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World leaders condemn assassination of Japan’s Abe, pay tributes to ‘great leader’

People place flowers at the scene outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara where former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was shot on July 8, 2022. (AFP)
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Updated 08 July 2022
Agencies
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World leaders condemn assassination of Japan’s Abe, pay tributes to ‘great leader’

  • Abe was pronounced dead earlier on Friday after he was shot at a campaign event in the city of Nara
  • Biden ordered flags on US government buildings to fly at half-mast through Sunday
Updated 08 July 2022
Agencies

TOKYO/KUALA LUMPUR: World leaders condemned Friday’s assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while paying tribute to him as a great leader.
Abe, 67, was shot from behind in Nara in western Japan while giving a campaign speech. He was airlifted to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
Tributes poured in as governments expressed sorrow and solidarity with Japan over the loss of Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving leader before stepping down in 2020 for health reasons.
US President Joe Biden said he was “stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened” and offered his condolences to Abe’s family. He ordered US flags to be flown at half-staff through July 10 to honor Abe and would stop at the Japanese embassy in Washington en route to remarks at CIA headquarters to sign a condolence book.

“This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him,” Biden said. “His vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific will endure. Above all, he cared deeply about the Japanese people and dedicated his life to their service.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who hastily returned to Tokyo from campaign events around the country, condemned the “unforgivable act.” He said campaigning as well as Sunday’s elections for parliament’s upper house will proceed.
“The free and fair election, which is the root of democracy, needs to be protected no matter what. We will not be defeated by violence,” Kishida said.
Biden called Kishida “a very solid guy” and said he did not believe the killing was likely to have “any profound, destabilizing impact on Japanese security or Japanese solidarity.”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply saddened by the horrific killing,” adding that he would “always remember his collegiality and commitment to multilateralism.”

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: “The brutal and cowardly murder” of Abe “shocks the world“
“I will never understand the brutal killing of this great man,” said European Council President Charles Michel in a separate tweet.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the leadership role taken by the former premier, saying the UK stands with Japan “at this dark and sad time.”
“Incredibly sad news about Shinzo Abe. His global leadership through unchartered times will be remembered by many,” Johnson tweeted.

In a message of condolence sent to Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, Queen Elizabeth II said she too was “deeply saddened” by the news of Abe’s death, adding that she had “fond memories of meeting Mr.Abe and his wife” when they visited the UK in 2016.
French President Emmanuel Macron said “Japan has lost a great prime minister.”
Abe had “dedicated his life to his country and worked for stability in the world,” he said in a tweet.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed shock and solidarity with Japan over the killing.
“The deadly attack on Shinzo Abe has left me aghast and deeply sad,” the German leader tweeted. “I extend deep sympathy to his family, my colleague Fumio Kishida and our Japanese friends.”
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that his country was “shocked by the terrible attack that hits Japan and its free democratic debate.”
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said he was shocked and saddened by the attack. “The world lost a great leader, and Jordan and I lost a true friend,” the monarch tweeted.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte termed the attack “cowardly,” and said his thoughts were with Abe’s loved ones and the Japanese people.
“At today’s cabinet meeting we paused to reflect on this dark day for Japanese democracy. I have fond memories of our friendship and the work we did together,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the death an “irreplaceable loss.”
In a telegram to Abe’s family, Putin called Abe an “outstanding statesman” who had done a lot to develop “good neighborly ties between our countries.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol termed the killing an “unacceptable act of crime.”
“I extend my consolation and condolences to his family and the Japanese people for having lost their longest-serving prime minister and a respected politician,” Yoon said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a day of national mourning on Saturday as a mark of deepest respect for Abe.
“Mr. Abe made an immense contribution to elevating India-Japan relations to the level of a special strategic and global partnership. Today, whole India mourns with Japan and we stand in solidarity with our Japanese brothers and sisters in this difficult moment,” Modi said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Abe was one of Australia’s closest friends and a “giant on the world stage,” adding that “his legacy was one of global impact, and a profound and positive one for Australia. He will be greatly missed.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky extended his condolences to Abe’s family.
“Horrible news of a brutal assassination of former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. I am extending my deepest condolences to his family and the people of Japan at this difficult time. This heinous act of violence has no excuse,” he tweeted.
Iran decried the shooting as “an act of terrorism.”
“As a country that has been a victim of terrorism and has lost great leaders to terrorists, we are following the news closely and with concern,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, in an armed attack. I condemn those who carried out this heinous attack,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

