French left-wing MP slams parliament speaker’s refusal to impose sanctions on pro-Israel lawmaker

‘Unconditional supporters of Israeli war criminals protect each other,’ says Thomas Portes

Ahmet Gencturk |23.12.2023 

Anadolu Agency

Deputies Thomas Portes (L) and Antoine Leaument (R) of the La France Insoumise (LFI) party's attend a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators with banners, posters and Palestinian flags to protest the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in Paris, France on November 23, 2023.

 ( Umit Donmez - Anadolu Agency )

ATHENS

A left-wing French lawmaker on Saturday slammed the parliament speaker’s refusal to impose sanctions on pro-Israel lawmaker Meyer Habib.

“Unconditional supporters of Israeli war criminals protect each other. A French MP can therefore calmly apologize for war crimes. What a shame!” Thomas Portes, a lawmaker from the France Unbowed party, said on X, referring to the parliament speaker Yael Braun-Pivet’s decision.

On Thursday, Eric Coquerel, a member of the France Unbowed party took the floor in parliament to mourn a Foreign Ministry official killed in Gaza.

Coquerel's attempt to observe a one-minute silence for the official was met with rejection, prompting him to voice concerns over casualties in Gaza.

Habib, who holds French and Israeli citizenship, accused Coquerel of lying and said: "(Israel's work in Gaza) is not over."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 20,258 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 53,320 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.

Russia suspends part of payments to global chemical weapons watchdog

WE WERE SAFER DURING THE COLD WAR!
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova says Russia has no intentions to finance 'illegitimate Investigation and Identification Group created by US'

Elena Teslova |23.12.2023 -


MOSCOW

Russia on Saturday announced that it would withhold a part of its payments to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), claiming that the money would be used to fund the "illegitimate" Investigation and Identification Group set up by the US and its satellites to promote "illegal activities in the interests of the collective West."

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement posted on the ministry’s official website, however, confirmed that Russia will wire its regular payment to the organization's budget, which she said is an obligation of each of its member states.

"However, Russia, together with some of our partners, will continue to withhold part of its contribution, which is allocated by the OPCW Technical Secretariat to finance the illegitimate Investigation and Identification Group created by the US and its satellites to promote illegal activities in the interests of the collective West," she stressed.

Zakharova assured that Russia, along with allies, partners, and like-minded nations, "will continue to play the most active role at the OPCW."

"We see our task in restoring the former authority of this organization in the future and preserving the integrity of the Chemical Weapons Convention," she said.

PAKISTAN

March To Protest Excessive Arrests Of Baluch Men Ends Violently In Islamabad

WATCH: Baluchis March In Pakistan Against Alleged Deaths In Police Custody

Police in Islamabad used force to disperse a protest by Baluchis in the early hours of December 21 after the protesters marched hundreds of kilometers to draw attention to excessive arrests of Baluch men and their mistreatment by police.

The woman who led the march, Mahrang Baloch, said on X, formerly Twitter, that she was taken into custody along with other protesters, while several protesters were reportedly injured by police as the protest was dispersed and people were rounded up and placed into transport vehicles.

The march "is under attack by the Islamabad police," Baloch said on X. "I have been arrested along with several women and men by Islamabad police, but remember fascist state, we will defeat you."

Participants in the march posted videos on X showing people, mainly women, marching and decrying alleged brutal police beatings of their sons.

Before her own arrest, Baloch said many youths had been arrested and many had been injured by tear gas and violence.

"Right now, we are being treated worse than animals. Will the world raise its voice for us against this barbarism?" she said on X.

The protesters reached Islamabad nearly a month after setting off from the Turbat district in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan Province to demand a judicial inquiry into the killing of Balach Maula Bakhsh, who relatives say died in police custody in November.

The killing is just one of the crimes that protesters want authorities to investigate. They also accuse Pakistani security agencies of a string of abductions and extrajudicial killings of Baluch men. The authorities reject the allegations.

The march passed through the provincial capital, Quetta, before heading toward Islamabad.

