Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 838
As the war enters its 838th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Fighting Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, said the number of Russian attacks on the city had fallen since Ukraine’s army struck missile launch positions in Russia. While missile and drone attacks were continuing, Terekhov told the Reuters news agency that enabling Ukrainian forces to target sites across the border had helped bring relative “calm”. Russia claimed to have seized two more Ukrainian villages – Myasozharivka in the Luhansk region and Tymkivka in the northeastern Kharkiv region – Russia’s state TASS news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Defence. India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said two Indian nationals recruited by the Russian army were killed recently on the battlefield. The ministry urged the Russian ambassador in New Delhi and authorities in Moscow to quickly release and return all Indian nationals who are with the Russian army, and stop any further recruitment of Indian nationals, it added in a statement. Politics and diplomacy White House spokesman John Kirby said the United States will announce new “impactful” sanctions and export controls during the G7 summit in southern Italy later this week, targeting entities and networks helping Russia fight its war against Ukraine. “We’re going to continue to drive up costs for the Russian war machine,” Kirby said. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jin said Beijing would oppose all unilateral sanctions after new warnings from G7 countries on small Chinese banks about their links to Russia. Germany’s far-right AfD and far-left BSW parties boycotted a parliamentary address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who earlier had warned that pro-Russian rhetoric posed a growing threat to the European Union. The AfD and BSW, which are both opposed to military support for Ukraine, made huge gains in the EU parliamentary elections. The US said the Azov brigade of 2024, pictured on the front lines in January, is different from the militia that was set up in 2014 and later disbanded [Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo] The United Nations annual Children in Armed conflict report said the Russian army and its “affiliated armed groups” had killed 80 children in Ukraine in 2023 and injured 339. The report, due to be published on Thursday but seen by multiple news agencies, said violence against children in armed conflict reached “extreme levels” in 2023. The Moscow Regional Court upheld a ruling that 19-year-old Maksim Lypkan, who was arrested in February 2023 as he planned a protest against the Ukraine offensive, must remain in a psychiatric hospital and be subjected to involuntary psychiatric treatment, according to SOTA independent media. Lypkan was charged with spreading “fake [information] on the Russian army”. Russian President Vladimir Putin will keep demoted ally Nikolai Patrushev, a Cold War warrior who crafted the Kremlin’s national security strategy, on Russia’s national Security Council, according to a decree. The council is a consultative body chaired by Putin. Weapons Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on allies to increase their air defence support to help protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, telling delegates at an international conference on rebuilding Ukraine that at least seven Patriot missile systems were needed. The US State Department said it had conducted a “thorough review” of Ukraine’s Azov brigade and found “no evidence” of human rights violations, clearing the way for the unit to receive training and weapons from the US. Washington said the current brigade was different from the “Azov battalion” that was established a decade ago and “disbanded in 2015” and was blighted by accusations that some members held openly far-right and extremist views. Adblock test (Why?)
Malaysia’s Mahathir denies corruption, says most of his money ‘now gone’
Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has denied engaging in corruption, saying he earned his money from his salary during his decades-long political career and most of it is “now gone”. In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Mahathir, who is under investigation by the country’s anticorruption agency, hit out at current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over remarks that implied that he had used his time in office to enrich himself and his family. “I am curious as I have not seen this money and don’t know where they are. If I had taken the money, tell the court how you [Anwar] conclude that I had taken the money,” said Mahathir, 98, who is pursuing a 150 million ringgit ($32m) defamation action against his protégé-turned-rival. Mahathir, who led Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020, said he was willing to go to Switzerland with Anwar to look for banks where he could have stashed away his money. “If we can find such a bank, I will withdraw 100 percent of the money and give it to the Malays,” Mahathir said. Mahathir also accused Anwar of targeting his two eldest sons, Mirzan Mahathir and Mokhzani Mahathir. Anwar, who served as Mahathir’s deputy during the 1990s, has denied targeting political rivals and said he does not intervene in the legal process. “As he [Anwar] stated, he had files, boxes, documents which shows I have taken money. Well show, if you have the boxes, show them. But until now, he has not shown [the boxes]. Instead, he has tried to bypass [that] and now, he is going after my children Mokhzani and Mirzan,” Mahathir said. