"Immoral": Iran Minister Slams Woman Student's Public Act Of Stripping

Iran's science minister, Hossein Simaei, on Wednesday described a female student's public act of stripping down to her underwear as "immoral and uncustomary".

"She broke the norms, and her behaviour was not based on sharia, was immoral and uncustomary," Simaei said on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet meeting, adding she had not been expelled from her university.

Footage circulated online Saturday showing a woman, identified as a student at the Islamic Azad University in Tehran, sitting and briefly walking around campus and later on the street in her underwear.

"Those who republished this footage spread prostitution," said Simaei, adding such incidents "should not be encouraged as they are neither morally nor religiously justified."

Media outlets in Iran shared a blurred clip of the student.

Amnesty International said she "was violently arrested after she removed her clothes in protest against abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling by security officials."

Covering the neck and head and dressing modestly became mandatory for women in Iran following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Government spokesman Fatemeh Mohajerani dismissed reports that the incident began with a hijab warning and denied she was violently arrested.

"The issue was actually something else," she said, noting that "this level of nudity is not accepted anywhere."

"The girl was not dealt with harshly in any way," she added.

In a statement Saturday, the university said the girl was "handed to the police station" and found to be "under severe pressure and suffering from a mental disorder."

Months-long nationwide protests shook Iran following the September 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurd Mahsa Amini.

Amini had been arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women, requiring them to cover their head and neck and wear modest clothing in public.

Her death triggered months-long protests in Iran, with hundreds of people, including dozens of security personnel, killed in the unrest. Thousands of demonstrators were arrested.

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Russia Launches 55 Satellites, Including 2 Iranian Devices Into Orbit

Russia launched 55 satellites into orbit on Tuesday, including two privately built Iranian devices, amid deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran.

A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East at 02:18 Moscow time (2318 GMT on Monday) carrying the satellites, Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.

In total, Roscosmos said 51 Russian satellites, one Russian-Chinese device and a Russian-Zimbabwean satellite were put into orbit, as well as the two Iranian satellites.

It said it was a "record number of Russian satellites simultaneously put into orbit."

The two Iranian imaging and communications satellites -- Koswar and Hodhod -- were designed and built by Iran's Omid Faza Company, and are aimed to support environmental monitoring and communications in remote areas.

Tehran said it was the first time Russia had launched privately built Iranian satellites.

The two countries have deepened political, economic and military ties amid Russia's offensive in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East, raising concerns in the West.

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Israel Denies Carrying Out Strikes On Polio Vaccination Clinic In Gaza

The Israeli military denied on Monday that it had hit a clinic in the northern Gaza Strip where health workers were carrying out polio vaccinations.

On Saturday, the Gaza health ministry said Israeli fire had hit the Sheikh Radwan clinic as parents brought their children in to be vaccinated. It said four children had been wounded in the explosion, which took place during an agreed humanitarian pause to allow the campaign to go ahead.

The military said it was aware of the reports but said an initial review showed its forces had not carried out any strikes when the incident took place.

"Contrary to the claims, an initial review determined that the IDF did not strike in the area at the specified time," it said in a statement.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the incident had taken place just after a WHO team was at the clinic and that it had endangered a vital health protection campaign.

"These vital humanitarian-area-specific pauses must be absolutely respected. Ceasefire!" he said in a statement on the social media platform X on Saturday.

The Israeli military accused the Palestinian operator group Hamas of deliberately operating out of civilian areas to use people as human shields, a charge that Hamas denies.

With access to the area cut off and communications patchy, outside verification of the assertions of either side has become increasingly difficult.

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Trump Remark On 2020 Poll Sparks Fear He May Not Accept Result If He Loses

The United States will on Tuesday witness one of the closest presidential elections in decades with Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic leader Kamala Harris making last ditch efforts to sway the remaining undecided voters in key battleground states.

More than 75 million Americans have already cast their votes as of Sunday, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab that tracks early and mail-in voting across the US.

With just two days left for the national election day, Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump are criss-crossing politically pivotal battleground states making closing arguments to drum up support.

Various polls have predicted an exceptionally tight race between Harris and Trump. Political analysts say either of the two leaders wrestling at least four of the seven battleground states can take the reins at the White House in January.

In questioning the counting process in the 2020 presidential election, Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday that he shouldn't have "left" the White House, bringing back apprehensions that he may not accept the outcome if he loses the race to Harris.

