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Pakistan: Police Storm Imran Khan Home in Lahore, Arrest 30

A convey of former Prime Minister Imran Khan drive toward Islamabad at a road in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A convey of former Prime Minister Imran Khan drive toward Islamabad at a road in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
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Pakistan: Police Storm Imran Khan Home in Lahore, Arrest 30

A convey of former Prime Minister Imran Khan drive toward Islamabad at a road in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A convey of former Prime Minister Imran Khan drive toward Islamabad at a road in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Police in Pakistan stormed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday and arrested 30 people amid tear gas shelling after someone opened fire from the roof of the building, officials said.

Senior police officer Suhail Sukhera, who is leading the operation in a Lahore upscale neighborhood, said police moved to remove encroachments and blockade erected by Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party and his defiant supporters, The Associated Press said.

He said baton-wielding Khan supporters attempted to resist police by throwing stones and petrol bombs, but the officers moved on until a man on the roof of Khan’s residence opened fire. No one was hurt.

Sukhera said that police broke open the main door of Khan’s residence and found masks, petrol-filled bottles, iron rods and batons used in attacks on police during the week. Sukhera said that inside the sprawling residence, illegal structures were erected to shelter those who have been involved in attacks on police that have injured dozens of officers.

Witnesses said police attempted to disperse Khan supporters by firing tear gas and chased them to several homes in the upscale neighborhood of Zaman Park. Khan was expected to appear in an Islamabad court on Saturday after a top court Friday suspended his arrest warrant, giving him a reprieve to travel to Islamabad and face charges in a graft case without being detained.

Khan has been holed up at his home in Lahore since Tuesday, after failing to appear at an earlier hearing in the case. His supporters hurled stones and clashed with baton-wielding police for two days to protect the former premier from arrest.

Khan, during his road trip to Islamabad, said in a video message that the government had planned his arrest despite his travel to a hearing. He said police had broken into his residence in Lahore while his wife was alone at the home. He condemned the action and demanded those responsible are punished under law.

Khan, now in the opposition, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April. He is accused of selling state gifts while in office and concealing assets. It’s one in a string of cases that the former cricket star turned Islamist politician has been facing since his ouster.

The 70-year-old opposition leader has also claimed that his removal from power was part of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Both Washington and Sharif’s government have denied the allegations.

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World

Australian Lawmakers Back Stricter Gun, Hate Crime Laws

A visitor places a pebble at a memorial site in remembrance to the lives lost during the Bondi Beach mass shooting on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, January 16, 2026. (Reuters)
A visitor places a pebble at a memorial site in remembrance to the lives lost during the Bondi Beach mass shooting on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, January 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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Australian Lawmakers Back Stricter Gun, Hate Crime Laws

A visitor places a pebble at a memorial site in remembrance to the lives lost during the Bondi Beach mass shooting on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, January 16, 2026. (Reuters)
A visitor places a pebble at a memorial site in remembrance to the lives lost during the Bondi Beach mass shooting on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, January 16, 2026. (Reuters)

Australian politicians voted in favor of tougher hate crime and gun laws Tuesday, weeks after gunmen targeting Jewish people on Bondi Beach killed 15 people.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives backed the legislation in response to the December 14 shooting at the famous Sydney beach.

Sajid Akram and his son Naveed allegedly targeted a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in the nation's worst mass shooting for 30 years.

The attack has sparked national soul-searching about antisemitism, anger over the failure to shield Jewish Australians from harm, and promises to protect the country with stiffer legislation.

The hate crime and gun control legislation must still be approved by the upper house Senate, which was expected to vote later in the day.

"The terrorists had hate in their hearts, but they also had high-powered rifles in their hands," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament.

"We're taking action on both -- tackling antisemitism, tackling hate, and getting dangerous guns off our streets."

Legislative reforms on guns and hate speech were voted on separately.

The hate speech legislation would toughen laws and penalties for people seeking to spread hate and radicalization, or to promote violence.

It creates aggravated offences for offenders who are preachers, other leaders, or adults seeking to radicalize children.

The reform would also make it easier to reject or cancel visas for people suspected of terrorism or espousing hatred on the basis of race, color, or origin.

On firearms, Australia would set up a national gun buyback scheme, tighten rules on imports of firearms and expand background checking for gun permits to allow input from intelligence services.

The legislation was debated in a special session of parliament, ahead of a national day of mourning on Thursday for the Bondi Beach victims.

Gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the Bondi Beach attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.

His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen who remains in prison, has been charged with terrorism and 15 murders.

Police and intelligence agencies are facing difficult questions about whether they could have acted earlier.

Naveed Akram was flagged by Australia's intelligence agency in 2019, but he slipped off the radar after it was decided that he posed no imminent threat.

World

Macron Sent Message to Trump Offering to Host G7 Meeting in Paris Thursday

French President Emmanuel Macron wears sunglasses as he speaks as he leads a meeting on New-Caledonia at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 19 January 2026. EPA/STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL MAXPPP OUT
French President Emmanuel Macron wears sunglasses as he speaks as he leads a meeting on New-Caledonia at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 19 January 2026. EPA/STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL MAXPPP OUT
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Macron Sent Message to Trump Offering to Host G7 Meeting in Paris Thursday

French President Emmanuel Macron wears sunglasses as he speaks as he leads a meeting on New-Caledonia at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 19 January 2026. EPA/STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL MAXPPP OUT
French President Emmanuel Macron wears sunglasses as he speaks as he leads a meeting on New-Caledonia at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 19 January 2026. EPA/STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL MAXPPP OUT

Emmanuel Macron has sent a "private message" to Donald Trump offering to organize a G7 summit in Paris on Thursday in which Russia could be invited on the sidelines, the French president's entourage confirmed.

Trump posted this message on his Truth Social network in which Macron also proposes inviting Ukraine to the meeting as well as Denmark to discuss disagreements over Greenland.

The offer comes as Europe is weighing countermeasures after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries in a bid to pressure the EU over Greenland.

"My friend, we are completely aligned on Syria. We can do great things in Iran. I don't understand what you are doing in Greenland," Macron said in his message.

"I can organize a G7 meeting in Paris on Thursday afternoon after Davos," Macron wrote, referring to the gathering of global elites in Switzerland where the US president is set to be in attendance.

"I can invite the Ukrainians, the Danes, the Syrians and the Russians on the sidelines" of the meeting, he added.

Trump's relations with Macron hit a new low Monday when the US president threatened 200 percent tariffs on French wine over France's intention to decline an invitation to join his "Board of Peace".

"Tariff threats to influence our foreign policy are unacceptable and ineffective," a source close to Macron told AFP on Tuesday.

World

ISIS Claims Deadly Blast at Chinese-run Restaurant in Afghan Capital

Security forces stand at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 January 2026. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
Security forces stand at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 January 2026. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
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ISIS Claims Deadly Blast at Chinese-run Restaurant in Afghan Capital

Security forces stand at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 January 2026. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
Security forces stand at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 January 2026. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL

ISIS claimed an explosion that officials said killed a Chinese national and six Afghans, while injuring several more as it tore through a Chinese-run restaurant in a heavily guarded part of Afghanistan's capital.

Monday's blast took place in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw area that is home to offices, shopping complexes and embassies, police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said.

It is considered one of the safest neighborhoods in the city.

According to Reuters, the Afghan branch of ISIS claimed responsibility, saying in a statement it ‌was carried out ‌by a suicide bomber.

The restaurant serving the Chinese ‌Muslim ⁠community was jointly run ‌by a Chinese Muslim man, Abdul Majid, his wife, and an Afghan partner, Abdul Jabbar Mahmood, Zadran said.

"The nature of the explosion is unknown so far and is being investigated," he said.

A Chinese national, identified only as Ayub, and six Afghans were killed in the blast near the restaurant's kitchen, while several others were injured, Zadran added.

The Amaq news agency said the domestic arm of ISIS had put Chinese citizens on its list of targets, citing "growing crimes by the Chinese government against ‌Uyghurs".

Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, ‍a mainly Muslim ethnic minority group ‍numbering about 10 million who live in China's far western region of ‍Xinjiang.

Beijing denies any abuse and has accused Western countries of interference and peddling lies.

The blast injured five Chinese nationals, and China has requested that Afghanistan spare no effort to treat the injured, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

China also requested that Afghanistan take effective measures to protect the safety of ⁠its citizens and investments, and investigate, Guo said.

On Monday, videos shared on social media showed smoke billowing from a large hole torn in the facade of the restaurant building, while debris littered the street outside.

"We have received 20 people at our hospital," Dejan Panic, the Afghanistan director of humanitarian group EMERGENCY, said in a statement, adding that seven were dead on arrival. "Among the wounded are four women and a child."