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India’s economy grew at a faster pace than expected in the last quarter of 2025 driven by solid consumer spending, data showed Friday, using a new framework that calculates economic output more accurately.Gross domestic product rose 7.8 percent in the October-to-December quarter from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the statistics ministry.While growth slipped from the 8.4 percent recorded in the previous quarter, it edged past market expectations of 7.6 percent.Aditi Nayar of ratings agency ICRA said the GDP growth number was “healthier than what we had expected”.”The moderation was expectedly driven by the agriculture and the non-manufacturing industrial sectors,” she said in a note.Friday’s reading re-affirmed India as the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is a shot in the arm for policymakers who have struggled with steep US tariffs, a falling rupee and muted consumption for most of 2025.Last year, the government claimed India had surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy.However, the data for 2025 shows India’s nominal GDP in dollar terms was still under the $4 trillion mark compared to Japan’s $4.4 trillion — indicating that while it was close, the crossover has yet to happen.Based on current numbers, India will cross the $4 trillion mark comfortably in 2026-27, India’s chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran said.”The relative ranking will also depend on other countries’ growth rates and exchange rates as well,” he said.Faced with a dimming economic outlook, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to bolster the economy by slashing income and consumption taxes which have helped rebound consumer spending in recent quarters.- Data overhaul -New Delhi also managed to secure a trade deal with Washington in early February, which boosted sentiment around the rupee but came just weeks before the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.The GDP numbers are the first data released under a revised framework that New Delhi said better captures “the realities of a fast-changing economy”.The data overhaul has seen India shift its GDP base year to 2022-23 from 2011-12 and adopt more granular price deflation to help quell concerns that earlier methods relied too heavily on the wholesale price index.Growth calculations are now also based on sources of data including India’s online tax and vehicle registration databases.The government said the new data aligns official numbers “more closely with the structure and dynamics of today’s economy”.The data revamp also sees New Delhi raising its growth projections for the current financial year that ends in March.The Indian economy is now projected to grow 7.6 percent for the full fiscal year, up from a forecast of 7.4 percent published last month, a press release from the statistics ministry said.The latest figures bring Modi closer to his goal of transforming India into a developed nation by 2047 — a target that most analysts say would require the economy to record about 8 percent growth every year until then.Analysts say New Delhi’s growth trajectory reduces the likelihood of any rate cuts from India’s central bank.”The important point from a monetary policy perspective is that the new data confirm that the economy is performing strongly,” Shilan Shah of Capital Economics said in a note.”They don’t change our view that the Reserve Bank’s easing cycle has come to an end.”

Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring the neighbours at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes.AFP reporters in Kabul and Kandahar heard blasts and jets overhead until dawn, and the Taliban government said Pakistani surveillance aircraft were flying over Afghanistan on Friday afternoon.The overnight operation was Pakistan’s most widespread bombardment of the Afghan capital and its first air strikes on the southern power base of the Taliban authorities since they returned to power in 2021.Near the key Torkham border crossing, an AFP journalist heard shelling on Friday morning, and a camp accommodating Afghans who had returned from Pakistan was hit by the fighting overnight.”Children, women, and old people were running,” Gander Khan, a 65-year-old returnee, told AFP in front of rows of tents at the Omari camp.Pakistan’s latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night in retaliation for earlier air strikes by Islamabad.Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers and captured several others, while putting the death toll among Afghan troops at 13.The head of the Pakistan military’s publicity wing, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, told reporters “274 Taliban regime members and terrorists” had been killed, for the loss of 12 Pakistani troops.Casualty claims from both sides are difficult to verify independently.- Relations plunge -Relations between the neighbours have plunged in recent months, with land border crossings largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government denies.Most of the attacks have been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group that has stepped up assaults in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power.Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared an “all-out confrontation” with the Taliban government, posting on X: “Now it is open war between us and you.”Taliban government spokesman Mujahid said Afghanistan wanted “dialogue” to resolve the conflict.”We have repeatedly emphasised a peaceful solution, and still want the problem to be resolved through dialogue,” Mujahid told a news conference, adding: “Right now, Pakistani planes, reconnaissance aircraft, are flying over Afghanistan’s airspace.”- Delicate ceasefire broken -The overnight strikes mark a “significant and dangerous escalation from earlier clashes”, South Asia expert Michael Kugelman said on X.”Pakistan appears to have expanded its targeting beyond TTP to the Taliban regime itself,” he said.Several rounds of negotiations between Islamabad and Kabul followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but the efforts have failed to produce a lasting agreement.After repeated breaches of the initial truce, Saudi Arabia intervened this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.Iran, which shares an eastern border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, offered on Friday to help “facilitate dialogue”, while the Saudi foreign minister spoke with his Pakistani counterpart and China said it was “working with” both countries while calling for calm.An AFP reporter in Kandahar, where Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based, also heard jets overnight and drones on Friday evening.