Severe heatwave continues in Chuadanga for a few days. The highest temperature of the country has been recorded in this district for four days. As there is not much difference between day and night temperature, the life of the people in this region has become miserable. Saturday (20 April) the highest 42.3°C temperature has been recorded in Chuadanga.  According to Metrological office the temperature in Chuadanga is recorded  the seasons highest temperature. Meanwhile, A farmer, named Jakir Hosen, son of Amir Hosen, died of heat stroke while working in the field in Chuadanga.  Jaminur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of Chuadanga Meterological office, said that intense heat has been flowing over Chuadanga for the past few days. Today it has turned into 42.3°C which creates very intense heat.  There is a chance of rain in  Chuadanga.  

The police said the victims of the shooting incident in the city of Vantaa were children, one of whom was later confirmed to have died. The suspect, also a minor, was later arrested. Three 12-year-olds were injured in a school shooting incident in Finland early on Tuesday, Finnish police said, adding that the suspect, also a minor, was later arrested. "All those involved in the shooting incident are minors," the police said. They were all 12 years old, the police later specified. What do we know about the shooting incident? The shooting occurred at the Viertola school in the city of Vantaa, north of the capital Helsinki. The school has some 800 students. "The immediate danger is over," the Viertola school's principal Sari Laasila told the Reuters news agency. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the incident was "deeply shocking," adding that he was closely following the situation and awaiting updates. "The day started in a horrifying way. There has been a shooting incident at the Viertola school in Vantaa. I can only imagine the pain and worry that many families are experiencing at the moment. The suspected perpetrator has been caught," Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said on X, formerly Twitter. Finland's gun policies in focus Finland's population of around 5.5 million includes some 430,000 gun license holders, with over 1.5 licensed firearms in the country of hunters and gun enthusiasts, ministry figures showed. The country tightened its gun legislation in 2010, following two back-to-back school shootings in 2007 and 2008 which, combined, left nearly 20 killed, including students. The amended legislation introduced an aptitude test for all firearms license applicants and increased the age limit for applicants from 18 to 20.

Recent drills should serve as a reminder that China’s Communist Party (CCP) has laid claim to the self-ruling island nation of Taiwan as Chinese territory. Taiwan is considered a breakaway province that will be returned to mainland control and by force if necessary. China’s Navy Flexes Blue Water Muscles: A Glimpse into PLAN’s Expansive Maritime Operations and a Taiwan War Scenario - The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is conducting multiple operations this week, a sign of its continuing transition from a coastal defense force to a true blue water force. On Monday, a report published by Japan’s Defense Ministry showed three Chinese PLAN vessels transiting from the East China Sea to the Sea of China over the weekend via the Tsushima Strait. The warships are likely preparing for naval exercises with the Russian Navy. The Sea of Japan—known in the two Koreas as the East Sea—is a crowded waterway home to five nations’ commercial and strategic sea lines. It is also a go-to test site for North Korea’s ballistic missiles, while the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet is headquartered in the closed town of Fokino on the Peter the Great Gulf. The Chinese warships were reported to be the Type 054A frigate Daqing, the Type 903A replenishment ship Kekexilihu, and the Type 052D guided-missile destroyer (NATO reporting name Luyang III) Huainan. According to Newsweek, all three vessels are assigned to the PLAN’s North Sea Fleet under the Northern Theater Command. Although neither Beijing nor Moscow has announced any planned exercises, the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet was already active in the region and conducted combat drills against a simulated group of sea drones, according to Russian state media reports. China and Russia last held joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan in July 2023. The deployment of the vessels from the PLAN’s North Sea Fleet followed live-fire exercises in the South China Sea, which included a group of Type 072III and Type 072A tank landing ships. These ships undertook training courses, including live-fire shooting against sea mine targets and side-by-side mooring. The vessels engaged in multi-course realistic combat exercises in an undisclosed area. At the same time, the Type 072 landing ships are designed to operate in waters nearer to the coast, ground on the shore, and then offload vehicles, troops, and cargo. The Chinese state-owned Global Times highlighted that the Type 072’s characteristics make them particularly useful in safeguarding China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights over islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Combined Force Drills The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command further conducted a series of joint combat exercises with the China Coast Guard (CCG) across multiple maritime regions amid rising tensions in the Taiwan Straits. The combined forces included units from the PLAN and People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Though the CCG is a maritime security force that falls under the jurisdiction of law enforcement rather than the Chinese military, it has increasingly operated alongside the PLAN—and is seen by Western observers as essentially an auxiliary naval force. Its role has evolved significantly, and Beijing’s enactment of the new CCG law authorizes it to enforce China’s maritime claims beyond the boundaries recognized by the United Nations Convention and the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS). Target Taiwan The multiple drills should serve as a reminder that China’s Communist Party (CCP) has laid claim to the self-ruling island nation of Taiwan as Chinese territory. Taiwan is considered a breakaway province that will be returned to mainland control and by force if necessary.

