‘We need you’: Solomon Islands’ support for US agency’s return revealed
A United States development aid agency whose return to the Solomon Islands has been delayed for years without explanation found “overwhelming support and enthusiasm” for its work, with the Pacific island nation’s leader telling officials “We need you”, a previously unreleased report shows. The Peace Corps’ findings bring into focus the agency’s unexplained failure to resume operations in the archipelago nearly five years after it announced its return amid jockeying for influence between the US and China. The “Solomon Islands Re-entry Assessment Report,” obtained by Al Jazeera via a freedom of information request, paints a picture of emphatic support for the agency resuming operations in the country after a two-decade absence, both among the local population and within the government. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is quoted in the report telling Peace Corps representatives, “We need you,” while Attorney-General John Muria is quoted as saying the agency “really had a lasting impact on people and communities in Solomon Islands”. “On the ground, the assessment team was welcomed openly and enthusiastically by the Government of Solomon Islands at all levels from the Prime Minister to the provincial level,” the agency said in the report. “The team enjoyed support in equal measure from other development partners, non-governmental organisations, international volunteer organisations, service providers and vendors, former Peace Corps staff, and community members who were taught by Peace Corps Volunteers.” Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has forged closer ties with China [cnsphoto via Reuters] The Peace Corps, which withdrew from the Solomon Islands in 2000 amid ethnic violence, commissioned the report to examine the feasibility of resuming operations in the country after receiving a formal invitation from Honiara to return in February 2019. In August, the assessment team submitted its report recommending the agency’s return after concluding the Solomon Islands offered an “enabling environment in which Volunteers can have meaningful work and serve safely with the necessary medical care and logistical support”. “From the Prime Minister and national and provincial government ministries to service providers, local community members, and former Peace Corps staff, the team was warmly welcomed and strongly encouraged to bring Volunteers back to the ‘Hapi Isles,’” the report said. “Peace Corps has had a lasting impact in the country and our absence is noticeable, particularly in the education sector.” The Peace Corps publicly announced the re-establishment of its Solomon Islands programme that October, with the first volunteers scheduled to arrive in mid-2021. The Solomon Islands, located about 2,000 kilometres northeast of Australia, is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific, with its population suffering from limited access to high-quality education and healthcare. While the Solomon Islands closed its borders for more than two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency’s ongoing absence and the current status of its planned return have not been publicly explained. Although the Peace Corps temporarily suspended operations in the Pacific during the pandemic, its volunteers have since returned to neighbouring countries including Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Other comparable agencies have also resumed work in the Solomon Islands, including the Australian Volunteers, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and New Zealand’s Volunteer Service Abroad. The US Congress has allocated just $500 to the Peace Corps’ work in the archipelago for the fiscal year of 2024, suggesting there is little prospect of its imminent return. In December, Al Jazeera reported that opposition politicians in the Solomon Islands and US observers suspected that Sogavare’s government was deliberately stalling the agency’s return to curry favour with China, which has made major inroads in the archipelago in recent years. Sogavare severed ties with Taiwan in 2019 to recognise China and signed cooperation agreements with Beijing on security and policing in 2022 and last year, prompting alarm in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Despite being one of the world’s smallest countries with a population of about 720,000 people, the Solomon Islands has become a focal point for the heated competition for influence between Washington and Beijing due to its strategic location in the Pacific. The status of Honiara’s relations with Beijing is currently in the balance as Sogavare vies to form a government with opposition MPs after general elections this week that produced an inconclusive outcome. Sogavare is seeking a fifth term in office, but he is being challenged by at least three opposition leaders, including Peter Kenilorea Jr, who has pledged to restore ties with Taipei. The Peace Corps and the Solomon Islands government did not respond to requests for comment. Catherine Ebert-Gray, who served as US ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu from 2016 to 2019, expressed hope the agency would be able to resume its work in the country. “I am hopeful the next parliament and government will renew their interest in returning Peace Corps volunteers to rural villages to support the nation’s environmental, health and education plans,” Ebert-Gray told Al Jazeera. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 791