The Chinese embassy in Japan said it was “shocked” by the shooting.
“During his tenure, former Prime Minister Abe made contributions to the improvement and development of China-Japan relations. We express our condolences on his passing and express sympathy and solicitude for his family,” an embassy spokesperson said.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo extended condolences on Twitter.
“We will always remember his contributions in strengthening RI-Japan cooperation,” he wrote. “May the family of PM Abe and the Japanese people be given strength in this difficult time.”
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro expressed “extreme indignation” at the killing and declared three days of official mourning in solidarity with Japan.
Bolsonaro described Abe as a “brilliant leader” and “great friend of Brazil” in a tweet that included a photo of the two men shaking hands at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2019.
Brazil is home to the largest Japanese community outside of the archipelago, with about 1.9 million immigrants and descendants.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Abe’s assassination “incredibly shocking.”

“The world has lost a great man of vision, and Canada has lost a close friend,” he said, offering condolences to Abe’s widow and the people of Japan.
“Shocking news from Japan that former PM Shinzo Abe has been shot,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted after the attack.
“Our thoughts are with his family and the people of Japan at this time.”
Former president Donald Trump also weighed in, saying the detained assassin “will hopefully be dealt with swiftly and harshly.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken mourned Abe as a visionary leader who boosted relations between the two allies.
Meeting his Japanese and South Korean counterparts jointly at a G20 meeting in Bali, Blinken said Abe “brought the relationship between our countries, the United States and Japan, to new heights.”
The International Olympic Committee praised Abe for his “vision, determination and dependability” that allowed it to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It said the Olympic flag will be flown at half staff at Olympic House in Lausanne for three days.
(With AFP and AP)

Topics: Japan Shinzo Abe assassination

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Russia breaches frontline river in east Ukraine, official says

Updated 2 sec ago
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Russia breaches frontline river in east Ukraine, official says

Updated 2 sec ago
The Oskil river is the de-facto front line in parts of the eastern Kharkiv region
The major of the local hub, Kupiansk, said the situation was “extremely difficult”

KYIV: Russian forces have established a bridgehead on the Ukrainian-held side of a frontline river in the east of the country, a local official said Thursday, pointing to Kyiv’s mounting battlefield struggles.
The Oskil river is the de-facto front line in parts of the eastern Kharkiv region, with Ukrainian troops entrenched mainly on the western bank and Russian forces moving to capture the eastern side.
Kremlin forces have been launching audacious attempts to cross, and local Ukrainian official Andrii Besedin told state television Thursday they had managed to cross and establish positions.
“The enemy is trying to gain a foothold in the town of Dvorichna, which is already on the right bank of the Oskil, and expand the entire bridgehead,” he said.
Besedin, the major of the local hub, Kupiansk, said the situation was “extremely difficult” and warned that Russian troops could use the bridgehead to flank Ukrainian positions.
He said Russian forces were now just two kilometers (about one mile) outside of Kupiansk, which was one of the main prizes of a Ukrainian counteroffensive in late 2022.
“The enemy is constantly trying to carry out assault operations,” he said.
The advances conceded by the local official come at a precarious time for Ukrainian forces across the sprawling front, where Russian forces have been advancing at their fastest pace in around two years.
If Russia captures more territory around Kupiansk or in the wider Kharkiv area it would undo gains that Ukraine secured in a sweeping 2022 offensive that embarrassed the Kremlin.
Both sides are looking to secure a better position on the battlefield before incoming US president Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration, almost three years after Russia invaded.

