For the first time in history, the proceedings of the US House of Representatives on Friday began with the offering of prayers by a Sikh Granthi from New Jersey. The prayers are usually offered by a Christian priest to start the session.
Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Vikram Doraiswami was prevented from entering a gurdwara in Glasgow, Scotland on Albert Drive on Friday by an alleged Khalistani supporter.Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in "stable" condition a day after undergoing hip surgery, and began physical therapy Saturday morning, his doctors announced.
The 77-year-old leader widely known as Lula "spent the night in a stable state, walked in the morning and began physical therapy" in his hospital room in Brasilia, a medical bulletin said.
Doctors said Friday that the hip replacement surgery had gone off "without complications" and that Lula could probably leave the hospital no later than Tuesday.
While he will likely need a walker to get around at first, the image-conscious Lula has said he will not be photographed "with a walker or on crutches. You will see me handsome, as always."
The veteran leftist politician will have to put a hold on the busy schedule of foreign trips he has maintained since taking office in January.
While he'll be able to "work normally," Lula will have to stay put in Brasilia for at least four weeks, doctors said.
At the same time, Lula's personal physician Roberto Kalil Filho said the head of state should be able to travel to the UN climate conference in Dubai in late November.
That session holds particular importance for Lula, a self-proclaimed champion of the environment who has promised to end Amazon deforestation by 2030.
Lula, a former trade union leader, was previously president from 2003 to 2010. Last year he defeated far-right president Jair Bolsonaro in elections in a stunning return to power.
He has survived previous health problems: a bout with throat cancer in 2011, vocal-cord surgery last November and, last March, a case of pneumonia.
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At least 55 were killed and over 50 injured following a massive suicide blast near a mosque in Balochistan province's Mastung district on Friday, as people gathered in the area for an Eid-e-Milad procession. A Spanish court has ruled John McAfee committed suicide, a court document seen by Reuters showed on Friday, bringing to a close a probe about the death of the software entrepreneur.
McAfee, who launched the world's first commercial anti-virus software in 1987, was found dead, aged 75, on June 23, 2021, in his prison cell a few hours after Spain's high court authorised his extradition to the United States on tax evasion charges.
The British-American tech mogul had been in the Barcelona-area Brians 2 jail for eight months following his arrest after years on the run from U.S. authorities.
Although the autopsy had already determined he died by suicide, his family had filed an appeal asking for a more in-depth investigation into his death.
His body has been in a Barcelona morgue, waiting for the court process to be resolved.
"There is not a single element of suspicion, of a charge against a third party, of criminal behaviour," said the ruling, dated July 24 but released on Friday.
His family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ruling can't be appealed before an ordinary court.
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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Tuesday, acknowledged that the movement of Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean has increased multiple folds in the past two decades and added New Delhi has been closely monitoring Chinese naval activities.American soldier Travis King has returned to the United States after being freed by North Korea, a Defense Department official said Thursday.
"I can confirm that he has landed in the US," the official told AFP, without providing further details.
A US official previously said King would be taken to the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas upon his return to the United States -- the same place that American basketball star Brittney Griner was evaluated after being released by Russia.
After a drunken pub fight, an incident with police and a stay in South Korean jail, Private Second Class King was being taken to the airport in July to fly back to Texas.
But instead of travelling to Fort Bliss for disciplinary hearings, he snuck away, joined a Demilitarized Zone sightseeing trip and slipped over the border.
Last month, Pyongyang confirmed it was holding him, saying King had defected to North Korea to escape "mistreatment and racial discrimination in the US Army."
But after completing its investigation, Pyongyang has "decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the US Army who illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK, under the law of the Republic," the Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday, using the North's formal acronym.
King's border crossing came with relations between the two Koreas at one of their lowest points ever, with diplomacy stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for increased weapons development, including tactical nuclear warheads.
The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a treaty, and most of the border between them is heavily fortified.
One of the last US citizens to be detained by the North was student Otto Warmbier, who was held for a year and a half before being released in a coma to the United States. He died six days later.
Around half a dozen American soldiers made rare defections to the North after the Korean War and were used for the country's propaganda.
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Expressing strong concern over the "hate speech" by Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the Hindu Forum Canada (HFC) has called for his prohibition from entering Canadian territory. The letter was addressed to Minister Immigration of Canada. Peter Thorning, the legal representative for HFC, expressed the forum's concerns to Marc Miller about Pannu's recent statements.The United States said Wednesday it will start letting Israelis visit without visas, granting a longstanding wish of its ally after concluding it had reduced discrimination against Arab Americans -- an assessment rejected by some lawmakers and activists.
By the end of November, Israelis will be in the same league as citizens of most Western nations by not needing visas for trips of 90 days or less to the world's largest economy.
"We have been working on this for years, almost a decade," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"I would like to express our appreciation to US President Joe Biden for his support of the initiative, which will further strengthen ties between the two peoples," he said.
The Biden administration made the decision after Israel in July promised a series of steps to comply with longstanding US demands to treat all US passport holders equally -- without discriminating against Americans who are of Palestinian or other Arab heritage or who are Muslim.
Visa-free travel marks "a critical step forward in our strategic partnership with Israel that will further strengthen longstanding people-to-people engagement, economic cooperation, and security coordination," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
He said that the efforts would also bring greater "freedom of movement" for US citizens living in or visiting the Palestinian territories.
A US official briefing reporters insisted that the decision was not a "favor" to Israel but the result of progress.
But Biden is also increasingly seeking to work with Netanyahu -- whose hard-right government the US president has frequently criticized -- to seek a historic peace deal with Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed Majdalani, the Palestinian social affairs minister, said the US decision "appears to be a reward" for letting Palestinian Americans enter Israel.
"It also confirms that America stands by Israel all the time," he told AFP.
A number of lawmakers from Biden's own Democratic Party had urged Blinken not to go ahead before a Saturday deadline and instead exert pressure for greater change.
"It is clear that Israel is not in compliance with this law as it relates to reciprocal treatment for all US citizens," said a letter signed by 15 senators led by Chris Van Hollen and Brian Schatz, and including Bernie Sanders.
Already, Israel does not require visas for Americans generally.
But until the July agreement, Palestinian Americans seeking to enter the West Bank were obliged to cross by the Allenby Bridge with Jordan and were not allowed through Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel's main international gateway.
The Democratic senators said that more action was necessary as US citizens who hold Palestinian identification cards still cannot rent cars at Ben Gurion and cannot go through Israeli checkpoints that prohibit Palestinians.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed a lawsuit to prevent Israel's entry into the visa waiver program, a move it said "would be an endorsement of discrimination against Palestinian and Arab Americans."
J Street, a progressive pro-Israel group frequently critical of Netanyahu, welcomed easier travel for Israelis but said it was clear that the US requirements "are being bent and adjusted to accommodate Israel in a way that they have not been for other countries."
