Bombed, then stabbed: West Bank doctors recall horrors of refugee camp raid
The Israeli raids on the Nur Shams and Fawwar refugee camps followed a pattern of deadly assaults that have killed more than 300 people in the West Bank since October 7, say doctors and politicians. Fawwar, occupied West Bank — It was one o’clock at night when the casualties started arriving at Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in the city of Tulkarem. There were six of them, all with critical wounds, said Dr Iyad al-Aqqad, the hospital’s medical director. They were victims of an Israeli bombing on the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem, during a raid that started on the night of December 26 and continued into the early hours of the following day. It was the second time in 24 hours that Israeli forces had stormed the camp, entering several homes, and dropping at least two bombs, including on an industrial facility. Israeli soldiers are often accused — both in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip — of not allowing ambulances to reach the wounded promptly. That is what happened in Nur Shams too, say witnesses and doctors — a two-hour delay during which the six men were bleeding. By the time they were brought to al-Aqqad’s hospital, it was too late to save them. The six joined a ballooning list of Palestinians killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and illegal settlers since October 7, when a Hamas attack on southern Israel sparked a deadly war of retribution focused on — though not limited to — Gaza. Since then, Israeli bombing and artillery attacks have killed more than 21,000 people in Gaza, while Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed more than 300 people in the West Bank. At least 56 people have been killed in Tulkarem governorate itself, according to the Shireen Observatory, a non-profit group that tracks killings and arrests by Israeli forces. Tens of thousands more have been injured in Gaza and the West Bank. Soon after the six victims of the Israeli bombing on Nur Shams arrived early on December 27, several other Palestinians with injuries from the attack were brought to Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital. Three of them had serious injuries to their upper bodies. And all of them had harrowing tales to relate to the doctors. Radwan Balibla, the head of the Tulkarem Doctors’ Syndicate, said a soldier had stabbed one of the victims in the neck while he was being moved to the hospital in an ambulance. Others said they had been beaten in the ambulances. “They were told, ‘We do not want you to reach the hospital and survive’,” Balibla told Al Jazeera. Just hours later, Israel launched another raid, this time in the Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron. As Israeli troops entered homes and occupied the streets for hours, they faced confrontations with locals and responded by opening fire. Ahmed Muhammad Yaghi, 17, and Ibrahim Majed al-Titi, 31, were killed. Ambulance crews in the camp provided first aid to them and transferred them to Yatta Governmental Hospital, but they died as a result of their critical injuries. Six other injured people were transferred to hospitals to receive treatment. In an interview with Al Jazeera, the representative of the Fatah movement in the Fawwar camp, Muhammad Abu Esh, said Israeli forces are storming the camp on an almost daily basis. Israel’s army has also closed the entrances to the camp since October 7, hampering the movement of Palestinians by preventing entry and exit. Meanwhile, amid increasingly frequent raids, the number of detainees has also grown to 100 in Fawwar. Abu Esh said Israel had deployed snipers inside buildings and houses during the raid this week. Yet, he added, “Israel is mistaken if it thinks it is scaring the people al-Fawwar”, especially its children. “No attacks ever will.” Adblock test (Why?)
