Firefighters brought under control a fire that broke out at a residential tower in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday night, Sharjah’s government media office said.
Seven people were treated for minor injuries from the fire in the tower in Sharjah’s Al Nahda area and taken to hospital for treatment, the media office tweeted.
Videos on social media purportedly of the fire showed burning debris falling from a tower engulfed in flames, which local media said was the 48-storey Abbco Tower. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
Residents of the tower were evacuated, Sharjah media office said. It did not say whether the cause of the fire was known.
Internal report says rising wave of hostility in wake of pandemic could tip relations with US into confrontation.
An internal Chinese report warns that Beijing faces a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into a confrontation, people familiar with the paper told Reuters news agency.
The report, presented early last month by the Ministry of State Security to top Beijing leaders including President Xi Jinping, concluded that global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, the sources said.
As a result, Beijing faces a wave of anti-China sentiment led by the United States in the aftermath of the pandemic and needs to be prepared in a worst-case scenario for an armed confrontation between the two global powers, according to people familiar with the report’s content, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
The report was drawn up by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think-tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, China’s top intelligence body.
Reuters has not seen the briefing paper, but it was described by people who had direct knowledge of its findings.
“I don’t have relevant information,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson’s office said in a statement responding to questions from Reuters on the report.
China’s Ministry of State Security has no public contact details and could not be reached for comment.
CICIR, an influential think-tank that until 1980 was within the Ministry of State Security and advises the Chinese government on foreign and security policy, did not reply to a request for comment.
Threats of a backlash
Reuters could not determine to what extent the stark assessment described in the paper reflects positions held by China’s state leaders and to what extent, if at all, it would influence policy.
But the presentation of the report shows how seriously Beijing takes the threat of a building backlash that could threaten what China sees as its strategic investments overseas and its view of its security standing.
Relations between China and the US are widely seen to be at their worst point in decades, with deepening mistrust and friction points from US allegations of unfair trade and technology practices to disputes over Hong Kong, Taiwan and contested territories in the South China Sea.
In recent days, US President Donald Trump, facing a more difficult re-election campaign as the coronavirus has killed tens of thousands of American lives and ravaged the US economy, has been ramping up his criticism of Beijing and threatening new tariffs on China. His administration, meanwhile, is considering retaliatory measures against China over the outbreak, officials said.
It is widely believed in Beijing that the US wants to contain a rising China, which has become more assertive globally as its economy has grown.
The paper concluded that Washington views China’s rise as an economic and national security threat and a challenge to Western democracies, the people said. The report also said the US was aiming to undercut the ruling Communist Party by undermining public confidence.
Chinese officials had a “special responsibility” to inform their people and the world of the threat posed by the coronavirus “since they were the first to learn of it,” US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in response to questions from Reuters.
Without directly addressing the assessment made in the Chinese report, Ortagus added: “Beijing’s efforts to silence scientists, journalists and citizens and spread disinformation exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis.”
A spokesman for the US National Security Council declined to comment.
Repercussions
The report described to Reuters warned that anti-China sentiment sparked by the coronavirus could fuel resistance to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure investment projects and that Washington could step up financial and military support for regional allies, making the security situation in Asia more volatile.
Three decades ago, in the aftermath of Tiananmen, the US and many Western governments imposed sanctions against China including banning or restricting arms sales and technology transfers.
China is far more powerful nowadays.
Xi has revamped China’s military strategy to create a fighting force equipped to win modern wars. He is expanding China’s air and naval reach in a challenge to more than 70 years of US military dominance in Asia.
In its statement, China’s foreign ministry called for cooperation, saying: “The sound and steady development of China-US relations” serve the interests of both countries and the international community.
It added: “any words or actions that engage in political manipulation or stigmatisation under the pretext of the pandemic, including taking the opportunity to sow discord between countries are not conducive to international cooperation against the pandemic.”
Echoes of Cold War
One of those with knowledge of the report said it was regarded by some in the Chinese intelligence community as China’s version of the “Novikov Telegram”, a 1946 dispatch by the Soviet ambassador to Washington, Nikolai Novikov, that stressed the dangers of US economic and military ambition in the wake of World War II.
Novikov’s missive was a response to US diplomat George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” from Moscow that said the Soviet Union did not see the possibility for peaceful coexistence with the West and that containment was the best long-term strategy.
The two documents helped set the stage for the strategic thinking that defined both sides of the Cold War.
China has been accused by the United States of suppressing early information on the virus, which was first detected in the central city of Wuhan, and downplaying its risks.
