15 killed, 190 wounded in protests in Iraq's Basra
Baghdad, Sep 9 : The Iraqi Ministry of Health has said 15 people have been killed and 190 others wounded since violent protests against worsening living conditions broke out in Basra several days ago.
"The casualties come from both demonstrators and security forces," the Health Ministry Spokesman Sayf Bader said in a statement on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Bader said that most of the wounded have received treatment and left the hospitals of Basra province.
During the week, hundreds of angry demonstrators burned the provincial government buildings, the offices of leading political parties and the headquarters of some Shiite militias in protest of wide-spread corruption, poor public services, unemployment and water contamination in the province.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for restraint over the deterioration of the security situation in Basra.
"The deaths of civilians and the growing number of casualties at the ongoing demonstrations is particularly worrying, as is the use of firearms for restoring public order," ICRC statement said.
Basra, the province's capital city which bears the same name, has long witnessed complaints among its over 2 million residents about the collapsing infrastructure, power cuts and corruption.
Water supply in the province is also widely criticised for high salinity, with thousands of residents having been hospitalised.
The protesters also accused the influential political parties of being behind the wide-spread corruption, which led to high unemployment and failure in rehabilitation of the country's electricity, water and other basic services.
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
