India, China eye strategic areas bordering 'last barrier' Bhutan

New Delhi (AFP) – Squeezed between giant arch-rivals India and China, the landlocked mountain kingdom of Bhutan was long isolated by icy Himalayan peaks.

Issued on: 05/01/2024 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C), Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (2L), the Fourth Druk Gyalpo (2R), Queen Jetsun Pema (R) and then prime minister Lotay Tshering (L) watch a cultural performance at the Tashichho Dzong during Modi's visit to Bhutan in 2019 

© Upasana DAHAL / AFP/File

But as Bhutan readies to elect a new parliament in Thimphu on January 9, China and India are watching the contest with keen interest as they eye strategic contested border zones, analysts warn.

A "cooperation agreement" inked between Bhutan and China in October after talks over their disputed northern frontier sparked concern in India, which has long regarded Bhutan as a buffer state firmly under its orbit.

Bhutan is "one of the last barriers" in China's bid to exert influence in South Asia, said Harsh V. Pant, an international relations professor at King's College London told AFP.

India is determined not to let China extend its influence further across what New Delhi sees as its natural sphere of influence, wary after a swathe of muscular trade deals and loans by Beijing, including with Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

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Thimphu and Beijing do not have formal diplomatic relations.

India, however, effectively oversaw Bhutan's foreign policy until 2007.

Bhutan in the Himalayan region © John SAEKI / AFP

The relationship was "in exchange for free-trade and security arrangements", Britain's Chatham House think tank wrote in a December report.

The report included satellite photographs it said showed an "unsanctioned programme of settlement construction" by China in Bhutan's northern frontier region, which could "become permanent Chinese territory" pending the outcome of a border deal.

China's foreign ministry told AFP in a statement of its "determination to strive for an early resolution of the boundary issue and the establishment of diplomatic relations".
'Far-reaching implications'

"Beijing will anticipate that a deal consolidating its gains in northern Bhutan may lead to formal diplomatic relations and the opportunity to draw Thimphu into its orbit", Chatham House said.

"Any such deal would have far-reaching implications for India."

If China succeeds in that, Beijing "can push a view that India is now marginal in its immediate neighbourhood", Pant added.

New Delhi has been wary of Beijing's growing military assertiveness and their 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) shared frontier has been a perennial source of tension.

In 2017, there was a 72-day military standoff after Chinese forces moved into the disputed Doklam plateau, on the China-India-Bhutan border.
Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (L) walks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting in New Delhi in 2023 © - / PIB/AFP / Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB)/File

The plateau pushes south towards India's critical Siliguri Corridor, dubbed the "Chicken's Neck".

The perilously narrow strip of land lies between Nepal and Bangladesh, and connects India's northeastern states with the rest of the country.

China and India fought a month-long war in the region in 1962.

"New Delhi would be concerned that, in the event of a deal demarcating Bhutan's northern border, attention may turn to territory in Bhutan's west which China disputes, including the Doklam plateau," Chatham House added.

For Bhutan, dwarfed by China, striking a deal makes sense, said Pant.

"If they don't resolve their border now, tomorrow they will be in an even more unfavourable position," he said.
'Quiet concern'

Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic editor of The Hindu newspaper, said India was worried that a Bhutan-China border deal "seems imminent".

She said that Bhutan's "fast-tracking" of boundary talks with China after the 2017 Doklam standoff was a decision that "India has viewed with quiet concern".

Analysts say foreign policy plays little role in the domestic concerns of voters in Bhutan -- about the size of Switzerland with around 800,000 people -- who are more worried about high unemployment and young people migrating abroad seeking jobs.

However, India is the biggest source of investment and infrastructure in Bhutan -- Thimphu's ngultrum currency is pegged to New Delhi's rupee -- and boosting bilateral relations is key.

Graphic comparing Bhutan's rating as a democratic society on the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual survey 

© John SAEKI / AFP

"Any government coming to power will seek to shore up ties," Haidar said.

Bhutan has strong economic and strategic relations with India, "particularly as its major trading partner, source of foreign aid and as a financier and buyer of surplus hydropower", according to the World Bank. About 70 percent of Bhutan's imports come from India.

In December, Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck announced a special economic zone along its border with India.

Both hopefuls to become Bhutan's new prime minister speak enthusiastically about boosting links with New Delhi to lift Bhutan's $3 billion economy.

India has already announced a slew of connectivity projects including a railway line to Bhutan, but much would depend on Indian investors.

"Bhutan will be seeking investments from other countries," said Haidar, adding it will be "significant" if Thimphu welcomes funds from China.

