Mercury dips in Afghanistan,78 dead
Kabul, Jan 20: The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has confirmed that at least 78 people have died as winter temperatures plunged across the country. Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Disaster Management, said that along with the loss of human life, more than 77,000 livestock had also frozen to death in recent days. Last week, the mercury fell to minus 28 degrees Celsius and there was a possibility that it might dip even further low, CNN meteorologists, said adding that the temperatures are well below average for this time of year, with the coldest conditions recorded in the north.(IANS)
Blast derails train in Pak, eight injured
Quetta, Jan 20: At least eight people were injured in an explosion near a railway track in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Friday, a senior Railways official said. Pakistan Railways spokesperson in Balochistan, Muhammad Kashif, told Dawn that the blast occurred when the Peshawar-bound Jaffer Express was passing by the Paneer area. The train was coming from Mach area. As a result of the blast, six bogies of the train derailed causing injuries to at least eight people, he added, Dawn reported. The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital while an emergency has been declared across all hospitals in the district. (AP)
Jinping inspects PLA troops along India-China border
beijing, Jan 20: Chinese President Xi Jinping has held a video conversation with the soldiers stationed along the India-China border in eastern Ladakh and inspected their combat readiness, official media here reported on Friday. Xi addressed the troops from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) headquarters here on the border defence situation in Khunjerab under the Xinjiang Military Command. Xi, who is also general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China and the commander-in-chief of the PLA, in his remarks to the troops, referred to how “in recent years, the area has been constantly changing” and how it had impacted the Army, according to the video shown in the official media. During the call, he “inspected their combat readiness”, the report said. (PTI)
