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Saudi Gazette
a day ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Outrage as Trump compares Iran strikes to Japan atomic bombing
SINGAPORE — Japan has condemned US President Donald Trump for comparing recent US strikes on Iran to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. "That hit ended the war," Trump told reporters on Wednesday. "I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing." About 140,000 people died when the US dropped atomic bombs on the two southern Japanese cities in August 1945. Survivors live with psychological trauma and heightened cancer risk to this day. If Trump's comment "justifies the dropping of the atomic bomb, it is extremely regrettable for us as a city that was bombed," said Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki. Trump's comments are "unacceptable", said Mimaki Toshiyuki, an atomic bomb survivor who co-chairs the Nobel Peace Prize-winning advocacy group Nihon Hidankyo, public broadcaster NHK reported. "I'm really disappointed. All I have is anger," said another member of the group, Teruko Yokoyama, in a Kyodo News of the atomic bomb attacks staged a protest in Hiroshima on Thursday, demanding Trump retract his in Hiroshima also passed a resolution on Thursday rejecting statements that justify the use of atomic bombs, and called for armed conflicts to be settled if Tokyo would lodge a complaint over Trump's remarks, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa said that Japan has repeatedly expressed its position on atomic bombs to comments on Wednesday came as he pushed back on a leaked intelligence report that said US strikes on Iran only set its nuclear programme back by a few had insisted that the strikes "obliterated" the program and set it back "decades" - a claim backed by CIA director John is the only country in the world to have been hit by a nuclear attack and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still stir painful Hiroshima, a peace flame that symbolises the country's opposition to nuclear weapons has been burning since the 1960s while a clock that counts the number of days since the world's last nuclear attack is displayed at the entrance of a war leaders who visit Hiroshima are also asked to make paper cranes to affirm their commitment to peace. — BBC
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Unacceptable': Japan condemns Trump's Hiroshima comparison to Iran strikes; demands retraction
Donald Trump (AP photo) Japan has strongly criticised US President Donald Trump for comparing the recent American military strikes on Iran to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. "That hit ended the war," Trump told reporters on Wednesday. "I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing." The comparison has drawn backlash across Japan, which remains the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks. The bombings in August 1945 killed about 140,000 people, and survivors continue to live with long-term health issues and trauma. Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki responded to Trump's comment, saying, "If Trump's comments justifies the dropping of the atomic bomb, it is extremely regrettable for us as a city that was bombed." Atomic bomb survivor and co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning advocacy group Nihon Hidankyo, Mimaki Toshiyuki, also criticised Trump, saying the remarks were "unacceptable", as quoted by BBC via Japanese public broadcaster NHK. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Livguard Lithium-X: The Future of Power Backup Livguard Learn More Undo "I'm really disappointed. All I have is anger," added Teruko Yokoyama, another member of Nihon Hidankyo, speaking to Kyodo News. In response, survivors and citizens in Hiroshima held a protest on Thursday demanding that Trump retract his statement. Hiroshima lawmakers also passed a resolution rejecting any statement that justifies the use of nuclear weapons and called for all armed conflicts to be resolved peacefully. When asked if Japan would formally lodge a complaint, chief cabinet secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa stated that "Japan has repeatedly expressed its position on atomic bombs to Washington." Trump's controversial remarks came as he pushed back against a leaked US intelligence assessment which suggested that recent strikes on Iranian nuclear sites only delayed their programme by a few months. Trump countered that the US attacks "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities and set them back "decades" - a claim also supported by CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The legacy of Hiroshima remains central to Japan's anti-nuclear stance.
