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  • Fifty inmates and 12 police killed in Iraq prison break: officials

    After a riot erupted, dozens of prisoners escaped from the Al-Khalis facility about 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad, security and police officials said.

    Militants of Islamic State, the group sometimes known as ISIS which has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria, broke in with the help of explosives to free 30 inmates and get into the jail’s weapons stores, said Amaq News Agency, which supports the group.

    The agency said Shi’ite militiamen then stormed the prison and killed about 60 militants in clashes.

    “ISIS was responsible for the killings and the release of ISIS prisoners,” said Oudi Al-Khadran, mayor of the town where the prison, which holds hundreds of people convicted of terrorism, is located.

    That account was confirmed by Colonel Ahmed al-Timimi of the Diyala province security operations center.

    It was not clear if any high-profile prisoners were held at Al-Khalis, said the head of Diyala’s security committee, Seyyid Sadiq al-Husseini.

    “The inmates started fighting among themselves, which drew the attention of the police guards who went to break up the fight,” said a police source, asking not to be named.

    “Then the prisoners attacked them, stripped them of their weapons and started a riot while also managing to capture the armory of the prison.”

    Authorities declared a curfew in Al-Khalis and raided houses in search of escaped convicts, said another police source.

    The Iraqi government, which is backed by U.S. air strikes in its campaign against Islamic State, is also trying to contain widespread sectarian violence.

    A car bomb in Baghdad on Saturday killed seven civilians and wounded 14 others, police and medical sources said. (Reuters)

  • Arkansas dog consumes over two dozen bullets

    “He acted like nothing was wrong until he threw up,” Benno’s owner, Larry Brassfield of Mountain Home, Arkansas, said on Friday adding that is when he discovered a nearly three-inch long bullet in the puddle.

    Brassfield noticed several 308-caliber rounds missing and rushed Benno to a veterinarian, where x-rays revealed a small arsenal in the animal’s stomach in the late April incident.

    Veterinarian removed 16 bullets from stomach of the dog.
    Veterinarian removed 16 bullets from stomach of the dog.

    “My first concern was not an explosion but poisoning,” said veterinarian Dr. Sarah Shelton, who feared Benno’s stomach acids would attack the metal to fatal effect.

    Shelton removed 16 cartridges from Benno’s stomach and left two in his esophagus rather than prolong the two-hour surgery, correctly calculating that the animal would soon expel them.

    In all, the dog had eaten 23 rounds.

    She said Benno’s prognosis is “excellent.”

    Malinois dogs, which physically resemble German Shepherds, are used as bomb-sniffers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and known for both their intelligence and work ethic, according to Animal Planet.

    Benno, meantime, has diligently returned to his old ways. Since his surgery, Brassfield says, Benno has consumed yet another of his wife’s bras.

    “It’s at least his fourth,” Brassfield said. – Reuters

  • ECP notifies JI victory in official results of PK-95 by-election

    According to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), JI’s Aizazul Mulk emerged victorious from the constituency after securing 20,000 votes followed by Awami National Party’s (ANP) Haji Bahadur Khan who won 16,439 votes.

    Qari Ziaul Haq Haideri of Rah-e-Haq Party was third as he bagged 3,024 votes.

    Voting turnout was 27% as 48,558 votes were casted in the elections in which 1273 were rejected.

    However, women did not cast their votes in several areas of the constituency. ECP also took notice of the issue.

    Aizazul Mulk is also the head of Lower Dir chapter of Jamaat e Islami. Mulk and Bhadaur both are popular among the masses in the constituency.

    The PK-95 seat fell vacant after JI emir Sirajul Haq resigned following his nomination as the party chief. He had secured the seat in the General Elections 2013.

  • Earthquake tremors felt in parts of Swat

    The epicentre of the 4.2 magnitude of earthquake was Koh-e Hindukush in Afghanistan. While its depth was measured 121 kilometers, a meteorological department official said.

    The jolts of the quake were also felt in parts of Khyber Pakhtonkhwa, however no reports of casualties or any damage were received.

    Tremors stirred panic among people who rushed out of their homes and remained outdoor for some time.

  • Toyota, Mazda in talks on expanding partnership: sources

    The two Japanese automakers already have a technology and production tie-up, and Toyota was now considering providing fuel-cell and plug-in-hybrid technology to Mazda, said the two sources, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

    Mazda, in return, was considering offering its partner fuel-efficient gasoline and diesel engine technology under its proprietary SkyActiv series, the sources said.

    Mazda has been trying to develop FCVs on its own, but it has decided to team up with Toyota, which produces the Mirai, the world’s only mass-market fuel-cell car, the sources said.

    Toyota has said hydrogen FCVs offer the most promising zero-emission alternative to conventional cars since they have a similar driving range and refueling time.

