Polio teams attacked in Pakistan; one cop killed
KARACHI/PESHAWAR, April 15: A police constable was killed and another injured in separate attacks on polio vaccination teams in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces during a nationwide immunisation campaign.
In Balochistan’s Nasirabad district, armed men on motorcycles opened fire on a polio team in Dera Murad Jamali, killing Constable Farhan Bashir while he was providing security. The vaccination team, which included female health workers, was taking a lunch break when the attack occurred. Authorities said the attackers fled and no group has claimed responsibility. Despite the violence, officials confirmed the campaign will continue.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district, Constable Muhammad Anas was wounded in a separate attack on a vaccination team, while police arrested a suspect. In another incident in Bannu district, three polio workers were abducted by unidentified armed men.
These attacks follow earlier violence targeting security personnel during the anti-polio drive. Pakistan remains one of only two countries, along with Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic, according to the World Health Organization.
Authorities have deployed around 50,000 police officers to protect over 35,000 vaccination teams in a campaign aiming to vaccinate millions of children across the country. (PTI)
Turkey’s second school shooting in two days, 9 killed
ANKARA, April 15: A student opened fire in a middle school in Turkey on Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring 13 others in Kahramanmaras province. The 14-year-old attacker was killed during the incident, and officials said he used firearms believed to belong to his father, a retired police officer, carrying five guns and seven magazines. The motive remains unknown, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said, adding that six of the wounded are in critical condition. Governor Mukerrem Unluer said it is unclear whether the shooter was killed by police or died by suicide. The attack follows another school shooting a day earlier in Sanliurfa province where 16 people were injured and the attacker killed himself. Authorities imposed media restrictions on graphic coverage as parents rushed to the school. investigations continue across Turkey officials said. (AP)
Tropical Cyclone Maila kills 23 in Papua New Guinea
MELBOURNE, April 15: Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila has killed 23 people in Papua New Guinea after triggering landslides and heavy flooding across multiple provinces. Ten people died in East New Britain’s Lamarain village, two in Milne Bay, and 11 earlier in Bougainville, where authorities have declared a state of emergency due to widespread destruction and mass displacement. The Category 5 storm also impacted the Solomon Islands, where three people are missing. Emergency teams have been deployed as rescue and assessment operations continue in affected regions. (IANS)
