The US looks forward to strengthen the bilateral partnership with Pakistan by expanding trade and working together to protect fundamental freedoms in the years to come, secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said as he greeted Pakistanis on the occasion of their 74th Independence Day.
Pakistan is celebrating their Independence Day on Friday (14).
"On behalf of the Government of the United States of America and the American people, I extend greetings and best wishes to the people of Pakistan as you celebrate your Independence Day," Pompeo said on Thursday.
"The United States looks forward to strengthening our bilateral partnership by expanding US-Pakistan trade and working together to protect fundamental freedoms in the years to come," he said.
For more than 70 years, the US and Pakistan have worked together on issues of critical importance, Pompeo said.
"Last year, despite many challenges, we have made notable progress in advancing the Afghan peace process, and our health and economic cooperation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is saving lives," he said.
Lotus Care, which operates 10 care homes across north-west England, allegedly forced employees to work double shifts due to staff shortages. Workers were reportedly denied sick leave and standard pay. Those who raised complaints were threatened with deportation.
Some migrant workers said they paid up to £10,000 to agencies for visas or placements, an eight-month long BBC investigation revealed.
The investigation found that a Merseyside-based agency arranging their jobs extracted thousands of pounds from them, despite promising free work visas—charging workers for a licence is illegal. According to government regulations, the employer must cover the £284 cost for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
Lotus Care denied all allegations, stating that its recruitment processes strictly adhere to industry standards and legal requirements. The company said it is committed to the highest ethical standards and was unaware of any visa fees paid by workers, claiming it paid the Home Office directly for all paperwork.
However, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that five of the company’s facilities were rated inadequate in recent years. Since 2022, the CQC has documented multiple failings, including one incident in Liverpool where patients reportedly went unbathed for four weeks.
The firm says it is working to resolve the issues raised, and inspectors noted improvements in two of its homes in the past 12 months.
“There’s constant pressure and a climate of fear because management use the threat of cancelling visas and deporting staff to silence complaints,” said one male migrant worker. A female worker added that she could no longer bear the mental stress.
The BBC also reviewed messages from Lotus Care’s management WhatsApp group, through which migrant staff were informed that their CoS was being revoked.
If a CoS is cancelled, an employee has 60 days to find a new sponsor before facing deportation.
Requests for sick leave during extreme heat were reportedly dismissed as “unacceptable”, and workers with fever were advised simply to take paracetamol.
Lotus Care denied these claims as well, stating that the allegations were based on selected messages circulated by disgruntled former staff.
However, several senior figures within the company have been implicated in the claims, supported by migrant testimonies, leaked messages, and phone recordings.
“Allegations of visa abuse are taken incredibly seriously and will always be investigated thoroughly,” said a Home Office official.
Hundreds of lawyers have asked the UK government to come forward and put an end to the crisis in Gaza, using all their available means. They have urged the government to review the trade ties with Israel and impose sanctions as well as travel bans on Israeli ministers.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer received a 36-page letter signed and submitted by around 828 UK-based legal experts including former Supreme Court justices, on Monday. The group of legal experts consisted of former Supreme Court Justices Lord Wilson, former chair of the Criminal Bar Association of England and Wales, Lord Sumption, and Andrew Hall KC along with many professors from Oxford and Cambridge universities.
The letter reminded that “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza” through the restriction of food and aid by Israel. Their new military has also murdered hundreds of Palestinians in the past fortnight. It also pointed put that this is a serious violation of international law.
The letter states all the countries including the UK are legally obliges to “prevent and punish genocide.” It also reminded the PM regarding Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's statement expressing their intention to “take control of all the territory of the Gaza Strip and conquer, cleanse and stay – until Hamas is destroyed."
Thus, the letter demands UK as a permanent member on the UN Security Council, to initiate proceedings that will result in the suspension of a member state.
Israel’s strong denial of these allegations are now studies by the International Court of Justice.
Israel’s western allies and its latest military offensive received massive criticism from mid-May, soon after the blockade. The letter came into the picture amidst this wave of criticism. The UK, France and Canada also issued a joint statement of disapproval last week, towards Israel’s increased military operations in Gaza.
Israeli PM Netanyahu criticized the British, French and Canadian leaders in return for supporting Hamas. The offensive was an attempt to free the 58 hostages held by the group, added Netanyahu.
However, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy opines that this act is “morally unjustifiable.” Therefore UK paused trade deal talks, summoned Israel’s ambassador and imposed fresh sanctions on West Bank settlers last week.
Yet, Netanyahu has announced their Insrael’s decision to take over the Gaza Strip and displace thee residents from the north to the south. At least a 100 Gazans were killed per day, in the first week’s attack for the same, as per Hamas-run rescue authorities and health ministry.
The Hamas-run rescue authorities informed that the war began in October 2023, in which1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Since then, at least 54,056 people might have lost their lives.
Germany and Finland also responded saying Israel must allow humanitarian aid into Gaza immediately.
Sweden has summoned the Israeli ambassador to its foreign ministry, asking to “ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza as well.” They said Israel has all the right to defend itself but "the current way the war is waged is unacceptable".
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Ali, who represents Birmingham Hall Green & Moseley, allegedly used public money to do up his constituency office at the Gulzare Habib Islamic Centre in Sparkhill, Birmingham. (Photo: X/@TahirAliMP)
LABOUR MP Tahir Ali is being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) for alleged breaches of spending rules.
Ali, who represents Birmingham Hall Green & Moseley, allegedly used public money to do up his constituency office at the Gulzare Habib Islamic Centre in Sparkhill, Birmingham, The Times reported.
