MOGADISHU: Two car bombs in separate parts of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu killed at least 22 people on Saturday and injured several others, police said.

The first explostion – in the city’s K5 Junction area which is lined with government offices, hotels, and restaurants – destroyed several buildings and set dozens of vehicles on fire.

“We know that at least 20 civilians are dead while dozens of others are wounded,” said Abdullahi Nur, a police officer who was in the area.

Somalia security chief killed by own guard, al Shabaab claims responsibility

“The death toll will surely rise. We are still busy transporting casualties,” he said, adding that there were bodies under the rubble.

About two hours later, a second blast took place in the city’s Madina district. “It was a car bomb. Two civilians were killed, ” Siyad Farah, a police major, told Reuters, adding that a suspect had been caught on suspicion of planting explosives.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although the al-Shabaab group has carried out regular attacks.

Somali insurgent group al Shabaab kills general with suicide car bomb

The al-Qaeda-allied group is waging an insurgency to topple the weak UN-backed government and its African Union allies and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam.

They frequently launch gun, grenade and bomb attacks in Mogadishu and other regions controlled by the federal government, though in recent years the militants have lost most territory under their control to African Union peacekeepers and government troops.

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Source: Tribune News | Car bombs kill at least 22 in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu

Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that his criticism of the army spokesperson’s comments on economy was not confrontational, but only meant to point out that every department had its own jurisdiction.

“Only the finance and planning ministries as well as the opposition should comment on economic affairs,” he added.

The minister said state institutions needed to be careful that their comments were not used by enemies to tarnish the image of the country.

“If the glass is half filled, let’s spread hope that that it will soon be filled to the top instead of making the masses feel disappointed,” he remarked.

Also on Saturday, ISPR DG Major General Asif Ghafoor said he was ‘disappointed both as a soldier and as a citizen of Pakistan’ by Iqbal’s statement and he stood by his comments.

A day earlier, the interior minister said the army spokesperson should not be commenting on national economy.

Embassy Forum

Later, while addressing a gathering at the Embassy Forum organised by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC, the interior minister said said the security situation in Pakistan had improved considerably after successful military operations in the tribal areas as well as other parts of the country.

He was addressing participants from US State Department, academia and members of the Pakistani-American diaspora.

DG ISPR should refrain from commenting on economic issues: Ahsan Iqbal

“Through the valiant efforts of Pakistan’s security forces and the determination of the entire nation, the country had reversed the tide of terrorism which had gripped it five years ago,” he said.

The minister highlighted the economic gains and the security successes Pakistan achieved in the last four years. He also shared the remarkable progress made in the macroeconomic sector through prudent fiscal policies which have resulted in economic growth rate of over 5.3 percent per annum.

Iqbal also shared initiatives taken by the government to enhance education, empower women, improve healthcare and reduce poverty in Pakistan.

On Pakistan-US relations, the minister expressed the hope that both countries would continue to work together in future as they had been strategic partners over the last seven decades.

The post Criticism of DG ISPR’s comments on economy wasn’t confrontational: Ahsan Iqbal appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News | Criticism of DG ISPR’s comments on economy wasn’t confrontational: Ahsan Iqbal

Five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova crushed Peng Shuai 6-3, 6-1 at the Tianjin Open on Saturday to reach her first final since serving a 15-month doping ban.

The 30-year-old Russian, playing on a wildcard in the seventh tournament of her comeback, hit top gear as she swept aside the Chinese third seed in one hour, 18 minutes.

In front of a large home crowd, a businesslike Sharapova broke four times and conceded zero breaks of her own before wrapping up the semi-final with a clinical crosscourt forehand.

In Sunday’s final — her first since she won the Italian Open in May 2015 — she will be the red-hot favourite against 102nd-ranked Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who beat qualifier Sara Errani 6-1, 6-3.

Sharapova has had a stop-start and injury-hit season since her controversial return at Stuttgart in April, following her ban for using the banned substance meldonium.

The statuesque former world number one reached the Stuttgart semis but she retired in the Italian Open second round and also withdrew from her second-round match at Stanford.

Sharapova missed Wimbledon qualifying because of injury and she wasn’t offered a wildcard to the French Open, but she reached the US Open last 16 on her return to Grand Slam tennis.

She has cut a swathe through the limited draw in Tianjin, beating Irina-Camelia Begu, Magda Linette, Stefanie Voegele and Peng without dropping a set.

Sharapova, one of the world’s highest-earning female athletes, will now expect to win her 36th career title and end a trophy drought of more than two years, the longest since her debut win in 2003.

By contrast Sabalenka, 19, is gunning for her first WTA title after a run to the Tianjin final that included wins over China’s Duan Ying-Ying and Lin Zhu.

Sharapova, currently ranked 86th, has also been handed a wildcard for next week’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow, which she will play for the first time since 2007.

The post Tianjin Open: First final for Sharapova after drug ban appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News | Tianjin Open: First final for Sharapova after drug ban

KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of protesters gathered at an unsanctioned rally on Saturday to demand action against Prime Minister Najib Razak over the mismanagement of billions of dollars by a state fund.

Malaysia’s opposition are counting on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal to turn as many voters as they can against Najib, who can call for national polls anytime between now and the middle of next year.

Malaysia’s Muslim women face more online abuse than others

The prime minister has so far been able to weather the scandal, consolidating power by clamping down on dissenters and curbing local media and activists even as he faces a fierce challenge from his former mentor, Mahathir Mohamad.

But rising living costs and a broad-based consumption tax are leaving people like Hasmurni Tamby, a 42-year-old single mother of five, fed up with the way things are going under Najib.

Malaysian diving coach to go on trial on rape charges

“Prices of everything have gone up but not our salaries. We can’t save. So we don’t want this leader anymore,” said Hasmurni, who travelled several hours north from her home state of Malacca to attend the evening rally.

Saturday’s rally was touted as the finale of a two month-long anti-kleptocracy roadshow, a platform set up by the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to convince the majority Malay-Muslim voters in rural battleground areas that the country has suffered from Najib’s handling of 1MDB.

Najib’s popularity took a hit from persistent bad press linked to 1MDB, especially after the US Department of Justice filed civil suits to recover over $1.7 billion alleged to have been misappropriated from the 1MDB fund.

Elephant hit by tourist bus in Malaysia dies

A rebounding economy and strengthening ringgit currency, however, are working in Najib’s favour. The prime minister is expected to announce plenty of people-centric initiatives later this month when he tables his last budget before the polls.

Just a few months prior, he announced billions in housing and cash aid for the Malay community. But Mahathir, who saw through Malaysia’s industrialisation as its longest-serving prime minister, warned that nothing good will come out of allowing his former protege to continue to rule.

“Never before have we had a prime minister who is a thief. He steals so he can have a comfortable life,” Mahathir told the crowd when delivering the final speech of the night.

“We need to bring down kleptocracy in our country… Najib’s fate is in our hands. We can get rid of him, just by voting PH,” the former prime minister said.

The post Thousands rally in Malaysia to oust premier Najib appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News | Thousands rally in Malaysia to oust premier Najib