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Paris, Feb 6 (IANS) The first batch of Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France have arrived in Ukraine, said French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Thursday.

The fighter jets were flown by Ukrainian pilots who had been trained for several months in France, he said in a post on social media X.

However, Lecornu did not specify the number of the delivered or the total number of jets that France plans to deliver to Ukraine.

According to the French daily Le Monde, the French Air Force owns only a limited number of fighters -- 26 Mirage 2000-5 jets out of around 200 Mirage and Rafale aircraft.

These fighters barely suffice for France to carry out all the missions for which it is responsible on a day-to-day basis, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Le Monde report.

On June 6, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would provide Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"We will launch a new cooperation and transfer Mirage 2000-5s," said Macron. The French leader also promised to train a whole Ukrainian battalion of 4,500 troops, to be deployed on the battlefield.

He said the delivery of French fighter jets "is not a factor of escalation" and promised "these weapons will not be used to bomb civilians." Additionally, Macron didn't exclude the possibility of sending military instructors to Ukraine.

"There should be no taboo on this subject," he said in an interview.

Mirage 2000 is a French multi-role, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter, manufactured by Dassault Aviation.

--IANS

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Jerusalem, Feb 6 (IANS) Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the army to prepare a plan to allow the "voluntary departure" of Gaza residents for any country willing to receive them, according to a statement issued by his office on Thursday.

The directive follows US President Donald Trump's remarks on Tuesday that the United States will take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after Palestinians are relocated elsewhere. Trump made these remarks in a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"I welcome President Trump's bold plan," Katz said, claiming that "the people of Gaza should have the right to freedom of movement and migration, as is customary everywhere in the world."

He added the plan would allow any "interested" Gaza resident to leave by land, sea, or air.

Katz said, "Countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others," which Katz alleged have "falsely" accused Israel over its actions in Gaza, "are legally obligated to allow Gazans to enter their territory."

He added that "countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration programme, have previously expressed willingness to take in residents from Gaza."

Katz's remarks drew immediate criticism from Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Gazans' land is Gaza, and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state," Albares told the Spanish radio station RNE.

In Thursday's statement, Katz said that "the plan can create extensive opportunities for those in Gaza who wish to leave, assist them in resettling in host countries, and support long-term reconstruction efforts in a demilitarized, threat-free Gaza after (ending the rule of) Hamas -- efforts that will take many years."

Katz accused Hamas of "using the residents of Gaza as human shields," "holding them hostage," "extorting money from them through the humanitarian aid system," and "preventing their departure from Gaza."

Earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu expressed support for Trump's plan in an interview with Fox News, saying, "It's an excellent idea, and it should be examined and pursued."

Trump's remarks on Gaza have drawn wide criticism in the Middle East and beyond.

--IANS

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Lisbon, Feb 6 (IANS) Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan V was on Wednesday named the 50th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims following the death of his father, Prince Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV, who died in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday at the age of 88, in accordance with historical Shia Imami Ismaili tradition.

Born on October 12, 1971, Prince Rahim is the eldest son of the late Prince Karim Aga Khan and his first wife, Princess Salimah.

Prince Rahim was educated at the Phillips Academy Andover and graduated in 1995 from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature.

Prince Rahim Aga Khan V is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter, Hazrat Bibi Fatima, and the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, Hazrat Ali, the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph of Islam and the first Shia Imam.

Throughout their 1,400-year history, the Ismailis have been led by a living, hereditary Imam.

The Ismailis live in more than 35 countries and their number is nearly 12 to 15 million.

He has two sons from his former wife, Princess Salwa: Prince Irfan (born in 2015) and Prince Sinan (born in 2017).

He serves on the boards of many agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). He has closely followed the work of The Institute of Ismaili Studies and the Ismaili community's social governance institutions.

Prince Rahim has been particularly concerned with the AKDN's drive to protect the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change, serving as Chairman of its Environment and Climate Committee.

He has also given sustained attention to the work of AKDN and the Ismaili community institutions in addressing the needs of those living in the greatest poverty and supporting the improvement of their livelihoods through education, training, and enterprise.

Prince Rahim meets regularly with leaders of government, international organisations, and civil society to strengthen their relations with the Ismaili Imamat and to advance the AKDN's efforts to improve the lives of marginalised and vulnerable communities.

The Ismailis are a Shia Muslim sect who revere a number of Imams, including Imam Ismail, who died in 765 AD.

