Blinken says US ‘appalled’ by execution of British-Iranian national

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
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Updated 18 January 2023

Blinken says US ‘appalled’ by execution of British-Iranian national

Blinken says US ‘appalled’ by execution of British-Iranian national
  • Akbari, 61, a British-Iranian national who once served as Tehran’s deputy defense minister, was handed a death sentence on charges of spying for Britain

WASHINGTON: The United States is appalled by Iran’s execution of Alireza Akbari, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, vowing that Tehran’s abuses in its crackdown of widespread demonstrations will not go unpunished.
“We were appalled by the execution of Mr. Akbari just as we’ve been appalled by everything we’ve been seeing on the streets of Iran over the last months since these protests began: mass arrests, sham trials, the executions, the use of sexual violence as a tool for protests’ suppression,” Blinken said at a news conference.




Secretary of State Antony Blinken with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, speaks during a news conference in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Washington. (AP)

“These abuses will not go without consequence. Together with many other countries, we’ve been moving forward with a variety of unilateral actions, multilateral measures, using UN mechanisms, to try to hold Iran to account,” he added.
Akbari, 61, a British-Iranian national who once served as Tehran’s deputy defense minister, was handed a death sentence on charges of spying for Britain.
London has said the charges against him were politically motivated. It repeatedly called for his release. Following the execution, it imposed sanctions on Iran’s Prosecutor General
The execution drew widespread condemnation and looks set to further worsen Iran’s long-strained relations with the West, which have deteriorated since talks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal hit deadlock and after Tehran unleashed a deadly crackdown on protesters last year.
At the same news conference, British foreign minister James Cleverly said the United Kingdom would not limit itself to the response that it had already announced, although he declined to detail what more it might do.


Indonesia’s Anak Krakatoa volcano erupts, spews huge ash column

Indonesia’s Anak Krakatoa volcano erupts, spews huge ash column
Updated 19 sec ago

Indonesia’s Anak Krakatoa volcano erupts, spews huge ash column

Indonesia’s Anak Krakatoa volcano erupts, spews huge ash column
  • There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties after the eruption
  • The country has nearly 130 active volcanoes
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Anak Krakatoa volcano erupted on Friday, belching a column of ash more than three kilometers into the sky, officials said.
The volcanic island emerged from the sea at the beginning of the last century from the crater formed after the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa — one of the deadliest and most destructive in history.
Anak Krakatoa, which means “Child of Krakatoa”, spewed thick ash over the strait that separates the islands of Java and Sumatra.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties after the eruption at 08:46 am (0146 GMT).
“The height of the eruption column was observed to be 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above the summit,” Deny Mardiono, an official from the Krakatoa monitoring station, said in a press release.
“The ash column was observed to be grey to black with thick intensity to the southwest.”
He warned the public not to carry out activities within a five-kilometer (three-mile) radius of the volcano’s crater.
Anak Krakatoa’s status was at the second-highest warning level after authorities raised it in 2022 following a sharp rise in volcanic activity.
Its crater partly collapsed in 2018 when a major eruption sent huge chunks sliding into the ocean, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 400 people and injured thousands.
Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago nation, sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
The country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

‘UN Security Council must prioritize Arab and global crises, not only Ukraine’

‘UN Security Council must prioritize Arab and global crises, not only Ukraine’
Updated 35 min 53 sec ago

‘UN Security Council must prioritize Arab and global crises, not only Ukraine’

‘UN Security Council must prioritize Arab and global crises, not only Ukraine’
  • Nuclear war a real threat, says Arab League’s SG Aboul Gheit
  • Lack of aid to ‘suffering millions’ discussed at UAE-organized event

NEW YORK: The League of Arab States on Thursday called on the UN Security Council not to let the Ukraine war take priority over other global conflicts and their ensuing humanitarian crises, especially in the Arab region including Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Sudan.

The league’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told council members that the world was at a “very critical juncture,” which has seen heightened tensions and the polarization of major powers. This has pushed the world “to the precipice of a nuclear confrontation,” with the mitigating effects of collective action increasingly unlikely.

Aboul Gheit said this has resulted in an inadequate response to modern challenges including counterterrorism, climate change, disruptions caused by technological advances, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Aboul Gheit’s remarks came at a council meeting organized by the UAE, the Security Council’s president for the month of June, to discuss ways to enhance joint action by the UN and Arab League on various issues including regional security and humanitarian challenges.

The UAE’s concept note for the meeting emphasized that such challenges, including ongoing conflicts in Libya, Syria, Sudan and Yemen — and the Israeli-Palestinian situation — “have led to unimaginable suffering for millions of people.

“In addition, countries such as Lebanon and Somalia are facing deep economic crises, high unemployment and spiraling inflation, thereby exacerbating fragilities and humanitarian needs.”

