PAKISTAN'S parliament session was on Thursday (31) adjourned abruptly till Sunday (3) after opposition lawmakers demanded an immediate vote on a no-confidence motion against prime minister Imran Khan.
The adjournment came amid vociferous protest from the opposition who had tabled the motion on March 28.
Khan has suffered further setbacks as two main allies of the government - Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) - have joined the ranks against him.
The government lost its majority after the allies ditched it and pressure is mounting on the cricketer-turned-politician.
His ministers, however, said Khan would fight until “the last ball of the last over”.
Khan needs 172 votes in the Lower House of 342 to foil the opposition's bid to topple him.
However, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), said the opposition has the support of 175 lawmakers and the prime minister should resign.
No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office. Also, no prime minister in Pakistan's history has ever been ousted through a no-confidence motion.
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Sri Lanka's former presidents condemn Wickremesinghe’s imprisonment
Aug 29, 2025
THREE former presidents of Sri Lanka expressed solidarity with jailed ex-leader Ranil Wickremesinghe last Sunday (24) and condemned his incarceration as a “calculated assault” on democracy.
The former political rivals of Wickremesinghe, who was president between July 2022 and September 2024, said the charges against him were frivolous and politically motivated.
Wickremesinghe has been accused of using $55,000 (£40,780) in state funds for a stopover in Britain while returning home after a G77 summit in Havana and the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2023.
The 76-year-old was rushed to the intensive care unit of the main staterun hospital in Colombo last Saturday (23), just a day after being remanded in custody. Doctors said he was suffering from severe dehydration on top of acute diabetes and long-standing high blood pressure.
“What we are witnessing is a calculated onslaught on the very essence of our democratic values,” former president Chandrika Kumaratunga, 80, said in a statement.
Her successor Mahinda Rajapaksa, 79, also expressed solidarity with Wickremesinghe and visited him in prison last Saturday, shortly before he was moved to intensive care.
Maithripala Sirisena, 73, who sacked Wickremesinghe from the prime minister’s post in October 2018 before being forced by the Supreme Court to reinstate him 52 days later, described the jailing as a witch hunt.
Wickremesinghe’s own United National Party (UNP) said last Saturday it believed he was being prosecuted out of fear that he could stage a comeback.
He lost the presidential election in September to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the current head of state.
Wickremesinghe was arrested as part of Dissanayake’s campaign against endemic corruption in the country.
He has maintained that his wife’s travel expenses in Britain were met by her personally and that no state funds were used.
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Labour MPs Jeevun Sandher and Louise Jones marry in multicultural wedding
Aug 28, 2025
TWO of Labour’s newest MPs, Jeevun Sandher and Louise Jones, have announced their marriage after a week-long celebration that combined Sikh and Christian traditions.
Sandher, elected last year as MP for Loughborough, and Jones, MP for North East Derbyshire, tied the knot earlier this month in ceremonies that reflected their different cultural backgrounds. The couple shared photographs on social media, calling the occasion a celebration of “two heritages” as they began their life together.
“I am delighted to share with you all that, over the summer, I married my wonderful wife, Louise Sandher-Jones,” Sandher wrote in a post. “The wedding was the best day of my life. I’m very happy and we’re very excited to start the next chapter of our shared future together.”
Jones added that she would be changing her surname to Sandher-Jones “to reflect our new family”, though she told constituents her parliamentary email address would remain unchanged for now. “We had a beautiful wedding that brought together traditions from our two different heritages which made it all the more special,” she said.
The pair first met on the campaign trail in Loughborough in January 2023, when Jones was standing for local office and Sandher was also campaigning. Their engagement was later announced in the House of Commons by Leader of the House Lucy Powell.
Sandher, in his mid-thirties, was born in Luton to Punjabi parents and has spoken proudly of his Indian roots. Soon after entering Parliament in 2024, he said he wanted to help strengthen Labour’s ties with India and its diaspora. He now serves as co-chair of the India All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).
Reflecting on their relationship, Sandher told the BBC last year that a shared understanding of political life had been a cornerstone. “If Louise was to say, ‘we have to cut these plans because of this reason,’ I would completely understand – and vice versa,” he said.
The newlyweds join a small group of parliamentary couples in modern times, following in the footsteps of political pairs such as Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls, and Virginia and Peter Bottomley.
(with inputs from PTI)
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Figures show a 257 per cent rise in convictions of Indian nationals for sexual offences between 2021 and 2024 (Photo:iStock)
UK sees sharp increase in sex crime convictions of Indian nationals
Aug 28, 2025
INDIAN nationals have recorded the sharpest increase in convictions for sexual offences among foreign nationals in the UK, according to an analysis of official government data.
Figures from the UK Ministry of Justice, based on the Police National Computer and assessed by the Centre for Migration Control (CMC), show a 257 per cent rise in convictions of Indian nationals for sexual offences between 2021 and 2024. The number of cases rose from 28 in 2021 to 100 last year — an increase of 72 cases.
Overall, convictions of foreign nationals for sexual offences rose by 62 per cent during the same period, from 687 in 2021 to 1,114 in 2024. In comparison, convictions of British citizens for similar crimes rose by 39 per cent.
Other nationalities with steep increases include Nigerians (166 per cent), Iraqis (160 per cent), Sudanese (117 per cent) and Afghans (115 per cent). Among south Asians, Bangladeshis saw a 100 per cent rise and Pakistanis a 47 per cent increase.
The CMC analysis also shows Indian nationals ranking third in serious crime convictions overall, with a 115 per cent increase between 2021 and 2024. The number of such cases more than doubled, from 273 in 2021 to 588 last year.
