CARACAS: A major earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck the northern coast of Venezuela on Tuesday and shook buildings as far away as the capital, Caracas, the US Geological Survey said.
The quake was centered near the town of Carupano, an area of poor fishing communities and was felt as far away as neighboring Colombia to the east and nearby island nations like Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Lucia, to the west and north.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said in an Internet broadcast on Tuesday.
The US Pacific Tsunami Center said the quake could cause small tsunami waves along the coast near the epicenter, 23 miles (37 km) southwest of the town of Carupano.
USGS Geophysicist Jessica Turner said the quake’s depth, 76.5 miles (123.11 km) below the surface, would dampen some of the shaking but not enough to prevent damage.
“A 7.3 magnitude quake is going to cause some damage particularly as in this area structures are vulnerable. The Earth is able to absorb some of the energy, but a 7.3 quake produces a lot of energy,” she said by telephone.
Turner said the quake’s depth caused the quake to be felt as far away such as in Caracas, where witnesses said buildings were shaken. “I feel like I’m about to faint. I’m shaking. It was long,” said telemarketing worker Sheny Fuentes, 22, speaking outside her work building in eastern Caracas. “I’m relieved that it doesn’t seem like damage was that bad. We would have been even more affected (given Venezuela’s economic crisis) — there are already people eating from the garbage and buildings aren’t well made,” she told Reuters.
Strong quake rocks northern Venezuela coast; buildings evacuated in capital
Strong quake rocks northern Venezuela coast; buildings evacuated in capital
UK govt under pressure from own MPs over Israeli arms exports
- Steve Witherden: ‘We can’t claim to uphold international law while profiting from its breach’
- London previously suspended around 30 weapons export licenses but hundreds remain
London: UK authorities are under pressure to halt arms exports to Israel from MPs within the governing Labour Party.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended around 30 arms export licenses to Israel in September, amid warnings that the weapons could be used to breach international law in Gaza, but hundreds of other licenses remain in place.
During a parliamentary debate on Monday, Labour MP Steve Witherden criticized a lack of transparency on arms exports to Israel, and asked the government to explain what criteria would be needed to enact a broader ban.
He highlighted the UK’s role in the manufacture and export of parts for the F-35 fighter jet, which is used by the Israeli military.
Palestinian rights group Al-Haq has previously said the export license for F-35 parts creates a “carve-out” that gives “rise to a significant risk of facilitating crime” by the Israeli military.
Witherden said: “The foreign secretary’s recent condemnation of Israel’s action as ‘monstrous’ was welcome but incomplete, for my very same government continues to facilitate such actions.
“We can’t have it both ways. We can’t condemn atrocity whilst simultaneously fueling the machinery that enables it. We can’t claim to uphold international law while profiting from its breach.”
He added: “It’s the government’s position that the need to continue to supply F-35 components outweighs the risk of genocide and, if so, is there any circumstance that would lead to the UK stopping that supply?
“The government has claimed that there are red lines that would trigger a halt to exports, but Gaza is already a slaughterhouse.”
Witherden continued: “Children are emaciated or dying of hunger. Hospitals have been intentionally destroyed. Israel’s leaders vow to wipe out Gaza and still the weapons flow.”
He added: “I call on this government to suspend all arms exports to Israel to ensure that no British-made weapons are used in Israel’s brutal plans to annexe, starve and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population.”
Trade Minister Douglas Alexander responded that UK rules prevent sales of F-35 components directly to Israel, but that as part of a global supply network, there are limits on what the UK could do to prevent parts reaching the country.
“Undermining the F-35 program at this juncture would, in the view of the government, disrupt international peace and security, NATO deterrence and European defense as a whole,” Alexander said, adding that he believes Israel’s actions in responding to the “act of barbarism” by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, have been “disproportionate” and “counterproductive to any lasting peace settlement.”
He reminded MPs of the government’s decision to suspend arms licenses shortly after taking office last year.
“This measure is still in place and I’d like to reiterate that, based on our current assessment of potential breaches of international humanitarian law, we aren’t licensing military equipment provided directly to the (Israeli military) that could be used for military operations in Gaza,” he told the House of Commons.
