China's Xi gets warm welcome in Paris at start of Europe tour, but tensions on trade and Russia persist - The Straits Times

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China’s Xi gets warm welcome in Paris at start of Europe tour, but tensions on trade and Russia persist

(From left) French First Lady Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan walk together at the end of an official welcome ceremony in Paris. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LONDON – Chinese President Xi Jinping received a lavish reception in France at the start of his first European visit since the pandemic.

He was met at Orly airport in Paris on May 5 by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal – an honour the Chinese did not similarly bestow on French President Emmanuel Macron on his visit to China a year ago.

• Xi Jinping
• Emmanuel Macron
• China
• France
• EU
• Trade
• Diplomacy

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2024-05-06 21:00:00Z
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Israel strikes Gazan city of Rafah after evacuation order, say residents - CNA

A senior Hamas official said the evacuation order was a "dangerous escalation" that would have consequences. "The US administration, alongside the occupation, bears responsibility for this terrorism," the official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters, referring to Israel's alliance with Washington.

Aid agencies have warned that the evacuation order will lead to an even worse humanitarian disaster in the crowded coastal enclave of 2.3 million people reeling from seven months of war.

"Forcing over a million displaced Palestinians from Rafah to evacuate without a safe destination is not only unlawful but would lead to catastrophic consequences," British charity ActionAid said.

Israel's military said it had urged residents of Rafah to evacuate in a "limited scope" operation. It gave no specific reasons nor did it say if offensive action might follow.

US President Joe Biden will hold urgent talks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday over the increasing likelihood of a full-blown assault on Rafah.

Biden had told Netanyahu in April that invading Rafah would be a "mistake" and Washington has said it does not support an offensive without a credible plan to aid some 1.2 million civilians sheltering there.

"We have made our views clear on a major ground invasion of Rafah to the Israeli government, and the president will speak with the prime minister today," a spokesman for the White House National Security Council told AFP.

"We continue to believe that a hostage deal is the best way to preserve the lives of the hostages and avoid an invasion of Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering."

Nick Maynard, a British surgeon trying to leave Gaza on Monday, said in a voice message from the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing into Egypt: "Two huge bombs have just gone off immediately outside the crossing. There’s a lot of gunfire as well about 100 meters from us. We are very unclear whether we will get out."

"Driving through Rafah, the tension was palpable with people evacuating as rapidly as they could."

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2024-05-06 14:44:54Z
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Judge fines Trump again in criminal trial, warns of jail time - CNA

Merchan imposed a US$1,000 fine on Monday for an Apr 22 broadcast interview in which the Republican former president said: "That jury was picked so fast - 95 per cent Democrats. The area's mostly all Democrat."

He found that other statements flagged by prosecutors that mentioned witnesses Michael Cohen and David Pecker did not violate the order.

Last week Merchan fined Trump US$9,000 for nine social media posts that he ruled had violated the gag order.

Merchan spoke while Trump sat at the defendant's table in the New York courtroom in the first criminal trial of a former US president.

Trump's criminal hush money trial, now in its 12th day, has featured testimony from a top aide and a former tabloid publisher about efforts during his first presidential bid to tamp down stories of unflattering sexual behavior.

New York prosecutors have charged Trump with falsifying business records to cover up a US$130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with him in 2006. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies ever having sex with Daniels.

Trump complains frequently that the gag order limits his ability to make his case to voters for a comeback White House bid.

Before Monday's session, Trump declined to comment about Cohen, his former lawyer who is expected to be a prominent witness in the trial.

However, he repeated unsupported claims that New York prosecutors are working with President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to hobble his political prospects and said Merchan faces a conflict of interest because his daughter has done work for Democratic politicians. Trump's lawyers have unsuccessfully tried to remove Merchan from the case.

"The judge has gagged me and I'm not allowed to talk about, I guess, his total conflict," Trump told reporters outside the courtroom. "He's taken away my constitutional right to speak."

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2024-05-06 14:18:00Z
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EU, France press Xi to halt Ukraine war, uphold fair trade - CNA

At the talks, Xi denied there was any problem of Chinese overcapacity in global trade and said China and Europe should address differences on trade through "dialogue and consultation, and accommodate each other's legitimate concerns", according to the foreign ministry.

France's cognac industry, based in the southwest of the country, is meanwhile closely watching the talks fearing an anti-dumping investigation opened by China, its second market, is retaliation by Beijing for the trade tensions.

"ONE OF THE GREAT PREDATORS"

Rights groups are urging Macron to bring up human rights in the talks, accusing China of failing to respect the rights of the Uyghur Muslim minority and of keeping dozens of journalists behind bars.

"President Macron should make it clear to Xi Jinping that Beijing's crimes against humanity come with consequences for China's relations with France," said Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch.

Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders denounced the visit, installing a truck in central Paris with the names of 119 journalists it says are held by China and describing Xi as "one of the great predators of press freedom".

Tuesday will see Macron take Xi, who is accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, to the Pyrenees mountains to an area he used to visit as a boy for a day of less public talks.

However analysts are sceptical that Macron will be able to exercise much sway over the Chinese leader, even with the lavish red-carpet welcome and a trip to the bracing mountain air of the Col du Tourmalet over 2,000 metres above sea level on Tuesday.

