Rabia Ali
June 19, 2023•Update: June 19, 2023
ISTANBUL
Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including a rare meeting between US and Chinese diplomats, findings on last week's migrant boat tragedy off Greece, and updates on a school attack in the East African country Uganda.
TOP STORIES
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken invited Chinese counterpart Qin Gang to Washington as the two diplomats met in Beijing amid strained relations. Talks between them will continue Monday.
Blinken's visit to China marks the first meeting by any top US top officials in five years. On Sunday, he sat down for about six hours of talks with Gang.
Beijing said bilateral relations were at their "lowest" since the two countries established diplomatic relations in the 1970s.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called the meeting "candid, substantive, and constructive."
New evidence obtained by British broadcaster BBC indicates that an overcrowded fishing boat had been stationary for at least seven hours last week before it sank off southwestern Greece.
The BBC obtained a computer animation of tracking data from MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics platform, contradicting the Greek coast guard's assertion that the boat was heading towards Italy and did not require assistance before the deadly incident last Wednesday.
The boat had capsized and sank off southwestern Greece, leaving at least 79 dead and nearly 500 missing. Authorities rescued 104 people.
The death toll from a terrorist attack by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on a school in western Uganda rose to 41 after more bodies of students were found, according to officials.
Some students were hacked to death during the attack on Friday night, while 17 were burned in a dormitory, according to Selevest Mapoze, director of the Mpondwe-Lhubiriha border region.
A few bodies were burned beyond recognition and authorities will use DNA tests to determine their identities. The rebels also kidnapped six students.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- A three-day cease-fire agreed by Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group began on Sunday. The cease-fire was brokered by Saudi and US mediators.
- Nearly 100 people are dead as northern Indian states swelter under a heatwave gripping Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with temperatures exceeding 40 C (104 F).
- The US is "deeply troubled" by Israeli plans to approve over 4,000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
- The residence of Tunisia's ambassador in the Sudanese capital Khartoum was raided in an attack condemned by the Tunisian Foreign Ministry. An armed group raided the residence and looted belongings.
- Pakistan's federal investigation agency arrested 10 suspected human traffickers, local media reported. The men were involved in smuggling people to the ill-fated migrant boat which capsized last week.
- Ukraine on Sunday claimed that it launched 14 airstrikes on areas where Russian forces are concentrated, Ukraine’s General Staff said, adding: “Our defenders also destroyed 2 anti-aircraft missile systems.”
- The Yemeni government announced that prisoner exchange talks with the Houthis in Jordan's capital ended in a deal for the release of politician Mohammed Qahtan, who the rebels have held since 2015.
- The EU postponed next week's ministerial meeting with the Arab League in protest of Syria's readmission to the pan-Arab body, says foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
- Egypt plans to install monitoring devices to track the movements of sharks following last week’s shark attack in the Red Sea in which a 28-year-old Russian tourist was killed, according to local media.
- A 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook Mexico late Sunday, with no immediate reports of damage or a tsunami warning. The earthquake was centered 131 kilometers (81 miles) east of the resort city of Cabo San Lucas.
SPORTS
Spain won the 2023 UEFA Nations League on Sunday after beating Croatia 5-4 on penalties.
None of the teams could break the deadlock in regular time and extra time, which meant that penalties decided the winning team in the final at Rotterdam's Feyenoord Stadium.
Joselu, Rodri, Mikel Merino, Marco Asensio, and Dani Carvajal were the scorers for Spain.
Dutch Formula One driver Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday to secure his Red Bull team's 100th victory.
Verstappen, a back-to-back world champion, saw the checkered flag first at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, completing the 70-lap race in one hour, 33 minutes and 58.348 seconds.
Verstappen is dominating the 2023 season, winning six races out of eight.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Around 7.5 million households in Britain are projected to see their repayments rise by 2026, with annual mortgage repayments projected to increase by £15.8 billion ($20.2 billion) by 2026, a recent study by the Resolution Foundation revealed.
The research forecast interest rates to peak in mid-2024 at nearly 6%, indicating the likelihood of five additional quarter-point hikes.
