Tehran, July 30 (IANS) Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York has rejected claims by US intelligence officials that Tehran sought to influence the US presidential election, the official news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday.

The remarks were made in a statement released on Monday after US intelligence officials earlier in the day claimed that Iran was working to “influence the US presidential election and undermine Donald Trump’s bid to regain the White House,” the report said.

Iran’s permanent mission stressed that Tehran had no objective or activity to influence the US election, adding a major part of such accusations were within the framework of the “psychological operations designed to artificially pep up election campaigns” in the United States, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.

–IANS

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Wellington, July 30 (IANS) New Zealand and Indonesia launched a plan of action on Tuesday which sets a course for intensified cooperation to guide bilateral ties over the next five years.

New Zealand and Indonesia share an important partnership, said New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters following official talks in Auckland with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two sides agreed on a dedicated Plan of Action for 2025-2029, which sets a new goal of 6 billion NZ dollars ( $ 3.54 billion) in annual two-way trade by 2029, replacing the one released in 2020.

Meeting this goal will necessitate even greater trade cooperation, including on halal, Peters said.

“We also agreed to work towards a joint Working Holiday Scheme and closer education cooperation,” he said.

–IANS

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Seoul, July 30 (IANS) North Korea’s recent campaign of launching trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea has disrupted operations of Incheon International Airport, the South’s main gateway, on 12 occasions, a lawmaker said on Tuesday, citing government data.

According to data from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, runways at the airport have been shut down for a total of 265 minutes across 12 occasions due to the balloons sent from North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.

The first disruption incident occurred from 10.48 p.m. to 11.42 p.m. on June 1, four days after North Korea first began launching the balloons. The most severe disruption occurred on June 26, when runways were shut down on eight occasions, resulting in 166 minutes of halted takeoffs and landings.

“North Korea’s trash balloons not only have landed within the premises of the presidential office but also have had a broad impact on the operations of Incheon International Airport and flights there,” Yang said.

He added that the government must work to suspend the vicious cycle connected to both anti-North Korean leaflet balloons from the South and trash balloons from the North.

According to the South’s intelligence agency, the North has sent some 3,600 trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea this year, which the North has claimed are in retaliation for South Korean activists sending propaganda leaflets across the border.

–IANS

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Ulan Bator, July 30 (IANS) A suspected bubonic plague case has been reported in the western Mongolian province of Govi-Altai, according to local media on Tuesday.

The individual from the Taishir soum (administrative subdivision) in the province has been recently hospitalised after consuming marmot meat, Xinhua news agency reported.

In response, at least 13 people who were in close contact with the patient are being isolated, and the soum has been placed under quarantine.

Although hunting marmots is illegal in Mongolia, many Mongolians regard the rodent as a delicacy and ignore the law.

The National Centre for Zoonotic Diseases has indicated that 17 out of Mongolia’s 21 provinces are at risk of bubonic plague infection.

Bubonic plague, a bacterial disease spread mostly by fleas on wild rodents and other animals, can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organisation.

–IANS

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Canberra, July 30 (IANS) Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged all Australians in Lebanon to leave the country.

He told reporters on Tuesday that the government’s official advice is for Australians to avoid travelling to Lebanon amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The travel advice very clearly is don’t go to Lebanon,” he said.

“People who are there who are Australian citizens should ensure that they take advantage of the commercial flights that are available out of Lebanon at this time, he said.

Australia’s Smartraveller service, which is run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), on Monday issued a renewed warning against travelling to Lebanon due to the volatile security situation.

It said Australians in Lebanon should leave the country immediately, warning that the security situation could deteriorate rapidly with little or no notice.

Several airlines suspended flights to and from Beirut on Monday local time due to the security situation.

“This is a troubling area. We have been issuing these travel warnings for many months now, and it is important that people are cognisant of those warnings,” Albanese said on Tuesday.

In the 2021 Australian census, over 248,000 Australians reported having Lebanese ancestry, including 87,343 who were born in the Middle Eastern country.

According to the DFAT, approximately 15,000 Australians normally reside in Lebanon.

–IANS

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