Category: International

Islamabad:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif accused Pakistan Tareek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan of ‘backstabbing’ him in 2013 by carrying out protest rallies despite assuring him of cooperation after elections, reported Dawn.

Addressing a meeting of the PML-N’s Central Working Committee (CWC) in Lahore, Nawaz said upon assuming power in 2013, he visited Imran at his residence in Banigala and they agreed on a working relationship for the country’s sake.

Nawaz further said Imran, thereafter, went to London along with other political leaders where a “plot was hatched” as per which protests were launched in the country upon the latter’s return, Dawn reported.

Nawaz said he was left befuddled by the development, adding that he should have been informed about the matter or whatever the PTI’s reservations were, according to the report.

“I visit you and you stab me in the back by assuring cooperation, and then you begin protests in Islamabad’s D-Chowk?” Dawn quoted Nawaz as saying.

He added that his cabinet also called for a crackdown on the protests by the police but he asked them to desist, Dawn reported.

The former PM added that it was a ‘matter of record’ that his government had not impeded the formation of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the 2013 elections, despite being in the position to do so through a coalition.

“We call for accountability of those who destroyed and ruined Pakistan,” the PML(N) chief said.

Urging the people to take a judgment call on which political party had served them the best, Nawaz said they should consider these aspects before casting their votes.

“I have the right to ask my nation this question: What do you think, before voting, about Nawaz Sharif’s performance was and what was that of his opponents?…the nation should answer this. I have a slight complaint with the nation as well. A prime minister is removed in a false case of not taking a salary from his son and the nation stays silent, this is not right,” the former PM said.

Addressing the meeting, Nawaz said false cases against the party were ‘exposed’.

Lauding the performance of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he also predicted a turnaround in the country’s fortunes going forward, according to Dawn.

Speaking before him, the PM said he was at peace with stepping down as the PML(N) chief and wanted his brother to assume the party’s presidency.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser met early Sunday with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss what the kingdom described as the “semi-final” version of a wide-ranging security agreement between the countries.

The announcement by the state-run Saudi Press Agency comes as the strategic deal had been upended after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage back to the Gaza Strip.

In the time since, a punishing Israeli airstrike campaign and ground offensive there has killed over 35,000 Palestinians, endangering the security deal that had included Saudi Arabia diplomatically recognizing Israel for the first time since its founding in 1948.

Saudi state media released no images of Jake Sullivan and Prince Mohammed meeting in Dhahran, a city in the kingdom’s far east that’s home to its state-run oil giant, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. known as Saudi Aramco.

“The semi-final version of the draft strategic agreements between the kingdom and the United States of America, which are almost being finalized — and what is being worked on between the two sides in the Palestinian issue to find a credible path — were discussed,” the statement released after the talks said.

That included “a two-state solution that meets the aspirations and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people” and “the situation in Gaza and the need to stop the war there and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid,” the statement added.

Saudi Arabia has long called for an independent Palestinian state to be created along Israel’s 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital. However, that likely may be untenable for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government hinges on support from hard-liners who oppose a two-state solution and support Israeli settlements on lands Palestinians want for that state.

The White House had acknowledged Sullivan’s trip and that he would later head on to Israel. However, there was no immediate statement from the U.S. on the discussions, other than to say they would be “including the war in Gaza and ongoing efforts to achieve a lasting peace and security in the region.”

Saudi Arabia has long relied — like other Gulf Arab nations — on the U.S. to be the security guarantor for the wider Middle East as tensions over Iran’s nuclear program in recent years have spilled over into a series of attacks. The proposal now being discussed likely would deepen that, and also reportedly includes access to advanced weapons and possibly trade deals as well.

Saudi Arabia has also pushed for nuclear cooperation in the deal that includes America allowing it to enrich uranium in the kingdom — something that worries nonproliferation experts, as spinning centrifuges opens the door to a possible weapons program. Prince Mohammed has said the kingdom would pursue a nuclear weapon if Iran had one. Iran in recent weeks has increasingly threatened it could do so.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in serious condition after surviving an assassination attempt, his deputy Robert Kalinak said on Saturday. 

Fico was attacked on Wednesday in the central Slovak city of Handlova. When he approached a group of spectators, one person pulled out a handgun and shot the politician multiple times at close range. Fico was immediately rushed to the hospital, and the assailant was detained on the spot. 

