Iran and Pakistan to create a joint ‘reaction force’ on the border between the two countries, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said.

The announcement came during a two-day visit to Iran by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the first of his tenure.

Iran and Pakistan share a 959km land border. Tehran has been complaining for years about recurring attacks by Pakistani militants on Iranian security forces, with the latest episode reported in February.

The future force, which was announced by the two leaders during a joint media conference after a meeting, is intended to boost border security and foster bilateral ties.

The remote border area has many mountains and is difficult to control. Extremist groups, based on both sides of the border, have been causing trouble for Iranians for quite some time, but Pakistani authorities see them as a problem as well, Vladimir Sazhin, senior research fellow at Russia’s Institute for Oriental Studies, told RT. So it’s quite natural for the two nations to coordinate their efforts in this area.

“Both sides would benefit from it,” he said. “I don’t expect it to be a separate force per se but rather a mechanism for sharing intelligence on what is happening in the area… Iranian border forces won’t tolerate a Pakistani command and Pakistani forces won’t tolerate an Iranian command. It will be a consultative body, I believe.”

Iran and Pakistan have a good foundation of past cooperation to build upon in boosting border security, said Dr. Khuram Iqbal, a terrorism expert and an assistant professor at the National Defense University in Islamabad.

“Both countries have the will to act jointly to deal with the issue of cross-border terrorism. It has happened in the past. When militant organizations conducted attacks inside Iran, Iran shared actionable intelligence with Pakistan. Pakistan acted swiftly and helped Iran to nab the culprits,” he told RT.

One better-publicized example is the capturing of the commander of the Jundallah group, Abdolmalek Rigi, in 2010. He was arrested by Pakistani authorities and handed over to Iran, Iqbal said. Another more recent example was the rescue of five abducted Iranian border guards by Pakistani forces last year. The Pakistanis acted on intelligence provided by Iran, the expert said.

In addition to local insurgency, the border area also serves as a major conduit for trafficking of various sorts, said Iftikhar Lodhi, assistant professor at Nazarbayev University’s Graduate School of Public Policy. Some of it is purely criminal in nature, dealing in drugs or humans. Some has political component in the sense that the area is used by militants to travel between Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

“Any effective control of the border would require a highly significant amount of human and financial resources which both countries can’t afford,” he said.

The February suicide bombing attack killed 27 members of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province. Rouhani last month demanded decisive actions from Pakistan to crack down on “anti-Iranian terrorists” on its territory.

The Sunni jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which Tehran accused of perpetrating the bombing against its armed forces, is blamed by Pakistan for targeting its troops in its own Balochistan province last week. The attackers killed 14 members of the security forces. Pakistani officials said the group’s base of support extends into the Iranian border territory where the militants have “training and logistic camps”.

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Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has secured an impressive victory against incumbent president Petro Poroshenko in Sunday’s run-off, the first official results confirm.

The 41-year-old showman secured over 73 percent of the vote, the Central Election Commission’s latest data shows, with 75 percent of the ballots counted. Poroshenko only managed to rake up a bit over 24 percent of support in the second round of the presidential race, as Ukrainians overwhelmingly turned away from his policies, which have perpetuated the war in Donbass and plunged millions into poverty.

While the final results of the election might not be announced until April 30, the outgoing president has already conceded defeat, consenting to a peaceful transition of power in the country.

In his victory speech, Zelensky promised to ‘reboot’ the Minsk process but at the same time to launch a ‘powerful information war’ to eventually achieve a long-lasting peace in the east of the county. The comedian, who made a name for himself through a parody of corrupt officials, promised to introduce new faces to key government positions.

A number of countries, including the US, have already welcomed the victory of the so-called ‘servant of the people’, while Russia showed cautious optimism about the newcomer, stressing that Zelensky has a chance to show “understanding of the need to unite the people, not on the basis of force, but on the basis of a national agenda.”

At least 290 people were killed in a series of blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, updated casualty figures confirm. The government plans to hold a security council meeting to assess the threat level in the country.

In addition, around 500 people received various injuries when eight coordinated blasts struck churches and hotels in the country, as thousands celebrated Easter Sunday, police said on Monday morning, updating the body count from 207 to 290 victims.

At least 32 foreigners were among those killed. They included American, British, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese nationals.

