News brief: Big stories of the day

Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, 68, was sentenced to seven years in prison by a Pakistan court in a corruption case.

The PML(N) supremo was however acquitted in another case connected with corruption.

Gunmen entered a Kabul government compound in Afghanistan after detonating a car bomb, officials said.

The attack occurred outside Afghanistan's ministry of public works.

MS Dhoni Monday returned to India's T20 squad for the February series against New Zealand, while young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was dropped from the ODI squad.

China declared today it was "resolutely" opposed to Canada demanding release of two detained citizens as relations between the two countries continued to decline.

BJP MP from Sultanpur Varun Gandhi has written a book called "Rural Manifesto" in which he has highlighted the problem faced by Indian agriculture. He spoke with WION on the issues faced by the Indian farmers. BJP recently lost the momentum in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh because of strong rural distress and subsequently lost elections to Congress in the three states.