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ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Army Mi-17 helicopter crashed near Muzaffarabad on Wednesday during takeoff, martyring all personnel on board, the military&rsquo;s media wing reported. According to a statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a technical malfunction caused the crash. There were no survivors. Rescue and recovery teams arrived at the crash site immediately. The military has ordered a board of inquiry to determine the exact technical cause of the accident. Pakistan Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and all ranks of the Pakistan Army expressed grief over the deaths. They extended condolences to the families of those martyred. PM offers condolences Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the tragic crash of the military helicopter. He paid tribute to the personnel martyred in the accident and said the entire nation salutes the sacrifices of its brave sons.

Pakistan Army Mi-17 Helicopter - (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Security

A technical malfunction caused the crash, as per the military's media wing, with a board of inquiry ordered to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Pakistan Army helicopter crashes in Muzaffarabad, no survivors reported: Military

PARIS: Europe&#39;s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Wednesday said that global forecasters were increasingly confident that a very strong <a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/80-chance-of-el-nino-developing-juneaugust-un" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">El Nino</a> warming weather pattern could develop later this year. &quot;From May 1st to June 1st all models effectively shifted upward their predictions,&quot; the service&#39;s director Carlo Buontempo told AFP of the latest monthly El Nino forecast. &quot;The odds are strongly in favor of a moderate to strong, or probably strong to record-breaking, event at this stage.&quot; El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial <a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/us-kills-14-in-strikes-on-alleged-pacific-drug-boats" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pacific Ocean</a>, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. In its latest update, Copernicus said 75% of global forecasters that contribute to its El Nino outlook were predicting <a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-navy-chief-warns-indian-ocean-disruption-could-hit-global-supply-chains" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">sea temperatures</a> in parts of the Pacific could surge 2.5 C or more above average by November. Just three events &ndash; 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16 &ndash; have breached 2C since the first major El Nino recorded in the modern era in 1877/78.

Workers load ice blocks onto a vehicle on a hot summer day in Lahore on June 9, 2026. (AFP)

Climate

The EU monitor said 75% of global forecasters that contribute to its El Nino outlook were predicting sea temperatures in parts of the Pacific could surge 2.5 C or more above average by November. 

Odds rising for very strong El Nino: EU monitor

GENEVA: The UN rights chief said Wednesday he would send a mission to Lebanon to collect evidence on alleged rights abuses since the war began between Hezbollah and Israel. &quot;Accountability cannot be overstated. Prompt and independent investigations into alleged violations of international humanitarian law must be conducted,&quot; UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk told journalists. &quot;This is why I have agreed with the government of Lebanon to conduct an impartial and independent assessment mission in the country. &quot;I will soon be deploying a team to collect information and evidence on alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law, and violations of international humanitarian law and related law committed by the parties to the armed conflict in the country since March 2.&quot; Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East war on March 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the February 28 killing of Iran&#39;s supreme leader in US-Israeli attacks. The rocket attacks prompted Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. Lebanese authorities say Israel&#39;s attacks have killed more than 3,600 people and displaced more than one million others. On the Israeli side, 29 soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed in&nbsp;Lebanon, according to the army. Neither side has respected a ceasefire first announced in mid-April. Turk said that amid the &quot;unimaginable civilian harm, suffering and displacement&quot; caused by dozens of conflicts, &quot;we have seen the economic and environmental consequences of fighting reverberate across the world&quot;. &quot;The world needs to contain this fallout&mdash;de-escalation, restraint and the protection of civilians must be the priority,&quot; he said.

Middle East

UN rights chief said Wednesday he would send a mission to Lebanon to collect evidence on alleged rights abuses since the war began between Hezbollah and Israel

UN rights chief sending mission to Lebanon to collect abuses evidence

ISTANBUL: US President Donald Trump&#39;s presence at the NATO summit in Ankara next month will be an important moment for the stability of the military alliance, Turkey&#39;s Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday. &quot;The announcement that US President Trump will attend the summit in person is a significant step in terms of the alliance&#39;s stability,&quot; the Turkish president told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.

FILE: US President Donald Trump during a press conference after the NATO summit at the World Forum, The Hague. (ANP MAG/AFP)

Europe

Americas

"The announcement that US President Trump will attend the summit in person is a significant step in terms of the alliance's stability," the Turkish president told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.



