LONDON: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in Ecuador’s London embassy for six years, is considering an offer to appear before a US Senate committee to discuss alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election, his lawyer said on Thursday.
WikiLeaks published a letter from the US Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday which asked Assange to make himself available to testify in person at a closed hearing as part of its investigation into whether Moscow meddled to help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election.
Russia rejects the claims and Trump has denied any collusion.
“The US Senate Select Committee request confirms their interest in hearing from Mr.Assange,” lawyer Jennifer Robinson said in a statement.
“The inquiry has asked for him to appear in person at a mutually agreeable time and place. We are seriously considering the offer but must ensure Mr.Assange’s protection is guaranteed.”
Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean embassy since he was granted asylum in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questions about allegations of sex crimes, accusations that were later dropped.
However, he would be arrested by British police for breaching bail conditions should he leave the building, and he has always said he fears being extradited to the United States for having published a huge cache of US diplomatic and military secrets on the WikiLeaks website.
There were no details about how any interview with the US senators would be carried out, and a spokesman for Assange said: “Anything is possible with this.”
“’In person’ hasn’t been ruled out,” he added.
Ahead of the 2016 election, WikiLeaks published emails hacked from the Democratic Party and the personal email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.
Last month, a US federal grand jury charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking the Democratic computer networks as part of Moscow’s meddling in the election to help Republican Trump.
The US committee’s request comes at a time of growing speculation about Assange’s future and his possible ejection from the embassy after six years.
On a visit to Madrid last month, Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno confirmed that Ecuador and Britain were in talks to try to end his stay at the embassy.
Days earlier, a source close to Assange told Reuters that the diplomatic impasse was coming to a head.
Assange considers offer to appear before US Senate committee
Assange considers offer to appear before US Senate committee
- The US committee’s request comes at a time of growing speculation about Assange’s future and his possible ejection from the embassy after six years
- Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean embassy since he was granted asylum in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questions about allegations of sex crimes
Zuma Riyadh ‘feels like a homecoming,’ says Azumi Group CEO
DUBAI: Born in London, coveted Japanese restaurant Zuma opened its doors in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District mere weeks ago, with Azumi Group CEO Sven Koch telling Arab News that Saudi Arabia’s capital city was chosen “because of its cultural importance to the Kingdom.”
With 15 locations across the world, this marks Zuma’s first outpost in the Kingdom — but Saudi foodies are familiar with the luxury brand, Koch said.
“Since its inception in London in 2002, guests from Saudi Arabia have been one of the most loyal Zuma demographics from around the world. Bringing the Zuma experience to the Kingdom feels like a homecoming,” he said.
With interactive sushi and robata counters offering a front-row view of the artistry and precision of Zuma’s chefs, the Izakaya-style restaurant serves traditional Japanese dishes with a modern twist.
There are a few Riyadh-exclusive items on the menu. The Ajwa Date and Miso Toffee Cake dessert comes with ginger crumble, poached pears, and sweet corn mochi ice cream.
It is “a creation that combines the essence of the region’s flavors with Zuma’s renowned techniques,” Koch said.
Koch described Zuma Riyadh as a space that blends Middle Eastern influences and classic Japanese designs.
“Designed by renowned architect Noriyoshi Muramatsu, the space is a blend of Middle Eastern influences and Japanese design, creating an ambiance that is both locally inspired and globally sophisticated,” he explained.
Zuma’s launch in Riyadh was inspired by the cultural and economic transformations that the Kingdom has been undergoing over the past few years, especially in the food and beverage sector.
In 2025, Riyadh will have several new glittering international restaurants including Latin hotspot Amazonico, Japanese-Peruvian eatery Chotto Matte and Italian dessert cafe Cipriani Dolci.
“This transformation has focused on fostering a more vibrant lifestyle, creating a bigger demand for world-class dining and flavors … Zuma Riyadh’s debut in the Kingdom is a testament to the growing demand for exceptional dining experiences while also catering to a clientele that values both tradition and innovation,” said Koch.
Blinken in Paris to discuss Mideast, receive honor
- The top US diplomat arrived early on Wednesday in Paris after stops in Japan and South Korea
The top US diplomat arrived early on Wednesday in Paris after stops in Japan and South Korea on what is expected to be his final trip before he is slated to be replaced with Marco Rubio once President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, according to an AFP reporter traveling with him.
Blinken will meet President Emmanuel Macron, who will decorate him with the Legion of Honour, France’s highest order of merit.
The award will be especially poignant for Blinken, a fluent French speaker who spent part of his childhood in Paris and has spoken of France’s role in forming his worldview.