End ‘unlawful killings’ in occupied West Bank, UN tells Israel
The United Nations has called on Israel to end “unlawful killings” and settler violence in the occupied West Bank, warning of a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation during intensified Israeli raids. In a report published on Thursday, the UN Human Rights Office detailed a “sharp increase” in air strikes and military incursions into densely populated refugee camps, resulting in deaths, injuries and widespread damage to civilian infrastructure in the occupied territory. “The use of military tactics means and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the enforcement of broad, arbitrary and discriminatory movement restrictions that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement. Violence across the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem has flared since Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip began on October 7. More than 21,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, most of them civilians, after about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas attacks in southern Israel. Since then, the UN has verified the deaths of at least 300 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 79 children, the report said. Of these, 291 were killed by Israeli forces, eight by settlers and one was killed by either soldiers or settlers. Nearly 4,800 Palestinians have been arrested since the war on Gaza began. Since October 7, the UN has documented a “sharp rise in settler attacks”, including “shootings, burning of homes and vehicles, and uprooting of trees”. “I call on Israel to take immediate, clear and effective steps to put an end to settler violence against the Palestinian population, to investigate all incidents of violence by settlers and Israeli Security Forces, to ensure effective protection of Palestinian communities against any form of forcible transfer,” Turk said. “The dehumanisation of Palestinians that characterises many of the settlers’ actions is very disturbing and must cease immediately,” his statement added. Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territories, told Al Jazeera that a lack of accountability – and in some cases incitement from Israeli officials – has led to a spike in both settler violence and violence committed by Israeli forces in the West Bank. “I think that’s extremely important to underscore – where there is impunity violations will continue to happen,” Sunghay said. “These statements [from Israeli officials] embolden settlers, give them a sense of security. It gives them a certain kind of permission to do what they want to do,” he added. #UN report: Türk warns of rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the West Bank, calls for end to violence. Read the report here 👉 https://t.co/BGZChZobZg#OPT #WestBank #Jerusalem #ENDViolencehttps://t.co/Zk5NQ5zdEO — UN Human Rights OPT (@OHCHR_Palestine) December 28, 2023 Unparalleled incursions The report was released as Israeli forces began one of the largest incursions in the West Bank since the war started, launching a coordinated overnight assault on 10 cities, including Ramallah, the administrative headquarters of the Palestinian Authority. The raids, which continued until early on Thursday, targeted Palestinian money exchange outlets. A Palestinian man was also killed by Israeli forces on Thursday near a checkpoint west of the city of Bethlehem. Mustafa Barghouti, the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative party, believes the growing raids in the West Bank are an attempt by Israel to reoccupy the territory “completely”. “They are marginalising the Palestinian Authority, depriving it of all its authorities,” Barghouti told Al Jazeera. “There is no security control by the Palestinian Authority because the Israeli army invades all cities, all [of] Area A that was supposed to be under the Palestinian Authority,” he said. “This is a clear message from [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. He’s saying there’s no place any more for any independent Palestinian authority here. He’s reoccupying the West Bank as he is trying to reoccupy Gaza.” Barghouti added that despite the Israeli claims that its raids are to fight against “terrorism”, the real goal is to “provoke an intifada [uprising]”. “Netanyahu knows very well if he leaves his position as prime minister, he will go to jail,” he said, referring to the corruption charges the Israeli leader is now on trial for. “This man wants to extend the war in Gaza, to expand it, to continue it as long as possible.” Deadliest year for children Also on Thursday, UNICEF said 2023 has been the deadliest year for children in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem with 124 Palestinian and six Israeli children killed there since the start of the year. “At least 83 children have been killed in the past 12 weeks – more than double the number of children killed in all of 2022, amid increased military and law enforcement operations,” Adele Khodr, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa said in a statement. “More than 576 have been injured, and others have reportedly been detained.” Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 674
