Paris has rescinded a special honour it bestowed on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas because of his recent antisemitic comments minimizing the Holocaust
Updated On – 12:09 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
Paris has rescinded a special honour it bestowed on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas because of his recent antisemitic comments minimizing the Holocaust
Paris:Paris has rescinded a special honour it bestowed on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas because of his recent antisemitic comments minimizing the Holocaust.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo published a letter Friday saying that “your remarks run counter to universal values and the historical truth of the Holocaust.”
Noting that tens of thousands of Jews were rounded up in Paris under the Nazi occupation and deported to death camps, Hidalgo said, “We condemn your comments with the utmost firmness. No cause can justify revisionism and negationism.”
Hidalgo awarded Abbas the city’s highest honour, the Grand Bronze of Paris, in 2015 for his efforts toward peace in the Middle East and a two-state solution.
In a speech last month to senior members of his Fatah movement, Abbas said that Adolf Hitler killed European Jews not because of antisemitism, but because of their “social functions” in society, such as money lending.
The United States, Germany and the European Union condemned his comments and accused him of distorting history and promoting antisemitic stereotypes.
In the Holocaust, 6 million Jews and others were murdered by the Nazis and their allies. Hitler considered Jews to be an inferior race and viciously promoted antisemitic stereotypes to incite violence and discrimination against Europe’s Jews as the Third Reich carried out the genocide.
Findings indicate there has been “an absolutely unacceptable violation of the sovereign airspace of Romania, a NATO ally, with real risks to the security of Romanian citizens in the area”, said Klaus Iohannis
Updated On – 12:06 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
Findings indicate there has been “an absolutely unacceptable violation of the sovereign airspace of Romania, a NATO ally, with real risks to the security of Romanian citizens in the area”, said Klaus Iohannis
Bucharest:NATO member Romania found new drone fragments on its territory Saturday near the border with war-torn Ukraine, which the Ministry of National Defense said are “similar to those used by the Russian army.” It was the second such discovery in Romania this week.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis responded Saturday by saying in a statement that the findings indicate there has been “an absolutely unacceptable violation of the sovereign airspace of Romania, a NATO ally, with real risks to the security of Romanian citizens in the area.”
Iohannis added that he had a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to inform the Alliance leader of the new finding of the drone pieces. It was unclear if Romanian authorities had determined when or from where the drone was launched.
The defense ministry said that the fragments were found approximately two and a half kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of the Romanian village of Plauru, which is situated on the opposite side of the Danube to Ukraine‘s port of Izmail.
There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Russia has persistantly attacked the Izmail port this week as Moscow aims to disrupt Ukraine’s ability to export grain to world markets. The proximity of the attacks has left some Romanian citizens living nearby fearing that the war could spill into their country.
“The area has been secured by the military, and the discovered elements will be picked up for analysis and technical expertise,” the defense ministry said Saturday, adding it will continue investigations in the vicinity of Ukraine’s Danube ports.
“Within NATO, Romania is very well defended and benefits from the strongest security guarantees in our entire history,” Iohannis added.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani who visited Beijing on September 5 has spoken critically about the BRI saying that it “did not bring the results we expected”
Published Date – 07:00 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani who visited Beijing on September 5 has spoken critically about the BRI saying that it “did not bring the results we expected”
Beijing/New Delhi: Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday met his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 summit and discussed bilateral ties amid Italy’s plan to withdraw from China‘s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as the project “did not bring the results expected”.
Deputing for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in New Delhi, Li who is ranked number two leader in the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) hierarchy made a case for Meloni to provide a “fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment” for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the European country, Chinese official media reported.
The Li-Meloni meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit assumed significance as the Italian government has openly expressed its desire to quit BRI asserting that Beijing’s famed multibillion-dollar infrastructure initiative has not brought any benefits for Rome.
The Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani who visited Beijing on September 5 has spoken critically about the BRI saying that it “did not bring the results we expected” and many Italian parties were against Italy’s participation.
However, he has also stated separately that his country wants to “work with China” and is “ready for Chinese investments”, according to a previous report by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
China announced plans to hold a third conference of the BRI in Beijing next month.
