President Tsai seeks Canada's support for Taiwan's CPTPP bid

03/02/2023 

President Tsai Ing-wen (first right) and Canada's representative to Taiwan Jim Nickel (third left) hold a talk at the Presidential Office in Taipei Thursday. CNA photo Mar. 2, 2023


Taipei, March 2 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday expressed hope that Canada would support Taiwan's bid to join a cross-national trade pact, during a meeting with the country's representative to Taiwan Jim Nickel.

Taiwan's ascension to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) would allow Taiwan and Canada to work together to promote economic prosperity, as the two nations have complementary economies, Tsai said.

Taiwan applied in September 2021 to join the CPTPP, which is one of the world's biggest trade blocs, representing a market of 500 million people and accounting for 13.5 percent of global trade.

Any new ascension to the trade pact requires the unanimous support of its signatories, which currently include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Hence, the government is keen to join the trade bloc ahead of China, which submitted its CPTPP application less than a week prior to Taiwan, to avoid a situation where Beijing could veto Taiwan's ascension.

Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations said in January that the government would seek the approval of the CPTPP's member states to establish "a working group" in 2023 to review Taiwan's application.

The trade bloc's commission is currently in negotiations with the United Kingdom, which submitted a formal request to join the trade bloc in February 2021.

Meanwhile, Tsai expressed hope that Taiwan and Canada would further broaden bilateral collaboration with the help of Nickel, who took up the post of executive director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei last September.

In his remarks, Nickel did not touch upon the topic of the CPTPP, according to a press release issued by the Presidential Office after the meeting,

The representative expressed hope that Canada could further deepen its trade and economic partnerships with Taiwan, especially in the areas of supply chain security, net-zero emissions, and digital transition.

At the same time, Nickel went on, Canada looked forward to strengthening its people-to-people ties with Taiwan through cultural, educational and parliamentary exchanges.


(By Teng Pei-ju)

Enditem/ASG

Biden admin's 9th $619M arms package approved for Taiwan

$557,100,000,000,000,000,000,000
Weapons sale 'basis for maintaining regional stability,' says Taiwan

2/03/2023 Thursday
AA


The US Joe Biden administration approved its ninth arms sale package worth around $619 million to Taiwan, which the self-ruled island said will help “boost the combat readiness” of its air force.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department has made a “determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to Taiwan, including F-16 munitions and related equipment, for an estimated cost of $619 million.

It said the agency delivered the required certification notifying the US Congress of this possible sale on Wednesday.

The sale came on a day when 25 Chinese aircraft flew around the island nation across Taiwan Strait.

On Thursday, 29 Chinese aircraft flew around the island nation of around 24 million people which China claims as its “breakaway province.”

Beijing has time and again urged Washington to halt any military engagement or arms sales to Taiwan. It has also sanctioned defense American contractors for selling weapons to the island nation.

US Congress is expected to approve the latest arms sale, which includes 100 AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), 23 HARM training missiles, 200 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), four AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM Guidance Sections and 26 LAU-129 multi-purpose launchers, within this month.

The US defense sales agency said Raytheon Missiles and Defense, and Lockheed Martin Corporation will supply the approved arms to Taiwan.

It added the new arms supply to Taiwan “will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.”

It will “contribute to the recipient’s capability to provide for the defense of its airspace, regional security, and interoperability with the US,” the US agency added.

Expressing “sincere gratitude” to Washington over the deal, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said: “Weapons are the basis for maintaining regional stability.”

Proposed missile sale highlights U.S.' growing trust in Taiwan: Analyst

03/02/2023

Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM). Photo taken from Raytheon Missiles & Defense's website

Taipei, March 2 (CNA) Washington's trust in Taipei has been underlined by its announcement on Wednesday of a sales package to Taiwan including one of the most advanced missiles in active service on U.S. warplanes, a military expert said on Thursday.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced on Wednesday an US$619 million arms sale package to Taiwan consisting of F-16 munitions, including 200 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), 100 AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), 23 HARM training missiles, four AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM Guidance Sections, and 26 LAU-129 multi-purpose launchers.

If approved by the U.S. Congress, the package will mark the first time that the U.S. is selling Taiwan the AIM-120C-8 missiles, also known as AIM-120D, which are also fielded on advanced U.S. fighter jets including F/A-18, F-22, and F-35.

The AIM-120C-8 missile is the latest update to the AIM-120 family of AMRAAMs whose initial operating capability was only declared in 2015.

It features a two-way data link, improved navigation using a GPS-enhanced Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an expanded no-escape envelope, improved high-angle off-boresight capability, and a 50-percent increase in range compared with the older AIM-120C-7 missiles.

It is often deployed on planes in combination with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles to fulfill short- to mid-range combat needs.

