"Won't Change Status Of Arunachal Pradesh": Kiren Rijiju On China Visa Row

09/22/23 4:20 PM

Condemning Chinese action to deny accreditation cards or visas to Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh who were scheduled to travel to China for the Asian Games, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that such acts by China won't

'Big shoes to fill': Paris crowd greets Charles III

09/20/23 4:33 PM

As thousands lined the famed Champs-Elysees to catch a glimpse of Charles III on Wednesday, many said they wondered how the king would follow in the footsteps of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, who was much loved in France.Shortly after landing on their first state visit to France, Charles III and Queen Camilla joined French President Emmanuel Macron and first lady Brigitte Macron at the Arc de Triomphe where they laid wreaths to the countries' war dead.The president and the king greeted each other heartily, while Brigitte Macron welcomed Camilla, unusually, with a fond kiss on the cheek.Under sunny skies but with some gusty winds, the Queen had to readjust her pale pink hat occasionally, as the royal couple began to travel down the Champs-Elysees in convertible cars, escorted by 136 horses of the Republican Guard.Claudine, 57, who works as a secretary in a Paris hospital, got a perfect view of the royals, having staked her spot near the Arc de Triomphe by 9:30 am (0730 GMT), more than five hours before the royals' arrival."I've been fascinated with the royal family ever since, as a young girl, I saw Queen Elizabeth emerge from Buckingham Palace in a Rolls-Royce," she told AFP. "I actually wanted to go over to see the coronation, but my passport wasn't ready."The welcome was friendly without being euphoric © Thibault Camus / POOL/AFP'She had so much charisma'Claudine said it was not easy to compare Charles to his French-speaking mother who she said had earned France's deep affection during her long reign."She had so much charisma. With Charles, it's not quite the same," she said. "But it feels a little like she is here with him," she smiled."He's got big shoes to fill," said Ellie, a nurse from Canberra, Australia, currently traveling in Europe. "Queen Elizabeth was more of a people person than he is."Carrying a tote bag with "London" printed on it, Charlotte, 20, a French medical student, said she thought the royal family was a "wonderful" symbol for Britain which she said she visits often."The entire population rallies around them on big occasions, but they also shine internationally," she said.Her friend, Capucine, also 20, said that while she did "not regret" that France no longer has a royal family, she wondered whether "maybe we would be less disunited if we did".Alexei, a 55-year-old caterer, said he had first seen Charles at the 1997 funeral in London of Princess Diana, Charles's first wife who died in a car crash only a mile down the road from Wednesday's ceremony.The visit is due to last three days © Yoan VALAT / POOL/AFP"I liked his mother very much, but Charles, he doesn't have the same charisma," he said.Charles and Camilla will have more opportunities to connect with people in Paris on Thursday, including with a visit to the Notre Dame cathedral and the nearby flower market, which his mother visited on her inaugural visit to France as queen in 1957."These visits are important for the connection between our two countries," said Antoine, a 36-year old salesman, as he watched Charles and Camilla drive past.© 2023 AFP

'Guam isn't America': Trump reportedly shrugged off possibility of US territory getting nuked

09/21/23 2:22 PM

Former President Donald Trump waved away the idea of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un threatening the U.S. terroritory of Guam with nuclear weapons, because, "Guam isn't America," according to a new piece in The Atlantic describing all the ways Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and other military leaders worked behind the scenes to restrain the former president's most dangerous military impulses.The episode occurred early in the Trump administration, when the former president was saber-rattling against Kim and mocking him as "Little Rocket Man" — prompting then White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, to warn Trump that he could be provoking a nuclear threat escalation."'If you keep pushing this clown, he could do something with nuclear weapons,' Kelly told him, explaining that Kim, though a dictator, could be pressured by his own military elites to attack American interests in response to Trump’s provocations," reported Jeffrey Goldberg. "When that argument failed to work, Kelly spelled out for the president that a nuclear exchange could cost the lives of millions of Koreans and Japanese, as well as those of Americans throughout the Pacific. Guam, Kelly told him, falls within range of North Korean missiles. 'Guam isn’t America,' Trump responded."POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?Guam is not only a terroritory of the United States whose people are U.S. citizens, it is also a vital strategic island to the U.S. military in the Pacific; one quarter of Guam's land is taken up by military installations, and one in eight Guamanians are veterans.Ultimately, Trump and Kim de-escalated their threats, and the two actually became friends. But Trump's dismissal of Guam was not a one-off incident; throughout Trump's presidency, he came under fire for his lack of understanding, and sometimes even open contempt, for the military, even calling American troops who died fighting in World War I "losers" and "suckers," and asking that wounded veterans be excluded from military parades so he wouldn't have to look at them.Milley is set to retire as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs later this month, which comes at a time when numerous key military positions are being forcibly held open by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville's protest against the Pentagon's policy allowing travel for abortion care.