By The Washington Post · Tim Elfrink · NATIONAL, POLITICS
In swing states around the country, Republicans are already gearing up legal challenges to the election results. Speaking on Sunday in one tightly contested battleground, President Donald Trump made it clear that he is also planning to quickly push the presidential contest into the courts.
“We’re going to go in the night of, as soon as that election is over, we’re going in with our lawyers,” Trump told reporters in Charlotte.
The president’s comments are among his most unambiguous yet that he is embracing an aggressive legal strategy in an election that has already been beset with a multitude of lawsuits.
Republicans have been mostly unsuccessful in their efforts to limit expanded voting options during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Post reported, including in a Supreme Court decision last week allowing Pennsylvania and North Carolina to count ballots cast before Election Day but received days later.
Trump has repeatedly taken the Supreme Court to task for those decisions, a grievance he aired again Sunday evening amid a whirlwind trip of five rallies in five swing states.
“I happen to think it was a terrible decision for our country made by the Supreme Court,” Trump told reporters before his rally in Hickory, N.C. “And I think it’s a very dangerous decision.”
GOP strategists have now turned their attention to preparing to challenge the validity of individual ballots, an effort that Trump suggested Sunday would begin immediately after voting ends.
It’s not clear precisely where the president was promising a quick legal challenge. But his comments came amid a discussion of voting in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, where Trump alleged without evidence that extended deadlines to count mail-in ballots would lead to fraud.
“I think it’s terrible when we can’t know the results of an election the night of an election in a modern-day age of computers,” said Trump, before alleging that the Democratic governors of Pennsylvania and Nevada would somehow interfere with accurate counting.
He also suggested that voters were to blame by waiting too long to mail in ballots, although delivery delays by the U.S. Postal Service under a Trump-backed postmaster general have emerged as the biggest factor for most late arrivals.
“I don’t think it’s fair that we have to wait a long period of time after the election,” Trump said. “If people wanted to get their ballots in, they should have gotten their ballots long before. They could have put their ballots in a month ago.”
InternationalNov 02. 2020Visitors watch a tuna auction at the Toyosu Market in Koto Ward, Tokyo, on Nov. 2, 2020, as public viewing was resumed after an about eight-month hiatus. MUST CREDIT: Japan News-Yomiuri
By Syndication Washington Post, The Japan News-Yomiuri · No Author · WORLD, ASIA-PACIFIC Public viewing of tuna auctions resumed on Monday at the Toyosu Market in Koto Ward, Tokyo, about eight months after it was suspended amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Business operators handling fisheries products have been hit hard by falling demand in the restaurant industry, but it is hoped that the resumption of public viewing will help revive the wholesale food market.
At 5:55 a.m., a bell rang to set off the tuna auction in the fisheries wholesalers’ building. Visitors were able to look through the glass on the observation deck at many rows of tuna lined up for sale.
“I’m glad we could see auctions with traders using gestures to make their bids,” said a 42-year-old homemaker from Tokyo who was visiting with her two elementary school-age sons.
Last year, about 10,000 people visited the market to view the tuna auctions. Spectators were limited to a maximum total of 120 people for two daily viewings until public viewing was suspended in late February.
Public viewings are currently to be held once a day with a maximum of 27 visitors.
From August on, 13 people, including employees of wholesale companies, have been confirmed to have been infected with the virus at the Toyosu Market. Spectators will also be expected to adopt thorough measures, such as wearing masks and disinfecting their hands.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Ian Sayson, Cecilia Yap · WORLD, SCIENCE-ENVIRONMENT, ASIA-PACIFIC
The world’s strongest storm this year killed at least 16 people in the Philippines, and sent tens of thousands more to evacuation centers, risking coronavirus infection.
Nearly 458,000 people were evacuated mostly in the main island of Luzon, including 177 covid-19 patients and more than 400 medical staff from 10 quarantine facilities, the nation’s disaster risk-monitoring agency said in a report on Monday. Health Secretary Francisco Duque, in a televised briefing, asked local officials to ensure social distancing measures are in place in evacuation centers.
Super Typhoon Goni, the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, slammed the eastern portion of the Philippines on Sunday morning and crossed several provinces including near the capital before heading to the South China Sea.
