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Thousands rally globally over climate change
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3 Indian-origin leaders elected to Kiwi Parliament
Hong Kong students on strike for democracy
Students gather during a strike as a pro-democracy activist (L) speaks at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Monday. AFP
Iran ‘bulwark’ against terrorists in Mideast
putting up a brave front: Iranian Naval comandos march during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of Iran’s war with Iraq (1980-88), in Tehran on Monday. AFP Lt General Akhtar is new ISI chief Cameron tries to quell revolt over new powers for Scotland
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Thousands rally globally over climate change
New York, September 22 About 400,000 people participated in one of the largest global calls for climate action at the People's Climate March here yesterday that also saw participation by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, former US Vice-President Al Gore, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, US Senator Chuck Schumer and musician Sting. Speaking to journalists after walking in the rally, Ban said the world needs to "galvanise our action" and harness the people's "power to change." He said the international community should adopt measures to halt the advance of global climate change as there is no "Plan B" for action as there is no "Planet B." The rally, which came just two days before Climate Summit at the UN Headquarters, saw politicians, celebrities, activists and the general public march though the city to highlight global concerns about a lack of international action to stop the deleterious effects of climate change. The summit is expected to draw more than 120 heads of state and government to galvanize action on climate change. The People's Climate March is part of a worldwide campaign to persuade global leaders to act decisively on the issue. Similar climate events were reported in 2,000 locations around the world. The march is campaigning, among other issues for curbs on harmful carbon emissions which contribute to global warming. At last count, 2,129,060 people around the world had also signed a petition calling for world leaders to take bold action at the UN Climate Summit on September 23. The petition was handed over to the UN chief on the march route. Chanting slogans and playing music, marchers created a noisy carnival atmosphere as they filed through Manhattan. Many were dressed in costumes associated with indigenous groups while others wore protest T-shirts. People held banners in the shape of a road sign warned "Climate Crisis Ahead". March organizers Avaaz's Executive Director Ricken Patel said it was crucial for people to get out onto the streets as there is a "huge gap between the action our survival requires and the action our governments are willing to take," on climate change. "The street is where we close that gap," he said. "We are rushing headlong into catastrophic tipping points in our climate system," Patel said. "We need action fast to transition to a 100 per cent clean energy economy." Patel added that with hundreds of thousands marching in over 2,500 protests worldwide, the march is by a long way the largest climate mobilization in history. "It's a wake up call to politicians that climate change is not a green issue anymore, it's an everybody issue," he said. Commenting on the huge response to the march, Executive Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Aliance Eddie Bautista said, "We said it would take everyone to change everything-and everyone showed up." — PTI As seas rise, President of Pacific island Kiribati favours buying land abroad
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3 Indian-origin leaders elected to Kiwi Parliament
Melbourne, September 22 Kanwaljeet Singh Bakshi, Dr Parmjeet Parmar and Mahesh Bindra have successfully made it to the 121-member Parliament, the New Zealand Herald reported today. Delhi-born Bakshi and Pune graduated Parmar contested the elections as the candidates of the ruling National party while Mumbai-born Bindra was elected as the New Zealand First party candidate. While Bakshi is all set to begin his third term in the Parliament, Parmar and Bindra are ready to make their debut, taking the growing contribution of the Kiwi Indians in New Zealand to Parliament as well. Bakshi is both, New Zealand's first Indian and first Sikh Member of Parliament. He was first elected in the 2008 elections. Ranked 48th on National's party list, Parmar will make her way to Parliament as a list MP. Bindra contested Mount Roskill, and also prepares for Parliament as a list MP after being ranked 11th on the New Zealand First party list. A political science and psychology graduate, Bindra moved to New Zealand in 2002 with his family. — PTI The trio
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Hong Kong students on strike for democracy
Hong Kong, September 22 Student activists crowded onto a campus on the northern outskirts of the city, many sheltering from the hot summer sun under umbrellas and waving their faculty flags, as their leaders vowed to ratchet up their campaign if their demands were not met. Democracy campaigners are locked in a showdown with authorities on the mainland after the former British colony's hopes for full universal suffrage were dashed by Beijing's plans to vet nominees who want to stand as its next leader. A coalition of pro-democracy groups in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, led by Occupy Central, have labelled the restrictions a "fake democracy". They have vowed a series of actions including a blockade of the Central financial district. The city's vocal student community today became the first wing of that coalition to move from protests to direct action-starting a week of class boycotts designed to capture the public's imagination and bolster the pro-democracy fight. "I don't think the Chinese government is trying to protect our rights so now we are coming out to fight for our basic needs," 20-year-old architecture student Wu Tsz-wing told AFP as she gathered with what organisers said were 13,000 others on the leafy campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Arika Ho, a second-year Hong Kong University journalism student, added: "I want this place (Hong Kong) to be a better place, so I want to stand up and join with others collectively to force some changes." — AFP
