News in Brief(2023-09-02)

Motorbike suicide bomber kills nine Pak soldiers
ISLAMABAD, Sept 01: Nine soldiers were killed in a restive western region of Pakistan on Thursday after a suicide bomber on a motorbike targeted their military convoy, the army said. Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic uptick in militant attacks since the Taliban returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan two years ago. Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the bombing took place in the Bannu district of North Waziristan, a border region which has long been a base for groups such as the Pakistan Taliban. — AFP
Trump pleads not guilty in 2020
Georgia election case
WASHINGTON, Sept 01: Former US President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of attempting to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat in the southeastern state of Georgia. "As evidenced by my signature below, I do hereby waive formal arraignment and enter my plea of NOT GUILTY to the Indictment in this case," Trump said in a court filing in Fulton County Superior Court. Trump and 18 others were indicted on Aug. 14 over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump was charged with 13 counts, including violating the state's racketeering act, soliciting a public officer to violate his oath, conspiring to impersonate a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiring to file false documents. — Xinhua
UN chief says no end in sight
for Ukrainian conflict
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 01: There is no sign of the Ukrainian conflict ending currently in sight, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. "Hope never ends, but I would of course be lying if I would say that I believe we are seeing in the immediate horizon a possibility of peace in Ukraine," he noted. — TASS
48 killed in east DR Congo anti-UN
rally crackdown
GOMA (DR Congo), Sept 01: At least 48 people have been killed in a crackdown on an anti-UN protest in eastern DR Congo, according to sources and official documentation, raising a previously reported death toll. On Wednesday, Congolese soldiers stopped a religious sect from holding a demonstration against United Nations peacekeepers in the city of Goma. Some 10 people were initially reported killed after the troops entered a radio station and a place of worship, according to local sources. A policeman was also lynched in the violence. — AFP
Ukrainian drone attacks Russian
town near major nuclear plant
MOSCOW, Sept 01: A Ukrainian drone attacked a town in western Russia which is home to one of the country's biggest nuclear power stations, though there was no damage reported to the plant, Russian officials said. Governor Roman Starovoit said a Ukrainian drone had damaged the facade of a building in the town of Kurchatov, just a few kilometres from the Kursk nuclear power station, early on Friday. He had earlier said there were two drones but clarified his remarks. "There are no casualties," Starovoit said. — Reuters
Super Typhoon Saola sweeps towards
southern China megacities
HONG KONG, Sept 01: Tens of millions of people across southern China hunkered down Friday as Super Typhoon Saola swept towards the megacities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, forcing the cancellations of hundreds of flights, shutting business and closing schools. Packing sustained wind speeds at 210 kilometres (130 miles) per hour as it moved towards Hong Kong, Saola could be one of the most powerful typhoons to hit Guangdong if it makes landfall in the province. — AFP