World

US acted more realistically in prisoner swap with Iran

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In an interview with Mehr News Agency on Tuesday, Mohammad Marandi referred to the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi at the United Nations General Assembly and said that Iran will have a strong presence in the meeting due to its significant achievements in the fields of foreign policy.

President Raeisi will also meet with different heads of foreign states on the sidelines of the assembly, he noted.

Pointing to the improved ties of the Islamic Republic of Iran with countries in the region, he underlined that the priority of the Iranian government is to strengthen ties with neighboring and regional countries including Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, and Central Asian countries.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he termed membership of the country in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS group of emerging economies as another achievement for the government and noted that the result of these successes will be shown in the near future.

Referring to the recent agreement between Iran and the US, Marandi said that Iran’s frozen funds were released and Iran can buy all non-sanctions goods.

The US behaved more realistically than before in the issues of prisoner swaps and releasing Iranian blocked funds and continuing such behavior in the future can have positive outcomes, he noted.

AMK/5883923

World

Libya hit by ‘catastrophic’ flooding, over 2,000 dead

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More than 2,000 people have died and about 6,000 others are reportedly missing in Libya

Published Date – 11:30 AM, Tue – 12 September 23


Libya hit by ‘catastrophic’ flooding, over 2,000 dead



Tripoli: More than 2,000 people have died and about 6,000 others are reportedly missing in Libya after torrential rain brought by storm Daniel triggered the collapse of two dams which swept entire neighborhoods into the sea.

Speaking to a local TV channel on Monday, Osama Hammad, the eastern-based Prime Minister of Libya, confirmed the toll in “catastrophic” floods that hit eastern Libya on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Hammad said most of the casualties were reported in the port city of Derna, where “the entire neighborhoods were swept away”. He called on medical personnel and rescue teams nationwide to provide assistance to the city, while the eastern-based Deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Gatrani has appealed for international aid .

Local authorities have declared three days of mourning for the victims. The storm made landfall in eastern Libya on Sunday, triggering flooding and destroying facilities along its path. Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah, the prime minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, on Sunday instructed relevant authorities to remain on high alert and take measures to deal with the storm, vowing to “protect the people and ease the damage”.

President of the Libyan Presidency Council, Mohamed Menfi, also called for international assistance to cope with the aftermath of the deadly floods. “We call on the brotherly and friendly countries and the international organisations to provide assistance and support for the disaster areas,” Menfi said in a statement on Monday.

He declared Derna, Al-Bayda and Shahhat as stricken cities, and called on the people to abide by the instructions of the authorities “to overcome this crisis”. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Libyan Red Crescent Society have started to offer urgent assistance to those affected by the disaster.

Libya, a country of six million people, has been dividedbetween rival administrations in the east and west since 2014, following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against late dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Each administration is backed by armed groups and militias.

World

Morocco earthquake death toll nearing 3000

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Search teams from various countries have joined Moroccan efforts to locate survivors after the 6.8 magnitude quake hit the High Atlas Mountains late on September 8, reducing traditional mud brick houses common in the region to rubble, Reuters reported.

Morocco has accepted offers of assistance from Spain and Britain, both of which dispatched search-and-rescue experts with sniffer dogs. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also extended aid. Algeria allocated three planes to transport rescue personnel and supplies.

In a message to the President of the House of Representatives of Morocco, the Iranian Parliament Speaker announced the Iranian Red Crescent Society’s readiness to send aid teams to the Arab country amid the deadly earthquake.

State TV reported on September 11 that the death toll had reached 2,862, with 2,562 people injured. Given that much of the quake zone is in remote areas, authorities have not provided any estimates for the number of missing.

In the village of Tinmel, almost every house was flattened, leaving the entire community homeless. The military has reinforced search-and-rescue teams, provided drinking water, and distributed food, tents, and blankets.

Mouhamad Elhasan, 59, recounted that he was having dinner with his family when the earthquake struck. His 31-year-old son fled outside but was struck as their neighbor’s roof collapsed, trapping him under the rubble. Elhasan desperately searched for his son as he cried for help, but eventually, the cries ceased, and when he reached his son, he was already dead. Elhasan, his wife, and his daughter remained inside their home and survived.

In Tikekhte, where few buildings remain standing, 66-year-old Mohamed Ouchen described how residents saved 25 people, including his sister. He said, “We were busy rescuing. Because we didn’t have tools, we used our hands.” He added, “Her head was visible, and we kept digging by hand,” Reuters reported.

RHM/PR

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Pakistan: Special court allows Imran Khan to talk to his sons over phone

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The Official Secrets Act Special Court has permitted the former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to talk to his sons over the phone

Published Date – 12:00 PM, Tue – 12 September 23


Pakistan: Special court allows Imran Khan to talk to his sons over phone



Islamabad: The Official Secrets Act Special Court has permitted the former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to talk to his sons over the phone till September 15, reported The News International.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief has been demanding to talk to his lawyers as well as his sons for a long time now. One of Imran Khan’s lawyers Sheeraz Ahmed Ranjha said that the court had ordered the jail officials to allow telephonic conversation between the PTI chief and his sons but the jail officials did not grant permission, according to ARY News.

