Philippine president says tensions in South China Sea have increased

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida greets Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting in Tokyo on Sunday. (Reuters)
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida greets Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting in Tokyo on Sunday. (Reuters)
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Updated 17 December 2023
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Philippine president says tensions in South China Sea have increased

Philippine president says tensions in South China Sea have increased
  • Marcos underscores need to forge strong alliances with like-minded allies

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said tensions in the South China Sea have “increased rather than diminished” in recent months, warning that a “more assertive China” posed a “real challenge” to its Asian neighbors.

In an interview with Japanese media on Saturday, Marcos underscored the need to forge strong alliances with like-minded allies, akin to the trilateral cooperation among the Philippines, Japan and the United States.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to be able to say that tensions have increased rather than diminished for the past months or the past years,” Marcos said, according to a press release from his office as he attends a Tokyo summit of Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
A week ago, Manila and Beijing traded accusations over a collision of their vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate.

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In addition to the Philippines, ASEAN members Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts of the South China Sea disputed by China, which claims almost all of the sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.

In addition to the Philippines, ASEAN members Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts of the South China Sea disputed by China, which claims almost all of the sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling the United States supports but Beijing rejects.
“We have to ... continue to counsel peace and continue communication between the different countries — everyone that is involved,” Marcos said.
The challenge that China posed required “new solutions,” said Marcos, who has vowed to defend his country’s rights in the South China Sea after the collision, which Manila has described as a “serious escalation.”
The Philippines and Japan have started talks on a reciprocal access agreement that would allow the deployment of military forces on each other’s soil, amid growing tensions in the region. Japan also has maritime disputes with China.
“It is not sufficient actually with just Japan and the Philippines to enter into this agreement. We really must get more of these kind of arrangements in place.”

 


Ukraine drone attack sparks fire in Russia’s Bryansk, region’s governor says

Ukraine drone attack sparks fire in Russia’s Bryansk, region’s governor says
Updated 3 sec ago
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Ukraine drone attack sparks fire in Russia’s Bryansk, region’s governor says

Ukraine drone attack sparks fire in Russia’s Bryansk, region’s governor says
  • There was no immediate comment from Ukraine
A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border region of Bryansk has set several non-residential buildings on fire, regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Sunday.
“Emergency services and firefighters are on the site,” Bogomaz wrote on the Telegram messaging app, without providing further detail.
He said earlier on Telegram that Russian air defense systems had destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones over the territory of the region overnight.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has often said its drone attacks on Russian territory are aimed at infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts and are in response to Russia’s continued attack on Ukraine’s territory.

Mauritius holds election with cost of living on everyone’s minds

Mauritius holds election with cost of living on everyone’s minds
Updated 24 min 58 sec ago
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Mauritius holds election with cost of living on everyone’s minds

Mauritius holds election with cost of living on everyone’s minds

PORT LOUIS: Mauritius was holding a parliamentary election on Sunday with Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and his main rivals all promising to tackle a cost of living crisis in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
Polling centers opened at 7 a.m. (0300 GMT), with small numbers of voters seen moving to check their names in the register before picking their ballots, a Reuters witness said. Voting was expected to end at 1400 GMT.
The country of about 1.3 million people markets itself as a link between Africa and Asia, deriving most of its revenues from a flourishing offshore financial sector, tourism and textiles.
It has forecast 6.5 percent economic growth this year compared with 7.0 percent last year but many voters are not feeling the benefits.
Jugnauth’s Alliance Lepep coalition has promised to raise minimum wages, increase pensions and reduce value-added tax on some basic goods.
It says it will use payments from the UK under an October agreement for Britain to cede the Chagos Islands while retaining the US-UK Diego Garcia air base.
Mauritius also receives aid from China.
“The alliance led by the prime minister is selling the economic prosperity card, with promises of more money to different segments of the population,” said political analyst Subash Gobine.
The opposition is also pledging to increase pensions as well as introduce free transport and Internet services and reduce fuel prices.
It is dominated by the Alliance du Changement coalition led by Navin Ramgoolam and two other parties running in the Linion Reform alliance, whose leaders, Nando Bodha and Roshi Bhadain, plan to alternate as prime minister if they win.
“It is the youths who will make the difference in these elections,” voter David Stafford, 36, said in the capital Port Louis, explaining that people were looking for economic innovation and job opportunities as much as fiscal changes.
Just over a million people are expected to choose lawmakers for the islands’ 62 seats in parliament for the next five years from a list of 68 parties and five political alliances.
Last week, Jugnauth’s government blocked social media platforms until a day after the election, when results are expected, citing national security concerns after conversations between public figures were leaked. It lifted the ban a day later after opposition parties criticized the move.
Whichever party or coalition gets more than half the seats in parliament also wins the prime minister’s post.


