Tang accepted bribes, including cash and property valued at over 268 million yuan (approximately $37.6 million), while holding various official positions from 2007 to 2024, according to Xinhua news agency. The Changchun Intermediate People’s Court suspended his death sentence for two years, noting that he had confessed to his crimes. China’s Communist Party expelled Tang in November 2024, six months after the anti-graft watchdog initiated an investigation and removed him from his ministerial post. Context and Anti-Corruption Campaign Tang’s investigation was unusually swift and followed similar probes into other high-ranking officials, including Defence Minister Li Shangfu and his…
Author: Raja Zahid Khanzada
This year’s 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session lacked the usual prime ministerial face-off—but the sparks flew during the Right of Reply exchanges between lower-ranking diplomats. Prime Minister Sharif’s Stark Reminder Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recalled the May 2025 conflict with India, asserting that Pakistan’s armed forces had “brought down seven Indian planes” during the hostilities. He praised US President Donald Trump for his role in brokering a ceasefire, calling him “a man of peace” and noting that Pakistan had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Sharif also delivered a subtle rebuke to India’s narrative…
Documents filed in a US federal court reveal new charges against the alleged assassin, Nikhil Gupta, including money laundering, credit card fraud, drug and arms trafficking, and attempted murder of a person in Nepal or Pakistan. According to the fresh court documents, US government lawyers claim that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was not limited to New York but also included plans to kill another person in Nepal or Pakistan. Details of the Plot and New Evidence US prosecutors allege that former Indian RAW officer Vikash Yadav promised to supply firearms and even arrange clearance for an aircraft to…
Following an earlier statement from the Foreign Office (FO) that Pakistanis aboard the LPG tanker were safe and sound and moving out of Yemeni waters, (Former Caretaker) Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Naqvi posted details on X. He revealed that the vessel was attacked on September 17 while it was docked at the Ras Issa port, which was under the control of Houthi rebels. Details of the Attack and Hostage Situation Context of the Attack: The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been firing missiles and drones at Israel and Red Sea shipping, claiming solidarity with the Palestinian cause, amid…
President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the United States had offered Iran only a short reprieve from sanctions in return for the country handing over its whole stockpile of enriched uranium, an offer he described as “unacceptable.” Russian-Chinese Bid Fails at Security Council An 11th-hour effort by Iran allies Russia and China to postpone the sanctions until April failed to win enough votes on the Security Council on Friday, meaning the sanctions will take effect at midnight GMT on Saturday. Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov accused Western governments of sabotaging diplomacy…
Britain, France, and Germany have initiated the return of sanctions on Iran at the UN Security Council, based on accusations that Tehran violated a 2015 deal aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear bomb. Iran staunchly denies seeking nuclear weapons. The termination of the decade-long nuclear agreement, initially forged with Iran, the P5+1, is likely to exacerbate tensions in the Middle East, coming just months after Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites. UN sanctions, originally imposed by the Security Council between 2006 and 2010, were reinstated at 8 pm EDT on Saturday. Efforts to delay the return…
The HPV vaccine, initially introduced in Pakistan in 2022, has now been rolled out nationwide as part of the routine immunisation programme to protect adolescent girls against cervical cancer. However, vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan remains a significant public health challenge, fueled by a combination of misinformation, safety concerns, and mistrust of authorities. In the most recent incident yesterday, the HPV vaccination team was working at a non-formal education school in the village of Ratuwal, within the jurisdiction of the Kathian Sheikhan police station, when a 55-year-old local resident entered the school and attempted to attack a female health supervisor. According…
The controversy came to light when photographs of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s address at a UN Security Council session on Artificial Intelligence (AI) rapidly spread across the social media platform X, with users drawing attention to Junejo seated in the background. Several users also shared screenshots from her years-old Twitter (now X) timeline, which indicated support for Israel—a position in stark contrast to Pakistan’s enduring pro-Palestinian stance. Following the social media outcry, Asif stated on X that only the Foreign Office (FO) could account for Junejo’s presence at the session. The FO later clarified that she was not part of…
The relationship between Pakistan and India has been historically strained, leading to four wars since their independence. Earlier this year, a brief but intense military flare-up occurred after India executed air strikes within Pakistan following the Pehlgham attack in occupied Kashmir, which resulted in over two dozen deaths. Pakistan denied any involvement, and the crisis was eventually eased by US intervention. Since then, ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have become exceptionally acrimonious. The verbal conflict unfolded during the fifth day (Sept. 27) of the 80th UNGA session in New York, where the diplomatic exchanges were notably heated despite the…
Britain, France, and Germany have triggered the return of sanctions on Iran at the UN Security Council, based on accusations that Tehran violated a 2015 deal designed to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb. Iran maintains that it is not seeking nuclear weapons. The collapse of the decade-long nuclear agreement, originally made with Iran, Britain, Germany, France, the United States, Russia, and China, is expected to aggravate tensions in the Middle East, coming shortly after Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites. UN sanctions imposed by Security Council resolutions between 2006 and 2010 were officially reinstated at 8…
