Latest news with #Western
TimesLIVE
34 minutes ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy
Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It has said its nuclear programme is peaceful. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side. Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, but also has sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials. 'Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. Iran has said it is targeting military and defence-related sites in Israel, but it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites. Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the EN foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday. 'Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no-one,' British foreign minister David Lammy said ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping condemned Israel and agreed de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The role of the US, meanwhile, remained uncertain. On Thursday in Washington, Lammy met with US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, and said they discussed a possible deal. Witkoff has spoken to Araqchi several times since last week, sources said. Trump, meanwhile, has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict. Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a 'bunker buster' bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said on Thursday Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war. That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used 'two weeks' as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide. With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. However, activists involved in previous bouts of protest said they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack. Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran, said: 'How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots and even their pets.'
Canada News.Net
40 minutes ago
- Business
- Canada News.Net
New Zealand aims to attract Chinese tourists and students
BEIJING/WELLINGTON: New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon commenced his visit to China on June 17, seeking to strengthen trade relations and attract tourists and students while also addressing sensitive topics related to security and defense in discussions with key leaders. This marks Luxon's first trip to China since taking office in November 2023. He began in Shanghai before traveling to Beijing, where, as his office announced, he is scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on June 20. "It's all part of our strategy to boost our economy—creating more jobs, increasing wages, and ensuring more money is in your pocket," Luxon shared on Instagram as he departed. This visit occurs against the backdrop of rising Chinese influence in the Pacific, which has raised concerns among many Western countries, whose previous more substantial security presence is being tested. "There are numerous issues and challenges in the relationship," noted Jason Young, director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre at Victoria University, who mentioned that both nations recognize their significant mutual interests. In February, New Zealand expressed worries when the Cook Islands, under its constitutional umbrella, signed several agreements with China regarding cooperation in areas such as economy, infrastructure, and seabed mining without prior consultation. Additionally, Young added that the presence of a Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy task force in the Tasman Sea and other Chinese activities in the Pacific present further obstacles to the relationship. Despite these challenges, trade and travel represent less contentious areas between the two nations. New Zealand was the first developed country to establish a free trade agreement with China in 2008, exporting significant amounts of dairy, meat, and wood products. The tourism and educational sectors are also substantial. According to the foreign ministry, New Zealand's exports to China in 2024 reached NZ$20.85 billion (US$12.64 billion), comprising NZ$17.75 billion in goods and NZ$3.1 billion in services. Chinese tourists make up the third-largest group of international visitors to New Zealand, although their numbers remain almost 20 percent lower than in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the weekend, New Zealand announced it would introduce a 12-month trial of visa waivers for Chinese passport holders arriving from Australia with valid visas starting in November. This move reciprocates China's policy of offering visa-free entry to New Zealanders implemented last year. Luxon has referred to China as "an essential part" of his country's economic narrative and indicated that discussions during his four-day visit will touch on security and defense matters. He has noted the importance of engaging with China on significant issues, given the challenging global landscape. Previously, leaders from both countries met during November's APEC summit in Peru, and Li visited New Zealand in June 2022. Historically, Wellington has adopted a more accommodating stance towards China compared to Australia and its fellow members of the Five Eyes security alliance. However, in recent years, it has become more assertive on topics such as human rights, international law, and potential militarization in the Pacific. In June 2023, former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins visited Beijing ahead of Luxon's trip.
The National
an hour ago
- Politics
- The National
Iraq made Blair a pariah – Starmer risks the same with Iran
Then, as now, America was acting as virtually a rogue nation giving no thought to the different opinions of its allies. Then, as now, the American president had a skewed vision of the situation in that part of the world and no clear idea of the forces which would be unleashed by his actions and how to restore peace. Then, as now, Labour were in power and had demonstrated they were willing to support America in any course of action they decided upon no matter what the consequences might be. Today those consequences look even more terrifying than they appeared when America, with support from Britain's armed forces, invaded Iraq in 2003. This time the threat of nuclear annihilation hangs more heavily in the air. READ MORE: Casual threats of annihilation from Trump are not reality TV stunts And this time America's president is even more unpredictable and reckless than George W Bush, even more unlikely to apply logic to any decision as to his future course of action. Bush's justification for taking action against Iraq had nothing directly to do with the terrorist atrocity of 9/11. There was no suggestion, far less evidence, that Iraq was in any way linked to the plane hijackings which led to the demolition of the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York. America was so desperate to take action – any action – in what it had dubbed the 'global war against terror' in the aftermath of 9/11 that it alighted on the claim that Iraq had in its