southwest

Three days into my walk along the Rhins of Galloway coast path and I was on love-hate terms with this new long-distance trail. Unruly and at times cruel, it forced me to hurdle fences, wade through bracken up to my midriff and teased me with disappearing paths and wayward waymarks.

New map for Rhins of Galloway

But then, after I’d yelled profanities into the wind (there were no other hikers around to hear me), this raffishly handsome route would come over all sweetness and light. Look, it would simper: a dazzling and deserted white-sand bay! A ravishing spray of orchids! A crinkle of rocky foreshore be-flumped with seals! Once, moments after I’d cursed my way through a patch of Scottish jungle, a hare leapt from the sward just as a ruddy fox barred my way, a deer herd pronked down the cliffside and a buzzard mewed overhead; I felt like a sweaty Snow White summoning all the creatures at once, only by swearing rather than singing.

“We toyed with whether to call it a ‘path’ or a ‘trail’,” said Bryan Scott, Dumfries and Galloway council’s countryside development officer and route creator. After my solo jaunt on the path/trail’s north and western stages, we were hiking a gentler south-east section together.

Is there an official difference, I asked? “Well, no, but people think ‘path’ means there’s going to be some kind of a yellow brick road.”

I can confirm there is no such thing around the Rhins of Galloway, the striking hammerhead peninsula at the edge of the edge of south-west Scotland. But there is an admirable almost-realised vision and a lot of potential.

Southern Scotland sees a fraction of the tourists that head to the country’s lionised north: in 2024, there were 1.8m overnight visits to the Highlands and just 520,000 to Dumfries and Galloway – and I’d wager most of those don’t make it out to the Rhins. “No doubt about it,” one taxi driver told me, “this is the land that time forgot.” It was clear the area could do with a boost; creating an 83-mile, six-stage coast path around the Rhins is part of the plan.

“One of the aims was to give people a reason to stay longer,” Scott told me as we advanced along the high clifftops to the Mull of Galloway, Scotland’s southernmost point, where a Stevenson lighthouse stands sentry over the waves. The path is designed to improve access to this untamed, overlooked stretch of coast, which, as well as more lighthouses, features ancient promontory forts, RSPB reserves, ruined castles, spectacular beaches and exotic gardens (the Gulf Stream makes this one of Scotland’s warmest spots). The problem is, Dumfries and Galloway has more than 1,100 miles of core paths that need looking after, with a team of only five to do it.

I’ve been following the progress of the Rhins coast path for a while, drawn to the idea of circumnavigating what is essentially an island that no one seems to visit. This year – its “soft launch”, I was told – seemed the right time.

I started on Stranraer harbour, under the smart arch of corten steel marking the circular path’s beginning and end, using a GPX file of the route on my OS Maps app. From there I walked north, along the exposed shores of Loch Ryan, picking between oystercatchers and whimbrels, the alien blobs of barrel jellyfish, shaggy piles of bladderwrack and a crunchy scatter of shells. Somewhere under the loch’s blue lay Scotland’s last native oyster beds; during the second world war they were joined by surrendered U-boats, stowed here before being scuttled at sea. This area was strategically vital at that time, with parts of the D-day Mulberry harbour tested here, while flying boats, used to protect Allied shipping, were based on the headland known as the Wig.

The going from Stranraer around the north of the Rhins was generally good. Highlights of the 13½ miles included military history, intriguing strandline, flower-flecked tussock and the remains of iron age settlements with views to Ailsa Craig and the isle of Arran beyond. Still, I was excited to finally see day’s end in the distance: lonely Corsewall lighthouse. Erected in 1815, the tower still protects ships in these frothy waters, but the old keepers’ quarters are now a hotel.

John and Helen Harris welcomed me in. As well as running the place – “quite the challenge, in a good way, 99% of the time …” – they’re also among the volunteers helping to look after the coast path, cutting back overgrowth and reporting problems. They’re starting to get a few more walkers staying, they told me, and have compiled a folder of local rambles for guests not tramping the whole trail.

