UK PM announces resignation from leadership of Conservative Party

The outgoing UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced his resignation from the leadership of the Conservative Party following the historic defeat of his party in the general elections.The semi-final results of elections were announced on Friday. The elections resulted in a sweeping victory for the opposition Labour Party.Addressing the audience at the UK government headquarters in London, Sunak added that he will leave his position as leader of the conservatives after making the necessary arrangements to elect his successor.He added that his mission as prime minister focused on restoring economic stability, reducing inflation, and promoting economic growth, affirming that the country is now stronger, more prosperous, fairer, and more resilient than it was in 2010.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686079/international/uk-pm-announces-resignation-fromleadership-of-conservative-party

Macron says France to 'pursue cooperation' with UK after Labour win

French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on his election victory Friday, saying his country would seek to cooperate with Britain on security, technology and climate.In a post on social media, Macron said he had already had a positive first exchange with Starmer, adding: 'We will continue to work with the UK on bilateral cooperation, peace and security in Europe, climate change and AI.'

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686074/international/macron-says-france-to-pursue-cooperation-with-uk-after-labour-win

Putin: Trump sincere about ending Ukraine war, but still prefer Biden

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday he believed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was sincere about wanting to end the war in Ukraine, but that he did not know how Trump planned to do so if elected.Putin, speaking at a news conference in Kazakhstan at the end of a regional security conference, commented after being asked about Trump's statements that he could end the Ukraine war swiftly if he won the White House race on November 5.'The fact that Mr Trump, as a presidential candidate, declares that he is ready and wants to stop the war in Ukraine, we take this completely seriously,' Putin said.'I am not, of course, familiar with possible proposals for how he plans to do this. This is the key question. But I have no doubt that he means it sincerely, and we support it (the idea of ending the war).'*The Washington Post reported in April that Trump had privately spoken about the option of allowing Putin to keep Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and the Donbas area — which Russian forces partially control — in return for peace, something Trump's campaign has not confirmed.Two key advisers to Trump presented him with a plan to end the war that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more US weapons if it enters peace talks, Reuters reported last month.Putin said last month that Russia would end the war only if Kyiv agreed to drop its Nato ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.Putin said constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington was impossible during a heated US presidential election campaign and that Moscow would wait for the result and see what the new leadership does.Asked what he made of the first televised debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, Putin said he had seen fragments.Putin has said several times said that he feels Biden is preferable as the future US president to Trump for Russia, even after Biden unflattering remarks about the Kremlin chief.Asked yesterday if his publicly stated preference for Biden had changed after the debate, Putin said: 'Nothing has changed. Did we not know what could come? We knew.''I saw some fragments,' Putin said. 'But I have enough to do.'Biden, 81, put in a stumbling performance during the debate, which brought questions about his age and mental fitness to the forefront of the campaign.Putin said that he paid little attention to partial media reports about the debate though he could not ignore it as the United States remained a great power.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686030/international/putin-trump-sincere-about-ending-ukraine-war-but-still-prefer-biden

Flood fears as Yangtze River levels swell

Rising water levels in the Yangtze River following intense rains in southern China have prompted eastern regions downstream to prepare for possible flooding.Water levels in the Jiangsu section of China’s longest river continued to rise on Wednesday as a result of the increased flow from its upper reaches as well as the persistent rainfall. Nanjing, the capital of China’s eastern Jiangsu province issued its second highest flood warning and authorities banned various vessels, including passenger ferries, from entering or operating in the river’s Jiangsu section, state media reported.China’s Ministry of Water Resources had said on Tuesday that water levels in sections of the middle and lower courses of the Yangtze River exceeded the warning mark.Water levels at Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province, where authorities had activated a second-level response for flood control since Tuesday night, were also being closely watched.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685976/international/flood-fears-as-yangtze-river-levels-swell

Philippine senator makes claim over China missile plans

A prominent Philippine senator has created a stir by saying on social media she has knowledge of a Chinese plan to target her country with hypersonic missiles, though the national security council said it was unaware of any such security threat.

Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and head of the senate foreign relations committee, made her claim in a short video that has so far had over 900,000 views on TikTok and over 100,000 on Facebook.

China’s defence and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the video, which Imee Marcos posted on Tuesday as the Philippines and China held talks on their South China Sea territorial dispute.

In her video, Marcos said China had set 25 targets around the Philippine archipelago that it would attack with hypersonic missiles, and the northern islands of Batanes, close to Taiwan, would be among the first targets.

Marcos provided no evidence to support her claim, which she made as part of an argument that her brother’s closer ties with the US has made China see the Philippines as a threat. Reuters could not verify her claim.

“Let’s admit the problem: that China thinks we have sided with their enemy,” she said in her video.

“As tensions escalate in the West Philippine Sea, I saw a Chinese plan that they will use a hypersonic missile,” she said, without saying where she got the information. West Philippine Sea refers to waters within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

Marcos opposes some of her brother’s policies regarding China, including his decision to grant the US expanded access to Philippine military facilities it can use, including those facing Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The Philippines national security council said it would ask Marcos for more information about her statement, with spokesman Jonathan Malaya saying in a message “... we are not aware of any of the security threats she mentioned”.

“The Philippines and PRC (People’s Republic of China) maintain cordial relations and are committed to managing whatever differences there may be, thus we see no threat of any imminent attack from the PRC,” Malaya added.

Neither the Chinese embassy in Manila nor Imee Marcos’ office responded immediately to a request for comment on the video. The US embassy said it had no comment at present.

A spokesperson at the Philippine defence department said it “has no basis for a comment or reaction to senator Marcos’ video because we have not seen or read the plans she referred to”.

President Marcos’ office did not respond to a request for comment.

China accused the Philippines of “stoking the fire” of regional tensions with its military agreement with the US.

Beijing also condemned the deployment of the US’ Typhon missile in the Philippines during the allies’ joint military exercises.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685975/international/philippine-senator-makes-claim-over-china-missile-plans

Heavy rainfall triggers floods, at least 11 dead

Heavy rain continued to trigger flood and landslides in India’s north and north-east, killing at least 11 people and affecting hundreds of thousands, officials from two affected states said yesterday.In India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, which has been hit by torrential rain, nine people died in rain-related incidents in the last 24 hours, an official bulletin said.Two people died on Monday in the north-eastern state of Assam, which has been hit by a second wave of flooding since June 16, affecting more than 600,000 people in 19 districts, and displacing more than 8,000, a state disaster management statement said.The Kaziranga national park in Assam - home to nearly 2,200 one-horned rhinos, or two-thirds of their world population - is also under water, with more than half of its 233 camps flooded, drowning four hog deer, officials said.“The flood water has now entered my house. The water has damaged my paddy and crops. I have a family of five and I have to take shelter here. If the situation worsens, I will lose my house,” Faizul Islam, a local resident told news agency ANI.Visuals from ANI showed inundated fields and roads across Assam, as people moved precious belongings and furniture from their water-filled homes.In the northeastern region of neighbouring Bangladesh, the flood situation was worsening rapidly due to continuous rain and upstream water flow from India, leaving tens of thousands of people marooned, officials said yesterday.

A family carries their belongings on a banana raft at the flood affected Mayong village in Morigaon district, Assam, yesterday.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685900/international/heavy-rainfall-triggers-floods-at-least-11-dead

