A British woman who slapped an immigration officer on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali after missing her flight due to an expired visa was sentenced to six months in prison. Video showing Auj-e Taqaddas cursing and hitting an officer at Bali's international airport in July was widely shared on social media. The video shows the 43-year-old throwing a lengthy tantrum after being asked to pay a fine of $4,000 for overstaying her visa, which had expired in February last. After being sentenced, Taqaddas said the court was corrupt and she had been tortured by police. She was arrested at a shopping mall after she failed to appear in court several times. She was charged with violent behavior against a government official and prosecutors had sought a sentence of one year in prison.
Former Pak PM Gilani barred from leaving country
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was stopped from leaving the country by security officials at the Lahore airport. According to the Federal Investigation Agency, Gilani had reached the airport to catch a flight for South Korea. However, his name was on the no-fly list. At the immigration counter, Gilani was told that his name was on the black list and he could not leave the country. Reacting strongly, the senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader said he had always appeared in court in the different ongoing cases against him. "There was no point in placing my name on (the) no-fly list. I was not fleeing the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan's sole agenda seems to be targeting his political opponents," he said. Gilani is facing several corruption cases and the accountability court of Islamabad had rejected his plea seeking exemption from personal appearance in a case related to awarding an alleged illegal advertising contract to a private ad agency.
Pak govt abolishes Haj subsidy to save money
The Pakistan government’s decision to abolish the Haj subsidy will save Rs 450 crore to national exchequer, the country’s religious affairs and interfaith harmony minister Noorul Haq Qadri has said. The decision to abolish the Haj subsidy was taken during a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad recently, sparking a debate whether Islam allows a subsidised Haj or not. “The previous (PML-N) government was paying Rs 42,000 subsidy on each pilgrim which put an additional burden of Rs 450 crore on national exchequer. Keeping the current financial situation of the country, the Federal Cabinet has decided to withdraw this subsidy,” Qadri was quoted as saying. This year 184,000 Pakistanis will perform Haj out of which 107,000 will go on government quota whereas the remaining will perform the pilgrimage on private quota, the minister said.
Pak PM orders action after miscreants vandalise Hindu temple
Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan ordered swift and strong action against the perpetrators who vandalised a Hindu temple in Sindh province. The miscreants set the holy books and idols on fire. Khan took to Twitter to call upon the provincial authorities to take swift action against the culprits “The government of Sindh must take swift and decisive action against the perpetrators. This is against the teachings of the Quran," Imran was quoted as saying. There was no caretaker at the temple because the community felt that it was safe enough, since it was surrounded by their houses. After the incident, the Hindus in the area held a protest in the city. Rajesh Kumar Hardasani, the adviser of the Pakistan Hindu Council, has demanded the formation of a special task force for the security of Hindu temples. Police said that they were hunting for the attackers but so far no arrest was made. Nobody or group took responsibility of the attack. Hindus form almost two per cent of the 220 million population in Muslim-majority Pakistan. Most of the Hindus live in Sindh province.
Anti-corruption body arrests Pak minister
Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the anti-corruption body, has arrested a senior leader and provincial minister of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for owning assets beyond his known sources of income. Aleem Khan, a minister in the provincial cabinet of Punjab and one of the PM Imran Khan’s top lieutenants, was taken into custody after he appeared before NAB. The NAB has been probing Khan in multiple inquiries, including one involving an offshore company revealed in the Panama Papers leak. A spokesperson for the minister said that Khan had submitted his resignation to Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar after his arrest.
Pakistan frees Taliban co-founder at US request
Pakistan released Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar at US' request to help expedite the Afghan peace talks, Washington's special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said. Khalilzad, who returned to the US from almost a month-long peace mission to South Asia and the Middle East, said that he had discussed conditions for the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan with the Taliban, but there had been no agreement on this issue yet. Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, Khalilzad acknowledged that the US and the Taliban had reached a framework agreement in Doha last month, but more talks were needed for reaching a conclusion.
Canada mosque shooter jailed for life
A Canadian man who killed six worshippers in a Quebec City mosque in 2017 has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole for 40 years. Alexandre Bissonnette, 29, pleaded guilty to six charges of first-degree murder and six of attempted murder. More than 50 people were at the mosque in January 2017 when he began shooting during evening prayers. Bissonnette has been behind bars since the incident. He will be allowed to approach the parole board after serving 40 years, ruled Superior Court Justice François Huot. The prosecution had asked for a total of 150 years behind bars, which would have been the harshest jail penalty ever handed down in Canada. The judge said: "His crimes were truly motivated by race and a visceral hatred towards Muslim immigrants", but added that "punishment should not be vengeance."
Former Maldives president charged with corruption
Former president of Maldives Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom was charged with corruption, money-laundering, and theft by Maldivian police. on Wednesday evening. According to reports, police filed a case with the country’s Prosecutor General. The charges against Yameen include giving false statements to the police. Earlier state investigative authorities filed a police report regarding Yameen’s illegal financial transactions when he was president, which includes leasing islands and pocketed the money instead of depositing with the government treasury. Earlier this month, the Maldivian presidential office put out a statement asking citizens to report information on corrupt practices and abuses of power committed by members of the previous government under Yameen.
Thai poll panel disqualifies princess as PM candidate
Thailand's election panel has disqualified the sister of the king from running for prime minister, putting an end to a stunning, short-lived candidacy by echoing King Maha Vajiralongkorn's words that royalty should be "above politics." The Election Commission released the official list of parties' candidates for prime minister without the name of Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi, 67, the king's elder sister. The list excluded Ubolratana "because every member of the royal family comes within the application of the same rule requiring the monarch to be above politics and to be politically neutral," the panel said in a statement after a meeting. The princess had accepted the nomination of the Thai Raksa Chart party, a populist movement drawn from supporters of ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been at the centre of more than a decade of turmoil in Thai politics.
Former Brazilian president gets additional 13- year jail
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sentenced to nearly 13 additional years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges, judicial sources said. Lula, who served as President from 2003 to 2010, is currently serving a sentence of 12 years and one month on charges of accepting a luxury beachfront apartment from a construction firm in exchange for government building contractsed. The additional sentence, which lasts for 12 years and 11 months, also stems from a property deal and renovation project which prosecutors claim was actually a bribe. According to the new charges, construction companies spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating an apartment that Lula and his family often used for getaways. In exchange, the government turned a blind eye to fraud and corruption schemes by the companies, which were involved in a corruption scandal centred on state oil giant, Petrobras.