I could see the attraction of basing myself here for nice day walks: I’ve stayed in few more atmospheric spots, and the five-course dinner concocted by Helen’s son Richard in the teeny kitchen was ridiculously good. Before leaving the next morning, we had a quick chat about what lay ahead. Helen reckoned I’d already done the coast path’s toughest stage; John’s expression told me I had not.

John was right. The following two days – Corsewall to the pretty harbour village of Portpatrick, then Portpatrick to Port Logan’s wide, sandy sweep, around 15 miles each – were mettle-testing stuff. But also a proper adventure. I walked amid the sheep-grazed ruins of a wartime radar station to reach moaning seals. I accidentally annoyed a peregrine falcon, which spent a good 10 minutes shrieking above my head. I bounded across hills, high above the serrated rocky shore; at one point, I mistakenly dropped down to the sea, then followed in the hoof-prints of a flock of feral goats to get back up again.

I also picnicked on beaches I couldn’t believe I had all to myself – shingly Salt Pans Bay, where salt was harvested from the 1640s, and awesome Ardwell Bay, a curve of turquoise-lapped gold. In the late 19th century a former clown called William Purves lived in one of the caves here. I could see why.

On the first of these two tough days, for the final miles from Killantringan lighthouse to Portpatrick, the coast path falls in step with a section of the Southern Upland Way, which ultimately makes for Cockburnspath, on the east coast. This is one of Scotland’s official Great Trails, and the difference was stark: regular waymarks; an obvious track; I even met a volunteer hacking back the overgrowth. But, then, this trail was launched 40 years ago – evidence of what can be achieved.

Some of this will probably have been achieved by the time you read this. At the end of my trip, at the Mull of Galloway’s Gallie Craig cafe, Irish Sea swirling outside, Scott took on all my feedback. He’s since rewalked the trail, and a slew of new work is afoot to negotiate fences, increase signage, build a bridge and trim unruly plants. Improvement works should be completed by spring 2026. Yes, the Rhins of Galloway coast path is a little raw, but stick with it: I have high hopes it’ll mature very well.

The trip was supported by the South of Scotland Destination Alliance. Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel has doubles from £175 B&B; five-course dinner £49.50pp excluding drinks. For trail info, see dgtrails.org

Oct. 2 (UPI) — Southwest air announced Thursday it’s adding Alaska’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to its list of destinations beginning in early 2026.

It’s the fifth new destination Southwest has added this year. The company will fly to 122 airports next year.

“We’re adding destinations that once seemed inconceivable for Southwest in order to build a route network that creates new experiences and more possibilities than ever before,” said Andrew Watterson, chief operating officer at Southwest Airlines, in a statement. “We look forward to connecting our customers to the rich history and culture of Anchorage and connecting the 49th state to our vast domestic network.”

The addition could be a boost to Alaska tourism.

“Air travel is a lifeline in Alaska, and Southwest’s arrival in Anchorage is a major win for our communities,” said Ryan Anderson, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, in a statement. “This service will provide more affordable, reliable connections for Alaskans and help share our great state with more visitors than ever before.”

Southwest is also redesigning its cabins. It will sell assigned and premium seating and is launching free WiFi for rewards members. It will also have in-seat power on all of its Boeing 737-8 aircraft.

“This will be a big economic boost for Anchorage and all of south-central Alaska,” said Suzanne LaFrance, mayor of Anchorage, in a statement. “We are excited to share our rich cultural heritage, magnificent landscapes, and diverse community with a larger group of travelers.”

Southwest announced in March it would start charging for checked bags. But A-List loyalty program members and those in business class won’t have to pay.

A baggage cart passes by a Southwest 737 Max 8 airliner after arriving from Los Angeles at St. Louis-Lambert International Airport on March 13, 2019. Over the Labor Day weekend, Southwest became one of the first U.S. carriers to take delivery and fly a plane with a “secondary barrier” to protect pilots from cockpit intrusions. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 1 (UPI) — Southwest Airlines has become one of the first U.S. carriers to take flight with an added barrier to protect pilots from intrusions when they exit the cockpit.

