Israel’s war on Gaza: List of key events, day 166
The WHO says increasing numbers of children in Gaza are on the ‘brink of death’ from acute hunger as the UK sends more aid. Here’s how things stand on Wednesday, March 20, 2024: Fighting and humanitarian crisis Explosions and shootings shook the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital and surrounding neighbourhoods as Israeli forces stormed through the facility for a second day on Tuesday. Israel has said “dozens” of people were killed and some 300 people arrested during its assault on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it raided al-Shifa early on Monday because Hamas fighters had grouped in the hospital and were directing attacks from inside. The Israeli claims could not be independently verified as it has not allowed international journalists to report from the besieged territory. Israel arrested Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul during its raid on al-Shifa on Monday. Al-Ghoul was released 12 hours later after international condemnation. Separately, the Israeli military has killed at least 23 people during an attack on the Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City early this week, while 15 more were killed in a strike on a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza on Sunday. Dr Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO), said on Tuesday that increasing numbers of children in Gaza are on the “brink of death” from acute hunger. Diplomacy and regional tensions The UK’s largest aid delivery to Gaza has entered the Strip, the British Foreign Office said on Wednesday. More than 2,000 tonnes of food aid crossed into Gaza via Jordan and is being distributed by the World Food Programme and will feed “more than 275,000 people”, the office said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address US Senate Republicans during a closed-door conference on Wednesday via video. This comes less than a week after the chamber’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, called for elections to replace him. Netanyahu agreed on Monday to send a team of Israeli officials to Washington to discuss the impending Rafah offensive with Biden administration officials. However, on Tuesday, he told a parliamentary committee that while he would listen to US proposals “out of respect” to Biden, “we are determined to complete the elimination of these [Hamas] battalions in Rafah, and there is no way to do this without a ground incursion”. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, plan to discuss securing the release of Hamas-held captives and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza during their meeting in Washington, DC, next week, according to The Associated Press news agency. Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders has hailed Canada’s Parliament for voting to halt arms sales to Israel, saying the US should follow suit and “not provide another nickel for Netanyahu’s war machine”. Canada’s parliament has voted to stop arms sales to Israel. They are absolutely right to do so. Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, including widespread and growing starvation, the U.S. should not provide another nickel for Netanyahu’s war machine. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 19, 2024 Violence in the occupied West Bank Local media and the Wafa news agency reported Israeli military raids in multiple locations across the occupied West Bank late on Tuesday. They include Jericho, the city of Tulkarem, and the at-Taawon neighbourhood in the city of Nablus. A Palestinian man has also been arrested after Israeli forces stormed his home in the Jalazone camp, north of Ramallah on Tuesday, while confrontations have broken out between Palestinian resistance groups and Israeli forces in the town of ar-Ram, north of Jerusalem. Adblock test (Why?)
Praying for Armageddon: Evangelicals, the US and the Middle East
Episode 1 of a doomsday political thriller about evangelical Christian influence on US foreign policy in the Middle East. The first episode of Praying for Armageddon goes inside the evangelical Christian movement to explore its influence on US democracy and foreign policy. Preparing for the “end times”, a grassroots pastor gathers an army of veterans in the heartland of the United States, and megachurch ministers provide spiritual advice to politicians in the nation’s capital. They call for the “final battle” which they believe will trigger the second coming of Christ. Central to their apocalyptic prophecy is Israel. It is with their blessing that the Trump administration controversially recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moves the US embassy there in 2018. “It feels like everyone has a say about the destiny and the future of Jerusalem except for the Palestinians living in it,” says Palestinian activist Fayrouz Sharqawi. Praying for Armageddon is a documentary film by Tonje Hessen Schei. Adblock test (Why?)
