Manhunt in Kenya after suspected serial killer escapes prison
NewsFeed A manhunt is underway in Kenya for a suspected serial killer who escaped from police custody in Nairobi. Police say the suspect, Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, had confessed to murdering 42 women after dismembered bodies were found in a quarry. A preliminary investigation indicates he got away with help from ‘insiders.’ Published On 20 Aug 202420 Aug 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
What are the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire deal?
Israeli forces continue attacks as attention moves to talks in Egypt. Israel bombs a school in Gaza, killing more Palestinians, as top United States diplomat Antony Blinken visits the region. He says talks in Egypt may be the last chance for a ceasefire in Gaza, but Hamas accuses the US and Israel of delays and adding new conditions. Can there be a breakthrough? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Professor Yezid Sayigh – senior fellow at the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center and an adviser and negotiator on the Palestinian delegation to peace talks with Israel in the 1990s Akbar Shahid Ahmed – senior diplomatic correspondent at HuffPost who has covered US policy on Gaza since former President Barack Obama’s administration Daniel Levy – president of the US/Middle East Project and member of the Israeli delegation to peace talks with Palestine in the late 1990s Adblock test (Why?)
Philippines agrees to host Afghans awaiting resettlement in US
US government to support ‘necessary services’ for Afghans undergoing visa processing in Southeast Asian country. The Philippines has agreed to temporarily host a “limited number” of Afghans being considered for resettlement in the United States, US and Philippine officials have announced. The US government will support “necessary services” for Afghans as they undergo visa processing in the Philippines, including food, housing, security, medical, and transport, the US Department of State said in a statement on Monday. “The United States appreciates its long and positive history of bilateral cooperation with the Philippines and thanks the Philippine government for supporting Afghan allies of the United States,” the State Department said. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the agreement was undergoing “final domestic procedures” needed to ensure its effectiveness. Washington and Manila did not specify the number of Afghans that would undergo visa processing in the Philippines. But The Washington Post, quoting unnamed US officials, said about 300 Afghan applicants would be processed in the Southeast Asian country. The deal is the latest sign of deepening ties between Washington and Manila under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose election in 2022 marked a shift away from the China-friendly stance of his populist predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. More than 160,000 Afghans have been resettled in the US since 2021, when the Taliban retook control of the country following Washington’s withdrawal of its forces. Thousands of others are in third countries awaiting visa processing for possible relocation under an initiative dubbed Operation Allies Welcome. Many of those eligible for resettlement worked for the US government before the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan National Security Forces. The news that the US had requested its ally to consider hosting Afghan applicants prompted opposition from some Filipinos on legal and security grounds when it became public last year. Marcos said last June that the proposal raised “many security issues” even as he emphasised the “long tradition” of the Philippines accepting refugees. Adblock test (Why?)
