Stockholm, October 3

This year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Swedish scientist Svante Paabo for his discoveries on human evolution.

Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Committee, announced the winner on Monday at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

Paabo has spearheaded research comparing the genome of modern humans and our closest extinct relatives, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, showing that there was mixing between the species.

The medicine prize kicked off a week of Nobel Prize announcements. It continues on Tuesday with the physics prize, with chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday and the economics award on October 10.

Last year's medicine recipients were David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries into how the human body perceives temperature and touch.

The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly nine lakh dollars) and will be handed out on December 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.

 

 Islamabad, October 3

A Pakistani court on Monday accepted an apology tendered by former prime minister Imran Khan and dropped a contempt of court case against him, his defence lawyer said, a ruling that ease the threat to him of disqualification from politics.

The Islamabad High Court had deferred Khan's indictment over the contempt case after he apologised to the court in person late last month.

A convicted politician is liable to be disqualified from contesting elections and holding a public office for at least five years under Pakistani law.

"Imran Khan extended his apology in honour and respect for the judiciary, and the court today reciprocated by discharging the case against him," defence lawyer Faisal Chaudhry told Reuters.

The charges were related to a speech by Khan in which he was accused of threatening police and judicial officers after one of his close aides was denied bail in a sedition case.

Khan and his legal team subsequently maintained that his remarks did not amount to a threat.

The cricket star-turned-politician has faced a spate of legal woes since his ouster in a confidence vote in April by a united opposition led by his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Khan has been leading rallies since his dismissal demanding snap elections, which the ruling coalition has rejected, saying voting will be held as scheduled later next year.

 Dubai, October 3

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded publicly on Monday to the biggest protests in Iran in years, breaking weeks of silence to condemn the violent rioting and accuse protests of being planned by the US and Israel.

Khamenei described the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's morality police, which set off the nationwide protests, as “a sad incident” that “left us heartbroken." However, he sharply condemned the protests as a foreign plot to destabilise Iran, echoing authorities' previous comments.

“This rioting was planned,” he told a cadre of police students in Tehran. “I say clearly that these riots and insecurities were designed by America and the Zionist regime, and their employees.” He added of the protests: “Such actions are not normal, are unnatural." His comments come as nationwide protests sparked by Amini's death entered their third week despite the government's efforts to crack down.  

 

 Miami, October 2

The death toll from Hurricane Ian climbed past 80 on Sunday as embattled residents in Florida and the Carolinas faced a recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, and some officials faced criticism over their response to the storm.

The death toll was expected to keep rising as floodwaters receded and search teams pushed farther into areas initially cut off from the outside world. Hundreds of people have been rescued as emergency workers sifted through homes and buildings inundated with water or completely washed away.

Officials in Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral and is on the Gulf Coast, have faced questions over whether they mandated evacuations in time.

Cecil Pendergrass, chairman of the county's board of commissioners, said on Sunday that once the county was forecast to be in the cone, or the probable track of the hurricane's center, evacuation orders were given. Even then, some people chose to ride the storm out, Pendergrass said.

"I respect their choices," he said at a press conference.

"But I'm sure a lot of them regret it now." President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will see the devastation in Florida firsthand on Wednesday, the White House said in a statement on Saturday. The Bidens will visit Puerto Rico on Monday, where hundreds of thousands of people were still without power two weeks after Hurricane Fiona hit the island.

Cuba is restoring power after Ian knocked out electricity to the whole country of 11 million people, flattened homes and obliterated agricultural fields.

North Carolina authorities said at least four people had been killed there. No deaths were immediately reported in South Carolina, where Ian made another U.S. landfall on Friday.

Chugging over land since then, Ian has diminished into an ever-weakening post-tropical cyclone.

The National Hurricane Center forecast more heavy rainfall was possible across parts of West Virginia and western Maryland into Sunday morning, and "major to record flooding" in central Florida.

WASHED AWAY

As the full scope of devastation became clearer, officials said some of the heaviest damage was inflicted by wind-driven ocean surf that raged into seaside communities and washed buildings away.

Satellite images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed beach cottages and a motel that lined the shores of Florida's Sanibel Island had been demolished by storm surges. Although most homes appeared to still be standing, roof damage to all was evident.

Surveys from the ground showed that the barrier island, a popular tourist getaway that was home to some 6,000, was devastated.

"It's all just completely gone," Sanibel's city manager, Dana Souza, said. "Our electric system is pretty much destroyed, our sewer system has been damaged badly and our public water supply is under assessment."

The island's link to the mainland was severed by breaches to its causeway bridge, further complicating recovery efforts, Souza said.