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Iran ‘bulwark’ against terrorists in Mideast
Tehran, September 22 "The peoples of the region are defending themselves, and will continue to defend themselves, against the terrorists," Rouhani said in a speech marking the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. "The government and armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will help them everywhere," he pledged. "Iran is a cornerstone of stability in this sensitive Middle East region... today dominated by unrest, security problems, massacres and fear." Rouhani's comments came after US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that Iran had a role to play in tackling Islamic State militants who have overrun large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Kerry "discussed the threat posed by (IS)" with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in a meeting in New York lasting more than an hour today, a US official said. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said he rejected a US offer to join the international coalition it has been building against the jihadists. Like Washington, Tehran has been providing support to both the Iraqi government and Iraqi Kurdish forces fighting IS. But unlike Washington, Tehran is a strong backer of the Syrian government, not only against IS but also against other rebel groups, some of them US-backed, all of which it regards as "terrorists". — AFP
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Lt General Akhtar is new ISI chief Islamabad, September 22 The other Army officers who have been promoted include Maj Generals Hilal Hussain, Ghayur Mahmood, Nazir Butt, Navid Mukhtar and Hidayat Ur Rehman, stated Major Asim Bajwa, Director General, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave his approval to these postings on the recommendations of General Sharif. Lt General Akhtar will take over from October 1 when the current ISI chief, Lt General Zaheerul Islam, retires along with five other Lieutenant Generals. The ISI chief is traditionally appointed by the Prime Minister, on the advice of the Army Chief, but the former seldom has a say in the selection. The Army Chief sends a name to the Prime Minister, who has to approve it. Maj General Naveed Mukhtar was in the running for the top spy job, reports earlier said. Akhtar is a graduate of the Command and Staff College in Quetta, National Defence University and the Army War College, USA, a local newspaper said. He is from the Frontier Force Regiment and has commanded the infantry brigade and infantry division in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). As Director General, Rangers, based at Sindh, Maj General Akhtar was assigned the task of leading the Karachi operation against criminal gangs and Taliban militants. But after the operation, the military replaced him with another senior officer. Akhtar is believed to have extensive experience in counter-insurgency from a previous posting in the border region of South Waziristan. The appointments are expected to help the Army consolidate its position amid political turmoil that has weakened Sharif’s position. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek have been protesting against the Sharif government since August 14. The appointment comes at a time when the Army has been accused of instigating unrest to weaken Sharif. The ISI was established in 1948 and became the primary institution running the intelligence operations of the Army, Air Force and Navy. — PTI
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Cameron tries to quell revolt over new powers for Scotland Manchester, September 22 Facing a difficult re-election contest next year, Cameron summoned a small group of disgruntled lawmakers to his country residence outside London on Monday to hear their complaints and to see what he could do to mollify them. One of the attendees, Conservative lawmaker James Wharton, said before the meeting Cameron needed to address concern that new powers for Scotland could disadvantage the rest of Britain, including England. The emergency meeting underlines the challenges Britain's political elite faces in delivering more devolution to Scotland. Two days before Scots voted "No" to independence, the leaders of the three main parties agreed to give Scots new powers over tax, welfare and spending and to continue a contested arrangement whereby Scotland receives far more central government funding per head than the rest of Britain. But some lawmakers from Cameron's Conservatives said they couldn't accept what they argued was too generous an arrangement that failed to address English rights, raising the possibility of a rebellion that could sabotage the deal. — Reuters
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US releases graphic video mocking ISIS Indian-origin man assaulted 2 teenagers in NZ
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Hong Kong, September 22
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Manchester, September 22