The decision to recognize Blinken also shows the full turnaround in relations since the start of President Joe Biden’s term in 2021, when France was infuriated after the United States forged a new three-way alliance with Britain and Australia that resulted in the rescinding of a lucrative contract for French submarines.
Biden and Blinken have repeatedly said that their priority has been to nurture ties with US allies and partners — a sharp contrast with Trump, who even before taking office has not ruled out military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Blinken will also meet Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot for talks focused on the Middle East including Syria, where Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad last month.
Barrot visited Damascus last week with his German counterpart, part of cautious Western efforts to engage with the new Syrian leadership and encourage stability after a brutal civil war that contributed to the rise of the Islamic State extremist group and a migration crisis that rocked European politics.
Blinken on Monday said that he will also work until his final hours in the job for a ceasefire in Gaza, as the United States and Qatar step up indirect diplomacy between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken on Thursday will head to Rome for talks with European counterparts on Syria before joining Biden on his final international trip in which the US president will see Pope Francis.
Protesters in Pakistan’s north continue blockade of key highway to China over power outages
- Residents of Gilgit-Baltistan started a sit-in on Jan.1, vowing to protest until they got reliable electricity
- Despite the area’s significance, some residents say they only get electricity for 30 minutes in 24 hours
ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of protesters in Pakistan’s northern Hunza Valley blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday, demonstrating against severe power outages during the region’s freezing winter.
The protest, which began on January 1, involves local residents, political parties and civil society groups who vowed to continue their sit-in until their demands for reliable electricity were met.
Demonstrators on Tuesday voiced frustration over the Gilgit-Baltistan government’s failure to ensure even a few hours of power each day, saying over 80,000 people were struggling for basic needs.
The KKH, a vital trade and strategic route linking Pakistan with China, has been obstructed at Aliabad, the district headquarters of Hunza. The area plays a critical role in bilateral trade facilitated by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has increased since an agreement to keep the Khunjerab Pass open year-round for economic exchanges.
“This is a nerve-breaking power outage in Hunza,” said Baba Jan, a protester, speaking at the sit-in. “We are getting power only 30-40 minutes in 24 hours.
“It is very cold here,” he added. “The temperature drops to minus 15 at night. Students don’t have Internet due to the power outage. There are issues in lighting, heating and cooking that people are facing here.”
Rehan Shah, another protester agreed, emphasizing the area’s important defense and strategic location.
“It’s the gate of CPEC and Pakistan-China connectivity,” he noted. “People here are hardly getting power for one hour and twenty minutes during the daytime. They’ve been out protesting on the streets for the last six days.”
Power cuts, known locally as load shedding, are a chronic issue in Pakistan, with many areas facing significant disruptions. The harsh winters in Gilgit-Baltistan exacerbate the problem, leaving residents without adequate heating or access to essential services.
Last week, Hamid Hussain, an engineer at the Gilgit-Baltistan Water and Power Department, acknowledged the issue but attributed it to technical limitations.
“The region heavily relies on hydropower, which often faces disruption in winter due to the freezing of rivers and lakes,” he told Arab News.
“There are 137 power stations in Gilgit-Baltistan,” he added. “The installed capacity of these power stations is 190 megawatts. However, power generation is 140 megawatts during the summer while 76 megawatts during the winter due to the low flow of water.”
Protesters have demanded thermal power generators to supplement energy needs during the winter, but Hussain said they were costly and were hard to implement due to financial constraints.
Diplomat pays tribute as 89 Pakistani devotees attend Sufi saint’s death anniversary in India
- Religious devotees are commemorating the 813th anniversary of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer
- Despite strained relations between the two nuclear-armed states, cultural and exchanges continue
ISLAMABAD: A group of 89 Pakistani devotees began attending the 813th annual Urs, or death anniversary commemoration, of the 12th-century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in India, with a Pakistani diplomat laying a traditional chaddar, or ceremonial cloth, at his shrine on Tuesday.
Born in 1141 in Sistan, modern-day Iran, Chishti arrived in India in the late 12th century and gained a following for his teachings of compassion and service to humanity, which resonated deeply with the region’s marginalized communities. Known as Gharib Nawaz, or Benefactor of the Poor, he established the Chishti Order of Sufism in South Asia.
His legacy as a symbol of interfaith harmony endures through his shrine in Ajmer, Rajasthan, which draws millions of devotees annually, particularly during the commemoration of his death anniversary.