The note said that the earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkiye earlier this year have compounded the suffering in the region, resulting in widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure, a high death toll and the displacement of millions.

“While the humanitarian response was substantial, it faced considerable
obstacles, in particular in coordinating assistance from various donors.”

Aboul Gheit said “the prevailing tension at the pinnacle of the international order diminishes any opportunities to address regional conflicts. It also comes at the expense of the global attention that should be paid to humanitarian and relief aid.”

Sudan has for two months been witnessing an “unprecedented situation in its contemporary history with Khartoum turning into a battlefield,” where death, displacement, looting and dismantling of state institutions continue, said Aboul Gheit.

“The League of Arab States senses the seriousness of this situation both on Sudan and its neighboring countries and (it) is actively working in coordination with other regional organizations, especially the African Union, towards achieving a total cessation of hostilities (and) creating an environment conducive to the resumption of political action.”

He urged member states to help keep “a unified Sudan as our aim without any threats to its territorial integrity and without weakening its national institutions.”

Palestinians also continue to suffer from persisting occupation, and “heightened oppression and violence on the part of the Israeli government” whose practices and “extreme ideologies reflect an unprecedented turn to the right.

“This is a government that chooses annexation and settlement instead of peace,” Aboul Gheit told world ambassadors.

“This government, every single day, applies policies and practices that are totally divorced from international law, undermining any future prospect for the two-state solution.

“What is most concerning today is the feeling of despondency and despair currently felt by the Palestinian people as they have lost all hope in giving impetus to the political settlement process.”

He called on the council to renew its commitment to a two-state solution, one of the “mainstays” of the Arab League, as the “only path, and I do repeat the only path for sustainable peace.”

Syria’s return to the Arab League should serve as a step toward tackling its decade-long crisis, said Aboul Gheit.

“Maybe this step would also compel us all to actively work towards a political settlement in Syria according to Security Council Resolution 2254.”

He expressed hope that Arab countries hosting Syrian refugees would be able to “reach a solution for the voluntary and dignified return of Syrian refugees by creating the environment conducive for this return.”

In Yemen, notwithstanding the Houthis’ breaches, the truce has contributed considerably to de-escalating tensions, said Aboul Gheit.

Despite the ongoing “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis in the country, a political solution remains possible, “especially if enough efforts were made on the part of the Houthis,” said Aboul Gheit. He added that the rapprochement agreement last March between Saudi Arabia and Iran “opens new prospects that should be optimized to achieve de-escalation and maybe even settlement in Yemen.”

He voiced the Arab League’s support for UN efforts in Libya and reiterated that elections there are the only path toward a sustainable solution for the protracted crisis in the country.

Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN’s under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, said that in recent years “multilateralism has come under great strain. Trust in institutions and processes has been sorely tested. Defiance of international law and the norms that bind us is making international and regional cooperation to maintain peace and security ever more difficult.”

But she added that “in such a fraught context, it is heartening that the relationship between the United Nations and the League of Arab States remains robust.”

DiCarlo said that the role of Arab countries would be “key” to end the conflict in Sudan, as she commended for their peace efforts the Arab league, the AU, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and other partners.

The UN official said that the Jeddah Agreement, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US on May 20, “gave rise to much hope (but) unfortunately, the parties have failed to implement (it).

“Furthermore, the Sudanese Armed Forces announced the suspension of their participation in the talks, citing the Rapid Support Forces’ violations of the ceasefire.

“It is critical that the parties remain committed to the ceasefire agreement. But this will not be enough. We need a permanent cessation of hostilities and, eventually, a resumption of the political process.”

DiCarlo also echoed Aboul Gheit’s call for a renewed commitment to a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and also commended the Arab League’s efforts in trying to reach a solution for the Libyan crisis.

Turning to Syria, DiCarlo noted the Arab meetings in Amman and Jeddah, and the resolution adopted at the Jeddah Summit, “which reflected the importance of Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015), the only internationally agreed roadmap to resolve the Syrian conflict.”

She said that “if the renewed regional attention on Syria is translated into action, we could see momentum build toward a negotiated political settlement of the conflict,” adding that “addressing the fate of the detained, the disappeared and the missing is essential to move closer towards sustainable peace.”

She called on all parties to “take meaningful steps to this end,” and urged member states to support the establishment of a body dedicated to clarifying the fate of the missing.


