Moscow concert hall attack: Death toll rises to 115 with scores injured
Camouflage-clad gunmen with automatic weapons burst into a packed concert hall near Moscow, where the veteran rock band Picnic was to perform, shooting into the crowd and detonating explosives, setting the building on fire. The attack on the Crocus City Hall on Friday killed at least 115 people and injured more than 187. Russian authorities expected the number of casualties to rise. The blaze ripped through the venue, with smoke filling the building and screaming visitors rushing to emergency exits. The concert hall, one of the most popular in Moscow, can hold some 6,200 people. Graphic videos posted on social media showed the gunmen firing repeated rounds as they entered the building, shooting at screaming people at point-blank range. Helicopters were brought in to douse the flames from the air, as firefighters battled the blaze from the ground. The fire was eventually brought under control early on Saturday. The Emergency Situations Ministry said firefighters helped about 100 people escape through the building’s basement, while rescue operations were also launched for people trapped on the roof. ISIS-K, an offshoot of ISIL (ISIS), the hardline group that once sought control over Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel, saying the gunmen had escaped. Russian investigators said on Saturday that 11 people had been detained so far. Adblock test (Why?)
Dissecting the ‘TikTok problem’
What’s the US’s issue with TikTok? Is it data security, secret Chinese influence or pro-Palestinian content? The threat to ban TikTok in the United States has prompted an online backlash. Critics question the premise that Chinese ownership poses a security risk and suggest the real reason may be the surge in pro-Palestinian content since October 7. Contributors:Julia Angwin – Tech Policy Writer, New York Times; Founder, Proof NewsRussel Brandom – Tech Editor, Rest Of The WorldMarwa Fatafta – MENA Policy and Advocacy Director, Access NowEvan Greer – Director, Fight for the Future On our radar: In yet another deadly raid on Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, Israel abducted Palestinian journalists covering the story – including one of Al Jazeera’s own. Producer Nicholas Muirhead reports. Why Russia has looted Ukraine’s art Following Vladimir Putin’s expected re-election this week, we’re revisiting a story about the Russian military’s targeting of Ukraine’s heritage. Producer Tariq Nafi explores how Russia’s war on Ukrainian culture is designed to rewrite history and weaken the country’s resistance. Featuring:Milena Chorna – Head of International Exhibitions, War Museum in UkraineAlina Dotsenko – Director, Kherson Regional Art MuseumIhor Poshyvailo – General Director, Maidan Museum Adblock test (Why?)
AOC decries ‘unfolding genocide’ in Gaza, urges halting weapons to Israel
Washington, DC – Describing the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a genocide, progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called on the United States to suspend weapons transfers to Israel. In an impassioned speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez condemned the Israeli blockade on Gaza, which the United Nations says has put the territory on the verge of famine. “This is a mass starvation of people, engineered and orchestrated following the killing of another 30,000, 70 percent of whom were women and children killed. There is hardly a single hospital left. And this was all accomplished, much of this accomplished, with US resources and weapons,” Ocasio-Cortez, a US representative from New York, said. “If you want to know what an unfolding genocide looks like, open your eyes. It looks like the forced famine of 1.1 million innocents. It looks like thousands of children eating grass as their bodies consume themselves, while trucks of food are slowed and halted just miles away. “It looks like good and decent people who do nothing, or too little, too late.” Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most recognised names in Congress and a rising star in President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party, had previously faced criticism from the left for failing to join many of her fellow progressive in accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. The Biden administration rejects allegations that Israel is systematically committing human rights violations in Gaza. Earlier this year, it called South Africa’s petition to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide unfounded. Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday that the US cannot continue to “facilitate” mass killings in Gaza in the name of honouring its alliance with Israel. “The time is now to force compliance with US law and the standards of humanity, and fulfill our obligations to the American people to suspend the transfer of US weapons to the Israeli government in order to stop and prevent further atrocity,” the congresswoman said. The US is Israel’s top weapons supplier. Washington provides at least $3.8bn in aid to Israel annually, and Biden is working with Congress to secure $14bn in additional aid to the US ally. Public opinion polls, however, show that the Biden administration’s steadfast support for Israel may cost the president votes as the election season gets under way, and Biden and key Democrats have in recent weeks been more forceful in their criticism of the Israeli government siege of Gaza. US officials have repeatedly warned Israel against invading Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than one million displaced Palestinians have taken shelter. But White House national security spokesperson John Kirby suggested on Friday that Washington will not halt its weapon transfers to Israel. US officials have said that they share Israel’s goals of eliminating Hamas