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Germany recalls envoy to Iran over execution of dual national

Germany recalls envoy to Iran over execution of dual national
People commemorate Iranian-German Jamshid Sharmahd during a protest following his execution in Iran, near the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, Germany, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 29 October 2024
Reuters
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Germany recalls envoy to Iran over execution of dual national

Germany recalls envoy to Iran over execution of dual national
  • Sharmahd, who also holds US residency, was sentenced to death in 2023 on charges of “corruption on earth,” a capital offense under Iran’s Islamic laws
Updated 29 October 2024
Reuters
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BERLIN: Germany has recalled its ambassador to Iran over the execution of German Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd and summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires to voice Berlin’s protest, the German foreign office said on Tuesday.

“We have sent our strongest protest against the actions of the Iranian regime & reserve the right to take further action,” the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

Germany’s ambassador in Tehran protested in the strongest possible terms against the killing of Sharmahd, the post said, adding that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had recalled the ambassador to Berlin for consultations. Iranian state media said on Monday Sharmahd was put to death after he was convicted of carrying out terrorist attacks. “No terrorist enjoys impunity in Iran. Even if supported by Germany,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X.

“Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd openly and unashamedly led a terrorist attack on a mosque that killed 14 innocent people.”

Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that the German ambassador was summoned by the Foreign Ministry over “interventionist comments” made by German officials against the Iranian judiciary’s decision.

“Support for Sharmahd contradicts the German government’s claims in regards to the rule of law, the protection of human rights, and the fight against terrorism,” the Foreign Ministry said according to state media.

Sharmahd, who also holds US residency, was sentenced to death in 2023 on charges of “corruption on earth,” a capital offense under Iran’s Islamic laws.

He was accused by Iran of heading a pro-monarchist group accused of a deadly 2008 bombing and planning other attacks.

His daughter Gazelle Sharmahd, also on X, demanded proof of his execution and called for the immediate return of her father.

Topics: Jamshid Sharmahd Germany Iran

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Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico

Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico
Updated 19 sec ago
AP
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Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico

Biden suggests Trump supporters are ‘garbage’ after comic’s insult of Puerto Rico
  • “Vote to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” Biden said. “He’s a true danger to, not just Latinos but to all people. Particularly those who are in a minority in this country”
Updated 19 sec ago
AP

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden took a swipe against Donald Trump’s supporters on Tuesday as he reacted to the Republican presidential nominee’s weekend rally at Madison Square Garden, which was overshadowed by crude and racist rhetoric.
In a call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino, Biden responded to a comic at Trump’s rally who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden’s initial comments were garbled.
“Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don’t, I don’t know the Puerto Rican that I know, the Puerto Rico where I’m fr — in my home state of Delaware. They’re good, decent honorable people,” he said.
The president then added: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”
In referring to Trump’s supporters as “garbage,” Biden’s tone was at odds with the message that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is seeking to present as she aims to cast a broad appeal, including to disaffected Republicans. Just minutes after Biden’s comments, Harris spoke from the Ellipse in Washington, vowing to be a president who would unite the country.
“I pledge to be a president for all Americans,” said Harris, who is Biden’s vice president.
Republicans quickly highlighted Biden’s remark. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio interrupted Trump’s rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to recount what happened.
““Moments ago Joe Biden stated that our supporters, our patriots, are garbage,” Rubio said. ”He’s talking about everyday Americans who love their country.”
Some prominent Democrats also began to distance from Biden’s comments. Speaking on CNN, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he would “never insult the good people of Pennsylvania or any Americans even if they chose to support a candidate that I didn’t support.”
The comments recalled then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton dismissing Trump supporters during a 2016 fundraiser in New York by saying that half would fit into a ” basket of deplorables.”
Clinton later called that characterization “grossly generalistic.” But it became a defiant rallying cry for many Trump backers who said the insult encapsulated the elitist attitudes of Clinton and the Democrats.
With Election Day now just a week off, Biden has worked to maintain relevance, furiously promoting his administration’s accomplishments while Harris in her race against Trump.
But his efforts to remain in the political spotlight might not always be so helpful for the top of the Democratic ticket he’s now promoting. That’s because, while Harris has been sharply critical of Trump for months, repeatedly calling him “unstable” and “unhinged” and even suggesting that he was ” fascist,” she has been careful not to decry his supporters.
In fact, the vice president has campaigned extensively with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and other former GOP elected officials — hoping to woo conservative crossover voters. The Democratic convention — and Harris ads — have highlighted the stories of everyday Americans who talked about having voted for Trump in the past but now say they are supporting the vice president.
On Tuesday’s call, Biden also said that Trump “doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community” and urged rejection of the former president even as Trump’s campaign says its support is rising among Hispanics, particularly men.
“Vote to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” Biden said. “He’s a true danger to, not just Latinos but to all people. Particularly those who are in a minority in this country.”

