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Pakistani police arrest ex-PM Khan after court conviction

Update Pakistani police arrest ex-PM Khan after court conviction
Above, security officers escort Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan as he appear in Islamabad High Court in Islamabad on May 12, 2023. (Reuters)
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Updated 05 August 2023
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Pakistani police arrest ex-PM Khan after court conviction

Pakistani police arrest ex-PM Khan after court conviction
  • Party says former premier being moved to Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Prison
  • Aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi says Khan’s party will challenge the verdict
Updated 05 August 2023
Aamir Saeed
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.
The Election Commission of Pakistan last October found Khan guilty of not declaring proceeds from the sale of state gifts received during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022 and sought criminal proceedings against him.
Khan, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, was convicted on Saturday by a district court in the capital Islamabad.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party confirmed in a statement to the media that he was taken from his residence in Lahore to the city’s Kot Lakhpat Prison.
The party also said it had already appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court.
“We will be challenging the verdict in the superior judiciary as we feel that justice has not been done in this case,” PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi told Arab News, raising questions over the “hasty trial and proceedings” in the case.
The conviction came just a day after the Islamabad High Court temporarily halted the district court trial.
“Our applications and appeals have already been pending in the Islamabad High Court for adjudication in the Toshakhana (state gift repository) case, but the district court judge has given a judgment,” Qureshi added.
The former cricket star, 70, was accused of misusing his premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000).
Khan’s party said in a statement that his conviction was “tinted by political posturing” and “conspicuously reached at haste to keep (the) chairman out of (the) electoral race.”
Khan was removed from office in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April last year and has since led a popular campaign against the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accusing it of colluding with military leaders to oust him and keep him locked out of politics.
Attaullah Tarar, Sharif’s aide on legal affairs, said the court had found Khan guilty of misdeclaration of assets in the statement of his wealth.
“You know elected representatives have to declare their assets with the Election Commission of Pakistan,” he said in televised comments.
“Anything you do not declare counts as misdeclaration and that accounts for three-year imprisonment.”

Topics: Pakistan Former Prime Minister Imran Khan islamabad high court

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US military grounds entire fleet of Osprey aircraft following a deadly crash off the coast of Japan

US military grounds entire fleet of Osprey aircraft following a deadly crash off the coast of Japan
Updated 07 December 2023
AP
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US military grounds entire fleet of Osprey aircraft following a deadly crash off the coast of Japan

US military grounds entire fleet of Osprey aircraft following a deadly crash off the coast of Japan
  • The crash raised new questions about the safety of the Osprey, which has been involved in multiple fatal accidents over its relatively short time in service. Japan grounded its fleet of 14 Ospreys after the crash
Updated 07 December 2023
AP

WASHINGTON: The military announced late Wednesday it was grounding all of its Osprey V-22 helicopters, one week after eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members died in a crash off the coast of Japan.
The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps took the extraordinary step of grounding hundreds of aircraft after a preliminary investigation of last week’s crash indicated that a materiel failure — that something went wrong with the aircraft — and not a mistake by the crew led to the deaths.
The crash raised new questions about the safety of the Osprey, which has been involved in multiple fatal accidents over its relatively short time in service. Japan grounded its fleet of 14 Ospreys after the crash.
Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, directed the standdown “to mitigate risk while the investigation continues,” the command said in a statement. “Preliminary investigation information indicates a potential materiel failure caused the mishap, but the underlying cause of the failure is unknown at this time.”
In a separate notice, Naval Air Systems Command said it was grounding all Ospreys. The command is responsible for the Marine Corps and Navy variants of the aircraft.
The Air Force said it was unknown how long the aircraft would be grounded. It said the standdown was expected to remain in place until the investigation determined the cause of the Japan crash and made recommendations to allow the fleet to return to operations.
The US-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane, during flight.
Its unique design has been a factor in multiple incidents. While the investigation into last week’s crash has only just begun, it renewed attention on the aircraft’s safety record, particularly on a mechanical problem with the clutch that has troubled the program for more than a decade. There also have been questions as to whether all parts of the Osprey have been manufactured according to safety specifications.
In August, the Marines found that a fatal 2022 Osprey crash was caused by a clutch failure, but the root cause was still unknown. In its report on the crash, the Marines forewarned that future incidents “are impossible to prevent” without improvements to flight control system software, drivetrain component material strength, and robust inspection requirements.”
Air Force Special Operations Command has 51 Ospreys, the US Marine Corps flies as many as 400 and US Navy operates 27.
The Osprey is still a relatively young aircraft in the military’s fleet — the first Ospreys only became operational in 2007 after decades of testing. But more than 50 troops have died either flight testing the Osprey or conducting training flights in the aircraft, including 20 deaths in four crashes over the past 20 months.
An Osprey accident in August in Australia killed three Marines. That accident also is still under investigation.

