CPN (Maoist Center) fails to finalize office bearers today also
A Standing Committee meeting of the CPN (Maoist Center) held on Friday morning failed to finalize the names of the office bearers today also. Emerging from the meeting, party spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said that the meeting to be held on Saturday will finalize the names of the office bearers. The meeting held on Wednesday had finalized all the committees except the office bearers. It has been said that the names of Standing Committee members Dinanath Sharma, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Ganesh Shah, Pampha Bhusal and Haribol Gajurel have already been endorsed for the post of vice-chairperson. Leaders said that the names of Barshaman Pun, Janardan Sharma and Giriraj Mani Pokharel have almost been finalized for the post of deputy general secretary. Though Pun and Sharma have been claiming the post of general secretary, party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal decided to appoint them as the deputy general secretary after the duo failed to reach consensus. The general convention of the party held on January 22 had endorsed the names of 236 central members.
Chinese envoy to US Qin Gang says US to blame for tension across Straits
It's not China but the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and the United States that are changing the status quo of the Taiwan Straits, and Beijing's countermeasures following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the Taiwan region are justifiably strong, and are not an overreaction as a "pretext" for a "new normal". The remarks were made by Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang when he met with a group of US media representatives in Washington on Tuesday, two weeks after Pelosi's provocative trip to Taiwan, which came despite strong opposition from China, ChinaDaily reported. While the visit seriously violated the one-China principle and the commitments made by the US, some in the US do not recognize and correct their mistakes but choose to "confound black with white and reverse the narrative, slinging mud at China", Qin said. Last week, US National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell claimed that China used the visit as a "pretext" to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan and to try to change the status quo. However, Qin said, "a basic fact is, the US side took the first step to provoke China on the Taiwan question. This has openly infringed on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity." Beijing had made utmost efforts to prevent this crisis from being imposed on China, including expressing firm opposition at various levels and through various channels, and warning that if Pelosi made the visit, there would be very serious consequences and a firm and forceful response, Qin said. "To our regret, the United States chose not to listen," he said, and urged the US to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques. The joint communiques, including the August 17 Communique, constitute the political foundation for bilateral ties and are all based on the one-China principle, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday, which marked the 40th anniversary of the publication of the China-US Communique on US Arms Sales to Taiwan, commonly known as the August 17 Communique, according to ChinaDaily. "It was because ... the US recognized that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China ... that the two countries with different social systems and ideologies and at different development stages started dialogue and cooperation and achieved important outcomes that benefited both sides and the world at large," he said. However, the US has seriously violated the one-China principle by substantially relaxing restrictions on official exchanges with the Taiwan region, increasing military contact with the island and selling weapons to it on a larger scale and with enhanced capability. "The US must bear all the consequences for escalating tensions across the Taiwan Straits," Wang said. According to the spokesman, more than 170 countries have voiced their commitment to the one-China principle and opposition to the US' provocation. Among them are 20 heads of state, seven deputy or vice-heads of state, and nine heads of government. In another development, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday that the Chinese mainland's punitive measures on die-hard "Taiwan independence" separatists, including banning them from entering the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, are completely justified, reasonable and legitimate. Anyone who endangers national sovereignty, security and development interests cannot escape justice, Ma said, after the Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan claimed that the sanctions announced on Tuesday are "null and void". Ma said that more necessary measures will be adopted to foil any attempt to split the country if the DPP authorities continue to support the provocations of die-hard "Taiwan independence" separatists, ChinaDaily reported.
