World

Islamabad, Sep 5 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has blasted his predecessor Imran Khan for what he called "Imran Niazis despicable utterances to malign institutions".

The Prime Minister also said that Khan's "nefarious agenda is clearly to disrupt and undermine Pakistan", Samaa TV reported.

The strong response from the premier came a day after Khan, addressing a rally in Faisalabad, said that Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif were trying their level best to nominate their army chief, who will be a personal favourite.

Khan also said that if a powerful and patriotic general became the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) he would question Zardari and Nawaz Sharif about their corruption, Samaa TV reported.

The current COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa is set to retire in November this year and Prime Minister Sharif will appoint his successor.

Taking to Twitter On Monday, Shehbaz Sharif said: "Imran Niazi's despicable utterances to malign institutions are touching new levels every day. He is now indulging in direct mud-slinging & poisonous allegations against Armed Forces & its leadership. His nefarious agenda is clearly to disrupt & undermine Pakistan."

Khan also drew condemnation from PML-Q Chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who said that from sepoys to generals everyone in the Pakistan military was a patriot and that no one needed a certificate of patriotism.

The nation will not allow anyone to embroil the military in politics at their public rallies, he said in a video statement.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 5 (IANS) Former US President won an Emmy Award to go with his two Grammys.

Obama won the best narrator Emmy for his work on the Netflix documentary series, "Our Great National Parks", reports cbsnews.com

The five-part show, which features national parks from around the globe, is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company, 'Higher Ground'.

He was the biggest name in a category full of famous nominees for the award handed out at Saturday night's Creative Arts Emmys, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Attenborough and Lupita Nyong'o.

Obama is the second president to have an Emmy. Dwight D. Eisenhower was given a special Emmy Award in 1956.

Obama previously won Grammy Awards for his audiobook reading of two of his memoirs, "The Audacity of Hope" and "A Promised Land." Michelle Obama won her own Grammy for reading her audiobook in 2020.

EGOT refers to a special category of entertainers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. To date, 17 people have done it.

The late Chadwick Boseman also won an Emmy for his voice work on Saturday. The 'Black Panther' actor won for outstanding character voiceover for the Disney+ and Marvel Studios animated show 'What If...?'

On the show, Boseman voiced his 'Black Panther' character T'Challa in an alternate universe where he becomes Star-Lord from "Guardians of the Galaxy".

It was one of the last projects for Boseman, who died in 2020 of colon cancer at age 43.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS) The Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested two Afghan nationals in Noida and recovered 5 kg of heroin worth Rs 21 crore from their possession, sources said on Monday.

The Cell shared the information with Noida police and a joint team recovered the huge quantity of heroin.

"The heroin was kept in a car that was stationed in a garage. Jitu and Ashok, two mechanics at the garage were also held from the spot. They are residents of Bulandshahr. The heroin was kept in the trunk of the car which the accused would smuggle using a different vehicle," the sources said.

A number of Afghan nationals study in Greater Noida and there are possibilities that they might have been involved in drug peddling, the sources claimed.

The names of the arrested Afghan nationals are withheld as of now.

--IANS
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Baghdad, Sep 5 (IANS) A total of five Islamic State (IS) militants, including two local leaders, were killed in an operation to track down IS militants in northern Iraq, the Iraqi military said.

A statement by the media office of Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC) said on Sunday that the Iraqi security forces attacked two IS hideouts, killing three IS militants inside, during an operation in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk.

The troops found four explosive devices, an explosive belt, a motorcycle, a camera, and other equipment at the hideouts, the statement added.

An anonymous security source told Xinhua that one of the killed militants is known as the local security leader of the al-Dibis area in the northwestern part of the province.

Another JOC statement said that a joint force from the army and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi killed a local IS leader in the Himreen mountain range and another militant after surrounding them in the mountainous area on the provincial border between the provinces of Kirkuk and Salahudin.

Over the past months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities, Xinhua news agency reported.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, its remnants have since melted into urban centres, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against the security forces and civilians.

--IANS
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Kampala, Sep 5 (IANS) Five people were killed in a stone quarry collapse in the central Ugandan district of Wakiso, police said.