Putin says more needs to be done to clean up Black Sea oil spill

Updated 09 January 2025
Reuters
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Putin says more needs to be done to clean up Black Sea oil spill

  • The oil leaked from two aging tankers after they were hit by a storm on Dec. 15 in the Kerch Strait
  • One sank and the other ran aground
Updated 09 January 2025
Reuters

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that more needed to be done to clean up an oil spill in the Black Sea, saying efforts so far appeared to have been insufficient to deal with the ecological disaster.
The oil leaked from two aging tankers after they were hit by a storm on Dec. 15 in the Kerch Strait. One sank and the other ran aground.
Approximately 2,400 metric tons of oil products spilled into the sea, Russian investigators said last week, in what Putin on Thursday called “one of the most serious environmental challenges we have faced in years.”
When the disaster struck, state media reported that the stricken tankers, both more than 50-years old, were carrying some 9,200 metric tons (62,000 barrels) of oil products in total.
Since the spill, thousands of emergency workers and volunteers have been working to clear tons of contaminated sand and earth on either side of the Kerch Strait. Environmental groups have reported deaths of dolphins, porpoises and sea birds.
The Kerch Strait runs between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and separates Crimea’s Kerch Peninsula from Russia’s Krasnodar region.
Putin told a government meeting that the clean-up efforts had been poorly coordinated between regional and federal bodies.
“From what I see and from the information I receive, I conclude that everything being done to minimize the damage is clearly not enough yet,” the Kremlin leader told officials.
He called for a commission to be formed to mitigate the disaster and prevent oil products from leaking from flooded tankers in the future.

Topics: Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin oil spill Black Sea

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Firefighters battle devastating Los Angeles wildfires as winds calm somewhat

Updated 09 January 2025
AP
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Firefighters battle devastating Los Angeles wildfires as winds calm somewhat

  • Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day
  • Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those blazes
Updated 09 January 2025
AP