Jasprit Bumrah reached the peak that no Indian pacer could reach in the history of Test cricket. He becomes the first Indian pacer to top the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings. Bumrah is currently the number one Test bowler in the world in the latest rankings released by the ICC. Earlier, Indian spinners were seen wearing the crown of Test bowlers. This time Bumrah wrote the history. Jasprit Bumrah secured the top place in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings after an outstanding performance in the second match of their ICC World Test Championship series against England in Visakhapatnam. However, In February 2018, he became the world's best in ODI cricket for the first time. In addition, in November 2017, Bumrah wore the crown of the world's number one bowler for the first time in T20 cricket.  

China’s battle against corruption set new records last year, with the ruling Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog launching probes into 45 senior officials, according to a tally by the South China Morning Post. The record number of investigations came five years after Chinese President Xi Jinping declared a “crushing victory” in his war on corruption, a sweeping crackdown that was launched in 2013. The ongoing probe signals that he has little interest in letting up on an effort to clean up China’s officialdom while pushing authorities ever harder to implement his policies. The number of senior-level investigations launched in 2023 jumped by 40 per cent compared with 2022, when the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) – China’s top anti corruption agency – recorded 32 investigations into high-ranking officials, based on official announcements by the CCDI. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. China’s disciplinary enforcers add ‘bad’ books, sex, drugs to serious offences Most of the subjects who were placed under investigation – sometimes referred to as “tigers” – belonged to a pool of officials known as “centrally managed cadres”, meaning they held ranks at the deputy ministerial level or above. A smaller number of them held slightly lower ranks but occupied key positions in important sectors. Unlike their subordinates who are managed and supervised by the local branches of the party’s organisation and disciplinary agency, the group of senior officials are under direct management of the Communist Party’s Central Organisation Department, its top personnel body. If any wrongdoing is found, they would face top level investigations from the CCDI. Twenty-seven of the 45 senior cadres who had faced detention by the disciplinary watchdog were found to have retired from their positions when they faced investigation, according to further research. Deng Yuwen, a former deputy editor at the Study Times, official newspaper of the Central Party School where cadres are trained, said the fact that most of the CCDI’s investigations focused on retired officials signalled that the probes uncovered more misconduct before Xi took power, and that such retirements would not allow the individuals to avoid further investigation. “Among the officials arrested in recent years, not many were caught for corruption in their current positions. Most of the problems occurred in the past few years, or even more than 10, 20 years ago. The CCDI is no longer following the previous unspoken rule that retired officials will be spared from investigation,” he said. “Now, no one is safe. As Xi digs deeper, he just finds more problems that accumulated over the past three decades due to rapid economic development and lax party discipline. And there is no sign of him stopping the digging.” A total of 294 senior officials have been sacked by the CCDI in the 11 years since the anti-corruption campaign was launched, according to the Post’s count. However, this number does not include most of the corruption probes in the Chinese military, which conducts its own investigations through the Discipline Inspection Commission. The agency, which operates within China’s top military command – the Central Military Commission (CMC) – led by Xi, operates under extreme secrecy. Beijing announces such cases very selectively, as it did for the investigations of former CMC deputy chairmen Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong during Xi’s first presidential term. They were the highest ranking officers in the People’s Liberation Army to be targeted since the anti-corruption drive began. Before 2023, the most senior officials investigated in a single year by the CCDI had been in 2014, when 38 individuals were targeted. In 2020, 18 officials were placed under investigation. But since then, the annual tally has been rising: 25 high ranking officials were investigated in 2021, and 32 in 2022. On Saturday, the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body, announced the dismissal of nine generals. Five of the officers were either past or current top commanders in the PLA Rocket Force, a key component of the country’s nuclear arsenal. They included Li Yuchao, who had commanded the rocket force from January last year until he was replaced in July, and his former deputy, Zhang Zhenzhong. Beijing has not confirmed if any of the nine men were under investigation for alleged corruption, although some were reportedly being probed earlier last year. A political researcher at Peking University said there were many obvious signs that suggest that China’s “tiger hunt” will expand even further in 2024. “We have the removal of [former foreign minister] Qin Gang and [former defence minister] Li Shangfu. We also saw the National People’s Congress just officially dismiss nine PLA generals, indicating a sweeping investigation in the military has got preliminary results,” said the researcher, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.   China, Vietnam pledge cooperation against corruption for ‘clean Silk Road’ No reasons have been provided for the dismissals of Qin and Li, who were both stripped of their positions last year. “I suspect only a tiny amount of information regarding these cases will be released to the public, just for minimal formalities.” The CCDI will begin its third plenum from next Monday to lay out the work priorities in the new year for tens of millions of discipline inspectors across the country.  

