Prime suspect arrested in Sikh couple murder case in Pakistan
Peshawar, June 19: Police have arrested the prime suspect in the double murder case involving a Sikh caretaker couple who were shot dead inside a gurdwara in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said. The victims, identified as Jagannath and his wife Asma Wanti, were serving as caretakers of the gurdwara in Babu Mohalla in Mardan district, about 60 km northwest of Peshawar. They were shot dead inside the gurdwara on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Mardan District Police Officer (DPO) Masood Ahmad Bangash said the prime suspect in the case has been arrested. The suspect has been identified as Sher Shah, a resident of Amazugari. (PTI)
Meloni slams Trump’s claim she ‘begged’ for photo with him
Rome, June 19: The Italian government on Friday slammed US President Donald Trump’s claim that Premier Giorgia Meloni had “begged” for a photo with him during the recent G7 summit, a pushback that suggested the longtime US ally had had enough of Trump’s boasting. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani abruptly cancelled a planned trip to the United States this weekend, calling Trump’s claims “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and all of Italy. For her part, Meloni posted a video calling Trump’s claims “completely fabricated,” which she concluded with: “Italy and I do not beg.” Trump had made the comments in an interview broadcast Friday morning on the La7 network. According to La7, Trump said Meloni had “begged” him for a photo-op. Trump said he wasn’t obliged to do it but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. (AP)
About 300 kids, teachers rescued from Tokyo school blaze
Tokyo, June 19: A fire broke out at an elementary school in downtown Tokyo Friday, but all of about 300 students and teachers were evacuated or rescued, officials said. The Tokyo Fire Department said the fire at the Takinogawa No. 3 Elementary School broke out near a music room on the top floor of the four-story building late morning Friday. Firefighters rescued one teacher and several schoolchildren out of the building, with non-life-threatening injuries, the department said. (AP)
US strike on alleged drug boat kills 3
Washington, June 19: The US military attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing three people, as the Trump administration wages a monthslong campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America. The latest attack brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the US military to at least 211 since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September. As with most of the military’s statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. (AP)
