BEIJING – Railway passenger trips in China were expected to reach 18.65 million yesterday, the last day of the five-day May Day holiday, data from the national railway operator shows.
The China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. China Railway said an additional 1,710 passenger trains were planned for yesterday to ensure smooth railway transportation operation.
The country’s railway network is expected to handle 144 million passenger trips during the eight-day May Day holiday travel rush from April 29 to May 6, according to China Railway.
During the period, an average of over 12,000 passenger trains are planned daily, which is about 1,800 more than the usual number during non-rush periods, it said.(Xinhua)…[+]
Nieuws volgens datum: 6 May, 2024
China expects 18.65 mln railway trips on last day of May Day holiday
FT-inlichtingendiensten waarschuwen voor Russische sabotage
LONDEN – Europese inlichtingendiensten hebben hun regeringen gewaarschuwd dat Rusland gewelddadige sabotageacties aan het voorbereiden is. Dit bericht zakenkrant The Financial Times (FT), dat inzage kreeg in analyses uit drie Europese landen.
Uit die gegevens komt naar voren dat Rusland lijkt te werken aan een agressievere aanpak. Er kunnen bijvoorbeeld bom- en brandaanslagen worden uitgevoerd en infrastructuur kan worden gesaboteerd.
De autoriteiten in verschillende landen hebben al actie ondernomen om dat te voorkomen. Zo zijn vorige maand in Duitsland twee mannen opgepakt vanwege vermeende plannen om aanslagen te plegen op militaire en logistieke locaties.
Veiligheidsdiensten kijken volgens de krant nu ook of ze mogelijke doelwitten hebben gemist. Als voorbeeld wordt een onverklaarde explosie uit april genoemd bij een munitiefabriek in Wales.
Een inlichtingenbron voorspelt in de FT dat de Russische president Vladimir Poetin op allerlei manieren grenzen gaat opzoeken in Europa. Het kan dan naast sabotage ook gaan om de verspreiding van desinformatie of hackaanvallen.(De Telegraaf)…[+]
Italië sluit sturen van troepen naar Oekraïne uit na nieuwe dreigende taal Franse president Macron
ROME – Italië is niet van plan troepen te sturen naar Oekraïne. Dat heeft de Italiaanse minister van Defensie Guido Crosetto gezegd in een interview met de Italiaanse krant Corriere della Sera. Hij reageert daarmee op een uitspraak van de Franse president Emmanuel Macron, die deze week herhaalde dat hij het inzetten van Franse grondtroepen in Oekraïne niet uitsluit. Crosetto waarschuwt dat dergelijke uitlatingen de spanningen met Rusland nog kunnen vergroten. Volgens Crosetto is het standpunt van Italië ongewijzigd. “We hebben altijd gezegd dat Oekraïne op alle mogelijke manieren geholpen moet worden. Dat is iets wat Italië ook effectief doet. Maar we hebben ook altijd een directe interventie van ons leger in het conflict uitgesloten.
Italië kan volgens de defensieminister alleen deelnemen aan militaire interventies op basis van een internationaal mandaat, zoals een VN-resolutie. “Maar het sturen van troepen zou het conflict verder doen escaleren, wat de Oekraïners ook niet te goede zou komen meent hij.
Crosetto roept in de plaats op om de spanningen niet op te voeren en dialoog na te streven. “Want als het conflict volledig zou ontploffen, heeft Italië veel te verliezen meent hij. We hebben geen afdoende defensie en het zou niet goed zijn mocht de Oekraïense barrière vallen.”(HLN)…[+]
Israel to close Al Jazeera news network in the country
ISRAEL – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem on February 18.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem on February 18. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X: “The government headed by me unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel. Ofir Gendelman, the prime minister’s spokesperson to the Arab world, said yesterday that the decision would be “implemented immediately.”
In a post on X, Gendelman said that the network’s “broadcast equipment will be confiscated, the channel’s correspondents will be prevented from working, the channel will be removed from cable and satellite television companies, and Al Jazeera’s websites will be blocked on the Internet.
He quoted Netanyahu as saying Al Jazeera reporters harmed Israel’s security and incited IDF soldiers. It is time to expel the mouthpiece of Hamas from our country. A video obtained by CNN showed Israeli police accompanied by agents of the Israel Security Agency entering Al Jazeera’s broadcasting position in Jerusalem yesterday. Al Jazeera condemned the Israeli cabinet’s decision as a “criminal act,” which it said infringes on the human right to access information.
It continued: “Israel’s suppression of the free press to cover up its crimes by killing and arresting journalists did not deter us from performing our duty. More than 140 Palestinian journalists have been martyred for the sake of the truth since the beginning of the war on Gaza.Several of the network’s journalists working in Gaza have been injured or killed since October 7.
Al Jazeera also again denied Israel’s “false allegations regarding our violation of the professional frameworks governing media work,” and called on media and human rights organizations “to condemn the Israeli authorities’ repeated attacks on the press and journalists. The move comes a month after Netanyahu vowed to shut down the television channel in the country following the passage of a sweeping law allowing the government to ban foreign networks perceived as posing a threat to national security.