Southwest took delivery of the Boeing 737 Max 8, with the added retractable gate-like feature, and put it into service over the Labor Day weekend. The change comes nearly 24 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

“For Southwest this was the right decision,” the airline said in a statement. “We have a robust safety management system that takes a proactive approach when it comes to enhancing safety wherever possible.”

The additional flight deck barrier is designed to prevent cockpit invasions, like those during the 2001 terror attacks when hijackers took control of four jetliners. The secondary gate is closed to provide added protection for pilots when they open the cockpit door to access the lavatory.

Before the barriers, flight attendants have routinely blocked access to the front of the plane, using themselves or a drink cart, whenever a pilot leaves the flight deck. While existing planes cannot be retrofitted with the barriers, newly delivered planes will come with the barrier installed.

Last week, a 2023 Federal Aviation Administration regulation required Boeing and Airbus to begin delivering its new planes with the secondary barriers.

According to the final rule, the new barrier “will be deployed, closed and locked whenever the flight deck door is opened while the airplane is in flight.”

While Southwest has decided to take immediate delivery of planes with the secondary barriers, other airlines have opted to wait until July 2026 after the FAA granted a one-year exemption.

Health facilities juggling rising cases of infant hunger, malaria, in an area that also shelters thousands of refugees.

Rising cases of extreme infant hunger and malaria are overwhelming humanitarian facilities in southwestern Ethiopia as aid cuts force other nutrition and disease prevention programmes to shutter, Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym, MSF) has warned.

MSF said on Wednesday it had seen a 55-percent increase compared with last year in child admissions to its feeding centre in the Kule refugee camp in Ethiopia’s Gambella region, with many of the infants coming from camps nearby.

Funding cuts have meant the closure of nutrition services in four of the region’s seven refugee camps, MSF said, “leaving around 80,000 children under the age of five at risk of life-threatening malnutrition”.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation with about 130 million people, is grappling with armed clashes in two of its largest regions.

Southwestern Gambella borders South Sudan, itself facing a dramatic uptick in violence and funding cuts to international programmes that form the country’s healthcare backbone.

The region currently shelters just under 400,000 refugees across seven camps, many of them South Sudanese.

80,000 children under five are at risk of life-threatening malnutrition as services are suspended in four refugee camps in Gambella, Ethiopia, following significant aid cuts.

Without urgent support, this crisis will continue to escalate.https://t.co/hlDXRzqpmb

— MSF International (@MSF) August 6, 2025

Patient visits to the Kule camp have risen by almost 60 percent compared with 2024.

“MSF is overwhelmed by the increased patient load, and we fear this number will likely keep rising in the coming months,” said Armand Dirks, MSF’s project coordinator in Gambella.

Nyauahial Puoch travelled roughly eight kilometres (five miles) from another refugee camp to seek treatment for her malnourished 17-month-old daughter.

“Since last year, there has been a big decline. Some of the items we used to get are no longer provided at all,” the NGO quoted her as saying.

While they are given food once a month, Puoch said, “it always runs out before the month ends”.

Funding cuts have also had an impact on disease prevention, notably malaria programmes, with MSF predicting a steep increase in the May-to-October rainy season.

The NGO said in July it had seen an approximately 125-percent rise in the number of malaria patients – almost 24,000 – compared with the previous month, with half of these patients coming from neighbouring refugee camps.

“This poses a serious threat to already vulnerable refugees who face heightened exposure to malaria-infected mosquitoes due to overcrowded living conditions and limited sanitation,” said Birhanu Sahile, MSF’s deputy medical coordinator.

Ukraine has regularly hit Russian oil and gas infrastructure in response to attacks on its own territory.

An overnight Ukrainian drone attack has sparked a fire at an oil depot in Sochi, the southwestern Russian resort that hosted the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, local authorities say.