As the war enters its 674th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Friday, December 29, 2023. Fighting Ukraine’s general prosecutor said two fishermen were killed after Russia shelled a village on the banks of the Dnipro river along southern Ukraine’s front line. Five people were also injured in the attack. Ukraine’s southern military command said a Panama-flagged bulk carrier that was heading to one of the country’s River Danube ports to load grain hit a Russian mine in the Black Sea causing it to lose speed and control and starting a fire. Two members of the 18-strong crew were injured, and one of them, an Egyptian, was taken to hospital. The captain intentionally ran the ship aground to stop it from sinking and Ukraine will use tugs to take it into port. Ukraine’s air force said air defence systems shot down seven out of eight Shahed drones launched by Moscow during the night overnight, the country’s air force said on Thursday. The drones came down in three central and southern regions, the air force added. Odesa regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said a fire broke out at a multistorey building in the Black Sea port city that was hit by a downed drone. Kiper said information about casualties was being verified and urged residents to stay in shelters amid an ongoing drone attack. The Russian Defence Ministry said it thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack over Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The captain ran the ship aground after it hit the mine to stop it from sinking. Two of the crew were injured [Ukrainian Border Guards Press Service via AFP] Politics and diplomacy The United States proposed that the Group of Seven (G7) countries explore ways to seize $300bn in frozen Russian assets, according to Britain’s Financial Times. Washington, backed by the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada, has proposed that options be ready for G7 leaders to consider at a potential meeting around February 24, the report said. A Moscow court jailed two men for taking part in a poetry recital critical of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Poet Artyom Kamardin, 33, was sentenced to seven years for reciting the poem, while Yegor Shtovba, 23, got five and a half years for attending the anti-mobilisation protest. Supporters shouted “Shame!” after the sentences were announced and some people were later detained by police, according to the AFP news agency. Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko attended a government-organised event for a new group of children brought from Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine, amid international outrage over his country’s involvement in Moscow’s forced deportation of Ukrainian children. Officials did not say how many Ukrainian children were in the latest group. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed Ukraine’s peace formula in a call with Pope Francis, noting that more than 80 countries were “already involved” in the process. Zelenskyy has said the framework will next be discussed in Davos, Switzerland. The formula requires Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory, including regions it has been occupying since 2014, before talks can begin. Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said he had a “productive phone call” with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to discuss a meeting between Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the “near future”. Earlier this month, all European Union states except Hungary agreed to start accession talks with Ukraine, and Budapest blocked a new EU budget providing aid to Ukraine. Adblock test (Why?)
Donald Trump kicked off 2024 ballot in US state of Maine
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says Trump should not be allowed to run due his support of insurrection. Former United States President Donald Trump has been kicked off the ballot for the 2024 presidential primary in Maine after a state official determined the Republican frontrunner is ineligible due to his support of insurrection. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, announced the decision to remove Trump from the ballot on Thursday, citing a clause in the US Constitution that bars those who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office. Bellows said that Trump should be considered ineligible to run as the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 had “occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of” the former president. “I do not reach this conclusion lightly,” said Bellows. “Democracy is sacred … I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.” Trump is facing criminal charges over his alleged role in trying to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election, but the businessman-turned-politician has not been charged with insurrection related to January 6. The Trump campaign said shortly after the announcement that it would challenge the decision in court. Despite being one of the least populous US states, with just four votes in the electoral college, Maine could play an outsized role in the 2024 election. Trump carried the state’s rural 2nd district to secure one electoral vote in both 2016 and 2020. Adblock test (Why?)
Can Mexico alone curb the flow of migrants to the United States?
Every day thousands of people try to cross Mexico’s border to enter the United States. Migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border have hit an all-time high. More than 10,000 people entered the United States every day this week. The crisis is putting President Joe Biden under pressure as he heads into an election year. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Mexico to ask for support in keeping migrants within its borders. The two countries have reached an agreement to keep border crossings between the two countries open after temporary closures. But how can this be achieved? And how will the issue of immigration play out politically inside the US? Presenter: Laura Kyle Guests: Rebekah Wolf – Senior advocacy strategist at the American Immigration Council, a non-profit organisation Leon Fresco – Immigration lawyer and former deputy assistant attorney general in charge of Immigration at the US Department of Justice Maureen Meyer – Vice president for programs at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights advocacy organisation Adblock test (Why?)
