for belonging to a banned Kurdish militant group, the interior minister said on Friday.

The mayors of Tunceli and Ovacik were each sentenced to six years and three months in prison this week for membership of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a guerilla insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

Both were replaced by state-appointed administrators, the interior ministry said in a statement, in the latest ousting of politicians associated with Turkey’s Kurdish minority.

Tunceli’s deposed mayor Cevdet Konak, is a member of Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party.

The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy party is regularly targeted by the authorities which accuse it of having links to the PKK, which is classified as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Ovacik’s deposed mayor Mustafa Sarigul is affiliated with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which came out on top in local elections held at the end of March.

Both Konak and Sarigul told local press on Thursday that the accusations against them were unfounded.

Angry protestors gathered Friday evening in front of Tunceli city hall, where some people tried to force their way through a police cordon, according to images published by several local media groups.

In late October and early November, the pro-Kurdish mayors of three towns in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast, as well the CHP mayor of Istanbul’s most populous district, were likewise dismissed on “terrorism” charges.

Their dismissals sparked protests and were condemned by the Council of Europe and human rights organisations.

Konak’s party condemned late Friday the dismissal of both mayors, saying that “the government is slowly destroying the will of the people”.

Meanwhile, CHP party leader Ozgur Ozel denounced the “theft of the will of the nation”.

PESHAWAR: Amid rising terror incidents in Pakistan, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Friday reiterated the army’s firm resolve to eradicate the illegal spectrum undermining national security, a statement from the military’s media wing said.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), he expressed this resolve during his visit to Peshawar as a follow-up to the National Apex Committee meeting held last Tuesday and a prelude to the provincial apex committee meeting.

Highlighting the collective determination of the nation and its security forces to combat terrorism, the army chief stressed thwarting the nefarious designs of inimical elements remains a top priority.

He assured that through synchronised and robust operations, the Pakistan Army in collaboration with law enforcement agencies will “relentlessly hunt down the enemies of peace to ensure lasting stability and security.”

During his visit, Gen Munir was provided a comprehensive briefing on the prevailing security situation and the progress of ongoing counter-terrorism operations in the region. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and field commanders were also present on the occasion.

Paying profound tribute to the martyrs and “ghazis”, COAS emphasised the unparalleled sacrifices being rendered for the defence of the motherland. He remarked that these sacrifices serve as a cornerstone of national resilience, inspiring and unwavering dedication of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies.

He also commended the high morale, operational readiness, and unyielding commitment of the troops in effectively countering all forms of threats.

Upon his arrival, the army chief was received by the Corps Commander Peshawar.

The country has been reeling under a spike in terror attacks on security forces and civilians — especially in KP and Balochistan.

As per a report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the third quarter of 2024 saw a 90% increase in fatalities linked to terrorist violence and counterterrorism operations.

The report recorded 722 deaths and 615 injuries in 328 incidents, with KP and Balochistan accounting for 97% of fatalities.

These incidents underscore Pakistan’s ongoing battle against militancy, particularly in areas bordering Afghanistan. Despite the Taliban’s assurances to curb cross-border terrorism, militant groups continue to exploit the porous border to stage attacks.

“A man fired on Sufis taking part in a weekly ritual at a shrine in a remote area of Nahrin district, killing 10 people,” the ministry’s Abdul Matin Qani said.

A Nahrin resident, who knew victims of the attack, told AFP that worshippers had gathered at the Sayed Pacha Agha shrine on Thursday evening.

They had begun a Sufi chant when “a man shot at the dozen worshippers”, he said on condition of anonymity.

“When people arrived for morning prayers, they discovered the bodies,” he added.

Attacks regularly target Sufis during rituals or gatherings in Afghanistan, a country with a very large Muslim majority but where the Taliban authorities impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, which is different from Sufism.

In April 2022, 33 people, including children, were killed in an explosion that targeted a Sufi mosque during Friday prayers in Kunduz province.

The number of bomb attacks has fallen since the Taliban authorities returned to power in 2021, but extremists and the regional branch of the militant Islamic State group, the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), still attack targets they consider heretical.

In September, the IS-K claimed responsibility for an attack in central Afghanistan that killed 14 people who had gathered to welcome pilgrims returning from the holy site of Karbala in Iraq.

Also, medics in the Palestinian territory said an overnight Israeli raid on Beit Lahia and nearby Jabalia resulted in dozens killed or missing.

