International news brief: Pak's ex-PM Imran Khan's helicopter makes emergency landing & more

Islamabad, Oct 09: Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan's helicopter made an emergency landing in Rawalpindi on Saturday due to a technical problem. In a statement released on Twitter, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party said he was en route to Bani Gala from Dera Ismail Khan town in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa when the helicopter made the emergency landing near Adiala village in Rawalpindi due to a technical snag.

Khan later left for his Banigala residence near Islamabad by road, the party said. Khan had visited Dera Ismail Khan to distribute cash cheques to the flood affectees. Last month a plane carrying the former prime minister returned to Islamabad soon after takeoff due to bad weather conditions over the weekend.

US issues four travel advisories for India this year; maintains same level since March 28
The United States has issued four travel advisories for India this year and since March 28 maintained the same low Level 2 - exercise increased caution - for its citizens planning to travel to the country. Introduced several years ago, the American travel advisories maintained and issued by the Department of State is now broadly bifurcated into four different colour-coded levels from 1 to 4, with one (white) being the safest place to travel and four (red) being the no travel zone recommended for its citizens.

Yellow-coloured Level 2 which advises Americans to exercise increased caution has been the travel advisory for India since March 28 of this year, when the State Department lowered it from Level 3 travel advisory of January 24. In Level 3, the US advises its citizens to reconsider their travel to that particular country. The travel advisory for India has mostly been Level 2 and a few times Level 3.

Putin ups security after Crimea bridge blast

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Saturday authorizing greater security for the Kerch Strait bridge connecting Russia and Crimea after it was damaged by several explosions.

The decree also tightened security around critical infrastructure such as the electric and natural gas supply lines to the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014,

Putin also ordered that an investigative commission be established to probe the blasts. Russian authorities said three had died in the early morning blasts on the bridge.

Authorities believe a truck exploded and caused seven fuel tanker cars on a 59-car train headed towards Crimea on the lower level of the bridge to go up in flames.

With inputs from agencies.