Australia’s official terror threat level has been raised from “possible” to “probable,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced.

Speaking at a press conference in Canberra, Albanese said that the National Security Committee (NSC) decided to raise the threat level after being briefed by the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) at a meeting on Monday morning, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said that the decision was driven by increases in youth radicalisation, online radicalisation and the rise of new mixed ideologies.

“I want to reassure Australians probable does not mean inevitable and it does not mean there is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger but the advice that we’ve received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant,” he said.

Mike Burgess, director-general of ASIO, said the agency has disrupted eight possible terror incidents since April and warned that attacks are likely to be perpetrated by individuals or small cells of terrorists using simple tactics and weapons in crowded public places.

“More Australians are willing to use violence to advance their cause. This includes violent protest, riots, and attack on a politician or democratic institutions,” he said at Monday’s press conference.

Burgess said that the ongoing conflict in Gaza was not the cause for raising the terror threat level but that it was a significant factor.

The terrorism threat level was lowered to “possible” in November 2022 — eight years after it was last raised to “probable” in 2014 during the emergence of Islamic State (IS). AGENCIES

More than 28,000 residents of northeast China’s Liaoning Province have been evacuated following a new round of torrential rains, with water levels of six rivers exceeding warning levels.

Downpours battered many parts of the province from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday, with the largest hourly rainfall reaching 81.9 mm in Xinglongtai District in the city of Panjin. The province’s average precipitation reached 25.4 mm during the 24 hours, Xinhua news agency reported.

To cope with this latest round of rainstorms, eight out of the province’s 14 prefectural-level cities activated Level III or Level IV emergency responses for flood control, including the provincial capital Shenyang, where a Level-III emergency response was issued, according to the provincial headquarters for flood control and drought relief.

China has a four-tier emergency response system for flood control, with Level I being the most urgent response.

The provincial water resources department has mobilised people for river patrol and reservoir inspection.

The provincial meteorological observatory said more rains are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. AGENCIES

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed on Sunday the recent escalation in the Middle East.

During a phone conversation, the two ministers discussed the efforts to be made to de-escalate the situation in a way that preserves the region’s security, stability and the interests of its people, reports Xinhua news agency, citing the Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement.

The two diplomats also discussed ways to avoid slipping into a vicious circle of regional confrontations, the statement said, adding that they also exchanged views on issues of common interest.

Concerns of possible regional escalation heightened following the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh early Wednesday when his residence in Tehran was hit.

Additionally, an alleged Israeli attack on Dahieh in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which resulted in the deaths of a senior Hezbollah military commander, Fouad Shokor and seven civilians, is also cited as a possible reason for the escalation. AGENCIES

An aid group announced that it has been forced to reduce the number of malnourished children receiving treatment at one of the largest camps for the displaced in western Sudan’s Darfur region due to blockage of medical supplies imposed by the paramilitary group.

“There is only enough therapeutic food to treat malnourished children in the Zamzam camp for another two weeks. As a result, today, we have sadly been obliged to cap the number of children who can receive this treatment because the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) have blocked our supply trucks,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement on Sunday.

“Our three trucks bringing life-saving medical supplies — including therapeutic food to Zamzam and El Fasher have been blocked in the town of Kabkabiya for over a month by the RSF,” it said.

According to the group, children with severe malnutrition without treatment are at risk of dying within 3-6 weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.

“In our field hospital in Zamzam, the bed occupancy rate of our malnutrition ward is at 126 per cent, indicating that many children are already in a critical condition,” it said, urging all warring parties to allow humanitarian aid to move across borders into Sudan and across front lines.

On Thursday, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, an analysis agency monitoring food security worldwide, announced in an alert that famine was ongoing in the Zamzam camp.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said famine was prevalent in some areas of war-torn Sudan and would continue through the next two months.

The country’s two warring parties, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF have traded accusations over the responsibility for the famine.

Since May 10, fierce clashes have been raging in El Fasher, the capital city of Sudan’s North Darfur State.

The World Food Program has previously warned that the ongoing war in Sudan between the SAF and the RSF “risks triggering the world’s largest hunger crisis.”

