8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza ambush; deadliest day in months
Hamas fighters killed eight Israeli soldiers traveling in military vehicles in Rafah after firing rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and then ambushing a support force deployed to the scene. The attacks on Saturday marked one of the deadliest days for Israeli soldiers in Gaza in months as its ground invasion of the southern region continues to ramp up. Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said in a statement its soldiers “carried out a complex ambush against enemy vehicles” in the Saudi neighbourhood of Tal as-Sultan district, western Rafah city. The armed group said it fired Yassin-105 RPGs at a D9 military bulldozer, killing and wounding an unidentified number of Israeli soldiers. A “rescue force” vehicle that later arrived was also attacked, “resulting in its destruction and the death of all its occupants”. Israel’s army said in a statement the eight soldiers “fell during operational activity in southern Gaza”, without elaborating. Daniel Hagari, Israeli’s military spokesperson, said an investigation will be launched into how exactly the attack occurred. “We’re working to disarm all the fighters in order to prevent Hamas from targeting civilians again like on October 7. Today, we received another reminder of the high price we are paying because of this war, and we have soldiers ready to sacrifice their lives in order to defend Israel,” Hagari said in a televised statement. At least 307 Israeli troops have been killed and thousands wounded since October 27 when the ground invasion of Gaza was launched. At least 37,296 Palestinians – mostly women, children, and elderly – have died since the war began on October 7, Gaza’s health ministry says. Saturday’s casualties will likely fuel calls for a ceasefire and heighten Israeli public anger. In January, 21 Israeli troops were killed in a single attack by Palestinian fighters in central Gaza. Rafah assault expands Despite international condemnation and censure, Israeli forces continue to push into and surround Rafah where at least 19 Palestinians were killed on Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of desperate civilians without food, water, and medicine remain trapped in the city. Air, sea and artillery attacks on the Tal as-Sultan area intensified after the deadly Hamas ambush. Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said Saturday’s attack shows Israel’s stated war goal of destroying Hamas remains elusive after eight months of combat. “The Palestinian resistance fighters have put up quite a fight,” he told Al Jazeera, noting a recent news report quoting US intelligence officials saying about 70 percent of Hamas’s fighting force remains intact. “What’s even worse, from an Israeli perspective, is Hamas has been able to recruit thousands of new members so there’s no manpower issue for Hamas.” Gideon Levy, an author and columnist with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, said the deaths of eight soldiers is a “heavy price for Israeli society”. “More and more people in Israel are asking what for and until when? This might become an endless war – a war of attrition in which as strong as Israel’s army is Hamas forces can always kill and sabotage, and then there will be direct retaliation. It leads nowhere. We’ll never achieve this ridiculous ‘total victory’ that Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks about,” Levy told Al Jazeera. Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire, an agreement to halt the fighting still appears distant. Since a weeklong truce in November that freed more than 100 Israelis, repeated attempts to arrange a ceasefire have failed with Hamas insisting on a permanent end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu refuses to end the invasion before Hamas is “eradicated”. More than 100 captives are believed to remain in Gaza, though many are believed to be dead. The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, al-Quds Brigades, said on Saturday Israel could only regain its people if it ends the war and pulls out troops from the besieged enclave. Adblock test (Why?)
