EU’s Borrell questions US giving Israel one month to improve Gaza situation

EU’s Borrell questions US giving Israel one month to improve Gaza situation
TOPSHOT — A Palestinian girl helps her mother carry a jerrican of water back from a water distribution point in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 17, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the besieged Palestinian territory. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 17 October 2024
Follow

EU’s Borrell questions US giving Israel one month to improve Gaza situation

EU’s Borrell questions US giving Israel one month to improve Gaza situation
  • Israel must take steps over the next month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid

BRUSSELS: The EU’s foreign policy chief on Thursday appeared to criticize the United States giving Israel one month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying that during that time, too many people would die.
“The US has been saying to Israel that they have to improve humanitarian support to Gaza, but they gave one month delay. One month delay at the current pace of people being killed. It’s too many people,” Josep Borrell told reporters ahead of a European Union leaders’ summit.
Israel must take steps over the next month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid, US officials said on Tuesday, in the strongest such warning since Israel’s war with Hamas began a year ago.
Israel launched its operation on the Palestinian enclave a year ago, after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas-led fighters who killed 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages.
After a year of Israeli assaults that have killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, hundreds of thousands of residents have come back to ruined northern areas. Israel sent troops back earlier this month to root out fighters it said were regrouping for more attacks. Hamas denies operating among civilians.
Borrell has been a critical voice in the EU regarding Israel’s ongoing operations. The bloc is divided on how to handle its response beyond urging for a ceasefire.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said the bloc was not doing enough and he would continue to work with Spain to change the dynamics among the 27-nation bloc.
“Europe has not yet used every lever at its disposal to bring a ceasefire,” he said.
Speaking on arrival in Brussels German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underscored the differences in Europe saying that Israel’s security should not be compromised and appeared to take a swipe at French President Emmanuel Macron, who has called for countries to stop supplying offensive weapons that can be used by Israel in Gaza.
“All criteria must be respected, such as international law. When it comes to monetary aid, which must go to Gaza, it’s about preventing the war from escalating further,’ he said.
“However, it is clear that supporting Israel also means that we are constantly ensuring Israel’s defense capability, for example by supplying military goods or weapons.”


Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party march in protest at attacks in India

Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party march in protest at attacks in India
Updated 11 sec ago
Follow

Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party march in protest at attacks in India

Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party march in protest at attacks in India
  • Bangladesh has accused Hindus of attacking its assistant high commissioner’s office in Agartala, desecrating Bangladeshi flags in Kolkata
  • The protests came a day before India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, is due to visit Dhaka amid growing tension between the two neighbors

DHAKA: Thousands of members of three youth and student bodies belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party marched toward the Indian High Commission in the country’s capital on Sunday to denounce attacks on a diplomatic mission and alleged desecration of Bangladeshi flags in India.
The protests came a day before India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, is due to visit Dhaka amid growing tension between the two neighbors in recent months.
It will be the first high-profile diplomatic visit by an Indian official since the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is in exile in India, in August.
Bangladesh, which is predominantly Muslim, has accused the majority Hindus in India of attacking the Assistant High Commissioner’s office at Agartala in the Indian state of Tripura and desecrating Bangladeshi flags in Kolkata in West Bengal state.
India said it regretted the attacks and pledged to take action against those responsible. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned the Indian High Commissioner and protested formally.
On Sunday, thousands of supporters of the BNP, which is headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, marched toward the Indian High Commission, but police stopped them by setting up barbed wire fences. They later allowed a team of six leaders of the three associate bodies of the party to hand in a letter to the High Commission.
The BNP last ruled Bangladesh in 2001-2006 in partnership with the Jamaat-e-Islami party. In the absence of Hasina, Zia’s party is the main force and it is expected to win the next election if it happens sometime soon.
Hasina, whose party is seen as more secular than the BNP, is highly regarded by India as a trusted friend. Most Hindus in Bangladesh are considered to be supporters of Hasina’s Awami League party.
The BNP supporters chanted slogans such as “Delhi or Dhaka? Dhaka, Dhaka!” and “Agents of India, be careful, be careful!” They also carried banners reading “We have friends overseas, but not masters.”
The protesters said India has been trying to instigate communal riots in Bangladesh to achieve political mileage since the ouster of Hasina, who fled to India following a mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule. Hasina’s party is struggling to get back on the streets while Hasina herself is facing arrest warrants on charges of crimes against humanity involving the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the uprising in July and August.
Over the past few weeks, some smaller Islamist groups and the BNP have protested against India over the attacks in Tripura and urged the interim government, led by Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, to officially raise concerns.
The situation started becoming tense after authorities in Bangladesh last month arrested a prominent Bangladeshi Hindu leader and jailed him, pending further legal procedures.
India had earlier officially raised concern over allegations of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh after the fall of Hasina. Yunus and his close aides said the reports were exaggerated.
Bangladesh has been navigating crucial challenges since August amid mob violence, rising commodity prices, street protests and an unstable economy. The presence of Islamist groups has been visible more than ever in recent months.
The police are demoralized because many of their colleagues were killed in the protests and law and order remains a major concern, with rights groups also calling for ensuring press freedom. About 700 inmates including many criminals and radical Islamists still remain at large after jailbreaks during the political chaos in August.
Yunus has been urging people to stay calm, promising improvement.