If Italy pulls out, it will be regarded as an embarrassment for President Xi’s multi-billion-dollar pet project which also drew criticism about its debt sustainability, especially from smaller countries.
China unveiled the BRI in 2013 with an aim to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.
Also much to the disquiet of China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced plans to launch the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor which includes India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US.
“Today we all have reached an important and historic partnership. In the coming times, it will be a major medium of economic integration between India, West Asia and Europe,” Modi said.
The corridor will give a new direction to connectivity and sustainable development of the entire world, Modi said.
Also, Modi on Saturday held bilateral talks with Meloni as the two leaders discussed a range of issues.
“I had an excellent meeting with PM @GiorgiaMeloni. Our talks covered sectors such as trade, commerce, defence, emerging technologies and more. India and Italy will keep working together for global prosperity,” Modi posted on X.
Li Qiang also met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit.
In his meeting with Ursula, Li said that China and Europe, as two major forces in a multipolar world and two major engines of global development, should come together even closer and step up their cooperation.
He called on both sides to offset uncertainties in the international landscape with the stability of China-Europe relations, official media reported.
Morocco has declared three days of national mourning after a devastating earthquake late Friday night claimed the lives of 2,000 people
Published Date – 08:11 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
Rabat: Morocco has declared three days of national mourning after a devastating earthquake late Friday night claimed the lives of 2,000 people.
Flags will fly at half-mast on all public facilities during the national mourning, according to a statement released by the Royal Office after Moroccan King Mohammed VI chaired a meeting on the disaster, Xinhua news agency reported.
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Morocco Friday at 11:11 p.m. local time at a depth of 18.5 km, said the United States Geological Survey. The epicentre of the earthquake was near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province, some 70 km southwest of Marrakesh.
The quake has claimed the lives of 2,012 people and injured 2,059, with 1,404 of them in serious condition, according to the latest update from the country’s Interior Ministry on Saturday.
Morocco has not experienced a disaster of this magnitude since 2004 when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit the port city of Al Hoceima, killing around 630 people.
The Moroccan state TV said the majority of casualties in the earthquake were from the remote and inaccessible mountainous regions near the epicentre, with damaged roads further hindering rescue efforts.
Rescuers have been sent to the quake-hit areas to search for survivors, local media reported. TV footage showed rescuers digging through rubbles and debris in an effort to save survivors.
The earthquake was felt in many cities across Morocco, including the capital Rabat and Casablanca. Numerous houses collapsed in the cities of Taroudant and Marrakesh, local media reported.
Rows of buildings were levelled to the ground in Imlil, a small village in the High Atlas mountains about 60 km south of Marrakesh, video footage showed.
“There have been earthquakes before, but none of them were as strong as this one,” said a resident who requires anonymity.
On the way from Ouarzazate to the epicentre, rocks and rubbles from the mountains and buildings were seen scattered along the road.
None of the eight candidates in the Presidential election of the Maldives has so far secured more than 50 per cent of votes to win outright
Published Date – 08:20 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
Male: None of the eight candidates in the Presidential election of the Maldives has so far secured more than 50 per cent of votes to win outright, according to local media.
Mohamed Muizzu, candidate of the coalition of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People’s National Congress (PNC), and incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih have received the highest number of votes, Xinhua news agency reported, citing figures released by local media.
According to the constitution of the Maldives, a candidate needs more than 50 per cent of votes to win outright. If no candidate obtains such a majority, the top two candidates will go to a runoff.
Local media reports said earlier that a runoff election will take place on September 30 if required.
Iran has denounced a decision by Britain, France, and Germany to retain their ballistic missile- and nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic in violation of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world countries.
The sanctions were due to expire next month under the agreement, which is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The European trio, aka the E3, which is part of the deal, however, announced on Thursday that they intended to keep the bans beyond the deadline.
Reacting to the decision shortly afterward, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it considered it to be “an illegal measure,” and contrary to the trio’s commitments under the JCPOA and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 — that has endorsed the JCPOA.