The Philippines’ 18th storm this year is “the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone” in history, according to Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections. The previous record was held by Super Typhoons Meranti and Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in 2016 and 2013 respectively.
Most of the fatalities were in Albay and Catanduanes provinces south of Manila, some of them swept away by raging waters, according to the region’s disaster risk-monitoring agency.
President Rodrigo Duterte conducted an aerial inspection of typhoon-hit areas on Monday afternoon.
More than 65% of homes in Catanduanes, the province where Goni made landfall, were damaged and electricity and telecommunication lines are still down, its Governor Joseph Cua said in a briefing.
Six power plants are shut, and together with felled electric posts and damaged transmission lines, left 125 cities and towns without electricity. The power outage may lead to problems in the cold management of coronavirus test kits and specimen, Duque said.
Thirty-three airports, including Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, were cleared to resume flights on Monday morning.
Initial damage to infrastructure was estimated at $116 million (5.6 billion pesos), Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said in a televised briefing. It also destroyed 1.73 billion pesos worth of crops, including 69,411 metric tons of rice, adding to the 2 billion-peso damage from Typhoon Molave last week.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources suspended quarrying operations around Mayon Volcano in Albay province after stockpile that was washed away by floods and lahar buried houses.
Goni moved away from the main Luzon Island Sunday night. Another storm, Atsani, is expected to hit the northern tip of the Philippines later this week, the weather bureau said.
An average of 20 cyclones pass through disaster-prone Philippines every year, which will likely complicate the nation’s fight against the coronavirus as thousands of people stay in cramped evacuation sites. In 2013, Haiyan struck the Southeast Asian nation and killed more than 6,300 people.
“Super Typhoon Goni brings back memories of the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan,” 350.org Asia Regional Director Norly Mercado said. “In Asia, we are no stranger to intense tropical storms, but now we face a dual threat with covid-19 and climate change.”
By The Washington Post · Susannah George, Sharif Hassan · WORLD, MIDDLE-EAST
KABUL – Gunmen launched a day-long attack on Kabul University Monday, killing at least 19, wounding 22, and taking several students hostage according to the Interior Ministry.
The attack began with an explosion at the gates of the prestigious university campus in west Kabul just before 11 a.m. Monday morning. Thousands of students fled, but a number trapped inside began posting to social media describing seeing classmates gunned down.
“God give patience, my classmates martyred and wounded in front of my eyes, and I am taken hostage,” Qaseem Kohestani, a fourth year student at the university’s public policy school, posted to Facebook.
A law student told The Washington Post that dozens of students and some professors were taken hostage in the attack. The student spoke on condition of anonymity for security concerns.
Police special forces were sent to the scene and by afternoon the Interior Ministry said hundreds of students had been rescued by Afghan security forces. After an assault that lasted over five hours, the Interior Ministry declared the campus secured.
Shortly after the attack began the Taliban issued a statement denying responsibility.
This is the second significant attack targeting civilians in Kabul in recent weeks. Last month a suicide attack on an education center in west Kabul killed 24 people, mostly students, and wounded 70 others. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.
West Kabul, home to many of Kabul’s minority community of ethnic Hazara Shiites, has born the brunt of Islamic State attacks in recent years. The attacks have targeted mosques, shrines, schools, gyms and public gatherings.
Many senior Afghan officials accuse the Taliban of playing a role in attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Afghanistan. The Taliban denies the accusations, but has increased violence in other parts of the country despite ongoing peace talks with representatives of the Afghan republic in Doha.
The peace talks were launched in September and while the two sides continue to meet, they have so far failed to make significant progress.
The latest report from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said overall civilian casualties are down across the country. The report found fewer civilian casualties during the first nine months of 2020 than in any similar period since 2012. Between January and September, 2,117 civilians were killed and 3,822 wounded, a 30 percent drop compared to 2019.
On rare occasions, the mountains in the northern borders of Nepal are visible from the southern plains during autumn and spring seasons when the weather is clear and air pollution is minimum.
On Friday, a stunning view of snow-capped mountains was clearly visible from Chitwan, a district in the southwestern part of Bagmati Province, that borders India.
