Five die in car bomb suicide attack at top hotel
Quetta: An attack at a luxury hotel in Pakistan has been confirmed as a suicide car bombing, and the death toll has risen to five, police said.
The counter-terrorism department said five people were killed and about a dozen wounded in Wednesday’s attack in the car park of the Serena hotel, in the southwestern city of Quetta. Four deaths had been initially reported.
The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Prime minister Imran Khan described the bombing as “a cowardly terrorist attack”.
In a tweet, he said his nation had “made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism & we will not to allow this scourge to rise again”.
Quetta is in
Balochistan province, where secessionist groups have staged a longrunning insurgency to push for independence.
The Pakistani Taliban and so-called Islamic
State groups also have a presence there.
Minneapolis: The late rock star Prince’s sprawling Paisley Park property welcomed select fans to mark the fifth anniversary of his death.
The massive studio’s atrium opened to 1,400 people who were able to secure free reservations, while other fans paid their respects in front of a statue erected outside the front doors in the shape of his famous purple Love Symbol.
Some wore custom Prince clothes and shoes, and left flowers and other mementos as tributes to the late superstar.
A custom-made ceramic urn shaped like Paisley Park with Prince’s symbol on top was originally placed in the middle of the atrium when the pop legend’s 65,000sqft studio in suburban Minneapolis first opened as a museum in October 2016.
At the request of Prince’s family, the ashes were moved to a less prominent spot and eventually removed entirely from public view.
Wednesday was the first time the urn has returned to the atrium for display to the public.
Oslo: The Norwegian government has said it will “lend” all of its 216,000 Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses to Sweden and Iceland.
Health minister Bent Hoie said that if the use of the Astrazeneca vaccine is resumed, “we will get back the doses we lend as soon as we request it” and Iceland and Sweden
“send back the doses from their first deliveries from Astrazeneca”.
Mr Hoie also said that if the vaccine is taken out of Norway’s vaccination programme, “the doses we have been given can be donated to other countries in collaboration with the EU”.
Norway decided on March 11 to put the Astrazeneca vaccine on hold after reports of rare blood clots in a small number of vaccine recipients.
Catanzaro: Authorities have placed six hospital employees in Italy under investigation after they allegedly allowed a 67-year-old to draw more than 500,000 euros in salary over 15 years without ever working.
The prime suspect is also under investigation for alleged fraud and aggravated extortion.
Italy’s financial police said in a statement that he allegedly had someone threaten a hospital superior in 2005 to keep him on the payroll.
He was eventually officially fired in October.