World

London, Sep 8 (IANS) Queen Elizabeth is under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health, Buckingham Palace has said, BBC reported.

All the Queen's children are either at, or are travelling to, her Scottish estate near Aberdeen.

"Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision," a statement said.

The Queen is comfortable, it added.

It is very unusual for Buckingham Palace to put out a statement like this - it is usually unwilling to provide a commentary on the 96-year-old monarch's medical matters, which are seen as private, BBC reported.

Prince Charles has travelled to Balmoral with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Duke of York and the Count and Countess of Wessex are travelling to the Scottish estate, about 40 miles (64km) west of Aberdeen.

The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, was already in Scotland undertaking engagements.

The Duke of Cambridge is also on his way, with the Duchess of Cambridge remaining in Windsor with their children on their first full-day at school.

Barriers are being placed outside one of the entrances to the estate.

There are clearly pressing concerns for the Queen's health - much more explicitly put than before and without any reference to this only being about difficulties with mobility.

There are also warnings against unfounded speculation, such as that she might have had a fall. And on Tuesday she was on her feet and photographed smiling as she appointed new Prime Minister Liz Truss, BBC reported.

But from the last-minute cancellation of what would only have been a virtual meeting of the Privy Council - of senior ministers - there is no mistaking the fragility of the Queen's health.

--IANS
san/uk

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Amid the destructive monsoon rainfall and unprecedented levels of flooding, the afflicted women in Pakistan continue to face difficulties in maintaining menstrual health and hygiene.

The aftermath of the monsoon rains have affected 33 million people during the floods. According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), there are at least 1.6 million women, females and young girls, who critically require menstrual health aid.

These women also include about 650,000 pregnant females who are due in September 2022, and are currently in need of immediate maternal health and reproductive services.

Among all the necessary items being distributed at flood-hit areas, menstrual hygiene kits have been neglected considering it as not so essential relief aid product, which threatens health and hygiene conditions including the risk of water and vector borne diseases.

Therefore, not ignoring this essential necessity of women and breaking all the society taboos two young girls took this initiative to ensure provision of menstrual health products to the flood affected females.

Working effectively on the ground and ensuring rapid access to essential health services to the flood affected females, Anum Khalid, a university student of Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan and her online friend Bushra Mahnoor, who is also a student of University of Punjab in Lahore, initiated a social media campaign called "Mahwari Justice", primarily focused on collecting menstrual products and funds to be provided to women and children of the flood affected areas across Pakistan.

"In 2010, I was only 10 years old when the floods hit Pakistan. As I am originally from Attock city, there were many areas in our surrounding that were hit by the floods. I went there with my parents to provide relief aids. There me and my mother saw a girl whose shalwar (pants) had blood marks. My mother took her into the tent and found out that her periods had started and she had nothing to handle it," narrated Bushra Mahnoor as she talked about how she and her online friend Anum felt the need to start Mahwari Justice campaign.

"Then this year, when these floods are even worse than that of 2010, I got a call from a woman from Lasbela in Balochistan. She said in this dreadful condition in a tent her periods have started and she has nothing but a plant leaf to use as a pad," added Bushra.

This call from Lasbela forced both long distance friends Anum and Bushra, to raise the seriousness of the matter and campaign through social media.

"Mahwari Justice Campaign has provided MHM kits to at least 12,000 people. The kit is a package that also has a pictorial description of how to use the pads for even illiterate females to see and understand," said Anum Khalid.

MHM kits are the basic health necessities for those who menstruate. "We are hoping to increase the outreach to at least 50,000 more females," said Bushra Mahnoor.

From being trolled on social media to breaking the stereotypes, Anum Khalid and Bushra Mahnoor face multiple challenges on a daily basis for raising voice on female menstrual health, they are criticized by predominantly females on social media, who lash out at them for talking about what they take as a very private matter for females in the name of modernisation, which has for decades, kept within the females herself.

Unfortunately, menstrual health is not part of any NGO's policy, it is an uneasy thing to be associated with for other organisations and when we requested a reputed company (menstrual pads manufacturing company) to donate us and support us with menstrual pads; we were donated 150 pads and were asked to buy pads from them, said Anum Khalid.

But despite having such serious challenges of societal neglect, criticism and outright neglect, Anum and Bushra are adamant to not lost their focus on what their target is.. which is to provide menstrual relief aid to females in flood affected areas, who are suffering to menstrual hygiene related issues.

