Tonnes of charred plastic pellets from a burning container ship washed ashore near Sri Lanka's capital Friday as an international effort to salvage the vessel dragged into a ninth day.

Thick black smoke rose from the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, anchored just outside Colombo harbour, heightening fears that it could break up spilling its 278 tonnes of bunker oil.
Navy personnel in hazmat suits were sent to clean millions of plastic granules mixed with burned oil and other residue that covered Negombo beach, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the capital.
The plastic-covered beach, normally a draw for tourists and known as a fishing centre, was declared off limits. The smoking container ship could be seen on the horizon.
Bulldozers scooped up tonnes of the polythene pellets that came from at least eight containers that fell off the ship on Tuesday.
Officials said the vessel was known to carry at least 28 containers of the pellets that are used as a raw material in the packaging industry.
The fire broke out on May 20 as the ship waited to enter the Colombo port.
It is also carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid, an unspecified quantity of ethanol and lubricants in its 1,500 containers.
Authorities believe the fire was caused by a nitric acid leak which the crew had been aware of since May 11, Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) said.
MEPA chairman Dharshani Lahandapura said the crew could have avoided the disaster had they offloaded the leaking containers or returned them to the port of origin before entering Sri Lankan waters.
Lahandapura said the MEPA is bracing for an oil spill if the X-Press Pearl breaks up as monsoon winds have fanned the flames across the length of the ship.
She said the vessel was carrying 278 tonnes of bunker oil and 50 tonnes of marine gasoil when the fire erupted.
Oil residue and charred containers have already washed ashore at Negombo.
Sri Lanka navy chief Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne said Thursday it would take days to extinguish the fire, even with the weather improving.
Four Indian vessels have joined Sri Lanka's navy in the battle to contain the fire. Salvage operations are led by the Dutch company SMIT which has sent specialist fire fighting tugs.
The 25-member crew evacuated on Tuesday and two of them suffered minor injuries in the process, the owners of the vessel said on Thursday.
SMIT, renowned salvage troubleshooters, was also involved in dousing the flames on oil tanker which caught fire off Sri Lanka's east coast last September after an engine room explosion that killed a crewman.
The fire on the New Diamond tanker took more than a week to put out and left a 40 kilometre (25 mile) long oil spill. Sri Lanka has demanded the owners pay a $17 million clean-up bill.

Thick black smoke rose from the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, anchored just outside Colombo harbour, heightening fears that it could break up spilling its 278 tonnes of bunker oil

Members of the Sri Lankan navy work to remove debris washed ashore

Plastics from burning ship cover Sri Lanka beach

India's government Thursday accused Twitter of working to undermine its legal system, escalating a battle between authorities and social media giants over new IT rules.

The US company accused police of "intimidation" after they visited its offices in the capital New Delhi to serve a notice over an inquiry into a "manipulated media" label it placed on a tweet by the ruling party's spokesman.
Twitter also slammed new regulations that its peers and digital rights activists say will threaten privacy guarantees.
The government -- which says they are needed to investigate offences relating to the country's sovereignty, national security as well as sexually explicit material -- hit back and accused Twitter of seeking to "undermine India's legal system".
-Twitter is just a social media platform and it has no locus in dictating what should India's legal policy framework should be.-The government added that "representatives of social media companies including Twitter are and will always remain safe in India and there is no threat to their personal safety and security."
Delhi Police added in a statement that Twitter was obliged under the law to cooperate with their inquiry and share "material information" about why the ruling party spokesman's tweet had been tagged.

<h2> 'Big tech vs the Indian government'</h2>

IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted Thursday that the government fully respected the right to privacy and the new rules were aimed at preventing "abuse and misuse of social media".

