U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan “must stop”, Pakistan’s Army chief General Raheel Sharif said on Wednesday, days after American special forces killed Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a drone attack in the country’s restive Balochistan province.
Speaking with the media after attending President Mamnoon Hussain’s address to a joint session of Parliament that was also attended by the chiefs of the country’s Air Force and Navy, Gen. Sharif said: “U.S. drone strikes in Pakistani territory are regrettable and must stop.”

U.S. President Barack Obama, hailing Mansour’s death as an “important milestone” in efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, had said American forces would continue to go after threats on Pakistani soil.“We have removed the leader of an organisation that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces,” said Mr. Obama.

Gen. Sharif also said the operation against the militants was going on successfully. “We have to maintain the victories of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Terrorists will not be allowed to re-enter into areas cleared in South Waziristan and North Waziristan,” he said.

Pak.-Afghan border

Gen. Sharif added the border management with Afghanistan was improving and urged Kabul to take matching measures on its side of the border. He declared that the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a national project and it would be completed at any cost. The security situation in the country, especially in Karachi city and Balochistan province, is improving, he added.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert immediately after the quake and Indonesia’s BMK weather agency said there was no threat of a tsunami.The quake was centred about 155 km (95 miles) south of Padang, off the coast of Sumatra island at a depth of about 50 km (30 miles), the USGS said. It had originally been reported with a magnitude of 6.2.

Memories are still fresh in Indonesia of the massive 9.15 magnitude undersea quake that triggered an Indian Ocean tsunami which killed more than 200,000 people in a dozen countries.Most of those killed were in the province of Aceh on Sumatra’s northwest tip.

A Reuters witness reported initial panic after the latest quake, which struck before dawn and lasted about 30 seconds. Residents rushed out of their homes and into the streets, but with no apparent signs of damage of injury, things quickly returned to normal.Indonesia straddles the so-called ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth’s crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

A murder-suicide killed two people at the University of California, Los Angeles on Wednesday, shutting down the campus for two hours as officers in camouflage and tactical gear responded to reports of a shooting.Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck confirmed one man shot another and then himself in the engineering building and that police recovered a gun at the scene.

“There are no suspects outstanding and no continuing threat to UCLA’s campus,” Beck told reporters without offering further details about the victims.Police recovered what may turn out to be a suicide note, Beck said.The shooting created a stir as some 200 police approached the scene fearing the shooter might still be active and university officials ordered the campus locked down.President Barack Obama was briefed aboard Air Force One and he asked his team to keep him updated, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

After several tense hours, university officials announced classes would resume on Thursday.At least three city blocks leading into the campus were filled with dozens of emergency vehicles. Officers with rifles, bulletproof vests and helmets surrounded the area.An armoured car was parked in the middle of one intersection, and helicopters clattered overhead.UCLA, with more than 43,000 students, is in the Westwood section of Los Angeles and one of the more well-regarded schools in the University of California system, known for its successful sports program.

“I couldn’t believe it happened at UCLA,” said Sam Zheng, 38, a researcher who was working in the engineering building at the time of the shooting. “I just want to go home. I don’t want to stay here.”Engineering student Aaron Feigelman said he received a text message alerting him to an emergency and entered an adjacent building, where he and five others took refuge for 90 minutes.”We just bolted out of there and ran up to the seventh floor,” Feigelman said. “We tied the bathroom door hinges with belts to keep the door closed because there were no locks. And we just waited. It was really scary.”

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the people of UCLA for “extraordinary grace and calm” and lamented the violence at a place of learning.”I am heartbroken by the sight of SWAT teams running down avenues normally filled with students, and angered by the fear that one person with a firearm can inflict on a community,” Garcetti said.

A 48-hour truce in Daraya and Moadamiyah allowed medical convoys to enter the besieged Syrian towns on Wednesday. However, the deliveries did not include food, forcing the United States, United Kingdom and France to urge for airdrops for humanitarian aid in the towns.

The International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which includes the U.S., Britain and Russia, had decided that if the Assad regime doesn’t permit World Food Programme (WFP) aid and land convoys to enter the towns they would begin airdrops from June 1 to Daraya, Douma, East Harasta and Moadamiyah.The residents in the besieged towns require “sustained and regular” access to aid, John Kirby, the U.S. State Department spokesman, was quoted as saying by the BBC.

“While air drops are complex, costly and risky, they are now the last resort to relieve human suffering across many besieged areas,” Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary, was quoted as saying by BBC. The Wednesday convoy into Daraya was the first since 2012. Last month a convoy was turned away even while residents gathered in the town waiting for medical supplies, food, and other necessities. The residents who had gathered for aid were reportedly shelled by the regime.

“The last time, people were filling the streets waiting for the aid to come in,” activist Shadi Matar told Agence France Presse from inside Daraya. “This time, there was no one. They were afraid the regime would shell them and they knew the convoy only held medical aid.”The U.S. and the U.K. have reportedly sought help from Moscow and Tehran, who hold influence over Assad, to allow safe delivery of aid through airdrops. However, the Middle East Eye said that the project was unlikely to be carried out as it was too dangerous without Moscow and Damascus’ approval.