News in Brief

Date: 12 October 2024 - 22:41

News ID: ۱۳۲۳۳۶

BRUSSELS (TASS) – The current standoff between Russia and the West could have been avoided if NATO and the U.S. had engaged in serious talks on Moscow’s demand for security guarantees, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has argued. In December 2021, two months before Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, it submitted a list of security proposals to NATO and the U.S., insisting that the bloc withdraw its military infrastructure to the 1997 borders. The key point of the document was to halt NATO’s expansion, particularly regarding Ukraine, which has long sought to join the military bloc. However, the bloc rejected the proposal, citing its “open-door policy” on new members.  Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that one of the key reasons for the conflict was the threat of Kiev’s potential NATO membership. In December 2021, two months before Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, it submitted a list of security proposals to NATO and the U.S., insisting that the bloc withdraw its military infrastructure to the 1997 borders.

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OKLAHOMA (Dispatches) – At least one person has been killed and 12 others have been injured in a shooting that took place at a party at an event center in Oklahoma City, police confirmed. Oklahoma City Police said that it appears there was a disturbance which led to “multiple shots being fired both inside and outside the event center.” The names and ages of those involved in the incident have not yet been released but authorities have confirmed that at least one person was killed in the altercation and 12 others have been injured. The suspects are currently unknown at this time but several people have been detained, according to law enforcement. “We are in the process of interviewing witnesses,” authorities told ABC News. “We will provide more details when we get them.” The investigation is currently active and ongoing.

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PESHAWAR (AP) – Tribal clashes killed at least 11 people in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday and injured eight, including women and children, a local official said. Tensions rose in Kurram district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, after two people were critically injured in a shooting incident between rival tribes. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the shooting. Vehicles were targeted in different areas of the district, leading to more casualties, said senior official Javedullah Khan. Khan said efforts were being made to secure travel routes and restore normalcy. The injured were taken to a hospital. Pir Haider Ali Shah, a former parliamentarian and member of a tribal council, said elders had arrived in Kurram to mediate a peace agreement between the tribes. “The recent firing incidents are regrettable and have hampered efforts for lasting peace,” he said.

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SEOUL (AP) - The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday accused South Korea of deliberately avoiding responsibility for the alleged flights of South Korean drones over the North’s capital, and warned of a “terrible calamity” if they continue. The statement by Kim Yo Jong came a day after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korean drones carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets were detected in the night skies over Pyongyang on Oct. 3, and Wednesday and Thursday this week. The ministry said North Korean forces will prepare “all means of attack” capable of destroying the southern side of the border and the South Korean military, and respond without warning if South Korean drones are detected in its territory again. South Korea’s defense minister initially denied the accusation, but the South’s military later adjusted its response, saying it couldn’t confirm whether or not the North’s claims were true.

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WARSAW (Dispatches) - Poland is set to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as part of a broader strategy aimed at reducing irregular migration, driven by escalating tensions with Belarus. “One of the elements of the migration strategy will be the temporary territorial suspension of the right to asylum,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday. “I will demand this, I will demand recognition in Europe for this decision,” he told a congress held by his liberal Civic Coalition (KO) grouping, the largest member of Poland’s coalition government. Tusk said the right to asylum was being used by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin and by people smugglers in a way that goes against the essence of the right to asylum.

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ISTANBUL (Anadolu) – A National Geographic team has reportedly discovered the remains of Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, a British mountaineer who vanished on Mount Everest nearly 100 years ago, according to National Geographic. National Geographic reported in an exclusive news story that Irvine, along with George Mallory, attempted to summit the world’s highest peak in 1924. Their disappearance has fueled one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in climbing history—did they reach the summit before their deaths? Photographer and director Jimmy Chin, who led the team, described