Beijing has repeatedly denied that it covered up the extent or severity of the virus outbreak.
China has managed to contain the domestic spread of the virus and has been trying to assert a leading role in the global battle against COVID-19. That has included a propaganda push around its donations and sale of medical supplies to the US and other countries and sharing of expertise.
But China faces a growing backlash from critics who have called to hold Beijing accountable for its role in the pandemic.
Trump has said he will cut off funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), which he called “very China-centric,” something WHO officials have denied.
Australia’s government has called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the virus.
Last month, France summoned China’s ambassador to protest a publication on the website of China’s embassy that criticised Western handling of coronavirus.
The virus has so far infected more than three million people globally and caused more than 250,000 deaths, worldwide.
China’s new large carrier rocket Long March-5B made its maiden flight on Tuesday, sending the trial version of the country’s new-generation manned spaceship and a cargo return capsule for test into space, official media reported.
The white large rocket blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the coast of southern China’s island province of Hainan at 6 p.m. (Beijing Time), state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
About 488 seconds later, the experimental manned spacecraft with no crew, together with the test version of the cargo return capsule, separated with the rocket and entered the planned orbit.
The successful flight inaugurates the “third step” of China’s manned space program, which is to construct a space station, CMSA said.
Specially developed for China’s manned space program, Long March-5B will be mainly used to launch the modules of the space station, it said.
The Long March-5 integrates top space technologies, including non-toxic environmentally friendly fuel and a highly stable control system, state-run Global Times reported.
“After the launch of the Long March-5, China will launch a series of 20-ton rockets, including the Long March-5, 6 and 7,” Wang Xiaojun, commander-in-chief of the Long March-7, told the daily.
The rocket will help carry the core module and experiment modules to China’s space station.
China initiated the manned space program in 1992. Designed as the country’s strongest carrier rocket, the Long March-5 has a payload capacity of 25 tonnes to low Earth orbit, or 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit, an earlier Xinhua report said.
Tainted former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif says he wasn’t the first nor would be the last to have indulged in spot-fixing and should have been treated better by his country’s Cricket Board, which gave “everyone a second chance” except for him.
Asif was banned for seven years for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal during Pakistan’s tour of England, where he bowled deliberate no balls for money. He also served jail time in the UK after being found guilty along with Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt.
Asif said he should have got a second chance like many others, whom he did not name.
“Everyone makes mistakes and I did too. Players had been indulging in fixing before me and even after me. But those before me are working with PCB and there are few after me still playing,” Asif told ‘ESPNCricinfo’.
“Everyone was given a second chance and there are few who never got the same treatment (as me). PCB never tried to save me regardless of the fact that I am the kind of bowler who was highly regarded by everyone in the world.
“But anyway I’m not sitting around brooding about the past or hung up on it.”
Asif said he takes pride in the performances he dished out in his limited career.
“However much I played in my career, I made it count, duniya hila ke rakh di thi (I shook up the world). That is more important for me to think about. Even today, so many years later, the best batsmen in the world still remember me and they talk about me.
“Just think how big the impact was that I had on the world. So this is what makes me proud – that there is a reason KP, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla talk highly about me. That is what makes me happy.”
The 37-year-old, who also failed a dope test in 2006 and served a one year suspension for it, admitted that he “should have behaved better off the field”.
“That is where I had issues. I want to give the kids this message that when you cross the boundary line into the field, your ambition should be to do well for yourself and for your team.”
“I was selfish as a bowler because I wanted to take wickets, and that was to help the team win. Being selfish isn’t bad if you’re playing your part for the team,” he said.
Asif remembered the days when he made the ball talk and created a lasting impression on players like Wasim Akram and Mudassar Naazar.
“I proved myself not just once but repeatedly. I got the same batsmen out more than once, and it’s not like I bowled one fluke great delivery and never did it again.
“With ball in hand I was in control. Moving the ball in and out wasn’t just a one-off thing. And I didn’t learn to do it in days. It took me years and I worked really hard for it.”
Asif did not like the fact that Amir retired from Test cricket at the age of 27, saying he let PCB down with his decision since the Board helped him a lot in his difficult time.
“I curse the PCB for how they rescued his career. But it was his obligation to help Pakistan cricket in a tough situation and he should have stayed, especially when they had helped him return.”
“If they (the PCB) had done the same with me, then I’d still be available to rescue Pakistan in Test cricket for the next two years. I know there are fitness standards, but I can work that out and whatever is required I can do it”.