The AIM-120C-8 missiles are also used by Japan's air force to defend against Chinese and Russian warplanes.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Taiwan government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the AIM-120C-8 features a greatly increased range of 160 km -- about 1.5 times that of the previous version, AIM-120C-7.

In addition, its expanded no-escape envelope and high-angle off-boresight capability mean there is less chance of escape for enemy aircraft within firing range, Su said.

While a pilot traditionally has to lock on to the tail of an enemy aircraft using a targeting system before initiating a strike, the off-boresight launch capability means that pilots will be able to fire the missiles at extreme angles, he said.

This capability, coupled with the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), means that pilots would no longer be encumbered by the absence of a clear line of sight for an attack, as they would be able to fire off a missile at an enemy aircraft flanking them just by taking a look over their shoulder, he said.

F-16 fighter jet. CNA file photo

Taiwan first acquired 50 AGM-88B missiles from the U.S. from the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, he said.

With the addition of the proposed 100 AGM-88B missiles, it would bolster the ability of Taiwan's air force to target the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) coastal radar stations, communications stations, and marine radars, he said.

Although shown on the announcement as simply AGM-88B, it is widely believed that the missiles being proposed for sale to Taiwan are in fact upgraded units from the HARM Control Section Modification (HCSM) program in 2018 that boast an increased range of 180 km.

According to Su, the newly announced arms sale package has political significance in that the AIM-120C-8 is currently deployed on some of the U.S.' most advanced warplanes.

This demonstrates the deepening bilateral ties and trust the U.S. has in Taiwan, he said.

Meanwhile, Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow with the Kuomintang (KMT) think tank National Policy Foundation, said that Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) "took a step in the right direction" by purchasing the missiles, as it would expand Taiwan's arsenal of missiles, which would be an effective deterrent against PLA warships and aircraft.

The AGM-88B missiles would allow Taiwan's air force to target the radar systems on PLA ships during war, thereby forcing them to retreat, Chieh said.

They could also be deployed against radar stations along China's southeastern coast, he added.

If Taiwan's air force can suppress enemy fire, creating a window for a counterstrike, Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF) carrying domestically developed Wan Chien air-to-ground missiles could deter the PLA from deploying air defense missiles against other Taiwanese aircraft, he said.

In a statement, the MND said the procurement of the two types of missiles was aimed at bolstering certain aspects of Taiwan's defense capabilities and building a stockpile of weaponry in the face of growing threat by the PLA, and would be consistent with its principle of being prepared for war at all times.

(By Matt Yu and Sean Lin)

Enditem/HY

U.S. ups China friction with $619 million arms sale to Taiwan

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 2, 2023

Air Force soldiers clear the ground in front of an armed F-16V fighter jet
SAM YEH/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The U.S. has approved more arms sales to Taiwan, including $619 million worth of munitions for F-16 fighter jets, in a decision likely to be yet another point of friction between the U.S. and China, which claims the island as its own territory.

The State Department said in a statement Wednesday night it had approved sales of missiles to be used with the F-16s as well as equipment to support the missiles. That includes AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles, as well as air-to-air missiles and launchers.

Taiwan is unofficially supported by the U.S. and has a fleet of F-16s bought from the U.S.

Tensions between China and the U.S. are at their highest level in years over American support for the self-governed island, including visits by high-ranking politicians, and a host of other issues, including a suspected Chinese spy balloon that crossed the U.S. before being shot down last month.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and has been stepping up its military and diplomatic harassment. The sides split amid civil war in 1949, and China’s authoritarian Communist Party has never held sway over the island.

The United States is Taiwan’s main supplier of military equipment, and China has objected to past sales with sanctions and other actions.

Once arms sales are approved, delivering them can take years, and Taiwan has cited consistent delays in receiving weapons it has purchased.

The arms will be provided by Raytheon Missiles and Defense and Lockheed Martin Corporation.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

What is the Willow Project? The US oil plan explained and why there’s a petition to stop the scheme

A proposed oil development in Alaska is causing uproar in the US, with some campaigners arguing it would disrupt ecosystems

The Biden administration is weighing approval of a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope (Photo: ConocoPhillips via AP)

By Jessie Williams

March 2, 2023 

Campaigners in the US are fighting to stop a proposed large-scale oil development in northern Alaska that they say will cause irreparable harm to the fragile Arctic environment and indigenous communities.

The Biden administration is currently deliberating whether to approve the Willow Project, which would involve drilling down into Alaska’s North Slope, which is said to be petroleum-rich.

Opponents have launched several petitions, including one on Change.org that claims the project would “emit more climate pollution annually than more than 99.7 per cent of all single point sources” in the US. The petition has been signed by more than 1.2 million people.

However, representatives of local Alaska Natives say the project would bring economic benefits to the region.

What is the Willow Project?