Trump presence at NATO summit 'significant' for alliance's stability: Erdogan

ISLAMABAD: A growing wave of pro-Palestinian activism is sweeping German universities, with student councils voting to support academic boycotts of Israeli universities, citing alleged ties between Israeli academia and the country&#39;s military establishment. According to a report published on Al Jazeera&#39;s website, nearly 700 students at Leipzig University have&nbsp;demanded that the institution end all cooperation with Israeli academic partners. Student activists argue that Israeli universities are deeply integrated into Israel&#39;s military and security infrastructure and therefore cannot be viewed as politically neutral institutions. Orlando Becker, a 22-year-old member of Students for Palestine Leipzig, told Al Jazeera, &ldquo;All five Israeli partner universities of Leipzig University are an essential component of the Israeli military complex.&rdquo;&nbsp; Students gathered more than 1,300 signatures to convene a general assembly on the issue.&nbsp;University authorities, however, withdrew permission for the meeting to take place in a lecture hall one day before the event. Leipzig is not aloneSimilar resolutions have emerged across Germany. Since March, student councils at several German universities have adopted similar motions calling for academic disengagement from Israeli institutions. At Berlin&#39;s Hertie School, the student council became the first in Germany to pass a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement by cutting ties with Israeli institutions through student-administered funds. The school and its affiliated foundation quickly distanced themselves from the student resolution, describing it as unacceptable. Student representatives alleged that university leadership attempted to discourage support for the motion by warning of potential consequences for students and the institution. Crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism&nbsp;Pro-Palestinian student activism has faced significant resistance from authorities across Germany. In November 2023, students occupied a lecture hall at the Free University of Berlin in solidarity with Gaza. Months later, demonstrators occupied a building at Humboldt University and renamed it the &quot;Jabalia Institute&quot; after a refugee camp in Gaza. Police were called to clear both occupations. Activists reported dozens of injuries during the operations and alleged that Arab students and other minorities were treated more harshly. While university administrations have largely resisted calls for academic boycotts, observers say the growing number of student resolutions signals increasing pressure from younger generations. As student movements continue to expand across campuses, the dispute is likely to remain a defining issue in Germany&#39;s higher education sector and wider political discourse.

Student councils across Germany back academic boycotts of Israeli universities, citing alleged military ties; pro-Palestinian activism grows despite resistance from university administrations, political pressure, and police crackdowns.

German universities face growing pressure to cut ties with Israeli institutions

JOHANNESBURG: Gunmen stormed an informal settlement near Johannesburg and shot dead 12 people overnight, South African police said Wednesday, in the latest mass shooting in the crime-weary country. The shootings happened before midnight on Tuesday in an impoverished area of metal shacks near where illegal miners were living, police said. Around 10 attackers were driven to the Jumpers settlement and dropped off before storming the area, a police spokeswoman said. &quot;The suspects allegedly entered the informal settlement through both entrances and moved through the area, opening fire on residents and community members at multiple locations before fleeing the scene in the same vehicle,&quot; she said. &quot;Preliminary investigations reveal that 12 people died as a result of the attack,&quot; Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said. &quot;Eight adult males and three adult females were declared dead at the scene,&quot; she said. One person died in the hospital. &nbsp;Illegal miningThe attack occurred in an area about six kilometers (less than four miles) east of the Johannesburg city center, near an abandoned gold mine. South Africa is awash with legal and illegal firearms, and shootings are common, often fuelled by gang rivalry and competition between informal businesses. Police said the motive for the attack was not yet known, and no arrests had been made, but there were suspicions it was related to competition over illegal mining in the area. &quot;At this stage, we could not determine what is the motive,&quot; provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni told reporters at the scene. &quot;As you know, this area is adjacent to the legal mining area. We are having those suspicions.&quot; &quot;One can term this incident to be insane, to be heartless and to an extent, it is barbaric,&quot; he said. Illegal mining in South Africa draws people from across southern Africa and has been linked to organized crime, assassinations, extortion and other illegal activities. Clandestine artisanal miners have become an entrenched presence in the shantytowns that ring Johannesburg and its satellite settlements along the gold reef. Driven by poverty and unemployment, the zama zamas, which means &quot;those who try&quot; in the Zulu language, descend deep into still gold-bearing shafts abandoned by mining companies. In a mass shooting linked to rivalry between illegal mining gangs, nine people were killed in December when gunmen opened fire at a bar in the impoverished Bekkersdal township southwest of Johannesburg and in another gold-mining area. In March, soldiers moved into violence hotspots in Johannesburg to support police efforts to tackle rampant crime, described by President Cyril Ramaphosa as one of the biggest threats facing the country.

