7 dead in picnic shooting in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Aug 17: At least seven people were killed and another injured when unidentified gunmen ambushed a group of friends returning from a picnic in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said on Sunday. The victims were attacked late Saturday in Regi Shino Khel, a suburban area of Kohat district, about 65 kilometres southwest of Peshawar. They were on their way back from Tanda Dam to their native village Khara Ghari Muhammad Zai, when the assailants opened fire, police said. Rescue 1122 officials assisted by police contingents shifted the bodies and the injured to District Headquarters Hospital Kohat. The wounded man was later referred to a hospital in Peshawar for specialised treatment. Police confirmed that the deceased and the injured were all friends. The assailants fled the scene, while a search operation has been launched to trace them, officials said. Authorities have registered a case and started investigations to determine the motive behind the killings. (PTI)
5.8 quake hits Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island
PALU, Aug 17: A magnitude 5.8 undersea earthquake struck Indonesia’s eastern side, injuring 29 people, including two in critical condition. The quake struck 15 kilometers north of Poso district in Central Sulawesi province and was followed by at least 15 aftershocks. Indonesian authorities did not issue a tsunami warning. Most of the injured were congregation members attending Sunday morning service at a church. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported that amateur videos showing structural damage to the church were circulating. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of over 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis due to its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In 2022, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake killed at least 602 people in Cianjur city, Indonesia’s deadliest since a 2018 quake and a tsunami in Sulawesi. (AP)
Shooting in crowded NYC club kills three, injures eight
NEW YORK, Aug 17: Three people were killed and eight others injured in a shooting early Sunday at Taste of the City Lounge, a crowded nightclub in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the violence erupted following a dispute around 3:30 a.m., with multiple weapons believed to have been used. At least 36 shell casings were recovered, along with a firearm found nearby. The deceased are three men, while the injured—ranging in age from 27 to 61, including three women—sustained non-life-threatening injuries. They are being treated at local hospitals. The shooting stands out in what has otherwise been a record low year for gun violence in New York City. Commissioner Tisch emphasized the rarity of such incidents amid declining citywide shooting statistics, calling the event a tragic anomaly that police are working diligently to investigate. (AP)