World

United Nations, Oct 2 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over the situation in Burkina Faso following a coup that ousted President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

The Secretary-General "strongly condemns any attempt to seize power by the force of arms and calls on all actors to refrain from violence and seek dialogue," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, in a statement on Saturday.

Burkina Faso Army Captain Ibrahim Traore announced Friday evening that President Damiba was ousted, Xinhua news agency reported.

Gunshots were heard in the capital city of Ouagadougou on Friday morning. Access to the presidential palace, the public television and certain strategic points in the city were blocked by soldiers.

"The Secretary-General expresses his full support for regional efforts toward a swift return to constitutional order in the country. Burkina Faso needs peace, stability and unity to fight terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country," the statement added.

Guterres also reaffirmed the commitment of the UN to accompany the people of Burkina Faso in their efforts toward durable peace and stability.

Friday's coup was the second this year in Burkina Faso. In the one on January 24, President Roch Kabore was overthrown, and Damiba was sworn in on February 16.

--IANS
int/khz/

Prague, Oct 2 (IANS) The leading government coalition party, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), won the most seats in this year's Senate elections, according to official results published by the Czech Statistical Office.

The ODS, headed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, won eight out of 27 seats, followed by Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), another government coalition party, with seven, and the opposition party Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) with three.

ANO will have a total of five senators in the country's Upper House of Parliament, allowing the party to create its own parliamentary group in the Senate, Xinhua news agency reported.

The opposition party of former Prime Minister Andrej Babis saw strong gains in last weekend's local elections. ANO came ahead in 17 of 27 major Czech cities -- including eight of the 13 regional capitals.

One-third of the Czech Senate's 81 seats are filled every two years and its members are elected for a six-year term.

--IANS
int/khz/

Washington, Oct 2 (IANS) The US space agency has pushed back the Artemis I Moon mission launch to November in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

As teams complete post-storm recovery operations, NASA has determined it will focus Artemis I launch planning efforts on the launch period that opens on November 12 and closes on November 27.

"Teams at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida conducted initial inspections Friday to assess potential impacts from Hurricane Ian. There was no damage to Artemis flight hardware, and facilities are in good shape with only minor water intrusion identified in a few locations," the space agency said in a statement.

Next, engineers will extend access platforms around the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to prepare for additional inspections and start preparation for the next launch attempt, including retesting the flight termination system.

NASA said that over the coming days, managers will assess the scope of work to perform while in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and identify a specific date for the next launch attempt.

"Focusing efforts on the November launch period allows time for employees at Kennedy to address the needs of their families and homes after the storm and for teams to identify additional checkouts needed before returning to the pad for launch," said NASA.

Artemis I is NASA's uncrewed flight test which will provide a foundation for human exploration in deep space and demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.

--IANS
na/kvd

By Mukesh Sharma
Doha, Oct 2 (IANS) After months of training and playing friendly matches outside the country, FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts Team Qatar started its local camp in the country Saturday.


Felix Sanchez's men started training at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha's Al Sadd Club as preparations for the grand event pick up steam 50 days ahead of the tournament.

Qatar News Agency reported that the training is open to the public on Sunday as part of improving interaction between fans and players ahead of the World Cup that kicks off on November 20.

The Qatari squad will leave on Wednesday for the Spanish city of Marbella where it will join a new camp which will be an extension of the camps that started in June in Spain and then Austria and ended late last month.

Qatar played three friendly matches in the Austrian capital Vienna in September during which coach Sanchez tried out new combination of players including younger members of the squad before choosing the final team that will compete in the World Cup and includes 26 players, to be submitted no later than November 13.

Qatar played Canada on September 23 at Villa Park in Vienna, losing 2-0 to the North American side. The match against Chile, also at Villa Park, ended in a 2-2 draw, giving some cause for hope to the Qatari side.

Towering Stars

Meanwhile, Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has not been chosen to be on a poster to adorn a skyscraper in Doha ahead of the World Cup, local media reported.

One player from every team playing at the World Cup is being featured on a 75-foot billboard pasted over Doha's towers in the West Bay area-the glitzy central business district of the Qatari capital, but Ronaldo'stowering stature in the game isn't enough to earn him a place on the glass facades of the tall structures.

According to ESPN, Ronaldo will not be the selected figure, to be replaced by either his Manchester United colleague Bruno Fernandes or Liverpool's Diogo Jota.

Portugal's choice is surprising as Ronaldo became the all-time leading international goal scorer last year by breaking Ali Daei's 109-goal record with a brace against Ireland. Ronaldo now has 117 international goals in 191 appearances.