Haiti to replace national police chief in effort to counter gang violence
The newly installed government in Haiti has announced the replacement of the head of the beleaguered national police force, in the latest effort to respond to gang violence in the crisis-wracked country. Police chief Frantz Elbe will be replaced with former chief Rameau Normil, the prime minister’s office has confirmed. The move comes as Haiti’s new prime minister, Garry Conille, has faced increased pressure to strengthen the Haitian National Police. The force has remained woefully underfunded and ill-equipped despite being at the forefront of the battle against powerful armed gangs in the Caribbean country. Conille himself was installed by a transitional council in May after gangs earlier this year seized large swaths of the capital, Port au Prince, and deposed former Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Speaking to the Reuters news agency after the change was announced on Friday, Pierre Esperance, the National Network for Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), described Elbe’s time as head of the police as “catastrophic”. “The results of Elbe at the helm of the police are catastrophic,” Esperance said, adding he believed Elbe should be prosecuted. “He spent his whole time establishing relationships with the gangs, reinforcing the gangs and preventing cops from doing their job and risking their lives,” he said. Haiti’s police unions have also repeatedly called for Elbe’s resignation and arrest, pointing to gang raids on at least 30 police stations and substations in recent months as part of a series of attacks that began on February 29. On Wednesday, the SPNH-17 police union held a news conference condemning the state of the department under Elbe. SYNAPOHA, another police union, joined in calling on Conille to bolster the department earlier this week. The latest development has come as Haiti continued to await the deployment of a Kenya-led, UN-backed multinational security force composed of 1,000 Kenyan officers, as well as personnel from a handful of Caribbean countries. That force was meant to deploy in late May, but its arrival has been repeatedly delayed. For his part, Normil had headed the national police from mid-2019 to late 2020 under former President Jovenel Moise, who was assassinated in 2021. Prior to that, he oversaw the detective division. The effective date of the replacement was not immediately clear. Fight against gang violence Haiti’s fast-shrinking police force has suffered from a lack of resources while fighting criminal groups armed with high-calibre weapons the UN says are largely trafficked from the nearby US. As of 2023, the police force had just more than 13,200 personnel, according to the UN. The international organisation has warned that only about 4,000 police are on duty at any given time in a country of 11 million. Meanwhile, a recent survey by RNDDH found that 20 police officers have been killed so far this year, with more than 320 since 2015. Police officers’ regular complaints included late pay, insufficient training, workplace harassment, dismissal threats, knife and gunshot injuries and equipment shortages. Nevertheless, Haiti’s new Conille-led government has promised to bring about change. “Haiti is confronted by major challenges. Violence and instability paralyse our daily lives,” Conille said at an official ceremony on Wednesday. “My government will work without rest to improve the conditions of each and every Haitian,” he said, adding that “without security, no sustainable progress can be achieved.” “It is crucial our police and soldiers are ready to face today’s security challenges,” Conille added, “and we will ensure that they have the tools they need to carry out their mission effectively and professionally.” For its part, Haiti’s ombudsman, the Citizens’ Protection Office, has called on Normil to produce a plan to control the gangs and improve the police force “without delay”. It has also called for authorities to offer explanations for the high rate of killings and the “spectacular” recent escape of about 4,500 prisoners under the “complete indifference” of previous authorities. Gang violence in Haiti has pushed 578,000 people from their homes, according to the UN’s latest estimates. Thousands have been killed and millions pushed into acute hunger amid the unrest. Adblock test (Why?)
Team preview: Can Italy repeat as European champions at Euro 2024?
⚽ Italy – Key Euros Stats ⚽ Euro appearances: 10Euro Titles: 2Best finish: Winners (1968, 2020)Euros Record: W21 D18 L6Goals scored: 52Biggest win: 3-0 (vs Turkey and vs Switzerland in Euro 2020)Player to watch: Federico DimarcoWorld ranking: 9thGroup Fixtures: 15 June: Italy vs Albania (BVB Stadion, Dortmund, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 20 June: Spain vs Italy (Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 24 June: Croatia vs Italy (Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) How to follow our Euro 2024 coverage: UEFA Euro 2024 on Al Jazeera Italy arrives at the Euros as defending champions, but the title comes without the aura; it has been gradually eroding since that incredible summer night at Wembley, London, in 2021. Less than a year after their crowning glory at the Euros, the Azzurri encountered the ignominy of missing out on the 2022 Qatar World Cup after a stunning stoppage time goal saw them lose their playoff semifinal to football minnows North Macedonia. Their qualification campaign for Euro 2024 was similarly fraught. After their first two qualifiers – a loss to England and a win over Malta – Italy were rocked by the