- Capital streets quiet -Streets in Kabul were quiet after daybreak, in keeping with a Friday during Ramadan in the Muslim-majority nation.At the camp for returnees near Torkham, multiple civilians were wounded in a Pakistan strike, Nangarhar provincial official Qureshi Badlun said.One woman was killed and several others were hospitalised, according to provincial public health spokesman Naqibullah Rahimi.Spokesman Mujahid told AFP that several Pakistani soldiers had been “caught alive”, a claim denied by the prime minister’s office in Islamabad.The military operation follows recent Pakistan strikes on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, which the UN mission in Afghanistan said killed at least 13 civilians. Besides military operations, there has been a series of deadly suicide blasts in Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent months. They included an attack on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 40 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.The militant group’s regional chapter, Islamic State-Khorasan, also claimed a deadly suicide bombing at a restaurant in Kabul last month.burs-je/fox

Afghans who recently returned from Pakistan and residents near a key crossing expressed their fears of deadly border clashes on Friday, as smoke billowed from the mountains.AFP journalists heard shellfire and gunfire in Torkham, with Afghan soldiers heading towards the frontier after overnight bombardment by Pakistan, in a major escalation following months of tit-for-tat clashes.Fighting overnight hit a camp for Afghans who had just crossed from Pakistan, killing one and wounding several others, according to a provincial health official.Gander Khan, a 65-year-old returnee, described how “children, women and old people were running”.”I saw blood. It wounded two or three children and two or three women,” he told AFP, standing in front of rows of tents.The Torkham crossing has remained open for Afghans returning en masse from Pakistan, despite the land border being otherwise largely shut since fighting between the neighbours in October.The Omari camp accommodates returnees near the crossing and was hit by a mortar shell overnight, Nangarhar provincial official Qureshi Badlun said.Zarghon, a 44-year-old returnee who only gave one name, said two or three children went missing in the panic.”Some have left their papers, and just escaped. They didn’t even take their money, they didn’t take their aid which they received. Because of fear, everyone left,” he told AFP.In the provincial capital Jalalabad, an AFP photographer saw several women who were wounded in Omari camp receiving treatment.Naqibullah Rahimi, Nangarhar’s public health spokesman, said nine women and five men had been hospitalised.”A woman, among others wounded, passed away after she was brought to the hospital,” he told AFP.- ‘Great suffering’ -Back near the border, returnees sat in the open air after fleeing the violence.A ground offensive was launched by Afghan forces late Thursday, in what the Taliban authorities said was retaliation for deadly Pakistani air strikes days earlier.The outbreak of cross-border fighting was followed by Pakistan launching air strikes on the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the key city of Kandahar, which were heard by AFP journalists.On a Torkham roadside, resident Waqas Shinwari indicated shells being fired in the distance.”There should be peace and reconciliation on both sides, because people are in great suffering,” he told AFP.The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said it had “temporarily paused operations” at Omari camp as it assesses the situation.”Reports of a mortar impact last night… underscore the urgent need for safety, restraint, and international protection for vulnerable populations,” the agency said in a statement.Although returnees have been able to cross the frontier in recent months, the broader closure has hit Torkham residents hard.Muhammad Kareem said he and every neighbour “earns a living because of this border”.”If there is peace on this border, we can have a life. But if there is no peace on the border, then we will leave,” he told AFP.strs-rsc/ami/lga

Fast bowler Salman Mirza vowed on Friday that Pakistan will finish the Super Eights with a flourish against already-eliminated Sri Lanka, whether or not they still have hopes of reaching the semi-finals.Pakistan need England to beat New Zealand handsomely in Colombo on Friday and then post a big victory of their own against Sri Lanka on Saturday to sneak into the final four on net run rate. A New Zealand win will end Pakistan’s hopes, rendering the Sri Lanka clash in Kandy meaningless in terms of the tournament. “It’s a critical situation as reaching the semi-final is not in our control,” Mirza told reporters”But if we reach the semi-final we have the capability to do better,” Mirza said.Pakistan’s campaign started on a nervy note with a three-wicket win in a thrilling last-over finish against the Netherlands before overcoming the United States and Namibia.In between they lost heavily to India in a highly anticipated clash in Colombo.Pakistan’s first Super Eight match against New Zealand was washed out in Colombo before they lost to England and Harry Brook’s sparkling century in Kandy on Tuesday.”We needed to win the match against England and that defeat has given us this position,” said Mirza. After Brook was dismissed near the end of England’s run chase, Pakistan hit back with two wickets in the penultimate over.Mirza bowled the final over with three runs to defend and two wickets to take for victory but Jofra Archer hit the first ball for four.”I had the opportunity to become a hero in the final over, but I couldn’t grab that one,” said Mirza.”Such opportunities do not come your way every day. Had I taken two wickets we would have won that match, but it was not to be.”

