ATHENS: Athenians settled for an uneasy night Friday after a strong 5.1-magnitude earthquake temporarily knocked out phone connections, damaged buildings and caused power outages.
Noting that many people were likely afraid to sleep indoors, citizen’s protection minister Michalis Chrysohoidis said additional police would be deployed and remain on standby for the entire weekend.
“We are here next to you, we will not leave, we will not sleep until all danger has receded...we will overcome this together,” Chrysohoidis said in a televised statement.
The quake struck at 1113 GMT northwest of Athens, close to where a 5.9-magnitude quake in September 1999 left 143 people dead in and around the capital.
State TV ERT reported that at least four people were slightly hurt — including a pregnant tourist and a young boy — and at least two abandoned buildings in the capital collapsed, while several more suffered damage.
Traffic jams were caused in parts of the capital where power cuts knocked out traffic lights.
“It was a very intense quake, we were terrified, everyone started coming out (of the building),” a young woman named Katerina told AFP outside the six-story cosmetics store where she works.
A government spokesman later Friday said “life in Athens is back to normal.”
Friday’s emergency was the second in just over a week for the new conservative administration of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who took office after a July 7 election.
In the city center, the marble cupola cross of a historic 19th century church came loose and shattered onto the street below.
Another central Athens church had its cupola cross snapped by the tremor, and a disused cargo conveyor belt at the port of Piraeus collapsed, TV footage showed.
And a Byzantine-era monastery on the outskirts of Athens was also damaged, the culture ministry said.
The culture ministry said the pregnant tourist was visiting the National Archaeological Museum and was struck by another visitor rushing for the exit.
She was hospitalized as a precaution, the ministry said.
The boy was struck by a falling chimney, ERT said.
News channels broadcast images sent in by viewers which also showed parked cars in central Athens damaged by fallen masonry.
Cracks also appeared in some walls in Greece’s 170-year-old parliament building.
“It was more like an explosion,” another woman told ERT on the city’s central Syntagma Square.
“We were all very afraid, so we’ll stay here for a couple of hours.”
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on television that phone networks had become “overcharged” by the sheer number of users calling to check up on friends and family.
SKAI TV said there were 20,000 calls per second, more than on New Year’s Eve.
The fire department rescued 30 people trapped in elevators in the capital, the citizen’s protection minister said.
According to the Greek geodynamic institute, the quake had its epicenter was near the town of Magoula, 23 kilometers (14 miles) northwest of Athens, and was followed by over a dozen aftershocks.
It had a depth of 13 kilometers, it said.
State engineers were out checking buildings for structural damage, and two helicopters overflew the quake’s epicenter, officials said.
Worried residents and office staff quickly gathered in outdoor areas, and department stores asked shoppers to leave but the government denied it had ordered an evacuation alert.
“People must remain calm,” said Efthymios Lekkas, head of the state anti-quake protection agency.
“There is no reason for concern. The capital’s buildings are built to withstand a much stronger earthquake,” he told ERT.
The US geological institute said Friday’s quake had a magnitude of 5.3.
“For the time being we cannot be sure whether this was the main earthquake,” seismologist Gerassimos Papadopoulos told ERT.
“There have been at least three (smaller) aftershocks already, which is a positive sign,” he said, adding that the quake was felt as far as the Peloponnese peninsula.
“People in the capital must remain calm... they must be psychologically ready for more aftershocks,” he said.
In another natural disaster earlier this month, seven people died and at least 23 were injured — most of them tourists — as a fierce storm ripped through beachfronts in Halkidiki, one of Greece’s top tourist areas on July 10.
Greece lies on major fault lines and is regularly hit by earthquakes, but they rarely cause casualties.
In July 2017, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake killed two people on the island of Kos in the Aegean sea, causing significant damage.
