What has allowed Israel operate an assassination policy for decades?
Sons and grandchildren of Hamas political leader killed in latest Israeli air attack in Gaza. Three sons and four grandchildren of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh were assassinated in Gaza on Wednesday. Their names added to a long list of people killed by Israeli targeted operations worldwide. So, why does Israel pursue such policy? And what is its impact? Presenter: Sohail Rahman Guests: Ilan Pappe – Professor of history at Exeter University in the UK Rami Khouri – Distinguished public policy fellow, Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut Colin Clarke – Director of research at The Soufan Group Adblock test (Why?)
Mexico calls on the International Court of Justice to expel Ecuador from UN
Mexico has appealed to the International Court of Justice to boot Ecuador from the United Nations, following a late night police raid on its embassy in Quito. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Mexico filed a complaint with the court on Thursday, calling Ecuador’s actions a violation of international law. “The court, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, should approve the expulsion, and there should be no veto,” Lopez Obrador said at a news conference. On social media, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena echoed the president’s statement, saying Ecuador should be held “to account for flagrant violation of the inviolability of our embassy and attacks on our staff”. “The letter and spirit of international law is the guide for our steps,” she wrote. Mexico’s case centres on a controversial police raid that resulted in the capture of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had been sheltering in the Mexican embassy in Quito to avoid arrest. Embassies are considered protected spaces. Although they are not “foreign soil” — a common misconception — international law places them off limits to local police. That, in turn, allows embassy employees to carry out their work without fear of arrest or harassment from local authorities. The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, for example, says: “The premises of the [diplomatic] mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission.” However, this “rule of inviolability” has also been used by political dissidents and other figures to avoid arrest by taking shelter in a foreign embassy. Glas, for instance, has been twice convicted on bribery and corruption charges. He was sentenced in 2017 to six years in prison and again in 2020 to an eight-year sentence. Since December, Glas had sought refuge in the Mexican embassy, and shortly before his arrest on Friday, President Lopez Obrador had offered him political asylum in Mexico. But late on Friday night, Ecuadorian police scaled the wall of the Mexican embassy, bursting through its doors and pointing a gun at one of its chief diplomatic officers. Video released by the Mexican government on Wednesday shows that officer, diplomat Roberto Canseco, being thrown to the ground as he tried to block police vehicles leaving the embassy with Glas inside. Mexico has since called for Ecuador’s suspension from the UN. It said the suspension should only be lifted once Ecuador issues “a public apology recognising its violations to the fundamental principles and norms of international law”. The administration of President Lopez Obrador also severed diplomatic ties with Ecuador as a result of Glas’s arrest. Other countries and international organisations have likewise expressed concern and outrage over the police raid, calling it a violation of international laws. On Tuesday, United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, based on security footage of the police raid, his government believes “these actions were wrong”. The Organization of American States (OAS) also released a statement saying that “strict compliance” with the international law governing diplomatic relations is “essential”. In addition, OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro suggested the situation with Glas should have been handled differently. Neither “the use of force, the illegal incursion into a diplomatic mission, nor the detention of an asylee are the peaceful way toward resolution of this situation”, he said. Ecuador has defended its decision to storm Mexico’s embassy, though. The government of President Daniel Noboa has questioned whether Glas met the requirements to receive political asylum, and it reaffirmed its commitment to fighting corruption within its borders. Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld also said that a public apology “is not something that is under discussion at this moment”. Glas, meanwhile, has been on a hunger strike in his prison in Guayaquil. He was briefly hospitalised on Monday. Rafael Correa, the former president in whose administration Glas served, said the ex-vice president had attempted suicide after his arrest. Correa himself lives in exile in Belgium and faces a prison sentence in his native Ecuador, likewise on corruption-related charges. Adblock test (Why?)
