World

Nairobi, Sep 28 (IANS) Kenyan President William Ruto has named his nominees to the Cabinet to help steer the country after the August 9 general elections.

Ruto, who retained one serving Cabinet Secretary, appointed former Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi as the prime Cabinet Secretary, a newly created position, on Tuesday.

He also appointed the former Central Bank of Kenya Governor, Njuguna Ndung'u to be the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury.

Ruto, who nominated current and former lawmakers to the Cabinet, said the prime Cabinet Secretary's office is the most senior after that of the President and Deputy President's office, Xinhua news agency reported.

The President told a televised news conference in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, that the prime Cabinet Secretary will assist the Deputy President and the President in liaison with the Interior Ministry.

"He will oversee the government projects. He will coordinate the national legislative agenda," Ruto said.

The President also appointed former Machakos County Governor Alfred Mutua to be the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Kithure Kindiki, former Senate Deputy Speaker, as the Cabinet Secretary for Interior.

According to the Constitution, Kenya's Cabinet should contain no fewer than 14 but no more than 22 Cabinet Secretaries.

Ruto also appointed former National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi as the Attorney General, Mercy Wanjau as Secretary to the Cabinet, and Monica Juma, who was the serving Cabinet Secretary for Energy in the previous government, as National Security Adviser.

The nominees will be subjected to vetting by the National Assembly.

The President also announced the resignation of Inspector-General of Police Hilary Mutyambai who he said has proceeded on terminal leave and the resignation of the Head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, George Kinoti.

"After discussing with Mutyambai, I have accepted his terminal leave," Ruto said.

Ruto added that Kinoti has formally resigned, having served as the country's top detective under former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The President said he will pick someone to act in the place of Kinoti as his replacement awaits.

--IANS
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Vientiane, Sep 28 (IANS) Typhoon Noru is expected to hit the central and southern provinces of Laos on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and thunderstorm to most of the country, Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said.

According to a report issued on Tuesday by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology under the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, typhoon Noru is expected to make landfall in Vietnam on Wednesday morning before moving over the central and southern parts of Laos from Wednesday to Friday.

The weather bureau expected moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, which could cause flooding and landslides in some regions.

The southern and central provinces, including Lao capital Vientiane, are expected to be the most affected by the typhoon, Xinhua news agency reported.

Lao authorities have urged dam operators around the country to closely monitor the situation and prepare an emergency plan, especially for those whose reservoirs are nearly full.

The authorities have also warned people to be extra cautious and keep their valuables and livestock safe.

The heavy rainfall in Laos in August caused floods that damaged houses and infrastructure, and inundated hundreds of hectares of farmland in many provinces and the Lao capital.

--IANS
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By Yashwant Raj
Washington, Sep 27 (IANS) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent public rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, saying the Indian leader spoke for the rest of world that this is not the "era for war".


However, Blinken also defended the Joe Biden administration's proposal to provide Pakistan with $450 million worth of "sustainment" package for its fleet of F-16 aircraft, ignoring Indian protests that Islamabad does not use these planes only for counter-terrorism operations, as stated by the US, but also against India.

Blinken also addressed the issue of long waiting period for visas and blamed it on Covid-related disruptions. He said the US has a plan for mitigating it for India and that it will be rolled out in a few months.

Blinken spoke to reporters also with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar after their bilateral meeting, and a working dinner the night before.

The two officials had met last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings, most significantly for the first such meeting with counterparts from the Quad parter countries Australia and Japan -- the first Quad meeting at the UNGA, with plans to make it an annual affair deepening the institutionalisation of the platform that is witnessing a robust second-coming.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 26 (IANS) At a time when India is celebrating 75 years of Independence and the hype over the Amrut Mahotsav is all permeating, nearly 1,000 students in the BA final semester in Lucknow University (LU) and associated colleges have failed in Rashtra Gaurav and environmental studies paper that tests general knowledge of India's glorious past, history, geography and general awareness.

According to the examination department of the university, 13,392 students appeared in the examination, while 440 remained absent.

In all, 1,041 students, mostly from affiliated colleges, failed to secure passing marks.

Rashtra Gaurav and environmental studies is a non-credit paper being conducted in LU since 2005.

All students (except for the new education policy) need to clear the exam once in three years to obtain a degree.

