Pakistan's military says it has killed more than 100 suspected militants in nationwide raids following a shrine explosion claimed by Islamic State.
The suicide bombing on Thursday was the deadliest attack in the country for two years, killing at least 88 people and injuring 343 others.
IS said it targeted a "Shia gathering" and it was the latest in a series of atrocities across Pakistan this week.
Authorities have faced criticism for failing to tighten security before the bomber struck at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shine in southern Sindh province.
There are fears IS has become stronger in Pakistan, helped by homegrown militants who can hide in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Government officials in Islamabad have accused the Kabul government of ignoring earlier pleas to crackdown on hideouts and it wants 76 "terrorists" handed over.
The violence highlights the threat from groups like the Pakistani Taliban and IS, and analysts have warned of a big escalation in militants' attempts to destabilise the region.
Imtiaz Gul, head of the independent centre for research and security studies in Islamabad, said: "This is a virtual declaration of war against the state of Pakistan."
PM Nawaz Sharif's foreign policy adviser Sartaj Aziz blamed Jamaat-ur-Ahrar (JuA), a Pakistani Taliban faction linked to Islamic State, for the shrine bombing.
Most of the other recent attacks have been claimed by factions of the Pakistani Taliban.
It is also waging a fight against the government but some of its fighters have cooperated with IS as well as defected to the jihadist group.
Following the shrine blast, witness Anwer Ali rushed to the scene and described seeing dead bodies and chaos as people fled.
He said: "There were threats to the shrine. The Taliban had warned that they will attack here, but authorities didn't take it seriously."
Saturday, February 18, 2017
New Gambia President Adama Barrow to be inaugurated
New Gambian President Adama Barrow is due to be formally inaugurated in the capital Banjul where celebrations will mark 52 years of the west African country's independence.
Mr Barrow was sworn in last month at a ceremony at the Gambian embassy in neighbouring Senegal.
Long-time ruler Yahya Jammeh had refused to step down despite his electoral defeat.
Under pressure from regional powers, he went into exile in Equatorial Guinea.
Adama Barrow is only the third president in the history of The Gambia.
He has promised a new dawn for the country, which was ruled with an iron fist by Yahya Jammeh.
Africa Live: More on this and other stories
From estate agent to Gambian president
West Africa - from dictators' club to upholder of democracy
Mr Jammeh was voted out in December but he only agreed to step aside when regional powers sent in troops ready to remove him by force.
Many political prisoners have already been freed and The Gambia is set to rejoin international institutions such as the International Criminal Court and the Commonwealth.
BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says that thousands of people are expected to attend the ceremony at the main stadium in the capital Banjul.
Mr Barrow was sworn in last month at a ceremony at the Gambian embassy in neighbouring Senegal.
Long-time ruler Yahya Jammeh had refused to step down despite his electoral defeat.
Under pressure from regional powers, he went into exile in Equatorial Guinea.
Adama Barrow is only the third president in the history of The Gambia.
He has promised a new dawn for the country, which was ruled with an iron fist by Yahya Jammeh.
Africa Live: More on this and other stories
From estate agent to Gambian president
West Africa - from dictators' club to upholder of democracy
Mr Jammeh was voted out in December but he only agreed to step aside when regional powers sent in troops ready to remove him by force.
Many political prisoners have already been freed and The Gambia is set to rejoin international institutions such as the International Criminal Court and the Commonwealth.
BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says that thousands of people are expected to attend the ceremony at the main stadium in the capital Banjul.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Fallon: NATO failing to stop Russian cyber attacks
The Defence Secretary has criticised NATO for not being "agile" enough to prevent Russian cyber attacks on Europe.
Speaking on the first day of the annual Security Conference in Munich, Sir Michael Fallon said the alliance has work to do and would not say whether or not the UK was carrying out offensive cyber attacks against Russia.
"The NATO machinery is not geared up," he said.
"It has not been fast enough in dealing with threats like terrorism or cyber.
"That's one of the areas in which NATO needs to be more agile. It needs to respond to cyber threats.
"Cyber capabilities are obviously sovereign and belong to the nation states, the member states of NATO. But NATO needs to get sharper about how those (capabilities) could be deployed in the NATO context and how we deter against cyber threats. That is a role for NATO."
At last summer's NATO Summit in Warsaw, leaders agreed that a cyber attack could constitute an Article Five response, raising the prospect of war if an enemy state hacked a NATO country.
Pressed by Sky News on what that could mean, Sir Michael would not give details.
"We are very careful about not articulating exactly how and Article 5 would be defined or calibrated because that would only give comfort to our adversaries," he said.
"It's very important that we remain uncertain as to how NATO would respond."
Privately it is felt that any attack would have to result in the loss of life before Article 5 was triggered, but in the past year Russia has been openly accused by governments of interfering in the US elections and there are fears it is doing the same in the forthcoming French and German votes.
