Indian Sub-continent

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A former Indian lawmaker convicted of kidnapping and facing murder and assault charges was shot dead along with his brother in a dramatic attack that was caught live on TV in northern India, officials said Sunday.

Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were under police escort on their way to a medical checkup at a hospital on Saturday night when three men posing as journalists targeted the two brothers from close range in Prayagraj city in Uttar Pradesh state.

Dhaka, Apr 15 (PTI) A massive pre-dawn fire gutted thousands of shops at a shopping centre here on Saturday, forcing the fire service to seek the help of the military, paramilitary as well as police to extinguish the blaze, the second such incident in Bangladesh's capital this month.

Hubballi (K’taka), Apr 15 (PTI) Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar on Sunday announced his resignation from the BJP after he was denied a ticket for the May 10 Karnataka assembly elections.

The 67-year-old leader said he would tender his resignation from the party as well as the assembly.

Shettar, who was the leader of the opposition when the Congress was in power, also said he would contest the upcoming assembly election for sure.

Prayagraj (Allahabad); 16 April 2023 (UMMN): A former MP and MLA Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, surrounded by a large police force, were shot dead at point blank on Saturday night, while being taken for medical tests in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj. The killing was caught on live television as Atiq and Ashraf were talking to reporters.

Islamabad, Apr 14 (PTI) Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday announced that the UAE has approved USD 1 billion in financial support, taking the cash-strapped nation a step closer to unlocking the crucial IMF bailout.

Pakistan is tackling a major economic crisis as it awaits a much-needed USD 1.1 billion tranche of funding from the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, part of a USD 6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019.

Lahore, Apr 14 (PTI) Pakistan’s ousted prime minister Imran Khan on Friday appeared before the Lahore High Court (LHC) and secured protective bail till April 26 in a case related to using "inappropriate language" against senior Army officers.

Islamabad police had booked Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, on April 6 for making a speech in which he allegedly used “inappropriate language against the senior military (Inter-Services Intelligence) officers” and put the lives of their families at risk.

Islamabad, Apr 14 (PTI) Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday directed the central bank to provide Rs 21 billion for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces after the government failed to provide funds for the polls.

The apex court on April 4 ordered the federal government to provide Rs 21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by Monday to enable it to organise polls in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Jaipur, Apr 14 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the constitution of a welfare board for the Sikh community on Friday, an official release said.

Shri Guru Nanak Dev Sikh Welfare Board will have a chairman, a vice-chairman and five members. It will be administered by the minority affairs department, it said.

New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) The NCERT consulted 25 external experts and 16 CBSE teachers to carry out its syllabus rationalisation exercise as part of which portions on the Mughals, Mahatma Gandhi, his assassin Nathuram Godse, reference to Hindu extremists and the 2002 Gujarat riots among others were dropped from school textbooks, according to the Education Ministry.

New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) A Kisan Morcha leader of the Delhi BJP was shot dead in Dwarka's Bindapur area on Friday evening, police said.

An incident of firing was reported from Bindapur in which Surendra Matiala (60) died, they said.

According to police, Matiala was sitting inside his office when two unidentified men entered with arms and opened fire at him.