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A wounded Palestinian is carried after taking part in a protest at Israel-Gaza border east of Gaza City, August 21, 2021. Salem - 

Israeli aircraft struck Hamas sites in Gaza late on Saturday (Aug 21), the military said, in an escalation of hostilities after earlier cross-border gunfire seriously injured an Israeli soldier and wounded 41 Palestinians, including two critically.

The injuries came during a Gaza protest organised by the enclave's Islamist rulers Hamas and other factions in support of Jerusalem, where Palestinian clashes with Israeli police helped spark an 11-day Israel-Hamas conflict in May.

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered near the Strip's heavily fortified border, where some tried to scale the border fence and others threw explosives towards Israeli troops, the Israeli military said.

"IDF (Israeli military) troops responded with riot dispersal means, including when necessary live fire," it said in a statement.

Among the two Palestinians critically injured was a 13-year-old boy who was shot in the head, Gaza's health ministry said. It described most of the other injuries as moderate, including gunshots to limbs, backs and abdomens.

Cross-border fire from Gaza seriously wounded an Israeli border police soldier, who is in hospital receiving medical treatment, the military said. There was no claim of responsibility for the Gaza gunfire.

In response to the soldier's shooting, Israeli "fighter jets have struck four weapons storage and manufacturing sites belonging to" Hamas, the military said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Bracing for more hostilities, the military said it had sent additional forces to the Gaza border area. Israeli media reported the military had increased deployment of its Iron Dome anti-missile system.

The violence follows an Israeli announcement of a resumption of Qatari aid to Gaza, a move seen as bolstering a fragile Egyptian-mediated truce to the May fighting.

Just days before that announcement, Gaza militants launched a rocket towards Israel that was shot down by the Iron Dome, in the first such attack since the truce.

Palestinians have also sporadically launched fire-laden balloons towards Israel since the fighting, drawing Israeli strikes on Hamas sites.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Saturday's air strikes showed Israel was "trying to cover up its failure and disappointment in front of the steadfastness of our people and their valiant resistance."

At least 250 Palestinians and 13 in Israel were killed in the May conflict, in which Gaza militants fired rockets towards Israeli cities and Israel carried out air strikes across the coastal enclave.

Israel keeps Gaza under a blockade, tightly restricting movement out of the territory that is home to 2 million Palestinians. Egypt also maintains restrictions on the enclave. Both cite threats from Hamas for the restrictions//CNA

Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab walks outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London, Britain, August 20, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls - 

Britain would have to turn to Russia and China to exercise a "moderating influence" over the Taliban, despite a mistrust between the UK and those governments, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.

"We're going to have to bring in countries with a potentially moderating influence like Russia and China, however uncomfortable that is", Raab told The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

The Taliban seized power last weekend from a US-backed government, sending thousands fleeing and potentially heralding a return to the militants' austere and autocratic rule of two decades ago.

Britain and China have recently been at odds over various issues, including Hong Kong and alleged human rights abuses against China's Uyghur ethnic group.

Ties between London and Moscow also have been on ice since the 2018 poisoning with a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal, a mole who betrayed hundreds of Russian agents to Britain's MI6 foreign spy service.

Relations between Britain and Russia deteriorated further after a BBC journalist working in Moscow was told to leave the country.

British forces have evacuated 3,800 people from Kabul since Aug 13, according to the Britain's Ministry of Defence, including 1,323 who have made it to the UK.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said late on Saturday that the "abandonment" of Afghanistan was "tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours."

The former prime minister, who sent British troops into Afghanistan in 2001, said the decision to withdraw from the country was driven "not by grand strategy but by politics".

Blair added that Britain had serious reflection to do after what he described as "little or no consultation" by the United States in the decision to pull out from Afghanistan.

"We (Britain) are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers. Maybe we don't mind. But we should at least take the decision deliberatively", Blair wrote in a lengthy article published on Saturday//CNA

Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at an interview with CNA. (Photo: Marcus Marc Ramos) - 

The relationship between Singapore and the United States has always been “on track”, said Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan ahead of US Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Southeast Asia.

“I think it's worth emphasising the point that through successive administrations, both Democrats and Republicans, we've actually had excellent relations with them,” said Dr Balakrishnan in an interview airing on CNA on Sunday (Aug 22).

He said that there has been a “steady tempo of meetings and interactions” through the administrations of presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, including state visits and the Trump-Kim Summit in 2018, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted such interactions.

“To be honest with you, diplomacy does need face-to-face interactions. You need to look into people's eyes. You need to have some time, sometimes just to relax and have a one-on-one conversation,” he said. 

“The visit by Vice President Kamala Harris is a very welcome, important visit.”

Ms Harris, the US’ first female vice-president, is visiting Singapore from Sunday to Tuesday before leaving for Vietnam. This is her first visit to Asia.

Dr Balakrishnan said that the diplomacy practised by the Joe Biden administration is “more conventional”.

“They try to engage multilaterally. They engage quite systematically with allies, their partners and other stakeholders,” he said. 

