Diplomatic 24

COLLEYVILLE, Texas — US President Joe Biden on Sunday called the weekend hostage crisis at a Texas synagogue an “act of terror” as the FBI identified the attacker who held four worshipers at gunpoint in Congregation Beth Israel for 11 hours. Malik Faisal Akram was a 44-year-old citizen of the UK, the FBI said, adding that there was no indication that other individuals were involved in the attack on the synagogue in Colleyville. The attacker’s brother Gulbar issued a statement on the family’s behalf that was posted on the UK’s Blackburn Muslim Community Facebook page, in which he condemned Akram’s actions and apologized to those impacted by them.   “We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident,” he wrote. Gulbar revealed that they had been in touch with Akram throughout the Satu...

NEW DELHI: Afgha­nistan would become a “pariah state” if the Taliban take control by force, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, as a top-level delegation from the insurgent group visited China to assure officials of their international obligations. “An Afghanistan that does not respect the rights of its people, an Afgh­anistan that commits atro­cities against its own people would become a par­iah state,” Blinken told reporters in India. Blinken warned the Taliban they would have to change if they wanted global acceptance. “The Taliban says that it seeks international recognition, that it wants international support for Afghanistan. Presumably it wants its leaders to be able to travel freely in the world, sanctions lifted, etc,” he said. “The taking over of the country by force and abusing the rights of its people is not the path to achieve those objectives.” #USAfghanistan #Politics Source Name : Dip...

A strong and shallow earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck the Alaskan peninsula late on Wednesday, prompting tsunami warnings in the US state and heightened surveillance across the pacific. There were no immediate reports of loss of property or life. Tsunami warning sirens were sounded close to a Walmart store in Kodiak, Alaska, a video filmed by a local resident and obtained by Reuters showed. The US National Tsunami Warning Centre (NTWC) issued alerts for southern parts of Alaska, the volcanic peninsula itself, and Pacific coastal areas from Hinchinbrook entrance to Unimak pass. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy tweeted that the state's emergency operation centre had been activated and authorities were contacting communities in the tsunami warning areas. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which struck at 10:15pm local time, was at a depth of 35 kilometres. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said it had cancelled warnings of possible tsunami threats issued to Hawaii and the...

NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a veiled warning on Wednesday about Indian democracy backsliding in his first official visit to New Delhi. Rights groups say civil liberties and the space for dissent are under increasing attack in the world’s biggest democracy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Antony Blinken told a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the US and India “take seriously our responsibility to deliver freedom, equality and opportunity to all of our people”. But he added “we know that we must constantly do more on these fronts, and neither of us has achieved the ideals that we set for ourselves”. Democracies should “always seek to strengthen our democratic institutions, expand access to justice and opportunity, stand up forcefully for fundamental freedoms”, Blinken said. Under Modi, India has made growing use of anti-terrorism legislation and “seditio...

NINGBO: Typhoon In-Fa uprooted trees and drenched communities in knee-deep water in parts of eastern China, but there were no reports of major damage as it made landfall on Sunday. Sea, air and rail traffic had been shut down across a swathe of the coast centered on the major shipping port of Ningbo, where the weakening typhoon rumbled ashore around midday packing winds of up to 38 metres per second, according to the China Meteorological Administration. Response teams in Ningbo cleared away fallen trees in the city centre, while residents in some neighbourhoods waded through floodwaters and merchants piled up sandbags in front of their businesses to keep out water. The typhoon hit as the central province of Henan was still cleaning up after torrential downpours dumped a year’s worth of rain in just three days last week. Government officials on Sunday added another five dead to the toll from the freak flooding in Henan, raising the total to 63. In-Fa’s effects were also felt ...

PAPEETE: French President Emmanuel Macron faced pressure to apologise for the devastating impact of decades of nuclear testing as he kicked off his first official trip to French Polynesia. During his four-day visit, Macron plans to address the legacy of nuclear testing from 1966 to 1996 as France developed atomic weapons, as well as discuss the South Pacific territory’s strategic role and the existential risk of rising seas posed by global warming. Residents in the sprawling archipelago of more than 100 islands located midway between Mexico and Australia are hoping Macron apologises and confirms compensation for radiation victims. The tests remain a source of deep resentment, seen as evidence of racist colonial attitudes that disregarded the lives of islanders. After touching down on Saturday, Macron, whose 2020 trip was postponed due to the pandemic, met hospital workers fighting Covid-19 in the semi-autonomous territory where many are wary of vaccines. “I want to send a ve...

MUMBAI: The death toll from flooding and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in India climbed to 127 on Sunday, officials said, with rescuers searching for dozens more missing. The country’s western coast has been inundated by torrential rains since Thursday, with the India Meteorological Department warning of further downpours over the next few days. Flooding and landslides are common during India’s treacherous monsoon season, which also often sees poorly constructed buildings buckle after days of non-stop rain. Experts say climate change has caused the annual deluge to increase in frequency and intensity. In Maharashtra state, 117 people have been killed, including more than 40 in a large landslide that hit the hillside village of Taliye some 250 kilometres southeast of Mumbai on Thursday. Villager Jayram Mahaske, whose relatives remained trapped, said that “many people were washed away as they were trying to run away” from the landslide. Another villag...

BERLIN: German politicians across the political spectrum on Sunday criticised a warning by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff that restrictions for unvaccinated people may be necessary if Covid-19 infection numbers reach new heights in the coming months. Chief of staff Helge Braun told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he doesn’t expect another coronavirus-related lockdown in Germany. But Braun said that unvaccinated people may be barred from entering venues like restaurants, movie theaters and stadiums because the residual risk is too high. Braun said getting vaccinated is important to protect against severe disease and because vaccinated people will definitely have more freedoms than unvaccinated people. Braun said that such policies would be legal because the state has the responsibility to protect the health of its citizens. His comments fueled an ongoing debate in German politics about potential vaccination requirements. The issue has proven divisive, even withi...

LONDON: Around two-thirds of female veterans in the British armed forces have experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination in their careers, a parliamentary report said on Sunday. The report also said that women who reported serious sexual offences are denied justice by an inadequate military court system and complaints process. Parliament’s defence committee found that 64pc of female veterans and 58pc of serving women said they have experienced bullying, harassment, discrimination in the army. Most say they don’t believe the military does enough to address the problem. The committee heard accounts of unacceptable behaviours experienced by servicewomen, including gang rape, bullying for refusing sexual advances and assault by senior officers. Others reported witnessing friends being attacked by groups of men but being too afraid to report it, and said mess halls and accommodation were seen as places of danger. Servicewomen experience gang rape, bullying for refusing se...