MANILA, Philippines: The Philippine military chief demanded Wednesday that China return several rifles and equipment seized by the Chinese coast guard in a disputed shoal and pay for damages in an assault he likened to an act of piracy in the South China Sea.
Chinese personnel on board more than eight motorboats repeatedly rammed then boarded the two Philippine navy inflatable boats Monday to prevent Filipino navy personnel from transferring food and other supplies including firearms to a Philippine territorial outpost in Second Thomas Shoal, which is also claimed by Beijing, according to Philippine officials.
After a scuffle and repeated collisions, the Chinese seized the boats and damaged them with machetes, knives and hammers. They also seized eight M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, navigation equipment and other supplies and wounded a number of Filipino navy personnel, including one who lost his right thumb, two Philippine security officials told The Associated on Tuesday.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the sensitive conflict publicly.
Video and photographs issued by the Philippine military Wednesday night show the chaotic faceoff at the shoal, with Chinese personnel onboard boats brandishing knives, axe and sticks while surrounding two Philippine navy supply boats beside Manila’s ship outpost. Sirens blare constantly as both sides yell at each other and the Chinese smash the Philippine navy boat with a pole and grab what appears to be a bag with a stick.
Pictures show a damaged Philippine navy boat with its side floaters slashed and deflated and another boat with its windshields and navigational screens shattered. A man displays a damaged cellphone.
“We are demanding that the Chinese return our rifles and our equipment and we’re also demanding that they pay for the damage they caused,” Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., head of the Philippine armed forces, said in a news conference in western Palawan province, where he pinned a medal on the wounded navy officer.
“They boarded our boats illegally and seized our equipment,” Brawner said. “They’re now like pirates with this kind of actions.”
Armed with long knives and machetes, the Chinese coast guard personnel tried to beat the unarmed Filipinos, who resisted with their bare hands by parrying the blows and pushing back the Chinese, Brawner said. “Our objective is also to prevent war.”
Some of the Chinese pointed their knives at the Filipino navy personnel, he said.
China blamed the Philippines for the confrontation, saying the Filipino personnel “trespassed” into the shoal in defiance of its warnings.
“This is the direct cause of the incident,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing. “The Chinese coast guard at the scene has taken professional law-enforcement measures with restraint aimed at stopping the illegal supply mission by the Philippine vessels and no direct measures were taken against the Philippine personnel.”
The United States renewed a warning Tuesday that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, a treaty ally.
Second Thomas Shoal, part of the disputed Spratly Islands, has been occupied by a small Philippine navy contingent aboard a grounded warship that has been closely monitored by China’s coast guard and navy in a yearslong territorial standoff. China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety.
There is fear that disputes in the South China Sea, long regarded as an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and pit the United States and China in a larger conflict. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have conflicting territorial claims in the busy waterway.
Since last year, hostilities between China and the Philippines have escalated in the disputed waters, particularly in Second Thomas Shoal, which is less than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the Philippine coast and where the BRP Sierra Madre, now encrusted with rust, was deliberately grounded in 1999 to create a territorial outpost. The ship remains an actively commissioned military vessel, meaning an attack on it could be considered by the Philippines as an act of war.
Philippines demands China return rifles and pay for boat damage after hostilities in disputed sea
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Philippines demands China return rifles and pay for boat damage after hostilities in disputed sea
- Pictures show a damaged Philippine navy boat with its side floaters slashed and deflated and another boat with its windshields and navigational screens shattered
Russia toughens sentence against French banker who left country
The case shocked Russia’s business community and triggered an outflow of foreign capital from Russia
MOSCOW: A Moscow court has toughened an embezzlement conviction against a French banker who left the country years earlier, converting his initial suspended sentence to jail time, Russian state media reported Wednesday.
Philippe Delpal, a former senior executive at the Baring Vostok investment group, received a four-and-a-half year suspended sentence in 2021 for allegedly swindling funds from Vostochny Bank — partly owned at the time by a businessman linked to Vladimir Putin.
Delpal was sentenced alongside his business partner, US investor Michael Calvey, both of whom vehemently denied the charges.
The case shocked Russia’s business community and triggered an outflow of foreign capital from Russia.
The latest move, while likely to have little impact, comes as relations between Moscow and Paris plummet to new lows as the Kremlin shifts blame for the three-year Ukraine conflict from the United States to Europe.
Both Calvey and Delpal left Russia once the travel restrictions in their suspended sentences were lifted.
Moscow’s Tverskoy Court on Wednesday replaced Delpal’s initial suspended sentence “with a real one” following a petition from Russia’s federal prison service, Russia’s state TASS news agency reported.