Gaza protesters have a point, says Biden
NewsFeed US President Joe Biden has said pro-Palestine protesters “have a point” after thousands had rallied outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago demanding an end to the war on Gaza. Published On 20 Aug 202420 Aug 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Indonesia and Australia finalise ‘significant’ defence pact
The move comes as Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto prepares to take office later this year. Australia and Indonesia have finalised a new defence pact, cementing closer ties between the countries as Prabowo Subianto prepares to take office as Indonesia’s next president in October. The details of the defence agreement, which has been in the works since February 2023, have not been announced. It is believed to include provisions for joint military drills, deployments to each country, and greater maritime cooperation in the disputed South China Sea. Prabowo, who is presently defence minister but is set to become leader of the world’s third-largest democracy on October 20, is currently on a two-day official visit to Australia. The deal will officially be signed within days when Australia’s Minister for Defence Richard Marles visits Jakarta. Speaking to reporters at Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra following a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Prabowo described the deal as a “very good outcome”, adding that it would be “beneficial to both our countries in the future”. He also expressed a desire for greater cooperation with Australia on issues beyond defence, including the economy, food security, agriculture, and curbing international drug trafficking. “We would like to see more Australian participation in our economy,” he said. “I am determined to continue this good neighbour relationship … Australia plays a very important role for us.” An Australian Department of Defence statement said Albanese and Marles met Prabowo and discussed “Australia’s continued commitment to working in partnership with Indonesia on shared economic, security and net zero transition priorities”. Marles described the defence pact as one of the most significant agreements ever negotiated between the countries, saying the countries were “working closer together than we have before”. “What this agreement will do is provide for much greater interoperability between our defence forces, it will provide for much more exercises between our defence forces, it will see us working together the global commons to support the rules-based order and, importantly, it will allow us to operate from each other’s countries,” he told reporters. “In that sense, this agreement will be the deepest, the most significant agreement that our two countries have ever made.” A stronger interest in foreign affairs is anticipated under Prabowo, an ex-special forces commander in Indonesia’s military, than with outgoing President Joko Widodo, who has never attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York and rarely conducts interviews in languages other than Indonesian. However, concerns remain over Prabowo’s human rights record. The 72-year-old former son-in-law of Soeharto, Indonesia’s long-ruling authoritarian president between 1967-98, was dismissed from the military in 1998 for kidnapping student activists. Prabowo was also indicted for alleged atrocities in East Timor in 1983, then occupied by Indonesia after a UN-sponsored report accused him of leading the massacre of as many as 200 Timorese men. Prabowo has denied the accusations. Daniela Gavshon, Australia director at Human Rights Watch, called on Albanese to press Prabowo about Indonesia’s chequered human rights record, including on religious freedom and LGBTQ rights. “Australian leaders should not let Prabowo’s egregious rights record deter them from forcefully raising current human rights concerns,” she said. “They should emphasise that the new president has an important opportunity to restore Indonesia’s standing on West Papua and other human rights issues.” Adblock test (Why?)
Why are many of the largest US companies worried about AI?
Survey finds a fivefold increase in concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) among top 500 companies. More than half of the top 500 companies in the United States now see artificial intelligence (AI) as posing a potential risk. That is a fivefold increase in just two years, according to a new survey. And some believe the technology could become a threat to their businesses. So what’s driving these fears? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Adrian Monck – Senior adviser on AI and technology and former managing director of the World Economic Forum Elaine Burke – Science and technology journalist who hosts the podcast For Tech’s Sake Cary Cooper – Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the University of Manchester and president of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Adblock test (Why?)
Luxury yacht sinks off Sicilian coast
NewsFeed One person has died and six are still missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Palermo, Italy early on Monday morning. British tech giant Mike Lynch is among the missing. Published On 19 Aug 202419 Aug 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Hezbollah’s tunnel video threatens enemies but leaves much unknown
