Five killed in Pak militant attack
PESHAWAR, Feb 2: Four paramilitary personnel were among five people killed when their vehicle was ambushed by the militants in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, police said. The incident happened in Dera Ismail Khan district bordering South Waziristan. According to police, the Karizat Levies personnel were heading to recover a stolen truck in Daraban Tehsil of the district, accompanied by a private driver, when they were ambushed. The attack resulted in the deaths of four Levies personnel and one civilian. On Saturday law enforcement agencies killed 23 terrorists during separate operations in Balochistan. These operations are part of a sustained effort as the country witnessed a surge in violent attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of KP and Balochistan. (PTI)
Japan launches navigation satellite
TOKYO, Feb 2: Japan’s space agency said on Sunday it successfully launched a navigation satellite on its new flagship H3 rocket as the country seeks to have a more precise location positioning system of its own. The H3 rocket carrying the Michibiki 6 satellite lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on a southwestern Japanese island. Everything went smoothly and the satellite successfully separated from the rocket as planned about 29 minutes after the liftoff, said Makoto Arita, H3 project manager for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. Officials said it is expected to reach its targeted geospatial orbit in about two weeks. (PTI)
Anti-polio drive resumes in Pak
ISLAMABAD, Feb 2: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday formally launched the first anti-polio drive of the year as the country struggles to eradicate the crippling disease. A ceremony was held in Islamabad where he administered polio drops to children to unveil the campaign. Polio workers would administer polio drops during the seven-day drive from February 3 to 9. Addressing the launch, the prime minister expressed his determination to eradicate polio from Pakistan, saying that millions of children would be vaccinated across the length and breadth of the country during the campaign. Sharif hoped that the dedicated teams would work “day and night to eradicate the disease, and would reach the far-flung areas and villages”, adding these teams would successfully meet the huge responsibility by “utilising their complete energies”. (PTI)