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Erdogan says Biden, U.S. complicit in alleged Israeli war crimes
“We are an unwavering NATO ally. However, we do not believe that this impedes our ability to establish positive relationships with nations such as China and Russia,” Erdogan told Newsweek.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration are complicit in what he called Israeli war crimes and violations of international law in the Gaza conflict, and he called for sanctions against Israel, Reuters reported.
In an interview with Newsweek during the NATO summit in Washington, Erdogan said Israel’s “brutal murder” of civilians, its strikes on hospitals, aid centres and elsewhere constituted war crimes.
“The U.S. administration, however, disregards these violations and provides Israel with the most support. They do so at the expense of being complicit in these violations,” Erdogan was quoted as saying.
“At this juncture, who will impose what kind of sanction against Israel for violating international law? That is the real question and no one is answering that,” he said.
Israeli consistently rejects charges that it has committed war crimes in its battle against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It denies deliberately targeting civilians, read the report.
More than 38,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, have been killed since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to Gaza medical authorities. About 1,200 Israelis were killed in the cross-border Hamas raid that triggered the war.
NATO member Turkey has denounced Israel’s assault on Gaza, halted trade with it, and voiced support for Hamas. It has repeatedly criticised Western countries for backing Israel and called for Israel to be punished by international courts, Reuters reported.
Asked about Turkey’s cordial ties with Russia and China, and Ankara’s recent contacts with the BRICS group and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Erdogan said Turkey carried out its diplomacy with a “win-win” approach and therefore could not rule out engaging with non-Western entities.
“We are an unwavering NATO ally. However, we do not believe that this impedes our ability to establish positive relationships with nations such as China and Russia,” Erdogan told Newsweek.
Regional
Floods, landslides kill 56 in India and 14 in Nepal
In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation”.
Heavy rain and storms have triggered floods and landslides that killed 56 people in India, while in Nepal, 14 have died and another 11 are missing, with authorities there warning on Sunday that more flash floods are possible, Reuters reported.
India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh recorded 66.5 mm of rain between September 25 and the morning of September 27, compared with a normal 7.6 mm for the period, Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, the state’s relief commissioner, said on Sunday.
Authorities are carrying out rescue operations in waterlogged areas and distributing relief, while officials have been told to assess crop damage and provide compensation.
In addition to the 56 deaths, 46 people have been injured and more than 1,000 houses have been damaged.
Nepali authorities warned of possible flash floods in 49 of the country’s 77 districts, with more than half facing high flood or flash-flood risks as water levels in major rivers and tributaries continued to rise.
Shanti Mahat, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said Rasuwa and Nuwakot, areas hit by last month’s deadly floods that killed more than 1,450 people and left thousands still missing, should remain “alert” but were not currently considered high-risk areas.
Power supply has been completely disrupted in the Manang, Mustang, Myagdi and Baglung districts, with authorities working to restore electricity, energy ministry officials said.
Flooding of the Rahuganga River damaged the structure and transmission-line towers of a 40-megawatt hydropower project, Water Resources and Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said.
In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation”.
Several major rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Narmada, were above danger levels, read the report.
Floods and landslides also disrupted telecommunications in parts of Nepal after damage to optical fibres and power supplies, Communications Minister Bikram Timilsinha said.
In a separate incident in Nepal, 10 local workers were also missing after an avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,379-ft) Himlung Himal in the northern Manang district, hiking officials said.
The workers had been setting up tents for foreign climbers, who were not present when the avalanche struck.
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Aimal Wali Khan calls Dera Ismail Khan attack a ‘state failure’
Khan called on the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to take greater responsibility for protecting citizens and addressing the deteriorating security situation in the province.
Awami National Party (ANP) President and Senator Aimal Wali Khan has condemned the suicide attack on the Aman Mela checkpoint in the Darazinda area of Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan district, describing it as a failure by the state to ensure the security of citizens.
According to Dawn, Khan called on the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to take greater responsibility for protecting citizens and addressing the deteriorating security situation in the province.
In a statement, Khan said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is experiencing one of the darkest periods in its history. He alleged that the Pashtun population is facing systematic violence and said prolonged insecurity has left the province deeply affected by terrorism.
Khan also condemned an attack on an ambulance reportedly carrying the body of a person killed in the blast, describing it as an “inhumane act.”
The ANP leader questioned the government’s response to the worsening security situation, saying that blaming groups referred to by authorities as “Fitna al-Khawarij” and “Fitna al-Hindustan” does not absolve the state of its responsibility to protect citizens.
He urged the federal and provincial governments to stop blaming each other and instead focus on restoring peace and strengthening security across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Regional
Blast in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan kills 11, injures 30
Eleven people were killed and 30 injured in a blast in Dera Ismail Khan in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, emergency service Rescue 1122 said.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack.
The blast occurred near Aman Mela in the Darazinda area of the district, Rescue 1122 said in a statement.
Rescue teams from the Darazinda station reached the scene and began relief operations, providing medical assistance to the wounded and taking them to hospital, the service said.
Security incidents have continued in the district this month, including attacks involving the Pakistani Taliban.
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