World x 05CONTACT US AT: 8351-9441, LINMIN67@HOTMAIL.COM

Wednesday December 20, 2017

THE United States on Monday vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution on the status of Jerusalem.

The other 14 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the Egypt-drafted text but as the United States, a permanent member of the UNSC, has veto power, the draft resolution failed to be adopted.

Before the vote, the Egyptian Ambassador to the United Nations, Amr Abdellatif Abou-latta, had explained that the draft resolution sought to ensure that any attempts to alter the characteristics or demographic composition of the Old City of Jerusalem would have no effect, were null and void, and must be rescinded.

It also called on all parties not to establish diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, defended the veto, saying it was the fi rst U.S. veto in the Security Council in more than six years.

“We do it with no joy, but we do it with no reluctance,” she told the Security Council.

Despite the fact that the vote was 14-1, Haley said the veto was not a source of embarrass-ment for the United States. “It should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the Secu-rity Council,” she said, argu-ing that her country had the sovereign right to determine where or whether to establish

its embassy in another country.The other members of the

Security Council hold that Israel has no sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, an issue that should be solved by the Israelis and Palestinians through nego-tiations.

Matthew Rycroft, the Brit-ish ambassador to the United Nations, said his country dis-agrees with the U.S. decisions to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

“These decisions are unhelp-ful to the prospects of peace in the region, an aim that all of us in this council remain commit-ted (to),” he told the Security Council after the vote.

“The British embassy in Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it,” he added.

Rycroft said the British posi-tion on Jerusalem was clear and long-standing: “The status of Jerusalem should be deter-mined through a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians, and should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states.”

Britain regards East Jerusa-lem, which Israel captured in 1967, as part of the occupied Palestinian territories.

Wu Haitao, charge d’affaires of China’s permanent mission to the United Nations, said the issue of Palestine, which is at the core of Middle East peace,

is complicated and sensitive.The draft resolution was in

line with previous Security Council resolutions and was a continuation of the contents and spirit of past resolutions, Wu said, explaining China’s “yes” vote on it.

China has consistently sup-ported and pushed forward the Middle East peace process, he said.

“We support the just cause of restoring the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, support the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusa-lem as its capital. Such a posi-tion of China will not change.”

(Xinhua)

US vetoes UN draft resolution on Jerusalem

A PASSENGER train on the inaugural run of a new high- speed service crashed off a bridge in Washington state kill-ing at least six passengers and injuring motorists below.

The Amtrak train was carry-ing 78 passengers and fi ve crew members when it derailed about 40 miles (64 km) south of Seattle before 8 a.m. Monday, the com-pany said.

Authorities said 77 were in hospital, with the death toll expected to rise in what is likely to prove one of the worst train crashes in recent U.S. history.

President Donald Trump called for an overhaul of the country’s infrastructure in light of the crash.

The train was traveling from Seattle to Portland, and was passing through DuPont, a city in Washington state, when part of the train fell on to the busy interstate.

The motorway is one of the main thoroughfares between the west coast of the United States and Canada.

Ed Troyer, a spokesman from the Pierce County Sheriff’s offi ce, said several vehicles on Inter-state 5 were crushed by falling train cars and multiple motorists were injured. Miraculously, none of the motorists were among the fatalities. (SD-Agencies)

Train derails in Washington state, killing 6

JAPAN formally decided yester-day it would expand its ballistic missile defense system with U.S.-made ground-based Aegis radar stations and interceptors in response to a growing threat from North Korean rockets.

A proposal to build two Aegis Ashore batteries was approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet.

The sites without the missiles will likely cost at least US$2 billion and are not likely to be operational until 2023 at the earliest, sources familiar with the plan told Reuters earlier.

“North Korea’s nuclear mis-sile development poses a new level of threat to Japan and as we have done in the past we will ensure that we are able to defend ourselves with a drastic improvement in ballistic missile defense,” Japanese Minister of Defence Itsunori Onodera told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The decision to acquire the ground version of the Aegis missile-defense system, which is already deployed on Japanese warships, was widely expected.

North Korea on Nov. 29 tested a new, more powerful ballistic missile that it says can hit major U.S. cities includ-ing Washington, and fl y over Japan’s current defense shield.

That rocket reached an alti-tude of more than 4,000 km, well above the range of intercep-tor missiles on Japanese ships operating in the Sea of Japan.

North Korea says its weap-ons programs are necessary to counter U.S. aggression.

The new Aegis stations may not, however, come with a powerful radar, dubbed Spy-6, which is being developed by the United States.

Without it, Japan will not be able to fully utilize the extended range of a new interceptor mis-sile, the SM-3 Block IIA, which cost about US$30 million each.

(SD-Agencies)

Japan to expand ballistic missile defense

WITH a heavy police presence keeping protesters at bay, Aus-tria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO) was sworn in Monday as part of the new government, rounding off a triumphant year for Europe’s nationalists.

However, unlike the last time the FPO entered government, in 2000, there was next to no alarm abroad, and the demon-strations in Vienna were tiny in comparison.

The coalition between the con-servative People’s Party (OVP)

and the FPO has pledged to stop illegal immigration, cut taxes and resist EU cen-tra l izat ion, and will be led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the OVP, who at 31 is the world’s youngest leader.

Interior minister is the FPO’s Herbert Kickl, former speech writer for Strache’s charismatic

but highly controversial prede-cessor Joerg Haider, who was in charge of the FPO in 2000. The party also secured the defense and foreign ministries.

In an interview with public broadcaster ORF on Monday evening, Kurz said his govern-ment should be “judged on its work” and not the reputation of his coalition partners.

Police told AFP that some 5,500 people took part in the largely peaceful demonstra-tions Monday, where protesters

brandished placards such as “refugees welcome” and “Nazis out.”

A heavy police presence of about 1,500 offi cers, with helicopters overhead and water-cannon trucks at the ready, blocked off the area around the Hofburg palace.

“I am very worried,” protes-tor Stefanie, 26, told AFP. “We saw what happened 15 years ago. The rich are favored at the expense of the weak, the poor, refugees.” (SD-Agencies)

New Austrian coalition government sworn in amid protests

SYRIAN President Bashar al Assad attacked France yester-day, accusing it of support-ing bloodshed in his country making it unfi t to talk about a peace settlement.

“France spearheaded support for terrorism and their hands are soaked in Syrian blood from the fi rst days and we do not see they have changed their stance fundamentally,” Assad was quoted in state media as telling reporters after meeting

a Russian delegation Monday.“Those who support terror-

ism have no right to talk about peace,” he added.

France on Friday accused Syria of doing nothing to reach a peace agreement after almost seven years of war and said it was committing mass crimes in the Eastern Ghouta region where 400,000 people are besieged by government forces.

French President Emmanuel

Macron said Monday France would push for peace talks involving all parties in the 6-year-old Syrian confl ict, including Assad, promising “initiatives” early next year.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was more blunt, quoted by Le Figaro.

Assad does not seem to be in a position to take a political stance as long as he is dependent on Russia and Iran,” Le Drian said. (SD-Agencies)

France sponsors terrorism: Syrian president

Sebastian Kurz

Men arrested for carrying drugsAnti-Narcotics Agency offi cials show an Australian man (2nd L), an American man (C), and a Malaysian man (2nd R) to reporters after they were arrested for carrying illegal drugs at Ngurai Rai airport in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia yesterday.

SD-Agencies