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October
Myanmar warns any ASEAN pressures would create 'negative implications'
Written by Nur Yasmin
Myanmar's military government warned on Thursday that any pressure from its Southeast Asian neighbours to put a time frame on a peace plan would create "negative implications".
The ruling junta, which seized power from an elected government last year, was reacting to a meeting earlier on Thursday of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries in Jakarta to discuss easing the intensifying crisis.
ASEAN remains committed to a peace plan agreed with Myanmar's military rulers, its chair Cambodia said on Thursday, even as some countries raised concerns over the failure to implement the plan agreed with the junta 18 months ago.
No Myanmar representatives were present at the special meeting of the group's foreign ministers to discuss the stalled peace plan.
Myanmar's generals have been barred from high-level ASEAN meetings since last year, after the army ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in a February 2021 coup, detaining her and thousands of activists and launching a deadly crackdown that has given rise to armed resistance movements.
The junta has done little to honour its commitments to the so-called five-point peace "consensus" which includes an immediately halting violence, starting dialogue, allowing an ASEAN chair envoy to facilitate mediation and allowing ASEAN to provide humanitarian assistance.
The head of the junta has blamed the lack of progress on instability in the country and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Late on Thursday, Myanmar's military-appointed foreign ministry released a statement blaming armed resistance movements for violence and saying pressure to set a time frame will create more negative implications than positive ones.
Political analysts said the ASEAN meeting, which comes ahead of the bloc's leaders' summit next month, was disappointing and did little to move the needle on getting Myanmar's generals to cooperate.
"Today's meeting reflects that there is no common position among the ASEAN countries, they are split in handling the Myanmar issue," said Lina Alexandra of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.
ASEAN foreign ministers and representatives agreed on Thursday the bloc should be even more determined for a peaceful solution in Myanmar as soon as possible, the chair said in a statement, noting that Myanmar's situation remained "critical and fragile".
"The foreign ministers expressed concern and disappointment over no significant progress on the five-point consensus implementation," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told a news conference after the meeting.
Recent weeks have included some of the bloodiest incidents in Myanmar, including a bombing at Myanmar's largest prison and an air strike in Kachin State on Sunday, which local media said killed at least 50 people.
"The violent acts need to stop immediately. And Indonesia has mentioned that this request needs to be delivered to Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) immediately," said Retno.
ASEAN has a longstanding policy of non-interference in members' sovereign affairs, but some have called for the bloc to be bolder in taking action against the junta and engaging other stakeholders like the shadow government.
When asked if ASEAN representatives would meet the shadow National Unity Government, Indonesian foreign ministry official Sidharto R. Suryodipuro said: "engagement with all stakeholders includes other parties, NUG being one of them."
The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, on Wednesday described the situation in Myanmar as "tragic" and said the United States, which has imposed sanctions on the military leadership, would take "additional steps to put pressure on the regime," but did not elaborate. (Reuters)
October
Iran protests flare again as U.N. voices concern at detainees' treatment
Written by Nur Yasmin
Iranians kept up protests calling for the toppling of the Islamic Republic on Friday, as activists posted videos of crowds demanding the death of the supreme leader and the widely feared Basij militia he unleashed against them.
Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody last month.
They have turned into a popular revolt by furious Iranians from all layers of society, posing one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.
Video footage on social media showed protesters calling for the death of "dictator" Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Basij, which has played a major role in the crackdown on demonstrators.
Commentary on the video said it was recorded on Friday in the city of Zahedan, close to Iran's southeastern border with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The activist 1500tasvir Twitter account posted the video showing demonstrators chanting "Death to Khamenei". Another video purported to show a 12-year-old protester who was shot in the head.
Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of social media videos.
On Thursday, a provincial security council dismissed Zahedan's police chief and the head of a police station near where dozens of protesters were killed four weeks ago in the deadliest crackdown since the start of nationwide protests.
The council said the families of the victims would be compensated and a legal investigation had been opened that may lead to further measures against those who provoked the violence, "rioters" and any officials suspected of wrongdoing.
CALL FOR JUSTICE
Zahedan's top Sunni cleric in predominantly Shi'ite Iran welcomed the move but called for an independent investigation of the killings and said any senior officials behind the crackdown should be brought to justice.
"We demand from the security council and the government that, regardless of how high in the ranks this error and crime reaches, the (guilty) official should be dismissed and brought to trial," Molavi Abdolhamid said in a Friday prayers sermon, according to his website.
Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in the violent crackdown on Sept. 30.
Fars news agency, seen as close to the Revolutionary Guards, blamed the violence in Zahedan on protesters.
"A number of rioters were shooting at people and security forces from rooftops during today's disturbances... Unfortunately, a 12-year-old child was shot in the face and killed," Fars reported.
