Eight candidates of Punjabi origin have emerged winners in the British Columbia provincial elections in Canada. All eight belong to the ruling New Democratic Party, which secured an absolute majority with 55 seats in the 87-member House. Three of them - Labour Minister Harry Bains, Deputy Speaker Raj Chouhan and Parliamentary Secretary Jagrup Brar - have been elected MLAs for the fifth time. Bains won from Surrey-Newton. He defeated Paul Boporai of the Liberal Party. Chouhan won from Burnaby-Edmonds. He defeated Liberal Party’s Tript Atwal, the daughter of former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker and SAD leader Charanjit Singh Atwal. Brar retained his Surrey-Fleetwood seat. He belongs to Deon village in Bathinda. Rachna Singh, daughter of Punjabi writer Dr Raghbir Singh and an alumna of Panjab University, has been re-elected from Surrey-Green Timbers. She defeated Dilraj Atwal of the Liberal Party. Ravi Kahlon retained his Delta North seat. Aman Singh defeated Jas Johal from Richmond-Queensborough. Jinny Sims and Niki Sharma won from Surrey-Panorama and Vancouver-Hastings, respectively.
Shehbaz Sharif sent to jail in money laundering case
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was sent to jail in a money laundering case. Shehbaz, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on September 28 after a court rejected his bail application in the money laundering case. Next day, the 69-year-old former chief minister of Punjab province was sent on a physical remand by an accountability court. Later, an accountability court of Lahore rejected the NAB's plea seeking further extension to his physical remand. Shehbaz told the court that NAB didn't ask any questions about money laundering during his three weeks detention. Talking to reporters, Shehbaz criticised the Imran Khan government for arresting Mohammad Safdar, son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif, for raising slogans in giving respect to the ballot.
Senior Afghan al Qaeda leader killed
Afghan security forces have killed Abu Muhsin al-Masri, a senior al Qaeda leader who was on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists list, Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a tweet. The head of the US National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chris Miller, confirmed al-Masri's death in a statement, saying his "removal .. from the battlefield is a major setback to a terrorist organization that is consistently experiencing strategic losses facilitated by the United States and its partners." Al-Masri has been charged in the United States with having provided material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organisation, and conspiracy to kill US nationals. Al-Masri, believed to be al Qaeda's second-in-command, was killed during a special operation in Ghazni province, the NDS said.
18 killed in Kabul suicide bombing
A suicide bomber struck near an education centre in the Afghan capital last week, killing at least 18 people and injuring 57 others. According to reports, a suicide bomber wanted to enter the education centre, Tareq Arian, spokesman for the interior ministry, said. But he was identified by the centre's guards after which he detonated his explosives in an alley. He said the attack had left at least 18 people dead and 57 wounded. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban said it was not involved. Residents in several districts of western Kabul belong to the minority Shiite Hazara community, often targeted by Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group. In the past, extremists have targeted several education centres and other facilities in the area.
Stampede kills 11 Afghans
At least 11 women were trampled to death when a stampede broke among thousands of Afghans waiting in a soccer stadium to get visas to leave the country, officials said. Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the governor of the eastern Nangarhar province, said another 13 people, mostly women, were injured at the stadium, where they were trying to get visas to enter neighboring Pakistan. He said most of those who died were elderly people from across Afghanistan. In a separate incident, at least 34 Afghan police were killed in an ambush by Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan, officials said. It was the deadliest attack since the Taliban and the Afghan government began holding long-delayed peace talks last month, part of a process launched under a deal signed between the United States and the insurgents in February. The talks are seen as the country's best chance for peace after decades of war.
Teacher’s killing: Paris to shut mosque in clampdown
French authorities said on Tuesday they are shutting a Paris mosque in a clampdown on radical Islam that has yielded over a dozen arrests following the beheading of a teacher who had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The mosque in a denselypopulated suburb of Paris had published a video on its Facebook page days before the murder, railing against teacher Samuel Paty’s choice of material for a class discussion on freedom of expression, said a source close to the investigation. The interior ministry said the mosque in Pantin, which has some 1,500 worshippers, would be shut on Wednesday for six months. Interior minister Gerald Darmanin has vowed there would be “not a minute’s respite for enemies of the Republic”.
Pope Francis voices support for same-sex civil unions
Pope Francis, who since the beginning of his pontificate has taken a more tolerant tone toward homosexuality, appeared to break with the position of the Roman Catholic Church by supporting civil unions for same-sex couples, according to remarks Francis made in a new documentary. Speaking about pastoral outreach and care for people who identified as LGBT, Francis directly addresses the issue of civil unions in the film. “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” Francis said amid remarks in which he otherwise reiterated his support for gay people as children of God. “I stood up for that.” The pope appeared to be referring to when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires and opposed legislation to approve same sex marriages but supported legal protection for the rights of gay couples. It was not immediately clear when Francis made those remarks, but Evgeny Afineevsky, the director of the documentary, ‘‘Francesco,’’ said that Francis made the remarks directly to him for the film.
France recalls envoy after Turkey scolds Macron
France recalled its ambassador after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his counterpart Emmanuel Macron needed mental help over his attitude towards Muslims. "Outrage and insult are not a method," Macron's office said. The French leader this month declared war on "Islamist separatism", which he believes is taking over some Muslim communities in France. France has since been shaken by the beheading of a teacher by an Islamist radical, avenging the use of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression. "What is the problem of this person called Macron with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs treatment on a mental level," Erdogan said in a speech in the central Turkish city of Kayseri.
Chinese city to offer experimental vaccine
Shaoxing city in China’s Zhejiang province will offer experimental vaccines to its residents, as China broadens an emergency use programme to people in non-priority groups, the city’s health commission said. It did not name the vaccine, say when inoculation would start or how many doses would be offered. Residents aged between 18 and 59 who are not in priority groups, can apply online for inoculation. Applicants will need to give reasons for wanting the vaccine on their applications and will be charged 400 yuan ($60) for two doses, with an additional inoculation fee of 28 yuan per dose, the city said.
Brazil’s president rejects plan to buy China’s Sinovac vax
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said the federal government will not buy a Covid-19 vaccine from China’s Sinovac, one day after the health minister said it would be included in the nation’s immunisation programme. The apparent about-face, following anti-China social media commentary by some of Bolsonaro’s supporters, thrust into the open a simmering debate over vaccine policy between the president and key governors, who have been exploring alternatives to the AstraZeneca vaccine the federal government has prioritised. Meanwhile, health minister Eduardo Pazuello has tested positive for the virus, making him the latest Brazilian official to do so.