 

Topics: Japan Osprey V-22 helicopters

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Three killed in Las Vegas university shooting

Three killed in Las Vegas university shooting
Updated 07 December 2023
AFP
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Three killed in Las Vegas university shooting

Three killed in Las Vegas university shooting
Updated 07 December 2023
AFP

LAS VEGAS: Three people were killed and another critically injured in a shooting at a Las Vegas university on Wednesday, police said, with the suspect also dead.
The incident at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a short distance from the gambling hub’s tourist-packed Las Vegas Strip, was the latest in the United States, where gun violence is a part of the fabric of daily life.
“According to our investigators at the scene, we have three deceased victims and one additional victim in critical condition at a local hospital,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department wrote on social media.
“The suspect in this #ActiveShooter incident is also deceased.”
Police said they had responded to calls around midday (2000 GMT) and indicated that officers had engaged a suspect on the campus, where gunshots rang out in at least two locations.
Television footage showed police military-style vehicles moving near containment lines, as well as dozens of young people being escorted through them.
One woman told local broadcaster KVVU that she had heard a series of loud noises and fled into a building on the campus, from which she was later evacuated by police.
“I was just having breakfast and then I heard three, like, loud booms,” she told the station.
“Then two more, and then police showed up there and ran inside... but then after two minutes boom, boom, boom, more shots. So I ran into a basement, and then we were in the basement for 20 minutes.”
Three hours after the shooting erupted, the university continued to urge people to shelter in place, saying that police were working to clear each building in turn and that the investigation remained ongoing.
“Law enforcement will potentially be coming to your door, follow directions and exit calmly with your hands plainly seen,” the university said.
Brett Forrest, a reporter from local outlet KSNV, told CNN he had been on the campus for an assignment and was continuing to shelter in place with dozens of students and faculty as they awaited the all-clear from police.
“We are told that they’re coming building by building, slowly letting out each building making sure no additional victims or anyone else inside, so they might take a while,” he said.
Universities in the area were shuttered for the rest of the day and flights into the nearby international airport were halted, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Las Vegas is a gambling and entertainment hub that attracts millions of visitors every year, many of whom come to see large, high-profile events.
Last month, the city played host to its inaugural Formula One Grand Prix, and in February it will be the scene of the Super Bowl, the showcase final of the professional American football season.
The city was also the scene of one of America’s deadliest-ever mass shootings, when a gunman opened fire on a crowded music festival in 2017, killing 60 people.
Mass shootings are alarmingly common in the United States, a country where there are more guns than people and where attempts to clamp down on their spread are always met with stiff resistance.
The country has recorded over 600 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nongovernmental organization that defines a mass shooting as four or more people wounded or killed.
The Washington Post, which keeps its own tally of mass shootings, said that as of Monday, there had been 38 such incidents in which at least four people had been killed.
Efforts to tighten gun controls have for years run up against opposition from Republicans, staunch defenders of what they interpret as an unfettered constitutional right to weaponry.
The political paralysis endures despite widespread outrage over recurrent shootings.
 

 

Topics: US shootings Las Vegas shooting

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US reviewing Amnesty International report that said US-made munitions have killed civilians in Gaza

US reviewing Amnesty International report that said US-made munitions have killed civilians in Gaza
Updated 07 December 2023
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US reviewing Amnesty International report that said US-made munitions have killed civilians in Gaza

US reviewing Amnesty International report that said US-made munitions have killed civilians in Gaza
  • The Amnesty International report released on Tuesday said fragments of US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions were found in the rubble of destroyed homes in central Gaza that killed 43 civilians, including 19 children
Updated 07 December 2023
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WASHINGTON: The United States is reviewing an Amnesty International report that said US-made munitions have killed civilians in air strikes in Gaza, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday.
The Amnesty International report released on Tuesday said fragments of US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions were found in the rubble of destroyed homes in central Gaza that killed 43 civilians, including 19 children.

