World

Japan extends US military support amid China, North Korea ‘challenges’

Japan moved ahead with an expansion of support to US troops as the allies held top-level talks on Friday over tensions with China and North Korea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the two nations were signing a five-year extension of the support package provided by Japan for the hosting of around 50,000 US troops on its soil.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The new agreement “will invest greater resources to deepen our military readiness and interoperability,” Blinken said at the opening of four-way virtual talks between the allies’ foreign and defense chiefs.

“Our allies must not only strengthen the tools we have but also develop new ones,” Blinken said Thursday in Washington.

Tokyo pays the costs of the US forces in the country as well as utilities. A previous agreement was set to expire in March 2021, but was extended for a year around a change of administration in Washington.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, appearing from isolation after a mild case of COVID-19, said the allies were “evolving our roles and missions to reflect Japan’s growing ability to contribute to regional peace and stability.”

Japan renounced its right to wage war after World War II and has since developed a close alliance with Washington, which is treaty-bound to defend the world’s third-largest economy.

According to the foreign ministry, the new five-year package will amount to 211 billion yen ($1.8 billion) per fiscal year, an increase of about five percent.

The package comes amid growing tensions with China, which has stepped up incursions near Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that enjoys close ties with Washington and Tokyo but which Beijing considers a province awaiting reunification.

“Beijing’s provocative actions keep raising tensions across the Taiwan Strait and in the East and South China Sea,” Blinken said.

He also described North Korea’s missile programs as an “ongoing threat” after Pyongyang fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea.

A joint statement issued after the talks took aim at “efforts by China to undermine the rules-based order,” with specific reference to activity in the East and South China Seas.

The allies also expressed “serious and ongoing concerns” about rights violations in China’s Xinjiang region and Hong Kong, and called for “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters later that he again raised the issue of COVID clusters on US bases, which are believed to have spilled over into local communities in several areas.

Japan’s government on Friday approved new virus restrictions in three regions that host US bases or are near them, and Hayashi said he had urged “the US side to strengthen anti-infection measures including efforts like introducing limits on off-base outings.”

UN Security Council to meet Jan. 10 on North Korean hypersonic missile launch

Biden says US, world in ‘struggle between democracy and autocracy’

World

India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Gandhi’s conviction

Members of India’s main opposition Congress party will take to the streets on Friday to protest against leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction for defamation, party officials said a day after a magistrate’s court sentenced Gandhi to a two-year jail term.

Gandhi, 52, was found guilty for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. He made the comment while campaigning ahead of the last general election to debunk economic policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

He was convicted by a court in the western state of Gujarat, which also gave him bail and suspended the sentence for one month.

That gives Gandhi time to appeal but he faces immediate disqualification from parliament following the conviction.

Two senior Congress leaders told Reuters that Gandhi will respect the local court’s verdict and will not attend parliament. “It is a fact that his membership stands disqualified for now, but we will challenge the conviction in the court to ensure he can attend parliament proceedings,” said a federal lawmaker who is also a Congress leader.

The current parliament session began on Jan.31 and is scheduled to conclude on April 6.

Officials in the Congress party said they are also depending on regional opposition parties to galvanize political support against the verdict.

“It is a critical political test for Gandhi, and we are depending on regional parties to support the Congress and stand against Modi’s party,” said a second senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press. The president’s office confirmed that Congress leaders have sought a meeting with President Draupadi Murmu to lodge a protest against the conviction with the top constitutional executive.

India’s Rahul Gandhi ends 135-day march to revive Congress party in snowy Kashmir

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi walks 2,000 miles to challenge Modi in the 2024 election

World

Watch: Fox News reporter reunites with son on live TV after Denver school shooting

A video showing a Fox News reporter reuniting with her son on live television outside a Denver high school where a shooting had taken place has gone viral on social media.

Alicia Acuna was reporting live on the scene outside East High School when she saw her son walk out with a group of other students.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Denver-based Fox News reporter @aacuna1 sees and embraces her son as he leaves East High school after today’s shooting. pic.twitter.com/jPt60YhhO6

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) March 22, 2023

The young man ran up to his mom who stepped off camera for a brief moment to hug him and check if he was alright.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. There’s no way you would have let your kid walk by. He’s okay. He’s good. He was the one telling me what was happening,” she told her colleagues in the studio during the broadcast.

The shooting took place as school administrators were searching for weapons on student Austin Lyle, according to news reports.

The two people – one in serious but stable condition and the other in critical condition – were taken to a nearby hospital where they are being treated.

Lyle, who had a history of violating school policies, shot the two administrators before fleeing the scene, reports said. He was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday night in the mountains southwest of Denver.