Indian defense minister visits Russia to strengthen military ties

Indian defense minister visits Russia to strengthen military ties
Updated 08 December 2024
Follow

Indian defense minister visits Russia to strengthen military ties

Indian defense minister visits Russia to strengthen military ties
  • Visit of Delhi’s top defense official comes ahead of Putin’s expected visit to India in 2025
  • Indian minister will commission Russian-made warship for the Indian Navy as part of the trip

NEW DELHI: Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh began a three-day trip to Russia on Sunday, as New Delhi seeks to further strengthen its military cooperation with Moscow.

Russia is India’s biggest crude oil supplier and the main source of its military hardware, with their bilateral ties spanning over seven decades.

During his visit, Singh is set to commission the Indian Navy’s latest warship, a multi-role stealth guided missile frigate INS Tushil in Kaliningrad on Monday, alongside the Chief of the Naval Staff Adm. Dinesh K. Tripathi, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

He will also co-chair with his Russian counterpart, Andrey Belousov, a meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation on Tuesday.

“The two leaders will review the entire range of multi-faceted relations between the two countries in the field of defence, including military-to-military and industrial cooperation. They will also exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the statement read.

Singh’s visit follows a series of high-level meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year, which includes their July meeting in Moscow.

Modi and Putin also met in Kazan in October, on the sidelines of the 2024 BRICS summit.

Putin is expected to visit India early next year, according to reports citing the Kremlin.

The Indian defense minister’s visit will “symbolize” how the India-Russia partnership has continued at a time “when other states have turned against Russia,” particularly since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, said Amitabh Singh, associate professor at the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University.

“This visit is in continuation with the annual meeting that (the defense ministers) have. This becomes all the more relevant in the context of ongoing conflict in West Asia and Ukraine,” he told Arab News.

New Delhi has abstained from publicly criticizing Russia over the Ukraine war and did not join the chorus of international sanctions slapped on Moscow, despite pressure from Western countries.

While India’s dependence on Russian military hardware has decreased over the years as it diversified supply from other countries, Moscow still plays an important role for Indian defense needs, Singh said.

“India has not given up on Russia despite the differences and difficulties that the Russian military supplies are facing,” he added.

“We cannot stop our collaboration. We want to reduce our dependence, but we can’t simply shrug off our dependence on Russia.”


US will remain in eastern Syria and seek to prevent Daesh resurgence, Pentagon says

US will remain in eastern Syria and seek to prevent Daesh resurgence, Pentagon says
Updated 08 December 2024
Follow

US will remain in eastern Syria and seek to prevent Daesh resurgence, Pentagon says

US will remain in eastern Syria and seek to prevent Daesh resurgence, Pentagon says
  • US President Joe Biden keeping a close eye on ‘extraordinary events’ transpiring in Syria
  • President-elect Donald Trump declares, in a social media post, ‘THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT’

WASHINGTON/MANAMA: The United States will maintain its presence in eastern Syria and will take measures necessary to prevent a resurgence of Daesh, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Daniel Shapiro said on Sunday.

Speaking hours after Syrian rebels announced they had toppled Bashar Assad’s government, Shapiro called on all parties to protect civilians, particularly minorities, and to respect international norms.

“We are aware that the chaotic and dynamic circumstances on the ground in Syria could give Daesh space to find the ability to become active, to plan external operations, and we’re determined to work with those partners to continue to degrade their capabilities,” he told the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain’s capital.

“(We’re determined) to ensure (Islamic State’s) enduring defeat, to ensure the secure detention of Daesh fighters and the repatriation of displaced persons,” Shapiro added.

Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the militant advances across western Syria, was formerly an Al-Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader, Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016.

Western governments, which have shunned the Assad-led state for years, must decide how to deal with a new administration in which HTS looks set to have influence. HTS is a globally designated terrorist group.

US President Joe Biden was keeping a close eye on “extraordinary events” transpiring in Syria, the White House said late Saturday.

“President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and staying in constant touch with regional partners,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement on social media.

President-elect Donald Trump said that Assad had “fled his country” after losing the backing of Russia.

“Assad is gone,” he said on his Truth Social platform Sunday. “His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.”  

Earlier, Trump said Saturday that the US military should stay out of the escalating conflict in Syria as a shock opposition offensive closes in on the capital, declaring in a social media post, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.”