So far security forces have identified and detained 24 suspects allegedly connected with the bombings, which targeted three churches and four luxury hotels. The eighth blast went off inside a house during a security operation later in the afternoon. Three police officers were killed in that explosion. A ninth bomb, apparently targeting Colombo’s international airport, was destroyed in a controlled explosion later in the day.

Even though a curfew, introduced in the wake of the unprecedented terror spree, was lifted on Monday, tight security measures remained in place, with armed military personnel deployed. So far there have been no claims of responsibility for the attacks.

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Indian and Russian warships have arrived at Chinese shores to take part in celebrations and a parade, marking the 70th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and showcasing the forces of a dozen naval powers.

A stealth guided-missile destroyer of the Indian Navy, INS Kolkata, accompanied by tanker INS Shakti, reached the port city of Qingdao on Sunday to take part in the four-day celebration commemorating the founding of the Chinese Navy.

“We bring to you one of the best ships that we have made. It is the pride of the nation and the navy, and we are very happy to be here,” Captain Aditya Hara told reporters.

The most modern Russian frigate, the Admiral Gorshkov, equipped with Caliber cruise missiles, also made a triumphant entry to the Chinese port, firing a 21-gun salute. 

The festivities will culminate with a PLA Navy grand parade on April 23, that will feature around two dozen vessels from over 10 countries, including Japan, Australia, and the Philippines. However, Pakistan, a close Chinese ally yet an arch foe of New Delhi, reportedly will not have its vessels participate.

Beijing plans to debut some of its newest vessels, in an apparent show of growing naval power and amid ongoing Sino-American tensions in the Indo-Pacific. Overall, 32 Chinese warships, including an aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, and the latest nuclear submarines, will take part.

China also hopes to use the occasion to foster discussions on the freedom of navigation and other maritime security issues with ‘major naval leaders,’ as delegations from more than 60 countries are expected to attend.

“With its growth, the PLA Navy has provided the world with more and more security products,” Chinese Navy deputy commander Qiu Yanpeng stated.

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A bomb went off near a church in Sri Lanka as it was being defused, a witness has claimed. But local media say that it was a controlled explosion by police, following the horrific attacks that killed 290 people.

A van apparently blew up when a police unit tried to defuse the explosives after cordoning off the area.

Local media, however, reported that it was a controlled explosion near St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Colombo, and that the police cordoned off the area before detonating the device. Local reports suggested that there were no casualties.

Footage from the scene shows a white van parked in the middle of the road, before suddenly exploding.

In another video, officers in fatigues are creating a barrier around the van. A bomb-disposal unit, firefighters and news crews are also present. The van is later seen engulfed in flames, with no signs of casualties around it.

St. Anthony’s church is one of the three Christian places of worship attacked during a series of coordinated bombings on Easter Sunday. Four hotels and an apartment complex were also targeted that day. Another bomb was later discovered near the Colombo International Airport and defused.

Overall, 290 people were killed during the attacks, and hundreds more were injured. 

A total of 24 people were subsequently arrested in connection with the bombings, but so far no group has claimed responsibility. Some government officials said that the perpetrators were local Islamist extremists, aided by an “international network.”

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At least eight people have been killed in the northern Philippines after an earthquake destroyed several buildings there, a local official said, adding that dozens could be trapped under the rubble.

The 6.0 magnitude tremor hit on Monday about 55 km NW of the Philippines capital Manila, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). Its focus is estimated to be 40km deep. The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially said the magnitude of the quake was 6.3 but later scaled it down to 6.1.

The province of Pampanga was the worst-hit one, its governor, Lilia Pineda told Reuters, adding that eight people died in the quake.

Three people were crushed when a building collapsed in the town of Porac, Pineda said. Two other victims, an elderly woman and her grandchild, were killed in a building collapse in the town of Lubao. She did not provide any details about three more victims, though.

Some 20 people were injured as a result of the disaster while dozens allegedly remain trapped under the rubble after a four-story building went down, crushing a supermarket located on the ground floor, the governor said.

“They can be heard crying in pain,” Pineda told Reuters by phone. “It won’t be easy to rescue them.”

The governor added that the tremor caused a blackout, hampering the response and rescue efforts in her province. The official said that the neighboring province of Zambales was affected as well, with reports of a church collapsing in the town of Castillejos.

In the capital, the train system was suspended after the quake to ensure that it was safe for operation, according to local media. However, no reports of damage emerged from Manila in the immediate aftermath.

