Pakistan bus bombing: death toll climbs to 8
KARACHI, May 23: Two more students injured in a suicide bomb attack on a school bus in Khuzdar, Balochistan, have died during hospital treatment. Haider and Malaika were injured in the blast last Wednesday morning. The attack has increased the death toll to eight, including five female and one male students and two other security personnel. The bus was carrying students to the Army Public School in Khuzdar cantonment. The vehicle used in the attack was rigged with over 30 kilograms of explosives. The attack sparked condemnation and condolences from the country’s top civil and military leadership, and the United Nations Security Council also strongly condemned the terrorist attack. (PTI)
Landslides in SW China kill four, trap 17
Beijing, May 23: Landslides in a rural area in China’s southwestern Guizhou province have killed at least four people with 17 others still missing in the debris, state media said. Two bodies were found in Changshi township on Thursday, and two others in nearby Qingyang village, where a landslide buried 19 people from eight households, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. Most of Guowa township, where Qingyang is located, had lost power after the landslides, a local newspaper reported. A resident told state media that it had rained all night. A drone video of the area showed a large swathe of brown earth that cut through the green slope of the hilly terrain. (AP)
Four dead, one missing in Australia floods
MELBOURNE, May 23: Australia’s east coast has experienced record floodwaters, leaving four dead and one missing. Around 50,000 people have been isolated by flooding along the coast of New South Wales state north of Sydney. Four bodies have been retrieved from floodwaters in New South Wales since Wednesday, with three victims driving into floodwaters and a man’s body found on the veranda of his flooded home. The latest victim was a man in his 70s whose body was found in a car in floodwater near Coffs Harbour. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Christopher Minns praised emergency services and volunteers for rescuing 678 people from floodwaters in recent days. (AP)
Rome hosts 5th round of Iran, US nuke talks
ROME, May 23: Iran and the US began their fifth round of nuclear negotiations in Rome, with uranium enrichment as the main issue. The US demands a complete halt to enrichment for sanctions relief, while Iran insists enrichment must continue, rejecting deals without it. Talks are mediated by Oman, amid rising tensions including Israel’s threats to strike Iran’s nuclear sites. Iran’s nuclear advances shorten the timeline to a potential weapon, though experts say a bomb would still take months. Despite internal unrest and economic struggles, Iran seeks relief, while the US maintains sanctions and pressures continue to escalate. (AP)