Canada reports first case of bird flu in a person

Canada reports first case of bird flu in a person
Updated 10 November 2024
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Canada reports first case of bird flu in a person

Canada reports first case of bird flu in a person
  • The person is receiving treatment in a children’s hospital for H5 avian flu
  • The source of contagion and any possible contacts are being investigated

MONTREAL: A teenager in British Columbia has become the first person in Canada to test positive for bird flu, authorities said Saturday.
This person is receiving treatment in a children’s hospital for H5 avian flu, the provincial health department said.
The source of contagion and any possible contacts are being investigated.
Officials said the infection probably came from a bird or animal.
“This is a rare event,” British Columbia Health Officer Bonnie Henry said.
“We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure here in B.C.”
Bird flu is most commonly found in wild birds and poultry, but has more recently been detected in mammals, with an outbreak in cattle seen across the United States this year.
It can occasionally infect humans through close contact or contaminated environments.
Scientists have voiced concern about the growing number of mammals becoming infected by bird flu, even if cases in humans remain rare.
They fear a high rate of transmission could facilitate a mutation of the virus, which could enable it to be passed from one human to another.
In September officials said a person in Missouri became the first in the United States to test positive for bird flu without a known exposure to infected animals.
All previous bird flu cases in the United States have been among farmworkers, including the very first, in 2022.
In the decades since H5 has been found in humans, there have been rare cases where an animal source cannot be identified.
But there has so far not been evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, which would significantly increase the threat level.


Trump completes swing state sweep by taking Arizona

Trump completes swing state sweep by taking Arizona
Updated 10 November 2024
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Trump completes swing state sweep by taking Arizona

Trump completes swing state sweep by taking Arizona
  • CNN and NBC projected Donald Trump had obtained Arizona’s 11 electoral votes
  • Scale and strength of Trump’s comeback sent shockwaves through the defeated Democratic Party

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump won the state of Arizona in this week’s US presidential election, US TV networks projected on Saturday, completing the Republican’s sweep of all seven swing states.
After four days of counting in the southwest state with a large Hispanic population, CNN and NBC projected Trump had obtained its 11 electoral votes as he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris.
Outgoing President Joe Biden scored a narrow but crucial victory in Arizona in 2020 that condemned Trump to defeat after his first term in office.
The scale and strength of Trump’s comeback, which also saw the real estate tycoon win the popular vote by a margin of around four million votes, has sent shockwaves through the defeated Democratic Party.
The Republicans have already regained control of the Senate and look well set to retain a majority in the House of Representatives thanks to support from white working class voters and a large share of Hispanics.
CNN has called Republican victories for 213 seats in the House, with 218 needed for a majority in the lower chamber.
The networks’ figures show Democrats on 205 seats, although senior party figures are still hoping they can pull off a slim victory that would significantly curtail Trump’s powers.
NBC sees the Republicans with 212 seats so far, and 204 for the Democrats.
The other six swing states won by Trump in the presidential race are Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada and Georgia.
The latest good news for Trump came as the White House said Biden would meet with the president-elect at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump — who never conceded his 2020 loss — sealed a remarkable comeback to the presidency in the November 5 vote, cementing what is set to be more than a decade of US politics dominated by his hard-line right-wing stance.
This type of meeting between the outgoing and incoming presidents was considered customary, but Trump did not invite Biden for one after making unsubstantiated election fraud claims that culminated in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Trump also broke with precedent by skipping Biden’s inauguration, but the White House has said the Democratic president will attend the upcoming ceremony.
Biden’s meeting with Trump will take place in the Oval Office, the White House said Saturday, with the clock ticking down to the ex-president’s return to power.
Trump, the 78-year-old ex-reality TV star, won wider margins than before, despite a criminal conviction, two impeachments while in office and warnings from his former chief of staff that he is a fascist.
Exit polls showed that voters’ top concerns remained the economy and inflation that spiked under Biden in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Ukraine commander says challenges increase in war with Russia

Ukraine commander says challenges increase in war with Russia
Updated 10 November 2024
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Ukraine commander says challenges increase in war with Russia

Ukraine commander says challenges increase in war with Russia
  • Russian advances focus on two cities in Donetsk region
  • North Korean troops prepare to join Russia’s campaign

KYIV: Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Saturday that Ukraine faced increasing difficulties in its fight against Moscow’s invasion as Russian forces advance and North Korean troops prepare to join the Kremlin’s campaign.
Syrskyi, relating comments he made to a top US general, said outnumbered Ukrainian forces faced Russian attacks in key sectors of the more than 2-1/2-year-old war with Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a nightly address that Ukraine’s military command was focused on defending around the town of Kurakhove — a target of Russia’s advances along with Pokrovsk, a logistical hub to the north.
He decried strikes on civilian targets and urged European countries to provide more air defense systems.
Syrskyi, writing on Facebook, said he told General Christopher Cavoli, who heads the US European Command: “The situation remains challenging and shows signs of escalation.
“The enemy, leveraging its numerical advantage, is continuing offensive actions and is focusing its main efforts on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions,” Syrskyi said.
Russian forces, intent on capturing Ukraine’s eastern Donbas province, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, have been regularly capturing new villages as they move toward Pokrovsk.
Ukraine’s general staff, in a late evening report on Saturday, said 40 armed clashes had occurred around villages near Kurakhove.
Both Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers on Friday said Russian forces sought to encircle the city.
The United States, Western European countries and Ukraine say that North Korea, which entered a mutual defense pact with Russia in June, has sent troops to its ally.
“We have numerous reports of North Korean soldiers preparing to participate in combat operations alongside Russian Forces,” Syrskyi said.
Zelensky has said 11,000 North Korean soldiers have arrived in Russia, specifically in the southern Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces staged a large incursion in August.
Both Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said this week that North Korean soldiers had already been involved in combat there.
The United States has been by far the biggest contributor of aid and arms to Ukraine, though Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election has raised questions about future policy.
Zelensky was among the first leaders to congratulate Trump after his victory on Tuesday. The Ukrainian president described his telephone conversation with Trump as “wonderful” and said contacts would continue.