United States
India Today: US Denies 'Wedge' In Canada Ties After Refusing To Condemn Terrorist's Killing
“Sullivan's comments came after the Washington Post reported earlier this week that Canada wanted to get its closest allies, including the US, to come together and condemn India. However, Ottawa's attempts were rebuffed, the report said. The shooting of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in June this year was privately raised by several senior officials of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, a Western official was quoted as saying by the Washington Post. However, the matter was not raised publicly ahead of the G20 Summit in Delhi that was held on September 9 and 10. Nijjar, one of India's most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen outside a gurdwara in Surrey in the western Canadian province of British Columbia on June 18. He was the chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).”
Syria
Reuters: Syria's Assad In China, Seeks Exit From Diplomatic Isolation
“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, his first visit to China since 2004 and his latest bid to end more than a decade of diplomatic isolation under Western sanctions. Assad arrived aboard an Air China plane in heavy fog, which Chinese state media said "added to the atmosphere of mystery", a nod to the Syrian leader's infrequent trips abroad since 2011, when a civil war erupted that has killed more than half a million people. The Syrian leader is set to attend Saturday's Asian Games opening ceremony with more than a dozen other foreign dignitaries before leading a delegation in meetings in several Chinese cities. He meets President Xi Jinping on Friday and has further meetings on Sunday and Monday in Beijing. Being seen with China's president at a regional gathering should add further legitimacy to Assad's campaign to return to the world stage. Syria joined China's Belt and Road Initiative in 2022 and was welcomed back into the Arab League in May.”
Pakistan
Voice Of America: Taliban Pledge To 'Neutralize' Activities Of Afghan-Based Pakistani Militants
“Afghanistan's Taliban have pledged "concrete steps" to "neutralize" activities of militants plotting terrorist attacks against neighboring Pakistan, diplomatic sources told VOA on Friday. The assurance was given in a bilateral meeting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi hosted Thursday with a high-level Pakistani delegation in Kabul, the sources privy to the talks said. Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s special representative on Afghanistan, led the delegation including senior military officials, among others. The visit came amid an upsurge in deadly attacks against security forces in Pakistan. The banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, has claimed responsibility for much of the violence. Islamabad maintains TTP leaders and fighters sheltering in Afghanistan have intensified cross-border attacks since the Taliban reclaimed power in Kabul two years ago. Hundreds of Pakistani police and soldiers have died in almost daily TTP attacks in the last year.”
Yemen
Reuters: Yemen Houthis Flex Military Muscle In Parade As Riyadh Seeks Ceasefire
“Yemen's Houthi movement displayed ballistic missiles and armed drones in a massive military parade in Sanaa on Thursday, a message to their foes in a Saudi-led coalition as they continue ceasefire negotiations with Riyadh. The head of Yemen's Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, and other officials watched as dozens of heavy trucks passed carrying cruise missiles and long range armed drones. Thousands of soldiers marched under scorching sun while officers, wearing Yemeni flags as sashes, waved at traditional dancers from the podium. The Iran-aligned group swept into the capital and most of north Yemen in 2014 when they ousted the internationally recognised government. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened in the war in 2015 to try to restore the government, but the conflict has dragged on, killing tens of thousands and leaving millions relying on humanitarian assistance. "We repeat our warnings to foreign forces... that we will not accept their presence on our lands, they have to leave or they will face the volcanoes of Yemeni anger," Houthi Defence Minister Mohammed al-Atifi told the parade.”
UN News: Yemen’s Leader Says Peace Is Possible, But Flow Of Arms And Resources To Houthi Militias Must Stop
“Peace remains elusive despite compromises by the Yemeni government and welcome support from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman, as well as the UN, to end years of strife in the country, President Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi told the high-level debate at the UN General Assembly. “We hope that the Houthi militias will recognize a singular truth: Only a State that is based on the rule of law and equal citizenship will ensure that our country is stable, safe, and respected in the region” and wider international community, he said. “There is a sure path towards peace by rekindling the trust of the Yemeni people in international legitimacy and in their national government,” he continued. “For that, we need to support the legal government, we need to strengthen the economy so that the government can provide services so that we can put an end to the militias and build a brighter future.””
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: UN Ambassador Erdan Bashes Abbas’ ‘Peaceful Resistance’ Comments At UNGA
“Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan posted a video rebuke of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday after Abbas said that Palestinian terrorism was simply a measure of “peaceful resistance” at the UN General Assembly on Thursday.n“Mere weeks ago, President Abbas defended Hitler and blamed the Jews for being massacred during the Holocaust… today he stood at this podium and called the vicious Palestinian terror attacks ‘peaceful resistance’,” Erdan said in his video.n“Let me be clear – terror is terror… President Abbas proved today that he is no partner for peace and that he is totally detached from reality and irrelevant,” declared Erdan.”
Somalia
Voice Of America: Somali PM Optimistic About Winning Stronger International Support Against Al-Shabab
“Barre said Somalia’s first priority is security, which he said cannot be fully achieved without a well-trained and well-equipped Somali national army. “We need and would implore the world community for a complete lifting of the arms embargo that has been imposed on Somalia since 1992," he said. "By doing so, our security forces would be able to take full control and responsibility of the country’s security.” The embargo was imposed during Somalia’s early 1990s civil war. Barre’s appeal comes as the African Union Transition Mission, or ATMIS, in Somalia, announced the start of the second round of a planned troop withdrawal. AU forces have been stationed in Somalia since 2007. Barre, who is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday, said he would give a comprehensive overview of Somalia's progress. The prime minister said he aimed to shed light on the nation's achievements in diverse areas like poverty reduction, health care, education, economic growth, human rights, peace, security, and climate change.”
Africa
Reuters: Congo Army Seeks Insight Into Islamist Militants From Women Held Captive
“At a military intelligence centre in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, 22-year-old Mariam recounted how she lived alongside Islamist insurgents for two years after she was taken by the militants and force-marched to their camp in the rainforest. Mariam said a Ugandan insurgent had claimed her as his wife, one of several non-Congolese militants she met during her time with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) - an armed group that is expanding its deadly reach with funding from Islamic State, according to U.N. experts. The group originated as an uprising in Uganda and some members fled across the border into the vast jungles of eastern Congo in the 1990s. Since then they have pledged allegiance to Islamic State and maintained their insurgency, attacking civilian and military targets in both Congo and Uganda. Both countries launched a joint military operation in December 2021, and Uganda deployed over 1,500 troops into Congo to help capture or kill the militants.”
Germany
The Guardian: Rightwing Extremist Views Increasingly Widespread In Germany, Study Finds
“Rightwing extremist and anti-democratic attitudes are becoming increasingly widespread in Germany, according to a study examining the public’s political views. Commissioned by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is closely affiliated with the Social Democratic party, the study showed that 8% of the population had a distinctly rightwing extremist view of the world, a rise of between 5% and 6% on previous studies, while the “centre middle” was becoming “ever more receptive to misanthropic positions”. The findings also showed that an increase, to 6% of those questioned, advocated social Darwinist views, agreeing with the statement “there are worthy and unworthy lives”, up from 2% to 3% since 2014. More people than in previous studies – 15.5% – considered themselves to be “right of centre”, while 55% saw themselves as “exactly in the centre”, compared with 60% or above in the previous decade.”
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