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NDTV
2 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Pak Using Drone Campaign Inside Its Borders, But With A Collateral Damage
New Delhi: Pakistan, during a brief military clash with India, used drones to attack civilian areas - showing off their high-tech weapons. But little was it known, the country has been running a deadly drone campaign to monitor and strike terrorists within its borders for years, a report by The New York Times said. This, however, comes with its own collateral damage: civilian deaths. While Pakistani officials have said that drone operations have become significantly more effective and precise, some reports of attacks tell a different story. Earlier this year, the Pakistani Security Forces targeted a terrorist hideout with drones in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing an unspecified number of "high-value" terrorists. However, some civilians were also killed in the strike, with the provincial government suggesting that women and children were among the victims. Late last month, at least 20 people were injured in a suspected drone strike on a crowd watching a volleyball match in Lower South Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering Afghanistan. Last month, four children were reportedly killed after a drone strike in North Waziristan. Officials blamed the Pakistani Taliban for the attack, but the political opposition condemned it as a consequence of the government's flawed security strategy, the NYT report said. Pakistan is among the four countries that are using drones against terrorists within their borders. The other three countries are Iraq, Nigeria, and Turkey. Despite this, the country's government has not yet officially acknowledged the role of drones in its counterinsurgency, the report said. Drone campaign goes online The Pakistani security officials are reportedly becoming more vocal about the drone strikes online - mainly to put down the criticism. A video that recently went viral showed armed men (with what officials said were Pakistani Taliban terrorists) trying to breach a barbed-wire perimeter at night when a drone strike hit them. Officials reportedly said that the video was recorded in 2024. Another video shows a drone strike targeting Taliban-affiliated terrorists in a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, which borders Afghanistan in northwestern Pakistan. While the videos remain unverified, many of them were posted by pro-military accounts, the NYT reported. According to the report, the Pakistani government is backing the digital drone campaign. US drone campaign in Pakistan For many years, the US conducted drone strikes inside Pakistan that targeted Al Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban, and affiliated groups. The first known US strike took place in 2004, in which a prominent Taliban commander, Nek Muhammad, died. According to the NYT report, the George Bush administration had allowed 48 drone strikes in Pakistan, while Barack Obama authorised 353. The last recorded drone strike in the Pakistan borders by the US was in 2016, in which the chief of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, was killed. US President Donald Trump had reportedly ordered 13 strikes in Pakistan during his first term. However, no drone strikes by the US were reported after 2018. Pakistan and terrorism The Pakistani government faces one of the most severe terrorist threats in the world, with the country ranking second as the most affected by terrorism in the world. Some of the deadliest terror organisations include: the Pakistani Taliban and the Baloch Liberation Army. Pakistan was placed on the FATF's grey list in June 2018. Countries that are considered safe havens for terror funding and money laundering are put on this list. Pakistan was said to be lacking a comprehensive and coordinated risk-based approach in combating money laundering and terror financing - following which the FATF urged Islamabad to implement a 34-point action plan by the end of 2019. This deadline was then extended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2020 to 2022, Pakistan carried out measures to its anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws. In September 2022, the FATF conducted an onsite visit to Pakistan to confirm the completion of the action plan. Islamabad was removed from the list in October 2022. India, responding to FATF's move, had said that Pakistan must continue to take credible action against terrorism.
