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UK condemns anti-Israel chants at music festival

China seeks closer ties with Europe

BEIJING: China’s top diplomat headed to Europe yesterday for a visit that Beijing said would highlight ties as an“anchor of stability”in a world in turmoil. Wang Yi’s tour will take him to the European Union (EU) headquarters in Brussels as well as France and Germany as China seeks to improve relations with the bloc as a counterweight to superpower rival the United States. But deep frictions remain over the economy, including a yawning trade deficit of US$357.1 billion (RM1.5 trillion) between China and the EU, and Beijing’s close ties with Russia despite the war in Ukraine. “The world is undergoing an accelerated evolution of a century-old change, with unilateralism, protectionism and bullying behaviour becoming rampant,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday, a thinly veiled swipe against the United States under President Donald Trump. He said in that context, Beijing and the European bloc must “keep the world peaceful and stable, safeguard multilateralism, free trade, international rules, fairness and justice, and act firmly as anchors of stability and constructive forces in a volatile world”. Wang will meet with his EU counterpart Kaja Kallas at the bloc’s headquarters in Brussels for “high-level strategic dialogue”. In Germany, he will hold talks with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on diplomacy and security. This would be his first visit since Berlin’s new conservative-led government took power in May. In France, Wang will meet minister for Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, who visited China in March. The war in Ukraine will likely be high on the agenda, with European leaders having been forthright in condemning what they say is Beijing’s backing for Moscow. China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the war between Russia and Ukraine. But Western governments say Beijing’s close ties have given Moscow crucial economic and diplomatic support, and have urged China to do more to press Russia to end the war. Ties between Europe and China have also strained in recent years as the EU seeks to get tougher on what it says are unfair economic practices by Beijing. – AFP BR I E F S 381 cadavers found in Mexico crematorium CIUDAD JUAREZ: Police have found 381 corpses piled up in a private crematorium in northern Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez, the local prosecutor’s office said on Sunday, attributing the grisly find to negligence. Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office communications coordinator Eloy Garcia said the corpses were “stacked” in no apparent order in various rooms of the building where the crematorium operates. They were “just thrown like that, indiscriminately, one on top of the other, on the floor”, he said. All the bodies had been embalmed. Instead of ashes, relatives were given “other material”, he said. Authorities estimated that some of the remains could have been there for up to two years. Garcia blamed the “carelessness and irresponsibility” of the crematorium owners, adding that all such businesses “know what their daily cremation capacity is”. “You cannot take in more than you can process.” One of the crematorium administrators has turned himself in to prosecutors. Authorities did not specify whether the corpses belonged to victims of criminal violence. – AFP

o ‘No excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech’

Saturday it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the festival”. However, Streeting also took aim at the embassy, telling it to “get your own house in order”. “I think there is a serious point there by the Israeli embassy. I wish they would take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously.” A BBC spokesperson said Vylan’s comments were “deeply offensive” and the broadcaster had “no plans” to make the performance available on its on-demand service. While the BBC reported that Kneecap’s set was not broadcast live over editorial concerns surrounding impartiality, it announced on Sunday that an edited version was made available on iPlayer. It said the edits ensured the content fell within the “limits of artistic expression” in line with its editorial guidelines, and they had put warnings for strong language in the video. Kneecap, which has made headlines in recent months with its pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance, led crowds in chanting abuse against Starmer. – AFP

scenes came to be broadcast,” he said, referring to the country’s national broadcaster. One of Kneecap’s members wore a T-shirt dedicated to the Palestine Action Group, which is about to be banned under UK terror laws. The festival’s organisers said Bob Vylan’s comments “very much crossed a line”. “We are reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.” Avon and Somerset police said on Saturday video evidence would be assessed by officers “to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation”. The chants about Israel’s military were led by Bob Vylan frontman Bobby Vylan and were broadcast live on the BBC, which airs coverage of the festival. “I thought it was appalling,” said Labour government Health Secretary Wes Streeting of the chants. “I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens,” he told Sky News. The Israel embassy said in a statement on

GLASTONBURY: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday added his voice to those condemning a British punk-rap group for anti-Israel remarks at a Glastonbury music festival, an incident that has sparked a police inquiry. Bob Vylan led crowds in chants of “Death, death to the IDF”, a reference to the acronym for the Israel Defence Forces, during their set on Saturday. British police officers are also examining comments by the Irish rap trio Kneecap, whose members have been highly critical of Israel and its military campaign against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Starmer said: “There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech. I said Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence. “The BBC needs to explain how these

Firefighters in Idaho killed in ambush shooting MAKING A SPLASH ... People swimming in the Rhone river during an event organised by Lyon’s City Hall as part of the Entre Rhone et Saone Festival celebrating water on Sunday. – AFPPIC

KOOTENAI: Two firefighters were shot dead while responding to a fire in northern Idaho and the body of a man was later found with a gun nearby, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said on Sunday as it lifted a shelter-in-place order. Sheriff Bob Norris had earlier said law enforcement officers and firefighters were taking sniper fire and urged people to stay clear of the area around Canfield Mountain, a nature zone popular with hikers near Coeur d’Alene, about 420km east of Seattle. “This evening, members of the SWAT team located a deceased male on Canfield Mountain. A firearm was found nearby,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, adding that the shooter is believed to have acted alone. “At this time, the shelter in place is being lifted. However, there is still an active wildfire

nearby hospital. Firefighters received the first call of a fire at 1.21pm (2021 GMT), said Norris, and about 40 minutes later, reports emerged that they were being shot at. “This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,” Idaho Governor Brad Little said on X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.” Gun ownership is widespread in the United States as the country’s Constitution protects the rights of Americans to “keep and bear arms”. Deaths related to gun violence are common, with 17,927 people murdered by a gun in 2023 in the United States, according to the most recent available data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. – Reuters

on Canfield Mountain. Residents in the area are advised to be prepared and ready should further action need to be taken.” Norris said the shooter had used high-powered sporting rifles to fire rapidly at first responders, adding that “there is no threat to the community at this time”. Law enforcement is investigating whether the fire could have been intentionally set in order to lure first responders to the scene, Lieutenant Jeff Howard told ABC News. Homeland Security Department Secretary Kristi Noem has been briefed on the Idaho shooting, ABC News reported. Video footage from the scene had earlier showed smoke billowing from heavily wooded hillsides and armed responders preparing while several ambulances and emergency vehicles were seen entering a