EU firms in China forced to focus on risks over business, lobby group says
European companies in China are overly focused on risk management amid a less predictable and more politicised business environment in the world’s second largest economy, a business lobby group has warned. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Wednesday that about three-quarters of respondents to a survey of its 1,700 members had reviewed their supply chains and exposure in China over the past two years amid a “general sentiment of uncertainty”. Some 21 percent of respondents said they planned to expand their production in China, while another 12 percent planned to reduce it, the chamber said. Only 1 percent said they planned to move production out of China entirely, according to the survey. The findings come “at a time when the global business environment is becoming increasingly politicised, and companies are having to make some very tough decisions about how, or in some cases if, they can continue to engage with the Chinese market,” the lobby group said in a report accompanying the survey. China’s market has become “less predictable, reliable and efficient”, while companies’ focus has become “skewed disproportionately towards risk management and building resilience”, the report said. Foreign companies in China have faced a series of challenges in recent years, including slowing economic growth, ultra-strict COVID restrictions, US-China geopolitical tensions, and national security crackdowns. While Beijing has sought to assure businesses that the country is open for business after the pandemic, authorities have carried out high-profile raids on foreign consulting firms, strengthened anti-espionage and state secrets laws, and restricted cross-border data sharing. Tensions with Europe have also spiked since the EU Commission in September opened a probe into whether Chinese state-subsidised electric vehicle imports are undercutting European competitors. In the EU Chamber of Commerce survey, some 55 percent of respondents said that the business climate in China was “more political over the past year”, leading firms to increase their focus on “de-risking” their operations there. “At the corporate level, the volume, complexity and severity of the risks companies face have grown exponentially in recent years, as politics has seeped into the business environment,” the report said. Despite these concerns, Jens Eskelund, president of the chamber, urged European companies to reevaluate overly cautious behaviour to avoid stifling future growth and innovation. “While it is natural that all global actors will seek to ensure the security of their respective economies, it should be done in a way that is minimally disruptive to business,” Eskelund said. “Actions taken in the name of risk management and strengthening economic security should be proportionate, targeted and precise and should never become a cover for protectionism.” Foreign direct investment into China sank to a 30-year low in 2023, with new investment falling to $33bn, 82 percent less than the previous year, according to government data. China’s State Council this week announced a new action plan to promote foreign investment, focusing on key industries such as advanced chips and biopharmaceuticals. The State Council also promised to address practices that discriminated against foreign companies, a longstanding complaint in the foreign business community. Adblock test (Why?)
Libya-Tunisia border crossing closed following clashes
Closure comes as Libya says ‘outlaws’ attacked the Ras Jedir border crossing. Tunisia and Libya have closed a major border crossing at Ras Jedir due to armed clashes, according to Tunisian state TV and Libyan authorities. Libya’s interior ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that “outlaws” had attacked the border, which sees a large flow of Libyans, often going to Tunisia for medical treatment, and trucks with goods coming in the opposite direction. “This action carried out by these outlaw groups will not be tolerated, and legal measures and the most severe penalties will be taken against those involved,” the Tripoli-based ministry said, without giving further details. The border post in the desert area of Ras Jedir about 170 kilometres (105 miles) from the Libyan capital Tripoli, is the main crossing point between the two North African countries. According to local media, armed clashes broke out on Monday night between armed groups who control Ras Jedir and security forces sent by Tripoli. On Monday, Libyan Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi had directed the ministry’s “law enforcement department” to intervene at Ras Jedir to “combat smuggling and security violations” and facilitate travel. Unverified footage on social media showed a burning vehicle at Ras Jedir and people running, as well as the sound of gunfire. Tunisia’s Tataouine Radio said late on Monday that Tunisia closed the crossing for the safety of citizens going to Libya. Groups from cities in the border area have for years controlled Ras Jedir, benefitting from the lucrative parallel border trade. Thousands of Tunisian families in the south also make a living from the trade. Libya has been mired in insecurity since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising led to the overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, and is split between eastern and western factions, with rival administrations governing each area. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump adviser Peter Navarro starts prison term for contempt of US Congress