Delpal, who spent six months in jail before he was put under house arrest, received the suspended sentence in 2021.
Five Russian associates who said they were innocent also received suspended sentences of between three-and-a-half years to five years.
A Moscow court later reduced Delpal’s sentence from four-and-a-half years to three-and-a-half-years.
UK teen who planned school massacre jailed for minimum 49 years
- “You wanted to be known posthumously as the world’s most famous school shooter of the 21st century,” judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said
- The noisy struggle alerted neighbors, who called the police
LONDON: A UK teenager who killed three family members and planned to outdo notorious US massacres to become “the world’s most famous school shooter of the 21st century” was on Wednesday jailed for a minimum of 49 years.
Nicholas Prosper, 18 at the time of the killings, used a shotgun to kill his mother Juliana Falcon, 48, sister Giselle, 13, and brother Kyle, 16, who also received more than 100 knife wounds, at their home in Luton, southern England, in September 2024.
“Your ambition was notoriety. You wanted to be known posthumously as the world’s most famous school shooter of the 21st century,” judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said on Wednesday as she sentenced the now 19-year-old Prosper.
Prosper told police upon his arrest of his “Friday the 13th” plan to kill four-year-old pupils and two teachers at a nearby primary school, and then himself.
He said his aim was to conduct an attack more deadly than the US Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech massacres, but the plan was interrupted when his mother woke up before he could kill his family in their sleep.
The noisy struggle alerted neighbors, who called the police.
“You explicitly sought to emulate and outdo Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old American who shot dead 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut in 2012,” the judge said.
“You aimed for 34 deaths, one more than the deadliest school shooting of recent times in the United States of America, at Virginia Tech in 2007,” she added.
Prosper, who experts said showed symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), was handed a life sentence, with a minimum term of 49 years. Taking into account the time already served, he will serve a minimum of 48 years and 177 days.
Egypt courts Indian investors during foreign trade minister’s New Delhi visit
- Egypt aims to increase trade with India from $4.2bn to $12bn in 5 years
- Cairo wants more Indian companies to enter the Suez Canal Economic Zone
NEW DELHI: Egypt is trying to attract more Indian companies, particularly in the sectors of renewable energy, chemicals and information technology, its embassy in India said on Wednesday, as Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Hassan El-Khatib is on a visit to New Delhi to forge more partnerships.
El-Khatib arrived in India on Sunday for a four-day visit during which he met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
He discussed with Goyal ways of “attracting more Indian investments to the Egyptian market in vital sectors such as new and renewable energy, chemicals, automobile manufacturing and its components, pharmaceutical products, textiles, communications and information technology,” the Egyptian Embassy said in a statement to Arab News.
“Both sides expressed their aspiration to increase the volume of trade exchange between the two countries in the next five years. It was agreed to work on raising the trade volume from $4.2 billion in 2024 to $12 billion.”
El-Khatib also attended the India-Egypt Business Roundtable held by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
“The discussion highlighted new opportunities emerging in trade and investments in Egypt, and the pivotal role of the Indian industry toward leveraging these opportunities. Emphasis was also made over the opportunities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone,” the CII said after the meeting.
The Egyptian minister said his government was prepared to provide Indian investors with “all forms of support and facilitation” in the special zone.
Established in 2015, the SCZone spans 461 sq. km and includes six ports and four industrial zones along the Suez Canal — one of the world’s most important maritime routes.
Talks on establishing a dedicated Indian industrial cluster in the special economic zone have been underway since 2023, when relations strengthened following Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s visit as chief guest of India’s Republic Day celebrations and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official trip to Cairo.
“Egypt is working to accelerate economic growth and views India as a major partner in this regard. India is one of the largest trading partners of Egypt in the world and over 50 Indian companies have invested nearly $3.15 billion in the Egyptian market,” Md. Muddassir Quamar, associate professor at the Centre for West Asian Studies, told Arab News.
The first investment agreement by an Indian company with the SCZone was signed in February. Under the $5 million deal, India’s Volkov Infra will establish a plant producing silico manganese and ferrosilicon from quartz and manganese ore in the East Ismailia Industrial Zone, known as “Technology Valley,” Quamar said.
“These are encouraging signs and the two sides are likely to further strengthen trade, investment and economic relations given India is keen to capitalize on the growing economic opportunities in the Eastern Mediterranean region.”
Nightclub tragedy in North Macedonia hits a generation already doubting its future
- Most of the victims — the 59 killed and dozens injured in a frantic escape — were in their late teens or early 20s
- In a language school in Skopje, the nation’s capital, 14-year-old Mila Krstevska said she is shocked and disappointed
SKOPJE, North Macedonia: The deadly nightclub fire in North Macedonia at the weekend has struck the young of this country the most, with the emotional devastation it brought apparent everywhere, from classrooms to the streets.
