Child among 6 killed in roadside accident in Lodhran

LODHRAN: Six people were killed including a child and 10 others injured when a Bahawalpur-bound passenger van collided with a trailer near Lodhran.

According to police a passenger bus heading towards Bahawalpur from Dunyapur had collision with a speeding trailer. Two passengers were killed on spot and 14 others sustained injuries, six of them critically.

The injured were shifted to Victoria Hospital where four of them breathed their last.

Roadside blast kills 3 peace committee members in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A roadside bomb blast killed three members of local peace committee here in Matni Bazar on Monday, Geo News reported.

Police said the blast occurred when a bomb planted alongside a road went off in Matni Bazar.

Ex MNA among 22 killed in Wana suicide attack

WANA: At least 22 people including former MNA Maulana Noor Muhammed were killed and several others injured in an explosion in Wana Bazaar area of South Waziristan Agency (SWA), Geo News reported Monday.

It should be mentioned here that the explosion occurred in a mosque when the people were offering Zuhr Prayer in Maulana Noor Muhammed’s mosque adjacent to a seminary, killing 17 people and injuring 11 others.

The blast was so powerful that it was heard far and wide. According to Geo News correspondent, the blast was suicidal in nature.

The injured have been transported to a nearby hospital. According to hospital sources, three of 35 injured are in critical condition.

Maulana Noor Muhammed, former MNA is also among the deceased. Soon after the incident, the law-enforcers put security cordon around the blast site.

Maulana Noor Muhammed was delivering a sermon at the mosque, when suicide bomber blew him up, causing the immediate death of the former MNA.

ANP MNA’s younger brother shot dead in Karachi

KARACHI: Asif Jan, brother of Awami National Party’s MNA Pervez Khan has been shot dead by unknown attackers here in New Town area, police sources said here on Monday.

According to reports, Asif Jan was heading back home when unidentified gunmen showered his car with bullets in New Town area. He was rushed to Agha Khan Hospital with critical bullet wounds where he was pronounced dead.

Asif Jan worked as Accounts Officer in City District Government Karachi.

Salzburg Festival holds benefit gala for Pakistan

VIENNA: Russian superstar soprano, Anna Netrebko, will headline a special benefit concert at this year's ultra-exclusive Salzburg Festival to raise money for flood-hit Pakistan, organisers said.

Netrebko will appear alongside many of the stars of this year's festival including her Uruguayan partner, baritone Erwin Schrott, at a gala performance on Thursday evening in Salzburg's swish Haus fuer Mozart theatre, according to a statement released late Sunday.

Tickets, which go on sale Monday, will cost between 40-280 euros (51-356 dollars).

The proceeds will go to victims of the flooding in Pakistan, the worst in the country's history affecting 20 million people and an area the size of England.

British public give 29 million pounds in Pakistan aid

LONDON: The British public have given 29 million pounds (45 million dollars, 35 million euros) in aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan, charity officials said Monday.

After a slow start blamed on a lack of awareness of the crisis, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which coordinates humanitarian appeals from a dozen charities, said donations from the public were growing.

"This is a tragedy unfolding in slow motion with new areas still being flooded and the threat of deadly water-borne diseases stalking millions of survivors," said DEC chief executive Brendan Gormley.

British Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said last week the government was doubling its emergency aid for Pakistan to more than 64 million pounds.

The near month-long floods in Pakistan have killed 1,500 people and affected up to 20 million nationwide in the country's worst natural disaster.

SWA blast kills 17, injures 11

WANA: At least 17 people including former MNA Maulana Noor Muhammed were killed and several others injured in an explosion in Wana Bazaar area of South Waziristan Agency (SWA), Geo News reported Monday.

It should be mentioned here that the explosion occurred in a mosque when the people were offering Zuhr Prayer in Maulana Noor Muhammed’s mosque adjacent to a seminary, killing 17 people and injuring 11 others.

The blast was so powerful that it was heard far and wide. According to Geo News correspondent, the blast was suicidal in nature.

The injured have been transported to a nearby hospital. According to hospital sources, three of 11 injured are in critical condition.

Maulana Noor Muhammed, former MNA is also among the deceased. Soon after the incident, the law-enforcers put security cordon around the blast site.

Maulana Noor Muhammed was delivering a sermon at the mosque, when suicide bomber blew him up, causing the immediate death of the former MNA. (Last updated at 1610)