A total of 57 terrorists were killed after they carried out attacks on security forces, law enforcement agencies and civilians at 12 different locations in Pakistan's Balochistan province, officials said Saturday. Ten security personnel were also killed during the operations that were conducted from late Friday night through Saturday afternoon. These operations come after Pakistani security forces killed 41 terrorists in two different counter-terror measures in Panjgur and Harnai of the province on Thursday and Friday. Shahid Rind, the spokesperson for the Balochistan government, said that the attacks were carried out at different locations, including at Quetta, Gwadar, Makram, Hub, Chaman, Naseerabad, in the province. "The attacks targetted police, frontier corps and civilians at different locations between Friday and Saturday night," Rind said on telephone. The terrorists killed a family of five, including a woman and three children, near Gwadar, Rind said. He said identification of the dead terrorists is in process and it would be confirmed only later whether they belonged to insurgent groups only or also included the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) outfit. Security forces are still continuing clean up operations in the affected areas where the militants fled after exchange of heavy gunfire with security forces and law enforcement agencies on Saturday afternoon, he said. Federal interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said that all the attacks by the terrorists were averted by the forces. He also confirmed that 10 policemen and paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed in these attacks. He added that terrorists had laid a large number of explosives on a railway track in the Naseerabad district, which were later removed by the bomb disposal squad. Earlier on Friday, the army and officials said that security forces killed 52 terrorists, mostly belonging to the Taliban, in separate operations across three provinces. Six terrorists were killed in Punjab province early Friday while on Thursday, 41 were killed in two separate intelligence based operations (IBOs) in Balochistan and five Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) men, including a commander, were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. There has been a surge in violence in Balochistan in recent years. Balochistan had an upward trend, with fatalities increasing from 787 to 956; an additional 169 deaths, which are nearly 22 per cent higher than the previous year's figures, data from think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) showed in the January first week. An Islamabad-based think tank Pak Institute for Peace Studies said there had been an escalation by 34 percent in terror attacks and violence in 2025, with as many as 699 terrorist attacks recorded countrywide during the year. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
31 January,2026 05:04 PM IST | Karachi | PTIAt least 16 houses belonging to members of the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh have been set ablaze since December 1, 2025, while 17 Hindus were killed in targeted attacks during the same period, the Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) said in a report released on Friday. According to the rights body, seven of the arson attacks took place in the past one week alone, amid what it described as election-related violence marked by targeted attacks on Hindu minorities, particularly arson and murder by Islamist groups. The incidents were reported from Mirsarai and Raozan in the Chittagong region, as well as from Pirojpur and Sylhet. The report named victims whose houses were allegedly set on fire in Mirsarai, including Tapan Dhar, the family of late Amio Dhar, Kanu Nath, Ashok Dhar, Anup Dhar and Mridul Saha. In Raozan, the affected families include Sukh Shil, Anil Shil, Bimal Talukdar, Rubel Das, Sadhan Barua, Sona Pal and Kamini Mohan Pal. One member of the Saha family in Pirojpur and Bikash Ranjan Deb in Sylhet were also reported to have lost their homes in similar attacks. Explaining the alleged modus operandi, RRAG Director Suhas Chakma said the attacks involved deliberate arson. “Fires were deliberately set on temples, residential homes and haystacks. The doors of Hindu and Buddhist homes were locked from the outside before being set on fire. The aim was to burn them alive,” Chakma said, adding that the Chittagong region had witnessed the highest number of such incidents, particularly in Mirsarai and Raozan. The report further alleged that at least 17 Hindu minorities were murdered in targeted violence between December 2, 2025 and January 23, 2026. Some of the killings were described as having been carried out in a “Taliban-style” manner, including throat-slitting, while in one case, Chanchal Chandra Bhowmik was allegedly killed after the garage where he was sleeping was set on fire. Those killed during the period include Chanchal Chandra Bhowmik (January 23, 2026); Samir Das and Prolay Chaki (January 11, 2026); Joy Mohapatra (January 10, 2026); Mithun Sarkar and Sarat Mani Chakraborty (January 6, 2026); Rana Pratap Bairagi (January 5, 2026); Khokon Chandra Das (December 31, 2025); Bajendra Biswas (December 29, 2025); Amrit Mondal (December 24, 2025); Dipu Chandra Das (December 18, 2025); Shanto Chandra Das (December 12, 2025); Jogesh Chandra Roy and Suborna Roy (December 7, 2025); and Prantosh Kormokar and Utpol Sarkar (December 2, 2025). Rights group flags denial of communal angle, cites Yunus’ remarks on minority attacks in Bangladesh RRAG also criticised the Bangladeshi authorities for repeatedly dismissing any religious motive behind the attacks. The report referred to statements by Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus, who has previously said that many incidents involving minorities were linked to political perceptions and criminal activity rather than communal violence. In September 2024, Yunus had stated that there was a perception that many Hindus supported the deposed Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina, and that those associated with it had faced attacks. More recently, on January 19, 2026, he said that of around 645 incidents involving minority communities reported between January and December 2025, the “overwhelming majority” were criminal in nature rather than communal. “This denial of any religious angle by the authorities has emboldened religious fundamentalists,” Chakma said, alleging that many victims, fearing reprisals, described the targeted burning of their homes as accidents or acts of foul play despite losing all their assets or narrowly escaping death.
