Bumpy landing in London during Storm Gerrit
NewsFeed “Stop it! Stop it!” Aviation enthusiast excitedly narrates wind-whipped and bumpy landing of American Airlines jet coming into London’s Heathrow airport during Storm Gerrit. The storm brought wind gusts between 80-90 kmh and heavy rain across the UK, causing damage to homes, disrupting travel and significant electricity outages. Published On 28 Dec 202328 Dec 2023 Adblock test (Why?)
Photos: Israel’s war on Gaza’s children
More than 8,663 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7, according to the government media office, which added that thousands more are missing under the rubble amid relentless bombardment. An overwhelming number of more than 21,000 people killed in the nearly three months of Israeli bombardment, which is the most destructive in recent history, have been civilians. Israel has repeatedly targeted schools and even neo-natal care centres were have not been spared, resulting in the killing of newborn babies. According to Save the Children data in early November, a child was being killed every 10 minutes. The UN has called the besieged Palestinian enclave “a graveyard” for children due to the high casualty figures. “Our gravest fears about the reported numbers of children killed becoming dozens, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands were realised in just a fortnight,” James Elder, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said on October 31. “Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.” The Defence for Children International-Palestine, an NGO, said early last month that Israeli forces killed twice as many Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip in October as the total number of Palestinian children killed in the occupied West Bank and Gaza combined since 1967. In nearly two years of the Russia-Ukraine war, 510 children were killed, which represents a little less than one child per day. Last week, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that limited access to clean water and sanitation amid Israel’s relentless bombardment posed a grave risk to children in Gaza. Displaced children in southern Gaza do not have enough water to meet their basic survival needs, the UN Children Agency’s Executive Director Catherine Russell said. “Without safe water, many more children will die from deprivation and disease in the coming days,” Russel said. In the southern city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people – half of them estimated to be children – have fled since the beginning of December, water and sanitation situation systems are “in an extremely critical state”, Russel added. The water shortages have already contributed to 20 times the monthly average of cases of diarrhoea among children under the age of five, she said. More than half a million people in Gaza – a quarter of the population – are starving, according to a report from the United Nations and other agencies released on Thursday. Israel launched the brutal war in the wake of the Hamas attack that left some 1,139 people dead. The Palestinian resistance group also took some 240 people captive. Israel has pledged to continue its military offensive until what it calls the destruction of Hamas and the release of all the captives. But its military tactics have been criticised for the widespread bombardment that has caused unprecedented destruction and loss of lives. Human rights organisations and UN agencies have spoken against Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Adblock test (Why?)
Indian journalists targeted by Israeli spyware again: What do we know?
A new forensic investigation by Amnesty International and The Washington Post has shown the use of the Israeli Pegasus spyware, likely by the Indian government, to surveil high-profile Indian journalists. A report detailing the findings was published on Thursday. Here is what we know. What does the report say? The report, published by Amnesty’s Security Lab, found continued use of the software to target high-profile Indian journalists including a journalist who had also previously been a victim of attacks of the same spyware. Founding editor of The Wire, Siddharth Varadarajan, and South Asia editor at the Organized Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP), Anand Mangnale, were among those recently targeted using Pegasus spyware on their iPhones. The latest attack was identified in October this year. On October 31, Apple, the manufacturer of iPhones issued notifications to users worldwide who may have been targeted by “state-sponsored” attacks. Out of the users warned, over 20 were opposition leaders and journalists in India. These included firebrand opposition legislator Mahua Moitra. Known for her sharp questions in parliament, Moitra was recently expelled over an allegation of misconduct after she had repeatedly raised questions about alleged benefits handed by the government to the Adani Group, a business house widely seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Received text & email from Apple warning me Govt trying to hack into my phone & email. @HMOIndia – get a life. Adani & PMO bullies – your fear makes me pity you. @priyankac19 – you, I , & 3 other INDIAns