In his address, Trump also questioned the immigration policy of the Biden administration and said the country's borders were safe till he was at the White House.

"We had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left. I shouldn't have left. I mean, honestly, because... we did so well," the former President said at a rally in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

Trump refused to concede the 2020 election and unsuccessfully filed a series of court cases in challenging the outcome.

In the rally, Trump also targeted Harris and accused the Democratic Party of being a "corrupt machine".

"It's all corrupt. She is corrupt. She is a corrupt person. I am running against a totally corrupt person," he alleged.

"I am really not running against her. I am running against a corrupt machine called the Democrat Party." Pennsylvania has emerged as the most crucial of the seven battleground states having 19 electoral college votes followed by 16 each in North Carolina and Georgia, 15 in Michigan and 11 in Arizona. In other battleground states, Wisconsin has 10 and Nevada has six.

In the rally in Pennsylvania, Trump promised to usher in "a new golden age" in the US if he becomes the president and that he will "fix the misdeeds" of the Biden-Harris administration.

Trump is also holding rallies in North Carolina and Georgia while Harris is touring Michigan.

In her address at an event in Detroit, Harris said it is incumbent on the American people to decide the future course the United States takes, suggesting that Trump would be detrimental to the country.

Election Day offers voters the chance to reject "chaos, fear and hate", she said.

"In two days, we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come," she said.

"I see a nation determined to turn the page on hate and division and chart a new way forward. As I travel, I see Americans from so-called red states and so-called blue states who are ready to bend the arc of history toward justice," Harris added.

The Democratic Party leader also invoked God and said His plan is to "heal us and bring us together as one nation" but that it is not enough, adding "we must act" to realise the plan. 

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Study Reveals Possible Link Between Depression And Higher Body Temperature

Recent research from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has revealed a significant link between depression and body temperature, offering fresh perspectives on possible treatment approaches.

Over the course of seven months, data from 20,880 people in 106 countries was gathered and examined for the study. According to the research, some people may have greater body temperatures than others when they are depressed.

The study is among the biggest to investigate this field because earlier research was sometimes constrained by small sample sizes. The association found may pave the way for more research, even if the UCSF study does not conclusively demonstrate that depression causes elevated body temperature or that depression causes elevated body temperature.

The findings shed light on how a novel depression treatment method might work, said Ashley Mason, PhD, the study's lead author and associate professor of psychiatry at UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. A small body of existing, causal studies has found that using hot tubs or saunas can reduce depression, possibly by triggering the body to self-cool, for example, through sweating.

"Ironically, heating people up actually can lead to rebound body temperature lowering that lasts longer than simply cooling people down directly, as through an ice bath," said Mason, who is also a clinical psychologist at the UCSF Osher Centre for Integrative Health. "What if we can track the body temperature of people with depression to time heat-based treatments well?"

"To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date to examine the association between body temperature-assessed using both self-report methods and wearable sensors-and depressive symptoms in a geographically broad sample," added Mason. "Given the climbing rates of depression in the United States, we're excited by the possibilities of a new avenue for treatment."

This new connection may result in easy ways to treat the symptoms of depression. The treatment of millions of people worldwide may change if more research confirms the notion that cooling therapy may help those suffering from depression.

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S Jaishankar's "4 Reasons" For India And Australia's Deepening Ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasised the transformation in India-Australia relations, attributing the progress to four key factors while reflecting on the evolution of the bilateral partnership between the two nations while addressing the Indian community at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, on Sunday.

During his address, S Jaishankar stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Australian government, the global dynamics, and the contributions of the Indian community were the key factors for the evolution of the India-Australia relationship.

Reflecting on the growth in ties between the two nations, S Jaishankar remarked that Australia would have featured among India's crucial partners a decade ago but that has changed significantly.

"This is my fifth visit to Australia in the last three years... I first came to Australia when I was Foreign Secretary. Yesterday, before I boarded the flight, I launched a book in which they highlighted seven crucial friendships of India, Australia was one of them. And I told the author; that if he had written the book 10 years ago, I am not sure it would have been. I am saying this because I am trying to stress how much this relationship has in the last decade and why has it changed... There are four reasons. One PM Modi, two Australia, three the world and fourth is all of you. That is the reason why the relationship has come a long way," the EAM said.

S Jaishankar noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi posed a question back in 2014, when he became the Prime Minister, on the development of the India-Australia relationship. He stated that this inquiry initiated a reevaluation of the relationship, recognising the potential that had previously gone untapped.