Police officials said the blast took place in Hussainabad area of the district in which a camp of labourers of a construction company was targeted. The company is constructing a road in the area. Soon after the blast, police and personnel of other security forces rushed to the site and shifted the injured to the district hospital where one of them succumbed to his injuries. He was identified as Saddam Hussain Khosa who received multiple injuries in the powerful blast. The injured included police constables Usman Ali and Mehtab Ali and labourer Dahib Khan Jigrani. “The condition of three injured is stated to be serious who were shifted to La­­rkana in Sindh for treatment,” SP Sohbatpur Khadim Hussain told Dawn, adding that un­known miscreants used a time bomb which went off near the camp of labourers. Further investigation was in progress, he added. Security forces launch­­ed a search operation in the area to arrest the elements involved in the bomb attack. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.   Source: DAWN

No one can stop or slow down the development of Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the VTB Investment Forum "Russia Calling!"   "I have no doubt that no one can stop us or slow down our development," he said.   According to Putin, Russia should create educational, scientific and investment platforms within the BRICS framework, collaborating primarily in the field of education. "We should not think about these restrictions, we must look forward, and go forward, and act on a broad front, first of all, in the field of education, which becomes an essential factor in economic growth itself. We must do this with those who want it work in a modern and civilized manner," he said.   Putin added that Russia will continue, among other things, cooperation in this area with China, with which it has developed "very good, trusting relations."   Source: BSS

The state-run radio of Pakistan reported that 3,248 Afghan refugees have been returned to Afghanistan from this country. According to Pakistani authorities, since the deadline for the expulsion of undocumented migrants was set, more than 51,000 Afghans have been deported. Jan Achakzai, Balochistan Province’s Minister of Information, highlighted Pakistan’s intensified efforts to combat illegal immigration. He emphasized that these actions go beyond Afghan refugees, with measures like the November 1st expulsion deadline applying to all undocumented immigrants in the province, showcasing the government’s dedication to upholding order and security. Additionally, as reported by the Express Tribune, a specialised branch has been tasked with identifying and addressing illegal immigrant presence across Balochistan. Earlier, Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister of Interior of the interim government of Pakistan, had warned that with the end of the deadline for the expulsion of undocumented Afghan migrants, the country would not compromise on this decision. Pakistani authorities report successfully repatriating over a thousand Afghan families to Afghanistan through the Chaman border crossing. Despite international appeals, including those from the United Nations and the current Taliban administration, urging Pakistani authorities to cease the expulsion of Afghan migrants, the Pakistani government remains steadfast in its warning to refugees. They have been given a deadline of November 1st to leave the country voluntarily, with the looming threat of forced expulsion if they fail to comply. Source: https://www.khaama.com/