Topics: Puerto Rico Joe Biden Donald Trump

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Climate change is making temperatures deadlier, food less reliable, experts warn

Climate change is making temperatures deadlier, food less reliable, experts warn
Updated 55 min 53 sec ago
Reuters
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Climate change is making temperatures deadlier, food less reliable, experts warn

Climate change is making temperatures deadlier, food less reliable, experts warn
  • The study’s authors urged the upcoming UN climate summit, COP29, to direct climate finance toward public health
Updated 55 min 53 sec ago
Reuters

Climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, is raising temperatures to dangerous new heights, while also worsening drought and food security, a new report by doctors and health experts warned on Tuesday.
The record temperatures of 2023 — the hottest year on record — meant the average person experienced 50 more days of dangerous temperatures than they would have without climate change, according to the Lancet Countdown, an annual report based on work by dozens of experts, academic institutions, and UN agencies, including the World Health Organization.
Especially vulnerable are the elderly, with the number of heat-related deaths in people over 65 last year reaching a level 167 percent above the number of such deaths in the 1990s. Without climate change, researchers would have expected that number to rise by 65 percent from the 1990s, the report said.
“Year on year, the deaths directly associated with climate change are increasing,” said Marina Belén Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown.
“But heat is also affecting not just the mortality and increasing deaths, but also increasing the diseases and the pathologies associated with heat exposure,” she said.
For example, people who exercise outdoors are increasingly at risk, she said. Companies are facing limited capacity for working outdoors.
In fact, last year’s extreme heat cost the world an estimated 512 billion potential labor hours, worth hundreds of billions of dollars in potential income, the report said.
“Similar to what we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is key workers who tend to be most exposed and unable to shield as easily during heatwaves, such as those working in one of our many hospitals without air conditioning, or outdoor construction workers,” said data scientist Nathan Cheetham at King’s College London in a statement. Cheetham was not involved in the study.
Climate change is also making food more unreliable, the authors warned.
With up to 48 percent of the world’s land area facing extreme drought conditions last year, the researchers said, about 151 million more people would be experiencing food insecurity as a result, compared with the years 1981-2010.
Extreme rainfall last year also affected roughly 60 percent of lands, unleashing floods and raising risks from water contamination or infectious disease.
The study’s authors urged the upcoming UN climate summit, COP29, to direct climate finance toward public health. The COP29 talks begin Nov. 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on countries to “cure the sickness of climate inaction” by slashing fossil fuel use and emissions in order “to create a fairer, safer, and healthier future for all.”

Topics: climate change fossil fuel food security Drought emissions

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Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists

Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists
Updated 30 October 2024
Reuters
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Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists

Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists
  • Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil
Updated 30 October 2024
Reuters

The Canadian government alleged on Tuesday that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind the plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.
The Indian government has dismissed Canada’s prior accusations as baseless, denying any involvement.
The Washington Post newspaper first reported that Canadian officials alleged Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison said to a parliamentary panel on Tuesday that he told the US-based newspaper that Shah was behind the plots.
“The journalist called me and asked if it (Shah) was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee, without providing further details or evidence. The High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Indian foreign ministry had no immediate comment.
India has called Sikh separatists “terrorists” and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands.
That period included the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that left thousands dead following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered security forces to storm the holiest Sikh temple to flush out Sikh separatists.
Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats.
The Canadian case is not the only instance of India’s alleged targeting of Sikh separatists on foreign soil.
Washington has charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Indian critic in New York City.
The FBI warned against such a retaliation aimed at a US resident. India has said little publicly since announcing in November 2023 it would formally investigate the US allegations.
The accusations have tested Washington and Ottawa’s relations with India, often viewed by the West as a counterbalance to China.

