Blast kills at least two civilians near Kabul mosque

An explosion outside a mosque in the Afghan capital killed at least two people on Sunday, senior Taliban officials said.

The blast struck near the entrance of the large Eid Gah Mosque in Kabul, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter, adding that “a number of civilians” died.

A spokesman from the interior ministry, Qari Sayed Khosti, told AFP: “Our initial information shows two civilians were killed and three wounded in the blast.”

A prayer ceremony for Mujahid's mother, who died last week, was being held at the mosque on Sunday afternoon, the spokesman had written on social media on Saturday, adding “all people and friends are invited to attend.”

Ahmadullah, a shopkeeper nearby, told AFP: “I heard the sound of an explosion near the Eid Gah Mosque followed by guns firing.

“Just ahead of the blast the Taliban had blocked the road to hold a prayer ceremony for Zabihullah Mujahid's mother in the Eid Gah Mosque.”

Ambulances carrying the wounded were seen rushing towards Kabul's Emergency Hospital in the Shahr-e Naw area. The hospital said on Twitter that four patients were being treated.

Medical staff waited outside, AFP journalists saw, as people arrived in blood-stained clothes.

The area around the mosque was cordoned off by the Taliban who maintained a heavy security presence.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August, attacks by the militant Daesh against them have increased. The rise has raised the possibility of a wider conflict between the two hardline groups.

Daesh maintains a strong presence in the eastern province of Nangarhar and considers the Taliban an enemy. It has claimed several attacks against them, including several killings in the provincial capital of Jalalabad.

Attacks in Kabul have so far been rare, but in recent weeks Daesh has shown signs it is expanding its footprint beyond the east and closer toward the capital. On Friday, Taliban fighters raided an IS hideout just north of Kabul in Parwan province. The raid came after an IS roadside bomb wounded four Taliban fighters in the area.

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Fire damages Rome's historic 19th century 'Iron Bridge'

A huge fire on Saturday night severely damaged Rome's famed "Iron Bridge", with parts of the 19th-century structure plunging into the Tiber River.

The bridge, which was opened in 1863 and whose formal name is Ponte dell' Industria (Industry Bridge), connects the densely populated Ostiense and Portuense neighbourhoods.

Pope Pius IX attended the 1863 inauguration of the bridge, one of the last major construction works in Rome in the waning years of the papal state controlling the city, which would soon become the capital of unified Italy.

The fire broke out on the eve of elections for the next mayor, in which the main issue has been the general decay of infrastructure and public services in the Italian capital.

Romans call the 131-metre long bridge "Ponte di Ferro" (Iron Bridge), since most of Rome's other bridges are made of stone.

Officials said there were no injuries from the fire, which was visible from afar as flames shot into the night sky.

Media reports said it may have been started by a short circuit in shacks below the bridge. Firefighters said the blaze, which was put out during the night, was fuelled by a damaged gas pipe.

Surrounding areas were left without electricity for several hours.

The bridge, used for busy road traffic between the two neighbourhoods, was closed indefinitely pending checks on its safety.

A plaque at the bridge pays tribute to 10 women who were executed on it in 1944 by German SS troops occupying Rome during the latter years of World War II. The women were punished for having occupied a bakery to feed their families in the city where war made food scarce.

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Pandora Papers will open new avenues for transparency: Fawad

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry expressed the hope that the Pandora Papers investigation will discourage corruption and open up more avenues for transparency.

The world waits in anticipation as the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), has received more than 11.9 million documents containing 2.94 terabytes of confidential information from service providers who helped set up and manage offshore companies and trusts in tax havens around the world.

According to the ICIJ, the exposé will be out today at 4:30pm GMT, which means 9:30pm Pakistan Standard Time.

"The Panama Papers [investigation] brought to light various assets stashed abroad by a lot of corrupt people," tweeted Fawad Chaudhry.

"Now, it is being said that another investigation led by the ICIJ is being released soon. Imran Khan has always pressed developed countries to discourage the practice of transferring looted money from poor countries to the developed ones," he said.

 "If Pandora Leaks confirms the transfer of looted money from third-world countries to others, then it will further validate Prime Minister Imran Khan's stance," he tweeted.

"We hope this investigation will also open up new avenues of transparency and will prove to be another setback for corruption."

 The ICIJ shared the data with 150 media organisations and has led the broadest collaboration in journalism history. It took the ICIJ almost two years to organise this investigation that involved more than 600 journalists in 117 countries, making it the biggest-ever journalism partnership.

For the Panama Papers, almost 400 journalists from 80 countries participated in the investigation. The News was the only ICIJ partner from Pakistan on both occasions. In addition, The News also partnered with the ICIJ in the Bahamas leak and the Paradise Papers.

This leak has uncovered the finances of more leaders and public officials than the Panama Papers did and provided more than twice as much information about the ownership of offshore companies. The Panama Papers were based on the data of a Panama-based law firm called Mossack Fonseca that revealed offshore holdings of 140 politicians, public offshore and sports stars.

Those documents were obtained by the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, which contained records dating back 40 years.

The Pandora Papers are bigger in size and revelations about politicians and public officials are also more than what previously came to public attention. From Pakistan, there were more than 400 individuals who surfaced in the Panama Papers. The number of Pakistanis in Pandora Papers is way more than that, say reports. Many interesting names would make headlines.

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Seven people lost their lives in road accident in Islamabad

Seven people including three women and an equal number of girls lost their lives in a road accident in Islamabad. A car carrying wedding party guests fell into a drain, with police suspecting the heavy rain may have caused the roads to be slippery. The accident took place in Bhara Kahu, on Islamabad's outskirts, where the car was returning from after attending a wedding ceremony. The injured kept lying unattended and unnoticed in the drain throughout the night, said police. In the morning, the police were informed, but by then…

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1,656 new covid19 cases and 35 deaths reported during last 24 hours countrywide

Pakistan reported 1,656 more COVID-19 infections during the last 24 hours, pushing the nationwide tally of confirmed cases to 1,249,858, the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) data showed Sunday morning. According to the NCOC's latest statistics, 1,656 people tested positive for the virus after 50,779 COVID-19 tests were taken across the country during the last 24 hours. This brings the positivity rate to 3.26%. Statistics 3 Oct 21: Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 50,779Positive Cases: 1656Positivity %: 3.26%Deaths : 35Patients on Critical Care: 3444 — NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) October…

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Opposition has criticised government for its decision to hold talks with TTP

The Opposition has criticised the government for its decision to hold talks with some groups of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) without consulting it and has called on PM Imran Khan to take the Parliament into confidence over the issue. A few days ago, Prime Minister Imran Khan had revealed in an interview with TRT World that the government of Pakistan was holding peace talks with some groups of the TTP. PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said negotiations with the TTP was a very sensitive issue, adding that it was not appropriate…

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Shaheed-e-Millat underpass in Karachi named after legendary comedian Umer Sharif

The Sindh government has decided to pay tribute to comedian Umer Sharif by naming an underpass after him. The underpass linking Shaheed-e-Millat Road and Haider Ali Road in Karachi will named after the legendary comedian, announced Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab Saturday. Taking to Twitter, Wahab announced said the decision has been taken to recognise Sharif's services. In recognition of the services rendered by late #UmerSharif, KMC will name its underpass at the junction of Shaheed e Millat & Hyder Ali Roads as “Umer Sharif Underpass”. — Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui (@murtazawahab1)…

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