Live: Pak Oppn to level treason charges against Imran Khan, says TV report
Live news updates: Opposition parties say cancellation of the no-confidence vote is illegal, accuse Khan of throwing the country into a constitutional crisis.
 "Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan")
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan
Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga booked by Punjab Police
The Punjab Police has booked Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga on the charges of making provocative statements, promoting enmity and criminal intimidation.
The case was registered on a complaint by AAP leader Sunny Ahluwalia, a resident of Mohali.
In his complaint, Ahluwalia accused Bagga of making provocative, false and inflammatory statements to outrage religious feelings, promote disharmony and create feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will.
Bagga, who came under attack from the Aam Aadmi Party for his alleged derogatory tweets against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had claimed on Saturday that a team of Punjab Police had reached his home in Delhi to arrest him.
The AAP is in power in Punjab as well.
The FIR against Bagga and an unidentified person was registered on April 1 at Punjab State Cyber Crime Police Station in Mohali.
Bagga was under relevant IPC sections, including 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place, etc.), 505 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report) and 506 (criminal intimidation), according to the FIR.
5.8 magnitude offshore earthquake jolts southern Philippines
An offshore earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 jolted Surigao del Sur province in southern Philippines on Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
The institute said the quake, which occurred at 6:24 p.m. local time (1024 GMT), hit at a depth of 1 kilometer, about 75 kilometers northeast of Bayabas town.
The tremor was also felt in the provinces of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Norte, the institute said, adding that the tectonic quake will trigger aftershocks but not cause damage.
The Philippines has frequent seismic activity due to its location along the Pacific "Ring of Fire.
PCB brass relieved after No-trust motion against PM Imran Khan dismissed
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) heaved a sigh of relief on Sunday after President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly post following dismissal of 'No-Confidence' motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan by the deputy speaker.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has taken suo moto cognisance of the current situation following the dismissal of a 'No-Confidence' motion and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly, the spokesperson of the apex court also confirmed on Sunday.
"The feeling of relief is temporary but at least it means that we can carry on work as usual until the next general elections are held" PCB source told PTI.
Uncertainty had prevailed in the PCB itself after the 'No-Trust' motion was filed against the former Pakistan captain by the joint opposition parties in the National Assembly.
The source said seeds of doubts were created within PCB hierarchy since the PM is involved in nominating and getting his candidate elected as chairman of the board, who then makes all major policy decisions.
"Since the PM is involved in making key decisions in cricket affairs obviously there was ambiguity was to what will happen if the no-trust motion is successful against Imran Khan," another board source said.
"We have seen in the past that change of governments and political uncertainty has also led to changes in the board," he added.
MNS man held for playing Hanuman Chalisa via loudspeaker, released later
A day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray had spoken of countering azaan from loudspeakers on mosques with Hanuman Chalisa, one of his party workers was detained and later released in Asalfa area of Mumbai on Sunday afternoon for attempting it, police said.
A Ghatkopar police station official said Mahendra Bhanushali was detained after he installed loudspeakers on a tree and started playing Hanuman Chalisa in Himalaya Society in Asalfa in Chandivali.
"A police team arrived at the spot, detained Bhanushali and seized the sound equipment. He was released some two hours later. Bhanushali was fined Rs 5,500 and a notice under CrPC section 149 has been issued to him to not repeat the act," he said.
Bhanusahli condemned the police's act and said he was being harassed for "performing aarti".
MNS chief Raj Thackeray had on Saturday demanded that loudspeakers of mosques be shut down.
Why are loudspeakers in mosques played at such high volume? If this is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at higher volume, he had warned while addressing a Gudi Padwa rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
Lithuanian film director Mantas Kvedaravicius killed in Ukraine
Lithuania's president on Sunday said Mantas Kvedaravicius, a prominent film director in the Baltic country, has been killed in Ukraine, reportedly in the besieged port city of Mariupol where he was working on a documentary.
President Gitanas Nauseda said the country had "lost a creator who worked in Ukraine and was attacked by aggressor Russia".
The 45-year-old filmmaker was killed in Ukraine on Saturday according to news outlets. The circumstances of his death couldn't immediately be confirmed.
Kvedaravicius was known for his documentaries on military conflicts in Chechnya and Ukraine. His film Mariupol premiered at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival.
News of Kvedaravicius death were met with grief and shock in Lithuania's artist community.
