Livestream
Special Interview
Video Streaming
International News (6774)
16
October
October
With eye on U.S., Turkey in no rush to back Sweden's NATO bid - sources
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOI, Jakarta - Turkey is willing to hold off ratifying Sweden's bid to join NATO this month as it awaits signs of U.S. support for its own request to buy F-16 jets, sources said, potentially disappointing bloc allies hoping to end 17 months of delay.
President Tayyip Erdogan elated a NATO summit in July by promising to send the bid to Turkey's parliament for ratification when it reopened in October, appearing to green-light Sweden after having raised objections over its alleged harbouring of terrorists.
However since parliament opened on Oct. 1, its foreign affairs commission, which would debate the NATO bid, has received almost 60 international agreements to review - excluding Sweden's, official data shows.
Two people familiar with the situation said Ankara wanted to move in tandem with Washington, where the State Department is expected at some time to seek congressional approval for a $20-billion sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey and dozens of modernisation kits.
"Given the lack of trust over the issue of F-16s and Sweden, Turkey is not rushing to ratify the NATO bid and looking for a sign that the United States is taking steps at the same time," said an official from Erdogan's ruling AK Party.
A second person familiar with U.S.-Turkish talks said a rough proposal - in which each side would take steps toward ratifying the NATO bid on the one side, and the F-16s purchase on the other - had been delayed.
Erdogan's office did not immediately comment on a time frame for Sweden's ratification or on any U.S. talks.
The U.S. State Department looked forward to Sweden joining NATO "in the near future", a spokesperson said, and that President Joe Biden backed the F-16s sale in the interest of the alliance, the United States and its relationship with Turkey."
"(W)e should do both of these things," the spokesperson said.
IN NO RUSH
Turkey, NATO's second-biggest military, is still expected to ultimately endorse Sweden's bid and could rapidly move on it.
But Turkish officials and foreign diplomats say Erdogan is in no rush, especially after a bomb attack in Ankara on the day parliament opened and, days later, the downing of an unmanned Turkish drone by the United States in northern Syria.
Addressing the drone incident, which occurred near U.S. troops on Oct. 5, Erdogan said last week: "Isn't Turkey a NATO ally of the U.S.? ...How can we explain this? Only when it suits them, they call themselves partners".
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finnish membership was sealed in April, marking an historic expansion of the Western defence bloc, but Sweden's bid remains held up by Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey says Sweden must take more steps at home to clamp down on the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the European Union and United States also deem a terrorist group.
After meeting NATO counterparts in Brussels on Friday, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler told reporters Sweden was expected to implement new counter-terrorism measures, adding parliament "would have the final say" on ratification.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Friday he was convinced the process to join NATO will be resolved "reasonably soon," given Stockholm has fulfilled all commitments in a deal signed last year with Ankara and Helsinki.
LEVERAGE
But Erdogan appears willing to leverage the situation for other gains. Last month, he openly floated exchanging Sweden's ratification for the U.S. go-ahead to upgrade Turkey's F-16 fleet.
With Washington keen to expand NATO, senior U.S. and Turkish officials had sketched out a plan in which Erdogan would send the NATO proposal to parliament and the State Department would ask leaders of the U.S. Senate and House foreign affairs committees to review the F-16 deal, the second source said.
But hopes for a swift approval took a blow on Oct. 1 when the PKK claimed responsibility for the bomb attack near Ankara government buildings.
In response, Turkey redoubled strikes on militant targets in Iraq and Syria, where the United States is allied with some Kurdish fighters, leading to the drone incident.
After that, the second source said, discussions quieted down on the U.S.-Turkish proposal to move roughly in parallel.
While the White House endorses the sale of the Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-16s, there are objections in Congress over Turkey delaying NATO enlargement and its human rights record.
Another potential strain in U.S.-Turkish ties emerged last week in Israel's war against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Erdogan - long supportive of Palestinians and a two-state solution - said that a U.S. aircraft carrier that arrived in the eastern Mediterranean was meant to commit "serious massacres" in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
16
October
October
UN to vote on rival resolutions on Israel and Gaza
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOI, Jakarta - The United Nations Security Council was due to vote on Monday on rival draft resolutions on Israel and Gaza that focus largely on the humanitarian situation, but it was unclear whether either stood a chance of being adopted.
The draft texts have been submitted by Russia and Brazil. A resolution needs at least nine of the 15 members' votes to pass and no vetoes by Britain, China, France, Russia or the United States, the council's five permanent members.
The United States has traditionally shielded its ally Israel in any action by the Security Council. A spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations declined to comment when asked about the impending votes.
Russia's draft calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, while the Brazilian draft calls for humanitarian pauses to allow aid access. Both condemn violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism and call for the release of hostages.