“To participate in the 813th annual Urs Mubarak of Hazrat Khwaja Syed Moinuddin Hasan Chishti (RA), a group of 89 Pakistani Zaireen [pilgrims] is in Ajmeer Sharif from 7-9 January 2025,” the Pakistan High Commission said on X, formerly Twitter.
“Pakistani Zaireen accompanied by Second Secretary, Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi, Mr. Tariq Masroof, placed the traditional Chaddar at the Shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Syed Moinuddin Hasan Chishti,” it added.
The event underscores how cultural and religious exchanges have persisted between India and Pakistan despite strained diplomatic relations since August 2019, when New Delhi revoked Kashmir’s special constitutional status. The disputed Himalayan region has long been a flashpoint between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, who have fought wars and numerous border skirmishes over it.
Religious tourism remains a crucial element of people-to-people exchanges under the 1974 Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, which permits citizens of both nations to visit sacred sites. These include Hindu and Sikh temples in Pakistan and Islamic shrines in India.
At the beginning of the year, the Pakistan High Commission announced it had issued 94 visas to Indian nationals to attend the birth anniversary of an 18th-century Hindu spiritual leader in Sindh province.
Pakistan has also promoted religious tourism by hosting Buddhist monks, as well as Hindu and Sikh pilgrims from India and other countries.
Wildfire rages in Los Angeles, forcing 30,000 to evacuate
- Wildfire forces 30,000 evacuations in upscale Los Angeles area
- Evacuations cause traffic jams, residents flee on foot
LOS ANGELES: A rapidly growing wildfire raged across an upscale section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, destroying homes and creating traffic jams as 30,000 people evacuated beneath huge plumes of smoke that covered much of the metropolitan area.
At least 2,921 acres (1,182 hectares) of the Pacific Palisades area between the coastal settlements of Santa Monica and Malibu had burned, officials said, after they had already warned of extreme fire danger from powerful winds that arrived following extended dry weather.
The fire spread as officials warned the worst wind conditions were expected to come overnight, leading to concerns that more neighborhoods could be forced to flee. The city of Santa Monica later ordered evacuations in the northern fringe of town.
Witnesses reported a number homes on fire with flames nearly scorching their cars when people fled the hills of Topanga Canyon, as the fire spread from there down to the Pacific Ocean.
“We feel very blessed at this point that there’s no injuries that are reported,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told a press conference, adding that more than 25,000 people in 10,000 homes were threatened.
Firefighters in aircraft scooped water from the sea to drop it on the nearby flames. Flames engulfed homes and bulldozers cleared abandoned vehicles from roads so emergency vehicles could pass, television images showed.
As the sun set over Los Angeles, towering orange flames illuminated the hills leading to Topanga Canyon.
The fire singed some trees on the grounds of the Getty Villa, a museum loaded with priceless works of art, but the collection remained safe largely because of preventive efforts to trim brush surrounding the buildings, the museum said.
With only one major road leading from the canyon to the coast, and only one coastal highway leading to safety, traffic crawled to a halt, leading people to flee on foot.
Cindy Festa, a Pacific Palisades resident, said that as she evacuated out of the canyon, fires were “this close to the cars,” demonstrating with her thumb and forefinger.
“People left their cars on Palisades Drive. Burning up the hillside. The palm trees — everything is going,” Festa said from her car.
Before the fire started, the National Weather Service had issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for much of Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday, predicting wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph (80 to 130 kph).
With low humidity and dry vegetation due to a lack of rain, the conditions were “about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service said on X.
Governor Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency, said the state positioned personnel, firetrucks and aircraft elsewhere in Southern California because of the fire danger to the wider region, he added.
“Hopefully, we’re wrong, but we’re anticipating other fires happening concurrently,” Newsom told the press conference.
A second blaze dubbed the Eaton Fire later broke out some 30 miles (50 km) inland in the foothills above Pasadena, consuming 200 acres (80 hectares), Cal Fire said.
The powerful winds changed President Joe Biden’s travel plans, grounding Air Force One in Los Angeles. He had planned to make a short flight inland to the Coachella Valley for a ceremony to create two new national monuments in California but the event was rescheduled for a later date at the White House.
“I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire,” Biden said in statement. A federal grant had already been approved to help reimburse the state of California for its fire response, Biden said.
Pacific Palisades is home to several Hollywood stars. Actor James Woods said on X he was able to evacuate but added, “I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing.”
Actor Steve Guttenberg told KTLA television that friends of his were impeded from evacuating because others had abandoned their cars in the road.
“It’s really important for everybody to band together and don’t worry about your personal property. Just get out,” Guttenberg said. “Get your loved ones and get out.”
