At Least 7 Killed in Blast in North Afghanistan

Taliban security personnel carry a damaged bus after a roadside bomb blast in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital city of Balkh province, in northern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP)
Taliban security personnel carry a damaged bus after a roadside bomb blast in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital city of Balkh province, in northern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP)
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At Least 7 Killed in Blast in North Afghanistan

Taliban security personnel carry a damaged bus after a roadside bomb blast in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital city of Balkh province, in northern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP)
Taliban security personnel carry a damaged bus after a roadside bomb blast in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital city of Balkh province, in northern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP)

At least seven people were killed on Tuesday when a blast hit a vehicle carrying oil workers in northern Afghanistan, police said. 

"Today at around 7 a.m. a blast took place in ... Balkh on a bus which belonged to Hairatan oil employees," said Mohammad Asif Wazeri, police spokesperson for northern province of Balkh, adding that at least six people were wounded. 

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. Wazeri said police were investigating and searching for a culprit. 

Balkh province is home to one of Afghanistan's main dry ports in the town of Hairatan, near the border with Uzbekistan, which has rail and road links to Central Asia. 

It was not clear who the employees on the bus worked for. 



Starmer Praises Trump’s Role in Securing ‘Landmark’ Ceasefire in Gaza

US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (AFP)  
US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (AFP)  
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Starmer Praises Trump’s Role in Securing ‘Landmark’ Ceasefire in Gaza

US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (AFP)  
US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (AFP)  

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday praised the role of US President Donald Trump for securing a “landmark” ceasefire in Gaza, during a call between the two leaders.

“They discussed the importance of working together for security in the Middle East,” Downing Street said in a statement.

It noted that the Prime Minister paid tribute to Trump’s role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The US President meanwhile welcomed the release of the recently freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari.

The 28-year-old was one of three hostages released last week after being held for 15 months.

Starmer and Trump also “agreed to meet soon,” Downing Street said, stressing “the importance of the close and warm ties” between the two countries.

Trump, a longtime fan of Britain’s monarchy, also “expressed his well wishes for the British Royal Family,” the White House said.

Asked on board Air Force One about his relationship with Keir, Trump said Starmer has done a “very good job thus far” and that the pair have a “very good relationship.”

Britain’s new Labor government, elected in July, has spent months trying to build bridges with Trump’s team.

It has refrained from criticizing decisions taken by the Republican billionaire since his return to the White House last Monday.