ISLAMABAD, Nov. 11  — At least 12 people were killed and 27 others injured on Tuesday afternoon in a suicide blast outside the district courts in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told lolcal media.

Naqvi said at the explosion site that a suicide bomber exploded his explosive-laden jacket in front of the Judicial Complex, which houses several district courts.

Police and rescue teams immediately reached the site and shifted the bodies and the injured to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

An official from the media wing of Islamabad Police told Xinhua that the death toll could rise as some of the injured were in critical condition.

According to the initial investigation report, the bomber wanted to enter the Judicial Complex, but did not attempt to pass through the strict security checking process and finally attacked a police vehicle outside the complex.

Following the explosion, several vehicles caught fire and some others were damaged by the impact. Police said that the body parts of the suicide bomber were recovered from the site, adding that forensic teams had launched the process of identifying the attacker.

The district administration has evacuated the court premises, while security departments have launched a search operation in the area.

A lawyer, Malik Khalid Khan, who was present inside the Judicial Complex at the time, told Xinhua that the attack occurred during the court’s break hours when several people went outside. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, security sources told Xinhua that the deadly act appeared to have been carried out by the banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from Afghanistan. (Xinhua)

ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 11 — Experts and policymakers have emphasized the need to enhance Africa’s role and partnership with the Group of 20 (G20) to effectively address the continent’s key development priorities at the G20.

They made the call on Monday during a G20-Africa high-level dialogue, which was organized by the Presidency of the G20 South Africa in collaboration with the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

“The world needs more solidarity, equality and sustainability, which is the theme of South Africa’s G20 presidency,” said Alvin Botes, South Africa’s deputy minister of international relations and cooperation.

“At the core of this theme is the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which resonates with the slogan of Agenda 2030 and related SDGs — leaving no one behind,” Botes added, referring to United Nations sustainable development goals.

Francisca Tatchouop Belobe, AU commissioner for economic development, trade, tourism, industry and minerals, noted that “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability,” the theme of South Africa’s G20 presidency, is aligned with the AU’s continental development vision.

The AU commissioner positioned the G20 as the premier platform with the “mandate and the moral responsibility to lead the way” in transforming the global financial architecture.

Under South Africa’s presidency, the G20 has taken significant steps to elevate Africa’s voice, creating an opportunity to craft an agenda for fairer access to finance, she added.

Following its inclusion in the G20 back in 2023, the AU has outlined six key priorities over the next three years.

These include fast-tracking the continental bloc’s 50-year development blueprint Agenda 2063, advocating for reform of international financial institutions, enhancing agricultural output, achieving a just energy transition, promoting trade and investment for the African Continental Free Trade Area, and boosting investment in vaccine manufacturing and pandemic response. (Xinhua)

Lebanon/Tripoli, Nov.11 — Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, was released from a Lebanese prison on Monday after nearly a decade in pre-trial detention, his lawyer confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“We left, he is free,” said Laurent Bayon, Gaddafi’s French lawyer, following the payment of $900,000 in bail.

The 49-year-old has spent nearly a decade in pre-trial detention following his arrest in Lebanon over allegations that he withheld information about the 1978 disappearance of Lebanese Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr in Libya. Hannibal Gaddafi was only two years old at the time of Sadr’s disappearance.

Speaking to AFP, Gaddafi’s French lawyer, Laurent Bayon, said, “The bail was paid this morning. Hannibal Gaddafi will finally be free. It’s the end of a nightmare for him that lasted 10 years.”

In October, a judge ordered his release with bail set at USD 11 million, which was reduced to USD 900,000 last week following an appeal by his defense team. A Lebanese judicial source confirmed the payment and said the legal team was completing the release procedures.

Bayon added that his client would depart Lebanon for a confidential destination and holds a Libyan passport. He criticized the Lebanese justice system for Gaddafi’s long detention, stating, “If Gaddafi was able to be arbitrarily detained in Lebanon for 10 years, it’s because the justice system was not independent.” He also noted that the move toward release reflects a restoration of judicial independence under Lebanon’s reformist government formed in January.

Musa al-Sadr, the founder of the Amal movement and an ally of Hezbollah, disappeared during an official visit to Libya along with an aide and a journalist. The disappearances have long strained ties between Lebanon and Libya, with Beirut blaming then-Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

Hannibal Gaddafi, married to Lebanese model Aline Skaf, fled to Syria at the start of the 2011 Libyan uprising. He was kidnapped in December 2015 by armed men, taken to Lebanon, released by authorities from his captors, and later detained by Lebanese officials.