resignation of manager Roberto Mancini after more than five years in the job. He was replaced by Luciano Spalletti, whose first game in charge was a 1-1 draw, which also happened to be against their 2022 nemesis, North Macedonia. With only one victory in their first three games, Euro 2024 qualification suddenly looked precarious. A run of three wins in four matches saw Italy go into the final group game against Ukraine, knowing a loss would see them enter the playoffs. A tense goalless draw secured direct passage to the Euros owing to their superior head-to-head record. Bet gone wrong To go along with their qualification woes, the Italian side’s preparations were rocked by a betting scandal that saw the police visit the national team’s Coverciano training centre ahead of their qualifiers in October to question Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo. The duo subsequently left the camp and Tonali was later handed a 10-month ban by the Italian Football Federation. Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was also handed a seven-month ban after being found guilty in the investigation, but he was named in Italy’s final 26-man squad for Euro 2024. His inclusion is indicative of the dearth of attacking options in front of Spalletti. Zaniolo and forward Domenico Berardi were ruled out of the tournament through injury, while Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne no longer play their club football in Europe and have faded from national favour. Injuries have hindered Federico Chiesa’s progress, with the 26-year-old Juventus forward yet to recapture the form that saw him light up Euro 2020. Gianluca Scamacca, who scored 19 goals for Europa League winners Atalanta this season, is expected to lead the front line but he has scored just once for Italy in his 15 appearances. Giacomo Raspadori is the other striking option at Spalletti’s disposal, but he has managed only 12 goals across the last two seasons. Sandro Tonali’s 10-month ban for his part in a betting scandal added to Italy’s Euro 2024 qualification woes [Lee Smith/Reuters] Defence is the best form of attack All this points to a side that will be built around its defence. Unsurprisingly, Azzurri are not lacking for talent in this department – their 30-man preliminary squad features 11 eleven defenders. Of these 11, four were from Inter Milan – prior to Francesco Acerbi’s late injury withdrawal – and given the Nerazzurri’s parsimonious defence this year, the remaining three Inter defenders are all likely to start in Germany. The 22 goals Inter conceded in the Serie A this season are the lowest among all clubs in Europe’s top five leagues. The feat was achieved playing a back-three. So, replicating a system with a group of defenders already comfortable playing in it feels an almost no-brainer for Spalletti’s national team at Euro 2024. The manager fielded a three-man defence for the first time in his tenure in the March 2024 friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador, with Italy going on to win both. The sample size is small but the ceiling could be high. A backline comprising of Alessandro Bastoni and Alessandro Boungiorni – the likely Acerbi replacement – with Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian at wing-back is, on paper, one of the best defences at Euro 2024. But will that be enough to take them deep in the tournament? Spalletti admitted in an interview with Sky Italia that there are other countries that are at a higher level than Italy but backed his team to compete with them. “Our target is to return from Germany and hear Italians say, ‘We are proud of you,’” he said. Italy’s Matteo Darmian (L) and Federico Dimarco will need to fortify the Italian defence if the reigning champs are to hold on to their title at Euro 2024 [Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters] Drawn in a difficult group that includes Spain, Croatia and Albania, even a quarterfinal finish would go a long way towards helping Spalletti meet this objective. If the Italians can pull off an unlikely tournament coup, they will join Germany and Spain as the record three-time European champions. ⚽ Italy’s final squad for Euro 2024 ⚽ Captain: Gianluigi Donnarumma Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris St Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham Hotspur) Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Roma) Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Hellas Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma) Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio) You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated Euro 2024 tournament page with all the match buildup and live text commentary, and keep up to date with group standings and real-time match results & schedules.
‘Absolute priority’: UN agencies must work unhindered in Gaza, G7 says