But another US official said Israel met demands by keeping the refusal of Americans seeking to enter as non-immigrants at 2.27 percent in the last fiscal year, within the target of a maximum of three percent.
US officials said they could rescind the visa waiver status if there is backsliding.
In Tel Aviv, student Daniela Stein said she has a US visa but can now travel on short notice with friends and family who did not.
"I know people who would like to fly and see the world, so it opens up opportunities for them, America is a special place that many people have not yet visited," she said.
Nearly all Western nationals enjoy visa-free entry into the United States including people from all European Union members except Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania.
Other beneficiaries include people from high-income Asian societies -- Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Brunei.
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A Chinese dissident, identified as Chen Siming, has appealed for asylum in the United States or Canada amid fears of deportation to Beijing after escaping to Taiwan. Chen has been living in a Taiwanese airport for several days now.US President Joe Biden joined striking auto workers on the picket line in Michigan Tuesday in a historic first for a sitting US president, a day before rival Donald Trump makes his own bid for the blue-collar vote in the battleground electoral state.
Wearing a baseball cap with the logo of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, the 80-year-old Democrat told banner-waving employees through a megaphone that he was on their side.
Republican Trump will visit Michigan on Wednesday, turning the strike into a bitter early confrontation between the two top candidates for an election that is still more than a year away.
Biden told workers that the "Big Three" automakers -- Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis -- were "doing incredibly well, and guess what, you should be doing incredibly well too."
"You deserve the significant raise you need and other benefits," he said to cheers from the crowd.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described it as a "historic" trip.
"Today will mark the first time a sitting president has visited a picket line in modern times," Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One. "This is an important message to America's auto workers."
The UAW's outspoken chief Shawn Fain greeted Biden on the tarmac in Detroit and accompanied him to the picket line.
For Biden, facing concerns about his poll ratings, his age, and the economy, the trip is a golden opportunity to woo working-class workers and union members.
"That is huge," auto worker Patrick Smaller, 56, said about Biden's visit as he stood on the picket line outside a massive Ford plant in Wayne County, Michigan on Tuesday.
"He believes in what we stand for."
As cars and trucks honked in support, another worker, Tiara Conner, said Biden's visit was "great".
She said she was "not surprised" that Trump was visiting too, adding: "I just hope that he (Trump) is also here for the right reasons and standing in solidarity with us."
The current and former presidents are both targeting the blue-collar vote in Michigan, a key swing state that Trump won in 2016 and then Biden flipped back in 2020.
But their messages there are very different as they look towards a rematch next year.
Biden has consistently talked up his pro-union credentials, and an endorsement from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union helped him secure the presidency three years ago.
"I always support the UAW", Biden said on Monday.
Trump however will be focusing on winning back the working class voters who helped propel him to the White House in 2016, rather than unions with whom he has long had difficult relations.
Trump has focused on attacking Biden's drive to fund a shift to more environmentally friendly electric vehicles, saying it is driving jobs abroad.
"Remember he wants to take your jobs away and give them to China," Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social.
Trump also accused Biden of copying his plans and of "pretending" to be a picket.
However, Biden says his push for electric vehicles is part of a plan to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States and put the country in the lead of a global race to develop green technology.
Jean-Pierre said Biden was "fighting to ensure that the cars of the future will be built in America, by unionized American workers in good paying jobs, instead of being built in China."
Biden's Michigan trip carries a political risk as he must tread a fine line between backing the workers and trying to end a strike that is costing the economy billions of dollars.
The White House deflected a barrage of questions about whether Biden was taking sides in the dispute, saying the president wanted a "win-win" agreement and would not get involved in negotiations.
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As India lodged a strong protest over China's visa denial for players from Arunachal Pradesh for the ongoing Asian Games, Zha Liyou, the Consul General of China in Kolkata, called for strengthening bilateral ties between two countries, which is in the "fundamental interest" of both sides.China's famous virologist Shi Zhengli, also known as ‘Batwoman', has warned that another coronavirus outbreak is “highly likely” to take place in the future, South China Morning Post reported. The virologist in a recent research paper, titled 'Assessment and sero-diagnosis for coronaviruses with risk of human spillover' warned that the world must be prepared for another disease, just like COVID-19, because "if a coronavirus caused diseases to emerge before, there is a high chance it will cause future outbreaks."
In the study, Ms Zhengli and colleagues from the Wuhan Institute of Virology evaluated the human spillover risk of 40 coronavirus species. They found that half of these species are ''highly risky''. Of these, six are already known to have caused diseases that infected humans, while there is evidence that a further three caused disease or infected other animal species.
''It is almost certain that there will be future disease emergence and it is highly likely a [coronavirus] disease again,'' the study warned.
The study was based on an analysis of viral traits, including population, genetic diversity, host species, and any previous history of zoonosis, SCMP reported. Further, the study also identified hosts of the pathogen including natural hosts like bats and rodents, or possible intermediate hosts including camels, civets, pigs, or pangolins.
However, other Chinese virologists dismissed the claims, while some others were reluctant to comment on Ms Zhengli's latest findings.
Meanwhile, another scientist from China's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the publication on condition of anonymity that ''Chinese authorities are downplaying COVID-19, and some cities have stopped releasing infection data.''
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been under increased scrutiny, with some US politicians promoting the theory that COVID-19 originated from an accidental leak from the lab. However, the head of US intelligence said there is no evidence for the claim, as per an AFP report.
In May this year, World Health Organisation (WHO) chief also remarked that the world must get ready for the next pandemic, ''Disease X'', which might be "even deadlier" than Covid-19. According to WHO website, the term "represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease".
It could be a new agent - a virus, a bacterium, or a fungus - without any known treatments. The WHO started using the term in 2018. A year later, COVID-19 began to spread across the world.
India has emerged as a "very important global player" and deserves to be considered as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), said Dominica's Foreign Minister Vince Henderson on Saturday on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly.Niger's military rulers have banned "French aircraft" from flying over the country's airspace, according to the Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) website.
Niger's airspace is "open to all national and international commercial flights except for French aircraft or aircraft chartered by France including those of the airline Air France," it said in the statement dated late Saturday.
The air space would remain closed for "all military, operational and other special flights", unless receiving prior authorisation, the message said.
Air France told AFP simply that it was "not flying over Niger airspace".
Niger had reopened its airspace on September 4 for commercial flights after having been closed for nearly a month.
The West African nation then announced on August 6 it was closing its airspace due to the "threat of intervention from neighbouring countries", as the Economic Community of West African States threatened military action to restore the elected President Mohamed Bazoum who had been overthrown in a coup on July 26.
France has repeatedly supported the West African bloc, and relations between Paris and Niamey have been at an all-time low since the coup.
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In what was an inevitable response to Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar predictably raking up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly, India hit back at the neighbour asking it to “shut down its infrastructure of terrorism” and “vacate territories under its illegal and forcible occupation”.The French government on Saturday denounced "unacceptable violence" at a protest led by the hard left against police brutality, with officers trapped in their police vehicle after it was attacked, an AFP correspondent said.
The nationwide protest came just under three months after the point-blank killing by a policeman of youth outside Paris at a traffic check sparked over a week of rioting in Paris and elsewhere.
Hundreds of people wearing black and in hoods broke away from the main march of several thousand people in Paris
They smashed the windows of a bank branch and threw objects at a police car stuck in traffic, an AFP reporter said.
Paris police said that the police car was attacked with a crowbar and only the intervention of an anti-riot police unit allowed the release of the vehicle.
A video later published by the BFMTV channel and shared on the internet showed a group of masked protesters running after the car, repeatedly kicking it, as one man smashes a window with a crowbar.
An officer gets out and brandishes his service weapon, but does not fire it and gets back in the vehicle.
"We see where anti-police hatred leads," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, denouncing "unacceptable violence" against the police.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said three people had been arrested over the incident.
Unions said some 80,000 people were expected to protest across France, responding to a call by the radical left including the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party but police put the number at 13,800.
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A day after a Khalistani terrorist and a wanted gangster in India was killed in Canada, authorities have confirmed the incident but said no arrest has been made so far. Sukhdool Singh Gill alias Sukha Duneke, 39, was allegedly killed in a shootout by a rival gang in the city of Winnipeg on Thursday.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday (September 22) embarked on a nine-day visit to the United States where he will participate in the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar on Friday predictably raised the Kashmir bogey in his speech at the UN General Assembly. he claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir issue is among the longest-standing items on the UN agenda.
Mr Kakar's remarks came during his address to the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York today.
He said, "Pakistan desires peaceful and productive relations with all our neighbours including India," and added that "Kashmir is the key to peace between Pakistan and India."
India has repeatedly raised its concern over Pakistan's support of cross-border terrorism and has asserted that terror and talks cannot go together.
India has also provided evidence at various international forums of Pakistan's support for Terrorist groups.
Pakistan's caretaker PM however harped on what he called the illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
"India has evaded implementation of the security council's resolutions which call for the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir to be decided by its people through UN-supervised plebiscite. Since August 2019, India has deployed 900,000 troops in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to impose the final solution for Kashmir," Mr Kakar claimed.
Following the Indian government's decision in August 2019 to abolish Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcating it into two Union territories- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Pakistan government, then led by Imran Khan, expelled India's ambassador to Islamabad and halted bilateral trade.
India has already made it clear after the Pulwama attack in 2019 that it wants normal bilateral ties with Pakistan, adding that it is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities.
Earlier in August, former Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif had shown his willingness to talk to India.
"With our neighbours, we are prepared to talk to them, provided that the neighbour is serious to talk on serious matters on the table because war is no more an option. Pakistan is a nuclear power, not as an aggressor but for our defence purposes. We had three wars fought in the last 75 years. And what happened is it generates more poverty, unemployment, and lack of resources" PM Sharif had stated.
Following this, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India wanted neighbourly ties with Pakistan but there should be an atmosphere free from terror and violence for such a relationship.
During a weekly briefing, the MEA spokesperson had said "We have seen reports regarding the comments by the Pakistan PM on this issue. India's clear and consistent position is well known that we desire normal relations with all our neighbouring countries including Pakistan. For this environment free of terror and hostility is imperative."
India will now have the right to reply to Pakistan's speech at the UNGA on Saturday morning and a sharp rejoinder is expected.
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Amid the tension between India and Canada over the killing of separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a similar incident was reported where a Punjab resident who fled to Ottawa was shot dead on Wednesday. Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists from the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh held their first direct peace talks Thursday, after Baku claimed to have regained control over the breakaway region in a lightning military operation.
The separatists agreed to lay down their arms on Wednesday as part of a Russian-brokered ceasefire plan that halted Azerbaijan's 24-hour offensive to retake land at the centre of decades of conflict.
Azerbaijan's presidency said the two-hour meeting had been "held in a constructive and peaceful atmosphere" in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, and both sides expressed readiness to hold more talks.
Baku's negotiators presented plans for the "reintegration" of Karabakh's Armenian population into Azerbaijan and pledged to provide urgently needed fuel, humanitarian supplies, and medical care to residents.
While the meeting was happening, gunfire rang out in the separatist stronghold of Stepanakert on Thursday despite the truce deal.
"There was a small exchange of fire outside the city," Arutyun Gasparyan, a businessman and father of two, told AFP. "We are sitting at home and waiting for the results of the talks."
The breakaway authorities accused Azerbaijan of violating the ceasefire, but Baku denied the allegation.
The region's human rights ombudsman said on social media that "the streets of Stepanakert are filled with displaced people, hungry, scared, and in uncertainty".
- 'Crime against humanity' -
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the small mountainous region. Now, there are concerns of a fresh refugee crisis as Karabakh's Armenian population fears being forced out.
Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the ceasefire was holding overall and he did not see a "direct threat" to the civilian population.
Nonetheless he said Yerevan was prepared to host 40,000 families from the region, which is estimated to hold up to 120,000 ethnic Armenians.
The European Union said it was ready to provide "urgent humanitarian assistance", urging Azerbaijan to allow access to the enclave.
And the UN Security Council was due to hold an emergency session to discuss the situation, after separatists said the assault claimed 200 lives.
The collapse of the separatist resistance represents a major victory for Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.
Aliyev said his country had restored its sovereignty over the region for the first time in decades. Baku insists it now wants to see the "peaceful reintegration" of Karabakh Armenians.
A separatist official said more than 10,000 people had been evacuated from Armenian communities in Nagorno-Karabakh.
- Putin talks to Aliyev -
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Aliyev to ensure the security for the region's Armenians.
Russia -- the traditional regional powerbroker -- sent peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 as part of a deal to end a six-week war in which Azerbaijan regained partial control of the region.
Under this week's truce, the separatists said they had agreed to fully dismantle their army and for Armenia to pull out any forces it had in the region.
Azerbaijan's defence ministry said all weapons were to be surrendered.
After the Soviet Union fell apart, Armenian separatists seized the region -- internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan -- in the early 1990s.
That sparked a war that left 30,000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.
The latest violence comes with Moscow bogged down in its war against Ukraine, and after the United States and European Union had stepped up attempts to find a lasting peace.
Pashinyan on Thursday condemned "failures" by the Russian peacekeeping mission to avert Azerbaijan's assault.
