Kremlin says it disagrees with Turkiye’s Erdogan that Crimea should return to Kyiv’s control

Kremlin says it disagrees with Turkiye’s Erdogan that Crimea should return to Kyiv’s control
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda (2nd L) and Croatian President look on as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls in via video, during the Fourth Crimea Platform Leaders Summit in Kyiv, on September 11, 2024, amid the Russian invasion on Ukraine. (AFP)
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Updated 13 September 2024
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Kremlin says it disagrees with Turkiye’s Erdogan that Crimea should return to Kyiv’s control

Kremlin says it disagrees with Turkiye’s Erdogan that Crimea should return to Kyiv’s control
  • Kremlin said this week that President Vladimir Putin may visit Turkiye for talks with Erdogan once preparations are completed
  • Erdogan said this week that Turkish support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence was unwavering

MOSCOW: Russia completely disagrees with comments from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that Crimea should return to Ukrainian control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Erdogan said this week that Turkish support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence was unwavering, and that the return of Crimea — which Russia seized from Ukraine and annexed in 2014 — was a requirement of international law.
Asked about Erdogan’s comments, Peskov said the topic of Crimea “falls under the category of disagreements between us and our Turkish friends.
“Here we have completely divergent opinions. At the same time, we do not abandon our deliberate attempts to explain to our Turkish friends and colleagues our point of view, our position.”
Peskov said that Erdogan was under pressure from the United States over its traditionally close economic ties with Moscow
“As for Turkiye’s attempts to mitigate US pressure, indeed, the US is exerting undisguised pressure on the Turkish Republic, not shying away from intimidation, with consequences for the Turkish economy,” said Peskov.
The Kremlin said this week that President Vladimir Putin may visit Turkiye for talks with Erdogan once preparations are completed.
Turkiye, a NATO member, has played a key role as a go-between for Russia and Ukraine during their
2-1/2-year-old conflict, including arranging an export deal for Ukrainian grain.
Erdogan told Putin at a summit in Kazakhstan in July that Ankara could help end the conflict, but the Kremlin has not taken the Turkish leader up on his offer.


Thai police arrest driver and work to identify victims of the school bus fire that killed 23

Thai police arrest driver and work to identify victims of the school bus fire that killed 23
Updated 21 sec ago
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Thai police arrest driver and work to identify victims of the school bus fire that killed 23

Thai police arrest driver and work to identify victims of the school bus fire that killed 23
  • The fire started while the bus was on a highway north of the capital and spread so quickly many were unable to escape
BANGKOK: Thai police have arrested the driver of a bus carrying young students and teachers that caught fire and killed 23 in suburban Bangkok, as families arrived in the capital Wednesday to help identify their loved ones.
The bus carrying six teachers and 39 students in elementary and junior high school was traveling from Uthai Thani province, about 300 kilometers north of Bangkok, for a school trip in Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi provinces Tuesday. The fire started while the bus was on a highway north of the capital and spread so quickly many were unable to escape.
Trairong Phiwpan, head of the police forensic department, said 23 bodies were recovered from the bus. The recovery work and confirmation of the total dead had been delayed earlier because the burned vehicle, which was fueled with natural gas, remained too hot to enter for hours.
The families were driven from Uthai Thani in vans to the the forensic department at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok on Wednesday to provide their DNA samples for the identification process. Kornchai Klaiklung, assistant to the Royal Thai Police chief, told reporters the forensics team was working as fast as it could to identify the victims.
The driver, identified by the police as Saman Chanput, surrendered Tuesday evening several hours after the fire. Police said they have charged him with reckless driving causing deaths and injuries, failing to stop to help others and failing to report the accident.
The driver told investigators he was driving normally until the bus lost balance at its front left tire, hit another car and scraped a concrete highway barrier, causing the sparks that ignited the blaze, Chayanont Meesati, deputy regional police chief, told reporters.
The driver said he ran to grab a fire extinguisher from another bus that was traveling for the same trip but he could not put out the fire, and ran away because he panicked, Chayanont said.
Police said they are also investigating whether the bus company followed all safety standards.
In an interview with public broadcaster Thai PBS, bus company owner Songwit Chinnaboot said the bus was inspected for safety twice a year as required and that the gas cylinders had passed the safety standards. He also said he would compensate the victims’ families as best as he could.
Three students are hospitalized, and the hospital said two of them were in serious condition. A 7-year-old girl suffered burns on her face, and a surgeon said doctors were doing their best to try to save her eyesight.