Announced in 2017, the project is being run by ConocoPhillips, Alaska’s largest crude oil producer. It estimates that at its peak the drilling will produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day – 600 million barrels over the life of the project.

ConocoPhillips say the construction work is expected to create 2,000 jobs and 300 permanent roles.

The company cites the Bureau of Land Management in claiming the project could generate between $8 billion and $17 billion (£6.7bn-£14.2bn) in revenue for the federal government, the State of Alaska, the North Slope Borough, and communities in and around the area.

If it gets the green light from the Biden administration, it will be the biggest oil field in the US in decades, and will be an “economic lifeline” to indigenous communities, say supporters.

There is also “widespread support” in the North Slope region, said Nagruk Harcharek, president of the group Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, whose members include leaders from across much of the region.

In a letter addressed to the US Department of Interior, Mr Harcharek wrote of the economic benefits for the community and urged the administration to approve the project and “move as quickly as possible” to begin construction.

Why are people opposed to it?

Activists argue that the Willow Project goes against Joe Biden’s pledges to tackle the climate crisis.

They say that going ahead with this project would make it impossible for the President to achieve his climate goals, increasing CO2 emissions while putting the local region at risk of an oil spill.

In April 2021, President Biden set a new national goal to reduce emissions by 50-52 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030. According to campaigners, the project will produce nearly 250 million metric tons of CO2 over the next 30 years.

One of Mr Biden’s key campaign promises during the 2020 election was to stop new oil and gas drilling on federal lands and expand clean energy such as wind and solar power.

According to another campaigner, the noise, traffic, and pollution the project brings will disrupt ecosystems vital to the lives of Indigenous Alaskans, as well as threatening the already vulnerable caribou (wild reindeer) population, which many native communities rely on.

The project has caused widespread anger with the Change.org petition gathering over 1.2 million signatures, nationwide protests, and the hashtag #StopWillow trending on Twitter.

Big companies and organisations like Patagonia and Greenpeace USA have also voiced their disapproval online.

What will happen now?

A decision by the Biden administration on whether the project will go ahead is expected early this month.

If the US government rejects the project, it could face a lengthy legal challenge and find itself at odds with vital Alaskan representatives in Congress.

The administration could also attempt a compromise, by banning drilling in the Arctic Ocean off the North Slope or providing more habitat protections elsewhere in the state, insiders told US media.

The China – Solomon Islands security agreement and the competition in the South China Sea

March 2, 2023
By Dr.Nadia Helmy

China attaches great importance to strongly enhancing its influence in the South Pacific region, by consolidating and developing its relations with the island countries there, led by the “Solomon Islands” and its capital “Honiara”. This was evident in the development of relations between Beijing and Honiara in the recent period, as part of a plan China to encircle the islands surrounding the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. At a time when the Solomon Islands are pursuing a foreign policy characterized by flexibility and maneuver, by exploiting the geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing and employing it to serve its interests and maximize its gains as much as possible.

And China has become dependent on its surrounding regional relations to mobilize all parties to recognize China’s right to the disputed islands in the South China Sea, or what is known as (the line of nine sectors), which refers to the lines of demarcation used by China to prove its right to the largest part of the Sea of ​​​​China. South China, which includes most of the disputed areas in the South China Sea, which are mainly:

(The Paracel Islands, the Spartly Islands, and many others, including Brattas Island, Vereker’s Grove, Macclesfield Shelf, and the Scarborough Shoal)

Hence the first Chinese reaction to the security moves of the United States of America in the Indo-Pacific region in the American sense or the Asia-Pacific region in the Chinese concept, especially after the United States of America signed the Quad Quadruple agreement with Australia, India and Japan and the Aukus nuclear defense and security agreement with Australia and Britain, to surround and limiting China mainly in its areas of direct influence in the South China Sea. Therefore, the Chinese reaction came through the establishment of Chinese security alliances in response to the American counterpart, coinciding with the conduct of military exercises of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in that region, so China proceeded to sign a security agreement with the Solomon Islands group, under the name (Shanghai Declaration), which sparked International fears that China is about to declare effective control of the South China Sea. Especially since Australia is located 1,500 km south of the Solomon Islands.

The problem of the South China Sea is related to the existence of disputes over the division of maritime borders between China and a group of countries bordering the sea, such as Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan, as allies of Washington, each of which claims that it has the right to its territorial waters. Disagreements are still burning over the Spratly and Brasilian islands. So China released its famous map known as (The Nine Lines), through which it asserted its historical rights to it. At the same time, China worked to build artificial islands that were built on coral reefs in the region, which the United States of America and other surrounding countries are still warning of, but China confirms the legitimacy of its policy towards the South China Sea.

