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A6   WORLD NEWS
                  Tuesday 31 January 2023
            Pakistan mosque suicide bomber kills 59, wounds over 150




            By RIAZ KHAN                                                                                                        long used as its base. More
            Associated Press                                                                                                    than 300 worshippers were
            PESHAWAR,  Pakistan  (AP)                                                                                           praying in the mosque, with
            — A suicide bomber struck                                                                                           more  approaching,  when
            a  crowded  mosque  inside                                                                                          the  bomber  set  off  his  ex-
            a police compound in Pak-                                                                                           plosives vest.
            istan  on  Monday,  causing                                                                                         Many  were  injured  when
            the roof to collapse and kill-                                                                                      the  roof  came  down,  ac-
            ing at least 59 people and                                                                                          cording  to  Zafar  Khan,  a
            wounding  more  than  150                                                                                           police officer, and rescuers
            others, officials said.                                                                                             had to remove mounds of
            Most of the casualties were                                                                                         debris  to  reach  worship-
            police  officers.  It  was  not                                                                                     pers still trapped under the
            clear how the bomber was                                                                                            rubble.
            able to slip into the walled                                                                                        Meena Gul, who was in the
            compound,  which  houses                                                                                            mosque  when  the  bomb
            the police headquarters in                                                                                          went  off,  said  he  doesn’t
            the northwestern city of Pe-                                                                                        know  how  he  survived  un-
            shawar and is itself located                                                                                        hurt.  The  38-year-old  po-
            in a high-security zone with                                                                                        lice  officer  said  he  heard
            other  government  build-                                                                                           cries and screams after the
            ings.                                                                                                               blast.
            Sarbakaf    Mohmand,     a   Security officials and rescue workers gather at the site of suicide bombing, in Peshawar, Pakistan,   Mohammad   Asim,   a
            commander  for  the  Paki-   Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.                                                Associated Press  spokesman  at  the  main
            stani  Taliban,  claimed  re-                                                                                       government    hospital   in
            sponsibility  for  the  attack  condolences  to  families  ligence  officers,  including  The  militant  group,  also  Peshawar,  put  the  death
            on Twitter. The main spokes-  of  the  victims,  saying  their  the director of the counter-  known  as  Tehreek-e-Tal-  toll  at  59,  with  157  others
            man  for  the  militant  group  pain “cannot be described  terrorism wing of the coun-  iban Pakistan or TTP, is sep-  wounded.  Police  official
            was not immediately avail-   in words.”                   try’s   military-based   spy  arate from but a close ally  Siddique  Khan  the  bomb-
            able for comment.            Pakistan,  which  is  mostly  agency  Inter-Services  In-  of the Afghan Taliban. The  er  blew  himself  up  while
            “The sheer scale of the hu-  Sunni  Muslim,  has  seen  a  telligence. Security officials  TTP has waged an insurgen-  among the worshippers.
            man  tragedy  is  unimagi-   surge  in  militant  attacks  said  Monday  the  gunman  cy in Pakistan in the past 15  Senior  police  and  govern-
            nable.  This  is  no  less  than  since November, when the  was traced and killed in a  years,  seeking  stricter  en-  ment officials attended the
            an  attack  on  Pakistan,”  Pakistani  Taliban  ended  shootout  in  the  northwest  forcement  of  Islamic  laws,  funerals of 30 police officers
            tweeted    Prime   Minister  their  cease-fire  with  gov-  near the Afghan border.    the release of its members  and  arrangements  to  bury
            Shahbaz Sharif, who visited  ernment forces.              Monday’s assault on a Sun-   in   government    custody  the rest were being made.
            the  wounded  in  Peshawar  Earlier this month, in another  ni  mosque  inside  the  po-  and  a  reduction  in  the  Coffins  were  wrapped  in
            and  vowed  “stern  action”  attack claimed by the Paki-  lice facility was one of the  Pakistani  military  presence  the Pakistani flag their bod-
            against  those  behind  the  stani  Taliban,  a  gunman  deadliest  attacks  on  secu-  in  areas  of  Khyber  Pakh-  ies were later handed over
            bombing. He expressed his  shot  and  killed  two  intel-  rity forces in recent years.  tunkhwa  province  it  has  to relatives for burials. q




            Germany pledges $222 million for Brazil environment, Amazon



             FABIANO MAISONNAVE          ny  and  Norway  froze  their  “Despite  all  the  difficulties,  holds  20%  of  the  world’s  fresh water.q
             SAO  PAULO  (AP)  —  Ger-   donations.                   the  increase  in  deforesta-
             man development minister  “With the new government  tion, the land grabbing, the
             Svenja Schulze announced  and the team of President  fires, the dire state of the In-
             Monday  that  her  govern-  Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and  digenous  populations,  we
             ment  will  make  204  million  (environment) minister Ma-  see  this  as  an  opportunity
             euros  ($222  million)  avail-  rina Silva, we have a great  to reverse this whole situa-
             able for environmental pol-  chance to protect the for-  tion,”  Silva  said  during  the
             icies in Brazil.            est and to offer a new per-  press conference.
             Of this total, $38 million is a  spective to the people who  Lula,  who  took  office  in
             donation  to  the  Amazon  live there,” Schulze said.    January,  pledged  to  end
             Fund,  Schulze  told  report-  Under  Bolsonaro,  defores-  all  deforestation  by  2030.
             ers  in  capital  Brasilia.  It  is  tation  in  Brazil’s  Amazon  His  four-year  term  ends  in
             the most important interna-  reached  a  15-year  high  December 2026.
             tional cooperation effort to  as  he  dismantled  environ-  The  Amazon,  which  cov-
             preserve the Amazon rain-   mental  protection  policies  ers  an  area  twice  the  size
             forest, and is mostly funded  in favor of agribusiness ex-  of  India,  acts  as  a  buffer
             by Norway. In 2019, former  pansion.                     against  climate  change
             far-right  President  Jair  Bol-  Germany  also  pledged  to  because  its  trees  absorb
             sonaro,  who  considered  provide  $87  million  in  low-  large  amounts  of  carbon
             the  Amazon  an  internal  interest  loans  for  farmers  dioxide,  and  roughly  two-
             affair,  dissolved  the  steer-  to restore degraded areas  thirds  of  the  Amazon  rain-  Germany’s Economic Cooperation and Development Minister
             ing committee that selects  and $34 million for Amazon  forest lies in Brazil.        Svenja  Schulze,  right,  shakes  hands  with  Brazil’s  Environment
             sustainable  projects  to  fi-  states  to  protect  the  rain-  It is also the most biodiverse  Minister  Marina  Silva  after  giving  statements  to  the  press  in
             nance. In reaction, Germa-  forest.                      forest  in  the  world  and   Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.
                                                                                                                                           Associated Press
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