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim served as Mahathir’s deputy during the 1990s [Franck Robichon/pool via AFP] In January, the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) ordered Mirzan Mahathir and Mokhzani Mahathir to declare their assets as part of inquiries prompted by the Pandora and Panama Papers leaks. The anticorruption agency in April confirmed that it was investigating Mahathir as part of the probe. Mahathir said he does not benefit from his sons’ business activities. “They don’t give me money from their business,” he said. Malaysia’s long-serving leader said he forbade his sons from doing business in the country while he was in office as he did not want to be accused of nepotism. “Mokhzani only succeeded in business after I stepped down. During the time I was prime minister, he was not well-known for being a successful businessman. He was employed by petroleum companies as he was trained in that field,” Mahathir said. Addressing the source of his wealth, Mahathir said that he earned a monthly salary of 8,000 ringgit ($1,700) when he first became prime minister, rising to 20,000 ringgit ($4,240) by the time he stepped down in 2020. “For me, that was a fantastic sum… a very big sum of money,” said Mahathir, adding that he was paid 2,000 ringgit ($420) a month when he started out as a medical doctor in private practice in the 1950s. Mahathir said that he was also provided with benefits, including a house and a car, which helped him to spend little while in office. “They paid for my electricity, water bill… government gives me transportation, cars and drivers. I don’t have to pay anything,” Mahathir said. “Even flying, the planes were at my disposal. So what I needed in terms of doing my work as a prime minister were all provided for by the government and the salary I got. I saved it for over 29 years – from being a minister of education to retiring as a prime minister.” In 2018, Mahathir declared assets worth 32.35 million ringgit ($6.9m). Mahathir said that when he first stepped down as prime minister in 2003, he rejected an offer from the government for a free piece of land in Putrajaya, a city about 25km (15.5 miles) south of Kuala Lumpur. “I said no, I don’t take free land. So I bought the land. I paid 1 million ringgit [$212,000] for 5 acres [2 hectares] of land. It is on record that I did not take a single cent from the government,” Mahathir said. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in April confirmed that it was investigating former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad [Reuters] Mahathir said he spent most of his money coming out of retirement in a bid to remove then-Prime Minister Najib Razak from power as the multibillion dollar 1MDB financial scandal unfolded. The elder statesman contested the 2018 general elections under the banner of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party, which he founded after leaving his longtime political vehicle UMNO, the largest party in the then-governing Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. At the age of 92, Mahathir went on to lead the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition to a stunning victory over BN, which had governed the Southeast Asian country without interruption since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. Mahathir resigned in 2020 amid internal tensions within his PH government. In 2022, Anwar was elected prime minister following two short-lived premierships under the banner of Perikatan Nasional (PN). “Unfortunately, when I was out of the government and I was involved in politics, I don’t have any other source of money except my own… I spent most of the money on politics,” he said. “My party had no money. People don’t donate to the opposition party.” On Najib, who is seeking to serve the remainder of a six-year prison sentence under house arrest after being convicted for his role in the 1MDB scandal, Mahathir said the former prime minister should not receive special treatment. “Staying at home means you are free. You don’t come out of your house, but you are free. When you steal billions and you are very well-treated, it is a bad example for future leaders,” Mahathir said. In February, Malaysia’s pardons board halved Najib’s jail sentence to six years and reduced his 210 million ringgit ($60m) fine to 50 million ringgit ($10.7m). “They are going to
Hong Kong cancels passports of six pro-democracy activists in exile in UK
The six, including former legislator Nathan Law, are also banned from any business dealings and financial transactions. Hong Kong has cancelled the passports of six pro-democracy activists who are in exile overseas under its newly-enacted domestic security law, calling them “lawless wanted criminals”. The government said that in addition to the cancellation of the “absconders’” travel documents, the six were also banned from any business dealings in Hong Kong, including financial transactions from cash to gold. “These lawless wanted criminals are hiding in the United Kingdom and continue to blatantly engage in activities that endanger national security,” a government spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday. “They also make scaremongering remarks to smear and slander the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. More so, they continue to collude with external forces to protect their evil deeds. We therefore have taken such measure to give them a strong blow.” The six men, accused of national security crimes in Hong Kong and wanted by police, include former legislator Nathan Law and British consulate worker Simon Cheng who was detained for 15 days in China in August 2019. The others are activist Finn Lau, labour rights activist Christopher Mung, Fok Ka-chi and Choi Ming-da, according to the statement. Writing on the social media platform X, Lau said the move was “an explicit act of transnational repression” but it would not stop him