A civil engineer from Mangaluru, working in an MNC in Kuwait for the past two decades, was fired after he allegedly posted derogatory comments against Muslims and the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.
Another Indian working as a hotel supervisor was fired after he shared a cartoon related to the congregation. Both have been asked to leave the country once airlines resume operations.
They aren’t the only ones who’ve come under scrutiny. A woman who works as an anaesthesia technician in Kuwait could lose her job after an old anti-Islam Facebook post resurfaced. A voice message (TOI is in possession of it) of her purportedly apologising is doing the rounds.
Indians working in the Gulf posting derogatory and offensive comments against Muslims and Islam on social media are not only being summarily sacked, but are also being jailed.
Sources say many countries in the region have teams who monitor social media posts and flag up offensive comments. Complaints are filed and employers tagged. With complaints increasing, Indian embassies in Gulf countries have stepped up efforts to educate Indians working abroad.
The issue came to the fore after Tablighi Jamaat delegates were accused by some media in India of deliberately infecting people with the Covid-19 virus.
“Voluntary cyber soldiers in the Gulf are monitoring anti-Islam posts on social media,” said an Indian working in an oil-rich country. “They take a screenshot and tag it with the individual’s company as well as a government enforcement body.
Employers immediately take punitive action.” The source said these individual also lose all benefits and cannot join other firms. “Every Indian should respect the law of the land,” the Indian said.
Three more Indians based in the UAE have either been fired or suspended from their jobs for “Islamophobic” posts on social media, days after the Indian ambassador to the Gulf nation warned the expatriates against posting such provocative updates online, a media report has said.
Chef Rawat Rohit, storekeeper Sachin Kinnigoli and a cash custodian, whose identity was withheld by his employer, are the latest additions to a list of about half a dozen Indians who have faced action for their social media posts, the Gulf News reported on Saturday.
“It seems that the warnings of the Indian mission have fallen on deaf ears as the list of Indian expats facing action over vile Islamophobic remarks on social media keeps getting longer,” it said.
On April 20, India’s ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor had warned Indian expatriates against such behaviour.
“India and UAE share the value of non-discrimination on any grounds. Discrimination is against our moral fabric and the Rule of law. Indian nationals in the UAE should always remember this,” he said in a tweet.
Over the weekend, at least three more have been fired or suspended after their offensive posts were brought to the attention of employers by social media users, the report said.
A spokesperson for Azadea Group that operates Eataly, a chain of high-end Italian restaurants in Dubai, confirmed that Rohit had been suspended and was facing a disciplinary probe.
Sharjah-based Pneumics Automation have also said they suspended their storekeeper Kinnigoli until further notice.
“We have withheld his salary and told him not to come to work. The matter is under investigation. We have a zero-tolerance policy. Anyone found guilty of insulting or showing contempt for someone’s religion will have to bear the consequences,” the firm’s owner was quoted as saying in the report.
Dubai-based Transguard Group said they have cracked down on an employee who had posted several anti-Islamic messages on his Facebook page under the name of Vishal Thakur.
“Following an internal investigation, the actual identity of this employee was verified and he was stripped of his security credentials, terminated from our employment and handed over to the relevant authorities as per company policy. As of this statement, he is in the custody of Dubai Police,” a Transguard spokesperson said in a statement.
The new sackings and suspensions come days after both the former and current Indian Ambassadors to the UAE cautioned their countrymen about the UAE’s strict hate speech laws. Similar warnings were issued by missions in other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Last month, Sharjah-based businessman Sohan Roy had to apologise for “unintentionally hurting religious sentiments” through his poem, which alluded to a Muslim religious group.
In March, chef Trilok Singh was fired from a restaurant in Dubai for an online threat against a student in Delhi over her views on the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The Indian missions in the country last week opened online registration for the expatriates who wish to fly back home after getting stuck in the country amidst the lockdown
Over 1,50,000 Indians in the UAE, who wish to return home amid the coronavirus lockdown, have applied through the online registration process to the Indian missions here, according to media reports.
The Indian missions in the country last week opened online registration for the expatriates who wish to fly back home after getting stuck in the country amidst the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As of 6 p.m. on Saturday, we received more than 1,50,000 registrations, Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul told the Gulf News on Saturday.
A quarter of them want to return to their homeland after losing their jobs, he said.
According to a report in the Khaleej Times on Sunday, about 40% of the applicants who have registered are blue-collared workers and 20% are working professionals.
“Roughly 20% have suffered job losses and about 55% of the total applicants are from Kerala,” Neeraj Aggarwal, Consul, Press, Information, Culture was quoted as saying in the report.
Mr. Aggarwal said that the figures would change as they are expecting registrations from workers from other states, including Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
About 10% of the applicants are visit and tourist visa holders who got stranded here due to the ongoing lockdown in India.
India extended the ongoing lockdown by two weeks from May 4 to contain the spread of the coronavirus that has affected nearly 40,000 people in the country.
Mr. Aggarwal said that a small number of the applications constitute those from pregnant women and other medical cases.
Since the online registration process was launched, the Consulate’s website crashed several times due to the heavy rush of applicants wishing to register to fly back home.
The site has been working fine now though it took a lot of time for it to stabilise in the initial phase due to the heavy traffic, the counsel general said.
He said that the missions here have not yet received any information from the Indian government about the mode of transport of the stranded citizens, the prices of the tickets or how the COVID-19 test results of applicants would be assessed for their journey.
There are high-level discussions going on regarding these things, he said in the report.
Meanwhile, Norka (The Non Resident Keralites Affairs) said it has received a total of 398,000 applications from Keralites across the globe who wish to return home.
“Of which, the highest numbers are from the UAE. At least 175,423 applicants have signed up from the UAE,” Norka said in an official statement on Saturday.
It also received 54,305 registrations from Saudi Arabia, 2,437 from the UK, 2,255 from the US, and 1,958 from Ukraine from those who wish to return to India, the Khaleej Times reported.
The coronavirus has infected 13,599 people and claimed 119 lives in the UAE, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said on Saturday.
Built at an altitude of 6,500 metres, the base station which became operational on Thursday, is located at the advance base camp of Mount Everest, according to state-run telecom giant China Mobile.
Climbers to Mount Everest from the Chinese side can now enjoy high-speed 5G coverage after the world’s highest-altitude base station started operation in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet, the state media reported on Friday.
Built at an altitude of 6,500 metres, the base station which became operational on Thursday, is located at the advance base camp of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, according to state-run telecom giant China Mobile.
The base station, along with another two that were previously built at altitudes of 5,300 metres and 5,800 metres respectively, realises the full coverage of 5G signal of Mount Everest on the north ridge as well as the summit, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Global Times quoted officials connected with the project as saying that the cost of building five 5G stations in the extremely difficult terrain could reach 10 million yuan (USD 1.42 million). The 5G stations will help mountaineers from across the world communicate better. It could also prove to be helpful for rescuing workers and researchers, it said.
Located at the China-Nepal border, Mount Everest has an altitude of more than 8,840 metres, with its north part located in Xigaze prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region.
5G is the fifth generation of wireless communication technologies. In addition to faster speeds, 5G offers greater bandwidth and network capacity, paving the way for a future of driverless cars, more connected devices and high-definition connections for virtual meetings and telemedicine.
Zhou Min, general manager of Tibet branch of China Mobile, said the facility will ensure telecommunication for the activities of mountain climbing, scientific research, environmental monitoring and high-definition livestreaming.
The building of 5G infrastructure is in tandem with the measuring of the height of the peak, which officially started on Thursday.
The base station at 5,300 metres is expected to serve the base camp area. Once 5G is commercially available, climbers, tourists and local residents will be able to use the service in the base camp area, the report said.
The base stations at 5,800 metres and 6,500 metres above sea level are temporary base stations to provide signal coverage over the climbing route to the summit. The base stations are expected to be dismantled after the completion of the elevation survey in 2020, the Xinhua report said.
Meanwhile, Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant said it has teamed up with China Telecom to set up the world’s highest 5G base station on the altitude of 6500 metres.
“Together with the launch of the Gigabit optical fibre network at the attitude of 6,500 metres, Huawei enables China Mobile to run its dual Gigabit network on Mount Everest,” the company said in a statement.
5G smartphone sales to hit 144 million in India by 2025
At the attitude of 5,300 metres, the 5G download speed exceeded 1.66 Gbps, where the upload speed tops 215 Mbps, it said.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the first successful arrival at Mount Everest from the northern slope, and the 45th anniversary of China’s first official accurate measurement and announcement of Mount Everest, the 5G network on Mount Everest will provide communication services for this 2020 Mount Everest re-measurement is of great significance, the statement added.
Iran said on Saturday there was a “clear drop” in the number of new coronavirus infections as it reported 802 fresh cases, the lowest daily count since March 10.
