World

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
int/khz/

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
sumi/vd

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
san/uk

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
int/svn/

Dharamsala, Sep 3 (IANS) Expressing satisfaction after witnessing the courage of Tibetan people in their effort to sustain a government in exile, a US delegation led by Senator Jon Ossoff said on Saturday the purpose of the visit was to understand how Tibetans are keeping alive the flame of their struggle in exile, which is both inspiring and encouraging.

The delegation was received by a team led by Deputy Speaker of the Parliament-in-exile, Dolma Tsering Teykhang.

While Ossoff expressed joy over the courage of Tibetans in exile, he informed the Tibetan Parliamentarians of his audience with the Dalai Lama at the latter's residence in Mcleodganj, besides explaining the objective of the delegation's visit.

Many other issues concerning Tibet and Tibetans were discussed during the delegation's interaction with the members of the standing committee of the Tibetan Parliament.

Earlier, members of the US delegation were introduced to the functioning of the Parliament-in-exile and the issues concerning Tibet and Tibetans.

Urging the Senator to voice his support for Tibet's issue, Teykhang spoke about China's attempt to control the reincarnation process of Tibetan lamas, including the Dalai Lama, to legitimise its illegal occupation of Tibet. By imposing restrictions on the reincarnation process, China plans to rule over the emotional sphere of Tibetans after ruling their territorial sphere, Teykhang said.

She also said the world must stop China's illegality and unacceptable imperiousness.

Speaking on the Tibet outreach programmes undertaken by the Tibetan Parliament, Teykhang explained that their ultimae objective of resolving the issue of Tibet remains the same despite having some internal disagreement, which is in fact one of the essentials in a functioning democracy, adding that "we agree to disagree".

--IANS
vg/arm

Islamabad, Sep 3 (IANS) Pakistan owes 30 per cent of its foreign debt to China, the latest report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said, which includes state-owned commercial banks, local media reported.

Bloomberg, citing the global money lender's document, reported that the debt is now 3% up as compared to February's statistics - when it was at 27 per cent.

After being revised upwards by $4.6 billion, Pakistan owes a debt of $30 billion to China, from $25.1 billion in February, Geo News reported quoting the IMF report.

Chinese assistance to Pakistan is three times greater than IMF debt and exceeds both World Bank and Asian Development Bank funds combined, it said.

The latest figures show that, unlike the World Bank-style concessionary-project financing, Beijing is now playing a role similar to the global money lender by providing funds during a balance of payments crisis.

Islamabad managed to secure a much-needed bailout package from the IMF this week when the Fund's executive board approved the release of $1.1 billion to Pakistan - averting the threat of imminent default.

For the ongoing fiscal year, the IMF report mentioned that official financing includes $7 billion as rollovers of existing and $4 billion in additional financing commitments, including from China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and IFIs - such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank.

"Pakistan's external debt is low, predominantly held by the public sector and mainly sourced from concessional multilateral and bilateral sources, the central bank said in a presentation it made in July," Bloomberg said.

--IANS
san/svn/

Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) The Bombay High Court has issued notices to the Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the Centre in a case filed by an Aurangabad man alleging that his medico daughter died due to the side-effects of the Covishield vaccine and sought Rs 1,000-crore as compensation.

The petitioner is Dilip Lunawat, who has contended that his daughter Snehal Lunawat, 33, who was also a Senior Lecturer at the SMBT Dental College & Hospital in Nashik, was compelled to take the vaccine along with all other healthworkers there.

Dilip Lunawat said that his daughter was assured that the vaccines were completely safe and posed no risks/threats to her body, and attached his daughter vaccine certificate (January 28, 2021), and how she died on March 1, 2021, due to the alleged side-effects of the Covishield vaccine.

A few days later, she suffered severe headaches and vomiting and was rushed to a hospital where doctors detected bleeding in her brain and she later succumbed owing to the purported aside-effects of the vaccine', as per Lunawat's plea.

He also cited the views and interviews of experts like the Drug Controller-General of India, Dr. V.G. Somani, and AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria, making them respondents along with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and how the incident figured in the Centre's own Adverse Events Following Immunisation Report of October 2, 2021.

In his petition filed in February 2022, Dilip Lunawat said that in 2020, the SII, Pune entered into a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to speed up the process of manufacture and delivery of upto 100 million doses of Covishield vaccines in India and for other third world countries.

