A suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally in a former stronghold of militants in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 44 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack that a senior leader said was meant to weaken Pakistani Islamists.

The Royal Thai Police (RTP) has clarified that newly graduated police cadets have been assigned as crowd control officers in a bid to solve the personnel shortages at police stations and prepare them for future positions there.