US Secret Service chief faces angry questions and calls to resign
NewsFeed ‘You’re full of s***’. See some of the hostile questions faced by US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle as she appeared before a Congress committee investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Published On 23 Jul 202423 Jul 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Dozens killed as Palestinians flee Israel’s new offensive on Khan Younis
At least 70 Palestinians have been killed and more than 200 wounded in Israel’s latest assault on the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza as Palestinians fleeing Israeli tank shelling and air strikes have described the situation as “doomsday”. “Due to the Israeli occupation’s attacks and massacres in Khan Yunis governorate from the early hours of this morning until now, 70 people have been martyred and more than 200 wounded,” Gaza’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Monday, adding that the dead included women and children. Residents of the densely built-up area of southern Gaza said the tanks advanced for more than 2km (1.2 miles) into Bani Suheila on the eastern edge of Khan Younis, forcing residents to flee under fire. Israel’s third assault on the southern city began shortly after Palestinians were ordered to leave the area, which has been designated as “safe zone”, giving little time for people to find safety. Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank salvoes in Bani Suheila and other towns just east of Khan Younis, and the area was also bombarded by air, according to medics. “It is like doomsday,” one resident who identified himself only as Abu Khaled told the news agency Reuters via a chat app. “People are fleeing under fire. Many are dead and wounded on the roads.” The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis has been overwhelmed with patients, and the wounded are being treated on the floor. Medics at the medical facility said the situation was “out of control”. Palestinians flee the eastern part of Khan Younis after they were ordered by the Israeli army to evacuate [Hatem Khaled/Reuters] Palestinians displaced Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians in al-Mawasi, which is located along the Gaza coast between the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, to leave. Israel justified its new operation there, saying Palestinian fighters have been using the area to launch attacks on Israeli forces. In a statement, it urged people to relocate from eastern Khan Younis to the west of the “adjusted humanitarian area of al-Mawasi”. However, many Palestinians are hesitant to join the swelling tent camps in al-Mawasi, declared a humanitarian zone in May, after a recent attack on the area killed at least 92 people and wounded more than 300, according to figures from the Health Ministry. That attack caused global outrage. Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah in Central Gaza, said the situation is “deteriorating in the eastern areas of Khan Younis city”, where the population “has returned to live in the remnants of their destroyed houses – and, again, the military has announced that they are starting a new incursion”. “But that happened in a very short period of time, and they started to bombard residential houses. People were inside. Later, the military started to drop leaflets [to order an evacuation] in the eastern areas of Khan Younis,” he said. Some families fled on donkey carts and others on foot, carrying mattresses and other belongings. Palestinians, the United Nations and international relief agencies have said there is no safe place left in Gaza. A relative of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli strike at Nasser Medical Complex [Hatem Khaled/Reuters] Hospitals overwhelmed The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said two of its clinics located in eastern Khan Younis had been knocked out of operation because of the new Israeli offensive. At Nasser Medical Complex, some people stood outside the morgue to bid farewell to dead relatives. “We are tired. We are tired in Gaza. Every day our children are martyred – every day, every moment,” Ahmed Sammour, who lost several relatives in bombings of eastern Khan Younis, told Reuters. “No one told us to evacuate. They brought four floors crashing down on civilians, … and the bodies they could reach, they brought to the refrigerator [morgue],” Sammour added. Palestinian children flee the eastern part of Khan Younis [Hatem Khaled/Reuters] Hamas denounced the attack, stating that it would not deter Palestinians from remaining “steadfast in their land”. “We call upon the international community and the United Nations to urgently intervene to stop the systematic Zionist killing of our people, who are facing a genocide,” the group said in a statement on its Telegram channel. At least 39,006 people have been killed and 89,818 injured since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October. The death toll in Israel from Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139, and dozens of people are still being held captive in Gaza. Adblock test (Why?)