As the war enters its 791st day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Fighting At least six people were injured after Russia launched a missile attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Officials said the S-300 missiles caused damage to residential buildings, offices, a gas pipeline through the city centre and dozens of cars. Russia claimed to have struck a military dormitory. Ukrainian intelligence sources told the Reuters news agency its drones had struck two Rosneft-owned oil depots in Russia’s Smolensk region, west of Moscow, as well as a major steel factory in the southern Lipetsk region. Russian regional officials said fires had broken out at the oil facilities following the attack, while a drone had come down in an industrial zone in the Lipetsk region. They did not say whether there was any damage. Politics and diplomacy The United States Congress passed a long-delayed $61bn aid package for Ukraine that was quickly signed into law by President Joe Biden. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the approval and said Ukraine would do its best to “make up” for the past six months as it has struggled to fend off better-equipped Russian forces. Zelenskyy said he was working closely with US officials to work out an incoming $1bn military package containing “exactly the weapons that our soldiers need”. He specifically mentioned Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), artillery, antitank weapons, high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) and air defence. Zelenskyy said 16 Ukrainian children previously “deported to Russia” had been reunited with their families after mediation talks organised by Qatar. Kyiv has accused Russia of the forcible deportation of thousands of children from Ukrainian territories it has occupied. Family, friends and army comrades gather to mourn Ukrainian army paramedic Nazarii Lavrovskyi who was killed on April 18 while helping to evacuate wounded troops from the front line in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine [Francisco Seco/AP Photo] A court in Moscow ordered Timur Ivanov, one of Russia’s 12 deputy defence ministers, to be held in custody pending trial on charges of bribery. Ivanov was in charge of military construction projects and was known for his lavish lifestyle. The 48-year-old, who wore his military uniform in court, faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. Ukraine’s SBU security service said it suspected Metropolitan Arseniy, a high-ranking cleric and head of the main Orthodox monastery in eastern Ukraine, of having “tipped off” Russian forces about Ukrainian army positions in the Kramatorsk district and promoted “pro-Kremlin narratives”. The priest faces as many as eight years in prison if convicted. Ukraine stopped issuing new passports to some military-aged men overseas, according to amended legislation. The exact scope and period of the measure were unclear. Ukraine is expanding conscription to boost the number of troops on the battlefield. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy will sign an agreement next month with Ukraine and the United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO to rebuild the city of Odesa and its cathedral, which was badly damaged by a Russian attack last July. Weapons White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that the US had sent a “significant number” of long-range ATACMS to Ukraine and would “send more”. Sullivan was responding to reports in the US media that the missiles had been sent, and used twice. The long-range ATACMS has a range of 300km (186 miles). Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli protesters call for PM’s resignation over captives
NewsFeed Families of Israelis held in Gaza staged a protest to mark 200 days since their relatives were taken and to call for the prime minister’s resignation over the failure to get a deal to free them. Published On 24 Apr 202424 Apr 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
NBA roundup: Dallas Mavericks grab vital 96-93 road win over LA Clippers
Mavericks steal home court advantage from the Clippers after winning game two in Los Angeles. Luka Doncic had 32 points and nine assists and Kyrie Irving added 23 points as the Dallas Mavericks got the best of the Los Angeles Clippers 96-93 in game two of their first-round playoff series to even it out at 1-1. PJ Washington scored 18 points and Derrick Jones Jr had 10 on Tuesday as the Mavericks recovered from a double-digit defeat in game one when they trailed by as many as 29 points and scored just 30 in the first half. Doncic and Irving combined to go 19 of 44 (43.2 percent) in the game after they struggled in the decisive first half of game one on Sunday when they combined to shoot five of 19 (26.3 percent). Irving made three of four free throws in the last 12 seconds to seal the win. James Harden and Paul George each scored 22 points as the Clippers were unable to take advantage of Kawhi Leonard’s return. Leonard, who had not played since March 31 because of right knee inflammation, scored 15 points in 35 minutes. The series moves to Dallas for game three on Friday. Pacers 125, Bucks 108 Pascal Siakam recorded 37 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as Indiana evened out its first-round Eastern Conference playoff series with an impressive victory over host Milwaukee in game two. Myles Turner added 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who snapped a 10-game postseason losing streak dating back to 2018. Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Brook Lopez added 22 for the third-seeded Bucks. Each player made six three-pointers. Milwaukee again was without star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is out with a calf injury. Timberwolves 105, Suns 93 Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting, and Minnesota pulled away from Phoenix in game two of their Western Conference quarterfinals series in Minneapolis. Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert finished with 18 points apiece for Minnesota, which seized a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Timberwolves won by double digits despite a subpar night from Anthony Edwards, who shot three of 12 from the field and finished with 15 points. Devin Booker led the Suns with 20 points on six-for-13 shooting although he was one for six from three-point range. Kevin Durant finished with 18 points, and Bradley Beal scored 14, but the pair combined to shoot 12 of 32 from the field. Adblock test (Why?)
