Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer will host talks in Jerusalem today with senior Egyptian officials sent by President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli public radio said yesterday.
The Egyptian officials, Mubarak's political advisor Osama al-Baz and intelligence chief General Omar Soleiman, were also to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah, it added.
Mubarak said on Monday that he would send Baz and Soleiman, who have already travelled here in the last few months, on a mission to Israel to ease tension resulting from 21 months of Palestinian-Israeli violence.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian woman and her 2-year-old daughter were shot dead yesterday morning while riding in a taxi in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinians, who claimed Israeli troops were responsible. But Israel's army said its soldiers did not fire anywhere in the area.
Also in Gaza, a 44-year-old Palestinian man was killed by Israeli gunfire while walking from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis to his home just outside town, Palestinian security officials said. The army spokesman's office said it was unaware of any shooting in the area.
Separately, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat tried to smooth over a rift with his security officers in the West Bank.
Arafat was due to meet with officers from the Preventive Security branch in the wake of the firing of its chief, Jibril Rajoub. But the security officers were denied entry into Arafat's compound by Israeli forces, Palestinian officials said.
Last week, Arafat appointed the governor of Jenin, Zuheir al-Manasra, to replace Rajoub. But more than 40 Preventive Security officers said that Rajoub had to be included in the Palestinian Authority's security infrastructure.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
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