NUSA DUA, Indonesia: Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping clashed Monday over Taiwan but found areas of common ground during the powers' first in-person summit in three years, including a joint warning against Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Xi and Biden both sought to lower the temperature as they met for more than two hours on the resort island of Bali, with the presidents both saying they wanted to prevent high tensions from spilling over into conflict.
In a sign of headway on working together, the White House announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China -- the most senior US visitor since 2018.
Biden and Xi, who is on only his second overseas trip since the pandemic, shook hands and smiled before the two countries' flags at a hotel in Bali, where the Group of 20 opens a summit on Tuesday.
Biden, sitting across from Xi at facing tables, said that Beijing and Washington "share responsibility" to show the world that they can "manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming conflict".
Xi, China's most powerful leader in decades who is fresh from securing a norm-breaking third term, told Biden that the world has "come to a crossroads".
"The world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship," Xi told him.
Xi later told him that China and the United States "share more, not less" in common interests, according to a Chinese statement.
Biden, Xi clash on Taiwan but find common ground on Ukraine
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Biden, Xi clash on Taiwan but find common ground on Ukraine
- Xi and Biden both sought to lower the temperature as they met for more than two hours in Bali
- Presidents both said they wanted to prevent high tensions from spilling over into conflict
Turkiye detains nine people over ski resort hotel fire that killed 76
- 12-story hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after fire started on restaurant floor on Tuesday
- Authorities are facing growing criticism over hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off
ANKARA: Turkiye has detained nine people, including the owner of the hotel, in connection with a deadly fire that claimed the lives of 76 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in western Turkiye, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early Wednesday.
Yerlikaya also reported that the bodies of 45 victims had been handed over to their families, while DNA tests were being conducted to identify the remaining bodies at the forensic institute.
The fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in the Bolu mountains.
The hotel, where the fire broke out, expressed deep sorrow in a statement on Wednesday and pledged full cooperation with the investigation.
“We are cooperating with authorities to shed light on all aspects of this incident,” the statement said. “We are deeply saddened by the losses and want you to know that we share this pain with all our hearts.”
The 12-story hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after the fire started on the restaurant floor around 3:30 a.m. Survivors described scenes of panic as they fled through smoke-filled corridors and jumped from windows to escape.
Authorities are facing growing criticism over the hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off during the incident. Guests said they had to navigate the smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.
President Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday a day of national mourning following the tragedy, which occurred during the peak of the winter tourism season, with many families from Istanbul and Ankara traveling to the Bolu mountains for skiing.
UK chief legal adviser signed letter saying Israeli policies could 'amount to apartheid'
- Jewish Cabinet member Lord Hermer was involved in British decision to withdraw objections to ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu
- Open letter organized in 2023 by Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, Balfour Project
LONDON: Lord Hermer, the attorney general for England and Wales, signed an open letter in 2023 that said Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories could “amount to apartheid,” the Daily Telegraph reported.
The letter labeled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government as “far right,” and warned that The Hague could rule that Israeli policy meets the legal description of apartheid.
The letter called on then-Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to avoid intervening in the International Court of Justice case against Israel.
Last July, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful, but stopped short of describing the policy as apartheid.
The letter, organized by Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights and the Balfour Project, said: “The Israeli government is led by a coalition of far-right parties whose common goal is the formal annexation of the West Bank and the extension of a one-state reality of unequal rights over more than 5 million Palestinians under occupation.
“It is perfectly possible that the court will consider aspects of that situation to amount to apartheid.”
Lord Hermer, one of two Jewish members of the Cabinet, has publicly highlighted his belief in Israel’s right to defend itself, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint him was viewed by some as a sign of the UK taking a stronger position on Israel.
Lord Hermer was involved in the British decision last July to withdraw objections to the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
In August, Lord Hermer refused to approve weapon sales to Israel until it was confirmed that international law was being abided by, during a Foreign Office review into arms transfers to the country.
France arrests new Algerian influencer as tensions soar
- The influencer is one of half a dozen Algerians arrested in France over the last month on accusations of calling for violence on French territory
PARIS: French authorities Wednesday arrested another Algerian social media influencer as tensions soar between Paris and its North African former colony, the interior minister announced.
Rafik M. had “called on Tiktok for the carrying out of violent acts on French territory,” said Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on social media, without saying where he had been arrested.
The influencer is one of half a dozen Algerians arrested in France over the last month on accusations of calling for violence on French territory.
One of them, known as “Doualemn,” was deported to Algeria where the authorities promptly sent him back to France in a move that incensed Retailleau.
Tensions have surged between France and Algeria after President Emmanuel Macron renewed French support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara during a visit to the kingdom last year.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is mostly under the de facto control of Morocco. But it is claimed by the Algiers-backed Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, who want a self-determination referendum.
Algeria meanwhile has been holding French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal on national security charges. Sansal, who was arrested at Algiers airport in November, is a major figure in modern francophone literature.
Retailleau, a hard-line rightwinger, has repeatedly accused Algeria of “seeking to humiliate France.”
The far-right in France is urging the government to take tough measures against Algiers, including canceling aid, cooperation agreements and delivering visas.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said earlier this month France would have “no option but to retaliate” if “the Algerians continue to escalate” the row.
But Algeria has rejected France’s accusation of escalation, denouncing a “campaign of disinformation” by Paris.