US presidential hopeful Haley fails to say slavery caused Civil War
The GOP presidential contender later amended her response to a question from an attendee at a campaign event. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has come under fire after failing to mention slavery when asked about the causes of the US Civil War, in which a coalition of pro-slavery southern states attempted to secede from the US. At a campaign event on Wednesday evening, Haley was asked about the causes of the Civil War by an attendee. Democrats and political rivals slammed her response, which she has since amended. “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word ‘slavery’,” the attendee remarked on Wednesday after Haley gave an answer focused on “how government was going to run”. The former South Carolina governor has since clarified her response. “Of course, the Civil War was about slavery,” Haley said on Thursday in an effort to correct the omission. Haley’s rivals pilloried her answer, with US President Joe Biden posting a video of her response on social media with a caption reading “It was about slavery.” “If Nikki Haley can’t answer this basic political 101 question and then it takes her over 12 hrs to sloppily attempt to clean it up, she just isn’t ready for the bright lights of the nomination process,” wrote David Polyansky, an adviser to fellow GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. While a substantial consensus exists among historians that slavery was the primary driver of the US Civil War, which took place from 1861-1865, claims to the contrary remain popular among US conservatives, especially in the southern states. Those divisions have emerged more clearly in recent years. As debates about the legacy of racism take place across the country, symbols of the Confederacy, for which the maintenance of slavery and white supremacy was a primary impulse, have become sites of contention. Such symbols include monuments commemorating figures from the Confederacy, many of them erected during periods of anti-Black violence long after the end of the Civil War, and the flag of the Confederacy, which Haley was previously criticised for calling a sign of “heritage”. In 2015, however, she signed a bill removing the Confederate battle flag from the site of the South Carolina state capitol, after a white supremacist named Dylann Roof gunned down nine Black churchgoers in a bloody attack. Roof had posted photos waving the Confederate flag and visiting Confederate heritage sites. Haley said he had “hijacked” the flag, while others suggested that his racist attack was a faithful continuation of the ideals embodied in the Confederacy. Adblock test (Why?)
Dozens of people killed as Israel carries out strikes across Gaza
Israeli forces attack cities, towns and refugee camps, killing up to 80 people and forcing thousands more to flee. At least 20 Palestinians have been killed, including women and children, when an Israeli strike hit a residential building near Kuwait Specialty Hospital in Rafah as the besieged Gaza Strip reeled from a barrage of attacks throughout the day that killed dozens. “The air strike has completely flattened the residential building that is full of displaced people,” Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum said, reporting on the aftermath of the Israeli strike on Thursday near Kuwaiti hospital. “Until now, rescue operations by the ambulances and civil defence teams continue to pull the people from under the rubble.” Palestinian authorities said on Thursday that at least 50 people had been killed as Israel bombards every corner of Gaza, where more than 21,320 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 90 percent of the population displaced. Israel has stepped up attacks across the length and breadth of Gaza, targeting Beit Lahiya, Khan Younis, Rafah and Maghazi on Thursday despite global outrage and calls for a ceasefire amid the mounting death toll. Palestinians in the besieged enclave said they have nowhere safe to flee. Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for Gaza’s Ministry of Health, said on Thursday that more than 200 people had been killed in 24 hours with entire families wiped out. More than 55,000 Palestinians have been wounded since Israel launched a military offensive in the wake of Hamas attacks on October 7 in southern Israel, which killed nearly 1,200 people – the country’s deadliest attack since its founding in 1948. Israel’s assault on Gaza has become one of the most destructive in modern history, enacting an enormous humanitarian toll and drawing accusations of a campaign of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians. An Israeli official on Thursday blamed the high death toll in the Christmas Eve attack on the Maghazi refugee camp on improper munitions. More than 70 people were killed in the attack, which caused a global outrage. Nearly three months into the fighting, Hamas fighters continue to put up stiff resistance against Israeli forces, including in northern Gaza, where continuous Israeli strikes have left the area unrecognisable. An Israeli siege has also severely restricted access to food, fuel, water and electricity, and UN officials have said an estimated 25 percent of people in Gaza are starving. “It’s already hard enough as it is, finding your daily meal, finding drinkable water, with this amount of people gathered in one city,” Gaza resident Mohammed Thabet told Abu Azzoum after the strike in Rafah. “Being this close to the Egyptian border in the far south of the Gaza Strip, people feel like they have nothing else they can do, like you just have to wait and hope for the best.” Asked if he felt safe in southern Gaza, Thabet said, “After everything we saw, not at all. There is nowhere safe in Gaza.” The United States has played an indispensable role in Israel’s war, providing it with weapons packages and strong diplomatic support as Israel comes under growing pressure to bring the fighting to an end. Israel has promised to press on, widening its offensive and pressing farther south into areas where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge. Adblock test (Why?)
