Three children and two adults were killed in a blast on Wednesday that targeted a school bus in south-western Pakistan, with Islamabad blaming India for the attack.

Terrorists targeted the bus in the city of Khuzdar, in the restive province of Balochistan, as it took students to a military-run school, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said.

Preliminary findings suggested that it was not a suicide attack, he said at a press conference.

The dead included three young girls who were students of grades 6, 7 and 10. More than 40 students were wounded, many of them said to be suffering severe wounds.

Bugti said that his government had intelligence reports that Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was planning something in Balochistan but did not expect him to target innocent children.

“After facing a humiliating defeat on the battlefield, India has resorted to despicable and cowardly acts,” the media wing of Pakistan’s military said in a statement.

“Planners, abettors and executors of this cowardly Indian sponsored attack will be hunted down and brought to justice and heinous face of India will be exposed in front of the entire world,” the statement added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will make an emergency visit to the province where he would be briefed on the attack by terrorists, allegedly backed by India, said a statement issued by his office.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a rebel group fighting for the independence of the region from Pakistan, earlier claimed it targeted the bus, but said it was transporting the soldiers.

Islamabad claims that the BLA is backed by India.

Violence orchestrated by sub-nationalist rebels has surged in Balochistan, a region that borders both Afghanistan and Iran, and is a hub of Chinese investment and connectivity projects.

Earlier this month, India and Pakistan carried out tit-for-tat drone, missile and airstrikes targeting each other’s military installations and airbases.

The nuclear-armed rivals agreed to the ceasefire on May 10 but continue to accuse each other for terror incidents. (dpa/NAN)

In a bold boost for women entrepreneurship in Nigeria, Dangote Cement Plc has empowered businesswomen in host communities in Benue State with cash grants, thus deepening business activities in the State.

The women empowerment programme came months after the Dangote Cement in Gboko increased bursary payments to students of host communities by more than 100 per cent.

Speaking at the ceremony Wednesday in Gboko, Group Head, Social Performance, Dangote Cement Plc, Mr.

Wakeel Olayiwola said: “”Through this scheme, selected women entrepreneurs in host communities will receive ₦100,000 grants each to strengthen and expand their businesses.

“The financial support aims to boost local enterprise development at the grassroots level, empowering female business owners with capital to scale their operations.

Each beneficiary will use the funds to address specific business needs, from purchasing inventory to upgrading equipment, creating tangible economic impact in their communities.”

Mr. Wakeel said:” When women succeed in business, they invest in their families’ education, health, and well-being, breaking the cycle of poverty and creating a ripple effect of positive change in their communities.”

He said the programme will “enable the women to generate more income to sustain their families, reduce women’s over-reliance on their husbands.”
He said the money is a grant and would not be paid back to the Dangote Cement.
According to him, traditional leaders of: Quarry, Tse-Kucha, Amua, Mbazembe, Mbatur and Pass Brothers host communities, as well as the Dangote Community Consultative Committee (DCCC) were responsible for the identification and selection of beneficiaries.

It would be recalled that a wave of jubilation had swept through Gboko communities last year when the Dangote Cement Plc and six host communities signed a historic Community Development Agreement (CDA).

He said the company will monitor progress of the women entrepreneurs and evaluate how the money is being invested.

Speaking, Acting Plant Director Engr. Munusamy Murugan said the empowerment will be an annual event.

Engr Murugan who was represented by Engr Tavershima Soom said other economic empowerment programmes lined up include farmers programme and youth skill acquisition programme, among several others.

In his remarks, Head of the Social Performance, Gboko Plant, Johnson Kor, told the community representatives that the company is doing a lot to support members of the communities, urging them to be good ambassadors of the Dangote Cement Plc.

Reacting, a beneficiary, Ruth Ikyowe Tser, 37, said she will invest the money into her cassava farming business, while commending the company for the support.

Similarly, Mrs Vishigh Comfort Msurshiona, 39, said she will use the money to grow her trade in commodities.

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it will conduct additional mop-up examinations for candidates who missed the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja at a meeting with key stakeholders to address the challenges encountered during the 2025 UTME.

Oloyede said that the board would accommodate the estimated 5.

6 per cent of candidates who missed the examination by organising a special mop-up exercise.

He said that the board had extended the opportunity to all the affected candidates, regardless of the reasons for their absence.

“Normally, we hold one mop-up nationwide for those with one issue or the other.

“But this time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier examination due to absence, we will extend this opportunity to them.

“It is not that we are doing something extraordinary; in class, you make up an examination when students miss it for one reason or the other; we just don’t allow abuse of that.

“So we will allow all the candidates who missed the main examination for any reason to take part in this mop-up,” he said.

Oloyede criticised some public commentators who misunderstood and misrepresented the role of UTME, while clarifying that UTME was a placement test and not an achievement test.

According to him, the purpose of the examination is to rank candidates for available spaces in institutions and not to measure intelligence or overall academic potential.

The registrar further stated that high UTME score was not the sole determinant of admission, adding that combined performance, including post-UTME scores and school assessments, could significantly affect a candidate’s ranking.

While acknowledging the emotional strain experienced while announcing the UTME results, he noted that this was not indicative of an institutional weakness.

He expressed JAMB’s commitment to resolving issues affecting the examination process, even as he rejected comments suggesting that the administrative failure was due to incompetence or ethnic bias.

“I want to say this clearly, particularly because I accepted responsibility, not because I do not know how to do the work.

“I say it for the fourth time that no conspiracy theory is relevant to this case.

“Something happened; like people who have been doing something well for years and something just went wrong. That I should now throw them under the bus? No,” he said.

Oloyede, who frowned at those exploiting difficulties to promote ethnic or conspiracy-driven narratives, urged stakeholders to stop ethnic profiling in the education sector.

According to him, many of the criticisms of JAMB’s operations are rooted in ignorance.

The registrar, however, commended his team’s efforts, while also appreciating the resilience shown by candidates, many of whom, he said, had continued their exams, notwithstanding the various challenges. (NAN)