NATO does has a Cyber Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia, but there is no centralised NATO cyber framework.
Recently the alliance formally recognised cyber as a 'domain' alongside land, sea and air, but the organisation continues to prioritise its traditional military response despite a hybrid campaign being waged by Moscow.
Sir Michael said: "We now need to work on cyber deterrence and how we deter cyber attacks and then on how we use national cyber capabilities for the good of NATO.
"It's a very good example of where NATO needs to be more agile."
Speaking on the first day of the annual Security Conference in Munich, Sir Michael Fallon said the alliance has work to do and would not say whether or not the UK was carrying out offensive cyber attacks against Russia.
"The NATO machinery is not geared up," he said.
"It has not been fast enough in dealing with threats like terrorism or cyber.
"That's one of the areas in which NATO needs to be more agile. It needs to respond to cyber threats.
"Cyber capabilities are obviously sovereign and belong to the nation states, the member states of NATO. But NATO needs to get sharper about how those (capabilities) could be deployed in the NATO context and how we deter against cyber threats. That is a role for NATO."
At last summer's NATO Summit in Warsaw, leaders agreed that a cyber attack could constitute an Article Five response, raising the prospect of war if an enemy state hacked a NATO country.
Pressed by Sky News on what that could mean, Sir Michael would not give details.
"We are very careful about not articulating exactly how and Article 5 would be defined or calibrated because that would only give comfort to our adversaries," he said.
"It's very important that we remain uncertain as to how NATO would respond."
Privately it is felt that any attack would have to result in the loss of life before Article 5 was triggered, but in the past year Russia has been openly accused by governments of interfering in the US elections and there are fears it is doing the same in the forthcoming French and German votes.
NATO does has a Cyber Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia, but there is no centralised NATO cyber framework.
Recently the alliance formally recognised cyber as a 'domain' alongside land, sea and air, but the organisation continues to prioritise its traditional military response despite a hybrid campaign being waged by Moscow.
Sir Michael said: "We now need to work on cyber deterrence and how we deter cyber attacks and then on how we use national cyber capabilities for the good of NATO.
"It's a very good example of where NATO needs to be more agile."
Trump denies plan to round up illegal immigrants with 100,000 troops
Donald Trump may mobilise up to 100,000 national guard troops to round up illegal immigrants, the Associated Press has reported.
AP says it has obtained a draft memo that outlines the proposals to target unauthorised citizens in 11 states.
However, a White House spokesman described the report as "false", but did not deny existence of the memo.
According to the AP, the 11-page memo calls for the unprecedented militarisation of immigration enforcement.
Millions of those who would be affected live nowhere near the Mexico border, according to the document.
:: Sky Views: Is calling Trump mentally ill unfair?
The enforcement would stretch as far north as Portland, Oregon, and as far east as New Orleans, Louisiana. the memo suggests.
Sky's New York correspondent Hannah Thomas-Peter said the White House had stopped short of denying that the memo existed.
She said: "This will send shockwaves through those communities.
"Whether or not it is under active consideration is almost beside the point for America's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.
"I have spent the last couple of days filming with members of these communities living in and around New York and they are already terrified.
"The other point is that Donald Trump has less than 24 hours ago declared that these illegal leaks, as he called them, would end.
"But this is another very serious leak which had taken hold of the news agenda and will now make huge headlines.
"It is adding fuel to this argument that actually Donald Trump's biggest enemy at the moment is not the media but his own government."
The memo leak came before Senator John McCain said the Trump administration was in "disarray", citing the resignation of security advisor Michael Flynn.
If the proposal is implemented, governors in the affected states would have final say on whether troops participated, said the AP.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: "That is 100% not true. It is false. It is irresponsible to be saying this.
:: President Trump launches unprecedented attack on media
"There is no effort at all to round up, to utilize the National Guard to round up illegal immigrants.
"I wish you guys had asked before you tweeted," he added.
An AP reporter said the agency had asked multiple times before publication.
Mr Spicer could not categorically state that this was never a subject of discussion somewhere in the administration.
"I don't know what could potentially be out there, but I know that there is no effort to do what is potentially suggested.
"It is not a White House document."
AP says it has obtained a draft memo that outlines the proposals to target unauthorised citizens in 11 states.
However, a White House spokesman described the report as "false", but did not deny existence of the memo.
According to the AP, the 11-page memo calls for the unprecedented militarisation of immigration enforcement.
Millions of those who would be affected live nowhere near the Mexico border, according to the document.
:: Sky Views: Is calling Trump mentally ill unfair?
The enforcement would stretch as far north as Portland, Oregon, and as far east as New Orleans, Louisiana. the memo suggests.
Sky's New York correspondent Hannah Thomas-Peter said the White House had stopped short of denying that the memo existed.