“The decision amounts to a tension-building measure, which is taken in bad faith,” read a statement by the ministry.
The European countries had cited three reasons for their decision, including their allegations that Iran has transferred drones to Russia, which is engaged in a war against Ukraine, as well as, what they call, the likelihood that Tehran might provide Moscow with ballistic missiles.
The Islamic Republic has roundly rejected both the allegations, citing its categorical rejection of the war.
The threesome European countries have also accused Iran of violating the JCPOA, referring to a number of legal nuclear countermeasures that the Islamic Republic began to take after the United States illegally left the JCPOA in 2018 and the three states failed to offer any compensation for the US’s withdrawal.
The Foreign Ministry reminded that Iran began the countermeasures in line with the JCPOA’s Articles 26 and 36 allowing the deal’s participants to scale back their commitments should the other parties do the same.
It also noted that Iran launched the retaliatory steps after giving Washington and the E3 a year to make up for their violation of the JCPOA.
The statement, therefore, called the trio’s decision “completely void of legal logic.”
It called it “unacceptable” for the E3 to base their decision on “actions on the part of Iran that are completely legal and [were taken] in reaction to the US’s withdrawal and the European trio’s inaction.”
“The European parties’ measure will definitely be counterproductive for the efforts that are aimed at management of [existing] tensions…,” the statement said.
The decision, it added, “is irreconcilable with the European parties’ claim that they would try to create the necessary atmosphere for the revival of the JCPOA.”
The ministry, meanwhile, cautioned that the Islamic Republic would respond to this “illegal and provocative” decision “in the appropriate manner and in line with its rights under the JCPOA.”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was seen walking on the streets of the national capital along with wife Akshata Murthy on Friday night
Published Date – 08:25 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
IANS Photo
New Delhi: A day before attending the G20 Summit, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was seen walking on the streets of the national capital along with wife Akshata Murthy on Friday night.
In the photographs, the couple was seen walking along in the backdrop of the presence of security personnel and guards.
Sunak on Friday held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence and then went for a late night walk along with his wife.
Sunak had also visited the British Council of India on Friday afternoon after arriving in India.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sunak wrote: “Before meeting the world leaders of today I’ve been meeting with the world leaders of tomorrow. It’s been fantastic to visit students and staff here at British Council of India – a reflection of the living bridge that exists between the UK and India.”
Sunak along with his wife Murthy arrived at the Palam airstrip on Friday for the G20 Leaders’ Summit beginning on Saturday and was received by Union Minister Ashwini Choubey, British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis and senior diplomats.
After landing in Delhi, Sunak in a post on X said: “I’ve landed in Delhi ahead of the #G20 summit. I am meeting world leaders to address some of the challenges that impact every one of us. Only together can we get the job done.”
After offering prayers, Sunak left the Akshardham Temple premises to accompany world leaders at Rajghat
Published Date – 08:50 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
New Delhi: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), Rishi Sunak, offered prayers at Akshardham Temple on Sunday morning.
After offering prayers, Sunak left the Akshardham Temple premises to accompany world leaders at Rajghat. Ahead of the UK Prime Minister’s visit, elaborate security arrangements were put in place in and around the temple.
While speaking to ANI on Saturday, the UK PM had said that he will visit Delhi’s Akshardham temple today.
Rishi Sunak also expressed his hope that he will find time to visit a temple, here in India, during his stay for the G20 Summit. He had said that he has “enormous respect” for PM Modi and that he is keen to support him in making the G20 an enormous success.
“I am a proud Hindu. That’s how I was raised, that’s how I am. Hopefully, I can visit the Mandir while I am here for the next couple of days. We just had Rakshabandhan, so from my sister and my cousin, I have all my Rakhis,” Rishi Sunak said.
“I didn’t have time to celebrate Janmashtami. But hopefully, as I said I can make up for that if we visit a Mandir this time,” he added. He further said that faith is something very important as it gives strength and resilience during stress.
An Akshardham temple official had earlier told ANI that preparations were fully done to welcome United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Narayana Murty on Sunday.