The Guardian
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Give thanks Priti Patel isn't foreign sec – she'd already be at war with Iran
Be thankful for small mercies. If it was up to Priti Patel, the UK would already be at war with Iran. In a former life as international development secretary, Priti got herself fired for freelancing foreign policy on Israel. Now, as shadow foreign secretary, she's at it again. Old habits die hard. Out and about on the morning media round, Priti was volunteering to personally fly the US stealth bombers deep into Iran. To ride the Massive Ordnance Penetrator – the Americans are nothing if not relentlessly macho – bombs deep into the nuclear facility at Fordow. Her very own last-chance power drive. In her defence, you have to remember Priti Vacant has no memory of what happened yesterday, let alone 22 years ago. If she did, she might be aware of what can happen when a UK government tries to hedge its bets on legal advice before going to war in the Middle East. That didn't work out so well for anyone. Arguably, we're all still paying the price of that George Bush–Tony Blair joint venture. Likewise, she has no insight into likely outcomes in the future. She has less imagination than a tardigrade. She is only capable of living entirely in the present. And a very limited present at that. Unaware that you can't bomb knowledge. Unaware that even if the bunker-busting bombs did penetrate 80 metres of reinforced concrete and rock, the destruction would only make Iran more likely to develop a nuclear capability in the future. So it's probably just as well for all of us that we've got someone like Keir Starmer as prime minister. A man whose natural instincts are set towards diplomacy and de-escalation. A lawyer who is likely to take the advice of Richard Hermer, the attorney general, seriously. Who understands that extending a war between Israel and Iran to one that includes the US and the UK is in no one's best interests. No easy task when you're dealing with a US president who seems to think he is starring in his own first-person shooter video game. Donald Trump and Priti Vacant have a disturbing amount in common. It's customary for the prime minister to update the Commons on the meeting of the G7 – or in this case, the G6 and a half – as soon as possible after returning home. But this Thursday, Keir thought better of it. Had decided he had better things to do than face awkward questions from MPs of all parties on just how close the UK was to getting dragged into another war, and whether we intended to let the Americans use Diego Garcia as a base from which to bomb Iran. To avoid being asked what The Donald might do next. As if anyone had any idea. Even Trump doesn't know what Trump will do next. So in the absence of a statement from the prime minister, we got one from chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, on the government's 10-year infrastructure strategy. This felt like a rare outbreak of optimism. A cause for national celebration. At a time when many of us can't be sure we'll still be alive this time next week with the west on the brink of yet another war, we had Darren to hold our hands. Everything was going to be OK. Even if the world was to turn to rubble, Labour had a plan to put things back together. We might not be around to see it, but everything would be OK eventually. On a practical level, this did have an air of hope over experience. After all, when was the last time the UK completed an infrastructure project on time and on budget? Only on Wednesday the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, had given yet another update on the fiasco that is HS2. A rail line that is already billions of pounds over budget, does nothing to increase connectivity to the north and won't be ready until 10 years time at the earliest. The French managed to complete a high-speed railway the same length as HS2 in five years. We are still building tunnels through former Conservative constituencies. HS2 is this country's own Ionesco study of the absurd. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained and Darren was eager to share his Brave New World with us. And here was the thing. The 10 years had already started. Things were already far, far better than they had been. To be fair, they were for Dazza. No one enjoys being in government more than Darren. He's been walking around with a rictus permagrin since last July. This is his time. If only we could all be a bit more like Dazza, the better it would be. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Darren opened our eyes to £725m of new infrastructure spending. What glories! Treasures the like of which had not been seen since Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun's tomb. Hospitals, prisons, schools. Railways. Lucky Wales was to get £445m, the same amount as was being given to refurbish Leeds station. All would be rebuilt in Dazza's own image. And they really would be built. This wasn't a 10-year plan like so many other 10-year plans that barely survive contact with reality. This was to be a 10-year plan that would last for 100 years. Permanent secretaries might feel like temporary secretaries. Minister may come and go. Governments could fall. But the 10-year plan would remain. As would Darren. Because there would be a new quango. The National Infrastructure and Service Transformational Authority had been born to save us all. There was little argument from the Conservative's Richard Fuller about any of this. Then there was hardly like to be. He didn't want to suggest this was all a pipe dream by drawing attention to the fact that the Tories had achieved next to nothing in 14 years. So he just asked which of the projects that the Tories had failed to deliver were being scrapped by Labour. Dazza had no idea. Everything was going to be great. There would be a new level of skills and coordination that didn't currently exist. 'I'm confident in my abilities,' he smirked. That goes down as one of life's understatements. Darren has yet to find something he doesn't do better than anyone else. We might have to hold our breath to see what The Donald did next, but Darren was there to reassure us that the future belonged to him.
