Versailles Palace evacuated for third time
Paris, Oct 18: The Palace of Versailles was evacuated for security reasons on Wednesday for the third time since the weekend, the former royal chateau said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. It was among a spate of evacuations in the past five days around France, including three airports that were also forced to close for security checks. The Chateau of Versailles apologised to visitors on X for being forced to clear out visitors from the sumptuous 17th-century palace “for security reasons.” Three French airports in the cities of Lyon, Toulouse and Lille were also evacuated Wednesday following security alerts, police said, following emailed threats, without elaborating on the nature of the threats. The evacuations were the latest in a series around France that included another popular tourist attraction, the Louvre Museum, following the killing of a teacher in the northern city of Arras on Friday. All the threats up to Wednesday proved false. (AP)
Nawaz Sharif seeks protective bail ahead of his return
Islamabad, Oct 18: Ahead of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s scheduled return to Pakistan on Saturday, two protective bail petitions have been filed in the Islamabad High Court by his legal team to restrain the authorities from arresting the PML-N supremo on his arrival, it emerged on Wednesday. The 73-year-old politician was convicted in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases and was declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicle case, which is pending before an accountability court in Islamabad. Nawaz was on bail in these cases when he left for the UK in 2019 for medical treatment. Nawaz’s legal team has sought protective bail in Al-Azizia and Avenfiled cases. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo is scheduled to return to Pakistan on October 21, ending his four-year-long self-imposed exile. (PTI)