SINGAPORE, Sept 2 (NNN-Bernama) — Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the new Head of State for Singapore after winning the Presidential race by a decisive margin on Friday.

The former senior minister received 70.40 per cent of the votes while former Group Chief Investment Officer of GIC Pte Ltd Ng Kok Song (15.72 per cent) and former Chief Executive Officer of NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Ltd Tan Kin Lian (13.88 per cent).

TORONTO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - A deal Canada struck this year to stem the flow of asylum seekers entering from the U.S. was, at first glance, a quick success: Within days, the number of people caught at unofficial crossings along the border dwindled to a trickle.

But five months later, the overall number of people filing refugee claims in Canada has risen instead of falling. Many now come by air, while others sneak across the border and hide until they can apply for asylum without fear of being sent back, people working with migrants told Reuters.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani traders on Saturday went on strike against the soaring cost of living, including higher fuel and utility bills and record depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, which has led to widespread discontent among the public.

The traders pulled their shutters down across the country, while protesters burned tires on roads to express their anger.

MOGADISHU, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Somali National Army and international partners on Saturday killed 20 al-Shabab militants during an operation in the lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia, an official said.

Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala, deputy minister of information, culture and tourism, said that the joint forces hit the militants in their hideout during the dawn operation.

A military offensive against the militants has been intensified in central Somalia, Al-Adala added.

RAMALLAH, Sept 2 (NNN-WAFA) – Another young Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers, in the northern West Bank city of Tubas, Palestinian security and medical sources said, yesterday.

“Abdul Rahim Ghannam, 36, was killed by a live bullet, fired by an Israeli soldier,” the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a brief statement, without providing further details.

Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses said, Israeli armed forces stormed the town of Aqaba in northern Tubas and surrounded a house, demanding a young man inside surrender himself.

JERUSALEM, Sept 2 (Reuters) - More than 100 people were injured in violent clashes in Tel Aviv between Eritrean government supporters celebrating an Eritrea Day event and opponents of President Isaias Afwerki.

Israeli police fired stun grenades to break up the clashes, while some protesters hurled stones at police and set fire to trash bins, Reuters journalists at the scene said. Footage on social media showed Eritrean government supporters beating anti-government protesters with clubs.

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday praised Mongolia’s tradition of religious freedom dating to the times of its founder, Genghis Khan, as he opened the first-ever papal visit to the Asian nation with a word of encouragement to its tiny Catholic flock.

Francis met with President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh inside a traditional Mongolian ger, or round yurt, set up inside the state palace and wrote a message in the guest book that he was visiting “a country young and ancient, modern and rich of tradition,” as a pilgrim of peace.

BEIRUT, Sept 2 (NNN-NNA) – Around 111 Lebanese judges, yesterday, announced their cessation of work, amid a shortage of funds, to guarantee the regular operation of Lebanon’s judiciary bodies.

The judges released a statement, saying, they have to do so “in light of the state’s inability to cover medical care and education for themselves and their families, and with the lack of decent working conditions.”

They added that, the strike would continue until Lebanese authorities can successfully secure them dignified living and working conditions.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia said Saturday its forces destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones being used in an attempt to attack a key bridge linking Russia to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula, forcing its temporary closure for a third time in less than a year.

One naval drone was destroyed late Friday and two others early Saturday morning, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 2 (Reuters) - South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday urged authorities to enforce regulations preventing city residents from unlawfully occupying apartment blocks, after scores died in a fire in a Johannesburg building that was occupied illegally.

The fire, which killed more than 70 people, has highlighted a housing crisis in a city that is one of the world's most unequal and where poverty and unemployment are widespread.

"Local government has to enforce the laws," Ramaphosa said at a governing African National Congress party event.

30 August 2023; MEMO: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that the world with its different blocs and powers “will not be the same after the expansion of the BRICS group” during the recent South African summit. President da Silva, otherwise known simply as Lula, made his comment in a weekly video presenting the most prominent local developments, Anadolu has reported. 

31 August 2023; MEMO: Russia sees no sign that it will receive the guarantees that will allow it to resume a deal permitting Ukraine, one of the world’s main exporters, to ship grain through the Black Sea, Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said on Thursday, Reuters reports.