Indian Sub-continent

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- A policeman and a terrorist were killed in an attack on a polio-eradication team in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, police said.

The incident happened in the Khyber district of the province, where the terrorists targeted the team when it was on its way back after taking part in a door-to-door campaign to administer polio drops to kids, the district's police said in a statement.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Ties between India and the U.S. had never looked better than they did in June, when President Joe Biden honored Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a pomp-filled state visit. The relationship was among the most consequential in the world and “more dynamic than at any time in history,” Biden declared as he stood next to Modi at a press conference.

Those ties could now face their biggest test in recent years, after U.S. prosecutors this week accused an Indian official of directing a plot to assassinate a prominent Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.

CHINYALISAUR, India, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Hope that they would be rescued soon kept workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in India strong through their 17-day ordeal, some of the men said on Wednesday after their rescue.

All 41 men, low-wage workers from some of India's poorest states, were rescued. They were taken to a specialist hospital in Rishikesh city after spending the night at a makeshift medical facility in this small Himalayan town.

Doctors said they were all doing well but would need long-term support, including monitoring for post-traumatic stress.

COLOMBO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia's national carrier would recommence flights to Sri Lanka very soon, said the Sri Lankan foreign ministry here on Wednesday.

Minister of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Alibrahim made the announcement during his visit to Sri Lanka, and the move will contribute to capturing a sizable market of Saudi travelers to Sri Lanka, said the foreign ministry in a press release.

NEW DELHI, Nov 28 (NNN-PTI) – At least four people were killed and another one was injured critically, after lightning struck them in the central India state of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.

The deaths took place on Sunday.

According to officials, heavy rains and thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning strikes lashed several parts of the state on Sunday evening.

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — Rescuers in India on Tuesday reached 41 construction workers who were trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel for over two weeks in the country’s north and started pulling them out, a local news agency reported.

One worker has been rescued so far, the report by the Press Trust of India said. The laborers are being pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes which rescuers previously pushed through dirt and rocks.

SILKYARA, India, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Rescuers on Monday brought in "rat miners" to drill through a narrow pipe and help pull out 41 construction workers trapped in a tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for more than two weeks after high-powered machines failed, officials said.

The men, low-wage workers from India's poorest states, have been stuck in the 4.5km (3 miles) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it collapsed on Nov. 12.

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has confiscated over 420 kg drugs and arrested five suspects, said an official on Monday.

The ANF spokesperson, in a statement, detailed the successful interdiction of seven drug smuggling attempts across various regions of the country. The recovered narcotics include heroin, hashish, ice, and intoxicated tablets, which were intended for distribution across Pakistan.

KABUL, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Afghan authorities will build at least 285 health centers in several provinces of Afghanistan, local TOLOnews TV channel on Saturday quoted the country's top health official as saying.

Qalandar Ibad, acting minister of public health, said the ministry is urging trained and professional doctors abroad to come back to their homeland amid a shortage of medics, the media outlet reported.

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A fire tore through a shopping mall in the southwestern Pakistani city of Karachi, killing at least 10 people and injuring 22 others, police and local officials said Saturday.

The multi-story RJ Mall is in a commercial high-rise that also houses call centers and software firms.

The fire department dispatched eight fire trucks to the scene after being alerted at 6:30 a.m, local time. Chief fire officer, Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, said the fourth floor of the building was the most affected.