The attack came a day after Ukraine’s military said it struck the Ryazan oil refinery in central Russia, causing a fire. Ukraine has regularly hit Russian oil and gas infrastructure in response to attacks on its own territory since Russia began its war in February 2022.

“Sochi suffered a drone attack by the Kyiv regime last night,” the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, said on the Telegram messaging application on Sunday.

Drone wreckage hit an “oil tank, which caused a fire”, Kondratiev said.

Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin said there were no victims and “the situation is totally under control”, adding that firefighters were extinguishing the blaze.

Air traffic was briefly suspended at Sochi’s airport but has resumed, Russia’s air transport regulator Rosaviatsia said.

Air strikes on Sochi, about 400km (250 miles) southeast of the Ukrainian border, are relatively rare compared with other Russian cities. However, Ukrainian drone attacks killed two people in the region late last month, according to local authorities.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on the fire.

Kyiv has warned it will intensify its air strikes against Russia in response to an increase in Russian attacks on its territory in recent weeks, which have killed dozens of civilians.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram that Russia had launched 76 attack drones and seven missiles targeting Ukraine overnight, striking eight locations throughout Ukraine. Ukraine’s air defence units destroyed 60 of the drones and one missile, it said.

In the front-line regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson, at least three people were killed and more than 12 injured in Russian attacks over the 24 hours into Sunday morning, regional governors said.

A Russian missile strike on the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine also injured at least seven people and destroyed or damaged dozens of homes and civilian infrastructure, the regional governor said.

In the early days of the war, the Mykolaiv region stood on the front lines, facing frequent artillery strikes and aerial attacks. Even after Russian forces were pushed back in late 2022, drones and missiles have remained a constant danger there.

Russia also launched a short-lived missile attack on Kyiv overnight, but there have been no reports of injuries or damage.

In July, United States President Donald Trump said he would implement “severe tariffs” on Russia unless a peace deal is reached by early September. Last week, Trump said he would give Putin 10 to 12 days, meaning Trump wants peace efforts to make progress by Thursday to Saturday.

So far, the Kremlin has rejected the idea of a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wanted peace but his demands for ending Moscow’s military offensive were “unchanged”.

Those demands include Ukraine abandoning some of its own territory and ending its ambitions to join NATO.

The blast occurred on Friday night in Taiz city which has been a battleground in Yemen’s civil war.

At least five children in southwestern Yemen have died after an explosive device detonated in a residential area where they were playing football, rights groups and witnesses said.

The circumstances surrounding the incident late on Friday in the al-Hashmah subdistrict of Taiz province remain unclear.

However, on Saturday, the Yemen Center for Human Rights and another rights group called Eye of Humanity, along with Houthi-controlled Al Masirah TV, said an artillery shell was fired by militias backed by the Islah party, which is allied to the internationally recognised government in south Yemen.

Two local residents who were witnesses, Ahmed al-Sharee and Khaled al-Areki, told The Associated Press news agency that the children were playing football when the explosion happened.

At least three people with minor to moderate injuries were also taken to the hospital, according to the witnesses. Meanwhile, Mahmoud al-Mansi, another witness, said the explosive was directed from an area where forces allied with the Islah party were present.

A spokesperson for the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, told The Associated Press that they are aware of reports about the incident but can’t verify the facts at the moment.

The Yemen Center for Human Rights condemned the incident in a report that included graphic photos of the children’s torn bodies. Citing healthcare sources at al-Rafai Hospital, where the victims arrived unresponsive, the group said they died from shrapnel injuries.

Two of the children were 12 years old, while two others were 14 years old, according to the group. The age of the fifth child is unknown.

Taiz city, the capital of the province of Taiz, has been a battleground, pitting the Houthis against other armed groups backed by the Islah party against each other and other factions in Yemen’s civil war.

The city was under Houthi blockade since 2016, restricting the freedom of movement and flow of essential goods to residents, but Houthis recently opened key roads.