The Palestinian refugee agency of the United Nations (UNRWA) must be allowed to work unhindered in Gaza, Group of Seven (G7) leaders say as the wealthy nations wrapped up day two of their annual summit in Italy. “We agree it is critical that UNRWA and other UN organisations and agencies’ distribution networks be fully able to deliver aid to those who need it most, fulfilling their mandate effectively,” G7 nations said in their final communique. They called for all parties to facilitate “rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need” in Gaza, particularly women and children. “Securing full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access in all its forms – consistent with international humanitarian law and through all relevant land crossing points, including the Rafah crossing, through maritime delivery routes, including through Ashdod Port – throughout all of Gaza remains an absolute priority.” UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, has been repeatedly targeted by Israel since the war on Gaza began on October 7. In their statement, the G7 leaders repeated concern at the “unacceptable number of civilian casualties” in the war. They again endorsed a truce and captive release deal. “We are deeply concerned by the consequences on the civilian population of the ongoing ground operations in Rafah, and the possibility of a full-scale military offensive that would have further dire consequences for civilians. We call on the government of Israel to refrain from such an offensive,” it said. “We condemn the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians, which undermines security and stability in the West Bank, and threatens prospects for a lasting peace.” The international charity Oxfam reacted to the G7 communique by saying: “Israel and its G7 allies must move from words to action, implement their proposals, remove Israeli forces from Gaza, and end the occupation. Hopes must become reality, the time for talking is done.” ‘Crucial moment in history’ On Friday, the G7 nations turned their attention to migration, artificial intelligence, economic security and the Asia-Pacific region. Their leaders stressed their determination to meet global challenges “at a crucial moment in history”. The gathering in a luxury resort in Italy’s southern Puglia (Apulia) region also discussed other major topics, such as financial support for Ukraine, climate change, Iran, the situation in the Red Sea, gender equality, and China’s industrial policy and economic security. “We are working together and with others to address the pressing challenges of our time,” the final communique said. Migration was the first topic of discussions on Friday with the leaders mulling ways to combat trafficking and increase investment in countries from which refugees and migrants start out on often life-threatening journeys. The topic is of particular interest to summit host Italy, which lies on one of the major routes into the European Union for people fleeing war and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Right-wing Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, known for her hardline stance on migration, has been eager to increase investment and funding for African nations as a means of reducing migratory pressure on Europe. The leaders “launched the G7 Coalition to prevent and counter the smuggling of migrants”, the summit’s final declaration said, noting the seven nations would “focus on the root causes of irregular migration, efforts to enhance border management and curb transnational organized crime, and safe and regular pathways for migration.” Apart from the G7 nations of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and United States, the Italian hosts also invited several African leaders – Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Kenyan President William Ruto and Tunisian President Kais Saied – to press Meloni’s migration and development initiatives. But rights groups decried what they said was a lack of ambition in support for developing countries. The ONE Campaign, which advocates for investment in Africa, said it had found the G7’s and European Union’s share of aid going to Africa was at its lowest point since 1973. “Without any concrete action, the G7 in Italy amounts to no more than pointless platitudes,” said David McNair, executive director at the ONE Campaign. Although the summit’s final statement “reflects promises of increased partnership between the G7 and Africa, there are very few specifics on what new financing, if any, will be available”. Adblock test (Why?)
Working in ‘hellfire’: Gig workers bear the brunt of India’s heatwave
New Delhi, India – Every morning before stepping out of his rented accommodation in New Delhi, India, gig worker Aman fills three plastic bottles with water from a small earthen pot and packs them with some leftover food inside a sling bag. To support his family, in 2018 the 26-year-old moved from Bihar to New Delhi to work as a delivery person at a logistics company. And it’s the hottest work he’s ever experienced; he’s never endured such scorching working conditions, he says. Parts of India are currently engulfed by an extreme heatwave. In the last month, the mercury in Delhi rose to the highest temperature ever recorded: 52.9 degrees Celsius (127.2 degrees Fahrenheit); however, weather officials later issued a statement pushing the maximum temperature lower, in the high 40s (113-120F). In 2021, a report identified India as one of the top five countries in the world with the most exposure to extreme heat. “When I am driving my two-wheeler during work, the hot air blowing on my body makes it feel like I am sitting outside a furnace,” says Aman, who goes by a single name. Last month, he fainted due to the heat while making a delivery in a remote area of Delhi, he recounts, adding that a shopkeeper came to his aid and poured cold water over his head. “Since that incident, I make sure to carry small water bottles and sprinkle water over my head and face multiple times during the day to remain conscious,” says Aman, his clothes drenched in sweat. Delivery driver Aman pours water over his head to cool himself after making a delivery [Parthu Venkatesh/Al Jazeera] According to a recent report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the rising temperatures in India will reduce daily working hours 5.8 percent by 2030. With 90 percent of workers in the country