© 2024 AFP

 16-Year-Old UK Girl Virtually Gang-Raped: Metaverse's Dark Side Demands Real Solutions 

By Manoj Kumar Gupta 

Updated: Thursday, January 4, 2024

https://www.oneindia.com/

Metaverse is a virtual world where people live their fantasy lives by masking their real age, gender, and other identities. Metaverse was created by the company Meta, a brand that also owns social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Owned by Mark Zuckerberg, the company says that Metaverse will allow users to explore virtual 3D spaces where they can socialise, learn, collaborate, and play. 

But this digital playground can also turn into a nightmare. In the UK a 16-year-old girl's virtual avatar was allegedly gang-raped in a metaverse game, shaking the digital landscape and igniting complex legal questions. 

VR REALITY: RETHINKING SAFETY IN THE DIGITAL AGE 

Metaverse is a fantasy world where reality morphs in the virtual landscape, but the disturbing turn of events shows how our avatars are increasingly vulnerable. While the girl's body remained unharmed, the psychological trauma mirrors that of real-world assault, raising uncomfortable questions about the emotional boundaries of our increasingly digital lives. British Police are currently investigating the case. According to reports, the victim entered the virtual world through an Oculus virtual-reality headset, to play a game called 'Horizon Worlds' where she saw her digital self overpowered and violated by multiple avatars. 

COMBATING CRIMES IN THE DIGITAL WORLDS 

The UK police have promised a thorough probe, of the virtual platform which is slowly turning into a dark underbelly for digital predators. The police also acknowledged the "complexities" of the case. Government agencies echoed this sentiment, with UK Home Secretary James Cleverly expressing concern about online safety and promising to "close the gap" between the physical and digital worlds. 

But again there are stark realities, rapes in the real world are increasing dramatically in England and Wales. In 2012/13, 16,038 rape offences were reported which jumped to 68,949 in 2022/23. 

THE METAVERSE'S MORAL COMPASS 

Meta, the parent company of the Metaverse platform released a statement expressing "zero tolerance" for harmful behaviour and pledging to cooperate with investigators. But the assurances of user safety ring hollow in the face of this incident and similar reports of virtual harassment in the past. 

In February 2022, London-based Nina Jane Patel spoke about how a gang of three to four avatars sexually harassed her within 60 seconds of joining the same game, i.e. Horizon Venues. "They virtually gang-raped my avatar and took photos as I tried to get away,"

 Patel is the co-founder and vice-president of metaverse research Kabuni Ventures, In May 2022, a researcher working with nonprofit advocacy group SumOfUs entered Horizon Venues to study users' behaviour. But within an hour after she donned her virtual-reality headset, she says, her avatar was raped in the virtual space. 

REDEFINING CRIME IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD 

Metaverse is fast gaining popularity and criminals would hide behind their digital cloaks to hunt for their next victim. But there is also a complex question of jurisdiction. Existing laws often struggle to define and prosecute offences committed in online environments. Experts argue that it is high time that laws are adapted to the evolving threats from the metaverse.

Britain’s got some of Europe’s toughest surveillance laws. Now it wants more


Despite the protestations of industry and campaigners, ministers are whisking a new bill through parliament.

The new legislation is triggering fresh alarm among both industry execs and privacy campaigners 

| Scott Barbour/Getty Images

BY LAURIE CLARKE
JANUARY 3, 2024 

LONDON — The U.K. already has some of the most far-reaching surveillance laws in the democratic world. Now it’s rushing to beef them up even further — and tech firms are spooked.

Britain's government wants to build on its landmark Investigatory Powers Act, a controversial piece of legislation dubbed the "snooper's charter" by critics when introduced back in 2016.

That law — introduced in the wake of whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations of mass state surveillance — attempted to introduce more accountability into the U.K. intelligence agencies’ sprawling snooping regime by formalizing wide-ranging powers to intercept emails, texts, web history and more.

Now new legislation is triggering a fresh outcry among both industry execs and privacy campaigners — who say it could hobble efforts to protect user privacy.

Industry body TechUK has written to Home Secretary James Cleverly airing its complaints. The group's letter warns that the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill threatens technological innovation; undermines the sovereignty of other nations; and could unleash dire consequences if it sets off a domino effect overseas.

Tech companies are most concerned by a change that would allow the Home Office to issue notices preventing them from making technical updates that might impede information-sharing with U.K. intelligence agencies.

TechUK argues that, combined with pre-existing powers, the changes would “grant a de facto power to indefinitely veto companies from making changes to their products and services offered in the U.K.”

“Using this power, the government could prevent the implementation of new end-to-end encryption, or stop developers from patching vulnerabilities in code that the government or their partners would like to exploit,” Meredith Whittaker, president of secure messaging app Signal, told POLITICO when the bill was first unveiled.

