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March
Five dead, 1,000 homes destroyed in PNG earthquake
Written by Rama Shidqi P.
VOInews, Port Moresby: At least five people were killed and an estimated 1,000 homes destroyed when a magnitude 6.9 earthquake rocked flood-stricken northern Papua New Guinea, Governor of East Sepik, Allan Bird said on Monday (25/3/2024) as disaster crews poured into the region. Governor Bird added that emergency crews were "still assessing the impact" from a tremor that "damaged most parts of the province".
March
Japan PM pledges to boost defence, diplomatic capabilities to preserve peace, NHK says
Written by nuke
Fumio Kishida Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) delivers a speech during the party convention on Mar 17, 2024, in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool via REUTERS) -
VOInews, Tokyo : Japan will work to strengthen its defence and diplomatic capabilities to maintain peace, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said on Saturday (Mar 23), according to public broadcaster NHK, adding that military buildups around the country have been growing.
Japan is a close ally with the United States and has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, supporting Kyiv financially and joining international sanctions on Moscow.
"Military buildup, including nuclear and missile development, has been accelerating in areas surrounding Japan and attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force are growing," Kishida told a graduation ceremony at the National Defence Academy in Yokosuka near Tokyo, according to NHK.
Japan faces "the most complex and challenging" security environment since World War Two, and the government will strengthen its defence and diplomatic capabilities to maintain peace and to prevent security emergencies, he added.
Kishida and US President Joe Biden are to hold a summit on Apr 10 in the United States, aimed at boosting the longstanding bilateral security alliance in the face of growing Chinese influence and as North Korea continues its military tests//CNA-VOI
March
EU Leftist Leader Says 'Time to Negotiate' End to Ukraine War
Written by ranov
VOInews, Jakarta: The head of the EU's main leftist political grouping has said it is time to "negotiate" an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, rallying behind a controversial call by Pope Francis for Kyiv to raise the "white flag."
"I believe helping the Ukrainian people means now making attempts to end the war," said Walter Baier, the 70-year-old Austrian picked last month by the Party of the European Left as its candidate to head the next European Commission.
Baier underlined that his party -- whose 26 full members include Germany's Die Linke, France's Communists and Greece's Syriza -- had "absolutely condemned the Russian aggression" in its manifesto for June's European elections.
But in a joint interview Monday with the "European Newsroom," which brings together news agencies including AFP, he said the conflict's "frozen" fronts required a new approach.
"I would wish from the European Union... to take diplomatic efforts to start negotiations to achieve a ceasefire and to achieve the withdrawal of the Russian troops," Baier said.
"In this regard, I fully support what Pope Francis was saying. Now it's the time to end the war, and now it's the time to negotiate and stop killing," said the former head of Austria's communist party.
In an interview broadcast earlier this month, the Argentine pontiff urged Kyiv, which has been fighting invading Russian forces for more than two years, to "raise the white flag and negotiate".
The Ukrainian government reacted with fury, even while the Vatican insisted the words "white flag" were intended to mean a cessation of hostilities, not a surrender.
Analysts see no immediate prospect of negotiations to find a breakthrough in the Ukraine war, with Russia's Vladimir Putin emboldened by the erosion of Western support for Kyiv -- while Ukraine is determined to keep fighting to recapture territory.
The Party of the European Left is the larger of two leftist formations in the European Parliament -- along with Now the People whose members include Spain's Podemos and France Unbowed.
Both are part of the 37-strong group of lawmakers called The Left in the EU parliament -- where polls point to a surge by far-right movements following June's vote across the 27-nation bloc.
The EU parliament currently has 705 seats, which will increase to 720 seats after the 2024 elections.
Source: AFP
March
Blinken to Meet Philippine Leader on Bolstering Alliance
Written by ranov
VOInews, Jakarta: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to hold talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Tuesday, as the countries seek to reinforce security and economic ties in the face of growing Chinese aggression.
Blinken's visit to Manila -- his second since Marcos took office in June 2022 -- is part of a brief Asia tour that also included South Korea.
Washington is keen to improve relations with its regional allies, such as Manila and Seoul, in a bid to deter China and North Korea as tensions rise in the South China Sea over Taiwan and on the Korean peninsula.
Blinken's trip comes ahead of a trilateral meeting in Washington next month between US President Joe Biden, Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Announcing the three-way summit with the Asia Pacific allies, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the leaders would push a "shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific".
During his meeting with Marcos and his Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo on Tuesday, Blinken is expected to reaffirm the United States' security commitments to the Philippines.
"What we're trying to demonstrate... is that we are committed to the Indo-Pacific, to this region, despite everything else that's going on in the world right now," a senior State Department official told reporters on Monday.
