MANILA: The Philippines accused the China Coast Guard of blocking a Filipino supply vessel and damaging it with water cannon Saturday morning off a remote and contested South China Sea reef.
The Philippine military said the nearly hour-long attack occurred off Second Thomas Shoal, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannon and collided with Filipino vessels in similar stand-offs in recent months.
The military released video clips that showed a white ship repeatedly dousing another vessel sailing alongside it with a water cannon. One clip showed two white ships simultaneously firing water at the same vessel.
It also released another clip showing a white ship marked “China Coast Guard” crossing the bow of a grey vessel it identified as the Philippine supply boat Unaizah May 4.
It said the videos were taken Saturday morning while the Unaizah May 4 was on its way to Ayungin Shoal — the Filipino name for the outcrop garrisoned by a small unit of Philippine troops that is also claimed by Beijing.
“The UM4 supply boat sustained heavy damages at around 08:52 (am) due to the continued blasting of water cannons from the CCG vessels,” the military said in a statement, without describing the nature of the damage or whether there were any casualties.
A Philippine coast guard escort vessel later reached the damaged boat “to provide assistance,” the military said.
China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said in a statement that the Philippine convoy “forcibly intruded into the area despite the Chinese side’s repeated warnings and route controls,” adding the Chinese carried out “control, obstruction and eviction in accordance with law.”
“We sternly warn the Philippine side: those who play with fire will bring shame on themselves. The Chinese Coast Guard is ready at all times to resolutely safeguard our country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” Gan added.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from countries including the Philippines and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
The latest confrontation came four days after visiting Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States stood by its “ironclad” commitments to defend longtime ally Manila against armed attack in the South China Sea.
Two days after Blinken’s visit to Manila, the China Coast Guard also tried to drive away Filipino scientists who landed on two cays near Scarborough Shoal, another contested South China Sea outcrop.
The Unaizah May 4, which was also damaged in a China Coast Guard water cannon attack off Second Thomas Shoal earlier this month, had returned to the area on Saturday escorted by two Filipino coast guard vessels and two Philippine Navy ships, a Philippine military statement said.
The Philippine soldiers stationed on the shoal live on a derelict navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, and require frequent resupplies for food, water and other necessities.
“This particular mission was set up to ensure a full troop complement on board BRP Sierra Madre after one personnel needing serious medical attention was recently evacuated,” the military added.
Four crew members had been hurt by broken glass during the previous water cannon attack on the Unaizah May 4.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, a Philippine coast guard spokesman for South China Sea issues, said in a separate statement that its escort vessel, the BRP Cabra, was “impeded and encircled” by three Chinese coast guard and other vessels early Saturday.
As a result, Cabra was “isolated from the resupply boat due to the irresponsible and provocative behavior of the Chinese maritime forces,” he added.
Philippines accuses China of water cannon attack on supply vessel
https://arab.news/2h46p
Philippines accuses China of water cannon attack on supply vessel
- Philippine military say the nearly hour-long attack occurred off Second Thomas Shoal
Russia says it struck Ukrainian energy plants in response to Kyiv targeting its own energy sector
- The strikes were “in response to attempts by the Kyiv regime to damage Russian energy and industrial facilities“
- Ukraine has systematically targeted Russian oil refineries and other facilities in drone attacks in recent weeks
MOSCOW: The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its forces had carried out 35 strikes in the last week against Ukrainian energy facilities, defense factories, railway infrastructure, air defenses, and ammunition stocks.
It said in a statement that the strikes, which spanned April 20-27, were “in response to attempts by the Kyiv regime to damage Russian energy and industrial facilities.”
Ukraine has systematically targeted Russian oil refineries and other facilities in drone attacks in recent weeks, ignoring US requests not to do so.
Ukrainian officials said Russian missiles had pounded power facilities in central and western Ukraine on Saturday, increasing pressure on the ailing energy system as the country faces a shortage of air defenses despite a breakthrough in US military aid.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its campaign of strikes had been conducted using sea- and air-launched long-range precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and drones.
It said it had also targeted and hit Ukrainian troop formations as well as what it described as foreign mercenaries.
Klopp, Salah involved in touchline spat during Liverpool’s draw at West Ham
- Klopp went over to speak to the Egypt winger
- Salah answered back with his arms outstretched then started to point at Klopp
LONDON: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and star forward Mohamed Salah were involved in a touchline confrontation during the team’s 2-2 draw with West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Salah was a substitute for the game and was preparing to come on in the 82nd minute when Klopp went over to speak to the Egypt winger.
Salah answered back with his arms outstretched then started to point at Klopp, who was nodding while looking out onto the field. Darwin Nunez, who was also about to enter as a sub, got in between Salah and Klopp and pushed away his teammate.
Klopp refused to divulge the reason behind the spat.
“No, we already spoke in the dressing room,” Klopp said. “For me, that’s done.”
Klopp is leaving at the end of the season after nearly nine years in charge.
The 31-year-old Salah is going through a run of poor form, scoring in just one of his last six games. He has started on the bench for two of Liverpool’s last three matches.
Riyadh prepares for WEF meeting on collaboration, growth and energy
- Meeting aims to bridge growing North-South divide and find ‘collaborative solutions to shared challenges’
- Will drive ‘action-oriented dialogue’ on three key themes: Inclusive Growth, Energy for Development, and Global Collaboration
RIYADH: Around 1,000 leaders from 92 countries will convene in Riyadh for the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development on Sunday and Monday.