The Ismailis – a sect originally predominant in India, but which expanded to large communities in east Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East – consider it a duty to tithe up to 12.5 per cent of their income to the Aga Khan.

--IANS

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Beijing, Feb 5 (IANS) Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Beijing on Wednesday.

Xi said China and Pakistan enjoy ironclad friendship and are all-weather strategic cooperative partners.

In recent years, the two countries have provided firm political support for each other, maintained close high-level exchanges, and advanced the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and cooperation in various fields, setting a good example for relations between countries, he said.

China stands ready to work with Pakistan to advance their respective modernization drives, accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and make greater contributions to regional peace, stability and prosperity, Xi said.

Earlier, Zhao Leji, Chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, also met with the Pakistani President.

China is willing to work with Pakistan to continue the traditional friendship, implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, he said.

Noting that exchanges and cooperation between legislative bodies are an important part of bilateral relations, Zhao said the NPC is willing to work with the Pakistani parliament to strengthen exchanges at all levels, and provide a legal guarantee for China-Pakistan cooperation, Xinhua news agency reported.

Zardari said Pakistan firmly supports China's core interests and major concerns, and supports the three global initiatives put forward by China, namely the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

Pakistan is ready to promote interactions between the legislatures of the two countries and deepen Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

--IANS

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New York, Feb 4 (IANS) India will have a minimal impact if the Trump administration shuts the USAID programme.

President Donald Trump’s close adviser and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk announced on Monday that Trump has agreed to shut down the programme. In such a scenario it will have a minimal impact on India due to booming economic growth.

USAID began operating in India about 70 years ago, but India now has transformed from a mere aid recipient to its partner for "global impact" by helping other countries, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.

One of the goals of the Quad - India, the US, Japan and Australia - is to cooperate on development in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China’s influence through a more benevolent assistance programme, in contrast to Beijing’s predatory policies.

During the current fiscal year, India was to receive $140 million through USAID, a minuscule amount considering India’s overall budget of over $600 billion, an amount that has come down progressively, as India's economy has surged.

In the 2024 fiscal year, the USAID allocation was $6.8 million for "government and civil society"; about $55 million for health; $18 million for environment, and $7.8 million for "social infrastructure", according to the US government's Foreign Assistance website.

The CDCS called India a “key partner” for the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, “a whole-of-government commitment to advancing a free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient" region.

“India plays an essential role” in achieving the US goals of improving “resilience to Health and Climate Threats” and fostering “Sustainable, Inclusive, Transparent Economic Growth”, it said.

Drafted under President Joe Biden, the plan also reflected his other priorities like climate change, and strengthening “democratic institutions to support good governance and human rights”.

The document laid out certain priorities that could have impinged internal matters.

“USAID/India seeks to transform structures, power dynamics, and policies through partnerships and active collaboration with a diverse group of actors,” it said.

“Such partnerships will include, but are not limited to, civil society, government, and the private sector, with a focus on continuous learning, the expansion of successful models in India and beyond, and phasing out when systemic change is achieved or can be adapted by others,” it added.

One of the examples of cooperation with India in the CDCS is the International Solar Alliance co-sponsored by India and the Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure.

India and USAID have also collaborated in training about 1,200 officials from Africa and Asia on agriculture technology.

All the pages relating to USAID on the US New Delhi embassy website and elsewhere have been scrubbed clean.

IANS retrieved some of the information from the versions archived independently on the Wayback Machine or those live on other US agencies' websites.

--IANS

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Washington, Feb 3 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday kept the door open for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to stay in business or for its programmes to continue and not be shut down as said earlier in the day by Elon Musk.

Rubio did qualify that the agency needs to reform itself and align itself with the policies and priorities of the administration and the State Department and not operate independently of them.

“This is not about ending the programs that USAID does, per se,” Rubio told reporters in El Salvador.

“There are things that it does that are good, and there are things that it does that we have strong questions about. It's about the way it operates as an entity. And they're supposed to take direction from the State Department, policy direction. They do not, do not take policy direction. They're completely uncooperative,” he added.

“The attitude that USAID has adopted over the years is, no, we are independent of the national interest. We fund programs irrespective of whether it's aligned or not aligned with foreign policy. That's ridiculous. These are taxpayer dollars. Every penny that we spend in foreign aid needs to be in furtherance and aligned with the national interest in the national and the foreign policy of the U.S,” he said.

