SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines: Australian and Filipino troops held exercises on Friday near flashpoint South China Sea waters claimed by China, with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos hailing them as an “extremely important” example of close cooperation.
China deploys hundreds of coast guard, navy and other vessels to patrol and militarize reefs in the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that its position has no legal basis.
Friday’s joint drills took place at a naval base about 240 kilometers east of Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground that China seized from the Philippines in 2012 after a tense standoff.
“Considering that there have been so many events that attest to the volatility of the region, this kind of exercise, this kind of close strategic cooperation between countries around the region is extremely important,” Marcos told reporters.
“It is an important aspect of how we prepare for any eventuality,” he said of the drills, which he watched with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles.
These are the first major air, sea and land drills between the two countries. They simulated retaking an enemy-controlled island.
About 1,200 Australian soldiers and 560 Filipino marines stormed a beach in the drill, arriving in amphibious assault vehicles, by parachute and on US Osprey aircraft.
Two advanced Australian F-35 fighter jets provided close air support, and Australian warships secured the surrounding waters.
The exercise came after Chinese coast guard vessels fired water cannon and blocked a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on August 5.
The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded a World War II-era vessel on the shoal and set up a tiny garrison in 1999 to check China’s advance in the area.
On Tuesday, a second Philippine mission managed to deliver supplies to the outpost.
The Chinese coast guard said it had decided to allow the resupply on humanitarian grounds as the Philippine vessels “did not carry illegal building materials for large-scale reinforcements.”
The Philippines hosted a meeting this week with its fellow members in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China to negotiate a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Philippine, Australian troops practice retaking island in South China Sea drill
https://arab.news/vdsj3
Philippine, Australian troops practice retaking island in South China Sea drill
- Friday’s joint drills took place at a naval base about 240 kilometers east of Scarborough Shoal
- About 1,200 Australian soldiers and 560 Filipino marines stormed a beach in the drill
Trump calls for ‘unconditional’ 30-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump called Thursday for a month-long unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, with any breaches punishable by sanctions.
“Talks with Russia/Ukraine continue. The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire,” Trump said on his Truth Social network shortly after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.”
Trump said that “both countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations” to halt the conflict that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The US president said he wanted any ceasefire to then build to a “lasting peace.”
“It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment’s notice if my services are needed.”
Trump opened talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in February in a bid to end the war that he had previously pledged to end within 24 hours of starting his second term.
But he has shown growing impatience, first with Zelensky and more recently with Putin as the fighting has continued.
Trump and other top US officials have stepped up warnings in recent weeks that Washington is prepared to walk away from its role as a broker if there is no progress soon.
Zelensky said on social media that he had told Trump Thursday that Ukraine was ready for talks on the war with Russia “in any format” but insisted that there first had to be a full ceasefire.
US VP Vance says India-Pakistan conflict ‘fundamentally none of our business’
WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said Washington wanted to see a “de-escalation” in a worsening conflict between India and Pakistan, but that it was “fundamentally none of our business.”
“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” said Vance, who has been a proponent of US disengagement from international conflicts, in an interview with Fox News.
Senegalese lawmakers weigh corruption cases against former ministers
DAKAR: Senegalese lawmakers on Thursday began debating whether to allow several former ministers to face charges before a special court over accusations they embezzled funds meant for the country’s fight against COVID-19.
Senegal’s National Assembly is controlled mainly by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s party, elected in March last year on a promise to change how the West African country is run compared to his predecessors.
Faye has made the fight against corruption a policy priority and has launched investigations into the administration of Macky Sall, president from 2012 for 12 years.
But the opposition has slammed the moves as a “witch hunt.”
Last Friday, lawmakers lifted parliamentary immunity from prosecution for two opposition MPs caught up in the allegations while serving in Sall’s administration.
Proceedings of this type are rare in Senegal, and lawmakers must authorize cases against former ministers in the exercise of their duties.
Moustapha Diop was the industrial development minister while Salimata Diop was the women’s affairs minister under Sall when the fund to fight the spread of Covid-19 was established in 2020-21.
Both have rejected accusations that they misappropriated any of the money, totaling one trillion CFA francs ($1.7 billion).
The funds were intended to reinforce the health care system, support households and the private sector, and protect jobs during the pandemic.
However, a December 2022 Court of Auditors report revealed irregularities, such as 2.7 billion CFA francs in over-invoicing of rice purchased for disadvantaged households and some 42 million CFA francs for sanitiser.
Three other former ministers accused are Amadou Mansour Faye, the former president’s brother-in-law, Aissatou Sophie Gladima, and Ismaila Madior Fall.
Several prominent figures, including artists, broadcasters, fashion designers, and senior officials, have been questioned during an investigation.
Parliament lifted immunity for Moustapha Diop and Salimata Diop last Friday as they were elected lawmakers in November after Sall left office.
A three-fifths majority of the 165 lawmakers is required to adopt each draft resolution, with voting by secret ballot.
