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Palestinians disappointed with US policy ahead of Biden’s visit

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 Ahead of US President Joe Biden’s first visit to the Middle East, the Palestinians are disappointed with the US’ failure to present any new peace initiative and fulfill its promises on the Palestinian cause.

Biden is scheduled to visit Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia during his first trip to the region which starts on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the past weeks, the Palestinians ramped up their voices calling on the Biden administration to deliver its promises by reopening the US consulate in East Jerusalem and the office of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Washington, and removing the PLO from the US terrorism list.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians criticized the US for its silence over the escalation of Israeli unilateral practices in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Ramzi Rabah, a PLO executive committee member, said that within the PLO executive committee, there is widespread criticism of the US policy as its members urged the Palestinian Authority “not to bet on any actual US role in the region”.

The Palestinian leadership “must go to alternative options in dealing with Washington,” Rabah told Xinhua in an interview.

He said that as the US refuses to take any serious steps to stop Israel from escalating its practices against the Palestinians, “there is a need to go to the UN and the UN Security Council to create an international political initiative.”

“I think that the essence of Biden’s visit to the region is to arrange a regional alliance, to secure the American interests and confront Iran,” Rabah noted, expressing the Palestinians’ disappointment at the US inaction to break the protracted stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Wassel Abu Yousef, another member of the PLO executive committee, ruled out major positive results from Biden’s visit on advancing the Palestinian cause, citing that the US has increased support for Israel and its practices against the Palestinians, including confiscating land, demolishing homes and expanding settlements.

The Palestinians “do not expect anything new from Biden’s visit to the region regarding the implementation of the US promises, except that it will result in more support for Israel,” he told Xinhua in an interview.

Frustration and despair are prevailing among the Palestinians as nearly 29 years have passed since the Palestinians signed the Oslo peace agreement with Israel, under the US sponsorship, to end the conflict between them.

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been deadlocked since 2014 mainly due to Washington’s refusal to change its biased pro-Israeli policy that ignores the political rights of the Palestinian people, who hope to establish an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Abdulmajid Sweilem, a Palestinian analyst from the West Bank city of Ramallah, said that Biden’s visit to the Palestinian territories is just “a political courtesy”.

Biden is expected to “repeat Washington’s old slogans of adhering to the two-state solution and protecting the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and security, among other cliches,” he told Xinhua in an interview.

“Ultimately, these cliches mean improving the lives of the Palestinians under the framework of Israeli domination and limited Palestinian self-rule,” Sweilem added.

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Milton’s Storm Surge Floods Homes, Roads In Florida

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Water flowed into homes and over roads as Hurricane Milton neared landfall in Florida Wednesday. Here’s a look at what was happening in the community of El Jobean near Charlotte Harbor, in Southwest Florida.

Milton hits Florida: Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm before weakening to a Category 1 as it moves over the state, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the US this year. you can track Milton’s path with CNN’s strom tracker.

A thousand-year flood: Milton has dropped about 16 inches of rain on St. Petersburg, representing a more than a 1 in 1000 year rainfall for the area. Meanwhile, there are “multiple fatalities” in St. Lucie County, Florida, from a tornado outbreak earlier in the day, CNN affiliate WPTV reports

Devastating effects: Milton, the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, has knocked out power for more than 2 million people in the state. Additionally, wind gusts of 100 mph were recorded near Tampa, where  a flash flood emergency was issued a emergency services have been halted.

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EAM S Jaishankar To Visit Pakistan To Attend SCO Meeting On October 15-16, Announces MEA

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EAM S Jaishankar To Visit Pakistan To Attend SCO Meeting On October 15-16, Announces MEA

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM), S Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to attend the SCO meeting this month, announced the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday (October 4). The SCO meeting will be held in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on October 15-16.

“The External Affairs Minister will lead our delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on October 15-16,” said the MEA spokesperson.

As per reports, the Federal government in Pakistan has decided to deploy rangers in Islamabad ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, as part of security measures in place for the summit.

The paramilitary rangers will continue to be deployed in the capital city till the conclusion of the summit, reported Pakistani media.

What Is SCO Summit?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Currently, the SCO countries include nine member states: India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

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Fugitive Radical Preacher Zakir Naik Arrives In Pakistan, Will Deliver Islamic Lectures & Lead Friday Prayers In Major Cities

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Fugitive radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik landed in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Monday for his lectures in several major cities including Karachi and Lahore. He will conclude his visit with a lecture in Islamabad on October 28. 

As per reports, he will also lead and address Friday prayer congregations in these cities.

The Prime Minister’s Youth Program Chairman Rana Mashhood, the Parliamentary Secretary for Religious Affairs Shamsher Ali Mazari, the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Syed Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman, and others greeted him upon his arrival at the New Islamabad Airport.

Naik announced his trip through his social media handles and shared details of the public lectures he will deliver in Pakistan. 

He is set to begin his tour on October 5, starting with Karachi, then Lahore, and finishing in Islamabad.

Earlier on Monday, Zakir Naik took to X and shared a video explaining why he has reduced the frequency of his public lectures. 

“The number of individuals attending public speeches has grown every year if you count them. I used to travel to a city and give presentations for five days, maybe 15, or two weeks and give talks for 20, but these days I travel to a nation and give talks solely on the weekends. However, the combined attendance for those two sessions is far higher than that of 10 talks. That is only one explanation, though not the only one.”

He continued, saying, “We also record this on the media, and when it goes on the social media, the social media people watch to a larger number, on social media and on the satellite channel. So when we started the satellite channel in 2006, our main focus was to see to it that programs on the satellite channels are good. So my talks became less, but the reach became more.”

Who is Zakir Naik?

Zakir Naik, who is well-known for his divisive opinions, has encountered legal issues in India, including charges of inciting hate and money laundering. In 2016, he escaped to Malaysia and has remained a contentious figure ever since.

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