On rare occasions, the mountains in the northern borders of Nepal are visible from the southern plains during autumn and spring seasons when the weather is clear and air pollution is minimum.
The picturesque mountains were the backdrop during the ongoing paddy harvest season. Nepal’s main cereal crop was planted on a record 98 percent of the land this year but production may not be high because there was fertiliser scarcity when needed.
The Post’s Chitwan correspondent Ramesh Kumar Paudel took some pictures of the mountains from the paddy fields of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan, on Friday afternoon. undefined Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKPundefined Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKPundefined Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKPundefined Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKPundefined Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKPundefined Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKPundefined Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKPundefined Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKP
Lee Jae-young, vice chairman of global tech giant Samsung Electronics Co., is expected to emerge as South Korea’s richest stockholder following his father’s death, a market tracker said Monday.
Lee Kun-hee, Samsung Electronics chairman and chief of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, died on Oct. 25 at age 78, more than six years after being hospitalized for a heart attack.
The late Samsung chairman has been the country’s richest stockholder for the past 10 years, with his stock value reaching 17.7 trillion won ($15.6 billion) as of Thursday, according to FnGuide.
The younger Lee captured the No. 2 spot with 7.3 trillion won, followed by former Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo with 4.5 trillion won.
FnGuide forecast Jae-yong would become the richest stockholder in Asia’s fourth-largest economy with his stock value reaching 11.3 trillion won after inheriting his share of wealth from the late Samsung chairman.
Hong Ra-hee, the wife of the deceased tycoon, would see her stock value soar to 9.1 trillion won from 3.1 trillion won, becoming the second-richest person in the country, it said. Hong currently ranks fifth in the country’s stock-rich rankings.
The late Lee’s two daughters — Boo-jin, chief of Hotel Shilla Co., and Seo-hyun in charge of the Samsung Welfare Foundation — would jointly hold the title of South Korea’s third-richest stockholder with stock value of 5.6 trillion won each, up from the present 14th spot.
FnGuide said Jae-yong and Hong would hold the top and No. 2 positions, respectively, even after paying hefty inheritance taxes.
Samsung heirs are estimated to pay around 10 trillion won in inheritance tax for the late chief’s stock assets.
The two daughters would jointly take the No. 5 spot after Chung Mong-koo and Kim Beom-su, founder and chief of South Korea’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp., with a stock value of 4.3 trillion won, according to FnGuide. (Yonhap)
InternationalNov 02. 2020Under scrutiny: Job intake in the construction, plantation and agriculture sectors will also come in for stricter vetting.
By The Star/ANN
PETALING JAYA: Restrictions on the intake of foreign and expatriate workers moved a notch up with the government wanting vacancies and details, such as pay offered, to be advertised on its official portal first.
Under the latest changes, employers seeking foreign workers through the rehiring programme and wanting to hire expatriates for higher-paying jobs have to advertise over a fixed period of time on the national employment portal, MYFutureJobs.
Interview sessions are to be jointly attended by Human Resources Ministry agencies such as the Social Security Organisation (Socso).
The move, enforced yesterday, is to enable the government to keep close tabs on the unemployment situation in the country with a view to giving locals first priority, the ministry announced.
Besides the expatriate category, job intake in the construction, plantation and agriculture sectors will also come in for stricter vetting.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said information such as job title, salary offered, academic qualifications or required skills and competencies must be displayed ahead on the portal.
He said there were some employers who had tried to exploit the situation by categorising unqualified foreign workers as expatriates.
“We want to ensure that they are really expatriates, with a salary of at least RM10,000. Some employers pay them a salary of RM3,500 to RM4,000 and call them expatriates. We just want to make sure that employers are not taking advantage of this, ” he said when contacted yesterday.
There are about 2.2 million registered foreign workers in the country.
According to official statistics, the number of expatriates increased by 12.1% to 122,192 last year, with the majority coming from India, followed by China and Japan.
The expatriates were mainly employed in the services (52.9%), information technology (31.6%) and manufacturing (5.9%) sectors.
Saravanan said advertisements on vacancies should not be less than 14 days for the rehiring programme of foreign workers, and 30 days for the application of expatriates.