Kamala Harris hails Joe Biden’s legacy in first speech since he quit race
Kamala Harris, the vice president of the United States, has praised her boss, President Joe Biden, a day after he dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed her as his successor. “Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the last three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said on Monday in her first public appearance since the 81-year-old US leader abruptly announced his withdrawal from the November polls a day earlier. “In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have two terms in office,” Harris said at a White House event to honour college athletes, where she was filling in for Biden, who is recovering at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. In her statement, however, Harris, 59, did not specifically refer to her new status as the leading Democratic candidate to replace Biden as the party’s presidential nominee. Meanwhile, virtually all of the prominent Democrats who had been seen as potential challengers to Harris have lined up behind her, including Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives and one of the longest-serving and best known Democrats. Pelosi, who remains influential since stepping down as speaker in 2022, played a leading role in persuading Biden to end his campaign amid concerns over his mental acuity and ability to beat Republican Donald Trump or to serve another four years. “With love and gratitude, I salute President Biden for always believing in the possibilities of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfillment,” Pelosi, 84, said in a statement on Monday. “We must unify and charge forward to resoundingly defeat Donald Trump and enthusiastically elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.” Biden and Harris have been working together since 2020. As the US president solidified his lead in that year’s election, he promised he would select a woman as his running mate. The selection of Harris was seen as an effort to appeal to Black voters and energise the party’s base. On Sunday, while declaring he was abandoning his re-election campaign, Biden wrote on X that his endorsement of Harris has been “the best decision” he has made. Campaign officials and allies have already made hundreds of calls on Harris’s behalf, urging delegates to next month’s Democratic Party convention to join in nominating her for president in the November 5 election against Trump. The new party nominee will be chosen at the convention in Chicago next month when more than 4,000 party officials and activists will gather to vote. Harris could, however, still face challengers seeking the Democratic nomination in the coming days. Rebekah Caruthers, vice president of the Fair Elections Center, told Al Jazeera Harris has a solid record when it comes to winning elections. “She has been on the ballot many times, with being a district attorney, California attorney general. She herself ran for president during the 2020 cycle,” Caruthers said. “One thing that the Harris campaign has been putting out: Each time Kamala Harris is on the ballot, she wins her election.” But some Democrats were concerned about a Harris candidacy, in part because of the weight of a long history of racial and gender discrimination in the US, which has not elected a woman president in its nearly 250-year history. “We should all prepare for the onslaught of attacks that would face any historic candidate,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. “Misogyny in our politics is far from over. Racism in our politics – especially confronting Donald Trump as a an opponent – is far, far from over.” Adblock test (Why?)
Biden’s legacy is Gaza genocide, Palestinian rights advocates say
Democratic politicians and commentators in the United States have heaped praise on President Joe Biden since he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday. Representative Maxine Waters, for instance, called Biden a “kind and decent man”. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, extolled his “vision, values and leadership”. But while political leaders showered Biden with compliments, bombs continued to rain down on Gaza, killing dozens and sparking another wave of mass displacement in Khan Younis. For many Palestinian rights advocates, the carnage and abuses in Gaza will define Biden’s place in the history books, as the US remains steadfast in its support of Israel’s war in the Palestinian territory. “He’ll be remembered for the hundreds of thousands killed, injured and displaced in Gaza,” said Abed Ayoub, the executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). “There is no way around it. ‘Genocide Joe’ is what he’s going to be remembered as.” Thank you, President Biden! I am one of your greatest supporters and I was willing to stay with you through the Democratic Party nomination. However, you have decided to step down and you have endorsed your Vice President Kamala Harris. You are a kind and decent