The other two countries chosen by Xi for his European tour, Serbia and Hungary, are seen as among the most sympathetic to Moscow in Europe.

Both Macron's messages on trade and Ukraine "are unlikely to have a significant impact on Chinese behaviour," said Janka Oertel, director of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

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2024-05-06 12:14:00Z
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Israel army says 'encourages' eastern Rafah residents to leave for 'humanitarian area' - CNA

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said on Monday (May 6) it was evacuating about 100,000 people from eastern Rafah. It cited the move as part of a "limited scope" operation but did not immediately confirm media reports that this was part of preparations for a ground assault.

Seven months into its offensive against Hamas, Israel has said Rafah harbours thousands of the Palestinian militant group’s fighters and that victory is impossible without taking the city.

But with more than a million displaced Palestinians sheltering there, the prospect of a high-casualty operation worries Western powers and neighbouring Egypt.

In what appeared to be the beginning of a civilian evacuation ahead of a ground assault, the Israeli military called on Palestinians in eastern parts of Rafah to move to a nearby "humanitarian area".

In a statement on Monday, the military said posters, text messages, phone calls and media announcements would be used to “encourage ... the gradual movement of civilians in the specified areas”.

It added that it was not setting a timeframe for the Rafah evacuation, however, but would make operational assessments.

Troops will continue to pursue Hamas militants "everywhere in Gaza until all hostages that they are holding in captivity are back home", the statement added.

When asked how many people were being evacuated, a military spokesman said: "The estimate is around 100,000 people."

Rain fell on Monday as the army airdropped leaflets advising about the evacuation, according to an AFP correspondent.

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'He pushed my pots onto the floor': Circuit Road hawker and diner get into fight over cutlery - AsiaOne

Tempers flared at a food centre in Circuit Road when a stall owner and a diner got into a physical altercation over cutlery. 

The incident occurred at Block 79 Circuit Road last Thursday (May 2) at about 4.30pm, reported Shin Min Daily News.

A 64-year-old laksa stall owner surnamed Liang told the Chinese evening daily that a young man had bought food from the fishball noodle stall next to hers. 

He then asked Liang for a fork and spoon, but got upset when Liang said no. 

"I tried to tell him nicely, but he was very angry. He pushed my pots and utensils onto the floor." 

Outraged, Liang grabbed the pendant that the man was wearing. He then hit her on the head, she claimed.

During the tussle, the pendant dropped onto the ground, which escalated tensions. 

The food centre's manager eventually broke up the fight and called the police. 

"He asked the man to sit on the other side [of the table] and helped retrieve the pendant," said Liang. 

When police officers arrived, they escorted the man away, said Liang, who added that she was worried that he would return.

She alleged that he was very aggressive during the confrontation and told her he would stab her if he had a knife. 

She said she felt dizzy after getting hit on the head and had a headache when she was showering that night. 

Liang insisted that she wasn't at fault for refusing to give him the cutlery as the man did not patronise her stall. 

Because of the incident, she said she had to work later that day. "It was tough but because some customers had ordered food in advance, I continued working and only closed the stall at 8pm." 

Liang said the man once bought laksa from her. She remembered him because he poured an entire bottle of pepper and soy sauce into his food. 

"He even asked me if I had more pepper and soy sauce. I thought his behaviour was strange, that's why I remember him," she recounted. 

The owner of the fishball noodle stall, Helen, told Shin Min that she did provide the man with cutlery. 

The 62-year-old said he might not have noticed and hence tried to get cutlery from the laksa stall. 

"He has patronised my stall before. As long as I don't shout at him, he doesn't cause any problems." 

In response to Shin Min's queries, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

ALSO READ: 'Taking without asking is stealing!' Maxwell Food Centre hawker chides tourists who helped themselves to chopsticks

claudiatan@asiaone.com

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Hamas, Israel entrench Gaza truce positions as latest Cairo talks end - CNA

Netanyahu on Sunday also announced a government decision to close operations in Israel of Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera, which has broadcast round-the-clock coverage of the conflict.

It went off-air a short time later.

The network condemned Israel's decision as a "criminal act", and said it would take legal action.

Gaza's bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,683 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

"HOPELESS"

An AFP correspondent and witnesses reported shelling and gunfire in Gaza City Sunday, helicopter fire in central and southern Gaza, and a missile strike on a house in the Rafah area.

Israel's military said air strikes over the past day killed several militants including three in central Gaza who took part in the October attack.

"We want a ceasefire and for Gaza to return to how it was, or even better," said displaced woman Umm Jamil al-Ghussein in the southern city of Rafah, where about 1.2 million Gazans have sought shelter.

Arwa Saqr, displaced from Khan Younis, said she has "lost hope that the negotiations will succeed".

The Palestinian civilian toll has strained ties between Israel and its main military supplier and ally the United States.

Nonetheless, Washington's Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that "the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas".

Negotiators met in Cairo Sunday without an Israeli delegation present.

Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators had proposed a 40-day pause in the fighting and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by Britain.

Any truce reached would be the first since a week-long November ceasefire saw a hostage-prisoner swap.

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2024-05-05 19:01:00Z
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