Israel team to visit US over Rafah, Gaza ‘anarchy’ concerns
US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 18 that an Israeli military operation in Rafah would deepen anarchy in Gaza and they agreed that teams from each side would meet in Washington to discuss it, the White House said.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters the two countries would have a comprehensive discussion on the way forward in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis is raging after six months of fighting.
The meeting could happen this week or next, Mr Sullivan said, and no Rafah operation would proceed before the talks.
“Anarchy reigns in areas that Israel’s military has cleared, but not stabilised” in Gaza and a humanitarian crisis would deepen if Israel were to go ahead with an offensive in Rafah, Mr Sullivan said, summarising Mr Biden’s message to Mr Netanyahu.
Ukraine aid depends on conditions, US issues, says senator
US Senator Lindsey Graham said on March 18, after meeting Ukraine’s president, that he was confident an aid package stalled in the US Congress would soon be approved, but called for aid to take the form of a low-interest, waivable loan.
Mr Graham said he fully backed extending the aid, but told Ukrainians they had to take account of US domestic problems that hang over the legislation, including border security.
He and other Republicans have backed the notion of loans rather than grants for US allies to make the expenditure more sustainable and popular, a plan espoused by former president Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
US, Japan urge nations not to deploy nuclear weapons in orbit
The United States and Japan on March 18 proposed a UN Security Council resolution stressing that nations should comply with a treaty that bars putting nuclear weapons in space, a message that appeared aimed at Russia.
Washington believes Moscow is developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon whose detonation could cause havoc by disrupting everything from military communications to phone-based ride services, a source familiar with the matter has said.
Russia, a party to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty that bars putting “in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction,” has previously said it opposes deploying nuclear weapons in space.
S’pore firms investing in new Sichuan growth areas: SM Teo
In south-west China’s Sichuan province, home to spicy mala cuisine and giant pandas, a Singapore company is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help manufacturers attain smart, zero-error factory operations.
Innowave Tech, established in 2019, develops AI-powered solutions that essentially help manufacturers run as autonomously as possible, said its founder and managing director Xu Jinsong. Its products include intelligent systems that automate and optimise factory operations, resolve issues virtually, and identify problems that may crop up in the future.
It is one of more than 700 Singapore businesses that have invested in Sichuan, making the Republic the largest foreign investor in the province in 2022.
Bear injures five in latest Slovakia attack
A Slovak tourist town declared an emergency situation on March 18 over a bear attack that left five people injured, including a child, just days after a woman died in a similar incident.
The northern municipality of Liptovsky Mikulas, located at the foot of the Tatra mountains with popular ski resorts in close proximity, witnessed the bear attack on March 17.
“The bear spent about 20 minutes in the town centre, attacked five people and retreated into the woods,” the town’s spokeswoman Viktoria Capcikova told AFP.
