Pakistan death toll rises to 22

Security guards prevented a suicide bomber from killing Pakistan's interior minister in an attack at a political gathering in a north-western town today that left at least 22 dead and 35 wounded, officials said.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao sustained minor injuries, police said. Footage broadcast on state television showed the minister walking to his car after the blast, with bloodstains on his face and white shalwar kameez tunic.