He said the ministry was, however, prepared to review the need to advertise for high-paying expatriate positions.
“The various business chambers must understand that we are also taking steps to ensure that their rights will be protected, ” he added.
Saravanan said the ministry fully recognised the need for foreign workers or expatriates for certain industries and key posts.
“By no means will we reject such applications, provided there is sufficient justification for such positions to be filled by non-citizens, ” he added.
He said there were many advantages in hiring Malaysians from the pool of experienced and competent local talents in the market.
The minister said the government was very concerned with the unemployment rate in the country, especially with about 300,000 fresh graduates entering the employment market this year.
“All key stakeholders, in particular employers and the relevant associations, have been urged to work with the government in supporting the employment of locals especially in this trying time, ” he said.
On feedback from the Centre for Market Education (CME) and American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) cautioning that the new procedures may lead to reduced foreign direct investments (FDIs) and less interest from multinational corporations, he said it should not be seen as such.
“It is instead a positive move that has the potential to increase FDIs in the future, ” he said.
From Nov 1, any employer and employee using JobsMalaysia will be redirected to the MYFutureJobs portal, which will be a single platform for the ministry to monitor job matching involving locals.
Employers are also required to register and apply through the Integrated Foreign Workers Management System (ePPAX) as a condition of compliance with labour laws for the employment of non-citizen workers.
The government had earlier imposed a moratorium on the intake of new foreign workers until Dec 31,2020.
However, Socso said employers could proceed with expatriate applications as usual.
The envisaged digital agency to be established next year to oversee each ministry’s various systems will be authorized to issue correction advisories to ministries that do not comply with the planned integration of the government’s information systems, according to the agency’s framework obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun on Saturday.
By giving the agency such authority, the government aims to transfer the work and operation of relevant budgets to the digital agency, which are currently managed vertically without coordination among ministries and agencies.
Through this authoritative command structure, the agency will be tasked with accelerating the digitization of the entire government.
Under the government’s proposal, the envisaged agency will function as a general coordinator to compile policies to realize the integration of the government’s entire information system. It will also oversee the roles currently taken by each ministry. If any ministry does not let go of existing systems, the agency will issue correction advisories, effectively forcing systems to be integrated.
The agency’s authority to issue advisories and make general adjustments from a higher level than the ministries is modeled after the power exercised by the Reconstruction Agency, which is in charge of the reconstruction of areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
At present, each ministry develops and operates its own systems and servers, leading to a great deal of waste and a lack of uniformity in their specifications, including those used by local governments. This is partially responsible for the delay in the payment of the ¥100,000 cash benefit per person after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Through the initiative of the agency, the government wants to improve the efficiency of administration and increase convenience for residents.
Whether the digital agency will be a permanent organization or a temporary one with an abolishment date will be discussed in the future.
The agency will also work to consolidate the budgets and personnel of each ministry. Shared systems, such as employees’ attendance records, will be centralized and operated at the agency in the future. Technical staff currently working at each ministry will also be transferred to the digital agency.
The budget for system development will also be changed to a lump-sum allocation to the agency. These are aimed at eliminating duplication of systems and promoting the construction of a unified system.
“If personnel and budgets are stripped away, each ministry will have no choice but to follow the digital agency,” a senior Cabinet Secretariat official said.
The government will also promote the standardization of systems throughout the nation, including those of local governments. The agency will formulate specific policies for the nationwide introduction of shared cloud systems to exchange data online and support a shift to the active use of cloud systems in regional areas.
The agency will also be authorized to oversee the My Number card system. Currently, the relevant work and responsibilities are scattered throughout the Cabinet Secretariat, the Cabinet Office and the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, among other offices. The digital agency will also be in charge of devising ideas to enable people to complete administrative procedures simply via their My Number cards.
A department specializing in setting rules for data distribution will likely be established within the agency to prepare for the use of data generated by the digitization of social and economic activities.
The government plans to incorporate a series of policies for the envisaged agency in its basic digital policies to be compiled by the end of the year.