in Gaza. Asked whether the US will use its “leverage” to dissuade Israel from launching a major ground operation in Rafah, Kirby said, “We’re going to continue to approach this with Israel as we have in the past, which is to make sure that they have the tools they need to defend themselves against a still-viable threat.” Kirby added that, at the same time, the US will use its ties with Israel and the relationship between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “urge them to minimise civilian casualties” and allow more humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Earlier on Friday, the UN Security Council failed to adopt a US-authored proposal around a ceasefire in Gaza. The measure backed the “imperative” for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides” but fell short of explicitly demanding an end to the war. Kirby said the draft resolution signals no change in the Biden administration’s position, which has been to push for a temporary cessation of hostilities as part of a deal that would see the release of Israeli captives in Gaza. “It is in line with our longstanding calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza over a period of at least six weeks as part of our hostage deal – nothing new there,” he said. The White House spokesperson added that progress is being made in the talks to reach a truce agreement. “Nothing is negotiated until it’s all negotiated. But we do believe that the gaps are narrowing and we are getting closer,” he told reporters. There is no world in which the forced famine of 1.1 million people cannot be considered genocide. And that is exactly what we are watching unfold in Gaza now. We must enforce U.S. laws and halt weapons transfers to the Israeli government to stop an atrocity in the making. pic.twitter.com/N40Jk3yKc7 — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) March 22, 2024 However, US progressives have long argued that a temporary halt in fighting is not sufficient, calling on Washington to revise its unconditional support for Israel. “This is not just about Israel or Gaza. This is about us. The world will never be the same,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday of the mounting death toll and hunger in the Palestinian territory. “Our story must be not that we were good men who did nothing, but that we were a committed democracy that did something.” Adblock test (Why?)
Israel seizes 800 hectares of Palestinian land in occupied West Bank
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s announcement comes despite international pressure against Israel’s building of illegal settlements. Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has declared 800 hectares (1,977 acres) in the occupied West Bank as state land, in a move that will facilitate the use of the ground for settlement building. The announcement on Friday came as United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Smotrich underlined the government’s determination to press ahead with settlement building in the West Bank, despite growing international opposition. “While there are those in Israel and in the world who seek to undermine our right to Judea and Samaria and the country in general, we promote settlement through hard work and in a strategic manner all over the country,” Smotrich said, using Biblical names for the area of the West Bank that are commonly employed in Israel. The denomination of the land in the Jordan Valley as state land follows a similar designation of 300 hectares (740 acres) in the Maale Adumim area of the West Bank, which the Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state. The US said last month that Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank was inconsistent with international law, signalling a return to longstanding US policy that had been reversed by the previous administration of Donald Trump. The change brought the US back into line with most of the world, which considers the settlements built on Palestinian territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war to be illegal. Israel itself disputes this view, citing the Jewish people’s historical and Biblical ties to the land. Earlier this month, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said, “The establishment and continuing expansion of settlements amount to … a war crime under international law.” ‘Complicity and cover’ Palestinian authorities condemned the land seizure and expansion of settlements. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the latest move a “crime” that is part of an “official policy racing against time to annex the West Bank and eliminate the possibility of creating a Palestinian state”. “There are no morals, values, principles or international resolutions that can stop the extremist right,” the ministry said in a statement. “The international failure to protect our people is complicity and cover for Israel’s ongoing evasion of punishment,” it added. Smotrich, the influential leader of one of the hard-right pro-settler parties in Netanyahu’s coalition, himself lives in a settlement and has consistently backed settlement building. Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said the announced seizure is the single largest since the 1993 Oslo Accords, and “2024 marks a peak in the extent of declarations of state land”. Peace Now called the timing of the announcement a “provocation” as it came during the visit by Blinken, who has been critical of settlement expansion by Netanyahu’s government. International pressure for a resumption of efforts to reach a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, has grown amid efforts to end the nearly six-month war in Gaza. Little progress has been made in achieving Palestinian statehood since the signing of the Oslo Accords. Among the obstacles impeding it are expanding Israeli settlements. Adblock test (Why?)
