Breaking News, March 9

Pakistani security forces gunned down six wanted terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military's media wing has said. The forces shot dead six militants in a shootout on Wednesday in the Datta Khel area of the tribal North Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a press release on Wednesday. Those killed were wanted by the forces for various terror attacks on law enforcers and the civilian population. Arms and ammunition were seized from the possession of the slain militants.

DBS Group chief executive Piyush Gupta saw his annual earnings climb 13.2 per cent to SGD 15.4 million last year as South-East Asia's biggest bank posted record profit and return on equity (ROE), according to a media report. Gupta's 2022 pay consisted of a salary of SGD 1.5 million, a cash bonus of SGD 5.77 million and deferred remuneration in cash and shares of SGD 8.04 million, reported The Straits Times. A non-cash component – comprising club, car and driver benefits – worth SGD 80,529 was also part of his pay package, according to the bank's annual report released on Thursday. The bank last month reported a 20 per cent surge in net profit to SGD 8.19 billion, with earnings driven by higher interest rates. It also achieved a return on equity (ROE) of 15 per cent, up from 12.5 per cent in 2021. Gupta's total compensation in 2021 was SGD 13.6 million, a 48 per cent jump from 2020 when his pay fell 24 per cent to SGD 9.2 million during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday paid obeisance at the Golden Temple. Tight security arrangements have been made in the city for the president's day-long visit. Accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami, the president paid obeisance at the Temple and listened to 'kirtan'. Earlier, upon her arrival at the airport here in the afternoon, she was received by Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister Mann, Union Minister Som Prakash, Congress MP from Amritsar Gurjeet Singh Aujla, State Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Amritsar police commissioner, among others. The president is also scheduled to visit Jallianwala Bagh, Durgiana Temple and Bhagwan Valmiki Ram Tirath Sthal.

The TMC will raise in Parliament issues such as LIC and SBI's risk exposure, price rise of essential commodities, unemployment and "misuse" of central agencies during the second phase of the Budget Session, its Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brien has said. He said West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and the party's all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee decided on the floor strategy in a meeting also attended by the party's floor leaders of the two Houses. Sudip Bandyopadhyay is the TMC's Lok Sabha floor leader. O'Brien said LIC's risk exposure and price rise affect the lives of the common man and their savings and should be highlighted.

The bodies of a woman and her two teenage daughters have been found in a house closed from inside in Islamnagar area here, police said on Thursday. They said the initial investigation revealed that Nagina (55) and her daughters Bano (19) and Paaki (17) allegedly killed themselves by consuming poison on Wednesday night due to extreme financial stress. Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani said neighbours told the police that Nagina's family had been battling extreme poverty after her husband died a few years ago. Nagina was suffering from protracted illness and was unable to afford treatment, Naithani said. The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of their death, police added.

A man allegedly blackmailed a woman judge with her morphed photographs and demanded Rs 20 lakh in return for not making them public, police said. The man has been identified and efforts are being made to nab him, they said. The judge's photographs were downloaded from her social media account, edited and sent to her chambers in the court as well as her house by the accused, they said. A case in this regard was registered on February 28. No arrest has been made so far, police said.

Russia unleashed a massive missile barrage across Ukraine early Thursday, targeting energy infrastructure in the first attack on such a scale in three weeks. Ukrainian officials reported injuries and hits on residential buildings. Air raid sirens wailed for hours across Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, where explosions occurred in two western areas of the city. Defence systems were activated around the country, and it wasn't clear how many missiles struck targets or were intercepted. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions were reported in the Holosiivskyi district and emergency services were heading there. Two people were wounded in the Sviatoshynskyi district, also on the west side of the city, and cars were ablaze there, the mayor added. In eastern Ukraine, 15 missiles struck Kharkiv and the outlying northeastern region, hitting residential buildings, according to Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. He promised to reveal more details about the scale of the damage or any casualties in Ukraine's second-largest city. “Objects of critical infrastructure is again in the crosshairs of the occupants,” he said in a Telegram post.

A man transporting cows in a truck sustained injuries after being shot at by some unidentified people in Para area here, police said on Thursday. The incident took place on Wednesday, Station House Officer, Para police station, TB Singh said. Prem Singh (50) had 13 cows in his truck and was taking them to Mainpuri, the SHO said, adding that he was rushed to the hospital, where his condition is stated to be stable. An FIR has been registered in this regard under section 307 (attempt to muder) of the Indian Penal Code. The SHO said the reason behind the firing is not clear yet and a probe is on.