After waning to a tropical storm by the end of its march across Florida to the Atlantic, Ian regained hurricane strength and pummeled coastal South Carolina on Friday, sweeping ashore near Georgetown, north of the historic port city of Charleston.

Numerous roads were flooded and blocked by fallen trees while a number of piers were damaged in that area.

More than 700,000 businesses and homes remained without power on Sunday afternoon in Florida alone, where more than 2 million customers lost electricity the first night of the storm.

Insurers braced for between $28 billion and $47 billion in claims from what could amount to the costliest Florida storm since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, according to US property data and analytics company CoreLogic.

 

Kyiv, 

Ukraine claimed full control of Russia's eastern logistics hub Lyman, its most significant battlefield gain in weeks, setting the stage for further advances aimed at cutting Russia's supply lines to its battered troops to a single route.

The stinging setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin was delivered after he proclaimed the annexation of four regions covering nearly a fifth of Ukraine on Friday, an area that includes Lyman. Kyiv and the West have condemned the proclamation as an illegitimate farce.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the capture of the town, where Ukrainian flags were raised over civic buildings on Saturday, demonstrated that Ukraine was capable of dislodging Russian forces and showed the impact Ukraine's deployment of advanced Western weapons was having on the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the success of the country's soldiers was not limited to Lyman.

Ukraine forces had liberated the small Arkhanhelske and Myrolyubivka settlements in the Kherson region as well, he said.

Ukraine's Interfax agency reported that according to Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces, Ukraine's forces recaptured Torske, a village in the Donetsk region, about 15 km (9 miles) east of the now liberated Lyman.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify the reports.

Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday it was pulling troops out of the Lyman area "in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement".

It did not mention Lyman in its daily update on Sunday, although it said Russian forces had destroyed seven artillery and missile depots in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk.

Russian forces had captured Lyman from Ukraine in May and had been using it as a hub for its operations in the north of the Donetsk region. Its recapture by Ukrainian troops is Russia's largest battlefield loss since Ukraine's lightning counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region in September.

Control over Lyman could prove a "key factor" in helping Ukraine reclaim lost territory in the Luhansk region, the full capture of which Russia announced in July after weeks of grinding advances, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said.

Lyman's operational importance was due to its command over a crossing of the Siverskyi Donets River, behind which Russia has been attempting to consolidate its defences, Britain's Ministry of Defence said.

"Thanks to the successful operation in Lyman we are moving towards the second north-south route ... and that means a second supply line will be disrupted," said reserve colonel Viktor Kevlyuk at Ukraine's Centre for Defence Strategies think tank.

"In that case, the Russian group in Luhansk and Donetsk could only be supplied strictly through (Russia's) Rostov region," Kevlyuk told media outlet Espreso TV.

Ukraine's military said early on Monday Russian forces had used missiles, air strikes and artillery in attacks on 35 settlements in the previous 24 hours. Ukraine’s air force had attacked a command post, weapons caches and an anti-aircraft missile complex, as well as bringing down one helicopter, one attack aircraft and eight drones, it said.

The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said Russian forces had attacked Zaporizhzhia city and nearby villages overnight, with at least 10 missiles.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

ANNEXED REGIONS

The areas Putin claimed as annexed just over seven months into Russia's invasion of its neighbour - Donetsk and Luhansk plus Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south - are equal to about 18% of Ukraine's total surface land area.

Russia's parliament is to consider on Monday bills and ratification treaties to absorb the regions, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin said.

A pomp-filled Kremlin signing ceremony with the regions' Russian-installed leaders on Friday failed to stem a wave of criticism within Russia of how the military operation is being handled.

Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's southern Chechnya region, on Saturday called for a change of strategy "right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons". The United States says it would respond decisively to any use of nuclear weapons.

Other hawkish Russian figures on Saturday criticised generals and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on social media for overseeing the setbacks but stopped short of attacking Putin.

The United States was "very encouraged" by Ukrainian gains, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday.

Pope Francis on Sunday made an appeal to Putin to stop "this spiral of violence and death" in Ukraine and also called on Zelenskiy to be open to any "serious peace proposal".

Zelenskiy said on Friday that peace talks with Russia while Putin was president would be impossible. "We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia," he said.

Washington, October 3

Vivek Lall, an Indian-origin General Atomics CEO, is honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by US President Joe Biden with citation of 'With Grateful Recognition'.

The citation was given to Lall, who has done PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University in Kansas, by the AmeriCorps and the Office of the President. It was also personally signed by the President of the United States, as per the official statement.