Clashes near the key Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan resumed Friday, AFP journalists said, as the neighbours engaged in deadly fighting.Violence overnight hit a camp for Afghans who had just crossed from Pakistan, with several people wounded.After a lull in fighting, an AFP journalist on the Afghan side heard incoming shellfire from around 9:30 am (0500 GMT), before cross-border clashes resumed.He saw Afghan soldiers heading towards the frontier, before being told to leave the area by the security forces.A second AFP journalist said gunfire could be heard in the distance. The Torkham crossing has remained open for Afghans returning en masse from Pakistan, despite the land border being largely shut since fighting between the neighbours in October. The Omari camp that accommodates returnees near the crossing was hit by a mortar shell overnight, a Nangarhar provincial official said.”Unfortunately seven of our refugees have been wounded, and the condition of one woman is serious,” said Qureshi Badlun, Nangarhar’s information chief.Gander Khan, a 65-year-old returnee, described how “children, women, and old people were running”.”I saw blood, it wounded two or three children, and two or three women,” he told AFP, standing in front of rows of tents.Zarghon, a 44-year-old returnee who only gave one name, said two or three children went missing in the panic.”Some have left their papers, and just escaped. They didn’t even take their money, they didn’t take their aid which they received. Because of fear, everyone left,” he told AFP.In the provincial capital Jalalabad, an AFP photographer saw several women who were wounded in Omari camp receiving treatment.Afghan forces launched a border offensive against Pakistani troops late Thursday, in what the Taliban authorities said was retaliation for deadly Pakistani air strikes days earlier.The outbreak of cross-border fighting was followed by Pakistan launching air strikes on the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the key city of Kandahar, which were heard by AFP journalists.strs-rsc/fox

Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring the neighbours at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes.AFP reporters in Kabul and Kandahar heard blasts and jets overhead until dawn, as Pakistan launched air strikes on the Afghan capital and the southern power base of the Taliban authorities.Near the key Torkham border crossing between the two countries, an AFP journalist heard shelling from around 9:30 am (0500 GMT) on Friday, and a camp accommodating Afghans returning en masse from Pakistan was hit by the fighting overnight.”Children, women, and old people were running,” Gander Khan, a 65-year-old returnee, told AFP in front of rows of tents at the Omari camp.Pakistan’s latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night over earlier air strikes by Islamabad.Relations between the neighbours have plunged in recent months, with land border crossings largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government denies.Most of the attacks have been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group that has stepped up assaults in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.”Afghan Taliban defence targets were targeted in Kabul, Paktia (province) and Kandahar,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X, while defence minister Khawaja Asif declared an “all-out confrontation” with the Taliban government.”Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you,” he posted.- Delicate ceasefire broken -The overnight strikes mark a “significant and dangerous escalation from earlier clashes”, South Asia expert Michael Kugelman said on X.”Pakistan appears to have expanded its targeting beyond TTP to the Taliban regime itself,” he said.Several rounds of negotiations between Islamabad and Kabul followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but the efforts have failed to produce a lasting agreement.After repeated breaches of the initial truce, Saudi Arabia intervened this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.Saudi’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, spoke on Friday with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, according to a statement published by Riyadh.And Iran, which shares an eastern border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, on Friday offered to help “facilitate dialogue” to resolve the conflict.Both Afghan and Pakistani militaries said they killed dozens of soldiers in the latest round of border violence, which followed multiple strikes by Islamabad on Afghanistan and clashes along the frontier in recent months.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country’s armed forces can “have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions”.