Ukraine intelligence ‘confirms’ Russian forces using Starlink
Starlink terminals, which provide high-speed communications, have been vital in giving Ukraine’s military an edge over invading Russian troops. Ukrainian intelligence said it has confirmed that Russian forces are using satellite internet service Starlink on the battlefield in occupied areas in the east of the country. Releasing what it said on Sunday was proof, Ukraine’s military intelligence said it has confirmed earlier reports that of the “systemic” use by Russian troops of terminals of Elon Musk’s satellite communications system. Starlink systems have been vital for Ukraine‘s battlefield communications in Russia’s nearly two-year-old invasion as Kyiv has faced a larger and better-equipped military. The personal control of Starlink by the US billionaire, who has regularly repeated Kremlin talking points regarding the conflict, remains a concern for Kyiv and its allies. The terminals were rushed in to help Ukraine after Russia’s February 2022 invasion and have been vital to Kyiv’s battlefield communications. Following reports in Ukraine, Space X said last week that it “does not do business of any kind with the Russian government or its military”. However, the Ministry of Defence’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) posted an audio clip on Telegram which it said featured Russian troops discussing setting up the terminals in eastern Ukraine. “Cases of the Russian occupiers’ use of the given devices have been registered. It is beginning to take on a systemic nature,” GUR quoted spokesman Andriy Yusov as saying. In a statement, the agency said the terminals were being used by units like Russia’s 83rd Air Assault Brigade, which is fighting near the embattled towns of Klishchiivka and Andriivka in the partially-occupied eastern region of Donetsk. Reports from Ukraine last week claimed that Russia has been sourcing Starlink equipment in spots such as Dubai. Western tech components have regularly been found among Russia’s arsenal as Moscow has become more skilled at evading sanctions, often importing goods via third countries. Mass barrage Russian forces launched 45 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv reported on Sunday. The five-and-a-half-hour attack targeted agricultural facilities and coastal infrastructure, officials for Ukraine’s southern defence forces wrote on Telegram. They added that a strike in the Mykolaiv region had injured one person, sparking a fire and damaging nearby residential buildings. Another person was injured in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region when a blaze broke out due to falling debris from a destroyed drone, said the head of the region’s military administration, Serhiy Lysak. The strikes come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues his shakeup of military commanders in a bid to maintain momentum against attacking Russian forces. Kyiv announced that former Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Pavlyuk would become the new commander of Ukraine’s ground forces. The post was previously held by Oleksandr Syrsky, who was named Thursday as the replacement for Ukraine’s outgoing military chief, Valerii Zaluzhny. New presidential decrees also named Yurii Sodol, the former head of Ukraine’s marine corps, as the new commander of Ukraine’s combined forces; Ihor Skibiuk as commander of Ukraine’s air assault forces; and Ihor Plahuta as commander of Ukraine’s territorial defence forces. Incoming commander-in-chief Syrsky has signalled that his immediate goals include improving troop rotation at the front lines and harnessing the power of new technology at a time when Kyiv’s forces are largely on the defensive. Adblock test (Why?)
Iran marks 45th anniversary of Islamic revolution
Iran has marked the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution amid tensions gripping the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on Gaza. Thousands of Iranians marched through major streets and squares decorated with flags, balloons and banners with revolutionary and religious slogans on Sunday. In Tehran, crowds waved Iranian flags, chanted slogans, and carried placards with the traditional “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” slogans written on them. Some burned US and Israeli flags, a common sight at pro-government rallies. Processions started out from several points, converging at Azadi Square in the capital. State TV showed crowds in many cities and towns and reported that “millions participated in the rallies” across the country. The military displayed a range of its missiles, including the Qassem Soleimani and Sejjil ballistic missiles, the Simorgh satellite carrier and drones at the square where people took selfies with them. During the celebrations, a paratrooper jumped from a plane while displaying a Palestinian flag. Many high-ranking Iranian officials attended the celebrations in Tehran, including hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. He addressed the crowds in Azadi Square and called on the United Nations — in a speech broadcast by state TV — to expel “the Zionist regime” as the crowds chanted: “Death to Israel”. Raisi also said “The bombing of Gaza has to be stopped as soon as possible.” Adblock test (Why?)
