25 injured in fireworks explosion in Pakistan
KARACHI, Aug 21: An explosion at a fireworks storage facility in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Thursday injured at least 25 people, some of them critically, police and hospital officials said. Television footage showed thick smoke billowing into the sky from the building where firecrackers were stored. Broken glass from nearby shop windows littered the road as panicked residents rushed from the scene, witnesses said. Firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze while ambulances transported the injured, including passersby, to several hospitals, senior police official Asad Raza said. The blast damaged several shops and vehicles passing through an area known as Jinnah Road. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Explosions at fireworks facilities are common in Pakistan. In January, six people were killed in a similar blast at a fireworks storage site in Mandi Bahauddin, a city in the eastern Punjab province. (AP)
2 sailors injured in Japan warship fire
WASHINGTON, Aug 21: A fire broke out on the USS New Orleans warship off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, causing minor injuries to two sailors. The fire lasted almost 12 hours and was extinguished, with the cause under investigation. The ship was in water near White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa. The crew of the USS San Diego, another warship, and the Japanese coast guard and military helped fight the fire. The USS New Orleans, commissioned in 2007, can hold up to 800 people. The fire follows another five-day fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard in July 2020, which was charged and acquitted of starting. The ship suffered extensive structural, electrical, and mechanical damage and was later scrapped. (AP)
NZ soldier gets 2 years for attempted espionage
WELLINGTON, Aug 21: A New Zealand soldier has been sentenced to two years in military prison and discharge from the army after admitting to spying for a foreign power. The soldier pleaded guilty to three charges, including attempted espionage, which was the first conviction for spying in New Zealand’s history. The soldier believed he was engaged with a foreign agent in 2019 when he tried to communicate military information, including base telephone directories, maps, assessments of security weaknesses, and his own identity card. The soldier’s name was suppressed. (AP)
Indian student visas fall in UK, detentions up
LONDON, Aug 21: Indian students granted visas to study at UK universities have continued to decline, with the majority opting for post-graduate qualifications. Indian students received 98,014 visa grants in the year ending June 2025, a close second to Chinese students at 99,919. However, both nationalities registered a fall in overall numbers compared to last year, with Indian students mainly studying for a Master’s degree. The number of Indian nationals in detention has almost doubled in the past year. The total number of immigrants, using legal and illegal routes, registered a 30% fall compared to the previous year. (PTI)