“It’s right to acknowledge that our export licenses granted in relation to Israel cover a wider remit than simply those items that may be used in Gaza.
“There are a relatively small number of licenses for the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) relating to equipment which we assess wouldn’t be used in the current conflict including, for example, parts of air defense systems that defend Israel from acts such as the major aerial attack from Iran in April 2024.
“We also think it’s right for us to continue providing military-grade body armor used by non-governmental organizations and journalists, and to provide parts to the supply chain which are ultimately re-exported back out of Israel to support the defense of our NATO allies.”
Russian farmers appeal to Putin for help against antelope invasion
MOSCOW: Farmers in Russia’s Saratov region have appealed to President Vladimir Putin for help in dealing with an invasion of saiga antelopes that have migrated from Kazakhstan and devastated their fields.
The appeal, posted on several popular farmers’ channels on Telegram, said that the saiga population has grown uncontrollably in recent years, reaching up to one million in Russia alone.
Saratov, located along the Volga River, is the country’s sixth-largest grain-producing region, with an annual harvest of about 4 million metric tons, accounting for 3.5 percent of Russia’s total grain harvest.
Farmers reported that about 500,000 saigas crossed into Russia from Kazakhstan at the end of May. They said that thousands had drowned in local rivers, contaminating the water supply.
“We hope for your understanding and assistance in resolving this situation, which threatens the very existence of agriculture in our region,” the farmers said in their appeal. Culling or hunting saigas, which were nearly extinct in the 1990s, is prohibited in Russia.
A separate letter to Putin, signed by heads of the region’s leading farms and obtained by Reuters, said that crop losses from saigas are not covered by insurance because the animal is not yet listed as an agricultural pest.
The Saratov regional Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday that it has set up damage assessment commissions and is developing a mechanism to support farmers.
The surge in the population of saigas, easily recognized by their trunk-like nose that filters sand particles from the desert air, is considered a global conservation success story.
Evgeny Karabanov from Kazakhstan’s Grain Union lobby group told Reuters that an estimated 4.0-4.5 million antelopes are currently roaming in the Central Asian country, compared to only 25,000 in the 1990s.
“Their migration area has significantly expanded... No one is asking them for passports,” Karabanov said.
Philippines sees 500% increase in HIV cases among young people
- More than 148,000 active cases recorded in the country
- HIV testing, treatment are free in state-run facilities
MANILA: The number of young Filipinos infected with HIV has increased by 500 percent, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said on Tuesday, as he called for a national public health emergency to be declared.
The Philippines has been facing the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the Western Pacific region due to the continuous rise in infections.
Health officials have been recording around 56 new cases daily since the beginning of April, a total of 5,101. The latest figure is approximately 50 percent higher than during the same period last year.
“We’ve seen a 500 percent increase in HIV cases among those aged 15 to 25. In fact, the youngest person diagnosed was just 12 years old, in the province of Palawan,” Herbosa said in a video statement.
“Based on our data, we now have the highest number of new cases in the Western Pacific region. What’s frightening is the high number of new cases among our youth.”
The Philippines saw a 543 percent increase in new infections between 2010 and 2023, according to the UNAIDS global report released in November.
There are currently 148,831 active HIV cases in the country, which has a population of 117 million.
While the spread of HIV has slowed drastically in many parts of the world since the epidemic’s peak in 1995, infections have been rising steeply for over a decade in the Philippines. Officials recorded 48 daily cases on average last year, compared to 21 in 2014.
The government has warned that if the current trend continues, the number of people living with HIV could more than double.
“If we don’t stop the increase in HIV cases, we could reach over 400,000 people living with HIV … It would be better to declare a public health emergency or national emergency for HIV, so that the entire society and government can work together in this campaign to reduce new cases,” said Herbosa.
Though screening for the virus and treatment is free in state-run clinics, stigma surrounding HIV continues to be a major barrier for many Filipinos.
Only 55 percent of those living with the virus in the Philippines have been diagnosed, according to government data, while only 66 percent of those are on lifesaving antiretroviral therapy.
