The White House is continuing to brace for a possible government shutdown this weekend, including making preparations for many junior personnel being furloughed starting on October 1.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan's popular opposition leader, is now an inmate at a high-security prison after being convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years. It's the most dramatic twist yet in months of political and legal wrangling between Khan and his political rivals since he was toppled in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. Khan's party said it will appeal what government critics describe as a flimsy case, aimed at removing the former cricket star from politics ahead of a general election meant to be held this fall. The government defended the conviction as lawful and denied that Khan is a victim of political persecution. If the conviction stands, the 70-year-old Khan would be prohibited by law from running for office or leading Pakistan Tehreek e-Insaf, the party he founded in the 1990s. However, polls indicate a strong election showing for PTI, and Khan's imprisonment could further boost its standing. WHAT WAS THE CASE AGAINST HIM? An Islamabad court ruled Saturday that Khan failed to report income from gifts he received from foreign dignitaries and heads of state while he was in power. In Pakistan, government leaders are allowed to keep such gifts after leaving power, in exchange for paying a portion of the value for them. The court said Khan sold some of those gifts and failed to state those earnings in a report last year to Pakistan's election commission. The court convicted Khan of corruption, handed down a three-year sentence and fined him 100,000 rupees, or roughly $350. Shortly after the verdict, Khan was detained at his home in the eastern city of Lahore and taken to a high-security lockup in the town of Attock, about an hour's drive from the capital of Islamabad. WHAT OTHER CASES ARE PENDING AGAINST KHAN? Since Khan's ouster, more than 150 cases have been filed against him by various government agencies on charges ranging from contempt of court to terrorism and inciting violence. Critics say this flurry of legal filings is part of an attempt by the governing coalition to sideline Khan, who as opposition leader has been able to mobilize huge crowds of loyal supporters. The government, in turn, portrays Khan as a corrupt trickster who has employed legal maneuvers to stay out of prison. The government has backers in Pakistan's powerful military, which has controlled the country for much of its 75-year history. HOW IS THIS ARREST DIFFERENT? Khan is being held in Attock, a notorious lockup for convicted militants and violent criminals. Officials familiar with conditions there said he has his own cell with a fan and separate bathing facilities, a step up from the prison's generally harsh conditions. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media. This is in marked contrast to Khan's brief detention in May, after he was dragged from a court hearing on a different set of corruption charges by anti-graft officials. The Supreme Court intervened swiftly, declaring the detention illegal. Khan was allowed to stay at a guest house in a police compound and could receive visitors while the legal arguments over his detention played out. Khan eventually returned to Labore, where his car was showered with rose petals. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The Supreme Court could overturn Khan’s conviction and sentence on appeal — an outcome that political analyst Imtiaz Gul believes is likely. “There was absolutely no solid case against Imran Khan, who had to face this conviction because of a technical mistake,” said Gul, who heads the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb claimed in a statement defending the conviction that support for Khan is eroding. “He may deceive a few naive, gullible supporters, but the general public now recognizes his true nature,” she wrote. “His pretense has been stripped away, revealing the face of an individual who evaded the law, exploited state gifts for trivial profits.” If Khan's conviction stands, he won't be able to lead his party into an election because those with criminal convictions are barred from running for office. But even from behind bars, he could wield significant political influence. After his detention in May, his supporters demonstrated their ability to disrupt public life. Tens of thousands of Khan loyalists rampaged through cities, some of them destroying military and government property. The government cracked down, detaining more than 7,000, with some prosecutions still ongoing. By comparison, the reaction to Khan’s arrest this weekend was much more muted, possibly because of fears of another crackdown. His calls for peaceful protests failed to rouse widespread support. WHAT IS THE POLITICAL FALLOUT? Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to dissolve parliament in the coming weeks, possibly paving the way for elections by mid-November. The government could delay the vote by several months if it decides to redraw constituencies based on recent census results. Khan's imprisonment could win him and his party greater electoral support. It would also feed into the political persona he created after losing power — that of a fearless campaigner for Pakistan's disadvantaged. “The next elections are likely to be held without active participation of Imran Khan, but even from jail, he has the potential to effectively run a campaign for his candidates,” said political analyst Azim Chaudhry. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Pakistan’s ex-Prime Minister spends night at high-security prison after sentencing Bill apparently aimed at halting criticism of Pakistani intelligence figures expected to become law Beijing has invested $25.4B in Pakistan over the last decade, Chinese vice premier says

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced snap parliamentary elections in July, hours after his ruling Socialists suffered major setbacks in regional and local elections.

