Several PTI leaders held as party marks ‘Black Day’
Islamabad, Feb 8: Several Pakistani leaders of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were arrested as the party on Saturday held rallies to mark February 8 as the ‘Black Day’ against the alleged rigging of general elections last year. The PTI has planned its main rally in Swabi, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the party is in power. It has also asked its workers and supporters to protest across the country. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said the ‘Black Day’ was being marked in protest against the “historic theft of the people’s mandate”. “Black Day will be observed every year and this year a rally will be held in Swabi on February 8,” Gandapur said, calling PTI supporters and workers to protest in every city in Pakistan. “Record your protest wherever you are,” Gandapur said. (PTI)
Rescuers search for some 30 people after landslide
Beijing, Feb 8: Chinese rescuers searched for some 30 people after a landslide on Saturday in southwestern Sichuan province buried 10 houses and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate. The Ministry of Emergency Management deployed hundreds of rescuers including firefighters following the landslide in a village in Junlian county. Two people were pulled out alive and about 200 others were relocated, state broadcaster CCTV said. (AP)
Canadian agency detects malicious activity targeting candidate
Ottawa, Feb 8: A Canadian government department that tracks suspected foreign interference said Friday it has detected a “coordinated and malicious activity” targeting federal Liberal Party leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland. A release from the Rapid Response Mechanism Canada, based at Global Affairs Canada, said the activity has been traced to a WeChat account linked to the Chinese government. “The launch of this information operation was traced to WeChat’s most popular news account – an anonymous blog that has been previously linked by experts at the China Digital Times to the People’s Republic of China,” the release said. “RRM Canada identified over 30 WeChat news accounts taking part in the campaign. The campaign received very high levels of engagement and views.” (AP)
Ukrainian Prez confirms new offensive
Kyiv, Feb 8: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed a new Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region and said that North Korean troops were fighting alongside Russian forces there. “In the areas of the Kursk operation, new assaults have taken place,” Zelenskyy said, adding, “Russia has once again deployed North Korean soldiers alongside its troops.” According to Zelenskyy, a “significant number” of enemy troops were destroyed. He gave no details but said the losses were in the hundreds. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that it had repelled a Ukrainian counterattack in the Kursk region. (AP)