Indian Sub-continent

COLOMBO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Department of Meteorology said on Sunday that showery is expected to continue over the southwestern part of the island country.

Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the southwestern part of the country, said the department, urging the public to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporarily localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An Afghan military helicopter crashed in the country’s north Sunday after hitting a power line base, killing at least two crewmembers, the Defense Ministry said.

The MD-530 chopper was patrolling in the area after it took off from northern Balkh province and crashed in the Kholim district in Samangan province, a ministry statement said.

Officials said the chopper hit the base of a high voltage power line before crashing.

ISLAMABAD, May 20 (APP): Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned storming of Al Aqsa Mosque by a member of the Israeli occupation authority and members of the Knesset under protection of Israeli occupation forces.  

“Pakistan calls upon the international community to take urgent action to put an end to Israeli transgressions in the occupied territories that have been conspicuously ascendant since the beginning of this year,” Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a press statement.  

NEW DELHI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to ground the fleet of Russia-made MiG-21 until investigation will determine the cause of the crash of one of these fighter jets in the western state of Rajasthan earlier this month, local media reported on Saturday.

The IAF has as many as three squadrons of the MiG-21's Bison variant, among the total 31 squadrons, with a total of around 50 MiG-21 aircraft. The MiG-21 was inducted into the IAF in the 1960s, and 800 variants of the MiG-21 have been in service.

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan-Iran border markets would not only ameliorate the socioeconomic conditions of the border regions but also foster new opportunities for local businesses.

The prime minister, in an interview with Iran’s official news agency IRNA published on Thursday, stressed the importance of enhanced cooperation with Iran saying that the energy projects and border markets were emblematic of the vitality of Pakistan-Iran friendship.

NEW DELHI, May 19 (Reuters) - China said on Friday that it is opposed to a G20 tourism meeting next week in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir in India and will not attend.

India, which holds the chair of G20 this year, has organised a series of meetings across the country in the run-up to the summit in New Delhi in September.

"China is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan dialed down his campaign of defiance on Friday, saying he would allow a police search of his home over allegations that he was harboring suspects wanted in recent violence during anti-government protests by his supporters.

Khan, who is facing about 100 legal cases against him, also appeared before a court in his hometown of Lahore to seek protection from arrest in multiple terrorism cases that authorities have raised against the country’s top opposition leader.

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (NNN-APP) – Four children were killed and three others injured, in a wind storm, in Pakistan’s east Punjab province last night, police said.

The kids were sitting beside the wall of a mosque, in Mianwali District, when it collapsed on them, the police told the media.

The injured kids were shifted to a nearby hospital, where one of them is in a critical condition.

KABUL, May 18 (NNN-ANA) – The Afghan caretaker government’s supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, as the Acting Prime Minister, chief government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said.

“Since esteemed acting Prime Minister, Mullah Hassan Akhund is sick and needs treatment and rest in Kandahar for some time, esteemed Mawlawi Abdul Kabir has been appointed to take charge of the Premier Office affairs,” Mujahid said, on his Twitter account, yesterday.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.K.-based rights group on Thursday launched an interactive map documenting rampant human rights abuses and violence against civilians since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan nearly two years ago.