At least three Chinese citizens and one other person were killed on Tuesday in a suicide bombing in Pakistan that was carried out by a woman on behalf of a local separatist movement.
The woman attacked a minibus carrying staff from the Confucius Institute affiliated with Karachi University.
The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility, with the group’s spokesman Jeeyand Balouch saying it was a “self-sacrificing attack on Chinese in Karachi”.
The bombing was the group’s first by a female militant, he added.
The organisation is one of several fighting for independence for Pakistan's largest province.
Chinese people have regularly been attacked by separatists in Balochistan province, where Beijing is involved in huge infrastructure projects as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
Karachi police confirmed four people had died in the attack, including three Chinese citizens and the minibus driver.
CCTV footage broadcast by local channels showed a woman standing near the gate of the institute, inside the Karachi University grounds, as the minibus pulls up.
When it gets to within a metre, she turns her back on it and detonates a bomb strapped to her body.
The Confucius Institute is a cultural and educational programme that China operates at universities around the world.
Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif immediately condemned the attack.
“I am deeply grieved on the loss of precious lives including of our Chinese friends in the heinous attack in Karachi today,” he tweeted.
Mr Sharif took over as prime minister earlier this month after Imran Khan was ousted by a no-confidence vote. Tackling a resurgence in militancy will be one of his biggest challenges.
“I strongly condemn this cowardly act of terrorism,” Mr Sharif said. He added that “the perpetrators will surely be brought to justice".
In February, Baloch separatists staged four days of attacks across two locations in the province, killing nine soldiers.
Tensions have flared in recent years in Balochistan after an influx of Chinese investment.
China is upgrading energy links and infrastructure as part of a $54 billion programme known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, with both nations wary of security threats to the projects. Separatists have long harboured resentment against the Chinese projects in the region, saying locals do not see the benefits.
In April 2021, a suicide bomb attack at a luxury hotel hosting the Chinese ambassador in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, killed four and wounded dozens. The ambassador was unhurt.
— reporting by agencies
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Background: Chemical Weapons