Cost of doing business with Iran? US warns Pakistan of sanctions risk
Islamabad, Pakistan – The United States has warned Pakistan of the risk of sanctions after it promised greater security and economic cooperation with Iran during a visit by President Ebrahim Raisi. The first Iranian president to visit the South Asian country in eight years, Raisi concluded his three-day trip on Wednesday as the neighbouring countries said they would increase bilateral trade to $10bn a year over the next five years, from the current $2bn. Pakistan’s foreign office said the two sides additionally agreed to cooperate in the energy sector including trade in electricity, power transmission lines and the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. The gas pipeline project has languished for more than a decade because of political turmoil and international sanctions. The US Department of State on Tuesday cautioned the Pakistani government of engaging in business deals with Iran. “We advise anyone considering business deals with Iran to be aware of the potential risk of sanctions. But ultimately, the government of Pakistan can speak to their own foreign policy pursuits,” spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a news briefing. Foreign policy expert Muhammad Faisal said the United States threats of sanctions are merely meant to dissuade Pakistan and “increase the cost of doing business with Iran”. “Any expansion of formal trade and banking activity between the two nations will be slow, as Pakistani banks are reluctant to do direct business with Iranian banks,” he told Al Jazeera. A wide-ranging list of business-related activities with Iran can trigger US sanctions, and the regulations also bar business dealings with Iranian financial institutions. The pipeline was to stretch more than 1,900km (1,180 miles) from Iran’s South Pars gas field to Pakistan to meet Pakistan’s rising energy needs. Iran said it has already invested $2bn to construct the pipeline on its side of the border, making it ready to export. However, the project is yet to take off from the Pakistani side due to fears of US sanctions. Pakistan indicated last month that it will try and seek a waiver from the US to construct the pipeline on its territory. Washington’s efforts to restrict Iran’s income from oil and petroleum products go back decades. It has additionally sanctioned hundreds of entities and people in Iran – from the central bank to government officials – accused of materially supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and armed groups such as Palestine’s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis. The US and the United Kingdom this month imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran after its unprecedented attack on Israel, but the punitive measures were limited in scope and there have been questions over how effective the sanctions regime has been overall. “Islamabad is cognisant of these constraints and both sides have been exploring ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions for expanding bilateral trade through barter system and border markets with the involvement of local chambers of commerce,” Faisal said. Pakistan has little leverage During his visit, Raisi met the country’s top leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief General Asim Munir. The visit came as the two countries try to repair their frayed relationship following heightened tensions in January when Iran launched attacks on Pakistani territory on what it said were bases of armed group Jaish al-Adl. In less than 48 hours, the Pakistani military carried out strikes in Iran on what it said were “hideouts used by terrorist organisations”. Yet, the implied threat of sanctions comes at a challenging time for Pakistan, which is mired in economic woes and is seeking financial help from its allies, including key partners such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the US, three countries that are considered rivals of Iran. Sharif was in Saudi Arabia this month to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and is expected to travel to the kingdom again next week. Kamran Bokhari, a senior director at the Washington, DC-based New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, said Pakistan cannot afford to get caught in the middle of a conflict between the US and Iran. “Those two countries are engaged in their own rivalry and Iran sees itself in ascendancy at the moment due to situation in the Middle East,” Bokhari told Al Jazeera, referring to Israel’s war on Gaza. “The US wants to contain Iran and the tools it has are sanctions. Now Pakistan needs the US and Western goodwill to help it deal with its economic crisis,” he said, adding that it should “steer clear of any move that risks it”. Pakistan must identify what’s best for its national interest if it is to successfully juggle its relationships with Iran and the US and “maintain engagement with both”, Faisal said, but it should focus on expanding trade and energy cooperation with Iran. The future of the Pakistan-Iran relationship depends on Pakistan’s ability to use its limited leverage, said Bokhari. “If the US tells Pakistan ‘You cannot do business with Iran’, then they should ask Washington ‘Could you instead help us in what we need?’” Bokhari said. Adblock test (Why?)
