‘Afghans fleeing Pak lack shelter, food once they cross border’
Islamabad, Nov 5: Afghans fleeing Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation are sleeping in the open, without proper shelter, food, drinking water and toilets once they cross the border to their homeland, aid agencies said Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have left Pakistan in recent weeks as authorities pursue foreigners they say are in the country illegally, going door-to-door to check migrants’ documentation. Pakistan set Oct 31 as a deadline to leave the country or else they’d be arrested as part of a new anti-migrant crackdown. Afghans leave Pakistan from two main border crossings, Torkham and Chaman. The Taliban have set up camps on the other side for people to stay in while they wait to be moved to their place of origin in Afghanistan. Aid agencies said Torkham has no proper shelter. There is limited access to drinking water, no heating source other than open fires, no lighting, and no toilets. There is open defecation and poor hygiene. UN agencies and aid groups are setting up facilities with thousands of people entering Afghanistan every day. (AP)
North Korea designates ‘missile industry day’
Seoul, Nov 5: North Korea has designated a “missile industry day” to mark a test-firing of its Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in 2022, the media reported on Sunday. North Korea test-fired the ICBM on November 18, 2022, with leader Kim Jong-un declaring that the missile reaffirmed his regime’s acquisition of a powerful and reliable capability to counter any nuclear threats, Yonhap news agency reported. November 18 was designated as the “missile industry day” because it displayed “the might of a world-class nuclear power and the strongest ICBM possessor was demonstrated to the whole world,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The designation was made at a session of the Permanent Commission of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea, it said. (IANS)
4 police officers injured in UK
London, Nov 5: Four police officers were injured after pro-Palestinian protesters set off fireworks into crowds in central London, with 29 arrests made on suspicion of racially motivated crimes. The Metropolitan Police said more than 1,300 officers were on duty on Saturday as tens of thousands of people demonstrated against the Israel-Gaza conflict, adding that it had adopted a more “sharpened and proactive” intervention approach to the protests. The protest came as both British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman called for tougher action against extremist acts during these protests, especially one planned next weekend to coincide with Armistice Day when Britain’s war martyrs are commemorated. “It is disappointing that various splinter groups were again responsible for behaviour which has no place in London, and we are determined to deal with this robustly. Fireworks were directed towards officers, and four officers were injured,” said Met Police Commander Karen Findlay, who is responsible for policing in London this week. (PTI)