WORLD

Seoul, Sep 13 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said Pyongyang will unveil a policy of simultaneously pursuing nuclear forces and conventional weapons at the North's upcoming party congress, state media reported on Saturday.Kim made the remarks during his inspection of the armoured defensive weapons institute and the electronic weapons institute under the Academy of Defence Sciences on Thursday and Friday, reports Yonhap, quoting the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).The North's leader stressed the need to continue to "modernise" the conventional armed forces to build a powerful army as he reviewed the development of new armoured vehicles and electronic weapons.Kim said, "The ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) would put forward the policy of simultaneously pushing...

Sao Paula, Sep 13 (IANS) The defence team of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced Thursday that it intends to file further appeals against the ruling sentencing him to 27 years and three months in prison.The announcement followed a decision by four of five Supreme Federal Court justices to convict the former president of attempting a coup.In a statement, attorneys Celso Vilardi and Paulo Amador da Cunha Bueno said they will pursue "all possible appeals, including internationally."The attorneys argued the case should have been tried by a lower court or by the full Supreme Federal Court, not its First Panel. They also criticised the limited time allotted to review the evidence, reports Xinhua news agency.Earlier, on September 11, Justices Carmen Lucia and Cristiano Zanin cast ...

Islamabad, Sep 13 (IANS) Several human rights defenders and community members raised grave concerns about the dismal condition of disaster relief in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB), stating that a surge in floods, landslides, and glacial lake outbursts has left marginalised communities bearing the brunt of the crisis.At an outreach meeting held by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in PoGB on Friday, the members highlighted that displaced families are forced to live in unsafe shelters with no access to clean water, electricity, healthcare, or education.They noted the neglect of women, children, daily-wage workers, persons with disabilities, and transgender persons, while mental health remained ignored. The meeting also pointed out that the relief funds lack transparen...

Washington, Sep 13 (IANS) India's Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, on Saturday (Indian time) engaged in discussions with members of the US House of Representatives on strengthening bilateral trade, energy cooperation, and India's consistent support for resolving the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.Kwatra held separate discussions with Congressman Greg Steube, who represents Florida's Suncoast, and Congressman James Moylan, the representative from Guam."Had the opportunity to speak to Representative Greg Steube -- briefed him on issues of mutual interest, including India-US bilateral trade, especially in energy, and spoke about India's support to all efforts to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy," the Indian envoy poste...

Moscow, Sep 13 (IANS) A massive 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck near the east coast of Russia's Kamchatka region on Saturday, prompting a tsunami warning.According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the tremor hit 111 kilometres (69 miles) east of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the administrative centre of the Kamchatka region, at a depth of 39.5 km.Following the earthquake, local authorities of the Kamchatka territory issued a tsunami threat.“The threat of a tsunami has been declared. We ask you to be especially careful when visiting the Khalaktyr beach and other tsunami-dangerous areas, ” the governor of the Kamchatka Territory, Vladimir Solodov, wrote on his Telegram channel.The governor advised residents to stay calm and follow updates from official sources.Meanwhile, c...

Dhaka, Sep 13 (IANS) Bangladesh's Awami League came down heavily on the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government over the "brutal torture and killing" of the party leaders and activists inside prisons across the country.The party alleged that "under the direct orders" of the Yunus administration, the Awami League leaders and activists are being "subjected to horrific torture and persecution inside prisons"."Acting on the instructions of the illegal and unconstitutional usurper government, prison officials have brutally tortured and killed many Awami League leaders and activists," read a statement issued by the Awami League."We will not remain content with only condemning and protesting these incidents. At the same time, we sound a clear warning: the rule of the killer-fascist Yunus will be ma...

United Nations, Sep 13 (IANS) The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a draft resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.The UNGA passed the resolution by a recorded vote of 142 in favor, 10 against and 12 abstentions, Xinhua news agency reported.The New York Declaration, circulated at a high-level international conference held at the United Nations in late July, sets out an action-oriented pathway toward a peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the realization of the two-state solution.The draft resolution was introduced by France and Saudi Arabia, the two co-chairs of the conference, along with the co-chairs of its working groups.The permanent observer of the State...

Washington, Sep 13 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said that he would deploy the National Guard to combat crime in Memphis -- a Democratic-led city in the state of Tennessee -- claiming he was backed by the city's mayor and the state's governor.Speaking on Fox News, Trump claimed on Friday that the city is "deeply troubled," and that both the mayor and the governor are "happy" about the upcoming deployment, Xinhua news agency reported."We're going to fix that, just like we did in Washington," Trump said.Memphis, a Democratic stronghold, has a majority-Black population. The city's mayor, Paul Young, said at a press conference Friday that "I did not ask for the National Guard and I don't think it's the way to drive down crime."However, Young said that as mayor, he will "work with this commu...

Seoul, Sep 13 (IANS) More than 300 South Korean workers returned home Friday after a weeklong detention by US immigration authorities in Georgia, ending an unprecedented incident that bewildered Seoul and stirred confusion over ties with its ally.A Korean Air chartered plane, carrying 316 South Koreans and 14 foreigners, landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, around 3:23 p.m., a day after their release from detention following last week's immigration sweep at an electric car battery plant construction site co-run by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution Ltd. in Bryan County.The workers were released from the facilities in Folkston early Thursday (local time), as Seoul made intensive efforts to secure their release and return home through negotiations with Washington.T...

Washington, Sep 13 (IANS) The US pressed its G7 partners to adopt tougher measures against Russia, urging them to impose tariffs on countries that continue to buy Russian oil.In a joint call with G7 finance ministers, US Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on Friday, echoed President Donald Trump’s demand that allies step up efforts to cut off Moscow’s energy revenues, which Washington says are fuelling the war in Ukraine.“Only with a unified effort that cuts off the revenues funding Putin’s war machine at the source will we be able to apply sufficient economic pressure to end the senseless killing,” Greer and Bessent said in a statement after the call.The officials said the US has already moved ahead with punitive tariffs on nations that continue importing Russ...