Kalinak, who also serves as defense minister, spoke to the news channel TA3 outside the Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, where Fico is being treated. He remained cautiously optimistic about the prime minister’s recovery. 

“He is in stable condition, but the four gunshot wounds have caused extensive injuries,” Kalinak said. He added that Fico had undergone additional surgery, and that there still could be complications. “In any case, his condition is very serious.”

Kalinak said that he had a brief conversation with the prime minister in the hospital, and thanked the doctors and the Slovak public to their support. “I ask everyone for a little bit more patience and a strong belief that everything will turn from bad to good,” he said. 

The authorities identified the suspect as a 71-year-old former security guard named Juraj Cintula. He was placed in pre-detention on Saturday. 

Although the suspect’s exact motives remain unclear, the government believes that the attack was politically motivated. Many leading politicians have linked the assassination attempt to “hateful rhetoric” and the politically charged climate in the country.

Fico is a polarizing figure in the EU due to his position regarding the conflict in Ukraine. The politician has repeatedly urged against further escalation with Russia and suspended the deliveries of weapons to Kiev.

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NEW DELHI: Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind Tesla, SpaceX, and social media platform X, landed in Bali, Indonesia on Sunday to inaugurate the Starlink satellite internet service in the world’s largest archipelagic nation.
The launch ceremony is set to take place at a public health clinic in Denpasar, the capital of Bali, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in attendance.Musk will also sign an agreement aimed at improving connectivity in Indonesia’s health and education sectors, according to Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the country’s Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment, who greeted Musk upon his arrival.
Indonesia, with its population of over 270 million spread across 17,000 islands and three time zones, faces challenges in providing high-speed internet access to its remote regions. “Our remote regions need Starlink to expand high-speed internet services, especially to help with problems in the health, education and maritime sectors,” Pandjaitan stated.
Local internet providers, relying on base transceiver stations, struggle to reach outer islands due to limited coverage. Starlink’s low-orbit satellites are expected to deliver faster internet speeds with nationwide coverage, as explained by Communication and Informatics Minister Budi Arie Setiadi.
During his visit, Musk is also scheduled to attend the 10th World Water Forum, which focuses on addressing global water and sanitation challenges. This marks Musk’s first in-person visit to Bali, following his virtual participation in the B-20 business forum in 2022, shortly after his highly publicized acquisition of Twitter.
Musk’s visit comes on the heels of recent visits by Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who expressed interest in manufacturing and investing in Indonesia’s digital infrastructure, respectively. These developments align with Indonesia’s Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision, which aims to position the country among the world’s top five economies by its centennial anniversary of independence.

Linked to South Africa’s ongoing case accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention), the new request, filed on 10 May, asked the ICJ to order Israel to “immediately withdraw and cease its military operations in the Rafah governate”.

An ‘obscene exploitation’

Appearing before the Court, Gilad Noam, co-agent of Israel, refuted South Africa’s claims, terming it an “obscene exploitation” of the “most sacred” Genocide Convention.

“South Africa presents the Court yet again for the fourth time within the scope of less than five months, with a picture that is completely divorced from the facts and circumstances.”

He stated that Israel is engaged in a “difficult and tragic” armed conflict, a fact essential to “comprehend the situation” but one that is ignored by South Africa.

“It makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide … facts matter and truth should matter. Words must retain their meaning. Calling something a genocide again and again does not make it genocide,” he added.

Israel did not start the war

Mr. Noam further stated that it was not Israel that started the war, recalling the “horrific onslaught” on 7 October 2023 by Hamas and other Palestinian groups targeting Israeli civilians and communities, killing over 1,200 and taking 254 women, men and children hostage.

He added that Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza continue to attack Israel, displacing communities and destroying homes and infrastructure. Moreover, Hamas continues to use Palestinian civilians as human shields.

“Rafah, in particular, is a focal point for the ongoing terrorist activity,” he said, accusing Hamas of having “intricate underground tunnel infrastructure” with command-and-control rooms, military equipment, and potentially for smuggling Israeli hostages out of Gaza.

He also noted that even though the ICJ called for the immediate release of the hostages, they remain under captivity.

Not a large-scale operation

“The reality is that any State put in Israel’s difficult position would do the same. The right of defence against the brutality of the Hamas terrorist organization cannot be in doubt. It is an inherent right afforded to Israel, as it is to any State,” Mr. Noam said.