Peruvian democracy weakened as government consolidates control: Report
Peruvian democracy has continued to deteriorate more than a year after the removal of former President Pedro Castillo, according to a recent report from the Washington-based nonprofit Freedom House. The report — released this month — traced the lingering effects of a government crackdown on protesters, as well as efforts to interfere with judicial independence and other oversight bodies. The result was that Peru slumped from a rating of “free” in 2022 to “partly free” in 2023 and 2024, as Freedom House noted declining democratic protections for the freedom of assembly and eroding safeguards against corruption. “All these regulatory bodies and independent branches of government used to have the possibility of opposing decisions by Congress, and now that possibility is really attenuated,” said Will Freeman, the author of the report and a fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He added that Peru saw the fourth-largest drop in its Freedom House score of any country in the world. “It’s all producing a situation where it’s very possible that, by the next elections in 2026, there will be no institutions that are not under the thumb of Congress.” Harsh crackdown While issues such as corruption and government repression are not new to Peruvian politics, experts have said they worsened after former President Castillo was impeached and arrested in December 2022. A left-wing teacher from the country’s largely Indigenous countryside, Castillo had been facing his third impeachment proceeding at the time, led by an opposition-controlled Congress. Two prior impeachment attempts had been unsuccessful. But on the day he was expected to appear before Congress, Castillo instead issued a televised address, in which he announced plans to dissolve Congress and rule by decree — moves widely viewed as illegal. The announcement galvanised support for his impeachment, which was carried out the same day. His former vice president, Dina Boluarte, was quickly sworn in to run the government for the remainder of his term. But the political upheaval prompted confusion and protests across Peru. Castillo’s supporters argued that he had been targeted by a hostile legislature that launched multiple investigations to stymie his administration. Many took to the streets, blocking roadways to push for government reform and Castillo’s release. New elections became a key demand. In the immediate aftermath of Castillo’s arrest, public opinion polls suggested that more than 80 percent of Peruvians supported new elections, for both Congress and the executive branch. Boluarte initially said she would push Congress to fast-track a vote. But Congress, with an approval rating of less than 10 percent, rejected such efforts on at least five occasions. Boluarte has also reversed course, saying she would remain in office until the end of her term. “The conversation is over,” Boluarte said in June of last year. “We will continue until 2026.” A January poll found that she had an approval rating of just 8 percent, one of the lowest of any political leader in the world. Boluarte has also taken a hardline approach to the protesters, portraying them as “terrorists”. Government forces killed at least 49 civilians during confrontations with protesters, including bystanders, according to the Peruvian attorney general’s office. Human rights organisations like Amnesty International compared the deaths to extrajudicial killings and documented reports of human rights abuses. Rural and largely Indigenous parts of the country suffered a disproportionate share of the violence. Boluarte said that any abuses would be investigated, but advocates say there are few signs of accountability more than a year later. “There’s been no convictions,” said Freeman. “It doesn’t seem like the investigations have advanced much.” While antigovernment protests flared up again in July 2023, they have largely fallen off in the time since. The Freedom House report notes that, while some groups continue to hold smaller protests against the government, “the presence of heavily armed riot police at demonstrations since has exercised a chilling effect on civil society”. “What was new was the scale of this crackdown. It’s hard to say how much that’s contributing to the demobilisation of society, or if it’s a sense of apathy and belief that there’s no way to dislodge the status quo,” said Freeman. Diminishing transparency The flagging protest movement has coincided with congressional moves to diminish transparency and shore up the interests of legislators, Freeman said. In February, for instance, a body known as the Constitutional Tribunal, whose members are appointed by Congress, moved to weaken judicial oversight of the legislature’s actions. The Constitutional Tribunal also approved a resolution allowing Congress to put officials from Peru’s electoral court, the JNE, on trial before the legislature. In its latest report, Freedom House warned that the resolution would open the court up to greater political pressure. Right-wing lawmakers have long castigated the JNE, pushing unsubstantiated claims that the court perpetuated fraud during the 2021 election, which saw Castillo — a political outsider — voted into office. The election, however, was given a clean bill of health by international observers. Nevertheless, far-right actors have continued to threaten the JNE. For instance, in 2023, the Inter-American Human Rights Court granted protective measures to the JNE’s President Jorge Luis Salas Arenas, after he received a series of death threats. “The international missions recognized the results of the polls,” Miguel Jugo, deputy secretary of the National Human Rights Coordinator (CNDDHH) in Peru, told Al Jazeera. “Dr Salas Arenas ruled against all of the requests by the fraudsters [making claims of fraud], and for this they have never forgiven him.” In December, Congress also passed legislation making it more difficult to form new parties and diluting the influence of regional movements. The Freedom House report also found that efforts to crack down on corruption have suffered under the current administration. In September and October, Attorney General Patricia Benavides removed lead prosecutors from one of the country’s largest anticorruption cases, involving the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. The Odebrecht scandal had already rocked governments throughout the region, with allegations against senior political figures in multiple countries. Benavides also fired prosecutors