AmeriCorps is a part of the US Government. The organisation aims to foster activities that bring Americans closer together to "serve communities." Dr Lall, an industry leader and scientific community titan works as Chief Executive at General Atomics. The company is a global leader in the specialised fields of nuclear technology and has developed state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) like the Predator, Reaper and Guardian drones.

Lall, a son of an Indian diplomat, was one of the handfuls of individuals with Indian origins to have been invited to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the past year during his Washington visit.

Notably, before his leadership position in General Atomics, Dr Lall worked at other leading organisations like NASA, Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed Martin; his experience and accolades have been considered unparalleled by many in the scientific community and by long-term industry watchers alike.

He is serving as a US Technical Team Member to the Noth Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Science and Technology (STO) with the Pentagon.

He was appointed in a critical advisory role to the US Cabinet Secretary heading the Department of Transportation, encompassing entities like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in 2018.

 

 Dubai, October 2

A UAE-based business conglomerate, which has more than 50 supermarkets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, is showcasing Kashmiri apples in its stores, giving a boost to the export of the superior quality apples from India to the international market. The premium apples native to Kashmir are considered one of the best quality apples harvested mainly in the months of September and October.

Mir Syed Shahid Ahmed Kamili, president of the Federation Chambers of Industries, Kashmir, said India ranked seventh in apple production in the world.

“Kashmir boasts of 80 per cent of the apple production in India. We thank India as we are getting heavy subsidies and support to promote the export of Kashmiri products,” he said.

 

Al Maya Group has more than 50 supermarkets in the GCC members—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

 Toronto,(PTI) Canadian authorities have denied any vandalism at a recently unveiled park named ‘Shri Bhagavad Gita’ in Brampton city and clarified that the reported blank sign was left during the repair work, hours after India condemned the incident and urged the city administration to take prompt action.

The park – previously called Troyers Park – was renamed as Shri Bhagavad Gita Park and unveiled on September 28.

“We condemn the hate crime at the Shri Bhagavad Gita Park in Brampton. We urge Canadian authorities & @PeelPolice to investigate and take prompt action on the perpetrators,” the High Commission of India in Canada tweeted on Sunday.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown on Sunday night took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Brampton is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario.

“Following yesterday’s reports of vandalism of the recently unveiled Shri Bhagavad Gita Park, we took swift action to investigate further. We learned that the reported blank sign was installed by the builder as a placeholder until the permanent Shri Bhagavad Gita Park sign can be replaced tomorrow,” Brown tweeted.

Brown also thanked the Indian community for flagging the issue and added: “We are pleased to learn of this outcome. We thank the community for bringing this to our attention, and ensuring Brampton is a safe and inclusive place to call home.” “The blank sign was left up during repairs. This is not a usual process as we never remove a sign unless damaged or its name changes,” he said in another tweet.

Peel Regional Police also said: “There was no evidence of vandalism to the permanent sign or any park structure.” “Permanent sign is still waiting for the lettering to be applied and it was a temporary park sign used in the park naming ceremony,” Peel Police tweeted.

Last month, India issued an advisory to its citizens in Canada citing a “sharp increase in incidents of hate crime, sectarian violence, and anti-India activities”.

The advisory said: “In view of the increasing incidences of crimes as described above, Indian nationals and students from India in Canada and those proceeding to Canada for travel/ education are advised to exercise due caution and remain vigilant.” On September 15, a prominent Hindu temple, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, was defaced by “Canadian Khalistani extremists” with anti-India graffiti in an apparent hate crime. PTI 

