
Pakistan on high alert
Pakistani authorities have beefed up security around key officials and sites following a weekend assassination attempt on a cabinet member and reports that tribal militants have infiltrated cities to carry out bombings, said local media on Monday.
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao survived a suicide attack on Saturday that killed at least 29 people, including the bomber who blew himself up in the middle of a crowd after a public rally in the northwestern town of Charsadda.
Alerting provincial governments about possible threats to VIPs, security officials in Pakistan declared 17 places "sensitive." More than half of them are in the central Punjab province, the hub of national politics, the media reported.
The chief minister of the southern Sindh province and at least four federal ministers are also among high-profile targets, it said.
The Punjab government also advised Pakistan's suspended top judge Iftikhar Chaudhry to fly to the provincial capital of Lahore instead of driving there to attend a convention of lawyers protesting allegations of misuse of authority against him.
Sherpao blamed the attack on an infamous militant leader from the tribal region of Waziristan.
The pro-Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud, in January resolved to carry out suicide bombings to avenge a government air strike that, according to the military, killed up to 30 foreign militants and their local sympathisers.
A string of bombings ensued across the country after he threatened to "cause pain to Pakistan" but Mehsud denied involvement.
Analysts described the attacks as fallout from the crackdown by government troops and also US forces on Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters present in the tribal area by the Afghan border.
Hundreds of foreign militants crossed into the mountainous region to flee the US-led war on terror triggered by Sep 11.

Covid-19 vaccine 'disinformation' spread by Russia-backed outlets, says US

Hire more police officers, improve intelligence capability: Capitol riot review

Game of drones: Chinese giant DJI hit by US tensions, staff defections

Covid-19's impact could mean millions more child marriages: Unicef
- Isolation from family and friends can take "a heavy toll on their mental health."

'Totally constitutional': China on altering Hong Kong's electoral reforms

China’s bullet train could become strategic concern for New Delhi
- The new high-speed rail connection is part of China’s ambitious plan of expanding connectivity across TAR, especially along border areas with India. Nyingchi is located less than 50km from the border with Arunachal Pradesh.

Swiss agree to outlaw facial coverings in "burqa ban" vote

Queen Elizabeth II stresses importance of friends, family during Covid pandemic

Rights and wrongs of the LAC conflict clear: China

Fauci upbeat on vaccinations for US teens by autumn, younger children next year

Britain will do all it can to secure permanent release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe: PM

Swiss agree to outlaw facial coverings in 'burqa ban' vote

Report says Japan planning to send armed forces to East China Sea

France ramps up weekend Covid-19 vaccinations after slow start

Key players in trial of ex-officer charged in George Floyd's death
- Chauvin's trial, one of the highest-profile criminal cases in Minnesota history, is taking place during a global pandemic that has had a dramatic impact.