Lahore High Court dismisses plea to rename chowk after Bhagat Singh
Lahore, Jan 17: A Pakistani court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to rename a chowk here after Bhagat Singh, upholding instead the decision of the local corporation which cited a retired military officer who said that the freedom fighter was not a revolutionary but a “criminal”. The Lahore High Court Judge Shams Mehmood Mirza disposed of a petition of Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation Pakistan seeking to rename Shadman Chowk Lahore after Singh and place his statue where he was hanged, a court official told PTI. The judge dismissed the petition after hearing arguments by counsels for the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore and the foundation. The foundation’s chairman, Advocate Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi said it would challenge the LHC’s decision in the Supreme Court. (PTI)
Indian natl gets 8 years for attempted attack on WH
Washington, Jan 17: Indian national Sai Varshith Kandula, 20, on Thursday was sentenced to eight years for an attempted attack on the White House with a rented truck on May 22, 2023. The attack aimed to overthrow the democratically elected American government in order to replace it with a dictatorship fuelled by Nazi ideology, the Department of Justice said. Kandula had pleaded guilty on May 13, 2024 to a charge of willful injury or depredation of US property. (PTI)
Cops grill former SL prez over property
Colombo, Jan 17: Former Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was on Friday morning quizzed by the police’s CID over a property in the island nation’s southern Kataragama town. The 75-year-old, younger brother of former president and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, was questioned by police for nearly two hours and his statement was recorded by the CID after being served a notice over the property located in the pilgrimage town. He becomes the most high-profile Rajapaksa to be questioned by police since the formation of the new government led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake in November last year. (PTI)
Bodies found after shopping mall fire
Jakarta, Jan 17: Five bodies were evacuated on Friday from a fire that broke out at a shopping mall in the western part of Jakarta on Wednesday evening, as rescuers intensified search efforts for other missing persons. “Five bodies were found on the eighth floor, inside a karaoke room. All victims were unable to be identified,” West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency chief Syarifudin told reporters. (IANS)
B’desh Foreign Affairs Advisor to visit China
Beijing, Jan 17: Bangladesh interim government’s Adviser for Foreign Affairs Touhid Hossain will visit China from January 20 to 24 during which he will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Beijing announced here on Friday. Hossain will be the highest level of the interim government to visit China after former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina fled to India. (PTI)