"Periods do not stop during floods. Women need assistance and we will make sure that they get it at the earliest," said Anum Khalid.

--IANS
hamza/pgh

Washington, Sep 8 (IANS) The US State Department has approved the potential sale of F-16 aircraft sustainment and related equipment to Pakistan in a deal valued at up to $450 million, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA).

The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin Corp, Geo News reported citing the DSCA as saying in a statement.

"The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the government of Pakistan of F-16 Case for Sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of $450 million," the statement said.

The package includes the US government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics services to support Pakistan's F-16 fleet.

The statement further said that this sale does not provide Pakistan with any new capabilities, weapons, or munitions, Geo News reported.

The agency underscored that "this proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations".

It further said the proposed sale will continue the sustainment of Pakistan's F-16 fleet, which greatly improves Pakistan's ability to support counterterrorism operations through its robust air-to-ground capability, reports Geo News.

Pakistan will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces, it said.

It said the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale, it added.

--IANS
san/ksk/

By Ashe O
Washington, Sep 8 (IANS) US President Joe Bidens approval rating has bounced back to its highest level, leading his predecessor Donald Trump by six points from its summer time lows, a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll has revealed.


Biden is leading Trump in a 2024 rematch by the widest margin since March, the poll said, adding that the presidential run was still years away and did not mean that Biden is the winner.

The survey of 1,634 US adults conducted from September 2-6 immediately after the combative primetime speech in which Biden blasted "Trump and the MAGA Republicans" as "extremists" who "threaten the very foundations of our republic", showed that if the next presidential election "were held today", 48 per cent of registered voters would choose the incumbent, while 42 per cent would choose the former.

Biden's new 6-point lead is 3 points larger than his edge in the previous Yahoo News/YouGov survey from late August (Biden 45 per cent, Trump 42 per cent) and 4 points better than his average lead across all Yahoo News/YouGov surveys conducted between April and July (Biden 44 per cent, Trump 42 per cent).

The poll's margin of error is approximately 2.6 per cent, media reports said.

The last time Biden led Trump in a Yahoo News/YouGov poll by 6 percentage points or more among registered voters was in March 2022 (Biden 47 per cent to Trump 39 per cent). The time before that was in May 2021 (Biden 48 per cent to Trump 39 per cent).

Notably, Biden's support today (48 per cent) matches those previous highs.

None of this means Biden is a lock to defeat Trump in 2024, the survey said adding, the election is still years away, and Trump won in 2016 despite losing the national popular vote (largely because Republican voters tend to live in rural states that are overrepresented in the Electoral College).

Meanwhile, more Americans still disapprove than approve of Biden's performance in office, the poll observed.

But the President's improving numbers against his former (and possibly future) opponent represent a modest sign that he is rebounding from a prolonged summer slump. Possible reasons for his rising popularity include falling gas prices and the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower the cost of prescription drugs, electric vehicles and solar panels, among other provisions.

Biden's gains are mainly concentrated on the left, while Republicans remain near unanimous in their opposition to the President and his reforms.

Among all Americans, the President's approval rating now stands at 40 per cent approve (unchanged since late August) to 52 per cent disapprove (down from 53 per cent in late August). Among registered voters, Biden's numbers are 43 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively.

This is the Biden's best showing since May and it's because his approval rating climbed 7 points among Democrats (to 79 per cent) and 6 points among independents (to 32 per cent over the last month, the poll pointed out.

At the same time, more Democrats now say America is "generally headed in the right direction" (48 per cent) than "off on the wrong track" (38 per cent). In early August, those numbers were reversed.

As a result, Biden has strengthened his standing for 2024, which had been looking unusually weak for an incumbent.

Whereas in early August, Democrats and independents who lean Democratic preferred "someone else" over Biden as the Democratic nominee by a 55 per cent to 27 per cent margin, the number who now say they prefer Biden is up 8 points, to 35 per cent, and the number who say they prefer someone else is down 13 points, to 42 per cent.

Among Democrats only, Biden has gained even more ground. He now leads "someone else" by 4 points here (41 per cent to 37 per cent); one month ago, he trailed 29 per cent to 52 per cent.

Likewise, Democrats now say by a 14-point margin that Biden should run again in 2024 (44 per cent yes, 30 per cent no); in early August, more Democrats said he shouldn't (43 per cent) than said he should (35 per cent).

