Bus Falls into Ravine in Pakistan's Far North, Killing 20

Injured people transferred to an ambulance in Pakistan (AP archive)
Injured people transferred to an ambulance in Pakistan (AP archive)
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Bus Falls into Ravine in Pakistan's Far North, Killing 20

Injured people transferred to an ambulance in Pakistan (AP archive)
Injured people transferred to an ambulance in Pakistan (AP archive)

A bus veered into a ravine in Pakistan's far north early on Friday, a local government spokesman said, killing 20 passengers, while 21 injured were rescued and taken to hospital.
The bus was headed to the mountainous northern area of Gilgit-Baltistan from the garrison city of Rawalpindi in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab, when the accident happened in the early hours.
"The bus was passing through Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan when it fell into a deep ravine," Faizullah Firaq, a spokesman for local government authorities in the area, told Reuters, adding that 21 people were injured.
The government immediately launched a rescue operation to evacuate all the injured, who were taken to hospital, he added.
Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan, where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads in many rural areas are in poor condition.
For decades Pakistan has done extensive work in carving roads through its dramatic rugged northern terrain, home to some of the world's highest mountain ranges, approached by narrow roads perched on sheer cliffs.
Militant attacks, including one in March nearby in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that killed six people, pose another risk to travelers in the area, targeting Chinese-backed dams and hydropower infrastructure projects.



China Sends Naval, Air Forces to Shadow US Plane over Taiwan Strait

A ship sails between wind turbines in the Taiwan strait off the coast of Pingtan Island, Fujian province, China, April 10, 2023. (Reuters)
A ship sails between wind turbines in the Taiwan strait off the coast of Pingtan Island, Fujian province, China, April 10, 2023. (Reuters)
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China Sends Naval, Air Forces to Shadow US Plane over Taiwan Strait

A ship sails between wind turbines in the Taiwan strait off the coast of Pingtan Island, Fujian province, China, April 10, 2023. (Reuters)
A ship sails between wind turbines in the Taiwan strait off the coast of Pingtan Island, Fujian province, China, April 10, 2023. (Reuters)

China's military said on Tuesday it deployed naval and air forces to monitor and warn a US Navy patrol aircraft that flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, denouncing the United States for trying to "mislead" the international community.

Around once a month, US military ships or aircraft pass through or above the waterway that separates democratically governed Taiwan from China - missions that always anger Beijing.

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the strait is an international waterway.

The US Navy's 7th fleet said a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft had flown through the strait "in international airspace", adding that the flight demonstrated the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations," it said in a statement.

China's military criticized the flight as "public hype", adding that it monitored the US aircraft throughout its transit and "effectively" responded to the situation.

"The relevant remarks by the US distort legal principles, confuse public opinion and mislead international perceptions," the military's Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.

"We urge the US side to stop distorting and hyping up and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability."

In April, China's military said it sent fighter jets to monitor and warn a US Navy Poseidon in the Taiwan Strait, a mission that took place just hours after a call between the Chinese and US defense chiefs.