    Toyota has already decided to share some of its patents concerning fuel cell technology for free, hoping this will speed up the development of the infrastructure.

    The Nikkei business daily reported the two companies intended to reach an agreement on the partnership soon.

    Toyota and Mazda officials said nothing has been decided. (Reuters)

  • Two police officers shot dead in US state: reports

    Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict said both officers were shot Saturday in Hattiesburg and taken to hospital where they were confirmed dead, according to The Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

    At least one of the officers was alive when he entered the hospital, the newspaper reported.

    Officials did not say what the motive was for the attack.

    Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree urged residents to stay indoors while police searched for the shooter.

    Police said they believed the suspect stole a police car after the shooting, which was later found abandoned.

    The Clarion-Ledger said it was the first police killing in Hattiesburg in 30 years.

    A plainclothes police officer in New York died Monday after he was shot in the head by a suspect.

    He was the third on-duty officer killed in the past five months, following the shooting death of two other New York policemen in December. – AFP

  • PM directs Sindh govt to beef up Karachi security

    Mr. Sharif condemned the killing of DSP Zulfiqar Zaidi in a firing incident at Shah Faisal area of Karachi last night.

    In a statement, the PM also sought a report about the incident and emphasized on the need for boosting the morale of police force as it had a key role in maintaining law and order.

    He reaffirmed the government’s resolve to restore peace and stability in Karachi at all costs, he said in a statement.

  • Saudi-led coalition launches wave of air strikes on Yemen

    The coalition of Arab states had called on civilians to evacuate Saada, the city in northern Yemen where support for Houthi rebels is strongest, before the bombing but it was unclear how they could leave.

    “The indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, with or without prior warning, is in contravention of international humanitarian law,” the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Johannes van der Klaauw said in a statement later in the day.

    “Many civilians are effectively trapped in Saada as they are unable to access transport because of the fuel shortage. The targeting of an entire governorate will put countless civilians at risk.”

    A coalition spokesman said the latest wave of aerial bombing, on about 100 locations, was in response to the shelling of Saudi border areas by Houthi forces this week.

    The air strikes targeted bases of Houthi leaders across Saada and Hajja provinces, said Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, as well as hitting tanks and other military vehicles.

    Other strikes targeted Sanaa airport’s runway, a Yemeni official there said, and Houthi targets in the al-Sadda district of Ibb in central Yemen, residents there said.

    In the southern port city of Aden, clashes continued on Friday and Saturday in the central Crater, Khor Maksar and Mualla districts as the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh shelled local militias trying to oust them from the city.

    However, the Houthis were pushed back from parts of Dar al-Saad in the city’s north into Lahj Province, local militias said, and faced fighting in al-Dhala Province.

    In Shabwa province, east of Aden, four men including a suspected al Qaeda leader were killed in a drone strike, local officials said.

    FEARS OF PROXY WAR

    The coalition has bombarded the Houthis and army units loyal to Saleh since March 26, but eased back on the strikes in late April and on Friday offered a five-day truce starting on May 12 if other parties agreed.

    The Saudis and nine other Arab countries, backed by the United States, Britain and France, hoped to force the Houthis back to their northern heartland and restore the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is in Riyadh.

    The Houthis are mainly drawn from the Zaydi sect of Shi’ite Islam that predominates in Yemen’s northern highlands. They took advantage of political chaos to seize Sanaa and then advance further south over the past year, aided by Saleh.

    Riyadh fears the Houthis will act as a proxy for their main regional rival, Shi’ite Iran, to undermine Saudi security, and that their advance into Sunni regions will add a sectarian edge to the civil war, strengthening an al Qaeda group in Yemen.

    Iran and the Houthis deny funding, arming or training is coming from Tehran, and analysts say the rebel group is unlikely to become an all-out proxy for the Islamic Republic in the mold of Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

    Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday the Saudi-led campaign was the work of an “inexperienced” government that did not understand the region’s politics. (Reuters)

  • Two transgenders shot dead in Rawalpindi

    According to details, unidentified gunmen opened fire at the transgenders near Moti Mahal due to which two of them were killed and two others were injured.

    The wounded were rushed to a local medical facility where they are being treated for their injuries.

    The law enforcement agencies have launched the investigation of the incident.

  • Karachi: Three ‘gangsters’ shot dead in police encounter

    Police team, deployed on snap-checking, flagged down a vehicle in Shah Faisal Colony, but culprits inside the car opened fire on the cops. In retaliation by the police, three criminals were killed.

    The cops recovered weapons, hand grenades and a snatched car from their possession.

    Police claimed that the slain criminals were involved in targeting DSP Alfalah Tariq Saeed besides several criminal activities.

    Meanwhile, police conducted a search operation at a graveyard in Paposh Nagar and arrested 11 suspects.