News in Brief
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) -- India said Monday that it had detained a Chinese soldier who strayed across the disputed frontier where the two countries are engaged in a months-long standoff after a series of clashes. The People’s Liberation Army corporal was "apprehended” in the high altitude freezing desert area of Ladakh after crossing into Indian-controlled territory along their poorly demarcated border, an Indian army statement said. Both sides have poured tens of thousands of troops into the border zone since fighting a pitched battle in June in which 20 Indian troops and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers were killed. India named the Chinese soldier who "strayed” as Corporal Wang Ya Long and said he had been given medical treatment against the extreme climate. India said the PLA had already made an approach and the corporal would be returned "as per established protocols”.
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NICOSIA (AFP) -- Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on Monday congratulated right-wing Turkish Cypriot nationalist Ersin Tatar on his election victory and called on him to back a new United Nations-led peace initiative. Turkish Cypriots in the breakaway north of the divided island on Sunday narrowly elected Tatar, who was backed by Ankara, at a time of heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. "The verdict of our compatriots to elect Mr Ersin Tatar as the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community is fully respected,” said Greek Cypriot leader Anastasiades. "I congratulate Mr Tatar and look forward to a familiarity meeting as soon as possible,” he added in a statement. Tatar, 60, clinched his surprise victory in a second round of presidential elections, winning 51.7 percent of the vote. He edged out incumbent Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, 72, a supporter of reunification with the Greek Cypriot south of the divided island, leaving attempts to relaunch long-stalled UN-brokered talks hanging in the balance.
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HANOI (AFP) -- Japan and Vietnam agreed to step up security and defense cooperation Monday, reaching an agreement in principle for Tokyo to export defense equipment and technology to the Southeast Asian nation. The pact would allow Japan to export equipment, likely including patrol planes and radar, to Vietnam, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo. The resource-rich South China Sea is claimed in its entirety by Beijing but is also contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. China has reinforced its claim to the waterway by building up small shoals and reefs into military bases with airstrips and port facilities, and it launched ballistic missiles in the flashpoint waters in August as part of live-fire exercises.
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GENEVA (AFP) -- The rival sides in the Libya conflict sat down for fresh talks on Monday in another bid to try to end a decade of bloodshed, the United Nations said. Libya has been wracked by violence since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew and killed veteran dictator Muamnmar Gaddafi. Since then, the North African country has been dominated by armed groups, riven by local conflicts and divided between two bitterly opposed administrations. But hopes for a solution have risen after the two warring factions in August separately announced they would cease hostilities. However, both sides continue to accuse each other of supporting "terrorist” groups. The UN-recognized Government of National Accord, which is based in Tripoli and led by Fayez al-Sarraj, has been challenged by its eastern-based rival, backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar.
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NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- India announced on Monday that Australia will join annual naval exercises scheduled with the United States and Japan, in a move that could raise concerns in China which has previously criticized any joint drills as destabilizing. India is hosting the Malabar drills in the Bay of Bengal scheduled for later next month. "As India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defense cooperation with Australia, Malabar 2020 will see the participation of the Australian Navy,” the defense ministry said in a statement. Australia will be returning to the joint maneuvers after its participation in 2007 that drew criticism from China.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Thousands marched to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington to commemorate the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and protest President Donald Trump’s rush to push through Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled an Oct. 22 vote on the nomination of Barrett, a conservative appellate judge, over objections from Democrats that the confirmation process comes too close to the Nov. 3 presidential election. More than 26 million Americans have already cast their ballots for who they want to sit in the White House for the next four years, Trump or his Democratic rival Joe Biden. Demonstrators at the Women’s March said they were angry that Republicans appear ready to confirm Barrett’s nomination so close to Election Day after refusing to move forward Merrick Garland, the pick of former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, more than six months ahead of the 2016 election.
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NICOSIA (AFP) -- Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on Monday congratulated right-wing Turkish Cypriot nationalist Ersin Tatar on his election victory and called on him to back a new United Nations-led peace initiative. Turkish Cypriots in the breakaway north of the divided island on Sunday narrowly elected Tatar, who was backed by Ankara, at a time of heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. "The verdict of our compatriots to elect Mr Ersin Tatar as the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community is fully respected,” said Greek Cypriot leader Anastasiades. "I congratulate Mr Tatar and look forward to a familiarity meeting as soon as possible,” he added in a statement. Tatar, 60, clinched his surprise victory in a second round of presidential elections, winning 51.7 percent of the vote. He edged out incumbent Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, 72, a supporter of reunification with the Greek Cypriot south of the divided island, leaving attempts to relaunch long-stalled UN-brokered talks hanging in the balance.
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HANOI (AFP) -- Japan and Vietnam agreed to step up security and defense cooperation Monday, reaching an agreement in principle for Tokyo to export defense equipment and technology to the Southeast Asian nation. The pact would allow Japan to export equipment, likely including patrol planes and radar, to Vietnam, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo. The resource-rich South China Sea is claimed in its entirety by Beijing but is also contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. China has reinforced its claim to the waterway by building up small shoals and reefs into military bases with airstrips and port facilities, and it launched ballistic missiles in the flashpoint waters in August as part of live-fire exercises.
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GENEVA (AFP) -- The rival sides in the Libya conflict sat down for fresh talks on Monday in another bid to try to end a decade of bloodshed, the United Nations said. Libya has been wracked by violence since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew and killed veteran dictator Muamnmar Gaddafi. Since then, the North African country has been dominated by armed groups, riven by local conflicts and divided between two bitterly opposed administrations. But hopes for a solution have risen after the two warring factions in August separately announced they would cease hostilities. However, both sides continue to accuse each other of supporting "terrorist” groups. The UN-recognized Government of National Accord, which is based in Tripoli and led by Fayez al-Sarraj, has been challenged by its eastern-based rival, backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar.
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NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- India announced on Monday that Australia will join annual naval exercises scheduled with the United States and Japan, in a move that could raise concerns in China which has previously criticized any joint drills as destabilizing. India is hosting the Malabar drills in the Bay of Bengal scheduled for later next month. "As India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defense cooperation with Australia, Malabar 2020 will see the participation of the Australian Navy,” the defense ministry said in a statement. Australia will be returning to the joint maneuvers after its participation in 2007 that drew criticism from China.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Thousands marched to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington to commemorate the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and protest President Donald Trump’s rush to push through Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled an Oct. 22 vote on the nomination of Barrett, a conservative appellate judge, over objections from Democrats that the confirmation process comes too close to the Nov. 3 presidential election. More than 26 million Americans have already cast their ballots for who they want to sit in the White House for the next four years, Trump or his Democratic rival Joe Biden. Demonstrators at the Women’s March said they were angry that Republicans appear ready to confirm Barrett’s nomination so close to Election Day after refusing to move forward Merrick Garland, the pick of former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, more than six months ahead of the 2016 election.