The paper consists of general awareness-related questions, including questions of history, geography, environmental education and general science.

Being a non-credit paper, the LU can only guide students, but cannot conduct its classes. Students, who had either failed or missed the examination, are supposed to appear as exempted students.

Lucknow University vice chancellor Prof Alok Kumar Rai said, "It is a non-credit course hence as per rules, LU can only guide students how to prepare for it. Since marks for this subject are not added to the final percentage of students, they do not pay attention to it. "

To get the degree students are required to pass the exam in three years, he added.

LU teachers said non-seriousness towards the subject, more focus on core subjects, lack of newspaper reading and poor general knowledge are reasons behind the students scoring low in the subject.

Rashtra Gaurav is a compulsory subject at the undergraduate level.

Meanwhile Lucknow University Associated College Teachers' president Prof Manoj Pandey said, "As there is no syllabus, there is no clarity amongst students regarding the subject matter. LU must have a clear vision about the paper and should make a syllabus for it."

--IANS
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United Nations, Sep 26 (IANS) Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the UN global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, has received $42 million in new funding from the LEGO Foundation, Germany and the US, said the fund.

The donors announced their decision during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly, with the LEGO Foundation offering $25 million, Germany 10 million euros ($9.7 million), and the US $7 million, Xinhua news agency reported.

The new funding catalyses much-needed support to address a global learning crisis where over 78 million crisis-impacted girls and boys are out of school, and nearly two-thirds of 10-year-olds are unable to read a simple text, said the ECW.

"Education is our investment in human beings and the human potential. So far we have only seen a glimpse of it. There are 222 million children out there that will allow us to see the full potential of humanity," said ECW Director Yasmine Sherif.

"We must unite to fully fund Education Cannot Wait and our strategic partners in mobilising $1.5 billion over the next four years," the Director added.

Since its inception in 2016, the ECW and its strategic partners have mobilised more than $1.1 billion and directly supported nearly 7 million children and adolescents, according to the fund.

--IANS
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Canberra, Sep 26 (IANS) A clear majority of Australians support the government's proposal to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament in the nation's constitution, a poll has found.

The Resolve Strategic poll, which was published by Nine Entertainment newspapers on Monday, revealed that 64 per cent of Australian voters said they would support "an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice".

If established, the voice could advise the parliament on issues that directly affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including housing, childcare and land rights policy.

In July, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recommended changes to the constitution to establish an Indigenous voice to parliament, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a speech, Albanese outlined his plan for a referendum to enshrine the voice in the constitution.

"We should consider asking our fellow Australians something as simple, but something as clear, as this: 'Do you support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?'" he said at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory on July 30.

According to the Resolve poll of 3,618 respondents, more than 50 per cent of voters currently support the voice in all six states.

Support is highest in Tasmania at 73 per cent and lowest in Queensland at 59 per cent.

--IANS
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By Yashwant Raj
Washington, Sep 26 (IANS) India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has slammed the Biden administration's proposal to provide $450 million worth of spares and services for Pakistan's F-16s, saying no one is fooled by claims that these highly capable fighter aircraft are meant only for counter-terrorism operations.


And, on a separate issue, the Minister left the door open for a possible role for India in mediating the Ukraine-Russia war. Mexico proposed last week at the UN Security Council that a committee of Heads of state and government, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis, could help UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres end the war.

Jaishankar kicked off a four-day visit to Washington DC with a first-of-its-kind public interaction for an Indian External Affairs Minister with the Indian American community: a Q&A in which he took unscreened questions from the audience, which, it must be noted, comprised largely of old fans and new fans -- the moderator, for instance, repeatedly called him a "rockstar", and his every answer was greeted with multiple round of applause, with the most excited springing to their feet. Visiting External Affairs usually confine such Q&As to reporters and audiences at think-tank events.

The Minister answered a range of questions from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Pakistan to Kashmir, education, health and his own experiences as a long-time career diplomat.

"Very honestly, it's a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well, nor (is it) serving American interests," the Minister said in response to the F-16 spares, which has greatly exercised some Indian-Americans. He framed his criticism of the package in the overall context of a bilateral relationship, which he argued, has been mutually dysfunctional for both Pakistan and the US.

"It is really for the US today to reflect ... the merits of this relationship," Jaishankar added, asking what it wants with this package.

