US ELECTION DEBATE 2020: A NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT

It was a debate unlike any other in American presidential history. In fact,

it was not much of a debate at all, with President Donald Trump coming out

of the starting blocks intending to talk over anyone else on stage,

including Democratic rival Joe Biden and moderator Chris Wallace. It went

downhill from there.

The "presidential debate" was full of angry exchanges and invective,

culminating in implicit threats of election-linked racial conflagration by

President Donald Trump. Trump walked all over the Democratic challenger Joe

Biden with frequent, hectoring interruptions during a heated encounter that

often left the latter struggling to respond, but Trump was not necessarily

the winner; nor Biden the loser. It would be fair to say both men lost.

America lost.

The major takeaway from the debate was dire: Trump essentially reaffirmed

that he will not accept the results of the elections if it goes against him

when all ballots are counted. In fact, he even seemed to suggest that all

ballots should not or need not be counted while appearing to give a call of

arms to racist militias to intervene in the election process.

Asked to condemn white supremacy and militia groups, Trump initially said

"Sure" and wanted the host Chris Wallace and Biden to name a group, but when

presented with Proud Boys, a violent, racist, pro-Trump group, his response

was: "Proud Boys? Stand back and stand by", before complaining about Antifa

and the left and blaming them for violence. Proud Boys, which believes white

men and western culture are under siege and is listed as a hate group by the

Anti-Defamation league, took Trump's remarks as approval for their

activities. "We're ready. Standing down and standing by sir," they responded

via social media.

Trump also asked his supporters to go to polling stations on Election Day in

what some analysts saw as a call to voter intimidation, given that there is

a specific process to enlist as a poll observer.

Biden did his best to put together coherent answers to questions about the

pandemic, the economy, the conduct of elections and other topics, but faced

with Trump's incessant interruptions, he lost composure more than once. The

host, Fox News' Chris Wallace, was also a victim of Trump's bullying and

lost control of proceedings several times.

Offered a chance by the moderator to say he will accept the election results

whichever way it goes when all ballots are counted, Trump launched into a

tirade about the US election system and denigrated the whole process,

picking on stray instances of fraud or misdemeanour that experts say

aberrations, not the norm. Trump also shrugged off questions about his

alleged tax shenanigans, including paying only $750 in taxes in 2016 and

2017, crediting the tax code created by the Obama-Biden administration for

his ability to outsmart the system and muttering all business leaders do the

same "unless they are stupid".

Even as the so-called debate was going on, a collective groan went across

the country - on social media and beyond - about two more such debates in

October filled with puerile antics, petty insults, and pathetic

articulation.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S CLOSURE RECEIVED ATTENTION AT 'HIGHEST LEVELS' OF

U.S. GOVERNMENT, SAYS OFFICIAL

The U.S. administration and U.S. Congress have been "very, very closely"

following the closure of Amnesty International in India following the

freezing of its bank accounts by the government. The issue has received

attention at the "highest levels" of the U.S. government as per a senior

U.S. State Department official.

"On the situation involving Amnesty International in India. we've been very,

very closely following this issue, not just in the administration, but I

know that our members of Congress have as well. It has received attention at

the highest levels of our government," the official said while briefing

reporters on the India-U.S. relationship.

"The United States is committed to the health and vibrancy of civil society

in all countries, but also especially India. We believe that the strength of

civil society and the openness of society is a strength of India and it's

something that is part of what powers our cooperation, our bilateral

cooperation," the official said.

"And therefore we're concerned about obstacles to the work of civil society,

whether in India or anywhere else in the world. So we're following it

closely and we look forward to a response and a resolution to this situation

that's consistent with international principles and the rule of law."

Days ago, Amnesty International India announced that it was halting its

operations and had to let go of staff."The constant harassment by government

agencies including the Enforcement Directorate is a result of our

unequivocal calls for transparency in the government, more recently for

accountability of the Delhi police and the Government of India regarding the

grave human rights violations in Delhi riots and Jammu & Kashmir," Amnesty

International India's Executive Director Avinash Kumar had said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said that Amnesty's activities were in "clear

contravention" of settled Indian law.

MIKE POMPEO URGES VATICAN TO CONDEMN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN CHINA

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo urged the Vatican on Wednesday to join the

United States in denouncing violations of religious freedom in China, saying

the Catholic Church should be at the forefront in the fight to insist on

basic human rights there.

Pompeo made the appeal at a conference on religious freedom organized by the

US Embassy to the Holy See, with top Vatican officials in the audience. It

took place at the same time the Vatican is entering into delicate

negotiations with Beijing on extending their controversial agreement on

nominating bishops for China.