Police in a statement issued here on Sunday said that five bodies were retrieved from the rubble at Namulanda Nganjo cell in Kajjansi Town Council.

The incident took place on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement said four of the dead were casual labourers while one was a truck driver.

Investigations into the cause of the incident are still ongoing, according to the Police.

"We, however, advise members of the public in the surrounding area to avoid moving to the quarry as it is currently a threat to the lives of those occupying it," the police statement added.

At least four people were killed after a stone quarry collapsed in Uganda's capital Kampala in June 2021.

--IANS
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Tehran, Sep 5 (IANS) A senior Iranian lawmaker has urged Western countries to refrain from delays in reaching a nuclear agreement, warning that otherwise, Iran would consider "other options".

Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told the official IRNA news agency on Sunday that a win-win agreement is important for securing Iran's national interests.

"The Westerners need negotiations more than Iran ... if the Western side does not make an agreement, we have other options on the table, and Iran's hands are not empty in this regard," he noted.

"Any agreement that deprives and limits Iran of the desired privileges will not be accepted by the Iranian nation," he added.

In response to the question about safeguard issues, he said that solving the safeguards issues can "repair the damaged wall of trust between Iran and the West".

Iran has repeatedly said that reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about traces of uranium in some of its nuclear sites in the past are "political" and this case should be closed simultaneously with the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran and the US are indirectly exchanging views about a recent EU proposal aimed at resolving the outstanding issues on the revival of the JCPOA, Xinhua news agency reported.

Iran signed the deal with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear programme in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington.

The latest round of the nuclear talks was held in the Austrian capital in early August after a five-month hiatus. On August 8, the EU put forward a "final text" of the draft decision on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

--IANS
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Baghdad, Sep 5 (IANS) Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi has called on the parliamentary blocs to hold new rounds of dialogue to agree on various issues, including early elections.

"The agenda of the upcoming national dialogue rounds must include several issues that must be agreed upon, including setting a date for early parliamentary and provincial council elections no later than the end of 2023," al-Halbousi said in a statement on Sunday.

He called for discussing the election of the President of the republic, the formation of a government with full powers, the adoption of the annual federal budget, in addition to the amendment of several vital laws.

He also called for discussing the immediate return of the displaced to their homes, as well as the relations between Baghdad and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to local media reports, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is expected to invite the political parties for a new round of national dialogue to discuss the months-long political deadlock in the country.

In August, Iraqi political parties held a round of dialogue at the invitation of al-Kadhimi to find a way out of the stifling crisis in the country, but prominent Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr did not attend the dialogue meeting.

Political tensions in Iraq have escalated in the past weeks between al-Sadr and his rivals in the Shia Coordination Framework, an umbrella group of Shia parliamentary parties.

During the past months, the continued disputes among the Shia parties have hampered the formation of a new Iraqi government, making it unable to elect a new President by a two-thirds majority of the 329-seat parliament under the Iraqi Constitution.

--IANS
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By Sumi Khan
Dhaka, Sep 4 (IANS) Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who will be visiting India, after three years, on a four-day state visit from Monday, will meet her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday.


The Rohingya issue may find prominence in their talks and Bangladesh is keen on cooperation in energy and food security with India, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr A.K. Abdul Momen said in a media briefing on Sunday.

The visit is seen as significant amid the Ukraine crisis, global economic downturn and ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the two South Asian neighbors seek enhanced cooperation to overcome the challenges, he added.

Issues related to security cooperation, investment, enhanced trade relations, power and energy sector cooperation, water sharing of common rivers, water resources management, border management, combating drug smuggling and human trafficking are likely to get priority during the talks between the two Prime Ministers.

The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries based on strong historical and cultural ties and mutual trust and understanding.

The Prime Minister will be formally received by Modi while a ceremonial guard of honour will be accorded to her. She will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

During her visit, Hasina will meet Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar apart from holding bilateral consultations with her Indian counterpart at the Hyderabad House.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will call on Hasina, who is also likely to visit Ajmer also. She is also scheduled to attend a lunch to be hosted by Modi.

