[00:00] Evelyn Hartwell: From Neural Newscast, I'm Evelyn Hartwell.
[00:03] Evelyn Hartwell: And I'm Frederick Moore.
[00:04] Evelyn Hartwell: Today we examine a sharp escalation in border fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan
[00:10] Evelyn Hartwell: and a fatal tram derailment in central Milan.
[00:13] Evelyn Hartwell: We also look at the instability in financial markets
[00:16] Evelyn Hartwell: after the collapse of a British property lender sent bank stocks sliding.
[00:21] Evelyn Hartwell: Afghanistan's Taliban launched major attacks against Pakistani military positions yesterday
[00:26] Evelyn Hartwell: along the Durand line.
[00:28] Evelyn Hartwell: It is a significant escalation of border violence.
[00:32] Evelyn Hartwell: The BBC and Al Jazeera report that the Taliban describe the offensive
[00:37] Evelyn Hartwell: as a response to recent Pakistani airstrikes in Nangahar and Pakhtia.
[00:42] Evelyn Hartwell: A Taliban spokesperson stated that offensive operations target military installations along
[00:48] Evelyn Hartwell: the border.
[00:49] Evelyn Hartwell: This follows what they called repeated provocations and violations.
[00:54] Evelyn Hartwell: An Afghan military source claims 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed.
[00:59] Evelyn Hartwell: Pakistan's Ministry of Information reports they inflicted heavy losses on the Taliban.
[01:06] Evelyn Hartwell: Pakistan officials say their forces delivered an immediate response across several sectors.
[01:11] Evelyn Hartwell: They claim over 130 Afghan fighters were killed.
[01:15] Evelyn Hartwell: This violence follows a pattern of rising instability.
[01:19] Evelyn Hartwell: Independent monitors note that 2025 was the most violent year in the region for a decade.
[01:26] Evelyn Hartwell: In northern Italy, a major transit accident has occurred in the middle of a high-profile week for the city of Milan.
[01:33] Evelyn Hartwell: A crowded tram derailed and crashed into a building in central Milan yesterday afternoon.
[01:39] Evelyn Hartwell: Two people were killed and at least 40 were injured.
[01:43] Evelyn Hartwell: The vehicle was traveling on Route 9 through Viale Vittorio Veneto when it left the tracks
[01:49] Evelyn Hartwell: at roughly four in the afternoon.
[01:52] Evelyn Hartwell: Witnesses describe hearing a loud bang before the tram veered off the rails.
[01:57] Evelyn Hartwell: It hit a traffic light and smashed through a restaurant window.
[02:01] Evelyn Hartwell: One of the victims was a 60-year-old pedestrian.
[02:05] Evelyn Hartwell: The second fatality and most of the injured were passengers on the crowded car.
[02:10] Evelyn Hartwell: Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, stated the driver was experienced.
[02:15] Evelyn Hartwell: Investigators are looking into why a scheduled stop was skipped before the crash.
[02:21] Evelyn Hartwell: In other news, global financial markets are reacting to significant volatility in the property and banking sectors.
[02:29] Evelyn Hartwell: U.S. bank stocks are facing their sharpest decline since last April.
[02:34] Evelyn Hartwell: This follows the sudden collapse of a major property lender in the United Kingdom.
[02:41] Evelyn Hartwell: The Financial Times reports that the collapse has sent shockwaves through Wall Street.
[02:46] Evelyn Hartwell: It is raising new concerns about the stability of real estate debt.
[02:51] Evelyn Hartwell: These market rations represent the most significant volatility the banking sector has seen since the disruptions of last spring.
[02:59] Evelyn Hartwell: I'm Evelyn Hartwell.
[03:02] Evelyn Hartwell: And I'm Frederick Moore.
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