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Pakistan railway bomb blast kills at least 25

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Dozens of people were waiting to board the Jaffar Express, a popular morning train service [BBC]

Authorities say at least 25 people have been killed after a bomb exploded at a railway station in Pakistan’s south-western Balochistan province.

Dozens of others were injured in the blast, which happened as a popular morning train was about to leave Quetta station in southwestern Pakistan for Peshawar.

A separatist militant group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, said it carried out what police are deeming a suicide attack.

There has been a recent surge in deadly attacks in the province, driven by demands for independence and control over local resources.

The city’s commissioner said that the suicide bomber was among the dead, while about 50 others were injured in the blast.

Senior police official Muhammad Baloch said the explosion was thought to have been caused by a suicide bomber carrying 6-8kg of explosives. The dead and injured included both civilians and military personnel, he told the BBC.

Videos shared on social media appear to show the moment the explosion happened on Saturday morning, with dozens of people visible at the platform.

There is also footage circulating of the aftermath, showing a number of injured people and debris spread across the station.

EPA Relatives of the victims of a blast at a railway station hug as they wait at a hospital, in Quetta, the provincial capital of restive Balochistan province, Pakistan
About 200 people were at Quetta station when the explosion happened [BBC]

Abdul Jabbar was among the injured brought to the Civil Hospital. He said that he was entering the station, having purchased a ticket from the booking office, when the explosion happened.  “I can’t describe the horror I faced today, it was like a judgement day has come,” he said.

Muhammad Sohail arrived soon after the explosion had happened to catch his train to Multan, in Punjab province. “Everything was destroyed at the station, and people were laying down on the ground screaming for help,” he said.

The Baloch Liberation Army, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said in a statement released on social media that it had targeted a Pakistan military unit that was returning from Quetta after completing a training course.

Police later confirmed 14 soldiers were among the dead.

The chief minister of Balochistan called the act deplorable and the perpetrators “worse than animals”. Mir Sarfraz Bugti said the authorities would pursue them and “bring them to their logical end”.

The speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, condemned the blast, saying those responsible were the “enemies of humanity”.

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province and the richest in terms of natural resources, but it is the least developed.

The region shares a volatile border with Iran and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and also boasts a vast coastline along the Arabian Sea.

In August, at least 73 people were killed in a series of attacks – which the Baloch Liberation Army also claimed responsibility for – targeting police stations, railway lines and highways, according to Reuters.

The militant separatist group has been waging a decades-long insurgency to gain independence for the region from Pakistan.

A map showing the country of Pakistan, its capital city Lahore, the province of Balochistan and the city of Quetta, where a blast took place at a train station

[BBC]



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Foreign News

British man killed by president’s convoy in Kenya hit-and-run

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Edgar Charles Frederick was hit on Nairobi's busy Ngong Road [BBC]

A British man has been killed in a hit-and-run incident involving a vehicle in the motorcade of Kenyan President William Ruto.

The man, who has been named as 79-year-old Edgar Charles Frederick, died on Thursday after being struck in the accident on a main road in the capital, Nairobi.

Police detained a driver, who has since been released on bail.

They say he was driving a support vehicle that was travelling as part of President Ruto’s official convoy of cars.

Police spokesman Michael Muchiri told the BBC that Mr Frederick had been visiting Kenya to see his sister and nephew who are residents of the country.

The victim’s next-of-kin have been informed, and a post-mortem is likely to be conducted later on Friday.

The police said the driver, who failed to stop after the incident, would appear in court following an investigation.

A spokesperson for the UK High Commission said officials were aware of the reports and were seeking more information.

Videos posted on social media show a man in blue jeans and a light-coloured shirt lying bleeding on the road outside a busy shopping area.

Other pictures show the victim covered in a checked shawl, known locally as a Maasai Shuka.

Mr Muchiri told the BBC the vehicle belonged to the regional administration and was providing support to the presidential detail.

President Ruto held events in the vicinity of the scene on Thursday as part of ongoing political engagements with the public in the capital.

[BBC]

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Hotpot chain compensates diners after teenagers urinate in soup

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Haidilaon is the world's best-known Chinese hotpot chain [BBC]

China’s biggest hotpot chain Haidilao has offered to compensate more than 4,000 diners who visited one of its Shanghai branches, where two teens urinated into their hotpot broth.

A video of the boys peeing into their broth pot while dining in a private room was widely shared online last month. It is not clear who might have filmed the incident.

Police said the 17-year-olds, who were drunk at the time, were detained soon after the incident.

There is no suggestion anyone consumed the affected broth. Haidilao has apologised to customers, saying it has replaced all hotpot equipment and dining utensils, as well as disinfecting other crockery and utensils.

The incident happened late in February, though the company’s management only found out about it days later, after videos circulated on social media.

Haidilao said the staff on duty at the time had failed to stop the teens.

