Connect with us

World

Blinken reaffirms two-state solution ahead of Israeli-Palestinian visit

Published

on

Blinken reaffirms two-state solution ahead of Israeli-Palestinian visit

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would urge Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions as he visits on Monday during the worst violence in years, and reaffirmed a long-stalled peace vision as the “only path” forward.

In new bloodshed, Palestinian officials said Israeli troops killed a 26-year-old man at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. The army said troops opened fire on the man’s car after he rammed into one of them and attempted to flee an inspection.

Israel is on high alert after a Palestinian opened fire in a street outside a synagogue on Friday, killing seven people in the worst such attack in the Jerusalem area for over a decade. That followed an Israeli raid on the West Bank town of Jenin on Thursday in which 10 Palestinians, mostly gunmen, were killed.

“There is no question that this is a very difficult moment,” Blinken told reporters in Cairo before departing for Tel Aviv. “We have seen, over many months, rising violence that is affecting so many.”

Advertisement

In meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Blinken said, “we will be … encouraging the parties to take steps to calm things down, to de-escalate tensions.”

The last round of U.S.-sponsored talks on founding a Palestinian state alongside Israel stalled in 2014.

Netanyahu’s new hardline government includes partners who oppose Palestinian statehood, and control over the Palestinian territories is divided between Abbas, who favours diplomacy, and rival Hamas Islamists who are sworn to Israel’s destruction.

Nevertheless, Blinken described Washington as “a stalwart believer in the negotiated two-state solution – the only path to a lasting resolution for the conflict”.
Since Jan. 1, at least 35 Palestinians, both gunmen and civilians, have been killed in near-daily raids by the army, according to the Ramallah health ministry – making it the bloodiest month in the West Bank since 2015.

The United States has voiced support for Israel’s security and for Palestinians to enjoy equal measures of dignity.

Advertisement

Containing the violence has been complicated by the actions of so-called “lone wolves” like the 21-year-old who carried out Friday’s attack and apparently had no connection with Palestinian militant groups.

Palestinian officials said Israeli settlers had set fire on Monday to two cars near the northern West Bank city of Nablus and thrown stones at a house near Ramallah, following a similar attack on Sunday.

Such incidents occur regularly without attracting much notice. But in the current climate, they have added to the potential for the violence to worsen.

Advertisement

World

India formulate security plan for World Cup 2023

Published

on

By

India formulate security plan for World Cup 2023

 India have chalked out a comprehensive plan for multi-layer security and management of traffic for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup 2023. 

A security official told Indian media that arrangements had been made for smooth influx of fans into the stadiums and maintain uninterrupted traffic flow on roads.

He said multi-layer security plan had been designed for the mega event, adding that a communication system would also be established for seamless coordination between security agencies and local cricket association. 

The security teams would ensure the safe movement of teams from hotel to stadium and back by creating secure pathways. 

Advertisement

As several stadiums, including Pune, are situated at a considerable distance from the city, seamless arrangements have been made to handle the logistical challenge in an effective way.

Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad police Vinoy Kumar Choubey said told Indian media, “We will be putting in place a multi-layer security cover in and around the stadium. A detailed plan for the same is in the making.

“Each layer will have a specific purpose and a pre-decided number of personnel and officers will be tasked to secure each layer. A communication channel has been established between the MCA office bearers and our team.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

World

South Korea opposition leader ends 24-day hunger strike

Published

on

By

South Korea opposition leader ends 24-day hunger strike

 South Korea’s opposition leader ended a 24-day hunger strike on Saturday, a party spokesperson said, two days after parliament voted to let prosecutors serve an arrest warrant against him for alleged bribery.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will maintain a schedule including court attendance while hospitalised for the time being, the spokesman told reporters.

Prosecutors this month sought the warrant in an investigation into bribery allegations concerning a development project. Prosecutors accuse Lee of asking a company to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea when he was the governor of Gyeonggi Province.

He is also accused of breaching his duty over losses of 20 billion won ($15 million) by a municipal development corporation when he was mayor of Seongnam city.

Advertisement

Lee, who lost South Korea’s presidential election to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol last year, has denied wrongdoing, calling the allegations “fiction” and a “political conspiracy”.

He began his protest on Aug. 31, citing the government’s economic mismanagement, threats to media freedom and the failure to oppose Japan’s release of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, among other reasons.

Thursday’s surprise vote by parliament, controlled by Lee’s party, has caused an uproar among his supporters.

Police on Saturday detained a man in his 40s who had posted the names of more than a dozen lawmakers outside Lee’s party faction, writing “gotta search for the sniper rifle at home”, said an official with the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police. Police will seek an arrest warrant against him for intimidation, the official said.

South Korea is to hold parliamentary elections in April.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

World

Landslide causes large chunk of Swedish motorway to collapse

Published

on

By

Landslide causes large chunk of Swedish motorway to collapse

 A large chunk of a motorway in southwest Sweden collapsed overnight, causing three people to be taken to hospital with light injuries, police said on Saturday.

The landslide damaged the motorway between Sweden’s second-biggest city Gothenburg and Norway’s capital Oslo, near the small town of Stenungsund, around 50 km north of Gothenburg on Sweden’s west coast.

“The landslide has affected an area of around 100 x 150 meters, around ten vehicles, a wooded area, and a business area with a gas station and a fast food restaurant,” the Gothenburg Rescue Services said.

“A number of people have been helped out of vehicles in the slide area with the help of fire personnel and a helicopter,” they said. Several cars and one truck had fallen into holes and cracks caused by the landslide, Swedish news agency TT reported.

Advertisement

A rescue services spokesperson told public broadcaster SVT all people in the vehicles had been helped out. The rescue services said specially trained staff and search dogs would now search the area, and that further slides could not be ruled out.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © GLOBAL TIMES PAKISTAN