from campaigning for what he believed in. He said he had never applied for, or had, a passport for the HKSAR, Hong Kong’s official name. “The act of repression does not deter me from advocating for human rights & democracy,” he wrote. “The fighting spirit of Hongkongers, including mine, remains.” The territory’s legislature passed the security law, known as Article 23, in March, adding to a security law imposed by Beijing in July 2020 in the wake of mass protests which sometimes turned violent. Hong Kong and Beijing say the laws have helped bring stability to the territory. Critics say they have decimated Hong Kong’s freedoms. The government statement also warned people in Hong Kong that providing any kind of financial assistance to the six, or having business dealings with them, was an offence with a potential seven-year jail term. Some of the activists have Patreon accounts. Hong Kong police have offered to pay as much as 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of 13 pro-democracy activists living overseas, including the six men whose passports have been cancelled. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 49 dead, 140 missing in migrant boat sinking off Yemen: UN
Refugees and migrants are increasingly taking the dangerous route despite instability in Yemen and the fallout of the war on Gaza. At least 49 people have been killed and 140 more are missing after a boat carrying refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa to Yemen sank, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM). The vessel that capsized on Monday was carrying some 260 people, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, who had set off from the northern coast of Somalia to travel 320km (200 miles) across the Gulf of Aden to reach Yemen. Refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa and East Africa are increasingly braving the dangerous journey to reach Saudi Arabia and other Arab states of the region via Yemen. The IOM said in a statement on Tuesday that 71 people had been rescued, eight of whom were taken to hospital. At least six children and 31 women were among the dead. In April, at least 62 people died in two shipwrecks off the coast of Djibouti as they tried to reach Yemen. The IOM said at least 1,860 people have died or disappeared along the route, including 480 who drowned. More refugees and migrants are taking the route despite the devastating effects of a nearly decade-long war in Yemen, which erupted after the Houthi group rebelled and took control of large areas of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The flow of migration has been undeterred in the aftermath of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, as well. The Iran-aligned Houthis have for months carried out attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Gulf of Aden, demanding that Israel end the war on Gaza, with the United States and the United Kingdom responding with air raids on Yemen in a stated effort to protect international interests. The number of migrants arriving in Yemen annually tripled from 2021 to 2023, soaring from about 27,000 to more than 90,000, the IOM said last month. The agency reports that about 380,000 migrants are currently in Yemen. The sinking of the boat on Monday “is another reminder of the urgent need to work together to address urgent migration challenges and ensure the safety and security of migrants along migration routes,” said IOM spokesperson Mohammedali Abunajela. Adblock test (Why?)
UEFA Euro 2024: full football match schedule, start times, format and teams
The UEFA Euro 2024 tournament is hosted by Germany and will kick off on June 14, with the final on July 14. In the opening match of the tournament, Germany take on Scotland in Munich on June 14. The Euro 2024 final will take place on July 14 in the capital, Berlin. Ten cities have been chosen as venues across Germany – Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart. A total of 24 teams divided into six groups will be taking part in the tournament, with 51 matches in total. The group stage of the tournament will run until June 26, with the 16-team knockout stage scheduled to begin on Saturday, June 29. To qualify for the knockout stage, nations must finish top two in their group to automatically qualify, while four third-place finishers will also advance. Here are the details on the teams, groups, match fixtures, kickoff times and venues for Euro 2024: Groups and teams ⚽ Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland⚽ Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania⚽ Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England⚽ Group D: Poland, Netherlands, Austria, France⚽ Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine⚽ Group F: Turkey, Georgia, Portugal, Czech Republic Format Teams will be divided into six groups, consisting of four teams each. The top two sides from each group along with the best four third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16. Winners of the last-16 will proceed to the quarterfinals followed by the semifinals and the final. In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time (two periods of 15 minutes each) will be played. If still tied after extra time, the match will be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Al Jazeera has a dedicated fixtures page listing the entire Euro 2024 match schedule, featuring all the kickoff times, venues and real-time goal updates. Match Schedule ⚽ Group Stage 14 JuneGroup A: Germany vs Scotland (Munich Football Arena, Munich, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 15 JuneGroup A: Hungary vs Switzerland (Cologne Stadium, Cologne, 3pm local/13:00 GMT)Group B: Spain vs Croatia (Olympiastadion, Berlin, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group B: Italy