Pampanga’s international airport at Clark, a former US military base, was closed following the quake, which damaged some buildings there, including the check-in areas. All flights to and from the airport were canceled.

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Israeli soldiers shot a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian teenager who was attempting to flee after being detained for suspected stone-throwing in the West Bank on Thursday.

The minor was detained by the Israeli forces after he had been shot, but was later evacuated by Palestinians to receive medical treatment at Beit Jala near Bethlehem. He appears to have been shot in the groin area.

A witness told Haaretz news agency that the boy is 15 years old.

Video taken at the scene shows Israeli soldiers clashing with a group of Palestinians as they attempted to help the wounded teen.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military said in a statement there had been “massive stone-throwing” near military forces and civilians and confirmed the incident with the teen “who tried to flee after his arrest” and who was “shot in the lower body.” The statement said the incident will be investigated.

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Sri Lankan police found 87 bomb detonators at the bus station in the nation’s largest city, following horrific bombings which killed 290 people on Easter Sunday.

The detonators were discovered on Monday at a private bus stand located in the Pettah neighborhood of Colombo, police said. The officers initially found just a dozen devices, but later retrieved 75 more while clearing the garbage heap.

Police launched an investigation into the incident. It is unclear whether the devices had anything to do with the multiple coordinated bombings which took place on Easter Sunday.

Suicide bombers set off explosives in several hotels and Catholic churches across the country, killing 290 and injuring hundreds more. An apartment complex was also hit. Another bomb was later discovered near Colombo International Airport and successfully defused.

A total of 24 people were arrested in connection with the attacks, but no group has claimed responsibility so far. Some government officials said that the perpetrators were local Islamist extremists aided by international groups.

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The US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher has wished Jews a happy Passover in Polish – then faced a backlash from Twitter users wondering if she might have forgotten that Poland is a Catholic-majority country.

The ambassador took to Twitter to wish Jews happy holidays on Friday, just as the Passover celebrations, marking the escape from Egypt, had begun. This year, Passover overlaps with the Holy Week observance by Roman Catholics – and the beginning of the Jewish holiday coincided with Christianity’s Good Friday – the day when Jesus Christ was crucified.

While Mosbacher followed her Passover post with a re-tweet of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s post on Good Friday, it did not save her from an angry backlash from Polish-speaking users. A legislator with the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party, Krystyna Pawlowicz, was among those outraged, calling Mosbacher’s tweet a “provocation.”  Some wondered if Mosbacher thought she was actually an ambassador to Israel.

“You are not a US ambassador in Israel only in Poland,” one user said, adding that “Poland has been Catholic for 1,000 years.” 

Another user provided Mosbacher with a screenshot from Wikipedia, in an apparent attempt to enlighten the US envoy on Polish demographics.

While the figures from the free encyclopedia might be true, Poland had, for centuries, housed the majority of European Jews. The rapid decline of the Jewish population in the country occurred only in the 20th century – due to Nazi occupation and the Holocaust.

Many Poles, however, appreciated Mosbacher’s wishes and thanked her, while others rallied to her support, accusing her critics of anti-Semitism.

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Up to 35 foreigners were among 200 people killed in a series of explosions across in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

The number has been reported by AFP, citing a police official. Hospital sources have said the victims include American, British and Dutch citizens. Later, the local News First TV Channel reported that the list of foreigners killed in the blasts included citizens of Denmark, Japan and Morocco, as well as India and Pakistan.

Some earlier reports also suggested that at least two Chinese citizens and two Turks were among the victims. More than 400 people were injured by the blasts.

Six bombings struck three Christian churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka during Easter Sunday religious services. They were followed by two additional explosions. Most of the targets were in or near the island’s commercial capital of Colombo, where one of the hotels is located around 200 meters from the prime minister’s residence.

Sri Lanka’s police chief reportedly received warning about possible bombing attacks by radical Islamist group NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath) 10 days before Sunday’s blasts. According to an alert cited by AFP, the warning came from “a foreign intelligence agency.”

Sri Lanka has not seen violence on this scale since the end of the civil war against Tamil Tigers militants in 2009. However, there have been multiple reports of minority religious groups – including Christians, which constitute about 7 percent of the country’s worshipers, and Muslims, about 10 percent – being harassed and attacked by Buddhist monks.

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