Sunak, accompanied by wife Akshata Murty had arrived in Delhi on Friday. This is Rishi Sunak’s first visit to India as Prime Minister since he assumed the office of Prime Minister of the UK in October last year.
India and the UK are bound by strong ties of history and culture, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. India’s multifaceted bilateral relationship with the UK intensified with its upgradation to a Strategic Partnership in 2004.
Most Heads of State, including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, are scheduled to leave Delhi on Sunday
Published Date – 09:20 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
New Delhi: Most Heads of State, including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, are scheduled to leave Delhi on Sunday (September 10), following their participation in the two-day G20 Leaders’ Summit hosted in the national capital.
According to sources, the Centre has assigned responsibilities to Union Ministers of States to see off the foreign delegates after the summit. A directive in this regard was issued by the foreign secretary.
The Heads of State of countries including UAE, US, Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Australia, UK, Argentina, Indonesia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Turkey, Japan, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Republic of Korea, Canada and Singapore will depart from Delhi on Sunday, they said.
US President Joe Biden’s departure from India is scheduled at around 10.20 am, and MoS Rajeev Chandrashekhar will see him off. Biden will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam on September 10. While in Hanoi, he will meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other key leaders to discuss ways to further deepen cooperation between the United States and Vietnam, according to a statement from the US Embassy and Consulate in Vietnam.
UK PM Rishi Sunak will depart from Delhi in the afternoon, where MOS Kailash Chaudhari will see him off. Similarly, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will depart from Delhi at around 10.20 am, and MoS Anupriya Patel will see her off.
Seven G20 leaders of countries including Brazil, the African Union (represented by Comoros), Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the European Union and Mauritius will depart from Delhi on Monday.
US President Biden on Saturday emphasized the importance of the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor and said that the United States will work with its partners to invest in building sustainable, resilient infrastructure, and making quality infrastructure investments. He was addressing the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII) and India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor programme at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi.
“This is a real big deal. I want to thank PM. One Earth, One Family, One Future that’s the focus of this G20 Summit. And in many ways, it’s also the focus of this partnership that we’re talking about today,” Biden said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his British counterpart Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday and discussed ways to deepen trade linkages and boost investment. Rishi Sunak held talks with Modi after the first session of the G20 Summit.
In a significant milestone under India’s G20 presidency, the 55-member African Union became a new permanent member of the grouping of the largest economies of the world. It is the first expansion of the influential bloc since its inception in 1999.
After a year and a half of fighting in Ukraine, Russia needs to replenish its supplies of ammunition for what could be a long war of attrition
Published Date – 10:00 AM, Sun – 10 September 23
After a year and a half of fighting in Ukraine, Russia needs to replenish its supplies of ammunition for what could be a long war of attrition
Moscow: After a year and a half of fighting in Ukraine, Russia needs to replenish its supplies of ammunition for what could be a long war of attrition. Along with ramping up its domestic arms production, Moscow is turning to an old ally with a vast arsenal — North Korea.
Estimates say the reclusive and isolated Asian country has tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets that could give a huge boost to the Russian army.
United States officials expect North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Russia in the coming days to seal a possible deal on munitions transfer with President Vladimir Putin.
That would be a remarkable reversal from the 1950-53 Korean War, when the Soviet Union provided the communist North with weapons and ammunition.
“We know that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited recently for artillery shells predominantly, and most likely that will be discussed between Putin and Kim Jong Un,” said Alexander Gabuev, head of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre.
Shoigu became the first Russian defense chief to visit North Korea since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Images of him at a massive military parade in the capital of Pyongyang in July, alongside Kim and the medal-laden North Korean military brass, was a strong sign of a vigorous effort by Moscow to reach out to the North. Shoigu said joint military drills were possible.
Asked about a possible visit by Kim and a deal that would see North Korean arms supplies to Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment.
But he emphasised that Moscow cherishes ties with Pyongyang, adding: “North Korea is our neighbor, and we will further develop our relations without looking back at other countries’ opinion.” Kim made his first visit to Russia in 2019 and held talks with Putin that included pledges of closer cooperation but weren’t followed by any visible breakthroughs.