employed in the informal sector, the loss of labour hours brings significant challenges. Aman’s family has been worried about his health and safety. However, quitting or switching to another job is not an option. “While driving, I think about what would happen if something unforeseen happens to me due to heat,” he says. “That scares me, but unfortunately, I have no other skills than driving – and a family to look after – so I cannot leave this job at any cost.” The scorching temperatures affect him mentally, he says, but also economically because they impact his ability to meet his delivery targets. In the winter, his daily earnings were around 750 Indian rupees ($9). That has now dropped to 500 rupees ($6). “It really haunts me how I will take care of my family,” he laments while getting ready to deliver the last parcel of his day, finishing a 10-hour shift. According to a report by government think-tank NITI Aayog, there are 7.7 million gig workers in India — a number that is expected to grow to 23.5 million by 2029-30. Outside a small eatery in South Delhi, Sharukh, 25, who works with a food delivery platform Zomato, stands opposite an old, rusted cooler installed by the owner. “Posh restaurants don’t even allow us to stand in front of their outlets while we are there to collect orders,” Sharukh says, adding that delivery people also have to ask for water in the unbearable heat and are made to feel like “untouchables”. Since the heatwave began, Sharukh has avoided accepting orders from higher-end restaurants, preferring small establishments where “they have the humanity to offer us water and a place to rest while they prepare the order”. “After all, I am not a machine who can work all day in this unbearable temperature,” he says, disheartened, while waiting to collect the seventh order of his shift. Each day he typically brings home 500 to 650 rupees ($6 to $7.80). From March to May, there were approximately 25,000 cases of suspected heatstroke and 56 fatalities in India’s severe heatwave. May was the worst month, with 46 heat-related deaths alone, according to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). News outlets including Reuters and The Hindu have reported that heatwave-related deaths could be as high as 80 or even 100. Last month, while delivering an order, Sharukh experienced extreme pain and cramps in his stomach. Since then, he has been skipping heavy meals to stay light and drinking lemonade from roadside stalls to keep hydrated. “My health has been badly impacted due to heat this year. After work, I feel exhausted and, at times, have severe headaches,” he says. The high temperatures also impact him at home, where frequent power outages prevent him from getting proper rest, making his condition worse. He says his mother insists that he find a different job, but that’s not an option considering the nation’s high unemployment. “Also, our companies aren’t doing much for our safety and wellbeing,” Sharukh says, wrapping a gamcha (soft cotton towel soaked in water) around his face before leaving to deliver his next order. Situations such as prolonged working hours, pressure to meet delivery targets, carrying heavy loads, irregular income and lack of social security like health insurance all negatively impact gig workers’ physical and mental wellbeing, according to a 2024 report by Janpahal, a Delhi-based non-profit. “Although we all live in similar temperatures, the burden of heat isn’t shared equally,” explains Selomi Garnaik, a campaigner at Greenpeace India. “Heatwaves disproportionately impact outdoor workers, forcing them to endure extreme temperatures and putting their health and safety at grave risk.” She says that Greenpeace India is demanding the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) declare heatwaves as a national disaster to ensure “effective fund allocation for heatwave adaptation, mitigation and relief”. “Unfortunately, the heat action plans are reduced to being mere guiding documents; this needs to change,” Garnaik adds. “The heat action plans should prioritise outdoor workers and pay attention to their needs, including reducing working hours during peak heat, providing work absence allowances, and ensuring accessible basic public
Advocates welcome passage of bill to tackle environmental racism in Canada
Advocates say Canada’s first environmental justice law will help chart scale of problem, address negative health impact. Environmental and social justice advocates in Canada have welcomed a new bill that pledges to develop a national strategy to prevent and address the effects of environmental racism. In a statement on Friday, the Canadian Coalition for Environmental and Climate Justice (CCECJ) said passage of Bill C-226 this week would help communities better understand the scale of the problem and lay out strategies for how to tackle it. The bill passed a third reading in the Senate on Thursday and is now expected to achieve “royal assent”, the last step in the legislative process. “We know the stories about where and how environmental racism exists in Canada. The formal data on these realities is incomplete, and therefore, there is a lack of understanding about how real this problem is,” said Ingrid Waldron, CCECJ’s co-founder and co-director. “Data collection and analysis will be a critical starting point in the strategy required by the Environmental Justice Strategy Act. The consequences of inaction on environmental racism would be ongoing negative impacts on people’s health and wellbeing.” Environmental racism refers to the disproportionate siting of hazardous projects and polluting industries among populations