NEW YORK: The United States led more than 30 countries on Tuesday in condemning what it called China’s “horrific campaign of repression” against Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang at an event on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly that was denounced by China.
In highlighting abuses against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in China, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said the United Nations and its member states had “a singular responsibility to speak up when survivor after survivor recounts the horrors of state repression.”
Sullivan said it was incumbent on UN member states to ensure the world body was able to closely monitor human rights abuses by China and added that it must seek “immediate, unhindered, and unmonitored” access to Xinjiang for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR).
Sullivan said Tuesday’s event was co-sponsored by Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, and was joined by more than 30 UN states, representatives of the European Union and more than 20 nongovernmental organizations, as well as Uighur victims.
“We invite others to join the international effort to demand and compel an immediate end to China’s horrific campaign of repression,” he said. “History will judge the international community for how we respond to this attack on human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Paola Pampaloni, deputy managing director for Asia of the European External Action Service, said the EU was “alarmed” by the situation and also urged “meaningful” access to Xinjiang.
“We are concerned about ... information about mistreatment and torture,” she said. “China is always inviting us to the camps under their conditions, we are in negotiations right now for terms and conditions for free access.”
On Monday US President Donald Trump had called for an end to religious persecution at another event on the sidelines of the UN gathering and repeated his comments in a speech on Tuesday.
Trump, who has been cautious about upsetting China on human rights issues while making a major trade deal with Beijing a major priority, said religious freedom was under growing threat around the world but fell short of specifically mentioning the Uighur situation.
“Volume is coming up at a pace that we hope that the Beijing government recognizes not only US but the global concern about this situation,” David Stilwell, US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs told reporters at a briefing.
“We will see how that plays out and how Beijing reacts and take it from there.”
A representative for the Chinese delegation to the UN General Assembly accused Washington of violating the UN Charter by criticizing China.
The United Nations says at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in what China describes as “vocational training centers” to stamp out extremism and give people new skills.
Sullivan said the United States had received “credible reports of deaths, forced labor, torture, and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment” in the camps.
He said there were also many reports that the Chinese government forces detainees to renounce their ethnic identities as well as their culture and religion.
Though US officials have ramped up criticism of China’s measures in Xinjiang, it has refrained from responding with sanctions, amid on-again, off-again talks to resolve a bitter, costly trade war.
At the same time, it has criticized other countries, including some Muslim states, for not doing enough or for backing China’s approach in Xinjiang.
Rishat Abbas, the brother of Uighur physician Gulshan Abbas, who was abducted from her home in Urumchi in September 2018, told Tuesday’s event that “millions of Uighurs are becoming collateral damage to international trade policies, enabling China to continue to threaten our freedoms around the world, enable it to continue its police state.”
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has repeatedly pushed China to grant the United Nations access to investigate reports of disappearances and arbitrary detentions, particularly of Muslims in Xinjiang.
China’s envoy in Geneva said in June that he hoped Bachelet would visit China, including Xinjiang. Bachelet’s office said in June that it was discussing “full access” with China.
US leads condemnation of China for ‘horrific’ repression of Muslims
US leads condemnation of China for ‘horrific’ repression of Muslims
- China urged to give “immediate, unhindered, and unmonitored” access to Xinjiang for the UNHCR
- UN says at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in China crackdown
Trump’s go-it-alone strategy on Iran risks dividing an already split Congress
- And at least one Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, said Trump’s actions are “clearly grounds for impeachment”
- The Iran military campaign threatens to splinter Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, which powered his return to the White House
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites without fully consulting the US Congress layered a partisan approach onto a risky action, particularly because the White House briefed top Republican leaders beforehand while leaving Democrats with little information.
While House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Republican leader John Thune and the GOP chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee all were briefed before the action, their counterparts were not. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was given a perfunctory heads-up by the White House shortly before the strikes were made public. And House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries’ office received a “courtesy call” before Trump announced it. The so-called Gang of Eight congressional and intelligence leaders were not notified before the mission, according to two people familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
One, Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he learned of the strikes on social media, which he said “is an uncomfortable thing for the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee.”
“Bad enough that we weren’t informed,” Himes, of Connecticut, said Sunday on CNN, “but unconstitutional that we didn’t have the opportunity to debate and speak, as the representatives of the people, on what is one of the more consequential foreign policy things that this country has done in a long time.”
It’s a highly unusual situation that is complicating the difficult politics ahead for the president and his party as the US enters an uncertain national security era with the surprise military attack on the nuclear facilities, an unprecedented incursion in Iran.
Trump faces a vote in Congress as soon as this week on a war powers resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, that would “direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.” Another resolution has been introduced by lawmakers from both parties in the US House. And at least one Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, said Trump’s actions are “clearly grounds for impeachment.”
At the same time, the Trump administration is expecting Congress to send an additional $350 billion in national security funds as part of the president’s big tax breaks bill also heading soon for a vote. Senators are set to be briefed Tuesday behind closed doors on the situation in Iran.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Sunday that the White House made “bipartisan courtesy calls” to congressional leadership. She said in a social media post that the White House spoke to Schumer “before the strike” but that House leader Jeffries “could not be reached until after, but he was briefed.”