 

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EU should consider sanctions on Hamas, Israeli settler violence -document

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Updated 07 December 2023
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EU should consider sanctions on Hamas, Israeli settler violence -document

EU should consider sanctions on Hamas, Israeli settler violence -document
  • EU sanctions decisions generally need the approval of all 27 member countries, which have struggled to agree common positions on the current crisis as many have different and strongly held views on the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Updated 07 December 2023
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BRUSSELS: The European Union should consider toughening sanctions on Hamas and its finances, and imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank, the bloc’s diplomatic service says in a paper prepared for EU foreign ministers.
The “orientation note,” seen by Reuters on Wednesday, sets out options for ministers to consider at a meeting in Brussels on Monday as they contemplate further responses to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and preparations for the time after the war.
Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that killed some 1,200 people in a cross-border assault on Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, is already listed by the EU as a terrorist organization, meaning any funds or assets that it has in the EU should be frozen.
But the paper suggests the EU could “reinforce sanctions against Hamas and other terrorist groups” by further targeting finances and disinformation. It suggests the EU could set up a special sanctions program dedicated to Hamas.
EU sanctions decisions generally need the approval of all 27 member countries, which have struggled to agree common positions on the current crisis as many have different and strongly held views on the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
France and several other EU countries have said they are already working together to advance proposals to impose sanctions — asset freezes and travel bans — on Hamas commanders.
Senior EU officials, including foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, have also expressed alarm over rising violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied territory of the West Bank.
The discussion paper, prepared by the European External Action Service and other EU officials, suggests an EU response could include bans on travel to the EU for those responsible and other sanctions for violation of human rights.

 

 

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Saudi Arabia’s RSGT to operate major terminal in Bangladesh’s largest port

Saudi Arabia’s RSGT to operate major terminal in Bangladesh’s largest port
Updated 06 December 2023
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Saudi Arabia’s RSGT to operate major terminal in Bangladesh’s largest port

Saudi Arabia’s RSGT to operate major terminal in Bangladesh’s largest port
  • RSGT will operate Patenga Container Terminal in Chittagong Port for 22 years
  • Project marks beginning of larger Saudi presence in Bangladesh, minister says
Updated 06 December 2023
SHEHAB SUMON

DHAKA: Saudi port developer Red Sea Gateway Terminal on Wednesday signed a concession agreement with the Bangladeshi government to manage and operate a newly built terminal in the country’s largest port.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih witnessed the signing ceremony between RSGT and the Chittagong Port Authority at the premier’s office in Dhaka, marking the beginning of a 22-year agreement struck under the public private partnership and G2G format.

The $240 million Patenga Container Terminal, which finished construction earlier this year, is a “lighthouse of hopes for the economic development of Bangladesh,” Hasina said at the ceremony.

“This automated modern terminal will further strengthen the capacity of our ports. In addition, it will facilitate foreign trade, create employment and facilitate the ways of new entrepreneurs … it will work as a gateway to world trade and open new opportunities for the expansion of our trade and establishing connectivity with the world,” she said.

RSGT will be the first foreign company operating Bangladeshi ports, as Dhaka banks on the company’s technological expertise and ports management experience.

“Red Sea Gateway Terminal International is a renowned global terminal operator nominated by the Saudi government,” Hasina said. “With the goodwill RSGTI is operating the Jeddah port along with other ports, they will apply the same expertise, technology and work processes in operating our Patenga Container Terminal. It will open a new door for our country. Our people will also be trained in this process.”

Chittagong Port is the busiest container port on the Bay of Bengal, which handled about 3.2 million 20-foot equivalent units in the 2021 fiscal year and served as the main gateway for Bangladesh’s ocean cargo import and export. This included products from its garment sector, which accounts for 80 percent of the country’s exports and 11 percent of its gross domestic product.

The Patenga Container Terminal, which will be handed over to RSGT next month, is expected to have an annual capacity of 500,000 TEU, or twenty foot equivalent container units.

The signing on Wednesday is the beginning of a “new chapter in our very friendly relationship,” Al-Falih said at the signing ceremony, adding that Bangladesh holds a “special place” in Saudi Arabia that makes the Kingdom keen on continuing its support of the South Asian country’s development.

“Today’s signing of the investment agreement for the Red Sea Gateway company project in Patenga, this award represents, in my opinion, an anchor, economic connection between our two countries, and one of the most important sectors establishing a strong economic relationship, which is logistics,” Al-Falih said.

 “For us, Patenga also symbolizes the importance of logistics as an enabler for other sectors,” he said. “This project, this decision, is a small nucleus that we hope will grow into a large vibrant cluster of Saudi presence here in Bangladesh.”

Topics: Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina Khalid Al-Falih Patenga Container Terminal Chittagong Port Authority (CPA)

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