Taiwan shuts down for Typhoon Krathon, torrential rain forecast

Taiwan shuts down for Typhoon Krathon, torrential rain forecast
Updated 4 min 57 sec ago
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Taiwan shuts down for Typhoon Krathon, torrential rain forecast

Taiwan shuts down for Typhoon Krathon, torrential rain forecast
  • Although the typhoon has weakened, the threats from a storm surge, strong winds and rain remain
  • The typhoon has revived the older generation’s bad memories of Thelma, prompting extra precautions

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan shut down on Wednesday, grounding hundreds of flights and closing schools, offices and financial markets ahead of the arrival of a weakening Typhoon Krathon, forecast to lash the coast with storm surges and torrential rain.
Officials in the key port city of Kaohsiung, set to be in the eye of the storm, told people to stay home and avoid the sea, rivers and mountains, warning of a repeat of 1977’s Typhoon Thelma that killed 37 and devastated the city of 2.7 million.
Although the typhoon has weakened, the threats from a storm surge, strong winds and rain remain as it slowly makes its way toward Taiwan’s coast, weather forecasters said.
The typhoon would lose power once it hit land, said Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chi-mai, but would still bring intense winds and rain.
“But if it moves north, the winds will strengthen again, so the threat to Kaohsiung will continue to exist, and people cannot take this lightly,” he told reporters.
All the island’s cities and counties declared a day off, shutting financial markets and canceling domestic flights, along with 246 international ones, while more than 10,000 people were evacuated, mostly in the south and east.
Typhoons often hit Taiwan’s mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific, but Krathon is set to make landfall on its flat western plain.
It is forecast to hit between Kaohsiung and its neighboring city of Tainan in the early hours of Thursday, before heading northeast up toward Taipei, the capital, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
“Because of Typhoon Gaemi being quite severe earlier this year, everyone is more cautious and prepared this time around,” said sales representative Yu Ren-yu, 35, picking up sandbags at a government office, referring to July’s storm that killed 11.
“First be prepared, then we can face this typhoon.”
The typhoon has revived the older generation’s bad memories of Thelma, prompting extra precautions, said Chou Yi-tang, a government official working in the Siaogang district home to the airport.
“We were hit directly by the eyewall,” he added, describing events almost five decades ago. “Power was out for two weeks and no water for almost a month. It was disastrous.”
More than 700 sandbags have been distributed in his district, a record for a typhoon, while authorities are making more to meet demand, Chou said.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had put more than 38,000 troops on standby.
The fire department reported 46 injuries, mostly in the mountainous eastern county of Taitung, with one person missing in the central county of Yunlin.
The north-south high speed rail line stayed open, but scaled back services.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple and Nvidia supplier, said on Tuesday it did not expect the typhoon would have a significant impact on operations.
TSMC’s factories are along the west coast, some in the city of Tainan.


X agrees to pay Brazil fines, court orders finances unblocked

X agrees to pay Brazil fines, court orders finances unblocked
Updated 02 October 2024
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X agrees to pay Brazil fines, court orders finances unblocked

X agrees to pay Brazil fines, court orders finances unblocked
  • High-profile judge Moraes has been engaged in a long feud with Tesla and SpaceX owner Musk as part of his drive to crack down on disinformation in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO: A Brazilian judge on Tuesday ordered the unblocking of the bank accounts of Elon Musk’s X in the country after the social media platform agreed to pay more than $5 million in fines.
The ruling by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes paves the way for the suspension of X to be lifted in Brazil, where it has been off-limits to users since August 31 in a standoff over disinformation between the judge and Musk.
Moraes ordered X shut down in Latin America’s biggest country after Musk refused to remove dozens of right-wing accounts and then failed to name a new legal representative in the country as ordered.
In his latest decision, the judge ordered Brazil’s central bank to unblock X’s bank accounts so it can receive transfers and “immediately make payment of the fines indicated.”
X had informed the court it would pay fines to the tune of some $5.2 million, according to the ruling.
High-profile judge Moraes has been engaged in a long feud with Tesla and SpaceX owner Musk as part of his drive to crack down on disinformation in Brazil.
The clash between the Brazilian court and the billionaire has morphed into a high-stakes tussle testing the limits of both freedom of expression and corporate responsibility in South America’s largest country.
X had more than 22 million users in Brazil before the ban, which was put into place on August 31.
The company has in the last week started complying with the Brazilian court’s conditions to get reactivated.
Musk has repeatedly hit out at Moraes in social media posts, calling him an “evil dictator” and dubbing him “Voldemort” after the villain from the “Harry Potter” series.