- Jets overhead -In the Afghan capital AFP journalists heard jets and multiple loud blasts, followed by gunfire, over a period of several hours.An AFP reporter in Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar, where Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based, said he heard jets overhead.Streets in Kabul were quiet after daybreak, in keeping with a Friday during Ramadan in the Muslim-majority nation, with authorities not notably increasing the presence of security forces or checkpoints.The Taliban government confirmed the Pakistani air strikes, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying there were no casualties.Hours earlier, Mujahid announced “large-scale offensive operations” at the border “in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military”.The Afghan defence ministry reported eight of its soldiers had been killed in the land offensive.At the camp for returnees near Torkham, multiple civilians were wounded in a Pakistani strike, an Afghan official reported.”A mortar shell has hit the camp and unfortunately seven of our refugees have been wounded, and the condition of one woman is serious,” said Qureshi Badlun, the information chief in Nangarhar province.While the border has largely been closed since October, Afghan returnees have been allowed to cross.- Months of border violence -Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesman, told AFP that several Pakistani soldiers had been “caught alive”, a claim denied by the prime minister’s office in Islamabad.The military operation follows Pakistani strikes on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces overnight into Sunday, which the UN mission in Afghanistan said killed at least 13 civilians. Both sides also reported cross-border fire on Tuesday, but without casualties.Besides military operations, there has been a series of deadly suicide blasts in Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent months. They included an attack on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 40 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.The militant group’s regional chapter, Islamic State-Khorasan, also claimed a deadly suicide bombing at a restaurant in Kabul last month.burs-je/mjw

Nepali student leader-turned-politician Gagan Thapa has sought to rejuvenate his party’s stale image, campaigning on generational change ahead of the Himalayan nation’s first elections since a deadly youth-led uprising.”We need energy for Nepal’s change,” the 49-year-old aspiring prime minister told AFP, saying his candidacy represented a break from decades of rule by a tight-knit and ageing elite.The country of 30 million people will head to the polls on Thursday, following a wave of protests in September in which 77 people were killed, and parliament and hundreds of other buildings were torched.The protests toppled Marxist leader KP Sharma Oli’s government, in which Thapa’s centrist Nepali Congress party had the biggest share of seats.Thapa’s home and party office were among the buildings set alight during the two days of violence last year.He has since led an internal revolt and was elected party leader in January, ending the decade-long grip of former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, 79, who had defied calls for reform.Thapa, a former health minister, said he offered “the right mix of energy and experience.””We had to change the leadership of major parties,” he said, including Congress — the country’s oldest and one of the three dominant political powers that have given Nepal nearly all its prime ministers in recent history.”For decades, two to three old-aged men were running it like a club, dominating and slowly limiting our democracy by power sharing with each other,” Thapa said.”That devastated our governance.”- ‘Work together’-Thapa was drawn into politics as a teenager in the 1980s, when leftist and communist parties led a popular movement against absolute monarchy, giving rise to multi-party democracy since 1990.As civil war reshaped the country in 1996-2006, pitting Maoist guerrillas against the monarchy, he rose through the ranks of pro-democracy student groups linked to the Nepali Congress.”The sense of gratification I felt when we rallied around an agenda and got results made me feel like this is what I want,” Thapa said of his start as a student activist.”People have problems — pick them up and solve them. That gravitated me towards politics.”In 2006, when a popular uprising forced the king to abdicate, Thapa was already a prominent figure in the pro-democracy movement and had been jailed several times for his role in street protests.Two years later he entered parliament as one of its youngest members, and has since won re-election three times from a Kathmandu constituency.But this time, Thapa has chosen to run from Sarlahi, mainly a farming district southeast of the capital, on the plains bordering India.”A large proportion of Nepal’s population live here, and they have long felt excluded,” he said.”If I represent this region, it helps my party electorally. But in the long term, it gives me the foundation to lead all of Nepal.”His party’s manifesto prioritises political and economic reform, pledging to create 1.2 million jobs in five years.Analysts expect no single party to win an outright majority in parliament, likely leading to a coalition government.”We will have to work together,” Thapa said. “If I get a chance to be in a leadership role, I believe in teamwork. We can fulfil the demands made during the Gen Z protest only through teamwork.”