The South China Sea is the most important water area for the world economy. It passes through about a third of world trade. It is also the most dangerous sea that could witness a military confrontation between the United States of America and China. The most prominent indication of this possibility appears in the insistence of the United States, along with other countries in the region such as South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and others, to consider this sea an international and open shipping lane, while China constantly asserts that it is an integral part of its lands and internal seas, similar to its dealings with Taiwan insists on independence.

Currently, China’s construction of “three artificial islands in the South China Sea” raises Taiwan’s concerns as an ally of the United States of America about whether it should extend the runway of Taiping Island to handle larger warplanes. The commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region “John Aquilino”, confirmed in March 2022 that the Chinese army had already completed the militarization of the three artificial islands, and armed them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and combat aircraft against Taiwan and Washington’s allied regimes such as the Philippines and Japan.

In the same context, the security agreement signed between China and the Solomon Islands, known as the “Shanghai Declaration”, has raised international concerns that Beijing is intensifying its efforts to obtain what it calls historical rights over the entire South China Sea, bearing in mind that this happened after several hours after Washington announced that it would send officials to the Solomon Islands to express US concerns about the possibility of establishing a military foothold for China in those islands.

China is not satisfied with building military bases and artificial islands in its maritime borders in the South China Sea, but its school curricula include maps showing that China’s borders touch the coasts of other countries. Chinese schoolchildren have been taught for decades that their country’s borders extend more than 1,000 miles to the coast of Malaysia. Beijing bases its claims and defense officially on the fact that Chinese activities in the South China Sea date back more than two thousand years, and therefore have a basis in international law, including the customary law of discovery and occupation and the historical name. The United States of America officially responds that the South China Sea, according to international law, is an open water called “the maritime commons of Asia”, meaning that it is for all countries. Other countries agree in this opinion, such as: Australia, Britain and Japan. The US State Department asserts that China has no legal basis for its demands, which constitute the greatest threat to freedom of the seas in modern times.

Because of the Sino-American differences regarding China’s activities around the South China Sea, the United States of America entered into joint security and defense agreements with its regional allies neighboring China in the Indo-Pacific region in the American sense or Asia Pacific in the Chinese concept, where the United States of America entered into the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership Agreement, the Quad Quadruple Agreement with Australia, India and Japan, and the controversial Aukus nuclear defense and security agreement with Australia and Britain, to ensure control of Chinese influence and expansion in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

At the present time, there is a US-Chinese competition over the disputed islands in the South China Sea, with the participation of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy in several maneuvers and military exercises using several different types of ships and dozens of warplanes in combat-oriented naval maneuvers in the South China Sea. , which arouses the anger, fears and provocation of Washington. This is what was confirmed by the Chinese General “Tian Junli”, who is a spokesman for the Southern Operations Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, that the Chinese aircraft carrier conducted the exercises in a professional and standard manner in accordance with internationally recognized laws and regulations.

The US response to the Chinese military deployment in the South China Sea region came by strengthening the US military’s presence in the region, in an effort to deter China, which is carrying out a process of steadily modernizing and expanding its military and nuclear capabilities in that region.

In my belief, the matter will not reach an armed confrontation between Washington and Beijing, but rather the case of “the militarization of the South China Sea and Washington and Beijing’s attempt to increase their allies in that region through agreements, alliances… etc”, which we notice from the deployment of US warships in the region surrounding the South China Sea, will continue. And that at a higher rate in recent years, in a “show of American military power” in the face of Chinese demands in the South China Sea, without the matter reaching the level of armed confrontation between the two parties.

Hence we understand, and based on the growth of China’s military power in its South Sea, there is a situation similar to “the militarization of the South China Sea in light of the Sino-American competition”, with a quasi-security agreement between the United States of America and its partners in that region, such as India, Vietnam and Singapore, to increase the pace of armament. In the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, Japan also tends to do the same. On the other hand, China continues to support its naval forces on an ongoing basis, within the framework of the extended Sino-American policy of response and reaction in that region and an attempt to mobilize each of them allies.

Scientists discover corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza
Reuters

Tourists ride camels in front of the Great Pyramids plateau in Giza, Egypt December 11, 2022. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

CAIRO, March 2 (Reuters) - Egyptian antiquities officials announced on Thursday the discovery of a hidden nine metre-long corridor behind the main entrance of the Great Pyramid of Giza that they said could lead to further findings.

The find was made under the Scan Pyramids project that since 2015 has been using modern technology including scans and endoscopes to peer inside the pyramid, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.

The unfinished corridor was likely built to relieve the weight of the pyramid on either the main entrance, seven metres below, or on another as yet undiscovered chamber or space, said Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The Great Pyramid was built as a monumental tomb around 2560 BC, during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops.

It stands at a height of 146 metres (479 feet), the tallest structure built by humankind until the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1889.

Japan’s ‘Happy Science’ cult leader Okawa, who claimed he spoke to spirits of Jesus and Freddie Mercury, dies

Ryuho Okawa was the singular leader and founder of the Japanese “Happy Science” cult. 

