On Wednesday, the security forces killed 24 militants in clashes that erupted after insurgents attacked a security check post in the north-western Orakzai Agency, officials said, reports our Pakistan correspondent.
“Militants attacked the checkpost at around 11 am with arms and rockets, prompting retaliation from the security forces that killed 24 insurgents,” government official Azhar Khan said. Wednesday’s clashes, which also killed a paramilitary soldier and wounded nine, happened in Djabori area. Meanwhile, the Pakistan provincial government of Kyber-Pakhto-onkhwa stopped the entry of 45 containers.
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Death toll in Ghana floods rises to 30
Accra, June 23: At least 30 people have died in floods caused by heavy rain in Ghana’s four regions, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has said.
The military and Red Cross are continuing rescue and evacuation operations in Tema, Ashaima and Kpone, East Accra regions, where over 1,000 buildings have been damaged, causing losses to thousands of people, NADMO coordinator Kofi Portuphy was quoted as saying by Prensa Latina. Meanwhile, highways and roads minister Joe Gidisu said: “Never in the last 15 years have we seen this kind of flooding, especially in the Greater Accra region where roads have been washed away and bridges collapsed, leading to the loss of lives and properties.” —IANS
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Sri Lanka rejects UN war panel
Colombo, June 23: Sri Lanka on Wednesday blasted the UN Secretary-General’s appointment of a panel to advise him on war crimes at the end of a quarter-century separatist war as a violation of sovereignty prejudicial to its own probe. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday named a three-member panel chaired by Indonesia’s former attorney-general, Marzuki Darusman, to advise him whether war crimes were committed in the final months of Sri Lanka’s war in 2009.
The government had been urging Mr Ban not to appoint the advisory panel, saying it had its own commission to investigate possible human rights violations. —Reuters
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Spy satellite launched in Israel
Jerusalem, June 23: Israel has launched its latest military spy satellite, boosting its intelligence-gathering capabilities in the face of Iran’s nuclear programme, a Cabinet minister said on Wednesday. The Ofek 9 was blasted into orbit by an Israeli-made rocket from the Palmachim air base south of Tel Aviv, joining three other Israeli spy satellites in space.
Finance minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio: “Israel’s boosting of its intelligence capabilities is directed ... to a large extent towards the threat posed by Iran, first and foremost the nuclear threat.” Israel supports international efforts to reach a agreement with Iran to curb its nuclear programme. —Reuters