US SHOOTS DOWN ANOTHER OBJECT, THIS TIME OVER LAKE HURON

WASHINGTON, United States — A US warplane shot down another flying object on Sunday, this time over Lake Huron on the US-Canadian border, the fourth in a dramatic series that began with the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon a week ago.

Jittery Americans have been watching the skies as the mysterious incursions unfolded against a backdrop of acute tensions with China -- although only the first object has so far been attributed to Beijing.

President Joe Biden ordered a F-16 fighter to shoot down the latest object "out of abundance of caution," a senior administration official said.

This new device -- described as an octagonal structure with strings hanging off it -- was not deemed to be a military threat to anything on the ground, but it could have posed a hazard to civil aviation as it flew at about 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) over Michigan, the official said.

"We have no indication that it has surveillance capabilities but nor can we rule that out," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Reflecting the heightened state of alert, US authorities briefly closed the airspace over Lake Michigan Sunday, before the latest object was shot down further towards the Canadian border.

The US aerospace command NORAD tracked the new object visually and with radar, and it was downed over the lake "to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery," the Pentagon said in a statement.

TURKEY DETAINS BUILDING CONTRACTORS AS EARTHQUAKE DEATH TOLL SURPASSES 33,000

Turkish justice officials targeted more than 130 people allegedly involved in shoddy and illegal construction methods as rescuers extricated more survivors, including a pregnant woman and two small children, six days after a pair of earthquakes collapsed thousands of buildings in the country.

The death toll from Monday’s quakes that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria stood at 33,179 on Sunday and was certain to rise as search teams locate more bodies in the rubble. Authorities said more than 92,600 other people were injured in the disaster.

As despair also bred rage at the agonisingly slow rescue efforts, the focus turned to who was to blame for not better preparing people in the earthquake-prone region that includes an area of Syria.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Sunday that 134 people were being investigated for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.

Meanwhile, the United Nations denounced on Sunday the failure to deliver desperately needed aid to war-torn regions of Syria.

“We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn’t arrived,” Mr. Griffiths said.

REPORT: CHINA TO TAKE DOWN UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT SPOTTED FLYING NEAR PORT CITY

China is getting ready to take down an unidentified object spotted flying over waters near the port city of Qingdao, The Paper reported. An employee at the marine development authority of Qingdao’s Jimo district said “relevant authorities” are preparing to bring down the object, the report said. The employee was not informed what the object was. The person said fishermen in the area have been told to be careful about safety, the report added. The US and Canada brought down three high-altitude airborne objects this month.

ARAB LEADERS WARN ISRAELI ACTIONS IN WEST BANK, JERUSALEM THREATEN REGIONAL TURMOIL

Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries warned on Sunday that Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank could worsen regional turmoil, as violence surges between Israel and the Palestinians.

The meeting in Cairo was hosted by the Arab League and attended by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas along with many Foreign Ministers and senior officials.

The high-level gathering came amid one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in Jerusalem and the neighboring Israeli-occupied territory. Forty-five Palestinians have been killed so far this year, according to a count by The Associated Press. Palestinians have killed 10 persons on the Israeli side during that time.

Demolitions by Israel

Speakers at the meeting condemned Israel’s “unilateral measures” in Jerusalem and the West Bank in statements, including home demolitions and expanding settlements.

They also condemned visits by Israeli officials to the city’s contested holy site, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims and has often been the epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian unrest.

There was no immediate comment from Israel's government.

A FORMER JUDGE IS SET TO BECOME BANGLADESH’S NEXT PRESIDENT

Dhaka : Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu, a former judge and freedom fighter, is set to become Bangladesh’s next president after the ruling Awami League, which holds an absolute majority in parliament, nominated him for the top post. Chuppu, 74, will replace President Mohammad Abdul Hamid, whose tenure ends on April 24. “The EC has received his (Chuppu’s) nomination paper submitted by Bangladesh Awami League,” a spokesman of the independent statutory bodysaid.

He said the EC would now accomplish the procedural formalities for his election by members of parliament. The Awami League has 305 seats in the 350-memberHouse. The tenure of Hamid, the longest-serving president of the country, will end on April 23, and according to the Constitution, he cannot hold a third term. Awami League chief and PM Sheikh Hasina greeted Shahabuddin with a bouquet after the submission of his nomination.

FRANCE SLAMS ‘BLACK PANTHER’ OVER DEPICTION OF ITS ARMY

France defence minister on Sunday condemned the latest instalment of Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ franchise, which depicts French troops caught trying to steal resources belonging to the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda. “I strongly condemn this false and deceptive representation of our armed forces,” Sebastien Lecornu wrote on Twitter, responding to a clip from the November movie posted by a journalist. The scene turns on a group of bound French soldiers being brought into a UN meeting, embarrassing Paris’ ambassador to the world body, after being caught on their secret mission set in West African country Mali. Journalist Jean Bexon, who posted the ‘Black Panther’ clip, noted, “The evil French mercenaries operating in Mali are dressed like soldiers from Operation Barkhane,”areal-life military mission. France is particularly sensitive to its image in West Africa after military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso demanded the departure of French troops, deployed to the Sahel region since 2013 to fight jihadis.

IRANIAN PREZ TO VISIT CHINA TO SHORE UP TIES

Beijing : Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping during his three-day trip in China starting Tuesday, as the two US rivals seek further cooperation.

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the announcement Sunday, saying Raisi’s visit was at Xi’s invitation.

Raisi will meet with Xi and their delegations will sign cooperation documents, as per news agency IRNA. Raisi’s visit is expected to deepen ties between two political and economic partners that are opposed to US-led Western domination of internationalaffairs. The two leaders met last September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when Xi underscored China’s support for Iran. China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and a source of investment in the West Asian country.

RIVALS GREECE AND TURKEY SEEK BETTER RELATIONS AFTER EARTHQUAKE

ANTAKYA: Greece’s Foreign Minister visited Turkey in a show of support after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake on last Monday, despite a longstanding rivalry between the two NATO countries. Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu boarded helicopters to visit the quake-hit regions.

CYPRUS’S FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER CHRISTODOULIDES ELECTED PRESIDENT

NICOSIA: Cyprus voters on Sunday elected the former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides as the next president of the small EU member state, with his rival conceding defeat and congratulating him. Christodoulides, 49, won 51.92% to defeat fellow diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, 66, who took 48.08%.