The slickly made video shows fighters driving large trucks and motorbikes through well-lit underground roads. Some of the trucks are carrying what appear to be missiles, and as the vehicles drive through, it becomes clear what the makers of the video – the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah – are unveiling: an extensive tunnel network used to store and launch missiles and what will surely be a vital resource in any conflict with Israel. The video, unveiled last week and titled Our Mountains, Our Treasures, serves as a warning that Hezbollah can use its expansive and concealed weapons arsenal to retaliate in kind against Israel if it launches a major operation against the group, analysts told Al Jazeera. “This was a message to the Israelis [from Hezbollah]: We have barely scratched the surface of the type of damage we can inflict on you,” said Nicholas Blanford, an expert on Hezbollah and a fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank based in Washington, DC. Since October 8, Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting a low-scale border conflict. The Lebanese movement has said its aim for now is to reduce pressure on Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 40,000 people and uprooted nearly all of its 2.3 million people in a war on the Palestinian enclave over the past 10 months. The war began on October 7 after attacks led by the Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel, during which 1,139 people were killed and about 250 were taken captive. Hezbollah has long said that it would stop striking northern Israel if it agrees a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. But Israel has repeatedly impeded ceasefire attempts and instead escalated attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanese communities. As fears of a regional conflict grow – particularly after the killings of Hezbollah’s number two commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh last month – Hezbollah’s latest video aims to re-establish deterrence against Israel by illustrating its expansive and sophisticated combat capabilities, analysts said. “This is all messaging to the Israelis not to underestimate us and that if you go too far, then we have plenty more capabilities to bring to the fore,” Blanford told Al Jazeera. Smoke rises from Kfar Kila, Lebanon, during cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel on August 6, 2024 [Karamallah Daher/Reuters] Psychological warfare It should be noted that neither is there a way of knowing where the tunnels filmed in the video are nor how extensive Hezbollah’s tunnel network is. In fact, all that can be known is the very little revealed in the video: that these tunnels exist, that they are large and serve as underground highways, that weapons are apparently stored in them and that they connect to openings above the ground where Hezbollah can fire from. The limited information is, of course, intentional on the part of Hezbollah, a group that has to maintain secrecy in its military operations in the face of an enemy – Israel – that has far superior firepower and airpower. And so, according to Michael Young, an expert on Lebanon and the broader region with the Carnegie Middle East Center, the video can be seen as part of a broader psychological war Hezbollah is waging against Israel. Young believes that both sides have stepped up psychological warfare since the assassinations of Shukr and Haniyeh. Israel admitted it killed Shukr in an air strike. It has not claimed or denied killing Haniyeh, but US and Iranian officials reportedly said Israel was responsible. Both assassinations raised the temperature in the region and prompted Iran and Hezbollah to promise retaliation to restore deterrence. Since then, Israel has threatened to use “bunker buster” bombs, which are designed to penetrate targets deep in the ground. Hezbollah responded to Israel’s threats by unveiling its latest video to show its expansive underground network. Hamas’s own tunnel network in Gaza has proved to be effective in providing a refuge for fighters and leaders as well as a way to skirt past Israeli forces operating above ground and launch attacks. Hezbollah’s underground facilities could prove even more effective because it is widely believed to have more advanced capabilities than Hamas. “Both sides [Israel and Hezbollah] are playing a psychological game, partly to deter the other from their threats and from going too far,” Young told Al Jazeera. “I see this video mainly as an instrument of deterrence.” In addition, Young said, Hezbollah and Iran have delayed their retaliation for the killings of Shukr and Haniyeh to buy time for ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel to succeed. Hezbollah, in particular, appears to be exerting leverage on the United States and Israel to agree to a ceasefire by showing its expansive arsenal. At the same time, Hezbollah and Iran have no immediate incentive to retaliate against Israel because it risks undermining the chances of a ceasefire in Gaza, Young explained. “Hezbollah and Iran’s response – up to now – has taken time. While I still think they will respond, for now, they are using psychological warfare as leverage for the ceasefire talks. Both have an interest in seeing these talks succeed. They could then sell the ceasefire as a victory without actually getting involved in a war,” he said. Domestic posturing Hezbollah’s latest video may have also sent a reassuring message to its supporters in Lebanon, analysts told Al Jazeera. Hezbollah’s constituents, in particular, may be discouraged that the group has yet to retaliate for the killing of Shukr despite its leader Hassan Nasrallah promising to do so in early August, according to Blanford. “It seems Hezbollah won’t do anything while Gaza ceasefire talks are under way, but the group wanted to convey a sense of strength and resolve [with its latest video], partly to bolster their support base, who are saying: ‘Hey, you promised to retaliate,’” he told Al Jazeera. Mohanad Hage Ali, an expert on Lebanon and a senior fellow with the Carnegie Middle East Center, told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah’s recent video will not by
China’s Xi holds talks with Vietnam’s new leader in Beijing