Yemen’s ruinous civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, forcing the internationally recognised government into exile.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and including the United Arab Emirates intervened in 2015 to try to restore the government to power.

Years of UN-brokered peace talks have also failed to break the deadlock. But the conflict has been largely frozen since the sides reached a ceasefire in 2022.

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council controls much of the south, which has been fractured by the civil war. The council advocates for the south’s secession and has its own forces, allied to the internationally recognised government, fighting the Houthis.

The drive south through County Cork grew prettier with every turn. From Gougane Barra, where a tiny chapel sits at the lake’s edge, the road winds through old rebel country, into deep forests where foxgloves bloom along the mountainside. Bantry House – a magnificent estate overlooking a lovely bay – marked our path toward Ballydehob, West Cork’s boho village just north of the Mizen Head peninsula.

Ireland map

It’s a suitably impressive setting for Native, a new off-grid eco-guesthouse just a stone’s throw from the village. The brainchild of Didi Ronan (who previously worked in public policy and the music industry) and husband Simon (who runs the sustainable landscape architect studio SRLA), the aim was to create somewhere that has a positive impact on both the environment and local community.

Previously a derelict farmhouse, the chic three-bedroom B&B, set in beautiful gardens, celebrates Ireland’s craft heritage, too. From the communal living room – with its art books and antique maps – to the timber-clad garden sauna, every element is carefully considered. The bedrooms lean into a modern-meets-vernacular aesthetic, with muted tones and tactile textures. Ours opens on to a private patio, and above the bed are hundreds of vintage National Geographic magazines – collected by Didi’s grandmother – arranged in artful symmetry across a bespoke bookshelf.

Over dinner, a delicate crab risotto with fresh farm greens (evening meals, booked in advance, are intimate home-cooked affairs), the couple share their vision. Sparked by a flash of clarity Simon had while designing high-end eco-resorts in the Maldives, when the true cost of tourism on Indigenous land and ecology became unavoidable, they began dreaming of a new kind of hospitality. “Could a hotel not only tread lightly, but also give back to the land?” they wondered.

Sustainability is baked into the whole project, from the build to what they do with their profits. Instead of conventional plaster, Didi chose hemp – a more natural alternative – while Simon ensured that every existing material was reused, from the original foundations to the retaining walls. Two new cabins opening this summer aim to be the “gold standard in sustainable architecture”, made of local timber, hemp and wood wool fibre. A newly restored barn will open as a creative hub for workshops, natural wine tastings, and collaborations with foragers and craftspeople, too.

But perhaps most impressive of all is that 20% of Native’s profits go directly to their 75-acre rewilding site nearby – a living laboratory of native tree planting, invasive species removal, and ecological education. Guests are encouraged to visit – and the next day we drive 10 minutes along winding roads and walk across fields, their dog, Peig, darting ahead through rushes and briars, to learn more. “First, you eradicate invasive species. Then you conserve what you have, protect it from overgrazing, and then plant native trees to help things along,” Simon says.

At the ridge, the land opens into a sweep of sea and scattered islands. Below us lies Roaringwater Bay; behind, the skeletal remains of an old cottage clings to the earth. Didi gestures toward a patch of young trees. “The problem is huge – biodiversity, climate – but the solution’s simple: trees, wetlands, space.”

We carry on down towards an artificial lake, where dragonflies hover and moorhens skitter through the reeds. There we meet Sam Keane, a coastal forager and artist who runs immersive coastal tours guests can book, unlocking the powers of the sea, and demonstrating the tastes and powerful healing properties of seaweed and other ocean plant life.

Native is just a short stroll from the heart of Ballydehob, a village of just a few hundred but with plenty of pubs, and later that day I wander the pretty streets, soaking up a different kind of energy: human, social, alive. It’s a place that over-delivers, not in size but in spirit. At Levis Corner House the Wednesday market spills out on to the street. The heart of a thriving community, Levis is a pub, concert venue that hosts live performances from behind the old shop counter, and essentially a welcoming village living room.