Malaysian Reserve
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Malaysian Reserve
'Simple monk': the Dalai Lama, in his translator's words
NEW DELHI — With his flowing red monk's robes, beaming smile and contagious laugh, the Dalai Lama (picture), Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, has been the charismatic global face of his people's cause for decades. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning monk, Tenzin Gyatso, is expected to celebrate his 90th birthday on July 6 with huge crowds in northern India, his base since leaving his homeland fleeing Chinese troops in 1959. While China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally recognised Dalai Lama describes himself as a 'simple Buddhist monk'. Thupten Jinpa, his translator of nearly four decades, described a man who uses humour to calm, fierce intellect to debate, and combines self-discipline with tolerance of others. 'He's never deluded by being extraordinary,' said Jinpa, an eminent Buddhist scholar born in Tibet. The Dalai Lama treats those he meets in the same manner whether they are a president or a peasant, world leader or Hollywood star. 'When he's getting ready to go and see a president or a prime minister, everybody around him is all getting nervous he's just completely relaxed,' said Jinpa, who is now a professor at Montreal's McGill University. 'Once I asked him how is it that he's not nervous, and he said, basically, 'the person I'm meeting is just another human being, just like me!'' 'Self-confidence and humility' Despite being revered as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, a role stretching back more than 600 years, he does not act with a sense of superiority. 'He is one of the most self-confident people I've ever met in my life,' Jinpa said. 'Self-confidence and humility generally don't go together that well, but in him, they sit beautifully.' Jinpa highlighted the Dalai Lama's ability to bring people together through his 'contagious' sense of humour and famous giggling 'individual laugh'. 'He uses humour immediately, so he has this ability to make you feel at ease.' But the translator also described a man who applied the rigorous education and skills of philosophical debate learned as a monk to address the challenges of a complex world. 'He's gone through a formal academic training,' said Jinpa, who himself studied as a monk and holds a doctorate from the University of Cambridge. 'So when he's sitting down with scientists and philosophers and thinkers in deep conversation, his ability to get to the gist, and ask the question that points towards the next challenge, is an amazing display of his focus.' Jinpa described a man who pursues an austere monastic life with 'very high discipline'. 'He gets up at 3:30 am and has meditation. He doesn't eat after lunch, which is one of the precepts of monastic ethics,' he said. 'He has always maintained this strictly.' While he was born to a farming family, the Dalai Lama grew up in Lhasa's Potala Palace, a vast building reputed to have 1,000 rooms. Since then he has spent much of his life in a hilltop monastic complex in India's town of McLeod Ganj. 'His bedroom is actually a small corridor between two large rooms, doors on the two sides, and a three-by-six single bed attached to the wall, and next to it is a shower cubicle — and that's it,' Jinpa said. 'He has got his photographs of his gurus, teachers, above his bed — very simple.' 'Non-judgement' But the Dalai Lama balances that toughness towards himself with softness for those he meets. 'Generally when people are more pious, more disciplined, more pure, they also tend to be less tolerant,' Jinpa said. 'A lot of the intolerance really comes from puritanism in the world, whether it's religious or ideology,' he added. 'But again, in him, this understanding and non-judgement towards others — and expectation of a high standard for himself — it sits beautifully.' Jinpa added that as the holder of a centuries-old institution, the Dalai Lama places his people before himself. 'In all the negotiations that he has had with China, he has constantly made the point that the issue is not about his return, or his status,' he said. 'The issue is about the Tibetan people — there are over six million of us,' said Jinpa. 'Their ability to be self-governing on the Tibetan plateau, which is their historical home, and their ability to exist with dignity as a distinct people within the People's Republic of China.' — AFP
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Tibetans face up to uncertain future as Dalai Lama turns 90
DEHRADUN: Tibetans in exile celebrate the 90th birthday of spiritual leader the Dalai Lama next week, an occasion overshadowed by uncertainty about the future of the role and what it means for their movement. The charismatic Nobel Peace Prize-winning Buddhist -- who Tibetans say is the 14th reincarnation of the 600-year-old post -- will reveal if there will be another Dalai Lama after him. The inevitable change ahead brings wider concerns for Tibetans over the struggle to keep their identity alive after generations in exile, following a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. There is widespread support among Tibetans in exile for the Dalai Lama role to remain, said Dawa Tashi, once jailed in Tibet for his criticism of Beijing. The Dalai Lama has said the institution will continue only if there is popular demand. "I strongly believe the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama will continue," said Tashi, of the India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. "This hope is not only shared by Tibetans inside and outside Tibet, but by thousands who are connected to the Dalai Lama across the world," he told AFP. The leader, who turns 90 on July 6, and thousands of other Tibetans have lived in exile in India since Chinese troops crushed the uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. The Dalai Lama has been lauded by his followers for his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau in China about the size of South Africa. 'Vested political interests' The Dalai Lama handed over political authority in 2011 to an exiled government chosen democratically by 130,000 Tibetans globally. At the same time, he warned that the future of his spiritual post faced an "obvious risk of vested political interests misusing the reincarnation system." Many Tibetans in exile fear China will name a successor to bolster its control over Tibet. The Dalai Lama has said that if there is a successor it will come from the "free world" outside China's control. The Dalai Lama has long said he does not seek full independence for Tibet. Beijing says the territory is an integral part of China and that the Dalai Lama "has no right to represent the Tibetan people". Whatever the Dalai Lama decides about his role, "the freedom movement must continue regardless", said Kunga Tashi, a 23-year-old Tibetan software engineer in India's tech hub Bengaluru. "The Chinese government and even Tibetans still equate the Dalai Lama with the freedom struggle," he said. "And that is why his reincarnation feels like a turning point." 'Continuity of the institution' The Dalai Lama, recognised worldwide in his red robes and wide smile, lives an austere monastic life in India's Himalayan hill town of McLeod Ganj. He has said he wants to live until 113. Penpa Tsering, the sikyong or head of the government which is also based in McLeod Ganj, said that senior Buddhist elders, or lamas, will meet the Dalai Lama on July 2. The same day they will open the grand meeting of religious leaders, during which a video message by the Dalai Lama will be broadcast. No details of its message have been released. The Dalai Lama's translator of nearly four decades, Thupten Jinpa, believes that "the continuity of the institution will remain", meaning that, in time, there "will be a new Dalai Lama". "Today, many young Tibetans prioritise personal success over collective struggle," said Geshema Tenzin Kunsel, a nun in her 50s from Dolma Ling Nunnery, near McLeod Ganj. "In his absence, I fear what our future might look like." 'Shape our own destiny' Tibetans who spoke to AFP say they will keep up their campaign no matter what happens in the coming weeks. "While we haven't yet achieved our goal of returning to a free Tibet, we've come further than anyone could have imagined -- and that's because of His Holiness (the Dalai Lama)," said Sonam Topgyal, 26, a university student in New Delhi. Nepal-based Sakina Batt, 35, a former civil servant with the Tibetan administration, is part of Tibet's minority Muslim population. She too believes that the reincarnation process should "continue as it has for generations, preserving its sacred tradition without interruption". But she also said that it depended on the people, not just one leader. "The future of Tibetans depends on unity and resilience," she said. "It's ultimately up to us to shape our own destiny."