"The petitioner lost his elder daughter. His loss can neither be explained in words nor can be compensated in terms of money.

Only some sort of succour can be done by awarding compensation," said the plea, seeking Rs 1,000crore as interim compensation to the family.

Dilip Lunawat also sought a declaration that the state authorities are responsible for causing his daughter's death "by false narratives", the authorities should initiate steps to stop further deaths of citizens and publish the side-effects of the vaccines.

The plea urged that the state authorities should be given the liberty to recover the compensation amount from SII, which manufactured the Covishield vaccine.

--IANS
qn/ksk/

London, Sep 3 (IANS) Apple Watch's ECG heart sensor has once again saved a man's life by sending him alerts for a low resting heart rate on almost 3,000 occasions.

David Last, 54, from the UK credited Apple Watch for saving his life after his heart stopped an astonishing 138 times in a 48-hour testing period at the hospital, reports the Independent.

His heart resting rate was found to have dropped as low as 30 beats per minute (it is normally between 60-100bpm).

After tests like a 48-hour ECG and MRI, his cardiologist told him that he had a massive heart blockage.

His heart stopped 138 times in 10-second intervals over a 48-hour ECG period.

Last was operated this month, and a pacemaker was installed to detect abnormal heart rhythms.

His wife gave him Apple Watch as a gift on his birthday in April this year.

"If she hadn't bought me my Apple watch for my birthday, I wouldn't be here. I will always be eternally grateful to her for it. Apart from charging it, it's always staying on me now," he was quoted as saying.

The Apple Watch has saved several lives in the past across the world.

With iOS 16 and watchOS 9 this fall, Apple Watch and iPhone will offer features that focus on 17 areas of health and fitness, from heart health to sleep, women's health, mobility and more, according to the tech giant.

Apple recently collaborated with Stanford University in the US to build the Apple Heart Study, which was a first of its kind in the medical community and the largest virtual cardiac clinical study during its time.

--IANS
na/ksk/

Lagos, Sep 3 (IANS) At least 56 people have been killed and more than 4,000 others displaced as a result of recent heavy floods which ravaged parts of Nigeria's northern state of Jigawa, an official told Xinhua.

According to Yusuf Sani Babura, Head of the State Emergency Management Agency in Jigawa, the floods triggered by heavy rains since the beginning of the rainy season in May have damaged houses, farmlands and crops in 27 local government areas of the state.

"We are still experiencing the rain as we speak," Babura told Xinhua on the phone.

At least 56 people lost their lives and more than 4,000 people have been rendered homeless following the flood incidents recorded in parts of the state since May, he said.

So far 16 camps have been established to take care of those displaced by the floods, the official added, appealing to the federal government, donor agencies and individuals to come to the aid of flood victims, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development directed an assessment by the National Emergency Management Agency officials and deployment of immediate relief items to the affected communities in Jigawa to reduce the impact of the floods, according to reports by local media on Friday.

Nigerian authorities had in May issued an alert to 32 out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of the country, warning of severe flooding this year.

--IANS
int/khz/

By Susitha Fernando
Colombo, Sep 3 (IANS) Beleaguered former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned from Thailand on Friday midnight.


Rajapaksa, 73, returned to Katunayake International Airport on a Singapore airlines SQ-468 flight and a number of Ministers of the present government and politicians from his party, Sri Lankan Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) welcomed him inside the airport.

The former President has reportedly gone to a state bungalow prepared for him in the heart of Colombo. A house and a contingent of security are some of the privileges; a former President is entitled in Sri Lanka.

On July 13, Gotabaya fled to the Maldives in a Sri Lanka Air Force jet and from there to Singapore from where he announced his resignation.

On a request made by Sri Lanka government led by new President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Gotabaya was given a 90-day visa by the Thailand government.

Rajapaksa was blamed for the economic crisis the country was going through and the angry protestors took to streets on March 31 and surrounded the former President's private residence outside the state capital Colombo.

For more than three months, people carried out street fights demanding the resignation of Gotabaya, his elder brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the entire government.

Mahinda and his cabinet were forced to resign on May 9 and on July 9, Gotabaya fled his official residence when the protesters stormed it.

Going through the worst economic crisis in the post-independence Sri Lanka, on Thursday the International Monetary Fund announced a financial bailout under strict conditions, including political stability, tax reforms, action on corruption and negations with the multiple creditors.

--IANS
int/khz/