But critics say Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is seeking to stifle online opposition in what is a huge market for Twitter, Facebook and others -- accusations the government rejects.
The new rules demand that social media companies give details of the "first originator" of posts deemed to undermine India's sovereignty, state security or public order.
Social media firms and privacy activists fear the rules' vagueness mean that the companies could be forced to identify the authors of posts critical of the government.
Twitter has expressed particular concern about the requirement to name a compliance officer who would then be criminally liable for content, and has requested at least three more months to comply.
-(Just) as we do around the world, we will continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commitment to empowering every voice on the service, and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law- a Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
WhatsApp is challenging the law in India's courts, and says it would mean breaking encryption -- a cornerstone of its service which prevents anyone other than the sender and receiver from being able to read messages sent on the platform.
In a court filing this week, the Facebook-owned company said the rules infringed upon the "fundamental rights to privacy and free speech of the hundreds of millions of citizens using WhatsApp" in India.
Digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa told AFP the war of words was "just the beginning of big tech versus the Indian government".
-The people who suffer at the end of it are users... What I'd like to see is a reduction in power of (social media) platforms over our speech, but also not increasing the power of governments over platforms, because then governments can use them to censor us.-

The US company accused police of "intimidation" after they visited its offices in the capital New Delhi to serve a notice over an inquiry into a "manipulated media" label it placed on a tweet by the ruling party's spokesman

Twitter also slammed new regulations that its peers and digital rights activists say will threaten privacy guarantees

India says Twitter undermining law over opposition to new IT rules

Dozens of fanatical Jews accompanied by Israeli police on Thursday stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

Some 120 Jews raided Haram al-Sharif from the Al-Maqaribe (Moroccans) Gate southwest of the flashpoint mosque, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf said in a statement.
Protected by the Israeli police, the group left the sacred site after wandering in the courtyard of Haram al-Sharif.
On May 23, over 250 fanatical Jews entered Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time in about three weeks. Such raids by fanatical Jews on Haram al-Sharif escalate tension in the region.
The Israeli police had not allowed Jews to enter Haram al-Sharif due to Palestinian resistance since May 4, as tension was building over Israel’s continued mistreatment of Palestinians.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the raid undermined efforts to strengthen the cease-fire reached by Israel and Palestinian resistance groups nearly a week ago.
The Egyptian-brokered cease-fire took effect last Friday, putting an end to 11 days of the worst fighting in years.
At least 254 Palestinians were killed, including 39 women and 66 children, and more than 1,900 others were injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.

120 Jews raid Haram al-Sharif from Al-Maqaribe Gate southwest of flashpoint mosque

Protected by the Israeli police, the group left the sacred site after wandering in the courtyard of Haram al-Sharif

Fanatical Jews storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem

After leading the US e-commerce giant for almost three decades, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has picked July 5 as the date to step down.

Bezos told the company's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday that he will hand over the top job to Andy Jassy, who currently runs Amazon Web Services.
Amazon first announced the change in leadership in its February earnings report, but no date had been given.
The date is "sentimental," according to Bezos, who said July 5, 1994 was the day Amazon was incorporated exactly 27 years ago. "I'm very excited to move into the chair role, where I'll focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives."
Bezos said in February that he wanted more time to focus on his personal ventures such as climate change organization Bezos Earth Fund and aerospace company Blue Origin.
During his 27-year tenure as CEO, Bezos saw himself become the world's richest person, in 2017. As of Thursday he comes in second place with a net worth of around $189 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
After founding Amazon from his garage as an online marketplace for books, Bezos quickly expanded the company to other sectors of consumer products. In 2015, the firm surpassed Walmart as the US' most valuable retailer by market capitalization.
Amazon acquired supermarket chain Whole Foods for $13.4 billion in 2017 – its biggest acquisition in company history – and Wednesday it announced it has agreed to acquire US media company MGM for $8.45 billion.
Research and analytics firm S&amp;P Global said on Wednesday that Amazon may buy more movie studios in the coming months from the pandemic-hit film industry, as the purchase of MGM "could be part of a bigger push by the e-commerce company to buy up other movie studios to further bolster its streaming library."
As the streaming business has grown more competitive during pandemic lockdowns, the company's paid subscription program Amazon Prime has worked to boost content to stay in the race with AT&amp;T, Walt Disney, and Netflix.

Date is 'sentimental' for Bezos, as US e-commerce giant was incorporated on same day 27 years ago

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos picks July 5 to step down from role

Austrian Airlines said it canceled a cargo-passenger flight from Vienna to Moscow on Thursday. 

Flight OS601 from Vienna was scheduled to arrive in Moscow on time, but the board at Domodedovo airport lists the flight as canceled. Earlier, the airline had refused to transit through Belarusian airspace on the way to Moscow. 
The European Union has urged its airlines to avoid Belarus and its airspace following Sunday's forced landing in Minsk of a Ryanair plane and the arrest of a dissident journalist on board.

