Regional
Six people killed in Pakistan helicopter crash, security sources say
It crashed shortly after take-off in the volatile North Waziristan area near the Afghan border.
At least six people were killed when a charter helicopter crashed in northern Pakistan on Saturday, security sources said.
The two sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the helicopter was chartered by a private company in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Reuters reported.
It crashed shortly after take-off in the volatile North Waziristan area near the Afghan border.
Around 14 passengers were on board, including Russian pilots, the sources said, adding that eight people were injured in the crash and hospitalised nearby.
Pakistan’s armed forces and the civilian aviation sector have suffered several air accidents in the past decade. In 2022, a military helicopter on a training exercise crashed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing both its pilots, read the report.
A Pakistan International Airlines Airbus jet crashed into a crowded residential district of the southern city of Karachi in 2020, killing most of the 99 people on board.
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad on Friday on his first official visit to Pakistan, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo News reported.
He was received by Prime Minister Sharif and senior officials, with his aircraft escorted by Pakistan Air Force jets upon entering Pakistani airspace. The UAE president is accompanied by a high-level delegation.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the visit aims to review bilateral relations and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that the country will continue developing missiles over the next five years, following visits to major munitions enterprises in the last quarter of 2025, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
Kim said the country’s missile and shell production sector is “of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrence,” according to KCNA.
The report said Kim ratified draft documents on the modernization of key munitions enterprises, which will be submitted to a major ruling party congress expected to be held in early 2026. The congress is set to outline North Korea’s development plan for the next five years.
KCNA’s report follows Thursday’s disclosure that Kim oversaw the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine alongside his daughter, widely seen as a potential successor, as well as the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Daesh members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Istanbul Police obtained information that Daesh members had planned attacks in Turkey, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor’s office posted on X, Reuters reported.
The police raided 124 places in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said. Several pistols and ammunition were seized, it said.
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