[Philippines] Super Typhoon Rolly batters Bicol, leaving at least 7 dead
InternationalNov 02. 2020RUINED A sport utility vehicle and business establishments are submerged in lahar at the parking lot of Cagsawa Ruins in Barangay Busay, Daraga town, Albay province, after Typhoon “Rolly” sent mud and boulders tumbling down the slope of Mt. Mayon on Sunday. —GEORGE GIO BRONDIAL
By Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANNAt least seven people were killed as Typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni) pounded the Philippines on Sunday, bringing catastrophic winds and dumping intense rains that flooded villages and sent thousands of people fleeing their homes.
Categorized as a supertyphoon before it slammed into the Philippine landmass, Rolly, carrying winds of up to 225 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 310 kph, first made landfall in Bato town, Catanduanes province, at 4:50 a.m. before slightly changing course and hitting land a second time in Tiwi, Albay province, at 7:20 a.m.
Rolly was downgraded to typhoon after it struck the Bicol region, where it tore off roofs, toppled trees and power lines, destroyed roads and bridges, made rivers top their banks and flood low-lying areas, and triggered cascades of mud from the slopes of Mt. Mayon that flooded towns below the volcano.
Four killed
At least four people were killed in Albay, according to Gov. Al Francis Bichara. But according to Agence France-Presse, the Office of Civil Defense later issued a statement saying at least seven people were killed.
Two of the victims — a 5-year-old boy and his father — drowned in the town of Oas, while a woman was swept away by volcanic mud in Guinobatan. Another woman was killed by a falling tree in Daraga.
The volcanic mudflow damaged bridges in Daraga and Santo Domingo, cutting off the towns from Legazpi City, Albay’s economic center.
“Albay was battered,” Bichara said, pointing to the devastation caused by the storm as it touched down in several parts of the province, including Tabaco and Malilipot towns.
In Sorsogon province, badly hit were the towns of Donsol, Pilar, and Castilla, according to Gov. Francis Escudero.
Rolly weakened into a typhoon at 8 a.m. and made a third landfall in the vicinity of San Narciso town in Quezon province at noon.
Rolly came a week after Typhoon “Quinta” (Molave) hit the same region of the Philippines. That storm killed 22 people and flooded low-lying villages and farmland, before crossing the South China Sea to Vietnam.
Cedric Daep, director of Albay’s provincial disaster office, said Rolly, which pushed storm signals to No. 5 as it roared toward land on Sunday, was slightly weaker than the strongest typhoons to strike the region: “Rosing” (Angela, 300 kph, November 1995), “Yolanda” (Haiyan, 315 kph, November 2013), and “Reming” (Durian, 320 kph, November 2006).
Of the three storms, Reming was the most destructive, unleashing tons of volcanic mud that buried many villages, killing more than 1,500 people.
Roaring westward
As of 2 p.m. on Sunday, the Office of Civil Defense in Bicol was still trying to determine the extent of typhoon damage in Catanduanes, Albay, Camarines Norte and Sorsogon. Information was coming in slowly because of damage to communication and power lines.
After lashing Bicol, Rolly roared westward, bringing destructive winds and heavy rains as it moved toward Marinduque province and southern Quezon in the afternoon and Batangas and Cavite provinces on Sunday evening.
As of 4 p.m., the storm was located 50 km south-southwest of Tayabas, Quezon, packing maximum winds of 165 kph and gusts of up to 230 kph and moving westward at 25 kph.
The state weather service Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Rolly’s eye was expected to be at 70 km south of Metro Manila between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Strong winds were reported across the metropolis toward evening.
Rolly’s approach prompted the evacuation of 2,853 people in Pampanga on Saturday and Sunday. Water was released from overfilling Ipo Dam in Bulacan province on Sunday.
In Laguna province, two villages in Calamba City went under water and authorities evacuated 2,899 people from lakeshore towns on Sunday.
In Quezon, three villages in Lopez and five in San Francisco were flooded as the storm dumped heavy rains.
Local authorities ordered the evacuation of people living in flood-prone parts of Manila, Muntinlupa and Taguig as the storm approached on Sunday.
May weaken
Pagasa said Rolly might weaken as it crossed southern Luzon on Sunday night, but would emerge still a typhoon into the West Philippine Sea.