Moreover, the lawyers of Imran Khan were also not allowed by the police to meet him at the Attock Jail, ARY News reported.

Lawyers Sheeraz Ahmed Ranjha and Gohar Ali were scheduled to meet Khan earlier this month. According to The News International, Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain issued a notice to Attock Jail Superintendent Arif Shehzad seeking a report on the implementation of the court order.

Moreover, PTI chairman Khan also approached the special court against the jail superintendent for not complying with its order directing arrangements for telephonic conversation with his sons, reported The News International.

The Toshakhana issue became a major sticking point in Pakistan’s politics after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified Imran Khan for making “false statements and incorrect declaration,” ARY News reported.

The Toshakhana case alleged that Imran Khan did not share details regarding the gifts he retained from Toshakhana during his tenure as Pakistan’s Prime Minister, according to an ARY News report.

Later, the Islamabad Court suspended the conviction of Imran Khan and directed to release him on bail from Attock Jail. However, the special court ordered to keep Imran Khan in judicial remand in cypher case.

The hearing of cypher case, against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) chief, was moved to the Attock jail. According to a statement from the law ministry, the ministry approved holding the former prime minister’s Cypher case hearing in Attock prison.

Recently, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana case, Bushra Bibi has been accused of keeping a locket, chain, earrings, two rings, and a bracelet from the Toshakhana gifts.

In addition, Bushra Bibi is accused of keeping gold, diamonds, necklaces, bracelets, gold, diamond rings, earrings and bracelets. According to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the gifts were not submitted to the Toshakhana to calculate their prices.

World

US allows release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds

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The report released early Tuesday by AP said the Biden administration has also agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States.

It added that Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on the sanctions waivers late last week, a month after US and Iranian officials said an agreement in principle was in place on the issue.

The waiver means that European, Middle Eastern and Asian banks will not be in violation of US sanctions in converting Iran’s money, which was frozen in South Korea, and transferring it to Qatar’s central bank, where it will be held for Tehran to be used for the purchase of non-sanctioned goods.

Due to numerous US sanctions, several European countries were not willing to take part in the transfer. Blinken’s waiver is aimed at easing their concerns about any risk of US sanctions and applies to banks and other financial institutions in South Korea, Germany, Ireland, Qatar and Switzerland.

US media, however, claimed that the waiver is part of a larger agreement between the two countries, which also includes the exchange of prisoners between Tehran and Washington. They said five American prisoners detained in Iran will be allowed to leave in exchange for the transfer of the funds and the release of five Iranians held in the United States.

Top Iranian officials, however, have emphasized time and again that there is no connection between a prisoner exchange agreement reached with the United States and the release of Iran’s frozen assets.

Earlier in August, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, “The exchange of prisoners is a completely humanitarian issue and has nothing to do with unblocking our funds in foreign banks.”

He said the recent agreement reached between Tehran and Washington, mediated by a third country, covers two separate issues, one relating to the prisoners’ swap and the other about unfreezing Iranian assets illegally blocked overseas under the pretext of US sanctions.

He added that the process to transfer released Iranian assets from South Korean banks to a European bank started on August 10 and will be completed in several phases.

Iran’s top human rights official also said last week that the agreement between Tehran and Washington on the exchange of prisoners has nothing to do with the release of Iranian frozen assets.

Kazem Gharibabadi, secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, roundly dismissed the notion that Iran has agreed to release the American prisoners in order to have access to its assets.

He noted that the Islamic Republic entered negotiations with the American side about the exchange of prisoners only because it supports its citizens who have been jailed in the US on bogus charges.

World

Over 1,000 victims remain unidentified 22 years after 9/11 attacks in US

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Over 1,000 victims remain unidentified as the US marked the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks

Published Date – 11:50 AM, Tue – 12 September 23


Over 1,000 victims remain unidentified 22 years after 9/11 attacks in US



New York: Over 1,000 victims remain unidentified as the US marked the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A commemoration ceremony was held on Monday at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan, New York, where the 2,977 people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks were honored, reports Xinhua news agency.

Days ahead of the anniversary, the identification of two victims — a man and a woman whose names were withheld at the request of their families — from the deadliest terror attack on US soil was announced. The two new identifications represented the 1,648th and 1,649th persons identified since 2001 using advanced testing by New York City’s DNA Laboratory, according to a statement by the mayor’s office. They were the first new identifications of World Trade Center victims since September 2021.

However, 1,104 victims – 40 per cent of those who died – remained unidentified, it said. The number of 9/11 first responders who have died from Ground Zero-related health complications is nearly equal to the number of first responders who died during the attacks. “When the towers fell on that terrible day, we lost 343 New York City Firefighters.

In the years that have followed, over 341 more FDNY members have died from rare cancers and diseases caused by the toxic dust at Ground Zero,” the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.

World

Armenia launches joint military drills with United States

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The 10-day “Eagle Partner” exercise involves 85 US and 175 Armenian soldiers and is designed to prepare the Armenians to take part in international peacekeeping missions. It is taking place at two training grounds near the capital Yerevan.

