UN, WESTERN GOVERNMENTS CONDEMN DEADLY MYANMAR AIRSTRIKES, DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY

Yangon: The United Nations and Western governments on Wednesday condemned Myanmar’s ruling junta for carrying out an air raid on a village where dozens of civilians are said to have died and demanded accountability.

The death toll from the early Tuesday morning strike on the remote Kanbalu township in the central Sagaing region remains unclear, but earlier reports had suggested that as many as 100 people were killed in the air strikes.

Volker Turk, the head of the UN’s human rights office, said he was “horrified” by the deadly air strike, which he claimed killed schoolchildren who were performing dances. The international organisation demanded that those guilty be brought to account.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the attack by the Myanmar Armed Forces today”, according to a statement by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Germany’s Foreign Office in a tweet said it “strongly” condemned the strike, adding it expected “the regime to end the violence against its people immediately”.

Myanmar’s National Unity Government, a shadow body dominated by former lawmakers from ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, called the strike a “heinous act”.

The junta confirmed late Tuesday night that the strike had taken place, but did not say how many were killed.

TRUMP SAYS HE WON’T DROP PRESIDENTIAL BID EVEN IF CRIMINALLY CONVICTED

Former President Donald Trump has vowed to remain in the 2024 presidential race if he’s convicted in the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case.

Trump made the declaration in an interview that aired Tuesday when asked by Fox News host Tucker Carlson if the felony charges he’s facing would ever cause him to give up on a second term as commander-in-chief. 

“No, I’d never drop out,” he told Carlson. “It’s not my thing. I wouldn’t do it.”

During the hour-long interview, Trump said that Democratic leaders were a bigger threat to the nation than foreign dictators. He referred to President Vladimir Putin of Russia as "very smart," said Saudi Arabia's leaders were "great people" and called President Xi Jinping of China a "brilliant man". He added that "the biggest problem" for the US wasn't foreign actors but "these sick, radical people from within" the country.

‘RUSSIA WORSE THAN IS’: UKRAINE SLAMS BEHEADING VIDEO OF CAPTIVE

Kyiv : Ukraine launched an investigation on Wednesday into agruesome video that purportedly shows the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier, in the latest accusation of atrocities said to have been committed by Russia since it invaded in February 2022. The video spread quickly online and drew outrage from officials in Kyiv, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as international organisations. The Kremlin called the footage “horrible” but said it needed to be verified.

The video circulating online appears to show a man in green fatigues wearing a yellow armband, typically donned by Ukrainian fighters. His screams are heard before another man in camouflage uses a knife to decapitate him. A third man holds up a flak jacket apparently belonging to the man being beheaded. All three men speak in Russian.

“There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill,” Zelensky said in a video message. “There will be legal responsibility for everything. The defeat of terror is necessary. ” Ukrainian foreign minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Twitter: “A horrific video of Russian troops decapitating a Ukrainian prisoner of war is circulating online. It’s absurd that Russia, which is worse than IS terror group, is presiding over the UNSC,” referring to the UN Security Council, where Russia took up the rotating presidency this month. “Russian terrorists must be kicked out of Ukraine and the UN and be held accountable for their crimes. ” Militants from IS were notorious for releasing videos of beheadings of captives when they controlled swathes of those countries from 2014-2017.

LEAKS SUGGEST US SPIED ON UN CHIEF

The US government believes the UN Secretary General is too willing to accommodate Russian interests, according to fresh revelations in classified documents leaked online.

The files suggest Washington has been closely monitoring Antonio Guterres.

Several documents describe private communications involving Mr Guterres and his deputy.

It is the latest from a leak of secret documents, which US officials are scrambling to get to the bottom of.

The documents contain candid observations from Mr Guterres about the war in Ukraine and a number of African leaders.

One leaked document focuses on the Black Sea grain deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey in July following fears of a global food crisis.

It suggests that Mr Guterres was so keen to preserve the deal that he was willing to accommodate Russia's interests.

"Guterres emphasised his efforts to improve Russia's ability to export," the document says, "even if that involves sanctioned Russian entities or individuals."

His actions in February, according to the assessment, were "undermining broader efforts to hold Moscow accountable for its actions in Ukraine."

UN officials bristled at the suggestion that the world's top diplomat was being soft on Moscow.