Strong quake hits near Greek capital of Athens, 4 hurt
Strong quake hits near Greek capital of Athens, 4 hurt
- A strong earthquake centered northwest of Athens caused frightened residents to run into the capital’s streets and damage several buildings
- Authorities said four people were hospitalized with injuries, none of them serious
Biden to host Jordan king next week amid Gaza talks
- Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of trying to derail the proposed Gaza deal with his threats to launch an operation in Rafah
- Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will host Jordan’s King Abdullah II next week, the White House said Friday, as negotiations continue in the Middle East for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The meeting will be “private” and will be followed by a readout, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, without giving a date for the encounter.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of talks for a deal to release hostages and secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after nearly seven months of war.
The talks, which come after months of efforts by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States to broker a new agreement between the combatants, are at a critical juncture.
The United States has urged the Palestinian militant group to accept the “extraordinarily generous” offer.
But Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of trying to derail the proposed Gaza deal with his threats to launch an operation in Rafah.
King Abdullah II last visited the White House in February when he called for an immediate ceasefire and warned an attack on Rafah would cause a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
In April, Jordan worked alongside the United States and other allies to shoot down Iranian drones that Tehran sent toward Israel, with the kingdom keen to avoid a wider conflict.
Austin: No indication Hamas planning attack on US troops
- Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not see any indication Hamas was planning any attack on US troops in Gaza but added adequate measures were being put in place for the safety of military personnel.
“I don’t discuss intelligence information at the podium. But I don’t see any indications currently that there is an active intent to do that,” Austin said during a press briefing.
“Having said that ... this is a combat zone and a number of things can happen, and a number of things will happen.”
Austin’s remarks came as the US military said it was temporarily pausing the offshore construction of a maritime pier because of weather conditions and instead would continue building it at the Israeli Port of Ashdod.
FASTFACT
The US military says it is temporarily pausing the offshore construction of a maritime pier because of weather conditions.
The maritime pier, once built, will be placed off the coast of Gaza in a bid to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
“Forecasted high winds and high sea swells caused unsafe conditions for soldiers working on the surface of the partially constructed pier,” the US military said in a statement.
“The partially built pier and military vessels involved in its construction have moved to the Port of Ashdod, where assembly will continue,” it added.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon said about 50 percent of the pier had been constructed.
Israel has sought to demonstrate it is not blocking aid to Gaza, especially since President Joe Biden issued a stark warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Washington’s policy could shift if Israel fails to take steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.
US officials and aid groups say some progress has been made but warn it is insufficient, amid stark warnings of imminent famine among Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza — which has been devastated by more than six months of Israeli operations against Hamas — remains dire, with a senior US administration official saying last week that the territory’s entire population of 2.2 million people is facing food insecurity.
Canada police charge three with murder of Sikh leader Nijjar
- Nijjar was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland
OTTAWA: Canadian police said on Friday they had arrested and charged three Indian nationals with the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 and said they were probing possible links to the Indian government.
Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cited evidence of Indian government involvement, prompting a diplomatic crisis with New Delhi.
Assistant Commissioner David Teboul said the matter was still under investigation and other probes were being carried out. These “include investigating connections to the government of India,” he told a televised news conference.
Nijjar was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India. The presence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada has long frustrated New Delhi, which had labeled Nijjar a “terrorist.”
Last week the White House expressed concern about the reported role of the Indian intelligence service in assassination plots in Canada and the United States.
India’s Rahul Gandhi to contest elections from family borough
- Gandhi contests polls from second seat in family bastion
- Emotional moment to contest from Raebareli, Gandhi says
NEW DELHI: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will contest the general election from the family bastion in the north, his Congress Party announced on Friday, a move that will challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a region he dominates.
Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, will contest from Raebareli in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh state, Congress said, in addition to Wayanad in Kerala state in the south, which has already voted. India allows candidates to contest multiple constituencies but they can represent only one.
Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state and elects 80 lawmakers to the lower house of parliament, the most of any state. In the last election in 2019, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and allies won 64 seats, including from Amethi, adjacent to Raebareli, where Gandhi was defeated.
His return to the area, albeit for a second constituency, will invigorate the party, Congress officials said.
Gandhi said being nominated from Raebareli was an “emotional moment” for him.
“My mother has entrusted me with the responsibility ... with great confidence and given me the opportunity to serve it,” he posted on X.
“In the ongoing battle for justice and against injustice, I seek the love and blessings of my loved ones. I am confident that all of you are standing with me in this battle to save the constitution and democracy,” he said.
