Pakistan passenger train derails killing 30
At least 30 people have been killed and 100 injured when a train derailed in southern Pakistan, a police spokesman has confirmed.
Several carriages of the Hazara Express overturned near Sahara railway station in Nawabshah, about 275km (171 miles) from the largest city Karachi.
Wounded passengers were moved to nearby hospitals. Rescue teams are trying to free people from the twisted wreckage.
Accidents on Pakistan’s antiquated railway system are not uncommon.
Railway Minister Saad Rafiq said initial investigations showed the train was travelling at normal speed and they were trying to establish what led to the derailment.
A railways spokesperson in Karachi said at least eight carriages went off the track.
Japan’s PM deplores ‘Russia’s nuclear threat’ on 78th anniversary of Hiroshima
Mayor of city where Little Boy atom bomb was dropped says nuclear deterrence is ‘folly’
Japan’s prime minister has hit out at Russian threats to use nuclear weapons as the country marked the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and 74,000 in Nagasaki three days later, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities days before the end of World War II.
“Japan, as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, will continue efforts towards a nuclear-free world,” said Fumio Kishida at a ceremony in Hiroshima on Sunday. “The path towards it is becoming increasingly difficult because of deepening divisions in the international community over nuclear disarmament and Russia’s nuclear threat.”
Rising RightThe German AfD’s Constant Drift Toward Extremism
Maximilian Krah adjusts the microphone in front of him before placing both hands on the lectern and addressing his party’s soaring numbers in public opinions: “We have more than doubled our support within a single year. And one thing is certain: We are far from satisfied!”
The 46-year-old Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician from the eastern state of Saxony – chosen last weekend as the right-wing party’s leading candidate in next year’s European Parliament elections – wants even more. And he speaks about the source of his inspiration. “We heard fantastic speeches here yesterday,” Krah says, referring to opening remarks delivered by representatives from other European right-wing parties the previous day.
Krah cites one in particular: “When it comes to our colleague from Bulgaria, you have to say: My goodness. That’s the kind of courage and passion we need to make it happen.”
Iran forces women defying hijab laws into psychiatric treatment
Authorities in Iran are trying to enforce laws obligating women to cover their hair by sending them into psychological treatment. While healthcare organisations warn the country’s judiciary is hijacking psychiatric medicine for its own purposes, others cite the move as being a sign of the government’s inability to enforce hijab laws.
In a symbolic act of defiance, Iranian actress Afsaneh Bayegan has repeatedly posted photos of her unveiled hair on Instagram, and recently attended a public ceremony without a hijab.
The move irked Iranian authorities, who have been looking for new ways to force women into covering their hair. Bayegan, 61, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to visit a “psychological centre” once a week to “treat her anti-family personality disorder”, the country’s Fars News Agency reported on July 19.
Many Iranian women have chosen to start showing their hair since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 after being detained by Iran’s morality police for “improperly” wearing her headscarf. Iranian celebrities, athletes and actresses have followed suit in solidarity.
Philippines slams China for use of water cannon on boat
A tense confrontation between a Philippine vessel and China’s coast guard took place in the highly disputed South China Sea over the Second Thomas Shoal.
“We call on the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger people’s lives,” the armed forces said.
China’s coast guard has said that its actions were compliant with the law and responded by saying that China has “indisputable” sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their adjacent waters, including the Second Thomas Shoal. It alleged that the Filipino boat was trespassing and carrying illegal construction material.
“Two repair ships and two coast guard ships from the Philippines illegally broke into the waters… in China’s Nansha Islands,” China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said, adding that Beijing “implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law and stopped Philippine ships carrying illegal building materials.”
Defiance, fear in Niger as ECOWAS deadline looms
The regional bloc’s ultimatum for Niger’s coup leaders to restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum or risk military intervention is set to expire on Sunday.
Yeye Issoufou has joined pro-coup demonstrations in Niger three times since members of the presidential guards seized power in the West African country on July 26.
Numbering in their hundreds, the crowds have marched through the streets of Niger’s capital, Niamey, singing songs and waving placards hailing the country’s self-declared new leader Abdourahmane Tchiani. They booed “imperialist France” as well as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has threatened to intervene militarily and restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
Issoufou, who works at Aghrymet, a climate institute in the capital, is frustrated by insecurity, corruption and a worsening economy in landlocked Niger. The country is battling armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) and is among the poorest in the world.
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