She said: "This will send shockwaves through those communities.
"Whether or not it is under active consideration is almost beside the point for America's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.
"I have spent the last couple of days filming with members of these communities living in and around New York and they are already terrified.
"The other point is that Donald Trump has less than 24 hours ago declared that these illegal leaks, as he called them, would end.
"But this is another very serious leak which had taken hold of the news agenda and will now make huge headlines.
"It is adding fuel to this argument that actually Donald Trump's biggest enemy at the moment is not the media but his own government."
The memo leak came before Senator John McCain said the Trump administration was in "disarray", citing the resignation of security advisor Michael Flynn.
If the proposal is implemented, governors in the affected states would have final say on whether troops participated, said the AP.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: "That is 100% not true. It is false. It is irresponsible to be saying this.
:: President Trump launches unprecedented attack on media
"There is no effort at all to round up, to utilize the National Guard to round up illegal immigrants.
"I wish you guys had asked before you tweeted," he added.
An AP reporter said the agency had asked multiple times before publication.
Mr Spicer could not categorically state that this was never a subject of discussion somewhere in the administration.
"I don't know what could potentially be out there, but I know that there is no effort to do what is potentially suggested.
"It is not a White House document."
Suicide bombers die in failed attack in Nigeria
As many as seven suicide bombers, six of them women, have blown themselves up while trying to attack the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, according to emergency services officials.
Initial reports from Maiduguri had suggested a number of people were killed in the blasts near the Muna camp for displaced people shortly before 11:30pm (22:30 GMT) on Thursday.
But Mohammed Kanar, from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said on Friday there were no civilian or military casualties, as the would-be bombers arrived after the 10pm (21:00 GMT) curfew.
"People were indoors. There was no one on the streets," Kanar, who is NEMA's northeast coordinator, told AFP news agency.
"None of the six female bombers succeeded in their attacks. They ended up being killed in the explosions."
A man who dropped them off in his car then tried to ram a military checkpoint was also unsuccessful.
"He died in the process," said Kanar, referring to the man.
Similar account
Hamed Satomi, from the Borno state emergency management agency, gave a similar account, although he said there were only six bombers.
Both organisations were involved in the recovery of the bodies, they said.
The Borno state police had earlier said only one bomber was involved and that he had detonated his explosives among 13 trucks waiting to travel to the east of the state near the Cameroon border.
Victor Isuku, police spokesman, attributed the multiple explosions heard in Maiduguri to soldiers shelling suspected Boko Haram fighters outside the city limits.
Initial reports from Maiduguri had suggested a number of people were killed in the blasts near the Muna camp for displaced people shortly before 11:30pm (22:30 GMT) on Thursday.
But Mohammed Kanar, from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said on Friday there were no civilian or military casualties, as the would-be bombers arrived after the 10pm (21:00 GMT) curfew.
"People were indoors. There was no one on the streets," Kanar, who is NEMA's northeast coordinator, told AFP news agency.
"None of the six female bombers succeeded in their attacks. They ended up being killed in the explosions."
A man who dropped them off in his car then tried to ram a military checkpoint was also unsuccessful.
"He died in the process," said Kanar, referring to the man.
Similar account
Hamed Satomi, from the Borno state emergency management agency, gave a similar account, although he said there were only six bombers.
Both organisations were involved in the recovery of the bodies, they said.
The Borno state police had earlier said only one bomber was involved and that he had detonated his explosives among 13 trucks waiting to travel to the east of the state near the Cameroon border.
Victor Isuku, police spokesman, attributed the multiple explosions heard in Maiduguri to soldiers shelling suspected Boko Haram fighters outside the city limits.
Kim Jong-Nam's murder is re-enacted at Kuala Lumpur airport
Malaysian police have re-enacted the killing of Kim Jong-Nam - the half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un - at Sepang airport.
The 45-year-old is believed to have been killed by two female Pyongyang agents at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday as he waited to catch a flight to Macau.
Two women and one man have so far been arrested in connection with the murder.
The women are believed to have used poisoned needles, a poisoned spray or a poison-laced cloth.
Meanwhile, one of the women - captured on CCTV wearing a jumper with 'LOL' written on the front - reportedly cut her own hair the day before the attack.
According to a hotel receptionist, the 28-year-old woman, who had checked in under the Vietnamese name of Doan Thi Huong, was also in possession of wads of cash.
The second woman, 25-year-old Siti Aishah, is reported to be of Indonesian origin and had come to Malaysia to find work.
Both women have told Malaysian police that they were duped into what they believed was a harmless prank.
:: North Korea's long history of assassinations
The arrested man, 26-year-old Muhammad Farid Bin Jalaluddin, is the Malaysian boyfriend of Ms Aishah.
