WASHINGTON: A senior North Korean official was bound for New York for high-level talks with US officials on Tuesday as preparations for a historic nuclear summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un gathered pace.
General Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the central committee of the Workers’ Party and right hand man to Kim, will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York “later this week,” the White House said.
Trump confirmed the general was on his way in a tweet and boasted that Washington would have a “great team” for the talks on resolving the old foes’ nuclear stand-off, which he still hopes will take place on June 12 in Singapore.
“Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more. Kim Young Chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea, heading now to New York. Solid response to my letter, thank you!” Trump wrote.
Trump will also meet Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington on June 7, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
“Since the President’s May 24 letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the North Koreans have been engaging,” she said.
“The United States continues to actively prepare for President Trump’s expected summit with leader Kim in Singapore.”
A spokesman for the North Korean mission to the United Nations said he was unable to confirm that the general was on his way to New York but added that “preparation for the summit is proceeding at the highest level.”
The North Korean envoy landed at Beijing airport on Tuesday and was to meet with Chinese officials before traveling on to the United States on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
The trip is part of a flurry of diplomacy before the on-again, off-again summit.
Trump briefly canceled the talks last week, citing “open hostility” from the North, but since then both sides have dialed down the rhetoric and the process appears to be back on track.
On Sunday, US negotiators, headed by Washington’s ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, began meeting North Korean counterparts in the truce village of Panmunjom that divides the two Koreas.
“They plan to have additional meetings this week,” Sanders said.
“Separately, Joe Hagin, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, and the US pre-advance team are in Singapore coordinating the logistics of the expected summit.”
Chung Sung-yoon, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Kim Yong Chol would be the most senior North Korean on US soil since Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok met then president Bill Clinton in 2000.
The general has played a front-seat role during recent rounds of diplomacy aimed at ending the nuclear stalemate on the Korean peninsula.
He sat next to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who is also a White House aide, during February’s closing ceremony for the Winter Olympics in South Korea, an event that was seen as a turning point in the nuclear crisis.
He also accompanied Kim Jong Un on both of his recent trips to China to meet President Xi Jinping, and held talks with Pompeo when he traveled to Pyongyang.
General Kim is a notorious figure in South Korea, where he is blamed for masterminding the 2010 sinking of the navy corvette the Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors, an attack for which North Korea denies responsibility.
From 2009 to 2016 he was also director of North Korea’s General Reconnaissance Bureau, the unit tasked with cyber warfare and intelligence gathering.
During that period North Korea ramped up its hacking programs, including a hugely costly penetration of Sony Pictures.
His journey to the US caps a frenetic few days of meetings between North Korean and American officials.
Top North Korean general on way to US to meet Pompeo ahead of summit
Top North Korean general on way to US to meet Pompeo ahead of summit
Jean-Marie Le Pen, French far-right leader known for fiery rhetoric against immigration, dies at 96
Le Pen routinely countered that he was simply a patriot protecting the identity of “eternal France”
PARIS: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, died Tuesday. He was 96.
A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence. His statements — including Holocaust denial, racist denunciations of Muslims and immigrants and his 1987 proposal to forcibly isolate people with AIDS in special facilities — shocked his critics and strained his political alliances.
Le Pen routinely countered that he was simply a patriot protecting the identity of “eternal France.”
Le Pen, who once reached the second round of the 2002 presidential election, was eventually estranged from his daughter, Marine Le Pen, who renamed his National Front party, kicked him out and transformed it into one of France’s most powerful political forces while distancing herself from her father’s extremist image.
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally as the party is now known, confirmed Le Pen’s death in a post on social media platform X. Bardella’s unusually warm tribute highlighted Le Pen’s polemical past, including his ties to the Algerian war, describing him as a “tribune of the people” who “always served France” and expressing condolences to his family, including Marine.
The post appeared to blur the distance the rebranded party had sought to establish between its firebrand founder and its more polished, modern direction under Marine Le Pen.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, expressed “his condolences to (Le Pen's) family and friends,” in an uncharacteristically short statement issued by the presidential palace.
“A historic figure of the far right, he played a role in the public life of our country for almost 70 years, which is now a matter for history to judge,” the statement read.
Marine Le Pen, thousands of kilometers (miles) away in the French territory of Mayotte, was inspecting the aftermath of destructive Cyclone Chido at the time of her father’s death.
