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Pakistan’s Imran Khan Arrested After Court Sentences Ex-Pm to 3 Years Jail

FILE PHOTO: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo
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Pakistan’s Imran Khan Arrested After Court Sentences Ex-Pm to 3 Years Jail

FILE PHOTO: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo

Police arrested Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday after a court sentenced the opposition leader to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.

Legal experts say the guilty verdict reached by a district court could end Khan's chances of contesting national elections that have to be held before early November.

"Police have arrested Imran Khan from his residence," Khan's lawyer Intezar Panjotha told Reuters. "We are filing a petition against the decision in high court.

Lahore's Police Chief Bilal Siddique Kamiana confirmed the arrest and told Reuters the politician was being transferred to the capital, Islamabad.

Khan's political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement they had already filed another appeal to the Supreme Court earlier on Saturday.

The conviction came just a day after Pakistan's high court had temporarily halted the district court trial. It was not immediately clear why the trial had proceeded despite the high court decision.

Khan's arrest and detention for several days in May over a separate case had sparked intense political turmoil and deadly clashes had erupted between Khan supporters and police.

The latest arrest comes in the lead up to an election expected to take place in the next three months. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has proposed that parliament be dissolved on Aug. 9, three days before the end of its term, according to political, paving the way for a general election by November.

Pakistani media and a Reuters witness described police surrounding Khan's residence in Lahore on Saturday after verdict was released.

The sentence relates to an inquiry conducted by the election commission, which found Khan guilty of unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

Khan has denied any wrongdoing.

The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000).

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World

US Forces Monitoring Strait of Hormuz to Ensure it Stays Open

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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US Forces Monitoring Strait of Hormuz to Ensure it Stays Open

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

The US military on Saturday denied Iran's claims that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, saying the critical waterway remained open and that US forces were monitoring the situation to ensure that ⁠continued.

"Iran does not ⁠control the Strait of Hormuz," US Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told Reuters. "Traffic ⁠continues to flow, and US forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz shut earlier on Saturday and warned ⁠ships ⁠not to approach the waterway, casting new doubt on the future of a ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran meant to pave the way for in-depth peace talks.

World

Russian Attacks on Ukraine Leave Several People Dead and Injured

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian glide bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 20 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian glide bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 20 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
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Russian Attacks on Ukraine Leave Several People Dead and Injured

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian glide bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 20 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian glide bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 20 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV

Russian forces struck the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with glide bombs on Saturday, killing ⁠four people and injuring ⁠six, Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov ⁠said on Telegram.

Fedorov said there had been nine strikes in the city. He said residents could ⁠well ⁠be trapped in the rubble of damaged buildings.

Russian bombs also struck an apartment building on Saturday in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killing at least one person and wounding nine, including a 6-year-old child, authorities said.

A body was pulled from the rubble hours after the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

He said that the bombs slammed into the low-rise building in Kharkiv's Kholodnohirskiy district in the early hours.

The head of the regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that at least nine people were wounded, five of whom were hospitalized.

Elsewhere in Kharkiv, a Russian drone struck a civilian vehicle on Friday evening, killing a man and wounding the woman who was driving the car, Syniehubov said.

Later on Saturday, Russia again launched guided bombs at Ukraine, striking the outskirts of the northern city of Sumy, according to local administration head Oleh Hryhorov.

The attacks killed a male civilian and damaged at least 20 private houses, Hryhorov reported on Telegram.

Ukraine's air force said that it shot down 92 of 99 Russian drones launched overnight and that seven struck targets in three locations.

Meanwhile, Russian air defenses repelled a drone attack on an oil refinery in Tyumen in Western Siberia, Gov. Alexander Moor said Saturday. He said that there was no damage to the refinery and staff members were evacuated.

World

Italy's Meloni Slams 'Senseless' Attacks from Trump

(FILES) US President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)
(FILES) US President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)
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Italy's Meloni Slams 'Senseless' Attacks from Trump

(FILES) US President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)
(FILES) US President Donald Trump greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hit back at what she called "senseless" attacks by US leader Donald Trump over his claim she insisted on having a photo with him at a recent G7 summit.

"These constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless,” she said on her Instagram page in response to Trump's allegation made on his Truth Social platform.

"Being your friend certainly has not helped" her popularity, she said, adding: "I suggest you focus on yours.”

The dustup led Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as Meloni’s government lined up in her defense.

“Italian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his social media platform while spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat. He misspelled her first name in the initial post, which he later corrected.

He continued: “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!).”