Gandhi’s mother Sonia won from Raebareli in 2019, which has returned a Congress candidate in 17 of the 20 elections held there since 1952, mostly members of the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi is now a member of the upper house of parliament.
Modi is widely expected to win a rare third term in the general election that got underway on April 19 and concludes on June 1, with votes set to be counted on June 4.
However, analysts say a low voter turnout in the first two phases of the seven-phase election has dampened hopes of a huge majority for the party, although they said the BJP was still likely to retain power in the world’s most populous nation.
Soon after the announcement, Gandhi flew to Raebareli in a private aircraft, accompanied by his mother Sonia, sister Priyanka and senior Congress leaders, and filed his nomination papers.
Modi and the BJP attacked Gandhi for the decision.
“I had said that the prince will lose in Wayanad and in fear of his loss ... he will look for another seat,” Modi said on Friday, referring to Gandhi.
“I also want to tell them wholeheartedly, do not be afraid, do not run away,” Modi said.
Congress has ruled India for 54 of its 76 years since independence from Britain, and members of the Nehru-Gandhi family were prime ministers for more than 37 of those 54 years.
However, the party has floundered since it was swept out of power by Modi in 2014 and has been struggling to revive itself.
Gandhi contesting from Raebareli is good news for the opposition INDIA alliance of 27 parties that Congress leads, said Rasheed Kidwai, political analyst and visiting fellow at New Delhi’s Observer Research Foundation.
“The significance of Rahul contesting here is that it will boost the alliance with Samajwadi Party,” Kidwai said referring to the regional partner of Congress in Uttar Pradesh. “The opposition story is not all that bad and this will force a contest with BJP.”
Defense chiefs from US, Australia, Japan and Philippines vow to deepen cooperation
- Defense chiefs from the four nations held their first meeting in Singapore last year
HONOLULU: Defense chiefs from the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen their cooperation as they gathered Thursday in Hawaii for their second-ever joint meeting amid concerns about China’s operations in the South China Sea.
The meeting came after the four countries last month held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea, a major shipping route where Beijing has long-simmering territorial disputes with a number of Southeast Asian nations and has caused alarm with its recent assertiveness in the waters.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at a news conference after their discussion that the drills strengthened the ability of the nations to work together, build bonds among their forces and underscore their shared commitment to international law in the waterway.
HIGHLIGHT
The meeting came after the four countries last month held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea, a major shipping route where Beijing has long-simmering territorial disputes with a number of Southeast Asian nations and has caused alarm with its recent assertiveness in the waters.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the defense chiefs talked about increasing the tempo of their defense exercises.
“Today, the meetings that we have held represent a very significant message to the region and to the world about four democracies which are committed to the global rules-based order,” Marles said at the joint news conference with his counterparts.
Austin hosted the defense chiefs at the US military’s regional headquarters, US Indo-Pacific Command, at Camp H.M. Smith in the hills above Pearl Harbor. Earlier in the day, Austin had separate bilateral meetings with Australia and Japan followed by a trilateral meeting with Australia and Japan.
Defense chiefs from the four nations held their first meeting in Singapore last year.
The US has decades-old defense treaties with all three nations.
The US lays no claims to the South China Sea, but has deployed Navy ships and fighter jets in what it calls freedom of navigation operations that have challenged China’s claims to virtually the entire waterway. The US says freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters is in America’s national interest.
Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the resource-rich sea. Beijing has refused to recognize a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated its expansive claims on historical grounds.
Skirmishes between Beijing and Manila in particular have flared since last year. Earlier this week, Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at two Philippine patrol vessels off off Scarborough Shoal, damaging both.
The repeated high-seas confrontations have sparked fears of a larger conflict that could put China and the United States on a collision course.. The US has warned repeatedly that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines — its oldest treaty ally in Asia — if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
President Joe Biden’s administration has said it aims to build what it calls a “latticework” of alliances in the Indo-Pacific even as the US grapples with the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing says the strengthening of US alliances in Asia is aimed at containing China and threatens regional stability.
