Imran Khan, a former prime minister, was the subject of a non-bailable arrest order by Pakistan's highest electoral commission. For the same offense, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Fawad Chaudhry, a former I&B minister. The warrants were issued for allegedly using "intemperate" language against the electoral watchdog and its head, the chief election commissioner (CEC). The ECP had begun contempt proceedings against PTI leader Imran Khan and former party leaders Chaudhry and Asad Umar last year.
Sharif launches N-power plant built with China aid
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif launched the 1200-megawatt nuclear power plant being built with China’s assistance in Punjab province which is seen as a sign of growing strategic cooperation between the two all weather allies. Earlier, Sharif had inked an agreement with China worth a whopping $3. 5 billion under which Beijing would build the Chashma-V nuclear plant at Chashma in the Mianwali district of Punjab. He had termed the plant agreement signing as a token of increasing economic cooperation between Pakistan and China and vowed to complete the project without any delay.
Flooding kills 37 in S Korea
Rescuers battled to reach people trapped in a flooded tunnel in South Korea, where at least 37 people have died and nine are missing after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides. South Korea is at the peak of its summer monsoon season, and there has been heavy rainfall for the last four days, causing a major dam to overflow. Hundreds of rescue workers were still struggling to reach more than 10 cars and an unknown number of people trapped in a 430-metre (1,410-foot) underground tunnel in Cheongju, North Chungcheong province, the ministry said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held an emergency meeting with his aides, his office said
N Korea fires 1st ICBM in 3 months after threats
North Korea test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile in three months, days after it threatened consequences to protest what it called provocative US reconnaissance activity near its territory. Some experts say North Korea likely launched its developmental, road-mobile Hwasong-18 ICBM, a type of solid-fuel weapon that is harder to detect and intercept than its liquidfuel ICBMs. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un previously called Hwasong-18 his most powerful nuclear weapon. The missile flew about 1,000 km at a maximum altitude of 6,000 km before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments.
Trans woman crowned Miss Netherlands
Rikkie Valerie Kolle, a trans woman, has been crowned as Miss Netherlands 2023. She was the first trans woman to win the pageant in the Netherlands, and she will be the second openly trans woman to compete in a Miss Universe competition when she represents her country in El Salvador later this year. Spain’s Angela Ponce, also a trans woman, was a finalist in 2018. As the first trans woman to be named Miss Netherlands, Kolle said she hoped to help young queer people. Kolle said she had faced a lot of online abuse and insults since winning the pageant. Kolle is not the first Dutch trans woman to reach the Miss Netherlands finals. Solange Dekker, a finalist from last year’s competition took home the title of Miss Social Media.
Singapore minister held in rare top-level graft probe
Singapore’s transport minister has been arrested in connection with a rare top-level corruption probe that has also ensnared a billionaire hotel tycoon, the country’s antigraft body has said. Transport minister S Iswaran was “arrested on July 11, 2023” and “subsequently released on bail”, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in an emailed statement, confirming the arrest for the first time. Iswaran had been ordered to go on leave earlier in the week by PM Lee Hsien Loong after the CPIB said the minister was “currently assisting” an ongoing investigation. Hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng, one of Singapore’s richest people, was also arrested on the same day and released on bail in connection with the probe. The bureau has not disclosed details of the investigation that has gripped the city-state.
Inflation-hit Nigeria declares emergency
Nigeria declared a state of emergency that will allow the government to take exceptional steps to improve food security and supply, as surging prices cause widespread hardship. The move will trigger a range of measures, including clearing forests for farmland to increase agricultural output and ease food inflation, Dele Alake, a spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, said. It follows the president’s removal of fuel subsidies and exchange-rate reform, which has seen the naira fall by 40% after its peg to the dollar was removed last month. Consumer price growth had accelerated to an almost 18-year high of 22. 4% in May.
Warming changed colour of half of world’s oceans
Human-induced climate change has changed the colour of over 56% of the world’s oceans in the last 20 years, according to an alarming study. In particular, the tropical ocean regions near the equator have become steadily greener over time, reveal the study. The shift in ocean colour indicates that ecosystems within the surface ocean must also be changing, as the colour of the ocean is a literal reflection of the organisms and materials in its waters. Scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US and the National Oceanography Center in the UK detected the changes in ocean colour over the past two decades which according to them cannot be explained by natural, year-to-year variability alone.
Netanyahu out of hospital after dizzy spell
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged after an overnight hospital stay following a dizzy spell. Netanyahu, 73, was rushed to Sheba Medical Center after feeling mild dizziness. Netanyahu’s office said he had spent the previous day at the Sea of Galilee, a popular vacation spot in northern Israel where temperatures climbed to about 40°C amid as country-wide heat wave. After a series of tests, the initial assessment was that the veteran Israeli leader was dehydrated. The doctors said Netanyahu was in “excellent” condition after a series of tests, including cardiovascular ones.
Quake triggers tsunami alert in Alaska
A 7. 2 magnitude earthquake triggered a brief tsunami advisory for southern Alaska, but the advisory was cancelled about an hour later, monitoring bodies reported. The earthquake was felt widely throughout the Aleutian Islands, the Alaskan Peninsula and Cook Inlet regions, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. In Kodiak, Alaska, sirens warned of a possible tsunami and sent people driving to shelters, according to video posted to social media. The US Geological Survey wrote in a social media post the earthquake occurred 106 km south of Sand Point, Alaska. The quake initially was reported as 7. 4 magnitude but downgraded to 7. 2 soon after.