Gujarat | Pakistan

At least 18 people have died since Monday as torrential rains lashed parts of India’s western Gujarat, state officials said. Disaster response teams have been deployed to help residents in the south of the state, who are bracing for more heavy monsoon rainfall. “Eighteen people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents, while dozens have been rescued across low-lying areas by disaster response teams,” the state government said late on Tuesday. The worst-hit areas included Palitana and Jesar towns, which on Tuesday registered 867 millimetres of rain over the past 24 hours. State relief commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said the 18 deaths were the result of storms, lightning strikes and structural collapses due to rough weather. “The state is fully geared to handle the situation, and inter-departmental coordination is being intensified to ensure swift relief and rescue operations,” Pandey said. Those rescued included 18 farm labourers who were trapped in mango orchards in the Gadhada area and 22 people in Su...

The Foreign Office on Tuesday condemned the recent remarks towards Pakistan by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a speech in Gujarat, calling it a “reckless provocation”. The developments follow a recent military confrontation between India and Pakistan over New Delhi’s allegations against Islamabad, without evidence, about a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes in Pakistan, resulting in civilian casualties. Islamabad responded by downing five Indian jets. After intercepting drones sent by India and tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally drop their guns as a ceasefire was reached. In a video shared by Indian news outlet ANI, Modi says: “The people of Pakistan must come forward to rid their country of terrorism. Their youth will have to come forward.” He went on to say: “Live a life of peace, eat your bread or [choose my] bullet,” to applause from the cr...