 Two people were killed and six sustained injuries after a speeding SUV allegedly rammed into two cars and three vending carts in southwest Delhi's Vasant Vihar area, police said on Thursday. The incident took place on Wednesday, they said. Vasant Vihar police station received a call at 7.30 pm. After reaching the spot, a Mahindra Thar SUV, two other vehicles and three vending carts were found damaged, a senior police officer said.

US military officials said Wednesday they had returned a suspected al-Qaida operative long held at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to his home country, Saudi Arabia. Ghassan al Sharbi's transfer was the latest aimed at emptying the Guantanamo military prison of those detainees who are no longer facing possible prosecution or who have finished their sentences following the US military's global roundup of extremist suspects after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. US officials over the years depicted al Sharbi as a loyal al-Qaida supporter and collaborator. Al Sharbi featured in a now famous memo by a Phoenix FBI agent — little heeded at the time — who correctly warned months before the 9/11 attacks that Middle Eastern students appeared to be taking flying lessons for the purpose of attacks involving civil aviation.

Actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik passed away following a heart attack early Thursday morning, said his close friend and industry colleague Anupam Kher. He was 66. According to Kher, Kaushik was at a friend's home in Delhi when he complained of uneasiness. "He felt uneasy and he told driver to take him to the hospital and on the way he suffered a heart attack," Kher told PTI. An alumnus of the National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India, Kaushik was best known for his roles in films such as "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron", "Mr India", "Deewana Mastana", and "Udta Punjab". Known for his comic timing, Kaushik was also a director. His most popular films as a filmmaker are Salman Khan starrer "Tere Naam" and "Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai", starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Tusshar Kapoor.

Jill Biden on Wednesday praised a group of women from around the world, including those who have been protesting against Iran's leaders, for showing courage while fighting for their rights and called on men to "be partners" with women and support them in their cause. "As much as we need women who are willing to speak up, we need more men who are willing to listen and act," the first lady said. "We need more men to hold each other accountable when their sisters are being hurt or left behind,” she said at a White House ceremony for the 2023 recipients of the International Women of Courage Awards. "We need more men who nurture families, who feed and teach and mentor, who build safer communities. We need more men who know that caring, collaboration and kindness are signs of strength, not weakness. "Men, we need you to support the women who are fighting for their rights and to lift up those who have been silenced,” she continued. “Be partners, be partners with women. Become the men of courage' we need. Only then will we be able to build a world where men and women are equal and all people are free."

India is moving away from women's development to women-led development, Indian Consul General in Johannesburg Mahesh Kumar said at a double celebration on the occasion of Holi and International Women’s Day. The event was hosted jointly by the Indian Consulate, the CII India Business Forum, the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Regenesys Business School on Wednesday evening. Ten women from both South Africa and expatriates from India who have excelled in business or NGO's, especially in encouraging other women to progress, received special awards for their efforts. "Women business entrepreneurs are becoming very important in both our countries alongside those working in the NGO sector, doing pioneering things which we felt we needed to recognise," Kumar said. "Today's celebration is about women. The purpose is to uphold women's achievements, recognise challenges, focus greater attention on women's rights, and rededicate ourselves to a gender-equal world. A world free of bias and discrimination. A world that is equitable and inclusive. "We saw today, being Holi, as an auspicious occasion to also honour women, which is something that we have been wanting to do for some time," Kumar said as he explained how women were taking the lead in India in a wide variety of fields.

Women in Turkey braved an official ban on an International Women's Day march in Istanbul, demonstrating for about two hours before police used tear gas to disperse remaining protestors and detained several people. Thousands converged on a central neighbourhood Wednesday for a protest that combined women's rights with the staggering toll of the deadly quake that hit Turkey and Syria a month ago. Organizers had been forbidden — for the second straight year — from marching down the popular Istiklal pedestrian avenue in Turkey's biggest city where Women's Day marches were held since 2003. Police blocked demonstrators' access to the avenue. An Associated Press journalist saw officers detain at least 30 people and use tear gas after the group ended their demonstration at 2100 local time. Local authorities banned the march, saying the area was not an authorized demonstration site. They also claimed the march could “provoke” segments of Turkish society, lead to verbal or physical attacks, be misused by terror groups and threaten national security — as well as curtailing freedom of movement in the cultural and tourist area.