Russia prevented an Austrian Airlines flight from entering Moscow unless it crossed over Belarusian airspace

Flight OS601 from Vienna was scheduled to arrive in Moscow on time

Russia prohibits Austrian Airlines flight to arrive without entering Belarusian airspace

Sri Lankan authorities battled Wednesday to put out a fire raging for a week on a stricken container ship loaded with chemicals to avoid a potential marine environmental disaster.

The Singapore-registered vessel, within sight of the shore, is carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid as well as other unspecified chemicals and cosmetics, the navy said.
Eight of its nearly 1,500 containers fell overboard on Tuesday, one of which washed ashore at the Negombo tourist beach 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Colombo.
Strong winds associated with a cyclone hitting eastern India hampered efforts to put out the blaze as a huge cloud of black smoke rose from the MV X-Press Pearl.
Sri Lanka's airforce used helicopters to drop about 425 kilograms (935 pounds) of fire retardant chemicals on the ship Wednesday.
Dharshani Lahandapura from the Marine Environment Protection Authority said containment measures were being prepared in case chemicals or fuel oil are spilled from the ship's engine and fuel tanks.
-Computer modelling showed any spill from the ship will reach the Negombo beach and we are ready to tackle it- Lahandapura told reporters in Colombo.
-Given the monsoon wind pattern, we are concentrating on this area and we are moving equipment to deal with a spill- she said.
Navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva said the 25-member crew had been evacuated safely but one had been hospitalised with minor injuries.
The container ship was on its way to Colombo from Gujarat in India when the fire broke out on deck on May 20 around 14 kilometres (7.5 nautical miles) offshore.
Residents in Negombo were seen scavenging plastic raw materials that washed ashore on Wednesday morning.
Tugs and naval ships were leading the efforts to douse the blaze and three Indian coastguard vessels were expected to join the effort later Wednesday.
India already sent another ship and an aircraft on Tuesday to assess the damage and coordinate fire-fighting efforts, the Sri Lanka navy said.
In September, a crude oil tanker caught fire off Sri Lanka's eastern coast after an engine room explosion that killed a crewman. That fire was put out after more than a week with the help of India's coastguard.

The Singapore-registered vessel, within sight of the shore, is carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid as well as other unspecified chemicals and cosmetics

The burning ship is carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid as well as other unspecified chemicals

Sri Lanka battles fire on ship loaded with chemicals

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed home from Jordan Thursday after a whistlestop Middle East tour on which he called for regional cooperation to consolidate a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza militants.

Blinken met both Israeli and Palestinian leaders during two days of talks, throwing Washington's support behind the Egyptian-brokered truce that ended 11 days of heavy Israeli bombing of Gaza and rocket fire from the impoverished coastal enclave into Israel.
-Securing the ceasefire was important, particularly because of the devastating toll violence took on families on both sides- Blinken told reporters after Wednesday talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman, his final stop.
-We see the ceasefire not as an end, but as a beginning of something to build on.-Following talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Blinken vowed to rebuild US relations with the Palestinians by reopening a consulate in Jerusalem, as well as give millions in aid for the war-battered Gaza Strip.
The announcements signalled a break with US policy under former president Donald Trump, who had shuttered the diplomatic mission for Palestinians in 2019 and slashed aid to the Palestinian Authority.
After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken reiterated support for Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks by Gaza's Hamas rulers, adding that they must not benefit from reconstruction aid.
Hamas political chief Yahya Sinwar vowed not to take "a single cent" of the aid, insisting that "we have never taken a cent in the past".
Blinken also met Wednesday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, whom he praised for helping bring an end to the intense violence "relatively quickly".
Israeli air strikes and artillery fire on Gaza killed 254 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded more than 1,900 people in 11 days of conflict from May 10, the health ministry in Gaza says.
Rocket and other fire from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and an Arab-Israeli teenager, an Israeli soldier, one Indian national and two Thai workers, medics say. Some 357 people in Israel were wounded.
The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session focused on Israel Thursday to consider launching a broad, international investigation into abuses during the violence.

Blinken met both Israeli and Palestinian leaders during two days of talks

Blinken: Securing the ceasefire was important, particularly because of the devastating toll violence took on families on both sides

US top diplomat heads home after Mideast tour

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Ramallah on Monday.