LOS ANGELES: Firefighters battled early Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.
Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day. That could provide an opportunity for firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region, including massive ones in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
The latest flames broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, striking closer to the heart of the city and the roots of its entertainment industry and putting densely populated neighborhoods on edge during exceptionally windy and dry conditions. But only about a mile away, the streets around the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were bustling, and onlookers used their phones to record video of the blazing hills.
Within a few hours, firefighters had made major progress on the Sunset Fire in the hills. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said they were able to keep the fire in check because “we hit it hard and fast and mother nature was a little nicer to us today than she was yesterday.”
A day earlier, hurricane-force winds blew embers through the air, igniting block after block in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades as well as in Altadena, a community near Pasadena that is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east. Aircraft had to be grounded for a time because of the winds, hampering firefighting efforts.
Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those blazes — called the Palisades and Eaton fires — and the number is expected to increase. The five deaths recorded so far were from the Eaton Fire.
Some 130,000 people have been put under evacuation orders, as fires have consumed a total of about 42 square miles (108 square kilometers) — nearly the size of the entire city of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history.
As flames moved through his neighborhood, Jose Velasquez sprayed down his family’s Altadena home with water as embers rained down on the roof. He managed to save their home, which also houses their family business selling churros, a Mexican pastry. Others weren’t so lucky. Many of his neighbors were at work when they lost their homes.
“So we had to call a few people and then we had people messaging, asking if their house was still standing,” he said. “We had to tell them that it’s not.”
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said the city’s water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire due to the intense winds fanning the flames.
“Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire,” he said.
The dramatic level of destruction was apparent in a comparison of satellite images before and after the fire.
A swath of about 250 homes in an Altadena neighborhood that had been dotted with the green canopies of leafy trees and aquamarine swimming pools was reduced to rubble. Only a few homes were left standing and some were still in flames in images from Maxar Technologies. Along a stretch of about 70 wall-to-wall homes overhanging the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, fewer than 10 appeared to be intact.
In Pacific Palisades, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity homes, block after block of California Mission Style homes and bungalows were reduced to charred remains. Ornate iron railing wrapped around the smoldering frame of one house Swimming pools were blackened with soot, and sports cars slumped on melted tires.
More than half a dozen schools in the area were either damaged or destroyed, and UCLA has canceled classes for the week.
Another fire has hit Sylmar, a middle and working-class area on the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley that has been the site of many devastating blazes.
Fast-moving flames allowed little time to escape
The main fires grew rapidly in distinctly different areas that had two things in common: densely packed streets of homes in places that are choked with vegetation and primed to burn in dry conditions.
Flames moved so quickly that many barely had time to escape. Police sought shelter inside their patrol cars, and residents at a senior living center were pushed in wheelchairs and hospital beds down a street to safety.
In the race to get away in Pacific Palisades, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and set out on foot.
Actors lost homes
The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighborhoods, including Calabasas and Santa Monica, home to California’s rich and famous.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton were among the stars who lost homes. Billy Crystal and his wife Janice lost their home of 45 years in the Palisades Fire.
“We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away,” the Crystals wrote in the statement.
In Palisades Village, the public library, two major grocery stores, a pair of banks and several boutiques were destroyed.
“It’s just really weird coming back to somewhere that doesn’t really exist anymore,” said Dylan Vincent, who returned to the neighborhood to retrieve some items and saw that his elementary school had burned down and that whole blocks had been flattened.
Higher temperatures and less rain mean a longer fire season
California’s wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May.
The winds increased to 80 mph (129 kph) Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service. Fire conditions could last through Friday — but wind speeds were expected to be lower on Thursday.
Landmarks get scorched and studios suspend production
President Joe Biden signed a federal emergency declaration after arriving at a Santa Monica fire station for a briefing with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who dispatched National Guard troops to help.
Several Hollywood studios suspended production, and Universal Studios closed its theme park between Pasadena and Pacific Palisades.
As of early Thursday, around 250,000 people were without power in southern California, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.
Several Southern California landmarks were heavily damaged, including the Reel Inn in Malibu, a seafood restaurant. Owner Teddy Leonard and her husband hope to rebuild.
“When you look at the grand scheme of things, as long as your family is well and everyone’s alive, you’re still winning, right?” she said.

Topics: Los Angeles wildfires

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Millions of Filipino Catholics join Black Nazarene procession in Manila

Updated 09 January 2025
Samantha Beltran
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Millions of Filipino Catholics join Black Nazarene procession in Manila

  • Original black wooden statue of Jesus Christ was brought from Mexico in 1606
  • About 80% of the Philippines’ 110 million population are Catholics
Updated 09 January 2025
Samantha Beltran

MANILA: Millions of Filipino Catholics joined an annual procession of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in Manila on Thursday in one of the world’s largest displays of devotion.

Clad in maroon and yellow, devotees flooded the streets of the Philippine capital to swarm the Black Nazarene, the black wooden statue of Jesus Christ bearing down a cross, as people jostled for a chance to pull the thick rope towing the carriage across the city.

In Asia’s largest Christian-majority country, about 80 percent of the Philippines’ 110 million population identify as Catholic, a key legacy of Spanish colonization of the archipelago for more than 300 years.

The 6.5 km-long procession, known as Traslacion, or “transfer,” commemorates the 1787 relocation of the Black Nazarene from a church inside the colonial Spanish capital of Intramuros in Manila’s center to its present location in Quiapo Church.

“Quiapo’s site of devotion, located outside the Spanish colonial center of Intramuros, showcases ordinary Filipinos’ appropriation of this faith. Moreover, the tradition of making and keeping panata (pledges) to the Black Nazarene has been passed down through many generations of Filipinos,” Wilson Espiritu, assistant professor of theology at the Ateneo de Manila University, told Arab News.

The original statue, created by an unknown Mexican sculptor, was brought to the Philippines from Mexico in 1606, first staying in the Church of San Juan Bautista in Bagumbayan before it was moved to Intramuros in 1608.