गुट निरपेक्ष शब्द का प्रयोग पहली बार संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ में भारत ,युगोस्लाविया तथा मिस्र के द्वारा १९५० में किया गया था, 1 सितंबर 1961 को बेलग्रेड (युगोस्लाविया)में इसका गठन किया गया , इसे अमलीजामा पहनाने का कार्य 1955 में बांडुंग(इंडोनेशिया) सम्मेलन , १९५६ में युगोस्लाविया के तत्कालीन राष्ट्रपति मार्शल टीटो, भारत के प्रधानमंत्री जवाहरलाल नेहरू तथा मिस्त्र के राष्ट्रपति अब्देल नासिर ने किया, गुट निरपेक्ष आंदोलन को कुछ और देशों द्वारा समर्थन भी मिला तथा इसका उद्देश्य दोनों महाशक्तियों सोवियत संघ तथा अमेरिका के बढ़ते साम्राज्यवाद तथा उनके नाजायज दखल को रोकना था, तत्कालीन भारतीय प्रधानमंत्री जवाहरलाल नेहरू इस मामले में बेहद प्रखर रहे, गुट निरपेक्ष आंदोलन द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध की विभीषिका से उपजा था जिसमें अपार जन धन हानि हुई थी , इस युद्ध में लगभग पांच से छह करोड़ लोग मारे गए थे , तथा अमेरिका जापान पर परमाणु बम गिराकर एक वैश्विक शक्ति बन गया था, रूस भी अमेरिका के बराबर खड़ा होना चाहता था तथा उसने भी साम्यवादी देशों का अपना एक गुट बना लिया था , इसमें सबसे आश्चर्यजनक यह था कि अमेरिका, ब्रिटेन तथा सोवियत संघ मित्र राष्ट्रों के रूप में मिलकर धुरी राष्ट्रों जापान, इटली ,जर्मनी के खिलाफ लड़े थे ,अमेरिका अपने समर्थक देशों के साथ 'नाटो' याने नॉर्थ अटलांटिक आर्गेनाइजेशनल बना चुका था दुनिया दो हिस्सों में बंटी नजर आ रही थी तथा यह बंटवारा आगामी विश्व युद्ध को फिर जन्म दे सकता था इसलिए गुट निरपेक्ष आंदोलन प्रासंगिक था लेकिन यह दुनिया में अपना रोल उतना प्रभावी बना नहीं पाया जैसा होना था बाद में यह आंदोलन दबता चला गया, 1962 के भारत चीन युद्ध में नेहरू काल में भारत को पराजय का सामना करना पड़ा तथा इसमें चौंका देने वाली बात यह थी कि उस समय तत्कालीन प्रधान मंत्री नेहरू को अमेरिका से सहायता लेनी पड़ी थी, खुद बखुद भारत को १९७१ के भारत पाकिस्तान युद्ध के समय सोवियत संघ से समझौता करना पड़ा, उसके बाद अमेरिका वियतनाम युद्ध में अमेरिका अपनी मनमानी पर उतर आया, इसके बाद १९९० में खाड़ी युद्ध में अमरीकी दादागिरी, रूस की सीरिया में दखल,अमेरिका का अफगानिस्तान में हमला, अब रूस ने यूक्रेन में आक्रमण कर दिया ,आखिर कहां हैं हमारा गुट निरपेक्ष आंदोलन?

 India has abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the UN Security Council which condemned Russia's "illegal referenda" and annexation of four Ukrainian territories and called for an immediate cessation of violence while underlining the need to find pathways for a return to the negotiating table.

The 15-nation UN Security Council on Friday voted on the draft resolution tabled by the US and Albania that condemns Russia's "organisation of illegal so-called referenda in regions within Ukraine's internationally recognised borders."

The resolution declares that Russia's "unlawful actions" with regards to the "illegal so-called referenda" taken on September 23 to 27 this year in parts of Ukraine's regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya that are under Russia's temporary control can have "no validity" and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine, including any "purported annexation" of any of these regions by Moscow.

The resolution failed to get adopted as Russia vetoed it. Of the 15-nation Council, 10 nations voted for the resolution while China, Gabon, India and Brazil abstained.

In the explanation of the vote, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that India was deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine and New Delhi has always advocated that no solution can ever arrive at the cost of human lives.

"We urge that all efforts are made by concerned sides for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities. Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment," she said.

"The path to peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open," she said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "unequivocally conveyed" this in his discussions with world leaders, including with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

She also referred to statements made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Ukraine during the high-level General Assembly session last week.

Referring to Modi's remark to Putin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan's Samarkand that "today's era is not an era of war", Kamboj said New Delhi sincerely hopes for an early resumption of peace talks to bring about an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the conflict.

"India's position has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict. The global order is anchored on the principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all states. Escalation of rhetoric or tension is in no one's interest," she said.

"It is important that pathways are found for a return to the negotiating table. Keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation, India decided to abstain on the resolution," Kamboj said.

Russian President Putin on Friday proclaimed the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The announcement came a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that "any annexation of a State's territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the Principles of the UN Charter and international law."

"Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned," Guterres said.

"It cannot be reconciled with the international legal framework. It stands against everything the international community is meant to stand for. It flouts the purposes and principles of the United Nations. It is a dangerous escalation. It has no place in the modern world. It must not be accepted," the UN chief said.

The resolution also calls upon all States, international organisations and specialised agencies not to recognise any alteration of the status of Ukraine's regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson or Zaporizhzhya on the basis of Russia's "unlawful actions" with regards to the illegal so-called referenda taken on September 23 to 27, and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognising any such altered status.

It also decides that Russia shall "immediately, completely and unconditionally" withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, which includes those regions addressed by the "illegal so-called referenda" to enable a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through political dialogue, negotiation, mediation or other peaceful means.