Elon Musk put the USAID’s fate in jeopardy early Monday in remarks as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “I went over it with him in detail, and he agreed that we should shut it down,” Musk said on X regarding his discussions with President Donald Trump about the agency.

“And I actually checked with him a few times [and] said ‘are you sure’?”

“The answer was yes,” he said. “And so we’re shutting it down.”

The USAID, which was founded in the 1960s, is an autonomous body of the State Department that is one of the world’s largest official aid agencies and accounts for more than half of US foreign assistance.

Musk also called the agency a “criminal”.

President Trump had not weighed in on Musk’s comments publicly yet but his allies have made clear the administration will pursue an American First path on every issue and Secretary of State Marco Rubio re-emphasised the importance of that principle in American diplomacy in his first public remarks at the state department upon taking charge.

On Saturday two top officials of the USAID were removed from office for blocking officials of the Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing rooms and floors at the USAID headquarters in Washington DC. DOGE officials had their way finally.

USAID workers at the headquarters were told in an email the agency will be closed on Monday. “Agency personnel normally assigned to work at USAID headquarters will work remotely … with the exception of personnel with essential on-site and building maintenance functions individually contacted by senior leadership,” they were told in an email.

The agency has had a long history of development work and partnerships in India, among many other countries. “In recent years, USAID established 34 public-private partnerships that leverage $380 million in additional financial resources,” said an archived webpage of the agency from 2021. The latest figures and extent of USAID work in India were not immediately available.

--IANS

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Washington, Feb 3 (IANS) US tariff hikes on Mexico will be delayed by a month, President Donald Trump announced on Monday indicating a “deal” could be coming. Conversations with Canada are also underway, as Trump spoke with Justin Trudeau.

“I just spoke with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after the Mexican leader announced the delay in a post on X.

Trump added: “It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican soldiers on the border separating Mexico and the United States. These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our country. We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one-month period.”

The negotiations will be held with Mexico which will be attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

“I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a “deal” between our two countries,” Trump added.

Trump’s tariff hikes of 25 per cent on imports from Mexico and Canada (10 per cent for Canadian energy) and 10 per cent on goods from China were to go into effect on Tuesday.

Trump also spoke with Canada’s outgoing prime minister Trudeau. “Canada doesn’t even allow US banks to open or do business there. What’s that all about? Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada. Just spoke to Justin Trudeau. Will be speaking to him again at 3:00 P.M.,” Trump said.

--IANS

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Warsaw, Feb 3 (IANS) Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on the European Union (EU) to remain united as the bloc faces the threat of a trade war with the United States.

Speaking in Brussels on Monday during an EU leaders' meeting, Tusk warned that trade tensions with Washington would be a cruel paradox for Europe, emphasising the need for solidarity in navigating the challenges posed by its closest ally.

"This is perhaps the first such test of the solidarity and unity of the European Union in a very unusual situation when we are dealing with such a series of surprises and surprises from our closest ally," Tusk was quoted as saying by Polish Press Agency.

He stressed the need for "common sense, calmness, and responsibility" in addressing potential trade conflicts. "We must be able to take care of our relations with the U.S., but we must also have a sense of our own dignity and strength. We must undoubtedly be unquestionably united," he added, Xinhua news agency reported.

The United States is the EU's largest trade partner, with European countries primarily exporting pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and advanced machinery to the United States.

In 2023, the EU recorded a trade surplus of 85.6 billion euros (88.68 billion US dollars) with the United States, according to Eurostat. However, US President Donald Trump has criticised the trade imbalance, citing the US-EU trade deficit of 213 billion US dollars in 2024. He has called the deficit an "atrocity" and vowed with "full certainty" to impose tariffs on EU goods.

Calling trade wars "a complete mistake," Tusk described the situation as "one of the cruelest paradoxes" for the EU, given its alliance with the United States. He expressed hope that the EU's "firm, clear, friendly" stance would be heard by the American administration.

--IANS

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Karachi, Feb 3 (IANS) Six Chinese nationals, who filed a complaint against the local police in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, decided to withdraw their harassment complaint on Monday after the provincial government in Sindh assured them of a thorough investigation, a day ahead of President Asif Ali Zardari's five-day visit to China beginning Tuesday.

