PARIS: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Paris on Friday to voice America’s support for Lebanon’s “sovereignty, stability and independence,” as French President Emmanuel Macron called on Mideast countries to refrain from interfering in Lebanese domestic affairs.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri was also attending the summit of world diplomats in France in support of his country. It is the first major gathering of key nations to discuss Lebanon’s future since a crisis erupted following Hariri’s shock resignation last month while in Saudi Arabia. Hariri has since rescinded his resignation.
Macron addressed the dignitaries on Friday.
The meeting is a show of support for Hariri following the bizarre resignation. Lebanon is host to one million refugees from Syria, according to the UN, and European nations have been dedicated to preserving its stability.
US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tillerson would affirm US support for Lebanon’s military. She said he would also encourage other nations to do more to constrain Hezbollah and argue that doing so will lead to a “stronger, more stable Lebanon.”
Hariri tweeted after arriving in Paris that the meeting will also be important for supporting Lebanon’s economy.
Tillerson, other top diplomats meet in Paris to support Lebanon’s Hariri
Tillerson, other top diplomats meet in Paris to support Lebanon’s Hariri
Man admits arson attack on Ukraine-linked business in London
- Dylan Earl, 20, admitted a charge of aggravated arson on the premises belonging to a “Mr X” on an industrial estate in east London
- Earl denied a further charge under the NSA of assisting a foreign intelligence service
LONDON: A man pleaded guilty on Friday to carrying out an arson attack on a London commercial property linked to Ukraine and an offense under the National Security Act in a case prosecutors have linked to Russia.
Dylan Earl, 20, admitted a charge of aggravated arson on the premises belonging to a “Mr X” on an industrial estate in east London in March, with the intent of destroying the building and being reckless as to whether lives would be endangered.
He also pleaded guilty to engaging in preparations for “an act endangering the life of a person or an act creating serious risk to the health or safety of the public in the United Kingdom” contrary to the new National Security Act (NSA) brought in to crack down on hostile activity by foreign states.
Earl denied a further charge under the NSA of assisting a foreign intelligence service. Three other men denied the aggravated arson charge.
Prosecutor Duncan Penny said the third charge against Earl would not be pursued, telling London’s Old Bailey court that the sentence for the other NSA offense attracted a longer maximum prison term of a life sentence.
He said the allegation would be taken into account when Earl was sentenced for the other offense.
Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement when the men were charged that Earl was “alleged to have engaged in conduct targeting businesses which were linked to Ukraine in order to benefit the Russian state.”
Deadliest storm for Philippines in 2024 wreaks havoc in country’s northeast
- At least 46 dead, 320,000 displaced, most in southeastern parts of Luzon
- Trami is the 11th and deadliest tropical cyclone for the Philippines in 2024
MANILA: A tropical storm has wreaked havoc in the Philippines, leaving dozens of people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Trami, locally known as Kristine, has caused severe flooding and landslides across Luzon, the country’s most populous island, as well as in Visayas islands and parts of Mindanao, along the Philippines’ eastern coast.
Even before it made landfall in the province of Isabela on Thursday, the storm was already bringing torrential rains, pummeling several regions, especially in the southeastern parts of Luzon such as Bicol and Calabarzon, where most of the casualties have been reported.
At least 46 people have been killed, while 20 remain missing, according to the latest data from the Philippines Office of Civil Defense. Most of the deaths were caused by drowning, electrocution, and landslides.
Nearly 320,000 people have been displaced, sheltering in evacuation centers or staying with relatives and friends.
Most of the casualties have been reported in Naga City and Albay and Caramoran municipalities.
Ray Anthony Austria, resident of Guinobatan in Albay, said government emergency responders have not been able to reach some areas, as landslides have blocked access.
“It seems that no one was really prepared for this amount of rain … There is still confusion, there is still lack of communication. I think everyone is just overwhelmed with the situation,” he told Arab News over the phone.
“There are so many communities waiting for help, but their local governments are helpless. It would endanger a lot of rescuers if they (went into) those communities … We did it on foot, and we were able to reach them. Some of them need a lot of food, water, and clothes because many of them were not able to save any of their belongings.”
The Philippines is the country most at risk from natural disasters, according to the 2024 World Risk Report.
Every year, millions of Filipinos are affected by storms and typhoons, which have lately been more unpredictable and extreme due to the changing climate.
Trami is the 11th and deadliest tropical cyclone to hit the country in 2024.
Last month, more than a dozen people were killed when Typhoon Yagi, locally known as Enteng, also hit the country’s east.