The Kremlin said Aliyev had apologised to Putin over the death of an undisclosed number of Russian peacekeepers during the fighting on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed "wholehearted support" for its ally, Azerbaijan.
- 'Path is not easy' -
The apparent capitulation of the separatists has sparked jubilation among Azerbaijanis hoping for an end to decades of strife.
But it ratchets up domestic pressure on Pashinyan, who has faced stinging criticism at home for making concessions to Azerbaijan since the 2020 war.
Pashinyan said on Thursday that a road to peace with Armenia's arch-rival was difficult but must still be pursued.
"This path is not easy, it goes through internal and external shocks, and we must pursue it," he said.
Aliyev has said this week's events would have a "positive impact" on attempts to negotiate a lasting peace between the two feuding Caucasus neighbours.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the question of which country Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to had been "decided" and conditions were in place for an enduring solution.
But mutual distrust remains high and finding a lasting settlement to the decades-long dispute will be a major task.
Armenia's defence ministry said late Wednesday Azerbaijan had fired on its positions along the border, just the latest in what have been frequent skirmishes.
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Amid the row over the killing of extremist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, officials in New Delhi claimed India had informed about nine separatist organisations supporting terror groups have bases in Canada and added the Canadian government did not take any steps to curb those involved in heinous crimes, including the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. Reacting to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation of Indian involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader on its soil, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that it was unfortunate that Mr Trudeau made such a statement in the Parliament and that Canada "jeopardised" the state of a very good relationship.
"We are seeing a tit-for-tat on both sides. First, on the expulsion of a diplomat and then on this advisory...I think it is unfortunate that Canada chose such a public route. If at all they have any issue, these matters should be discussed privately with a friendly govt like India and the matter should be discussed behind closed doors. Going public, making a statement in the Parliament was very unfortunate by the Prime Minister (Justin Trudeau) and having gone that far they (Canada) have really jeopardised the state of a very good relationship," Mr Tharoor told ANI.
Earlier in the day, BJP National Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda reacted to the issue and said that although Canada has been professing liberal values, they have been supporting terrorists on their soil.
"Canada has been professing all these liberal values like freedom of speech but they have been appeasing, patronising and supporting terrorists on their soil. And these terrorists are not just targeting India they have killed hundreds of Canadian citizens themselves," Mr Panda told ANI.
Hitting out at the Canadian government, Mr Panda said that the government of Canada does not allow a referendum for Quebec separatists but has no problem with Khalistani separatists who not only hold the referendum but also celebrate the acts of violence.
"Canada itself has separatist movements such as the Quebec Separatist movement. They don't allow the same freedom to those who want to have independence for Quebec. They don't allow a referendum for Quebec separatists. And yet they have no problem allowing Khalistani separatists and terrorists to not only have to try to have this referendum on Canadian soil but also to celebrate the acts of violence...This is not acceptable, It's not civilized," he said.
The BJP National Vice President also took a dig at the Canadian government and said that the Indian government must consider facilitating an online "referendum on the Quebec independence" issue just like they allow Khalistani separatists to try the same on Canadian soil.
"In the spirit of friendship with Canada, we in India must consider facilitating an online referendum on the Quebec independence issue (in gratitude for their allowing Khalistani separatists to try the same on Canadian soil). Perhaps we should also offer Indian soil for the Quebec independence movement's events commemorating their sacrifices, bombings and assassination attempts (again, just like Canada has been so considerate to allow for the Khalistanis)," Mr Panda posted on 'X'.
"This would also embellish the spirit of free speech so cherished in both our nations and would help clarify the increasing support for an independent Quebec (as reported in media earlier this year). Finally, since elected Canadian politicians who support Quebec independence have been travelling and meeting European leaders, we should also meet and understand their views. In the spirit of Indo-Canadian friendship and cooperation, I would be glad to host an interaction for them here in Delhi," he added.
This comes amid tensions in India-Canada relations after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau made allegations regarding the Indian government's involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
The allegations were denied by the Ministry of External Affairs in India which dubbed the allegations as 'absurd' and 'motivated'.
Several world leaders have also expressed 'deep concerns' over Trudeau's remarks in the Canadian Parliament.
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As the matter turned grave following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's alleged India's potential link in the killing of a Khalistani leader, it seems the statement backfired Ottawa as Trudeau said he was not trying to provoke New Delhi but rather wanted his Indian counterpart to address the issue properly.
The UK government, on Tuesday, said that the "serious allegations" over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada will not impact its own ongoing trade negotiations with India. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson at 10 Downing Street was asked about the impact the issue may have on India-UK relations after a government spokesperson said the UK remains in "close touch" with the Canadian authorities.
In a major development, Azerbaijan began what it called an “anti-terrorist operation” targeting Armenian military positions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and officials in that region said there was heavy artillery firing around its capital.
Hours after India expelled a senior Canadian diplomat and accused Canada of interfering in its internal affairs over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Ottawa, the United States raised grave concerns over the development and the allegations levelled by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In a major development, the F-35 fighter jet, which went missing since the pilot left it flying on autopilot mode on Sunday, was found crashed in rural South Carolina, Williamsburg County--- about two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston. 
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on late Monday said that he trusts Russia equally as he trusts Western countries, more than a week after his meeting where he tried to convince his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to rejoin the Black Sea grain initiative that affected food security in many countries.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held phone calls with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French President Emmanuel Macron over Azerbaijan's military operations in Karabakh, Pashinyan's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"The situation in Nagorno Karabakh after the attack of Azerbaijan was discussed. Both sides emphasised the inadmissibility of using force and the need to use international mechanisms for de-escalation," press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan said in statements about both calls.
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Anju, the Indian national woman and a mother of two children is expected to return to India next month. The 34-year-old woman, who now goes by the name of Fatima after converting to Islam, is "mentally disturbed and badly missing" her two children, said her Pakistani husband. Fatima travelled to a remote village in Pakistan to marry her 29-year-old friend Nasrullah. They became friends on Facebook in 2019.Five US citizens freed by Iran landed in Qatar on Monday in a prisoner exchange facilitated by the release of $6 billion in frozen oil proceeds, an AFP reporter said.
A Qatari jet carrying the five, along with two relatives, touched down at Doha International Airport just before 5:40 pm local time (1440 GMT), the reporter witnessed.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has warned that the international community will unite more strongly in the face of soaring military cooperation between growing military cooperation between its prime rival North Korea and Russia, and further asserted that he will raise the issue at the UN General Assembly this week.White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the weekend, officials said Sunday, in the latest effort to ease tensions between the superpowers.
Jake Sullivan and Wang Yi met in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta on Saturday and Sunday, the White House said.
"This meeting was part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the relationship," a statement said.
President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have not talked or met since a summit in Bali last year but US officials say they are working to renew contact between the two leaders.
