International News & Current Affairs in English

ISLAMABAD, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The party of Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan suspended street protests seeking his release, it said on Wednesday, following media reports of hundreds of arrests by security forces in a sweeping  midnight raid  in the capital. The sit-in had been called off, Zulfikar Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), confirmed, citing what he called "the massacre". He was referring to Tuesday night's raid in Islamabad after the protests resulted in the deaths of at least six people, among them four paramilitary soldiers and two protesters. Visiting protest sites on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said Pakistan's law enforcement agencies had successfully cleared protesters from the spot targeted for the sit-in and other areas of the capital. "I congratulate the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, Islamabad, Punjab, and Sindh police for their courageous role," Naqvi added. Tho...

Pakistan security forces launched a night-time operation Tuesday to disperse thousands of supporters of the country’s jailed former Prime Minister  Imran Khan  after the crowd broke through barricades and gathered in the capital Islamabad demanding his release. Authorities had enforced a security lockdown in the country, imposed internet blackouts, and barricaded major roads leading to the capital to prevent protesters from entering after Khan called on supporters to march on parliament. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters that protesters could remain on the outskirts of Islamabad, but threatened extreme measures if they entered the city. Defying the warnings, protesters marched to the edge of the city’s high-security red zone and clashed with security forces, amid volleys of tear gas and reports of mass arrests. Several people reportedly died in the unrest, mostly from the security services. On Wednesday Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said ...

The streets were dark, and cars were packed. People who moved on foot carried bags with their belongings, unsure about where they were going but certain that they could not stay.  This was the scene on Tuesday in Nuweiri, central Beirut, moments after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings, the first for these areas. We were trying to visit the site of an Israeli air strike hours earlier, in the afternoon, that came without warning, flattened one building, and killed at least seven people. But we could not get there. Crowds were leaving, and men on motorbikes stopped us from moving, saying it was unsafe. Minutes later, we heard several explosions, from more attacks. And for hours, that was how the night unfolded in Beirut. Multiple blasts. Some in the distance; others closer. Gunshots announced more warnings, urging people to seek safety. All of this, with the constant sound of an Israeli drone flying overhead. This dramatic escalation came as the country waited for an Isr...