North Korea tells South Korea president to ‘shut his mouth’ after offer of aid
North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, said on Friday, August 19, that South Korea’s president should “shut his mouth” after he reiterated that his country was willing to provide economic aid in return for nuclear disarmament, Reuters reported. Her comments mark the first time a senior North Korean official has commented directly on what South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has called an “audacious” plan – first proposed in May and which he talked about again on Wednesday at a news conference to mark his first 100 days in office. “It would have been more favorable for his image to shut his mouth,” Kim Yo-jong said in a statement released by state news agency KCNA, calling Yoon “really simple and still childish” to think that he could trade economic cooperation for the North’s honor and nuclear weapons. “No one barters its destiny for corn cake,” she added. South Korea’s Unification Minister, who handles relations with the North, called Kim’s comments “very disrespectful and indecent.” While Yoon has said he is willing to provide phased economic aid to North Korea if it ended nuclear weapons development and began denuclearisation, he has also pushed to increase South Korea’s military deterrence against North Korea. South Korea has has resumed long-suspended joint drills with the United States, including major field exercises due to begin next week. On Wednesday a US State Department spokesman said Washington supports Yoon’s policies, but Kim said the joint drills show that the allies’ talk of diplomacy is insincere. “We make it clear that we will not sit face to face with him,” she said of Yoon. Experts say South’s latest economic plan is similar to proposals by previous leaders, including those during the summits between the then-US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, suggesting the North was unlikely to accept the offer, according to Reuters. “Yoon’s initiative adds to a long list of failed offers involving South Korean promises to provide economic benefits to North Korea…. These were the same assumptions that were behind a succession of failed efforts to jump-start denuclearization talks,” Scott Snyder, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said in a blog post on Thursday, August 18. North Korea test fired two cruise missiles into the sea on Wednesday, the first such test in two months. It came after the country declared victory over COVID-19 last week, Reuters reported.
Ukraine war: Damage to nuclear plant would be suicide - UN chief
UN Secretary General António Guterres has said he is "gravely concerned" about fighting near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, BBC reported.
He made the comments during a summit with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lviv.
"Any potential damage to Zaporizhzhia is suicide," Mr Guterres warned.
The meeting was the first between the UN chief and Mr Zelensky since Russia launched its invasion in February.
Mr Erdogan echoed the UN chief's concerns, telling reporters that he was worried about the danger of "another Chernobyl" disaster erupting at the plant.
In recent weeks the area around the facility, which Russia seized in March, has come under heavy artillery fire, with both Kyiv and Moscow blaming each other for the attacks.
Moscow is accused of turning the facility into an army base, with all three leaders urging the Russians to demilitarise the zone as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, local sources in the Russian occupied Crimean Peninsula reported a number of large explosions near the Belbek military airport.
The appeals come as Ukrainian staff, who are working at the plant under Russian direction, warned of a potential nuclear catastrophe at the facility, saying in the past two weeks it has become "the target of continuous military attacks".
"What is happening is horrific and beyond common sense and morality," staff wrote in a Telegram post (in Ukrainian).
"Ukrainian intelligence officers believe that the Russians are preparing a provocation at the [facility]," Ukraine's Centre for Information security tweeted.
"Following their extensive shelling... [Russian forces] could 'raise the stakes' and stage a real terrorist attack on Europe's largest nuclear facility," it said.
The BBC has been unable to verify the claims.
Shortly before these tweets, Mr Zelensky warned that "the world is on a verge of nuclear disaster" and condemned what he called "Russia's irresponsible actions and nuclear blackmailing".
Despite the concern, the site is said to be far more secure than the Chernobyl plant - the site of the worst nuclear incident in history.
There were reports ahead of the summit that Mr Erdogan would offer to arrange a summit between Mr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Turkish leader maintains a close working relationship with Mr Putin, and speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Erdogan said he believed the war would "come to the end at the negotiating table".
While Mr Zelensky welcomed the leader's visit and Turkey's "powerful message of support", he flatly rejected suggestions that it could be in a position to broker peace talks, BBC reported.
Mr Zelensky told reporters that he was "very surprised" to hear from Mr Erdogan that Moscow was "ready for some kind of peace".
"There is no trust towards the Russian Federation," Mr Zelensky said, saying that Russia must withdraw its troops, first and foremost.
The leaders were expected to discuss expanding the Turkey-UN sponsored grain deal between Russia and Ukraine - the only diplomatic breakthrough of the conflict so far.
On Thursday, Kyiv said a 25th cargo ship had left Ukraine under the deal which saw Russia agree to end its blockade of Black Sea ports.
Mr Guterres hailed the agreement and urged Russia and Ukraine to adopt the "spirit of compromise" that brought it about.
"From day one, the parties have worked professionally and in good faith to keep the food flowing," Mr Guterres said. "I appeal for this to continue and for them to overcome all obstacles in a spirit of compromise and permanently settle all difficulties."
Elsewhere, in eastern Ukraine Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synehubov said that 17 people had died after Russian shelling hit several residential buildings in the city.
And in Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said that while a clash with the collective West is possible, a direct nuclear conflict with the US and Nato would not be in Russia's interests.
"Russian military doctrine allows a nuclear response only in response to aggression using weapons of mass destruction, or when the very existence of the state is threatened," Ivan Nechayev said, according to BBC.