Why is the Biden administration suing Apple? All to know
The US government has filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Apple, in which it accuses the tech giant of maintaining a “broad, sustained and illegal” monopoly over the smartphone market. Here is what we know about the case and what might happen next: Why is Apple being sued? Apple is the largest of the four main tech giants, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Google, all of which have market capitalisations of more than a trillion dollars. All four have been investigated by regulators in the United States and Europe in recent years following complaints that they are monopolising the tech market by stifling competition. Apple, the highest-valued publicly listed organisation in the world, is the “test case” for the US government’s legal challenge. “We allege that Apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market, not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits, but by violating federal antitrust law,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told a news conference. “If left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly. The Justice Department will vigorously enforce antitrust laws that protect consumers from higher prices and fewer choices,” he added. The US government argues that Apple “undermines apps, products and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone”. Garland also noted that Apple’s net income “exceeds the individual GDP of more than 100 countries”. He said this is a result of the iPhone’s success. “Apple’s share of the entire US smartphone market exceeds 65 percent,” he added. What are the main allegations put forth by the Department of Justice? In its legal challenge, lodged in federal court in New Jersey, the Department of Justice alleges that Apple is illegally preventing competition by restricting access to its hardware and software. The 88-page lawsuit, filed in New Jersey federal court, listed five areas in which Apple allegedly abuses its power. Blocking innovative apps: The lawsuit says Apple has disrupted the development of apps that could make it “easier for users to switch between competing platforms”. Suppressing mobile cloud streaming services: It also alleges that the company has prevented the development of cloud streaming apps that would allow consumers to enjoy high-quality video games and other cloud-based applications without having to pay for expensive smartphone hardware. Cross-platform messaging apps: Messages between iPhone and Android phones can be less secure as iMessage does not allow the exchange of encrypted messages with competing platforms. The company is also accused of “gumming up” photos and videos exchanged with non-Apple devices and reducing their quality. In 2022, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, was asked during a tech conference whether Apple would fix iPhone-to-Android messaging. The questioner said: “Not to make it personal but I can’t send my mum certain videos”. Cook responded: “Buy your mum an iPhone.” Diminishing the functionality of non-Apple smartwatches: The suit alleges that this means “users who purchase the Apple Watch face substantial out-of-pocket costs if they do not keep buying iPhones”. Limiting third-party digital wallets: The suit alleges that Apple has prevented third-party apps from offering tap-to-pay functionality, inhibiting the creation of cross-platform third-party digital wallets. This is the first legal challenge to Apple by US president Joe Biden’s administration. However, the firm has come under regulatory scrutiny for years. Apple has been involved in antitrust investigations in Europe, Japan and South Korea, with US-headquartered video gaming and software company Epic Games having already initiated legal action. Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the new Apple Watch in 2014 [Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP] How has Apple responded? Apple has called the lawsuit “wrong on the facts and the law”, and warned the case would set a “dangerous precedent”. “At Apple, we innovate every day to make technology people love – designing products that work seamlessly together, protect people’s privacy and security, and create a magical experience for our users,” the company said in a statement. “This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets. If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple – where hardware, software, and services intersect.” Apple iPhone 15 Pro smartphones at a Best Buy store in Montreal, Quebec [File: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg via Getty Images] According to experts, however, the lawsuit does not seek to “dictate how the tech company should design its products, but rather to emphasise the range of options available to users”. “There is always a concern [with legislations] .. in the sense that legislation on technology is a little bit behind to where the technology is,” Katharine Trendacosta, director of policy and activism for Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Al Jazeera. “But that’s not exactly what this lawsuit is about. This lawsuit is about practices that Apple is doing that are anticompetitive. There is a difference between legislation that says you need … to allow people to do something versus you have to design in a specific way,” she added. What impact has the suit had on Apple? Shares of the company slid by just over 4 percent to close at $171.37 after the announcement. Apple shares have fallen more than 10 percent so far this year. This marks a departure from 2023, when the company’s stock surged to an all-time high of $197.86 on December 14. When will the court rule? Analysts say a resolution is not expected soon. Apple is likely to defend itself vigorously and this case could roll on for some time. In another antitrust case against Microsoft in the 1990s, in which the company was accused of illegally forcing PC manufacturers to favour its Internet Explorer software, it took three years to reach a settlement and another four years to go through the appeals courts. Adblock test (Why?)