The Israeli representative stated his country’s commitment to protecting itself, “in accordance with the law, which is why it has worked diligently to enable the protection of civilians, even as Hamas seeks deliberately to endanger them.”

“That is why there has not been a large-scale assault on Rafah, but rather specific, limited and localized operations prefaced with evacuation efforts and support for humanitarian activities,” he added.

Fully and sincerely engaged

Concluding his statement, Mr. Noam cited the Court’s rejection of South Africa’s earlier requests for similar provisional measures, and added that it would be “wholly inappropriate” to grant a provisional measure under such terms.

“South Africa has not given sufficient reason why the Court should now deviate from or essentially duplicate its earlier decisions,” he said, noting that Israel is “engaged fully and sincerely” in the proceedings, “despite the outrageous and libelous claims levelled against it.”

“[Israel] has made clear time and again its unwavering commitment to its obligations under its international law. It has done this while the fighting continues and its citizens are still under attack,” he said.

Ukraine’s Usyk beat UK’s’s Fury by split decision to become the first unifying title fighter since 1999.

Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury by scoring a razor-thin split decision to win the world’s first undisputed heavyweight championship in 25 years, an unprecedented feat in boxing’s four-belt era.

The United Kingdom’s Fury was the early aggressor but Usyk gradually took charge and the “Gypsy King” was saved by the bell in the ninth round before slumping to his first career defeat on Sunday.

“It’s a great time. It’s a great day,” Usyk said.

Ukraine’s Usyk joins the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Mike Tyson as the undisputed heavyweight champion, the first since boxing recognised four major belts in the 2000s.

With the win, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion can legitimately claim to be the best of this era, although a rematch expected in October could provide another twist.

The UK’s Lennox Lewis was the last man to unify the heavyweight belts – three at the time – after beating Evander Holyfield in 1999.

Usyk got the better of the opening rounds before Fury hit his stride in the fourth, engaging in some showmanship as he started to catch Usyk with vicious body shots, but the Ukrainian battled back with several stinging reminders of his power.

Usyk turned the tide in the eighth round and few would have been surprised had the referee stopped the fight in the ninth as the Ukrainian’s powerful punches to the head left Fury reeling.

Usyk hurt Fury (34-1-1) with a left hand and eventually sent him sprawling into a corner in the final seconds of the round, getting credit for a knockdown right before Fury was saved by the bell. Fury struggled to mount a consistent attack after nearly getting stopped, and the knockdown turned out to be the decisive factor in the decision.

“Thank you so much to my team,” Usyk said while fighting back tears in the ring after the win.

“It’s a big opportunity for me, for my family, for my country. Slava Ukraini!”

Fury wants rematch

Fury kissed Usyk on the head after the final bell. Fury also said he wants the rematch in October.

“I believe I won that fight,” Fury said. “I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them, and I believe it was one of those what-can-you-do, one of them … decisions in boxing. We both put on a good fight, best we can do.

“You know, his country is at war, so people are siding with a country at war. But make no mistake, I won that fight, in my opinion, and I’ll be back. I’ve got a rematch clause.”

Usyk landed 41 percent of his 407 punches, while Fury landed just 31.7 percent of his 496 punches, according to CompuBox statistics. Usyk both threw (260 to 210) and landed (122 to 95) more power punches.

Usyk has now joined the elite club of fighters who held every major world championship belt at heavyweight – and he is the first to do it in the four-belt era, which began in 2007. The list of undisputed champions includes Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson.

Stars line up at ring side

Wladimir Klitschko was among the legends watching along with Saudi-based football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.

Riyadh’s newly built, 22,000-capacity Kingdom Arena was packed when Usyk strode out for his ringwalk at 1:30am (22:30 GMT) wearing a green cossack coat and fur hat.

Fury followed, dancing to Barry White and Bonny Tyler’s “Holding out for a Hero” in a green sleeveless jacket and back-to-front baseball cap.

It set the stage for a clash of two fighters with impeccable pedigrees and very different approaches to the sport.

In the co-main event, Australia’s Jai Opetaia won a unanimous decision over Mairis Briedis of Latvia to win the vacant IBF cruiserweight title. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Anthony Cacace scored a TKO win over Joe Cordina of Wales to retain his IBO super-featherweight title and claim the IBF belt.