Sudan has been witnessing a deadly conflict between the SAF and the RSF since April 15, 2023, resulting in the loss of at least 16,650 lives. An estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, according to the UN data released on Monday. AGENCIES

Global markets were in the deep red on Monday as the US economic slowdown weighed heavily on the financial markets.

Heavy selling pressure was seen in all major Asian markets. Japan crashed by 10 per cent, Seoul tumbled over 8 per cent, Taipei fell by 4.43 per cent, Jakarta was down nearly 2 per cent, Hong Kong and Shanghai were down 1.43 per cent and 0.83 per cent) respectively.

South Korea’s news agency Yonhap reported that due to a crash trading in the local benchmark index KOSPI 200 index held for five minutes.

The US stocks fell for the second consecutive session on Friday last week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding 1.51 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sinking 2.43 per cent.

A disappointing jobs report spurred investor fears that the world’s largest economy is headed toward a recession, the report said

Indian stock markets also opened in the deep red on Monday. At 11 a.m., the Sensex was at 78,798, down 2,183 points or 2.70 per cent, and the Nifty was at 24,061, down 657 points or 2.66 per cent.

Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart said, “The global market is reeling as bears enter with a cocktail of bad news. The fear of a reverse Yen carry trade, following an interest rate hike in Japan, was the initial catalyst. This was compounded by fears of a recession in the USA after extremely poor job data, which spooked market sentiment.”

“The rally in the global stock markets has been driven mainly by consensus expectations of a soft landing for the US economy. This expectation is now under threat with the fall in the US job creation in July and the sharp rise in the US unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East also are a contributing factor,” other experts said.

G7 FMs urge efforts to avoid further escalation of Middle East conflict

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries urged all actors involved in the current Middle East crisis to refrain from any step that could possibly escalate the conflict further.

“We call on the parties concerned to desist from any initiative that could hinder the path of dialogue and moderation and encourage a new escalation,” the G7 Italian presidency said in a statement on Sunday.

After discussing the latest developments in a videoconference, the ministers expressed “strong concern about recent events that threaten to lead to a regionalisation of the crisis, starting with Lebanon,” according to Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

The G7 extraordinary meeting was called after a recent escalation in the crisis, reports Xinhua news agency.

Tensions escalated after the assassinations of Lebanese group Hezbollah’s senior military commander, Fouad Shokor, in Beirut and Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31.

A few days earlier, a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights had killed 12 children and teens.

Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah blamed Israel for the killings and threatened to retaliate. Israel claimed responsibility for Shokor’s death, saying it was in retaliation to the strike in the Golan, but it did not confirm involvement in the killing of Haniyeh.

Since then, the exchange of fire and rockets ongoing across the Israel-Lebanon border has intensified, and so have the diplomatic efforts to contain the crisis.

“We reaffirmed the priority of a successful conclusion of negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages and confirmed our commitment to intensify humanitarian aid to the populations of the Strip,” the G7 presidency stressed.

Also on Sunday, Italy’s Foreign Minister called on all Italians temporarily in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as possible due to “the worsening situation” and to all citizens to avoid travelling there. Earlier, many other governments, including those of France, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Jordan also issued advisories.

The G7 comprises Canada, the US, France, the UK, Italy, Germany and Japan. AGENCIES

At least eight people were shot dead when a group of unidentified gunmen attacked a local community in Nigeria’s southern state of Imo, police said.

The eight deceased were identified as village heads in the Umucheke community of Onuimo Local Government Area, Aboki Danjuma, Imo State police commissioner, told the media during an on-the-spot assessment of the incident on Sunday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.

Danjuma said at least six gunmen, who rode on three motorcycles, stormed the community to wreak havoc late Saturday. They identified the homes of the deceased, perpetrated the killings, and fled through a bush path.

Alleging that members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network, an armed group in the southern part of the country, were responsible for the attack, Danjuma said security agencies are currently combing nearby forests in search of the perpetrators of the “dastardly act.” AGENCIES

Three people were killed in a building collapse in the city of Shebin El-Kom in Menoufia Governorate, northern Egypt, according to a statement by local authorities.

Civil protection and ambulance teams were dispatched to the site for rescue and search operations on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency, citing the statement.

A security cordon was imposed around the area, and adjacent houses were evacuated in preparation for the removal of the rubble.

