
-
Inter 'showed what we were made of' against Bayern, says Martinez
-
US stocks fall again as global rally fizzles
-
Milan's England defender Walker has surgery on broken elbow
-
Judge orders White House to lift restrictions on AP access
-
Free-kick hero Rice revels in Arsenal's 'special' win over Real
-
'Totally new': Scheffler readies for Masters defense
-
Stuffy nose and steak knife join Scheffler's list of Masters tests
-
Late Frattesi strike gives Inter edge over Bayern in Champions League
-
Arsenal stun Real Madrid as Rice delivers free-kick masterclass
-
Emery relishes Aston Villa's 'huge challenge' against PSG
-
Rahm on LIV-PGA solution: not happening soon
-
US, China clash as Trump set to unleash more tariffs
-
Cabrera returns to Masters with regrets in second chance at life
-
No.4 Morikawa ponders career Slam with Masters in his sights
-
French parliament restricts birthright citizenship in Mayotte
-
Meghan Markle reveals pregnancy-related medical complications
-
Spain enjoy goalfest against Portugal in women's Nations League as France edge Norway
-
Patrick Mullins hit with eight-day whip ban over Grand National ride
-
Patrick Mullins suspended for winning Grand National ride
-
Trump plants 'MAGAnolia' to replace 200-year-old tree
-
Pooran, Arya break free as Lucknow and Punjab win in IPL
-
NBA Nuggets fire coach Michael Malone
-
Brook will cut back on franchise cricket now he's England captain
-
Lawyer warns of threats to Prince Harry in UK security appeal
-
Markets rise despite China-US tariff clash
-
Aberg embraces fresh Masters test after runner-up debut
-
McIlroy starts Masters with Aberg, Bhatia while Scheffler with Thomas, Ballester
-
UN chief says Gaza transformed into 'killing field'
-
Talks with Trump a necessity for sanctions-hit Iran
-
Seve still inspires as Rahm chases second Masters title
-
Hojgaard brothers to become first twins in same Masters
-
Stocks bounce after tariffs-fuelled rout
-
Zverev knocked out early in Monte Carlo by Berrettini
-
Abuse in French entertainment sector is 'endemic', inquiry finds
-
Mancini to help former club Sampdoria avoid drop to Italy's third tier
-
Kabul slams Pakistan's 'violence' against Afghans pressured to leave
-
Prince Harry's lawyer cites threats in UK protection case
-
French MPs slam 'endemic' abuse in entertainment sector
-
Ski star Brignone looking beyond Winter Games to 'complete recovery'
-
PSG coach Luis Enrique 'delighted' to be facing Asensio in Champions League
-
France detains man after death threat to judge in Le Pen case
-
McIlroy risks more Masters heartache for chance at epic win
-
Trenitalia wants to compete with Eurostar on Paris-London route
-
Trump's trade representative says tariffs 'bearing fruit'
-
Pooran, Marsh help Lucknow edge Kolkata in IPL high-scorer
-
Shanghai's elderly investors keep faith despite stock market woes
-
Charles and Camilla pose at Colosseum in pomp-filled Italy visit
-
Major trade wars since the 19th century
-
Cruise to showcase last 'Mission: Impossible' at Cannes
-
Stocks, oil bounce after tariffs-fuelled rout
RIO | -4.28% | 52.32 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.18% | 22.21 | $ | |
BTI | 0.3% | 39.55 | $ | |
RBGPF | -12.83% | 60.27 | $ | |
SCS | -4.72% | 9.74 | $ | |
NGG | -0.26% | 62.74 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.45% | 22.38 | $ | |
BCE | -5.8% | 20.87 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.79% | 8.38 | $ | |
JRI | 1.83% | 11.47 | $ | |
BCC | -2.18% | 89.93 | $ | |
RELX | -0.49% | 45.31 | $ | |
BP | -4.06% | 26.11 | $ | |
GSK | -2.08% | 34.13 | $ | |
AZN | -1.37% | 64.9 | $ | |
VOD | -1.95% | 8.19 | $ |

Pakistan's Imran Khan defiant even as longer sentence looms
Imran Khan, Pakistan's most popular politician, is facing a 14-year prison term this month in a case his party says is being used to pressure him into silence.
The former prime minister, long a source of frustration for the powerful military, has been in custody since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal cases he says are politically motivated.
A looming verdict for graft linked to a welfare foundation he set up with his wife, the Al-Qadir Trust, is the longest-running of those cases, with a verdict postponed on Monday for a third time.
"The Al-Qadir Trust case, like previous cases, is being dragged on only to pressure me," Khan said this month in one of his frequent statements railing against authorities and posted on social media by his team.
"But I demand its immediate resolution."
Analysts say the military establishment is using the sentence as a bargaining chip with Khan, whose popularity undermines a shaky coalition government that kept his party from power in elections last year.
"The establishment's deal is he comes out and stays quiet, stays decent, until the next election," said Ayesha Siddiqa, a London-based author and analyst on Pakistan's military.
- 'Politically motivated' -
Analysts say the military are Pakistan's kingmakers, although the generals deny interfering in politics.
Khan said he had once been offered a three-year exile abroad and was also "indirectly approached" recently about the possibility of house arrest at his sprawling home on the outskirts of the capital.
"We can assume from the delays that this is a politically motivated judgement. It is a Damocles sword over him," Khan's legal adviser Faisal Fareed Chaudhry told AFP.
"The case has lost its credibility," he said, adding that Khan will not accept any deal to stay silent.
Khan has been convicted and sentenced four times in other cases Two cases have been overturned by the Supreme Court, while judges have suspended the sentences from the other two.
The specialist anti-graft "accountability court" is set to announce the verdict and sentence in the welfare foundation case on Friday, two days after government envoys are scheduled to meet leaders from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to ease tensions.
The PTI has previously sworn to refuse talks with a government its leaders claim is illegitimate, alleging the coalition seized power by rigging February 2024 polls.
They say they will only take part if political prisoners are released and an independent inquiry is launched into allegations of a heavy-handed response by authorities to PTI protests.
Otherwise, Khan has threatened to pull his party from the negotiations and continue with a campaign of civil disobedience that has frequently brought Islamabad to a standstill.
The most recent protests flared around November 26, when the PTI allege at least 10 of their activists were shot dead. The government says five security force members were killed in the chaos.
"The government would like to appear legitimate, and for that they need PTI to sit down in talks with them," said Asma Faiz, associate professor of political science at Lahore University of Management Sciences.
"Ideally, they would be looking to offer some relief to Imran Khan and his party to appease the domestic and international criticism," she told AFP.
- 'PTI won't budge' -
For now, it appears to be a stalemate, said Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute director at The Wilson Center in Washington.
"The army might be willing to give Khan a deal that gets him out of jail, but Khan wouldn't accept the likely conditions of his freedom," he told AFP.
"Another problem is I can't imagine the government agreeing to an investigation of November 26. But PTI won't budge on that demand."
A stint in exile is common in the trajectory of political leaders in Pakistan who fall out of favour with the military and find themselves before the courts, only to return to power later.
Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif served only a fraction of a sentence for corruption, spending several years in London before returning to Pakistan in late 2023.
Former and current president Asif Ali Zardari moved to Dubai after his party was rebuked by the generals.
Both men are now considered the chief architects of the ruling coalition.
But exile might not fit with the carefully worked image of Khan, whose political rise was based on the promise of replacing decades of entrenched dynastic politics.
"I will live and die in Pakistan," Khan said in a statement shared by his lawyers. "I will fight for my country's freedom until my last breath, and I expect my nation to do the same."
H.Silva--PC