Peter Navarro, a key adviser to the White House under former United States President Donald Trump, has turned himself in to a federal prison in Miami, Florida, to serve a four-month sentence for defying a congressional subpoena. His arrival at the prison on Tuesday makes him the first senior Trump official to report to prison in relation to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. “I am the first senior White House adviser in the history of our republic that has ever been charged with this alleged crime,” Navarro said in a fiery press conference outside the prison. He also blamed members of the Democratic Party and judicial bias for his prison sentence. “Every person who has taken me on this road to that prison is a friggin’ Democrat and a Trump hater,” he said, pointing towards the federal detention facility. In September, a US district court convicted Navarro of two counts of contempt of Congress, after he failed to comply with a subpoena to surrender documents and sit for a congressional deposition. The testimony and documents were part of a trove of evidence being collected by a now-defunct House Select Committee assigned to investigate the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. That attack saw thousands of Trump supporters storm the seat of Congress in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election. Trump, a Republican, had lost that election to Democrat Joe Biden. Former White House official Peter Navarro told reporters he was ‘pissed’ as he turned himself over to authorities in Miami, Florida [Adriana Gomez Licon/AP Photo] Still, Navarro and other Trump allies spread a conspiracy theory that Trump had not, in fact, been defeated — but was rather the victim of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 race. A former trade adviser to Trump, Navarro in particular promoted a proposal called the “Green Bay Sweep”, which would pressure public officials to decertify results that showed Biden winning. However, Navarro refused to submit to the House committee’s requests for testimony, citing Trump’s claims that, as president, he enjoyed executive privilege during the January 6 attack. Both Navarro and fellow Trump adviser Steve Bannon were ultimately convicted of failing to comply with the congressional committee’s subpoenas. But unlike Navarro, Bannon was allowed to delay his prison sentence while he pursued an appeal. However, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, denied a last-minute request from Navarro’s legal team that he, too, should remain free pending his appeal. Roberts’s decision, which came on Monday, all but assured Navarro would face time behind bars. “I see no basis to disagree with the determination” made by the lower courts, Roberts wrote. He explained that Navarro had not met the “burden to establish his entitlement to relief under the Bail Reform Act”. Chief Justice John Roberts, left, denied Peter Navarro’s attempt to delay his prison sentence [Shawn Thew/Pool via AP] Navarro used his press conference in Miami to argue that, like Trump, he had been the victim of a weaponised legal system and partisan tactics. He also called the House Select Committee he had been called to testify before “unlawful”. “I’m pissed. That’s what I’m feeling right now. But I’m also afraid of only one thing: I’m afraid for this country, because this, what they’re doing, should have a chilling effect on every American, regardless of their party. If they come for me, they can come for you,” Navarro said. The House Select Committee ultimately shut down in January 2023, as Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. But before it disbanded, the committee compiled its 18 months of research into a damning, 845-page report, accusing Trump and his allies of refusing to accept their defeat in the 2020 election. The report argued that Trump “unlawfully pressured State officials and legislators to change the results of the election in their States” and “oversaw an effort to obtain and transmit false electoral certificates”, among other acts in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the election results. While the report recommended criminal charges, it did not have the power to pursue them independently. Donald Trump supporters rally on January 6, 2021, near the White House [Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo] However, the US Department of Justice has since appointed a special counsel, Jack Smith, to investigate Trump’s actions before, during and after the 2020 election. Smith has since filed two federal criminal indictments against Trump: one in Washington, DC, for attempts to subvert the election and one in Florida for Trump’s handling of classified documents once out of office. Trump faces two additional criminal indictments on the state level. The first, in New York, concerns hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential race. And the second, in Georgia, pertains to attempts to subvert the 2020 election results in that state. The former president — now the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2024 US presidential race — has denied all the charges against him. Adblock test (Why?)
How can Israel’s war on Gaza be allowed to continue?
Starvation and disease pose imminent dangers. As Israel’s brutal war on Gaza continues, the 2.3 million residents of the besieged Palestinian territory face the imminent risk of famine. More than 31,800 people have been killed and 74,000 others wounded in the Israeli assault on Gaza since October 7. The wounded rely on a health system that’s either destroyed or under attack by Israeli forces. What can bring Gaza’s suffering to an end? Presenter: Cyril Vanier Guests: Fidaa Al-Araj – Oxfam aid worker in Gaza Arwa Mhanna – Middle East senior adviser for advocacy and policy, Mercy Corps aid agency Francesca Albanese – United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory Sam Rose – Director of planning for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Adblock test (Why?)