As dengue surges globally, an Indian vaccine candidate has entered the final stage of testing, raising hopes for one of the world’s first single-dose shots against the deadly mosquito-borne disease.Dengue, which causes severe flu-like symptoms and debilitating body aches, has exploded globally, fuelled by rising temperatures and densely populated cities. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that almost half the world’s population is now at risk, with 100–400 million infections every year. India alone has recorded over one million cases and at least 1,500 deaths since 2021.Hoping to stem the global epidemic, Panacea Biotec has begun final Phase III trials of its vaccine, DengiAll, which has been pursuing for nearly 15 years. More than 10,000 volunteers across the country are enrolled in the study, overseen by the Indian Council of Medical Research, with the vaccine on track for rollout as early as next year if the trial results are favourable.”We will try to get this vaccine out there as soon as possible,” Syed Khalid Ali, chief scientific officer of Panacea, told AFP in New Delhi.Doctor Ekta Gupta, professor of clinical virology at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in New Delhi, said dengue was now considered hyperendemic in India, with all four virus serotypes circulating simultaneously.”This vaccine is very much needed right now to control the occurrence of these cases, or at least prevent the severity.”- Climate change -Monsoon outbreaks regularly push Indian hospitals to their limits, crowding urban wards and leaving rural regions grappling with late diagnoses and poor access to care.Higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns create ideal conditions for Aedes mosquitoes — the vectors of dengue — to reproduce and spread the virus.Children are particularly vulnerable to the more severe form, called dengue hemorrhagic fever, as they are more likely to suffer low platelet counts and shock.Participants in Phase III trials, which started in 2024, were randomly assigned to receive either the vaccine or a placebo, with the results expected later this year.Vaccines against all four dengue serotypes have long posed a scientific challenge. Immunity to one strain does not protect against others, and secondary infections can be more severe. Most existing candidates require multiple doses.If approved, DengiAll would become one of the world’s first single-dose dengue vaccines, following Brazil’s approval of a similar shot last year.It would also be the first such vaccine available in India, where no dengue shot is currently licensed for public use.”We will be the second (single-dose) vaccine to come out… But in India and several lower-middle-income countries, we will be the first ones to roll out the dengue vaccine,” Ali said.The candidate is based on a tetravalent strain originally developed by the US National Institutes of Health. – ‘Hope for future’ -Panacea is the most advanced of three Indian firms licensed to use the strain, having developed its own formulation and secured a process patent.Inside the company’s research labs, doctor Priyanka Priyadarsiny, head of biological R&D, said vaccine development involves several steps, from proof-of-concept studies to regulatory checks. “We are extremely cautious about purity, safety and adverse effects,” she said. “Only after meeting regulatory specifications can a product be considered safe for public use.”At present, the WHO recommends only one dengue vaccine, Qdenga, produced by Japan’s Takeda for children aged six to 16 in high-transmission settings. Qdenga, which requires two doses administered three months apart, is not currently available in India.Ali said DengiAll could be given to people aged one to 60 and is expected to offer long-term protection.In India, final approval would come from the Drug Controller General of India, while WHO prequalification would be required for large-scale international use.Experts say a successful Indian-made vaccine could be key to affordability and mass rollout in lower-income countries. Virologist and Oxford University fellow Shahid Jameel — who is not connected with the trial warned dengue incidence could rise by 50–75 percent by 2050 under current climate change trends.Still, he cautioned that only Phase III results would determine whether a candidate meets the criteria for a safe and effective dengue vaccine.”Phase III testing and follow-up are needed to show if the above conditions are met,” he told AFP. “Only then can we have a useful dengue vaccine. It is still early days, but there is hope for the future.”

Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring the neighbours at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes.Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night in what the Taliban government said was retaliation for earlier deadly air strikes, while AFP journalists in Kabul and Kandahar heard blasts and jets overhead.Relations between the neighbours have plunged in recent months, with land border crossings largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government denies. Several rounds of negotiations followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but the efforts have failed to produce a lasting agreement.Both militaries said they killed dozens of soldiers in the latest round of border violence, which followed multiple Pakistani strikes on Afghanistan and clashes along the frontier in recent months.”Afghan Taliban defence targets were targeted in Kabul, Paktia (province) and Kandahar,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X, while defence minister Khawaja Asif declared an “all-out confrontation” with the Taliban government.”Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you,” he posted on the social media platform. – Jets overhead -In the Afghan capital AFP journalists heard jets and multiple loud blasts, followed by gunfire, over a period of more than two hours.An AFP reporter in Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar, where Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based, said he heard jets overhead. The Taliban government confirmed the Pakistani air strikes, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying there were no casualties. Hours earlier, Mujahid announced “large-scale offensive operations” at the border “in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military”.The Afghan defence ministry reported eight of its soldiers had been killed in the land offensive.An Afghan official reported multiple civilians wounded near the Torkham border crossing, at a camp for people returning from Pakistan. “A mortar shell has hit the camp and unfortunately seven of our refugees have been wounded, and the condition of one woman is serious,” said Qureshi Badlun, the information chief in Nangarhar province.While the border has largely been closed since October, Afghan returnees have been allowed to cross. – Months of border violence -Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesman, told AFP that several Pakistani soldiers had been “caught alive”, a claim denied by the prime minister’s office in Islamabad.The military operation follows Pakistani strikes on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces overnight into Sunday, which the UN mission in Afghanistan said killed at least 13 civilians. The Taliban government said at least 18 people were killed and denied Pakistan’s announcement that the military operation left more than 80 militants dead.  Both sides also reported cross-border fire on Tuesday, but without casualties. After repeated breaches of the initial ceasefire, Saudi Arabia intervened this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.burs-je/hmn

Defending champions India thrashed Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their Super Eights T20 World Cup match on Thursday, a result that guaranteed South Africa a place in the semi-finals.India posted a mammoth 256-4 and then restricted Zimbabwe to 184-6 in Chennai to make their clash with West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday a winner-takes-all decider for the last semi-final berth.South Africa hammered the West Indies by nine wickets earlier in Ahmedabad.At Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram stadium, opener Abhishek Sharma blasted 55 and Hardik Pandya an unbeaten 50 as India piled up the second highest total in the history of the tournament after being invited to bat first.”I think we wanted to leave everything behind. We didn’t think too much about what we did in the league stage or in the last game in Ahmedabad,” said India captain Suryakumar Yadav.”With contributions from the top order right down to number seven, I think there was hardly anything missing in our performance.He said they had not thought about what is now a knockout match against the West Indies on Sunday.”Once we reach Kolkata, we’ll sit down and plan properly for that game,” Suryakumar said. “For now, it’s about taking a day off, travelling, and relaxing.”Zimbabwe, who stunned Australia and Sri Lanka to reach the Super Eights, were never in the chase despite a brisk start as the asking rate kept rising.Opener Brian Bennett was not out 97, the highest individual score by a Zimbabwean in T20 World Cup history, as his side exited the semi-final reckoning with a game still to play.India’s left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh took 3-24 from his four overs.- ‘Willing to improve’ -“We are also a work in progress,” said Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza.”We have a lot of youngsters, most of them are playing their first World Cup, first time ever in India for us. “Not that I want to use that as an excuse, but certainly the lessons from the last game, from a batting point of view, I thought we took them really well. “And you can see how quickly these boys are willing to improve and they showed up today.” Zimbabwe’s bowlers conceded 510 runs in 40 overs in two Super Eights matches after West Indies posted 254-6 against the tournament’s surprise packages on Monday.Raza won the toss and opted to field for the second match running, and again saw his bowlers flogged to all parts.Left-handed Abhishek, who had struggled with three ducks in four innings in this tournament, hit four fours and four sixes to return to form.Pandya and left-handed Tilak Varma, who hit a 16-ball 44, put on an unbeaten stand of 84 at the end, but India came up just short of the T20 World Cup record score of 260-6 made by Sri Lanka against Kenya in 2007.Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson returned to the team to break the left-handed opening combination of Abhishek and Ishan Kishan and handed India a flying start.Samson fell for 24 off Blessing Muzarabani but Abhishek kept up the charge, reaching his fifty off 26 balls in a 72-run stand with Kishan (38).Abhishek fell to Tinotenda Maposa, caught at long-on, but his knock laid the platform for a big total. Skipper Suryakumar hit 33 off 13 balls.Pandya finished with a flourish with two sixes off Brad Evans to get to 50 on the final ball of the innings.