What is happening in Gaza’s Rafah as Israel threatens to attack?
Rafah, a looming Israeli ground “operation”, and the impact on more than a million trapped civilians are top headlines. But what is Rafah and what are the details around this announced Israeli “operation”? What is Rafah? Rafah straddles the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. On the Palestinian side, it is the name of Gaza’s southernmost governorate and its capital city, as well as of the crossing into Egypt’s Sinai. On the Egyptian side, it is a city in the North Sinai governorate. Palestinian Rafah is 64sq km (25sq miles) and, as Israel assaulted Gaza these past four months, more and more people have been herded into it by Israeli forces who keep promising safety “further south” – which never materialised. Approximately 1.4 million Palestinians have now been pushed into Rafah by relentless Israeli bombing that has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians. People are in dense clusters in the limited space not filled with debris or being bombed by Israel. Conditions are dire, with severe shortages. Map showing Rafa’s location and pre-war population (Al Jazeera) What is the Israeli ‘operation’? Tel Aviv claims four Hamas brigades are present within Rafah, using their presence there to justify the ongoing attacks by air as well as a planned land assault. Israel also claims plans for the evacuation of the city – to where is unclear – are being prepared, leaving those sheltering in Rafah paralysed. Why is Egypt involved? Because the trapped civilians are pressed up against the border with Egypt, analysts say it seems likely Israel wants to push them into Sinai. This raises concerns over Egypt’s internal security and the prospect of having more than a million traumatised Palestinians forced into its territory. What has Egypt done so far? Egypt has reportedly moved 40 tanks and armoured personnel carriers to the Gaza border to halt any potential spillover from an Israeli land assault. Egypt has warned that any Israeli ground assault on Rafah would have “disastrous consequences” and that Israel’s aim to force the Palestinians out of their land would threaten the 40-year-old Camp David peace accord between the two countries. Cairo has beefed up border security since October 7. Why don’t Palestinians want to leave Gaza? Palestinians have faced mass displacement in the not-too-distant past: the Nakba. [embedded content] In 1948, some 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes and lands to make way for the establishment of the state of Israel. Many in Gaza are the descendants of Nakba refugees and do not want to leave Palestine because they know it will be impossible to return – Israel won’t let them. Arab countries, like Egypt, also object to any displacement as the Palestinian Right of Return has been a main demand since 1948. So, is it safe in Rafah for now? No. Israel is already killing more than 100 people a day in air attacks on Rafah. Those who survive the attacks live in unspeakable conditions in tents that fill with water whenever it rains, or under whatever scraps they find to make a shelter. Many Palestinians in Rafah have been displaced many times over and say they will not move again, no matter what. Like Jihan al-Hawajri who told US broadcaster PBS that she would stay in her tent, come what may. “There is nowhere left… to flee to,” said Angelita Caredda, Middle East and North Africa director for the Norwegian Refugee Council. What are conditions like in Rafah now? Satellite images obtained by Al Jazeera show an area already at breaking point. Some 22,000 people are crowded into each of Rafah’s 64sq km. People examine the location of Israeli bombardment in Rafah on February 9, 2024 [Mahmud Hams/AFP] Before the war, 275,000 people lived in those 64sq km, making Rafah one of the most densely populated parts of Gaza, itself among the world’s most overcrowded parts. The displaced crowd into UNRWA facilities, hoping the agency that was set up to help them would be able to. But nearly 150 of UNRWA’s staff were killed in Israeli attacks, aid is being stopped by Israel, and Western governments withdrew funding when Israel alleged – with no proof yet – that 12 UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 attack. Overcrowding has resulted in the spread of disease, with health officials reporting an outbreak of hepatitis A – which flourishes in close contact. With isolating patients impossible, there is little hope of stopping this outbreak or others, like scabies and lice, worsened by a lack of showers or hygienic toilets. What does Israel want? When the October 7 attack happened – killing 1,139 people in Israel – and Palestinian armed fighters took 240 people into Gaza as captives, Israel’s declared aims were to return the captives and “eradicate Hamas”. Since then, the narrative has shifted back and forth. First claiming to only be targeting armed fighters, Israel soon imposed a complete starvation siege on