According to the Naval Postgraduate School database, shootings in US schools have more than tripled in the five years leading to 2021.

An average of 130 school shootings have occurred every year across the US in the past five years, the database revealed.

Six people dead in US shooting rampage, suspect detained

Six-year-old boy will not be charged for shooting school teacher in US

World

Messi mania grips Argentina in first match as World Cup champs

Messi mania gripped Buenos Aires as the Argentina national team led by Lionel Messi beat Panama 2-0 on Thursday in a friendly match that was essentially a celebration of their World Cup victory last December.

Although the world champions dominated the game, they didn’t get a goal until the 78th minute of the second half, when Thiago Almada scored after a free kick by Messi hit the goal post.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Ten minutes later, it was Messi’s turn and he scored the 800th goal of his professional career with a perfectly executed free kick. He is now one short of the 100-goal mark for the national squad.

After the match, the celebrations got into full swing and Messi took center stage, smiling from ear to ear as he received awards and accolades.

“I want to thank you for all the love we’ve been receiving . . . We told you we were going to do everything possible to win this,” a visibly emotional Messi said as he was handed the microphone. “Let’s enjoy this because we went a long time without winning it, and we don’t know when we’ll win it again.”

When it was coach Lionel Scaloni’s turn to speak, the first thing he did was lead the packed stadium on a chant praising Messi.

“Eternally grateful to this group of players,” Scaloni said as tears streamed down his face and thanked fans for their support.

The players’ families later joined them in the pitch and each of the players proceeded to lift a replica of the World Cup trophy in celebration. The players then walked around the pitch waving to fans as fireworks lit the night sky.

Earlier in the day, news channels carried live images of the players traveling to the stadium with a police escort as excited fans waited to see the team’s first game since it beat France in a thrilling final in Qatar.

Outside the Monumental Stadium there was a party-like atmosphere from early in the afternoon as somebody impersonating Pope Francis blessed a World Cup replica, children almost universally donned Messi’s No. 10 jersey and street sellers hawked Messi dolls.

Amid the celebrations there were also recriminations as many fans lamented they’d bought tickets for several times their face value from resellers that ended up being fake. The frustration led to scuffles with law enforcement that fired tear gas to disperse the angry fans.

“This World Cup was a miracle,” Marcelo Saracho, 49, said while dressed up like the pope, an Argentine, but with his cheeks painted in the light blue and white colors of the national flag.

Messi, the Paris Saint-Germain star who only last week was whistled by a group of fans of the French club that had been knocked out of the Champions League, received a massive ovation when he and his Argentina teammates entered the stadium filled with 83,000 fans.

When the anthem played the cameras zoomed in on Messi, who looked to be holding back tears as fans sang along triumphantly.

“I can’t believe I’m here,” Sofía Clavero, 12, said as her eyes welled up with tears while describing how she was eager to see her “idol” for the first time on the field.

The match culminated a week in which Messi, 35, was widely celebrated as a hero after helping Argentina win its third World Cup title, a marked change for the player who once suffered the indifference and even apathy from many Argentina fans who blamed him for the team’s failings in previous championships.

It all started Monday night when hundreds of fans mobbed a steakhouse in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo when word spread that Messi was inside having dinner. He needed a police escort to leave but was all smiles as people shouted “Messi I love you” and “Thank you, Leo.”

The next day, a group of fans realized the car next to them on the highway was carrying the man who is often described as the world’s best soccer player. They immediately started shouting, “I love you, Messi!” and “Let’s go, Messi!”

That’s when Messi proceeded to roll down his window and wave. The brief video of the encounter quickly went viral.

On Wednesday, the hosts of a morning network TV show went wild when they received an audio message from Messi.

“Good morning everyone,” Messi said in the message that the hosts huddled to hear. “I’m happy to be here, to enjoy everything we keep experiencing after what happened in December, and excited to enjoy tomorrow’s game.”

To avoid any issues, the players were taken to the stadium six hours before the start of the match flanked by a security operation that involved dozens of law enforcement officers. Plans for the transfer had been kept under wraps to avoid a repeat of what happened in December when a celebratory open-top bus throughout the capital had to be cut short when millions of fans made it impossible for the vehicle to advance.

Tickets to Thursday’s match sold out quickly but the game was just one chapter of the celebration that included local musicians and a trailer of a documentary about the World Cup-winning squad. The fan who wrote “Muchachos,” which became the unofficial anthem for the Argentina squad in Qatar, was also present.

The party continues next Tuesday when the team will play another friendly match against Curaçao in Argentina’s central Santiago del Estero province.

Ex-Germany football star Mesut Ozil to retire

Premier League matches to halt mid-game to allow players to break fast during Ramadan