The provincial security council has said armed dissidents had provoked the clashes, leading to innocent people's deaths, but admitted "shortcomings" by police.
One person was shot dead, by "unidentified individuals" and 14 people, including security forces, were injured in Zahedan, the council said, according to state media.
Videos posted by 1500tasvir showed what it said were protests in the northwestern city of Mahabad with demonstrators running away from what appeared to be tear gas fumes, while another video showed protesters making petrol bombs.
'ILL TREATMENT'
Iran has blamed its foreign enemies and their agents for the unrest. The Intelligence Ministry and the intelligence arm of the Revolutionary Guards on Friday accused spy agencies from the United States, Britain, Israel and Saudi Arabia of having orchestrated the unrest to destabilise the Islamic Republic.
"Precise monitoring over more than a year ... and documents obtained during the recent disturbances provide much evidence of a wide role played by the American terrorist regime in designing, implementing, and maintaining the unrest," the two security bodies said in a joint statement.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said its intelligence unit had foiled a bomb attack in the southern city of Shiraz, two days after a deadly shooting at a shrine there, the guards' news agency Sepah News said.
Wednesday's shooting, which was claimed by Islamic State, killed 15 worshippers at the Shah Cheragh shrine.
Government-organised demonstrations across the country against the Shiraz attack were broadcast live on state TV. Demonstrators waving the Iranian flag, carrying Khamenei's photos, shouted "death to America," "death to Israel."
The U.N. human rights office on Friday voiced concern at Iran's treatment of detained protesters and said authorities refused to release some of the bodies of those killed.
Rights groups have said at least 250 protesters have been killed and thousands arrested across Iran.
"We've seen a lot of ill treatment ... but also harassment of the families of protesters," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing, citing multiple sources.
"Of particular concern is information that authorities have been moving injured protesters from hospitals to detention facilities and refusing to release the bodies of those killed to their families," she said.
Shamdasani added that in some cases, authorities were placing conditions on the release of bodies, asking families not to hold a funeral or speak to the media. Protesters in detention were also sometimes being denied medical treatment, she said.
Iran has denied allegations by human rights groups that it abuses prisoners. (Reuters)
October
Pakistan's ex-premier Imran Khan set to march on Islamabad to demand snap polls
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan gathered hundreds of supporters in the eastern city of Lahore on Friday to join a caravan of cars and trucks heading for the capital Islamabad to pressure the government into calling snap polls.
Since being ousted in April through a parliamentary vote, Khan has held rallies across Pakistan, stirring opposition against a government that is struggling to bring the economy out of the crisis that Khan's administration left it in.
Khan plans to lead the motorised caravan slowly northwards up the Grand Trunk Road to Islamabad, drawing more support along the way before entering the capital in a week.
By the time he gets there, Khan said he expects to have hundreds of thousands of people with him, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has asked authorities in the capital to allow a protest sit-in.
"I want that all of you participate. This is not for politics or personal gain, or to topple the government... this is to bring genuine freedom to the country," Khan said in a video message on the eve of the march.
PTI members told journalists on Friday that the party was willing to negotiate with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government if it announced a date for a snap election.
The government says polls will be held as scheduled in October next year. Khan says he is not willing to wait.
DONE THIS BEFORE
The growing crowd of Khan supporters in Lahore chanted slogans including “Imran Tere Jannisar, Beshumar, Beshumar", meaning "Imran, countless people are willing to give their life for you".
Laila, a mother of two from Toba Tek Singh, a city in the eastern province of Punjab, echoed those sentiments.
"I have come to Lahore to join the long march with my husband and two sons aged nine and 11. I am not concerned about security as Khan is struggling for a better future for my children," she said, adding that she and her family would go to Islamabad and stay till the end.
As Khan's supporters assembled in Lahore, large numbers of police were deployed along the 260-kilometres (160-mile) route to Islamabad.
Khan has used this tactic before - most recently in May, weeks after he lost power. But that time police used tear gas after clashing with Khan's supporters as they approached Islamabad's sensitive "red zone", and the rally quickly dispersed.
This time Khan has called on protesters to stay peaceful, and given assurances that he would not enter the 'red zone' and the protest remain in areas designated by the courts and local administration, but given the politically charged environment the fears of violence persist.
COLD SHOULDERED BY THE GENERALS
The federal government, which runs Islamabad, has indicated that any deviation from approved protest plans will be met with force from the city's police.
Khan's party is in government in two of Islamabad's neighbouring provinces, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, and the provincial police forces are expected to be providing security to marchers.
With security enhanced in the capital and augmented by paramilitary forces, there is a fear that the forces could come face to face.
Crucially, Khan lacks backing from Pakistan's powerful military, which has directly ruled the country for more than three of the seven-and-a-half decades since independence.