She is expected to award the Mujib Scholarship, an initiative of the Bangladesh government, to the descendants of 200 Indian Armed Forces personnel who were martyred and critically injured during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.

At the minister-level meeting of the Joint River Commission (JRC) between Bangladesh and India on August 25, a draft memorandum of understanding on withdrawal of water from the upstream of the Kushiyara river flowing from India to Sylhet of Bangladesh was finalised. Besides, four more MoUs have been finalised for signing.

The Foreign Minister said a preparation is going on to sign MoUs relating to withdrawal of water from the upstream of Kushiyara river, cooperation between national defence colleges of the two countries, cooperation between judicial authorities, modernisation of rail and capacity building, and cooperation between information and communication sector.

Moreover, cooperation between the blue economy and two MOUs signed earlier between two broadcasting authorities will be renewed. A diplomat, on condition of anonymity, said during her visit to India, a MoU is likely to be signed with Indian multinational company GMR to import hydropower from Nepal.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen was also present at the media briefing.

The Prime Minister will lead a high-level delegation which includes several ministers, advisers, state ministers, secretaries and senior officials.

Representatives from business bodies of Bangladesh will also accompany Hasina, who is also scheduled to attend a business event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries.

--IANS
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Islamabad, Sep 4 (IANS) Lashing out at the coalition government over soaring inflation and its alleged plan to impose further taxes worth Rs 608 billion on the masses, former Pak interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Sunday announced that PTI Chairman Imran Khan will give a call for a march on Islamabad once the floods recede, Geo News reported.

The statement by the Awami Muslim League (AML) chief comes a day after Imran Khan, at a public rally warned the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government to stop the "persecution" of his party workers with court cases, saying that he will otherwise head for the federal capital once more with his supporters.

"The IMF struck yet another deal with the government for recovery of Rs 608 billion. First they robbed the national treasury and now they are looking to pick people's pockets," said the former interior minister, Geo News reported.

Referring to the flood situation in Sindh, Sheikh Rasheed said that the flash floods have "opened the eyes" of the people of Sindh. "The floods have destroyed the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) reputation," he said.

He asked how other countries will give aid to a nation where the people refuse to donate to "these money launderers?"

Khan's aide said that people are not able to pay electricity bills and buy petrol "and yet the government is planning to increase taxes".

A day earlier, former Pak prime minister Imran Khan warned the government to stop the "persecution" of his party workers otherwise he will again march on Islamabad.

He said the government would have "no place to hide" in the event he comes to Islamabad, Geo News reported.

--IANS
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Seoul, Sep 4 (IANS) South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 100,000 for the fourth straight day, local health authorities said Sunday, as a measure to scrap the pre-departure testing rule for arrivals has taken effect.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 72,144 new infections, including 241 from overseas, have been confirmed, with the total caseload having risen to 23,569,192.

The daily caseload jumped to 115,615 cases on August 30 from 43,114 a day earlier, but it continued to decline in the past six days from August 30 through Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported.

The Sunday figure plunged by 13,089 cases compared to a week earlier.

Starting Saturday, South Korea suspended its mandatory pre-departure COVID-19 test for inbound travellers. A mandatory PCR test within the first 24 hours of entry into the country remains in place.

The KDCA reported 79 additional deaths from COVID-19, putting the death toll at 27,093. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 per cent.

The number of critically ill patients came to 548, up 28 from the previous day.

Health authorities remain wary of a potential uptick in cases later this month as many Koreans are expected to travel to their hometowns during the four-day Chuseok holiday that starts on Friday.

Of the 71,903 locally transmitted cases, Seoul reported 11,928 new cases, and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital added 18,351 infections. Incheon, a port city 27 kilometers west of Seoul, identified 3,930 new cases.

Meawhile, the defence ministry reported 560 additional COVID-19 cases among its service members.

The new cases included 405 from the Army, 74 from the Air Force, 20 from the Navy, 34 from the Marine Corps and 27 from units under the direct control of the ministry. Currently, 4,963 military personnel are under treatment.

--IANS
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