US warns of ‘disaster’ amid oil slick in Red Sea from ship hit by Houthis
US military says Iran-aligned group is being reckless with attacks on shipping in the Red Sea off Yemen’s shores. The United States military has warned of an “environmental disaster” after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a cargo ship caused an oil slick in the Red Sea. The Iran-aligned group hit the United Kingdom-owned, Belize-flagged bulk carrier Rubymar on February 18 with multiple missiles. It was sailing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, on its way to Bulgaria after leaving Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates. Extensive damage prompted the crew, all of whom are safe, to abandon the ship. US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Saturday that the ship was now “anchored but slowly taking on water”, which it said has caused a 29-kilometre (18-mile) oil slick. The vessel was transporting more than 41,000 tonnes of fertiliser when attacked, the military said, “which could spill into the Red Sea and worsen this environmental disaster”. “The Houthis continue to demonstrate disregard for the regional impact of their indiscriminate attacks, threatening the fishing industry, coastal communities, and imports of food supplies,” it added. On Feb. 18 between 9:30 p.m. and 10:40 p.m., Iran-backed Houthi terrorists attacked the M/V Rubymar, a Belize-flagged, UK-owned bulk carrier. The ship is anchored but slowly taking on water. The unprovoked and reckless attack by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists caused significant… pic.twitter.com/bU6j850wwG — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 24, 2024 US broadcaster CNN cited an unnamed US official as saying the threat of more Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, combined with the condition of the water, makes it very difficult to safely get to the ship and attempt to tow it to a port. US officials are not sure what kind of substance is causing the slick, the report said. The group has been disrupting trade through the Red Sea, promising that its attacks will continue until Israel ends its war on Gaza, which has killed more than 29,600 Palestinians, mostly children and women. Backed by several other allied Western governments, the US and the United Kingdom have been bombing governorates across Yemen in response to the Houthi strikes. The military confrontation has now turned into a daily occurrence. The US military also confirmed multiple new “self-defence strikes” on Houthi-controlled positions in Yemen. It said it destroyed seven mobile antiship cruise missiles that were prepared for launch towards the Red Sea. “These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said. The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, earlier this week struck what they said was an Israeli cargo ship, the MSC Silver, in the Gulf of Aden near the entrance to the Red Sea. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had also used drones to target a number of US warships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea as well as sites in the southern Israeli resort town of Eilat. US media cited US officials as confirming earlier this week that the Houthis had hit an MQ-9 attack drone near Yemen, the second time they have shot down a US military drone since the start of the Gaza war. Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi on Thursday said they have introduced “submarine weapons” in their attacks. This confirms a previous US military report that the group is deploying underwater drones. A Houthi spokesperson has said the group has recruited and trained more than 200,000 new fighters since the start of the Gaza war. Adblock test (Why?)
Navalny widow says Russia’s Putin torturing him even in death, demands body
Yulia Navalnaya accuses Russian president of mocking Christianity as officials refuse to hand over remains to family. Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, has demanded that Russian authorities hand over his body for burial as she accused President Vladimir Putin of mocking Orthodox Christian values and “torturing” his corpse. “Give us the body of my husband,” Navalnaya said in a video released on Saturday, adding that she wanted to give him a traditional Orthodox funeral. “You tortured him alive, and now you keep torturing him dead. You mock the remains of the dead,” she said in a message to Putin. Navalny, a prominent opponent of Putin, died last week in a remote maximum-security Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges. The authorities claim that he died of natural causes. They have refused to hand over his remains to the family even nine days later. Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, has said investigators were pressuring her to bury her son in “secret” at a private ceremony without mourners. An official told her that she should agree to their demands because Navalny’s body was already decomposing, she said. Navalny’s aides said the authorities had threatened to bury him in the prison colony where he died unless his family agreed to their conditions. “They want to take me to the far end of the cemetery to a fresh grave and say: ‘Here lies your son’,” his mother said in a video posted on YouTube on Thursday. “I’m not agreeing to that.” ‘How low will you sink?’ “No true Christian could ever do what Putin is now doing with the body of Alexey,” his widow said in the video, as she questioned Putin’s often-professed Christian faith. “What will you do with his corpse? How low will you sink to mock the man you murdered?”, she asked and said, “We already knew that Putin’s faith was fake. But now we see it more clearly than ever before.” The Russian leader is frequently pictured in church, dunking himself in ice water to celebrate the Epiphany and visiting holy sites in Russia. He has promoted what he has called “traditional values” without which, he once said, “society degrades”, and has touted his closeness to Russia’s Orthodox Church. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has denounced allegations – even from world leaders – that Putin was involved in Navalny’s death, calling them “absolutely unfounded, insolent accusations about the head of the Russian state”. Musician Nadya Tolokonnikova, who became widely known after spending nearly two years in prison for taking part in a 2012 protest with her band Pussy Riot inside Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, released a video in which she accused Putin of hypocrisy. “We were imprisoned for allegedly trampling on traditional values. But no one tramples on traditional Russian values more than you, Putin, your officials and your priests who pray for all the murder that you do, year after year, day after day,” said Tolokonnikova, who lives abroad. “Putin, have a conscience, give his mother the body of her son.” Tolokonnikova was one of several cultural icons who have released videos calling on Russian authorities to return Navalny’s body to his family. Critics say that the authorities fear a funeral could turn into a large-scale public show of support for the opposition leader. The funeral arrangements for Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Putin ally-turned-rival and founder of the Wagner mercenary group who died last August, were surrounded in secrecy and his body was buried on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg away from the glare of the media. While Russian media have given little space to the news of Navalny’s death, people flocked to the streets of cities across the country to pay tribute to the opposition leader. Police arrested at least 400 people in the first 24 hours since the news of his death, according to protest monitoring group OVD-Info. Adblock test (Why?)
