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Hurricane watch issued as Ernesto approaches Puerto Rico

This photograph shows trees blocking a road after tropical storm Ernesto passed along the the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe on August 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 14 August 2024
AFP
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Hurricane watch issued as Ernesto approaches Puerto Rico

Updated 14 August 2024
AFP

MIAMI: Tropical Storm Ernesto advanced Tuesday through the Caribbean toward Puerto Rico, where officials shut down schools and sent workers home as forecasters warned of a possible hurricane.

The storm was moving west-northwest toward the US island with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (95 kilometers per hour), according to the National Hurricane Center.

It was expected to pass near or over the US and British Virgin Islands in the evening, before moving to the north and northeast of Puerto Rico later Tuesday and Wednesday.

The storm could become a hurricane within 12 hours, the NHC said — likely after it moves north of Puerto Rico.

As a result, a hurricane watch had been issued for the Virgin Islands as well as Culebra and Vieques, two outlying islands off Puerto Rico.

Officials in Puerto Rico have already mobilized the National Guard, suspended classes in public schools and sent home non-essential workers.

The storm could strengthen into a major hurricane over the next few days, the NHC said.

Scientists say climate change likely plays a role in the rapid intensification of storms because there is more energy in a warmer ocean for them to feed on.

Warmer-than-normal Atlantic waters threaten to supercharge this year’s hurricane season, scientists have warned.

Topics: Puerto Rico Tropical Storm Ernesto

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Australia introduces bill to step up fight against hate crimes

Updated 5 sec ago
Reuters
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Australia introduces bill to step up fight against hate crimes

  • The bill comes as the government responds to a rise in hate incidents following the Israel-Gaza war
  • The Labor government said it would also introduce a separate legislation on Thursday to tackle ‘doxxing’
Updated 5 sec ago
Reuters
SYDNEY: Australia’s center-left government on Thursday introduced new hate crime legislation that would impose criminal penalties including jail for offenders if they targeted a person’s race, gender, ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation.
The bill comes as the government responds to a rise in hate incidents following the Israel-Gaza war, and follows landmark laws passed last year which banned the Nazi salute and public displays of terror group symbols.
“No Australian should be targeted because of who they are or what they believe,” Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement.
“We proudly live in a vibrant, multicultural and diverse community which we must protect and strengthen.”
The bill proposes jail sentences of up to five years for anyone threatening to use force or violence against a group or person, and if a person fears that the threat would be carried out. Offenders could get seven years in jail if the threats pose a danger to the government.
The Labor government said it would also introduce a separate legislation on Thursday to tackle “doxxing,” the malicious release of anyone’s personal data online, threatening offenders with jail of up to six years.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in February promised to take steps to outlaw doxxing after names, social media accounts and other personal details of hundreds of Jewish Australians were published online by anti-Israel groups.
The anti-doxxing bill would include a provision for victims to sue for “serious privacy invasions” though journalists and intelligence agencies would be given exemptions.

Turkiye condemns Cyprus-US defense co-operation roadmap

Updated 21 sec ago
Reuters
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Turkiye condemns Cyprus-US defense co-operation roadmap

  • The US steps, including last June’s announcement of the launch of a strategic dialogue with Cyprus, are detrimental to the security of the Turkish Cypriot side of the island
Updated 21 sec ago
Reuters
ISTANBUL: Turkiye said it condemned this week’s signing of a roadmap to boost two-way defense co-operation between the United States and the Republic of Cyprus.
The move came amid United Nations efforts to find common ground for the resumption of long-stalled negotiations between the rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on the Mediterranean island, which has been divided for decades.
The US steps, including last June’s announcement of the launch of a strategic dialogue with Cyprus, are detrimental to the security of the Turkish Cypriot side of the island, the Turkish foreign ministry said.
“These steps ... undermine the neutral USA position toward the island of Cyprus and make it more difficult to reach a just, lasting and sustainable settlement of the Cyprus issue,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
On Monday, the United States and the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus signed the co-operation roadmap in Nicosia.
In a joint statement, their defense ministries reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate to tackle international security concerns via the roadmap.
Cyprus was partitioned in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup. Peace talks have been on hold since 2017.
The Turkish Cypriot side administers a breakaway state in the north of Cyprus recognized only by Ankara. It says a resumption of talks hinges on acceptance of its equal sovereignty with the Greek Cypriot government.