man who is… — Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) July 21, 2024 Since Israel’s war on Gaza started on October 7, Biden has offered the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unconditional military and diplomatic support. Only once did Biden withhold a shipment of bombs to Israel over humanitarian concerns — and even then, he released part of that cargo a couple months later, amid pressure from Netanyahu. Israel’s war, meanwhile, has killed nearly 39,000 Palestinians, displaced hundreds of thousands, fuelled a man-made hunger crisis and destroyed large parts of the territory. United Nations experts and other observers have warned of a “risk of genocide” in Gaza. Ayoub told Al Jazeera that, despite Biden’s domestic achievements, the president will rank among the worst in US history due to his unconditional support for Israel. The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) echoed that comment. “Nothing will erase the fact that Biden’s legacy is — and always will be — genocide,” the group said in a statement. Netanyahu ‘bear hug’ The US president has been a stalwart supporter of Israel throughout his decades-long political career. He frequently calls himself a Zionist and argues that Jews across the world would not be safe without Israel. He put that worldview into policy during his presidency, as he pushed on with Former President Donald Trump’s pro-Israel doctrine. Biden kept the US embassy in Jerusalem and refused to reverse the Trump-era decision to recognise Israel’s claims to the occupied Golan Heights in Syria. He also aggressively pursued formal ties between Israel and Arab states, a goal Trump advanced with the 2020 Abraham Accords. That push for normalisation, however, came without progress towards the recognition of an independent Palestinian state or the dismantling of systemic anti-Palestinian discrimination. The outbreak of the war in Gaza further underscored Biden’s pro-Israel policies. Weeks after the conflict started, Biden travelled to Israel and publicly embraced Netanyahu in what many critics have described as a “bear hug”. That sign of friendliness was widely understood to be an endorsement of Netanyahu’s response in Gaza, after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. Even early in the conflict, human rights groups accused Israel of horrific violations rising to the level of genocide — a push to destroy the Palestinian people. Within the first week alone, the Israeli military said it had unleashed 2,000 strikes across Gaza — a strip of land roughly the size of Las Vegas. Biden has since authorised continuous arms transfers and more than $14bn in additional aid to sustain Israel’s Gaza offensive. Moreover, his administration has vetoed three United Nations Security Council proposals that would have called for a ceasefire. Hatem Abudayyeh, the chair of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), said Biden will be remembered above all for enabling Israel’s “crimes against humanity”. “He could’ve turned the tap of money and weapons off in October, but he allowed this genocide to happen. He is complicit, and that’s what will be written on his tombstone,” Abudayyeh told Al Jazeera. Biden and Palestinians Following his entry into politics in 1970, Biden quickly rose from local to national prominence, mounting a successful dark-horse campaign to represent Delaware in the US Senate in 1972. After nearly four decades in Congress, he became vice president under Barack Obama, and in 2021, he won the presidency himself. The president does not hail from a political dynasty, and he is not an exceptional orator. His success in politics is often credited to his interpersonal skills and ability to project empathy. That sense of compassion, however, never extended to Palestinians, activists say. “For nine and a half months, President Biden has funded and armed the brutal Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, making the US government directly complicit in the killing of at least 39,000 people, including over 15,000 children,” Jewish Voice for Peace Action said in a statement on Sunday. “Americans have watched in horror and outrage as Biden sent the Israeli government the weapons it used to wipe out entire generations of Palestinian families, to destroy hospitals, bakeries, schools, mosques, churches, universities, refugee camps, homes and Gaza’s entire health care system and electricity and water grids.” Beyond policy, Biden’s rhetoric at times seemed dismissive of Israeli atrocities and Palestinian suffering. “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war,” the US president said in October. But that stance caused Biden troubles both domestically and abroad. Even before Biden delivered a disastrous debate performance on June 27, the 81-year-old had started to trail his Republican rival Trump in public opinion polls. Parts of the Democratic base — including young people, progressives, Arabs and Muslims — voiced frustration and anger with his support for Israel.