Trump’s comments on the dramatic militant push were his first since Syrian militants launched their advance late last month. They came while he was in Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral.

In his post, Trump said Assad did not deserve US support to stay in power.


South Korean opposition plans new impeachment push

South Korean opposition plans new impeachment push
Updated 08 December 2024
Follow

South Korean opposition plans new impeachment push

South Korean opposition plans new impeachment push
  • Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said that they will try again on December 14
  • Meanwhile police arrested the defense minister in charge of the martial law operation, and the interior minister resigned

SEOUL: South Korea’s main opposition party said Sunday it will try again to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law.
Meanwhile police arrested the defense minister in charge of the martial law operation, and the interior minister resigned. Both they and Yoon are being investigated for alleged insurrection.
Yoon averted impeachment late Saturday as huge crowds braved freezing temperatures in another night of protests outside parliament to demand the president’s ouster.
Opposition parties proposed the impeachment motion, which needed 200 votes in the 300-member parliament to pass, but a near-total boycott by Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) doomed it to failure.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), said Sunday that they will try again on December 14.
“Yoon, the principal culprit behind the insurrection and military coup that destroyed South Korea’s constitutional order, must either resign immediately or be impeached without delay,” Lee told reporters.
“On December 14, our Democratic Party will impeach Yoon in the name of the people.”
In exchange for blocking his removal from office, Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) said that it had “effectively obtained (Yoon’s) promise to step down.”
“Even before the president steps down, he will not interfere in state affairs, including foreign affairs,” PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said Sunday after a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
This will “minimize the confusion to South Korea and its people, stably resolve the political situation and recover liberal democracy,” Han told reporters.
But Lee and the National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik, both from the opposition Democratic Party (DP), on Sunday called the arrangement illegal.
“For the prime minister and the ruling party to jointly exercise presidential authority, which no one has granted them, without participating in constitutional processes to address unconstitutional martial law, is a clear violation of the Constitution,” Woo said.
“The power of the president is not the personal property of President Yoon Suk Yeol,” said Lee. “Isn’t this another coup that destroys the constitutional order?“
Kim Hae-won, a constitutional law professor at Pusan National University Law School, called it a an “unconstitutional soft coup.”
“In reality, a political party is merely a private political entity, and handing over the president’s functions to an entity that is neither a constitutional institution nor a state body seems like an action that disrupts the state’s rights,” Kim said.
On Saturday before the vote, Yoon, 63, reappeared for the first time in three days and apologized for the “anxiety and inconvenience” caused by his declaration of martial law.
But he stopped short of stepping down, saying he would leave it to his party to decide his fate.
Massive crowds — police said there were 150,000 people, organizers one million — gathered outside parliament to pressure lawmakers to oust the president.
Many wore elaborate outfits, carrying home-made flags and waving colorful glow sticks and LED candles as K-pop tunes blasted from speakers.
“Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted today, I am neither discouraged nor disappointed because we will get it eventually,” said protester Jo Ah-gyeong, 30, after the impeachment vote.
“I’ll keep coming here until we get it,” she said.
Regardless of the political situation, police are investigating Yoon and others for alleged insurrection over the extraordinary events of Tuesday night.
Early Sunday police arrested Kim Yong-hyun, who quit as defense minister on Wednesday and was slapped with a travel ban, reports said.
Interior Minister Lee Sang-min on Sunday tendered his resignation which was accepted, Yoon’s office said.
Declaring martial law late Tuesday, Yoon said it would safeguard South Korea “from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness.”
Security forces sealed the National Assembly, helicopters landed on the roof and almost 300 soldiers tried to lock down the building.
But as parliamentary staffers blocked the soldiers with sofas and fire extinguishers, enough MPs got inside — many climbed walls to enter — and voted down Yoon’s move.
The episode brought back painful memories of South Korea’s autocratic past and blindsided its allies, with the US administration only finding out via television.
“This is a country we’ve spent our entire lives building,” Shin Jae-hyung, 66, who suffered arrest and torture in the 1970s and 80s as he battled successive military-led regimes, said.


Trump says Zelensky wants ‘deal’ to stop Ukraine war

Trump says Zelensky wants ‘deal’ to stop Ukraine war
Updated 08 December 2024
Follow

Trump says Zelensky wants ‘deal’ to stop Ukraine war

Trump says Zelensky wants ‘deal’ to stop Ukraine war
  • French President Emmanuel Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee Palace on Saturday

Paris: US president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was keen for a deal to end his country’s war with Russia, after the pair met in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee Palace on Saturday, almost three years into Moscow’s invasion and ahead of Trump taking office in January.
“Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse.”
Zelensky’s meeting with Trump was his first face-to-face encounter with the tycoon-turned-politician since his November election victory.