Five takeaways from day two of Trump’s New York hush money trial testimony
The second day of arguments in former United States President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has concluded with the prosecution’s questioning of former tabloid publisher David Pecker dominating much of the proceedings. Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents in connection to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The 2024 Republican presidential candidate is accused of mislabelling reimbursements made to his lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence over an alleged affair. Trump has denied that affair took place. For the felony charges to hold, prosecutors must persuade a jury that the falsifications were done with the intent to commit another crime. They have so far focused on alleged malfeasance to influence the 2016 presidential election, which Trump eventually won. Trump’s defence has maintained he did nothing wrong. On Tuesday, prosecutors focused on a “catch and kill” agreement between Pecker and Trump, in which the publisher would buy negative stories about Trump but not publish them in the National Enquirer. Here are five takeaways from the trial: Pecker says he agreed to be “eyes and ears” of Trump campaign While describing a relationship with Trump that dated back to the 1980s, Pecker told prosecutors that Trump and Cohen pressured him to “help the campaign” at an August 2015 meeting, roughly 15 months before the 2016 presidential election. Pecker said he agreed to be the campaign’s “eyes and ears” and to notify Cohen when people were trying to sell unflattering stories about Trump to the National Enquirer. Cohen, in turn, would regularly call Pecker to ask him to run negative stories on Trump’s challengers for the Republican nomination, including primary opponents Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Pecker initially said stopping negative stories about Trump from running benefitted both the tabloid and Trump’s campaign but later acknowledged that the strategy only benefitted the Trump campaign. ‘Catch and kill’ scheme detailed Much of Tuesday’s proceedings involved Pecker elaborating on the process that he, Trump and Cohen called “catch and kill”. He described how American Media, which owns the National Enquirer, paid a doorman $30,000 for his story alleging that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. The agreement included a clause that said the doorman would be liable for $1m if he still went public with the claim. Pecker called it “basically a lever” over the doorman to assure his compliance. He also described how model Karen McDougal had approached the National Enquirer about her alleged affair with Trump. The information prompted a call from Trump directly and several subsequent calls from Cohen, who seemed to be under “a lot of pressure”, Pecker said. The National Enquirer ended up buying the story for $150,000 to kill it. Pecker describes decades-long relationship with Trump Prosecutors may have focussed on the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, but Pecker’s testimony was a reminder that Trump had been a tabloid darling long before he was a political candidate. Pecker said he met Trump in the 1980s when he worked on the Trump Style magazine. He said the two men enjoyed “a great relationship” and he considered him a friend until 2017. When Trump was the host of The Apprentice reality show, Trump would tip him off to events on the show before they aired, Pecker said. Prosecutors accuse Trump of violating gag order Judge Juan Merchan prohibited Trump from making public comments about witnesses involved in the trial, but prosecutors began Tuesday’s proceeding by accusing the former president of “willful violations” of that gag order. They pushed Merchan to hold Trump in contempt of court. In sometimes tense exchanges, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche argued that the social media posts in question were not direct attacks, but responses to comments made about Trump. Merchan seemed sceptical about the argument with particular focus on Trump’s liability for images and sentiments he reposts on social media. At one point, Merchan warned Blanche, “You’re losing all credibility.” However, he did not make any determination regarding the gag order on Tuesday. Trump remains defiant on social media Even with the hearing on the gag order, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to criticise Merchan and the trial. During a break, he wrote: “Everybody is allowed to talk and lie about me, but I am not allowed to defend myself? This is a kangaroo court; the judge should recuse himself.” Speaking to reporters after the day’s proceedings ended, he again called the gag order “unconstitutional”. Adblock test (Why?)
US universities crackdown on pro-Palestine protests
NewsFeed Pro-Palestine protests are growing in momentum, while also being accused of threatening the safety of students at US university campuses. Published On 23 Apr 202423 Apr 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Will Israeli army intelligence chief’s resignation lead to accountability?
Major General Aharon Haliva acknowledged failure to warn of the October 7 attack. More than six months after Hamas carried out an assault on southern Israel, the Israeli military intelligence chief has resigned. In his resignation letter, Major General Aharon Haliva noted that authority comes with responsibility – and acknowledged the military intelligence directorate under his command had failed to warn of the October 7 attack. It comes as public outrage against perceived Israeli government and military failures gains momentum. What message does this send while the war on Gaza continues? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests: Daniel Levy – President of the US/Middle East Project. Antony Loewenstein – Author, The Palestine Laboratory Gideon Levy – Columnist for Haaretz newspaper Adblock test (Why?)
What is Project Nimbus, and why are Google workers protesting Israel deal?