Israel follows up evacuation order with air strikes on Gaza ‘safe zone’
Reports of at least 16 dead with casualties pouring into hospital. Israel’s military has launched artillery and air strikes on eastern Khan Younis shortly after demanding residents leave what it had previously designated a humanitarian zone. The barrage of attacks early on Monday came less than an hour after the evacuation order. At least 30 people have been killed, according to health officials in Gaza. The enclave’s population, most of which has been displaced and is in desperate need of shelter and food, has found it increasingly difficult to find security as they have been pushed into shrinking “safe zones” by Israel’s bombardment. The military on Monday had ordered people to leave areas including the eastern part of the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip, saying an operation was planned following the launch of a rocket attack towards Israel. “People did not even have the opportunity to evacuate,” reported Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary from the central city of Deir el-Balah. “The Israeli forces started their air attacks and artillery shelling in eastern Khan Younis shortly after throwing their evacuation order leaflets.” She noted that casualties were pouring into Khan Younis’s only functional hospital – Nasser Medical Complex – and doctors were pleading for blood donations. Israel’s military said its renewed attacks on the area, which it has repeatedly invaded during the war, were a response to Hamas operations. In a post on X, Israel’s military accused Hamas of using civilians in eastern Khan Younis neighbourhoods as “human shields”, turning the area into a danger zone. It called on residents, many already displaced multiple times, to “immediately” flee further west in the al-Mawasi evacuation zone. Due to significant terrorist activity and rocket fire toward the State of Israel from the eastern part of the Humanitarian Area in Gaza, remaining in this area has become dangerous. Accordingly, at this time, the Humanitarian Area will be adjusted. The adjustment is being carried… pic.twitter.com/bk5GGNXn6M — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 22, 2024 The order affects more than 400,000 people, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence. Those fleeing have little hope that they will be safe, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said noting that al-Mawasi was hit by a massive aerial attack earlier this month, killing over 90 civilians. That attack, which Israel’s military said targeted senior Hamas commanders, was described by those sheltering in the area as a “horrific massacre”, leaving women and children strewn on the tents of their floor and in pieces. “People feel like the Israelis are playing a chess game with them, moving them from one place to another, and no place is safe,” said Khoudary. Israel’s wave of attacks in eastern Khan Younis comes as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington to address the US Congress, which has approved billions in military aid to Israel during the war. It also comes as Israeli negotiators prepare to restart stalled captive-prisoner exchange talks on Thursday, according to Netanyahu. Since the war broke out, Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed 38,983 people and injured nearly 90,000, the vast majority civilians, while reducing much of the enclave to rubble. [There’s no breakdown of civilian vs non-civilian casualties; consider removing part not in bold] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel must take steps to prevent civilian casualties and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, but Israel has rejected the court’s ruling. Adblock test (Why?)
Video: Maduro sends best wishes as leaders react to Biden decision
NewsFeed Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro sent his best wishes to US President Joe Biden for ‘health and a long life’, as world leaders including the prime ministers of Australia and Japan reacted to Biden’s decision not to run for re-election. Published On 22 Jul 202422 Jul 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine’s foreign minister to press China on support for Russia
Dmytro Kuleba visits China to discuss ending Russia’s invasion and sustainable peace efforts. Ukraine’s foreign minister will head to China on Tuesday for two days of talks in a bid to persuade Beijing to reduce its support for Russia and get behind Kyiv’s push for “sustainable” peace. The main topic of discussion on Dmytro Kuleba’s trip, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday, will be “the search for ways to stop Russian aggression and China’s possible role in achieving a sustainable and just peace”. A close political and economic ally of Moscow, Beijing denies that it supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, China has not condemned the war either and refused to join Ukrainian-led international peace conferences. Beijing confirmed the planned talks with the Ukrainian official. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that Kuleba’s visit was initiated by China’s foreign minister. Last year, Beijing released a paper calling for a “political settlement” to the conflict. However, Ukraine dismissed the proposal and Western countries warned that the suggested solution could enable Russia to retain much of the territory it has seized in Ukraine. During a visit to Beijing in May, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signalled his approval of China’s plan, calling it a “genuine desire” to end the war. Last month, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted a peace summit in Switzerland to set out his vision for a lasting peace. The summit drew about 100 delegations from various nations and international bodies though Russia was not invited. Beijing refused to attend in protest, provoking an accusation from Zelenskyy that China was collaborating with Russia to undermine the event. China said that “all efforts” to support peace measures should be recognised. Kyiv and Moscow have intensified fatal cross-border missile and drone attacks over recent months with both sides primarily targeting energy infrastructure. Russia makes nearly daily announcements about the interception of Ukrainian drones which Kyiv says are a response to Russian attacks aimed at military and civilian targets since Moscow launched its special military operation in February 2022. Adblock test (Why?)
