Pakistan fuel tanker inferno death toll tops 200

The death toll from a lorry fire in Pakistan last week has risen sharply, with more than 200 people killed.

The tanker carrying fuel burst into flames near Ahmedpur East on 25 June.

Villagers had gathered, reportedly to collect fuel leaking from the crashed tanker, when it caught fire. Dozens are being treated in hospital.

The death toll in the hours after the fire hit 150, but local officials now say it is at least 206, after more victims died in hospital.

The fire was sparked by a passer-by lighting a cigarette, a rescue services spokesman told the BBC.

Some of the victims may only be identified by DNA sampling, as the bodies were so badly burned in the incident, reports said.

A mass funeral for 125 of the victims was held last week.

Police sources told Pakistani news agency APP that the tanker had been transporting 25,000 litres (5,500 gallons) of fuel from Karachi to Lahore. It appears the tanker blew a tyre while rounding a sharp bend in the road.

Police sources said that people in nearby villages had rushed to the scene to collect fuel in pots, and also made phone calls to their relatives in other villages to come to collect fuel.

Traffic police had tried in vain to keep the crowds away from the tanker as local people, including women and children, continued collecting fuel, the sources said.

A huge fire then erupted, engulfing all the people standing around the vehicle, they said.

Emergency services struggled to find burns units to treat the injured, APP reported.

Motorway police spokesman Imran Shah told the AFP news agency that a government inquiry had concluded five police officials were guilty of concealing information after the fire.

BBC NEWS

Car plunges into Colorado Springs swimming pool

A Colorado woman sent her car plunging to the bottom of a swimming pool after reportedly putting her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake.

The accident happened at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort country club in Colorado Springs on Monday morning.

Reports said the car hit another vehicle and drove at up to 60mph (97km/h) up a hill, through a fence and into the pool.

The driver, who is in her 70s, was rescued from the car by passersby.

Reports said she is not seriously injured but is being monitored in hospital.

The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs said she is likely to face charges for dangerous driving. The newspaper and local television networks said a mistake with the pedals was likely to be the cause.

Jessica Puzio, 35, from Denver, is a guest at the resort and described the aftermath to the BBC.

"When my friend and I headed down to the pool to relax at about 11:00, we were surprised to find a Lincoln SUV partially submerged in the water.

"Amazingly, the car didn't look like it had a scratch on it - just a flat tyre. If you ask me, she's really lucky that pool was there to soften the crash."

BBC NEW

Narendra Modi to become first Indian PM to visit Israel

Narendra Modi will become the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel, when he arrives on Tuesday.

Mr Modi, who recently said India and the Jewish state share a "deep and centuries-old" connection, is expected to agree military and cyber security deals.

Observers note he will not travel to Ramallah or meet Palestinian leaders, as visiting dignitaries often do.

The visit is seen by some as a turning point in India's position on Israel.

India and Israel have had diplomatic relations for 25 years, but it has always been a balancing act given India's sizeable Muslim population.

The two countries have been working closely together for years on counter-terrorism, defence, agriculture and the water and energy sectors.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the meeting as a "a very significant step" in strengthening relations, which he said were "on a constant upswing", reported the Times of Israel.

The Indian leader will also be meeting an Israeli boy, Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents were killed when gunmen stormed a Jewish centre in Mumbai during a 2008 terror attack.

BBC NEWS

AirAsia X flight diverts to Brisbane after suspected bird strike

An AirAsia X flight bound for Kuala Lumpur has been forced turn back to Australia after a suspected bird strike left passengers shaken.

The jet, carrying 359 people, ran into trouble after taking off from the Gold Coast at 22:20 (12:20 GMT) on Monday.

Passengers reported hearing loud noises and seeing sparks coming from an engine before the flight landed safely in Brisbane an hour later.

"Two bird remains were found on the runway," the airline said.

One passenger, Tim Joga, said he heard "four or five bangs" before seeing an "orange light" outside.

"The plane started shuddering then there were a couple of loud bangs and a lot of light," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Another passenger, Eric Lim, said the incident happened immediately after take-off.

"Successive sparks boom boom boom went off and some people were crying and calling out 'oh my god oh my god'," he wrote on Facebook.

AirAsia X chief executive Benyamin Ismail said the pilot and crew took "swift action" to reassure passengers during the incident.

"AirAsia X will arrange for a special flight to transport all guests on Flight D7 207 to Kuala Lumpur as soon as possible," he said in a statement.

Last week, an AirAsia X flight was forced to turn back to Perth after an engine problem left it "shaking like a washing machine".

Earlier this month a China Eastern Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Sydney after a huge hole appeared in one of its engine casings.

In December 2014, an AirAsia plane crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board after the aircraft's rudder control system malfunctioned during the flight.