O.J. Simpson dies after battle with cancer
NewsFeed Former NFL star, actor, and acquitted murder suspect, O.J. Simpson has died. Simpson was found not guilty in the 1994 murder of of ex-wife and her friend in a sensational trial, watched by millions of Americans. His family said Simpson died on Wednesday after a battle with cancer. He was 76. Published On 11 Apr 202411 Apr 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Akebono, sumo’s first foreign-born grand champion, dies aged 54
The enormous Hawaiian-born wrestler helped raise the international profile of Japanese sumo wrestling in the 1990s. Akebono, an American-born sumo wrestler who became the first non-Japanese grand champion or “Yokozuna”, died of heart failure this month in Tokyo, the sumo association said on Thursday. He was 54. The winner of 11 championships – the 10th most in modern sumo history – Akebono was physically imposing at 203cm (6 feet 8 inches) and 233kg (514 pounds). His fighting style relied on his immense size to thrust his foes out of the ring. Born Chad George Ha’aheo Rowan in Hawaii, Akebono was a college basketball player who was recruited by the head of a Japanese sumo stable, who was also Hawaiian. He entered the sumo world in 1988 and rose to its highest rank of Yokozuna in January 1993, becoming modern sumo’s 64th Yokozuna. He later became a Japanese citizen, taking the name Taro Akebono. As a foreigner, Akebono followed in the footsteps of the even bigger Konishiki, also from Hawaii, and alongside fellow Yokozuna Musashimaru, originally from American Samoa. “Throughout his 35 years in Japan, Akebono strengthened the cultural ties between the United States and his adopted homeland by uniting us all through sport,” US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel Emanuel posted on X. Akebono also regularly appeared as a celebrity on Japanese TV shows, and after retiring from sumo in 2001 fought in various mixed martial arts and professional wrestling events. “RIP to the Mighty Akebono,” posted Samoa Joe, the current world champion of AEW pro wrestling. “The epitome of a Yokozuna, both a warrior and a gentleman. A hui hou.” Akebono is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons. Adblock test (Why?)
Australian women lose bid to sue Qatar Airways over 2020 strip searches
Judge dismisses case because women not searched on the aircraft, says they could seek damages from the airport operator. A group of Australian women who were strip-searched at Doha’s main international airport have lost a legal bid against Qatar Airways. In early October 2020, the female passengers were ordered to disembark their flight to Sydney and subjected to gynaecological examinations to check whether they had given birth. The body searches were part of an investigation into the whereabouts of the mother of a newborn baby who was found abandoned in a plastic bag in a bin at a toilet in one of the terminals of Hamad International Airport. The women later launched legal action seeking damages over alleged “unlawful physical contact”, false imprisonment and mental health impacts. An Australian court on Thursday dismissed the case because the women were not searched on board the aircraft, citing a well-worn international convention covering airline liability. Federal Court Justice John Halley indicated they could instead amend the claim to seek damages from the operator of the airport. In September last year, Australia’s government cited the “invasive” examinations as a reason to block Qatar Airways from operating more flights into the country. The airline said Australia’s decision was “very unfair”. Following the incident, Qatar’s then-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who since became the prime minister, had expressed his “deepest sympathies with the women impacted by the search at the airport” and renewed the Gulf state’s apology to them. “The incident is considered a violation of Qatar’s laws and values,” he said at the time, adding that the officials involved had been referred to the public prosecutor. Adblock test (Why?)
Will oil prices keep rising, and how will that affect inflation?
The increase this year, driven by geopolitical tensions and supply shocks, could hamper efforts to rein in inflation. Oil prices are at their highest level in months and central banks are keeping a close eye on the markets. For the first time since October, Brent crude, the international benchmark, topped $91 a barrel last week. That threatens a rise in gasoline prices in the United States and elsewhere, reigniting fears over inflation. The increase in prices has been driven in part by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Supply shocks after several output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies are also pushing prices up. Zimbabwe has launched a new currency. Plus, McDonald’s buys back its Israeli restaurants. Adblock test (Why?)
What’s behind Germany’s unwavering support for Israel?