Netanyahu said on X in early April that he intended “to act immediately in accordance with the new law” to stop the outlet’s activity in the country. Netanyahu’s government has long complained about Al Jazeera’s operations, alleging anti-Israeli bias.
In response, Al Jazeera which has been producing on the ground reporting of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza slammed the decision and vowed to continue its “bold and professional coverage.
The new law gave the prime minister and communications minister authority to order the temporary closure of foreign networks operating in Israel – powers that rights groups say could have far-reaching implications on international media coverage of the war in Gaza.
Rights groups condemned the move at the time, with Human Rights Watch calling it “an alarming escalation,” while the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was deeply concerned” by the new legislation.The move comes as negotiators met in Cairo on Saturday, in a bid to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Negotiators have made progress on the technical aspects of a potential deal, but two Israeli sources say it could take a week to finalize the deal itself. Qatar has played a key role in ceasefire negotiations in the on-going war.(CNN)…[+]
‘If there was a ceasefire, I’d go home,’ Gaza’s war-weary IDPs say
DEIR AL-BALAH – The word is a weary wish in Gaza, as much a source of searing disappointment as the last emblem of hope. It has also been on the lips of protesters worldwide, who for months have demonstrated against the carnage of Israel’s war on Gaza.
The word is “ceasefire”, an end to the Israeli assault that has pummeled the Gaza Strip for seven months – killing at least 34,683 and injuring at least 78,018 more in a drawn-out Israeli retaliation for a Hamas-led attack on its territory on October 7.
Several rounds of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in recent months have failed to end the bloodshed or even achieve a temporary pause, as happened last November.
The source of the talks’ deadlock is that Hamas wants a permanent end to the war and the assurance that Israel will not invade Rafah, the refuge for nearly 1.5 million Palestinians.
In ongoing negotiations in Cairo, Egypt, Israel has agreed to only a 40-day pause in fighting and said it will forge ahead with its Rafah offensive regardless of whether a deal is reached.
A potential ceasefire keeps internally displaced person (IDP) Abeer al-Namrouti glued to her phone day and night, the displaced Gaza resident often falling asleep to news bulletins still playing near her head.
The 39-year-old, who has eight children, left the town of al-Qarara in Khan Younis after munitions struck her home, destroying it. The attack also injured her and her husband and they had to undergo weeks of treatment that is still ongoing for her husband.
From the tent they live in now in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, she heads to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to get the medication her husband still requires and administers them to him via IV. It is a difficult life, but she remains determined. (Al Jazeera)…[+]
Onrust universiteiten VS houdt aan 25 arrestaties in Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE – De politie heeft zeker 25 pro-Palestijnse betogers opgepakt op de Universiteit van Virginia. Volgens Amerikaanse media kwamen de autoriteiten daar in actie om een protestkamp te ontruimen.
De universiteit zegt dat actievoerders de regels hebben overtreden door vrijdag tenten op te zetten en megafoons te gebruiken. Daarom zou uiteindelijk de politie zijn ingeschakeld.
De ontruiming van het kamp verliep onrustig. Honderden studenten en inwoners van Charlottesville riepen „schaam je, schaam je” terwijl agenten de demonstranten verwijderden, schrijft The New York Times.
Op meerdere plaatsen in de VS worden op universiteiten acties gehouden uit solidariteit met Palestijnen in de Gazastrook. Instellingen hebben herhaaldelijk een beroep gedaan op de politie om protesten te beëindigen.(De Telegraaf)…[+]
Israel-Gaza ceasefire talks: Netanyahu says Israel cannot accept Hamas demands
ISRAEL – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will not accept Hamas’s demands for Israel to end the Gaza war. It comes as negotiators were resuming talks in Egypt to broker a pause in Israel’s Gaza offensive in return for the release of hostages taken by Hamas.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Netanyahu said: “We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure, and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding communities, in the cities of the south, in all parts of the country.” Separately, an anonymous Israeli government official told local media on Saturday that Israel would “under no circumstances agree to end the war as part of an agreement to free our abductees. They added: “The IDF will enter Rafah and destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there – whether there is a temporary pause to free our captives or not.
Mr Netanyahu has faced pressure from within his far-right coalition to press ahead with the long-promised offensive in Gaza’s southern-most city, where an estimated 1.4 million people have taken shelter after fleeing fighting in northern and central parts of the strip.
The US – Israel’s biggest diplomatic and military ally – is reluctant to back a new offensive that could cause significant civilian casualties, and has insisted on seeing a plan to protect displaced Palestinians first. The Israeli government also faces mounting pressure at home. Thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday night calling for a deal to bring hostages home.
Protesters in Tel Aviv chanted “war is not holy, life is”, with some accusing Mr Netanyahu of aiming to prolong the conflict in Gaza. Saturday’s demonstrations in Israel were the latest display of the increased domestic pressure Mr Netanyahu is facing to secure the return of the hostages.
Of the 252 who were kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October, 128 are still unaccounted for and among them, at least 34 are presumed dead.Natalie Eldor, a protester in Tel Aviv, told Reuters news agency she was there to “support a deal now, yesterday”.