While the president has authority as the commander in chief of the US armed forces to order specific military actions, any prolonged war-time footing would traditionally need authorization from Congress. The House and Senate authorized actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.
“Congress should be consulted,” Kaine said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We were not.”
As soon as Trump announced the actions late Saturday, he won swift support from the GOP leadership in Congress. Johnson, Thune and the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, were all briefed ahead of time and sent almost simultaneous statements backing the military campaign, as did the House Intelligence Committee chairman, Rep. Rick Crawford, also of Arkansas.
But by apparently engaging with only one side of the political aisle, Trump risks saddling his Republican Party with political ownership of the military action against Iran, which may or may not prove popular with Americans. Rather than rally the country to his side, Trump risks cleaving its already deep divisions over his second term agenda.
Johnson, who praised Trump’s action against Iran as “the right call,” said the president’s targeted strike was within his authority and in line with past presidential actions.
“Leaders in Congress were aware of the urgency of this situation and the Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act,” Johnson, R-Louisiana, said on social media.
Trump himself has shown little patience for political dissent from within his party, even as criticism rolls in from among his most trusted backers.
The Iran military campaign threatens to splinter Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, which powered his return to the White House. Many Trump supporters aligned with his campaign promises not to involve the United States in overseas actions and instead to be a peace-making president.
“I think I represent part of the coalition that elected Trump,” said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, on CBS. “We were tired of endless wars in the Middle East.”
Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California have introduced their own war powers resolution in the House, a sign of how close the far left and far right have bonded over their opposition to US campaigns abroad, particularly in the Middle East.
The Trump administration insisted Sunday the US is not seeking a war with Iran. “We’re not at war with Iran. We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” said Vice President JD Vance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
And Trump swiftly attacked Massie, who is one of the most steadfast non-interventionist GOP lawmakers in Congress — along with Sen. Rand Paul, also of Kentucky — and the president suggested he would turn his Republican Party against the congressman.
“MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!” the president said on social media. “The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard.”
Eastern half of US sweltering again, with dangerous heat wave expected to last until midweek
- A phenomenon known as a heat dome, a large area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere that traps heat and humidity, is responsible for the extreme temperatures, say meteorologists
MADISON, Wisconsin: Tens of millions of people across the Midwest and East endured dangerously hot temperatures again on Sunday as a rare June heat wave that gripped much of the US was expected to last well into this week.
Most of the northeastern quadrant of the country from Minnesota to Maine was under some type of heat advisory. So were parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi, the National Weather Service said.
Weather service offices throughout the region warned of sweltering and sometimes life-threatening conditions through Wednesday.
“Please plan ahead to take frequent breaks if you must be outside, stay hydrated and provide plenty of water and shade for any outdoor animals,” the service office in Wakefield, Virginia, said on X.
Meteorologists say a phenomenon known as a heat dome, a large area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere that traps heat and humidity, is responsible for the extreme temperatures.
Thunderstorms slam New York State
Twin 6-year-old girls were among three people killed when thunderstorms brought trees down onto homes in central New York before dawn Sunday, according to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office. Several inches of rain fell over just a few hours, inundating the small town of Kirkland.
A neighbor, Jared Bowman, said he ran next door to help the twins’ mother escape through a window after a giant maple crashed through the roof around 4 a.m.
“She was yelling, ‘Get my kids out!’” Bowman told the Post-Standard.
A 50-year-old woman died when a tree hit a house nearby, sheriff’s officials said. The streets were littered with electrical lines and thousands in the region were without power.
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in 32 counties due to the strong storms and forecast extreme heat.
‘I just want to sit in my air conditioning’
Sunday marked the second straight day of extreme heat across the Midwest and East Coast. Heat indexes on Sunday hit 103 F (39.4 C) in Chicago and 101 F (38.3 C) on Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin, turning that city’s annual naked bike ride into a sticky and sweaty affair.
Lynn Watkins, 53, director of Sacred Hearts Day Care in Sun Prairie, a Madison suburb, said that she tried to sit outside to grill but it was so hot she had to go inside. She plans to cancel all outdoor activities at the day care on Monday with highs around 93 F (33.8 C) forecast.
“I can’t stand being outside when it’s like this,” she said. “I just want to sit in my air conditioning.”
The heat index in Pittsburgh reached 105 F, and hovered around 104 F (40 C) in Columbus, Ohio.
Forecasts in Philadelphia called for a heat index of 108 F (42.2 C) on Monday.
Philadelphia declares a heat emergency
The city’s public health department declared a heat emergency through Wednesday evening. Officials directed residents to air-conditioned libraries, community centers and other locations, and set up a “heat line” staffed by medical professionals to discuss conditions and illnesses made worse by the heat.
With temperatures in the mid-80s, Maryland’s Rehoboth Beach was crowded Sunday.
“It’s only going to get worse,” said beachgoer Vak Kobiashvili. “People are trying to get out to the beach before it’s too hot to really even manage to be outside.”