PHOTO: AFP

TOKYO - Ryuho Okawa, the leader of the Japanese “Happy Science” cult, who claimed to be able to communicate with the spirits of everyone from Jesus Christ to Donald Trump, died on Thursday at age 66, local media reported.

He was rushed to a hospital after collapsing in his home in Tokyo earlier this week, and his death was confirmed on Thursday, according to major media, including national broadcaster NHK and Jiji press agency. The cause of the death was not immediately known, Fuji TV said.

Officials from Happy Science could not be reached for immediate comment on the reported death.


Mr Okawa was the singular leader and founder of the group, which was started in 1986 and claims to have members in more than 168 countries.

The group believes in spiritual reincarnation and the construction of a global utopia, but faced public opposition for the personality cult around Mr Okawa, including from his own son Hiroshi.

In 2020, he told the New York Times his father had “relentlessly lied to his followers.”

“I believe what my father does is complete nonsense.”

Among Japan’s public, Mr Okawa was perhaps best known for claiming to be able to channel the spirits of the rich and famous, as well as the books he authored based on what he said the spirits told him.

Recent publications include addresses from the spirits of Russian President Vladimir Putin on his decision to invade Ukraine, Jesus Christ on the pandemic, and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury after the movie Bohemian Rhapsody.

While Mr Okawa stayed away from popular media, he was a constant presence in newspapers that carried advertisements for his latest books, as well as occasional movies and music.

He claimed to have had an epiphany at age 24, when he acquired an ability to communicate with spirits and realised his mission was “to lead humanity to happiness”.

Mr Okawa launched a political party in 2009 that advocates for a small government based on religious teaching, along with containing the rise of China and limiting the rights of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community.

The “Happy Realisation” party has yet to win national seats, though its members have won local assembly seats.

Fringe religious groups have historically been able to operate in Japan with relatively few restrictions, but they have come under renewed scrutiny since the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe last July.

His alleged assassin Tetsuya Yamagami reportedly targeted Mr Abe over his links to the Unification Church

In the wake of the killing, ties between the Church and senior politicians were revealed, and Japan’s government passed new legislation intended to prevent religious groups from extracting massive donations from followers.

Mr Okawa was born in 1956 in the rural Tokushima region. He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Japan’s top academy, and joined a trading firm before quitting to start the cult. 

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AFP

UK Govt considered culling all pet cats at the start of the pandemic in bid to prevent spreading, says ex-health minister

2 March 2023, 

Ministers briefly considered ordering all domestic cats in Britain to be killed. Picture: Alamy/Parliament UK

By Emma Soteriou

Ministers briefly considered ordering all domestic cats in Britain to be killed amid fears they could be spreading Covid, a former health minster has said

Lord Bethell said the concern about pets underlined how little was known about the disease at the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

He explained that evidence had surfaced around possible transmission so the scenario had to be "investigated and closed down".

"What we shouldn't forget is how little we understood about this disease," Lord Bethell said.

"There was a moment we were very unclear about whether domestic pets could transmit the disease.

"In fact, there was an idea at one moment that we might have to ask the public to exterminate all the cats in Britain."

He told Channel 4 News: "Can you imagine what would have happened if we had wanted to do that?"

"And yet, for a moment there was a bit of evidence around that so that had to be investigated and closed down."

Read more: Exclusive: Matt Hancock told to quit as MP after WhatsApp messages over care home Covid tests leak

Read more: Matt Hancock denies claim he ignored Chris Whitty's advice on care home testing after damaging messages leaked

Lord Bethell was Matt Hancock's deputy in the Department of Health. Picture: UK Government

Lord Bethell was Matt Hancock's deputy in the Department of Health and Social from 2020 to 2021.

His comments came after the Telegraph began publishing details of tens of thousands of leaked Whatsapp messages exchanged between Mr Hancock and other senior figures during the pandemic.

Messages also revealed that Matt Hancock was reportedly involved in a behind-the-scenes clash with then-education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson over moves to keep classrooms open.

Mr Hancock mounted a “rearguard action” to close schools despite Sir Gavin fighting “tooth and nail” to keep them open.

Meanwhile, the outlet also revealed that Mr Hancock had rejected the advice of Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, to test all residents going into care homes a month into the pandemic.

The MP denied the "distorted account" with a spokesman alleging the messages leaked by journalist Isabel Oakeshott after she worked on his Pandemic Diaries memoir have been "spun to fit an anti-lockdown agenda".

A spokesperson for Mr Hancock added the messages had been "doctored".