A string of high-level US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, have met recently with Chinese officials to prepare a possible Xi-Biden meeting.
The White House said Jake Sullivan and Wang Yi "committed to maintain this strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level engagement."
A Chinese government statement on the Malta meeting largely echoed the US version, saying "the two sides conducted candid, substantive and constructive strategic communication."
Wang Yi brought up the issue of Taiwan -- a self-governing, democratic island that China claims but which also receives strong US support -- as a "red line that cannot be crossed in Sino-US relations."
"The United States noted the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," according to the White House readout.
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Poland’s Law and Justice party is being rocked by reports that Polish consulates issued visas in Africa and Asia and took bribes, thus allowing migrants to enter the European Union which was used by some as a platform to get a passage to the United States.An Italian military jet crashed during an exercise in Turin, hitting a car and killing a five-year-old girl, while the pilot survived, Italian media reported on Saturday.
Italian news agency AGI reported that the victim's nine-year-old brother was seriously injured, while the two parents and pilot were not in life-threatening danger.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The death toll in Libya’s coastal city of Derna has soared to 11,300 as search efforts continue following a massive flood fed by the breaching of two dams in heavy rains, the Libyan Red Crescent said on Thursday.
In a scary incident, a United Airlines flight, which took off from New Jersey Airport to Rome, took a terrifying descent of more than 28,000 feet in just 10 minutes. According to a report by the New York Post, United Airlines Flight 510 took off from Newark Liberty International Airport at 8:37 p.m. on Wednesday and started experiencing dramatic descent which triggered a panic situation among the 270 passengers on board.
As China's Defence Minister, Li Shangfu, "mysteriously" went "missing" from public view, the US ambassador to Japan has now questioned whether the Communist regime has placed him under house arrest. Taking to social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, US's Rahm Emanuel claimed that the minister had not seen for the past three weeks and added he did not show up for his trip to Vietnam.
The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has announced it will hold a hearing on religious freedom in India next week. Coming on the heels of two successful bilateral meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden -- the official State visit of PM Modi in Washington in June and a bilateral meeting in Delhi in September -- the USCIRF said the Congressional hearing was on how the US government can work with the Indian government to address violations.
A 17-year-old Sikh high school student was assaulted at a bus stop after an altercation with another teenager in Canada's British Columbia province on Monday- in an apparent case of hate crime.Men draw water from a well to transport it by donkey to the makeshift camp where they have been living since their village was destroyed in the massive earthquake that devastated southern Morocco last week.
Living conditions in Ighermane, a remote village in the High Atlas mountains, have always been rudimentary, but "there was water in the houses," said 28-year-old Mohamed Oublay, after filling plastic containers that will be used to wash utensils and prepare dinner outdoors.
"Now we have gone back to the time of our ancestors."
The village lost three children to Friday night's earthquake. Its mud-brick homes were all partially or completely destroyed.
Even its brand-new mosque, inaugurated just five months ago, was not spared.
Climbing the mounds of rubble that still reek with the stench of the dead livestock buried beneath, Oublay surveys the scale of the crisis facing the village.
The interior ministry "provided us with 72 tents, but we are 90 families," he said. "We can't afford to store provisions there. The priority is to accommodate women and children."
Saida Ouchi said she was about to spend her first night under canvas after five nights sleeping in the open among the olive trees.
"I was told that we might be able to run a small lamp by connecting it to the only house that still has power," she adds.
Ouchi has used mattresses and cushions distributed by charities to arrange her living space, which she shares with her husband, two of her daughters and three grandchildren.
While she is grateful for the increased comfort, she does not hide her fears for the safety of her grandchildren.
"We're worried about the children, always wondering where they are and if something will fall on them," she said.
The village school was destroyed in the quake forcing its pupils to spend their days outside.
Ouchi's kitchen has been reduced to a few utensils around a wood fire shared with other women in the village. The food supplies distributed by local charities are stored under a tarpaulin baking under the punishing sun.
Moustapha Chamoun is worried about the approach of winter, which sometimes brings snow to the village. He prays that the authorities will help them rebuild their homes before the first snowfall hits.
"We don't have the means to do it ourselves," said the 25-year-old, who, like many villagers, holds down several part-time jobs in the country's economic hub, Casablanca, to support his family.
"My parents, like my grandparents, will never want to leave here, and besides, housing elsewhere is prohibitively expensive," he said.
Despite everything, Ouchi remains hopeful. "If they give us a bit of cement and some earth, we will rebuild it ourselves. I just want two rooms and a kitchen. That's all I ask form" she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
US COVID updated boosters: The US health agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday (September 12) authorised, approved, and recommended everyone six months and older get an updated COVID-19 booster.
German officials said that the country is preparing to host the biggest air deployment exercise in the history of NATO in order to impress allies and potential adversaries such as Russia.
G20 Summit 2023: The United States on Monday praised India for the recently-concluded G20 Summit in New Delhi and reaffirmed that it was an 'absolute success'. Washington also clarified that even if Russia was not mentioned, the declaration made an important statement over respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.Clade 9, a new variant of chickenpox, has been detected in India. The National Institute of Virology (NIV) has discovered the new variant, causing varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Scientists have detected Clade 9 for the first time in the country while carrying out a study of monkeypox. The research was published on September 6, in the recent issue of the Annals of Medicine journal. While the study focused on the genomic characterisation of VZV, the researchers found this virus in suspected mpox cases among children and adults.
Clade 9 has been the most common strain in circulation in Germany, the UK and the USA.
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV)
The World Health Organization (WHO) claims it VZV is responsible for the highly contagious chickenpox. The global health organisation stated that VZV is a member of the herpesvirus family. The transmission of this virus reportedly occurs via droplets, aerosols, or direct contact with respiratory secretions.
WHO states that the virus causes mild disorder in children and tends to be more severe among adults. Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is "characterized by an itchy rash, usually starting on the scalp and face and initially accompanied by fever and malaise."
The study revealed that while Clade 1 and Clade 5 have been previously found in India, Clade 9 has been detected for the first time.
Symptoms
Rash, fever, headache, loss of appetite, fatigue and an overall sense of ill health are the common symptoms of Clade 9. The chickenpox rashes appear only two to three weeks after exposure to the virus. Before the advent of rashes, the infected person may develop fever, body ache and headache.
Prevention
As of now, the experts couldn't find any severity of infection between Clade 9 and its previous variants.
Dr Vineeta Taneja, Internal Medicine Director, Fortis Hospital, told Hindustan Times that getting vaccinated is the most effective way to prevent chickenpox. Apart from this, we must also practice good hygiene and regular handwashing.
Volcano: Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world erupted again on Sunday (September 10) in Hawaii after a pause of two months, with lava currently at a safe distance from the people on the Big island.What should the world be looking for when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Russia in the coming days?