Bumpy landing in London during Storm Gerrit
NewsFeed “Stop it! Stop it!” Aviation enthusiast excitedly narrates wind-whipped and bumpy landing of American Airlines jet coming into London’s Heathrow airport during Storm Gerrit. The storm brought wind gusts between 80-90 kmh and heavy rain across the UK, causing damage to homes, disrupting travel and significant electricity outages. Published On 28 Dec 202328 Dec 2023 Adblock test (Why?)
Photos: Israel’s war on Gaza’s children
More than 8,663 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7, according to the government media office, which added that thousands more are missing under the rubble amid relentless bombardment. An overwhelming number of more than 21,000 people killed in the nearly three months of Israeli bombardment, which is the most destructive in recent history, have been civilians. Israel has repeatedly targeted schools and even neo-natal care centres were have not been spared, resulting in the killing of newborn babies. According to Save the Children data in early November, a child was being killed every 10 minutes. The UN has called the besieged Palestinian enclave “a graveyard” for children due to the high casualty figures. “Our gravest fears about the reported numbers of children killed becoming dozens, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands were realised in just a fortnight,” James Elder, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said on October 31. “Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.” The Defence for Children International-Palestine, an NGO, said early last month that Israeli forces killed twice as many Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip in October as the total number of Palestinian children killed in the occupied West Bank and Gaza combined since 1967. In nearly two years of the Russia-Ukraine war, 510 children were killed, which represents a little less than one child per day. Last week, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that limited access to clean water and sanitation amid Israel’s relentless bombardment posed a grave risk to children in Gaza. Displaced children in southern Gaza do not have enough water to meet their basic survival needs, the UN Children Agency’s Executive Director Catherine Russell said. “Without safe water, many more children will die from deprivation and disease in the coming days,” Russel said. In the southern city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people – half of them estimated to be children – have fled since the beginning of December, water and sanitation situation systems are “in an extremely critical state”, Russel added. The water shortages have already contributed to 20 times the monthly average of cases of diarrhoea among children under the age of five, she said. More than half a million people in Gaza – a quarter of the population – are starving, according to a report from the United Nations and other agencies released on Thursday. Israel launched the brutal war in the wake of the Hamas attack that left some 1,139 people dead. The Palestinian resistance group also took some 240 people captive. Israel has pledged to continue its military offensive until what it calls the destruction of Hamas and the release of all the captives. But its military tactics have been criticised for the widespread bombardment that has caused unprecedented destruction and loss of lives. Human rights organisations and UN agencies have spoken against Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Adblock test (Why?)
Indian journalists targeted by Israeli spyware again: What do we know?