Austria, who witnessed both, said that Trami was much worse.
“In Naga and neighboring towns, many areas, houses are still submerged in waters, some at least waist-deep … In the town of Tinago, the water reached the second floor in some houses or around 15 feet,” he said.
“During Typhoon Enteng, there was also flooding, and some areas were underwater for a few days, but it is worse now … There were many people who never had to evacuate before, but this time they were forced to because of the amount of water. It’s worse.”
North Korea says any deployment to aid Russia would be lawful
- Ukraine, the United States and other Western allies say they have evidence that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia for possible deployment against Ukraine
- Previously both Pyongyang and the Kremlin had dismissed such reports as baseless rumors
SEOUL: North Korea said on Friday any move to send its troops to assist Russia in its war in Ukraine would be in line with international law, although it stopped short of confirming that such a deployment had taken place.
Ukraine, the United States and other Western allies say they have evidence that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia for possible deployment against Ukraine.
Previously both Pyongyang and the Kremlin had dismissed such reports as baseless
rumors.
But when asked about the reports on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin
stopped short of denying them.
Ukraine says North Korean participation in the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, could amount to the crime of aggression under international law.
In a statement reported by North Korea’s KCNA news agency, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong Gyu said the foreign ministry was not directly involved in matters handled by the defense ministry and would not comment directly on any deployment.
However, he added: “If there is such a thing that the world media is talking about, I think it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law.”
North Korea and Russia have developed closer relations since the war began, including signing a new mutual defense pact. Ukraine and Western countries have previously accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia, which Pyongyang and Moscow have denied.
Putin said on Thursday it was up to Moscow and Pyongyang how to conduct their mutual defense agreement, and accused the West of escalating the Ukraine war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Russia plans to deploy North Korean troops to the battlefield starting Oct. 27-28, citing intelligence reports.
Ukrainian military intelligence said on Thursday that around 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia, and training was taking place on five military bases.
The United States has said it has seen evidence of North Korean troops in Russia, and South Korean lawmakers said about 3,000 soldiers had been sent, with more to follow.
Blinken sees ‘real urgency’ for ‘diplomatic resolution’ in Lebanon
- Jordan’s foreign minister calls for pressure on Israel to end ‘ethnic cleansing’ during meeting with Blinken
LONDON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged Friday to work with “real urgency” for a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon and urged Israel to spare civilians, but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.
“We have a sense of real urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, such that there can be real security along the border between Israel and Lebanon,” Blinken said after meeting Lebanon’s prime minister in London, referring to calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Jordan’s foreign minister on Friday called for pressure on Israel to end “ethnic cleansing,” in strong remarks as he met in London.
Deploring the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, Ayman Safadi told Blinken: “We do see ethnic cleansing taking place, and that has got to stop.”
Ex-wife of Muhammad Ali in Afghanistan: Taliban govt
- During the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, public executions in sports stadiums were common
- Khalilah Camacho-Ali is opening a stadium in a country where women are barred from sport
Kabul: A former wife of legendary US boxer Muhammad Ali arrived in the Afghan capital, a Taliban government official said Friday, to reportedly open a stadium in a country where women are barred from sports.
The head of the Taliban government’s sports directorate, Ahmadullah Wasiq, told AFP that Khalilah Camacho-Ali, who was married to the boxer for a decade from 1967, had arrived in Kabul.
State media cited the directorate as saying she was in the city “to build a sports stadium to be named ‘Pirozi’ (victory in Dari) and a sports association named after Muhammad Ali.”
Born Belinda Boyd in 1950 in the United States, Camacho-Ali, like her world champion boxer ex-husband, converted to Islam after they married.
Muhammad Ali himself visited Kabul in 2002, a year after the US forces overthrew the first Taliban government, visiting a girls’ school in his role as a United Nations peace ambassador.
Since the Taliban government came to power in Afghanistan in 2021, they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, with women bearing the brunt of restrictions the United Nations have called “gender apartheid,” including blocking women from participating in sports.
During the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, public executions in sports stadiums were common.
Public corporal punishment has continued since their return to power and at least two public executions have been held in a sports stadium.
The authorities have recently set restrictions on combat sports as well, saying free fighting such as in Mixed Martial Arts was un-Islamic.
Camacho-Ali is a martial artist, as well as an actress and author, according to her website.
Ali was born Cassius Clay in the southeastern state of Kentucky and is known as both a sporting great and for his role in fighting for civil rights for African Americans. He died in 2016.