"I would expect when we're in Manila, the main concern will obviously be China's continued destabilising actions in the South China Sea that are in contravention of international law."
Top US officials have repeatedly said that "an armed attack" against Philippine public vessels, aircraft, armed forces and coastguard would invoke the 1951 US-Philippines mutual defence treaty in which Washington is obliged to defend its ally.
Blinken's visit follows a spate of incidents involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, including collisions, in recent months.
Marcos has expressed "great alarm" over the confrontations that have sparked diplomatic sparring between Manila and Beijing.
Source: AFP
March
North Korea fires 'unidentified ballistic missile': media
Written by Rama Shidqi P.
VOInews, Jakarta: North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Monday (18/3/2024), local media reported, citing South Korean military, days after Seoul and Washington wrapped up annual joint training exercises.
March
China's FM Wang Begins Diplomatic Blitz in New Zealand
Written by ranov
VOInews, Jakarta: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a rare visit to New Zealand on Monday, stressing the need to work with "friends" in the face of the "tumultuous international situation".
The trip marks the start of a diplomatic blitz through New Zealand and Australia, Wang's first visit to either country since 2017.
The whistlestop tour is expected to focus heavily on trade as Beijing looks to lessen the pain from slowing economic growth at home.
Speaking in the capital Wellington before a meeting with his New Zealand counterpart, Wang said the trip was also a chance to shore up diplomatic ties that have come under strain as Beijing adopts an increasingly aggressive stance on issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea.
"In the face of the current tumultuous international situation, we are willing to strengthen strategic communication with our friends in New Zealand on international and regional issues of common concern," Wang said.
"And we will work together to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world," he added before his closed-door meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
New Zealand is part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance alongside the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
But Wellington has been criticised for taking a softer line on China -- putting its trading relationship ahead of its allies' security concerns.
China is New Zealand's largest trading partner, and Chinese consumers have long had an appetite for the country's meat, wine, milk and wood.
Wang said he believed that "China-New Zealand relations will continue to be at the forefront of China's relations with developed countries".
"The relationship between us has developed smoothly and well," he said.
Later this week, Wang will meet Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Canberra.
China and Australia have recently resolved a series of simmering trade disputes that saw Beijing impose tariffs and trade barriers on key exports in 2020, retaliating after Canberra barred Huawei from 5G contracts and called for a probe into the origins of Covid-19.
But the two nations continue to spar over human rights and Beijing's growing clout in the Pacific region.
Source : AFP
March
US Fed to provide fresh clues on rate cuts after uptick in inflation
Written by nuke
Fed Chair Jerome Powell says it needs to see more data before deciding if to cut interest rates. (Photo: AFP/Mandel Ngan) -
VOInews, Washington, U.S : The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key lending rate unchanged again on Wednesday (Mar 20), as policymakers continue discussions over when to start rate cuts and launch the next phase in their long-running battle against inflation.
The Fed has raised interest rates to a 23-year high of between 5.25 and 5.50 per cent as it looks to return inflation firmly to its long-term target of 2 per cent.
After making significant progress against rising prices last year, 2024 has been more challenging, with the US seeing a small uptick in the pace of monthly inflation.
At the same time, the unemployment rate has remained low, wage growth has eased, and economic growth for the final quarter of 2023 came in above expectations – all indications that the US economy remains in good health despite higher rates.
After two days of discussions, the Fed will publish an updated summary of economic projections (SEP) alongside its rate decision on Wednesday, which will include policymakers' views of where they expect interest rates to be at the end of this year.
"The pace of disinflation, the slowdown in employment growth, [is] not happening as fast as we thought it did a few months ago," Wells Fargo senior economist Michael Pugliese told AFP. "And so they're gonna fine-tune their policy outlook accordingly."
In recent weeks, officials at the US central bank - led by Fed chair Jerome Powell - have urged caution about cutting interest rates too quickly, and have instead said they will follow a "data-dependent" path.
"The economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2 per cent inflation objective is not assured," Powell told lawmakers in Washington earlier this month.
He later confirmed that he still expects cuts to begin this year.
Futures traders currently assign a probability of around 55 per cent that the Fed will start cutting interest rates by Jun 12, according to data from CME Group.
This marks a significant shift from the run-up to the Fed's last rate decision in January, when traders were still widely anticipating the first would come in May//CNA-VOI
March
Vivian Balakrishnan meets Jordan counterpart amid Singapore's humanitarian aid mission for Gaza
Written by nuke
Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan meeting his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in Amman on Mar 16, 2024. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs) -
VOInews, Singapore : Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met his Jordanian counterpart in Amman on Saturday (Mar 16) amid Singapore’s ongoing humanitarian aid mission to Gaza.
