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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)
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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.

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China, Russia Militaries Conduct Joint Air Patrol over Sea of Japan

Flags of China and Russia are displayed in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo
Flags of China and Russia are displayed in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo
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China, Russia Militaries Conduct Joint Air Patrol over Sea of Japan

Flags of China and Russia are displayed in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo
Flags of China and Russia are displayed in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

Chinese and Russian militaries have organized and carried out the ninth joint strategic air patrol in "relevant airspace" over the Sea of Japan on Friday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.
The air patrol was part of an annual cooperation plan between the countries since 2019, Reuters said.
CCTV said the air patrol aims to effectively test and enhance the joint training and operational capabilities of the two air forces.
South Korea's military said it launched fighter jets after 11 Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered the country's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). The aircraft lingered over a period of four hours before exiting without incident.
South Korea has protested to China and Russia that the air patrol was conducted without notice.
Countries demand that foreign aircraft entering their ADIZ identify themselves for security reasons. Such zones however do not refer to territorial airspace of a sovereign state, and often overlap with ADIZs of other countries.
In July, both militaries conducted a joint air patrol using nuclear-capable strategic bombers near the US state of Alaska in the North Pacific and Arctic, prompting the United States and Canada to scramble fighter jets.