CAIRO, Nov. 11 — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu discussed on Monday a range of regional and international issues, with a focus on the Gaza ceasefire and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

During a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Sisi underscored the vital need to further strengthen efforts toward achieving stability in countries in the Middle East, and to safeguard their unity, sovereignty, and the resources of the nations, said the statement.

The Egyptian president stressed the importance of the full implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement through all its phases, and ensure the delivery of sufficient quantities of humanitarian aid into the Strip. Both sides agreed that the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state, in accordance with the references of international legitimacy, remain the only viable path to achieving a just and lasting peace and stability in the region.

Meanwhile, Sisi also reiterated Egypt’s support for all efforts aimed at settling the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and reaching a comprehensive peace.

For his part, Shoigu expressed appreciation for Egypt’s role in the Middle East, emphasizing Russia’s keenness on maintaining close coordination with Egypt.

The talks also covered bilateral projects, including the Russian Industrial Zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and Egypt’s first nuclear power plant at El-Dabaa.

Sisi called for boosting economic and investment cooperation, increasing trade volume, and strengthening collaboration in tourism. (Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Nov. 11 — Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that Western countries would eventually have to acknowledge Iran as a scientific hub in the field of peaceful nuclear technology, state media reported.

Speaking during a visit to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Araghchi praised the country’s achievements in the nuclear sector and reaffirmed Tehran’s commitment to defending its nuclear rights.

“The West’s main goal is to deprive Iran of its nuclear capabilities and maintain its monopoly,” Araghchi said, adding that “Western countries will ultimately have no choice but to recognize Iran as a scientific hub for the peaceful nuclear industry.”

He said Iran’s progress in nuclear science was the result of years of effort and sacrifice by Iranian scientists and reiterated that no one in Iran would give up the country’s nuclear rights.

He said Iran has consistently sought to demonstrate the peaceful nature of its nuclear program by cooperating with international bodies, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Western governments have long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge, saying its nuclear program is aimed at power generation and medical purposes. (Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 11 — The civilian crisis in Sudan’s North Darfur state has been deepening since the capture of El Fasher city, while casualties mount in the neighboring Kordofan region, UN humanitarians said Monday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said violence in North Darfur has spread beyond the state capital of El Fasher following the takeover by the Rapid Support Forces on Oct. 26. Clashes continue to be reported along key access routes, trapping civilians and cutting off aid.

OCHA said the latest Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab analysis of satellite imagery indicated possible mass body disposals in El Fasher, and the closure of a key escape route once used by civilians.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that nearly 89,000 people have fled El Fasher and nearby villages since Oct. 26.

Many have sought refuge in the Tawila, Melit and Saraf Omra regions. The IOM said that in Tawila and Ad Dabbah, the United Nations and its partners provide food, clean water, sanitation, health care and psychosocial support, among other life-saving aid. But needs far exceed available resources.

The office said that some families from El Fasher fled west to the Tina region, near the Sudan-Chad border, where local volunteers reported that more than 3,000 displaced people urgently need food, shelter and health care.

Across the border in eastern Chad, already overwhelmed host communities and partners are preparing for new arrivals as people continue to seek safety and assistance.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it verified that the reported attack on Dilling Hospital in South Kordofan state on Thursday killed six people, including a 12-year-old child, and injured 12 others.

The agency said it was the 192nd verified attack on health care in Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the hospital’s X-ray department was destroyed, severely compromising the facility’s ability to provide medical services, and he repeated WHO’s call for the protection of all health facilities, their patients and staff.

OCHA repeated its call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, an end to attacks on hospitals and civilian infrastructure, and safe, unhindered access for aid to reach those in need across Sudan. (Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Nov. 11 — Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday rejected NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s recent comments that accused Iran and Russia of collaborating with each other to undermine international rules.

At a weekly press conference, Baghaei said that most of the actions carried out by NATO members are the ones they accuse other states of taking, and that a look at the facts demonstrates which side has violated international law and the UN Charter, Iran or the NATO members.

Citing the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan and its “crimes” in that country, he said, “Over the past year, law-breaking and violation of international law by the United States and certain other NATO members have turned into a recurring pattern.”

Baghaei said the United States, “as the most influential NATO member,” is a disruptor of international peace and security, emphasizing that the NATO chief’s remarks were merely a “worthless projection and accusation against Iran.” (Xinhua)