TRANSCRIPT:
- At least 12 people have died after a blast outside a court in Pakistan's capital
- New laws in Victoria to give police more powers to stop violence during protests
- Carlos Alcaraz fights back to tighten his grip on the ATP Finals group
A suicide bombing outside a court in Islamabad has killed at least 12 people and injured 27 others, in one of Pakistan's deadliest attacks in nearly a decade.
Authorities say the explosion occurred near the entrance of the district court, a busy area often crowded with litigants, police, and civilians.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed India and Afghanistan, while officials suspect the Pakistani Taliban, which is linked to Afghanistan's Taliban regime, was responsible.
A spokesperson for the Indian government denied what they described as "baseless and unfounded allegations".
Lawyer Rustam Malik described scenes of devastation, saying the bomb erupted just moments after crowds had gathered near the court gates.
"It was 30 to 35 minutes since we parked our vehicles and entered the gate, then there was a loud explosion. It was a big blast. There was fire all over. Body parts were strewn. There was chaos. Then police and security personnel came. It was a big explosion. It looked like a bomb blast."
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed that those responsible for a deadly car explosion will be brought to justice.
The explosion on Monday in New Delhi killed at least eight people and injured several others.
Indian police are investigating the explosion under an anti-terrorism law, as forensic experts worked to determine the cause of the blast.
Mr Modi says the authorities are working hard to find the perpetrators.
"The horrific incident that took place in Delhi has saddened everyone. I understand the grief of the affected families. Today, the entire country stands with them. Our agencies will get to the bottom of this conspiracy. The conspirators behind it won’t be spared. All those responsible will be brought to justice."
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The Victorian government plans to introduce a new bill that will give police more powers to deal with violence during protests.
The state's premier Jacinta Allan says the law would ban the display of terrorist symbols and flags, and give the police power to unmask protesters if they reasonably believe those masked protesters are spreading hate or violence.
The state government will also introduce criminal offence for obstructing religious worship, which would involve outlawing the intimidation of people who go to a church, synagogue or mosque.
People who engage in this behaviour could face jail.
Ms Allan says Victorians have the right to protest, as long as they do so peacefully.
"And the moment that protest becomes violent, or it becomes hateful. There must be consequences for this behaviour, no one has the right to spread hate, or act violently on our street, particularly around protests. That's why we are introducing this legislation to give police additional powers to those they already had to keep the community safe around protest."
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The Opposition has demanded the federal government explain the unannounced visit of Nauru president David Adeang to Canberra.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed he had what he called a productive meeting with Mr Adeang on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Opposition's Home Affairs spokesperson Jonno Duniam says the federal government needs to reveal the outcomes of this unannounced meeting, and be transparent about the details of the latest bilateral agreement with Nauru.
The federal government has been criticised over the lack of transparency of a multi-billion agreement with Nauru to resettle immigration detainees who were released into the community following a High Court ruling in 2023.
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The mastermind of a vast Ponzi scheme in China, which conned nearly 130,000 investors, has been jailed in Britain for over 11 years.
Qian Zhimin was found guilty of laundering the proceeds of the fraud into cryptocurrency now worth billions of dollars.
The Metropolitan Police head of the Economic and Cybercrime Command, Will Lyne, says it's the largest confirmed cryptocurrency seizure anywhere in the world.
"These funds originated from a large scale fraud that targeted and harmed more than 128,000 victims in China from 2014 to 2017. Many people lost their life savings and the emotional and financial impacts on them was devastating. Today's outcome is a step towards justice for those victims."
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In tennis, Carlos Alcaraz has tightened his grip on Australian Alex de Minaur's group at the A-T-P Finals, fighting back from a set down to defeat Taylor Fritz 6-7 ,7-5, 6-3 in Turin.
The world Number Two battled for nearly three hours to overcome the American.
The world Number One spot is within reach for Carlos Alcaraz if he secures the ATP Finals title, but he said that isn't on his mind.
"Well, I would try not to think about it, to be honest. Obviously, it is going to be a really big match for me. I will try to not let the nerves play a bad time for me, you know, in that match. So, I will try to control the emotions, to control myself."
That result leaves the Australian Alex de Minaur's hopes in his own hands.
If he beats Lorenzo Musetti in the group's second match, he'll set up a winner-takes-all showdown with Fritz for a place in the semi-finals.
