Biden says he will speak TO China’s Xi aBOuT BallOOn inCidenT

WASHINGTON ReuteRs

prESIDENTJoe Biden said he expects to speak with China’s president, Xi Jinping, about what the United States says was a Chinese spy balloon that a US fighter jet shot down early this month after it transited the United States.

“We are not looking for a new cold war,” Biden said.

Biden, in his most extensive remarks about the Chinese balloon and three unidentified objects downed by US fighters, did not say when he would speak with Xi, but said the United States was continuing to engage diplomatically with China on the issue.

“I expect to be speaking with President Xi. I hope we are going to get to the bottom of this, but I make no apologies for taking down that balloon,” Biden said in response to complaints from Beijing.

Separately, the Pentagon’s top China official, Michael Chase, plans to visit Taiwan in the coming days, the Financial Times reported, citing sources. Chase would be the most senior US defence official to visit the island since 2019. China claims the democratically governed island as its own, while the US for decades has followed a non-committal policy.

After the speech, Biden told NBC News: “I think the last thing that Xi wants

Over 38,000 dead from powerful twin earthquakes in southern Türkiye

ANKARA

Agencies

At least 38,044 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country’s disaster agency said early Friday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes. Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

More than 264,389 personnel are currently working in the field, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said in a statement.

Nearly 38,044 people have been evacuated from the quake-hit regions so far, according to AFAD. Condolences have poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid. A total of 5,753 foreign personnel from 67 nations are currently working in the disaster zone, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday. It also said that 101 countries have offered assistance so far, and two more countries are expected to send rescue teams. – Shelters for victims

Besides rescue teams, blankets, tents, food, and psychological support teams along with over 12,600 vehicles, including excavators, tractors and bulldozers, were also sent to the affected areas.

More than 386,874 tents and 3,282,725 blankets have been sent to the quake-hit zone, said AFAD. After the initial earthquake, an air bridge was established by the Turkish Armed Forces to deliver relief supplies and search and rescue teams to the region.

A large fleet of aircraft, including A-400Ms, carried search and rescue teams and vehicles to the region. Ambulance planes are also using the air bridge.

Two Muslim men killed by ‘cow vigilantes’ in india

AnAdolu Agency

Biden, who had made few public comments about the spate of aerial objects that began with the spotting of the Chinese balloon, broke his silence after US lawmakers demanded more information on the incidents, which have baffled many Americans.

He said the US intelligence community was still trying to learn more about the three unidentified objects: one that was shot down over Alaska, one over Canada and a third that plunged into Lake Huron. The administration has said the objects were downed because they posed a threat to civil aviation.

“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to the Chinese spy balloon programme or they were surveillance vehicles from any other country,” Biden said.

Police in the northern Indian state of rajasthan have detained six people for their alleged involvement in cow vigilantism and the death of two Muslim youths, a police official said on Friday. According to the family members of the deceased, the two were abducted from Bharatpur in rajasthan by the members of the right-wing Bajrang Dal. Their skeletal remains were found inside a charred vehicle in Bhiwani city in the northern Haryana state on Thursday.

Mohammed Jabir, a cousin of killed men — Nasir, 25, and Junaid, 35, who were residents of Ghatmeeka village — told journalists that members of Bajrang Dal led by Monu Manesar abducted their brothers. “They were beaten up and then set on fire,” he alleged. However, police said that one of the victims was involved in cow smuggling and they are investigating the matter.

is to fundamentally rip the relationship with the United States and with me.” China says the 200-foot (60-metre) balloon shot down was for monitoring weather conditions, but Washington says it clearly was a surveillance balloon with a massive undercarriage containing electronics.

The intelligence community believes the objects were “most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions,” Biden said.

Biden said they might have been spotted due to radar that was enhanced in response to the Chinese balloon.