World

United Nations, Sep 26 (IANS) UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen has said that the migrant boat incident off Syria that has left dozens of people dead is devastating.

"It is devastating that dozens died after a boat sank off the Syrian coast -- men, women, children and the elderly among the victims," he added in a statement on Sunday, adding that the deaths could have been avoided.

There is an urgent need to do more to address the root causes of these movements, including the conflict in Syria and the economic crisis in Lebanon, and to protect the most vulnerable so that they are not compelled to make such difficult choices, said Pedersen.

Human bodies began to be found on Thursday after the boat carrying illegal migrants from Lebanon capsized. By Sunday, reports put the death toll at 94. The boat set off from Lebanon on Tuesday.

A UN spokesman said on Friday that the incident was heartbreaking, Xinhua news agency reported.

"It's tragic. It's heartbreaking, and worst of all, we know these types of incidents are actually preventable -- if countries managed the flow of people, of migration, of refugees, in a coordinated manner, if the movement of people was not left to the hands of criminal gangs and of smugglers," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

This is something that has been very much in the mind and in the heart of Guterres dating from his time as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said the spokesman, adding: "We send our deep, deep and heartfelt condolences to all the families of the bereaved."

--IANS
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Islamabad, Sep 25 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session has sparked a fresh diplomatic row between Pakistan and the Afghan interim government which has denied the presence of any armed groups on Afghan soil, local media reported.

On one hand, the prime minister urged the international community to remain engaged with the Afghan Taliban but on the other, he shared global concerns over the presence of terrorist groups on Afghan soil, The Express Tribune reported.

Shehbaz particularly mentioned the threat posed by the major terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan, especially ISIL-K and TTP as well as Al-Qaeda, ETIM and IMU.

"They all need to be dealt with comprehensively, with the support and cooperation of the interim Afghan authorities," he insisted.

His statement, however, was not taken well by the Afghan interim government, which put out a statement rejecting the allegations, The Express Tribune reported.

A formal reaction issued by the Afghan foreign ministry stated that some countries, including the US and Pakistan, expressed concerns at the 77th session of the UNGA that the threat of terrorism still exists in Afghanistan.

"These concerns are based on incorrect information and sources and are being brought up as the relevant parties are yet to hand over the seat of Afghanistan at the United Nations to its rightful legal and political owners, the Afghan government," the Afghan foreign ministry spokesperson claimed.

"If this right is indeed afforded to the Afghan government, it will open an opportunity to directly share ground realities of Afghanistan with regional and world countries and address any concerns," the statement added.

The spokesperson said that the Islamic Emirate once again rejected such assertions and reiterated its position to the world. He added that the territory of Afghanistan will not be used against any other country nor does any armed group currently have a presence in Afghanistan.

"Rather than raising unsubstantiated concerns and allegations, the world should engage positively with the Islamic Emirate by sharing their view and concerns directly and not through the media or public statements," he said, The Express Tribune reported.

Since the Taliban takeover, Pakistan has remained an advocate of the de-facto rulers of Afghanistan at the world forums. Islamabad has been consistently urging the international community, particularly the western world not to abandon the war-torn country.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 25 (IANS) Iram Badar Khan, who participated in the reality show 'Roadies Xtreme', is now seen in web series 'Shiksha Mandal', playing the role of a 16-year-old girl Vidya Rai.

The 29-year-old actress revealed the challenges of portraying a character much younger than her age and how she looks at her OTT debut project.

Iram said: "I always wanted to make my digital debut very real and raw. Playing Vidya allowed me to do just that. The rawness of a teenage girl going through something difficult, its non-flashy portrayal, and the director's vision of making Vidya just exist really captured her true self."

"I think as a debutante, I'd give most of the credit to the director for helping me perform this emotionally challenging role while still helping me maintain my uniqueness as an actor."

Director of the series, Syed Ahmad Afzal said that it was not easy to choose an actor who can play Vidya perfectly on-screen and the selection process was quite time-taking and challenging.

"Casting for Vidya's role was challenging. I went through many auditions. When I came across Iram's audition, I felt she looked like Gulshan and would look apt as his sister. She has amazed me with her performance and dedication."

Syed praised Iram for transforming herself into a 16-year-old girl in just nine days.

He added: "For this role, Iram transformed herself in 9 days to look like a 16-year-old girl. She worked extremely hard on herself to look like a 16-year-old student."