There’s a lively art scene here too. The late potters Christa Reichel and Nora Golden helped found the local craft movement in the 1970s, still seen in venues like The Working Artist Studios on Main Street, and in the homegrown ceramics, textiles and artisan food shops crammed between colourful pub fronts and gable-end murals.

It’s a village that’s hard to leave, but the next day I set out to explore the area further. A 12-arch viaduct from the old rail line arcs across the estuary at the town’s edge. Pastel shop fronts curl along the hill. The 17th-century Butter Road leads from Ballydehob to Schull, a bright little harbour village. I stop and follow a walking trail through green lanes and quiet country roads, a soft scenic route, edged by hedgerows and sea glimpses, once used to carry churns of West Cork butter to market.

From here, Mizen Head begins, a tapering peninsula where the past is never far away. A Neolithic portal tomb lies accessible, close to the roadside overlooking the bay. I follow a path to Three Castle Head. Fields give way to a wide sweep of jagged coastline, steep tufty hills rising and falling in tandem with the Atlantic. The hike climbs gradually, then steeply,

and the ruins of three weather-beaten towers, 15th-century remnants of a defensive castle on a limestone ridge, come into view. From a distance, they seem almost grown from the rock itself, overlooking an indigo bay cupped in a lush green valley. Back in the car, the road dips and rises again toward Mizen Head Signal Station, mainland Ireland’s most southwesterly point. The footbridge to Fastnet signal station arches across sheer cliffs, a solid span above the Atlantic, cinematic in scale.

That evening, back in Ballydehob, I discover Chestnut, a Michelin-starred restaurant, where former pub walls now host a dining room led by chef Rob Krawczyk. His tasting menu captures the season with clear flavours: preserved, foraged and grown. Everything is impeccable and in keeping with the narrative I’ve uncovered in this progressive, ecologically minded, quietly radical corner of West Cork. As Didi put it, “Sustainability is only part of the story – regeneration is the next step.”

The trip was provided by Native. Double rooms from €200 a night B&B (two-night minimum). Exclusive hire of the guesthouse, sleeping six, from €650 per night, and garden sauna experience €75. Cabins, sleeping two, from €350. For more inspiration visit ireland.com

President Gustavo Petro says freeing the seized soldiers ‘is imperative’.

The Colombian army says more than 50 soldiers have been seized by civilians in a southwest mountainous area.

A platoon of soldiers was the first to be seized on Saturday during an operation in El Tambo, a municipality that is part of an area known as the Micay Canyon, a key zone for cocaine production and one of the most tense in the country’s ongoing security crisis.

On Sunday, another group of soldiers was surrounded by at least 200 residents as they headed towards the town of El Plateado, in the same region.

“As a result of both events [both kidnappings], a total of four noncommissioned officers and 53 professional soldiers remain deprived of their liberty,” the army said on Sunday.

General Federico Alberto Mejia, who leads military operations in the southwest, added in a video that it was a “kidnapping” by rebels who had “infiltrated” the community.

The Colombian army has maintained that the civilians in the region receive orders from the Central General Staff (EMC), the main dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that refused to be part of a peace deal with the government in 2016.

President Gustavo Petro, who has pledged to bring peace to the country, said on social media that freeing the soldiers “is imperative”.

The left-wing leader has been trying for months to ensure that the country’s armed forces gain access to Micay Canyon.

But his government has struggled to contain violence in urban and rural areas as several rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the FARC after the peace deal.

This has made many Colombians fearful of a return to the bloody violence of the 1980s and 90s, when cartel attacks and political assassinations were frequent.

Peace talks between the FARC-EMC faction and the government broke down last year after a series of attacks on Indigenous communities.

Colombia on edge as attacks come just days after assassination attempt on conservative presidential hopeful.

Southwest Colombia has been rocked by a series of explosions and gun attacks near police stations that have left at least four people dead, according to police, an apparent coordinated attack that authorities have blamed on rebel groups.

