- Liberty rally to top Lynx in overtime for WNBA title
- US, Canada warships pass through Taiwan Strait
- Asian markets fluctuate as traders digest China rate cut
- Naomi Osaka season over because of injury
- Toll from attack in India-controlled Kashmir rises to seven: reports
- Simmering Bellingham set for Dortmund reunion in Champions League
- World Cup winner Kerr thanks 'grandmas' for T20 inspiration
- Dortmund identity crisis ahead of European rematch with Real Madrid
- China's central bank cuts two key rates to boost economy
- BHP goes on trial in London over 2015 toxic Brazil mine disaster
- Pakistan passes constitutional amendments aimed at courts
- Fungi finding: mushroom hunters seek new species and recognition
- Beware: US election disinformation masked as 'breaking news'
- Celtics seek repeat, Lebron and son unite as NBA season opens
- Poston holds off Ghim for PGA Tour triumph in Las Vegas
- Unbeaten Chiefs march past 49ers, Lions hand Vikings first loss
- Moldova president blames interference for potential EU referendum loss
- King Charles to spotlight conflict, climate in Australian capital
- UN chief seeks 'significant' funding at summit to save nature
- Hurricane Oscar makes landfall in Cuba amid huge power outage
- McLaren blast 'inappropriate' penalty as Norris F1 title hopes hit
- La Rochelle bounce back against Bordeaux-Begles
- Lethal Lewandowski helps Barca rout Sevilla, Atletico triumph
- Leclerc wins US Grand Prix as Norris, Verstappen clash
- Moldovans vote 'no' in referendum on joining EU: partial results
- Lewandowski powers five-star Barca to Sevilla rout
- Lions hand Vikings first loss, Packers down Texans
- In escalation, Israel bombs Hezbollah-linked finance group
- Martinez keeps Inter on Napoli's tail with Roma winner
- Marseille return to form with Montpellier thrashing
- Lula cancels trip to summit in Russia after injuring head
- Cuba girds for Hurricane Oscar with electricity supply still down
- Harris celebrates birthday at Georgia churches as Trump serves McDonald's
- One dead as flooding hits Italy's northeast flatlands
- Browns quarterback Watson exits with Achilles tendon injury
- Liverpool 'showed up' to beat Chelsea challenge: Slot
- 'Once in a lifetime' Kerr leads New Zealand to Women's T20 World Cup triumph
- Pope names 14 new saints, including martyrs of Damascus
- Malinin captures third straight Skate America crown
- Sri Lanka triumph in rain-affected first ODI against West Indies
- Moldovans flock to vote in key tests on EU future
- Liverpool pass Chelsea test to reclaim Premier League top spot
- Kerr leads New Zealand to maiden Women's T20 World Cup triumph
- Tens of thousands rally in Georgia for EU ahead of pivotal vote
- UN biodiversity summit opens under guerrilla threat in Colombia
- 'Smile 2' scares up the biggest audiences in N.American theaters
- 'I deserved this,' says Bautista Agut after 12th career title
- Thousands protest in Spain's Canary Islands against mass tourism
- Lavreysen reaps 16th gold at track cycling worlds
- Sorloth double helps Atletico beat Leganes
Pakistan passes constitutional amendments aimed at courts
Pakistan's government on Monday narrowly passed a package of constitutional amendments it said would stop the country's courts from issuing rulings that "interfere in parliament".
Tensions between the state and the country's top courts have deepened since February's national election, which was marred by allegations of rigging as the country's most popular politician, Imran Khan, languished in jail.
Under the judicial reforms passed during a late night session of parliament, the chief justice of Pakistan will now be selected by a parliamentary committee and have a fixed term of three years.
A new constitutional bench will be also formed.
"The goal of the amendments is to block the judicial verdicts that interfere in parliament," Defence Minister Asif Khawaja said on Saturday as the government courted support from smaller religious groups.
"Everybody agrees that we will not compromise on the supremacy of the parliament."
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party scraped together a two-thirds majority with the backing of its long-time rival turned supply and demand partner Pakistan People's Party, and a religious party considered an ally of Khan.
The government clinched 225 votes of the required 224 with the crucial support of a handful of rebel MPs from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, state media broadcasting the session showed.
PTI, the largest bloc in parliament, had refused to back the package despite offers to water down the amendments and settle a consensus deal, analysts said.
"These amendments are akin to suffocating a free judiciary. They do not represent the people of Pakistan," said PTI’s Omar Ayub Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, during the session.
"A government formed through rigging cannot amend the constitution."
The amendments come just days before the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Qazi Faez Isa, is due to retire.
Under the previous law, he would have been automatically replaced by the most senior judge behind him -- currently, Mansoor Ali Shah, who has consistently issued verdicts deemed favourable to Khan and his party.
Analyst Bilal Gilani, who heads Pakistan’s leading polling agency, said the amendments have some "wins" – including bringing balance to the activism of the judiciary.
"A more sinister side of this amendment creates a judiciary that is more pliant with the concerns of the government," he added.
- Wins and losses -
Sharif heads a shaky coalition government that has the backing of the powerful military -- despite Khan's MPs winning the most seats in February's election.
In July, the Supreme Court ruled that the Election Commission of Pakistan was wrong to have sidelined Khan's party in the election campaign by forcing its MPs to stand as independents over a technical violation.
It also awarded Khan's party a handful of non-elected seats reserved for women and religious minorities, which would give Khan's party a majority in parliament.
Earlier this year, six Pakistan high court judges accused the nation's intelligence agency of intimidating and coercing them over "politically consequential" cases.
Khan remains wildly popular and continues to challenge the establishment with frequent protests, despite languishing in jail on charges he says are politically motivated.
He was ousted from power in a no confidence vote in 2022 after analysts say he fell out of favour with the generals.
He waged a defiant campaign against the military -- a major redline in a country that has seen decades of army rule -- which was met with a severe crackdown against his leadership and supporters.
P.M.Smith--AMWN