PAKISTAN ARMY PLANNING TO KEEP ME IN JAIL FOR 10 YEARS: IMRAN KHAN

Political turmoil continues in Pakistan. Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan are protesting in many cities. Meanwhile, Imran Khan claimed on Monday that the country’s powerful military establishment planned to keep him in jail for the next 10 years on charges of treason. In a series of tweets in the early hours of Monday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief said, “…so now London’s whole plan has come to the fore. When I was in jail, on the pretext of violence, they used judge, jury and executioner.” Now there is a plan to humiliate me by putting Bushra Begum (Khan’s wife) in jail and keeping her in jail for next 10 years using sedition law.”

This tweet came after a meeting of PTI leaders at Imran Khan’s residence in Lahore. The 70-year-old leader is out on bail in more than 100 cases. “To ensure that people do not react, they have done two things – first deliberately terrorizing not only PTI workers, but also ordinary citizens. Second, the media is completely controlled and suppressed,” he said.

Imran Khan said that the way these ‘criminals’ are violating the sanctity of ‘Chadar and Char Diwari’, it has never been done.

Giving his message to the people of Pakistan, Khan said, “My message to the people of Pakistan is that I will fight for real freedom till the last drop of my blood, because for me death is better than being a slave of these criminals.”

Despite being granted bail on Friday, Imran Khan kept himself locked inside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises for hours fearing re-arrest, however, he returned to his home in Lahore on Saturday.

Imran Khan is likely to appear in the Lahore High Court on Monday in connection with cases related to the violence that broke out after the former prime minister’s arrest and the burning of a corps commander’s house.

TURKEY ELECTION RIVALS BOTH CLAIM EARLY LEAD BUT RUNOFF LIKELY

Turkey appeared headed for a runoff presidential election with the parties of Tayyip Erdogan and opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu each claiming the lead but sources in both camps admitting they may not clear the 50 percent threshold to win outright.

Early results on Sunday put Erdogan comfortably ahead, but as the count continued his advantage eroded as expected. A runoff on May 28 appeared likely, which would delay a verdict on the president's two decades in power.

Opinion polls before the election had given Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead, and two polls on Friday even showed him above the 50 percent threshold. However most had suggested a tight margin.

Both sides dismissed the other side's count, with no official result announced.

Erdogan said on Sunday hurrying to announce election results while the counting goes on would mean stealing people's will, while Kilicdaroglu warned election authorities to log all nationwide results.

A senior official from the opposition alliance said: "it seems there will be no winner in the first round. But, our data indicates Kilicdaroglu will lead."

Another senior opposition official told Reuters Erdogan's party was raising objections against ballots, delaying full results. "So far they are doing everything in their power to delay the process," he said.

Citing figures from state-owned agency Anadolu, Turkish media said that with almost 80.5 percent of ballot boxes counted, Erdogan was on 50.43 percent and Kilicdaroglu on 43.77 percent, but the opposition suggested results were being published in an order that artificially boosted Erdogan's tally.

IN GERMANY, ZELENSKY SEEKS ‘EU JET COALITION’; SCHOLZ MUM

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met with Germany’s leaders in Berlin on Sunday morning, a day after Germany announced its largest package of military aid yet for Kyiv and as the two nations seek to turn the page on months of rocky relations.

Speaking side by side at the chancellery on Sunday, Zelensky and Chancellor Olaf Scholz traded remarks of gratitude and praise. But their responses to some questions — namely on fighter jets — reflected that Kyiv is still struggling to gain traction with Berlin and other Western allies on some of its key demands. Zelensky was escorted to Berlin by German fighter jets for his first trip to Germany since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking after talks with Scholz, Zelensky told journalists that the new German arms package announced the previous day, totalling 2. 7 billion euros, was “very important and strong help. ” But underlining his quest for ever more powerful and sophisticated weapons, Zelensky noted that Germany was now Ukraine’s second largest backer after the US. “We are working to bring Germany to first place”.

Ukraine has repeatedly urged its allies to supply fighterjets, and Zelensky told journalists that on his recent visits to European capitals he had pushed to create a “fighter jet coalition” and had asked Berlin to support that effort. But Scholzevaded any direct reply to that message, pointing instead to the weapons Germany had already provided. Support for Ukraine will continue “for as long as it takes,” he added.

IN RARE ADMISSION, RUSSIA SAYS TWO OF ITS COMMANDERS KILLED IN BAKHMUT BATTLE

Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that two of its military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv’s forces renewed efforts to break through Russian defences in the embattled city of Bakhmut. The ministry said that Commander Vyacheslav Makarov and Deputy Commander Yevgeny Brovko from a separate unit were killed trying to repel Ukrainian attacks. It said that Makarov had been leading troops from the front line, and that Brovko “died heroically, suffering multiple shrapnel wounds”. The defence ministry rarely announces the deaths of military command in its daily briefings. It also said Ukrainian forces waged attacks in the north and south of Bakhmut over the past 24 hours, but that they had not broken through Russian defences.”