31 January,2026 04:17 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentA huge new tranche of files on millionaire financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, released on Friday, revealed details of his communications with the wealthy and powerful, some not long before he died by suicide in 2019. The Justice Department said it was disclosing more than 3 million pages of documents, as well as thousands of videos and photos, as required by a law passed by Congress. By Friday evening, more than 600,000 documents had been published online. Millions of files that prosecutors had identified as potentially subject to release under the law remain under wraps, however, drawing criticism from Democrats. Here's what we know so far about the files now being reviewed by a team of Associated Press reporters: Epstein talked politics with Steve Bannon and an ex-Obama official The documents show Epstein exchanged hundreds of friendly texts with Steve Bannon, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, some months before Epstein's death. They discussed politics, travel and a documentary Bannon was said to be planning that would help salvage Epstein's reputation. In March 2019, Bannon asked Epstein if he could supply his plane to pick him up in Rome. A couple of months later, Epstein messaged Bannon, "Now you can understand why Trump wakes up in the middle of the night sweating when he hears you, and I are friends." The context is unclear from the documents, which were released with many redactions and little clear organisation. Another 2018 exchange focused on Trump's threats at the time to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he had named to the post just the year prior. Around the same time, Epstein also communicated with Kathy Ruemmler, a lawyer and former Obama White House official. In a typo-filled email, he warned that Democrats should stop demonising Trump as a Mafia-type figure even as he derided the president as a "maniac." Bannon did not immediately respond to a message from the AP seeking comment. Ruemmler said through a spokesperson she was associated with Epstein professionally during her time as a lawyer in private practice and now "regrets ever knowing him." He also chatted with Elon Musk and Howard Lutnick about island visits Billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk emailed Epstein in 2012 and 2013 about visiting his infamous island compound, the scene of many allegations of sexual abuse.Epstein inquired in an email about how many people Musk would like flown by helicopter, and Musk responded that it would likely be just him and his partner at the time. "What day/night will be the wildest party on =our island?" he wrote, according to the Justice Department records. It's not immediately clear if the island visits took place. Spokespersons for Musk's companies, Tesla and X, didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment Friday. Musk has maintained that he repeatedly turned down the disgraced financier's overtures. "Epstein tried to get me to go to his island, and I REFUSED," he posted on X in 2025 Epstein also invited Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to the island in Dec. 2012. Lutnick's wife enthusiastically accepted the invitation and said they would arrive on a yacht with their children. The two also had drinks on another occasion in 2011, according to a schedule. Six years later, they emailed about the construction of a building across the street from both of their homes. Lutnick has distanced himself from Epstein, calling him "gross" and saying in 2025 that he cut ties decades ago. He didn't respond to an emailed request for comment on Friday afternoon. The records also have new details on Epstein's incarceration and suicide Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 and found dead in his cell just over a month later. The latest batch of documents includes emails between investigators about Epstein's death, including an investigator's observation that his final communication doesn't look like a suicide note. Multiple investigations have determined that Epstein's death was a suicide. The records also detail a trick that jail staffers used to fool the media gathered outside while Epstein's body was removed: they used boxes and sheets to create what appeared to be a body and loaded it into a white van labelled as belonging to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The reporters followed the van when it left the jail, not knowing that Epstein's actual body was loaded into a black vehicle, which departed "unnoticed," according to the interview notes. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
31 January,2026 02:44 PM IST | Washington | APHospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since an October agreement aimed at stopping the fighting. The strikes hit locations in northern and southern Gaza, including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent in Khan Younis, officials at hospitals that received the bodies said. The casualties included two women and six children from two different families. The Shifa Hospital said the Gaza City strike killed a mother, three children and one of their relatives, while the Nasser Hospital said a strike in a tent camp caused a fire to break out, killing seven, including a father, his three children and three grandchildren. Gaza's Health Ministry has recorded more than 500 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of the ceasefire on Oct. 10. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about the strikes. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