Gaza, killing civilians with every passing minute. Then, it became apparent that when Israel said “avoiding civilian casualties”, it meant its secret calculus with an increased “acceptable loss margin”, or the number of people it felt it could kill to eliminate one target. [embedded content] A massive attack on Jabalia refugee camp in October killed 50 people to eliminate one “Hamas commander”, a designation Israel has not presented proof of. It also started targeting hospitals, with a horrifying attack on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City endangering more than 30 premature babies whose incubators stopped when Israel cut electricity. The declared aim to uncover “hidden Hamas command bunkers” under al-Shifa was never realised. More followed as Israel surrounded one hospital after another, killing and starving people inside, to “unearth Hamas command centres”. None have been uncovered. Will attacking Rafah help Israel achieve anything? Not likely, as Israel’s claims about “dismantling terrorist battalions”, referring to armed Palestinian factions, appear as ephemeral as the claims of underground command centres. It had declared Palestinian fighting factions “neutralised” in north Gaza, only to admit later that that was
How has the Taylor Swift effect boosted American football?
Taylor Swift’s attendance at her first Kansas City Chiefs game on September 24 spawned an unexpected viewership surge among her fans, known as Swifties, and American football buffs. The “Taylor Swift effect”, which has bestowed the singer with an economic Midas touch, propelling her to the position of one of the world’s highest-earning entertainers, seemed to take on a new life when she and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce started dating six months ago. Sunday is Super Bowl LVIII, and there will probably be as many Swifties coming to catch a glimpse of Swift as sports fans coming to watch the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers play at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Swift watches a regular season game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium on September 24, 2023, in Kansas City [David Eulitt/Getty Images] What is the Taylor Swift effect? Swift has built an economic power house around her music career. She is wildly popular with a huge fan base, and this has helped build a pseudo-influencer market known as the Taylor Swift effect. This has not only boosted Swift’s brand value but has also helped bring new fans to the National Football League (NFL) , especially women and girls. Some experts have labelled this newfound fandom the “Swift bump”. This has led to a 20 percent increase in sponsorships. The NFL’s surge in female viewership cuts across different age demographics. Among teenage girls, NFL viewership has increased by 53 percent. Among the 18-24 age demographic, there has been an increase of 24 percent. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell welcomed the surge during a news conference before the Super Bowl. “Obviously, it creates a buzz,” he said. “It creates another group of young fans, particularly young women, that are interested in seeing why is she going to this game, why is she interested in this game besides Travis. She is a football fan.” Even without the additional female fans, overall viewer numbers are up. According to NBC Sports, the game in which the Chiefs took on the New York Jets in October attracted 27 million people across all platforms, the highest number since February 2023’s Super Bowl LVII, which the Chiefs won. How much has NFL revenue increased? According to Apex Marketing, Swift has effectively generated an additional $331.5m in brand value for the Chiefs and NFL. However, it’s not only the NFL that is profiting from the Taylor Swift effect. Those brands associated with Swift are also benefitting from her influence. Even the San Francisco 49ers are prospering. Kristin Juszczyk, wife of 49ers’ fullback Kyle Juszczyk, designed a “Kelce jacket” for Swift that gained a huge amount of attention after Swift was spotted in January wearing the jacket, which resembles the Chiefs jersey of her beau. According to Fanatics, an American manufacturer and online retailer of licensed sportswear, Kelce merchandise saw a 400 percent increase in sales after the first Chiefs game Swift attended. Swift wears a Kristin Juszczyk-designed jacket that resembles Kelce’s football jersey as she arrives for an NFL wild-card playoff game between the Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins on January 13, 2024, in Kansas City [Ed Zurga/AP] Many brands are seizing any opportunity they can to tether themselves to the Taylor Swift effect from Kansas City nail brand Hoopla to Ziploc, the maker of the sealable food bags. Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, 71, has landed a brand deal after being spotted carrying leftovers in a Ziploc bag. The Kelce matriarch has now secured a TV spot as Ziploc’s chief leftover officer, advocating against food waste. According to Complex, an online pop culture magazine, the week after Swift was spotted wearing New Balance 550 sneakers, the brand saw a 25 percent increase in site traffic. Why are sponsorship deals and and brand collaborations important? Income from these sorts of deals is crucial for the league, and building a wide network of brands and sponsors will increase the NFL’s viewership and grant it access to bespoke audiences. Although Swift is not an official sponsor or brand collaborator with the NFL, the league has 37 sponsors for the 2023-2024 season. One of them, Gatorade, has been a sponsor for almost 40 years. YouTube is the most recent new sponsor as of 2023. According to the data analysis group, SponsorUnited, NFL sponsorship revenue was $2.35bn, 15 percent higher than last season. As of last year, the NFL has been strategically broadening its popularity by undertaking more collaborations with fashion brands, especially those brands affiliated with artists. Such brands include menswear label OVO (October’s Very Own), co-founded by rapper Drake and set to feature rappers Benny the Butcher and Lil Wayne. Adblock test (Why?)
Why does the US refuse to call for a ceasefire in Gaza?
US political scientist Stephen Walt says Israel has changed over the years, but Biden’s policy is stuck in the past. The United States’ support for Israel’s war on Gaza makes the country look ineffectual and hypocritical to the rest of the world, according to Harvard University professor Stephen Walt, co-author of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. Walt tells host Steve Clemons that Israel and the US-Israel relationship have changed over the decades, but US President Joe Biden is holding on to a view of Israel formed in the West in the 1970s. By rejecting a ceasefire, the US looks like it “encourages conflict” instead of being a peacemaker, Walt argues, especially since Israel has no political strategy for resolving the Palestinian question. Adblock test (Why?)
Khan’s PTI leads as final results in Pakistan election called
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its affiliates have won the most seats in Pakistan’s elections, the election commission has revealed as it declared final results in the hotly-contested vote. A number of independent candidates allied to the jailed former leader’s PTI have won National Assembly seats in the February 8 vote, the commission said, helping the party to a surprise lead with 97 of the 265 seats. However, with no party winning a majority, and numerous contenders claiming vote tampering, Pakistan’s political future is very uncertain. Five other independents not backed by Imran Khan also secured seats. The PTI was trailed by the Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN), led by Khan’s fierce rival, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, with 76 seats. The 54 seats won by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) offer it the potential to be kingmaker. However, several other smaller parties also took seats, meaning complex negotiations over forming a government are likely to follow. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a Karachi-based party, made a surprising return in the polls to win 17 seats, with several others grabbing a combined 20 seats. The vote, which was marred by deadly violence, was held to select 265 National Assembly members, meaning 134 seats are required for a coalition to gain a simple majority. Several results have been put on hold by the election commission following stay orders issued by courts. Protest amid claims of tampering Thousands of angry protesters had poured into the streets of multiple cities during the delay in vote counting over recent days – blamed on a telecommunications cut-off on the day of the vote for what the authorities called security reasons – with several people killed. The release of the final results, and stay orders, have sparked new demonstrations across the country. However, in the meantime, violence has been limited. Pakistan’s powerful military, which has directly ruled for nearly three decades in Pakistan’s 76-year history, has called for stability and calm. Close to PMLN, it is thought to stand ready to step in should the various parties fail to agree a governing coalition. The PTI, among several other parties, has called for protests against the results, alleging they have been rigged. Reporting from Islamabad, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said that three of the stay orders are on seats that the PTI claims its independent candidates had won by a huge margin. “If this is not settled through the legal way, these protests could spread across the country and perhaps even evolve into a movement,” he said. “Amid such orders, it appears that there will be a delay in the formation of the next government.” One PTI supporter from Lahore told Al Jazeera that he would not sit silently and allow his party’s mandate to be