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  • 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.

  • Turkey ex-president Evren, 1980 coup leader, dies aged 97

    Evren had received treatment at the GATA military hospital since 2012 but his condition turned critical on Saturday when he was taken out of an intensive care unit and attached to a respirator.

    His lawyers and family were summoned to the hospital, Anatolia said.

    The former president was sentenced to life in prison last June along with former air force commander Tahsin Sahinkaya, 90, for their roles in the putsch 35 years ago.

    The two were the only surviving members of the junta at the time of the trial.

    As head of the armed forces, Evren seized power in a pre-dawn assault on September 12, 1980, and went on to rule for the next nine years. (AFP)

     

  • Military transporter crashes on test flight in Spain, four killed

    The aircraft was due to be delivered to another NATO customer, Turkey, and was on its maiden test flight when it crashed in a field one mile (1.6 km) north of Seville’s San Pablo airport. It was the first ever crash of an A400M.

    Airbus said four Spanish employees had been killed and two surviving crew were in hospital in serious condition.

    The newspaper El Pais said the crew had detected a fault and asked permission to land, but hit an electricity pylon while attempting an emergency landing.

    Tracking data from the Flightradar24 website indicated the plane had wheeled to the left before coming down.

    An Airbus spokesman declined to comment on possible causes. Airbus said it had sent a team to investigate.

    The crash delivers a fresh blow to Europe’s largest defense project, which is still struggling to overcome delays and cost overruns that led to a bailout by European governments in 2010.

    Britain and Germany said they were suspending A400M flights while they awaited more information on what caused the crash.

    A plume of black smoke rose from the site, where hardly anything was left of the plane amid black, scorched earth.

    Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, speaking to journalists near the site, asked for maximum transparency from Airbus on the reasons for the crash.

    “An incident like this is not the best for our industry … It remains to be seen if it was purely circumstantial or if a mistake was made,” he said, adding that the Spanish defense minister would meet his German and French counterparts on Sunday to discuss the incident.

    The A400M Atlas was developed for Spain and six other European NATO nations – Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Turkey – at a cost of 20 billion euros, making it Europe’s biggest single arms contract. It entered service in 2013 after a delay of more than three years. (Reuters)

  • PM condemns, seeks report on DSP Zulfikar’s killing in Karachi

    In a statement issued, the prime minister advised the provincial government to beef up security across Sindh especially in Karachi.

    He stressed on the need to take measures to enhance police performance in the province.

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    Read: DSP Zulfikar Zaidi, driver shot dead in Karachi

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    PM Sharif also sought the report of DSP Zulfikar Zaidi’s killing from concerned authorities.

    “The role of police in maintaining law and order is highly important and the government is resolved for the restoration of peace in Karachi,” read the statement.

  • Fighting between tribes of North Waziristan leaves 47 dead

    A security source told AFP that the Mada Khel and Paipali Kabul Khel tribes of North Waziristan had been engaged in intense frighting since Friday to try to capture a mountain, which both groups claim.

    “The fight in Laoaara Mandi village in Data Khel area has so far left 47 people dead and 25 others injured,” the official said.

    He added that the fight for occupation of the mountain is still ongoing.

    Locals in the area confirmed the violence and said that the tribes support separate militant groups in the region.

    Another source, who is close to the political administration in the area, gave a lower toll, saying that 36 people were killed and 15 were injured.

    North Waziristan is one of Pakistan’s seven semi autonomous tribal districts where Pakistani forces have little control and militant groups thrive. The US has in past branded these areas the most dangerous in the world, saying they are hubs for Taliban and Al-Qaeda-led militants.

    Tribes in these areas often fight bloody battles to assert their control over the region.

    Pakistan’s army started an offensive in June last year to clear the region of Taliban militants and has since claimed significant success in the operation, named Zarb-e-Azb. -AFP

  • PTI seeks water supply in Karachi under Rangers supervision

    Water, now days, seems to be a rare commodity and the citizens are forced to purchase water tankers on considerably higher rates. MD Water Board, Hashim Raza Zaidi instead of resolving the issue of water supply seemed helpless before the tanker mafia.

    The question rises where from the tanker mafia is being supplied water for selling, when citizens in nearly half of the areas of the city are longing for a single drop of it.

    On the other hand, PTI lawmaker Arif Alvi today demanded the government to give the water supply system under Pakistan Rangers supervision for three months.

    Although, the minister for Local Bodies led many operations against tanker mafia, illegal water supply lines were also cut off, yet when the matter was taken up in the Sindh Assembly it could not be pursued with required seriousness.

    Interests of the lawmakers and demands aside, but the citizens call for the provision of this basic need to them.

  • Airbus A400M military plane crashes during test flight in Spain, kills four

    The plane was on a test flight when it crashed one mile (1.6 km) north of Seville’s San Pablo airport, emergency services said. Six people were on board; four died on impact and two others were seriously injured, a government spokeswoman said.

    The plane crashed into an electricity pylon while attempting an emergency landing and caused a power cut in a nearby neighborhood, El Mundo newspaper said, citing an eyewitness.

    An Airbus (AIR.PA) spokesman and a government spokeswoman declined to comment on the cause of the crash, a fresh blow to Europe’s largest defense project which had to be bailed out by European governments in 2010 after delays and cost overruns.

    Airbus said the transport plane, which is assembled in Seville, had been ordered by Turkey, and that the company had sent a team to the crash site.

    Media images showed a plume of black smoke rising from the crash site and fire-fighters spraying the smoldering wreckage. Hardly anything was left of the plane, which left black scorched earth in its wake, a Reuters eyewitness said.

    Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy earlier told reporters while on the campaign trail for local elections that it seemed all those on board were Spanish Airbus employees. He canceled his political rallies for the day.

    The Spanish government has also sent a team to investigate the crash, a government source said. Web tracking data indicated that the aircraft had wheeled round to the left before crashing north of the airport.

    A person familiar with the matter said the aircraft had been conducting its maiden flight as part of a pre-delivery schedule.

    BUYER COMPLAINTS

    The A400M Atlas was developed for Spain and six other European NATO nations – Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Turkey – at a cost of 20 billion euros ($22 billion), in Europe’s largest joint defense project. It entered service in 2013 after a delay of more than three years.

    Problems in delivering the planes on time, and with all the required military features on board, resurfaced last year, prompting criticism from buyers including Turkey as well as a management shake-up and more financial charges.

    After a total of 4.75 billion euros of charges on its own balance sheet, Airbus hoped it was finally turning the corner, with an executive saying last week that it hoped soon to get a second export customer to add to Malaysia..

    There was no immediate word on whether the accident would result in the halting of other test flights or A400M operations in existing operators Britain, France, Germany and Turkey.

    Designed to put troops and heavy equipment into remote battlefields or carry out humanitarian missions, the aircraft was designed to fill a gap between the smaller Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) C-130 Hercules and the Boeing C-17 cargo jet, which is being discontinued. -Reuters

  • DSP Zulfikar Zaidi, driver shot dead in Karachi

    According to details, DSP Zulfikar Zaidi had arrived in Shah Faisal Colony to have dinner accompanied by his driver. He was sitting at a hotel that unknown assailants opened fire at him.

    As a consequence, the DSP and his driver were martyred.

    DSP Zulfikar Zaidi was currently performing his duties as the security in-charge of the Sindh High Court (SHC).

    Earlier today, a policeman and a doctor were shot dead in Clifton and Nazimabad areas of the city.

    This is the second incident of killing of a senior police officer in the megapolis, in a few days.

    On May 1, unknown attackers had gunned down DSP Fateh Muhammad Sangi along with three other cops in Gulshan-e-Hadeed.