Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Anti-France protests in Pakistan disrupt critical oxygen supply for Covid-19 patients

Anti-France protests in Pakistan disrupt critical oxygen supply for Covid-19 patients

THOUSANDS of supporters of a Pakistan Islamist party who blocked major roads to protest the arrest of their leader also disrupted critical oxygen supplies for Covid-19 patients, health officials said Tuesday (13).

Major intersections remained closed in Lahore, Pakistan's second-biggest city, after the arrest on Monday (12) of Saad Rizvi, the leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).


The party has led calls for the expulsion of the French ambassador, after the government of president Emmanuel Macron expressed support for a magazine's right to republish cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed -- an act deemed blasphemous by many Muslims.

Yasmin Rashid, a leading health official in Punjab, said the disruption of oxygen supplies during protests Monday night had been a "crisis".

"Please do not block roads for ambulances and for visitors to the hospitals. Some ambulances are carrying oxygen cylinders, which are extremely essential for Covid patients," Rashid said.

Punjab pandemic pointman Asad Aslam said several hospitals had faced oxygen shortages Monday night, but the situation had stabilised after roads were cleared by authorities.

Pakistan is in the grip of a deadly third wave of the coronavirus with a shortage of vaccines.

The TLP are notorious for days-long road protests which have brought large swathes of Pakistan to a standstill over the years.

A party official told AFP that two of their supporters were killed during clashes with security forces on Monday night when police used tear gas and water cannon to break up crowds.

Officials have yet to comment on the reported deaths.

TLP leader Rizvi was taken into custody hours after calling for an April 20 march on the capital to demand the expulsion of the French ambassador, an ouster the group says the government had already agreed to last year.

The government has never acknowledged any such agreement.

Rizvi is the son of a firebrand cleric and previous head of the TLP, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who died in November after leading massive anti-France protests across Pakistan.

During those protests, TLP supporters brought the capital to a standstill for three days that saw heavy street fighting and pushed authorities to cut mobile phone coverage in Islamabad and surrounding areas.

More For You

Sara Sharif e1692881096452

Sara was discovered dead in her bunkbed on 10 August 2023.

Sara was discovered dead in her bunkbed on 10 August 2023.

'Chatterbox with biggest smile': Headteacher pays tribute to Sara Sharif

SARA SHARIF, a ten-year-old girl who suffered fatal abuse at the hands of her father and stepmother, is being remembered as a cheerful and caring pupil with a love for singing.

Her father, Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, were found guilty on 11 December of her murder at their home in Woking, Surrey, on 8 August 2023. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child.

Keep ReadingShow less
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)

Teachers, nurses warn of strikes over 2.8 per cent pay rise proposal

TEACHERS and nurses may strike after the government recommended a 2.8 per cent pay rise for public sector workers for the next financial year.

Ministers cautioned that higher pay awards would require cuts in Whitehall budgets.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

Northern Ireland approves extension of post-Brexit trade rules

NORTHERN Ireland’s devolved government has voted to continue implementing post-Brexit trading arrangements under the Windsor Framework, a deal signed between London and the European Union in February 2023.

The vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont extended the arrangement for four years.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'
Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member.

'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'

THE bereavement rates due to Covid in Scotland have been highest among those identifying with ‘Any other’ ethnic group (68 per cent), followed by Indians (44 per cent) and Pakistanis (38 per cent), a new study revealed. This is significantly higher than the national average of around 25 per cent.

Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member during the Covid crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,  on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump nominates Harmeet Dhillon for top Department of Justice role

US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American attorney Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.

“I am pleased to nominate Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice,” Trump announced on Monday on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Keep ReadingShow less