Pakistani author Hanif Mohammad returns award in protest against action on Balochistan march

ANI / Updated: Dec 23, 2023, 

Pakistani writer Hanif Mohammad returned his Sitara e Imtiaz award in protest against Pakistan's actions on the Balochistan march. He accused the state government of abducting and torturing Baloch citizens. Islamabad Police cracked down on Baloch protesters, resulting in arrests and the use of force. The detained females were released after 26 hours of humiliation, harassment, and torture. The movement against Baloch Genocide continues, with protestors urging the Baloch nation to raise their voice against inhumane treatment and extra-judicial abductions.


Pakistani author Hanif Mohammad returns award (ANI)

ISLAMABAD: Amid the ongoing Baloch protest in Pakistan, Pakistauthor and journalist Hanif Mohammad returned his "Sitara e Imtiaz" award on Saturday in protest against Pakistan's action on the Balochistan march.

In a social media post, Hanif accused the state government of abducting and torturing Baloch citizens.

In a post shared on X, he said, "In protest, returning my Sitara e Imtiaz, given to me by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens.

Bigg Boss-7 Telugu winner, Pallavi Prashant, arrested in Hyderabad for 'rally violence'Journalists of my generation have seen @SammiBaluch and @MahrangBaloch_ grow up in protest camps. Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity."

On Wednesday night, Islamabad Police cracked down on and broke up Baloch protesters, who had gathered in the capital to voice their opposition to enforced disappearances and alleged extrajudicial killings in their region.

More than 200 demonstrators from various parts of Islamabad were arrested. Police batons, water cannons and tear gas were also used against the protesters, according to Dawn.

Politicians, analysts, and human rights organisations denounced the events.
Later, on Thursday night, the administration announced that 90 per cent of the Baloch men and women detained had been freed, with the exception of individuals who police were unable to identify, according to Dawn.

Notably, the movement against the Baloch Genocide; the detained females were released at last after 26 hours of humiliation, harassment and torture from Islamabad Police.

Still, 162 male protestors have been shifted to Adiala Jail and more than 50 males have been detained in different police stations in Islamabad.

"We request and appeal to the Baloch nation to continue their protests against the inhumane treatment of protesters in Islamabad and stand up against this treatment of Baloch nation and raise their voice in each and every possible way for those detained friends, who had the courage to speak and stand against the mass genocide of Baloch nation," the committee posted earlier.

The committee further stated, "We shall continue our movement against Baloch Genocide and the extra-judicial abductions."

NOT SO SUBTLE INDIA USING PRESS TO STIR UP TROUBLE FOR PAKISTAN NOT THAT IT NEEDS ANY HELP

 

Pro-Palestinian protesters marched on London’s Oxford Street

TEHRAN, Dec. 23 (MNA) – Pro-Palestinian protesters have marched on London’s Oxford Street urging shoppers to boycott “Israeli-linked” brands.

According to The Guardian, several hundred protesters brought traffic to a standstill as part of the demonstration organized by direct action group Sisters Uncut on Saturday afternoon, PA reports.

They gathered in Soho Square chanting “Free Palestine” before marching on the busy shopping street.

Security guards blocked the entrance to fashion retailer Zara, while dozens of officers followed the march.

Leaflets distributed by Sisters Uncut said: “No Christmas as usual in a genocide. The UK is complicit. Don’t fund genocide in Palestine. Boycott Israel.”

Security guards blocked the entrance to fashion retailer Zara, while dozens of officers followed the march.

Leaflets distributed by Sisters Uncut said: “No Christmas as usual in a genocide. The UK is complicit. Don’t fund genocide in Palestine. Boycott Israel.”

The death toll from Israeli atrocities has exceeded 20,000 Palestinians since October 7, sparking worldwide condemnation and protests.

MNA

Pro-Palestine protesters force Puma store to close on Carnaby Street

Pro-Palestinian protesters target Zara

stores in London’s West End

Protesters marched in London’s West End in a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday 

(Lucy North/PA)

SAT, 23 DEC, 2023 - 
TED HENNESSEY, PA

Pro-Palestinian protesters targeted fashion giant Zara as they urged Christmas shoppers to boycott “Israeli-linked” brands in London.