AFTER EGYPT-MEDIATED CEASEFIRE, LIFE RETURNS TO NORMAL IN GAZA

Gaza/ Jerusalem : Life on both sides of the Gaza Strip border began returning to normal on Sunday after an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire halted five days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad, which killed 34 Palestinians and an Israeli. Israel reopened its goods and commercial border crossings, allowing fuel to flow to the lone power plant in the blockaded coastal enclave. Shops and public offices reopened and crowds returned to streets that had been deserted for days. Leaders from both sides of the conflict confirmed their commitment to the truce, but gave different interpretations of the terms, such as whetherIsrael would end targeted killings of Palestinian militant leaders. The latest fighting, the longest bout since a 10-day war in 2021, began when Israel launched a series of air strikes in the early hours of Tuesday, announcing that it was targeting Islamic Jihad commanders who had planned attacks against it.

In response, the Iranian backed group fired more than 1,000 rockets, sending Israelis fleeing into bomb shelters. In areas of southern Israel around Gaza, schools were still closed on Sunday and many of the thousands of residents who had been evacuated had yet to return. “It’s no simple matter to come back from such a situation,” Gadi Yarkoni, mayor for several Israeli towns on the Gaza border said. Palestinian health officials said 33 people, including women and children as well as Islamic Jihad fighters, were killed in Gaza. In Israel, an Israeli woman and a Palestinian labourer were killed by Gazan rockets.

JOINING FORCES TO MAKE CHIPS? MUSK MEETS SAMSUNG BOSS

Samsung Electronics Co executive chairman J Y Lee and Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk met in the US last week, according to Yonhap News Agency. Lee and Musk held the meeting at Samsung’s semiconductor research centre in Silicon Valley on Wednesday, South Korea’s Yonhap said Sunday.

The two companies are looking at possibly joining forces to develop chips for fully autonomous vehicles among other things, the report cited people in the industry as saying. The global market for automotive chips is expected to rise to $400 billion by 2024 and to jump to $700 billion by 2028, according to Yonhap, which cited Strategic Analytics and Research & Markets.

Lee wrapped up his 22-day visit to the US on Friday, after a series of meetings with other business leaders including Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the report said. The Wednesday meeting was Lee’s first private one with Musk, according to Yonhap.

THAI OPPOSITION TAKES EARLY LEAD IN VOTE COUNT IN GENERAL ELECTION

BANGKOK: Thailand’s main Opposition party, fronted by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, took an early lead in a vote count from Sunday’s general election, touted as a pivotal chance for change nine years after incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha first came to power in a 2014 coup.

13 KILLED, FAMILIES TAKEN HOSTAGE IN PAKISTAN PARAMILITARY BASE ATTACK

QUETTA: More than a dozen people were killed in a battle between Pakistan paramilitary troops and militants who stormed their base and took families hostage, the Army said. “Well equipped” fighters assaulted a Frontier Corps compound in Muslim Bagh, Balochistan province, and captured three families in a residential block, it said.

THREE KILLED, ROOFS TORN OFF AS CYCLONE MOCHA MAKES LANDFALL IN MYANMAR

Thousands of people hunkered down on Sunday in monasteries, pagodas and schools, seeking shelter from a powerful storm that slammed into the coast of Myanmar, tearing the roofs off buildings and killing at least three people.

The centre of Cyclone Mocha made landfall on Sunday afternoon in Myanmar’s Rakhine state near Sittwe township with wind speeds up to 209 kilometres per hour, Myanmar’s Meteorological Department said. Earlier, the storm passed over Bangladesh’s Saint Martin’s Island, causing damage and injuring people, but turned away from the country’s shores before landfall.

Myanmar’s military information office said the storm had damaged houses, electrical transformers, cell phone towers, boats and lampposts in Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, and Gwa townships. It said the storm also tore roofs off of sport buildings on the Coco Islands, about 425 kilometres southwest of the country’s largest city, Yangon.

Rakhine-based media reported that streets and basements of the houses in Sittwe’s low-lying areas were flooded, and that people in low-lying areas were trapped in their houses and unable to communicate.

Much of the area is cut off from telephone and Internet service after high winds crumpled cell phone towers.

More than 4,000 of Sittwe’s 3,00,000 residents were evacuated to other cities and more than 20,000 people are sheltering in sturdy buildings such as monasteries, pagodas and schools located on the city’s highlands, said a volunteer in Sittwe.

Titon Mitra, the U.N. Development Program representative in Myanmar, tweeted: “Mocha has made landfall. 2 million people at risk. Damage and losses are expected to be extensive. We are ready to respond.”