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LHC confirms death sentences in motorway gang rape case
— The Lahore High Court has rejected the petitions of convicts Abid Ali and Shafqat alias Bugga against the conviction of the trial court for awarding them death sentences in the high-profile motorway gang rape case. The court found that DNA, medical and forensic evidence showed their guilt beyond any reasonable doubt.
A two-member bench of Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa announced a thorough written judgement and said that the evidence of the survivor was believable, reliable and had substantial evidential value. The judgement said her account had been fully confirmed by medical, forensic and other scientific evidence.
The court observed that the DNA report vindicated Abid Ali’s involvement in the crime and the blood samples collected from the vehicle also matched his DNA profile. It also said the forensic evidence had substantially strengthened the prosecution case and the identification parade was correctly conducted for both the convicts.
“The convicts took the woman and her children away from the vehicle by force before committing the heinous offence,” the written judgement said. The crime not only traumatised the victim’s family, but also created fear and panic in the society. There were no mitigating factors for such a serious crime, the judge said.
The Lahore High Court further observed that the death awards given by the trial court were in complete tune with the nature and severity of the offence and there was no scope for judicial involvement. The court also dismissed the state’s petition for augmentation of sentence and confirmed the life imprisonment handed to the convicted on additional counts.
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Anmol Pinky reveals drug trafficking network during investigation
Alleged drug baroness Anmol alias Pinky in investigation confessed to running drug trafficking networkThe Karachi Police have filed a supplemental challan in the court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge (South). The hearing was conducted in a drug recovery case registered against Anmol Pinky in 2018.
The additional challan states that Nasir (brother of Anmol Pinky) has already been acquitted in the case. It also said that Anmol Pinky has been on the run since 2018.
She was supposedly caught in interrogation admitting to being the ringleader of a narcotics trafficking network. The charge sheet also named two other suspects Maiser Ali and Ainullah absconders.
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Tesla launches new balancing bike for kids
Electric vehicle giant Tesla has launched a balance bike for two-to-five-year-olds for the eye-watering price of $225 – more than double the cost of typical ordinary balance bikes.
The bike has no pedals, motor or brakes so kids can push with their feet to propel themselves along. It has a lightweight magnesium frame, contemporary style and a seat adjustable to five different height settings.
Despite its somewhat high price the bike sold out soon after it went on sale. A comparable design of a $30 Tesla T-shirt also sold out fast.
The company stated it will take pre-orders for the next batch July 31 and clients should order early owing to limited availability.
Tesla’s bike is much more costly than most balance bikes on the market, which cost about $100.
Tesla had released the Cyberquad for Kids, but sales were temporarily halted as it failed to fulfill some safety requirements.
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Trump to ask Congress to approve Saudi Arabia nuclear energy accord
The Trump administration wants to propose to Congress a contract with Saudi Arabia to share nuclear power technology that does not include protections the United States has long said would avoid materials being used in nuclear weapons projects, two sources told Reuters.
The administration will send to Congress within days a document known as a 123 Agreement to be signed by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, the sources said.
The two reached a preliminary deal in Riyadh last year.
The White House and the U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deal cites Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and is needed to allow the U.S. government and American firms to engage with businesses in the kingdom to build a multibillion-dollar civil nuclear industry.
Sources familiar with the deal say it does not include the “Gold Standard” that would prevent the monarchy from enriching uranium and reprocessing used nuclear fuel, both potential avenues to nuclear weapons.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, said the deal also excludes the “Additional Protocol” which gives the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency wide and more intrusive oversight of a country’s nuclear activities, including the power to conduct snap inspections at undeclared sites.
The administration would submit the agreement as soon as Wednesday, one of the individuals said. The other suggested the agreement will be submitted in a week or so. One of them, who did not say whether the agreement was without safeguards, said it would be presented shortly.
Wright had stated the preliminary deal was not about enrichment, and it included all the nonproliferation provisions in the Atomic Energy Act, which are among the highest in the world.
The agreement would create a legal framework for working together on the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment, without the need for the United States to share any of its related capabilities or technology with Saudi Arabia, according to one of the sources.
FEARS OF PROLIFERATION
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated long before Iran’s announcement Saudi Arabia would create a nuclear weapon if Iran did, raising concerns among arms control activists and some U.S. politicians about a civil nuclear deal.
Saudi Arabia doesn’t intend to acquire any nuclear bomb but without a doubt if Iran created a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as quickly as possible,” the crown prince told CBS in 2018.
The kingdom has also said it wants to keep the right to enrich uranium.
The United Arab Emirates signed a 123 Agreement in 2009 with Washington and agreed to the “Gold Standard.”
When 123 agreements are sent to Congress, they go through a review period of roughly 90 days of consecutive congressional sessions for lawmakers to object, or they become effective.
Congress would have to pass a joint resolution and have a two-thirds majority to override any presidential veto to block the agreement.
Many Democrats and some Republicans, including President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he was in the Senate, have insisted any deal contain guardrails.
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