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“As a Sukhoi Su-34 air force plane was flying over the city of Belgorod there was an accidental discharge of aviation ammunition,” the defence ministry said, according to Tass. FILE: In this photo taken from video released by Russian TV Pool, Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) visits Mariupol in Russian-controlled Donetsk region in Ukraine. A Russian warplane accidentally discharged a weapon that exploded in the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the Ukrainian border, late Thursday night, causing an explosion and injuring several people, Politico, quoting state media, reports. “At around 22:15 Moscow time on April 20, when a Su-34 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces was performing a flight above the city of Belgorod, an emergency release of an air ordnance occurred,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement to TASS, which didn’t specify the weapon that caused the damage, the report said. The Sukhoi Su-34 is a supersonic fighter-bomber jet. Late on Thursday, local autho

"Today was the 32nd day of the tulip show. More than 3.7 lakh tourists have visited the tulip garden so far, of whom more than three lakh were domestic tourists. The response of foreign tourists has also been very good as more than 3,000 of them visited the garden," Mr Rehman said on Friday.                 Srinagar's renowned Tulip Garden has set a new record for number of tourist visits. Srinagar: The fame of Asia's largest tulip garden, situated on the banks of the Dal lake in Srinagar, has reached far-away countries like Argentina as a record 3.7 lakh tourists, including foreigners, visited it this season. The Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden, which was earlier known as Siraj Bagh, has drawn tourists from all over the country and abroad, Inam-ur Rehman, the in-charge of the garden, told Press Trust of India. "Today was the 32nd day of the tulip show. More than 3.7 lakh tourists have visited the tulip garden so far, of whom more than three lakh were domestic tourist

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's visit to India will be the first visit by any Pakistani Foreign Minister since Hina Rabbani Khar in 2011.  Bilawal Bhutto will visit India in May. Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that his participation in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council in India reflected Islamabad's commitment to the charter of the SCO and should not be seen in terms of bilateral ties. Responding to a question on a programme on Dunya News aired on Thursday, he said he would represent Pakistan at the Foreign Ministers meeting to be held in Goa next month. "We are committed to the SCO charter and this visit should not be seen as a bilateral one but in the context of the SCO," Mr Bhutto-Zardari said. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that Bhutto-Zardari will lead the Pakistani delegation to the meeting of SCO foreign ministers (CFM) scheduled to be held on May 4-5 in Goa. Pakistan Foreign Office Spoke

Khartoum has seen some of the fiercest fightings with air strikes and tanks firing, with most of its five million people sheltering at home in baking heat without electricity, food or water.  An aerial view of black smoke rising above the Khartoum International Airport amid ongoing battles between the forces of two rival generals. KHARTOUM: Sudan's warring forces battled Friday with heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country, as they ignored appeals by world powers for an end-of-Ramadan ceasefire. More than 300 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who is commonly known as Hemeti. The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said that overnight, as the Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the Muslim Ramadan month of fast

Existing driving licence holders can also convert to the new smart cards by paying Rs 200  and postal charges.                                                                Transport Minister Antony Raju THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the new smart driving licence made of PVC PETG on Thursday. The old laminated cards will be replaced by new cards with seven security features. The smart cards will be available to both new applicants and holders of old driving licences. At the launch event, Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil and V K Prasanth MLA were given smart cards by the Chief Minister. Transport Minister Antony Raju, who presided over the function, announced that the department will start issuing registration certificates (RC) as smart cards from May onwards. Existing driving licence holders can also convert to the new smart cards by paying Rs 200 and postal charges. The discounted price is only valid for a year, after which the licence holders will have

"The UN is doing its bit talking to everybody. We of course have obviously very strong interest in the matter because so many Indians are there," Jaishankar said. India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York.  UNITED NATIONS: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday discussed the worsening situation in Sudan with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and underscored the need for "successful diplomacy" which can lead to an early ceasefire and create the ground situation for the safety and welfare of people. Jaishankar, who met Guterres at the UN headquarters here, also discussed other issues, including India's presidency of the G20 and the Ukraine conflict, with the UN chief. "Good to meet UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres in New York today afternoon. Discussed the current developments in Sudan, G20 Presidency and Ukraine," he tweeted. "Focus understandably was on S

The deceased was identified as Saiesh Veera and the incident happened in Columbus division of the state on Thursday, they said. Saiesh Veera, 24, was shot a killed at a Franklinton gas station where he worked on April 20, 2023. AMARAVATI: A 24-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh, who was pursuing Masters degree in the United States, died of gunshot wounds in a reported shooting there at a fuel station where the victim was working, according to police in the US state of Ohio. The deceased was identified as Saiesh Veera and the incident happened in Columbus division of the state on Thursday, they said. According to media reports, Veera was a native of Andhra Pradesh. "On April 20, 2023, at 12:50 AM, Columbus Police officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of W.Broad St.on a reported shooting. Upon arrival, the officers located an adult male victim, identified as Saiesh Veera, M/O/24, suffering from a gunshot wound," the police said in a notification. Columbus Fire service person

An international crowd had been gathering for days, camping in tents and trailers on a red, dusty plain on the edge of town with cameras and other viewing equipment pointed skyward. The sun and moon are photographed near Exmouth, Australia, during a solar eclipse on Thursday, April 20, 2023. JAKARTA: Under a cloudless sky, 20,000 eclipse chasers crowded a tiny outpost to watch a rare solar eclipse plunge part of Australia's northwest coast into brief midday darkness Thursday while temporarily cooling the tropical heat. The remote tourist town of Exmouth, with fewer than 3,000 residents, was promoted as one of the best vantage points in Australia to see the eclipse that also crossed remote parts of Indonesia and East Timor. An international crowd had been gathering for days, camping in tents and trailers on a red, dusty plain on the edge of town with cameras and other viewing equipment pointed skyward. NASA astronomer Henry Throop was among those at Exmouth cheering loudly in the

Elon Musk's company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border.  SpaceX's Starship launches from Boca Chica, Texas. The giant rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on it first test flight and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, April 20, 2023. SOUTH PADRE ISLAND: SpaceX's giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on its first test flight Thursday and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Elon Musk's company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. It carried no people or satellites. Images showed several of the 33 main engines were not firing as the rocket climbed from the launch pad, reaching as high as 24 miles (39 kilometers). There was no immediate word from SpaceX on how many engines failed to ignite or shut down prematurely. The booster was supposed to

The entire area has been cordoned off while drones and sniffer dogs are being used to sniff out the terrorists that might be hiding in the area. An army vehicle in flames after a terror attack in Mendhar in Poonch district, Thursday, April 20, 2023.  POONCH: Security forces have launched a massive search operation in the dense forests of the Bata-Doriya area after a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch killed five Indian Army personnel and injured one, officials said on Friday. The entire area has been cordoned off while drones and sniffer dogs are being used to sniff out the terrorists that might be hiding in the area, they said. Officials said that a high alert has been sounded in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch amid close vigil along the Line of Control. Traffic on the Bhimber Gali-Poonch road was stopped following the incident and people have been advised to go to Poonch via Mendhar, they said. According to officials, an NIA team will visit the site