The Brazilian draft condemns the Palestinian militant Hamas for its attacks on Israel, while the Russian draft does not name Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
Without naming Israel, the Brazilian text also calls for the rescinding of the Israeli order for civilians and U.N. staff in northern Gaza Strip to relocate to southern Gaza.
"We are convinced that our draft better meets the humanitarian needs of the civilian population in Gaza and doesn't contain political elements that could divide members of the UNSC and affect its role in the settlement of the crisis," Russia's deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas - which controls the Gaza Strip - after its fighters stormed Israeli towns, killed 1,300 people and seized hostages in the worst attack on civilians in Israel's 75-year-old history.
Israel is preparing for a ground offensive in Gaza while subjecting the strip to the most intense bombardment ever, putting the enclave under total siege. Gaza authorities say at least 2,750 people have been killed.
Israeli forces kept up their bombardment of Gaza on Monday after diplomatic efforts to arrange a ceasefire to allow foreign passport holders to leave and aid to be brought into the besieged Palestinian enclave failed. (Reuters)
16
October
October
Hamas critique removed from Palestinians' Abbas comments on Israel attack
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOI, Jakarta - The Palestinian Authority's official news agency published comments on Sunday by President Mahmoud Abbas that criticized Hamas over its actions but later removed reference to the militant group without providing an explanation.
The comments, published by WAFA on its website, came during a phone call between Abbas and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The two discussed Israel's bombardment of Gaza following Hamas' deadly rampage through Israeli cities.
The original WAFA report on Abbas' call included the line: "The president also stressed that Hamas' policies and actions do not represent the Palestinian people, and the policies, programs and decisions of the (Palestine Liberation Organization) represent the Palestinian people as their sole legitimate representative."
Several hours later, the phrase was adjusted to read: "The president also stressed that the policies, programs, and decisions of the PLO represent the Palestinian people as their sole legitimate representative, and not the policies of any other organization."
It was not immediately clear why the reference to Hamas was removed. There was no immediate comment by Abbas' office or by WAFA. Hamas had no immediate comment.
Abbas' Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He has long been opposed to Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007 and ousted Fatah party forces loyal to Abbas. Years of reconciliation talks between the rivals have failed to reach a breakthrough.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Abbas also heads the PLO, the umbrella group that represented the Palestinians in past U.S.-sponsored peace talks with Israel.
During his call with Maduro, Abbas "affirmed his rejection of the killing of civilians on both sides and called for the release of civilians, prisoners and detainees," the WAFA report said. (Reuters)
16
October
October
In Gaza, people resort to drinking salty water, garbage piles up
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOI, Jakarta - As Israeli air strikes pounded the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground offensive, the enclave's residents were getting more desperate by the hour as water runs out, garbage piles up, explosions flatten homes and hospitals struggle to cope.
Desperate to get some drinking water, some people began digging wells in areas adjacent to the sea or were relying on salty tap water from Gaza's only aquifer, which is contaminated with sewage and seawater.
Two residents in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, volunteered to fill plastic containers with water to distribute among displaced families.
Some residents prayed for an end to the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has raised fears of a wider Middle East conflict.
They said overnight air strikes were the heaviest in nine days of conflict. Many houses were flattened. Gaza authorities said at least 2,750 people, mostly civilians and among them more than 700 children, had been killed and nearly 10,000 wounded. A further 1,000 people were missing, believed to be under rubble.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Israel has imposed a full blockade as it prepares a ground assault in Gaza. Israeli troops and tanks are massed on the border.
It has vowed to annihilate Hamas, which rules the enclave, in retaliation for a rampage by its fighters in Israeli towns nine days ago in which its militants killed 1,300 civilians including children and seized hostages in the worst attack on civilians in the country's history. Israel's military said at least 291 soldiers have been killed.
Medical and emergency services, and some graphic mobile phone footage, said atrocities were committed in the overrun towns and kibbutzes.
Hamas has continued to fire rockets at Israel since its cross-border assault. On Monday, rocket-warning sirens sounded in several towns in southern Israel, the Israeli military said.
Diplomatic efforts are underway to try to get aid into the enclave, via Egypt.
"Gaza is running out of water and electricity. In fact, Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity," said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.
Hamas said on Monday that Israel had not resumed water supplies to Gaza despite pledging to do so. An Israeli official said some water was being provided to an area in the south of the enclave.
Amid international calls for a ceasefire to allow aid in, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said there would be no halt to the siege without freedom for Israeli hostages. The Israeli military said on Monday 199 people were confirmed held hostage in Gaza.
FEARS OF HEALTH CRISIS
Gaza is one of the most crowded places on earth, and for now there is no way out. Egypt, which also has a border with the enclave, has so far resisted calls to open it to fleeing residents.