Graphic content / TOPSHOT - A general view of a body of a victim laying in the road at Jumpers informal settlement in Cleveland, east of Johannesburg, on June 10, 2026.

Gunmen stormed the informal settlement near Johannesburg and killed 12 people in a suspected illegal mining-related mass shooting.

Gunmen shoot dead 12 near Johannesburg: South African police

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan carried out precise and calibrated strikes on terrorist hideouts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border following a series of recent terrorist attacks inside the country, killing 26 terrorists linked to the banned Fitna Al Khwarij, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.&nbsp;In a statement, Tarar said the action came in the wake of several major terrorist incidents, including an attack on a Federal Constabulary post in Musa Dara on June 9, a vehicle-borne suicide attack on a military post in North Waziristan on June 2, and a suicide attack on a police station in Bannu on May 9.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 624px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2064614232579354701&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=e456e591a915652da6c221e587c897312be8809c&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>He said the operation was conducted based on credible intelligence and targeted hideouts and safe havens of the masterminds and planners behind the attacks.&nbsp;According to the minister, four terrorist facilities were completely destroyed during the operation, including a training center, a hideout, an ammunition cache, and command centers linked to Fitna Al Khwarij commanders Aleem Khan Khushali and Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel.&nbsp;Tarar said the terrorists killed in the strikes were &quot;Indian-sponsored khwarijs&quot; involved in terrorist activities against Pakistan.&nbsp;He reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to peace and stability in the region but stressed that the protection of its citizens remains the country&#39;s foremost priority.&nbsp;&ldquo;The relentless counter-terrorism campaign under the vision of Azm-e-Istehkam, as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, will continue at full pace to eliminate the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,&rdquo; he said.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar speaks during a National Assembly session in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 5, 2025. (National Assembly of Pakistan)

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar says the terrorists killed in the strikes were "Indian-sponsored khwarijs" involved in terrorist activities against Pakistan.


Pakistan strikes terrorist hideouts along Afghan border, killing 26 terrorists: Minister

ISLAMABAD: Six officers from the Federal Constabulary were martyred in an attack by armed terrorists in northwestern Pakistan, the country&rsquo;s Ministry of Interior reported Wednesday. The Federal Constabulary is a paramilitary force that operates nationwide under Pakistan&#39;s Interior Ministry, responsible for security across the country&#39;s regions. In a post on X, the ministry stated that the attack occurred in Hassan Khel, near Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Peshawar sits just 53 kilometers from the Afghan border, a region that has witnessed persistent violence from across the border. The terrorists belong to Fitna-ul-Khawarij (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan). The group operates with backing from the Afghan Taliban, Afghanistan&#39;s interim government. The TTP has carried out several attacks across Pakistan in recent years. Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi attended the funeral service for the officers at Federal Constabulary headquarters in Peshawar, where senior civil and military officials attended and paid tribute to them. &quot;We stand with the families of these officers. We will not abandon them,&quot; Naqvi said. Pakistan&#39;s government pledged to step up military operations against terrorist groups in the region. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the nation remains committed to fighting terrorism. &quot;We will intensify our operations,&quot; he said. Senior security officials from across the province attended the funeral, including police commanders and intelligence agency directors.

Six federal constabulary officials martyred for the Motherland in the Hassan Khel area. 

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi attended the funeral service at Federal Constabulary headquarters, pledging to stand with the families of the martyred officers.