31 January,2026 02:00 PM IST | Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip) | APProtesters across the US are calling for "no work, no school, no shopping" as part of a nationwide strike on Friday to oppose the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. The demonstrations are taking place amid widespread outrage over the killing Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was shot multiple times after he used his cellphone to record Border Patrol officers conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The death heightened scrutiny over the administration's tactics after the Jan. 7 death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot behind the wheel of her vehicle by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. "The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country - to stop ICE's reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN," said one of the many websites and social media pages promoting actions in communities around the United States. Some schools in Arizona, Colorado and other states preemptively canceled classes in anticipation of mass absences. Many other demonstrations were planned for students and others to gather at city centers, statehouses and churches across the country. Protests continue in Minneapolis Just outside Minneapolis, hundreds gathered in the frigid cold early Friday at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, the site of regular protests in recent weeks. After speeches from clergy members, demonstrators marched toward the facility's restricted area, jeering at a line of DHS agents to "quit your jobs" and "get out of Minnesota." Much of the group later dispersed after they were threatened with arrest by local law enforcement for blocking the road.Michelle Pasko, a retired communications worker, said she joined the demonstration after witnessing federal agents stopping immigrants at a bus stop near her home in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. "They're roaming our streets, they're staying in hotels near our schools," she said. "Everyone in this country has rights, and the federal government seems to have forgotten that. We're here to remind them." High schoolers stage walkouts and some businesses close In Michigan, dozens of students walked out of Friday morning classes at Groves High School in Birmingham, north of Detroit. The students braved the zero-degree (minus 18 degrees Celsius) temperatures and walked about a mile (1.6 kilometers) to the closest business district where a number of morning commuters honked horns in support. "We're here to protest ICE and what they're doing all over the country, especially in Minnesota," said Logan Albritton, a 17-year-old senior at Groves. "It's not right to treat our neighbors and our fellow Americans this way." Abigail Daugherty, 16, organized the walkout at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia, on Friday. "For years, I have felt powerless, and seeing other schools in the county being able to do this, I wanted to do something," the sophomore said.Numerous businesses announced they would be closed during Friday's "blackout." Others said they would be staying open, but donating a portion of their proceeds to organizations that support immigrants and provide legal aid to those facing deportation. Otway Restaurant and its sister Otway Bakery in New York posted on social media that its bakery would stay open and 50% of proceeds would go to the New York Immigration Coalition. The restaurant remained open as well. "As a small business who already took a huge financial hit this week due to the winter storm closures, we will remain open on Friday," they posted. Maine residents revel in end of immigration enforcement surge in state In Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced that ICE is ending its surge, people gathered outside a Portland church on Friday morning, holding signs that said "No ICE for ME," a play on the state's postal code. Grace Valenzuela, an administrator with Portland Public Schools, decried an "enforcement system that treats our presence as suspect." She said ICE's actions brought "daily trauma" to the school system. "Schools are meant to be places of learning, safety and belonging. ICE undermines that mission every time it destabilizes a family," Valenzuela said.Portland Mayor Mark Dion, a Democrat, spoke about the importance of speaking out in the wake of ICE's actions in the city. "Dissent is Democratic. Dissent is American. It's the cornerstone of our democracy," Dion said. Federal agents deploy chemical sprays at Los Angeles protest In Los Angeles, where Trump's immigration surge first began last June, thousands of protesters gathered in front of city hall in the afternoon and later marched to the federal detention center. As the demonstration stretched into the evening, federal agents began using chemical sprays to push the crowd back.Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters joined the protest, chanting "ICE out of LA" in front of a line of officers in riot gear. "What I see here at the detention center are people exercising their constitutional rights," Waters said. "And of course, they're now trying to tear gas everybody. It's in the air, but people are not moving." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
31 January,2026 12:55 PM IST | Washington | AP | PTIThe Trump administration has approved a massive new series of arms sales to Israel totalling USD 6.67 billion and to Saudi Arabia worth USD 9 billion. Both sets of sales were announced by the State Department late Friday as tensions rise in the Middle East over the possibility of US military strikes in Iran. They were made public after the department notified Congress of its approval of the sales earlier Friday. The sales also were announced as President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his ceasefire plan for Gaza that is intended to end the Israel-Hamas conflict and reconstruct and redevelop the Palestinian territory after two years of war left it devastated, with tens of thousands dead. The Saudi sale is for 730 Patriot missiles and related equipment that "will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region," the department said. "This enhanced capability will protect land forces of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and local allies and will significantly improve Saudi Arabia's contribution" to the integrated air and missile defense system in the region, it said. The sales to Israel are split into four separate packages, including one for 30 Apache attack helicopters and related equipment and weapons and another for 3,250 light