Imran Khan stunned Pakistan by calling for fresh elections as the country saw rapid political developments

HT Daily News Wrap

Imran Khan stunned Pakistan by calling for fresh elections, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has told the state high court that it is practically impossible to complete the Amaravati capital city project within six months, Fuel prices hiked by 40 paise a litre, taking the overall increase in the last two weeks to ₹8.40, and other top news in this bulletin.
Imran Khan stunned Pakistan on Sunday by calling for fresh elections as the country saw rapid political developments amid a call for no trust vote against the 69-year-old cricketer-politician.  The highly anticipated no confidence motion – submitted by the opposition on March 8 – was rejected in a surprise move by National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri over Article 5 of the constitution, which calls for “loyalty to (the) state”.  The Imran Khan government has been dismissing the move against him – which came amid the country’s mounting economic crisis – as “foreign conspiracy”. Fuel prices were hiked on Monday by 40 paise a litre, taking the overall increase in the last two weeks to ₹8.40. This was the 12th increase in petrol and diesel prices by the state-owned fuel retailers in two weeks. Petrol in Delhi is being sold at ₹103.81 per litre as against ₹103.41 previously, and diesel rates have gone up from ₹94.67 per litre to ₹95.07. Rates vary from state to state depending on local taxation. The Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has told the state high court that it is practically impossible to complete the Amaravati capital city project within six months, a deadline set by the court in its order a month ago, and sought an extension of the time limit to 60 months. An affidavit to this effect was filed by state chief secretary Sameer Sharma in the high court on Friday. The plea is expected to come up for hearing on Monday. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has heightened into a political crisis after all 26 ministers of the cabinet quit en masse on Sunday night as the South Asian nation sees growing public anger. It’s not yet clear if prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will accept the resignations. Demonstrations outside president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s house, imposition of the emergency rule, and a 36-hour nationwide curfew were the defining moments of last week. The en masse resignations clear the way for the prime minister to appoint a new cabinet. Nisha Rawal was evicted from the ongoing reality show Lock Upp on Sunday’s episode of the show. Host Kangana Ranaut also welcomed ex-contestants Kaaranvir Bohra and Saisha Shinde on the show. While Kaaranvir was evicted because of a task during the entry of wild card contestants Zeeshan Khan and Vinit Kakkar, Saisha was asked to leave after she got into an argument with Kangana. Alyssa Healy produced a magnificent outing in the final of the Women’s World Cup on Sunday, slamming 170 off just 138 deliveries as Australia posted a mammoth score of 356/5 in 50 overs against England in Christchurch. Healy, alongside Rachael Haynes (68), forged a magnificent 160-run stand for the opening wicket and following Haynes’ dismissal, shifted gears as she smashed the English bowlers all around the park.