The Governor of Menoufia, Ibrahim Abu Limon, stated that a restoration order had been issued for the building, but the owner did not carry out the necessary work.

This led the governorate to issue a removal order, which was also not implemented by the landlord.

Further details are awaited. AGENCIES

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has advised all its citizens to avoid travelling to Bangladesh amid the ongoing violent protest in the country till further notice.

India on Sunday night advised all its nationals currently residing in Bangladesh to exercise “extreme caution” and restrict their movements in the wake of fresh waves of violence in the neighbouring country.

At least 90 people, including 14 policemen, were killed on Sunday in fierce clashes between security forces personnel and anti-government protesters in different parts of Bangladesh, according to reports from Dhaka.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“All Indian nationals presently in Bangladesh are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the High Commission of India in Dhaka,” it said.

The student protests in Bangladesh started last month against a controversial job quota scheme. The protests now have turned into an anti-government agitation.

On July 25, the MEA said around 6,700 Indian students returned from Bangladesh given the situation in that country. AGENCIES

India, the world’s third-largest importer of crude oil, stands to gain as oil prices have fallen to an eitht-month low at $75.8 a barrel in the international market, with a more than $4 a barrel decline since Friday as the slowdown in the US and Chinese economies have raised fears of dampening demand.

With US job data showing an increase in the unemployment rate and a sharp fall in Chinese consumption of fuel amid a slowing economy, concerns of a dip in demand outweigh the supply-side fears caused by geopolitical tensions, according to market analysts.

The benchmark Brent crude fell by more than $1.04 to $75.8 a barrel on Monday after an over three per cent decline, while US West Texas Intermediate crude has come down to $72.43 a barrel.

The decline in oil prices augurs well for the Indian economy as the country imports around 85 per cent of its crude requirement and any decline in oil prices leads to a reduction in the country’s import bill. This in turn leads to a lowering of the current account deficit (CAD) and strengthening of the Rupee.

Apart from strengthening the external balance, a decline in oil prices also leads to lower prices of petrol, diesel and LPG in the domestic market, which in turn eases inflation in the country.

The government has also helped reduce the country’s oil import bill by allowing the oil companies to buy Russian crude at discounted prices despite Western pressures in the wake of the war with Ukraine. The Narendra Modi government has stood firm in maintaining its ties with Russia despite the sanctions against Moscow imposed by the US and Europe.

Russia has emerged as the largest supplier of crude oil to India replacing Iraq and Saudi Arabia which occupied the top slot earlier. India has in fact become the largest purchaser of Russia’s seaborne oil which accounted for close to 38 per cent of India’s total oil imports.

According to an ICRA report, the price of oil imports from Russia was 16.4 per cent and 15.6 per cent lower than the corresponding levels from the Gulf countries in FY2023 and 11 months of FY2024, respectively.

India’s strategy of continuing to buy cheap oil from Russia has resulted in the saving of around $7.9 billion in the country’s oil import bill during the first 11 months of the fiscal year 2022-23 and also helped the country to lower its CAD.

These large purchases of Russian oil have also helped keep prices in the world market at more reasonable levels which have benefited other countries as well.

Data compiled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shows that in terms of volume, the share of crude petroleum imported from Russia jumped to 36 per cent in 11 months of FY2024 from two per cent in FY2022, while that from West Asian countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait) fell to 23 per cent from 34 per cent. The discounts on Russian oil generated huge savings in the oil import bill. AGENCIES

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has condemned Israel’s deadly airstrikes on the schools of al-Nasr and Hassan Salama in Gaza City.

In a post on Sunday on social media platform X, Kanaani described the raid, which killed at least 25 Palestinians and wounded dozens of others earlier in the day, as Israel’s “newest war crime”.

Israeli Army Spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement that Israeli warplanes attacked militants operating inside Hamas command and control complexes that were hidden inside the schools, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kanaani stressed that despite the Israelis’ “horrifying brutality” and “war crimes”, “the strategic balance in the Palestinian lands as well as the region will not tilt in favour of Israel and its delusional supporters”.

The Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on the Israeli towns adjacent to the strip, killing nearly 1,200 people.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 39,583, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Sunday. AGENCIES