CHINA, RUSSIA ELECTED TO U.N. RIGHTS COUNCIL; SAUDI ARABIA FAILS

China and Russia were elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council on

Tuesday, but support for Beijing dropped by more than 20 percent compared

with a 2016 vote and Saudi Arabia failed in its bid to win a seat on the

Geneva-based body.

The 193-member U.N. General Assembly also elected Ivory Coast, Gabon,

Malawi, Cuba, Bolivia, Uzbekistan, France and Britain to the 47-member

council. Senegal, Nepal, Pakistan, Ukraine and Mexico were re-elected for a

second three-year term. Council members cannot serve more than two

consecutive terms.

Candidates are elected by secret ballot in geographical groups to ensure

even representation. The Asia-Pacific group, which included Saudi Arabia,

was the only competitive race on Tuesday with five candidates vying for four

seats. The new members will begin their term on Jan. 1, 2021.

"Saudi Arabia's failure to win a seat on the Human Rights Council is a

welcome reminder of the need for more competition in U.N. elections. Had

there been additional candidates, China, Cuba and Russia might have lost

too," said Human Rights Watch U.N. director Louis Charbonneau.

Saudi Arabia received 152 votes when it was last elected in 2016 to be a

council member from 2017 to 2019, but on Tuesday only 90 states voted for

Riyadh - a 40 percent drop. While China was elected on Tuesday with 139

votes, its support fell more than 20 percent compared to the last time it

won a seat in 2016.

Both countries have been criticized internationally for their human rights

records. Most recently China has been condemned by Western countries for its

treatment of Uighur Muslims in the country's Xinjiang region and handling of

pro-democracy protests in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong.

Tuesday's vote indicated how damaged Saudi Arabia's international reputation

has become in recent years.

Four countries won four Africa seats: Ivory Coast, Malawi, Gabon and

Senegal. Russia and Ukraine won the two East European seats. In the Latin

American and Caribbean group, Mexico, Cuba and Bolivia won the three open

seats. And Britain and France won the two seats for the Western European and

others group.

PPP LEADER SAYS PAK GENERALS NEVER ACCEPTED CONSTITUTION, ASKS GOVT TO

IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH INDIA

The "creeping coup" in Pakistan is a results of the highly effective navy

making an attempt to safeguard its financial pursuits which could not be

protected in a federal and democratic system, the spokesperson of an

opposition occasion has stated whereas calling for altering the idea of the

nation's relations with India.

Addressing the fifth annual conference of South Asians Against Terrorism and

for Human Rights (SAATH), Pakistan People's Party spokesman and former

Senator Farhatullah Babar said Pakistan's parliament was unable to hold the

military accountable.

"In their hearts, Pakistan's generals do not accept the country's

Constitution. That is why they have built a national narrative that is

against democratic values and puts the army above all institutions," he said

at the event from Pakistan through a video conference.

Babar called for changing the basis of Pakistan's relations with India,

which he said had been predicated on the resolution of the Kashmir issue as

Pakistan wants it.

"If China and India can have trade relations despite their conflicts, why

can't Pakistan?" He asked, hinting that good relations with India would help

advance democratic norms and civilian supremacy in Pakistan.

Speaking at the virtual event from Islamabad, the former Senator said that

the protests against the army that started in Pashtun tribal regions have

now reached Punjab, the heartland of the Pakistan Army.

He said the young people are discovering that "the emperor has no clothes",

according to a statement issued by SAATH.

Babar lamented that Pakistan's parliament was unable to hold the military

accountable and was deprived of the most elementary information about the

military's spending and other matters.

"The hybrid regime is fighting a hybrid war against the people of Pakistan

by curbs on media and freedom of expression," he added.

WORLD GDP TO DROP 4.4% IN 2020, RISE 5.2% 2021: IMF

Global growth will collapse 4.4 percent this year, less than previously

expected, the IMF said Tuesday, though the outlook is beset by uncertainty

amid the ongoing pandemic.

Massive injections of government aid kept economies from plunging further,

though growth in 2021 is expected to be slightly slower than forecast in

June, according to the Washington-based crisis lender's World Economic

Outlook.

Around $3 trillion in stimulus spending kept the United States from a

disastrous contraction and growth is expected to decline just 4.3 percent

this year. China will see its economy expand by 1.9 percent.

Even amid the improved news, countries like India, Spain and Italy will see

double digit declines, while Britain just misses that threshold with a 9.8

percent contraction, the IMF said.

AMY CONEY BARRETT CITES 'GINSBURG RULE' THAT GINSBURG DIDN'T FOLLOW

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett invoked Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

at her Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday in refusing to discuss her view

of gay rights and the Constitution.