Pompeo has strongly criticized the accord, penning an essay earlier this

month suggesting that the Vatican had compromised its moral authority by

signing it. His article greatly irritated the Vatican, which saw it as

interference in the church's internal affairs for the sake of scoring

domestic political points.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Holy See

was "surprised" by Pompeo's article. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines

of the conference, Parolin said the private meetings Pompeo had scheduled at

the Vatican would have been the more appropriate setting to express his

concerns, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

IRAQ PLEDGES TO PROTECT DIPLOMATS AFTER U.S. EMBASSY SHUTDOWN THREAT

Iraq will protect foreign mission buildings and ensure only the state has

weapons, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi told 25 top diplomats on

Wednesday, after Washington warned it could shut down its Baghdad embassy.

The United States has made preparations to withdraw diplomats from Iraq

after warning Baghdad it could shut its embassy, two Iraqi officials and two

Western diplomats said, a step Iraqis fear could turn their country into a

battle zone.

"Iraq is keen on enforcing the rule of law, the state's monopoly on having

weapons, protecting foreign missions, and diplomatic buildings," Kadhimi

told a meeting of 25 ambassadors and Charges d'Affaires, his office said in

a statement.

PAKISTAN GOVT TO PUSH FOR NAWAZ SHARIF'S DEPORTATION FROM UK

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked relevant authorities to take

steps to bring back PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif from London, where he has been

staying since November 2019 on medical grounds, and to ensure that the

former premier faces the corruption cases pending against him in various

Pakistani courts, according to a media report.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the Dawn News

reported, quoting a Cabinet member whose identity was not revealed.

Khan asked the authorities to pursue the matter vigorously, the report said.

SHEIKH NAWAF SWORN IN AS KUWAIT'S NEW RULING EMIR

Kuwait's Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah was sworn in Wednesday as the ruling

emir of the tiny oil-rich country, propelled to power by the death of his

half-brother after a long career in the security services.

At age 83, Sheikh Nawaf is not expected to deviate from the diplomatic path

charted by his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

SRI LANKA BANS CATTLE SLAUGHTER

Sri Lanka has banned cattle slaughter after the Cabinet cleared Prime

Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's recent proposal, the government announced on

Tuesday, adding that it would take steps to import beef.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Rajapaksa made a proposal to the

parliamentary group of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP, or

People's Front) on banning cattle slaughter. Legislators of the party had

"applauded" when the proposal was made then, but it obtained official

sanction following Cabinet approval.

For some years now, reactionary Sinhala-Buddhist groups, many of whom are

supporters of the Rajapaksas, have been demanding a ban on cattle slaughter.

Sri Lanka is a Buddhist majority country, those following the religion

constitute 70% of the country's population. Most of them do not eat beef, as

they consider cows sacred, while minority Muslims, who make up about 10%,

Christians and a section of Hindus consume beef.

Government critics have voiced concern that the call for banning cattle

slaughter could be a move to target the island's Muslims who not only eat

beef, but also control a considerable part of the meat trade, including its

halal certification that hard-line groups have sought to ban in the past.

Justifying its move, the government has said that various parties had

pointed out that the livestock resource required for traditional farming

purposes "is insufficient due to the rise of cattle slaughter" and that was

an impediment to the local dairy industry.

PARIS ROCKED BY SONIC BOOM FROM FIGHTER JET

The sonic boom of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier reverberated

through the French capital Paris and nearby suburbs on Wednesday, the Paris

police prefecture said on Twitter.

The shockwave rattled windows, made birds fly up and was heard in every part

of the city, leading to a surge in phone calls to police.

It was not immediately clear why a fighter plane was flying over Paris. A

defence ministry spokesman confirmed it was a sonic boom but did not

immediately offer further comment.

The police urged people not to call emergency services.

Paris has been tense since a knife attack outside the former offices of

satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Friday.

WORLD'S FIRST PATIENT CURED OF HIV DIES AFTER CANCER RETURNS

Timothy Ray Brown, the first person known to have been cured of HIV when he

had a unique type of bone marrow transplant, has died in California after

relapsing with cancer, his partner said.

"It is with great sadness that I announce that Timothy passed away ... this

afternoon surrounded by myself and friends, after a 5-month battle with

leukaemia," his partner Tim Hoeffgen said in a post on Facebook.

Brown, born in 1966, became known as the "Berlin Patient" after his HIV was

eradicated by treatment there in 2007.