Meanwhile, Malaysia has told Pyongyang that Kim Jong-Nam's body will not be released until his family provide DNA samples.
North Korea, who objected to a post-mortem examination, have submitted a request to reclaim the body.
State police say they are still looking for several more suspects.
The 45-year-old is believed to have been killed by two female Pyongyang agents at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday as he waited to catch a flight to Macau.
Two women and one man have so far been arrested in connection with the murder.
The women are believed to have used poisoned needles, a poisoned spray or a poison-laced cloth.
Meanwhile, one of the women - captured on CCTV wearing a jumper with 'LOL' written on the front - reportedly cut her own hair the day before the attack.
According to a hotel receptionist, the 28-year-old woman, who had checked in under the Vietnamese name of Doan Thi Huong, was also in possession of wads of cash.
The second woman, 25-year-old Siti Aishah, is reported to be of Indonesian origin and had come to Malaysia to find work.
Both women have told Malaysian police that they were duped into what they believed was a harmless prank.
:: North Korea's long history of assassinations
The arrested man, 26-year-old Muhammad Farid Bin Jalaluddin, is the Malaysian boyfriend of Ms Aishah.
Meanwhile, Malaysia has told Pyongyang that Kim Jong-Nam's body will not be released until his family provide DNA samples.
North Korea, who objected to a post-mortem examination, have submitted a request to reclaim the body.
State police say they are still looking for several more suspects.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pens manifesto to beat fake news
Mark Zuckerberg has posted a 6,500-word letter on his Facebook page, outlining his plan to "come together to build a global community that works for everyone".
The 32-year-old tech billionaire asks the question: "Are we building the world we all want?"
He goes on to discuss his concern over the spread of fake news.
However, rather than "banning misinformation", the site's new approach will be "on surfacing additional perspectives and information".
Last year, Facebook came under fire amid accusations that fake stories on the social network helped Donald Trump win the US presidential election.
At the time, Mr Zuckerberg called the claims "crazy" and rejected the idea that Facebook users existed in "bubbles" where they only see news which reflects their viewpoints.
However, now the Facebook chief admits that the company has "work to do" in order to combat the "misinformation and even outright hoax" shared on the site.
Despite what he called the "positive force" of the voice social media gives to everyone, he admitted it could also "fragment our shared sense of reality".
He also listed five specific areas Facebook will focus on to develop "the social infrastructure for community": support, safety, information, civic engagement and inclusion of all.
He said: "It is our responsibility to amplify the good effects and mitigate the bad - to continue increasing diversity while strengthening our common understanding so our community can create the greatest positive impact on the world.
"The two most discussed concerns this past year were about diversity of viewpoints we see (filter bubbles) and accuracy of information (fake news).
"I worry about these and we have studied them extensively, but I also worry there are even more powerful effects we must mitigate around sensationalism and polarisation, leading to a loss of common understanding."
In December, Mr Zuckerberg admitted Facebook was a media company, after years of claiming it was simply a technology platform.
His comments come as President Donald Trump launched an unprecedented hour-long attack on mainstream US media for disseminating fake news.
The post by Mr Zuckerberg - who has more than 86 million followers - has been liked more than 52 thousand times in less than 12 hours.
The 32-year-old tech billionaire asks the question: "Are we building the world we all want?"
He goes on to discuss his concern over the spread of fake news.
However, rather than "banning misinformation", the site's new approach will be "on surfacing additional perspectives and information".
Last year, Facebook came under fire amid accusations that fake stories on the social network helped Donald Trump win the US presidential election.
At the time, Mr Zuckerberg called the claims "crazy" and rejected the idea that Facebook users existed in "bubbles" where they only see news which reflects their viewpoints.
However, now the Facebook chief admits that the company has "work to do" in order to combat the "misinformation and even outright hoax" shared on the site.
Despite what he called the "positive force" of the voice social media gives to everyone, he admitted it could also "fragment our shared sense of reality".
He also listed five specific areas Facebook will focus on to develop "the social infrastructure for community": support, safety, information, civic engagement and inclusion of all.
He said: "It is our responsibility to amplify the good effects and mitigate the bad - to continue increasing diversity while strengthening our common understanding so our community can create the greatest positive impact on the world.
"The two most discussed concerns this past year were about diversity of viewpoints we see (filter bubbles) and accuracy of information (fake news).
"I worry about these and we have studied them extensively, but I also worry there are even more powerful effects we must mitigate around sensationalism and polarisation, leading to a loss of common understanding."
In December, Mr Zuckerberg admitted Facebook was a media company, after years of claiming it was simply a technology platform.
His comments come as President Donald Trump launched an unprecedented hour-long attack on mainstream US media for disseminating fake news.
The post by Mr Zuckerberg - who has more than 86 million followers - has been liked more than 52 thousand times in less than 12 hours.
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