--IANS
mukesh/shs

By Ashe O
Washington, Oct 2 (IANS) Former President Donald Trump "wants his old job back" and will announce within weeks his run for the presidency in 2024. Trump is eager to get back to the White House, and wants to announce his 2024 run in the coming weeks.


Stating this, Kellyanne Conway, his 2016 campaign manager and close ally, said she had advised him to wait until after the midterms in November, according to Business Insider. .

Speaking on Friday with CBS News, Conway was asked whether Trump would announce his candidacy after the midterm elections and before Thanksgiving.

"Well, he would like to," said Conway, as per CBS News. "He's as active as anybody in these midterm elections. That's important to the calculus also, Catherine, because we have the most ironic, if not unprecedented situation right now," Conway continued.

"We have a president, a current president, whose party doesn't really want him to campaign with them." Trump will assess the timing of his announcement after the midterms, which take place on November 8, Conway said. "I will tell you why he wants to run for president," she said. "Donald Trump wants his old job back."

In July, Conway described Trump as "champing at the bit" to announce his third presidential bid. Speaking to CBS News, she said she advised him to wait until right after the midterms.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also said he lobbied the former president not to announce a 2024 presidential run before the midterms. "My point to him has always (been), 'Let's go win '22,'" McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol in July.

That same month, a top Republican strategist told Insider that a pre-midterm announcement from Trump would be a "train wreck for the party" and "a complete mess."

Meanwhile, how Democrats, who aren't named Joe Biden, are running for president - without running for president. Joe Biden plans to seek reelection in 2024, even though voters are souring on him.

Democrats aren't expected to primary Biden, but questions linger about a backup plan. Would-be candidates have been seeking the national spotlight. President Joe Biden has been clear that he plans to run for a second term in 2024. His political team is even getting ready for a spring reelection announcement, according to the Washington Post.

But that hasn't stopped the "will he really?" chatter, particularly after a New York Times poll found that 61 per cent of Democrats said they hoped someone other than Biden would be their nominee in 2024, largely because of his age and job performance.

Democratic insiders are questioning whether Biden, 79, can mount a vigorous campaign in 2024 - especially if former President Donald Trump decides to run again.

Despite the doubts, Biden is not expected to face a primary challenge given that it would alienate other people in the party as well as the donor class, said Mark Jones, Rice University (Houston, Texas) political science professor and Baker Institute fellow, the Insider said.

"The norm is that you do not challenge a sitting president from your party," Jones said. "That's a major political faux pas. It either isn't done, or if it is done it's done more for political ambition - not to actually win, but to put the spotlight on yourself for other reasons."

A key factor helping Biden's staying in power is Trump. The New York Times poll found that Biden would be favoured to win in another contest against Trump. "The belief is that if Biden beat Trump before, he can beat him again," Jones said. If a Democrat were to try to primary Biden - and weaken him in the process - then that person would be blamed if a Republican, even Trump, were to win in 2024.

But none of these factors rule out politicians' making under-the-radar moves. If Biden somehow reverses his plans, that'll mean the party will need to find a backup.

Some ways that candidates begin to test the field through "invisible primaries" are by campaigning for other Democrats to build loyalty, particularly in swing districts. They also may appear at events in potential early voting states and offer noncommittal responses about whether they'll support Biden in 2024, said Shawn Donahue, a University at Buffalo (New York) assistant professor of political science.

Other ways are through grabbing headlines through weighing in on national debates, holding leadership roles in the party, and raising huge sums particularly from out-of-staters. In the case of governors interested in the White House, they'll need to crush the opposition if they're up for reelection this year, in November, the Insider said.

"There will be a host of people who want to be waiting in the wings so the moment Biden says he's not running they can sort of jump in," Jones said. Even if Biden doesn't change his mind, 2028 isn't much further off. There are 15 politicians who are taking actions or gaining interest that might position them for a 2024 White House run if Biden changes his mind. And this includes the three top contenders, VP Kamala Harris, Florida Governor Gavin Newsom and senator Elizabeth.

--IANS
ashe/shs

Kyiv, Oct 1 (IANS) Russian troops have detained Ihor Murashov, director of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, state nuclear regulator Enerhoatom said, as per a media report.

It says Murashov was held as his car was on its way from the facility to the nearby town of Enerhodar on Friday.

He was then blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, Enerhoatom says, BBC reported.

Russia has not commented. Moscow seized Europe's biggest nuclear plant in March, and kept on its Ukrainian staff.

Both Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of repeatedly shelling the plant, amid global concerns that this could lead to a major radiation incident in Europe.