6 Pakistani paramilitary officers martyred in terrorist attack

NEW YORK: A former Afghan Taliban commander charged by the United States with abducting a journalist and killing American troops in 2008 was sentenced Tuesday to 42 years in prison. Haji Majibullah, 50, was accused by US prosecutors of kidnapping an American journalist, identified as New York Times journalist David Rohde, and two Afghan civilians. He was also charged with the deaths of three US soldiers and an Afghan interpreter in an attack by forces under his command in June 2008. Arrested in Ukraine, he was extradited to the United States in 2020. He pleaded guilty last year to hostage taking and providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, according to a Justice Department statement. &quot;Those who harm Americans and engage in acts of terrorism will be hunted down and brought to justice, no matter how long it takes,&quot; Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement. Rohde was kidnapped in Afghanistan in November 2008, along with a translator and a driver. According to the Times, which managed to keep the news of his kidnapping secret so as not to endanger him, Rohde managed to escape from his captors in June 2009. Hassan Khan, a senior journalist and Afghanistan specialist, said the 42-year sentence will damage the Taliban&rsquo;s international image and could set a precedent for future prosecutions of Taliban leaders.&nbsp; &ldquo;This sentence is signaling that American courts &mdash; and possibly European courts in future &mdash; can arrest and charge Taliban leaders for actions dating back to their two-decade campaign against US and NATO forces,&rdquo; Khan said, noting the case&rsquo;s ransom and hostage elements that echo broader accusations of &ldquo;hostage diplomacy&rdquo; by the current Taliban.&nbsp; He added, however, that the sentence is unlikely to alter Taliban policy or governance inside Afghanistan, where he said the group feels largely immune to outside legal pressure and remains resistant to change despite internal and external pressures.

Spokesperson for the United States Department of State Jen Psaki holds a conversation with American journalist David Rohde (right). File photo: (Wikimedia Commons)

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says 'those who harm Americans and engage in acts of terrorism will be hunted down and brought to justice, no matter how long it takes.'


Taliban commander sentenced to 42 years for kidnapping US journalist

ISLAMABAD: Taliban security forces used force to disperse a rare public protest in Herat after demonstrators gathered to oppose the detention of women accused of violating the country&#39;s strict Islamic dress code, according to a report by the BBC.&nbsp; Two people were killed during the unrest, though they did not specify the cause of death; several others were reported injured. Taliban authorities denied that anyone had died but acknowledged responding to the demonstration. The protest took place in the western Afghan city of Herat, where local Taliban officials had recently intensified enforcement of mandatory hijab regulations. Men and women joined the protest days after reports emerged that women perceived as improperly wearing the hijab were being detained by Taliban authorities. Taliban security forces used live fire to break up the protest. Taliban police did not directly address allegations that officers fired on protestors but said they had taken measures to maintain security and public order. Taliban security personnel used &ldquo;sticks, whips and firearms&rdquo; to disperse the crowd and fired shots into the air, according to the BBC.&nbsp; Videos circulating on social media appeared to capture the sound of gunfire as women screamed and pleaded with security forces not to beat protesters. Sayed Masoud Hosseini, a spokesperson for the Herat Police Command, accused demonstrators of disturbing public order. He said some protesters sought to create tension under the pretext of opposing Islamic hijab requirements, which Taliban authorities consider a religious obligation. According to reports from the BBC Afghan service, some demonstrators chanted &ldquo;Education, Work, Freedom,&rdquo; a slogan associated with calls for greater rights for Afghan women. Richard Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, expressed his alarm over reports indicating excessive force used against what seemed to be peaceful protesters. In a statement shared on social media, Bennett called for accountability for those responsible for these actions. The protest underscores the rising tensions regarding Taliban restrictions on women, which have intensified since the group regained power in August 2021. Women have been prohibited from attending secondary and higher education, excluded from numerous job opportunities, and face increasingly strict regulations concerning their appearance and movement. The Taliban made the hijab mandatory for women in May 2022, but residents in Herat said enforcement efforts intensified in recent days. According to the BBC, they had seen women being detained since the weekend for allegedly failing to comply with dress requirements.

Women in Burqas in Herat, Afghanistan (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Afghanistan

Taliban forces violently dispersed a protest in Herat over strict hijab enforcement, with reports of deaths, injuries, and accusations of excessive force.

Pakistan Army helicopter crashes in Muzaffarabad, no survivors reported: Military

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