Palestine’s Ambassador to India, Abdullah Abu Shawesh, met members of pro-Palestinian groups at a meeting organised by the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Parel on Sunday.

Shawesh said the Palestinian administration supported ongoing efforts to bring peace to Gaza and did not endorse the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians. He also offered a historical perspective, rejecting Israel’s claim that the land historically belonged solely to Jews, and clarified that the Palestinian struggle was not religious but territorial, involving multiple communities including Christians and Jews.

Zeenat Shaukat Ali, director general of the Wisdom Foundation, attended the event, where the envoy highlighted India’s long-standing support for Palestinian rights since the time of Mahatma Gandhi. He mentioned that India has pledged to construct a hospital in Gaza once rebuilding begins.

On Monday, Shawesh posted on ‘X’ about his Mumbai engagements, thanking CPI leaders, AITUC members, and hosts for their solidarity and commitment to Palestine. He also praised India’s Ministry of External Affairs for being available to the Palestinian mission around the clock.

Wellington, Oct 20: New Zealand’s annual inflation reached 3 per cent till the September 2025 quarter, following a 2.7-per cent increase in the year till the June 2025 quarter, Stats NZ reported Monday.

This met the upper limit of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s 1-3 per cent target band for the annual inflation rate, according to a statement of the Statistics Department, Xinhua News Agency reported.

“The 3.0 per cent annual inflation rate in the September 2025 quarter is the highest since the June 2024 quarter, when it was 3.3 per cent,” Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden said.

The largest contributors to the annual inflation rate were all in the housing and household utilities group, led by power, rent, and local authority rates, with the top three contributors making up around 17 per cent of the weight in the basket of New Zealand’s consumer price index, Stats NZ said.

Electricity prices jumped 11.3 per cent over the year, the largest annual gain since the March 1989 quarter when they rose 12.8 per cent, statistics show.

“Annual electricity increases are at their highest since the late 1980s, when there were several major reforms in the electricity market,” Growden said.

Prices fell over the year for pharmaceuticals, telecoms equipment, and petrol, helping offset some cost pressures, Stats NZ said.

On a quarterly basis, consumer prices rose 1 per cent in the September 2025 quarter, compared with the June 2025 quarter, driven largely by higher local authority rates and a 12.2-per cent increase in vegetable prices due to seasonal factors, it said.

Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop said expectations are for inflation to drop towards 2 per cent in the first half of 2026, easing pressure on households and businesses.

On October 16, Stats NZ reported that food prices in New Zealand rose 4.1 per cent in the 12 months to September 2025, marking the smallest annual increase since April this year.

The grocery food group contributed most to the rise, up 3.9 per cent annually, according to the Statistics Department statement.

Key staples saw significant annual price hikes: white bread increased 49.6 per cent; cheese rose 31.4 per cent; butter climbed 28.9 per cent; and milk was up 15.1 per cent, Stats NZ said.

Vegetables also increased by 5.2 per cent annually, with cabbage nearly doubling in price from September 2024 to September 2025, the highest in nearly three years, and lettuce was up 55 per cent, it said.

“All five food groups continue to grow annually, but the rate of increase for overall food prices has slowed this month,” Growden said.

However, monthly food prices fell 0.4 per cent in September compared with August, driven by price drops in vegetables and chocolate, marking the first monthly decline since February 2025, statistics show.

Dhaka, Oct 18: In the wake of tensions surrounding the signing of the July Charter, a group of protestors in Bangladesh, named ‘July Joddha Sangsad’ (July fighters), have announced to block all highways across the country on Sunday, pressing home their three demands, local media reported.

The demands include state recognition of those killed in the July 2024 protests; recognition of the injured as ‘July warriors’; and a specific roadmap for the rehabilitation of the families of the deceased, and legal assistance for the wounded.

Amid the boycott of several political parties, including the National Citizen Party (NCP) and four leftist parties, the July Charter was signed on Friday by the Chief Advisor to the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, members of the National Consensus Commission and leaders of different political parties.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Masud Rana, chief organiser of the group ‘July Joddha Sangsad’, announced the blockade on Friday evening following clashes between the protestors and police near the Parliament complex, where they had staged a demonstration against the signing of the July Charter.

“We have been attacked. To protest the attack on us and implement our three-point demands, a blockade will be observed on the highways of every district and city from 2 pm to 5 pm on Sunday,” Bangladeshi Bengali daily ‘Jugantor’ quoted Masud as saying.

Masud accused the police of attacking their “peaceful sit-in”, saying, “We were holding our demonstration peacefully in front of the Parliament gate. Administrative officials had spoken to us, and we assured them that our programme would continue until 10 am without any disorder. But instead of initiating any discussion or solution, they suddenly launched an attack on us.”

On Friday afternoon, violent clashes broke out between law enforcers and protesters at the Parliament premises just hours before the July Charter Signing ceremony, leaving several injured.

Confirming the development, Inspector Faruk, in charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost, said that 36 people, who were involved in the July protests, were injured and were admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Reports suggest that as the protestors tried to rally and press their demands, the military and police personnel blocked them at the Parliament gate, triggering violence.

The police responded with a baton charge and fired three rounds of sound grenades to disperse the crowd.

Subsequently, protesters retaliated by vandalising police vehicles, including a car and a bus and setting fire to the temporary reception room, control room, and furniture installed outside the Parliament building for the July Charter Signing Ceremony.

The protestors warned the interim government, saying, “If we have to spill our blood again, the second administration will not survive either,” citing how the protests last year toppled the former Awami League government, paving the way for the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government to assume power.

Bangladesh has been gripped by numerous protests and extreme lawlessness since the democratically elected government of the Awami League, led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was overthrown during violent protests last year.