UK, Australia call for ‘immediate’ end to fighting in Gaza
Two countries warn of ‘potentially devastating consequences’ if Israel pushes ahead with ground offensive in Rafah. Australia and the United Kingdom have called for an “immediate cessation of fighting” in Gaza, warning of “potentially devastating consequences” if Israel goes ahead with a planned ground assault on the southern city of Rafah. The two countries issued a joint statement on Friday, expressing “deep concern at the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza” after Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles hosted their British counterparts, David Cameron and Grant Shapps, for talks in Adelaide. The ministers noted “the large number of displaced persons taking refuge in the area and lack of safe spaces in Gaza” as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for an attack on Gaza’s southernmost area, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians have sought shelter after fleeing bombardments in other parts of the enclave. “They expressed the urgency of an immediate cessation of fighting in Gaza to allow aid to flow and hostages to be released as a crucial step toward a permanent, sustainable ceasefire,” said the statement, which was released as truce negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States are continuing in Doha. UN vote The call, which signals Britain and Australia’s increasing anxiety about the toll and impact of the war, came before the United Nations Security Council’s expected vote on a US-drafted resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The draft text describes an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” as an imperative to protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. A truce would also be conditional on the release of some of the remaining captives taken by Hamas in its attacks on southern Israel on October 7. Washington has for months vetoed calls for resolutions including that language, shielding its ally Israel amid rising global condemnation of a war in which close to 32,000 Palestinians have been killed. A UN resolution would heap pressure on Netanyahu to pull back from an offensive in Rafah. But it is far from clear that any resolution would halt the war altogether. Britain is also a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council along with the US, Russia, China and France. Adblock test (Why?)
More than 7,350 West Bank Palestinians arrested by Israel during Gaza war
Occupied East Jerusalem – In early November, the Israeli authorities summoned Hashim Matar* to the police station in occupied East Jerusalem. For 10 days, he was interrogated about whether he supported Hamas and was a member of the Palestinian group. Between questioning, Matar was locked in a small room with other detainees, where they were punched, kicked and beaten with batons. “Lots of people had their [sternum] or heads broken, often gushing with blood,” Matar, a 54-year-old man with a short grey beard and laugh lines around his eyes, told Al Jazeera three months after he was released from detention. “We weren’t even treated like animals. At least animals are treated with some sort of dignity.” Israel has taken thousands of Palestinians captive since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, in which 1,139 people were killed and about 250 abducted. Since then, the number of Palestinians arrested in the occupied West Bank exceeds 7,350 people, according to the Addameer monitor in Ramallah. While some Palestinians have been released, 9,100 remain captive. That’s a sharp uptick from the 5,200 that were in Israeli prisons before October 7. These figures do not include the thousands of adults and children the Israeli army has reportedly detained, tortured and interrogated in makeshift prisons across Gaza, outside any legal or civilian oversight. [embedded content] Violence and neglect Since October 7, Israeli authorities have become more violent during arrests, according to a staff member of Addameer who spoke on condition of anonymity. The individual told Al Jazeera that Israeli authorities often storm homes in the West Bank and begin to kick, punch and beat everyone inside. In some cases, Israeli soldiers take family members “hostage” by threatening to whisk them away, unless the wanted person comes forward. Once in custody, Palestinians are shoved into vehicles and beaten until they arrive at the detention facility. That is where they are told to strip, get dressed and to strip again – a cycle that occurs several times while they are beaten, sometimes on their genitalia. Captives are subjected to even worse treatment behind bars. Addameer said water or electricity is cut off and captives are denied visits from their relatives or the Red Cross. The rights group added that most victims are denied healthcare, even for injuries sustained during their arrest. As a result, prisoners have died due to health neglect. “So far, 10 prisoners from the West Bank [have died]. This is the highest figure ever in such a short period,” the Addameer staff member told Al Jazeera. Israeli soldiers in armoured vehicles have become an all-too-familiar sight. Shown here is a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on March 12, 2024 [Alaa Badarneh/EPA-EFE] Matar was afraid he might fall ill during his time in prison. He described how Israeli guards would turn the lights off during the day so captives languished in the dark and flood the cells with light at night to keep prisoners awake as they lay on the cold floors. However, being beaten was the worst part of detention, Matar said. “I would ask them: ‘Why are you beating us? What did we do to you for you to beat us?’” Administrative detention Israel has also weaponised quasi-judicial measures to arrest thousands of Palestinians without charge. Of all Palestinians detained since October 7, about 3,050 are held in “administrative detention”, an emergency measure that Israel inherited from the colonial British Mandate for Palestine. Under administrative detention, prisoners are held indefinitely and given no information about the charges against them or the ostensible evidence