World

France's counterterrorism prosecutor's office has opened an investigation after two people were wounded in a knife assault in Paris near the former offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo -- the scene of a 2015 terrorist attack that killed 12 people.

The prosecutor's office said on September 25 that an investigation had been opened into “attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise" and "conspiracy with terrorists."

Two suspects were arrested, one of whom had blood on his clothing. A blade -- described as a machete or a meat cleaver --- was recovered at the scene of the attack.

Europe 1 radio quoted police as saying the suspect with blood on his clothing was 18 years old and was known to security services. He was detained near the Bastille plaza in eastern Paris, according to French media reports.

Reuters quoted a Paris police source as saying that one arrested suspect was Pakistani and the other was Algerian.

Officers cordoned off the area, including the former offices of Charlie Hebdo, after a suspicious package was reported nearby. Police said no explosives were found.

The Premieres Lignes news-production agency said the wounded were its employees -- a man and a woman taking a cigarette break outside.

"They were both very badly wounded," the founder and co-head of Premieres Lignes, Paul Moreira, told the AFP news agency.

It is unclear whether the attack is linked to Charlie Hebdo, which moved its activities out of the area after Islamic militants attacked its editorial offices in 2015, killing 12 people.

The incident comes as a high-profile trial is under way in Paris of 14 people including three fugitives, accused of helping two militants carry out the January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo.

The court heard that the suspects had sought to avenge the Prophet Muhammad, nearly a decade after Charlie Hebdo published cartoons mocking him.

Police moved Charlie Hebdo's head of Human Resources from her home this week after threats against her life.

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa, and the BBC

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has advised Pakistan to undertake "immediate corrective actions" and suspend the issuance of any new pilot licenses in the wake of a scandal over falsified licenses, according to an official and a document seen by Reuters.

The recommendations from ICAO, a specialized agency of the United Nations that works to ensure safety in international air transport, come days after Pakistan opened a criminal probe into 50 pilots and five civil aviation officials who allegedly helped them falsify credentials to secure pilot licenses.

"Pakistan should improve and strengthen its licensing system to ensure that it takes into account all necessary processes and procedures and prevents inconsistencies and malpractices before new licenses are issued and privileges of suspended licenses are re-established," said ICAO, in a previously unreported letter to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) last week.

A Pakistani Aviation Ministry official told Reuters that the country has not issued any new licenses since July, in the wake of the scandal.

The Montreal-based agency's recommendations come ahead of an ICAO audit to assess the country's aviation safety management systems.

The ICAO audit, originally scheduled for November this year, has been moved to June, effectively giving the PCAA more time to work on reforms, the official said.

A PCAA spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

An ICAO representative declined to comment on specific details, but said in an email that ICAO is "helping Pakistan to recognise concerns, and if they do not take swift action on them we will actively notify other countries about them."

The pilot scandal has tainted Pakistan's aviation industry and hurt flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) , which has been barred from flying into Europe and the United States.

In addition to revoking the licenses of 50 pilots, Pakistan has also suspended another 32 pilots for a year.