Building on the inaugural Growth Summit in Switzerland last year, the Riyadh meeting will, according to the WEF, “promote forward-thinking approaches to interconnected crises, while remaining realistic about shorter-term trade-offs” and “work to bridge the growing North-South divide on issues such as emerging economic policies, the energy transition and geopolitical shocks.”
Børge Brende, WEF’s President said in a press release: “With geopolitical tensions and socio-economic disparities deepening divides globally, international collaboration and purposeful dialogue has never been more urgent.”
The special meeting, held under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, provides an opportunity for leaders, according to Brende, to “turn ideas into action and unlock scalable solutions to the many interconnected challenges being faced.”
Saudi Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim said in the release: “At this global inflection point, revitalizing international collaboration has never been more important. In Saudi Arabia, the World Economic Forum has chosen an established and dynamic global platform for thought leadership, solutions and action, as the host of a critical meeting at such a critical moment.
“We are working to ensure that progress for one part of the world does not come at the expense of another. And we are committed to meeting this moment with a determination to co-author a shared future that is secure, stable and sustainable,” he continued.
The event’s three themes are: ‘A Compact for Inclusive Growth,’ ‘Catalyzing Action on Energy for Development,’ and ‘Revitalizing Global Collaboration.’
Participants will include Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait; Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Kamal Madbouly; Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani; Bisher Al-Khasawneh, Jordan’s Prime Minister; Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif; Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas; Qatari PM Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani; US Secretary of State Antony Blinken; Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Stéphane Séjourné, French minister for Europe and foreign affairs; Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s federal minister of foreign affairs; David Cameron, UK secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs; Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund; UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag; and World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
‘The audacity’: German envoy’s speech disrupted by pro-Palestinian protester at Lahore rights conference
- Ambassador Grannas was speaking on safeguarding civil rights in South Asia when his speech was interrupted
- The protester said Germany was ‘brutally abusing’ those speaking in favor of the rights of Palestinian people
ISLAMABAD: German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Grannas was challenged by a pro-Palestine protester on Saturday shortly after he began his speech on safeguarding civil rights in South Asia at a high-profile conference held in the eastern city of Lahore.
Germany has clearly sided with Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza after a surprise attack was launched by Hamas on Oct. 7 as a response to the deteriorating Palestinian condition living under Israeli occupation.
The conflict, which has led to the killing of over 34,000 Palestinians, has led to widespread criticism of the Israeli government, leading to protests in different parts of the world.
While countries like South Africa have accused the Jewish state of committing genocide in Gaza, authorities in Germany have forcibly removed protest encampments and gone into people’s houses to arrest them for critical social media posts on charges of antisemitism.
“I am shocked by the audacity that you are here to talk about civil rights while your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of the Palestinians,” the young protester standing at the back of the hall shouted at him.
Many people around him supported him by shouting “Free, Free Palestine” and “From the River to the Sea.”
The German envoy, who looked visibly agitated by the development, responded by shouting back and pointing to the exit.
“If you, if you want to shout, go out,” he said. “There you can shout. Because shouting is not a discussion.”
The incident happened at the Asma Jahangir Conference that focuses on dialogue and advocacy for human rights issues in Pakistan and its broader neighborhood.
Last year in November, a Pakistani classical dancer and human rights activist Sheema Kermani raised slogans for a ceasefire at a British Deputy High Commission event in Karachi and later complained of being “escorted out.”
Lebanon moves toward accepting ICC jurisdiction for war crimes on its soil
- Neither Lebanon nor Israel are members of the ICC
- Filing a declaration to the court would grant it jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute relevant crimes in a particular period
BEIRUT: Lebanon has moved toward accepting the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction to prosecute violations on Lebanese territory since October, in what Human Rights Watch said on Saturday was a “landmark step” toward justice for war crimes.
Lebanon has accused Israel of repeatedly violating its sovereignty and committing breaches of international law over the last six months, during which the Israeli military and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have traded fire across Lebanon’s southern border in parallel with the Gaza War.
That cross-border shelling has killed at least 70 civilians, including children, rescue workers and journalists, among them Reuters visuals reporter Issam Abdallah, who was killed by an Israeli tank on Oct. 13, a Reuters investigation found.
Lebanon’s caretaker cabinet voted on Friday to instruct the foreign affairs ministry to file a declaration with the ICC accepting the court’s jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes committed on Lebanese territory since Oct. 7.
The decree also instructed the foreign ministry to include in its complaints about Israel to the United Nations a report prepared by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), an independent research institute.
That report looked specifically into Abdallah’s killing, and was produced by examining shrapnel, flak jackets, a camera, tripod and a large piece of metal that were gathered by Reuters from the scene, as well as video and audio material.
Neither Lebanon nor Israel are members of the ICC, which is based in The Hague. But filing a declaration to the court would grant it jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute relevant crimes in a particular period.
Ukraine has twice filed such declarations, which allowed for the court to investigate alleged Russian war crimes.
“The Lebanese government has taken a landmark step toward securing justice for war crimes in the country,” said Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, urging the foreign minister to “swiftly” formalize the move by filing a declaration to the ICC.
“This is an important reminder to those who flout their obligations under the laws of war that they may find themselves in the dock,” Fakih said.