“I think it's quite in keeping with that tone and that pace for her to reach out to Southeast Asia and in particular Singapore, a city-state right in the heart of Southeast Asia; Vietnam – another emerging mid-sized major country in Southeast Asia. I'm sure she'll be covering other parts of the world in due time.”

Dr Balakrishnan emphasised that on Singapore’s part, its engagement with the US in terms of policy implementation, its economic account, on defence and its diplomatic engagement diary has been “very good” and “consistent”.

“America remains the largest foreign investor in Singapore,” he said, adding that the US has more invested in Singapore than in India, China and Korea combined.

“Many people are often surprised at that, and there are more than 5,000 American companies here ... they have been a conduit for technology, for networks, for trade, for access.” 

Singapore has also had a free trade agreement with the US since 2004, and has strong defence ties with the country - the US Navy has become the largest foreign user of Changi Naval Base, and Singapore troops train regularly in America.

“The result of that is that there (are) very close institutional and personal links between our leaders, and including our military leadership and theirs. And, I would say, a very large reservoir of trust and goodwill,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

When asked about the US’ return to multilateralism, Dr Balakrishnan said that former president Donald Trump was an “unconventional” president who represented the concerns of a significant segment of domestic political opinion in a polarised America.

“We understand that polarisation makes it difficult for the United States to present sometimes a consistent narrative through different administrations. But I think we just have to learn to adapt and this is par for the course.”

He added: “We do believe that America has been a constructive, significant presence and a significant pillar of the formula for peace and prosperity in Southeast Asia.”//CNA

TNI AU's 17 Air Squadron Pilot, Major Mulyo Hadi, speaks with Lt.Col. Ludwig Bayu at the Halimperdanakusuma airport in Jakarta on Saturday (August 21, 2021) after evacuating Indonesian citizens from Afghanistan to Indonesia. (ANTARA/HO-Dinas Penerangan TNI AU) - 

Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) pilots and crew faced some challenges while evacuating Indonesian citizens (WNI) from Kabul, Afghanistan, pilot Major Mulyo Hadi disclosed here on Saturday.

The first challenge was the swelling crowds at Hamid Karzai airport in Kabul and Islamabad airport in Pakistan, which prevented control and navigation from functioning optimally at Hamid Karzai airport after the Taliban took control of the government in Afghanistan, he informed.

“The obstacles we faced were especially the updated data from the runways of Hamid Karzai international airport as well as the unpredictable condition in runway areas," he said.

“The crowd quickly escalated as the aircraft landed in Islamabad, thereby driving the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister to take the decision of postponing the pick-up for one up to a couple days,” said Hadi, quoted by TNI AU’s information service.

Finally, the crew members obtained complete data pertaining to the prevailing conditions at Hamid Karzai airport and the team decided to fly to Kabul on Friday (August 20, 2021), he informed.

The decision was made after the aircraft obtained landing clearance from authorities in Kabul on Friday, he said.

The flight took off at 4.33 a.m local time from Islamabad, with the crew expecting the airport to be quiet, so that the evacuation would be conducive, Hadi added.

“During the evacuation, (we noticed) the site was surrounded by mountains with a runway height of 5,877 feet above sea level. Moreover, the airport’s navigation assistance facilities (ILS, VOR), night facilities, and air traffic services did not function optimally, leading the crew to face serious challenges when the aircraft approached Hamid Karzai (airport),” he explained.

The runway at the airport was mostly dark when the aircraft landed at dawn as the sun had not risen and the lights were not fully turned on, he said.

“Landing in Kabul was the biggest challenge for all crew members of the A-7305 aircraft,” he added.

After the aircraft landed, the evacuation team immediately helped 26 Indonesian nationals and seven foreigners to board the plane.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as the interim authority of airports in Kabul, had given a limited time for evacuation, Hadi said.

The team had previously scheduled the evacuation mission for 30 minutes, but the process ran for two hours, he added.

During the evacuation, not all Indonesian citizens’ belongings could be loaded onto the aircraft, he informed.

“For the sake of mutual safety, we limited luggage to only carry-on luggage, so we apologize to Indonesian citizens and foreigners because not all of their luggage could enter the plane," he told the evacuated Indonesian citizens and foreigners.

The Boeing 737 Series 400 aircraft belonging to Air Squadron 17 of TNI AU left Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in Jakarta on August 18, 2021. The flight from Jakarta to Kabul took almost 72 hours considering the long route and the stop in Islamabad, Hadi said.

About 10 members from the 17 Air Squadron of TNI AU were deployed as crew members along with two pilots—Major Mulyo Hadi and Lt. Col Ludwig Bayu.

Six members from 90 Bravo Unit of TNI AU’s special troops were also involved in the evacuation of the Indonesian citizens from Kabul.

The evacuation team comprised personnel from TNI AU, the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Major Hadi expressed his pride in the 17th Air Squadron, which was trusted with the task of evacuating and rescuing Indonesian citizens in the midst of the escalating situation in Afghanistan//ANT