The new cases brought to 96,448 the number recorded in Iran since it announced its first cases in mid-February.
“This shows a clear drop in the number of new infections compared to recent weeks, despite our active testing,” health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on state television.
He added that 77,350 of those hospitalised have since been discharged, claiming it is a “one of the highest recovery percentages in the world.”
New deaths from COVID-19 rose slightly to 65 in the past 24 hours, reaching a total of 6,156, Mr. Jahanpour said.
Doubts have been cast over Iran’s coronavirus figures by experts and officials both at home and abroad.
Iran’s deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi warned that the fall in the number of infections could quickly reverse.
“I emphasise that this steady decline is fragile,” said Mr. Harirchi, who has himself recovered from COVID-19.
“Carelessness in gatherings, reopening (businesses) and observing health protocols can make the country face serious problems again.”
He also called on the government to increase health sector spending, which he said had been hit by fiscal pressures resulting from sweeping U.S. sanctions and the global economic contraction sparked by the coronavirus.
Iran has tried to contain the spread of the virus by shutting schools, universities, cinemas and stadiums among other public spaces since March.
But it has allowed a phased reopening of its economy since April 11, and authorities are now mulling allowing sports, cultural and religious centres too.
Tehran authorities, who have kept public transportation running despite warnings from health experts, made it mandatory for passengers to wear masks as of Saturday.
The virus has not spared public figures, with at least 12 current or former government officials or lawmakers dead and more infected.
One of the most senior — parliament speaker Ali Larijani — made his first public appearance in a month on Saturday, donning a protetive mask to attend a televised meeting alongside the president and the head of the judiciary.
After weeks of intense speculation about the health of Kim Jong Un, state news agency KCNA said on Saturday the North Korean leader attended the completion of a fertiliser plant north of Pyongyang, the first report of his appearance since April 11.
Reuters could not independently verify the KCNA report.
KCNA said Mr. Kim cut a ribbon at the ceremony on Friday and those attending the event “burst into thunderous cheers of ‘hurrah!’ for the Supreme Leader who is commanding the all-people general march for accomplishing the great cause of prosperity.”
Mr. Kim was seen in photographs smiling and talking to aides at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and also touring the plant. The authenticity of the photos, published on the website of the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, could not be verified.
Asked about the KCNA report, U.S. President Donald Trump said: “I’d rather not comment on it yet.”
“We’ll have something to say about it at the appropriate time,” he told reporters at the White House.
Speculation about Mr. Kim’s health has been rife after he missed the birth anniversary celebrations of state founder Kim Il Sung on April 15. The day is a major holiday in North Korea and Mr. Kim as leader usually pays a visit to the mausoleum where his grandfather lies in state.
He last made a public appearance on April 11 attending a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party politburo.
Following his absence from the anniversary, a South Korean news outlet specializing on the North reported that Mr. Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure. A flurry of other unconfirmed reports about his condition and his whereabouts followed.
Officials in South Korea and the United States expressed scepticism about the reports, however.
The former top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Russel, said the pieces of the puzzle of Mr. Kim’s disappearance would take time to assemble.
His reappearance showed that authoritative information about the well-being and whereabouts of a North Korean leader were very closely guarded, and rumours about him needed to be regarded with considerable skepticism, Mr. Russel said.
“The rumours had, however, served to focus attention on North Korea’s succession plan, which in a monarchical and cult-like dictatorship is filled with risk, and the absence of a designated adult heir compounds that risk many times over,” Mr. Russel said.
Earlier, a source familiar with U.S. intelligence analyses and reporting said that U.S. agencies believed that Kim Jong Un was not ill and remained very much in power.
“We think he’s still in charge,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
The source could not immediately confirm the KCNA report.
The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, who oversees engagement with Pyongyang, said it was plausible Mr. Kim was absent as a precaution over the coronavirus pandemic, in view of the stringent steps taken to head off an outbreak in the country.
Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Center for the National Interest think tank in Washington, said this still could be the case.
“The most likely explanation for Kim’s absence is with North Korea declaring the coronavirus pandemic an existential threat … he most likely was taking steps to ensure his health or may have been impacted in some way personally by the virus,” Mr. Kazianis said after the KCNA report.
In his appearance at the fertiliser factory, Mr. Kim expressed satisfaction about the production system and said the plant made a significant contribution to the progress of the country’s chemical industry and food production, KCNA said.
Mr. Kim was accompanied by several senior North Korean officials, including his younger sister Kim Yo Jong, KCNA said.