Despite his exclusion from the party in 2015, Le Pen’s divisive legacy endures, marking decades of French political history and shaping the trajectory of the far right.
His death came at a crucial time for his daughter. She now faces a potential prison term and a ban on running for political office if convicted in an embezzling trial.
As Le Pen’s health deteriorated in recent years, he was hospitalized several times, including after he suffered a stroke.
Le Pen is survived by his wife and three daughters, Marie-Caroline, Yann and Marine.
Philippines welcomes clemency for 220 Filipinos in UAE
- Recently pardoned Filipinos join another 143 given clemency on occassion of Eid Al-Adha
- Philippine government is coordinating with UAE authorities for their immediate repatriation
MANILA: The Philippines has welcomed the UAE’s decision to extend clemency to 220 Filipinos as a move strengthening bilateral relations and the government’s labor migration efforts.
Serving prison terms for various offenses, the Philippine nationals were pardoned as part of last month’s National Day celebrations — a move officially announced by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday night as “proof of the strong ties between our two countries.”
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai were coordinating with UAE authorities to ensure the immediate repatriation of the released.
“We are deeply appreciative of the continued generosity and understanding shown by the government and people of the UAE towards Filipinos. The pardon granted reaffirms the strong and growing relationship between our two nations, built on mutual respect, cooperation, and shared values,” they said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The Philippine government regularly works to assist Filipino nationals facing legal issues, including providing legal aid, negotiating with local authorities, and securing repatriations or clemency where possible.
The 220 recently pardoned join another 143 pardoned in the UAE on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.
The Middle East chapter of Migrante, a global alliance of overseas Filipino workers, also welcomed the development saying that it was “pleased with the decision” and that it “increases the ties” between the two countries.
“It goes without saying that every country relies on one another. Countries in the Middle East, such as the UAE, need the labor force of migrant workers from countries with a lack of jobs, like the Philippines,” Migrante Middle East told Arab News.
“This development further promotes the Labor Export Program of (Marcos’s) government.”
Nearly 1 million overseas Filipino workers live in the Gulf state — most in Dubai. They are a key source of remittances to the Philippines and contribute as well to their host country’s development.
Swedish navy recovers anchor of tanker suspected of Baltic Sea cable damage
- Sweden sent a submarine rescue vessel to assist Finland in the investigation last week.
- “The HMS Belos has located and lifted the anchor and handed it over to Finnish authorities,” Swedish navy spokesman Jimmie Adamsson told AFP
STOCKHOLM: The Swedish navy said Tuesday it had recovered from the Baltic Sea the anchor of an oil tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ and damaging four underwater telecom cables and one power cable on December 25.
Sweden sent a submarine rescue vessel to assist Finland in the investigation last week.
“The HMS Belos has located and lifted the anchor and handed it over to Finnish authorities,” Swedish navy spokesman Jimmie Adamsson told AFP.
The Eagle S, flying the Cook Islands flag, is suspected of having damaged the EstLink 2 electricity cable between Finland and Estonia in the Baltic on December 25, putting it out of action.
Finnish police said on December 29 that they had found a trail from the anchor stretching dozens of kilometers (miles) along the seabed.
The national energy agency Fingrid said it had requested that authorities seize the tanker.
Finnish authorities have banned eight crew from leaving Finnish territory. Finnish customs have said they suspect the tanker, currently located east of Helsinki, is part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” — ships that carry Russian crude oil and petroleum products that are embargoed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish telecom operator Elisa said Monday that two of the damaged telecom cables had been repaired. The Estlink 2 power cable has not yet been repaired.
According to operator Cinia, one of the remaining telecoms cables — running between Finland and Germany — should be fixed by January 10.
In late December, NATO announced it would strengthen its military presence in the Baltic after similar incidents there since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Energy and communications infrastructure in particular have been targeted as part of what experts and politicians call Russia’s “hybrid war” with Western countries.
The Baltic is surrounded by a number of NATO member states.
Two telecommunications cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters.
A Chinese-flagged bulk carrier, the Yi Peng 3 is suspected of involvement.
Two young asylum seekers found dead off Greek island Rhodes
- The migrants were “a teenager and a younger child,” the police said
- The two young males were part of a group of 63 asylum seekers “from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and Egypt“
ATHENS: The bodies of two young asylum seekers have been discovered in the sea off Rhodes, near the Turkish coast, the Greek port police said on Tuesday.
