Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Bomb blast kills 16 in Pakistan

A BOMB hidden between bags of potatoes at an outdoor Pakistani market killed at least 16 people today (12), half of them ethnic Hazaras, officials said, in an attack apparently aimed at minority Shi'ite Muslims.

At least 30 people were wounded in the blast in the southwestern city of Quetta, capital of resource-rich Baluchistan province, officials said.


Baluchistan is the focus of the £43.61 billion ($57bn) China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a transport and energy link planned to run from western China to Pakistan’s southern deep water port of Gwadar.

The attack came after a lull of at least a year in violence against the mainly Shi'ite Hazara minority in Baluchistan, though there have been isolated shootings.

The blast took place at Hazar Ganji, a fruit and vegetable market on the outskirts of Quetta.

"I have confirmation of 16 martyrs - eight belong to the Hazara community, seven others who worked here, and one is from the Frontier Constabulary," a city police official, Abdul Razzaq Cheema, told reporters.

The explosive device was hidden between sacks of potatoes, he said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

Hazaras have been frequently targeted by Taliban and Islamic State militants and other Sunni Muslim militant groups in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

They have been heavily targeted in Afghanistan in attacks claimed by an affiliate of Islamic State.

Ethnic Baluch separatists are also fighting against what they call the unfair exploitation of their province's gas and other resources.

"This seems to have been sponsored from across the border," Baluchistan home minister Zia Langove said, referring to neighbouring Afghanistan.

"It is aimed to disturb peace, which to a great extent, has been achieved in Baluchistan."

In 2013, three bombings killed more than 200 people in Hazara neighbourhoods, prompting security forces to escort Hazara buses to the market. The same practice was followed on Friday (12), but the blast took place in the market.

(Reuters)

More For You

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less
Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal recalled that in February, Narendra Modi and Donald Trump had instructed their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by November 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Trade talks with US moving forward positively, says Indian minister Goyal

INDIA’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that negotiations on the proposed trade agreement between India and the United States, which began in March, are progressing in a positive atmosphere and both sides are satisfied with the discussions.

He recalled that in February, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump had instructed their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by November 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police said they were called just before 08:30 BST on Tuesday, September 9, after the woman reported being attacked by two men near Tame Road. (Representational image: iStock)

Woman raped in racially aggravated attack in Oldbury

A WOMAN in her 20s was raped in Oldbury in what police are treating as a racially aggravated attack.

West Midlands Police said they were called just before 08:30 BST on Tuesday, September 9, after the woman reported being attacked by two men near Tame Road. Officers said the men made a racist remark during the incident.

Keep ReadingShow less