Outgoing US Secretary of State Blinken’s last press meet turns chaotic as Gaza issue comes up
Washington DC: The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s farewell press conference witnessed two senior journalists being dragged out of the hall for heckling Blinken with questions on the ‘genocide’ in Gaza due to the Israel-Hamas war in West Asia.
The event held on Thursday turned chaotic as journalists Max Blumenthal of Grayzone News and Sam Husseini accused Blinken of turning a blind eye towards the suffering of the residents of Gaza due to the war that has been continuing for more than 15 months. Both the journalists were physically removed from the conference room in spite of their protests.
Husseini shouted at Blinken, saying that the US diplomat was asking the world to respect the process although all prominent institutes of the world, ‘from Amnesty International to the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’, had said that Israel is running a genocide and extermination. Further, he angrily called Blinken a criminal, asking the diplomat to go to The Hague, in reference to the ICJ.
The security guards at the conference intervened as he continued to heckle Blinken and, lifting him off his feat, took him out of the room.
Blumenthal, who was seen reacting next, although Blinken remained calm through the drama, asked why the US stuck to the bomb supply, although a deal had been struck in May.
Even as he was taken out of the conference hall, Blumenthal continued shouting towards Blinken, mocking the diplomat by asking if he felt comfortable and happy to have genocide as his legacy.
Blinken admitted during the press conference that the US had differences with Israel regarding defence of its people, adding that the concerns had been shared privately in order to prevent undermining truce negotiations.
Even in the backdrop of increasing protests, including outside his house, and also vandalism of his own vehicles, the diplomat has defended the US policy on Gaza.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