Dog rescued from Turkey earthquake rubble 3 weeks later as human death toll soars over 50,000


MARCH 2, 2023 /

Istanbul — Rescuers pulled a dog alive from a collapsed building in southern Turkey three weeks after last month's deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake, local media reported Thursday, as the human death toll from the disaster soared over 50,000. Teams from a local municipality in central Turkey saved Aleks the dog on Wednesday and delivered him to Haytap, a Turkish animal protection association in the city of Antakya.

A video from DHA news agency shows rescuers reaching between two large concrete slabs and calling to the trapped canine.

A rescuer caresses a dog, named "Aleks," who was getting treatment after being rescued from rubble 22 days after massive earthquakes hit Antakya, in southern Turkey, Feb. 28, 2023.

GOKHAN BALCI/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY

"Is he coming?" one rescuer was heard saying, crouching inside a small hollow in the debris of the collapsed building.

"Aleks, come, my dear," one rescuer calls to the dog. "Well done, my son."

Images then showed the rescuers embracing the dog, who appears to be alert and in good health, and offering him water.

"Every living thing matters to us, human beings or animals," one local was quoted as saying by the privately-owned DHA agency after the miracle rescue.

Rescue workers have saved hundreds of trapped cats, dogs, rabbits and birds cherished by the locals in Antakya, one of the cities flattened by the disaster.

A dog named "Aleks" was receiving treatment after being rescued after 22 days trapped under rubble following massive earthquakes that hit southern Turkey, Febr. 28, 2023.

GOKHAN BALCI/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY

Haytap has rescued dogs, rabbits, cows and even birds from the rubble in Antakya, after receiving calls from tearful owners or neighbors.

In the organization's tent, vets are providing care and treatment for the wounded animals.

Animal rescue stories are a balm for the country, which has been left in shock by the worst natural disaster in Turkey's post-Ottoman history.

Turkish officials have put the death toll from the earthquake, along with a second, 7.5-magnitude temblor that struck just nine hours later, at more than 45,000 people in Turkey alone. Almost 6,000 people have been confirmed dead across the border in northern Syria, according to the government and aid workers in the rebel-held northern region.

A monitoring group based in the U.K., the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources in the rebel-held part of the civil-war-torn nation, said this week that the toll had climbed closer to 7,000 people, but official agencies haven't updated their figures in several days.

Palestinian officials welcome US condemnation of Israeli minister’s call to “wipe out” West Bank town


RAMALLAH, Thursday, March 02, 2023 (WAFA) – Palestinian officials Wednesday welcomed US condemnation of an Israeli minister’s call to “wipe out” Huwwara town, south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

The US State Department Wednesday condemned Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comments in which he called for the Palestinian village of Huwwara to be "wiped out", and said the remarks were "repugnant, irresponsible and disgusting".

US State Department spokesman Ned Price called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials to "publicly and clearly" disavow Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's comments.

"I want to be very clear about this. These comments were irresponsible. They were repugnant. They were disgusting," Price told reporters on Wednesday.

He added that Smotrich’s “provocative” remarks “amount to incitement to violence”.

“We welcome the statement of the US State Department, which considered the statements of the terrorist Smotrich to wipe out #Huwara as irresponsible, disgusting, and calls for violence,” Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee Hussein al-Sheikh tweeted.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also welcomed the US condemnation of Smotrich’s remarks, and called for the US to combine its condemnation with action that would bring Israeli crimes to a halt and pave the way to a political horizon that would bring an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories that began in 1967 in line with United Nations resolutions and international law.

On Wednesday, Smotrich, who in addition to being finance minister is responsible for Israel's civil administration in the occupied West Bank, said Israel should "wipe out" the Palestinian village of Huwwara in the wake of a violent rampage by settlers on Sunday.

“The Palestinian village of Huwwara should be wiped out. I think that the State of Israel needs to do that – not, God forbid, private individuals,” he said.

This genocidal call came just days after hordes of Israeli settlers, protected by the army, attacked the occupied West Bank village, burning Palestinian homes and cars and ransacking businesses.

One Palestinian was killed in the rampage, which was the settlers’ revenge for the killing of two of their fellow colonists in the village on Sunday by unknown assailants.

Smotrich is a senior Israeli minister who has just been handed sweeping powers over the occupied West Bank.

His call for wiping out Huwwara came in response to a question on an Israeli television show about why he had “liked” a tweet from another settler leader who had urged that “the village of Huwwara should be wiped out today.”

And in a similar spirit, Zvika Fogel, an Israeli general and a lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, had praised the pogrom in the Palestinian village.

“A closed, burnt Huwwara – that’s what I want to see,” Fogel said.

And on 26 February, the day of the Huwwara pogrom, Smotrich himself incited Israel to “mercilessly” attack Palestinian cities with tanks and helicopters for the killing of the two settlers.

He urged that Israel should show through vengeful violence that “the owner of the house” – meaning Jews – “has gone mad” in order to deter Palestinians from any sort of resistance.