incriminating them. In many cases, Israeli authorities do not inform Palestinian families of the whereabouts of their detained loved ones – which amounts to an enforced disappearance, a violation of international law. “Israel’s sweeping use of administrative detention is not lawful,” said Omar Shakir, the Israel-Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. “But these practices don’t just date back years, but decades and they have only escalated since October 7.” [embedded content] The Addameer staff member added that among 200 Palestinian children languishing in Israeli prisons, 40 are held under administrative detention, and captives suffering from severe or terminal illnesses are denied seeing family and have little hope of being released. At the end of February, the Addameer staffer said, one cancer patient died in an Israeli prison at the age of 23. “He just collapsed. He died after five months of not being able to see his family,” they told Al Jazeera. “This is cruel collective punishment. Just imagine [this person’s family] who lost their beloved. They weren’t even able to be with him in his last moments.” Makeshift prisons In addition to the sweeping arrests in the West Bank, the Israeli army has arrested thousands of Palestinians from Gaza since launching its devastating war on the enclave. Over the last five months, Israel has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly the entire population of 2.3 million people in Gaza. Many have also gone missing, raising fears that they are either buried under the rubble or languishing in the labyrinth of makeshift Israeli prisons in Gaza. Ibrahim Yacoub*, 29, was arrested by Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza on November 21. He said his hands were tied behind his back and he was forced to walk to an Israeli detention spot in a group of 80 captives. Israeli soldiers stand by a truck packed with Palestinians who they detained and made to strip down, in the Gaza Strip on December 8, 2023 [Yossi Zeliger/Reuters] “Any time one of us stumbled, a soldier would hit us on top of the head,” he told Al Jazeera. “I kept dreading when they were going to hit me next.” Yacoub was eventually taken to what appeared to be an empty warehouse, where Israeli soldiers interrogated him, repeatedly asking about Hamas’s operations and his role in the group. “I kept telling them that I’m not a fighter. I’m a civilian,” Yacoub said over the phone, weeks after
Australia to contribute $3bn for construction of AUKUS submarines
Defence Minister Richard Marles says allies working ‘at pace’ to ensure the security deal becomes a reality. Australia is set to provide 4.6 billion Australian dollars ($3bn) to British industry to help support the construction of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS deal with the United Kingdom and the United States and ensure its new vessels arrive on time. Senior officials from the UK and Australia, as well as the US ambassador to Australia, visited the naval shipyard where the submarines will be built in the South Australian city of Adelaide on Friday. “The three governments involved here are working at pace to make this happen,” Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles told reporters at the Osborne shipyard where he was accompanied by his British counterpart Grant Shapps, as well as the foreign ministers of the two countries. “This is going to happen and we need it to happen.” Shapps said the submarine programme was expensive, but necessary. “Nuclear-powered submarines are not cheap, but we live in a much more dangerous world where we are seeing a much more assertive region with China, a much more dangerous world all around with what’s happening in the Middle East and Europe,” Shapps told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The announcement came a day after Australia and the UK signed a defence pact to better meet security challenges such as China’s increased activity in the South China Sea and the Pacific. Australia, the UK and the US first announced the AUKUS trilateral security alliance in 2021 and revealed further details of how Australia would acquire the nuclear-powered submarines a year ago. The 10-year plan will boost capacity at the UK’s Rolls-Royce factory in Derby where the nuclear reactors for the vessels will be built, while the submarines themselves will be constructed by BAE Systems in Adelaide, the state capital of South Australia. The Virginia-class submarines will be primarily from a British design but will have a US weapons system on board. Australia hopes to have eight nuclear-powered vessels in the water by the 2050s, a mix of the new AUKUS-class subs built at home and in the UK, and Virginia-class vessels purchased from the US. Marles said a “drumbeat” of AUKUS-class submarines would then continue to roll off Australian production lines “every few years” in perpetuity. “There is no country in the world which has obtained the capability to build nuclear-powered submarines, which has then turned that capability off,” he said. “We will see submarines being produced here on an enduring basis.” The nuclear-powered submarines will be quieter and stealthier than Australia’s existing diesel fleet, and capable of deploying over vast distances without surfacing. China has claimed the AUKUS deal risks setting off an arms race in the Asia Pacific. Beijing has stepped up its own military activities in recent years, modernising and expanding its armed forces, including its navy. It has also become more assertive over its territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea where it has built artificial islands and reefs, and deployed its coastguard and maritime militia. The sea is also claimed all or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam and Beijing has ignored a 2016 international court ruling that its claim on the sea had no legal basis. Beijing has also become more assertive over its claim to the self-ruled democratic island of Taiwan. On Friday, authorities in Taiwan said they had detected 36 Chinese military aircraft around the island over the previous 24 hours, the highest number in 2024. Adblock test (Why?)
