Khan marries for third time:

Subcontinent

Pakistani politician and former playboy cricketer Imran Khan has married a woman described as his spiritual adviser, party officials said, the third wedding for the World Cup champion once touted as Pakistan’s most eligible bachelor.

Khan, 65, married Bushra Wattoo in a private ceremony attended by relatives and friends in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday, his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) party announced on Twitter.

Pictures of the ceremony, showing the bride in a full veil, were posted on the account. Khan, once known internationally for his high-profile tabloid romances, cuts a more conservative persona in Pakistan, often carrying prayer beads and nurturing beliefs in living saints.

PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry told AFP the couple had known one another “for a long time” but declined to provide further details. She has been widely reported to be the politician’s spiritual adviser. (AFP)

Khan

including a candidate in upcoming state elections have been killed by a bomb while travelling in a restive northeast region of India, police said Monday.

The blast tore through a car in Meghalaya state late Sunday as Jonathone N. Sangma, a 43-year-old candidate for a regional party, travelled to a campaign event in the East Garo Hills district.

“He was going to address a public meeting at a village. Three other persons in his car including a policeman and two civilians were killed,” Challang Ch Momin, deputy superintendent of Meghalaya police, told AFP. (AFP)

B’desh, Myanmar to discuss returns:

Representatives from Bangladesh and Myanmar will meet on Tuesday to discuss the repatriation to Myanmar of more than 6,500 Rohingya Muslims trapped on a strip of unclaimed land between the two countries, Bangladeshi officials said.

“It is about taking them back to Myanmar,” Relief and Refugee Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam, told Reuters on Monday. “They are on the zero line and actually on the Myanmar side.” However, several officials contacted in neighbouring Myanmar said they were not aware of plans for a meeting, which Kalam said would take place on the “zero line” near a place called Gundum.

A spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which will not be involved in the talks, said the agency was concerned the Rohingya may be forcibly returned to Myanmar without due consideration for their safety. (RTRS)

Extend emergency — Yameen:

The president of the Maldives asked Parliament on Monday to extend the state of emergency that has helped him reinforce his power, as political turmoil continued to churn in the Indian Ocean nation. The 85-member Parliament was expected to vote on the proposal later Monday, one day before the current state of emergency expires.

President Yameen Abdul Gayoom declared the emergency after the Supreme Court ordered the release of a group of his imprisoned political opponents, who had been convicted in widely criticized trials. Yameen asked Parliament to extend the state of emergency by two weeks.

Under the emergency law, Yameen had two Supreme Court judges arrested, accusing them of corruption. Later, the remaining three judges annulled the order to release Yameen’s opponents. (AP)