The Home Office, Britain’s interior ministry, remains adamant it’s a technical and procedural set of tweaks. Home Office Minister Andrew Sharpe said at the bill’s committee stage in the House of Lords that the law was “not going to … ban end-to-end encryption or introduce a veto power for the secretary of state … contrary to what some are incorrectly speculating.”


“We have always been clear that we support technological innovation and private and secure communications technologies, including end-to-end encryption,” a government spokesperson said. “But this cannot come at a cost to public safety, and it is critical that decisions are taken by those with democratic accountability.”
Encryption threat

Despite the protestations of industry and campaigners, the British government is whisking the bill through parliament at breakneck speed — risking the ire of lawmakers.

Ministers have so far blocked efforts to refine the bill in the House of Lords, the U.K.'s upper chamber. But there are more opportunities to contest the legislation coming and industry is already making appeals to MPs in the hopes of paring it back in the House of Commons

.

Some companies including Apple have threatened to pull their services from the UK if asked to undermine encryption under Britain's laws 

| Feline Lim/Getty Images

“We stress the critical need for adequate time to thoroughly discuss these changes, highlighting that rigorous scrutiny is essential given the international precedent they will set and their very serious impacts,” the TechUK letter states.

The backdrop to the row is the fraught debate on encryption that unfolded during the passage of the earlier Online Safety Act, which companies and campaigners argued could compel companies to break encryption in the name of online safety.

The bill ultimately said that the government can call for the implementation of this technology when it’s “technically feasible” and simultaneously preserves privacy.

Apple, WhatsApp and Signal have threatened to pull their services from the U.K. if asked to undermine encryption under U.K. laws.

Since the Online Safety Act passed in November, Meta announced that it had begun its rollout of end-to-end encryption on its Messenger service.

In response, Cleverly issued a statement saying he was “disappointed” that the company had gone ahead with the move despite repeated government warnings that it would make identifying child abusers on the platform more difficult.

Critics see a pincer movement. “Taken together, it appears that the Online Safety Bill's Clause 122 is intended to undermine existing encryption, while the updates to the IPA are intended to block further rollouts of encryption,” said Whittaker.
Beyond encryption

In addition to the notice regime, rights campaigners are worried that the bill allows for the more permissive use of bulk data where there are “low or no” expectations of privacy, for wide-ranging purposes including training AI models.

Lib Dem peer Christopher Fox argued in the House of Lords that this “creates an essentially new and essentially undefined category of information” which marks “a departure from existing privacy law," notably the Data Protection Act.


Director of campaign group Big Brother Watch, Silkie Carlo, also has issues with the newly invented category. With CCTV footage or social media posts for example, people may not have an expectation of privacy, “[but] that's not the point, the point is that that data taken together and processed in a certain way, can be incredibly intrusive.”

Big Brother Watch is also concerned about how the bill deals with internet connection records — i.e. web logs for individuals for the last 12 months. These can currently be obtained by agencies when specific criteria is known, like the person of interest's identity. Changes to the bill would broaden this for the purpose of “target discovery,” which Big Brother Watch characterizes as “generalized surveillance.”

Members of the House of Lords are also worried about the bill’s proposal to expand the number of people who can sanction spying on parliamentarians themselves. Right now, this requires the PM’s sign-off, but under the bill, the PM would be able to designate deputies for when he is not “available.” The change was inspired by the period in which former PM Boris Johnson was incapacitated with COVID-19.

The bill will return to the House of Lords on January 23, before heading to the House of Commons to be debated by MPs 

| Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

“The purpose of this bill is to give the intelligence agencies a bit of extra agility at the margins, where the existing Rolls Royce regime is proving a bit clunky and bureaucratic,” argues David Anderson, crossbench peer and author of a review that served as a blueprint for the bill. “If you start throwing in too many safeguards, you will negate that purpose, and you will not solve the problem that bill is addressing.”

Anderson proposed the changes relating to spying on MPs and peers are necessary “if the prime minister has got COVID, or if they're in a foreign country where they have no access to secure communications.”

This could even apply in cases where there’s a conflict of interest because spies want to snoop on the PM’s relatives or the PM himself, he added.

Amendments proposed by peers at the committee stage were uniformly rejected by the government.

The bill will return to the House of Lords for the next stage of the legislative process on January 23, before heading to the House of Commons to be debated by MPs.

“Our overarching concern is that the significance of the proposed changes to the notices regime are presented by the Home Office as minor adjustments and as such are being downplayed,” reads the TechUK letter.

“What we're seeing across these different bills is a continual edging further towards … turning private tech companies into arms of a surveillance state,” says Carlo.

