More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Thousands of Pakistani government supporters converged on the country's Supreme Court on Monday, in a rare challenge to the nation's judiciary. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of the chief justice over ordering the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The Pakistan Democratic Alliance, a grouping of 13 political parties affiliated with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, called for the protests. The alliance was behind the joint action to oust Khan in a no-confidence vote in parliament April 2022.
Khan's dramatic detention from a courtroom in Islamabad last week sparked outrage among legions of his supporters, who set buildings and vehicles ablaze across major cities and attacked military facilities. At least 10 people died in pitched battles with police. Dozens were injured and thousands of Khan's supporters from his Tehreek-e-Insaf party were arrested.
The Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, intervened and ordered him to be freed. Bandial criticized the way Khan was arrested and said that his detention was unlawful. But the government and its allies have accused the top judge of bias.
Convoys filled with government supporters flooded the main road to Islamabad on their way to the Supreme Court despite a ban on rallies and public gatherings imposed by the government in the wake of the turmoil.
"Our peaceful protest is against Chief Justice (Umar Ata Bandial) for facilitating the release of Imran Khan," said Fazalur Rehman, the head of the Pakistan Democratic Alliance.
The radical Islamist political party Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam is leading the protest call. Also as part of the alliance, the Pakistan People's Party led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari -- the son of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto -- is joining the protest.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the chief organizer of the ruling party and daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was present at the sit-in as well.
Some judges were unable to directly access the Supreme Court because of the sit-in and had to use an attached government building to enter and leave the premises.
In a televised statement on Monday, Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif accused the Supreme Court of siding with Khan. He suggested the court "examine the conduct of the chief justice" and take legal action against him.
Khan claimed in a tweet Monday that the sit-in is being orchestrated to remove the chief justice.
The protest is a sign of escalating tensions between the judiciary and the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster.
Direct confrontations between the government and supreme court judges are rare in Pakistan.
In 1997, then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif demanded the removal of Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. A decade later, former President Pervez Musharraf placed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry under house arrest after he refused to resign for accusing the then-leader of corruption.
Judges have grown in power since then. The Supreme Court has ousted two prime ministers from office: Nawaz Sharif and Yousaf Raza Gillani.
Khan was dramatically arrested from a courtroom in Islamabad and dragged out by agents of the National Accountability Bureau last Tuesday on charges of accepting millions of dollars worth of property in exchange for providing benefits to real estate tycoon, Malik Riaz.
On Monday, Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were granted bail and protection from arrest until May 23 after appearing before a court in the eastern city of Lahore. They face possible arrest in the case related to the tycoon. Khan has denied the allegations.
Khan has also accused the government of defaming his wife, but Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told reporters that the administration has solid evidence of the couple's corruption.
A year after his ouster, Khan, a former cricket star turned Islamist politician, is still widely popular in Pakistan. He blames Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the country's military and Washington for his removal from power, saying it was part of a conspiracy to discredit him. All three have denied the charge.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
A loud boom heard by residents across Hamilton was caused by a ‘busted or shredded’ propane cylinder, police say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.