Republicans want Biden to ‘resign immediately’ after election withdrawal
As US President Joe Biden announces his decision to drop out of the November election, top leaders from the Republican Party say he must resign as president “immediately”. “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, the top Republican in the US Congress, said in a statement on Sunday. Johnson characterised Biden’s withdrawal as an “unprecedented” moment in United States history. “We must be clear about what just happened. The Democrat Party forced the Democrat nominee off the ballot, just over 100 days before the election,” he wrote. “Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy’ has proven exactly the opposite.” Biden said he intends to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends on January 20, 2025. But Biden’s Republican opponents, including Donald Trump, slammed his presidency and called for the 81-year-old to resign before the end of his term. “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was!” Trump posted on his Truth Social network. The Republicans have seized on Biden’s poor debate performance last month to batter him as incapable of serving four more years. Now that he is out of the presidential election, many are saying he should resign from his office, too. Johnson, in a separate interview with the network ABC, hinted that the Republicans may mount legal challenges to the Democrats’ move to replace Biden on the ballot. Johnson also used his post for an attack on Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden has proposed as his replacement candidate. Johnson described Harris as “a gleeful accomplice” who “co-owns the disastrous policy failures of the Biden Administration”. “Regardless of the chaos in the current White House, our adversaries around the globe should be reminded that the US Congress, the US military, and the American people are fully prepared and committed to defend our interests both at home and abroad,” Johnson wrote. Senator JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, said on X that not running for re-election would be a “clear admission” that Trump was right all along about Biden “not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief”. “There is no middle ground,” he added. Elise Stefanik, House Republican Conference chairperson, shared a similar sentiment, saying in a statement that if Biden can’t run for re-election, he is “unable and unfit to serve” as the US president. Meanwhile, the Democrats have defended Biden’s decision, calling it a “patriotic” and “selfless” move. In a joint statement, former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they “join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all that he accomplished”. They also threw their weight behind Harris to be the Democratic nominee to face Trump in November. “Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it,” the Clintons said. Former President Barack Obama, who picked then-Senator Biden as his running mate in 2008, called him a “patriot of the highest order”, but warned of “uncharted waters in the days ahead” – and stopped short of endorsing Harris. “I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” the former US leader and Democratic Party member said in a statement. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that Biden has not only been a “great president and a great legislative leader but he is a truly amazing human being”. “His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first,” he said. Schumer and Senator Dick Durbin, the top two Senate Democrats, however, did not offer support for Biden’s proposed replacement, Harris. “Now the Democratic Party must unite behind a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump and keep America moving in the right direction. I will do everything in my power to help that effort,” Durbin said. Adblock test (Why?)
Full text: Biden’s letter announcing withdrawal from presidential race
‘It is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down,’ the US president writes. The following is the letter from United States President Joe Biden, announcing he will no longer run for re-election in November: “My Fellow Americans, Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today. I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world. It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term. I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision. For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me. I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do — when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.” – Joe Biden Adblock test (Why?)
What’s behind the recurring unrest in Bangladesh?
Student protesters won’t stand down despite the top court reducing quotas for government jobs. After weeks of widespread unrest in Bangladesh, the Supreme Court has changed a controversial quota system for government jobs. It has significantly reduced the share of public sector positions reserved for war veterans’ family members. But despite the ruling, the protests appear to be far from over. Initially student led, they have grown to include people frustrated by rising inflation and high food prices. Dozens of student leaders, activists and opposition figures have been arrested. With soldiers on the streets, a nationwide curfew in place and a communications blackout, there are also growing calls for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take accountability. So will the quota reforms be enough to restore calm? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests: Mubashar Hasan – Political analyst and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Oslo Zaman Ashraf – Bangladeshi activist who works with the Asian Human Rights Commission Sreeradha Datta – Professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs whose research focuses on India-Bangladesh relations Adblock test (Why?)