Bus Crashes in Pakistan, Killing 28 Passengers, Injuring 40

File photo of firefighters near a burning bus in Pakistan. (File photo: AFP)
File photo of firefighters near a burning bus in Pakistan. (File photo: AFP)
TT

Bus Crashes in Pakistan, Killing 28 Passengers, Injuring 40

File photo of firefighters near a burning bus in Pakistan. (File photo: AFP)
File photo of firefighters near a burning bus in Pakistan. (File photo: AFP)

A speeding bus carrying mostly laborers traveling home for a major Muslim holiday rammed into a container truck on a busy highway in central Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 28 people and injuring 40, police and rescue officials said.

The bus had left the city of Sialkot and was traveling on Taunsa Road; its destination was the city of Dera Ghazi Khan in eastern Punjab province, said senior police officer Hassan Javed. The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation, he said.

Rescuers transported the dead and injured to a nearby hospital. According to Sher Khan who was in charge of the rescue team at the site, some of the injured were in critical condition. He said the passengers were traveling to their home district of Rajanpur to celebrate the upcoming Eid al-Adha feast, reported the Associated Press.

Deadly accidents are common in Pakistan due to poor road infrastructure and disregard for traffic laws.



Lawsuit Alleges US Failed to Evacuate Palestinian Americans Trapped in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian houses stand badly damaged during the ongoing Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian houses stand badly damaged during the ongoing Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
TT

Lawsuit Alleges US Failed to Evacuate Palestinian Americans Trapped in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian houses stand badly damaged during the ongoing Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian houses stand badly damaged during the ongoing Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Nine Palestinian Americans sued the US government on Thursday, alleging that it had failed to rescue them or members of their families who were trapped in Gaza where Israel's war has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.
The lawsuit accuses the State Department of discriminating against Americans of Palestinian origin by abandoning them in a war zone and not making the same effort that it would to promptly evacuate and protect Americans of different origins in similar situations, Reuters reported.
It was the second case against the US government this week after Palestinian families sued the US State Department on Tuesday over Washington's support for Israel's military.
A US State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending litigation, while adding the safety and security of American citizens around the world is a "top priority."
Thursday's lawsuit was announced by advocacy group Council on American Islamic Relations and attorney Maria Kari, and filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The suit alleges the plaintiffs' right to equal protection under the US Constitution has been violated by depriving them "of the normal and typical evacuation efforts the federal government extends to Americans who are not Palestinians."
It mentions comparable instances of the US government evacuating its citizens from conflict zones such as in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Sudan and names President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as defendants.
The State Department spokesperson said the US has evacuated Americans from unsafe areas around the world, including Gaza.
Israel's war has killed over 45,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry while also sparking accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. The military assault has displaced nearly Gaza's entire 2.3 million population and caused a hunger crisis.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.