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Asia’s richest man, billionaire Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani, yesterday launched the start of the lavish finale of his son’s wedding celebrations with mass nuptials for 52 “underprivileged” couples.Pre-wedding parties for his son have already included multi-day galas, a European cruise for 1,200 guests, a specially-built temple, and entertainment provided by performers ranging from R&B star Rihanna to the Backstreet Boys.Ambani, 67, is chairman of Reliance Industries - India’s biggest company by market capitalisation - and took part with his family in yesterday’s ceremony with some 800 guests. “Starting with this function, the family pledged to continue supporting hundreds more such weddings across the country,” his company said in a statement.Ambani’s younger son Anant and fiancee Radhika Merchant, both 29, are set to marry in a three-day ceremony in India’s financial capital Mumbai from July 12.The billionaire father is no stranger to throwing a costly wedding. Ambani held the most expensive wedding in India to date for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost $100mn and saw US singer Beyonce perform.Ambani, for his son, has already thrown two extraordinary parties ahead of the main celebrations later this month. That included a three-day gala in February for 1,500-plus guests in Gujarat state.At that party, Rihanna performed her first concert since last year’s Superbowl to guests including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and ex-US president Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka.A second leg in June was a four-day Mediterranean cruise, where singer Katy Perry performed at a masquerade ball at a French chateau in Cannes. The Backstreet Boys, US rapper Pitbull and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli also provided entertainment. At the wedding ceremony yesterday, at a Reliance office park in the city of Navi Mumbai, each couple was given gold and silver wedding jewellery, $1,200 in cash and groceries “sufficient for one year”, the company said.“Today marks the beginning of the festivities for our children Anant and Radhika’s wedding,” Nita Ambani, the billionaire’s wife, told reporters at the wedding venue.“As a mother, it fills me with happiness to witness the marriages here today... I pray for their happiness and well-being throughout their lives.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685899/international/title

116 killed in stampede at India gathering

At least 116 killed in stampede in north India, authorities sayCrowds were attending a religious event in Hathras, Uttar PradeshOvercrowding as people left may have played a part, official saysPolice launch an investigation into cause of stampedeSay report will be available within 24 hoursAt least 116 people, many of them women and children, were killed in a stampede at a religious gathering in northern India on Tuesday, authorities said, in one of the country's worst such tragedies in years.The stampede happened in a village in Hathras district in Utter Pradesh, about 200 km southeast of the national capital New Delhi, where authorities said thousands had gathered in sweltering late afternoon temperatures.The stampede occurred when a crowd of devotees started pushing towards the stage after the event to touch the preacher, who was coming down, said Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.While the cause was not immediately clear, Hathras district administrator Ashish Kumar suggested it may have been 'due to overcrowding at the time when people were trying to leave the venue'.Another senior state official, Chaitra V., told broadcaster India Today that people may have lost their footing as they sought water in the heat.'There was wet mud at one place where people may have slipped. Also because of the heat, people may have made their way to the spot where water was kept and that could have caused the incident as well,' she said, adding that 18 were injured and in hospital.Police said they had launched an investigation and promised action against anyone found to be responsible, adding that the gathering may have been larger than had been permitted.'Lapses by authorities will also be investigated and action will be taken on the basis of the report which will be available within 24 hours,' state police chief Prashant Kumar said.Video clips recorded by news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake, showed bodies piled into the back of trucks and laid out in vehicles.Purses and bags covered in dust, were heaped up at the venue, with people sitting on their haunches sifting through them to identify their belongings.Mobile phones were similarly piled together, waiting to be claimed by their owners.A video on social media showed a large crowd packed into a tented area, standing and listening to devotional tunes as they waved their hands in the direction of the religious leader who sat on a stage.It also showed some women hanging on to the bamboo poles holding up the canopy to get a better view above the heads of the large crowd.Reuters could not immediately verify the social media images.'There must have been about 50,000 people...at the gate on the highway, some people were going left and some people were going right, the stampede was caused in that confusion,' Suresh Chandra, a witness who was at the gathering, told local media.Seema, a woman who travelled from a town almost 60 km away to attend the event, said she was leaving the venue when the stampede occurred. She was accompanied by three relatives, two of whom were killed.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the federal government was assisting the state and announced a compensation of 200,000 rupees.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685878/international/india/116-killed-in-stampede-at-india-gathering

