22/09/2025

MONDAY | SEPT 22, 2025

9

JUSTICE DEPT TOLD TO CHARGE TRUMP ENEMIES WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump publicly urged his Justice Department on Saturday to take action against his enemies. In a post addressing “Pam” (Attorney General Pam Bondi) Trump fumed over the lack of legal action against California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats. Schiff and James are among a handful of people who have been accused by a close Trump ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump said. On Friday, Trump fired the federal prosecutor who was overseeing the probe into James, after the attorney reportedly insisted there was insufficient evidence to charge her with mortgage fraud. – AFP MEXICO CITY: Venezuela is training civilians on how to use weapons to defend the country in the event of a US attack. Soldiers have started basic training sessions, President Nicolás Maduro said on Saturday. He called on Venezuelan farmers to be prepared and, if necessary, to take up arms en masse. “The Venezuelan people say to the empire: Stop the threats!” Maduro told farmers at a gathering. He said that while the US threatens Venezuela, the country is more united than ever in defending its sovereignty. Just a few days ago, Venezuela launched a large-scale military exercise in the Caribbean amid growing tensions with the US. In recent weeks, the US military has attacked what it says were drug-trafficking boats in waters south of the US, killing people on board. President Donald Trump accuses Venezuela of exporting drugs and has threatened drastic consequences if it does not take back certain nationals, including criminals. – Bernama Russia’s Defence Ministry denied its jets violated Estonian airspace, saying they flew over neutral waters. – Reuters VENEZUELA STARTS TRAINING CIVILIANS UK fighter jets begin flights over Poland LONDON: British fighter jets have flown their first Nato air defence sortie over Poland as part of Nato’s Eastern Sentry mission, the government said, aimed at strengthening the Western alliance’s defences following a Russian drone incursion this month. The mission, announced on Monday by the UK government in the immediate aftermath of the incursions into Polish airspace, sends“a clear signal: Nato airspace will be defended”, Defence Minister John Healey said in a statement. Two Royal Air Force Typhoons took off from a British military base in eastern England on Friday night to patrol Polish skies and deter and defend against aerial threats from Russia, including drones, the statement said, adding that they returned safely to the UK. The British government said it was a response to the “most significant violation” of Nato airspace by Russian President Putin to date since his incursion into Ukraine. Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, said the British jets joined allies along Nato’s eastern flank, adding: “We remain agile, integrated, and ready to project airpower at range.” The UK mission over Poland also comes amid heightened tensions elsewhere in Europe, with Nato-member Estonia saying on Friday that three Russian military jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes in an “unprecedentedly brazen” incursion. Healey condemned that on Friday, saying Russia’s“latest reckless and dangerous activity is the third violation of Nato airspace in recent days.”

Britain, Portugal to recognise Palestinian state An activist carrying a banner with Palestinian names lighting a candle outside the US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Saturday. – REUTERSPIC

BR I E F S

“My brother is a 57-year-old man who suffers from several illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and he has severe vision impairment – and they claim he was a sniper? This is pure fabrication,” he said, noting his brother’s family had been displaced several times since October 2023. Mohammed Abu Salmiya said on Saturday that the sight of his brother and sister-in-law’s bodies being delivered to the hospital while he was on duty left him “shocked and devastated”. – AFP echoed by around 10 nations including France, Australia, Belgium and Canada at the UN meet. On Saturday, Israel’s military kept up its assault on Gaza City and the wider Gaza Strip on Saturday, dismantling underground shafts and booby-trapped structures in attacks that killed at least 60 Palestinians. Israel’s intensified military demolition campaign targeting high-rise buildings in Gaza City began last week alongside a ground assault. Its forces, which control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs, have been pounding the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa areas from where they would be positioned to advance on central and western parts of the city. Most of Gaza City’s population is sheltering in those parts. The military estimates it has demolished up to 20 Gaza City tower blocks over the past two weeks. It also believes, according to Israeli media, that more than 500,000 people have left the city since the start of September. Hamas, which controls Gaza, disputes this, saying just under 300,000 have left and around 900,000 remain, including Israeli hostages. – AFP/Reuters

recognition, arguing it had to be part of any two-state solution negotiated as part of a deal peace with Israel. But a growing number of longtime allies have shifted positions, as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive. The besieged Palestinian territory has suffered vast destruction, death and lack of food that have resulted in a major humanitarian crisis. World leaders will gather for a key debate at the UN General Assembly in New York this week where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be front and centre. Lammy acknowledged at the UN in July that “Britain bears a special burden of responsibility to support the two-state solution”. Over a century ago, the UK was pivotal in laying the groundwork for the creation of the state of Israel through the 1917 Balfour Declaration. Starmer said in July that his Labour government intended to recognise a Palestinian State unless Israel took “substantive” steps including reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. The landmark announcement will be

LONDON: Britain was set yesterday to recognise a Palestinian state, UK media said, ahead of key UN talks where several nations are poised to follow suit to pressure Israel over Gaza. Prime Minister Keir Starmer “will set out the position later”, his deputy David Lammy told the BBC, stopping short of confirming that there would be a full recognition of a Palestinian state. Portugal’s Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that Lisbon “will recognise the State of Palestine”. Although it would be a largely symbolic move, the UK would become the first G7 country to move towards full recognition of a State of Palestine, with France and others expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly next week. It is a watershed moment for Palestinian statehood, with the most powerful western nations for years holding out against o Israel presses on with Gaza City assault

Doctor debunks claims brother was a sniper TEL AVIV: The Israeli military said yesterday it had killed a sniper in a strike the day before, but a senior Gaza doctor who is the man’s brother rejected the claim, saying his sibling was visually impaired. but yesterday it said it had killed Majed Abu Salmiya, describing him as a sharpshooter. “The IDF (Israeli military) struck and eliminated Majed Abu Salmiya,” it said in a statement.

“As part of his role, Abu Salmiya operated as a sniper and was preparing to carry out an attack against IDF troops.” Mohammed Abu Salmiya, however, rejected the military’s accusation as “a lie, slander and an unacceptable justification for targeting civilians with direct missile strikes”.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, had been working in the emergency department on Saturday when his brother and sister-in-law’s bodies were brought in, telling AFP at the time that they were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City. The military did not comment on Saturday,