Having once been regarded as close to the generals, Khan has accused the military of supporting his opponents move to oust him. The country's powerful military says it is staying out of politics, and on Thursday the intelligence chief accused Khan of asking for "illegal and unconstitutional" support for his government. (Reuters)
October
Taiwan urges China to stop sabre-rattling and start talking
Written by Nur Yasmin
China should stop its sabre-rattling against Taiwan and maintain peace and stability, the head of Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said on Friday, as Beijing ramped up political and military pressure on the island it claimed as its own.
China has stepped up military activities near democratically governed Taiwan since August, when it conducted blockade drills around the island following a visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"Beijing should stop its sabre-rattling as it only deepens the gap between the two sides and raises tensions in the region," Mainland Affairs Council minister Chiu Tai-san told a forum in Taipei.
"We urge mainland China to lay down arms and maintain peace and stability. The key to peace is to reverse the mindset of handling problems with force," Chiu said, adding Beijing should resolve disagreements with Taipei via "a constructive dialogue without preconditions."
Chiu said he hoped China could gradually relax its travel restrictions to control the COVID-19 pandemic so that the two sides could resume "healthy and orderly exchanges and create room for positive interaction."
China has repeatedly rebuffed offers for talks on the basis of equality with mutual respect by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing views as a separatist.
China considers Taiwan its own territory. Earlier this month, President Xi Jinping said in a speech at the opening of a the Communist Party Congress in Beijing that it is up to the Chinese people to resolve the Taiwan issue and that China will never renounce the use of force over Taiwan.
Taipei says only the island's 23 million people can decide their future, and that as Taiwan has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China its sovereignty claims are void. (Reuters)
October
Zelenskiy expresses doubt that Russian mobilisation is really over
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday expressed doubt over Russia's declaration that its partial mobilisation was complete, saying the poor performance of pro-Moscow forces meant more men could be needed.
"Very soon Russia may need a new wave of people to send to the war," he said in a video address. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier said the call-up of 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine was complete. (Reuters)
October
Ecuador Energy Minister Xavier Vera resigns amid corruption investigation
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ecuador's energy minister Xavier Vera resigned on Friday amid an investigation into accusations he arranged jobs at state oil company Petroecuador in exchange for bribes.
"I'm taking a step to the side with the sole purpose of being able to concentrate entirely on defending the slander leveled against me," said Vera, who has denied wrongdoing, in a message published on the energy ministry's Twitter profile.
The former minister thanked President Guillermo Lasso for his support and said his resignation would avoid the government being bogged down by the accusations.
Vera was the vice minister of mining for 10 months and later appointed the minister for mines and energy, which he held for six months.
Late on Thursday the attorney general's office, which said this week it was launching a probe, searched Vera's homes in Quito and Guayaquil and his office in the ministry of energy, as well as a hotel in the capital where someone else involved in the case had stayed.
Items like telephones and computers which were seized in the searches "will be entered into the chain of custody, amid the investigation for an alleged crime of bribery," the office said on Twitter.
The investigation was sparked by allegations in a digital media outlet that Vera, who began his ministerial post in April, had arranged jobs at state oil company Petroecuador in exchange for payments, among other corruption accusations.
He told local media on Thursday there was no proof against him and that the accusations were a systematic effort by criminals to discredit the government.
"This is something orchestrated by the mafias which have always prowled around my sector, which drives 30% of GDP, and I'm a rock in their shoe," Vera told Sonorama radio. "This is not a coincidence, this is a systematic effort to affect the image of the government."
"There is no concrete case, there is no recording of me, there is no photo of me, there is no audio of me, there is no video of me," he added. (Reuters)
October
Ukraine foreign minister tells Iran counterpart: Stop sending arms to Russia
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian on Friday and that he demanded Tehran stop sending weapons to Russia.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Iran of sending "kamikaze" drones to Russia which have then been used to devastating effect by Russian forces in strikes targeting Ukrainian infrastructure. Iran denies the charge.
"I demanded Iran to immediately cease the flow of weapons to Russia used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine," Kuleba said in a tweet.
Amirabdollahian repeated Iran's denial of supplying weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine, Iranian state media reported.
"We have good ties with Russia and have had defence cooperation since earlier, but our policy towards the war in Ukraine is to respect the territorial integrity of countries, not to send weapons to conflicting parties, stop the war and end the displacement of people," Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying.
Iran's drones have become a key weapon in Russia's arsenal during its war in Ukraine and have often been used in the past month to target crucial energy infrastructure. (Reuters)
October
Argentina reaches deal with Paris Club on $2 billion debt
Written by Nur Yasmin
Argentina reached a deal for the payment of some $2 billion it owes the Paris Club of creditors, Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa said on Friday.