Hundreds marched on Oxford Street and Regent Street, busy shopping districts in the capital’s West End, bringing traffic to a standstill on Saturday afternoon.

Some chanted “while you’re shopping, bombs are dropping”, referring to the Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

They stopped outside two Zara stores, both of which had closed and were guarded by security, urging people to boycott the brand.

Protesters during a pro-Palestine demonstration urging Christmas shoppers to boycott what they called ‘pro-Israel’ brands (Lucy North/PA)

Some chanted: “Zara, Zara, you can’t hide, stop supporting genocide”.

Earlier this month, Zara pulled an ad following complaints that it contained pictures resembling images from the Israel-Hamas war.

The campaign, called The Jacket, contained a series of images in which the model was pictured against a background of cracked stones, damaged statues and broken plasterboard.

Zara said the campaign presented “a series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor’s studio and was created with the sole purpose of showcasing craft-made garments in an artistic context”.

However, some viewers suggested they were similar to images emerging from Gaza.

The company said it regretted a “misunderstanding” about the pictures, after some customers “saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created”.

The demonstration was organised by direct action group Sisters Uncut (Lucy North/PA)

Saturday’s demonstration, organised by direct action group Sisters Uncut, began in Soho Square, where protesters chanted “free Palestine”.

Protesters waved Palestinian flags, played music and let off coloured smoke.

Leaflets distributed by the group said: “No Christmas as usual in a genocide. The UK is complicit.

“Don’t fund genocide in Palestine. Boycott Israel.”

 

Court victory for activists who disrupted Israel’s weapons trade

Mohamed Elmaazi The Electronic Intifada 23 December 2023

The Elbit Eight celebrate an important victory against Israel’s weapons industry. 

 Mohamed Elmaazi

A UK jury this week delivered a not guilty verdict on nine out of 32 charges brought against eight activists – collectively known as the Elbit Eight – who protested Israel’s largest private weapons firm Elbit Systems.

Two of the defendants have been acquitted of all of the charges against them, while the six remaining defendants have been acquitted of some of the charges that they faced.

The Elbit Eight carried out direct action protests under the banner of Palestine Action, to try and disrupt the flow of drones and other military equipment to Israel.

The case ended on 22 December, following a six-week trial held at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service may decide to retry the defendants on the charges on which the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The decision on whether to do so is expected by 18 January.

“How can we be the criminals when the perpetrators of… [what] we now know is a genocide … are free to profit and we have to spend weeks and weeks in court for an action that we took three years ago?,” asked Nicola Stickells, a mother of two who was raised in a working class family in the English county of Kent.

“When you try and stand for human rights, you become the criminal. This is not right.”

The indictment listed 13 separate counts which included charges of criminal damage, trespass with intent to cause criminal damage (burglary), possessing materials with intent to cause criminal damage, encouraging others to commit criminal damage and making threats to commit criminal damage.

Not all of the defendants faced the same number of charges.

“Prescient”

“I feel absolutely no guilt about any of my actions,” said Genevieve Scherer, a 77-year-old retired social worker, who was acquitted on the two counts of burglary that she faced. “I think they were prescient really, given the circumstances in which we live.”

“The only reason that a company like Elbit exists is to uphold an apartheid regime, to uphold a human rights abusing regime, to commit genocide against the Palestinian people,” said Caroline Brouard, a medical herbalist, who was found not guilty of possessing materials with intent to commit criminal damage. “It’s indefensible that this company are allowed to manufacture weapons here in the UK”

Most of the charges focused on protests outside and inside the office building where Elbit’s headquarters were based in central London. The defendants splashed what they described as red “water soluble children’s paint,” stenciling messages such as “Shut Elbit down” and chanting slogans, such as “Your profits are covered in Palestinian blood.”

Other protests targeted factories belonging to the weapons manufacturer.

“Elbit Systems is very much the muscle that is making this genocide possible,” said Jocelyn Cooney, who had to leave her job at a homeless shelter in Canada to return to the UK to stand trial.

“So I think we all have a responsibility as humans to step up and take direct action to stop this company from producing weapons to murder people,” she added.

Cooney was acquitted of the only charge she faced: possession of materials with intent to commit criminal damage.

In addition to the nine jury acquittals, there were four formal acquittals at the start of the case.

Richard Barnard was acquitted over an assault allegation after the prosecution offered no evidence in relation to it.

Robin Refualu, Caroline Bruoard and Jocelyn Cooney were formally acquitted on count one of the indictment, which alleged that they encouraged others to commit criminal damage.

Huda Ammori and Richard Barnard – co-founders of Palestine Action – were unanimously acquitted on count one by the jury on Tuesday.

An earlier indictment, which included a blackmail charge, was also quashed by the court at the start of the case.

The jury delivered a single guilty verdict.

That single verdict was against Barnard and related to one count of criminal damage involving paint sprayed on the wall of a factory belonging to Elbit subsidiary Ferranti Technologies. Elbit announced last year that it had sold off Ferranti, which was based in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

That announcement followed 18 months of sustained direct action.

One of the counts which the jury was unable to come to a decision over involved a three-day occupation of Elbit’s UAV Engines drone factory based in Shenstone, near Birmingham, in September 2020.

Five members of the Elbit Eight were charged with criminal damage relating to their role in the Shenstone occupation.

An Electronic Intifada podcast discussion about the Shenstone occupation, which Ammori appeared on, was repeatedly played and referred to by the prosecution.

“This trial is not about us, it’s not even about Palestine Action, in my opinion” said Robin Refualu, whose mother is Dutch and whose father came to Europe as a refugee from the Maluku Islands, having been born on a boat during World War II. “It’s about what’s happening in Gaza at the moment and what’s been happening in Palestine for the last 75 years.”

“I wish there was a verdict [on all of the charges], whatever the verdict would be,” Refualu added. “But, either way, however we are feeling and whatever we are going through, it’s nothing compared to what Palestinians go through when they get caught up in the military court system by the oppressor, which is Israel, obviously.”

Mohamed Elmaazi is a UK-based journalist, who contributes to numerous outlets including Jacobin, The Dissenter and Consortium News.

Outcry as Mexico reduces number of disappeared

Outcry as Mexico reduces number of disappeared

 23 December 2023

Activists say the review of 113,000 missing people in Mexico is a ploy to reduce the number ahead of the presidential election

The government has now announced it was able to confirm just 12,377 of the more than 113,000 cases of disappeared people.

The registry had become intensely politicised, with the rising number of disappeared a symbol of the continuing insecurity across the country, while the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that it was being inflated to attack the government.

Violence in Mexico soared with the launch of the militarised “war on drugs” in 2006, and it has remained stubbornly high throughout the term of López Obrador, popularly known as Amlo, which began in 2018.

That same year, the National Search Commission was established to look for disappeared people, working with local commissions and prosecutor’s offices in each state, and regularly publishing the accumulating number of cases in its registry.

Amlo promised a change in security strategy, but has failed to deliver improvements, and the ever-climbing number of disappeared – along with the number of homicides, which in 2022 topped 30,000 for the fifth year in a row – have been a frequent line of attack on his government.

In June, Amlo announced a “census” to review the official total of disappearances, case by case.

Karla Quintana, who had led the National Search Commission since 2019, resigned shortly after that announcement. “Their intention is very clear and it is regrettable: it is to reduce the number of disappeared people, mainly during this government,” said Quintana soon afterwards.

Quintana was replaced by Teresa Guadalupe Reyes Sahagún, who before that had been the general director of the National Institute for Adult Education.

The UN’s human rights office in Mexico criticised the process by which Reyes was appointed, citing a lack of consultation, transparency and scrutiny.

“I think the National Search Commission had important support from the government in the first few years,” said Pérez Ricart. “And now the impression is that the commission is at the service of the president.”

Little information was made public about the methodology with which the commission was updating the registry.

In a statement this week, some collectives of family members of missing people rejected the update, “because without transparency they are disappearing the disappeared”.

“The data is a mess. That’s the reality,” said Pérez Ricart. “[The registry] was an important effort, and I think Karla Quintana was a great civil servant, who did everything she could. But we are talking about a project that regrettably failed, and one that now has very little legitimacy.”

Meanwhile, the underlying phenomenon of disappearances remains poorly understood.

“Various important [questions] remain in the air,” wrote Jacobo Dayán, an investigator and columnist. “Who are these people? Where are they? Who is responsible for their disappearance? Why did they disappear? Why is it not being investigated?”

And the violence and insecurity in Mexico continue unabated.

“Instead of trying to score political points by disputing the number of disappeared, the president should listen to the thousands of families clamouring for justice and take steps to address the systemic causes of this ongoing catastrophe,” said Tyler Mattiace, a Mexico researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Read more at Guardian 

 

69 Indian workers allege their employer is illegally holding them in Jordan

They also accused the garment manufacturer of withholding their dues and denying them food and water.

Scroll Staff

Representative image. | Manjunath Kiran / AFP

Sixty-nine Indian nationals are allegedly being illegally detained in the West Asian country of Jordan by their employer, a garments manufacturer, The News Minute reported on Saturday.

The workers, including women, have also accused their employer, Aseel Universal Garments, of refusing to settle their dues and denying them food and water at their accommodation.

The workers are unable to return to India with the payments despite a Jordanian labour court ruling in their favour on November 23, reported The News Minute. The court had directed Aseel Universal Garments to settle the workers’ dues and pay a fine for retaining them without requisite permits.

The Indian Embassy in Jordan has also been unresponsive to the workers’ appeals, according to the news website. Several of them are living there without company-sponsored visas, contracts and work permits, which expired in 2022.

Pavendhan Rajavel, one of the workers who hails from Ariyalur district in Tamil Nadu, told The News Minute, that the company refused to book his ticket to India after his work permit expired.

“Even though my permit is over, the company has been making me work in the factory... for several staff [members] here, nine months’ salaries are pending,” he alleged. “We have no money to sustain nor have we been able to send any money back to our families in India.”

The lack of a valid visa means that Pavendhan and his colleagues cannot leave the factory premises to purchase basic amenities or run errands for fear of being caught and fined by the police.

K Magendiravarman, an advocate, told The News Minute that neither the external affairs ministry nor the Tamil Nadu chief minister’s office has responded to the workers’ pleas for help despite an appeal being filed on their behalf in the Madras High Court.

“My client has requested to file a case if no response is received even after the holiday season,” Magendiravarman has been quoted as saying.

Thiru Neela Gandan, another worker whose father is currently admitted to a hospital in Chennai, told The News Minute: “They are trying to cheat us and are wrongfully giving us the tag of ‘illegal migrants’. We are being denied our basic human rights and our hard-earned money.”

KASHMIR IS INDIA'S GAZA

Protests in Kashmir after three civilians killed in Indian army custody

Locals in India-administered Kashmir accuse the army of torturing three civilians to death in a nearby military camp, triggering protests.



AFP

Local officials say police will investigate the incident, in an attempt to pacify the protesters. / Photo: AFP Archive


Anger has spread in some parts of India-administered Kashmir after three civilians were killed while in army custody, officials and residents said.


Locals on Saturday said the Indian army detained at least eight civilians on Friday for questioning, the day after rebels fighting against Indian rule ambushed two army vehicles in the southern Poonch district, killing four soldiers and wounding three others.


The districts of Poonch and Rajouri are close to the highly militarised line of control that divides the disputed Himalayan region between India and Pakistan.


Locals accused army personnel of torturing the three to death in a nearby military camp. The bodies were later handed to the local police who in turn contacted the families. Residents said the bodies bore marks of severe torture.


The five other detainees were taken to an army hospital after they were severely tortured, their families said.


Mohammed Younis, a resident, said soldiers came to his Topa Peer village in Poonch district Friday morning and detained nine villagers, including his two brothers and a cousin. An elderly man was let go, he said, but the others were ruthlessly beaten and electrocuted.


"My two brothers and a cousin are badly hurt due to torture. They are being treated in an army hospital," Younis said after seeing one of his brothers.



Videos of torture


Videos reportedly showing the torture of detained civilians spread online hours after their incarceration, triggering widespread anger.


Authorities cut off internet services on smart devices in Poonch and Rajouri on Saturday morning, a common tactic to dispel possible protests and discourage dissemination of the videos.


Lt Col Suneel Bartwal, an Indian army spokesman, said a search operation for the militants responsible for the ambush has been ongoing since Thursday evening, adding he had no "input" about the circumstances surrounding the death of the three civilians.


Senior police and civil officials visited the village and supervised the burials. Local officials said police would investigate the incident, in an attempt to pacify the villagers.



'Protests and impunity'


Protests erupted in Srinagar, the region's main city, with at least three Kashmiri political parties staging demonstrations against the killings.


Mehbooba Mufti, the region's former top elected official who was once an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party, said the recent acquittal of an army officer in the killing of three civilians in a staged gunbattle three years back had "emboldened" the army, "creating a false precedent among the forces that they can operate without restraint."


The Indian army's internal court had sentenced an officer to life imprisonment for the killings. However, a military tribunal in November this year suspended his sentence.


The Armed Forces Special Powers Act gives the Indian military in Kashmir sweeping powers to search, seize and even shoot suspects on sight without fear of prosecution. Under the act, local authorities need federal approval to prosecute erring army or paramilitary soldiers in civilian courts.

'Military might'


India has long relied on military force to retain control over the portion of Kashmir it administers.


Rebels in the India-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi's rule since 1989. Most Kashmiris support the rebels' goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.


But the territory has simmered in anger since 2019, when New Delhi ended the region's semi-autonomy and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms while intensifying counterinsurgency operations.


While Kashmir Valley, the heart of anti-India rebellion, has witnessed many militants killed in counter-rebel operations, remote Rajouri and Poonch have seen deadly attacks against Indian troops in the past two years. At least three dozen soldiers have been killed in such attacks.

Beautiful, bizarre, and sinister: Europe's alternative Christmas tales

Europe23:16, 23-Dec-2023
CGTN
Thomas Wintle

As people prepare to settle down for Christmas, depending on where you are in the world, the stories, symbols and sustenance of the season can be considerably different.

Here's a guide to some of Europe's wilder yuletide tales and traditions - some of which you likely won't be sharing with your children during the holidays, for fear of traumatizing them for many Christmases to come…


Austria's yuletide angels and demons

Heavily associated with the yuletide season because of its majestic Christmas markets and picturesque mountain villages, Austria retains a strong following for the Christian gift-giver Saint Nicholas, as well as his modern Americanized inspiration, Santa Claus. But during the 16th Century, the country was presented with another festive figure designed to pique childrens' imaginations who continues to command influence to this day: Christkind - or "Christ child".


A Christmas card from 1900 representing Christkind. /Wikimedia Commons


In contrast to her portly, jolly, and very much male counterpart, Christkind is an angelic female figure, slim in the waist, and often garbed in white, silver, or gold attire. Instead of donning a fur-lined floppy hat, she is most commonly depicted with a crown or dazzling halo over her head.

Granted the power of flight not by reindeer or slay, but by her wings, Christkind flits from house to house to deliver gifts, without once having to shimmy down a chimney. And thanks to her more practical powers of levitation, she even helps adorn the Christmas tree.

More practical still (for the postman at least), instead of children having to send their wish list all the way to the North Pole, they simply have to address letters to her postcode in the considerably closer Austrian town of Christkindl - which also happens to be a real location.

The origins of Christkind trace back to Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, who wanted to shift the focus from Saint Nick's gift-giving to celebrating the birth of Christ - hence Christkind's angelic appearance. But it's not all meek and mild in Austria: there are some decidedly more Pagan elements to Christmas there, some which are truly terrifying, such as the Krampus.




A Christmas card from the early 1900s shows the Krampus, St. Nick's evil counterpart. /Wikimedia Commons


Saint Nick's vicious counterpart is depicted with horns, fur, and grotesque appendages, and while Nicholas is busy gift-giving, the Krampus has the task of punishing naughty children. Those that have misbehaved, he beats with thin wooden sticks, and in some stories kidnaps them in his large sack, carrying the children away to be either tortured, drowned, or spend eternity burning in Hell.

While the Krampus story has been banned in Austria at certain points due to its severity, today it has regained a certain popularity, spawning Krampus festivals where locals dress up as Krampuses and chase after children in the street, hitting them with birch rods. The upside of the tradition? After the festive beatings, the children are given some candy.

See CGTN's exclusive Krampus content for more
06:01

Iceland's xmas ogres and trolls

Over on the other side of Europe, Icelandic folklore decrees that Christmas is the time that mountain-dwelling monsters come to town. As in Austria, Iceland's hellish yuletide figures are used to scare children into good behavior. And despite their family values, they are just as terrifying as their central European counterparts.




An Austrian take on Christmas: St. Nicholas and the Krampus arrive. /CFP


Iceland's Christmas cast include Gryla the ogress, her mischievous children the Yule Lads, and their ferocious family feline, the Yule Cat. During their family downtime from Spring to Autumn, they live together in the foreboding lava fortress of Dimmuborgir in the island's north, but during the Christmas period, they come to life in a petrifying fashion.

Gryla is the materfamilias of the household and is known for eating the flesh of mischievous Icelandic infants, stealing them and boiling them in her large pot. In contrast, her ogre husband Leppaluoi, is meant to be lazy and prefers to stay at home, leaving both the cooking and kiddy-snatching to his wife.

Their offspring, the Yule Lads, a group of 13 mischievous and filthy trolls, can be kinder – they leave treats in the shoes and on the windowsills of well-behaved children. However, those that have been naughty, they treat to theft and harassment, each in their own characteristic style.




Tryggvi Magnusson's drawing of Grýla chasing children. /Wikimedia Commons


For example, the ninth Yule Lad – Bjugnakraekir, or 'Sausage-Snatcher' – has a penchant for bjuga, Icelandic smoked sausages prepared during the Christmas season. He enjoys swiping them from undeserving homes around the island. Another Yule Lad, Stekkjarstaur, or 'Sheep-Cote Clod', goes around villages harassing villagers' sheep. Meanwhile, his brother Huroaskellir, or 'Door-Slammer', likes to wake people up in the middle of the night by slamming their doors.

Finally, there's the Yule Cat, a massive, vicious feline that roams the snowy countryside, eating those who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve. In the last few decades, Iceland has tried to soften the image of these Christmas ogres, trolls and predators, but Gryla and her cat continue to strike fear into the hearts of Icelandic children.



Italy's La Befana, the Christmas Witch

While Santa's arrival in most parts of the world usually coincides with Christmas Eve, Italy's folkloric gift giver, La Befana the Christmas Witch, comes to town on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, as the song goes, marking the coming of the Christian festival of Epiphany.

La Befana, often depicted in modern renditions as an elderly woman in a dark shawl, carries a broom and dons a kerchief, but she defies the stereotype of Europe's more malevolent witches. A kindly magical grandmother as opposed to an evil soothsayer, she is usually depicted as smiling, carrying baskets laden with goodies.




La Befana or Italy's Christmas Witch by Bartolomeo Pinelli. /Wikimedia Commons


The origins of Befana's name stem from "Epifania" and suggest ties to the biblical story of the Three Kings and their visit to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. In some tales, Befana encountered the Three Kings while engrossed in her housekeeping. Despite initially declining to join them on their journey, she later wanted to seek out the infant, but unable to catch up, she was left instead to run after the Kings bearing her basket of gifts.

In keeping with the most popular Western Christmas tales, well-behaved children receive treats from Befana, while the mischievous might find coal in their stockings. And like Father Christmas, La Befana also enters houses via the chimney, draped in a soot-caked shawl, which symbolizes the clearing of the old year as she sweeps homes before her departure.

Italy continues to revere Befana, celebrating her in cities and towns across the country, especially in the commune of Urbania, her traditional home, which hosts a grand festival every year. Attracting thousands with dancing, singing, scores of Befanas roam the village distributing sweets to eager children.



Catalonia's present-pooping Christmas log

While some of Europe's alternative Christmas tales range from Christmas-pudding sweet to disturbingly macabre, Spain's Catalonia perhaps boasts the most bizarre tradition – that of Tio de Nadal, the Christmas log that excretes presents.

A customary feature in Catalan households during the holidays, Tio de Nadal is a hollow log measuring around 30 centimeters long. While in days of yore, it would simply be a natural piece of dead wood, today's Tio tends to stand on stick legs, sporting a smiling face, a miniature red sock hat, and sometimes a three-dimensional nose.

A painting from 1907 shows the Catalan tradition of Tio de Nadal. /Wikimedia Commons


Starting from the Christian Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, each night, Tio receives some "food" and is covered with a blanket to keep it warm. The tradition holds that children must look after the log, nurturing it so that it poops presents on Christmas Day or Eve.

On Christmas, families historically placed the Tio partially into the fireplace, which was thought to help it release its presents. For those wondering about the practicalities here, children tend to leave the room while their relatives are given time to place the Tio's gifts by the hearth. Another Catalan Christmas laxative is hitting the Tio with sticks while singing. Toilet-humor and Christmas – the Tio should act as a yuletide inspiration to young children around the world.

Drone strike 'hits Israel-affiliated' ship off India's coast: maritime agencies

Maritime security firm Ambrey said the 'Liberia-flagged chemical/products tanker… was Israel-affiliated' and had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India.

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
23 December, 2023

The attack occurred 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval, India, two maritime agencies said [RBB/Getty-file photo]

A drone strike damaged a ship off the coast of India on Saturday but caused no casualties, two maritime agencies said, with one reporting the merchant vessel was linked to Israel.

The attack caused a fire on board, said the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO.

Ambrey, a maritime security firm, said the "Liberia-flagged chemical/products tanker… was Israel-affiliated" and had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India.

Both agencies said the attack occurred 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval, India. They did not name the vessel.

The Indian navy said it had responded to a request for assistance.

"An aircraft was dispatched and it reached overhead the vessel and established safety of the involved ship and its crew," a navy official told AFP.

"An Indian navy warship has also been dispatched so as to provide assistance as required."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike which came amid a flurry of drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a vital shipping lane in the Red Sea over the Gaza war.

The Houthis have declared themselves part of an "axis of resistance" of Iran's allies and proxies targeting Israel over its military campaign against the enclave, which has killed more than 20,000 people.

Last month, an Israeli-owned cargo ship was hit in a suspected drone attack by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Indian Ocean, according to a US official.

The Malta-flagged vessel managed by an Israeli-affiliated company was reportedly damaged when the unmanned aerial vehicle exploded close to it, according to Ambrey.

The Red Sea attacks on shipping since the start of Israel's indiscriminate war on Gaza on 7 October have prompted major firms to reroute their cargo vessels around the southern tip of Africa, despite the higher fuel costs of much longer voyages.

The Houthi rebels have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different countries, according to the Pentagon.

On Saturday, an official in Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned of the forced closure of other waterways unless Israel halted its war.

"With the continuation of these crimes, America and its allies should expect the emergence of new resistance forces and the closure of other waterways," Mohammad Reza Naqdi said, quoted by Iran's Tasnim news agency.

Among the waterways he mentioned was the Mediterranean Sea. He did not elaborate.

Israeli ship burns off coast of West India after drone attack

[23/December/2023]

NEW DELHI December 23. 2023 (Saba) - An Israeli ship was attacked by a drone in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, causing damage but no casualties, according to what the French Press Agency (AFP) quoted two maritime agencies.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Agency confirmed that the attack led to a huge explosion and a fire on board the ship before it was controlled and extinguished.

The British maritime security company Ambrey indicated that the ship flies the flag of Liberia but is linked to the Israeli occupation entity, adding that it stopped in Saudi Arabia and was heading to India.

The two agencies confirmed that the attack occurred 200 nautical miles southwest of the coast of India.