Chinese naval ship heads for Philippines in ‘friendly’ tour

Chinese naval ship heads for Philippines in ‘friendly’ tour
Updated 35 min 17 sec ago

Chinese naval ship heads for Philippines in ‘friendly’ tour

Chinese naval ship heads for Philippines in ‘friendly’ tour
  • The giant training vessel Qijiguang left Brunei on Thursday for the Philippines as part an around 40-day trip which has included stops in Vietnam and Thailand before Brunei

BEIJING: China’s largest naval training ship sailed for the Philippines on Friday, its last stop of a regional “friendly” tour, amid growing unease over Chinese maritime activities in the South China Sea.
The giant training vessel, Qijiguang, bigger than a typical destroyer, left Brunei on Thursday for the Philippines as part an around 40-day trip which has included stops in Vietnam and Thailand before Brunei.
At the end of its trip, Qijiguang and its crew of 476 navy students and officers would have passed through the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, Gulf of Thailand and West Pacific.
Training conducted by the ship, named after a Ming dynasty general who fought against Japanese pirates, would focus on navigation, anti-piracy and shooting exercises with light-weight weapons, according to Chinese state media, which had described its passage in the region as “friendly.”
Its impending arrival in the Philippines comes amid tensions with its neighbors over the South China Sea, which China mostly claims but parts of which are also claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The visit also comes immediately after the first-ever trilateral coast guard exercise involving the Philippines, Japan and the United States that ended on Wednesday.
The Philippines has ramped up its military ties with the United States this year, conducting more drills and even allowing US access to local military bases. The decision angered China when Manila said the access would be useful if Chinese forces attacked Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.
Heightening tensions further, the Philippines placed navigational buoys in the contested Spratly islands of the South China Sea last month, quickly prompting China to do the same.
On May 23-25, the training vessel made port in Vietnam, overlapping with the sailing of a Chinese research ship in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone from May 7-June 6. The presence of the research ship prompted a rare protest from Hanoi.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold its first-ever multilateral military drill in the South China Sea in September, its chair Indonesia said on Thursday.


China envoy in South Korea warns of ‘wrong bets’ over Sino-US rivalry

China envoy in South Korea warns of ‘wrong bets’ over Sino-US rivalry
Updated 09 June 2023

China envoy in South Korea warns of ‘wrong bets’ over Sino-US rivalry

China envoy in South Korea warns of ‘wrong bets’ over Sino-US rivalry
  • Envoy blames Seoul for creating ‘difficulties’ for bilateral ties by failing to respect Beijing’s core interests, while being influenced by the US

SEOUL: South Korea might be making “wrong bets” in the Sino-US rivalry, the Chinese ambassador in Seoul said, urging Seoul to stop “decoupling” from China and restore economic and diplomatic ties.
Xing Haiming made the remarks during a meeting late Thursday with Lee Jae-myung, head of South Korea’s main opposition party, which has criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol for pursuing lopsided diplomacy toward the US alliance at the expense of relations with China, its top trading partner.
Xing blamed Seoul for creating “difficulties” for bilateral ties by failing to respect Beijing’s core interests, including Taiwan, while being influenced by the United States.
“China-South Korea relations face many difficulties. Frankly, the blame does not lie with China,” he said, according to a statement released by the embassy. “We hope that the South Korean side will faithfully keep its promise and clearly respect China’s core concerns, such as the Taiwan issue.”
Xing warned against making the “wrong judgment” on China because of the “interference of external factors” such as US pressure.
“In a situation where the United States is pressuring China with all its might, some are betting that the United States will win and China will lose. This is clearly a wrong judgment and a failure to properly grasp the course of history,” he said. “I can assure you, those who bet on China’s defeat will definitely regret it.”
Yoon’s office and Seoul’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Yoon has treaded cautiously amid intensifying US-China competition, but Seoul and Beijing exchanged heated words in April over Yoon’s comments on Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.
In an interview with Reuters, Yoon said that flaring tensions around Taiwan were due to attempts to change the status quo by force, and that he opposed such a change.
Xing said South Korea’s trade deficits have worsened because of its efforts to “decouple” from China, but it can “enjoy the bonus” from Chinese economic growth if its confidence in bilateral ties are restored.
“The two countries have built an inextricable economic structure in which their industrial and supply chains are closely connected,” he said.


Biden, Sunak vow to stick together on Ukraine, deepen cooperation on clean energy transition, AI

Biden, Sunak vow to stick together on Ukraine, deepen cooperation on clean energy transition, AI
Updated 09 June 2023

Biden, Sunak vow to stick together on Ukraine, deepen cooperation on clean energy transition, AI

Biden, Sunak vow to stick together on Ukraine, deepen cooperation on clean energy transition, AI
  • The US and UK are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort
  • Agreement to serve as framework on the development of emerging technologies, protecting technology deemed critical to national security

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday reiterated their commitment to help Ukraine repel Russia’s ongoing invasion, while agreeing to step up cooperation on challenges their economies face with artificial intelligence, clean energy, and critical minerals.

