ISLAMABAD – An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad has issued bailable arrest warrants for key Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul, and central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, in a case stemming from the Sangjani rally held in September last year. The move marks a renewed legal escalation against the leadership of the party founded by former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The case dates back to September 8, 2024, when clashes erupted between PTI supporters and the Islamabad police during a rally on the outskirts of the capital. The demonstration was staged to demand the “immediate release”…
Author: Raja Zahid Khanzada
Opinion | The “Chicken Man” Who Threatened Imran Khan in Jail — The Modern Koça Reza: The Nouveau Riche and the Rusted Mirror By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada ⸻ They say that in the narrow streets of old Istanbul lived a humble copper merchant named Koça Reza. He polished pots for a living, earning barely two coins by the end of the day. Then, one day, fortune stumbled upon him — the Sultan’s royal kitchen commissioned thousands of utensils. Within months, Reza, who once knocked on doors saying, “Sir, would you buy this bowl?”, was bribing palace guards for…
TEL AVIV / GAZA – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed hope that he will be able to announce the release of hostages held in Gaza “in the coming days,” sparking cautious optimism amidst the continuation of Israeli airstrikes that killed at least 70 Palestinians on Saturday. In a televised statement, Netanyahu reaffirmed his uncompromising stance on the military outcome: “Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarised — either the easy way or the hard way, but it will be achieved.” His remarks followed Hamas’s announcement that it had agreed to release captives under a U.S.-brokered peace…
GAZA – Israeli airstrikes continued to pound Gaza on Saturday, defying a public call by U.S. President Donald Trump to “stop bombing” the besieged enclave, resulting in the deaths of at least 70 Palestinians throughout the day. The persistent attacks follow Hamas’s recent partial acceptance of Trump’s 20-point peace proposal aimed at ending the nearly year-long conflict. The Israeli military has maintained that the northern part of Gaza, including the devastated Gaza City, remains an active “combat zone.” In a statement on X, the army urgently instructed residents north of Wadi Gaza to evacuate south via the coastal Rashid Street…
CHICAGO – United States President Donald Trump has authorized the deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Chicago, overriding the firm opposition of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. The move escalates tensions following a recent clash between ICE personnel and protesters, during which a woman was shot by a border patrol agent. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson confirmed the order on Saturday, stating that Trump would not ignore “the lawlessness plaguing American cities.” Jackson added that the deployment was authorized to “protect federal officers and assets.” The order fulfills weeks of threats by Trump to send troops to Chicago, citing civil…
CHICAGO / PORTLAND – U.S. President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Chicago to “protect federal officers and assets” after a federal agent shot an allegedly armed motorist there on Saturday. The move came even as a federal judge blocked the President’s attempt to send military personnel into Portland, another Democratic-run city. The escalating national crisis pits the Trump administration’s increasingly militarized anti-crime and migration crackdown against fierce opposition from Democrats, who accuse the President of an authoritarian power grab ahead of the election. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson confirmed the deployment after weeks of…
DOHA / BERLIN – Hamas’s acceptance of key elements within U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed Gaza peace plan has ignited a wave of international support, with leaders and global institutions seizing on the move as a rare and critical opportunity to halt the devastating conflict. Qatar, a central mediator, immediately welcomed the Hamas statement, noting its “readiness to release all hostages.” Doha’s Foreign Ministry also publicly endorsed President Trump’s call for Israel to immediately halt its bombing of Gaza. Egypt praised Hamas’s response, describing the Trump proposal as a “realistic political vision” capable of delivering “peace and stability” to the…
BANGKOK – A lion kept in a private home in Thailand broke loose and mauled a young boy, leaving him hospitalized with unspecified injuries, an incident that has immediately amplified concerns regarding the nation’s rising trend of private ownership of dangerous wildlife. The Department of Wildlife, National Parks and Plant Conservation (DNP) confirmed the attack on Sunday. The attack occurred Saturday night in the western province of Kanchanaburi, approximately a two-hour drive from the capital, Bangkok. Local media reported that the lion pounced on the child while he was walking on a public road, returning home after playing with other…
VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo, the first pontiff from the United States, used his Sunday address to implore the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to actively care for and welcome immigrants, reinforcing a message of inclusion just days after he criticized the hard-line anti-immigration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. Speaking to thousands of pilgrims gathered for Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo asserted that immigrants must not be met with “the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination.” While the Pope avoided explicitly naming any single country for its treatment of migrants, his call was universal. He urged…
LONDON – Police in southern England have launched an investigation into a suspected arson attack at a mosque in the coastal town of Peacehaven, treating the incident as a “hate crime.” The act comes just days after a fatal attack on a synagogue in the north of the country, raising acute fears of retaliatory violence within faith communities. Officers were called to the mosque on Phyllis Avenue late Saturday evening, around 9:50 pm UK time, following reports of a fire. While no one was injured, the blaze caused damage to the mosque’s front entrance and a vehicle parked outside. In…