"Terrible loss to the Lithuanian film community and the whole world. Our hearts are broken, Giedre Zickyte, Lithuanian documentary film director and producer, wrote on Facebook.
Delhi saw 500 protests, demonstrations and sit-ins in Jan-Feb: Police
Over 500 protests, demonstrations and sit-ins have taken place in the national capital in the first two months of this year, according to official data.
While a dharna or sit-in is a way of showing disagreement with something by refusing to leave a place, a protest is a strong complaint showing disagreement, disapproval or opposition, police said.
Using these definitions, the data stated that in January and February, there were 103 dharnas, 49 demonstrations and 349 protests in the city.
Of the total number of dharnas, 60 were political, 33 related to issues of labourers, five were youth or student programmes, and five were communal in nature, it stated.
Thirty demonstrations were political, 13 related to issues of labourers and six communal in nature.
The data stated that among the 349 protests in these two months, 164 were political, 104 related to labourers, 74 youth or student programmes, and four communal in nature.
Last year (January to December), the number of sit-ins, protests and demonstrations was 3,470. In 2020, it was 2,757 for the same period, it said.
Karauli communal clashes: Curfew continues, SIT formed
Curfew remained clamped in Karauli in Rajasthan on Sunday while more than a dozen people were arrested and an SIT formed to probe the communal clashes that broke out in the district during a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate the Hindu new year.
Incidents of arson and vandalism were reported on Saturday after stones were pelted at the rally when it was passing through a Muslim-dominated locality, according to police. At least 35 people were injured in the violence.
Mobile internet remained suspended on Sunday and police said they were examining videos of the violence that have been shared on social media.
"Around 30 people were detained and a dozen of them have been arrested. A special investigation team led by an Additional Superintendent of Police has been formed to probe the incidents," DIG Rahul Prakash, who is camping in Karauli, said.
"'Curfew is continuing. Some vendors will be allowed to sell essentials like vegetables and milk in the presence of police," he said, adding that an assessment of losses and damage is underway.
The violence has sparked a fresh war of words between the ruling Congress in the state and the BJP.
UK PM congratulates Ukrainian President over Kyiv pushback
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson congratulated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for successfully pushing back Russian forces from key regions in the country, including the capital city of Kyiv.
In a telephone call on Saturday evening amid reports of Ukrainian forces gaining control of Kyiv, Johnson noted that huge challenges remain in other parts of the country in the ongoing conflict with Russia.
Both leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to ratchet up sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase the economic pressure on his war machine.
"The Prime Minister spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again this evening. He congratulated Ukraine's brave armed forces for successfully pushing back Russia's invading army in a number of areas, but recognised the huge challenges that remain and the immense suffering being inflicted on civilians, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The Prime Minister updated President Zelenskyy on the progress made at last week's military donor conference, convened by the UK with 35 countries, and committed to continue to step up defensive support. President Zelenskyy underscored the urgency of Ukraine's fight for its survival as a free and democratic nation and the importance of international assistance, the spokesperson said.
Zelenskyy is also said to have updated Johnson on the status of peace negotiations and welcomed further UK involvement in the ongoing diplomatic efforts.
"Both leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to ratchet up sanctions to increase the economic pressure on Putin's war machine, so long as Russian troops remain on Ukrainian territory, the official added.
Talks on new UN climate report going down to the wire
Negotiations between scientists and governments over a key United Nations climate report were going down to the wire on Sunday as officials from major emerging economies insisted that it should recognise their right to development.
The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN-backed science body, is meant to show the paths by which the world can stay within the temperature limits agreed in the 2015 Paris accord.
The agreement aims to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) this century.
However, with temperatures already more than 1.1C higher than the pre-industrial baseline, many experts say that is only possible with drastic cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
The closed-doors meeting was meant to wrap up on Friday so that the report could be presented to the public on Monday.
But several observers, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the proceedings, told The Associated Press that the talks were still far from finished with less than 24 hours to go before the publication deadline.
One senior climate scientist said about 70 per cent of the text had so far been agreed and there was still hope the negotiations might finish on Sunday.
India has emerged as a key voice pushing for recognition in the report that developing countries have contributed a far smaller share of the carbon dioxide emissions already in the atmosphere than industrialised nations and should therefore not need to make the same steep cuts.
India, which remains heavily dependent on coal, also wants poor countries to receive significantly more financial support to cope with climate change and make the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Others, such as oil exporter Saudi Arabia, argue that fossil fuels will still be needed for decades to come and phasing them out too quickly could hurt the world's poorest.