Three sources told The Times that the inquiry relates to “office costs, travel and accommodation” and concerns the office on College Road.
A source told The Times that Ali spent money renovating the office but was later asked to leave by mosque leaders after they backed independent candidate Mohammad Hafeez at the last general election.
Ali allegedly took office fixtures and fittings that were not his and threw them into a skip.
Ali paid £2,400 a quarter in office rent between August 2020 and January this year and claimed £11,987.20 in maintenance, recreation and repair costs in 2021. In 2023 he spent £2,760 replacing and installing sockets and paid £2,500 to Kaz Solution, a Birmingham-based decorating company.
Ali has told party officials the inquiry was about moving from an old office to a new one. He has said: “I am confident that I have been compliant with Ipsa rules and will fully co-operate with the investigation.” Ipsa has visited his new office and the mosque. An Ipsa spokesman said no further information would be published until the investigation concludes.
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British authorities received no assistance from Singaporean counterparts in the case
A senior member of British Airways cabin crew is on trial accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague at his home, following separate allegations of rape made by two other women during overseas work trips.
Amardip Dhariwal, 54, known as Amo, is facing one charge of assault by penetration at Reading Crown Court. The incident is said to have occurred in May 2022 at his home in Bracknell, Berkshire, after he invited a fellow crew member for dinner and drinks.
The court heard that Dhariwal and the alleged victim consumed beer, wine and whisky while watching a film. The woman, who was engaged at the time and is now married, reportedly fell asleep during the film and later claimed she woke to find Dhariwal touching her inappropriately. She pretended to remain asleep before leaving his home when he went to bed.
The alleged victim told the court that she had once referred to the evening as a “date” in a message and had previously called Dhariwal her “work husband.” However, she insisted that the encounter was not consensual. Dhariwal told police that “anything that happened was consensual.”
At the time of the alleged incident, Dhariwal was employed as an in-flight lead on both long-haul and short-haul routes for British Airways. The current charge is the only one he is formally being tried for, but the court has heard testimony from two other women who accuse him of rape in separate incidents abroad.
The first alleged rape occurred during a work trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in June 2018. A female colleague claimed she was drunk and fell asleep in a hotel room, only to wake up and realise she had been assaulted.
The second woman alleges she was raped in Dhariwal’s hotel room in Singapore in March 2020. She told the court she woke up naked in his bed, with no recollection of how she got there. When she later confronted Dhariwal on Facebook, he allegedly replied, “You didn’t say no in bed, hun.”
While the Singapore police reportedly investigated the matter, they took no further action. British authorities received no assistance from Singaporean counterparts in the case, the court was told.
These two historical rape allegations are not included in the current indictment but have been presented as part of the prosecution's case to establish a pattern of alleged behaviour.
Dhariwal, from Southall, west London, denies the charge of assault by penetration. He maintains that all interactions with the alleged victims were consensual.
The trial is ongoing.
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Pakistani policemen look on as workers remove a fallen railway tower after a storm in Multan on May 28, 2025. (Photo by SHAHID SAEED MIRZA/AFP via Getty Images)
AT LEAST ten people have been killed and 43 others injured as violent storms unleashed flash floods and destructive winds across Pakistan's central and northern regions, officials confirmed on Wednesday (28).
The latest fatalities occurred in Pakistani Kashmir, where four women and one man lost their lives, while three people died in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Two additional deaths were reported in Punjab province, according to the state disaster management authority.
"One person is still missing," said Haroon Rasheed, a senior government official in Pakistani Kashmir, adding that 12 houses and a mosque were completely destroyed in a single village during the storms.
The extreme weather caused widespread devastation, with collapsing walls and roofs accounting for the majority of casualties. In Attock district, a passenger van overturned due to rain and dust storms on the Ghazi-Lawrencepur Road, killing one passenger.
Four children were injured when their house wall collapsed in Rehmo village following powerful windstorms.
This latest bout of severe weather follows last Saturday's (24) deadly storms, which claimed at least 14 lives and injured over 100 people across the country.
The National Disaster Management Authority has warned that stormy conditions are expected to persist in northern and central Pakistan until Saturday (31). The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) indicated that extreme weather may continue through May 31, with upper and central Punjab districts - including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, and Faisalabad - facing the highest risk.
Pakistan is experiencing an alarming pattern of extreme temperatures arriving earlier than usual. Traditionally, summer begins in early June, but soaring temperatures in April and May have become increasingly common. In April, temperature reached near-record levels of 46.5 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Punjab province.
The unprecedented heat has forced educational authorities to take preventive measures. Schools in Punjab and southwestern Balochistan provinces have closed early for summer holidays due to the dangerous temperatures, disrupting the academic calendar.
Pakistan has been grappling with a succession of natural disasters in recent years, from devastating floods to prolonged droughts and heatwaves, which have collectively affected millions of people and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Emergency services and disaster management authorities are working to provide relief to affected areas, though the scale of destruction has stretched resources thin. Rescue operations continue in the worst-hit regions, where infrastructure damage has complicated access to remote communities.
The storms have also caused significant damage to transportation networks, with railway infrastructure suffering particularly heavy losses. Pakistani police and workers were photographed removing fallen railway towers in Multan following the severe weather.
Weather forecasters warn that the current weather pattern reflects broader climatic shifts affecting the region. The early onset of extreme heat, combined with increasingly volatile storm systems, presents mounting challenges for a country already struggling with economic difficulties and limited disaster preparedness resources.
As Pakistan braces for continued severe weather through the weekend, authorities have urged residents in vulnerable areas to remain vigilant and follow safety guidelines.
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