have got it so far . pic.twitter.com/2dPgv14xC0 — Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 31, 2023 Amnesty was able to find an attacker-controlled email address used to target Mangnale, who was working on a story about an alleged stock manipulation by a large multinational conglomerate in India at the time of the attack. It is currently unclear whether the attempted target succeeded in breaking into and compromising Mangnale’s phone. The Washington Post article about the investigation said that Mangnale’s phone was attacked within 24 hours of reaching out to the tycoon Gautam Adani. What a coincidence! Within 24 hours after @OCCRP sought comments from Adani for a story on his brother’s involvement in alleged violations of Indian securities law, Pegasus is planted in OCCRP journalist @FightAnand’s phone. Cracker story by @gerryshih and @josephmenn. Link-… pic.twitter.com/TJoEvGSWBQ — Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) December 28, 2023 The same email address was used to target Varadarajan on October 16. There is also no indication as to whether this attack was successful so far. These attacks come just months before India’s national elections, in which a broad coalition of opposition parties is taking on Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). When has Pegasus been used to attack Indian journalists before? Amnesty previously discovered that Varadarajan’s phone was targeted and infected by Pegasus in 2018. His devices were analysed by a committee established by the Indian Supreme Court in 2021. The investigation was concluded in 2022 and its findings were not publicised. “The court noted, however, that the Indian authorities ‘did not cooperate; with the technical committee’s investigations,” said the Amnesty report. In 2021, leaked documents showed that the spyware was used against over 1,000 Indian phone numbers as New Delhi was accused of using Pegasus to surveil journalists, opposition politicians and activists. This list was shared with news outlets by Amnesty and Paris-based journalism non-profit, Forbidden Stories. What is Pegasus and how exactly does it work? Pegasus is a spyware that was developed by Israeli cyber-arms and intelligence company – Niv, Shalev and Omri (NSO) Group Technologies. It was launched in August 2016. NSO claims that the spyware is only used by governments and official law enforcement agencies to help with rescue operations and curb criminal or terrorist activity. If a phone is attacked by Pegasus, the phone can turn into a surveillance device, allowing Pegasus to access text messages, phone calls, photos and videos. It can also access the phone’s camera, location and microphone, recording audio or video without the phone’s owner knowing. Early versions of the spyware targeted users through phishing attacks. This means a malicious link was sent to targets through emails or text messages. If the targets clicked on the link, the spyware would be installed on their phones. However, the technology has advanced since then and now Pegasus can be installed without the target having to click a malicious link. Instead, it can infect a device through what are known as “zero-click” attacks. This is done by exploiting vulnerabilities in phones’ operating systems that even the developers are unaware of. Encrypted applications such as WhatsApp are not only compromised but are now being used to infect devices with the spyware. In 2019, WhatsApp confirmed that its platform was used to send malware to more than 1,400 phones, including several Indian journalists and human rights activists. Users would get a WhatsApp call and the software would be installed on their phone even if they didn’t pick up the call. On iPhones, the iMessage software has also been used. Due to the rapid advancements in the technology, it has become harder to detect the presence of Pegasus through telltale signs. While it is unlikely for regular phones to be under threat, phones belonging to activists and high-profile journalists are under threat of being surveilled through the spyware. [embedded content] Is India suppressing freedom of speech? Many journalists’ bodies and rights groups have warned that press freedom has dwindled under the Modi government, with several journalists arrested. India has fallen to 161st in the World Press Freedom Index from 150th last year, its lowest ever. The Modi government rejects this index and questions its methodology, arguing that India has a free press. In early October, Indian police carried out raids against dozens of reporters, arresting Prabir Purkayastha, editor of the independent and critical NewsClick website. Many other reporters from NewsClick had their devices and homes searched. Adblock test (Why?)
Ordinance soon on Kannada signboards for shops in Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah
A magistrate court in Bengaluru on Thursday sent over 53 arrested pro-Kannada activists, including Gowda, to 14 days’ judicial custody till January 10.
Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration: Leaders, actors and celebrities who are invited
Prominent cricketers, film stars, industrialists and renowned personalities from across the country have been invited.