Putin jokes Biden should’ve thanked him for endorsement over Trump after ‘SOB’ comment
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded with a joke when asked by the press for reaction to recent jabs from President Biden. The U.S. president made national headlines this week when he called Putin a “crazy SOB” during a speech about climate change at a fundraising dinner in California. “This is the last existential threat, it is climate. We have a crazy SOB that guy, Putin others. And we always have to be worried about a nuclear conflict,” Biden said. “But the existential threat to humanity is climate.” PUTIN CLAIMS HE PREFERS ‘MORE PREDICTABLE’ BIDEN OVER TRUMP Asked for comment on Thursday regarding Biden’s “SOB” comment, Putin referred to a previous endorsement he gave of Biden over rival and former President Donald Trump. “He can’t of course say to me: ‘Volodya, well done, thank you [for the endorsement], you’ve helped me a lot?’” Putin said sarcastically, according to a translation from Agence France-Presse. “Volodya” is an endeared, familiar version of the Russia president’s name, “Vladimir” — similar in American English to “Bobby” for “Robert.” BIDEN CALLS PUTIN A ‘CRAZY SOB’ AT CALIFORNIA FUNDRAISER Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also responded Thursday by saying that Biden’s comment was “probably some kind of attempt to look like a Hollywood cowboy,” according to Reuters. Putin recently said in an interview on state television that he would prefer the “more predictable” Biden winning the upcoming U.S. presidential election compared to Trump. Putin made the remark after being asked by an interviewer about who between Biden and the Republican frontrunner for the nomination would be a better choice from Russia’s point of view. “Biden, he’s more experienced, more predictable, he’s a politician of the old formation,” Putin responded. “But we will work with any U.S. leader whom the American people trust.” Putin also commented on Biden’s mental state following the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report last week, calling him a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” “When I met with Biden in Switzerland — true, that was several years, three years ago — people were already saying he wasn’t up to it. I didn’t see anything of the kind,” Putin said, according to Reuters. Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.
New criminal laws replacing IPC to come into effect from July 1
The three laws got the Parliament’s approval on December 21 last year and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on December 25.