"Today, Argentina successfully completed an agreement with the Paris Club to normalize relations between our country, our companies, and our workers with the countries of the European bloc," the minister said.
The Paris Club, which counts the United States, Japan and Germany among its members, last year gave Argentina more time to repay the debt, allowing Buenos Aires to negotiate a revamp of its program with the International Monetary Fund.
Argentina sealed an agreement with the IMF earlier this year for a nearly $45 billion program to refinance a failed loan from 2018.
Calls to the Paris Club were unanswered outside regular office hours. (Reuters)
October
World shares turn up after better-than-expected U.S. data; dollar recovers
Written by Nur Yasmin
Major U.S. stock indexes rose and European shares recovered losses on Thursday after strong U.S. economic data, while the British pound eased off mid-September highs.
Asian markets benefited from speculation among investors that major central banks are considering slowing their aggressive interest hikes, given signs of an economic slowdown.
U.S. treasury yields fell after data showed the country's economic growth rebounded more than expected in the third quarter.
Oil prices extended their rally on optimism over record U.S. crude exports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 1.67% and the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 0.73% by 10:31 a.m. ET (1431 GMT). The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) recovered early losses and was up 0.13%, overcoming pressure from this week's disappointing Big Tech earnings.
"The U.S. is not currently in recession, given the strength of the consumer sector. However, excluding the more volatile categories, the trajectory for growth looks weak," Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial, said.
"A silver lining is markets have possibly priced in much of the near-term recession risks."
Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX) touched its highest level since Sept. 20 as the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde spoke. It was last up 0.21%.
The ECB raised rates by 75 basis points, in line with expectations, and signalled that it was keen to start shrinking its bloated balance sheet.
The more dovish tone pushed the euro back below parity against the U.S. dollar . Yields on the benchmark 10-year German bund dropped to a three-week low of 1.992% .
The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, also recovered losses. It was up 0.62%, holding below Wednesday's five-week high.
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.34% (.FTSE) while Germany's DAX was up 0.13% (.GDAXI), both recovering earlier losses.
Investors are focused on the outlook for future rate hikes.
"We expect the ECB to slow its pace of rate rises, hiking 'only' another 50 bps in December," said Altaf Kassam, head of EMEA investment strategy and research at State Street Global Advisors.
Disappointing earnings have soured the mood in global markets in recent sessions. U.S. heavyweights including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Alphabet inc (GOOGL.O) reported worse-than-expected earnings.
"Earnings have been better in Europe than they have in the U.S. mainly because of that mix of old economy, new economy," said Patrick Spencer, vice chairman of equities at Baird, referring to the dominance of technology companies in the United States compared to oil and materials companies in Europe.
Emerging market stocks extended gains to a third straight session. MSCI's index of EM stocks (.MSCIEF) was up more than 1%.
The Bank of Canada delivered a smaller-than-expected rate hike late on Wednesday, bolstering investors' hopes that central banks would slow their aggressive pace of rate hikes.
Data on Thursday also showed the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases hurt consumer spending.
The Fed is expected to deliver a 75-bps hike in November, but speculation that it may be less aggressive afterwards has led the dollar to decline 1.4% so far this week.
The yen gave back early gains seen ahead of Friday's Bank of Japan meeting. Most analysts expect the central bank to maintain its ultra-low interest rates .
Gold eased, weighed by the greenback's advance. Spot price were down 0.03%.
Brent crude futures were 1.3% while U.S. crude prices gained 1.25%. (Reuters)
October
United States pledges further $30 million in aid to flood-hit Pakistan
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United States will give Pakistan a further $30 million in aid to help millions of people whose lives were disrupted by severe flooding in recent months, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said on Thursday.
"The new funding will expand efforts to address immediate needs, scaling up assistance to the most affected communities and enabling USAID to reach more than 4 million people," said a statement from the U.S. Embassy, referring to the U.S. government aid agency.
The funding would take the total in disaster-related assistance from the U.S. to Pakistan this year to $97 million.
Pakistani officials have estimated damage from torrential monsoon rains that killed over 1,000 people and displaced tens of millions at more than $40 billion.
Some Pakistani leaders have said the world needs to do more to provide financial support to the South Asian nation, which is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters despite having produced a tiny fraction of global greenhouse case emissions.
U.S. Ambassador Donald Blome said during a visit to flood-hit areas in the southern province of Sindh that the new assistance would help with food and medical support as well as providing shelter supplies for homeless citizens in the lead up to winter.
This month, the United Nations revised up its humanitarian aid appeal for Pakistan five-fold to $816 million from $160 million, as a surge of water-borne diseases and fear of growing hunger posed new dangers after weeks of unprecedented flooding. (Reuters)