MOSCOW: A Russian court has sentenced US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to more than six years in prison for violating strict military censorship laws, a ruling her employer slammed as a “mockery of justice”. Kurmasheva, 47 was convicted on Friday in a secret trial that was not announced in advance — the same day a separate Russian court sentenced US journalist Evan Gershkovich for 16 years on espionage charges. Both journalists have rejected the charges against them as baseless. Kurmasheva, an editor with the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) outlet in Prague, was arrested last year while travelling to Russia…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
NASIRIYAH: Iraq hanged 10 “terror” convicts on Monday, officials said, in the fourth such execution in three months, prompting a rights group to call for an end to the death penalty. Courts have handed down hundreds of death and life imprisonment sentences in recent years to Iraqis convicted of “terrorism”, in trials rights groups have denounced as hasty. Under Iraqi law, terrorism and murder offences are punishable by death, and execution decrees must be signed by the president. A health official said 10 Iraqis “convicted of terrorism crimes and of being members of the militant Islamic State group were executed…
DARUVAR: Croatia was in a state of shock on Monday after a gunman opened fire in a nursing home, killing at least six people in a rare instance of gun violence in the Balkan country. Five residents and one employee were dead after the gunman entered the private nursing home in the eastern town of Daruvar and went on a killing spree, according to the police. The gunman then fled the scene and was later arrested at a cafe, where he was carrying unregistered firearms. The man had a previous police record for disturbing public order and domestic abuse, said…
JERUSALEM: The Israeli parliament gave preliminary approval on Monday to a bill that declares the main United Nations relief organisation for Palestinians a “terrorist organisation” and proposes to sever relations with the body. The vote against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is the latest step in an Israeli push against the agency, which Israeli leaders have accused of collaborating with Hamas in Gaza. The bill was approved in a first reading and will be returned to the foreign affairs and defence committee for further deliberation, the Knesset information service said. The bill’s sponsor, Yulia…
Atlanta: Delta Air Lines cancelled more than 600 flights on Monday, as the US air carrier continued to struggle to restore operations after last week’s global cyber outage, even as other airlines were recovering from the incident. About 16 per cent of Delta’s flights had been canceled as of 7am EST, according to data from FlightAware, out of roughly 1,100 flights to or from the United States overall, the web site said. The issue has stranded thousands of Delta travelers across the United States, with some having to rent cars to drive hundreds of miles while others could have to wait…
FARNBOROUGH: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Monday to reduce the UK’s “long-term reliance on overseas workers” as he unveiled a new skills training organisation aimed at boosting productivity and economic growth. Starmer said his government hopes the new body — named Skills England — will transform “not just how we train our young people and adults, but also the relationship between business and education system”. In a speech at the Farnborough International Airshow, the UK leader added that many young people had been “let down” by a lack of skills training, creating an overreliance on migration within the…
Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign in the critical battleground state of Wisconsin on Tuesday for the first time as a US presidential election candidate after enough Democratic delegates pledged to endorse her, clearing her path to the nomination. Harris has become the party’s presumed nominee after President Joe Biden withdrew from his re-election campaign on Sunday, following weeks of party acrimony and internal polls showed his support collapsing in a battle against Republican rival Donald Trump. Less than 36 hours after Biden endorsed Harris, she secured the nomination on Monday night by winning the pledged support of a majority of the…
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday directed Federal Ombudsperson Fauzia Viqar to expedite efforts to eradicate harassment of women in workplace and ensure security of their rights. He expressed these views during a meeting with the federal ombudsperson at the Aiwan-i-Sadr. The president lauded the hard work of Federal Ombudsperson Secretariat for Protection against Harassment (FOSPAH) and its role in women’s development. He said it was time to eliminate harassment and ensure proper property rights for women. Ms Viqar also presented an annual report for the year 2022-23 to the president that was prepared by FOSPAH. “FOSPAH must increase…
CHITRAL: A Kalash girl’s marriage to a Chinese national wasn’t solemnised here due to her community’s concerns over his “identity and character.“ Ou Jun, 36, recently reached Rumbur valley from his Zhejiang region to wed Shaheen Ara, 24, after six-year-long friendship. Activists of the Kalash community prevented the couple from going to a local court to solemnise their marriage and asked the Chinese national to produce a no objection certificate from his country’s embassy in Islamabad. Chairman of the Rumbur village council Sultan Khan told Dawn that the community was concerned about the girl’s safety, so verification of the prospective…
ISLAMABAD: An important cabinet meeting, which was expected to consider the issue of banning the opposition PTI today (Tuesday), was postponed due to the prime minister’s “hectic schedule”, PM House sources said. The meeting was called off on Monday even though it had been reported that the apex body would deliberate upon the proposal that has become a thorny issue for the ruling coalition. Media reports suggested the cabinet has been asked for approval of proceedings against former president Arif Alvi, former prime minister Imran Khan, and former NA deputy speaker Qasim Suri under Article 6 of the Constitution. An official told Dawn that…