Here are the areas where Haley could put up a fight as Trump looks to sweep the South Carolina primary
Voters are casting ballots today in South Carolina, the last of the major early states to choose a Republican nominee for president before Super Tuesday. Former President Donald Trump has maintained a consistent and commanding polling lead, while the state’s former governor, Nikki Haley, will try to prove that she is a viable candidate with a competitive performance. She will need to win at least in Charleston and Richland to clear that bar, while Trump will be looking to sweep the rest of the state. Two counties in upstate South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg, add up to about 16% of the registered voter population of the state. Like the overall region, these two counties are also heavily White and evangelical. As we saw in Iowa, these voters favor Trump by wide margins, and the latest polling in South Carolina suggests they will vote similarly here today. When Trump first ran for president in 2016, he had two major competitors in the Palmetto State: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Both candidates put up a serious fight in these two counties. In Greenville, they took 24.5% of the vote each; Trump won overall with 26.7%. TRUMP CAMPAIGN PREDICTS ‘A– KICKING’ FOR HALEY IN SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY Cruz, who courted the evangelical vote throughout his run, took 24.5% in Spartanburg, while Rubio received 22.9%. Trump won with 32.6%. The results from recent primaries and polling suggest that most of the Cruz voters have found a new home with Trump. Therefore, to win the state, Trump will look to take home at least a similar share of the vote in the upstate region as the combined share that he and Cruz took in 2016. For a performance in line with polling expectations, and with all other things being equal, he’ll look for something in the area of 65-75%. With such an evangelical tilt, Haley is not likely to be very competitive here. In line with her strategy in New Hampshire, Haley will look to win in highly populated urban and suburban areas. Charleston and Richland, which make up about 16% of the overall statewide vote, are at the top of the list. Charleston County is home to the city of the same name, which is also the most populated city in the state. Richland County contains Columbia, the state’s capital and home of the University of South Carolina. In 2016, these were the only counties where Rubio eked out a win. They are also more affluent than most other parts of the state, and have more voters with a college degree; two of Haley’s key constituencies. Polling shows Haley running behind Trump but remaining competitive in these cities. The former hometown governor will need to do better than that to make this a race. The better Haley does in these areas, the greater the chance that Haley will leave South Carolina with at least some delegates. That’s because, in addition to 29 statewide delegates, the state awards three delegates to the winner of the vote in each of its seven congressional districts. Some of Trump’s best performances in the 2016 Republican primary came from very small, rural counties. He received more than 40% of the vote in 13 counties, ten of which had populations of less than 50,000 people. NIKKI HALEY SAYS TRUMP ‘WILL NOT WIN THE GENERAL ELECTION’ AHEAD OF SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY Look to places like Lee County, in central South Carolina, where Trump took home 47% of the vote, beating closest rival Cruz by 25 points. Lee County’s population is about 16,000 people and dropping. Head south to Allendale County, home to less than 8,000 South Carolinians. Trump received 44% there, beating the second place candidate, Rubio, by 19 points. Its population is also declining. He received between 30% and 40% of the vote in another 27 counties, about half of which had populations of less than 50,000. And that was in a race with two popular challengers, at a time when Trump had not yet persuaded the base that he had the right conservative credentials. Collectively, these rural areas represent a powerful part of the overall statewide vote in South Carolina. To win, Trump will look to bring out as many votes as possible. All polls close in South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET. Expect to see an early vote reported first in most areas; that vote will likely favor Haley. Special coverage on Fox News Channel also begins at 7, anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Stay tuned for insights from our best-in-class Fox News Voter Analysis and the Fox News Decision Desk, which will call this race.
Tennessee bill would require defendants convicted of killing a parent to pay victims’ children
Tennessee lawmakers proposed legislation that would require defendants convicted of certain violent crimes that killed a parent to pay the victim’s children until the children become adults. SB2878/HB2960 is sponsored by Sen. Sara Kyle and Rep. G.A. Hardaway, both Democrats, in their respective chambers. The legislation would create a new financial penalty for those convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular homicide. TENNESSEE GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW ALLOWING PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO DECLINE TO PERFORM MARRIAGES THEY DISAGREE WITH If a defendant is convicted of one of those charges and their victim has children, they would be ordered to “pay restitution in the form of child maintenance to each of the victim’s children until each child reaches eighteen (18) years of age and has graduated from high school or the class of which the child is a member.” The bill would take effect in July if it is approved.
Uttar Pradesh: At least 22 killed, several injured as tractor falls in pond in Kasganj
The incident occurred when their tractor-trolley veered off the road and plunged into a pond. The pilgrims were en route to Kadarganj for a sacred dip in the Ganga River.