Over the same period, the share of Democrats who believe the president is "up to the challenges facing the US" has increased by 10 points (to 64 per cent).

Meanwhile, Trump has made his own gains recently, mainly because Republicans seem to have rallied round him after the FBI's raid on his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago on August 8.

A full 55 per cent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican now prefer Trump over "someone else" for the party's 2024 nomination, up from 54 per cent in the previous Yahoo News/YouGov survey and 47 per cent in early August.

The poll hastened to add that there were still signs of vulnerability for Trump as new revelations emerge about his handling of highly classified documents.

Less than half of Republicans and Republican leaners now prefer Trump (48 per cent) over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (34 per cent).

A growing number of independents, 39 per cent, up 7 points from two weeks ago, believe Trump would be a weaker candidate in 2024 than in 2020. And a full 55 per cent of Americans say the former president should be barred from serving again in the future if he is found guilty of "mishandling highly classified documents" or "obstructing" the ongoing Justice Department investigation.

Only a quarter of Americans say Trump should be allowed to serve again in that scenario.

--IANS
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Tehran, Sep 8 (IANS) Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has reaffirmed that Tehran will not compromise on any of its red lines in the talks on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal.

"Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi constantly highlights the necessity of observing the red lines set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei aimed at neutralizing the sanctions while continuing the nuclear negotiations," Amir-Abdollahian told a summit of the Assembly of Experts, a panel of clerics empowered to elect the Supreme Leader of Iran.

All the US attempts to establish new political and security arrangements in the region without Iran's presence have ended in failure, Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister as saying.

Iran is pursuing a balanced foreign policy that prioritizes the neighbouring and Asian states, he said, adding the government has not tied the domestic economy and people's livelihood to the fate of the nuclear deal.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country.

However, former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival 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 European Union put forward its "final text" of the draft decision on reviving the JCPOA.

Iran and the US have indirectly exchanged views on the EU proposal.

--IANS
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Ankara, Sep 8 (IANS) A forest fire broke out in the Gulnar district of Turkey's Mersin province, prompting local authorities to evacuate 410 people from 110 homes.

In an address to the media on Wednesday, Mersin Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan said that no injuries or major house damage had been reported, adding that "only an abandoned building in the forest area was burned".

Firefighters continued tackling the blaze after aircraft and ground crews were dispatched to the region, Xinhua news agency quoted the Governor as saying.

The reason for the fire was still not clear, but the state-run Anadolu news agency reported that strong wind spread the fire to settlement areas.

The fire area is also close to the construction site of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Mersin.

Firefighters have been struggling to prevent the blaze from reaching the busy Mediterranean highway connecting Mersin and Antalya.

--IANS
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Ottawa, Sep 8 (IANS) Canadian police said that another suspect of the two accused in a string of fatal stabbings in Saskatchewan province had been located and taken into custody.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Twitter that the suspect at large named Myles Sanderson was located and taken into police custody near Rosthern in Saskatchewan at approximately 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"There is no longer a risk to public safety relating to this investigation," the police said.

On Sunday 10 people were killed after stabbings in 13 locations in James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon of the province in central Canada.

The police confirmed on Monday that the two suspects are brothers and that one of them was dead, which brought the count of this tragedy to 11 deceased persons and 19 injured.

--IANS
int/shs

Los Angeles, Sep 8 (IANS) The US Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the Vandenberg Space Force Base, 260 km north from Los Angeles downtown.

"An Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launches during an operational test at 1:13 A.M. PDT, Sept. 7, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.," the Air Force confirmed on Twitter.

The test's purpose was to validate and verify the safety, security, effectiveness, and readiness of the weapon system, the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) which directed the operation, said in a statement on Wednesday, adding "the ICBM's reentry vehicles traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands," which provided valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent.

"Such tests have occurred more than 300 times before, and this test is not the result of current world events," it noted.

Airmen from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, and 91st Missile Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota, supported the Wednesday's test launch, AFGSC said.

--IANS
int/shs

United Nations, Sep 8 (IANS) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for collective action to reduce air pollution and maintain a healthy planet.

"Together, we can reduce air pollution and keep people and the planet healthy and safe," the UN chief said Wednesday in a video message on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.