Can India’s Rahul Gandhi defeat Narendra Modi with ‘unity marches’?
Mumbai, India – Loud chants and songs on justice echoed around Shivaji Park in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, as thousands of people gathered at the iconic venue that had played frequent host to rallies by freedom fighters when the country fought for independence from the British decades ago. This time, the slogans called for a different “freedom” – from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government. On stage, Bollywood singers Vishal and Rekha Bhardwaj sang classic songs from popular films, new and old. The park was decked in flags and life-sized cardboard cutouts of politicians from the opposition Indian National Congress (INC) party. Police officers were everywhere, but the atmosphere was festive – almost resembling that of a rock concert. The man at the centre of the event: Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family that ruled India for most of its first 50 years after independence. On Sunday evening, Gandhi and a bevy of leaders from other opposition parties launched the election campaign of their Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) from Shivaji Park, a day after the Election Commission of India announced dates for the world’s largest vote. Nearly a billion Indians will elect their next government in a seven-phase election that starts on April 19 and ends with the declaration of results on June 4. The INDIA alliance hopes to challenge Modi’s BJP, which is aiming to win a third straight term in office, riding on the back of the prime minister’s personal popularity, even as the Congress and other critics have accused it of dividing the nation on religious lines and favouring select industrialists. At the heart of the opposition alliance’s efforts are long marches undertaken by Gandhi across the length and breadth of the country, to galvanise support against Modi. His Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (Uniting India for Justice March) had culminated in Mumbai on Saturday. The marches and Gandhi’s message of unity and justice resonated with supporters at Shivaji Park on Sunday. Ganggu Bai, a 40-year-old cook who lives in Mumbai’s Dharavi – one of the world’s largest slum clusters made famous globally by the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire – was among those at the Sunday rally. “I am here to support the future of our country. and women’s rights,” she said. “This event gives me hope and feels like it is actually for the people of India,” she added. But for Gandhi, the Congress and the INDIA alliance to turn that sentiment into a national wave against the ruling government, they’ll need the votes of more than their core supporters: In the last national elections in 2019, the Congress won just 52 seats in the Lok Sabha or lower house of parliament, while the BJP won an overwhelming majority with 303 seats. Life-size cardboard posters of Rahul Gandhi are seen at a rally to mark the end of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, India [Priyanka Shankar/Al Jazeera] Political message Addressing the rally, Gandhi insisted that the INDIA alliance’s fight was not against a political party [referring to the BJP] or the prime minister – but for a vision of India. “There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti. The soul of the king is in the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) and every institution of the country, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax department,” he said, adding that these institutions are the only reason the BJP is in power. The allegation: The “king” is Modi, EVMs can be hacked, and the government is using law enforcement agencies to coerce opposition members and business leaders into submission. #WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: At the conclusion ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says, “There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti. The soul of the King is in the EVM. This… pic.twitter.com/lL9h9W0sRf — ANI (@ANI) March 17, 2024 Several key politicians from the INDIA alliance, like Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister MK Stalin and former Maharashtra state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the former chief minister of Maharashtra, also attended the rally. “Ab ki baar, BJP tadipaar [This time, the BJP will be exiled],” Thackeray said and added that those who tried to divide them [the INDIA alliance] would be defeated. “Wherever Rahul goes, it looks like a festival,” Stalin told the cheering crowds. Then, he alluded to the litmus test that awaits the alliance. “The real victory of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra stands in defeating BJP and capturing Delhi,” he said. Are Gandhi’s marches working? Gandhi’s rally at Shivaji Park came a day after he concluded his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra – a 6,600km (4,100-mile) march from India’s east to west, with detours in each state he passed through. His promise: “panch nyay” or “five pillars of justice” for women, youth, farmers, labourers and justice in terms of equity. During the walk, he announced a one lakh rupee ($1,200) annual payout to every woman below the poverty line, and a 50 percent reservation in in all new recruitments of central government jobs for poor families. He began walking on January 15 this year in the conflict-torn northeast Indian state of Manipur, promising to bring peace to the region where tensions between the state’s mainly Hindu Meitei majority and the predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo have led to violence killing hundreds and displacing more than 60,000 people. Traversing west from Manipur, Gandhi ended his walk in Mumbai on March 16. Previously, he also walked from South India all the way to Kashmir in the north, between September 2022 and January 2023, in a march called Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India walk), which focused on fighting against poverty, unemployment and growing polarisation between Hindus and Muslims in India. Those messages are what inspired Sudha Prakash* to walk with Gandhi in his first Bharat