"For someone to say I'm doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content and so, when you are talking of an aircraft like a capability of an F-16 where everybody knows, you know where they are deployed and what is their use," the Minister said, and added, "You're not fooling anybody by saying these things."

The Biden administration informed the US congress earlier in September that it proposed to provide $450 million worth of spares and services for Pakistan's US-made F-16 for their "sustainment". No new capabilities or munitions are part of the package, which, it was stated, will also not alter the military balance in the region.

The US administration claimed in the notification that these F-16s are meant for counter-terrorism operations. But Pakistan has used them for other purposes as well, most recently in an air combat with Indian fighters jets in February 2019. India later said it shot down one of the F-16 deployed.

"If I were to speak to an American policy-maker, I would really make the case (that) look what you are doing," Jaishankar said further.

"Forget about us. It's actually not good for you what you're doing, reflect on the history, look at the last 20 years."

Jaishankar will have the opportunity to convey his advice to plenty of American policy-makers he will be meeting over the next few days, including his US counterpart Antony Blinken.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had lodged an official protest with the US conveying India's concern in a phone call with his counterpart Lloyd Austen, but clearly disquiet over the proposal runs deep and wide in the Modi government.

Jaishankar's response to a question about a possible role for India in mediating an end to the Ukraine-Russia war expertly framed. He did not rule it out. But he also made it clear India is not campaigning for it.

"If we can help in some way we will be obviously responsible enough to do that," the Minister said, adding, "I think the participants know that the rest of the world knows that. Beyond that what happens that's in the realm of diplomacy so I can't say anything."

Mexico has proposed that Modi should mediate between Russia and Ukraine. Foreign Minister Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubon suggested it officially during a meeting of the UN Security Council debate on Ukraine in New York on Thursday.

"Based on its pacifist vocation, Mexico believes that the international community must now channel its best efforts to achieve peace," Casaubon said.

"In this regard, I would like to share with you the proposal of the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, to strengthen the mediation efforts of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, through the formation of a Committee for Dialogue and Peace in Ukraine with the participation of other heads of state and government, including, if possible, His Excellency Narendra Modi and His Holiness Pope Francis."

--IANS
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Tehran, Sep 26 (IANS) Ali Salehi, Chief Prosecutor of Tehran, said his office has filed criminal charges against 14 individuals for involvement in the assassination of the country's high-ranking nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

The prosecutor on Sunday added that the individuals have been accused of "corruption on earth," intelligence and espionage cooperation with Israel, collusion with the aim of compromising Iran's security, and acting against national security, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

"Corruption on earth" is a term Iranian authorities use to refer to a broad range of offences, including those related to Islamic values, Xinhua news agency reported.

Fakhrizadeh, who was the Head of the Iranian Defence Ministry's Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research, died from severe injuries in a hospital on November 27, 2020, following an armed attack on his car in Absard district, 60-km northeast of Iran's capital Tehran.

Iran has accused Israel of being behind the assassination.

--IANS
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By Sumi Khan
Dhaka, Sep 26 (IANS) At least 24 people have died after a boat capsized in the Koratoya river in Bangladesh's Panchagarh district with passengers to a temple on board on the Mahalaya festival ahead of Durga Puja.


The incident took place at Awlia ghat of Mareya bazar area of Boda upazila at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The toll is feared to rise further as at least 30 others went missing after the accident in the Madeya Ghat area on Sunday, police told IANS on Sunday evening.

The victims include 12 women, eight children and four men.

The deceased victims have been identified as one-year-old children Ushoshi, Tanushree and Shreyashi, 14-year-old Poly Rani , Lakshmi Rani (25), Amal Chandra (35), Shobha Rani (27), Dipankar (3), Priyanth (3), Khuki Rani (35), Pramila Rani (55), Tara Rani (24), Shoneka Rani (60), Falguni Rani (55), Pramila Rani (70), Dhano Bala (47), Sumitra Rani (57), Sophlat Rani (40), Shimla Rani (35) Hasan Ali, ( 52).

Among the 24 deceased victims, eight died after being taken to the hospital while the bodies of 16 were recovered from the river.

Md. Soleman Ali, Boda Upazila Nirbahi Officer, told IANS that an engine-run boat with nearly 70-80 passengers onboard started sailing for the Badeswari temple at Boroshashi union from Awlia ghat of Mareya bazar area of the district.

--IANS
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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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