The leaders said the “first of its kind” agreement— what they are calling the “Atlantic Declaration”— will serve as a framework for the two countries on the development of emerging technologies, protecting technology that is critical to national security and other economic security issues.
“We will put our values front and center,” Biden said as the two leaders started talks in the Oval Office. He later added at a joint news conference that the agreement will help both nations “adapt and upgrade our partnership to ensure our countries remain on the cutting edge of a rapidly changing world.”
As part of the declaration announced Thursday, the two sides will kick off negotiations on the use of minerals from the UK that are critical in the production of electric vehicles that are eligible for US tax credits. The administration has also opened talks with the European Union and forged a deal with Japan that allow certain critical raw materials for EVs to be treated as if they were sourced in the United States.
Allies have raised concerns about incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act favoring the North American auto industry. The legislation — one of Biden’s key policy victories — invests some $375 billion to transition the United States to cleaner cars and energy sources.
Biden and Sunak have already had four face-to-face meetings since Sunak became prime minister in October, but the talks in Washington offered the two leaders a chance for their most sustained interaction to date.
Sunak reflected on the significant conversations their respective predecessors have had over the years in the Oval Office and acknowledged that both he and Biden were facing their own daunting moment. The visit to Washington is Sunak’s first since becoming Britain’s prime minister in October.
“Our economies are seeing perhaps the biggest transformation since the Industrial Revolution as new technologies provide incredible opportunities, but also give our adversaries more tools,” Sunak said.
The 15-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine was high on the agenda. The US and UK are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort and play a central role in a long-term effort announced last month to train, and eventually equip, Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
Biden reiterated confidence that Congress would continue to provide Ukraine funding as needed despite some hesitation among Republican leaders at the growing cost of the war for American taxpayers.
“The US and the UK have stood together to support Ukraine,” Biden said at the start of their meeting.

Sunak also made the case to Biden for UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace to succeed outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who is set to end his term leading the 31-member alliance in September. Stoltenberg is slated to meet with Biden in Washington on Monday, and leaders from the alliance are set to gather in Lithuania on July 11-12 for their annual summit.
Asked if it was time for a UK leader for NATO, Biden said “it may be” but “that remains to be seen.”
“We’re going to have to get a consensus within NATO,” he said.
Biden also reflected that the two countries have worked through some of the toughest moments in modern history side-by-side, recalling the meetings that Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt held in the White House.
“You know Prime Minister Churchill and Roosevelt met here a little over 70 years ago and they asserted that the strength of the partnership between Great Britain and the United States was strength of the free world,” Biden told Sunak. “I still think there’s truth to that assertion.”
Sunak is keen to make the UK a key player in artificial intelligence, and announced that his government will gather politicians, scientists and tech executives for a summit on AI safety in the fall.
He said it was vital to ensure that “paradigm-shifting new technologies” are harnessed for the good of humanity.
“No one country can do this alone,” Sunak said Wednesday. “This is going to take a global effort.”
Biden said the challenges that comes with the advancement of AI technology are “staggering.”
“It is a limitless capacity and possibility but we have to do it with great care,” said Biden, who added that he welcomed the UK’s leadership on the issue.
Sunak’s visit comes as US and British intelligence officials are still trying to sort out blame for the breaching of a major dam in southern Ukraine, which sent floodwaters gushing through towns and over farmland. Neither Washington nor London has officially accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam.
Sunak said Wednesday that UK intelligence services are still assessing the evidence, but “if it does prove to be intentional, it will represent a new low ... an appalling barbarism on Russia’s part.”
“Russia throughout this war has used as a deliberate active strategy to target civilian infrastructure,” he told broadcaster ITV in Washington.
The two sides looked to demonstrate that the US-UK relationship remains as strong as ever despite recent political and economic upheaval in the UK Sunak is one of three British prime ministers Biden has dealt with since taking office in 2021, and the administrations have had differences over Brexit and its impact on Northern Ireland.
Nonetheless, there’s a sense in the Biden administration that the US-UK relationship is back on more stable footing after the sometimes choppy tenure of Boris Johnson and the 45-day premiership of Liz Truss.
“I think there’s a sense of relief to some degree, not just in the White House, but throughout Washington, that the Sunak government has been very pragmatic and maintained the UK’s robust commitment to Ukraine and to increasing defense spending,” said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added that with Sunak, there’s also been “somewhat of a return to pragmatism” on economic issues and relations with the European Union post-Brexit.
Sunak at the press conference sought to hammer home that the UK remains “as reliable an ally as ever.”
“I know some people have wondered what kind of partner Britain would be after we left the EU,” Sunak said. “I’d say judge us by our actions.”
Biden invited Sunak to stay at Blair House, the official presidential guest residence on Lafayette Square. Before the US government purchased Blair House in 1942, foreign leaders visiting the president often stayed at the White House.
In a lighter moment, the president began telling the story of how in the pre-Blair House days Churchill wandered toward the president’s family quarters in the wee hours to rouse the sleeping Roosevelt for conversation. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt was said to have cut off Churchill before he could make it to the president.
“Don’t worry,” Sunak interjected. “You won’t see me bothering you and the first lady.”