US says new Israeli settlements ‘inconsistent’ with international law
The US and its allies have historically done little to pressure Israel to halt or roll back settlement expansion. The United States has said that new Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal, effectively reversing a policy by the administration of former President Donald Trump. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said an announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that more than 3,300 new Israeli settlements are to be built in the occupied West Bank was “disappointing”. “It has been a longstanding policy of both Democratic and Republican administrations that new settlements are counterproductive to achieving enduring peace. They are also inconsistent with international law,” Blinken said at a news conference late on Friday in Buenos Aires. “Our administration maintains firm opposition to settlement expansion. In our judgement it only weakens, not strengthens Israel’s security,” he added, without making any mention of tangible consequences Israel could face for settlement expansion. This negates the so-called Pompeo Doctrine, which referred to an announcement in November 2019 by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Washington supports Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem as legal. The majority of the global community views these settlements as illegal and an extension of Israeli occupation. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Blinken’s position “has been consistent over a range of Republican and Democratic administrations”. “If there’s an administration that is being inconsistent, it was the previous one,” Kirby said. The Pompeo Doctrine itself had overturned a legal position held by the US Department of State since 1978 when the administration of former President Jimmy Carter had evaluated Israeli settlements to be in violation of international law. Germany has also condemned the latest Israeli plans to construct thousands of new settler homes in the occupied West Bank. “You know our position on settlement construction. It is contrary to international law and this also applies when new construction projects are carried out,” deputy foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer told a news conference in Berlin. New settlements Israel’s Smotrich had announced the new settlement plans were a supposed response to what he called a “terrorist” attack on Thursday, when three Palestinians opened fire near a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank city of Ma’ale Adumim, killing one Israeli and wounding several others. Smotrich now plans to build 2,350 new housing units on Palestinian land in Ma’ale Adumim, 300 in Kedar and 694 in Efrat, with backing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Saturday called the announcement a “blatant challenge to the international community” and an obstacle to establishing an independent Palestinian state. Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said that “Israel’s 2024 budget shows an addition of over $100m to settlements”. “In 2024, coalition funds for settlements will amount to over $203m [instead of the originally allocated $76m in the government decision from May 2023],” it added. Ministers in the most far-right administration in the history of Israel have also called for increased curbs on Palestinians, including heavy restrictions on movement, after the attack. Over decades, Israel has advanced plans to build new illegal settlements regardless of any attacks. The US and its allies have historically done little to pressure Israel to halt or roll back settlement expansion. Raids across Palestinian territories occupied by Israel had become an almost daily occurrence even before the war on Gaza started on October 7, and they have only significantly intensified since, growing deadlier as well. In the Gaza Strip, more than 29,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since the start of the war, most of them children and women. Adblock test (Why?)
Western leaders visit Ukraine to show solidarity as war enters third year
Visit comes as Kyiv is on the defensive amid flagging Western aid and Russian territorial gains. Western leaders including the European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen and Canada’s Justin Trudeau have arrived in Ukraine to show solidarity with Kyiv as it enters the third year of its war with Russia. Von der Leyen, Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrived in the country on Saturday on an overnight train from neighbouring Poland. Meloni, whose country is chairing the G7 this year, is scheduled to host a video conference on Saturday between leaders from the group of major economies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with new sanctions against Russia and joint arms purchases for Ukraine among the likely topics of discussion. “More than ever, we stand firmly by Ukraine. Financially, economically, militarily, morally. Until the country is finally free,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. Trudeau said that Ukrainians were fighting for “our collective future”. “They are fighting to remind the world that democracy is both important enough to die for and strong enough to win,” he said in a statement before arriving in Kyiv. “As the war continues, that is what is at stake. And that is why Canada has stood with Ukraine since day one.” The Western leaders’ visit comes as Ukraine marks the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion on the defensive amid flagging Western aid and Russian territorial gains. Kyiv’s fortunes have suffered in recent weeks amid shortages of military supplies, with Russia this month capturing the eastern town of Avdiivka in its biggest victory on the battlefield in months. United States President Joe Biden has blamed Republicans in Congress for holding up a $61bn package of military funding, casting the support as crucial to Kyiv’s efforts to repel Moscow. Biden on Friday announced further sanctions against Russia, pledging to keep up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war machine”. On Friday, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba delivered a rebuke to sceptics who doubt Kyiv’s ability to defeat Moscow, insisting that “Ukraine will win the war” and victory would come “sooner rather than later” with international support. Zelenskyy earlier this week told diplomats in an emotional address that he remained “convinced that victory awaits us”. While neither Ukraine nor Russia has provided official estimates of the number of people killed and injured in the war, both sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses. The New York Times in August cited US officials who estimated that about 70,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed and a further 100,000-120,000 wounded. In December, leaked US intelligence suggested that about 315,000 Russian troops had been killed or injured. Adblock test (Why?)
