RUSSIA ROLLS OUT A PLAN TO ANNEX UKRAINIAN TERRITORIES THROUGH A REFERENDUM; WEST CONDEMNS IT

Russia on Tuesday paved the way for the formal annexation of swathes of Ukrainian territory, backing referendum plans in areas of Ukraine its soldiers control in a direct challenge to the West that could sharply escalate the war.

After nearly seven months of war, including a critical battlefield defeat in northeastern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is pondering his next steps. Annexation could be his answer.

In what appeared to be choreographed requests, Russian-backed officials across 15% of Ukrainian territory - an area about the size of Hungary or Portugal - lined up to request referendums on joining Russia.

The self-styled Donetsk (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republics (LPR), which Putin recognised as independent just before the invasion, and Russian-installed officials in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions have asked for votes over less than 24 hours.

Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson officials said the referendums would take place in just days - on Friday Sept. 23 through to Monday Sept. 27. Russia does not fully control any of the four regions, with only around 60% of Donetsk region in Russian hands.

Western nations have condemned Moscow's plans to hold urgent so-called referendums in parts of Ukraine that are currently under Russian control.

The votes have been called by Russian-backed officials in four Ukrainian regions to ask whether they should become part of Russia.

The US, Germany and France have said they would never recognise the results of such "sham" ballots.

The Nato military alliance said the plans spelt an escalation in the war.

The suggestion that legitimate and fair polls could be run in the middle of a war were immediately scorned by the West.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz blasted the Russian plans for "sham" votes, while French President Emmanuel Macron labelled them a "parody" of democracy.

"If the Donbas referendum idea wasn't so tragic it would be funny," Mr Macron told reporters in New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US would never recognise the votes, calling them "an affront to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity".

Any referendum planned by invading forces contravenes international law and will have no legal force, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement.

3 DEAD IN VIOLENT IRAN PROTESTS AFTER DEATH OF WOMAN HELD IN HIJAB CASE

Iran faced international criticism on Tuesday over the death of a woman held by its morality police, which ignited three days of protests, including clashes with security forces in the capital and other unrest that claimed at least three lives.

The UN human rights office called for an investigation. The UScalled on the Islamic Republic to end its “systemic persecution” of women. Italy also condemned her death. Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian rejected the criticism, accusing the US of “shedding crocodile tears. ”

Separately, an Iranian official said three people had been killed by unnamed armed groups in the Kurdish region where the protests began, the first official confirmation of deaths linked to the unrest.

Later on Monday, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported that small groups of protesters had again gathered in downtown Tehran, chanting “Death to the dictator”. It said the crowd numbered around 300 and that the protesters damaged street signs. Videos posted on social media have shown demonstrations in numerous cities, with women waving their headscarves and protesters facing off with security forces.

The UN body said Iran’s morality police have expanded their patrols in recent months, targeting women for not properly wearing the hijab. It said verified videos show women being slapped in the face, struck with batons and thrown into police vans for wearing the hijab too loosely. A similar patrol detained 22-yearold Mahsa Amini last Tuesday, taking her to a police station where she collapsed. Shedied three days later. Iranian police have denied mistreating Amini and say she died of aheart attack. Amini’s father has said his daughter had no health problems and she had suffered bruises to her legs. An investigation is on.

WORLD IS IN PERIL, WARNS UN CHIEF, CALLS FOR ACTION

United Nations : UN secretary general Antonio Guterres on Tuesday voiced concern that the international community is “not ready or willing” to tackle the “big dramatic challenges of our age”, warning that the world is in “peril and paralysed”.

“Let’s have no illusions. We are in rough seas. A winter of global discontent is on the horizon. A cost-of-living crisis is raging. Trust is crumbling. Inequalities are exploding. Our planet is burning. People are hurting —with the most vulnerablesuffering the most,” Guterres said in his address to the world leaders gathered here for the opening of the general debate of the 77th session of the UNGA.

The UN charter and the ideals it represents, he said, are in jeopardy. “We have a duty to act. And yet we are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction. . . Geopolitical divides are undermining the work of the UNSC, undermining international law, undermining all forms of international cooperation. We cannot go on like this,” he said.

PAK DELEGATION ON ‘RARE VISIT’ TO ISRAEL

A Pakistani delegation is on a rare visit to Israel, Israeli media widely reported.

The delegation was not the first but the most weighty, the media said. Sources said the stay might have been sponsored by Sharaka, an NGO set up in 2020 by people from Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE with funding from Israeli and American donors. Pakistan does not have official ties with Israel. It has also been vociferous about India’s ties with Israel whom it accused of disturbing the regional balance.

SHEHBAZ SHARIF FACES TREASON CHARGES FOR CONSULTING NAWAZ SHARIF ON ARMY CHIEF

Pakistan’s Punjab Assembly has passed a resolution with a majority vote against PM Shehbaz Sharif, seeking his trial under treason charges for consulting his ‘fugitive’ elder brother Nawaz Sharif in London on the appointment of the new Army chief.

Punjab Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Basharat Raja presented the resolution in the House seeking action against PM Shehbaz under Article 6 (treason) of the Constitution. Punjab is ruled by ousted PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its ally party PMLQ.

The resolution says the premier consulted a fugitive — Nawaz Sharif, a three-time PM of Pakistan — in London a couple of days ago on the appointment of the new Army chief, which not only amounts to the PM’s oath preventing him from sharing sensitive matters with unrelated persons, but also an insult to the institution of the Army.

PM Shehbaz was in London to attend the state funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who also met Nawaz Sharif during his stay in the city and discussed the appointment of the next Army chief with him.

Imran Khan, who is also the Chairman of PTI, said: “We are seeing pictures of Shehbaz Sharif consulting Nawaz Sharif to appoint the next Army chief. What can be a bigger disgrace for our country that thieves are making such decisions.” He said it was a violation of the Official Secrets Act and a breach of the PM’s oath of office.

LIZ TRUSS VOWS BILLIONS IN UKRAINE AID

Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday vowed billions more in financial and military aid to Ukraine as she kicked off her debut foreign trip at the U.N. General Assembly.

Ahead of her first meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, Ms. Truss also conceded that a post-Brexit U.K.-U.S. trade deal was unlikely for years.

At the UN, Ms. Truss is also due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and EU commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. Like Mr. Biden’s White House, they are unhappy with her hard line on Brexit and Northern Ireland.

But Ms. Truss vowed to rally Western support at the U.N. over Ukraine, saying her government would match or exceed the £2.3 billion ($2.6 billion) it plans to extend this year.

47 ARRESTED IN LEICESTER AFTER RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE

London : The UK police said on Tuesday that they have made 47 arrests as part of an ongoing operation to deter further disorder in the eastern England city of Leicester, which saw scenes of violence over the weekend. The development comes as the Indian High Commission in London issued a statement condemning the violence against the Indian community and called for protection for those affected. Leicestershire Police said a 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon during clashes in the city.

Amos Noronha, a local,appeared at Leicester magistrates’ court after his arrest and was quickly charged due to “overwhelming evidence”. “The sentence is reflective of the fact that this was a serious offence,” said Leicestershire temporary chief constable Rob Nixon. “We will not stand for this unrest in our city. ”It follows a weekend of what the police termed as “serious disorder” and “significant aggression” as Hindu and Muslim groups clashed in the wake of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup cricket match in Dubai at the end of last month.