France 24
a day ago
- Politics
- France 24
Tibetans face up to uncertain future as Dalai Lama turns 90
The charismatic Nobel Peace Prize-winning Buddhist -- who Tibetans say is the 14th reincarnation of the 600-year-old post -- will reveal if there will be another Dalai Lama after him. The inevitable change ahead brings wider concerns for Tibetans over the struggle to keep their identity alive after generations in exile, following a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. There is widespread support among Tibetans in exile for the Dalai Lama role to remain, said Dawa Tashi, once jailed in Tibet for his criticism of Beijing. The Dalai Lama has said the institution will continue only if there is popular demand. "I strongly believe the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama will continue," said Tashi, of the India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. "This hope is not only shared by Tibetans inside and outside Tibet, but by thousands who are connected to the Dalai Lama across the world," he told AFP. The leader, who turns 90 on July 6, and thousands of other Tibetans have lived in exile in India since Chinese troops crushed the uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. The Dalai Lama has been lauded by his followers for his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau in China about the size of South Africa. 'Vested political interests' The Dalai Lama handed over political authority in 2011 to an exiled government chosen democratically by 130,000 Tibetans globally. At the same time, he warned that the future of his spiritual post faced an "obvious risk of vested political interests misusing the reincarnation system". Many Tibetans in exile fear China will name a successor to bolster its control over Tibet. The Dalai Lama has said that if there is a successor it will come from the "free world" outside China's control. The Dalai Lama has long said he does not seek full independence for Tibet. Beijing says the territory is an integral part of China and that the Dalai Lama "has no right to represent the Tibetan people". Whatever the Dalai Lama decides about his role, "the freedom movement must continue regardless", said Kunga Tashi, a 23-year-old Tibetan software engineer in India's tech hub Bengaluru. "The Chinese government and even Tibetans still equate the Dalai Lama with the freedom struggle," he said. "And that is why his reincarnation feels like a turning point." 'Continuity of the institution' The Dalai Lama, recognised worldwide in his red robes and wide smile, lives an austere monastic life in India's Himalayan hill town of McLeod Ganj. He has said he wants to live until 113. Penpa Tsering, the sikyong or head of the government which is also based in McLeod Ganj, said that senior Buddhist elders, or lamas, will meet the Dalai Lama on July 2. The same day they will open the grand meeting of religious leaders, during which a video message by the Dalai Lama will be broadcast. No details of its message have been released. The Dalai Lama's translator of nearly four decades, Thupten Jinpa, believes that "the continuity of the institution will remain", meaning that, in time, there "will be a new Dalai Lama". "Today, many young Tibetans prioritise personal success over collective struggle," said Geshema Tenzin Kunsel, a nun in her 50s from Dolma Ling Nunnery, near McLeod Ganj. "In his absence, I fear what our future might look like." 'Shape our own destiny' Tibetans who spoke to AFP say they will keep up their campaign no matter what happens in the coming weeks. "While we haven't yet achieved our goal of returning to a free Tibet, we've come further than anyone could have imagined -- and that's because of His Holiness (the Dalai Lama)," said Sonam Topgyal, 26, a university student in New Delhi. Nepal-based Sakina Batt, 35, a former civil servant with the Tibetan administration, is part of Tibet's minority Muslim population. She too believes that the reincarnation process should "continue as it has for generations, preserving its sacred tradition without interruption". But she also said that it depended on the people, not just one leader. "The future of Tibetans depends on unity and resilience," she said. "It's ultimately up to us to shape our own destiny." © 2025 AFP