"Justice Ginsburg with her characteristic pithiness used this to describe

how a nominee should comport herself at a hearing. No hints, no previews, no

forecasts. That had been the practice of nominees before her. But everybody

calls it the Ginsburg rule because she stated it so concisely," Barrett said

of the woman whose seat she would take if confirmed.

It's become a standard response by Republican high court nominees to recite

Ginsburg's words from her own confirmation hearing.

Ginsburg, who died last month, did utter those words 27 years ago, saying "A

judge sworn to decide impartially can offer no forecasts, no hints for that

would show not only disregard for the specifics of the particular case, it

would display disdain for the entire judicial process."

But she also said much more on a range of hotly debated issues, including

abortion, that went well beyond the rule that bears her name.

Here's Ginsburg on abortion in 1993, shortly before the Senate voted 96-3 to

confirm her: "The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a

woman's life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make

for herself. When Government controls that decision for her, she is being

treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices."

Barrett, who has signed ads opposing abortion and belonged to Notre Dame

University's Faculty for Life, has refused to answer senators' questions on

Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court ruling that declared a woman's

right to an abortion.

BANGLADESH: RAPE CONVICTS TO GET DEATH PENALTY AS PRESIDENT APPROVES

ORDINANCE

Bangladeshi President Md Abdul Hamid has given his assent to a cabinet

proposal that elevated the maximum punishment in rape cases to the death

sentence from life imprisonment.

Hamid Tuesday issued an ordinance on the amendment of the Women and Children

Repression Prevention Act, incorporating the provision of capital punishment

for rape.

In accordance with the ordinance, "Lifetime Rigorous Imprisonment" mentioned

in Section 9(1) of the Act has now been replaced by "Death or Lifetime

Rigorous Punishment".

Bangladeshi Cabinet on Monday at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina approved the ordinance and was waiting for the president's approval.

The changes were cleared by the government amid nationwide's anger triggered

by a string of gruesome crimes against women.

The country's Law Minister Anisul Huq told journalists on Monday that they

placed the proposal before the cabinet to make quick amendments to the laws

dealing with sexual assault.

POST-COVID CHINA STRENGTHENS ITS GRIP OVER GLOBAL TRADE

China is consolidating its status as the world's dominant trading nation,

confounding warnings that a once-in-a-century pandemic combined with

simmering tensions with the United States would derail that status.

Growing global demand for everything from hazmat protective suits to

work-from-home technology, has enabled China, which contained the virus

months ago, to capture a record market share of global exports in quickly

reopening its factories as the rest of the world grappled with lockdowns.

This is a stark reversal from the first two months of the year when Chinese

exports contracted by 17.1%.

It's also a result that underscores the nation's enduring role in

manufacturing, even amid simmering tensions with the United States that have

fueled discussions about changing supply chains. Despite all the tariffs

levied by the Trump administration, monthly sales to the United States

remain robust.

This exceptional performance was reflected in government data for September,

which shows exports increased for the fourth consecutive month while imports

increased. Li Kuiwen, spokesperson for the General Administration of

Customs, told reporters that China's overall share in world trade hit a

record high in the seven months to July, citing demand that included

equipment and technology. health care.

KOREAN BOY BAND BTS FACES UPROAR IN CHINA OVER WAR COMMENTS

Chinese nationalists erupted in anger at South Korean boy band BTS after its

leader thanked Korean War veterans for their sacrifices.

The singer, who goes by RM, made the remark in a recorded acceptance speech

for an award from the Korea Society for promoting US-Korean relations.

"We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared

together and the sacrifices of countless men and women," RM said in the

speech, which included no mention of China.

"After 70 years, the world we are living in is much closer than before.

Boundaries in many aspects are getting more blurred," RM said. "As members

of the global community, we should build a deeper understanding and

solidarity to be happier together."

Chinese internet users and state media took RM's comments as a slap at

China, whose soldiers fought alongside North Korean forces during their

failed attempt to annex South Korea in the 1950-53 war.

They accused RM of ignoring the role played by China in the war, which

Chinese Communist Party propaganda blames on the United States, instead of

North Korean leader Kim Il Sung's attack on South Korea.

"Before, I thought some BTS songs were pretty good. Now, they seem to be

covered in excrement," said a commenter on the microblog service Sina Weibo.

"Insulting China is absolutely not allowed." An account titled "BTS Insults

China" had been viewed more than 4.5 million times, according to Sina Weibo.

"Many Chinese netizens pointed out that the speech plays up to US netizens,

but the country played the role of aggressor in the war," said an article in

the Global Times newspaper, controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.