The top Egyptian diplomat arrived in the city aboard a Jordanian helicopter from Amman, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.
The meeting came days after an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire came into effect on Friday between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel, putting an end to 11 days of fighting.
Earlier Monday, Shoukry met with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in Amman where the two diplomats warned of another round of escalation in the Palestinian territories.
-What Israel is doing in the West Bank necessitates Egypt communicating with Jordan- Shoukri said, pointing to "the importance of crystallizing an international position to stabilize the calm."
Recent tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
At least 279 Palestinians were killed – 248 in Gaza and 31 in the West Bank – and more than 1,900 others injured in Israeli attacks since mid-April, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Twelve Israelis were also killed by Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, scores of Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem for the first time in three weeks, inviting the ire of Palestinians.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem, now occupied by Israel, might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Meeting comes after Egypt-brokered cease-fire came into effect on Friday

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (L) in Ramallah, West Bank on May 24, 2021.

Palestinian president meets Egypt foreign minister in Ramallah

Turkish intelligence officers have arrested an Egyptian-born terror suspect wanted by Washington who was a top explosives expert for the Islamic State group, state media reported Monday.

The suspect, identified as Mustafa Abdulwahab Mahmud and born in 1999, was detained with three others on the outskirts of Istanbul after fleeing Syria, the reports said.
The indictment said he joined the IS group in Syria, where he specialised in making suicide belts and various explosive devices.
The Istanbul prosecutor's office is seeking 22.5 years in prison on charges of membership of a terror group.
He was detained on a tip from US intelligence services, who have been tracking his movements, the media reports said, adding that he is believed to have been plotting attacks inside Turkey, including against US interests.
Once accused of letting jihadists pass freely through its territory, Turkey has stepped up its fight against the IS group, whose attacks included Istanbul nightclub bombings in 2017 that killed 39.
Earlier this month, Ankara arrested an IS official it identified as the right-hand man of former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The suspect, identified as Mustafa Abdulwahab Mahmud and born in 1999, was detained with three others on the outskirts of Istanbul after fleeing Syria

The indictment said he joined the IS group in Syria, where he specialised in making suicide belts and various explosive devices

Turkey detains top IS suspect wanted by US

Relatives of George Floyd, the African-American whose death triggered protests against racism and police brutality across the United States and around the world, gathered on Sunday in a rally to mark the first anniversary of his death.

Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on May 25 last year. His dying words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry in a wave of street demonstrations against his killing.
Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis policeman, was found guilty of murdering him. Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers faced federal civil rights charges for their role in the arrest and murder of Floyd, according to court documents unsealed this month.
Floyd's family took to the streets of Minneapolis on Sunday and marched with hundreds of people in the first of several events planned nationwide to mark the anniversary of his death.
Many people in the crowd carried signs with pictures of Floyd and other Black people killed by police.

-It has been a long year. It has been a painful year- Floyd's sister, Bridgett Floyd, told the crowd.

-It has been very frustrating for me and my family for our lives to change in the blink of an eye - I still don't know why- she said, referring to her brother's death.
Other speakers at the event included Floyd family attorney Ben Crump and civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, who has called for an end to racial inequality in the criminal justice system with the demand "get your knee off our necks."
-We want something coming out of Washington. We want something that will change federal law- Sharpton said on Sunday. -There's been an adjournment on justice for too long.-The George Floyd Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit launched by Floyd's siblings in September to fight racial inequality, is hosting a series of events in Minneapolis in the coming week to honor Floyd.
-George Floyd should not go down in history as someone with a knee on his neck, but as someone who broke the chain of police brutality and illegality- Sharpton said.

Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on May 25 last year

People march during the "One Year, What's Changed?" rally hosted by the George Floyd Global Memorial to commemorate the first anniversary of his death, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. May 23, 2021.

George Floyd’s family marches to mark first anniversary of his death

The death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip has risen to 243, including 66 children and 39 women, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Friday.

At least 1,910 people have been injured, the ministry said in a statement.
A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian resistance group, took effect at 2 a.m. Friday (2300GMT Thursday).
The truce brokered by Egypt came after 11 days of Israeli airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military has staged airstrikes across the Gaza Strip since May 10, leaving behind a massive trail of destruction across the seaside territory.