"I remember an incident where she once told me that no one will cast her after seeing how plain she looks in the show but trust me, she will be appreciated for her performance."

Directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, 'Shiksha Mandal' stars Gauahar Khan, Gulshan Devaiah and Pavan Raj Malhotra in prominent roles. The show is streaming on MX Player.

--IANS
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Lahore, Sep 25 (IANS) A leaked audio that has gone viral on social media allegedly featuring Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif contains a discussion regarding PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz asking for import of machinery for a power plant from India for her son-in-law, local media reported.

"He is our son-in-law, inform him about the issues in importing a plant from India," Prime Minister Shehbaz allegedly said, to an unidentified man.

The unidentified man can be heard briefing the person, alleged to be the premier, about the consequences of taking the decision, to which the Prime Minister allegedly asks him to convey all reservations to Maryam's son-in-law and that he will personally meet him once he returns from Turkey.

At this, the other person allegedly advises Shehbaz Sharif to get this work done from former finance minister Ishaq Dar, to which he agrees, Geo News reported.

An audio recording of an alleged conversation, purportedly between the Prime Minister and a government official, was leaked on social media on Saturday, with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders claiming that it shows the PM putting his family's business interests before those of the state.

In the over two-minute-long audio clip, shared by PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on his Twitter account on Saturday, a voice - said to be that of PM Sharif - can be heard saying that Maryam Nawaz Sharif had asked him to facilitate her son-in-law Raheel with the import of machinery for a power plant, from India, Dawn reported.

"If we do so, we will get a lot of flak when this matter goes to the ECC and cabinet," the official can be heard saying.

At this, the voice thought to belong to the Prime Minister says: "The son-in-law is very dear to Maryam Nawaz. Tell her very logically about this and then I will talk to her."

The same voice also agrees with the perception that this would be bad for optics and may cause a lot of trouble, politically, Dawn reported.

It is worth noting that Maryam Nawaz's daughter Mehrunnisa married industrialist Chaudhry Munir's son Raheel in December 2015.

--IANS
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Seoul, Sep 25 (IANS) North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea's military said, two days after a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier arrived here for allied drills.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from an area in or around Taechon, North Pyongan Province, at 6:53 a.m., and that it flew some 600 kilometers at an apogee of around 60 km at a top speed of Mach 5.

The intelligence authorities of the South and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis for other details, Yonhap news agency reported quoting the JCS.

The launch came as US Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit Seoul later this week and the allies are set to hold a joint maritime exercise in the East Sea, involving the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group.

Soon after the launch, JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command, had discussions on security coordination.

"They reaffirmed that through the planned South Korea-US maritime exercise and other efforts, they would further solidify a combined defense posture against any North Korean threats and provocations," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

It strongly urged the North to immediately stop all ballistic missile tests, saying such a launch is an act of "significant provocation that undermines peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as in the international community," and a "clear" breach of UN Security Council resolutions.

"While monitoring and tracking North Korean movements to prepare against any additional provocation in close cooperation with the US, our military will maintain a firm readiness posture based on the capability to respond overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocation," the JCS said.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stressed Washington's security commitment to South Korea and Japan.

"While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK's unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs," the command said in a press release. DPRK stands for the North's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The launch followed reports that Pyongyang seems to be preparing to fire a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

It marked the North's fifth missile launch since the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took office in May.

Pyongyang last fired eight short-range ballistic missiles in June.

Harris plans to visit Seoul on Thursday after attending the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo -- a trip that the White House said is designed to highlight the "strength" of America's alliances with both nations.

It marks her first formal visits to the Asian allies since taking office last year.

The USS Ronald Reagan, a centerpiece of the US' naval might, arrived in the southeastern port city of Busan on Friday to stage its first combined drills with the South Korean Navy in five years.

--IANS
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Washington, Sep 25 (IANS) The US space agency has called off its Artemis I launch scheduled for September 27, owing to Tropical Storm Ian threat, and was preparing for rollback while continuing to watch the weather forecast.

NASA said that during a meeting late on Saturday, "teams decided to stand down on preparing for the Tuesday launch date to allow them to configure systems for rolling back the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building".

Engineers deferred a final decision about the roll back of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), to allow for additional data gathering and analysis.

"If Artemis I managers elect to roll back, it would begin late Sunday night or early Monday morning," the US space agency said.

The space agency said it is taking a step-wise approach to its decision making process to allow it to protect its employees by completing a safe roll in time for them to address the needs of their families, while also protecting the option to press ahead with another launch opportunity in the current window if weather predictions improve.

NASA relies on the information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center.

On September 3, NASA attempted to launch Artemis I but called it off after detecting a liquid hydrogen leak.

The US space agency on August 30 scrubbed the mission launch for the first time owing to technical glitch with one of the SLS rocket's engines.

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.

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Aden (Yemen), Sep 25 (IANS) UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg said that he has submitted a proposal to the Yemeni warring factions to prolong the ongoing truce for a long period.

"The UN is awaiting the response of the Yemeni parties to our proposal," he added on Saturday in an interview with the Al-Jazeera news channel, stressing the need for constructive cooperation between all sides involved.

"We hope to reach a final solution and a permanent ceasefire that ends the war in Yemen," he said.

"We cannot reach results if there is no political will on the part of the Yemeni parties, and this is necessary for success," Grundberg added.

Last week, Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Rashad al-Alimi said that his government welcome renewing the UN-brokered truce, which will expire within a couple of days, Xinhua news agency reported.

The PLC chief called for opening roads and lifting the siege imposed by the Houthis on the Yemeni city of Taiz as a condition to go forward with extending the truce.

However, the Houthis in Sanaa have said they were still studying everything proposed regarding the truce, calling for lifting the restrictions imposed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition on Yemen's airports and ports.

The ongoing truce, which has been largely held, went into force for the first time on April 2 and was later renewed twice through October 2.

Although the truce has largely been upheld, the internationally recognised government and the Houthi group frequently trade accusations of violations, including sporadic armed attacks.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.

--IANS
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Baghdad, Sep 25 (IANS) A soldier and two Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in clashes north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the Iraqi military said.

Based on intelligence reports, an Iraqi army force attacked an IS hideout in dense orchards in the Tarmiyah area, nearly 30 km north of Baghdad, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a statement on Saturday.

During the clashes, the force killed two IS militants, one of whom was wearing an explosive belt, while a soldier was killed and an officer was injured, the statement added.

On Saturday, Iraqi fighter jets carried out two airstrikes on an IS hideout in a rural area in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, destroying the hideout, the JOC said in a separate statement.

The statement gave no further details about casualties, adding more information to be released later, Xinhua news agency reported.

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

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 security forces and civilians.

--IANS
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Aden (Yemen), Sep 25 (IANS) Yemen's pro-government forces continued anti-terror military operations in the southern province of Abyan, a security official told Xinhua.

The troops raided the al-Qaida terrorist group's strongholds in various areas of the province in recent days, killing 24 armed al-Qaida members, the local security source said on condition of anonymity on Saturday.

"The troops launched on Saturday the fourth phase of the anti-terror campaign aimed at pushing their elements out of the whole province," the source added.

He said al-Qaida militants were evicted in four districts following weeks of deadly fighting, adding that 32 soldiers were killed and 40 others wounded in operations in the past several days, Xinhua news agency reported.

The pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia also continued their operations against al-Qaida militants in other southern areas, according to the official.

On Tuesday, military units of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which are part of Yemen's government, attacked al-Qaida hideouts and positions in various mountainous areas of turbulent Abyan, making headway on the ground.

In August, the STC troops launched a major anti-terror operation code-named "Arrows of the East" in Abyan to combat terrorist groups.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against the security forces in the country's southern provinces.

The AQAP has exploited years of deadly conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi militia to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country.

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Tehran, Sep 25 (IANS) Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani has expressed regret for the decision of the Ukrainian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic.

On Friday, Ukraine announced to downgrade ties with Iran and remove the Iranian ambassador's accreditation over what it called Tehran's "unfriendly" decision to supply Russia with drones "used against its forces and citizens," the Iranian Foreign Ministry website reported.

The decision of the Ukrainian government is based on "unconfirmed reports and caused by the creation of media hype by foreign parties," Kanani said on Saturday.

He advised Ukraine not to be influenced by third parties who seek to destroy the relations between the two countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Over the Russia and Ukraine conflict, Iran has adopted the "clear policy of neutrality" and has declared its opposition to war and the need for a political settlement of disputes away from violence, he was quoted as saying.

Kanani emphasised that Iran will take proportionate action in response to the Ukrainian government's decision.

--IANS
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