Meteorologists predict that Las Vegas' all-time high temperature of 117 degrees Fahrenheit may surpass on Sunday, July 16

Provides an overview of Tonga, including key dates and facts about this Pacific island nation.

A liberal group is appealing a Colorado judge's ruling that former President Donald Trump can stay on the ballot despite a constitutional bar on office for those who “engaged in insurrection.”

Protesters with hands covered in red paint repeatedly interrupted a congressional hearing on US military aid Tuesday, demanding Washington stop...

CSX reported a 24% drop in the railroad's third-quarter profit Thursday as it hauled 2% less freight

New Mexico oilfield and air quality regulators announced unprecedented fines against a Texas-based oil and natural gas producer on accusations that the company flouted local pollution reporting and control requirements as it burned off vast amounts of natural gas

Paul Walker died in 2013 at the age of 40 after he was involved in a single-car collision

More than half of Americans believe US Supreme Court justices decide cases largely on the basis of their partisan political views, a figure that has shot up 10 percentage points from January 2022. That figure – 53 per cent – appears to be driven by the gulf between perceptions of the conservative supermajority court among Republican and Democratic voters following several controversial rulings at the end of its latest term, according to new polling from ABC News/Ipsos. Roughly three-quarters of Republican voters and 26 per cent of Democratic voters support the court’s decision to reject affirmative action in university admissions. Sixty-eight per cent of Republicans approve of the decision to allow businesses to deny services to same-sex couples. And 71 per cent of Republicans support the court’s ruling against President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debts, compared to just 17 per cent of Democrats. Overall, a bare majority of Americans (52 per cent) support the court’s decision against race-conscious admissions in higher education. That majority includes majorities among white (60 per cent) and Asian (58 per cent) Americans, while 52 per cent of Black Americans disapprove of the ruling. Despite their views on affirmative action, most Americans still do not believe that Black and Hispanic students have a fair chance of getting into the college of their choice compared to their white and Asian student counterparts. Roughly two-thirds of Americans believe that white and Asian students have a fair chance for admission to the college of their choice, compared to only 47 per cent and 50 per cent of respondents who would say the same for Black and Hispanic students, respectively. Americans’ views on the court’s actions against student debt cancellation also track closely with their age, polling finds. Older Americans are more likely to support the court’s actions – 61 per cent of people age 65 and older endorsed the ruling that struck down the president’s plan, while only 40 per cent of people aged 30 to 49 and 31 per cent of those under 30 years old support the ruling. “I know there are millions of Americans … in this country who feel disappointed and discouraged, or even a little bit angry, about the court’s decision today on student debt. And I must admit, I do, too,” Mr Biden said in remarks from the White House on 30 June following the court’s decision. Public support for the decision making at the nation’s highest court – with three justices appointed by Donald Trump during his one-term presidency – sank precipitously in the wake of the decision to overturn Roe v Wade and revoke a constitutional right to abortion care last summer. Following that ruling, among other actions under the court’s new conservative majority, the court has come under greater public scrutiny, alongside the decades of maneuvers among Republican officials to seat similarly ideologically minded judges across the federal judiciary, the actions of Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife Ginni Thomas surrounding attempts to reject 2020 election results, and a series of investigative reports that revealed apparent ethics lapses among conservative justices. Such scrutiny has called the court’s legitimacy into question, with Democratic lawmakers and critics of the court pressing for ethics investigations, impeachment proceedings and the resignation of justices. Read More Harvard sued over ‘legacy admissions’ after Supreme Court targets affirmative action Biden reveals ‘new path’ to student debt relief after Supreme Court strikes down president’s plan The ‘fake’ gay marriage case in the middle of the Supreme Court’s latest threat to LGBT+ rights The Supreme Court risks inflaming the prejudices that America sought to banish

One of the last leaders of Mexico’s anti-gang citizens’ movement has been buried alongside two of his faithful followers