IRAN EXPELLED FROM UN WOMEN'S COMMISSION; INDIA ABSTAINS ON RESOLUTION

In an unprecedented move, Iran has been expelled from the United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in a vote on which India abstained.

The US proposal at the UN Economic and Social Council to remove Iran from the panel received 29 votes, while there were eight votes against and 16 abstentions in the 54-member elected body.

The vote came after intense lobbying by the US following widespread protests in Iran sparked by outrage against the edict compelling women to wear hijabs.

US Permanent Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Council that CSW, which is "the premier UN body for promoting gender equality and empowering women" cannot function if it is "undermined from within" by Iran.

"Iran's membership at this moment is an ugly stain on the Commission's credibility," she said.

Thomas-Greenfield spoke of Mahsa Amin who died after being held by "morality police" in September and called her a "martyr".

Her death sparked the protests during which, Thomas-Greenfield said, "government security forces have reportedly detained and tortured thousands of people, killed hundreds of peaceful protestors, and badly injured many more. Men supporting women in the streets are now being targeted with the death penalty".

The Commission is made up of 45 countries which are elected by the Council to four-year terms.

Iran's term, which began this year, was to have run through 2026.

Iran's delegate countered that the US and its allies practice racial discrimination against minorities "including women and girls" and "support rioters in other independent countries under the pretext of promoting human rights".

SPAIN PASSES PIONEERING SEXUAL, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW

Spain's parliament on Thursday passed a sexual and reproductive health law that allows girls aged 16 and 17 to undergo abortions without parental consent and, in a first for a European country, offers state-funded paid leave for women who suffer from painful periods. "These advancements allow us to exercise freedom over our bodies, with the state recognising the full citizenship of more than half the population," Equality Minister Irene Montero told lawmakers before the vote, which was adopted with a 190-154 majority and five abstentions.

‘U.S. CREATED INDO-PACIFIC CONCEPT TO CONTAIN CHINA’

There “is no such concept as Indo-Pacific” which was “created by the United States” to bring in partners such as India to “contain” China, a Chinese diplomat has said, reflecting Beijing’s hardening opposition to both Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy as well as regional groupings such as the Quad.

“In fact, there is no such concept as an ‘Indo-Pacific in geopolitics,” Chinese diplomat and Ambassador to France Lu Shaye said in an interaction with French journalists, a transcript of which was published on Wednesday by China’s Embassy in Paris.

“It is a concept created by the U.S.”, he added. “In the past, we used to talk about the Pacific or the Asia-Pacific region, never about the Indo-Pacific. Why did the Americans include the Indian Ocean? It is because they believe their Asia-Pacific allies alone are no longer enough to contain China, they want to bring in India and other U.S. allies, such as France, which considers itself an Indo-Pacific country. This is wrong.”

Asked if it was “wrong” for France to consider itself as an Indo-Pacific country, he continued: “I think it is wrong for France to position itself in this way, because it is a confrontational mentality, a Cold War mentality, and that is exactly what we are against.”

His comments underline Beijing’s hardening view of both the Indo-Pacific idea as well as regional groupings such as the Quad. China officially does not use the term, and refers to the region as the Asia-Pacific.

‘WILL FIGHT SANCTIONS WITH SHIFT IN TRADE’

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would expand trade cooperation with new partners, including by switching gas flows to eastern neighbours, in order to combat Western sanctions.

Putin said that Russia would develop its economic relations with partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America to thwart Western efforts to isolate it.

THOUSANDS OF UNEDITED GOVERNMENT JFK ASSASSINATION FILES RELEASED

The White House has ordered the release of thousands of documents on the murder of US President John F Kennedy in full for the first time.

With the publication of some 13,173 files online, the White House said more than 97% of records in the collection were now publicly available.

No huge revelations are expected from the papers, but historians hope to learn more about the alleged assassin.

Kennedy was shot during a visit to Dallas, Texas, on 22 November 1963.

A 1992 law required the government to release all documents on the assassination by October 2017.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order authorising the latest disclosure.

But he said some files would be kept under wraps until June 2023 to protect against possible "identifiable harm".

The US National Archives said that 515 documents would remain withheld in full, and another 2,545 documents would be partly withheld.

UKRAINE WAR: DEADLY ATTACK LEAVES RETAKEN KHERSON WITH NO POWER

Two people have been killed, say Ukrainian officials, in a second day of Russian attacks on central Kherson, recaptured by Ukraine last month.

Heavy shelling on critical infrastructure in the port area left the entire city without power, according to the regional governor.

The retreat of Russian forces from Kherson was one of Moscow's biggest setbacks since the February invasion.

For weeks it has targeted power facilities in Ukrainian cities.

