10 dead as Taliban storm Pakistan airport

December 16, 2012
Islamabad, December 16: At least 10 people died in Pakistan Saturday night when Taliban militants stormed an airport after ramming their explosives-laden vehicle into its outer wall.

The militants attacked the Bacha Khan Airport in Peshawar around 8.30 p.m.

According to local media reports, five rockets were fired by the militants at the airport and two of them hit the runaway.

Five attackers were among the dead and over 40 others were injured, Xinhua reported.

All international and domestic flights were cancelled following the attack.

The attack was in response to a recent military operation in the area, the army said.

The airport authorities said all their assets were safe.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf condemned the attack.

Earlier:

Four dead as militants attack Peshawar airport

Peshawar-attack

Islamabad, December 16(Reuters): Four people were killed when militants attacked the airport in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Saturday and traded gunfire with soldiers for more than 30 minutes before being repulsed, military and health officials said.

Pakistan's army rushed reinforcements to the scene of the night attack, one of the most audacious raids by militants since an assault on an air base in the east of the country in August.

A health official said at least 26 people had been wounded at the airport, which handles civilian and military traffic, and that at least three of the dead were militants.

Pakistan's air force said a rocket attack had damaged the outer wall of the air field, which lies near a residential area and military barracks in Peshawar.

"No terrorist has been able to penetrate inside (the air field)," Group Captain Tariq Mahmood, a spokesman for the Pakistan Air Force, said in a statement. "Security forces were fully alert and are in control of the situation."

Mahmood added there had been no casualties among the Pakistan Air Force or damage to equipment during the incident.

Three rockets also hit a nearby residential area, a military official said.

"We have repulsed the attack on the airport, everything is now under control," the military official added.

Hospital staff scrambled to treat wounded brought from the scene of the attack, where residents described hearing gunfire and explosions.

"An emergency has been declared in the hospital and all the surgeons have been called," said Umar Ayub, chief executive of the Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar. "All of them suffered bullet injuries and some of the injured are in critical condition."

Peshawar has witnessed many bomb attacks and shootings in recent years, but residents said it was the first time such a large attack had been staged on the airport.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Pakistani militants have staged repeated high-profile attacks on military installations in major cities in recent years in their campaign against the government.


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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hubei, Feb 10: The death toll in the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China and other parts of the world has reached 904, CNN reported citing Chinese authorities on Monday.

The number of infected people globally has now hit the 40,000 mark.

According to the country's health officials, the number of people, who died from coronavirus in the Hubei Province, has risen to 871.

"As of 24:00 on February 9, Hubei Province reported a total of 29,631 cases of new coronavirus pneumonia, including 16,902 cases in Wuhan. 22,160 patients are still being treated in hospitals. 73,127 people remain under medical observation," read the statement from the Chinese Regional Health Committee.

The novel coronavirus was first detected in China's Wuhan city in late December and has since spread to more than 25 countries.

On Sunday, the new coronavirus even surpassed the fatalities caused by the SARS epidemic in 2003.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global health emergency in the wake of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, WHO's international expert mission led by Dr Bruce Aylward embarked for China.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Geneva, Jul 2: The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated the overall number of coronavirus cases globally at 10,357,662, with 508,055 people having died from the disease.

The UN health agency said in the situation report published on late Wednesday that 163,939 new cases had been recorded in the past day, while further 4,188 patients had died.

Americas continue to lead the count with over 5.2 million cases, followed by Europe with more than 2.7 million.

The WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Moscow, Jan 16: Russia's government resigned in a shock announcement on Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin proposed a series of constitutional reforms.

In a televised meeting with the Russian president, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the proposals would make significant changes to the country's balance of power and so "the government in its current form has resigned".

"We should provide the president of our country with the possibility to take all the necessary measures" to carry out the changes, Medvedev said.

"All further decisions will be taken by the president." Putin asked Medvedev, his longtime ally, to continue as head of government until a new government has been appointed.

"I want to thank you for everything that has been done, to express satisfaction with the results that have been achieved," Putin said.

"Not everything worked out, but everything never works out." He also proposed creating the post of deputy head of the Security Council, suggesting that Medvedev take on the position.

Earlier Wednesday Putin proposed a referendum on a package of reforms to Russia's constitution that would strengthen the role of parliament.

The changes would include giving parliament the power to choose the prime minister and senior cabinet members, instead of the president as in the current system.

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