Retailleau’s hard-line stance on a diplomatic issue has not met with universal approval in France, with influential former foreign minister and prime minister Dominique de Villepin accusing hin of “escalation” and giving into “the temptation of settling scores.”
Defense minister Sebastien Lecornu called on Tuesday for “rebuilding the relationship” between Algeria and France, while expressing regret over “the current excesses of the Algerian government.”
Retailleau himself said in an interview published Tuesday that “we now need to normalize our diplomatic relations with Algeria,” adding that “the time has come to turn the page.”
Algeria won independence from France in 1962 after a ferocious over seven year war and the scars from that conflict have never fully healed.
Indonesia rescuers search for survivors as landslide kills at least 17
- Intense rainfall in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city in Central Java province sparked the landslide on Monday
Pekalongan: Hundreds of rescuers were searching through thick mud and debris to find survivors Wednesday after a rain-triggered landslide in Indonesia killed at least 17 people and left nine missing.
Intense rainfall in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city in Central Java province sparked the landslide on Monday, collapsing bridges and burying cars and houses.
Search and rescue agency Basarnas said in a statement Wednesday that the toll remained unchanged from Tuesday at 17 dead, nine missing and 13 people injured.
But another body was found, Mohammad Yulian Akbar, a local official told AFP later Wednesday, giving a higher toll of 18.
Heavy machinery was deployed to clear road access for search teams and around 200 rescue personnel have been sent to help, Akbar said.
“The focus is to search for the victims,” he said, adding that the local government had declared an emergency in the district for two weeks.
The worst hit area was Kasimpar village according to the local official, where the landslide struck a coffee shop and people who were trying to shelter from the rain.
Police, soldiers and volunteers have joined the search alongside rescue workers, which is taking place around 90 kilometers (60 miles) west of the city of Semarang.
But efforts were intermittently suspended Tuesday as heavy rain continued to pound the area.
The weather forecast for the next three days suggests moderate rain that could “cause floods, flash floods and landslides,” warned Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), on Tuesday.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April.
In November, flooding triggered by intense rains in western Indonesia killed 27 people.
But some disasters caused by adverse weather have taken place outside that season in recent years. Climate change has also increased the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.
In May, at least 67 people died after heavy rains caused flash floods in West Sumatra, pushing a mixture of ash, sand, and pebbles from the eruption of Mount Marapi into residential areas.
Trump tests whether a bulldozer can also be a peacemaker
- During his first stint in power, Trump ordered a strike that killed senior Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and vowed confrontation with China
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has vowed to be a peacemaker in his new term, but his aggressive early actions threaten to alienate US friends in a way that could hinder his ambitions, experts say.
In an inaugural address on Monday, Trump said that his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and a unifier” and pointed to his support for a new ceasefire in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters as he returned to the White House after four years, Trump also suggested he would press Russia to make a deal to end its three-year invasion of Ukraine, quipping that President Vladimir Putin — with whom he had famously warm relations in the past — knows he is “destroying” his own country.
But in the throwback to the bedlam of his 2017-2021 term, Trump’s return was also consumed by rage over grievances at home, and the most memorable foreign-policy line of his inaugural address was a vow to take back the Panama Canal, which the United States returned in 1999 but where Trump charges that China has gained too strong a foothold.
Trump has also spoken of seizing Greenland from NATO ally Denmark, moved to send the military to the Mexican border to stop migration, vowed tariffs even against close allies and announced the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization and Paris climate accord, both home to almost every other country.
“Trump’s worldview seems to be contradictory. He has a streak that is pro-peace and another streak which seems more confrontational and militarist,” said Benjamin Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities, which advocates restraint.
During his first stint in power, Trump ordered a strike that killed senior Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and vowed confrontation with China, although he also boasted of keeping US troops out of new wars and sought diplomacy with North Korea.
“In the first term, the more confrontational and militarist streak won out more often than not” on tension spots such as Iran, Friedman said.
This time, he said, at least on Ukraine and the Middle East, Trump appears to have shifted to a more progressive stance.
But on Latin America, and in his selection of aides with hawkish views on China, Trump remains hawkish, Friedman said.
He said that Trump essentially had a 19th-century philosophy in line with populist president Andrew Jackson, feeling a comfort with threatening the use of force to achieve national interests.
Such a way of thinking, for Trump, “isn’t consistent necessarily with being a peacemaker or a warmonger” but rather is a mix.
Trump made no clear mention of US allies on his inaugural day. In the past he has described NATO allies as freeloaders and pushed them to pay more for their own security.
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was meeting Tuesday with counterparts from Japan, India and Australia — the so-called Quad of democracies which China sees as an effort to contain its rise.
Jon Alterman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that Trump should be mindful of lessons from China, whose assertive “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy brought together a number of Asian countries on the receiving end.
“It would be a profound shift if the United States went from being seen as the principal provider of security to being the principal source on uncertainty,” Alterman said.
Trump, as he seeks to negotiate deals, “has an interest in keeping friendly countries on his side,” Alterman said.
Kori Schake, who served in senior defense planning roles under former president George W. Bush, said it was too early to tell the impact of Trump’s “chaos” on peacemaking and said that early actions could have been even more severe.
“But the actions he did take are still damaging. Withdrawing from the World Health Organization will give us less warning of emergent disease,” she said.
“Antagonizing Panama is counterproductive and will fan anti-Americanism throughout the hemisphere,” she said.