The migrants were “a teenager and a younger child,” the police told AFP.
They said the two young males were part of a group of 63 asylum seekers “from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and Egypt” who were spotted by police near Ladiko Bay.
The vessel had set off from Turkiye, police said, adding that it was not clear how the migrants had perished.
The police said that they were still searching for other people who might be in difficulty.
Rhodes, the largest of the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea, in recent months has seen a rise in asylum seekers trying to reach Europe, namely from countries in Africa and Asia where there is conflict, persecution or poverty.
Drownings are frequent during the perilous crossing between the Turkish coast and the Greek islands.
Two weeks ago, eight people drowned when their boat capsized off Rhodes and a further 26 were rescued by Greek authorities.
France marks 10 years since deadly Charlie Hebdo attacks
- Macron joined police officers in laying wreaths of flowers against the wall of the former Charlie Hebdo headquarters in the 11th district
- Germany “shares the pain of our French friends,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said
BERLIN/PARIS:PARIS: A decade after gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in a deadly assault that shook France to its core and ignited a global outcry in defense of freedom of speech, the nation paused on Tuesday to honor the victims and renew its resolve to fight for liberty and democracy.
President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo led solemn tributes at the site of the attack, where 12 people, including some of France’s most beloved cartoonists, were killed on January 7, 2015. Among those remembered was Ahmed Merabet, a police officer who was gunned down on the street while defending the newspaper.
In a poignant ceremony, Macron stood with his wife, Brigitte, alongside former President François Hollande, who had steered France through the aftermath of the attacks. Macron joined police officers in laying wreaths of flowers against the wall of the former Charlie Hebdo headquarters in the 11th district and the gathering observed a minute of silence. A lone trumpet played, resonating through a neighborhood scarred by that day’s bloodshed and later by the Bataclan massacre in November of the same year.
The attacks plunged France into a year of unparalleled terror, beginning with the Charlie Hebdo assault and culminating in the coordinated November attacks, including the Bataclan tragedy. The nation was left grieving, yet public gatherings became acts of resilience, defying fear and standing firm against violence.
The massacre at Charlie Hebdo, carried out by two brothers claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda, signaled the dawn of a dark new chapter for France. A wave of extremist violence forced the country to reexamine its security measures. In the days following the attack, then German Chancellor Angela Merkel marched arm in arm with Hollande and other world leaders through the streets of Paris — a powerful display of unity in defense of freedom of expression that reverberated far beyond French borders.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, speaking on RTL Tuesday, acknowledged how far France has come. while warning of the persistent dangers. “France has rearmed considerably, but the threat is still there,” he said, pointing to both external dangers and the rise of homegrown radicalization.
“The nature of the threat has changed,” Retailleau added. “It is now primarily endogenous — young individuals radicalized through social media. Last year alone, our services foiled nine attacks, the highest number since 2017.”
The attacks’ impact continued to extend beyond France itself. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shared a message of solidarity on social media, writing, “#JeSuisCharlie spread around the world after the barbaric attack on Charlie Hebdo 10 years ago. Today, as then, we share the grief of our French friends. The attack targeted our shared values of freedom and democracy— we will never accept this.”
The attack on Charlie Hebdo, carried out in retaliation for the newspaper’s irreverent caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, ignited fierce global debates about the limits of free expression. In the days that followed, millions marched in solidarity, brandishing pens and signs declaring, Je Suis Charlie (I am Charlie).
But 10 years on, the unity of that moment has given way to deeper divisions. Charlie Hebdo said its research shows that while a majority of French still believe in the fundamental right to caricature, younger generations increasingly criticize satire they see as divisive or insensitive, particularly toward marginalized communities.
“Are we all still Charlie?” one television special asked. For some, the answer is a resounding yes — a tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for freedom of expression. For others, French media say, it’s a more complicated question.
The newspaper remains unapologetic. Its 10th-anniversary edition features a cover cartoon of a reader perched on an AK-47, captioned “Indestructible.” In an editorial, the magazine’s director, Laurent Sourisseau, known as “Riss,” defended the power of satire. “If you want to laugh, it means you want to live,” he wrote.
Germany “shares the pain of our French friends,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday on the 10th anniversary of a deadly attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that claimed 12 lives.
The “barbaric attack... targeted our common values of liberty and democracy — which we will never accept,” Scholz said in a post in French on X.