Boston Globe
12-06-2025
- Boston Globe
Veteran Broadway actor Richard Topol on hanging with Larry David — and that time his car was impounded
If you could travel anywhere right now, where would you go? I've been dying to go to Machu Picchu. I'd like to do the few-day hike all the way up — something about the combination of a vigorous climb through forests and highlands to reach the top of a mountain, where you find an unfathomable man-made structure, seems like the magical pairing of natural beauty with human creation. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Do you prefer booking trips through a travel agent or on your own? Depends on where I'll be going, but my sister-in-law is a travel agent and I often like to go through her. Advertisement Thoughts on an 'unplugged' vacation? I'm headed to the High Sierras in California for a week of backpacking in August with three of my college buddies. Can't wait. Unplugged for sure. What has been your worst vacation experience? Can I let you write about this? My girlfriend and I were traveling back from Canada in her old VW bug, and we got stopped at the border because we looked young and scruffy — or at least I did. It was during [the elder] George Bush's 'war on drugs.' I had one joint in my backpack, and they took us out of the car and searched everything. When they found my joint, which my girlfriend begged me to throw out the window before we got to the border, they impounded the car, and we were stuck at this isolated border station in Vermont. Luckily, they said we could buy the car back, and it was an old VW, so its Bluebook value was only $250. The Border folks had to drive us 20 minutes to the nearest town so we could withdraw that cash from a bank and buy the car back. The most expensive joint I never got to smoke. Advertisement What is your favorite childhood travel memory? So many. Maybe my favorite was our road trip from the Adirondacks through Canada to Quebec City, Montreal, and the Thousand Islands to Toronto, or the summer where we swapped houses with a family in Richmond just outside London. Do you vacation to relax, to learn, or for the adventure of it all? Yes, yes, and yes. What book do you plan on bringing with you to read on your next vacation? I've been trying to crack open both Colm Tóibín's 'The Magician' and Michael Chabon's 'Summerland.' The former seems just the right kind of intense and the latter the right kind of magical. If you could travel with one famous person/celebrity, who would it be? Larry David, with whom I worked on Broadway in his show 'Fish in the Dark.' He might complain a lot, but we'd get to play at all the best golf courses, and he'd make me laugh, even if our flights are delayed, our food never comes, or our luggage gets lost. Advertisement What is the best gift to give a traveler? Advice on the best places to eat, where they are going. Seriously, remember not to over-plan so much that you can't be open to the new world right in front of you. I think you are asking for a tangible physical thing, but I think this is more important and useful. What is your go-to snack for a flight or a road trip? I do like a few clementines or some fresh fruit because there's just so many tasty salty snacks out there that are hard to say no to. What is the coolest souvenir you've picked up on a vacation? A beautiful handcrafted wrought iron water basin with a mirror that my now wife and I picked up on the vacation in Italy where we got engaged. What is your favorite app/website for travel? I just Google everything. What has travel taught you? That the world is a big beautiful planet filled with magical places, interesting people, and incredible history. Get off your butt and be inspired; learn and grow from experiencing it. What is your best travel tip? See the previous answer and the answer to the question about the best gift to give a traveler.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Race Across The World: I could win Race Across The World's £20,000 first prize - and here's how
Why not just hire a car? The rules of Race Across The World prohibit air travel, but taxis and hitch-hiking are fair game . . . so there can't be anything wrong with renting your own wheels. As contestants neared the finish line at India 's southern tip, after a trek via train, bus and tuktuk from the Great Wall of China, all of them had cash to spare. Budgets have been tighter than ever before on this series but, despite that, every one of the four couples had enough money to go by cab on the final leg. It's taken them 51 days to cover 8,700 miles, which is an average of 170 miles a day. Driving a rental, they could easily have covered the distance in half the time. And if a hire car was too expensive, why not buy a motorbike? It's just the devious way my mind works, but surely there must be a shortcut to victory. When the race was set in Canada two years ago, several pairs of competitors cadged lifts with obliging Canucks. I'd be inclined to find an amateur chauffeur and offer him a bribe: get me to the final checkpoint ahead of the pack, and you can have a quarter of the £20,000 prize money. It's an expensive way to win — but losing is more expensive. Muscle rub of the week When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, we learned on Flight 149: Hostage Of War (Sky Documentaries), President George Bush was in the White House, getting a massage. That's what you call lying down on the job. None of the five duos was prepared to cheat, of course, because the real winners on this show are the ones who forge tighter bonds with each other along the way. The race's producers have done an exceptional job of picking the right participants: all of them have been likeable and interesting, and every couple has grown closer week by week. Both sets of siblings, Elizabeth and Letitia, and Brian and Melvyn, barely knew each other at the start of the trip. Thank goodness that, as it turned out, they discovered they genuinely liked each other. Might have been awkward if the adventure had simply served to remind them why they drifted apart in the first place. We've all been hoping that young lovers Fin and Sioned would get wed along the way. Sioned certainly was. When she and her boyfriend were presented with garlands at a flower market in Bengaluru, she told him hopefully, 'We can get married now.' The most touching relationship has been that of the eventual winners, mother-and-son Caroline and Tom. She obviously adores him, and he's learned to show his appreciation, finding the words to thank her in a sweet diary entry. Still, she's sensible to be wary of him first thing in the morning. Her tactic at home, she said, is to take him a cup of tea in bed and a bacon butty — and then run. Millions of parents will sympathise. It was the show's bad luck, though, that the most intriguing couple, divorcees Yin and Gaz, were eliminated halfway through the series. What would it take to bring those two back together — maybe a stint in the jungle on I'm A Celebrity next?