A new forensic investigation by Amnesty International and The Washington Post has shown the use of the Israeli Pegasus spyware, likely by the Indian government, to surveil high-profile Indian journalists. A report detailing the findings was published on Thursday. Here is what we know. What does the report say? The report, published by Amnesty’s Security Lab, found continued use of the software to target high-profile Indian journalists including a journalist who had also previously been a victim of attacks of the same spyware. Founding editor of The Wire, Siddharth Varadarajan, and South Asia editor at the Organized Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP), Anand Mangnale, were among those recently targeted using Pegasus spyware on their iPhones. The latest attack was identified in October this year. On October 31, Apple, the manufacturer of iPhones issued notifications to users worldwide who may have been targeted by “state-sponsored” attacks. Out of the users warned, over 20 were opposition leaders and journalists in India. These included firebrand opposition legislator Mahua Moitra. Known for her sharp questions in parliament, Moitra was recently expelled over an allegation of misconduct after she had repeatedly raised questions about alleged benefits handed by the government to the Adani Group, a business house widely seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Received text & email from Apple warning me Govt trying to hack into my phone & email. @HMOIndia – get a life. Adani & PMO bullies – your fear makes me pity you. @priyankac19 – you, I , & 3 other INDIAns have got it so far . pic.twitter.com/2dPgv14xC0 — Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 31, 2023 Amnesty was able to find an attacker-controlled email address used to target Mangnale, who was working on a story about an alleged stock manipulation by a large multinational conglomerate in India at the time of the attack. It is currently unclear whether the attempted target succeeded in breaking into and compromising Mangnale’s phone. The Washington Post article about the investigation said that Mangnale’s phone was attacked within 24 hours of reaching out to the tycoon Gautam Adani. What a coincidence! Within 24 hours after @OCCRP sought comments from Adani for a story on his brother’s involvement in alleged violations of Indian securities law, Pegasus is planted in OCCRP journalist @FightAnand’s phone. Cracker story by @gerryshih and @josephmenn. Link-… pic.twitter.com/TJoEvGSWBQ — Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) December 28, 2023 The same email address was used to target Varadarajan on October 16. There is also no indication as to whether this attack was successful so far. These attacks come just months before India’s national elections, in which a broad coalition of opposition parties is taking on Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). When has Pegasus been used to attack Indian journalists before? Amnesty previously discovered that Varadarajan’s phone was targeted and infected by Pegasus in 2018. His devices were analysed by a committee established by the Indian Supreme Court in 2021. The investigation was concluded in 2022 and its findings were not publicised. “The court noted, however, that the Indian authorities ‘did not cooperate; with the technical committee’s investigations,” said the Amnesty report. In 2021, leaked documents showed that the spyware was used against over 1,000 Indian phone numbers as New Delhi was accused of using Pegasus to surveil journalists, opposition politicians and activists. This list was shared with news outlets by Amnesty and Paris-based journalism non-profit, Forbidden Stories. What is Pegasus and how exactly does it work? Pegasus is a spyware that was developed by Israeli cyber-arms and intelligence company – Niv, Shalev and Omri (NSO) Group Technologies. It was launched in August 2016. NSO claims that the spyware is only used by governments and official law enforcement agencies to help with rescue operations and curb criminal or terrorist activity. If a phone is attacked by Pegasus, the phone can turn into a surveillance device, allowing Pegasus to access text messages, phone calls, photos and videos. It can also access the phone’s camera, location and microphone, recording audio or video without the phone’s owner knowing. Early versions of the spyware targeted users through phishing attacks. This means a malicious link was sent to targets through emails or text messages. If the targets clicked on the link, the spyware would be installed on their phones. However, the technology has advanced since then and now Pegasus can be installed without the target having to click a malicious link. Instead, it can infect a device through what are known as “zero-click” attacks. This is done by exploiting vulnerabilities in phones’ operating systems that even the developers are unaware of. Encrypted applications such as WhatsApp are not only compromised but are now being used to infect devices with the spyware. In 2019, WhatsApp confirmed that its platform was used to send malware to more than 1,400 phones, including several Indian journalists and human rights activists. Users would get a WhatsApp call and the software would be installed on their phone even if they didn’t pick up the call. On iPhones, the iMessage software has also been used. Due to the rapid advancements in the technology, it has become harder to detect the presence of Pegasus through telltale signs. While it is unlikely for regular phones to be under threat, phones belonging to activists and high-profile journalists are under threat of being surveilled through the spyware. [embedded content] Is India suppressing freedom of speech? Many journalists’ bodies and rights groups have warned that press freedom has dwindled under the Modi government, with several journalists arrested. India has fallen to 161st in the World Press Freedom Index from 150th last year, its lowest ever. The Modi government rejects this index and questions its methodology, arguing that India has a free press. In early October, Indian police carried out raids against dozens of reporters, arresting Prabir Purkayastha, editor of the independent and critical NewsClick website. Many other reporters from NewsClick had their devices and homes searched. Adblock test (Why?)