armoury weapons of mass destruction that posed a potential threat to the US and its allies. There was, in fact, no evidence to back up that claim. Most of the Western world regarded Bush's claim with justified scepticism. However, Britain pledged its support. It's important to remember that in Bush's State of the Union address in 2002, in which the president started to put together the case for action to remove Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, he railed against the so-called 'axis of evil' which included Iran as well as Iraq. The US grudge against Iran has deep roots so it's no surprise that it could one day lead to the possibility of military action. Americans have been easily persuaded by presidential warmongering even without any compelling evidence it was needed. Even before that State of the Union address, a survey suggested that 73% favoured military action to oust Hussein. The government was not willing to let the small matter of there being no evidence of the existence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction deter it from waging war. Then national security adviser Condoleezza Rice told CNN: 'The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he [Hussein] can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.' The British people were less easily fooled, but, alas, the same cannot be said for their government at Westminster. Its Prime Minister Tony Blair ignored the millions in his country marching against the invasion of Iraq and ploughed on regardless. There was some opposition within his own party. Robin Cook, then the leader of the Commons and a former foreign secretary, resigned from Blair's government in March 2003 over Iraq. He said at the time: 'I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support.' However, Blair brushed off the resignation and most of his ministers and Labour MPs watched in acquiescence as the invasion proceeded. At the time, the Prime Minister was fond of telling us that if we could see the evidence that was on his desk proving that Iraq did indeed have weapons of mass destruction then we too would back his decision. Some time after Hussein was deposed and executed, when the weapons of mass destruction theory had been well and truly dismissed, I watched Blair tell a private meeting of Scottish editors that there was at that time no further evidence of the existence of those weapons but he still supported the invasion anyway. Today I'm still not clear what motivated Blair. READ MORE: The facts are clear. So why won't the BBC report on Israel's nuclear weapons? Did he really believe Iraq posed a threat to the rest of the world, despite all the evidence to the contrary? Or did he support Bush in a bid to cement the relationship between his government and Bush's Republican regime? A Guardian column by Steve Richards queried this interpretation. He suggested that both Blair's support for the invasion and David Cameron's decision to call the Brexit referendum were the result of a lack of prime ministerial depth and experience. Whatever the answer, history will judge. The big question now is whether Keir Starmer will duplicate Blair's blind allegiance to a US president's decision, no matter how crazy. And secondly, will anyone in his government have the guts to advocate standing up to Donald Trump and tell him that joining Israel's bombing of Iran is not only immoral but will move the world closer to nuclear destruction? The answer to that first question looks dangerously close to Starmer hitching his future of Trump's insistence on supporting Israel in all matters, from the unrelentingly inhumane genocide in Gaza to buying into the president's paranoia about Iran's alleged closeness to developing nuclear weapons. That claim has already led to a split between Trump and his director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who testified in March that Iran was not building a nuclear bomb. The president's annoyance was clear in his dismissal of her opinion this week, when he snapped 'I don't care what she said.' Starmer said on Tuesday that Trump has said nothing to indicate he would direct US missile strikes on Iran. Nothing that is apart from confirming on Wednesday that he has approved a plan to do just that. He told CBS that he has not yet made a decision on whether to enact that plan. The truth is that no one, probably including the president himself, knows what Trump will do next. Things don't look good. According to a 'senior intelligence source', the president has held off from strikes to see how Iran responds to his demands for 'unconditional surrender', which seems to translate as an abandonment of its nuclear programme. The heat was turned up even further yesterday when Israel's defence minister said Iran's supreme leader 'can no longer be allowed to exist' after an Iranian missile attack hit a hospital. It's hard to overestimate the damage done to Israel's claims of moral superiority in this conflict by the damage caused by its missiles hitting hospitals in Gaza. What is clear is that Israel and Iran are nowhere near a solution to their dispute and the pressure is mounting on Trump to make a decision. Starmer has admittedly advocated further negotiations rather than American bombs but if Trump goes ahead with military action it looks more likely that Britain will support him, at the very least by allowing him to use the Diego Garcia UK military base in the Indian Ocean. The record of Labour MPs – and particularly Labour MSPs in the Scottish Parliament – of standing up to their Prime Minister's folly on other matters is poor. READ MORE: David Lammy heads to US as Donald Trump considers whether to strike Iran The party's leader in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, has urged Starmer to do more for Scotland after its by-election win in Hamilton but any criticism of his performance after major U-turns on election promises has been either missing or heavily coded. That's not going to change if he moves to back Trump's action. Blair's support for Bush moved many former Labour supporters to ditch the party and embrace the SNP and independence because of the urgent need for Scotland to develop its own foreign policy. That urgency has increased rather than faded. John Swinney really has to capture that renewed urgency with real passage and focus, together with an indication of a route to independence, at the SNP's national council meeting tomorrow.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Is Beijing spying on Moscow? Chinese hackers target Russian agencies for war secrets: Report
Cybersecurity experts have uncovered that state-backed Chinese groups have been infiltrating Russian networks since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, all in pursuit of sensitive military data. Although the two nations maintain a 'no-limits' partnership, a leaked FSB document indicates Russia's increasing unease regarding Chinese surveillance activities, even categorizing China as a potential adversary. Chinese state-affiliated groups have been reportedly hacking Russian government agencies and companies since the Ukraine war began, seeking military intelligence, according to cybersecurity analysts. According to NYT report, The cyber campaign intensified in May 2022, shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, even as Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin touted an unprecedented era of cooperation between their nations. In one notable incident in 2023, a Chinese group called Sanyo masqueraded as representatives of a major Russian engineering firm to gather intelligence about nuclear submarines, according to findings by TeamT5, a Taiwanese cybersecurity research firm. While China's military and technological capabilities surpass Russia's, Chinese military strategists have long noted their forces' lack of actual combat experience. The Ukraine conflict presents Beijing with an opportunity to study modern warfare tactics and Western military equipment's effectiveness, experts say. A classified FSB (Russia's domestic security agency) counterintelligence document obtained by The New York Times reveals Moscow's growing concerns about Chinese espionage. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Install the Perfect Pool at Home – Start Here Backyard Pool | Search Ads Learn More Undo The document explicitly labels China an "enemy" and acknowledges Beijing's efforts to acquire Russian defence technology and learn from its military operations in Ukraine. The relationship appears more complex than the publicly proclaimed "no-limits" partnership. While Russia has become increasingly dependent on China for oil exports and war-critical technology amid Western sanctions, the extent of Chinese cyber operations suggests significant mutual distrust. Though allies, both are occasionally known to engage in espionage against each other, the scale of China's cyber campaign against Russia indicates both deeper suspicion between the powers and Moscow's reluctance to fully share its battlefield insights from Ukraine.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Zelenskyy seeks more pressure on Russia after deadly missile strike in Kyiv
The drone and missile attack on Kyiv early Tuesday, the deadliest assault on the capital this year, killed 28 people across the city and wounded 142 others, Kyiv Military Admin head Tymur Tkachenco AP Kyiv A Russian missile strike on a nine-story Kyiv apartment building was a sign that more pressure must be applied on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, as Moscow intensifies attacks in the war. The drone and missile attack on Kyiv early Tuesday, the deadliest assault on the capital this year, killed 28 people across the city and wounded 142 others, Kyiv Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said. Zelenskyy, along with the head of the presidential office, Andrii Yermak, and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, visited the site of the apartment building in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district on Thursday morning, laying flowers and paying tribute to the 23 people who died there after a direct hit by a missile brought down the structure. This attack is a reminder to the world that Russia rejects a ceasefire and chooses killing, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, and thanked Ukraine's partners who he said are ready to pressure Russia to feel the real cost of the war. Intensifying attacks Tuesday's attack on Kyiv was part of a sweeping barrage as Russia once again sought to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. Russia fired more than 440 drones and 32 missiles in what Zelenskyy called one of the biggest bombardments of the war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. As Russia proceeds with a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, US-led peace efforts have failed to gain traction. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected an offer from US President Donald Trump for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt on Ukraine's mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies. Meanwhile, Middle East tensions and US trade tariffs have drawn away world attention from Ukraine's pleas for more diplomatic and economic pressure to be placed on Moscow. In recent weeks, Russia has intensified long-range attacks that have struck urban residential areas. Yet on Wednesday, Putin denied that his military had struck such targets, saying that attacks were against military industries, not residential quarters. Putin told senior news leaders of international news agencies in St. Petersburg, Russia, that he was open to talks with Zelenskyy, but repeated his accusation that the Ukrainian leader had lost his legitimacy after his term expired last year allegations rejected by Kyiv and its allies. We are ready for substantive talks on the principles of a settlement, Putin said, noting that a previous round of talks in Istanbul had led to an exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers. Prisoners exchanged A new round of such exchanges took place in Ukraine's Chernihiv region on Thursday, involving the repatriation of Ukrainian prisoners of war who, according to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War or KSHPPV, were suffering from severe health issues caused by injuries and prolonged detention. The exchange was confirmed by Russia's Defense Ministry, which released a video of Russian servicemen at an exchange area in Belarus after being released in the prisoner swap. Commenting on the exchange, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram: We are working to get our people back. Thank you to everyone who helps make these exchanges possible. Our goal is to free each and every one. Many of the exchanged Ukrainian POWs had spent over three years in captivity, with a large number captured during the defense of the now Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in 2022, according to the KSHPPV, which added that preparations for another prisoner exchange are ongoing. In St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Putin praised Trump's push for peace in Ukraine. But Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Thursday that it was his country that had unconditionally accepted the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, and said that Russian claims of willingness to end the war were manipulations. It has been exactly 100 days since Ukraine unconditionally accepted the U.S. peace proposal to completely cease fire, put an end to the killing, and move forward with a genuine peace process ... 100 days of Russia escalating terror against Ukraine rather than ending it, Sybiha wrote. Ukraine remains committed to peace. Unfortunately, Russia continues to choose war, disregarding US efforts to end the killing, he added. Overnight on Wednesday, Russia fired a barrage of 104 Shahed and decoy drones across Ukraine, according to the country's air force. Of those, 88 were intercepted, jammed, or lost from radars mid-flight. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage caused by the attack. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