Germany is one of the staunchest backers of Israel’s war on Gaza. Eighty years after the Holocaust, Germany is accused of being complicit in an alleged Israeli genocide in Gaza. Nicaragua wants the International Court of Justice to order Berlin to stop military exports to Israel. German lawyers have rejected the case as baseless and biased. They say Berlin is a fierce advocate for international humanitarian law. For years, Germany has declared the security of the state of Israel is at the core of its foreign policy. As world opinion turns against Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, where does that leave Berlin’s unwavering support for Israel? Presenter: Laura Kyle Guests: Tobias Bacherle – Member of the German parliament and a political scientist John Kampfner – Author, journalist and senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute Shir Hever – Director of the Alliance for Justice between Israelis and Palestinians Adblock test (Why?)
Activists spray paint UK’s Ministry of Defence building red
NewsFeed Activists protesting Britain’s arms sales to Israel doused the UK’s Ministry of Defence building with red paint. As other demonstrators gathered, chanting, ‘Stop the bombing,’ 5 of the activists were arrested by police. Published On 10 Apr 202410 Apr 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli attack kills three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh
NewsFeed The Israeli military has confirmed it killed three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who says three of his grandchildren were also killed in the air attack which happened on the first day of Eid al-Fitr. Haniyeh has told Al Jazeera that Palestinian leaders will not back down if their families are targeted by the Israeli army, and that the killings will not affect Hamas’s demands in negotiations for a ceasefire. Published On 10 Apr 202410 Apr 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Biden: Israel’s Netanyahu making ‘mistake’ on Gaza
In strongest criticism yet, Biden takes issue with Israel’s approach but not its devastating war on Gaza. United States President Joe Biden has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a “mistake” in his handling of the Gaza war and its repercussions inside Israel and internationally. “I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden told Univision, a US-based, Spanish-language television network, in an interview that aired late on Tuesday when asked whether Netanyahu was putting his own political survival before national interests. Biden also said it was “outrageous” that Israel targeted a convoy of US food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza, killing seven aid workers. “So what I’m calling for is the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, a total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” he said, adding that other countries were ready to help as well. “I’ve spoken to everyone from the Saudis to the Jordanians to the Egyptians. They’re prepared to move this food in. There’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and food needs of those people. It should be done now.” Al Jazeera’s White House Correspondent Patty Culhane reported that the interview took place last week, shortly after the WCK aid workers were killed in an Israeli military attack. Biden was only asked one question on Gaza, Culhane said, if “he thought that … Netanyahu was putting his political survival over the interests of Israel”. It remains to be seen if Biden’s staff later walk back his remarks on the ceasefire that he called for, Culhane added. While international pressure is growing for a truce in the six-month war, there has been no progress in weeks of talks with Israeli and Hamas officials as well as international mediators – the US, Egypt and Qatar. Senior officials in the US administration continue to defend and support the war – while sending weapons to Israel – even as 33,360 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7. In testimony before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin again categorically rejected that Israel is perpetrating genocide in the besieged enclave, where famine has set in, children have died of malnutrition and Israeli authorities have continued to block humanitarian aid convoys while carrying out attacks across the territory. “We don’t have any evidence of genocide being created,” he said. At a joint news conference in Washington, DC, alongside British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the enclave needs more humanitarian assistance. He said what matters is “sustained results” and that means ensuring aid “is distributed effectively throughout Gaza”. While Netanyahu announced Israel has decided on a date for its planned ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza, Blinken said the US has not been briefed on the decision and that he is expected to meet with Israeli officials next week. “We do not have a date for any Rafah operation. On the contrary, what we have is an ongoing conversation with Israel. The president has been very clear about our concerns about Israel’s ability to move civilians out of harm’s way,” he said. Rafah, bordering Egypt, is where about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are taking shelter. Israel has long threatened an offensive there, but the US has opposed this absent a plan to evacuate Palestinians from the area. Adblock test (Why?)