BEIJING: China on Wednesday insisted India withdraw its troops from a disputed plateau in the Himalayan mountains before talks can take place to settle the most protracted standoff in recent years between the nuclear-armed neighbors who fought a brief but bloody frontier war in the area 55 years ago.
India must pull back its troops “as soon as possible” as a precondition to demonstrate “sincerity,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters at a daily news briefing.
His comments came after weeks of saber-rattling in New Delhi and Beijing, as officials from both sides talk up a potential clash even bloodier than their 1962 war that left thousands dead.
The confrontation could spill over into the G-20 summit in Germany later this week where Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are expected to meet at a gathering of leaders from five emerging economies on the sidelines of the main event in Hamburg.
The month-long standoff — and unconfirmed reports of troop buildups on both sides of the border — has also underscored the swiftly deteriorating relations between the two Asian rivals.
China claims about 90,000 square kilometers in the Indian province of Arunachal Pradesh, referred to informally by some Chinese as “Southern Tibet.” India says China is occupying 38,000 square kilometers of its territory on the Aksai Chin plateau.
More than a dozen rounds of talks have failed to make substantial progress in the dispute, although there have been relatively few confrontations in recent years.
China appeared frustrated that India refused to sign on this year to its continent-wide “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure initiative, which includes a component in Pakistan and a part of Kashmir that is contested by India.
China also complained bitterly when Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, visited Arunachal Pradesh in April, something India said amounted to interference in its internal affairs. Yet India also formally joined the Russian and Chinese-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year alongside Pakistan.
The latest dispute flared up in June after Chinese teams began building a road on territory also claimed by Bhutan. Although China and Bhutan have spent decades negotiating the precise border without serious incident, the tiny Himalayan kingdom sought help this time from its longtime ally, India, which sent troops onto the plateau to obstruct Chinese workers.
China then retaliated by closing a mountain pass that Indian pilgrims use to reach Mount Kailash, a sacred Hindu and Buddhist site in Tibet.
Since then, videos have emerged of Indian and Chinese soldiers blocking each other with their arms and physically jostling without coming to blows. After Chinese officials said India should learn “historic lessons” from its humiliating defeat in the 1962 war, Indian Defense Minister Arun Jaitley shot back by saying that “India in 2017 is different from India in 1962,” in a reference to its improved military strength.
In an editorial headlined “India would bear brunt of new border clash,” China’s outspoken nationalist tabloid Global Times ramped up the rhetoric Wednesday by saying that China was in no mood to make concessions.
“The Indian military can choose to return to its territory with dignity, or be kicked out of the area by Chinese soldiers,” said the paper, which is published by the ruling Communist Party flagship People’s Daily.
Meanwhile, the more mainstream China Daily suggested that some in the Indian military were seeking payback for the 1962 war.
“Perhaps its defeat in that war was too humiliating for some in the Indian military and that is why they are talking belligerently this time,” it said.
Although the Doklam Plateau is not part of Indian territory, India’s Ministry of Externals Affairs has called Chinese actions in the area a move with “serious security implications for India.”
Former Indian Ambassador to Beijing C.V. Ranganathan said that Doklam is a strategically important area that can provide access to the vital Siliguri corridor — also known as the “Chicken Neck” — that connects India’s northeast with the rest of the country. But he said he was “baffled” as to why the dispute flared up now.
“The fact that this has lasted so long is not a good sign,” he said. “India and China’s relationship has been on a downward trend recently and this in fact is yet another example.”
Tensions high in Himalayas as China demands India withdrawal
Tensions high in Himalayas as China demands India withdrawal
Romanian leftist PM and hard-right candidate in a tie after initial presidential election round, partial results show
- Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance at risk
- Hard-right Georgescu has questioned NATO commitment to collective defense
BUCHAREST: A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu appeared in dead heat after the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, partial tallies showed, in a shock result threatening Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.
After nearly 90 percent of votes were counted, Calin Georgescu, 62, was at 22 percent, while Ciolacu had 21.7 percent. However, ballots from the sizeable Romanian diaspora, which are not included in the main tally, showed a center-right politician, Elena Lasconi, 52, first with 33.4 percent and Georgescu second.
Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that gives him or her control over defense spending — likely to be a difficult issue as Bucharest comes under pressure to uphold NATO spending goals during Donald Trump’s second term as US president while trying to reduce a heavy fiscal deficit.
Lasconi told supporters after exit polls were released giving her a small lead over Georgescu, with Ciolacu in first place, that she was optimistic about making the runoff. “But as you can see, the results are very tight, let us wait until tomorrow’s results to rejoice.”
Campaigning focused largely on the soaring cost of living, with Romania having the EU’s biggest share of people at risk of poverty.
Georgescu is a former prominent member of the hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians party.
In 2021 he has called NATO’s ballistic missile defense shield in the Romanian town of Deveselu a “shame of diplomacy” and said the North Atlantic alliance will not protect any of its members should they be attacked by Russia.
Lasconi, a former journalist, joined the Save Romania Union (USR) in 2018 and became party head this year. She believes in raising defense spending and helping Ukraine, and surveys suggest she would beat Ciolacu in a runoff.
Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and since Russia attacked Kyiv in 2022, it has enabled the export of millions of tons of grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta and provided military aid, including the donation of a Patriot air defense battery.