‘This is my land’: Ukrainians are bitter but resilient, two years into war
Kharkiv, Ukraine – Andriy’s undermanned squad can only shoot 10 shells a day at encroaching Russian troops because of a dire shortage of ammunition. The 45-year-old suffers from stomach pains, deteriorating eyesight and other consequences of multiple contusions that landed him in hospital several times. Two years ago, Andriy defended Kyiv in the full-scale war’s first weeks until Russian troops withdrew after heavy losses, and fought in the eastern town of Bakhmut that fell to the Wagner private army last May. The timing and duration of tours to “zero” positions, or the front lines of the eastern Donbas region, are unpredictable, and his commanding officers deliberately report less “zero” time for him to decrease his pay, he said. But when it comes to Andriy’s determination to stand his ground, he has no doubts or qualms. “This is my land, understand? I grew up here. I eat bread grown on this land. That’s what keeps me going,” he told Al Jazeera while on a break in the eastern city of Kharkiv. He withheld his last name and his unit’s location in accordance with wartime regulations. The absolute majority of Ukrainians – 85 percent – are confident of victory in the war that began two years ago today, according to a survey by the Rating Group, a Kyiv-based pollster, released on Monday. Most of the remaining 15 percent hail from eastern or southern regions next to the front lines and occupied areas that witness the worst consequences of the war firsthand, it said. “I’d agree for peace if they want to keep the occupied lands,” Konstantin, a resident of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city that sits near the Russian border, told Al Jazeera. Last spring, the shockwave from an explosion right next to his apartment building shattered his windows and blew open his solid metal front door. He stayed on, but almost daily bombardments and the failure of last year’s counteroffensive have worn him out. “I don’t want to grow old hearing the incoming [shelling] every day and night, because one day it’ll hit my home,” he said. Western aid is crucial to Ukraine’s victory, say 79 percent of Ukrainians, according to the Rating Group’s poll. But the aid is dwindling, while Western governments tacitly urge Kyiv to sign a truce with Moscow by recognising the loss of occupied areas that amount to one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. Peace talks – but on whose terms? Yet, the public mantra of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and every Ukrainian politician is: Moscow has to withdraw from all occupied areas before peace talks can begin. “The political acknowledgment of the occupation is impossible, no politician will go for it, and the public won’t accept it, ” Kyiv-based analyst Alexey Kushch told Al Jazeera. “There are unofficial talks about freezing the conflict according to the Korean scenario,” he said, referring to the Korean Armistice of 1953, under which North and South Korea agreed to an end to fighting without formally ending the war. But until the war is over, Ukraine will “officially announce maximal goals” to mobilise the public and Western allies, Kushch said. The war has cost Ukraine 30 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) and 3.5 million jobs, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Wednesday. But the biggest loss is to its people. At least 6.5 million people have fled abroad, and the population in Kyiv-controlled areas is below 30 million, analysts say – a far cry from the 52 million at the dawn of Ukraine’s independence in 1991. Many refugees have nothing to go back to. Last June, Halyna, a 28-year-old woman from the southern city of Mariupol, where tens of thousands of civilians died during a months-long siege, told Al Jazeera about the horrors her two young children went through during Russian air raids and shelling. “When things got real tense, they just convulsed with hysteria in those basements. And they asked questions: ‘Does it hurt to die?’ she said. After moving to the Czech Republic, her children are safe – but still scarred. “Only recently, my son stopped being frightened by the sound of planes. The daughter sometimes weeps at night, wants to go back to her past life, to her pillow with [the images of] cats,” she said. “There’s a new life looming for us, but it’s not in Ukraine, unfortunately,” she said. Last week, Russia scored a rare victory after Ukrainian forces pulled out of the town of Avdiivka in the Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. But the Kremlin-funded propaganda blew it out of proportion. “The Kyiv regime and its protectors have missed a blow they will possibly not recover from,” publicist Kirill Strelnikov wrote on Tuesday. The news coincided with the death of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, and Russian President Vladimir Putin gloated. “The objectives our ill-wishers had in terms of limiting, isolating Russia, obviously fell apart,” he said on Wednesday. ‘Russia’s isolation not total’ While independent observers reject Putin’s assessment, they admit that Russia’s economy has shown unexpected resilience to Western sanctions designed to crush it. On Friday, the US imposed its latest round of sanctions against Russia, in response to Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison. “The sanctions didn’t affect Russia’s economy the way they had been expected to, Russia’s isolation didn’t become total,” Temur Umarov of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, a think tank in Berlin, told Al Jazeera. With all walks of life around them militarised, many Ukrainians tilted to the political right largely accepting fiercely anti-Russian slogans spawned by fringe nationalist groups, said Kyiv-based human rights advocate Vyacheslav Likhachev. These groups stood for banning all things Russian, including the language, the literature and the Orthodox Church that reported to Moscow Patriarch Kirill. These days, millions of Russian-speaking Ukrainians voluntarily switch to Ukrainian in daily life, while Zelenskyy’s government is pondering a ban on the Russia-affiliated church. “Radical ideas that used to be marginal are now shared by a sizable part of the public and are to some extent implemented by the government,” Likhachev told Al Jazeera. What