The Kremlin said on Monday that Putin had invited Kim Jong to Russia for what will be the North Korean's second known visit to Russia and his first trip abroad since the COVID pandemic.
Who is Kim Jong Un with?
If he travels with a full military delegation that could give an indication of the nature of the talks. Also of interest is who he meets besides Putin, such as Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu who visited North Korea in July.
The United States has expressed concern over what it calls advancing arms negotiations between the two countries, with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan urging Kim "not to supply weapons to Russia that will end up killing Ukrainians".
The United States has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia, but it is unclear whether any deliveries have been made. Both Russia and North Korea have denied those claims but promised to deepen defence cooperation.
What does Vladimir Putin say?
Analysts say North Korea has huge supplies of artillery shells, rockets and small arms ammunition that could help Russia replenish the vast stocks it has expended in more than 18 months of war in Ukraine, though their quality and the country's ability to mass produce more is unclear.
Workers may also be something Russia is interested in amid record-low unemployment. Before United Nations Security Council resolutions banned them in 2019, Russia was estimated to host nearly 20,000 North Koreans, according to a report by the Association of Asian Studies.
In return, Russia could offer grain, oil and military technology as Kim looks to develop capabilities such as nuclear-powered submarines and military reconnaissance satellites.
North Korea's latest Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile - its first ICBM to use solid rocket fuel - has reignited debate over possible Russian links to the nuclear-armed state's dramatic missile development.
Anything Kim Jong Un says on nuclear weapons
For the past several years, the UN Security Council has been divided over how to deal with North Korea. Russia and China have said more sanctions will not help and want such measures to be eased.
Whatever else comes from the meeting, the summit itself is a sign of support for each country as they face off against international sanctions and pressure.
Putin said after holding his first face-to-face talks with Kim in 2019 that proposed US security guarantees would probably not be enough to persuade Pyongyang to shut its nuclear programme.
Back in 2019, Putin described Kim Jong as "quite open" and as "thoughtful" and "interesting".
What do Beijing and Washington say?
Communist North Korea was formed in the early days of the Cold War with the backing of the Soviet Union. North Korea later battled the South and its US and United Nations allies to a stalemate in the 1950-1953 Korean War with extensive aid from China and the Soviet Union.
North Korea was heavily reliant on Soviet aid for decades, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s contributed to a deadly famine in the North.
Pyongyang's leaders have often tried to use Beijing and Moscow to balance each other. Kim Jong initially had a relatively cool relationship with Russia and China, which both joined the United States in imposing strict sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear tests.
Anything quirky
Both Putin and Kim Jong know how to catch global headlines.
Back in 2019, the two leaders attended a gala dinner where they toasted each other and watched traditional musical numbers and dancing performed by Russian artists.
The numbers included the Russian classic song "Black Eyes" and a Korean song called "The Great Commander".
The two men also exchanged gifts. Kim Jong gave Putin a traditional Korean sword, while the Russian leader gave Kim Jong a sabre and a tea service suitable for use on his armoured train.
Kim Jong's rare foreign trips have occasionally offered more candid moments than what leaks from the tightly controlled state media in the North.
During his 2019 summit with US President Donald Trump in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, Kim spoke to foreign journalists for the first time, during a photo opportunity.
That summit, for which he spent days travelling by train through China, also revealed more interactions between Kim and his sister, Kim Yo Jong. TV footage captured the North Korean leader taking a cigarette break at a railway station in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, with Yo Jong approaching him holding a crystal ashtray in two hands.
At a 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, 12 male bodyguards in dark suits made international headlines after they surrounded Kim's Mercedes-Benz vehicle and jogged alongside.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
China said on Monday that it welcomes the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor announced on the sidelines of the G20 summit so long it doesn't become a "geopolitical tool", even as it downplayed Italy's plan to pull out of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
China welcomes all initiatives that truly help developing countries build infrastructure and sincere efforts to promote connectivity and common development, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
"At the same time, we advocate that various connectivity initiatives should be open, inclusive, and form synergy, and should not become geopolitical tools," the ministry said in a written response to news agency PTI to a question on China's reaction to the new corridor.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to launch the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor which includes India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US.
"Today we all have reached an important and historic partnership. In the coming times, it will be a major medium of economic integration between India, West Asia and Europe," PM Modi said.
The corridor will give a new direction to connectivity and sustainable development of the entire world, he said.
"This is a big deal. This is a real big deal," US President Joe Biden said while announcing the pact, aimed at promoting clean energy and better communities.
"As we work to address infrastructure gaps across low- and middle-income countries, we need to maximise the impacts of our investments," he said.
Analysts say the new corridor is the first global connectivity project to rival China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which drew criticism for its debt sustainability, especially from smaller countries.
The ambitious multi-billion-dollar BRI launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 envisions connecting China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes rebuilding the old Silk Road trade route.
But with the decade-old BRI running into billions of dollars of investment, China faces a major challenge as Italy has announced its plans to quit the initiative, which according to the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, "did not bring the results we expected" and many Italian parties were against Italy's participation.
Italy's decision comes at a time when China announced plans to hold the third conference of BRI in Beijing next month.
If Italy pulls out, it will be regarded as an embarrassment for President Xi's pet project.
BRI reportedly figured in the talks between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday.
Asked whether the BRI issue figured in the Li-Meloni talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing in Beijing that both leaders had exchanged views on important issues in bilateral relations and agreed to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in joint pursuit of prosperity and development.
On the BRI, she said, "Ten years since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward, more than 150 countries and cooperation partners in a wide range of areas have joined the initiative, which has delivered tangible benefits to the people of participating countries".
"It serves the interests of all partner countries to further tap into its potential for cooperation," she said.
Skirting a direct response on BRI, she said China and Italy are both ancient civilizations on either end of the ancient Silk Road.
"We can further deepen practical cooperation in various fields and work for further growth of our comprehensive strategic partnership," she said.
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An Air China plane had to make an emergency landing in Singapore after its engine caught fire. Pictures and videos of a plane cabin filled with smoke have surfaced on the internet. According to CNN, passengers were evacuated from the aircraft by using the emergency exit slide while dark smoke billowed from the engine that was still on fire.
According to a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, all 146 passengers and nine crew members safely evacuated after landing at about 4:15 p.m. local time.
An X user shared a video of passengers exiting from the emergency slide. The caption read, "Pratt & Whitney engine on fire, Air China flight evacuated on Singapore runway. CA403 TFU-SIN squawking 7700 shortly before landing at Singapore due to PW1100G engine fire. Heavy smoke in the cabin, crew evacuated the plane on the runway. The aircraft is a 4-year-old A320neo B-305J," he wrote on X.