"Because of the large number of people inside the camp, there's no water. So I thought I would volunteer, come with a rickshaw and carry the water from the far away areas, the dangerous areas," said Mohammad Saqr.
"Now, we're filling in salt water, I'm ready to drink from the salt water - what else can we do?" Saqr said.
Even before the latest conflict erupted and Israel cut electricity and fresh water supplies to Gaza, 90 percent of the water was undrinkable, according to the Palestinian Water Authority.
The territory's only aquifer is contaminated by sewage, chemicals and seawater and neighbourhood desalination facilities and their public taps are a lifesaver for some of Gaza's 2.3 million residents.
Even the 10% of the aquifer's water deemed safe to drink is often mixed with poor-quality water during distribution, making it good only for washing.
Many families living in Gaza have opted to drill private wells drawing from water deep underground, and a small number who can afford it tend to buy mineral water. Others buy cheaper filtered treated water from water-trucks that tour the streets.
Garbage is also piling up on the streets and inside shelters for the displaced, raising fears of a health crisis.
"If the garbage continues to pile up it will cause diseases and pandemics," said Mohammad Hadhoud, a cleaning worker from Khan Younis.
Doctors have been scrambling to help a rising number of patients, including children injured in the air strikes, in overcrowded hospitals that are running short on medicines and fuel due to the blockade. Only the most acute cases are getting surgery because there are not enough resources, doctors say. (reuters)
16
October
October
Russia's Foreign Minister to Visit North Korea Oct. 18-19
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOINews, Jakarta - Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea on Wednesday and Thursday this week, North Korea's state media KCNA and Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday.
Lavrov's visit comes a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare trip to Russia during which he and President Vladimir Putin discussed military cooperation, including over North Korea's satellite programme and the war in Ukraine.
The growing diplomatic exchanges between the countries have fanned concerns that they could shore up Russia's military in Ukraine while North Korea obtains missile technology banned under U.N. resolutions.
Washington has accused Pyongyang of providing weapons to Moscow for its war in Ukraine, including through a recent shipment from an ammunition depot in North Korea, though both have denied any arms transactions.
Nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held talks in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Monday and warned against any illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
The envoys also pledged "stern responses" if the North launches a spy satellite this month as it had announced, after two failed attempts.
"They reaffirmed that there will be a clear price for North Korea's illegal actions that undermine peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the international community as a whole," the ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)
16
October
October
South Korea to Hold Largest Defence Show in Bid to Boost Global Sales
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOINews, Jakarta - South Korea will kick off its largest-ever defence exhibition this week, as the country seeks to turbocharge its arms sales and showcase a rare appearance by a U.S. nuclear-capable bomber.
The biennial Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) opens its doors on Tuesday, with organisers saying there will be more companies than ever and an unprecedented flyby from a U.S. B-52 bomber, which will make a rare landing at an airbase elsewhere on the peninsula.
This year’s show is designed to help South Korea to reach its goal of becoming the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, Lee Jong-ho, chief of the organising office, told a briefing on Monday.
More than 450 senior defence officials from 54 countries are expected to attend, along with hundreds of thousands of other professionals and members of the public, he said.
"This is an opportunity for Korea's defence industry to draw international attention and take a giant leap forward," Lee said.
The Korean government has set a goal of reaching $20 billion in defence exports this year after sealing a record $17.3 billion in arms sales last year, including huge deals with Poland for tanks, howitzers, warplanes, and rockets.
South Korea has been roughly ninth in the world for defence exports in recent years, but President Yoon Suk Yeol has called for it to improve.
At a South Korean military airbase south of Seoul on Monday, exhibitors made final preparations as participants in early events wandered among South Korean and U.S. military vehicles and warplanes on the tarmac, including advanced American stealth F-22 and F-35 aircraft.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of South Korea’s alliance with the United States, the show will feature a larger than usual display of American military power, including the B-52 flight said U.S. Air Force Colonel Charles Cameron.
Under Yoon, South Korea and the United States have stepped up displays of strength, particularly U.S. nuclear-capable assets, in an effort to deter North Korea.
Last month South Korea staged a rare military parade, in which thousands of troops and South Korea's home-grown tanks and self-propelled artillery were joined by 300 of the 28,500 U.S. soldiers based in the country.
A South Korean activist group said it planned to protest the event, calling the arms trade a "parasite" that benefits from the suffering in places such as Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Reuters)
16
October
October
Malaysia Does Not Agree with Western Pressure to Condemn Hamas - PM
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOINews, Jakarta - Malaysia does not agree with Western pressure to condemn Palestinian militant group Hamas, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday, amid widespread outrage over this month's deadly attack on southern Israel.
Western and European countries have repeatedly asked Malaysia to condemn Hamas in meetings, Anwar said, without providing details.