Millions of Ukrainians have been left without heating or power as winter temperatures have fallen below freezing.

Shells reportedly landed 100m (328ft) from the main administration building in Kherson city, officials said, a day after the building itself was badly damaged. A 32-year-old paramedic and a 70-year-old man were killed in the attack which hit a medical aid point, Ukrainian media said.

Explosions also went off in Ukraine's second biggest city Kharkiv. Mayor Igor Terekhov said Russia was shelling infrastructure facilities and appealed to residents to stay in shelters if possible.

Meanwhile, Russian-backed proxies said Ukrainian forces had launched their "most massive strike" on the centre of occupied Donetsk since 2014, when the separatists triggered a conflict by seizing parts of the Donbas region.

Russian-appointed official Alexei Kulemzin said 40 rockets were fired, killing one person and leaving nine more wounded.

1 DEAD AFTER FRESH CLASHES BETWEEN AF & PAK FORCES

Quetta : Clashes erupted once again between the border forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan near the key Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing on Thursday, resulting in one death and over a dozen injuries, including women and children, Pakistani officials said. Previously, cross-border shelling and gunfire killed eight Pakistani civilians and one Afghan soldier on Sunday near the same crossing. Thursday’s fighting started when Pakistani forces repairing a portion of the fence damaged during Sunday’s clashes came under attack from the Afghan side, a Pakistani provincial official said. Both sides blamed each other for instigating Sunday’s clashes.

US WILL RESTART FREE AT-HOME COVID TESTS AS INFECTIONS SOAR

Washington : The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it would restart a programme that provided free coronavirus tests to American households through the Postal Service, part of a new push by the government to head off rises in virus cases and hospitalisations as winter approaches.

The programme, which was paused in September after distributing over 600 million tests, is restarting after federal officials dipped into what the White House said was “existing, limited funding. ” Households will be able to order four tests at covidtests. gov , with shipments beginning next week.

The tests are one component of a broader Covid-19 “winter preparedness plan” the White House rolled out onThursday, reflecting mounting anxiety over a cold-weather surge in virus cases across the country. Cases have risen roughly 55% over the past two weeks, while deaths have surged by around 65% in the same period. Hospitalisations have risen over 20%, adding strain to medical centres already deluged by cases of flu and respiratory syncytial virus or RSV.

Two Omicron subvariants, BQ. 1 and BQ. 1. 1, have largely driven the climb in coronavirus cases.

TWITTER BANS SOME JOURNALISTS WHO COVER ELON MUSK

Twitter accounts belonging to several prominent journalists covering the company's owner, Elon Musk, have had their accounts abruptly suspended.

Reporters for the New York Times, CNN and Washington Post are among those who found themselves locked out of their accounts on Thursday evening.

A Twitter spokeswoman told tech website The Verge that the ban was related to the live sharing of location data.

It comes after Mr Musk vowed to sue the owner of a profile that tracks his jet.

The list of banned journalists also includes The Intercept's Micha Lee, Mashable's Matt Binder, and independent journalists Aaron Rupar, and Tony Webster.

Twitter's head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, told The Verge that bans are related to a new rule introduced on Wednesday that prohibits "live location information, including information shared on Twitter directly or links to 3rd-party URL(s) of travel routes."

"Without commenting on any specific accounts, I can confirm that we will suspend any accounts that violate our privacy policies and put other users at risk," Mrs Irwin told the outlet.

"We don't make exceptions to this policy for journalists or any other accounts."

PAK MINIATURE SAT TO LAND ON MOON WITH CHINA’S PROBE

Pakistan will land on the moon with China. China space expert Andrew Jones tweeted on Thursday that Pakistan’s ICECUBE-Q cubesat will fly to the far side of the moon in Beijing’s lunar sample return mission, Change-6, slated for launch in 2025. The role of the Pakistani instrument is to detect ice traces on the moon. Cubesats are miniature satellites based around a form factor consisting of 10cm cubes and weighing 2kg each. Experts believe the plans assume significance in the context of China planning a manned moon mission that could include an astronaut from Pakistan as well.

TOXIC SPINACH CAUSES HALLUCINATIONS AND DELIRIUM IN AUSTRALIA

Toxic spinach has sparked an urgent health alert in Australia after people who consumed it suffered severe sickness and hallucinations.

Nine people have needed medical care after eating the Riviera Farms baby spinach from Costco.

Health authorities say their symptoms have also included delirium, spiked heart rates and blurred vision.

Riviera Farms says it believes the spinach was contaminated by a weed, but no other products have been affected.

New South Wales Health has warned any packets of the brand's spinach with an expiry date of December 16 are not safe to consume and should be thrown out.

It also urged anyone who has experienced any unusual symptoms after eating the spinach to immediately seek hospital care.