The Armenian Defence Ministry said on Monday that “the purpose of the exercise is to increase the level of interoperability of the unit participating in international peacekeeping missions within the framework of peacekeeping operations, to exchange best practices in control and tactical communication.”

The US Army Europe and Africa Command said around 85 soldiers will train with 175 Armenian troops between 11 and 20 in the Zar and Armavir grounds.

It said the drills would help prepare Armenia’s 12th Peacekeeping Brigade to meet NATO standards for an evaluation later this year.

MNA/PR

World

2,000 dead, thousands missing as flooding sweeps Libya

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Ahmed Mismari, the spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA) that controls eastern Libya, said in a televised news conference that the disaster came after dams above Derna had collapsed, “sweeping whole neighbourhoods with their residents into the sea”.

Mismari put the number of missing at 5,000-6,000, Reuters reported.

Earlier on Monday, the head of the Red Crescent aid group in the region had said Derna’s death toll was at 150 and expected to hit 250. Reuters could not immediately verify either figure.

Libya is politically divided between east and west and public services have crumbled since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that prompted years of conflict. The internationally recognised government in Tripoli does not control eastern areas.

In Tripoli, the three-person Presidential Council which functions as head of state in the divided country asked the international community to help. “We call on brotherly and friendly countries and international organisations to provide assistance,” it said.

Osama Hamad, the head of a parallel eastern-based administration, told local television that more than 2,000 were dead and thousands more missing.

After pummelling Greece last week, Storm Daniel swept in over the Mediterranean on Sunday, swamping roads and destroying buildings in Derna, and hitting other settlements along the coast, including Libya’s second-biggest city of Benghazi.

Videos of Derna showed a wide torrent running through the city centre where a far narrower waterway had previously flowed. Ruined buildings stood on either side.

Eastern Libya’s Almostkbal TV broadcast footage that showed people stranded on the roofs of their vehicles calling for help and waters washing away cars.

“The missing are in the thousands, and the dead exceed 2,000,” Osama Hamad told al-Masar TV. “Entire neighbourhoods in Derna have disappeared, along with their residents … swept away by water.”

Mismari said seven members of the LNA had died in the flood.

MNA/PR

World

India imposes anti-dumping duty on Chinese steel for 5 years

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India has imposed an anti-dumping duty on some Chinese steel for a period of another five years

Published Date – 10:55 AM, Tue – 12 September 23


India imposes anti-dumping duty on Chinese steel for 5 years



New Delhi: India has imposed an anti-dumping duty on some Chinese steel for a period of another five years, according to an official gazette by the Ministry of Finance.

An anti-dumping duty of USD 613 per tonne has been imposed on flat-base steel wheels from China, according to a notification on Monday. Such duty on steel wheels was imposed in 2018 and now the ministry has recommended a continued imposition for another five years.

“The Indian industry does not gain any undue advantage on the extension of existing duties,” it said.

“The evidence of export price indicates that the Chinese exporters are exporting the goods to third countries at significant dumped and injurious prices,” the notification said, explaining the rationale behind the move.

The notification added there is healthy competition in the Indian market and continuation of the duties would not deprive the domestic industry of any requirements.

Simply put, anti-dumping duties are taxes imposed on imported goods in order to compensate for the difference between their export price and their normal value, if dumping causes injury to producers of competing products in the importing country.

World

Washington may ship army tactical missile systems to Ukraine

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According to a Monday report, citing three unnamed US officials, Washington is “considering shipping either or both Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) that can fly up to 190 miles (306 kilometers), or Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles with a 45-mile (72-kilometer) range packed with cluster bombs.”

Ukraine is currently equipped with 155-mm artillery with a maximum range of 18 miles carrying up to 48 bomblets. The ATACMS can fire around 300 or more bomblets, while the GMLRS rocket system is capable of dispersing up to 404 cluster munitions.

“If approved, either option would be available for rapid shipment to Kyiv,” the report said.

The munitions are expected to be used against Russian forces present in those Ukrainian territories, which have voted to join Russia since the onset of the war.

Washington has allocated more than $40 billion worth of military aid to Kyiv since last February when the war started.

In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree for the formal accession of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia to the Russian Federation, which came following respective referendums in each of those regions.

Kyiv, however, views those referendums as “illegal,” and has been pressing its Western allies to outfit it with long-range weaponry, so it can strike deep within those territories.

Cluster munitions generally eject bomblets that can cover five times as much area as conventional bombs.

They are banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) because unexploded bomblets can pose a risk to civilians for years after the fighting is over.

The CCM, which took effect in 2010, bans all use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster bombs. More than 100 countries have signed the treaty, but the US, Russia, and Ukraine are yet to join.

Last month, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov lashed out at the US over its support for Ukraine’s use of the globally-banned munitions, noting that the bombs have already killed a Russian journalist.

Antonov slammed Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder for the latter’s earlier remarks claiming that the US has “all indications” that Ukraine is “properly” employing cluster munitions.

“Attempts by US officials to portray Ukraine’s use of controversial cluster munitions as appropriate and legitimate are shameless and outrageous,” Antonov said, adding, “I would like to know whether ‘the proper use’ of cluster bombs is also true for the assassination of Russian journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev.”

MNA/PR