tactical vehicles. The Apache helicopters, which will be equipped with rocket launchers and advanced targeting gear, are the biggest part of the total package, coming to USD 3.8 billion, according to the State Department. The next largest portion is the light tactical vehicles, which will be used to move personnel and logistics "to extend lines of communication" for the Israel Defense Forces and will cost USD 1.98 billion, it said. Israel will spend an additional USD 740 million on power packs for armored personnel carriers it has had in service since 2008, the department said. The remaining USD 150 million will be spent on a small but unreported number of light utility helicopters to complement similar equipment it already has, it said. In separate but nearly identical statements on Israel, the department said none of the new sales would affect the military balance in the region and that all of them would "enhance Israel's capability to meet current and future threats by improving its ability to defend Israel's borders, vital infrastructure, and population centers." "The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," the statements said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
31 January,2026 12:52 PM IST | Washington | AP | PTIThe US will return three ancient bronze sculptures to India that were illegally removed from the country’s temples. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington DC said the sculptures will be returned following “rigorous provenance research”. The Indian government has agreed to place one of the sculptures on long-term loan, which will allow the museum to publicly share the full story of the object’s origins, removal and return, and to underscore the museum’s commitment to provenance research. The Nataraja bronze sculpture; (right) Saint Sundarar with Paravai. Pics/By Special Arrangement The sculptures are ‘Shiva Nataraja’ belonging to the Chola period, circa 990; ‘Somaskanda’ of the Chola period, 12th century; and ‘Saint Sundarar with Paravai’ of the Vijayanagar period, 16th century. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
31 January,2026 09:29 AM IST | New York | AgenciesResearchers have designed a new 3D printing method called Crystallinity Regulation in Additive Fabrication of Thermoplastics (CRAFT) that turns a single, cheap liquid into a material chameleon. The method allows the creation of 3D objects with varying mechanical and optical properties — such as hardness and transparency — using a single, inexpensive material. CRAFT transforms a common liquid resin called cyclooctene into complex solid objects by projecting varying patterns of light through a commercial 3D printer. With the adjustment of the curing light’s intensity, researchers can make one part of an object hard and see-through while the part right next to it stays soft and cloudy — all within a single piece. The team made a realistic replica of a human hand using this method. The most immediate impact could be felt in medical schools, where currently, students practising complex surgeries rely on cadavers, which are expensive, difficult to source, and ethically complex. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
31 January,2026 09:27 AM IST | Austin | AgenciesCannabis-infused drinks could help cut back on alcohol, according to US researchers. The researchers surveyed 438 adults who reported using cannabis. Nearly 56 per cent also consumed alcohol. About a third reported using cannabis-infused beverages. Those who used cannabis beverages were more likely to say they substituted cannabis for alcohol (58.6 per cent). In addition, they reported consuming fewer alcoholic drinks after starting cannabis beverages and also reported binge drinking alcohol less frequently compared to before. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
31 January,2026 09:25 AM IST | New York | AgenciesHyundai Motor Group has begun testing humanoid robots at its automobile manufacturing facilities in the US. The trials, taking place at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia, aim to evaluate real-world performance and gather operational data ahead of possible commercialisation. In early January, Hyundai announced its plans to deploy a scalable platform capable of integrating up to 30,000 of its ‘Atlas’ humanoid robots per year by 2028 to automate repetitive factory work. In the initial phase, Atlas robots will be assigned to parts sorting tasks. From around 2030, their role is expected to expand. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
31 January,2026 09:23 AM IST | Seoul | AgenciesPresident Donald Trump is suing the IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion for failure to prevent a leak of his tax information to news outlets. The suit, filed in a Florida federal court on Thursday, also saw Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr and the Trump organisation as plaintiffs. In 2024, former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn of Washington DC — who worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, a defence and national security tech firm — was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to leaking tax information about Trump and others to news outlets. Littlejohn gave data to The New York Times and ProPublica between 2018 and 2020 in leaks that appeared to be “unparalleled in the IRS’s history,” prosecutors said. Trump’s suit states that Littlejohn’s disclosures to the news organisations “caused reputational and financial harm to Plaintiffs and adversely impacted President Trump’s support among voters in the 2020 presidential election.” Littlejohn, who worked for the firm, has been charged and imprisoned for leaking tax information to news outlets about thousands of the country’s wealthiest people, including the president. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
31 January,2026 08:58 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesADVERTISEMENT
-1769859114270_d.png?tr=w-436,h-271 "Pakistan sees surge in violence as counter-terror ops intensify in Balochistan. Representational Pic")
-1769846912613_d.png "Representational Image")