of colour and Indigenous communities. Over the past decades, examples in Canada have included mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows First Nation in northern Ontario, the building of major oil and gas pipelines on unceded, Indigenous lands, and the placement of landfills near historic African-Canadian communities on the east coast. I am pleased to share that the federal Environmental Racism/Justice private members bill (Bill C-226) was approved at Senate yesterday. It becomes the first environmental justice law in Canada. Statement from my organizations ENRICH and the CCECJhttps://t.co/pWN7z7NOMy — Dr. Ingrid Waldron (@ingrid_waldron) June 14, 2024 Advocates have spent years urging the Canadian government to take action on the issue, the effects of which continue to be felt in communities across the country. Janelle Nahmabin, of Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Ontario, told Al Jazeera in 2021 about how growing up in one of Canada’s most heavily industrialised areas – known as “Chemical Valley” – has affected her and her community. The pollution residents are exposed to every day has harmed their relationship with the land, she said, which in turn “disconnects Indigenous people from their culture, because the land is a part of our identity”. In 2020, a United Nations special rapporteur also found a “prevalence of discrimination in Canada’s laws and policies regarding hazardous substances and wastes is clear”. “There exists a pattern in Canada where marginalized groups, and Indigenous peoples in particular, find themselves on the wrong side of a toxic divide, subject to conditions that would not be acceptable elsewhere in Canada,” the expert said in a report (PDF) to the UN Human Rights Council. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals had promised in their 2021 party platform to pass legislation requiring the environment minister to “examine the link between race, socio-economic status, and exposure to environmental risk”. Trudeau’s government supported Bill C-226 on environmental racism, with Steven Guilbeault, the minister of environment and climate change, saying in February that “environmental protection should not change depending on who you are or where you live”. “Decision-making should ensure equal opportunity to all and avoid discriminating underrepresented groups. This national engagement will help us meaningfully and collectively reflect on environmental justice and racism,” Guilbeault said in a statement. Bill C-226 – put forward by Green Party leader Elizabeth May – requires the minister to “develop a national strategy to promote efforts across Canada to advance environmental justice and to assess, prevent and address environmental racism”. It also says the minister must work with interested parties, including Indigenous communities, and then submit a report to Canada’s Parliament within two years of the bill’s final passage, laying out the national strategy. “The passage of Bill C-226 represents a commitment to addressing the long-standing and deeply entrenched issue of environmental racism in Canada,” May of the Green Party said in a statement on Thursday. “This legislation is a testament to the power of collective action and the importance of ensuring that all voices, especially those of marginalized communities, are heard and respected in our environmental policies.” Adblock test (Why?)
Pope calls for ban on ‘lethal autonomous weapons’ at G7
Pope Francis spoke about the moral quandaries surrounding artificial intelligence in warfare, saying ‘no machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being’. Pope Francis called for a ban on “lethal autonomous weapons” in an address to the G7 leaders’ summit in Italy on the perils of artificial intelligence (AI). On Friday, the pontiff was the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to ever attend a Group of Seven meeting. “In light of the tragedy that is armed conflict, it is urgent to reconsider the development and use of devices like the so-called ‘lethal autonomous weapons’ and ultimately ban their use,” the pope said. “This starts from an effective and concrete commitment to introduce ever greater and proper human control. No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.” The G7 – which brings together Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – said on Friday that AI “can play a crucial role in promoting progress and development in our societies”. “We recognise the impact of AI on the military domain and the need for a framework for responsible development and use,” the leaders said in a draft statement. Pope Francis, 87, who has suffered from mobility issues in recent years, arrived in Puglia by helicopter and was welcomed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He told the leaders gathered in the southern Italian region, “Artificial intelligence [is] at the same time an exciting and fearsome tool. We would condemn humanity to a future without hope if we took away people’s ability to make decisions about themselves and their lives, by dooming them to depend on the choices of machines.” The Argentinian pontiff was speaking after a series of bilateral meetings with leaders including Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In a statement on his social media platforms, Zelenskyy said he and Pope Francis talked about the upcoming summit on Ukraine on Saturday and Sunday. “We discussed the consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Russian air terror and the difficult situation in the energy sector … and expectations from the Global Peace Summit,” Zelenskyy said. Adblock test (Why?)
US ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China’s COVID efforts: Report
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus, an investigation by the Reuters news agency has found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vaccination campaign, Reuters reported in a story released on Friday. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation. The clandestine operation has not been previously reported. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, the Reuters investigation found. It identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former US military officials familiar with the operation. Almost all were created in the middle of 2020 and centred on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for “China is the virus.” “COVID came from China and the VACCINE also came from China, don’t trust China!” one typical tweet from July 2020 read. The words were posted next to a photo of a syringe beside a Chinese flag and a soaring chart of infections. Another post read: “From China – PPE, Face Mask, Vaccine: FAKE. But the Coronavirus is real.” After Reuters asked X about the accounts, the social media company removed the profiles, determining they were part of a coordinated bot campaign based on activity patterns and internal data. [embedded content] The US military’s anti-vax effort began in the spring of 2020 and expanded beyond Southeast Asia before it was terminated in mid-2021. The Pentagon tailored the campaign to local audiences across Central Asia and the Middle East using a combination of fake social media accounts on multiple platforms to spread fear of China’s vaccines among Muslims at a time when the virus was killing tens of thousands of people each day. A key part of the strategy: amplify the disputed contention that, because vaccines sometimes contain pork gelatin, China’s shots could be considered forbidden under Islamic law. The military programme started under former President Donald Trump and continued months into Joe Biden’s presidency – even after alarmed social media executives warned the new administration that the Pentagon had been trafficking in COVID misinformation, Reuters said. The Biden White House issued an edict in spring 2021 banning the anti-vax effort, which also disparaged vaccines produced by other rivals, and the Pentagon initiated an internal review. Spokespeople for Trump and Biden did not respond to requests for comment about the clandestine programme, Reuters reported. A senior Department of Defense official acknowledged the US military engaged in secret propaganda to disparage China’s vaccine in the developing world, but the unnamed official declined to provide details. A Pentagon spokeswoman said the US military “uses a variety of platforms, including social media, to counter those malign influence attacks aimed at the US, allies and partners”. She alleged China started a “disinformation campaign to falsely blame the United States for the spread of COVID-19”. ‘Dismayed, disappointed, disillusioned’ In an email, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has long maintained the US government manipulates social media and spreads misinformation. A spokesperson for the Philippines Department of Health said the “findings by Reuters deserve to be investigated and heard by the appropriate authorities of the involved countries”. Some American public health experts condemned the Pentagon programme, saying it put civilians in jeopardy for potential geopolitical gain. “I don’t think it’s defensible,” said Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine. “I’m extremely dismayed, disappointed and disillusioned to hear that the US government would do that.” The effort to stoke fear about Chinese inoculations risked undermining overall public trust in government health initiatives, including US-made vaccines that became available later, Lucey and others said. Although the Chinese vaccines were found to be less effective than the American-led shots by Pfizer and Moderna, all were approved by the World Health Organization. Sinovac did not respond to a request for comment. “It should have been in our interest to get as much vaccine in people’s arms as possible,” said Greg Treverton, former chairman of the US National Intelligence Council, which coordinates the analysis and strategy of Washington’s many spy agencies. What the Pentagon did, Treverton said, “crosses a line”. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 840
As the war enters its 840th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Friday, June 14, 2024. Fighting The Ukrainian military said its forces were fighting fierce battles near Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop settlement in Donetsk, and the situation was “tense”. A civilian was killed further south on the front line near Pokrovsk, while another man was killed by Russian fire in the southern Kherson region. Russian journalist Valery Kozhin, who worked for Russia’s state-run NTV television channel, was killed in Ukrainian shelling of a Russian-occupied village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Russian news agencies reported, quoting the mayor of the town of Horlivka near where the incident took place. NTV reported earlier that three of its staff, including Kozhin, had been injured and taken to hospital. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia’s advance in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region was slowing and the front line was stabilising after some allies lifted restrictions on Kyiv’s use of donated weapons inside Russian territory. Politics and diplomacy Group of Seven (G7) nations meeting in Italy agreed to provide financial support of $50bn to Ukraine by the end of the year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. The deal will be funded from profits on frozen Russian assets. United States’ President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion and moving Ukraine closer to NATO membership. Ukraine also signed a 10-year security agreement with Japan. “In 2024, Japan will provide Ukraine with $4.5 billion and will continue to support us throughout the agreement’s entire 10-year term,” Zelenskyy said on X. The deal, he added, envisages security and defence assistance, humanitarian aid, technical and financial cooperation. The United Nations’ refugee agency UNHCR said in an annual