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Blinken to Visit Asia to Emphasize Commitment Despite Ukraine Crisis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, US February 4, 2022. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, US February 4, 2022. (Reuters)
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Blinken to Visit Asia to Emphasize Commitment Despite Ukraine Crisis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, US February 4, 2022. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, US February 4, 2022. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken goes to Asia next week for talks with Indo-Pacific allies, including a meeting of foreign ministers of the four-nation Quad, the State Department said on Friday.

Blinken is making the trip despite the mounting crisis over Ukraine and policy analysts say the aim is to show the Indo-Pacific region support and that pushing back against China's expanding influence remains Washington's top priority.

Blinken will leave Washington on Monday and be in Australia from Feb.9-12 for the meeting of the Quad - the United States, Japan, India and Australia.

Blinken will then meet Pacific Island leaders in Fiji before heading to Hawaii to confer with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss the North Korea issue.

The State Department said the purpose of the trip was "to engage Indo-Pacific allies and partners to advance peace, resilience, and prosperity across the region and demonstrate that these partnerships deliver."

The trip was announced even as China and Russia proclaimed a deep strategic partnership on Friday to balance what they portrayed as the malign global influence of the United States.

The State Department said that in Fiji on Feb. 12 Blinken would discuss the climate crisis, COVID-19, disaster assistance, and "ways to further our shared commitment to democracy, regional solidarity, and prosperity" with Pacific Island leaders.

He will be the first US secretary of state to visit Fiji since 1985.

A senior US official has said President Joe Biden's administration plans to start a new Pacific Islands initiative with allies and partners that would bring together regional countries to "raise our ambition in the region, including on climate, maritime, and transportation issues."

The official said it would at the same time finalize negotiations on Compacts of Free Association: agreements with three Pacific Island countries - the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau - that facilitate US military access. They are due to expire in 2023 in the case of the former two states and in 2024 in the case of Palau.

US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell has said that the Pacific could be the part of the world most likely to see "strategic surprise" - comments apparently referring to possible Chinese ambitions to establish Pacific-island bases.

Washington had not done enough to assist the region and that there was a very short amount of time, Campbell said, to work with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and fellow Pacific power France, "to step up our game across the board."

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World

Trump to Attend Ceremony to Witness Return of US Personnel Killed in Syria

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
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Trump to Attend Ceremony to Witness Return of US Personnel Killed in Syria

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will attend a ceremony on Wednesday to honor US personnel killed in Syria over the weekend by a suspected ISIS attacker.

Trump and his wife will travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to be present for what the Air Force calls the "dignified transfer" of the bodies from overseas back into the United States in the presence of their families. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT), Reuters reported.

Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday in the central Syrian town of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the U.S. military.

Trump called the incident terrible, vowed retaliation and referred to the three that were slain as "great patriots."

Three US soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

US presidents, vice presidents and dignitaries regularly attend the solemn transfer ceremonies at Dover during times of war or conflict that result in the deaths of US troops. Flag-draped transfer cases are brought off of a military plane with the bodies of the fallen and put with precision in an awaiting vehicle as officials and family members watch and often weep.

World

Putin Says Russia will Achieve War Goals, Keep Expanding 'Buffer Zone'

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
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Putin Says Russia will Achieve War Goals, Keep Expanding 'Buffer Zone'

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine by diplomatic or military means, and would seek to expand a "security buffer zone" there.

"First, the goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to do this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy," Putin said.

"If the opposing side and their foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means. The task of creating and expanding a security buffer zone will also be consistently addressed."

Of the regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed as its own territory, it currently controls Crimea, around 90% of the Donbas region and 75% of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Reuters reported.

In addition, Russia holds some territory in the adjoining regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv. Putin's comments signalled that Moscow would seek further gains on some of these fronts.

With the war at a key juncture as US President Donald Trump pushes hard for a quick peace agreement, Putin said Russia was advancing on all fronts.

But his defense minister, Andrei Belousov, acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were trying to take back control of the northeastern town of Kupiansk - an effort he said was not succeeding.

Ukraine said on Wednesday it had taken 90% of the town, which Russia said it had captured in November.

Putin said people in Europe were being indoctrinated with fears of a war with Russia, and accused their leaders of whipping up hysteria.

"I have repeatedly stated: this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But this is being done quite deliberately," he said.

Putin has said Russia is not seeking war with Europe, but is ready for war if that is Europe's choice.

World

Pakistan Says ‘Hostile Countries’ behind False Online Claims Linking it to Australia Shootings

A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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Pakistan Says ‘Hostile Countries’ behind False Online Claims Linking it to Australia Shootings

A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Pakistan’s information minister said Wednesday that his country has been the victim of a coordinated online disinformation campaign following the mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach.

Attaullah Tarar accused “hostile countries,” including India, of spreading false claims that one of the two attackers was a Pakistani national.

Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, Tara said Pakistan's leadership strongly condemned Sunday's attack, which killed 15 people in an antisemitic shooting targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah, The AP news reported.

The minister said misleading information began circulating almost immediately after the attack, with social media posts falsely identifying one of the suspects as a Pakistani national named Naveed Akram. He said the claims spread rapidly across digital platforms and were repeated by some media outlets without verification.

Tarar said subsequent findings, including confirmation by Indian police, established that one of the attackers, Sajid Akram, was from India, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram — who was also involved — was born in Australia.

The minister said the misinformation appeared to stem from a case of mistaken identity, as a Pakistani man living in Sydney shares the same name as one of the two suspects.

“How do we restore the situation to where it was before the Bondi Beach attack?” Tarar asked, adding that the Pakistani man — also named Naveed Akram — had released a video denying any involvement and urging the public not to associate him with the attack.

Tara said the Pakistani man was “a victim of a malicious and organized campaign” and that the disinformation effort originated in India.

There was no immediate response from Indian officials.

Tarar called on media outlets that published the false reports to issue apologies and said Pakistan had not yet decided whether to pursue legal action.

Pakistan and India, nuclear-armed rivals, have a long history of strained relations and have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, most of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. The two sides came close to war in May before US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire.