INDIA
Pakistan F-16 deal criticized
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken late on Monday said that he had discussed with his Pakistani counterpart what he called managing a responsible relationship with neighboring India. Blinken’s comments came after India’s defense and foreign ministers opposed a US decision to provide a support package of about US$450 million for Pakistan’s fleet of F-16 jets. “In our discussions today, we talked about the importance of managing a responsible relationship with India,” Blinken said after meeting Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, without elaborating. Asked about the F-16 deal, US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said that the US had independent relations with India and Pakistan. “The relationship we have with India stands on its own; the relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own,” Price told a news conference. “We also want to do everything we can to see to it that these neighbors have relations with one another that are as constructive as can be possible.” Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought three wars, mainly over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
BURKINA FASO
Attack kills about a dozen
A suspected jihadist attack in the north of the nation has killed about a dozen people, mostly troops, security sources said on Monday. Violence has raged in the landlocked west African nation after Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba seized power in a January coup, ousting the elected leader and promising to rein in jihadists, but as in neighboring nations, insurgents have stoked unrest. In the latest attack, a convoy carrying supplies to local residents and escorted by a military unit “was the target of a terrorist attack” near Gaskinde in the Sahel region, an army statement said. “The attack unfortunately caused human and material losses,” and a full toll would be established “as soon as possible,” it said. A security source said that a preliminary toll indicated “about a dozen dead among elements of the unit. There were also a number of seriously wounded.” The source added that reinforcements had been sent to the area, both to secure it and to aid the victims.
NEW ZEALAND
Flight disrupted by winds
One of the world’s longest flights is being disrupted by strong winds, forcing operator Air New Zealand to reduce passengers and luggage so it can take on more fuel. Two years of planning went into the non-stop service from New York to Auckland, which, at 17 hours and 35 minutes, is the world’s fourth-longest, but within a week of opening the route this month, the airline found its modeling had not accounted for unusually strong headwinds, Air New Zeland chief operating integrity and safety officer David Morgan said in Wellington yesterday. “We’ve actually found seasonal winds particularly in North America have been significantly higher,” Morgan told Radio New Zealand. “As a consequence the flight is taking longer and in order to be able to provide the fuel load we’ve had to reduce the payload.” To reduce weight, the airline was forced to offload the bags of as many as 65 passengers at John F. Kennedy Airport before the inaugural flight on Sept. 17 and last weekend requested that 15 booked travelers agree to alternative arrangements. A third flight was expected to have to stop for fuel in Fiji, but was able to reach Auckland safely. The government has billed the direct service as a boost for the tourism industry, which has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
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