stolen. “The fact that internet was blocked on day of election showed how the state tried to tamper with the results. We believe that state institutions are fully involved in this and this is deplorable. They should respect the votes by the people,” he said, adding that he was headed to protest in the afternoon. At least six independent candidates backed by the PTI party have appealed against the results in court. ‘Astonishing’ Analyst Zaigham Khan told Al Jazeera there are two main possible scenarios after election results are announced. “The most likely scenario is a coalition government that includes all political parties – minus Khan’s PTI,” he told Al Jazeera. This will include the two largest political parties, PPP and PMLN, as well as MQM, Jamaat-e-Islami and others. “The second scenario, less likely but technically possible, is the PPP joining hands with the PTI and forming a government,” the analyst said. Speaking to Al Jazeera’s Inside Story, Farzana Sheikh, a specialist on Pakistani politics and economy, said the election results were “astonishing”. Millions turned out to defy what was widely reported as the military establishment’s desired outcome – a clear win for its preferred candidate, Nawaz Sharif, she said. “It also points to the deep frustration of a population that really is desperate for change, desperate for a new government to address, in particular, the acute economic crisis that currently faces the country.” Adblock test (Why?)
Irene Khan: Gaza, ‘a genocide in the making’
UN special rapporteur highlights global challenges faced by free speech and advocacy. In an era where freedom of expression faces unprecedented challenges globally, Irene Khan stands as a beacon of hope. With a rich background in human rights advocacy, Khan has battled against censorship, intimidation and the suppression of free speech. Her efforts underscore the importance of this fundamental human right in holding the powerful to account, even as wars and repressive regimes threaten its very existence. We explore her mission to ensure that voices worldwide can speak out without fear as Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, talks to Al Jazeera. Adblock test (Why?)
UNWRA refutes Israeli implications of Hamas tunnel below Gaza HQ
The chief of the UN’s aid agency in Gaza has said that it had no knowledge of what was beneath its abandoned headquarters amid Israeli claims that a Hamas tunnel ran below the Gaza City site. Philippe Lazzarini of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on X late on Saturday that the agency “did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza”. Israel has previously accused UNWRA of colluding with Hamas’s military operations, prompting several donors to withdraw funding. The UNWRA chief’s comments came after the Israeli army invited journalists to visit the tunnel. The Israeli military did not provide definitive proof that Hamas fighters operated at the location, but showed that at least a portion of the tunnel system ran underneath the courtyard of the aid agency’s headquarters. The ‘metro’ Inside one of the buildings journalists saw a room full of computers with wires stretching down into the ground. Soldiers then showed them a room in an underground tunnel complex where they claimed the wires connected. That underground room bore a wall of electrical cabinets with multicoloured buttons and was lined with dozens of cables. The military claimed the room served as a hub powering tunnel infrastructure in the area. Israel has repeatedly said that one of the main objectives of its war in Gaza is to destroy the underground network that it says is used by Hamas to move its fighters, weapons and supplies. While few know the full extent of what some Israeli officials call the “metro”, the tunnels are believed to cross the entire enclave for hundreds of kilometres. Experts estimate a depth of 15 to 60 metres (50 to 200 feet). ‘Terror’ Israel’s claims over the tunnel appear part of a pattern intended to implicate UNWRA in Hamas’s military operations. The main humanitarian agency in Gaza, UNWRA, has been facing an unprecedented funding crisis after its main international donors led by the United States cut its funding over “terror” allegations. Lazzarini insisted that UNWRA had no knowledge if anything was below the headquarters, which it vacated shortly after Israel launched its bombardment of the Gaza Strip in early October. “UNRWA is made aware of reports through the media regarding a tunnel under the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza,” said on X. He added that while the reports merit an independent inquiry, “that is currently not possible to undertake given Gaza is an active war zone”. – UNRWA did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza. – UNRWA is made aware of reports through the media regarding a tunnel under the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza. – UNRWA staff left its headquarters in Gaza City on 12 October following the