Pratt&Whitney engine on fire, Air China flight evacuated on Singapore runway.
— FATIII Aviation (@FATIIIAviation) September 10, 2023
CA403 TFU-SIN squawking 7700 shortly before landing at Singapore due to PW1100G engine fire. Heavy smoke in cabin, crew evacuated the plane on runway.
The aircraft is a 4-year old A320neo B-305J. pic.twitter.com/CHBTPt8Du2
Singapore's Changi Airport in a statement on Facebook wrote, "On 10 September 2023, at 1559 hours, an Air China flight (CA403) flying to Singapore Changi Airport from Chengdu, China, reported smoke in the forward cargo hold and lavatory, declared an emergency and requested priority landing. CA403 was given priority and landed on Changi Airport Runway 3 at about 1615 hours."
Adding, "After landing, emergency slides of the aircraft were deployed for expeditious evacuation. The Airport Emergency Service (AES) responded immediately to the incident and put out a fire in the left engine of the aircraft at about 1625 hours."
The statement said that nine passengers sustained minor injuries related to smoke inhalation and abrasions during the evacuation process. They have since been attended to. Air China and Changi Airport Group are providing assistance to all passengers and crew.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla, former foreign secretary and G20 chief coordinator, has lauded India's negotiation skills that led to the release of the G20 Declaration and the inclusion of the African Union in the bloc on the first day of the mega event noting it usually takes ample time to reach a consensus on even small issues.China's Alibaba Group said on Sunday that Daniel Zhang will step down from its cloud business, in a surprise move just two months after the company announced he would leave his roles as group CEO and chairman to focus on the cloud unit.
Daniel Zhang had previously been concurrently serving in three roles, heading the group as well as its cloud unit.
As scheduled, he handed over the role of group CEO to Eddie Wu on Sunday, who will also take charge of the cloud business after Daniel Zhang's departure, the company said in a statement.
The cloud business is a major part of a restructuring the Chinese e-commerce giant announced in March that breaks the company up into six units, each with its own boards and CEOs.
Alibaba said in May it aimed to complete the public listing of its cloud unit within the next 12 months and on Sunday the company said it would continue to execute the spin-off plan under a separate, to be appointed management team.
"Daniel has expressed his wish to transition away from his role as chairman and CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group," the company said in an internal letter to staff seen by Reuters that was signed by Joseph Tsai, an Alibaba co-founder who also took over the chairman role from Daniel Zhang as planned on Sunday.
"Following careful consideration, the Alibaba board respected and accepted Daniel's decision and appointed Eddie as acting chairman and CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group, effectively immediately."
Daniel Zhang will continue to contribute to Alibaba by "channeling his expertise differently," the letter added, saying that Alibaba will invest $1 billion in a technology fund that Daniel Zhang would establish.
"The fund will support Alibaba's strategy of investing for future growth and continuing to develop our technology ecosystem".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Russia-Ukraine war: A Russian missile attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown killed one policeman and injured at least 52 others on Friday (September 8), officials said.A shallow 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit near the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey said.
The tremor hit at 9:43 pm local time (1443 GMT) at a depth of 9.9 kilometres, according to the USGS.
Indonesia's geophysics agency (BMKG) reported no immediate tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks. It initially reported a magnitude of 6.3.
"I was having a good sleep (when the earthquake jolted). I jumped out of bed immediately," said Qamariah, a 41-year-old housewife in Central Sulawesi's Malei village.
"It felt like being shaken as if rice was being sifted. It went up and then down. It was really strong because I lived close to the epicentre. It lasted for about 5 seconds," she told AFP.
She said the power was out in her area so she could see if there was damage.
"I am outside (my house) right now, with family and my neighbours," she added.
Video obtained by AFP showed panicking people in Central Sulawesi's Lambonga village gathered in groups outside of their homes as they sought safety in fear of aftershocks.
In November, a 5.6-magnitude quake hit the Southeast Asian archipelago nation's Java island, killing 602 people.
Most of the victims of that earthquake were killed when buildings collapsed or in landslides triggered by the tremor.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the country's Sumatra island in April, shaking homes of panicked residents but causing no casualties or damage.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on Europe trip, said that the Opposition and the Central government are on the same page as far as Russia-Ukraine war is concerned. "I think the Opposition, by and large, would agree with India's current position on the conflict (between Russia and Ukraine). We have a relationship with Russia. I don't think the Opposition would have a different position than what the Government is currently proposing," Rahul Gandhi said.Terrorism is absolutely "unjustifiable" and the time has come for the international system to combat it seriously, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Friday while noting that India naturally has its own concerns over the menace.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, Antonio Guterres said combating terrorism must be a "fundamental priority" for "all of us" and that it is something that is very high in his priorities.
"This is something that is very high in my priorities. The first reform I made when I came to the United Nations was exactly to create the Office of counter-terrorism," he said.
His remarks came when asked about India's concerns over cross-border terrorism and what the United Nations can do in terms of collaborating with the member states in the fight against terrorism.
The UN Secretary General said terrorism has become a global phenomenon and that India "naturally" has its "own concerns".
"Terrorism is indeed something that we must seriously consider and must be a fundamental priority of the international system," he said.
Asked about China blocking attempts to blacklist certain terrorists, the UN Secretary General said the process should not be based on political considerations.
"Now, there is a mechanism within the Security Council with a committee of experts, and this is something that should not be based on political considerations that, of course, are different from area to area," he said.
"I think this should be done with solid technical expertise in order to be able to identify those that are terrorists and must suffer the corresponding sanctions," he added.
In the last few years, China repeatedly blocked proposals at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based terrorists.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was supposed to address the much-awaited G20 Summit virtually, is reportedly not planned to address the mega event, Russian news agency, RT News, reported citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
A portion of the famous Great Wall of China in the central Shanxi province suffered severe damage by a pair of construction workers, who allegedly used an excavator to dig a shortcut through the historical structure.Several members of Pakistan's Hindu community and other faiths were injured on Thursday after the police in Sindh province baton charged them. They held a sit-in against the increasing cases of kidnappings of Hindu traders and others from minority communities for ransom.
The members of the minority communities have been staging the protest since September 1 over the abduction of some members of the minority community by bandits in riverine areas in southern Sindh province's Kashmore.
On Thursday, while the protesters continued with their agitation, the police baton charged and injured some of them after they refused to end the protest despite the intervention of an influential leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party that has governed the Sindh province for over a decade.
"Ahsan Mazari, a former minister and influential leader of the PPP joined the protesters initially to express solidarity with them and even got two kidnapped Hindu traders released from the grip of these riverine dacoits," Shiva Kacchi told news agency PTI.
He said that after the release of the two abductees, Mr Mazari had asked the protesters to disperse and assured them the authorities would now handle the matter and get others released.