Google employees based in the United States staged protests at the tech giant’s offices in New York City, California and Seattle last week to oppose a $1.2bn contract with the Israeli government. Known as Project Nimbus, the joint contract between Google and Amazon signed in 2021 aims to provide cloud computing infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology services to the Israeli government and its military, which has faced condemnation for its ongoing war on Gaza. Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians, and destroyed vast swaths of the Palestinian coastal enclave since it launched the military offensive last October. The country has justified the offensive saying it is targeting Hamas fighters who carried out a deadly attack on October 7. Here is a look at why tech workers are opposing military collaborations amid misuse of AI and other technologies in conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine among others. Why are Google employees protesting against Project Nimbus? Last week’s sit-ins in New York and California’s Sunnyvale were led by No Tech For Apartheid, which has been organising Google employees against Project Nimbus since 2021. Employees are opposing their employer’s ties with Israel, which is facing a genocide charge for its war on Gaza at the World Court. Tech workers are demanding that they have right to know how their labour is going to be used. With little clarity about the project, they fear the technology might be used for harm. Workers at Amazon and Facebook parent Meta have also clashed with their employers over war links. “It is impossible to feel excited and energised to work when you know your company is providing the Israeli government products that are helping it commit atrocities in Palestine,” said, Tina Vachovsky, staff software engineer at Google, in a testimonial published on No Tech Apartheid website. According to a 2021 report by the US-based news outlet The Intercept, Google is offering advanced AI capabilities to Israel, which could harvest data for facial recognition and object tracking as part of Project Nimbus. Activists and academics have been alarmed by Israel’s use of AI to target Palestinians, while legal scholars say the use of AI in war violates international laws. Nine employees were arrested on April 16 for staging a sit-in at Google office in New York [No Tech for Apartheid via Anadolu] “There’s actually a shocking lack of transparency around exactly what this project covers, outside of providing interoperable, comprehensive cloud computing, which is essentially systems of data storage, data management, and sharing,” Ramesh Srinivasan, professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), told Al Jazeera. “Data for the Israeli governments, of course, is likely to extend to the Israeli [army]. So it’s a project that marks and sort of highlights the direct connections that big technology companies in the United States have, not only to the so-called military-industrial complex, but to directly aiding and abetting the Israeli government.” In a statement, the tech giant said that the Nimbus contract “is not directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services”. The tech behemoth says it works with several governments around the world, including Israel. The company fired at least 28 employees on Tuesday for “violating Google’s code of conduct” and “policy on harassment, discrimination and retaliation” during the events on Tuesday. In addition, at least nine Google employees were arrested for the sit-ins at its offices in New York and Sunnyvale. Google CEO Sundar Pichai issued veiled a warning in a blog post last week. “We have a culture of vibrant, open discussion that enables us to create amazing products and turn great ideas into action. That’s important to preserve. But ultimately we are a workplace and our policies and expectations are clear: this is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics. This is too important a moment as a company for us to be distracted,” he wrote. But tech workers have not been fazed by the warning. Mohammad Khatami, a Google software engineer who was arrested for participating in the sit-in in New York, told US outlet Democracy Now that workers were arrested for “speaking out against the use of our technology to power the first AI-powered genocide”. Is there a history of tech workers opposing collaborations with militaries?] This isn’t the first time Amazon and Google employees have voiced their displeasure with Project Nimbus. Last October, Amazon and Google employees expressed their concerns anonymously in an open letter published by the UK news outlet The Guardian: “We are writing as Google and Amazon employees of conscience from diverse backgrounds. We believe that the technology we build should work to serve and uplift people everywhere, including all of our users. As workers who keep these companies running, we are morally obligated to speak out against violations of these core values. For this reason, we are compelled to call on the leaders of Amazon and Google to pull out of Project Nimbus and cut all ties with the Israeli military. So far, more than 90 workers at Google and more than 300 at Amazon have signed this letter internally. We are anonymous because we fear retaliation.” In 2018, thousands of Google employees protested against a contract with the Pentagon known as Project Maven. In 2017, Google partnered with the Pentagon to use the company’s AI technology to analyse drone surveillance footage. In February, roughly 30 activists gathered around the entrance to OpenAI’s San Francisco office, due to the company quietly removing a ban on “military and warfare” from its usage policies in the previous month. OpenAI would eventually confirm it was working with the US Department of Defense on open-source cybersecurity software solutions. On March 4, at the Mind the Tech conference in New York, Google employee Eddie Hatfield stood up in a conference room and
Dramatic video of burning train in Canada
NewsFeed A train engulfed in flames rolled through a city in Ontario, Canada as passersby filmed it. No injuries were reported, but $25,000 worth of wooden beams used for railway tracks were destroyed. Published On 23 Apr 202423 Apr 2024 Adblock test (Why?)