Palestinian Authority pledges more backing for NGOs in Gaza

The Palestinian Authority yesterday pledged to give greater backing to NGOs in Gaza as it warned that 300,000 families in the beleaguered territory are “marginalised” and need assistance.The authority held a meeting with about 15 NGOs and aid groups who have complained about increasing problems getting aid into the Gaza Strip and distributing food and other essentials around the territory where Israel has been fighting Hamas for more than eight months. While the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the occupied West Bank, has virtually no influence in Hamas-ruled Gaza, the authority’s emergency relief minister Basil al-Kafarna acknowledged the mounting dangers and said: “We are here to support the non-governmental organisations and the agencies for humanitarian relief in the Gaza Strip.”He emphasised a number of co-operation projects including two online platforms that monitor the districts and families among Gaza’s 2.4mn inhabits most in need and allow NGOs to highlight problems.Social development minister Samah Hamad said the authority would be able to provide family records from its social register. “Before (the war) we had about 120,000 families benefitting from cash transfers from the social protection scheme.”Hamad added that the PA believed 300,000 families in Gaza were now “marginalised and going through hardship.”Tens of thousands of Palestinian Authority workers still live in Gaza but the territory has been under Hamas control since 2007.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685820/international/palestinian-authority-pledges-more-backing-for-ngos-in-gaza

Japan imposes new fees on Mount Fuji climbers

Park rangers on Japan’s Mount Fuji officially started this year’s climbing season about 90 minutes before sunrise yesterday, levying new trail fees and limiting hiker numbers to curb overcrowding.At 3am, officials opened a newly installed gate at a station placed just over halfway up the 12,388-ft peak that is a symbol of Japan and a magnet for tourists, now swarming into the country at a record pace.Climbers must pay 2,000 yen ($12) and their numbers will be limited to 4,000 a day after complaints of litter, pollution, and dangerously crowded trails flowed in last year.“I think Mount Fuji will be very happy if everyone is more conscious about the environment and things like taking rubbish home with them,” said Sachiko Kan, 61, who was one of about 1,200 hikers gathered on the first day of the new measures.The yen’s slide to a 38-year low has made Japan an irresistible bargain for overseas visitors.They are injecting record sums into national coffers but are also putting strains on facilities for travel and hospitality, not to mention the patience of locals.Hordes of tourists became a traffic hazard at a nearby photography spot where Mount Fuji appeared to float over a convenience store, driving officials to put up a barrier of black mesh to obstruct the view that had gone viral online.The climbing season this year on Mount Fuji, which straddles the prefectures of Yamanashi and Shizuoka about 136km from Tokyo, runs until September 10, after which the weather gets too cold and snowy.A still active stratovolcano whose last eruption was in 1707, Mount Fuji has been a site of Shinto and Buddhist worship for centuries.The number of climbers recovered to pre-pandemic levels last year, with about 300,000 annually, the environment ministry says. Hikers typically start in the wee hours to make it to the top in time for sunrise.For their money, climbers receive a wristband giving access to the trail between 3am and 4pm excluding those with reservations for mountain huts closer to the peak, to whom the daily limit on visitors will not apply, authorities say.The new trail curbs were necessary to prevent accidents and incidents of altitude sickness, particularly among foreign “bullet climbers”, or those racing to the top, Yamanashi governor Kotaro Nagasaki said last month.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685819/international/japan-imposes-new-fees-on-mount-fuji-climbers

Nine killed in Seoul as car hits pedestrians

At least nine people were killed and four others injured when a car struck pedestrians near Seoul city hall yesterday, police said.There were six fatalities at the scene, while three others were pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital, firefighter Kim Chun-soo said.South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that a 68-year-old driver crashed into people who were waiting at a traffic signal.He was driving in the wrong direction and hit two other vehicles before ploughing into the pedestrians, Yonhap said.A man was detained by police over the incident, said Kim Suk-hwan, safety and transport director at the city’s Jung-gu district office.Investigations are underway to determine if drugs or alcohol were involved, as well as whether the deadly incident was caused by accidental acceleration, Kim said.Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon described “a very sad accident” as he visited the crash site, according to city authorities.He also ordered officials to “take the victims to the hospital quickly and thoroughly identify the cause of the accident”.Deadly transport accidents with multiple casualties are rare in South Korea, which generally has well-maintained roads and vehicles.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685818/international/nine-killed-in-seoul-as-car-hits-pedestrians