LONDON: Britain’s new government will end the use of the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge to house migrants off the south coast of England as part of its overhaul of the asylum system, it said on Tuesday. Use of the vessel, which can house up to 500 men, began under the Conservative government with the aim of cutting the 8 million pounds a day cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers while their claims are processed. Anchored off Dorset, it became a high-profile symbol of Britain’s tough asylum policy under the Conservatives, with human rights campaigners comparing it to a prison ship…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
LONDON: Although its cause has always found sympathetic ears in Western democracies, British parliamentarians hinted that they would like to help the PTI ‘internationalise’ its case over the alleged intimidation and harassment faced by the party following its ouster from power in 2022. The remarks, made by Conservative peer Lord Daniel Hannan, came during a hearing held at the House of Lords on Tuesday, which saw more than a dozen parliamentarians listen as PTI figures detailed allegations of electoral fraud, the breakdown of rule of law and prolonged incarceration of party leader Imran Khan, as well as growing censorship and intimidation by…
Vice President Kamala Harris opened up a marginal two-percentage-point lead over Republican Donald Trump after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and passed the torch to her, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. That compares with a marginal two-point deficit Biden faced against Trump in last week’s poll before his Sunday exit from the race. The new poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, followed both the Republican National Convention where Trump on Thursday formally accepted the nomination, and Biden’s announcement on Sunday he was leaving the race and endorsing Harris. Harris, whose campaign says she has secured the Democratic nomination, led Trump 44 per cent to 42pc…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a landmark speech to the US Congress on Wednesday, seeking to rally support at a time of tensions between his country and its main military backer over the offensive in Gaza. Washington has been increasingly critical of the mounting toll on civilians from more than nine months of onslaught in the narrow coastal territory, while protests in Israel by families of hostages taken by Hamas are also causing headaches for Netanyahu at home. The Israeli premier’s visit comes at a time of political upheaval in the United States, with a gunman targeting Republican candidate Donald Trump, and…
United States is “always concerned” at the arrest of opposition leaders and urges the peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday regarding the arrest of PTI leader Raoof Hasan and the raid on the party’s office. Hasan, himself a spokesperson for the PTI, was arrested by the Islamabad police on Monday during a raid conducted by the Islamabad police and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on the PTI’s digital media wing, with the interior ministry accusing the party of peddling “anti-state propaganda”. During a State Department press briefing last night, Miller was asked to comment on the…
A passenger plane crashed on takeoff in Kathmandu on Wednesday, with the pilot rescued from the flaming wreckage but all 18 others aboard killed, police in the Nepali capital told AFP. Nepal has a woeful track record on aviation safety and the Himalayan republic has seen a spate of deadly light plane and helicopter crashes over the decades. The Saurya Airlines flight was carrying two crew and 17 of the company’s staff members, Nepali police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki told AFP. “The pilot has been rescued and is being treated,” he added. “Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner. We are in the…
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday signed an amendment to the Christian Marriage Act, 1872, raising the minimum age of marriage for both males and females to 18 years. Since religious laws and personal laws are devolved subjects after the passage of 18th amendment, the new age of marriage for Christians will be applicable to Islamabad Capital Territory. At the same time, activists belonging to the Christian community have decried upgradation of only one section of the 150-year-old law and said that the whole law needed to be upgraded. The Act amends Section 60 of the Christian Marriage Act,…
ISLAMABAD: Agriculture being the biggest employing sector supports Pakistan’s economy and addresses food security challenges. However, this sector has not improved in the last three decades and has adversely been impacted by climate change, urbanisation and population growth. This was stated in the report, ‘Solving the great puzzle: Pakistan’, which was launched at a national multi-stakeholder dialogue on food systems. A statement said the event was organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan at a hotel in Islamabad on Tuesday. According to the report, an average Pakistani household spends around 50 per cent of their monthly income on food,…
QUETTA: After nine months of protests against strict travel regulations on the Pak-Afghan border and several rounds of talks, locals in Chaman and government officials have reached an agreement on all but one point — the visa regime. Following successful talks over the weekend, the border crossing was reopened with some relaxation in travel restrictions. However, officials have refused to roll back the ‘one-document regime’ imposed in October last year, under which entry into Pakistan was only allowed on a visa and passport. Earlier, the gateway had been liberally used by locals to travel between the two countries upon showing Pakistan’s National…
ISLAMABAD: Despite its misgivings with the top judge, the PTI will not file a reference against Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the head of a key opposition alliance said on Tuesday. PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who also heads the opposition alliance known as Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), was quite clear when asked about the PTI’s overtures against CJP Isa. Talking about Imran Khan’s objections to the top judge and the PTI’s repeated expressions about a lack of confidence in the apex court’s chief justice, Mr Achakzai categorically said that PTI would not be taking any such action. When asked about the…