While the bulk of the Korean People’s Army arsenals are dated, their enormous size would offer the Russian military a potential key lifeline amid Europe’s largest land conflict since World War II.
Hong Min, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification, said Russia could seek to establish North Korea as a “rear base” for its war efforts, providing a massive flow of munitions.
“Russia is hoping that North Korea could swiftly establish support channels to provide it with war materials like ammunition, bombs and other supplies,” Hong said.
The US said North Korea sold some munitions to Russia’s private military contractor, Wagner, in November. Both Russian and North Korean officials have denied that Pyongyang has shipped any weapons or munitions to Russia or intends to do so.
US officials have cast Moscow’s reach for North Korean weapons as a reflection of Russian military problems.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the quality of North Korean weapons was an “open question.” “It says a lot that Russia is having to turn to a country like North Korea to seek to bolster its defense capacity in a war that it expected be over in a week,” Sullivan said.
While Washington has warned Pyongyang against sending weapons to Russia, which would violate a United Nations embargo on any arms shipments to and from North Korea, observers say there is little the US could do in response.
They note that Moscow could share advanced nuclear, missile and submarine technology with Pyongyang in exchange for arms supplies, a move that could embolden Kim and raise major threats to regional security.
“The United States and its allies have limited policy options in addressing this new challenge,” Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies said in an analysis.
While the North’s enormous stockpiles could boost the Russian war effort, Moscow has imported drones from another ally, Iran, that have played a significant role in the fighting.
Russia has used the Shahed exploding drones to strike Ukraine’s infrastructure for more than a year.
After the initial surprise, Ukrainian air defences have honed their skills in engaging them, but the cheap and simple drones that have a range exceeding 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) continue to inflict significant damage.
Russia reportedly has bought a production license from Iran and built its own factory to assemble the drones and churn out thousands of them a year. Iran is expected to initially provide the materials and technology, with the plant gradually shifting to domestically produced components.
Russian arms manufacturers have compensated for at least some of the equipment losses in the conflict and developed some new products, including satellite-guided gliding bombs and other precision weapons to fight back against Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive.
Early in the war, broad use of drones by Ukraine inflicted heavy losses on Russian forces and played a significant role in Moscow’s military setbacks. Russian officials acknowledged they hadn’t paid enough attention to drones before the war and vowed to fill the gap quickly.
One type of mass-produced exploding drone that made a visible impact is the Lancet, capable of lurking over the battlefield before hitting its target. Cheap and compact, it has become prolific, allowing the Russian military to strike Ukrainian tanks and artillery systems on a wide scale.
Russia has increasingly used another new asset in recent months: gliding aerial bombs. With a pair of winglets and a satellite navigation module, old Soviet-made bombs have been transformed into highly efficient “smart” weapons.
They have a range of up to 60 kilometres (37 miles) and allow the Russian air force to step up attacks on Ukrainian forces along the front line without putting warplanes at risk.
Russia has adapted 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) bombs, using them to fend off the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
It has worked to design a similar conversion for a 1,500-kilogram (3,300-pound) bomb, reportedly using it for the first time this month. Transformed into a gliding bomb, it is reportedly precise to 5 metres (16 feet) and leaves a 15-metre (50-foot) crater — a powerful weapon against Ukrainian military assets. Another addition to the Russian arsenal is the Vikhr anti-tank missile used by Russian helicopter gunships.
It has an extended range that allows pilots to take out Ukrainian armor while staying out of reach of air defences and has seen wide use during the summer. “The use of attack aviation has posed a consistent challenge for Ukrainian forces throughout the counteroffensive,” the Royal United Services Institute said in an analysis.
While developing new munitions, Russian manufacturers also bolstered production of tanks and other weapons, and the military has increasingly tapped its storage bases of thousands of armoured vehicles dating to the Cold War.
Some have been upgraded with protective shields and other equipment to increase their survivability. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, has said Russia will produce 1,500 battle tanks in 2023.
“Conveyer belts of our military industrial complex are working in three shifts, and it will produce as many weapons as needed to efficiently protect the Fatherland,” he said.