Many devotees believe the statue is miraculous, and that touching it or the ropes attached to its float can heal illness or turn around misfortune.

Part of its miraculous lore derived from the statue surviving multiple earthquakes, fires, floods and even the bombing of Manila in the Second World War.

The annual procession celebrating the statue, also known as the Feast of the Black Nazarene, has parallels in other Catholic-dominant countries, such as the Festival of Cristo Negro of Portobelo in Panama.

“To me, this shows the ‘Catholicity’ of this popular Filipino devotion. Nevertheless, what distinguishes this devotion is its historical background and cultural integration in Filipino society,” Espiritu said.

Manila police have estimated that at least 6 million people will join the procession. This year marks the first time that the feast will be observed nationwide, with churches across the country also expected to hold various celebrations.

Preparations have been underway since Monday evening and as enthusiasm buzzed among thousands of devotees in the lead-up to the procession, church officials had to allow the ritual of pahalik — the kissing of the statue — hours ahead of schedule.

For many Filipinos, religious traditions like this provide an opportunity “to rekindle the sense of collective hope, in aspiring for a better life,” said Robbin Dagle, a lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University who has researched religion and society in the Philippines.

“Little acts, such as sharing food and water among devotees, highlight how religious events reinforce community ties. Here, Filipinos place their faith on each other and to Jesus, who knew and went through suffering himself, rather than on earthly leaders who are distant from them, and have failed them time and time again,” he told Arab News.

“Filipinos continue to find meaning in religious traditions because of what it represents: Community and unceasing hope. Both of these are increasingly challenging to find in urban life.”

Topics: Philippines Mexico Black Nazarene

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In their final meeting, Zelensky and Austin say military aid to Ukraine must continue under Trump

Updated 09 January 2025
AP
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In their final meeting, Zelensky and Austin say military aid to Ukraine must continue under Trump

  • Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: US to send another $500 million in security assistance to Ukraine
  • The US has provided about $66 billion of the total aid to Kyiv since February 2022
Updated 09 January 2025
AP

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin used their final meeting Thursday to press the incoming Trump administration to not give up on Kyiv’s fight, warning that to cease military support now “will only invite more aggression, chaos and war.”
“We’ve come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defense coalitions we’ve created,” Zelensky said. “No matter what’s going on in the world, everyone wants to feel sure that their country will not just be erased of the map.”
Austin also announced the US would send another $500 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including missiles for fighter jets, sustainment equipment for F-16s, armored bridging systems and small arms and ammunition.
The weapons are funded through presidential drawdown authority, meaning they can be pulled directly from US stockpiles, and the Pentagon is pushing to get them into Ukraine before the end of the month.
This latest package leaves about $3.85 billion in funding to provide future arms shipments to Ukraine; if the Biden administration makes no further announcements, that balance will be available to President-elect Donald Trump to send if he chooses.
“If Putin swallows Ukraine, his appetite will only grow,” Austin told the approximately 50 member nations who have been meeting over the last three years to coordinate weapons and military support for Ukraine. “If autocrats conclude that democracies will lose their nerve, surrender their interests, and forget their principles, we will only see more land grabs. If tyrants learn that aggression pays, we will only invite even more aggression, chaos, and war.”
Austin leaves a consortium that now has more than a half dozen independent coalitions of those countries who are focused on Ukraine’s longer-term security capabilities and who have committed to continuing to stand up those needs through 2027.
Globally, countries including the US have ramped up domestic weapons production as the Ukraine war exposed that all of those stockpiles were woefully unprepared for a major conventional land war.
The US has provided about $66 billion of the total aid since February 2022 and has been able to deliver most of that total — between 80 percent and 90 percent — already to Ukraine.
“Retreat will only provide incentives for more imperial aggression,” Austin told the group. “And if we flinch, you can count on Putin to push further and punch harder. Ukraine’s survival is on the line. But so is the security of Europe, the United States, and the world.”

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Ukraine US Volodymyr Zelensky Lloyd Austin

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