Topics: Canada Amit Shah Sikh separatists Hardeep Singh Nijjar

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Russia expanded use of torture after Ukraine invasion: UN expert

Russia expanded use of torture after Ukraine invasion: UN expert
Updated 30 October 2024
AFP
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Russia expanded use of torture after Ukraine invasion: UN expert

Russia expanded use of torture after Ukraine invasion: UN expert
  • Katzarova, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, noted that the use of torture had been documented in the country for the past three decades
Updated 30 October 2024
AFP

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Russia has expanded its use of torture at home and abroad since invading Ukraine, with the practice notably used to clamp down on dissent during the war, a report by a UN rights expert said Tuesday.
Torture has become “a tool for stifling the civic space, for silencing all anti-war or dissidents, anybody who disagrees with the policies and the Russian authorities,” report author Mariana Katzarova told reporters.
Katzarova, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, noted that the use of torture had been documented in the country for the past three decades.
“But now, after the full-scale invasion, it has become a concerted strategy,” she said.
Those subjected to torture have included conscientious objectors to the draft as well as mobilized men and regular troops who have refused orders to fight against Ukraine, according to the report, which was presented to the UN General Assembly.
At least 15 “unofficial places of detention” exist near the conflict’s frontlines, where “hundreds are kept and subjected to torture to punish them,” the report said.
It noted that Katzarova’s requests to meet with Russian authorities and visit the country “have remained unanswered.”
The findings were based on a review of Russian legislation, reports and analysis from human rights groups, Russian defense lawyers and testimony from survivors, including LGBTQ Russians and detained Ukrainians who have since been released back to their home country.
“Russian authorities rarely face accountability. This impunity has contributed to its ‘normalization’ in society and the ‘legitimization’ of a culture of violence,” it said.
The report also documented a variety of methods used by law enforcement, prison guards and inmates acting under government orders.
“Brutal methods... are designed not just to punish but also to purposefully humiliate and inflict lasting injuries, both psychological and physical, or even death.”
The report also criticized prolonged solitary confinement, such as that inflicted upon opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in prison earlier this year.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Jennifer Lopez to boost Harris at glitzy Las Vegas event

Jennifer Lopez to boost Harris at glitzy Las Vegas event
Updated 30 October 2024
AFP
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Jennifer Lopez to boost Harris at glitzy Las Vegas event

Jennifer Lopez to boost Harris at glitzy Las Vegas event
Updated 30 October 2024
AFP

WASHINGTON: US pop queen Jennifer Lopez is set to campaign for Kamala Harris at a glitzy rally in Las Vegas, the vice president’s team announced Tuesday, as the Democrat seeks to turn out Hispanic voters in the home stretch of a nailbitingly close election.
The 55-year-old singer and “Unstoppable” actress — J-Lo to her army of fans — was among a number of stars of Puerto Rican heritage who publicly backed Harris after a speaker at her Republican opponent Donald Trump’s weekend rally called the US territory a “floating island of garbage.”
Lopez is not performing at Thursday’s event — the music will be provided by Mexican pop-rock band Mana — but she will drive home the importance of voting in the crucial swing state of Nevada, the campaign said, as well as explain why she is endorsing Harris.
In a campaign notable for its star-studded rallies and celebrity endorsements, Harris has so far earned the backing of music stars Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Lizzo, Stevie Wonder, Pink and Bruce Springsteen.
The rally is part of a series of “When We Vote We Win” events in key battleground states featuring recording artists focused on turning out the few remaining undecided voters, with polling showing a neck-and-neck race.
“These artists and public figures are trusted voices for millions of Americans, who listen to their music, follow them on social media, or otherwise are inspired by them,” the campaign said in a statement.
“The Harris-Walz campaign believes that by using their voices to lay out the stakes of this election, it will further encourage and mobilize people to go vote.”
Lopez, singer Ricky Martin and reggaeton star Bad Bunny — all of whom boast social media followings in the tens of millions — gave Harris a boost this week by sharing her campaign video targeting voters in Puerto Rico on social media.

Topics: US Election 2024 Jennifer Lopez

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