1,910 injured in Israeli military's offensive on Gaza Strip, Health Ministry says

At least 1,910 people have been injured, the ministry said in a statement

Gaza death toll in Israeli bombardment rises to 243, including 66 children

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will travel to Turkey next week as part of a marathon diplomatic tour that will take her to Europe, and Southeast Asia, the State Department announced on Friday.

Sherman will depart May 25 for Brussels to meet with Belgian, EU and NATO officials before heading on to Turkey where in Ankara she will "engage with government officials and civil society," the department said in a statement.
-Deputy Secretary Sherman will underscore the importance of the U.S.-Turkey relationship as we work together with our NATO Ally to confront mutual challenges, and discuss areas of concern- it added.
Following Turkey, Sherman will depart for Southeast Asia where she will visit Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand before traveling to the US state of Hawaii.
In Southeast Asia Sherman will "reaffirm the United States’ commitment to ASEAN centrality and address a range of bilateral and regional issues, including efforts to urge the Burmese military to cease violence, release all those unjustly detained, and restore Burma to the path of democracy," the State Department said.
In Hawaii she will meet with United States Indo-Pacific Command to discuss strategy in the region.

Sherman to 'underscore the importance of the US-Turkey relationship,' says State Department

Sherman will depart May 25 for Brussels to meet with Belgian, EU and NATO officials before heading on to Turkey where in Ankara she will "engage with government officials and civil society," the department said in a statement

Senior US diplomat Wendy Sherman to visit Turkey next week

The UN Human Rights Council said Thursday it would hold a special session on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, amid deadly violence between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza.

The session, planned for next Thursday, will address "the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem," the council said in a statement.
The session was requested by Pakistan, which is the coordinator of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Palestinian authorities, it said.
This will mark the 30th extraordinary meeting of the UN's top rights body since its creation 15 years ago.
The UN did not immediately say how many of the Geneva-based council's 47 member states had backed the call, but at least a third must come out in support for a special session request to be granted.
Thursday's announcement came as Israeli air strikes continued to hammer Gaza on Thursday and as diplomats stepped up efforts towards a ceasefire to stem the devastating violence that erupted 10 days ago.
Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed 230 Palestinians, including 65 children, according to the Gaza health ministry, leaving vast areas in rubble and displacing tens of thousands in the crowded territory.
Israel's army has meanwhile said Hamas and other Islamist armed groups in Gaza have fired 4,070 rockets towards Israel, the overwhelming majority of them intercepted by its Iron Dome air defences.
The rockets have claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child, with one Indian and two Thai nationals among those killed, the police says.

The session was requested by Pakistan, which is the coordinator of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Palestinian authorities

The session, planned for next Thursday, will address "the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem," the council said in a statement

UN rights council to hold May 27 session on Israel, Palestinians

Spain's defence minister on Thursday accused Morocco of "aggression" and "blackmail" after more than 8,000 migrants poured into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta this week largely unimpeded.

-It is an aggression of Spanish borders and of the borders of the European Union, and this, in international law is unacceptable- Margarita Robles said during an interview with Spanish public radio, adding that Rabat was "using" minors.
-We are not talking about youths aged 16, 17, children as young as 7 or 8 were allowed through according to NGOs... ignoring international law.--Call it what you want but I call it blackmail- the minister added.
-It is not acceptable to put the lives of minors or of people of one's own country, at risk for reasons that I don't understand.-Several Spanish and Moroccan NGOs have expressed concern over the huge number of minors who have crossed over into Ceuta from Morocco, and the fact that Madrid is sending them back.
Over 8,000 people, a record, crossed into Ceuta by swimming or on small inflatable boats from neighbouring Morocco, prompting a crisis between Rabat and Madrid.
The majority were Moroccans and they included families with small children and many teenagers on their own.
Around 5,600 migrants had already been sent back according to the Spanish government, which said there were no new entries on Wednesday as anyone who reached Ceuta's beach was immediately sent back. 
Analysts said it was clear Morocco had turned a blind eye to the human tide entering Ceuta in order to put diplomatic pressure on Spain to recognise its sovereignty over Western Sahara.
The influx comes against the backdrop of increased tensions with Morocco over Spain's decision to provide medical treatment for the leader of the Polisario Front. The head of the Western Sahara independence movement has been seriously ill with Covid-19.
The Front has fought for the independence of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony mainly under Moroccan control.
Morocco's minister of state for human rights, Mustapha Ramid, said Wednesday it was "clear" Spain had favoured its ties with the Polisario and Algeria over those with Morocco by hosting Ghali.
-Spain must also know that the price for discrediting Morocco is steep- he added in a Facebook post.&nbsp;