BBC NEWS

North Korea fires missile towards Japanese waters, officials say

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile off its east coast, say Japanese and South Korean authorities.

It was launched at 09:40 local time (00:40 GMT), from Banghyon in North Pyongan Province, reported Yonhap news agency citing South Korea's military.

Japan's NHK News quoted the defence ministry as saying it may have landed in waters claimed by Japan as its exclusive economic zone.

North Korea has ramped up nuclear and missile activities in recent months.

The launch comes a day after US President Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China's President Xi Jinping separately about North Korea.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearised Korean Peninsula.

BBC NEWS

Battle for Mosul: Fierce clashes as IS uses suicide bombers

Fierce clashes and rising numbers of suicide attacks have been reported in Mosul as Iraqi troops try to recapture the city from Islamic State militants.

The last IS-held quarter, known as the Old City, was rocked by air strikes and artillery salvos, with local commanders expecting to retake full control soon.

However, they are facing more suicide attacks, including several from female bombers, in the battle's final phase.

The major offensive against IS in Mosul was launched in October 2016.

Thousands of Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, assisted by US-led coalition warplanes and military advisers, are involved in the operation.

The government announced the full "liberation" of eastern Mosul in January 2017. But the west of the city has presented a more difficult challenge, with its narrow, winding streets.

• Battle for Mosul: The story so far
• Despair and death in the flight from Mosul

"The fighting is becoming harder every day because of the nature of the Old City," Lt Gen Abdulghani al-Assadi, a commander of Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service, was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

He added that the same conditions that were beneficial for IS fighters also helped to shield Iraqi troops from snipers.

Lt Gen Sami al-Aridhi, another CTS commander, told AFP: "The enemy has been using suicide bombers, especially women, for the past three days in some of the neighbourhoods. Before that, they were using snipers and bombs more."

Some of the suicide bombers were reportedly teenage girls.

There were two female suicide attacks on troops on Monday, while seven other women bearing explosives attempted to approach troops but were intercepted, AP news agency reported.

To prevent such attacks, Iraqi commanders said they were now ordering women fleeing from the Old City to remove veils before approaching soldiers. Men were told to remove their shirts.

The UN has said that IS may be holding more than 100,000 people in Mosul as human shields.

• WATCH: Mosul from above in 360 video

The Iraqi army says it believes there are no more than 300 militants left in Mosul, compared with almost 6,000 at the start of the offensive in October.

Brigadier General Yahya Rasool told state TV that "victory is very near", while another commander has estimated that "the battle will end in five days to a week".

IS fighters seized Mosul in June 2014.

BBC NEWS

Chris Christie, New Jersey governor, enjoys beach he closed to public

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is facing heavy criticism after he was photographed relaxing on a state beach he had ordered closed to the public.

The Republican gave the go-ahead for non-essential services to be shut down - including the Island State Beach Park - over the 4 July holiday weekend because of a budget impasse.

"I didn't get any sun today," he said, before the aerial photos emerged.

The pictures show Mr Christie and his family on an otherwise empty beach.

Other visitors were turned away by police.

The governor defended his actions on Monday morning, telling Fox News that he had said earlier in the week he intended to spend time with his family at his beach property.

"The governor is allowed to go to his residences," he said.

Mr Christie said his family was spending the weekend at the governor's residence there and he was commuting to work by state helicopter.

"That's just the way it goes. Run for governor, and you have can have a residence there," he said at a news conference on Sunday.

"I didn't get any sun today," he added.

After being told of the photographs, his spokesman Brian Murray admitted Mr Christie had "briefly" been on the beach "talking to his wife and family before heading into the office", NJ.com reported.

"He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on," Mr Murray added, NJ.com said.

The partial government shutdown in New Jersey arose because state legislators had not passed a health insurance bill that Mr Christie said had to be passed alongside the state's budget.

The shutdown included the closure of Island State Beach Park, one of New Jersey's few free public beaches, and all other state parks.

Mr Christie had been trying to get the state's largest health insurer, Horizon Cross Blue Shield, to hand over $300m (£230m), some of which Mr Christie wanted to use to battle drug addiction in the state, the New York Times reported.

New Jersey is one of at least nine states that were unable to meet their budget deadlines at the beginning of the month.

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Other Christie moments

• stunning the political world by announcing his backing of Donald Trump as president, before anyone else from the Republican establishment
• denying he had any knowledge of the politically motivated traffic jams known as Bridgegate
• a hug with President Obama during Hurricane Sandy that sparked accusations of betrayal from hardline Republicans
• telling a heckler to "Sit down and shut up" at a press conference in 2014
• photographed cheering on his beloved Dallas Cowboys with the owner in 2015 prompted a barrage of criticism from people in New Jersey who thought him disloyal
• demolished rival Marco Rubio on the debate stage by teasing him as robotic
• BBC NEWS