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'US root cause of tensions'

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un says the United States is the root cause of instability on the Korean Peninsula. Kim, during a defense exhibition, said there’s no basis to believe that Washington is not hostile toward Pyongyang despite its denials. He also accused South Korea of seeking to destroy balance on the peninsula with its military developments. The North Korean leader said his country’s weapons programs are in self-defense in the face of hostile US policies and a military buildup in the South. He said, however, that Pyongyang will not start a war in the region. Kim has long accused Washington and Seoul of pursuing a hostile policy. Tensions have escalated since the two neighbors conducted missile tests in recent weeks.

'US to blame for Kunduz attack'

The leader of Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah has denounced the Daesh attack on a Shia mosque in Afghanistan, saying the terror group is seeking to plunge the country into a civil war. Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said the attack in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz shows Daesh is trying to stoke internal tensions. Nasrallah said the US also shares responsibility for the bloodshed, as information suggests, it has relocated Daesh terrorists from Iraq to Afghanistan. Elsewhere in his remarks, Nasrallah called on the Lebanese government to make it a priority to resolve the country’s energy crisis. He urged the government to seek a US sanction waiver to import Iranian fuel oil and alleviate crippling shortages.

Iraq parliamentary elections

Iraq’s prominent cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has vowed to fight corruption after initial results from Sunday’s elections showed his political movement has secured the biggest share of seats in parliament. Sadr added that his movement will work to protect and secure the country. His supporters also hit the streets in the capital, Baghdad to celebrate the victory. The exact number of seats won by the Sadr bloc is not clear but it is said to be maintaining the most seats, leading in several provinces, including Baghdad. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s party is likely to have the next largest win. The country’s electoral commission says the results are not immediately available for all provinces. The commission has put the voter turnout at 41%, lower than the last general election held in 2018. Nearly 25 million people were eligible to cast their ballots for the 329-seat legislature.

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