And wiping out whole towns and villages isn’t new either: Zionist militias destroyed hundreds of them during 1948, as they expelled and murdered Palestinians during the Nakba in order to establish Israel over the ruins of their lives and society.

Ever since, the Israeli settler-colony has been destroying Palestinian homes and communities and stealing their land under the guise of “legal” procedures that have no legitimacy whatsoever.

K.F.

Netanyahu denounces ‘anarchists’ after protest outside wife’s hair salon

2 March 2023, 10:24

Israel Politics. Picture: PA

Demonstrators outside the salon chanted ‘shame, shame’ at the end of a day of demonstrations against the government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies have denounced protesters as “anarchists” after they massed outside a Tel Aviv salon where his wife was getting her hair done at the end of a day of demonstrations against the government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Sara Netanyahu has long been a polarising figure in Israel, and the incident late on Wednesday in a posh neighbourhood in Tel Aviv reflected Israel’s emotionally charged divide over the overhaul, seen by opponents as an existential threat to the country.

Demonstrators outside the salon chanted “shame, shame” but did not try to force their way inside. Hundreds of police were sent to the scene and eventually escorted her into a limousine.

Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu and his political partners showed no signs of easing up on a push to pass a series of bills to overhaul Israel’s judiciary. These moves have further inflamed an already deeply riven country and drawn the largest protests in over a decade.

Israelis wave national flags during a protest against plans by Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government to overhaul the judicial system (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

Protest organisers planned more demonstrations on Thursday, a day after their self-proclaimed “day of disruption” turned violent when police used a heavy hand against participants at a Tel Aviv rally.

Thursday’s demonstrations in Jerusalem are expected to include speeches by former government ministers and senior security officials.

Former top economists, including two former Bank of Israel heads and a Nobel Prize laureate, were set to speak at a conference in Tel Aviv about the economic fallout from the overhaul.

Justice minister Yariv Levin, one of the architects of the judicial overhaul, said on Wednesday night that despite the mounting public outcry, Mr Netanyahu’s government “will not stop the legislation”.

The proposed bills would give politicians and parliament control over judicial appointments, the power to overrule the Supreme Court and the ability to pass laws impervious to judicial review.

Critics of the plan include a growing number of former senior military figures, academics, economists and business leaders.

They say the changes will erode the country’s delicate system of checks and balances and erode democratic institutions.

Mr Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies say the changes are necessary to rein in the power of unelected judges.

Police handcuff an Israeli woman detained at a protest in Jerusalem (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

The battle over the judiciary overhaul comes as Netanyahu’s trial on charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust drags on.

Israel’s leader has dismissed the charges against him as part of a “witch hunt” by biased law enforcement, judiciary and press.

On Wednesday, tens of thousands of Israelis took part in demonstrations across the country against what they saw as an attempt by Mr Netanyahu’s new government to weaken the Supreme Court and concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition.

Protesters blocked highways and major intersections in Tel Aviv and massed outside the prime minister’s official residence in Jerusalem.

For the first time since protests began two months ago, the scene on the streets turned violent after public security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a hardline nationalist settler, ordered police to take tougher action against demonstrators he claimed were “anarchists”.

At least 11 people were treated in hospital and police arrested dozens.

Wednesday’s events reached a crescendo outside a north Tel Aviv salon where the prime minister’s wife was getting her hair done.

Moshe Butbul, a hair stylist from the salon, told the Israeli news site Ynet that another client posted a selfie with Mrs Netanyahu. He claimed that “within minutes thousands arrived”, though the actual number of protesters may have been smaller, judging by videos posted online.

Reporters at the scene said the crowd kept its distance and did not attempt to break into the salon.

Mr Ben-Gvir then dispatched large numbers of security forces to the salon, saying on Twitter that he had ordered police to “save her life” from the demonstrators “besieging” the salon.

Hundreds of police officers, including mounted police, broke a path through the demonstration to let a car approach. Protected by a phalanx of police, Sara Netanyahu was escorted out of the salon and into the vehicle, which drove off under heavy police escort.

“The anarchy has to stop,” Mr Netanyahu said in a Facebook post accompanied by a picture of him embracing his wife. “This can lead to the loss of life.”

By Press Association

What’s driving the players behind Israel’s legal overhaul?

By Tia Goldenberg

The Associated Press
Thu., March 2, 2023

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — In Israel’s divisive debate over the government’s planned legal overhaul, proponents claim that curtailing the power of judges and courts is good for the country.

But, as their opponents often counter, other factors may be in play: Some of the leading politicians clamoring for these changes either face legal problems or believe the courts are obstructing their ideological agendas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies say the overhaul will rein in an unelected judiciary. Critics warn that it will upend Israel’s system of checks and balances, give too much power to the premier and push the country toward authoritarianism.


