WORLD

Nairobi, Oct 19 (IANS) India on Monday handed over the second consignment of 11 tonnes of medical assistance to Kenya to support its Ebola preparedness and response.India's High Commissioner to Kenya, Adarsh Swaika, handed over the second consignment of medical assistance to the Principal Secretary of Kenya's Public Health, Mary Muthoni Muriuki, on Monday."India hands over the second consignment of 11 tonnes of medical assistance to Kenya to strengthen Ebola preparedness and response," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) posted on X.The 11-tonne consignment includes PPE kits, powered air-purifying respirators, biosafety cabinets and cold-chain refrigerators to protect frontline healthcare personnel and strengthen laboratory safety and public-health capacity. The Indian High Commission...

Yerevan (Armenia), Oct 19 (IANS) With a new UN report showing where the world stands in delivering on its commitments to address biodiversity loss and four years remaining to achieve the 2030 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), representatives of governments, indigenous peoples and local communities and stakeholders gathered in Yerevan on Monday for the 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference.Yerevan marks the halfway point between the Framework's historic adoption in 2022 and the 2030 deadline for meeting its ambitious set of interconnected targets. The new global report on collective progress, State of Biodiversity Action, reveals strong engagement with the Framework: nearly 90 per cent of parties have set national targets, more than 70 per cent have submitt...

Nairobi, Oct 19 (IANS) Kenya's health authorities have confirmed an eighth Ebola case after a 49-year-old patient attendant tested positive.Patrick Amoth, director-general for health in the Ministry of Health, confirmed the patient attendant is in isolation, adding that existing patients are showing positive recovery.Amoth added that 38 people were tested on Sunday, with one coming back positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.The eighth case is a 49-year-old man who developed fever, headache and muscle pain, Amoth said during an interview with Kenya's Citizen TV.The health official said the patient had been isolated as health officials prepared to begin treatment.He said all seven previously confirmed patients had received monoclonal antibodies, adding that those who had undergone the ...

Athens, Oct 19 (IANS) Pakistani authorities must disclose the grounds for detaining young Shia activists in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB), ensure access to legal counsel, produce them before courts and investigate allegations of torture or enforced disappearance, a report has stated.It noted that these are fundamental legal obligations and failure to uphold them reinforces concerns that the establishment prioritises control over justice.According to a report by Athens-based Directus, Pakistan’s treatment of Shia youths in PoGB exposes a contradiction between its national security claims and its responsibility to protect people living under its administration.“The detention of young activists, allegations of concealed confinement and the deployment of stringent counterterroris...

Seoul, Oct 19 (IANS) Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said Monday the situation at the southern border is "very unstable," noting the North is reviewing a possible resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts along the border.The remarks came after Pyongyang has repeatedly denied responsibility for a land mine explosion last month that severely injured two South Korean soldiers and dismissed Seoul's findings that land mines deliberately planted by North Korea were the cause of the blast."Now the situation of the southern border is very unstable. A grave situation is prevailing along the southern border due to the reckless behavior of the ROK military gangsters," Kim said in an English-language statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).ROK refers to the acron...

Seoul, Oct 19 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reiterated Monday that wartime Operational Control (OPCON) of South Korean troops, currently held by the United States, should be transferred to Seoul at an early date."I think having the OPCON entrusted to another country and relying on it cannot be left as it is," the president said during a meeting with reporters marking his 500th day in office, which fell on Friday."Speaking frankly, OPCON must be returned at an early date. (We) are sufficiently capable of doing so, and (related) talks between South Korea and the US are basically going well in that direction."The president's remarks came amid a perceived gap between Seoul and Washington over the timing of the OPCON transition, with the Lee administration seeking to retake it bef...

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) China’s economy showed modest improvement in the July-September quarter but remains weighed down by weak domestic demand and a persistent property slump, a report has said.An AI-fuelled export boom of China is covering up the impact of a real estate crisis and weak consumer sentiment, the report from France 24 said.Gross domestic product expanded 4.5 per cent year‑on‑year in July‑September up from 4.3 per cent in the previous quarter, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Beijing has set an annual growth target of 4.5‑5 per cent, its lowest goal in decades.NBS deputy head Mao Shengyong described the international context as "complex and volatile", adding that domestic demand was "insufficient".The government in late September rolled out mo...

Paris, Oct 19 (IANS) The police prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhone in southern France on Monday banned all gatherings and demonstrations throughout the city of Marseille from noon to 8 pm local time (1800 GMT), according to a post on X by the police prefecture.French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed legal action against those responsible for violence during protests across the country on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people flooded streets across major European cities over the weekend, venting mounting anger over surging living costs, housing shortages, and strained public services, Xinhua news agency reported.From violent clashes in France and Italy to widespread rallies in Portugal, the simultaneous wave of social unrest underscores a deepening socio-economic divide and growing public...

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) Nearly 47.42 per cent of households across Bangladesh, majority in rural areas, have fallen into debt as living expenses skyrocketed amidst stagnant earnings, a new report has said, using data from a special survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).The report from Bangladesh-based The Daily Star said that 51.91 per cent of households in rural areas, 40.19 per cent in urban areas and 32.11 per cent in city corporation areas borrowed money over the past year to cover basic living expenses.The special survey sampled 3,000 households across 150 primary sampling units to assist the National Pay Commission in drafting recommendations for salary increases under the upcoming ninth pay scale.The report mentioned a widening gap between household income and expense...

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) China has stepped up purchases of gold as a safe haven asset amid rising geopolitical tensions. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) reportedly added 23 tonnes of gold in September 2026, its largest monthly purchase in nearly three years, extending its buying streak to 23 consecutive months. China’s reported holdings of gold have now risen to approximately 2,410 tonnes, according to an article in Nile Post.The article highlights that Beijing has taken a cue from the freezing of Russian foreign exchange reserves by Western governments, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The seizure showed that dollar and euro-denominated assets held abroad can become vulnerable to sanctions. However, gold stored domestically carries no foreign issuer’s liability and is les...