Israeli evacuation orders and as… — Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) February 10, 2024 Lazzarini said that UNRWA staff left the headquarters on October 12, following an Israeli evacuation order, and that they were not aware of any activity that may have taken place there since. In times of no active conflict, he added, the agency inspects its premises every quarter. “UNRWA is a human development and humanitarian organisation that does not have the military and security expertise nor the capacity to undertake military inspections of what is or might be under its premises,” he said. In the past, Lazzarini added, “protest letters” were filed to Hamas officials and Israeli authorities “whenever suspicious cavity was found close to or under UNRWA premises” and that the matter was “consistently reported” to the UN General Assembly. The UN agency, the only lifeline to the more than two million people in Gaza, has come under intense scrutiny after Israel alleged that 11 of its employees took part in Hamas’s deadly assault into southern Israel on October 7. Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack killing more than 1,100 people and took about 240 captives. Israel has responded with a ferocious bombing campaign killing more than 28,000 people and displacing nearly 85 percent of the population. Despite UNRWA terminating the contracts of those accused by Israel of joining the attack and launching an investigation, major donors suspended their funding, plunging the agency into a financial crisis. The agency said that Israel has also frozen its bank account, embargoed aid shipments and cancelled its tax benefits. Adblock test (Why?)
Hungarian president resigns after pardoning child sex abuse accomplice
NewsFeed Hungary’s President Katalin Novak bowed to public pressure to resign after it was revealed she pardoned the deputy director of a state-run children’s school who was convicted for covering up the sexual abuse of its director. Published On 11 Feb 202411 Feb 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Al-Shabab claims attack on UAE military in Somalia
The group claimed the attack as it considers the UAE an ‘enemy’ for backing the Somali government. Three Emirati troops and a Bahraini military officer have been killed in an attack in Somalia. Al-Qaeda-linked armed group Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack on a training mission at a military base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities said on Sunday. The attack on Saturday targeted troops at the General Gordon military base. Details about the attack and casualties remain scarce. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud offered his condolences to the UAE. The UAE’s Ministry of Defence announced the death of three of its troops and a Bahraini soldier in a “terrorist act”, adding only that two others were wounded. Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, offered condolences to those killed and a quick recovery for those wounded. “No treacherous act will prevent us from continuing the message of security and safety and combating extremism and terrorism in all its forms,” Gargash wrote on X. Bahrain, an island nation in the Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia, did not immediately acknowledge the attack. Al-Shabab claimed the attack in a statement online, alleging it killed multiple people involved in the Emirati military effort. It described the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, as an “enemy” of Islamic law for its backing of the Somali government in battling the armed group. Al-Shabab, or “the youth” in Arabic, was born out of Somalia’s many years of anarchy following a 1991 civil war. The affiliate of al-Qaeda once held Mogadishu. Over time, an African Union (AU)-led force, with the backing of the United States and other countries, pushed the group out of the capital. Since then, al-Shabab has been battling the country’s federal government and the AU-mandated peacekeeping mission as it seeks to establish a new government based on its interpretation of Islamic law. The group routinely carries out bombings in highly densely populated areas across the country. On Tuesday, at least 10 people were killed and about 20 were injured in multiple attacks in a crowded market in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab has carried out attacks in neighbouring Kenya as well since Nairobi provides troops and materiel to the AU force in the country. The UAE in recent years has increasingly invested in ports in East Africa, including in Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region. Securing Somalia fits into the Emirates’ wider concerns about security in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Somali piracy has recently resumed after several years amid the attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea. In 2019, al-Shabab claimed an attack that killed a man working for Dubai’s P&O Ports. Adblock test (Why?)