report that about 750,000 people became newly displaced inside Ukraine last year as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with a total of 3.7 million internally displaced people registered by the end of 2023. The number of Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers increased by more than 275,000 to six million, it said. Human rights organisation Global Rights Compliance said in a report that Russian forces deliberately used starvation of civilians as a military tactic during the 85-day siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in 2022. The report found Russian forces “systematically attacked objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population” such as food, water, energy and access to healthcare, and also cut off evacuation routes and blocked humanitarian aid from coming in. Russian prosecutors said they would send Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in March 2023, for trial, accusing the 32-year-old of collecting information for the US CIA about a Russian tank factory. Gershkovich, who is being held in custody, has denied wrongdoing. His employer said the charge was “false and baseless” and built on lies. Biden called his detention “totally illegal”. Prosecutors did not say when the trial would start. The judge in the trial of director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, two leading figures in Russian theatre, agreed to a prosecution request to close the trial to the public and the media over unspecified “threats” to witnesses. The two were arrested in May last year and accused of “justifying terrorism” over their production of an award-winning play about Russian women who married Islamic State fighters. The women have pleaded not guilty and say the play was about preventing terrorism. German Moyzhes, a 39-year-old lawyer with dual Russian-German citizenship, was detained in Saint Petersburg with some Russian independent media reporting that he was suspected of treason. The German Federal Foreign Office told the Reuters news agency that its embassy in Moscow was in contact with Moyzhes’s family. There was no official word from Russia on the detention. Russia’s Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, accompanied by a tug boat and a fuel ship, arrived in Cuba for a five-day visit seen as a show of force by Moscow amid rising tension over its invasion of Ukraine. Weaponry Zelenskyy told a news conference in Italy that Chinese President Xi Jinping had given him his assurance in a phone call that China would not sell weapons to Russia. Speaking in English, Zelenskyy said Xi had told him that “he will not sell any weapon to Russia”. Zelenskyy did not say when the conversation took place. The last publicly known phone call between Zelenskyy and Xi was in April 2023. The Dutch Ministry of Defence said Kyiv’s allies will send Ukraine about 350 million euros ($376.74m) worth of 152mm shells. Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said the country would start sending a total of about 2,000 surplus unarmed rockets to Ukraine as well as a selection of other weapons. Adblock test (Why?)
‘I love you guys!’: Elon Musk lands $44.9bn pay deal after Tesla vote
Musk hails ‘awesome shareholder base’ after vote to restore compensation deal rejected by US judge. Elon Musk has won back his $44.9bn pay package at electric carmaker Tesla after shareholders voted to restore the compensation deal in a ringing endorsement of his leadership. The vote at Tesla’s annual meeting on Thursday came after a judge in the US state of Delaware threw out the deal after finding that the company’s board was too close to Musk and had not protected shareholders’ interests. “I just want to start off by saying, hot damn, I love you guys!” a jubilant Musk said as he appeared on stage after the vote. “We have the most awesome shareholder base. I mean it’s just incredible.” Musk’s pay deal was valued at about $56bn at the peak of Tesla’s share price in late 2021 but has since declined in value by about one-quarter in tandem with a drop in the company’s stock price. The shareholders’ vote does not necessarily mean Musk will receive the pay package but could bolster Tesla’s appeal against the Delaware ruling against the deal. In her January decision, Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick described the pay package as “unfathomable”. “Swept up by the rhetoric of ‘all upside,’ or perhaps starry eyed by Musk’s superstar appeal, the board never asked the $55.8 billion question: Was the plan even necessary for Tesla to retain Musk and achieve its goals?” McCormick wrote in her decision. Musk, who founded Tesla in 2003, does not receive a salary for leading the carmaker. Under the terms of his 2018 pay deal, Musk agreed to be paid stock worth about 1 percent of Tesla’s equity each time the company achieved one of its operational and financial goals. While Tesla’s business has soared under Musk’s leadership, at one point taking the company’s market value to $1.24 trillion, sales have slowed sharply amid growing competition from Chinese EV makers. Musk has also attracted controversy with his outspoken views on politics and battled perceptions that he is spread too thin due to his involvement in six companies, including rocket company SpaceX and social media platform X. Tesla shares rose 0.7 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday, after earlier gaining 2.9 percent following Musk’s announcement on social media that investors backed the deal. Prior to Thursday’s vote, Musk had expressed doubts about his future at Tesla. In January, Musk said in a post on X that he would prefer to build artificial intelligence and robotics products outside of Tesla if he could not have a 25 percent stake in the company. Musk is already by far Tesla’s largest shareholder, holding more than 20 percent of its equity. Tesla shareholders on Thursday also approved proposals to move the company’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas and reappoint Kimbal Musk and James Murdoch – Musk’s brother and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s son, respectively – to the company’s board. Tesla did not announce the vote tallies, but several large institutional investors had opposed the deal, including Norges Bank Investment Management, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. Adblock test (Why?)