"I said that we, as a policy, have a relationship with Hamas from before and this will continue," Anwar told parliament.
"As such, we don't agree with their pressuring attitude, as Hamas too won in Gaza freely through elections and Gazans chose them to lead."
Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and has advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It does not have a diplomatic relations with Israel.
Top Hamas leaders in the past have often visited Malaysia and met with its premiers. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2013 defied Israel's blockade on Gaza, crossing into the Palestinian enclave following an invitation from Hamas. (Reuters)
13
October
October
Thai worker 'ducks and crawls' to flee kibbutz as Hamas guns down friends
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOI, Jakarta - Thai farm worker Kittipong Chaiyako watched six of his friends shot dead when Hamas militants attacked the Israeli kibbutz where he was working and said it was the "scariest day" of his life.
The 34-year-old had been working for a year at an avocado farm at the Kissufim kibbutz in southwestern Israel, next to the Gaza Strip, when sirens forced him to take cover in a bomb shelter last Saturday.
After about an hour of waiting, Hamas fighters arrived and started shooting people in the kibbutz.
"It was the scariest day of my life because I saw the soldiers and militants shooting at each other... They were fighting and I had to duck and crawl to escape," Kittipong told Reuters in northeastern Nong Bua Lamphu province where he was greeted on Friday with a traditional home-coming ceremony in which loved ones tied threads to his wrist.
"The fighting was happening right in front of me. As Hamas came, the Israeli soldiers fired more rounds at them. I witnessed it all, the smoke billowing from the vehicles while the spent ammunition ricocheted against our camp.
"Those images didn't really affect me, but the faces of six of my friends who were killed in the attack have never left my heart. I can't even describe the loss."
Kittipong said he left behind all his possessions, including his passport, and fled with only the clothes on his back and a mobile phone.
Kittipong's mother, 62-year-old Noopan Chaiyako, hugged her son and cried.
"We sent our son to work abroad to earn money to improve the family and then the war erupted," she said. "If my son had been killed, how would I be able to live?"
Kittipong was among the first batch of Thais repatriated from Israel who arrived home earlier this week.
There are some 30,000 Thais, mostly from the rural northeast, working in Israel's agriculture sector, according to government data.
At least 21 Thai nationals were killed, 14 injured and at least 16 taken hostage on Saturday, the Thai foreign ministry said on Friday. More than 6,700 Thais are looking to be repatriated.
Kittipong said he would not be returning to Israel after seeing his friends killed in front of him.
"We ate together, we joked around together, we worked together and had great times," he said.
"Then this happened, I can't wrap my head around it." (Reuters)
13
October
October
Putin: Russia expanding economic ties with CIS despite Western sanctions
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOI, Jakarta - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Russia was expanding its economic ties with countries of the former Soviet Union in spite of Western sanctions against Moscow.
Putin was speaking in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian nation with strong ties to Moscow, during what was his first foreign trip since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him in March. (Reuters)
13
October
October
Australia to Send Senior Official to China Defence Forum as Ties Stabilise
Written by Nur Yasmin Published in International News
VOINews, Jakarta - Australia will send a senior defence official to China's top international security forum in October for the first time in four years, officials said on Friday.
China will host foreign defence officials in Beijing on Oct. 29-31 for the Xiangshan Forum, styled by Beijing as its answer to Singapore's annual Shangri-La Dialogue.
Reuters has reported General Liu Zhenli, the head of the military body responsible for China's combat operations and planning, has emerged as the top contender to replace Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who has not been seen in public for more than six weeks.
The appointment of Liu to replace Li was likely to happen before Beijing holds the security forum, which a U.S. representative is also expected to attend, Reuters reported.
U.S. security ally Australia has previously sent a defence assistant secretary to the forum, which has not been held since 2019, before a diplomatic dispute erupted between Beijing and Canberra that is now thawing.
"As it did for the most recent iterations of the forum held prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Defence will be represented at the 2023 Beijing Xiangshan Forum by a senior official," a spokesperson for Australia's Department of Defence said in a statement to Reuters.
Chinese and Australian defence officials held their first meeting since 2019 in March, a week after Australia's AUKUS partnership with U.S. and Britain unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s, which China opposes.
The deportation on Wednesday of an Australian journalist who had been detained in China for three years on national security charges is the latest step in warming ties between Beijing and Canberra.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who came to power last year with a goal of stabilising relations with Australia's biggest trade partner, said he expects to visit China this year, the first by an Australian leader since 2016.
Australia has been stepping up its participation in military exercises with its allies, from amphibious drills in the Philippines to navy exercises with Japan, the U.S. and India, amid concern about Chinese pressure on self-ruled Taiwan.
On Wednesday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said dialogue with Chinese defence officials was important to understand each other, "making sure there's not miscalculation". (Reuters)