"But when those part of the protest flatly refused, insisting they had no confidence in the local police officials Mr Mazari left and after a while the police baton charged the protesters. But despite the injuries they are still there in small numbers at the sit-in," Shiva Kacchi said.
Shiva Kacchi said the dacoits also kidnapped many members of other minority communities for ransom.
Dr Chand Mahar, one of the organisers of the protest, said that a total of 5 Hindus including a nine-year-old boy had been kidnapped by the dacoits in recent days and only a few days back a seven-year-old Hindu girl, Priya Kumari was also abducted from near Sanghar.
He said the spate of incidents where members of the community had been kidnapped by dacoits had spread fear in the community and they were afraid to even send their children to school in many parts of the province where these dacoits operated brazenly.
The protesters had gathered since Sunday evening in Kandhkot town after a 72-year-old Hindu businessman, Mukhi Jagdish was kidnapped.
Dacoits who operate from the riverine areas of Sindh have kidnapped around 40 people, including Hindu traders, in the last few months.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of the much-awaited G20 Summit, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak underscored that the free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India are “progressing” and asserted Britain will only agree to a pact that works for the whole of the United Kingdom.
As Brazil is reeling under a devastating cyclone, at least 21 people have died and hundreds have been displaced owing to floods in several cities in the southern part of the country, Al Jazeera reported. According to authorities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, additional bodies are being found as floodwaters recede. The cyclonic storm had an impact on as many as 60 cities, Governor Eduardo Leite claimed. 
Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister has claimed that the equipment left behind by the US military during its withdrawal from Afghanistan has fallen into the hands of militants and made its way to the Pakistani Taliban.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Sunday said that there are 'legitimate concerns' with Chinese investments in America and underscored the importance of strong action to protect the country's national security.Kyiv on Monday said Iranian-made Russian drones fell and detonated on Romanian territory during an overnight strike on the Ukrainian port of Izmail, a claim that NATO member Romania denied.
"According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Russian 'Shaheds' fell and detonated on Romanian territory overnight," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on social media.
He said the incident took place during a massive Russian attack near Izmail, located on the Danube river, across from Romania.
The spokesman shared an image of what appeared to be a bright cloud of smoke near a body of water.
AFP was not able to immediately verify the image.
A spokesman for the State Border Guard Service told AFP that Nikolenko's account was "reliable" and that two detonations had been observed.
"We recorded two detonations on the territory of Romania near the Izmail port during the Russian attack overnight," Andriy Demchenko said.
Following its withdrawal from an agreement in July allowing the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, Moscow has pounded ports in Ukraine's south including Izmail.
Romania meanwhile categorically denied that Russian drones fell on its soil during the strike.
"At no time did the means of attack used by the Russian Federation pose a direct military threat to Romania's national territory or territorial waters," its defence ministry said.
While most fighting during Russia's invasion has taken place within Ukraine's borders, Kyiv has occasionally claimed the conflict has spilled over into European countries, claims that its NATO allies have largely dismissed.
In March 2022 a Soviet-made Tupolev drone crashed into the Croatian capital Zagreb causing no injuries, and in November a missile landed on a Polish village near the Ukrainian border, killing two people.
Ukraine suggested Russia was behind both incidents but in both case its Western allies dismissed this, suggesting instead that they were of Ukrainian origin and had fallen there accidentally.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan inflation: The traders and the citizens of the cash-strapped Pakistan held a nationwide strike on Saturday to protest against the sky-high electricity and fuel prices in the country that have sowed widespread discontent ahead of the general elections.Tens of thousands of festival-goers were stranded Sunday in deep mud in the Nevada desert after rain turned the annual Burning Man gathering into a quagmire, with police investigating one death.
Video footage showed costume-wearing "burners" struggling across the wet gray-brown site, some using trash bags as makeshift boots, while many vehicles were stuck in the sludge.
All events at the counterculture festival, which drew some 70,000 people, were canceled after rain tore down structures for dance parties, art installations and other entertainment.
Police said they were probing one death, without giving further details.
Road gates in and out of the Black Rock City venue were closed, but some desperate attendees trudged on foot for hours to reach the nearest road and hitch a lift out.
"It was an incredibly harrowing 6 mile (10 kilometer) hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out," lawyer Neal Katyal said on social media.
"It is very slippery and the mud is like cement and sticks to your boots. No one should try this unless in good shape and part of a group. These are dangerous conditions to hike and will likely get worse."
Festival crowds were asked to shelter in place and conserve food and water after the heavy rains started Friday night, with more downpours forecast on Sunday.
"You can't really walk or drive," a young woman with dreadlocks named Christine Lee, a circus performer, said on TikTok. Internet service was not available or patchy, she said.
"My boots are five inches, and the mud became five inches so I was kind of on stilts," Lee said, adding people were being told they may be stuck until Tuesday.
"We have enough tuna for a week so we're OK."
A video posted on social media showed comedian Chris Rock hitching a ride in the back of a pickup truck after managing to leave.
Pershing County Sheriff's Sargent Nathan Carmichael told CNN the conditions are difficult.
The muck "seems to stick to people, stick to tires (and) makes it very, very difficult to move vehicles around," he said, adding that most RV motorhomes were stranded.
Organizers urged festivalgoers to "conserve food, water and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space," saying the "playa" -- the huge open-air esplanade where the event unfolds -- was impassable.
"Look out for your neighbors, introduce yourself," they added.
The festival was scheduled to conclude on Monday.
The organizers warned only some four-wheel drive vehicles with all-terrain tires were able to move.
"Anything less than that will get stuck. It will hamper exodus if we have cars stuck on roads in our camping areas, or on the Gate Road out of the city," they said on a "2023 Wet Playa Survival Guide" special webpage.
If necessary, they said it was possible to walk to the nearest road, where buses would be provided to take people to Reno.
Mobile cellphone trailers were being deployed and the site's wireless internet was opened for public access.
"We have done table-top drills for events like this. We are engaged full-time on all aspects of safety," organizers said.
Last year, the festival contended with an intense heat wave and strong winds.
Launched in 1986 in San Francisco, Burning Man aims to be an undefinable event, somewhere between a celebration of counterculture and a spiritual retreat.
The festival -- for which tickets cost hundreds of dollars -- culminates each year with the ceremonial burning of a 40-foot (12-meter) effigy.
It has been held since the 1990s in the Black Rock Desert, a protected area in northwest Nevada, which the organizers are committed to preserving.
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Amid reports of Chinese President Xi Jinping skipping the much anticipated G20 Summit, India said it is still waiting for an official confirmation from Beijing. India is currently hosting the G20 Summit but the main event is scheduled for September 9 and 10 where the top leaders including US President Joe Biden are scheduled to land in New Delhi.