Blinken in Poland to seek common cause after Ukraine jitters

Updated 30 min 50 sec ago
AFP
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Blinken in Poland to seek common cause after Ukraine jitters

  • Poland, with its dark historical memories of Moscow, has seen unity in backing Ukraine since its invasion by Russia in 2022
  • Blinken hopes to use the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration to work with allies to ensure support for Ukraine
Updated 30 min 50 sec ago
AFP

PRZEMYSL, Poland: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday meets Poland’s leaders to forge common cause on Ukraine as upcoming US elections and Russian attacks raise new jitters.
The top US diplomat crossed into Poland by train after a joint solidarity trip to Kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, with the two pledging to swiftly review Ukraine’s requests for permission to strike deeper into Russia.
Blinken will meet separately in Warsaw with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda, bitter rivals on the direction of the European Union member.
While split on domestic policy, Poland, with its dark historical memories of Moscow, has seen unity in backing Ukraine since its invasion by Russia in 2022.
Blinken hopes to use the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration to work with allies to ensure broad and sustained support for Ukraine, which has received billions of dollars in Western military and economic support.
The November 5 US election could dramatically shift the stance of Ukraine’s biggest backer, however, with Republican candidate Donald Trump declining to say in a debate on Tuesday whether he wants Ukraine to win.
Biden’s political heir Kamala Harris referenced Poland — and the Polish-American vote in the politically crucial state of Pennsylvania — as she vowed to keep up the fight for Ukraine.
If the United States had not backed Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin “would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe,” Harris said.
“Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish-Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor, and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch?” she told Trump, referring to his past statements of admiration for Putin.
Poland, since the end of the Cold War an enthusiastic US ally, nonetheless sought to work with Trump during his 2017-2021 presidency.
Duda met with Trump in April in New York, and the two have praised each other’s records.
The European-oriented Tusk, who triumphed in elections last year, has spoken of restoring democracy after polarization, a key priority for Biden.
Biden this year welcomed Tusk and Duda jointly at the White House, hoping to send a signal of bipartisanship on Ukraine.
Tusk has not shied away from calling out members of Trump’s Republican Party who oppose assisting Ukraine.
During a long delay in Congress approving new military aid to Ukraine, Tusk said that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson bore personal responsibility for “thousands of lives.”
Blinken is expected to discuss further coordination with Poland, the key logistical gateway for Western military support into Ukraine.
Poland has also ramped up purchases of US weapons since the invasion of Ukraine.
Poland last month signed a deal with Boeing to buy 96 Apache attack helicopters for $10 billion.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Ukraine Antony Blinken Poland US

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Indian police arrest 33 after violence in troubled Manipur

Updated 46 min 37 sec ago
AFP
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Indian police arrest 33 after violence in troubled Manipur

  • After months of relative calm, fresh fighting erupted this month among rival communities
  • Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain
Updated 46 min 37 sec ago
AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested 33 people after a surge in ethnic violence in Manipur state, where a curfew and an Internet blackout have been imposed, officers said Thursday.
Fighting broke out in Manipur in May 2023, between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community, an ethnic conflict that has since killed at least 200 people.
Since then, communities have splintered into rival groups across swaths of the northeastern state, which borders war-torn Myanmar.
After months of relative calm, fresh fighting erupted this month.
At least 11 people have been killed, including in what police called a “significant escalation” of violence, with insurgents firing rockets and dropping bombs with drones.
“In the follow up to the violent protests in the past few days, Manipur Police has arrested 33 people and apprehended seven juveniles,” a police statement read.
It urged people “to cooperate with law enforcing agencies in the maintenance of peace and normalcy.”
Authorities have imposed an Internet shutdown in several areas, repeating a blackout that last year lasted for months.
Police have also ordered a curfew, but hundreds in the state capital Imphal defied the order.
Meitei protesters marched through Imphal on Tuesday to demand security forces take action against Kuki insurgent groups, whom they blame for the latest spate of attacks.
Long-standing tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities revolve around competition for land and public jobs.
Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain.
Manipur is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Fighting last year forced around 60,000 people from their homes, according to government figures. Many have been unable to return home.

Topics: India Manipur

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China will ‘crush’ foreign encroachment in South China Sea: military official

Updated 57 min 33 sec ago
AFP
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China will ‘crush’ foreign encroachment in South China Sea: military official

  • Senior Beijing military official: We hope that the South China Sea will remain a sea of peace
  • Washington and Beijing have clashed in recent months over China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions
Updated 57 min 33 sec ago
AFP

BEIJING: China will “crush” any foreign incursion into its sovereign territory including in the South China Sea, a senior Beijing military official said Thursday on the sidelines of a defense forum.
“We hope that the South China Sea will remain a sea of peace,” Chinese army Lt. Gen. He Lei told a small group of journalists at the Xiangshan forum.
But, he added, “if the United States moves its pawns behind the scenes, if it pushes countries to the front line, or if the United States itself ends up on the front line, then we in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army... will never have any patience.”
“We in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will resolutely crush any foreign hostile encroachment on China’s territorial, sovereign and maritime rights and interests with firm determination, staunch will, strong capability and effective means,” He said.
Washington and Beijing have clashed in recent months over China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, including the South China Sea.
In recent months, Chinese vessels have engaged in a series of high-profile confrontations with Philippine ships in the waters, which Beijing claims almost in its entirely despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
On Thursday, Lt. Gen. He said a resolution to those tensions “depends on the United States.”

Topics: China South China Sea

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