Israel has pushed on with its intense military action in Gaza and southern Lebanon, a day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan­yahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant in response to accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Five medics from a rescue force were killed in Israeli strikes on two villages in southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the Lebanese health ministry said. More than 3,580 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them since late September, the ministry added. Among them, were over 200 medics.

Death toll in Gaza rises to 44,056 despite ICC warrant against Netanyahu, Gallant

Earlier, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories said: “The delivery of critical aid across Gaza, including food, water, fuel and medical supplies, is grinding to a halt.”

At least 44,056 people have been killed in Gaza during more than 13 months of war, most of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.

Also, four Italian soldiers were injured after two rockets exploded at a UNIFIL peacekeeping force base in southern Lebanon, a spokesperson for UNIFIL said on Friday.

 

 

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli warplanes carried out successive rounds of strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs from early morning until evening, including on two buildings closer to the city centre.

TV footage showed plumes of smoke over the southern suburbs. NNA said Israeli strikes also hit multiple areas around Tyre.

An AFP photographer captured the moment a missile struck an 11-storey building housing shops, a gym and apartments on a usually busy street in south Beirut’s Shiyah district. The impact sparked a fireball and caused the structure to collapse in on itself, littering the street with debris.

 

In south Lebanon, NNA said Israeli troops entered the village of Deir Mimas, some 2.5km from the border. “Enemy reconnaissance aircraft” were flying over the village, warning people “not to leave their homes”, it said. Most of the village’s population had already fled.

Abeer Darwich, a resident of the building that was hit in Beirut southern suburbs who had left her apartment before the attack, stood watching while an Israeli strike pounded the high-rise building into dust.

Meanwhile, at least six Israeli soldiers have taken their own lives in recent months, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reports, citing severe psychological distress caused by prolonged wars in Gaza and Lebanon as the primary cause, according to an Al Jazeera report.

The actual number of suicides may be far higher because the Israeli military has yet to release official figures despite a promise to do so by the end of the year.

ISLAMABAD: The president of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Grigorievich Lukashenko, will undertake an official visit to Pakistan from November 25 to 27 with several agreements to be signed, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.

“At the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Belarus President will undertake an official visit to Pakistan,” stated a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

The statement noted that President Lukashenko will hold extensive talks with PM Shehbaz and discuss areas of bilateral cooperation and engagement.

Several agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) will also be signed during the visit, it added.

The prime minister of Belarus, Roman Golovchenko, was in Islamabad earlier this year for the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) Meeting, where he met his counterpart among other key leaders.

The visit came amid Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) plan to hold “do-or-die” protest in Islamabad on November 24 against the alleged rigging in the February 8 elections, arrests of party workers, and the passage of the judiciary-centric 26th Constitutional Amendment.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told the Islamabad High Court earlier today that the President of Belarus, accompanied by a 65-member delegation, is scheduled to visit Pakistan and the government aims to secure the Red Zone in this regard.

He made these remarks as IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition of Asad Aziz, President of the Traders Association, against the PTI’s much-hyped protest.

He said that there was the same situation at the time of the recent SCO conference, adding that protests are announced when foreign leaders visiting to Pakistan. He emphasised the critical need for maintaining security on the occasion.

The former ruling party, for months, has been engaged in a political tug-of-war with the ruling coalition — which it alleges came into power via rigged February 8 polls — and has held multiple protests in the federal capital.

ISLAMABAD: In the recent Apex Committee meeting, Army Chief General Asim Munir had appreciated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for his cooperation as provincial chief executive on the issues of national importance.

This was revealed by a participant of the committee meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday.

When approached, a source close to Gandapur also confirmed this and said that the army chief had appreciated the KP chief minister for his and his government’s cooperation on issues of national importance, including those relating to security and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The source also confirmed that Gandapur had not only raised the issue of Imran Khan and PTI in the Apex Committee but also demanded that Imran should be released from jail.

Gandapur, according to the source, also told the committee that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, despite his conviction and while he was in jail, was allowed by the Imran government to go to London for treatment.

It is said that Gandapur had also claimed in the Apex Committee about the relief given to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who was also a convict then, by the Imran government but she later resorted to anti-government protests. He also reminded the Apex Committee how Nawaz and Maryam used to target the then military establishment.

The source said that Gandapur had told the Apex Committee that Imran Khan is his leader and the leader of millions. “We want the release of our leader from jail,” the source quoted Gandapur as saying and added that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman has been in jail for over a year without any crime.

Gandapur is said to have also highlighted the issue of persecution of PTI leaders and workers. The PTI, Gandapur told the Apex Committee, is not even allowed to hold political meetings, rallies and marches in Punjab.