The secretary-general warned that air pollution denies billions of people their human rights. Dirty air affects 99 per cent of people on the planet, and the poor suffer the worst, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Especially women and girls, whose health suffers by cooking and heating with dirty fuels," he said. "The poor also live in areas choked with fumes from traffic and industry."

"Air pollutants also cause global warming. Wildfires are further polluting the air," Guterres added.

He said that when people are exposed to air pollution and extreme heat, their risk of death is some 20 per cent higher.

"On this third International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, I call on all countries to work together to combat air pollution," Guterres said.

He called on the international community to "invest in renewable energy and swiftly transition away from fossil fuels, rapidly move to zero-emission vehicles and alternative modes of transport, increase access to clean cooking, heating and cooling, and recycle waste instead of burning it."

UN member states recognise the need to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination by 2030, as well as reduce the adverse environmental impact of cities by paying particular attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management by 2030.

--IANS
int/shs

Cupertino (California), Sep 8 (IANS) Apple on Wednesday launched the new iPhone 14 series with four models -- iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max -- that starts from Rs 79,900.

Customers in India can get the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 for Rs 79,900 and the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus for Rs 89,900.

They will be able to pre-order iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus beginning September 9, with iPhone 14 availability beginning September 16 and iPhone 14 Plus beginning October 7.

Customers can get iPhone 14 Pro for Rs 129,900 and iPhone 14 Pro Max for Rs 139,900 (starting prices).

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in deep purple, silver, gold, and space black in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage capacities.

The Pro models feature the Always-On display, Crash Detection, Emergency SOS via satellite, and an innovative new way to receive notifications and activities with the Dynamic Island.

Powered by A16 Bionic, the fastest chip ever in a smartphone, iPhone 14 Pro introduces a new class of pro camera system, with the first-ever 48MP Main camera on iPhone featuring a quad-pixel sensor, and Photonic Engine, an enhanced image pipeline that dramatically improves low-light photos.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in four gorgeous new finishes: deep purple, silver, gold, and space black. Pre-orders begin September 9 with availability beginning September 16.

Available in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes,1 both models include a new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion that features the Always-On display for the first time ever on iPhone, enabled by a new 1Hz refresh rate and multiple power-efficient technologies.

The Dynamic Island enables new ways to interact with iPhone, featuring a design that blends the line between hardware and software, adapting in real time to show important alerts, notifications, and activities.

With the introduction of the Dynamic Island, the TrueDepth camera has been redesigned to take up less of the display area.

The A16 Bionic chip in iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max is generations ahead of the competition, and unlocks unparalleled experiences like the Dynamic Island, powers all-day battery life, and delivers impressive computational photography capabilities.

"With the new, larger 6.7-inch display on iPhone 14 Plus, users can enjoy more content onscreen when browsing the web and even more text," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.A

"Both phones have a powerful new Main camera with a huge leap in low-light performance, advanced connectivity capabilities with 5G and eSIM, and the incredible performance of A15 Bionic, which helps enable even better battery life. All of this, tightly integrated with iOS 16, makes iPhone more essential than ever," he added.

The phones have the A15 Bionic chip with a 5-core GPU, which offers incredible performance and efficiency for demanding workloads, and is designed with privacy and security built in.

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be available in midnight, blue, starlight, purple, and (PRODUCT)RED1 finishes.

Both models have an updated internal design for better thermal performance, Super Retina XDR displays with OLED technology that supports 1200 nits of peak HDR brightness and Dolby Vision.

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus also feature the durable Ceramic Shield front cover -- exclusive to iPhone and tougher than any other smartphone glass.

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have a new 12MP Main camera featuring a larger sensor and larger pixels, a new front TrueDepth camera, the Ultra Wide camera to capture more of a scene, and Photonic Engine for a giant leap in low-light performance.

With a new dual-core accelerometer capable of detecting G-force measurements of up to 256Gs and a new high dynamic range gyroscope, aCrash Detection' on iPhone can now detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when a user is unconscious or unable to reach their iPhone.A

The iPhone 14 lineup also introduces Emergency SOS via satellite, which combines custom components deeply integrated with software to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage.A

Emergency SOS via satellite will be available to users in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be free for two years, said the company.

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus feature iOS 16, offering a reimagined Lock Screen along with new communication, sharing, and intelligence features that together change the way users experience iPhone.A

iOS 16 will be available as a free software update on September 12.

--IANS
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