vs Albania (BVB Stadion, Dortmund, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 16 JuneGroup D: Poland vs Netherlands (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, 3pm local/13:00 GMT)Group C: Slovenia vs Denmark (Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group C: Serbia vs England (Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 17 JuneGroup E: Romania vs Ukraine (Munich Football Arena, Munich, 3pm local/13:00 GMT)Group E: Belgium vs Slovakia (Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt, 6pm local16:00 GMT)Group D: Austria vs France (Düsseldorf Arena, Düsseldorf, 9pm local19:00 GMT) 18 JuneGroup F: Turkey vs Georgia (BVB Stadion, Dortmund, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group F: Portugal vs Czech Republic (Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 19 JuneGroup B: Croatia vs Albania (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, 3pm local/13:00 GMT)Group A: Germany vs Hungary (Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group A: Scotland vs Switzerland (Cologne Stadium, Cologne, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 20 JuneGroup C: Slovenia vs Serbia (Munich Football Arena, Munich, 3pm local/13:00 GMT)Group C: Denmark vs England (Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group B: Spain vs Italy (Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 21 JuneGroup E: Slovakia vs Ukraine (Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf, 3pm local/13:00 GMT)Group D: Poland vs Austria (Olympiastadion, Berlin, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group D: Netherlands vs France (Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 22 JuneGroup F: Georgia vs Czech Republic (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, 3pm local/13:00 GMT)Group F: Turkey vs Portugal (BVB Stadion, Dortmund, 6pm local16:00 GMT)Group E: Belgium vs Romania (Cologne Stadium, Cologne, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 23 JuneGroup A: Switzerland vs Germany (Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt, 9pm local/19:00 GMT)Group A: Scotland vs Hungary (Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 24 JuneGroup B: Croatia vs Italy (Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig, 9pm local/19:00 GMT)Group B: Albania vs Spain (Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 25 JuneGroup D: Netherlands vs Austria (Olympiastadion, Berlin, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group D: France vs Poland (BVB Stadion, Dortmund, 6pm local16:00 GMT)Group C: England vs Slovenia (Cologne Stadium, Cologne, 9pm local/19:00 GMT)Group C: Denmark vs Serbia (Munich Football Arena, Munich, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 26 JuneGroup E: Slovakia vs Romania (Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group E: Ukraine vs Belgium (Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Group F: Czech Republic vs Turkey (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, 9pm local/19:00 GMT)Group F: Georgia vs Portugal (Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) Rest days on 27 and 28 June Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt is one of the 10 host stadiums for Euro 2024 [Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP] ⚽ Round of 16 29 June 2A vs 2B (Olympiastadion, Berlin, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)1A vs 2C (BVB Stadion, Dortmund, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 30 June 1C vs 3D/E/F (Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)1B vs 3A/D/E/F (Cologne Stadium, Cologne, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 1 July 2D vs 2E (Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)1F vs 3A/B/C (Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 2 July 1E vs 3A/B/C/D (Munich Football Arena, Munich, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)1D vs 2F (Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) Rest days on 3 and 4 July ⚽ Quarterfinals 5 July Quarterfinal 1 (Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Quarterfinal 2 (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 6 July Quarterfinal 3 (Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf, 6pm local/16:00 GMT)Quarterfinal 4 (Olympiastadion, Berlin, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) Rest days on 7 and 8 July ⚽ Semifinals 9 July Semifinal 1 (Munich Football Arena, Munich, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) 10 July Semifinal 2 (BVB Stadion, Dortmund, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) Rest days on 11, 12 and 13 July ⚽ Final 14 July Final (Olympiastadion, Berlin, 9pm local/19:00 GMT) Berlin’s Olympiastadion will be the venue for the Euro 2024 final on July 14, 2024 [Annegret Hilse/Reuters] You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated Euro 2024 tournament page with all the match build-up and live text commentary, and keep up to date with group standings and real-time match results and schedules. 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Nuseirat, anatomy of Israel’s massacre in Gaza