Russian missile strikes target power supply in Ukraine’s Kharkiv
Attacks follow largest raids on Kyiv in weeks, as Zelenskyy pleads with West for air defence systems. Russian missiles have struck Ukraine’s Kharkiv, knocking out part of the city’s power supply a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an urgent appeal to the West to deliver air defence systems. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Friday morning that 15 blasts had been heard, with missiles causing partial blackouts and disabling the city’s water pumps. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Kharkiv lies just 30km (19 miles) from the border with Russia in Ukraine’s northeast and has come under frequent bombardment since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Ukrainian officials said Russian missiles had also hit Kryvyi Rih, which is Zelenskyy’s hometown, and Vinnytsia, both in central Ukraine, damaging a “critical infrastructure object” in the latter city. Ukraine’s state hydropower company said on Friday that a Russian strike hit Ukraine’s largest dam, the DniproHES in Zaporizhzhia in the south of the country, but that there was no risk of a breach. “There is currently a fire at the station. Emergency services and energy workers are working on the spot, dealing with the consequences of numerous air strikes,” the utility said. The administration of Zaporizhzhia reported eight missile attacks in the city and said some residents had been wounded. The attacks follow closely on the heels of Russia’s strikes on Kyiv the previous day, the largest attack on the Ukrainian capital in weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised retribution for strikes and incursions into Russia’s border regions. In Belgorod, a Russian region along the border with Ukraine, one woman was killed and several others were wounded in a Ukrainian attack on Friday, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said. The Russian Ministry of Defence said it had downed eight rockets fired on Belgorod on Friday from Ukraine with Vampire rocket launchers. Following the assault on Ukraine’s capital, which Russia’s defence ministry said had been delivered with long-range high-precision weapons, Zelenskyy called on the West to deliver air defence systems. Addressing the 27 leaders of the European Union via videolink, as they met in Brussels for a two-day summit, he told them the shortfall in ammunition facing his troops was “humiliating” for Europe. “Europe can provide more – and it is crucial to prove it now,” he said, also calling for additional air defence systems following the massive strike on Kyiv. Today, I addressed the European Council outlining five crucial elements to defend Ukraine and all of Europe from Russian aggression and terror: 1️⃣Air defense2️⃣Artillery ammunition3️⃣Europe’s defense self-sufficiency4️⃣Europe’s political unity5️⃣Frozen Russian assets A thread🧵 pic.twitter.com/SzmeCMeWwf — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 21, 2024 EU leaders on Thursday agreed to push ahead with a plan to use the profits from frozen Russian central bank assets to arm outgunned Ukraine, days after Putin tightened his iron grip over his country by winning a new six-year term in presidential elections. The proposal, at the heart of talks between bloc leaders, could unlock some three billion euros ($3.3bn) a year for Ukraine once it is given a final green light. “I’m glad that leaders endorsed our proposal to use the extraordinary revenues from immobilised Russian assets. This will provide funding for military equipment to Ukraine,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told reporters. The push by the EU to find more funds for Ukraine comes as a $60bn support package from the United States, Ukraine’s other main backer, remains blocked in Congress. Adblock test (Why?)