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Imran Khan pleads not guilty

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Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges a day after his arrest sparked nationwide protests.
Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested, police say, and eight people have died nationwide in the protests.

There is tight security at the police guesthouse where he is being detained, which is also serving as a courtroom.

The arrest dramatically escalated tensions between Mr Khan and the military at a time of economic crisis.

Conviction would disqualify the former cricket star – prime minister from 2018 to 2022 – from standing for office, possibly for life. Elections are due later this year.

Dramatic footage showed dozens of security officers forcibly removing the 70-year-old from court on Tuesday, then bundling him into a police vehicle.

On Wednesday Mr Khan was indicted on charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts during his premiership, in a case brought by the Election Commission.

He denies the allegations and says he fulfilled all legal requirements.

(BBC News)

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Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan stabbed

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Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan sustained serious injuries early Wednesday morning after an intruder broke into his 11th-floor apartment in Bandra (West), Mumbai.
The incident, suspected to be an attempted burglary, escalated into violence when Saif Ali Khan confronted the assailant.

He was stabbed six times, with one injury dangerously close to his spine. Khan is currently undergoing treatment at Lilavati Hospital.

Saif Ali Khan’s team has issued a statement in this regard.

“There was an attempted burglary at Mr Saif Ali Khan’s residence. He is currently in hospital undergoing a surgery. We request the media and fans to be patient. It is a police matter We will keep you updated on the situation,” read the statement.

(TOI)

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Gaza ceasefire deal reached by Israel and Hamas

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Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet.

US President Joe Biden said it would “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal’s final details were still being worked on, but he thanked Biden for “promoting” it. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said it was the result of Palestinian “resilience”.

Many Palestinians and Israeli hostages’ families celebrated the news, but there was no let up in the war on the ground in Gaza.

The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported Israeli air strikes killed more than 20 people following the Qatari announcement. They included 12 people who were living in a residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, it said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. Most of the 2.3 million population has also been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter due to a struggle to get aid to those in need.

Israel says 94 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas, of whom 34 are presumed dead. In addition, there are four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom are dead.

Qatar’s prime minister called for “calm” on both sides before the start of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire deal, which he said would see 33 hostages – including women, children and elderly people – exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Israeli forces will also withdraw to the east away from densely populated areas of Gaza, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to begin returning to their homes and hundreds of aid lorries will be allowed into the territory each day.

Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and a return to “sustainable calm” – will start on the 16th day.

The third and final stage will involve the reconstruction of Gaza – something which could take years – and the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies.

Sheikh Mohammed said there was “a clear mechanism to negotiate phase two and three”, with the agreements set to be published “in the next couple of days, once the details are finalised”.

He also said Qatar, the US and Egypt, which also helped broker the deal, would work together to ensure Israel and Hamas fulfilled their obligations.

“We hope that this will be the last page of the war, and we hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement,” he added.

(BBC News)

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South Korean President arrested

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South Korean authorities have arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol, who faces charges of insurrection following an attempt to impose martial law.
Yoon is now at the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) – he said he agreed to the interrogation “even though it is an illegal investigation, in order to prevent any unsavoury bloodshed”.

Authorities served the warrant after an hours-long standoff with his security staff and supporters, which saw investigators using ladders and wire cutters to enter Yoon’s residence.

Yoon had been holed up for weeks – investigators tried to arrest him earlier this month but failed.

This marks the first time in South Korea’s history that a sitting president has been arrested.

Yoon’s impeachment trial, which will decide if he is removed from office, started yesterday but ended within four minutes because of his absence.

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