Rashida Tlaib calls Israeli PM Netanyahu ‘genocidal maniac,’ takes shot at fellow Dems who back him
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is calling out her colleagues in the U.S. Congress who have sat down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the ongoing war between his country and the terror group Hamas. She called the conservative leader a “genocidal maniac” in a post on her Instagram Story on Wednesday. “Every member of Congress who sits down with this murderer is supporting a war criminal,” Tlaib wrote. “We will never ever forget.” That would include fellow Democrats who met with Netanyahu since the war began, as the issue continues to fracture the left. HAMAS SAYS ‘NO TALK ABOUT PRISONERS OR EXCHANGE DEALS’ UNTIL ISRAEL STOPS GAZA CAMPAIGN: REPORT Hardline leftist Tlaib, who is also the only Palestinian American in Congress, has been among the loudest critics of the Israeli government during her tenure on Capitol Hill. That criticism reached new highs in the wake of the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel. More than 1,200 people – mostly civilians, including young children and the elderly – were killed, and Hamas still holds dozens captive in Gaza. HOUSE LEFTISTS INCLUDE ANTISEMITISM IN RESOLUTION CONDEMNING ISLAMOPHOBIA, ‘ANTI-PALESTINIAN DISCRIMINATION’ Israel has responded with both a ground invasion and a blanket of rocket fire and airstrikes on Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry has claimed nearly 21,000 Palestinians have been killed so far. “I am so sick and tired of our country funding and supporting a genocide and war on children,” Tlaib wrote in another Instagram Story on Wednesday. “Please don’t stop talking about Palestine.” The accompanying video supposedly depicted a dead Palestinian infant. Her comments come roughly a week after Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., a more moderate member of her party, returned from Israel. There, he said he met with Netanyahu as well as other Israeli officials and the families of people who remain in Hamas captivity. THESE CELEBRITIES HAVE SPOKE OUT IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINIANS AMID HAMAS TERROR “Our objectives are clear: The U.S. must stand by Israel to get all the hostages home, including Americans, eliminate the terrorists, & provide much-needed humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinian civilians being used by Hamas as human shields,” Gottheimer said on X. Gottheimer was one of 22 House Democrats who joined Republicans in a vote to censure Tlaib over her comments about Israel in November. Similar to Tlaib’s comments, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler but said the Israeli leader was “richer” because of U.S. support. Netanyahu shot back in a statement, “Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last person who can preach morality to us.”
Nikki Haley hit from all sides after omitting ‘slavery’ from Civil War response
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is catching heat from both sides of the political aisle after she declined to mention slavery as the reason for sparking the U.S. Civil War. A voter asked the former U.N. ambassador during a New Hampshire town hall on Wednesday what was “the cause” of the war, to which she joked, “Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything.” “I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run – the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” she continued. TRUMP JR SAYS HE’D GO TO ‘GREAT LENGTHS’ TO PREVENT THIS REPUBLICAN FROM JOINING DAD’S CAMPAIGN “I mean, I think it all comes down to the role of government,” she added. “We need to have capitalism. We need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.” The voter responded that he was shocked she didn’t mention the word “slavery.” “What do you want me to say about slavery?” Haley asked. “Next question.” Haley’s response sparked backlash from the White House to the campaign trail. “It was about slavery,” President Biden posted on X with a clip of Haley’s comments. Bryan Griffin, the press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign, wrote: “On today’s scoreboard, Donald Trump complained about his treatment in the movie Home Alone 2, Nikki Haley stepped in a giant mess of her own making, and @RonDeSantis dismantled the far-left Miami Dade school union. Take your pick!” “Not stunning if you were a Black resident in SC when she was Governor,” wrote DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison. “Same person who said the confederate flag was about tradition & heritage and as a minority woman she was the right person to defend keeping it on state house grounds. Some may have forgotten but I haven’t. Time to take off the rose colored Nikki Haley glasses folks.” Haley clarified her remarks in a New Hampshire radio interview Thursday morning. “Yes, we know the Civil War was about slavery. But more than that, what’s the lesson in all this? That freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people. That’s the blessing of America. That was a stain on America when we had slavery. But what we want is never relive it. Never let anyone take those freedoms away again.” Haley’s campaign pointed to her most recent comments when reached by Fox News Digital.
