SUICIDE BOMBING AT PESHAWAR MOSQUE KILLS 61

An explosion at a mosque in Pakistan’s northern city of Peshawar killed at least 61 people, including an imam, and injured over 150 others on Monday. Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif called the blast a suicide attack.

The deadly blast took place during afternoon prayers at around 1:40 pm near Peshawar’s Police Lines area. Several people have been admitted to the hospital in a critical condition and the death toll from the attack is expected to rise.

A video shot from inside the mosque showed debris on the ground. One side of the mosque collapsed due to the impact of the blast.

A 'suicide attacker' blew himself up inside the mosque during prayers. The suicide attacker was present in the front row during the prayers when he exploded himself, news agency PTI quoted security officials as saying.

An emergency has been imposed in the locality and the area has been cordoned off.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast. Shehbaz Sharif said that the attackers responsible for the blast inside the mosque “have nothing to do with Islam”.

“Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan,” the Pakistan PM added.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan called for improving intelligence gathering to "combat the growing threat of terrorism".

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the blast inside the Peshawar mosque, the Dawn reported.

‘AFTER INDIA & CHINA, US TRYING TO HIT ENERGY TIES WITH PAK’

Russia on Monday accused the US of “publicly, shamelessly and arrogantly” threatening countries like India, China and Turkey to prevent them from doing business with it and said Washington will now hinder Moscow’s cooperation with Islamabad in the energy sphere.

The comments by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov came at a press conference with visiting Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari there. “There have been threats against China recently, as well as against India, Turkey, and Egypt. There is not a single country that the US would not send such neo-colonial messages to,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by Tass news agency.

The US has repeatedly warned countries against doing business with entities subject to US curbs as Washington cracks down on Russian attempts to evade sanctions imposed over its war in Ukraine.

Bilawal’s first visit to Moscow comes after a Russian delegation led by energy minister Nikolay Shulginov visited Pakistan recently to explore possibilities of providing oil to Pakistan. The overwhelming majority of countries, including Pakistan, are governed primarily by their national interests, the Russian top diplomat said.

UKRAINE WAR: JOE BIDEN RULES OUT SENDING F-16 FIGHTER JETS

US President Joe Biden has ruled out sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, despite renewed calls from Ukrainian officials for air support.

Asked by a reporter on Monday if the US would be providing the planes, Mr Biden replied simply "no".

His comment comes a day after Germany's leader also ruled out sending fighter jets.

Ukraine has said it needs the jets to take control of its airspace in its ongoing war with Russia.

F-16 Fighting Falcons are widely considered one of the world's most reliable fighter jets and are used by other countries, such as Belgium and Pakistan.

They would be a significant upgrade on the Soviet-era fighting jets Ukraine is currently using, which were made before the country declared independence from the USSR more than 30 years ago.

However, Mr Biden has repeatedly rebuffed Ukraine's pleas for the jets, instead focussing on providing military support in other areas.

The US announced last week that it would supply Kyiv with 31 Abrams tanks, with the UK and Germany also pledging similar support.

Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrii Melnyk, welcomed that announcement but asked allies for the creation of a "fighter jet coalition" that would also provide Ukraine with Eurofighters, Tornados, French Rafales and Swedish Gripen jets.

In an interview on Sunday, Germany's Chancellor said that it "seemed frivolous" to discuss sending other military aid to Ukraine when they had just committed to sending the Leopard 2s.

Olaf Scholz also reiterated to the German newspaper Tagesspiegel that the Nato military alliance was not at war with Russia and that it would "not allow such an escalation".

IMRAN KHAN TO CONTEST ALL 33 PARLIAMENT SEATS IN BYELECTIONS

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan will contest all 33 National Assembly seats in the byelections to be held on March 16, his party has announced. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Sunday the decision was taken during the party’s core committee meeting held in Lahore.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS STILL AN INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY: WHO

Three years to the day after the World Health Organization (WHO) sounded the highest level of global alert over COVID-19, it said on Monday that the pandemic remains an international emergency. The UN health agency’s emergency committee on COVID-19 met on last Friday for a 14th time since the start of the crisis.