“It will be a tight run-off, with the Social Democrat leader more vulnerable to negative campaigning due to him being an incumbent PM,” said political commentator Radu Magdin.
Somalia says 24 people have died after 2 boats capsized in the Indian Ocean
- A delegation led by the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia is scheduled to travel to Madagascar on Monday to investigate the incident and coordinate efforts to help survivors
MOGADISHU, Somalia: Twenty-four people died after two boats capsized off the Madagascar coast in the Indian Ocean, Somalia’s government said Sunday.
Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said 46 people were rescued.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure the survivors are brought back home safely and provided with the necessary care,” he said.
Most of the passengers were young Somalis, and their intended destination remains unclear. Many young Somalis embark every year on dangerous journeys in search of better opportunities abroad.
A delegation led by the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia is scheduled to travel to Madagascar on Monday to investigate the incident and coordinate efforts to help survivors.
Fiqi also said Sunday that Somalia’s ambassador to Morocco will look into a separate report of Somali youth stranded on Morocco’s coastline. It is not clear when the Morocco incident took place and Fiqi did not provide details.
The UN migration agency has in the past raised concern over rising cases of irregular migration from the Horn of Africa countries as people flee from conflict and drought.
In April, 38 migrants died and 22 others were rescued from a shipwreck off Djibouti on a popular route to Yemen. Most of those rescued were of Somali and Ethiopian nationalities.
‘It wasn’t just about me’: Imam honored for unity efforts after UK race riots
- Three children were killed, and 10 others — eight of whom were children — were injured in an attack in Southport
- In days following attack, crowds gathered to demonstrate outside Liverpool mosque
LONDON: A Muslim leader in the UK has been recognized for his efforts to foster unity after embracing protesters outside Liverpool’s Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in the wake of a knife attack in the northern English town of Southport in July.
Three children were killed, and 10 others — eight of whom were children — were injured in the attack.
Axel Rudakubana was detained and charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and possession of a bladed article.
In the days following the attack, crowds gathered to demonstrate outside the mosque in Liverpool after misinformation was spread online about the knife attack suspect.
Imam Adam Kelwick described how he approached protesters outside the mosque once tensions had eased, offering food, handshakes, and conversations.
Photographs of the peaceful exchanges, which included sharing food and even hugs, went viral, symbolizing a moment of reconciliation.
After receiving the Most Impactful Imam accolade at the British Beacon Mosque Awards, Kelwick said: “It wasn’t just about me. I’m dedicating this award to the people of Liverpool, who really came together during difficult times.”
He added: “Some of the most vocal protesters, after everyone else had gone, came inside the mosque for a little tour.”
The imam praised Liverpool’s residents for their unity.
“For those who knew better than to blame a whole religion for the evil actions of one person, for those who came to defend our mosque, and even for those who protested but later reflected and opened their hearts,” he said.
Kelwick, also a humanitarian aid worker and long-time volunteer, expressed gratitude for the award, which recognizes the contributions of mosques and leaders across the UK.
India mosque survey sparks clashes, two dead
- Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to Babri mosque
LUCKNOW: Indian Muslim protesters clashed with police Sunday with at least two people killed in riots sparked by a survey investigating if a 17th-century mosque was built on a Hindu temple.
“Two persons were confirmed dead,” Pawan Kumar, a police officer in Sambhal in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, told AFP, adding that 16 police officers were “seriously injured” during the clashes.
The Press Trust of India news agency quoted officials saying three people had died.
Hindu activist groups have laid claim to several mosques they say were built over Hindu temples during the Muslim Mughal empire centuries ago.
Street battles broke out when a team of surveyors entered the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on orders from a local court, after a petition from a Hindu priest claiming it was built on the site of a Hindu temple.
Protesters on Sunday hurled rocks at police, who fired tear gas canisters to clear the crowd.
Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in the northern city of Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to the centuries-old Babri mosque.
That mosque was torn down in 1992 in a campaign spearheaded by members of Modi’s party, sparking sectarian riots that killed 2,000 people nationwide, most of them Muslims.
Some Hindu campaigners see an ideological patron in Modi.
Calls for India to more closely align the country’s officially secular political system with its majority Hindu faith have rapidly grown louder since Modi was swept to office in 2014, making the country’s roughly 210-million-strong Muslim minority increasingly anxious about their future.
Man in critical condition after stabbing on London’s Westminster Bridge
- Authorities have said that the incident is not being treated as terrorism-related
LONDON: A man is in critical condition after being stabbed during a reported fight on Westminster Bridge in central London, the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Sunday.
Emergency services, including the London Ambulance Service and an air ambulance, were called to the scene at about 10:45 UK time and an injured man was rushed to hospital for treatment.
A London London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called today (Sunday) at 10.46 a.m. to reports of an incident on Westminster Bridge, SW1.
“We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and London’s air ambulance.
“We treated a man at the scene before taking him to hospital,” they added.
Three individuals have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, while a fourth has been detained for affray, the BBC reported.
Two of the arrested suspects sustained minor facial injuries and were also taken to hospital, according to police.
Authorities have said that the incident is not being treated as terrorism-related.
In March 2017, Briton Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians who were walking on the pavement along Westminster Bridge and Bridge Street, injuring more than 50 people, four of them fatally, before killing an unarmed police officer in the grounds of the Palace of Westminster.
He was then shot by an armed police officer, and died at the scene.