The United Nations opposed the ultimatum given by the Pakistan government to over 1 million Afghan refugees to vacate the country by November 1, Daily Times reported. Qaisar Khan Afridi, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said, "Any refugee return must be voluntary and without any pressure to ensure protection for those seeking safety." "We have seen disconcerting press reports about a plan to deport undocumented Afghans and we are seeking clarity from our government partners," Afridi added. He urged Islamabad which "has been generously hosting refugees for more than 40 years", to put in place a mechanism to ensure that Afghans with international protection are not deported. "We must also keep in mind that those fleeing persecution often do not have the necessary documents and travel permissions," he added. According to The Daily Times, he said the UNHCR stands ready to support Pakistan in developing a mechanism to manage and register people in need of international protection on its territory and respond to "particular vulnerabilities." "Pakistan has remained a generous refugee host for decades. This role has been acknowledged globally but more needs to be done to match its generosity," he added. According to the latest UN figures, an estimated 1.3 million Afghans enjoy the status of registered refugees, while another 880,000 have legal status to stay in Pakistan. At least 700 Afghans have been arrested since early September in Karachi alone, and hundreds more in other cities, police figures said. The decision to evict illegal immigrants was taken in a meeting of the Apex committee held with PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in the chair. The meeting chaired by the caretaker premier was attended by COAS General Asim Munir, the chief ministers of four provinces, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan. The meeting saw the attendance of high-ranked security officials. Sources said the security officials briefed the participants of the meeting about the recent terror incidents in Pakistan. The meeting was also briefed about the steps being taken to control terrorism in Pakistan and action against illegal immigrants. Sources said the meeting decided to set a deadline for the return of foreigners illegally living in Pakistan and after the passage of the deadline their property would be seized, as per ARY News.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’s recent visit to China has sparked a dilemma regarding Nepal’s stance on the ‘One China Policy’ versus the ‘One China Principle’. Following an eight-day visit to China, he returned to Nepal on Saturday, leaving many questionings which of the two Nepal is adhering to. While the terms ‘Policy’ and ‘Principle’ may seem similar, there exists a significant difference between them. However, statements issued during Prime Minister Prachanda’s China visit and subsequent joint statements have mentioned both the ‘One China Policy’ and the ‘One China Principle’, further complicating the matter. The joint statement issued by Nepal and China on October 9, a day after the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Prachanda and his Chinese counterpart, featured the term ‘One China Principle.’ “The Nepalese side has reiterated its firm commitment to the One China principle. Acknowledging that the Chinese government is the only legitimate government representing the whole of China and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, the Nepali side is against the ‘independence of Taiwan’,” the joint statement stated. Prior to this, Nepal had consistently referred to the ‘One China Policy’ in its statements and joint communiques with China. The terminology used by Nepal had always been ‘One China Policy’. However, the joint statement during Prime Minister Prachanda’s visit marked the first instance where “principle” was replaced by “policy.” This change came after Prime Minister Prachanda’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou on October 6, three days before the joint statement’s issuance from Beijing. The statement released by the Nepali Embassy in Beijing following the meeting with President Xi mentioned that Prime Minister Prachanda reiterated his commitment to the one-China policy. “President Xi Jinping expressed happiness over the close friendship, good neighborliness, and bilateral cooperation between Nepal and China. He praised Nepal’s one-China policy and expressed China’s support for Nepal’s sovereignty, geographical integrity, and economic development,” the statement read. Upon his return from China, Prime Minister Prachanda personally read a press note at Tribhuvan International Airport, which made no mention of the ‘One China Principle’. The press note mentioned the ‘One China Policy’ only once. “Nepal has always been committed to the one-China policy. Reaffirming this commitment, Prime Minister Prachanda stated that the relationship between Nepal and China would be based on the principles of Panchsheel, good friendship, mutual partnership, respect for international values and laws, and future actions aimed at elevating this relationship,” Prime Minister Prachanda said while recounting the achievements of his China visit. Notably, only one document released during the visit, the ‘One China Principle’, found its place in the Joint Communiqué, while the document issued solely by Nepal used the term ‘One China Policy’. During their bilateral meeting in Beijing on October 8, Prime Minister Prachanda and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang also used the term ‘One China Principle’, as indicated in the statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “Nepal is firmly committed to the one-China principle, supports China in safeguarding national sovereignty and geographical integrity, and will not allow any power to use Nepal’s land for anti-China activities,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated. Dinesh Bhattarai, a foreign affairs expert and former ambassador, emphasized the substantial difference between ‘policy’ and ‘principle’. “If ‘principle’ is considered as the constitution, then ‘policy’ is the law. Since the basic law is the constitution, all laws that conflict with the basic law are null and void,” Bhattarai explained. “Shifting from policy to principle implies a loss of faith in China.” Bhattarai noted that China has harbored suspicions that Nepal may be pursuing an ‘independent foreign policy’, leading to its shift from ‘policy’ to ‘principle’. He argued that China’s past behavior indicated this possibility. According to him, China’s change from “policy” to “principal” stems from concerns about Nepal’s actions. (epardafas has compiled this news from an article authored by Surendra Paudel, a seasoned journalist with expertise in diplomatic affairs, published on the baahrakhari.com.) Source: https://english.pardafas.com/