RUSSIA SAYS US INTELLIGENCE LEAKS MAY BE FAKE, PART OF HYBRID WAR AGAINST IT

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that a trove of US intelligence documents posted online in recent weeks might be fake and a deliberate attempt to mislead Moscow. The documentsinclude what look like classified US assessments of the war in Ukraine and the casualties purportedly suffered by the two armies, as well as documents covering other countries. Ryabkov told Russian news agencies on Wednesday that, for now, the leak threw up many questions. “It’s probably interesting for someone to look at these documents, if they are documents at all, or maybe they are fake, maybe this is a deliberate information dump,” Ryabkov was cited as saying. “Since the US is a party to the (Ukraine) conflict and is in essence waging a hybrid war against us, it’s possible such things are being done to mislead the enemy — that is the Russian Federation,” he said.

SERBIA AGREED TO ARM UKRAINE: REPORT

Serbia has agreed to supply arms to Kyiv or has sent them already, according to a classified Pentagon document, despite the country’s professed neutrality in the Ukraine war and refusal to sanction Russia over its 2022 invasion. The document, a summary of European governments’ responses to Ukraine’s requests for military training and “lethal aid” or weapons, was among dozens of classified documents posted online. Serbia’s defence minister Milos Vucevic dismissed the document’s assertions as “untrue” in a statement on Wednesday. “Serbia did not, nor will it be selling weapons to the Ukrainian nor the Russian side, nor to countries surrounding that conflict,” Vucevic said.

‘SOUTH KOREA TO LEND ARTILLERY SHELLS TO US’

South Korea has reached an agreement to lend the US 500,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells that could give Washington greater flexibility to supply Ukraine with ammunition, a South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday. The Dong AIlbo newspaper cited unidentified government sources as saying South Korea decided to “lend” the ammunition instead of selling, to minimise the possibility of South Korean shells being used in the Ukraine conflict. South Korea’s defence ministry said the allies have been exploring ways to support Ukraine but declined to confirm specific discussions. The US state department did not comment.

MACRON: FRANCE FAVOURS ‘STATUS QUO’ ON TAIWAN

Paris : President Emmanuel Macron said France’s position on Taiwan had not changed and that he favoured the current “status quo” in respect of the island, after he was asked to clarify comments that prompted a backlash in the US and Europe. In an interview with news outlet Politico and daily Les Echos, Macron had cautioned against being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan driven by an “American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction”. That brought criticism from some politicians and commentators in Europe and the US, with former US President Donald Trump accusinghim of “kissing ass” to Beijing.

“The French and European position on Taiwan is the same one. We’re in favour of the status quo. This policy is constant and hasn't changed,” Macron told a news conference during a state visit in the Netherlands.

“It’s the One-China policy and a Pacific resolution of the situation. That’s what I said in my one-to-one meeting with Xi Jinping, that’s what was said everywhere, we haven’t changed,” he said. Macron did not mention Taiwan in his public statement to the press in Beijing last week, an omission that commentators criticised.

BIDEN ASKS N. IRELAND PARTIES TO RESTORE POWER-SHARING DEAL

U.S. President Joe Biden urged political compromise in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, using a visit to Belfast to promote the benefits of enduring peace and investment, but faced heated criticism from pro-U.K. hardliners.

“I hope the (Northern Ireland) Executive and Assembly will soon be restored,” Mr. Biden said in a speech at Ulster University.

He touted the “unlimited possibilities” for investment and growth offered in the U.K.-ruled territory, 25 years on from a historic peace deal brokered by the U.S. government.

But senior figures in the pro-U.K. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is under pressure to resume local power-sharing, were strikingly undiplomatic about the President.

Sammy Wilson, a DUP member of Parliament in Westminster, branded Mr. Biden “anti-British”, accusing U.S.’s second Catholic President of having “made his antipathy towards Protestants very well known”. DUP lawmaker Nigel Dodds said any mediation efforts would prove futile.

CHINA SETS UP NO-FLY ZONE NEAR TAIWAN, SAYS TAIPEI

China will set up a brief no-fly zone north of Taiwan on Sunday due to what the island’s Transport Ministry described as “space activities”. The closure comes after Beijing completed three days of massive war games around self-ruled Taiwan last week, during which China simulated targeted strikes and practised a blockade of the island.

The no-fly zone does not appear to be linked to the drills, with Taiwan’s Ministry saying on Wednesday China had imposed the restriction “on the convergence areas of many international routes” on the grounds of “space activities”. The restrictions will be in place from 9:30 a.m. to 9:57 a.m. local time.

IRAN DELEGATION ARRIVES IN RIYADH TO PREPARE FOR EMBASSY REOPENING

TEHRAN: An Iranian delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to prepare for the reopening of Tehran’s Embassy there, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said. “The delegation will take the necessary measures in Riyadh and Jeddah to set up the embassy and consulate-general,” Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said.