“We need to bring all the hostages back, the live ones, the dead ones. We got to bring them back. We got to switch this government,” she added. Some who gathered at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv accused the prime minister of undermining the proposed truce, while others called for an end to the war.
Addressing the prospects of a truce on Saturday, minister Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, said An official response to the outline has not yet been received. When accepted – the war management cabinet will meet and discuss it.Until then, I suggest to the ‘political sources’ and all decision-makers to wait for official updates, to act calmly and not to get into hysteria for political reasons. (BBC News)…[+]
Noord-Koreaans propagandaliedje gaat viraal op TikTok
PYONGYANG – Al jaren gaan Zuid-Koreaanse liedjes de wereld over, maar nu lijken de noordeburen eindelijk ook een hit te pakken te hebben. Want op TikTok zijn BTS, NewJeans en Blackpink inmiddels vervangen door het gezicht van niemand minder dan de Noord-Koreaanse dictator Kim Jong-un. Een propagandalied genaamd Vriendelijke vader gaat vanwege de muziek inmiddels viral op TikTok.
Het nummer verheerlijkt de leider van het kluizenaarskoninkrijk en roept luisteraars op om Kim Jong-un op te hemelen en te prijzen. De begeleidende muziek doet volgens kenners denken aan Abba. Westerse en Zuid-Koreaanse muziek zijn verboden in Noord-Korea, en alle muziek heeft als doel om de staat, de ideologie en de leider te prijzen. Daarvoor werkt een zogeheten oorwurm natuurlijk het beste. En met dit lied lijkt Pyongyang ook buiten de landsgrenzen een doelgroep aan te boren.
Want op TikTok is men lyrisch, ondanks dat de Koreaanse tekst niet volledig begrepen wordt. “Ik moet niets hebben van Kim Jong-un, maar dit nummer is catchy, aldus een gebruiker. Is dit een single? En waar kan ik het hele album krijgen zo grapte iemand. Geef dit een Grammy”, zo vroeg een TikTokker. Een ander zei: “Het is dystopisch op de meest aanstekelijke manier.Deze beat had Taylor Swift niet verwacht, net na het uitbrengen van haar nieuwste album”, zo klinkt het op TikTok. Sommigen vonden het wel ironisch dat een liedje uit het communistische Noord-Korea nu precies viraal gaat op TikTok, een app ontwikkeld in het eveneens communistische China.(De Telegraaf)…[+]
China-France forum underscores people-to-people, cultural exchang
PARIS – A forum on the development of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and France was held here on Saturday, in a bid to boost cooperation and mutual learning.
The participants agreed that strengthening cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and France will not only help broaden consensus and deepen mutual trust, but also promote the two great civilizations and other civilizations worldwide to achieve each other and to rejuvenate with fresh vitality in the new era.
In his opening speech, President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua said the forum, held on the eve of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to France, is of great significance in boosting cooperation between media, think tanks and enterprises from the two countries and in facilitating cultural exchange and mutual learning. Fu said that Xinhua has been dedicated to telling stories about the friendship between the two countries and promoting Chinese and French cultures.
We are willing to work with Chinese and French media outlets, think tanks and other organizations to uphold the principle of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations, and promote the common values of all humanity,” he said. Xinhua is ready to jointly showcase the fruits of China-France cooperation, demonstrate the charms of the two countries’ traditional cultures and the unique highlights of their modern civilizations, and broaden the bridge of people-to-people exchange and cultural cooperation, Fu noted.
Xinhua also stands ready to seize such opportunities as the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism and the Paris Olympic Games to try to hold more cultural exchange activities to push bilateral relations to a new high. China’s Ambassador to France Lu Shaye said people-to-people and cultural exchanges are an important foundation and inexhaustible driving force for China-France relations.
The two countries are set to launch dozens of cultural and tourism events this year that marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, and will see the Paris Olympic Games, bringing important opportunities for people-to-people and cultural exchanges, the ambassador said.
Lu also expressed his belief that under the strategic guidance of President Xi and President Macron, bilateral ties are bound to show vigor and vitality in the future, and the booming cultural exchanges and cooperation will also lay a more solid public opinion foundation for the sound and stable development of bilateral ties.Culture constitutes the strongest cement between our civilizations,” Eric Alauzet, president of the France-China Friendship Group of the French National Assembly, said at the forum.
The common history of the two countries after the establishment of diplomatic ties has nourished fruitful cultural and people-to-people exchanges, which has in turn driven cooperation and development in other areas, he said.Bilateral cooperation has achieved many outcomes in economy and trade, and in their joint efforts against climate change, Alauzet added, noting that the two countries have held various cultural exchange activities this year, which will further push forward bilateral relations.Themed “Reinforcing People-to-people and Cultural Exchanges, Promoting the China-France Spirit,” the forum drew around 250 representatives from the Chinese and French governments, the United Nations and other international organizations, mainstream global media outlets, think tanks as well as cultural and business circles of the two countries.(Xinhua)…[+]
