Hezbollah head's killing, Syria denies probe
Syria has denied media reports on the formation of a joint committee with Iran and Hezbollah to investigate the assassination of Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyah, the official SANA news agency reported.
The news agency quoted an official saying that such reports are baseless. Only the Syrian authorities are conducting the investigation into the assassination, it said.
Moughniyah was killed in a car bombing in a residential neighbourhood of Damascus late on Tuesday. Hezbollah accused Israel of ordering the assassination, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office denied involvement.
Moughniyah was accused of bombing the US embassy in Lebanon in 1983, in which 63 Americans and Lebanese were killed. Washington of bombing the US marines barrack in Beirut, in which 241 died and the bombing of French barracks that killed 58 soldiers also accused him.
Moughniyah, who was on the FBI wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head, was also claimed by Israel to have been involved in planning the 1992 bombing of Israeli embassy in Argentina. The explosion killed 29 people.
He was also involved in the blast two years later at the Buenos Aires Jewish centre that killed 95 people.
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White people get bigger share of monkeypox shots, early data show
Much like with Covid-19, the monkeypox health crisis in the US is hitting Black and Hispanic Americans hard. Yet those groups are so far lagging in vaccination rates, early data obtained by Bloomberg News show. In some major US cities with outbreaks, White people are getting the majority of vaccinations, data collected by Bloomberg show. In Chicago, 55% of vaccines have gone to White people. In Washington, D.C., 63.5% of vaccine recipients identify as White.
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Top Taliban cleric killed in blast in Kabul: Officials
A prominent Taliban cleric, Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, was killed in an attack in a seminary in Kabul when the attacker detonated explosives hidden in a plastic artificial leg on Thursday, according to officials and Taliban sources. It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast. Four Taliban sources told Reuters the attacker was someone who had previously lost his leg and had hidden the explosives in a plastic artificial leg.
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China says it needs more time to assess US, India proposal to blacklist JeM chief’s brother at UNSC
China on Thursday said it needs more time to “assess” the India-US proposal to list Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN Security Council, hours after blocking the joint effort. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the 1267 Committee of the UN Security Council has clear provisions about designating terrorist organisations and officials. China had similarly sought time to assess the case.
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China, Nepal agree on cross-Himalayan railway
China has agreed to finance a feasibility study for a cross-border railway with Nepal under the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity network, part of the Belt and Road Initiative and pledged $118 million for China-assisted projects in the country, the foreign ministries of the two countries have said. Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, Wang Yi said China will work with Nepal on power projects and also in building cross Himalayan connectivity projects.
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Sri Lanka's ex-leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa leaves Singapore: Report
Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Singapore Thursday, the city-state's immigration office said, after his social visit pass expired. "The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority confirms that Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Singapore on 11 August 2022," the office said in reply to an AFP query. Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on July 13 and then to Singapore, where he announced his resignation after months of protests over Sri Lanka's economic meltdown.