Enerhoatom president Petro Kotin said that Murashov "bears main and exclusive responsibility for the nuclear and radiation safety" of the nuclear plant.

He said Friday's detention "jeopardises the safety of operation of Ukraine and Europe's largest nuclear power plant".

Kotin appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency to demand the immediate release of the plant's chief, accusing Russia of "nuclear terrorism".

The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is located near Enerhodar, in the occupied part of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukraine says Russian troops are using the station as a military base and that employees are in effect held at gunpoint. Moscow denies the claim.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the annexation of the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions - a move widely condemned by Ukraine and the West.

Moscow does not fully control any of the four regions in Ukraine's east and south, BBC reported.

--IANS
san/uk

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) India on Saturday condemned the terror attack at Kaaj Educational Center in Dasht-e-Barchi, Kabul and extended condolences to the bereaved families.

This blast in the west of Kabul took place in Friday morning when students were taking a practice college exam.

The Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India strongly condemns the continued targeting of innocent students at educational places.

"We are saddened by yesterday's terror attack at the Kaaj Educational Center in Dasht-e-Barchi, Kabul and extend our condolences to the families of the victims. Indian strongly condemns the continued targeting of innocent students at educational places", said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet today.

Reportedly, a suicide blast at an education institute in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul killed 19 people and injured 27 others. However, as per the local media report, the death toll is likely to rise.

--IANS
avr/kvd

Seoul, Oct 1 (IANS) North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Saturday, in its fourth such provocation in less than a week, South Korea's military said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from the Sunan area in Pyongyang between 6.45 a.m. and 7.03 a.m. and that the missiles flew some 350 km at apogees of around 30 km at top speeds of Mach 6, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The launches came just hours before South Korea was set to hold an event marking the Armed Forces Day with its key military assets on display.

On Friday, the South, the US and Japan staged an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the East Sea.

"The recent series of North Korea's ballistic missiles is an act of significant provocation that undermines peace not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in the international community, and a clear breach of UN Security Council resolutions," the JCS said in a statement.

"Our military will maintain a firm readiness posture while tracking and monitoring related movements in close cooperation with the US in preparation against additional provocations."

The presidential National Security Council convened a standing committee session and condemned the North's latest launches.

The latest launches followed earlier provocations on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Military authorities have been looking into possibilities that the North's recent launches might have involved its KN-23, KN-24, the KN-25 super-large multiple rocket launcher or other short-range platforms.

The KN-23 and KN-24 are modeled after Russia's Iskander ballistic missile and the US' Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), respectively.

Both KN-23 and KN-24 missiles are known for "pull-up" maneuvers to avoid interception.

Pyongyang's test-firing of short-range missiles raised speculation that it has been doubling down on its push to develop tactical nuclear arms.

--IANS
ksk/

Brasilia, Oct 1 (IANS) Unemployment in Brazil fell to 8.9 per cent in the quarter ending in August, the lowest level in seven years, the state-run Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said.

From June through August, the unemployment rate in the South American country dropped 0.9 percentage points compared to the March-to-May period, and decreased by 4.2 percentage points year on year, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the IBGE, the drop of the unemployment rate means that the number of unemployed people in August were 937,000 fewer than that in May.

August marked the sixth consecutive month to see a drop in unemployment, suggesting a recovery in the job market following the pandemic in Brazil.

Meanwhile, the employed population in the country reached a record 99 million, up 7.9 per cent year on year, according to IBGE.

--IANS
ksk/

Berlin, Oct 1 (IANS) The recent mass fish deaths in the Oder river that runs through Poland and Germany were caused by the proliferation of brackish water algae, which in turn was triggered by a sudden increase in the river's salinity levels, according to a report.

Fishermen first discovered dead fish in the river near the Polish town of Olawa at the end of July, reports Xinhua news agency.

The fish deaths down the river in Germany were only reported around two weeks later.

Tonnes of dead fish have been pulled from the Oder river as the micro-algae at issue -- known as Prymnesium parvum, or golden alga -- produces a toxic substance that is lethal to fish and other aquatic organisms.

A Polish-German expert group was subsequently set up to investigate.

The fish deaths in the Oder are a "serious environmental catastrophe", Germany's Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke said on Friday, stressing that it was "caused by human activities".

Alongside attempts to fully understand what happened, the focus now is on the regeneration of the Oder river.

The exact cause of the high salinity level could not be determined "due to a lack of available information", the Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) and the German Environment Agency (UBA) said in a statement.

It also remained unclear about how the algae, which naturally occurs in salty brackish water near coasts, reached the Oder river.

Salinity levels in other rivers in Germany are also too high without the phenomena occurring.

--IANS
ksk/