CHINA SAYS COVID SITUATION AT ‘LOW LEVEL’ IN COUNTRY

China said on Monday that the Covid-19 situation in the country was at a “low level”, and that fever clinic visits due to the coronavirus during the Lunar New Year dropped about 40% from before the week-long holiday “The overall epidemic situation in the country has entered a low level, and the epidemic situation in various places has maintained a steady downward trend,” National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng said on Monday . Travel domestically as well as in and out of China during the holiday period rose sharply as millions boarded planes, trains and buses. Passenger trips during the travel rush period reached 892 million between January 7 and January 29, up 56% from 2022, a transport ministry official said, but down 46. 9% from the same period in 2019.

UK ECONOMY ONLY G7 NATION TO SHRINK IN 2023 - IMF

The UK economy will shrink and perform worse than other advanced economies as the cost of living continues to hit households, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

The IMF said the economy will contract by 0.6% in 2023, rather than grow slightly as previously predicted.

However, the IMF also said that after the Autumn Statement it thinks the UK economy is now "on the right track".

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK outperformed many forecasts last year.

In its World Economic Outlook update, the IMF, which works to stabilise economic growth, said the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would shrink rather than grow by 0.3% this year.

It predicted the UK would be the only country - across the world's advanced and emerging economies - to suffer a year of declining GDP.

The IMF said its new forecast reflected the UK's high energy prices and financial conditions, such as high inflation.

IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told the BBC that for 2022, the UK had had "fairly robust" growth at 4.1%, which he said was "one of the strongest growth numbers in Europe".

"But it is true that we are forecasting a sharp slowdown in 2023, with growth that would turn even negative for the year."

AFTER TEMPLE VANDALISM, CLASHES IN AUSTRALIA OVER PROPOSED KHALISTAN VOTE

Melbourne : Two people were injured and as many Sikh men were detained when two separate brawls broke out between supporters of Khalistan and pro-India demonstrators in the city of Melbourne during the so-called ‘Punjab independence referendum’, the police said on Monday.

India has already asked the Australian government to curb anti-India activities of the Khalistan supporters and also attacks on the Hindu temples in the country.

“Signals that pro-Khalistan elements are stepping up activities in Australia, aided and abetted by members of proscribed terrorist organisations such as the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and other inimical agencies from outside Australia, have been evident for some time,” the Indian high commission in Canberra had said earlier. SFJis a banned organisation in India.

Police in Victoria said it responded to two incidents, one at 12. 45pm and another at 4. 30pm (local time). Police had to “disperse the crowd” by using pepper spray in the second incident. “A 34-yearold man and a 39-year-old man were arrested, and each issued with a penalty notice for riotous behaviour,” it said. Asper Age newspaper, the fracas started at 4. 30pm after a group of pro-India supporters waving Indian flags arrived at the voting site. Tensions have risen within Australia’s Indian diaspora since the campaign among local secessionists intensified recently, and a spate of graffiti attacks on temples in Melbourne over the past fortnight have been reported.

THE UNMARRIED CAN LEGALLY HAVE KIDS IN CHINA PROVINCE

Beijing : Health authorities in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan will allow unmarried individuals to raise a family and enjoy benefits reserved for married couples, in the latest effort to bolster a falling birthrate.

The government dictates that only married women are legally allowed to give birth, but with marriage and birth rates having fallen to record lows in recent years, provincial authorities revamped a 2019 rule to cover singles who want to have children.

From February 15, married couples and any individuals who want offspring will be allowed to register with the government in China’s fifth most populous province. The measure aims to “promote long-term and balanced population development,” Sichuan’s health commission said. Until now, the commission had allowed only married couples who wanted to have up to two children to register with local authorities.

A nationwide registry system for couples to register with local authorities ensures maternity insurance to cover medical bills. These benefits will be extended to single women and men in Sichuan, in terms of those older than 60, or more than 21% of its population, government figures show.

JAPAN N-REACTOR SHUTS DOWN AFTER ALERT, NO RADIATION

Tokyo : A reactor at a Japanese nuclear power plant automatically shut down on Monday after an alert, but no radiation rise was detected and regulators said they were investigating the cause. The reactor at the Takahama power plant in central Fukui region halted at around 3:20 pm (0620 GMT) after an alarm warning of a rapid decrease in the number of neutrons, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA).

But the NRA said in a statement that the “reactor is cooling normally” and “there is no impact on the surrounding environment”, as no abnormalities in radioactive levels were detected. Operator Kansai Electric Power Co said it was still investigating the cause.

Fukui regional officials also said it was unclear what had caused the alarm to go off.