Harsh Mongolian winter leaves 4.7m animals dead; Red Cross issues appeal
UN says Mongolian herders are experiencing extreme ‘dzud’ cold conditions more often, with little time to recover before the next one. Mongolian herders have endured months of extreme cold, known as the “dzud”, that have already claimed the lives of about 4.7 million livestock animals, according to Mongolia’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), prompting an emergency appeal for assistance from the Red Cross. At least 2,250 herder families have lost more 70 percent of their livestock, as this year’s dzud blankets grazing lands in deep snow and ice, according to the Red Cross, and there are predictions many more animals will be unable to survive the next few weeks. About 30 percent of the country’s 3.3 million people are nomadic herders, living in dwellings known as gers or yurts on the country’s vast open steppes. Olga Dzhumaeva, head of the East Asia delegation of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), said herders were facing “the loss of their precious livestock” and “immense pressures on people’s mental and physical health. “The ongoing livestock deaths, diminishing resources and deteriorating conditions of hundreds of thousands of people in Mongolia this winter is a stark reminder of the urgent need for assistance,” she said in a statement on Tuesday. Heavy snowfall has buried more than 1,000 herder households’ gers – round tent-like dwellings [Courtesy of Mongolian Red Cross Society] Mongolians are used to enduring cold conditions, especially during the winter months from December to March, but extreme cold is known as dzud – the Mongolian word for disaster. During dzuds, temperatures in some parts of the country fall as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit). This year’s dzud has seen numerous blizzards, bringing heavy snow. According to the United Nations, dzuds are already becoming more common with climate change. This is the sixth dzud Mongolia has experienced in the past decade, with herders still struggling to recover after last year’s harsh winter which claimed the lives of 4.4 million livestock animals. The crisis disproportionately affects Mongolian families with smaller herds, the Red Cross said [Courtesy of Mongolian Red Cross Society] A drought last summer also meant that many animals were not able to build up enough fatty stores ahead of the colder months. Changing conditions Climate change has disrupted Mongolia’s four season cycle, leading to a rise “in recurrent summer droughts and subsequent harsh winters” since 2015, Tapan Mishra, the UN resident coordinator in Mongolia, said last month. The loss of grazing options for livestock has meant herders already used up their hay and fodder stocks months earlier than usual, the Red Cross says. According to official data, Mongolia had some 64.7 million livestock animals at the end of 2023. Mongolia is known for its unique breeds of sheep, cattle, horses, goats, dromedaries, Bactrian camels and yaks, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These include the Bayad sheep, which can endure even Mongolia’s coldest regions after centuries of selective breeding, and provide families with milk, wool and meat. A herder walks with a horse through the snow [Courtesy of Mongolian Red Cross Society] The loss of so many livestock has placed strains on herder communities, who were “prepared for harsh conditions, but not to such an extent”, according to the Red Cross. Bolormaa Nordov, secretary-general of the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS), said she hoped a new Red Cross appeal would help to “minimise the impact of the Dzud emergency and support households with longer-term solutions for their lives and livelihoods”. IFRC’s Dzhumaeva said Mongolians were surviving, but were in urgent need of help. “Yet we see the unwavering hope and resilience of so many families as they battle winter’s wrath with incredible strength,” said Dzhumaeva. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s war on Gaza: List of key events, day 165
