ISLAMABAD — An attack on a beloved Sufi shrine that killed 88 people has raised fears that the Islamic State group has become emboldened in Pakistan, aided by an army of homegrown militants benefiting from hideouts in neighboring Afghanistan, analysts and officials said Friday.
Pakistani security forces carried out sweeping countrywide raids after Thursday’s bombing of the shrine in Pakistan’s Sindh province that also wounded 343 people.
The military reported on its twitter account that more than 100 suspected “terrorists” were killed in the raids, while government officials lashed out at Kabul, accusing the Afghan government of ignoring earlier pleas to crack down on militant hideouts.
Human chain on border
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — About 1,500 Mexicans protested against President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border Friday by forming a human chain.
“Hand in hand we show a national unity that makes no distinction between people,” said Sen. Armando Rios Piter, standing with other politicians and students near Ciudad Juarez. “Mexico is more than a wall.”
Oscar Leeser, mayor of El Paso, Texas, just across the border from Ciudad Juarez, also took part in the protest.
A human chain was also planned in the border town of Tijuana.
Hitler’s phone for sale
CHESAPEAKE CITY, Md. — An auction house is selling a red telephone owned by Adolf Hitler that bears a Nazi party symbol and is engraved with Hitler’s name on the back.
Bill Panagopulos of Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City said occupying Russian officers gave the phone to Brigadier Sir Ralph Rayner during a visit to Hitler’s Berlin bunker.
The brigadier’s son is selling the phone. It is valued at $200,000 to $300,000.
Blair blasts Brexit
LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday forcefully urged opponents of a British withdrawal from the European Union to “rise up” and persuade others to rethink their decision to leave the bloc.
In a speech in London, Mr. Blair castigated the government of Prime Minister Theresa May, which he said was “obsessed” with a withdrawal from the 28-nation bloc, a process known as Brexit.
He said ideologues were driving the process, and he warned of the “possibility of the breakup” of Britain amid strong support in Scotland for independence. A majority of Scottish voters supported remaining in the European Union.
Poll: Germans worried
Germans are more worried about President Donald Trump than Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a poll published Friday by FG Wahlen for public broadcaster ZDF.
According to the poll, 78 percent of the Germans asked said they were “very concerned” about Mr. Trump’s policies, up from 62 percent in January, and 58 percent said they were worried about the Mr. Putin’s politics.
First Published: February 18, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