As of 5 p.m on Sunday, storm signal No. 3 was raised over Metro Manila, southern Zambales, southern Pampanga, southern Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon (including Polillo Islands), Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Marinduque, northwestern Occidental Mindoro (including Lubang Island), and northern Oriental Mindoro.
The rest of Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, southern Tarlac, rest of Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, and southern Nueva Ecija were under signal No. 2.
Signal No. 1 was up over mainland Cagayan, Isabela, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, the rest of Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Burias Island, Romblon and Calamian Islands.
Pagasa warned of storm surge reaching up to 3 meters in the northern coastal areas of Quezon, Metro Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, the southern coastal area of Batangas and most of the southern coastal areas of Quezon.
Residents were also warned of possible storm surge in the coastal areas surrounding Laguna de Bay and Taal Lake.
As Rolly blew across Luzon, another cyclone, Tropical Storm “Siony” (Atsani), entered Philippine territory.
Pagasa said Siony slightly intensified and was forecast to move west-northwest at 30 kph.
As of 3 p.m. on Sunday, the new storm was 1,140 km east of Central Luzon, with winds of up 75 kph and gusts of up to 90 kph.
The weather service said Siony was “less likely” to affect any part of the country in the next two to three days.
—Reports from Jhesset O. Enano, Krixia Subingsubing, Mar Arguelles, Rey Anthony Ostria, April Mier-Manjares, Mark Alvic Esplana, Geoerg Gio Brondial, Maricar Cinco, Dexter Cabalza, Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Armand Galang, Joanna Rose Aglibog, Greg Refraccion, Villamor Visaya Jr., Nestor Burgos Jr., Joey Gabieta, Ador Vincent Mayol, Tonette Orejas, AFP, and Reuters
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday announced that his government has decided to grant the “provisional-provincial status” to Gilgit-Baltistan, a part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, illegally occupied by Pakistan in 1947.
The Centre has asked Pakistan to immediately vacate from the Indian territory of Gilgit-Baltistan which the Imran Khan government declared as its provisional fifth province on Sunday.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday announced that his government has decided to grant the “provisional-provincial status” to Gilgit-Baltistan, a part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, illegally occupied by Pakistan in 1947.
In a statement issued in New Delhi by the Ministry of External Affairs, spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said: “The Government of India firmly rejects the attempt by Pakistan to bring material changes to a part of Indian territory, under its illegal and forcible occupation.”
The government reiterated that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the area of so-called “Gilgit-Baltistan”, are an integral part of India by virtue of the legal, complete and irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947.
Srivastava said that the Pakistan government has “no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied” by it. Such attempts by Pakistan, intended to camouflage its illegal occupation, cannot hide the grave human rights violations, exploitation and denial of freedom for over seven decades to the people residing in these Pakistan occupied territories, he added.
The spokesperson said that instead of seeking to alter the status of these Indian territories, Indian government calls upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan during his visit to Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday said that he had decided to give the provisional province status to the region “keeping in mind the UN Security Council’s resolutions.
“The Khan government is also holding elections in the region, where many activists have called it a Pakistani Army’s fraud to grab and further occupy Gilgit-Baltistan.
Backed by the Pakistani Army, Prime Minister Khan on the occasion did not miss the opportunity to praise the military, which is facing a stiff challenge from the political opposition headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“Pakistan is secure today because of its armed forces. Our army is the main reason why we have not suffered the same fate as many other Muslim countries,” he bragged.
President Trump/ file photo 
Visitors watch a tuna auction at the Toyosu Market in Koto Ward, Tokyo, on Nov. 2, 2020, as public viewing was resumed after an about eight-month hiatus. MUST CREDIT: Japan News-Yomiuri 
Ramesh Kumar Paudel/TKP 
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(Yonhap) 
Under scrutiny: Job intake in the construction, plantation and agriculture sectors will also come in for stricter vetting. 
RUINED A sport utility vehicle and business establishments are submerged in lahar at the parking lot of Cagsawa Ruins in Barangay Busay, Daraga town, Albay province, after Typhoon “Rolly” sent mud and boulders tumbling down the slope of Mt. Mayon on Sunday. —GEORGE GIO BRONDIAL 