Here is a look at the key players who are pushing ahead with the overhaul, despite mass protests and opposition from business leaders, security chiefs and legal officials, as well as concern from Israel’s international allies.

NETANYAHU ON TRIAL

Netanyahu is on trial for corruption, charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals involving media moguls and wealthy associates.

While he was once seen as a defender of the courts, since being indicted, he has blasted the system for carrying out what he says is a witch hunt against him.


His detractors say Netanyahu is seeking an escape route from his trial. One part of the overhaul would give the government control over the appointment of judges. If that passes, Netanyahu, through his government, could install sympathetic judges who could decide his fate. Netanyahu denies the overhaul is linked to his trial.

Israel’s attorney general has barred Netanyahu from dealing with the overhaul, citing potential conflict of interest. But that isn’t expected to slow progress on it.

Netanyahu’s justice minister, Yariv Levin, is barreling forward. Levin has even said the charges against Netanyahu helped spark the need for the overhaul.

REPEAT OFFENDER

A Netanyahu ally in his coalition government is also burdened by criminal charges. Aryeh Deri was convicted and put on probation last year in a plea bargain for tax offenses. He also sat in prison for 22 months in the early 2000s for bribery, fraud and breach of trust for crimes committed while he was interior minister in the 1990s.

Deri was at the fulcrum of the country’s battle over the power of the courts earlier this year when Netanyahu was forced to fire him after the Supreme Court determined that it wasn’t reasonable for the repeat offender to serve as a Cabinet minister.

After the setback, the coalition doubled down on legislating Deri back into the government. In the meantime, he remains a force in parliament.

“Deri is driven by his own interests and vendetta,” said Yohanan Plesner of the Israel Democracy Institute think tank. “There is no way he can serve in the government unless the court’s authorities are dramatically cut down or reduced.”

A Deri spokesman denied the allegation, saying the politician believes the overhaul is necessary to restore a balance between the executive and judicial branches.

ULTRA-ORTHODOX INTERESTS

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews, who have a strong voice in the current government, have long felt that the courts threaten their way of life.

Their chief political objective is to continue exemptions for religious men from military conscription. Under a decades-old system, ultra-Orthodox men have been allowed to skip the country’s compulsory military service to instead study Jewish religious texts. That has prompted resentment from secular Israelis who have challenged the system at the Supreme Court, which has demanded the government set up a more equitable framework.

Successive governments have tried to meet the standards of the top court, which has struck down laws seen as favoring the ultra-Orthodox and has emerged as a threat to the community.

The ultra-Orthodox consider religious study — and avoiding military service — key to protecting their insular communities. Experts see military service as a way to integrate the ultra-Orthodox into the workforce. Many men in the community, which makes up 13% of the country’s population, do not work, putting a burden on the economy.

Secular Israelis and groups that promote Jewish pluralism have voiced concern that once judicial oversight is scaled back, the ultra-Orthodox will use their political clout to make the country’s character more religious. They point to attempts by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers to limit business and public works on the Jewish Sabbath as examples of what could lie ahead.

SLIGHTED BY THE DISENGAGEMENT

Pro-settler parties are an essential part of Netanyahu’s government. Simcha Rothman, a West Bank settler, is spearheading the overhaul as head of a parliamentary committee.

The courts have both sided with settlers and opposed them in past rulings, including about unauthorized outposts built on private Palestinian land. Many settlers nonetheless see the justice system as hostile to their desire to expand settlements and ultimately annex the West Bank.

Much of the settlers’ anger toward the court goes back to Israel’s withdrawal of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005, when the justices sided with the government. At the time, settlers and their supporters demonstrated in large numbers against the withdrawal, which they felt was unfairly imposed on them. The withdrawal frequently comes up in the current heated debate, with settler leaders claiming that large segments of Israeli society that support the current protests did not back them during what they say was a deeply troubling time.

“Where were you during the disengagement,” firebrand settler leader and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly asked bank chiefs earlier this year when they warned about the overhaul’s adverse effects on the economy.

Commentator Raviv Drucker said this signals the settlers’ real motivations. “The text was clear: The media and the judiciary rode roughshod over opponents of Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,“ he wrote in the Haaretz daily. ”And here’s the subtext: Now, we’re taking revenge on you.”

Smotrich’s hard-line views came up against the Israeli establishment during the disengagement. He was arrested in the lead-up to the event for reported involvement in a plot to damage infrastructure and block main highways.

Smotrich’s governing partner, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has a long list of grievances. He believes the courts have been unfair to religious Jews and settlers and sided too often with Palestinians.

For years, Ben-Gvir, a far-right settler leader, was limited to the fringes of Israeli politics. He has been arrested dozens of times and was convicted of incitement and supporting a Jewish terror group.

In Netanyahu’s new government, he is the national security minister and now oversees the country’s police force.

___

Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem contributed to this report.