Kobiashvili said even his dog didn’t want to be outside.
“East Coast weather, at least from my perspective, is just very sweaty in the summer,” he said. “It’s that walking through a swamp kind of feeling.”
Forecasters warned the heat index in Cromwell, Connecticut, would reach 105 F on Sunday, which could make life brutal for PGA Tour golfers during the final round of the Travelers Championship. Fans sought shelter under trees and on air-conditioned benches. Many lined up for water at a hydration station near the ninth green.
Karin Skalina, of New York, had been in the sun-soaked bleachers by the eighth green and eventually sought relief on a ventilated cooling bench. “Didn’t work,” she said.
“(We’re) trying to follow the shade,” Skalina said.
Courtney Kamansky, of Newington, Connecticut, came prepared with extra water bottles. Asked if she was able to find shade, she pointed to her umbrella and said, “I bring it with me.”
Heat to persist into the coming week with highest temperatures shifting eastward
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz got sick Saturday while playing in extreme heat against the Cardinals in St. Louis. Seattle Mariners reliever Trent Thornton, facing the Cubs in Chicago, also fell ill.
The heat is expected to persist this week with the highest temperatures shifting eastward. New York City is expected to see highs around 95 F (35 C) on Monday and Tuesday. Boston is on track for highs approaching 100 F (37.7 C) on Tuesday, and temperatures in Washington, D.C., were expected to hit 100 F on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mark Gehring, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sullivan, Wisconsin, said this level of heat is not uncommon during the summer months in the US, although it usually takes hold in mid-July or early August. The most unusual facet of this heat wave is the sheer amount of territory sweltering under it, he said.
“It’s basically everywhere east of the Rockies,” he said, referring to the Rocky Mountains. “That is unusual, to have this massive area of high dewpoints and heat.”
3 dead, 81 injured after stand collapses at Algerian soccer match
ALGIERS: Three people died and 81 were injured following the collapse of a stand after soccer club Mouloudia Club d’Alger won a ninth league title, Algerian authorities said Sunday.
An earlier toll was one dead and 50 injured but two fans subsequently died from their injuries following Saturday’s incident at the Stade Olympique du 5 Juillet 1962, according to a statement issued by the country’s Ministry of Health.
Algeria president Abdelmadjid Tebboune offered his condolences.
According to the website La Gazette du Fennec, a security barrier broke just as fans were getting ready to celebrate the title following a goalless draw between MC Alger and NC Magra.
Kyiv says ‘massive’ drone attack on Ukraine’s capital
- Possibly, several waves of enemy drones,” said a statement from Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration
KYIV, Ukraine: Authorities in Kyiv said early Monday the Ukrainian capital was being subjected to “another massive attack,” reporting at least one person wounded. AFP journalists reported hearing strong explosions.
“Another massive attack on the capital. Possibly, several waves of enemy drones,” said a statement from Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. “Stay in shelters while the danger persists!“
Britain to cut companies’ energy bills in new industrial strategy
- “Tackling energy costs and fixing skills has been the single biggest ask of us from businesses and the greatest challenge they have faced – this government has listened,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement
LONDON: Britain will aim to cut the electricity bills of thousands of companies under a new industrial strategy to be published on Monday, heeding calls from business to lower high energy costs that they say have damaged competitiveness and hindered growth.
Under an industrial strategy for the decade 2025-2035, the government plans to cut the bills of electricity-intensive manufacturers by up to 25 percent from 2027, a move it said could benefit more than 7,000 businesses.
The government has made boosting Britain’s anaemic growth a key priority. But lawmakers and business leaders had highlighted the sky-high energy costs many companies face as a hindrance to that aim, with industry body Make UK saying government should scrap climate levies imposed on firms.
Britain has been under pressure to do more to support its key industries and bolster competitiveness as the United States and the European Union also seek to do likewise, in a trade landscape upended by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Alongside the strategy, five sectoral plans for areas such as advanced manufacturing, creative industries and clean energy are also set to be published. The Industrial Strategy focuses on eight previously identified sectors of strength for Britain, which also include defense and financial services.
The government said it would exempt energy-intensive manufacturers from levies like the Renewables Obligation to boost their international competitiveness.
“Tackling energy costs and fixing skills has been the single biggest ask of us from businesses and the greatest challenge they have faced – this government has listened,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement.
The government said the energy measures would be funded through reforms to the energy system, without raising household bills or taxes. The scope and eligibility for the scheme will be finalized after a consultation.
Make UK said the industrial strategy was a “giant and much needed step forward” that also tackled a skills shortage in Britain’s workforce and access to capital. The Confederation of British Industry said it was an “unambiguous, positive signal” that would provide a “bedrock for growth“
The industrial strategy, Britain’s first in eight years, will expand the state-owned British Business Bank’s capacity to channel investment into smaller companies, and provide an extra 1.2 billion pounds ($1.61 billion) a year on skills by 2028-29.
The government added it would cut regulatory burdens on businesses, spend more on research and development and speed up planning processes.