Several NGOs have expressed concern over the huge number of minors who have crossed over into Ceuta from Morocco, and the fact that Madrid is sending them back

Spanish security forces guard the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, near the border of Morocco and Spain, Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

Spain accuses Morocco of 'aggression' and 'blackmail' over migrant crisis

A top security conference in Singapore that was to be attended by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was cancelled Thursday due to the coronavirus.

The Shangri-La Dialogue was scheduled to be an in-person event from June 4 to 5, and was also set to welcome ministers and senior military officials from around the world.
But the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the think tank that organises the annual forum, said it had become "unviable".
-Unfortunately the global Covid-19 situation has recently deteriorated, in part because of the rise of infectious new Covid variants- it said in a statement.
The institute also noted there had been an increase in local transmissions in Singapore, which has led to a tightening of restrictions in the city-state.
Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said cancelling the forum was the "responsible course" as the pandemic had "taken a turn for the worse, especially in parts of Asia, aggravated by more infectious variants.
-The next few weeks will remain challenging and uncertain.-It was the second year in a row that the conference, which has been running since 2002, has been cancelled due to the virus. 
The news came after the World Economic Forum announced this week it had called off its planned annual gathering of political, economic and business leaders, which had been set for August in Singapore.
In the past, the United States has used the Shangri-La Dialogue as a platform to criticise Beijing over its militarisation of the South China Sea and to reassure Asian allies of its support in the face of China's growing might.&nbsp;

The Shangri-La Dialogue was scheduled to be an in-person event from June 4 to 5, and was also set to welcome ministers and senior military officials from around the world

Singapore has tightened restrictions after a rise in coronavirus cases

Singapore security forum cancelled due to Covid

At least nine people were killed Thursday when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, officials said, the latest violence in a region that has seen weeks of intense fighting.

Helmand's deputy governor Baryalai Nazari told AFP that women and children were killed in the blast, in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.
Attaullah Afghan, head of Helmand provincial council, confirmed the toll.
No group has claimed responsibility, but the Taliban and Afghan government forces clash regularly on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah -- more frequently since May 1, when the United States began the final phase of its troop withdrawal.

No group has claimed responsibility

People look at a damaged police vehicle after a blast in Jalalabad, Afghanistan on April 24, 2021

Plastics from burning ship cover Sri Lanka beach

India says Twitter undermining law over opposition to new IT rules

Fanatical Jews storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos picks July 5 to step down from role

Russia prohibits Austrian Airlines flight to arrive without entering Belarusian airspace

Sri Lanka battles fire on ship loaded with chemicals

US top diplomat heads home after Mideast tour

Palestinian president meets Egypt foreign minister in Ramallah

Turkey detains top IS suspect wanted by US

George Floyd’s family marches to mark first anniversary of his death

Gaza death toll in Israeli bombardment rises to 243, including 66 children

Senior US diplomat Wendy Sherman to visit Turkey next week

UN rights council to hold May 27 session on Israel, Palestinians

Spain accuses Morocco of 'aggression' and 'blackmail' over migrant crisis

Singapore security forum cancelled due to Covid

Nine civilians killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan

World

Plastics from burning ship cover Sri Lanka beach

India says Twitter undermining law over opposition to new IT rules

Fanatical Jews storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos picks July 5 to step down from role

Russia prohibits Austrian Airlines flight to arrive without entering Belarusian airspace

Sri Lanka battles fire on ship loaded with chemicals

US top diplomat heads home after Mideast tour

Palestinian president meets Egypt foreign minister in Ramallah

Turkey detains top IS suspect wanted by US

George Floyd’s family marches to mark first anniversary of his death

Gaza death toll in Israeli bombardment rises to 243, including 66 children

Senior US diplomat Wendy Sherman to visit Turkey next week

UN rights council to hold May 27 session on Israel, Palestinians

Spain accuses Morocco of 'aggression' and 'blackmail' over migrant crisis

Singapore security forum cancelled due to Covid

Nine civilians killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan