NEW YORK CITY: The UN Security Council delayed a vote on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for a halt to hostilities in Gaza to allow unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the massive number of civilians in need of food, water and medicine until Tuesday morning, as members intensified negotiations to try to avoid another veto by the United States.
The council said Monday’s 5 p.m. EST vote would not take place, and diplomats said negotiations were taking place to get the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to abstain or vote “yes” on the resolution.
A key issue is how to implement and sustain a desperately needed aid operation. Human Rights Watch accused Israel earlier Monday of deliberately starving Gaza’s population by blocking the delivery of water, food and fuel, a method of warfare that it described as a war crime. The United Nations’ food agency reported on Dec. 14 that 56 percent of Gaza’s households were experiencing “severe levels of hunger,” up from 38 percent two weeks earlier.
The draft on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” for humanitarian access to deliver aid. But this language is expected to be watered down to a “suspension” of hostilities or something possibly weaker to satisfy the Americans, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions have been private.
The US vetoed a Security Council resolution on Dec. 8 that was backed by almost all council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on Dec. 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.
The importance of a Security Council resolution is that it is legally binding, but in practice many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but though they are a significant barometer of world opinion.
The draft resolution that was being considered by the 15 council members on Monday recognizes that civilians in Gaza don’t have access to sufficient food, water, sanitation, electricity, telecommunications and medical services “essential for their survival.” Also, it would express the council’s “strong concern for the disproportionate effect that the conflict is having on the lives and well-being of children, women and other civilians in vulnerable situations.”
More than 19,400 Palestinians have been killed according to the Gaza Health Ministry since Israel declared war on the Palestinian militant Hamas group following its surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and took about 240 hostages.
Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and its Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Thousands more Palestinians lie buried under the rubble in Gaza, the UN estimates. Israel says 116 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive.
The proposed council resolution reiterates its demand that all parties comply with international humanitarian law, especially protecting civilians and the infrastructure critical for their survival including hospitals, schools, places of worship and UN facilities.
The draft, obtained by The Associated Press, demands the parties to the conflict — Hamas and Israel — fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law and enable “the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.”
It “calls for an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access” in Gaza and also “firmly condemns all violations of international humanitarian law, including all indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, all violence and hostilities against civilians, and all acts of terrorism.”
The draft also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all Hamas-held hostages .
The draft confirms its “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution,” and stresses “the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”
The draft is being negotiated by the United Arab Emirates, which is the Arab representative on the Security Council, and requests UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres establish am expeditious mechanism to monitor all humanitarian shipments to Gaza by land, sea and air.
UN Security Council to vote on resolution urging cessation of hostilities in Gaza to deliver aid
https://arab.news/wxfqy
UN Security Council to vote on resolution urging cessation of hostilities in Gaza to deliver aid
- The council said Monday’s 5 p.m. EST vote would not take place
- Diplomats said negotiations were taking place to get the US, Israel’s closest ally, to abstain or vote “yes” on the resolution
4 killed, including 3 foreign tourists, in Afghanistan shooting: govt
The wounded were from Norway, Australia, Lithuania and Spain
KABUL: Three foreign tourists and an Afghan were killed on Friday in a shooting in the popular tourism destination of Bamiyan in central Afghanistan, the interior ministry said.
“One Afghan and three foreign nationals were killed,” in gunfire Friday evening in Bamiyan city, interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani, told AFP.
Another four foreigners and three Afghans were wounded, he added.
Qani said the “foreigners were here for tourism,” without giving the nationalities of the foreign victims.
According to preliminary information provided by hospital sources, the three foreigners who were killed were Spanish nationals.
The wounded were from Norway, Australia, Lithuania and Spain.
Diplomatic sources said they were seeking to confirm the information, including the identities of the dead.
Security forces have arrested four people in connection with the attack, Qani said.
He did not say if there had been multiple shooters.
The Taliban government “strongly condemns this crime, expresses its deep feelings to the families of the victims and assures that all the criminals will be found and punished,” Qani said in a statement.
A local resident, who did not want to be named, said he “heard the sounds of successive gunshots, and the city streets leading to the site were blocked immediately by the security forces.”
Bamiyan, home to the giant Buddhas blown up by the Taliban in 2001, is Afghanistan’s top tourist destination.
Deadly attacks on foreigners have been rare in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Tourists have been traveling to the country in increasing numbers in recent years as security has improved since the Taliban ended their insurgency after ousting the US-backed government.
Arriving in western Herat province Friday evening, a foreign tourist posted on a WhatsApp group for travelers in Afghanistan that he and others were stopped by the Taliban authorities and told “that because of Bamiyan we were no longer safe.”
“After some time and Google translate, we convinced them to let us go, they said go eat quickly and get off the streets,” the tourist said.
The Bamiyan region is majority inhabited by members of the Hazara Shiite community.
The historically persecuted religious minority has been repeatedly targeted by the Daesh group, which considers them heretics.
The number of bombings and suicide attacks in Afghanistan has reduced dramatically since the Taliban authorities took power.
However, a number of armed groups, including IS, remain a threat.
Greek trial of Egyptians over Pylos shipwreck may be unfair: Rights groups
- Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch: Defendants disadvantaged by Coast Guard investigation, withheld evidence
- Groups say evidence altered by Coast Guard, which was accused by survivors of causing disaster that killed over 600 people
LONDON: Human rights groups have raised concerns that the upcoming trial in Greece of nine Egyptians who survived the Pylos shipwreck in 2023 may not be fair.
The nine are charged with “smuggling, aggravated by the deaths of passengers, causing a shipwreck, irregular entry, and forming and membership of a criminal organization,” with the possibility of multiple life sentences if convicted.
However, while the trial is set to commence on May 21, an investigation into the culpability of Greek authorities over the disaster, which killed at least 600 of the 750 passengers aboard, is only at its preliminary stage.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch warned the mismatched timing of the process jeopardized the chance of a fair trial.
Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, said: “There’s a real risk that these nine survivors could be found ‘guilty’ on the basis of incomplete and questionable evidence given that the official investigation into the role of the Coast Guard has not yet been completed.”
She added: “Credible and meaningful accountability for one of the worst shipwrecks in the Mediterranean needs to include a determination of any liabilities of Greek authorities.”
The overcrowded vessel sank in Greek waters on June 14 last year, carrying people mainly from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan.
Both HRW and Amnesty subsequently accused the Hellenic Coast Guard of culpability, and there have been numerous allegations that a patrol boat caused the disaster after it tried to tow the stricken migrant vessel.
So far, 53 survivors have come forward as part of a case brought against the Hellenic Coast Guard in front of the country’s Naval Court, which began in June last year but has made little progress.
However, the “Pylos 9” have been accused of being smugglers in charge of the vessel that sank and therefore culpable for the disaster.
They were arrested on June 15 following testimony by nine other survivors of the disaster blaming them, which was compiled and submitted by Coast Guard investigators. They deny the charges.
In a statement, HRW and Amnesty said: “There are real concerns regarding the respect of fair trial standards based on questions about the integrity of the investigation and evidence.
“The speed at which the investigation against survivors was concluded, and the Pylos 9 defense lawyers’ lack of access to the Naval Court case file compound these concerns.”
Investigations by Lighthouse Reports and Solomon also found eyewitness testimony compiled by the Coast Guard contained identical accounts of the accident, which omitted details about the patrol boat later submitted to a public prosecutor in Kalamata.
Another witness told HRW and Amnesty their testimony had been altered by the Coast Guard to omit the claim that the patrol boat caused the disaster.
The defense team for the nine Egyptians has also claimed requests for evidence for the criminal trial, including data from survivors’ mobile phones confiscated by Greek authorities, have been denied over questions into the jurisdiction of the Naval Court investigation.
“The defendants’ lawyers have been unable to gain access to the investigation file before the Naval Court despite its clear relevance to preparing the defense,” Amnesty and HRW said.
“The judge also rejected motions by defense lawyers to take testimony from additional survivors, and to acquire the communications between the Hellenic Coast Guard, Frontex and the Greek Joint Rescue Coordination Center, and aerial photos of the boat prior to the shipwreck.
“The Kalamata court should guarantee that the Pylos 9 receive a fair and impartial trial, and that their full due process rights are upheld and respected. The Naval Court should advance investigations promptly, effectively and impartially and ensure the safe and effective participation of the largest possible number of survivors and relatives of victims and full collection of evidence,” they added.
The groups also highlighted the tendency for Greek authorities to blame people from ethnic minorities for smuggling and people trafficking, citing a study that said that as of February 2023, 90 percent of the 2,154 people detained in Greece on smuggling charges were “third country” nationals.
“Time and again, in Greece and in other countries, racialized people who are seeking to travel to Europe end up being the only ones facing accountability in the context of migration movements,” said Adriana Tidona, migration researcher at Amnesty International.
“The Pylos investigations and trials must serve as a turning point for this dangerous trajectory.”
King Charles III to attend D-Day anniversary in France: palace
- The 75-year-old British head of state will be at a commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial in northern France on June 6
- Charles will be accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla and elder son Prince William
LONDON: King Charles III is to make his first overseas trip since being diagnosed with cancer, at an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
The 75-year-old British head of state, who only recently resumed public engagements, will be at a commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial in northern France on June 6, a statement read.
The memorial, at Ver-sur-Mer, is near Gold Beach, the codename for one of five separate beachheads in northern France where Allied troops came ashore on June 6, 1944.
Charles will be accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla, 76, and elder son Prince William, 41, who will join Canadian veterans at the Juno Beach Center at Courseulles-sur-Mer, along the Channel coast.
William will then join more than 25 heads of state, representing his father at the international commemorative ceremony at Omaha Beach, where US troops landed.
Charles and Camilla will head to France, where they made a three-day state visit last year, after attending the UK’s national commemorative event in Portsmouth, southern England, on June 5.
Senior royals will be out in force in both the UK and France for the anniversary, which is likely to be among the last to feature veterans who served in World War II.
As head of state, Charles is commander-in-chief of the British armed forces but also served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
His heir William was an RAF search and rescue pilot before becoming a full-time royal.
One notable absentee from the commemorations will be William’s wife Catherine, 42, who is receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and was last seen at a public engagement in December last year.
Charles announced his diagnosis in February but last month royal officials said doctors were “very encouraged” by the progress of his treatment, allowing him to resume his official duties.
This week he has attended a Buckingham Palace garden party and a commemoration service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, as well as unveiling a new official portrait of himself.
Elon Musk confirms Twitter has become X.com
- Billionaire head of Tesla bought Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 and announced rebrand to X last July
- Although the logo and branding were changed to “X,” the domain name remained Twitter.com until Friday
PARIS: The social network formerly known as Twitter has fully migrated over to X.com, owner Elon Musk said on Friday.
The billionaire head of Tesla, SpaceX and other companies bought Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 and announced the rebrand to X last July.
Although the logo and branding were changed to “X,” the domain name remained Twitter.com until Friday.
“All core systems are now on X.com,” Musk wrote on X, posting an image of a logo of a white X on a blue circle.
Queries to Twitter.com redirected users to X.com on Friday morning, though the original domain name still appeared on some browsers.
Musk has repeatedly used the letter X in the branding of his companies, starting in 1999 with his attempt to set up an online financial superstore called X.com.
When he bought Twitter, he set up a company called X Corp. to close the deal.
Musk has said he wants “X” to become a super-app along the lines of China’s WeChat.
The Chinese app is much bigger than X and weaves together messaging, voice and video calling, social media, mobile payment, games, news, online booking and other services.
He has also bolted onto X an AI chatbot called “Grok,” which was launched in Europe this week.
Musk’s leadership of X has proved controversial.
He has fired thousands of staff, overseen major technical problems and reinstated accounts of right-wing conspiracy theorists, as well as former US president Donald Trump.
European regulators have also begun probes into X and other social media platforms over fears of misinformation.
The EU demanded earlier this month that X explain its decision to cut content moderation staff, giving the firm a deadline of Friday.
AFP has contacted X for their response.
Taliban supreme leader makes rare visit to Afghan capital
- Hibatullah Akhundzada gave a speech in front of the 34 provincial governors
- The appointment of officials on the basis of “favoritism or personal relationships” was also to be avoided
KABUL: The shadowy supreme leader of the Taliban authorities made a rare visit to Afghanistan’s capital, a government website said Friday, leaving his reclusive compound in Kandahar to meet with the country’s senior officials.
It comes after a string of small-scale clashes between farmers and Taliban anti-narcotic units tasked with destroying poppy fields, and flash floods that have killed hundreds.
Hibatullah Akhundzada gave a speech in front of the 34 provincial governors on Thursday at the Interior Ministry, the Taliban website Al Emarah said.
The leader emphasized “unity and harmony,” according to a summary of the speech posted to the website on Friday.
“Obedience was highlighted as a divine obligation,” it said, adding that the implementation of Islamic Sharia law and principles “should take precedence over personal interests.”
The appointment of officials on the basis of “favoritism or personal relationships” was also to be avoided.
Akhundzada, of whom only one photo has been publicly circulated, rarely appears in public, ruling by decree from a secretive compound in the southern city of Kandahar.
His cabinet, however, sits in the capital Kabul, from where they implement his decisions.
The purpose of the visit was likely about “enforcing internal discipline and unity,” a Western diplomat told AFP, adding that it could be motivated by the unrest in Badakhshan in eastern Afghanistan.
Witnesses reported that Taliban forces opened fire to disperse villagers protesting against poppy clearing — a lucrative crop banned by Akhundzada in April 2022.
Several people died in one of the clashes, a Taliban official said at the time.
The Afghan authorities have also had to repress demonstrations by settled nomads in the province of Nangarhar and are faced with regular deadly attacks from the Daesh group, particularly in Kabul.
“Whenever you see cracks or disagreements, then you have Kandahar stepping in reminding everyone and enforcing that (unity) as well,” the diplomat added.