“Some people are afraid to get tested,” Herbosa said. “We now also have HIV self-test kits in the Philippines, and I hope these self-test kits are used, especially to address the stigma.”
Saudia’s budget carrier Flyadeal to launch flights to India next year
- Up to 6 new destinations in India will be added in first year of operations, CEO says
- Flyadeal plans to have 5-10% of its total traffic coming from India
NEW DELHI: Saudi budget carrier Flyadeal is planning to launch flights from the Kingdom to India next year, its CEO said, as industry leaders gathered in New Delhi for the International Air Transport Association’s annual summit.
Established in 2017, Flyadeal is a subsidiary of the Saudi national flag carrier, Saudia. Headquartered in Jeddah, the airline primarily serves domestic routes and has, over the past few years, expanded to international destinations in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa.
It currently reaches some 35 destinations. Another five or six will be added in India soon.
“We’re planning to launch flights from the Kingdom to India next year,” Flyadeal’s CEO Steven Greenway told Arab News on the sidelines of the IATA meeting on Monday.
“We’re talking about five to six (destinations) in our first year alone — so quite a lot, and mostly secondary cities ... Our sister carrier Saudia will remain in Delhi and Mumbai. We’re looking at the secondary cities.”
While he expects the airline’s upcoming India operations to address mostly labor traffic, tourists are a growing group too, as Saudi Arabia is heavily investing in tourist destinations.
In the past few years the Kingdom has seen significant developments at its eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, eco-friendly and luxury resorts on the Red Sea coastline, and entertainment and sports complexes.
With their vast promotion, also involving Bollywood stars, more and more Indians are willing to visit Riyadh, Jeddah, or AlUla.
“You’ve got a country which is now open for business, which is now deploying key strategic initiatives that are going online — the Red Sea resorts and so forth. That will bring tourism,” Greenway said.
“I would like to think that we could probably have anything between 5 and 10 percent of our total traffic coming from India over the next couple of years.”
Tourism is booming in Saudi Arabia under the Vision 2030 diversification plan, with the sector expected to contribute 10 percent of the gross domestic product.
The Saudi Tourism Authority announced last year that it expected India to become its key inbound market, with 7.5 million Indian travelers visiting the Kingdom by 2030.
Germany’s Merz says court ruling will not stop migration crackdown
BERLIN: Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday a court ruling that German authorities acted unlawfully when border police expelled three Somali asylum seekers could restrict his government’s migration crackdown but would not stop it altogether.
People would continue to be turned away at the German border, he said.
A Berlin administrative court said on Monday the expulsion of the three unnamed Somalis, who were sent back to Poland after arriving at a train station in eastern Germany, was “unlawful.”
It said the asylum application should have been processed by Germany under the European Union’s so-called Dublin rules that determine which country is responsible for processing a claim.
The ruling was a setback for Merz’s government, which won a federal election in February after promising a crackdown on migration that has caused concern in neighboring countries.
The court ruling has “possibly further restricted the scope for maneuver here,” Merz told a local government congress. “But the scope is still there. We know that we can still reject people.”
“We will, of course, do this within the framework of European law, but we will also do it to protect public safety and order in our country and to relieve the burden on cities and municipalities,” he said.
Migration is among German voters’ biggest concerns and a backlash against an influx of new arrivals has contributed to a rise in the popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which came second in February’s election.
It is a big shift since Germany’s “Refugees Welcome” culture during Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015 under Merz’s conservative predecessor, Angela Merkel.
Merz’s government issued an order in May to reject undocumented migrants, including asylum seekers, at Germany’s borders.
Monday’s ruling was seized on by critics as evidence that Merz’s migration policy was unworkable.
“The administrative court has determined that Dobrindt’s policy of rejecting asylum seekers is unlawful, contrary to European law, and now the Federal Ministry of the Interior should really start thinking about how to finally put an end to this nonsense,” Karl Kopp of the pro-immigration advocacy group Pro Asyl told Reuters.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt defended the expulsions, saying he would provide the court with justifications for banning entry.