AFP

'Prohibited emoluments'

Foreign govts paid Trump firms millions while president: report

New York (AFP) – Former US president Donald Trump's businesses received at least $7.8 million from foreign governments including China during his time in the White House, a congressional report claimed Thursday.

Issued on: 04/01/2024 - 

A Chinese embassy delegation spent $19,391 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC 

© CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Officials from Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey and Democratic Republic of Congo were among some 20 countries' representatives who paid money to Trump's hotel and real estate businesses during his presidency, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote in their report.

The authors claim that such revenues from overseas governments violated a constitutional ban on "foreign emoluments."

"As President, Donald Trump accepted more than $7.8 million in payments from foreign states and their leaders, including some of the world's most unsavory regimes," said the report titled "White House for Sale."

"We know about only some of the payments that passed into former President Trump's hands during just two years of his presidency from just 20 of the more than 190 nations in the world through just four of his more than 500 businesses."

In the case of China, the report alleged that Beijing as well as businesses including ICBC bank and Hainan Airlines spent $5.5 million at Trump-owned properties.

"Former President Trump violated the Constitution when the businesses he owned accepted these emoluments paid by (Beijing) without the consent of Congress," the report said.

The authors say that the full amount could be higher as the $5.5 million figure is based only on limited disclosures from Trump's accountants Mazars and filings with the American financial regulator, the SEC.

In one expenditure dated August 27, 2017, a Chinese embassy delegation spent $19,391 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington.

The report also claims that "Saudi Arabia paid at least $615,422 in prohibited emoluments to former President Trump's businesses over the course of his term in office from just (the Trump World Tower) and the March 2018 stay at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC."

"Former President Trump has also boasted about the continued willingness of the Saudis to do business on terms highly favorable to him," the report stated.

Trump's Washington hotel was sold in 2022 to a private investor group and rebranded under the luxury Waldorf Astoria line.

The frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Trump separately faces a civil fraud trial in New York over claims that his real estate businesses fraudulently inflated the value of their assets.

He is to go on trial in Washington in March for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and in Florida in May on charges of mishandling top secret government documents.

The twice-impeached former president also faces racketeering charges in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to upend the election results in the southern state after his 2020 defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.

© 2024 AFP

THE FORGOTTEN AND FORFEITED 

‘I will do anything to bring him back’: Brother of Hamas hostage holds on to hope

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas approaches its third month, the families of the 132 hostages believed still to be held in Gaza cling to hope. Michael Levy has been counting the days since his younger brother, Or, was abducted from the Supernova music festival – and doing everything he can to ensure his return.

Michael Levy in front of posters featuring the faces of Hamas hostages, including his brother Or in Tel Aviv, on January 2, 2024

Assiya Hamza 

FRANCE 24

Issued on: 04/01/2024 - 

For nearly three months, Michael Levy has waited for news of his younger brother, Or, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. They include sleepless nights and days of tirelessly working to secure the release of the "annoying genius", as he affectionately calls his kid brother who, as a three-year-old, "started to break things and put them back together".

Wearing a T-shirt with a photo of his brother printed on it, Levy explains how before he was abducted, Or led a successful life. “He taught himself to programme and became a genius computer engineer" before building a tech start-up, which he eventually sold, explains Levy.

“You see, here he is happy and smiling,” he says, pointing to the photo on his T-shirt. “That's not just a good picture. He's always smiling, always happy.”

Levy has become accustomed to telling the story of his brother and Eynav, his wife of five years. In a calm voice, he talks about how they were inseparable since meeting 14 years ago.

Or Levy, his wife Eynav and their son Almog. © Levy family

On the morning of October 7, Or and Eynav left their two-year-old son Almog with Levy’s mother to go to the Supernova festival. “They got to the festival at 6:20am, about ten minutes before hell started," explains Levy. Or texted his mother, telling her the couple had decided to head home. "But a few minutes after, he texted her again and told her that they were hiding in a bomb shelter next to the road.”

At 7:39am, Levy’s mother called Or. “He was completely terrified,” Levy says. “And when my mother asked, 'What's happening? Is everything okay?' he replied, 'Mum, you don't want to know what's happening.'"

Ten minutes after the call, Hamas stormed the shelter. "I know now because I watched horrible videos of Hamas coming to the shelter and throwing grenades and spraying bullets,” he says, looking around. “There were 17 people in there. I think the bomb shelter is pretty much the size of this room."

To understand what happened, Levy has talked with survivors, visited hospitals, and spoken to anyone who can help piece together the puzzle.