The Chinese nationals, who run multiple businesses in Karachi, had filed a complaint in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on January 25, complaining of harassment and mistreatment at the hands of local police authorities in the name of security issues.

In their complaint, they stated that, like thousands of other Chinese citizens, they too had come to Pakistan after fulfilling all legal formalities and invested a lot in terms of money and resources in various business ventures in the country.

However, the petitioners contended that Sindh police had engaged in repeated acts of harassment over the last seven months, including imposing restrictions on their movements within the Karachi city and Sindh province.

The petitioners also stated that they were subjected to unjustified detainments at their residences on the pretext of security issues and without any legal ground or specific incident. They accused police officials deputed at their residences of demanding anywhere between Rs 30,000-50,000 for granting permissions to go out.

In their complaint, they mentioned that the local police in Karachi also sealed seven industrial units of some Chinese nationals under the pretext of security issues, and without any legal notice. Many Chinese nationals, they asserted, are now preparing to wrap up their business in Sindh and instead invest in Lahore, or even leave the country due to the unjustified treatment by the Pakistani authorities.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) had issued notices to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and its Consulate in Karachi, along with provincial and federal law officers to respond to the allegations and complaints filed by the Chinese nationals.

However, the Chinese nationals have now decided to withdraw their complaint after getting assurances from the provincial and the federal governments that the matter will be investigated and people responsible for misconduct held accountable.

Sources say that the issue became a priority for the Pakistani authorities as President Asif Ali Zardari will be beginning his five-day trip to Beijing, starting Tuesday.

The Pakistan Foreign Office stated that Zardari will be in Beijing from February 4 to 8.

"At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Asif Ali Zardari of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will pay a state visit to China from Feb 4-8," read a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan.

Pakistan wanted to ensure that the case of harassment of Chinese nationals is put to rest before the President's Beijing visit.

Security of Chinese nationals across Pakistan, especially in Karachi, has been beefed up after the deadly blast outside the Karachi International Airport that killed two Chinese nationals in October last year. China had severely criticised the incident and called on Islamabad to protect the lives of its citizens working in the country.

--IANS

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Canberra, Feb 2 (IANS) A woman has died while thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes after torrential rainfall caused flooding in northern Queensland, authorities said, adding that waters will continue to rise and warned of a "dangerous and life-threatening" situation.

More than 1,000mm (39 inches) of rain has fallen on parts of north-east Queensland since Friday with "record rainfalls" set to continue into Monday, according to Queensland State Premier David Crisafulli.

Crisafulli said conditions were unlike anything northern Queensland had experienced "for a long time".

Meteorologists said that these could be the worst floods in the region in more than 60 years, BBC reported.

"It's not just the intensity, but it's also the longevity of it," he told Australian broadcaster ABC.

The woman who died was onboard a State Emergency Service (SES) dinghy which hit a tree and capsized in the town of Ingham, in north-west Queensland.

It is understood she was a member of the public who was being rescued at the time and was not an emergency worker, BBC reported.

The other five people on board were able to get to safety. An investigation has been launched.

Meanwhile, three people were rescued from the roof of a house in Cardwell, about halfway between Cairns and Townsville.

Video has emerged showing a man clinging to a pole in Ingham after his vehicle was washed away -- and being taken to safety by locals in a boat.

The Townsville Local Disaster Management Group says that 1,700 homes in the city may be inundated -- some up to the second floor -- as river levels rise.

Thousands of people across six Townsville suburbs were told to leave their homes by midday on Sunday, but officials say about 10 per cent of residents had opted to stay.

The same areas were severely hit during the 2019 flooding, BBC reported.

Premier Crisafulli urged people to heed the warnings, saying: "In the end, houses and cars and furniture, that can all be replaced. Your family can't."

On Sunday night local time, a new evacuation centre was being opened – as others reached capacity.

Parts of the road between Townsville and the tourist centre of Cairns have been cut off, hampering efforts to get rescue teams and sandbags to the worst-hit areas.

Meanwhile, Townsville airport is closed until Monday morning, supermarkets have run out of fresh food, and thousands of homes are without power, including in Ingham and the Indigenous community of Palm Island.

And there is a warning for locals to watch for crocodiles lurking in floodwaters away from their usual habitats.

North Queensland is prone to destructive cyclones, storms and flooding.

But climate scientists say that warmer oceans and a hotter planet create the conditions for more intense and frequent extreme rainfall events.

--IANS

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