The thinktank noted that there were nearly 75,000 non-summary convictions of foreign nationals in the UK over the four-year period, although violent and fraud-related offences among foreigners decreased.
The analysis comes alongside separate UK Home Office data suggesting that the number of Indian nationals in detention has almost doubled in the past year.
India also remains among the largest sources of UK visas, with 98,014 study visas issued last year and the highest number of work and tourist visas.
Earlier this month, India was added to an expanded list of countries whose nationals can be deported immediately after sentencing, with appeals to be pursued from their home country.
Foreign secretary David Lammy said: “We are leading diplomatic efforts to increase the number of countries where foreign criminals can be swiftly returned, and if they want to appeal, they can do so safely from their home country.”
(PTI)
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Nepal court allows unclothed Hindu ascetics to enter Pashupatinath temple
Aug 28, 2025
NEPAL’s Supreme Court has ruled that Hindu holy men who follow the tradition of remaining unclothed cannot be barred from entering the Pashupatinath temple. The court said that nudity, when practised as a religious custom, is not the same as obscenity.
The ruling concerns the Naga sadhus, ascetics devoted to Lord Shiva who renounce family ties and worldly possessions, including clothing. Covered in ash and wearing dreadlocks, they are a familiar sight at the temple during major festivals.
“I want to thank the Supreme Court,” said 45-year-old Eakadasa Baba, who travelled from India on a pilgrimage to the temple. “It does not mean we roam around the city or villages without clothes. We remain unclothed only in our own place, within the temple,” he added.
The case arose from a petition seeking to stop their temple entry, claiming their nudity disturbed other devotees. The court dismissed it, saying: “Nudity and obscenity are not the same. Nudity, when practised as part of religious or cultural tradition, cannot automatically be considered offensive.”
The judgment, issued last year, was published this week, court spokesperson Nirajan Pandey said.
Hundreds of Naga sadhus visit Kathmandu every year for the Maha Shivaratri festival at Pashupatinath. Many stay on at the temple after the event, which is held in February or March. The temple provides food and a travel allowance to the sadhus.
Rajendra Giri, a 51-year-old Nepali Naga sadhu, said their tradition does not “disturb” anyone.
“They have designated spaces and follow strict disciplines,” cultural historian Govinda Tandon said. “As the court rightly noted, their nudity is not obscenity, it’s a core part of the Naga tradition.”
The court said banning their entry would violate national and international protections of religious freedom.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Narendra Modi addresses the audience during the launch of Maruti Suzuki's new assembly line for the Suzuki e-Vitara, Maruti's first electric car, at the Hansalpur plant, some 80 km from Ahmedabad, in India's Gujarat state on August 26, 2025. (Photo by SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Modi begins Asia tour to boost ‘Make in India’ and counter US pressure
Aug 28, 2025
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi heads overseas on Thursday (28) to meet the leaders of China, Japan and Russia, seeking to build closer diplomatic ties as New Delhi battles fallout from US president Donald Trump's escalating tariff offensive.
By drawing nearer to some of the world’s largest economies, including his first visit to China in seven years, Modi hopes to to boost support for his flagship "Make in India" initiative, mainly from Japan, as Trump's measures spur new partnerships.
"This will be an opportunity to launch several new initiatives to build greater resilience in the relationship, and to respond to emerging opportunities and challenges," foreign secretary Vikram Misri said of the Japan visit.
While New Delhi says it is relying on talks to resolve Trump's additional tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian exports, Japan's top trade negotiator cancelled a US visit over a snag in the two nations' tariff deal.
Modi’s visit to Japan on Friday (29) and Saturday (30) gains significance as both belong to the Quad grouping, along with Australia and the US, which seeks to counter China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Despite strained ties with Washington, India said Modi and Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba would discuss expanding cooperation within the framework of the regional security grouping.
Japanese companies are set to invest up to $68 billion (£52.36bn) in India in the next decade, public broadcaster NHK said, as Suzuki Motor pledged to pump in about $8bn (£6.2bn) over the next five to six years.
The two nations were partners "made for each other", Modi said this week, after visiting a Suzuki plant in India.
Their leaders are expected to discuss tie-ups on critical minerals and Japanese investments in high-value manufacturing in India, officials said.
India is believed to hold substantial deposits of rare earths, used in everything from smartphones to solar panels, but lacks the technology to mine and process them extensively.
Modi next travels to China for a two-day summit of regional security bloc Shanghai Cooperation Organisation from Sunday (31). His visit comes as the neighbours strive to defuse tension following deadly border clashes in 2020.
He is expected to meet both Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin for two-way talks.
China and India seek to resume direct flights after a gap of five years and are discussing easing trade barriers, including reopening border trade at three Himalayan crossings.
India is also considering easing investment rules that put greater scrutiny on Chinese companies, while Beijing recently agreed to lift curbs on exports of fertilisers, rare earth minerals and tunnel boring machines to India.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of Washington's long-held desire for the world's largest democracy to act as a counterweight to China, which analysts say could offer New Delhi leverage in the effort to secure lower tariffs.
Otherwise, India could get pushed towards China and possibly join a Beijing-led free-trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, said Devashish Mitra, an economics professor at New York's Syracuse University.
"In the situation and climate president Trump has created, it won’t be surprising if both India and China find this a mutually beneficial transaction," he said.
But there is limited scope to improve relations with China, said William Yang, senior Northeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group.
"For now, China will be happy to reciprocate India’s desire to mend some areas of the strained ties by holding high-level diplomatic talks, but is unlikely to pursue a broader diplomatic breakthrough while existing differences remain," he warned.
(Reuters)
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