The High Court’s investigative committee could then question the accused, who will decide whether or not to commit them for trial.
The court’s final decision is not subject to appeal.
Albania votes in election test for EU accession
- Vote — a first of its kind, as Albanians abroad can take part — pits outgoing Prime Minister Edi Rama against his arch-rival Sali Berisha
- Doors to Brussels, he says, are the key to ‘being able to give Albanians a European passport’ and allowing them to ‘benefit from the same rights as citizens of all other European countries’
TIRANA: Albanians go to the polls on Sunday for legislative elections seen as crucial to gauge the country’s democratic development and determine its widely held goal of a European future.
The vote — a first of its kind, as Albanians abroad can take part — pits outgoing Prime Minister Edi Rama against his arch-rival Sali Berisha, a right-winger who heads an alliance of opposition parties.
Rama, 60, has been Socialist Party leader since 2005 and is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive term on a promise of European Union membership by 2030.
The doors to Brussels, he says, are the key to “being able to give Albanians a European passport” and allowing them to “benefit from the same rights as citizens of all other European countries.”
Trying to stop Rama is Berisha, 80, who is eager to return to power after 12 years in opposition.
The former president heads an opposition coalition that has adopted a Donald Trump-like slogan, “Great Albania,” based on economic revival.
“We are the only ones who can relaunch the country’s economy, the only ones able to take Albania forward. Edi Rama is counting the last days of his regime,” said Berisha.
The campaign also gives him a chance to reburnish his image as a strong leader, despite being under the spotlight of Albanian justice, where he is suspected of being implicated in a corruption case that allegedly benefited his family.
Shortly before the end of a campaign marked by verbal excesses, particularly on social media, the latest polls indicated a win for Rama’s party.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meanwhile said there was “extreme political polarization” in the Balkan nation of 2.8 million.
Berisha accuses the socialists of “vote-buying, voter intimidation, pressure, use of public funds by ministers and majority candidates for their election campaign.”
Rama has dismissed the claims as “nothing but an excuse for defeat.”
For the first time in the history of elections in Albania, the diaspora is able to vote from abroad by post, in a test for the development of democratic processes and institutions, especially in the context of EU accession negotiations, which began in 2022.
According to official data from the central electoral commission, 245,935 Albanians not resident in Albania are registered to vote.
“Albania has made significant process on the path to EU accession, demonstrating its perseverance in implementing ambitious reforms for the benefit of its citizens,” Silvio Gonzato, the EU delegation’s ambassador in Albania, told AFP.
The losers have challenged the results of every election since the end of communism at the start of the 1990s on the grounds of fraud.
But this time round the vote is being closely watched and in another first, civil servants and justice officials will be deployed alongside the electoral commission and some 300 international observers.
The special prosecutor against corruption and organized crime has meanwhile just opened a verification procedure over a $6-million contract signed in April between an Albanian-American community foundation in the United States and the US lobbying firm Continental Strategy.
Continental Strategy was founded by Carlos Trujillo, a top adviser to Trump.
“The contract aims to strengthen relations between the United States and the Democratic Party, the main opposition force,” according to the party.
For Brussels, Sunday’s vote is a major new test for Albania, which has been a member of NATO since 2009.
“The organization of free and fair elections, in line with democratic norms and democratic values, will be an essential step to reinforce Albanian democracy, boost citizens’ trust in their elected representatives and advance the country’s European integration,” said Gonzato.
Just five days after the elections, Tirana will be the venue for the next European Political Community summit.
Portugal police arrest crime ring over fraudulent permits for 10,000 foreigners
- The foreigners paid to obtain bogus labor contracts that allowed them to stay in the
- Portugal’s center-right government has toughened some immigration rules in the past year
LISBON: Portuguese police have arrested 13 people they believe provided an estimated more than 10,000 foreigners with residence permits and documents allowing them to stay in Portugal and the European Union in exchange for bribes, police said on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Judicial Police force said the bribes paid to the group, which included a foreign ministry employee, a lawyer and several entrepreneurs, averaged 15,000 euros ($16,950) per person.
The foreigners paid to obtain bogus labor contracts that allowed them to stay in the country and then get residence permits, open bank accounts and access the social security system. Many of them have since left for other EU member states, police said.
Portugal’s center-right government has toughened some immigration rules in the past year, reflecting attempts elsewhere in Europe to fend off the rise of the far-right, and on Saturday vowed to deport 18,000 illegal migrants in the coming months.
It was not immediately clear if those who benefited from the illegal scheme counted among those.
Still, the country remains relatively open to migrants, particularly from Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa and from Brazil. Many experts argue that growing immigration has stoked economic growth.
While anti-immigration sentiment is expected to play a role in an early election on May 18, far-right party Chega has been steady or declining in opinion polls after a surge in the previous election last year. The center-right Democratic Alliance of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro looks set to win the most votes.