Lauren Boebert switches districts, announcing run for Colorado seat being vacated by Ken Buck
Colorado GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert announced she is running for re-election in a different district. Boebert, who currently represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, announced in a Wednesday social media video that she will be running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., in the state’s 4th District. Buck announced in November that he would not be seeking re-election in 2024. Boebert said she would be “moving to the fourth” in 2024. COLORADO REPUBLICAN JOINS CROWDED FIELD VYING FOR REP. KEN BUCK’S SEAT AFTER SURPRISING RETIREMENT “Today, I am announcing my candidacy for the 2024 Republican nomination to represent Colorado’s 4th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives,” Boebert said in the video. “It’s the right move for me personally, and it’s the right decision for those who support our conservative movement,” Boebert continued. “This is the right move for Colorado, for us.” Boebert said that since “the first day” she ran for office, she “promised to do whatever it takes to stop the socialists and communists from taking over our country.” “That means staying in the fight,” Boebert said. “But it also means not allowing Hollywood elites and progressive money groups from buying the 3rd District, a seat that they have no business owning.” “I will not allow dark money that is directed at destroying me personally to steal this seat. It’s not fair to the 3rd District and the conservatives there who have fought so hard for our victories, of which I am incredibly grateful.” Boebert called her announcement a “fresh start following a pretty difficult year” for her and her family, noting her divorce and “personal mistakes” – referencing the “Beetlejuice” stage play she attended that saw her and her date removed from a theater for inappropriate behavior and vaping – that she said she “owned up” to and “apologized for them.” “It’s been humbling and challenging, but it’s also given me perspective and helped me grow,” Boebert said. “And the Aspen donors, George Soros, and Hollywood actors that are trying to buy this seat, well they can go pound sand,” she also said. “We aren’t going to give them the opportunity to steal the third.” Boebert eked by in 2022, securing re-election with just 546 votes against Democrat Adam Frisch, who is running again for Colorado’s 3rd District and has significantly outraised the congresswoman. The Republican primary for Buck’s seat is already heating up. Jerry Sonnenberg, a rancher and former Colorado state senator, will announce his bid for the GOP nomination for the 4th District seat. Sonnenberg has deep ties in the solidly Republican rural Colorado district. He served on the Colorado Farm Bureau board of directors before being elected to the state House in 2006 – where he was the only farmer and rancher in the chamber – and he was elected as a state senator in 2014. Four other Republicans and three Democrats have also declared their candidacy for Buck’s seat. Fox News Digital’s Thomas Phippen contributed reporting.
NYC Mayor Adams says he hasn’t met with Biden in 2023 over migrant crisis: ‘It baffles me’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said this week he hasn’t met with President Biden in 2023 over the city’s ongoing migrant crisis, as he renewed his calls for more action from the federal government to help the “sanctuary” city with the numbers it is seeing. Adams was asked at a press conference about his being unable to meet with Biden about the crisis. “I met with the president several times on this issue in ‘21 I think early 2022, the dates get confused,” he said. TEXAS MIGRANT FLIGHT HEADING TO NEW YORK CITY DIVERTED TO PHILADELPHIA “It baffles me. New York City is the economic engine of the state and of the country. And I don’t have the answer.” Adams noted that a coalition of mayors from other cities hit by the crisis have joined together to put pressure on the federal government. Together they have called for $5 billion in assistance from the Biden administration, in addition to other actions, including expedited work permits and help with resettlement. “I have to keep hammering away at this issue and I am really pleased we are now getting a chorus of other cities that are now joining us,” Adams said. NYC has had over 150,000 migrants enter its shelter system over the last year and while that is a small number compared to the millions encountered at the border, Adams has warned that the flow will “destroy” the city. The city recently slashed budgets, including for policing, education and sanitation, over the billions of dollars the crisis will cost. The numbers have been exacerbated by buses sent by the state of Texas, which has been sending tens of thousands of migrants to “sanctuary” cities across the country, including Washington, D.C., and NYC. On Tuesday, Texas sent its first flight to NYC, but it was diverted to Philadelphia. ‘CHAOS’ AND ‘FURY’ IN NYC AS OFFICIALS LOSE FAITH IN MAYOR ERIC ADAMS OVER MIGRANT CRISIS: REPORT Adams has criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but has also been searing in his criticism of the federal government, leading to tensions between the administration and Adams’ administration. Adams has met with White House officials, including multiple meetings with top adviser Tom Perez on the issue. But there have so far been not sit-downs this year with the president himself. The Biden administration has previously pointed to funding it has provided to cities like New York City, as well as teams to help with processing work permits and making recommendations for improvements. Meanwhile, it has called on Congress to provide additional funding as part of its budget supplemental. That supplemental is currently being held up in Washington, D.C., as lawmakers debate additional restrictions on asylum. A resolution is not expected until early 2024. As they debate, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said last week that November saw over 242,000 migrant encounters at the southern border – the highest November on record.
India formally asks Pakistan to extradite 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed
The request has been an extradition request from New Delhi to Islamabad.