It was hailed as a great success in Israel. A bloody, violent ambush that turned into a massacre of nearly 300 displaced people who were going about their day as best they could. Suddenly, they found themselves “descending into the depths of hell”, Al Jazeera’s Maram Humaid wrote on June 8. An Israeli raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp, ostensibly to free four Israeli captives held there, but reportedly resulted in the death of three more including one US citizen, according to the Qassam Brigades. That is, besides the at least 274 Palestinians killed. What happened in Nuseirat? How did Israel kill so many people? Here is a breakdown of the attack: What happened? The attack on Nuseirat was ostensibly to free four captives taken on October 7: Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40. It began around 11am, with what witnesses say were several civilian trucks and cars entering a neighbourhood near the camp’s market. [Al Jazeera] One was loaded with furniture to appear it was moving displaced people, while another had commercial markings on its exterior. There were what appeared to be civilian vehicles in the group, as well. To provide air cover, Israeli forces started bombing from above, hitting the busy market area the hardest, likely to spread as much panic and distress as possible, as well as to inflict maximum casualties. [Al Jazeera] Telegram channels began circulating news that bombings could be heard in the camp at around 11:35am. At a certain point, the convoy separated into two groups of vehicles. Later, investigation revealed that each group had headed towards a location where Israeli captives were held. The three male captives were at one location, where Al Jazeera believes that a witness account details how soldiers got to the house. There, heavily armed soldiers jumped out of the vehicles and ran through a cluster of makeshift tents put up by displaced people. The witness describes how everyone cowered in fear inside their flimsy shelters, little more than a piece of fabric between them and the armed soldiers. [Al Jazeera] At the end of their run, they arrived at a garden wall, through which they punched a hole to approach a quiet apartment building from the back. Al Jazeera has not been able to ascertain whether this was the only access point to this building, which is surrounded by a garden on at least two sides and likely faces onto a road. Noa Argamani was held at another location, in a building facing a narrow, tree-lined street. There, a truck pulled up, supported by soldiers who were shooting on sight, killing one person at the entrance of the building. From footage Al Jazeera has reviewed, there were no weapons to be seen near or on the killed individual. A ladder was extended from the truck to allow soldiers to clamber into an apartment through its balcony. All reports Al Jazeera has gathered indicate that Israeli soldiers were shooting people on sight in buildings they entered, as well as on the streets that the soldiers moved through. To support the operation on land, the Israeli army reportedly moved armoured vehicles in from the other side of Salah al-Din Road at the line between Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps. At a certain point during the raid, more Israeli soldiers landed in a helicopter on Gaza’s shore, not far from the US-built pier. [Al Jazeera] Analysis would indicate that these were to provide backup, if needed and to evacuate the captives. After the four individuals were retrieved, the convoy of disguised trucks and civilian vehicles headed out of the camp towards the sea, taking the Nuseirat road. From there, the four were loaded onto the Israeli military helicopter and lifted off, leaving carnage behind as the bewildered people of Nuseirat tried to comprehend what had happened. What did the people in Nuseirat do when this horror was over? The wounded were taken to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Balah, quickly overwhelming both medical and morgue facilities. A widely shared video on social media shows the few remaining medics in the hospital standing in the middle of countless people lying on the floor, in agony, bleeding and screaming. The medic in the middle of the shot is bereft. He can no longer move around because there are so many patients lying on every square inch of the tile floor, there is nowhere for him to put his feet. It is not clear how he continued that day, how he triaged wounds, and how he made the decision of who to allocate the nearly nonexistent hospital resources to. *الإصابات تفترش ممرات مستشفى شهداء الأقصى بعد المجزرة التي ارتكبها جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي في مخيم النصيرات في ظل تدميره للقطاع الطبي في كل مناطق قطاع غزة* pic.twitter.com/HyFRmlfux2 — Tariq Jaber (@TariqJaber14041) June 8, 2024 Translation: In light of what the Israeli occupation army has done to decimate the Gaza healthcare sector, injured people cover the corridors of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after the massacre that the Israeli occupation army committed in the Nusierat refugee camp. Within the hour, as staff frantically tried to treat the overwhelming number of wounded, the hospital received an evacuation order from Israel’s military. The hospital was in an area previously designated by Israel’s military as a safe zone. But the operation, deemed by the Israelis and their international allies as a resounding success, not only killed numerous Palestinians, but a few hostages as well. The Qassam Brigades posted a video to its Telegram channel on Sunday that showed three unidentified corpses, their faces covered, claiming they belonged to three captives, including one who was a US citizen, whom Israel killed during its raid. Wait… Israeli soldiers snuck in how? Israeli forces were “perfidiously hiding in an aid truck”, UN Special Rapporteur of the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese said. “This is ‘humanitarian camouflage’ at another level,” she wrote on X. Israel has denied the accusation. How many people were killed or
ICC prosecutor seeks evidence of war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur
Karim Khan’s appeal comes after escalating violence in and around el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor has appealed to witnesses to send evidence to aid an urgent investigation opened by his office into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Darfur region. Sudan has been mired in war since April last year when a rivalry between the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) exploded into violence. Four weeks of fighting in and around el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has killed more than 190 people and wounded 1,200, according to medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF. “I am extremely concerned about allegations of widespread international crimes being committed in el-Fasher and its surrounding areas,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a video statement on Tuesday, adding that the investigation “seems to disclose an organised, systematic and a profound attack on human dignity”. His investigators had seen credible allegations of what looked like ethnically motivated attacks against the civilian population, widespread use of rape and attacks against hospitals, Khan said, calling for anyone with possible evidence, video or audio material to submit it to his office. #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces campaign calling for information and cooperation in relation to allegations of international crimes being committed in #Darfur, Sudan, including in Al Fasher. Info can be sent to #OTPLink:https://t.co/IYVUCvyWCA Watch 👇 pic.twitter.com/H1sMPGB8jP — Int’l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) June 11, 2024 Khan’s statement came days after an RSF attack forced the closure of a main hospital in el-Fasher on Sunday. The group fired shots and looted the hospital, MSF reported. Home to more than 1.8 million residents and displaced people, el-Fasher is the only state capital in the vast Darfur region not under RSF control and a key humanitarian hub for a region on the brink of famine. People in the city have called el-Fasher “hell on Earth, where they could lose their lives any day”, Toby Harward, the UN deputy humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, told Al Jazeera last month. Previous atrocities The ICC has long been investigating atrocities in Sudan, dating back to a previous devastating conflict in Darfur. The Hague-based court can prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and in some cases, the crime of aggression if committed on the territory of one of the court’s 124 member states or by nationals of ICC members. It can also have jurisdiction through a referral by the United Nations Security Council, as happened with Darfur in 2005. The court has issued arrest warrants for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges including genocide allegedly committed in Darfur between 2003-2008. The RSF was born out of Arab militias, commonly known as Janjaweed, mobilised by al-Bashir against non-Arab tribes in Darfur. At the time, they were accused of mass killings, rapes and other atrocities. Khan referred back to the previous conflict in his message on Tuesday. “It is an outrage that we are allowing history to repeat itself once again in Darfur,” he said. “We cannot and we must not allow Darfur to become the world’s forgotten atrocity, once again.” Adblock test (Why?)
Taiwan arrests former Chinese navy captain over illegal speedboat arrival
The Chinese man reportedly claimed he wished to defect, but Taiwanese officials suspect he could be probing defences. Authorities in Taiwan have said a Chinese man who was arrested on Sunday after entering a Taipei harbour illegally in a speedboat is a former navy captain who could have been on a military probe. The man was arrested by Taiwan’s coastguard after crossing the 160km (100-mile-wide) Taiwan Strait that separates the island state from China, and entering the mouth of the Tamsui River in his small craft. He told authorities that he wanted to defect. But officials say he may have been testing Taiwan’s response to his approach. The 60-year-old, who Taiwan said was an officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy surnamed Ruan, is now under investigation and being questioned. Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), which runs the coastguard, told reporters at parliament that the man was “quite refined and well presented” and had previously served as a Chinese navy captain. Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo, also speaking to reporters at parliament, said the boat incident could be another example of China’s “grey zone” tactics against the island. The phrase is used to refer to irregular tactics to evaluate an area without engaging in open combat and has included China sending boats and surveillance balloons over the island. Taiwan declared independence from China during a civil war in 1949. However, Beijing insists that the island is part of its territory. “These grey zone tactics have always existed,” Koo said. “We must always maintain our vigilance and cannot rule out the possibility of taking countermeasures.” According to Kuan of the OAC, there have been 18 similar cases to the one on Sunday over the past year or so, mostly involving islands under the control of Taiwan that are close to the Chinese coast. “Looking at the accumulated cases in the past, we can’t rule out that this is a test,” she said, referring to Taiwan’s abilities to spot such vessels. She said Taiwan plans to step up its security measures and that personnel managing radar operations and monitoring stations who failed to detect and stop the boat sooner will be held responsible for the incident. In March, two Taiwanese fishermen strayed into Chinese waters near the Kinmen islands, one of the territories close to the Chinese coast. One, a Taiwanese military officer, remains in detention in China, while the other was released soon after. The latest incident comes amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan, and amid concerns China could resort to military action in staking its claim over the island. Adblock test (Why?)