Most of the victims — the 59 killed and dozens injured in a frantic escape — were in their late teens or early 20s, enjoying a night out with friends at Club Pulse in the eastern town of Kocani. There was live music, drinks and dancing until flames ripped through the packed club.
Now the nation’s youth, already doubtful about its future amid the young republic’s economic troubles, has been at the forefront of an outpouring of grief and anger. The disaster also exposed deep-seated frustrations among them.
In a language school in Skopje, the nation’s capital, 14-year-old Mila Krstevska said she is shocked and disappointed.
“I am very angry about everything that happened,” she told The Associated Press, her voice shaking. “It’s a sad thing to go to a disco to have fun and then turn to ashes.”
“I am disappointed in our country,” she added. “I love Macedonia but I would like to go abroad when I am older.”
North Macedonia’s unemployment rate is 12.8 percent, the second-highest in Europe, according to the International Monetary Fund. Almost one-fifth of those aged 15-24 are neither working nor in school or getting training, according to most-recent data from the International Labor Organization.
The country’s population shrank by nearly 10 percent over the past two decades, dropping below 2 million, according to census data. Most of those who leave are young people seeking better opportunities elsewhere.
For those left behind, Sunday’s fire is the first major tragedy for their generation, born after North Macedonia’s independence from war-torn former Yugoslavia. Candlelight vigils and demonstrations in the wake of the tragedy have been led by the young.
At one vigil this week in Kocani, a town of about 25,000 people, students dressed in black knelt silently, placing thin yellow candles in trays of sand, their flames flickering in the night.
Nearby, angry youths began chanting “Justice! Justice!” overturned a van as police stood by without stepping in, then used chairs and umbrella stands to trash a cafeteria run by one of the nightclub’s owners.
As the nation mourns, soccer games have been postponed, schools are holding vigils, television presenters are dressed in black on air. Flowers and candles are left in central locations of every town and city.
Skopje social worker and therapist Tanja Marcekic said the fire has profoundly impacted young people.
“There is a sense of revolt and great dissatisfaction. We all feel it,” she said.
But, she added, there could be a small silver lining. “I also see another side of young people — how they organize themselves, how they want to help and be active. Maybe that is the best way to improve their mental health.”
In Kocani, home to about 25,000 people, every family was touched by the disaster.
“I am a parent of two. I can’t even talk — sorry,” said Branko Bogatinov. His grown children, who now live in Germany, used to visit the nightclub when they were still in school.
“This could have happened to anyone,” he said.
German defense firm Hensoldt warns Europe still needs US
- “It will only be possible in the medium term for Germany and the EU to achieve autonomy in armaments without relying on American capabilities,” Doerre said
- The firm, based in the southern state of Bavaria, provides radars used in Ukraine to defend against Russian airstrikes
FRANKFURT: German defense firm Hensoldt has warned it will take time before European militaries can operate without American support as the continent races to rearm amid worries about US commitment to its security.
“It will only be possible in the medium term for Germany and the EU to achieve autonomy in armaments without relying on American capabilities,” Oliver Doerre, CEO of the defense electronics maker, told journalists on Tuesday.
The firm, based in the southern state of Bavaria, provides radars used in Ukraine to defend against Russian airstrikes.
European nations have been unsettled by signs of US President Donald Trump’s uncertain commitment to the continent’s defense and NATO, and were also shocked after he made overtures to Russia on the Ukraine war.
Responding to the geopolitical turmoil, German lawmakers Tuesday approved a plan to dramatically ramp up defense spending pushed by leader-in-waiting Friedrich Merz while the EU is seeking to mobilize huge sums for the continent to rearm.
But Doerre cautioned that it was “essential to continue our trusted collaboration with the American industry, particularly with Lockheed Martin,” in the areas of naval command systems and radar technologies.
He called for defense firms, both in Germany and Europe, to focus more on greater cooperation and less on competing with one another, and for Europe to improve when it comes to procurement of military gear.
Doerre, who served in the Germany military for over 20 years, said there were still “significant deficits in terms of capabilities” in the Germany army, despite a 100-billion-euro special fund set up to boost the armed forces after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Germany needs an estimated 300 billion to 500 billion euros for investments in equipment, infrastructure and extra personnel, he said.
Doerre said that Hensoldt was “ready” to boost its operations in response to growing demand, noting the company had invested one billion euros in recent years to ramp up production, and had hired 1,000 people alone last year.
