Roof collapse kills three in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, July 31: Three people, including a teenage boy, were killed in a roof collapse incident after heavy rains in northwest Pakistan, police said Thursday. The incident took place in Sarai Naurang tehsil of Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province late Wednesday night after torrential rainfall weakened the structure of the house. Rescue officials confirmed local residents helped in the immediate relief operation. Authorities have issued warnings for other vulnerable structures in the area. Authorities on Saturday had warned of glacial flooding in northwest Pakistan with more rain forecast for the area this week. Downpours are heavier in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province than the same period last year, prompting weather advisories and alerts for flooding from glacial lake outbursts, Anwar Shahzad, a spokesperson for the local disaster management authority, had said. (PTI)
Mortar shell injures four in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, July 31: At least four people were injured when a mortar shell struck a house in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, local police said Thursday. The incident occurred amid an ongoing military operation targetting militant hideouts in parts of Bajaur near the Afghan border. The shell landed in the Guhati area of Mamond tehsil on Wednesday, causing extensive damage, police said. All four injured were shifted to the a hospital in Larkholozo for treatment. Doctors said one of the injured is in critical condition. The three-day military offensive involving ground troops and gunship helicopters concludes Thursday. Incidents of civilian homes being hit have raised concerns over safety in the conflict-prone region. The Bajaur district administration has imposed Section 144 during the operation to maintain law and order. (PTI)
14-year jail term for Indian in Singapore child sex case
SINGAPORE, July 31: An Indian national, Ramalingam Selvasekaran, has been sentenced to over 14 years in jail in Singapore for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl twice. The Singapore High Court found him guilty of one count of rape and two counts of outrage of modesty. Ramalingam maintained his innocence and appealed against his conviction. He was granted bail of SGD80,000 pending appeal and had a dispute with the judge regarding bail conditions. The offenses occurred on October 28, 2021, at his provision store in Jurong West. Ramalingam argued that the girl’s testimony should not be believed and that there was no police footage of her returning home after the incident. He also claimed that his DNA was not found on her body. The judge found no significant weaknesses in the girl’s recounting of events and that Ramalingam’s later statements denying the commission of the offenses were an attempt to resile from his admittance. (PTI)