17 activists of Islamist party held for attack on KFC outlet
Lahore, April 15: Seventeen activists of a radical Islamist party have been arrested for attacking a restaurant of an American fast-food chain in Lahore city of Pakistan’s Punjab province during an anti-Israel protest, the police said on Tuesday. Last week, the KFC restaurant in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority was surrounded by a good number of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan workers who pelted stones, shattered window panes, and set some parts on fire. Video clips of the attack on the KFC restaurant also went viral on social media. According to some eyewitnesses, most of the attackers carrying clubs entered the KFC and shattered the glass doors and window panes. The staff and customers ran to save their lives. The protesters were making anti-Israel and anti-America slogans, the witnesses said. The protesters said they would not allow any product/outlet of these countries in Pakistan. (PTI)
Kosovo’s parliament faces post-election deadlock
Pristina, April 15: The inaugural session of Kosovo’s newly-elected parliament was cancelled on Tuesday after it failed to constitute new lawmakers, a move which could take the country into a prolonged legal saga before a new cabinet can be formed. Following a short delay to proceedings, the opposition voted against a report into whether acting prime minister Albin Kurti and his cabinet acted in line with the constitution when they failed to resign following the February 9 election, when Kurti’s left-wing Self-Determination Movement, or Vetevendosje!, won 48 out of 120-seats, falling short of the majority needed to form a cabinet on its own. In 2021, the party won 58 seats. Though Vetevendosje! distributed a letter of resignation on Tuesday, as required under the constitution, the acting speaker cancelled the session, adding that parliament would consult the president on how to proceed. (AP)
London’s iconic Indian restaurant fights closure threat
London, April 15: Veeraswamy, one of Britain’s oldest Indian restaurants, is fighting back against the threat of losing its iconic central London location on Regent Street in a lease extension stand-off. The Crown Estate, the landlords of Victory House which houses the Michelin-star restaurant for nearly 100 years since April 1926, has decided not to renew the lease to carry out a “comprehensive refurbishment” of the building. MW Eat, the company that owns Veeraswamy, has applied to the court to seek a renewal under its protected tenancy rights as the lease expiry date nears in June. “Veeraswamy is not just an institution, but a living institution and an integral part of the current gastronomic landscape of London,” said Ranjit Mathrani, director of MW Eat, the group which has been operating the restaurant since the 1990s. MW Eat has been in discussions since it became aware of the plans of the Crown Estate, which operates the British monarch’s property portfolio, and tabled alternatives that would allow the restaurant to continue operating from its historic premises. “But they have not been willing to compromise and appear determined to want to convert the whole building into offices, without much regard for history,” said Mathrani..(PTI)