Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Xi inspects readiness of military at India border
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping has held a video conversation with the soldiers stationed along the India-China border in eastern Ladakh and inspected their combat readiness, official media reported on Friday. Xi addressed the troops from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) headquarters here on the border defence situation in Khunjerab under the Xinjiang Military Command.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China and the commander-in-chief of PLA, in his remarks to the troops, referred to how “in recent years, the area has been constantly changing” and how it had impacted the army, according to the video shown in the official media.
During the call, he “inspected their combat readiness”, the report said. One of the soldiers replied that they were now carrying out “dynamic” and
“24-hour” monitoring of the border.
Xi asked about their condition and whether they were able to “receive fresh vegetables” in the inhospitable terrain.
The official media reported Xi had asked the border troops “about their border patrol and management work” and “hailed the soldiers as models of border defence and encouraged them to persist in their efforts and make new contributions.”
Eastern Ladakh is the region where a standoff erupted on May 5, 2020 between India and
China following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.
The two sides have held 17 rounds of military talks on the eastern Ladakh border standoff but there has been no significant forward movement in resolution of the remaining issues.
India has asserted that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are essential for overall development of ties with China.
Death toll in Tibet avalanche rises to 20
The death toll from an avalanche that struck a road in mountainous Tibet this week has risen to 20, China’s state television reported on Friday.
The snowslide occurred on Tuesday evening at the exit of a tunnel on a highway in southeastern Tibet, trapping a number of people in their vehicles.
On Wednesday, Chinese state media had reported that 8 people were killed and multiple others were missing in the incident.
Somalia’s govt, extremists claim 100 dead in battle
MOGADISHU: Somalia’s government and Al Qaeda-linked fighters both claimed more than 100 people were killed on Friday in their deadliest battle since the government launched a major military offensive against the extremists in August. The government in a statement asserted that more than 100 Al Shabab extremists died after they attacked a Somali National Army base in the Galgudud region village of Galcad that was recently retaken from the fighters’ control.
Classified docs issue: US prez plays down furore
APTOS, CALIFORNIA: President Joe Biden on Thursday downplayed the furore over the discovery of old classified documents improperly stored in his personal belongings, saying “there’s nothing there.” Asked by reporters during a trip to California about the issue, he said: “I have no regrets. I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It’s exactly what we’re doing. There’s no there there.”
Germany: 180k excess deaths in 3 years of Covid
BERLIN: Around 180,000 more people died in Germany during the three years of the Covid-19 pandemic than would have otherwise been expected, according to calculations published by the ifo Institute. From 2020 to 2022, almost two-thirds of all excess deaths occurred among people over the age of 80, while the figure for people under 60 was about 13,000.
UN rights office needs $452mn this year: Turk
GENEVA: The United Nations rights chief appealed on Friday for nearly half a billion dollars for his office’s work in 2023 to “bring human rights to life in every part of the world”. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said his office would need $452mn this year. “Without human rights there can be no enduring peace,” he said at the appeal launch. “No sustainable development. No justice.”