S Jaishankar acknowledged the inherent connections between the two countries, citing shared language, culture, and tradition as foundational elements.

He reiterated that the transformation in the relationship between the two nations was not done on "autopilot" but was done by efforts, leadership, and ambition from both sides.

"I mentioned PM Modi for a particular reason. After he had become Prime Minister, he posed a question to me in 2014. He asked, Why hasn't our relationship with Australia developed? Despite having such a natural faith, there is language bonding, shared culture and tradition. I had no answer that day because I hadn't reflected on it myself and maybe even if I had, I would not have probably realised that at the end of the day, things do not happen automatically; they need effort, leadership, and ambition. They need people, governments, and leaders at both ends. So when I present to you today a picture of such transformation, this did not happen when the India-Australia vehicle was on autopilot. It happened when people have worked at it; at both ends, there was a realisation of the value of these ties and the great efforts of building it," the EAM added.

EAM S Jaishankar is on his five-day visit to Australia from November 3 to November 7, during which he will inaugurate the fourth Indian consulate in Australia in Brisbane on November 4.

Earlier today, EAM landed in Brisbane for his five-day visit to the QUAD partner nation.

"Namaste Australia! Landed in Brisbane today. Look forward to productive engagements over the next few days to take forward the India-Australia Dosti," the EAM said on social media platform X.

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COP16 Summit Ends Without Funding Roadmap, Set To Reconvene On Key Issues

The world's biggest nature conservation conference closed in Colombia on Saturday with no agreement on a roadmap to ramp up funding for species protection.

The 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) to the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was suspended by its president Susana Muhamad as negotiations ran almost 12 hours longer than planned and delegates started leaving to catch flights.

The exodus left the summit without a quorum for decision-making, but CBD spokesman David Ainsworth told AFP it will resume at a later date to consider outstanding issues.

The conference, the biggest meeting of its kind yet, with around 23,000 registered delegates, was tasked with assessing, and ramping up, progress toward an agreement reached in Canada two years ago to halt humankind's rapacious destruction of nature's bounty.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that emerged from that meeting had set 23 targets to be met in just over five years from now.

They include placing 30 percent of land and sea areas under protection and 30 percent of degraded ecosystems under restoration by 2030, reducing pollution, and phasing out agricultural and other subsidies harmful to nature.

The Canada summit had also agreed that $200 billion per year be made available to protect biodiversity by 2030, including the transfer of $30 billion per year from rich to poor nations.

The actual total for 2022 was about $15 billion, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

On top of that, nations have pledged about $400 million to a Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) created last year to meet the UN targets.

In Cali, negotiators were split largely between poor and rich country blocs as they haggled over increased funding and other commitments.

The biggest ask from the summit -- to lay out a detailed funding plan -- turned out to be a bridge too far.

Muhamad, Colombia's environment minister, had offered a draft text proposing the creation of a dedicated biodiversity fund, which was rejected by the European Union, Switzerland and Japan.

Developing nations had insisted on the creation of a dedicated biodiversity fund, saying they are not adequately represented in existing mechanisms including the GBFF, which they say are also too onerous.

'Clock is ticking'

The meeting did manage to coalesce around the creation of a fund to share the profits of digitally sequenced genetic data taken from plants and animals with the communities they come from.

Such data, much of it from species found in poor countries, is notably used in medicines and cosmetics that can make their developers billions, very little of which ever trickles back down.

Delegates also approved the creation of a permanent body to represent the interests of Indigenous people under the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity.

Representatives of Indigenous peoples, many in traditional dress and headgear, broke out in cheers and chants as the agreement was gaveled through.

But the talks on biodiversity funding stumbled even as new research presented to coincide with COP16 showed that more than a quarter of assessed plants and animals are now at risk of extinction.

Only 17.6 percent of land and inland waters, and 8.4 percent of the ocean and coastal areas, are estimated to be protected and conserved.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, who had stopped over in Cali for two days with five heads of state and dozens of ministers to add impetus to the talks, reminded delegates that humanity has already altered three-quarters of Earth's land surface and two-thirds of its waters.

"The clock is ticking. The survival of our planet's biodiversity -- and our own survival -- are on the line," he said.

The meeting was held amid a massive security deployment following threats from a Colombian guerrilla group with its base of operations near Cali. No incidents were reported.

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