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Kananaskis golf course getting ready for G7, possible Trump visit
Darren Robinson, general manager of the Kananaskis Country Golf Course, has his hands full preparing the facility for the upcoming G7 Leaders meeting in Kananaskis, Alta., Monday, June 2, CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh KANANASKIS — Darren Robinson had some very important news to tell U.S. president George Bush and José María Aznar, the prime minister of Spain. The pro shop was open. Aznar had told Robinson, general manager of the Kananaskis Country Golf Club in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, that he wanted to visit the shop. True to his word, Robinson walked over to the two world leaders on a patio and interrupted their conversation. 'What was probably only 10 seconds felt like 10 minutes,' Robinson recalled of the G8 leaders' summit in 2002 in Kananaskis. He said the pair paused their discussion, and Bush waved over British prime minister Tony Blair. The four then talked about golf, running, the mountains, as the other leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, chatted ahead of a dinner at the golf club. 'I'm like, somebody pinch me. It's really happening,' Robinson said. Twenty-three years later, Robinson is again teeing up to possibly host some of the world's most powerful people for the G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis set for June 15-17. The golf club is included in the tightly controlled perimeter that will be closed to public access during the summit and is one of two primary locations the leaders could use. The summit is being hosted by the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, a short drive from the course. There's speculation U.S. President Donald Trump, with his known affection for golf, could tee off on the scenic course that sits at the foot of Mount Kidd. Trump even owns Kananaskis Country Golf Club merchandise. Prime Minister Mark Carney gifted the president a hat and gear from the club during his first White House visit in early May. Requests for comment to the White House and the Prime Minister's Office about whether Trump or Carney would get in a golf game at the summit were not returned. The summit's itinerary hasn't been shared publicly. And if history informs Robinson's expectations, any activities involving leaders at the course would be spontaneous. Robinson remembers one afternoon in 2002, when he mentioned to Jean Chrétien, touring the club before an upcoming dinner, that it was a shame the prime minister didn't have time to play. '(Chrétien) says, 'Who says I don't have time?' And he starts taking off his tie and jacket,' said Robinson, mimicking Chrétien's French accent. Chrétien hit two clean shots on his way to the putting green, said Robinson. But on the third shot, a short chip to get on the green, the prime minister accidentally nicked a divot out of the grass before making contact with the ball. 'Before the ball even stops rolling, he reaches into his pocket, drops another one, hits that nicely onto the green,' Robinson said. 'And then he looks at me and says, 'I call that a Clinton.'' Chrétien, after dropping the reference to former U.S. president Bill Clinton, played three more holes before getting back to work, said Robinson. He added that several interactions he had with Bush were personal highlights of the summit. It was a year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. U.S. staffers asked Robinson to draw up a five-kilometre loop the president could run the next morning. When Bush arrived early the next day in his sneakers, he asked if a woman at the club dressed in athletic gear would jog with him, said Robinson. 'Now I'm filming the two of them walking up. And president Bush says to me, 'You set me up with an Olympic runner.'' Months later, Robinson received a manila envelope in the mail from the White House with a letter signed by Bush thanking him for the stay and a photo of the two of them talking on the club patio. This year, Robinson said he'll be on the course waiting to help, but isn't expecting a 2002 repeat. 'You hope that there's any opportunity to have some similar and memorable experiences,' he said while standing at a tee box overlooking the 16th hole on the course. 'If they happen, great. That would be wonderful. And if they don't, they don't.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025. Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press