Walz, Vance argue running mates would reduce Mideast instability

Walz, Vance argue running mates would reduce Mideast instability
Updated 02 October 2024
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Walz, Vance argue running mates would reduce Mideast instability

Walz, Vance argue running mates would reduce Mideast instability
  • The role of a presidential running mate is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage

NEW YORK: Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday each pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose their respective running mates for president, opening their vice presidential debate by addressing the growing fears of a regional war in the Middle East and a natural disaster that has ravaged the southeastern US
Walz, answering a question on whether he’d support a preemptive strike on Iran as it’s launched missiles into Israel, quickly pivoted to painting Donald Trump as too dangerous for the country and the world in an unstable moment.
“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” said Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota. “And the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.”
Vance, in his reply, argued that Trump is an intimidating figure whose presence on the international stage is its own deterrent.
“Donald Trump actually delivered stability,” he said.
The debate in New York hosted by CBS News opened with a sober tone that reflected growing domestic and international concerns about safety and security. It gives Vance, a Republican freshman senator from Ohio, and Walz, a two-term Democratic governor of Minnesota, the chance to introduce themselves, make the case for their running mates, and go on the attack against the opposing ticket.
Both men found unity on Hurricane Helene, which has devastated several states and caused massive flooding in North Carolina in particular. Walz mentioned the storm’s devastation and talked about working with governors across the country, saying they don’t let politics get in the way of collaborating.
Vance said, “I’m sure Gov. Walz joins me in saying our hearts go out to those innocent people.”
Tuesday’s matchup could have an outsized impact. Polls have shown Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump locked in a close contest, giving added weight to anything that can sway voters on the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It also might be the last debate of the campaign, with the Harris and Trump teams failing to agree on another meeting.
The role of a presidential running mate is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage. Both Vance and Walz have embraced that role.
Vance’s occasionally confrontational news interviews and appearances on the campaign trail have underscored why Trump picked him for the Republican ticket despite his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be “America’s Hitler.”
Walz, meanwhile, catapulted onto Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans as ” just weird,” creating an attack line for Democrats seeking to argue Republicans are disconnected from the American people.
A new AP-NORC poll found that Walz is better liked than Vance, potentially giving the Republican an added challenge.
After a Harris-Trump debate in which Republicans complained about the ABC News moderators fact-checking Trump, Tuesday’s debate will not feature any corrections from the hosts. CBS News said the onus for pointing out misstatements will be on the candidates, with moderators “facilitating those opportunities.”
Trump, on Tuesday evening, said his advice to Vance was to “have a lot of fun” and praised his running mate as a “smart guy” and “a real warrior.”
As they’ve campaigned, both Walz and Vance have played up their roots in small towns in middle America, broadening the appeal of Harris and Trump, who hail from California and New York, respectively.
Walz, 60, frequently invokes his past job coaching a high school football team as he speaks about his campaign with Harris bringing “joy” back to politics and weds his critiques of the GOP to a message to Democrats that they need to “leave it all on the field.”
Walz, a Nebraska native, was a geography teacher before he was elected to Congress in 2006. He spent a dozen years there before he was elected governor in 2018, winning a second term four years later.
He also served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005. His exit and description of his service have drawn harsh criticism from Vance, who served in the Marine Corps, including in Iraq.
The 40-year-old Vance became nationally known in 2016 with the publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which recounts his childhood in Ohio and his family’s roots in rural Kentucky. The book was cited frequently after Trump’s 2016 win as a window into working-class white voters who supported his campaign. Vance went to Yale Law School before working as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
After the publication of his book, he was a prominent critic of Trump’s before he morphed into a staunch defender of the former president, especially on issues like trade, foreign policy and immigration.
 

 


Australia police seek to ban pro-Palestine protests on Oct. 6-7

Australia police seek to ban pro-Palestine protests on Oct. 6-7
Updated 13 min 2 sec ago
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Australia police seek to ban pro-Palestine protests on Oct. 6-7

Australia police seek to ban pro-Palestine protests on Oct. 6-7
  • Australia has seen a rise in hate incidents following the Israel-Gaza war and passed laws last year that banned public displays of terror group symbols

SYDNEY: Australian police have sought to block a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney on Oct. 6 and 7, one year since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza after a deadly attack by Palestinian Hamas militants.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
Police held talks with the organizers of the rally but said they were not satisfied that the protest can proceed safely, and would approach the court for a ban, New South Wales state police said in a statement late on Tuesday.
“The first priority ... is the safety of the participants and the wider community,” police said.
Tensions in the Middle East escalated on Tuesday after Iran fired dozens of ballistic missiles on Israel in retaliation for Israel’s air and ground campaign against the Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Tehran. Israel has vowed a “painful response.”
The Palestine Action Group Sydney said on Facebook the move by the police to ban protests was an attack on fundamental democratic rights.
“We have a right to demonstrate ... the Palestine Action Group unequivocally opposes this attempt to silence protests,” it said.
Protests in Melbourne over the weekend saw some displaying flags with the symbol of Hezbollah and photos of leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in Israeli strikes last week, prompting authorities to launch an investigation.
Hezbollah is a “listed terrorist organization” in Australia and it is an offense for any Australian to provide it with financial support or fight in its ranks.
Australia has seen a rise in hate incidents following the Israel-Gaza war and passed laws last year that banned public displays of terror group symbols.
An anti-war protest outside a defense exhibition in Melbourne last month turned violent injuring two dozen officers as police used sponge grenades, flash-bang devices and irritant sprays to control parts of the crowd that turned hostile at times.