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Earthquake kills over 300 in Iran and Iraq

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Earthquake kills over 200 in Iran and Iraq

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Iranian leader calls all government agencies to rush for help

Over 300 people were killed in Iran and Iraq on Sunday when a powerful earthquake with 7.4 magnitude hit the region. Most of the casualties were reported from Iranian town Sarpol-e-Zahabi in Kermanshah province, close to Iraq border. More than a thousand others were injured while number of people trapped under the rubble is still unknown.

Tehran based official Press TV reports that as many as 339 were killed in Iran and Iraq and more than 1700 people have been injured. Legal Medical Organisation of Kermanshah has confirmed tracing 207 bodies until Monday morning. National Disaster Management Organization says power cuts have been reported in Kermanshah province. Dozens of villages in western Iran have also seen destruction of varying degrees.

According to US Geological Survey (USGS), the epicentre of the quake, which occurred at around 21.18 hours local time, was 32 km south of the Iraqi city of Halabja in Kurdistan and just across the border from Iran.

Earthquake kills over 200 in Iran and Iraq

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has called on all Iranian officials to “rush to aid of those affected in these early hours (after the incident)” He has also called on Armed forces to help with removing the rubble and transferring the injured to medical facilities.

According to Behnam Saeedi, a spokesman for Iran’s National Disaster Management Organisation at least 164 people were killed and more than 1,650 were injured in Iran.

Earthquake was felt in many Iranian provinces but Kermanshah province was hit hard where authorities have announced three days’ mourning. Sarpol-e-Zahab, situated about 15 km from Iraq border was the worst hit town in the province where 97 lives were lost.

Meanwhile Iraqi Kurdish health officials said at least four people were killed in Iraq and at least 50 injured. The shocks were felt as far south as Baghdad, where many residents rushed from their houses and tall buildings when tremors shook the Iraqi capital. People were in shock in Iraqi Kurdistan capital Erbil and across other cities in northern Iraq, close to the quake’s epicentre.

Several Iranian and Iraqi cities witnessed sudden power cuts where thousands of residents moved to streets and parks due to fears of aftershocks. Approximately 50 aftershocks were registered by the Iranian seismological centre. More than 70,000 people were in need of emergency shelter in Iran.

Iran is situated at major seismological fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes. An earthquake of 6.6 magnitudes had devastated historic city of Bam, some 1,000 km southeast of Tehran, in December last year killing about 31,000 people.

In Iraq, the most extensive damage was reported from Darbandikhan, 75 km east of the city of Sulaimaniyah in Kurdistan Region. More than 30 people were injured in the city. A 12 year old boy died in due to electric shock from a falling electric cable in Halabja.

Southern Trukish city of Diyarbakir also witnessed earthquake shocks but there was no report of any casualty or structural damage. However Turkish authorities were, on Monday morning, were waiting for Iraqi response to their rescue offer for the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Turkish Red Cross Society spokesman has said, “We are coordinating with Iranian and Iraqi Red Crescent groups. We are also getting prepared to make deliveries from our northern Iraq Erbil depot.”

Earthquake shocks were felt in many other Iraqi cities including Karbala and Najaf where hundreds of thousand foreign nationals were housed after religious commemoration of Arbaeen, the 40th day of martyrdom of Imam Hussein, held on November 10.

The number of casualties may rise as the rescue efforts were on in several Iranian towns and villages while writing this report.

Tremors were also reportedly felt in Israel, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Another Earthquake in Costa Rica

Meanwhile a strong earthquake measuring 6.5 magnitude rocked Costa Rica late Sunday at 20.28 local time. However there was not report of casualties or damages. The Public Security Ministry of the Central American country said on its twitter post, “We don’t have report of any tragic situations from the recent earthquake.”

Channel 16 caught the visuals of camera and table shaking. It also showed images of the people running in supermarket as products were falling on the ground.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

The Voting for the 2024 US presidential election has begun in the eastern time zone in America. Following months of intense campaigning by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her Republican challenger Donald Trump, Americans will vote to choose their next president.

Reportedly, the first ballots were cast in the minutes after midnight (US time) in a tiny New Hampshire township along the US-Canada border. Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Several pollsters have predicted a neck-and-neck contest, which brings the focus on the swing states to decide the fate of the presidential election.

Notably, in the United States, most states have a very clear preference for either the Republican or Democratic candidate. With this, only seven key swing states namely Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina will decide the result. Winning the majority of these aforesaid swing states is often essential for candidates aiming to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

In this election, Pennsylvania has emerged as the biggest prize between the two candidates. With the most electoral votes (19) than any other battleground state, Pennsylvania could possibly determine whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris clinches the White House.

On the last day of campaigning, Republican nominee Trump and Democratic nominee Harris criss-crossed key battleground states and delivered closing remarks. Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to power, held rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan while Vice President Kamala Harris addressed supporters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Earlier in 2016, Donald Trump managed to make inroads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the three Great Lakes states that make up the blue wall or a Democratic stronghold. Nonetheless, in the 2020 US Election, US President Joe Biden wrested the states back to the Democratic camp.

Notably, to win the presidency, a candidate needs a majority of electoral votes of 270 out of 538.

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Latest world news

Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, Justin Trudeau shares video of his Diwali celebrations

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

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Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday shared a video of his Diwali celebration on social media platform X.

Sharing a 44-second video of his Diwali celebrations on social media, the Canadian Prime Minister wrote, “Happy Diwali! So many special moments shared celebrating with the community this week.”

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday, while addressing the media over Canada’s serious allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, said it was unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.

In the video, Prime Minister Trudeau showed off some colorful religious threads on his wrists, explaining that he received them during visits to three Hindu temples in Canada recently. He called them symbols of “good luck” and “protection,” adding with a smile, “I’m not taking them off until they fall off”.

Trudeau was also seen interacting warmly with the community, celebrating the festival, and enjoying delicious Indian sweets like jalebis, which he jokingly said he would “save for the team.”

On November 1, Trudeau posted on X, “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities, candles, diyas, and fireworks. Wishing you all joy and prosperity during this special time.”

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Jaiswal said India condemns the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Nijjar and called it “absurd and baseless”.

Jaiswal also said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner on Friday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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