What is the Gaza ceasefire plan backed by UN Security Council?
NewsFeed Here’s what happened as the United Nations Security Council voted in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza, endorsing a US-backed plan to end Israel’s eight-month war. Published On 11 Jun 202411 Jun 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
UN Security Council endorses US-sponsored Gaza ceasefire resolution
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution endorsing a US-backed ceasefire proposal that aims to end Israel’s eight-month assault on Gaza. The vote on the United States-sponsored resolution on Monday was 14-0, with Russia abstaining. The resolution welcomes a three-phase ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden last month, which calls for an initial six-week ceasefire and the exchange of some Israeli captives held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The second phase would include a permanent ceasefire and the release of the remaining captives. The third phase would involve a reconstruction effort for the devastated Gaza Strip. The US says Israel has accepted the proposal, although some Israeli officials have since promised to continue the war until the elimination of Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza. The resolution calls on Hamas, which initially said it viewed the proposal “positively”, to accept the three-phase plan. It urges Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition”. Hamas was quick to welcome the resolution on Monday. In a statement after the vote, Hamas said it was ready to cooperate with mediators and enter indirect negotiations over the implementation of the principles of the agreement. Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said the UNSC passed the resolution “overwhelmingly and it is binding in international law”. The “big question moving forward”, Elizondo said, is whether it be enforced and implemented. “The US has said very clearly that Israel has agreed to this. So that puts quite a lot of pressure on Israel to abide by this.” US deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters earlier that the US wanted to make sure all 15 UNSC members were on board to support what he described as “the best, most realistic opportunity to bring at least a temporary halt to this war”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said that Biden presented only parts of the proposal and insisted that any talk of a permanent ceasefire before dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities was a non-starter. Hamas has frequently said that any deal must lead to a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, an end to the Israeli siege of Gaza, reconstruction and “a serious exchange deal” between captives in Gaza and Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The UNSC adopted a resolution on March 25 demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended April 9, with the US abstaining. But there was no halt to the offensive. Three-phase plan Biden’s May 31 announcement of the new ceasefire proposal said it would begin with a six-week ceasefire and the release of captives held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza and the return of Palestinian civilians to all areas in the territory. The resolution goes into detail about the proposal and spells out that “if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue”. Phase one also requires the safe distribution of humanitarian assistance “at scale throughout the Gaza Strip”, which Biden said would lead to 600 trucks with aid entering Gaza every day. In phase two, the resolution says that with the agreement of Israel and Hamas, “a permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza” will take place. Phase three would launch “a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of any deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families”. The resolution reiterates the UNSC’s “unwavering commitment to achieving the vision of a negotiated two-state solution where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders”. It also stresses “the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority”, something Netanyahu’s right-wing government has not agreed to. Alon Liel, the former director of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Israeli government “was taken by surprise” by the resolution. “The resolution is giving new content to the Blinken visit here. I think there will be a very hectic morning discussing it tomorrow,” Liel told Al Jazeera. “Israel is not standing behind its own proposal and definitely not the draft proposal submitted by the Americans,” he said. “Our ambassador tried in the last 48 hours to change the text and was unable to do it. So Israel definitely doesn’t like this resolution… If Israel will openly reject it, the pressure will grow internationally,” Liel added. Adblock test (Why?)