ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested Saturday after a court handed him a three-year jail sentence for corruption, a development that could end his future in politics.

The court ruled that Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains the country’s leading opposition figure, had concealed assets after selling state gifts. Police moved quickly to take the former cricket star from his home in the eastern city of Lahore to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, senior police officer Ali Nasir Rizvi said.

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/: The Russian forces have liberated the Novoselovskoye settlement in the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said.

"The settlement of Novoselovskoye in the LPR was liberated in the Kupyansk area thanks to the competent and professional actions of the western battlegroup," he pointed out.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s electoral body on Saturday announced the final results of last month’s election, sealing a landslide victory for the ruling party of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and a mandate for the next five years.

In an announcement on TVK state television and government social media platforms, the country’s National Election Committee said Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party won 120 of 125 available seats in the July 23 general election.

JEDDAH, Aug 5 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), launched yesterday, a direct route connecting the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh and Red Sea port city of Jeddah, to Beijing.

The new route to China reflects Saudia’s role in connecting the two countries in various aspects, including trade and business, tourism and culture, Saudia said in a statement.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Regional mediation efforts to reverse the coup in Niger and restore its democracy collapsed as soon as they started. Tensions have escalated as the Sunday deadline nears for possible military intervention by other West African countries.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 4 (Reuters) - U.S. bank JPMorgan (JPM.N) this week stopped processing payments for the Russian Agricultural Bank, Russia said on Friday, as it demanded action, not promises, from Washington to help Russian grain and fertilizer reach global markets.

JPMorgan had handled some Russian grain export payments for the past few months with reassurances from Washington. However, that cooperation stopped this week, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Aug 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia called on its citizens to quickly leave Lebanese territory and to avoid approaching areas where there have been armed clashes, the Saudi embassy in Lebanon said in a statement posted late on Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The kingdom did not specify which areas in Lebanon that it was advising its citizens to avoid.

The embassy stressed "the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon," the statement added.

SEVASTOPOL, August 5. /TASS/: A drone boat found in the sea near Sevastopol has been destroyed, and the movement of water transport has been resumed, the city’s governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

"The drone boat was destroyed by the naval forces at a great distance from the shore in the Sevastopol sea zone. All restrictions on the movement of water transport have been lifted," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

KIEV, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's conflict-related budget expenditures will reach about 1.8 trillion hryvnia (about 49.2 billion U.S. dollars) this year, the government press service reported Friday, citing Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

"A hundred percent of taxes paid by businesses and citizens go to support the needs of the security and defense forces," Shmyhal said.

Besides, Ukraine has already attracted 28 billion dollars in financial aid from partners this year, he added.

BANGKOK, Aug 5 (NNN-TNA) – Eight people were killed and four others injured, after a freight train collided with a pickup truck that was crossing the railway tracks, in eastern Thailand yesterday, authorities said.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) reported that, the accident occurred at around 2:20 a.m. local time, when the cargo train struck the pickup truck carrying workers at the railway crossing in Chachoengsao province.

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/: The US Embassy in Moscow may turn to the Russian Foreign Ministry if Washington fails to understand what is required to resume the grain deal, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Earlier, the US State Department's coordinator for sanctions policy, James O'Brien, said that Moscow "needs to be clear what it is asking for." He said it was "not clear what Russia regards as success" for resuming participation in the grain deal.

BEIRUT, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Families of the victims who died in the 2020 Beirut port blasts commemorated the third anniversary of the catastrophic incident on Friday, urging authorities to accelerate investigations into the incident to bring justice to their loved ones.

Thousands of people, including civil society activists, political figures, and parliament members, participated in a commemoration march, which started from the Beirut Fire Brigade to run until the main road opposite the city port.