The minister, who is visiting Amman from Saturday to Sunday, called on Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi.
Dr Balakrishnan said they had spoken two weeks ago about the dire situation in Gaza and how Singapore and Jordan can work together to provide aid.
"I thanked him for Jordan’s swift facilitation of our ongoing humanitarian aid to Gaza," the minister wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement that both ministers noted that the strong bilateral relationship has allowed both sides to work closely together to organise the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) ongoing humanitarian aid mission for Gaza.
"They agreed on the pressing need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and that more channels should be explored to deliver aid to Gaza," said the ministry.
Singapore is delivering its third tranche of humanitarian assistance for Gaza via Jordan.
An A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and a C-130 transport aircraft took off from Singapore on Friday for the mission.
At the invitation of the Jordanian government, the C-130 is staying on to conduct humanitarian airdrop operations out of Jordan with support from the Jordanian Armed Forces, MFA said on Friday.
The Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre (RHCC) led efforts to coordinate and consolidate contributions of humanitarian aid supplies from agencies including the SAF, Ministry of Health (MOH) and non-governmental organisation Relief Singapore.
Both ministers also welcomed the successful outcomes of Jordan’s Crown Prince Al Hussein’s official visit to Singapore in January 2024.
“They looked forward to stronger and deeper cooperation including in the fields of capacity building, technical and vocational education and training, and strengthening business-to-business links,” said MFA.
Crown Prince Al Hussein was in Singapore from Jan 10 to Jan 12 and met several Singapore leaders, including President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Six memorandums of understanding were signed on the sidelines of that visit//CNA-VOI
March
US military says it destroyed Houthi drone over Red Sea
Written by nuke
Overview of the USS Gravely destroyer in the south Red Sea, Tuesday, Feb 13, 2024. (File photo: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) -
VOInews, Red sea : The US military said it destroyed a drone fired by the Yemeni Houthis on Saturday (Mar 16), with another presumed to have crashed into the Red Sea.
There were no reports of damage or injuries from ships in the vicinity, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
CETNCOM also said it destroyed five unmanned surface vessels and one UAV in self-defence, in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
"It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region," the statement read.
Months of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around Southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.
The US and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in response to the attacks on shipping//CNA-VOI
March
Israel to attend new ceasefire talks as UN says Gaza hunger crisis worsens
Written by nuke
A boy holds waits for a meal provided by a charity, with food in besieged Gaza increasingly hard to find.(Photo: AFP/SAID KHATIB) -
VOInews, Doha-Qatar : The main UN aid agency operating in Gaza said on Saturday (Mar 16) that acute malnutrition was accelerating in the north of the Palestinian enclave as Israel prepared to send a delegation to Qatar for new ceasefire talks on a hostage deal with Hamas.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said one in three children under the age of two in northern Gaza is now acutely malnourished, putting more pressure on Israel over the looming famine.
On Friday, Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar for more talks with mediators after its enemy Hamas presented a new proposal for a ceasefire with an exchange of hostages and prisoners.
The delegation will be led by the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, a source familiar with the talks said, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to convene the security cabinet to discuss the proposal before the talks start.
Efforts failed repeatedly to secure a temporary ceasefire before Islam's holy month of Ramadan started a week ago, with Israel saying it plans to launch a new offensive in Rafah, the last relatively safe city in tiny, crowded Gaza after five months of war.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, starting a two-day visit to the region, voiced concern about an assault on Rafah, saying there was a danger it would result "in many terrible civilian casualties".
On Friday, Netanyahu's office said he had approved an attack plan on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are sheltering, and that the civilian population would be evacuated.
It gave no time frame and there was no immediate evidence of extra preparations on the ground.
The Hamas offer, reviewed by Reuters, foresees dozens of Israeli hostages freed in return for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, during a weeks-long ceasefire that would let more aid into Gaza.
Hamas also called for talks in a later stage on ending the war, but Israel has said it is only willing to negotiate a temporary truce.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera the group's proposal is so realistic that "no one can object to it" and claimed that mediators had reacted positively.
He said it consists of two stages, with a complete "cessation of aggression" at the start of the second one - something Israel has rejected, vowing to resume its goal of destroying Hamas once any temporary truce expires.
Families of Israeli hostages and their supporters again gathered in Tel Aviv, urging a deal for their release.
At the same time, anti-government protesters, estimated by Israeli media at a few thousand, called for new elections and blocked streets in Tel Aviv//CNA-VOI