Twenty Palestinians were killed in the early hours of Tuesday in Rafah, while UN warns Gaza could be hit by famine between mid-March and May. Here’s how things stand on Tuesday, March 19, 2024: Fighting and humanitarian crisis Twenty Palestinians were killed in the early hours of Tuesday in Israeli air strikes on Rafah and central parts of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials. At least six people were killed in an Israeli attack on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Israeli forces shelled a house in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Monday, killing at least eight Palestinians, including children, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire on Monday after a new report warned that northern Gaza could be hit by famine any time between mid-March and May. Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul was released on Monday after being detained for 12 hours and severely beaten by Israeli forces in Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital. According to the White House, Israel killed a senior Hamas commander Marwan Issa, in an air strike last week. Diplomacy and regional tensions US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed to have their teams meet in Washington, DC to discuss “alternative approaches” to a ground offensive on Rafah, according to the White House. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday it destroyed “seven anti-ship missiles, three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and three weapons storage containers” in attacks on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur for the right to food, has urged the United States to do more to end the ongoing hunger and starvation crisis in Gaza. Separately, EU foreign ministers on Monday “unanimously” approved sanctions against violent settlers who harass Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Violence in the occupied West Bank The Israeli military arrested three Palestinians from Qalqilya governorate in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reported on Monday. Two men were arrested after Israeli forces stormed their homes in the town of Azzun, while a third man was arrested from the town of Kafr Thulth, both east of the city of Qalqilya. On Monday, the Israeli military also arrested a man in the Jabal al-Sharif area of Hebron, while in the Balata camp, east of the city of Nablus, Palestinian groups have targeted a bulldozer with an explosive device following an Israeli raid on the area. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 12 bodies found after gang attacks in upscale Haiti suburb
Bodies found outside capital, Port-au-Prince, as attacks by gang members have ravaged the country for weeks. At least 12 bodies have been removed by ambulance from the affluent neighbourhood of Petion-Ville on the outskirts of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, as tensions simmer pending the announcement of a new government. Gunmen looted homes in the mountainous communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise on Monday, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. The neighbourhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on February 29. The bodies of the victims, who had been shot, were removed from the main road leading into the suburb and from outside a fuel station, the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies reported. The latest attacks have raised concerns that gang violence will not end, despite Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing nearly a week ago that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created. The council will have seven voting members and two observers from different political coalitions and sectors of society. Gang leaders, who have long sought to remove Henry, have warned of a “battle” for Haiti and threatened politicians who join the transition council. Meanwhile, residents are facing worsening shortages of food and medical care. Haiti has seen years of unrest that took a sharp turn to the worst after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. The crisis deepened this year as Haitian armed groups launched attacks on police, prisons and other state institutions. The main airport in Port-au-Prince has been shut down, and residents have been afraid to leave their homes to get water, food and other supplies. On Monday, Haiti’s power company announced that four substations in the capital and elsewhere “were destroyed and rendered completely dysfunctional”. As a result, swathes of Port-au-Prince were without power, including the Cite Soleil slum, the Croix-des-Bouquets community and a hospital. The company said criminals also seized important documents, cables, inverters, batteries and other items. The deteriorating conditions are making it difficult for humanitarian organisations to deliver aid to the Caribbean country, said Jean-Michael Bauer, the Haiti director at the United Nations World Food Programme. “Port-au-Prince is a place that’s in a bubble right now. You can’t get in and out by road. It’s very difficult to get in by air. Getting in and out by sea is a challenge,” Bauer told European Parliament’s subcommittee on human rights on Monday. “We need security in this country. Security is the number one problem right now. But we also need to make sure that at the same time we bring security, that we have a strong humanitarian component to everything we do.” The violence has created a political impasse that has seen the UN as well as the United States and Canadian embassies withdrawing their staff in recent days. The international community is also pushing to deploy a Kenyan-led police force to help maintain security in Haiti. US Department of State spokesperson Vedant Patel on Monday said that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is close to finalising the transitional council. “The announcement of this council, we believe, will help pave the way for free and fair elections and the deployment of the multi-national security support mission,” Patel told reporters. The State Department has chartered flights to evacuate dozens of US citizens out of Haiti. Patel said the evacuation plan was put in place in response to the limited availability of commercial flights out of the country. Adblock test (Why?)