World
Pakistan bus blast kills 13, including nine Chinese
At least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals and two Pakistani soldiers, were killed after a blast sent a bus plunging into a ravine in a remote region of northern Pakistan on Wednesday (July 14), multiple sources told Reuters.
It was not immediately clear whether the blast was the result of a roadside device or something planted inside the bus.
The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said in a statement that nine of its citizens were killed.
Officials from Khyber-Paktunkhwa, the province where the incident occurred, said two soldiers and two locals were among the dead. Several people were injured. The dead and injured, including the Chinese engineers, were brought to the Regional Health Centre in Dasu, about 10 km (6 miles) from the site of the blast.
“Police and the bomb disposal squad are at the site. As soon as the report from the investigation comes, we will be able to tell you the factual position,” Arif Khan Yousufzai, a local official, told reporters outside the hospital, while providing an earlier death toll
A senior administrative officer of the Hazara region told Reuters the bus was carrying more than 30 Chinese engineers to the site of the Dasu dam in Upper Kohistan.
The Dasu hydroelectric project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment plan under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative that is aimed at connecting western China to the Gwadar sea port in southern Pakistan.
Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have been working on the Dasu hydroelectric project and several others for several years in the region where the blast took place.
World
Trump tells aides he is willing to end Iran war without reopening Hormuz, WSJ reports
U.S. President Donald Trump told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed and leave a complex operation to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing administration officials.
World
Pentagon preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, Washington Post reports
The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, the Washington Post reported Saturday, citing U.S. officials.
The plans could involve raids by Special Operations and conventional infantry troops, the Post reported. Whether President Donald Trump would approve any of those plans remains uncertain, according to the Post.
The Trump administration has deployed U.S. Marines to the Middle East as the war in Iran stretches into its fifth week, and also has been planning to send thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne to the region.
World
G7 foreign ministers demand an end to attacks on civilians in Iran war
The ministers also reiterated the need to restore safe and toll-free freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The foreign ministers of the G7 group of nations called on Friday for an immediate stop to attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Iran war.
In a joint statement agreed on the second day of a G7 meeting in France – this year’s host country – the ministers said they had underscored the importance of minimising the impact of the conflict on regional partners, civilian populations and critical infrastructure.
“We focused on the value of diverse partnerships, coordination, and supporting initiatives, including to mitigate global economic shocks such as disruptions to economic, energy, fertilizer and commercial supply chains, which have direct impacts on our citizens,” they said in the statement seen by Reuters.
The ministers also reiterated the need to restore safe and toll-free freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The G7 members are the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, along with the European Union.
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