The text being negotiated is a summary for policymakers that will serve as the basis for government talks at international climate meetings such as the upcoming UN summit in Egypt this fall.
Kremlin says Western sanctions 'beyond reason'
The Kremlin says that by imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin the West has demonstrated it has abandoned its sense of reason.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in televised remarks Sunday that the sanctions against Putin were going beyond the edge of reason, adding that they showed that the West is capable of any stupidities.
Peskov added that Putin's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is hypothetically possible once negotiators from the two countries prepared a draft agreement to be discussed.
Cong still 'very strong', losing elections will not be end of it: Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said the Congress is still a "very strong" party in the country and losing elections will not be the end of it, as has been seen in the past.
Asserting that all that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had warned the government about was turning out to be true, Gehlot said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take the Opposition seriously and act accordingly.
The chief minister was speaking at a press conference here.
The Congress faced a massive defeat in the 1977 general elections, even Indira Gandhi had lost. But the party made a strong comeback and formed the government, Gehlot said.
"Losing elections does not mean it is the end of the Congress," he said, adding that the party is "very strong" even today and has a presence across the country.
His remarks came in the backdrop of the Congress' drubbing in the recent Assembly polls in five states. The party failed to win any of the states and lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Such an environment has been created in the country as if the Congress is the enemy, the chief minister said.
States look for solutions as US fentanyl deaths keep rising
As the addiction and overdose crisis that has gripped the US for two decades turns even deadlier, state governments are scrambling for ways to stem the destruction wrought by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
In statehouses across the country, lawmakers have been considering and adopting laws on two fronts: reducing the risk to users and increasing the penalties for dealing fentanyl or mixing it with other drugs.
Meanwhile, Republican state attorneys general are calling for more federal action, while some GOP governors are deploying National Guard units with a mission that includes stopping the flow of fentanyl from Mexico.
It's a fine line to help people and try to get people clean, and at the same time incarcerate and get the drug dealers off the streets, said Nathan Manning, a Republican state senator in Ohio who is sponsoring legislation to make it clear that materials used to test drugs for fentanyl are legal.
The urgency is heightened because of the deepening impact of the drugs.
Last year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the nation had hit a grim milestone.
First fuel ship allowed in Yemen's Hodeida as part of truce
A tanker carrying badly needed fuel arrived in Yemen's blockaded port of Hodeida on Sunday, as a ceasefire meant to stop the fighting in the war-torn country for two months entered its first full day.
The truce agreement, which took effect on Saturday evening, allows for shipments of fuel to arrive in Hodeida and for passenger flights to resume from the airport in the capital of Sanaa. Both Hodeida and Sanaa are held by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The agreement comes after a significant escalation in hostilities in recent weeks that saw the Houthis claim several attacks across the country's borders, targeting the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Essam al-Motwakel, spokesman for the Houthi-run oil corporation, said the Saudi-led coalition allowed the vessel carrying mazut, a low-quality fuel oil into the port at Hodeida.
The port handles about 70 per cent of Yemen's commercial and humanitarian imports.
He called on UN envoy Hans Grundberg to work with the coalition and accelerate the arrival of other vessels to ease a longtime fuel crisis in Houthi-held areas.
Sacramento police says multiple victims reported in shooting
Police in Sacramento say multiple victims have been reported after a shooting in the city's downtown.
The Sacramento Police Department says the shooting happened early on Sunday morning. The conditions of the victims were not immediately known.
Video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street as the sound of rapid gunfire could be heard in the background. Video showed multiple ambulances had been sent to the scene.
Police provided few details about the circumstances surrounding the shooting but said in a tweet that a large police presence will remain and the scene remains active.
UK condemns evidence of atrocities in Ukraine
A Ukrainian presidential adviser says authorities have found evidence of serious war crimes by Russian troops on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Sunday scores of killed civilians have been found on the streets of Kyiv' suburbs of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel after the withdrawal of Russian troops. He compared the scene to "a horror movie.
Arestovych said some victims were shot in the head and had their hands bound, and some of the bodies had signs of torture. He accused Russian troops of raping women and trying to burn their bodies.
Arestovych said Ukrainian authorities will investigate the alleged war crimes and track down the perpetrators.
The reports drew international condemnation. In Britain, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said there is increasing evidence of indiscriminate attacks against innocent civilians and said they must be investigated as war crimes.
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First Published: Apr 03 2022 | 6:22 AM IST