It took another week to find out which outlet it was, the company said, as it has dozens of outlets in the city.

Diners in Haidilao use their own personal hotpot equipment to cook their food, and broths are not re-used again for other customers. However, it is unclear in this case if the hotpot in question was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before it was used by the next customer.

“We fully understand that the distress caused to our customers by this incident cannot be fully compensated for by any means, but we will do our utmost to take responsibility,” the company said in a statement.

Haidilao said customers who dined at the outlet between 24 February and 8 March will receive a full refund, followed by cash compensation that is 10 times the amount they were billed.

The company has expanded quickly since it opened its first restaurant in Jianyang in Sichuan province. It now operates more than 1,000 restaurants across the world.

Haidilao is known for its customer service and family-friendly atmosphere, where ladies can receive manicures and kids are treated to candy floss while waiting for a table.

[BBC]

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Thousands celebrate a chief who will only rule for eight years

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[pic BBC]

Thousands of people have been gathering in southern Ethiopia for one of the country’s biggest cultural events.

The week-long Gada ceremony, which ended on Sunday, sees the official transfer of power from one customary ruler to his successor – something that happens every eight years.

The tradition of regularly appointing a new Abbaa Gadaa has been practised by the Borana community for centuries – and sees them gather at the rural site of Arda Jila Badhasa, near the Ethiopian town of Arero.

It is a time to celebrate their special form of democracy as well as their cultural heritage, with each age group taking the opportunity to wear their different traditional outfits.

These are paraded the day before the official handover during a procession when married women march with wooden batons, called “siinqee”.

Amensisa Ifa / BBC Women carry carved wooden sticks and march in matching red clothes.
[BBC]

The batons have symbolic values of protection for women, who use them during conflict.

If a siinqee stick is placed on the ground by a married woman between two quarrelling parties, it means the conflict must stop immediately out of respect.

During the procession, younger women lead at the front, distinguished from the married women by the different colour of their clothing.

Amensisa Ifa / BBC Young women lead the other women. They are dressed in purples and blacks. They do not carry sticks, unlike the married women.
[BBC]

In this pastoralist society women are excluded from holding the top power of Abbaa Gadaa, sitting on the council of elders or being initiated into the system as a child.

But their important role can be seen during the festival as they build all the accommodation for those staying for the week – and prepare all the food.

And the unique Gada system of governance, which was added to the UN’s cultural heritage list in 2016, allows for them to attend regular community meetings and to voice their opinions to the Abbaa Gadaa.

Amensisa Ifa / BBC Borana women in southern Ethiopia building huts from wood, mud and straw
[BBC]

Gada membership is only open to boys whose fathers are already members – young initiates have their heads shaven at the crown to make their rank clear.

The smaller the circle, the older he is.

Amensisa Ifa / BBC A circle is shaved into the back of a young man's hair.
[BBC]

As the global cultural body UNESCO reports, oral historians teach young initiates about “history, laws, rituals, time reckoning, cosmology, myths, rules of conduct, and the function of the Gada system”.

Training for boys begins as young as eight years old.  Later, they will be assessed for their potential as future leaders.

Amensisa Ifa / BBC An elder wears a headdress and carries items that indicate his status.
[BBC]

As they grow up, tests include walking long distances barefoot, slaughtering cattle efficiently and showing kindness to fellow initiates.

Headpieces made from cowrie shells are traditionally worn by young trainees. The only other people allowed to wear them are elderly women.

Both groups are revered by Borana community members.

Amensisa Ifa / BBC A mother puts a cowrie-shell headpiece on her son for the festivities.
[BBC]

Men aged between 28 and 32 are identified by the ostrich feathers they wear, which are known in the Afaan Oromo language as “baalli”.

Their attendance at the Gada ceremony is an opportunity to learn, prepare and bond as it is already known who the Abbaa Gadaa from this age group will be taking power in 2033.

Amensisa Ifa / BBC Young men wear feathers in their hair to show their status as initiates.
[BBC]

The main event at the recent Gada ceremony was the handover of power, from the outgoing 48-year-old Abbaa Gadaa to his younger successor.

Well-wishers crossed the border from Kenya and others travelled from as far as Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, to witness the spectacle. The governor of Kenya’s Marsabit county was among the honoured guests.

Thirty-seven-year-old Guyo Boru Guyo, seen here holding a spear, was chosen to lead because he impressed the council of elders during his teenage years.

Amensisa Ifa / BBC A man in a white robe carries a spear.
[BBC]

He becomes the 72nd Abbaa Gadaa and will now oversee the Borana community across borders – in southern Ethiopia and north-western Kenya.

As their top diplomat, he will also be responsible for solving feuds that rear their heads for pastoralists. These often involve cattle raiding and disputes over access to water in this drought-prone region.

During his eight years at the helm, his successor will finish his training to take on the job in continuation of this generations-old tradition.

[BBC]

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