The attacks hit Cali – the country’s third-largest city – and the nearby towns of Corinto, El Bordo, and Jamundi, targeting police stations and other municipal buildings with car and motorcycle bombs, rifle fire and a suspected drone, the head of police Carlos Fernando Triana told local radio station La FM on Tuesday.

The bombings came just days after the attempted assassination of presidential hopeful Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay at a campaign rally in the capital Bogota, allegedly by a 15-year-old hitman, an attack that rattled a nation with a dark past of assassinations.

In Corinto, an AFP journalist witnessed the tangled wreckage of a car that had exploded next to a scorched and badly damaged municipal building.

“There are two police officers dead, and a number of members of the public are also dead,” said Triana.

Police later said at least two civilians were among those killed, and 12 others were injured.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, but military and police spokespeople blamed the strikes on the FARC-EMC, which is known to operate in the area. The group is led by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who broke away from the group after it signed a peace deal with the government in 2016.

Colombia on edge

Triana suggested the attacks may be linked to the third anniversary of the killing of FARC dissident leader Leider Johani Noscue, better known as “Mayimbu”.

The bombings just three days after Uribe’s attempted assassination have set Colombia further on edge.

Uribe, a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Centre party, underwent successful initial surgery on Sunday. The hospital treating him said on Tuesday that he remained stable but in critical condition.

“We continue to take the necessary actions to mitigate the impact of the injuries,” the Santa Fe Foundation hospital added in a statement.

Thousands have taken to the streets in major cities to light candles, pray and voice their anger at the assassination attempt. Authorities say they are investigating who was behind the attack on Uribe. Leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has vowed to bring peace to the country, said on Sunday that he had ordered additional security for opposition leaders in response to more threats.

Many Colombians are fearful of a return to the bloody violence of the 1980s and 1990s, when cartel attacks and political assassinations were frequent, sowing terror across the nation.

Colombia’s government has struggled to contain violence in urban and rural areas as several rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the FARC after its peace deal with the government.

Peace talks between the FARC-EMC faction and the government broke down last year after a series of attacks on Indigenous communities.

At least five killed and dozens wounded in a blast targeting a school bus in Khuzdar, Balochistan, officials say.

At least five people have been killed in a blast targeting a school bus in the Khuzdar district of Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, the military said.

Yasir Iqbal Dashti, a government official in Khuzdar, said at least 38 people were wounded in the attack on Wednesday.

“The school bus belonged to Army Public School as it was picking children in the morning when it was attacked by the suicide bomber,” he told Al Jazeera.

Pakistan’s military in a statement condemned the violence and accused “Indian terror proxies” of involvement in the attack. It did not share evidence to support the claim.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.

At least three children and two adults were killed in the attack, the army said in a statement.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack near Khuzdar’s Zero Point area and expressed “deep sorrow and grief” over those killed.

“The enemy attacked innocent children with barbarity. The attack on the school bus is a heinous conspiracy of the enemy to create instability in the country,” he said in a statement.

Authorities said that the death toll could increase due to the severity of the explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Balochistan province, which is rich in minerals and natural resources, has been home to a decades-long conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from Pakistan.

Wednesday’s attack came days after a car bombing killed four people near a market in Qillah Abdullah, also in Balochistan.

Many attacks in the province are claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which Pakistan says enjoyed the backing of neighboring India – a claim that New Delhi denies.

In one of the deadliest such attacks, BLA insurgents killed 33 people, mostly soldiers, during an assault on a train carrying hundreds of passengers in Balochistan in March.

Earlier this week, the BLA vowed more attacks on the “Pakistani army and its collaborators” and says its goal is to “lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan.”

Armed groups are also active in the Balochistan and though it is unusual for separatists to target school children in the province, such attacks have been carried out in the restive northwest and elsewhere in the country in recent years.

Most schools and colleges in Pakistan are operated by the government or the private sector, though the military also runs a significant number of institutions for children of both civilians and of serving or retired army personnel.

In December 2014, armed group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targeted APS in Peshawar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in which more than 140 children were killed.