Meeting between leaders of China, Vietnam signals close ties between neighbouring states despite occasional tensions. China’s President Xi Jinping has held talks with Vietnam’s President To Lam in Beijing on his first state visit since becoming his country’s top leader, according to Chinese official media Xinhua. The meeting between Xi and Lam on Monday signals the close ties between the two communist-run neighbours, which have well-developed economic and trade relations despite occasional strains over their competing claims in the South China Sea. The visit comes just a month after Lam took over in Hanoi following the death of Vietnam’s longtime Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong. China, displaying exuberance over Lam choosing China for his first official trip, said last week it “fully reflects the great importance he attaches to the development of ties between both parties and countries”. China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, greeted Lam and his wife, Ngo Phuong Ly, when they arrived at the airport in Beijing. Photos posted by Chinese and Vietnamese online publications later showed the couple being welcomed by Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. Lam arrived in China’s southern Guangzhou province on Sunday for a three-day visit that will also include meetings with Premier Li Qiang and other top Chinese officials. While in Guangzhou, he visited some of the locations in China where former Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh conducted revolutionary activities. Last December, when Xi visited Vietnam, China and Vietnam signed more than a dozen deals. The agreements, specifics of which were not announced, covered strengthening railway cooperation and development, investments in various fields and establishing communication to handle unexpected incidents in the South China Sea. In a lengthy joint declaration, both countries said they would work on cross-border railway connectivity, naming three rail projects, including one connecting mountainous Lao Cai in Vietnam’s northwest to the port city Haiphong. It also mentioned working on other projects under China’s flagship infrastructure programme, the Belt and Road Initiative, and emphasised investment cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, energy, digital economy, green development and other fields. China and Vietnam forged diplomatic ties in 1950 and established a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2008. That agreement was deepened five years later to include more international and regional issues of shared concern. Despite the closeness, Vietnam and China have clashed politically over disputed islands and territories in the South China Sea. In 2014, their dispute turned deadly as riots erupted between Vietnamese and Chinese workers in China, leaving more than 20 people dead. Recently, Vietnam has also sought to improve its relations with the United States. Adblock test (Why?)
Blinken says current talks ‘maybe last’ chance to free captives from Gaza
Visiting Israel, Blinken is stepping up US diplomatic pressure to secure a ceasefire despite continuing rifts. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, pushing for a Gaza ceasefire on his visit to Israel, has described ongoing negotiations as “maybe the last” chance to secure the captives’ release and secure a ceasefire. Speaking in Tel Aviv on Monday, before meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the top US diplomat said he was also working to de-escalate other regional tensions fuelled by the war in Gaza. Blinken is scaling up US diplomatic pressure to try and reach a deal to end the 10-month conflict after the United States put forward proposals last week in a bid to close the gaps between the warring parties. “This is a decisive moment – probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken said on his ninth trip to the region since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October. “I’m here as part of an intensive diplomatic effort on President Biden’s instructions to try to get this agreement to the line and ultimately over the line … It is time for everyone to get to yes and to not look for any excuses to say no,” Blinken added. “It is time for it to get done. It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process,” he went on to say. The US and other Western leaders have called on Iran and its allies to refrain from anticipated attacks on Israel in retaliation for the recent killings of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah. Worldwide concern that Israel’s war will escalate into an all-out regional conflict multiplied after the assassinations last month of Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Fuad Shukr, a top commander of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, in Beirut. “We’re working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line, or, for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places, and to greater intensity,” Blinken said. The diplomat is later scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said Israelis wanted to see the return “as soon as possible” of captives held in Gaza since Hamas snatched them during its October 7 attack. Israel’s war began after Hamas’s surprise attack. “There is no greater humanitarian objective, and there’s no greater humanitarian cause, than bringing back our hostages,” Herzog told Blinken. The US, Egypt and Qatar have been acting as mediators in a number of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The last round of talks ended on Friday in Qatar, with no resolution. It is expected to resume again in Cairo, Egypt this week. Hamas has been insisting that the ceasefire end the war permanently while Israel has said any deal should not limit it from continuing the war despite repeated US statements for the deal to end the conflict. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israel’s deadly attacks continue, with the death toll from Israel’s bombardment now more than 40,000, according to Palestinian health authorities. Adblock test (Why?)