Then came the agonising wait. After eight days of no information, the Israeli army announced that Or was among the 240 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. Eynav, however, was found dead inside the shelter.

‘He keeps calling for them’

The family is devastated, but they are doing their best to remain strong for Almog – a daily challenge for Levy and his parents.

"How can you tell a two-year-old boy that his mum won't come back?” Levy says. “We spoke to a few psychologists. Their recommendation was to just tell him that his mother won't come back. Just like that. And that his father is missing and that we are looking for him … He keeps calling for them.”

For now, Levy is refusing to succumb to grief and break down. "I try to stay normal. But it's a fight. And I'll let myself break when everything is back. Now is not the time."

On November 24, when the first hostage exchange for Palestinian prisoners was announced, Levy was happy. Not because he thought Or would be one of those released, but because other members of his new "family" would be reunited. "I knew he wasn't going to be released in this specific deal. I wasn't disappointed … My family and I were so happy to see other people’s loved ones being released.”

While the hostage-for-prisoner swap brokered by Qatar saw the release of 121 hostages, 132 others are believed still to be held captive in Gaza.

A poster with the face of Hamas hostage Or Levy on the streets of Tel Aviv on January 2, 2024. 

© Assiya Hamza FRANCE 24

After nearly three months of frantic campaigning, backroom talks and intense diplomatic efforts to secure the hostages' release, Levy is exhausted and cannot hide his frustration. "There's a delegation here, a delegation there,” Levy says. “I try to keep my energy and focus on the goal, which is to bring him back and not to deal with things that I cannot control.”

It’s a wise strategy, considering the escalating tensions in the region. Following the November hostage-prisoner swap deal, a new round of discussions began in Egypt on December 29, but they were abandoned on January 2 after Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, Lebanon.

Read more

Retaliate or not? Hezbollah faces conundrum after Israel kills Hamas deputy in Lebanon

Binyamin Netanyahu challenged to deliver 'results'

Incidents like the December 15 death of three hostages killed by an Israeli soldier while waving a white flag in Gaza, have tested the families' morale. Some vented their anger and began to openly question whether Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government is doing everything it can to bring the hostages home.

For Levy, the facts speak for themselves. "I'm a big fan of bottom lines and if they are not here, the answer is ‘no’," he says. "I’ve flown to four different delegations in the past month and a half, and I spoke to politicians, diplomats, media and whoever was willing to listen in order to make them pressure governments – the Israeli government, the Qataris, the Egyptians, Hamas. And that's what we can do, I guess."

After hearing that some of the returned hostages had had access to the news broadcasts while in captivity, Levy leaves messages for his brother on the radio. "I just want him to know that we are strong and that we are here for Almog – that we'll support him and show him love.”

“I will do everything to bring him back,” Levy says. “Even if I have to turn the world upside down, I will do it."

This article has been translated from the original in French.

WILLFUL BLINDNESS
US 'not seeing acts of genocide' in Gaza, State Dept says

04 January 2024 

BY DAPHNE PSALEDAKIS AND SIMON LEWIS

People inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli air strikes on January 3, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza.
Image: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

The US has not observed acts in Gaza that constitute genocide, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday, after SA launched genocide proceedings at the International Court of Justice over Israel's military operation in the Palestinian enclave.

“Those are allegations that should not be made lightly ... we are not seeing any acts that constitute genocide,” Miller said at a regular news briefing. “That is a determination by the State Department,” he added.

He had been asked about SA's request on Tuesday that the World Court issue an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

The court has scheduled public hearings for January 11 and 12 on SA's request. Israel said it would defend itself from the charges. Israel's crackdown has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians, laid waste to much of the enclave and engulfed its 2.3 million residents in a humanitarian disaster.

Miller said he did not have any assessment to share on whether war crimes or crimes against humanity have been committed.

Washington on Tuesday slammed two Israeli ministers for advocating resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza, but said Israel had assured US officials that their statements do not reflect its policy.

US officials have said too many Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. They have urged Israel — which Washington provides with weapons — to do more to protect civilians.

The war was triggered by a cross-border Hamas assault on Israeli towns on October 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and some 240 hostages taken back to Gaza.

The total recorded Palestinian death toll from Israel's offensive had reached 22,313 by Wednesday, the Gaza health ministry said.

Israel has called the genocide case “baseless” and says Hamas is using Palestinians as human shields and stealing aid from them, accusations Hamas denies.

Reuters

Gaza: ‘Disease spreading’ in Jabalia as garbage piles up

Issued on: 04/01/2024 - 

A pile of garbage in the middle of a square in Jabalia, Gaza Strip, on January 03, 2024

 © AFP

Video by: Sam BALL

In the city of Jabalia in northern Gaza, overcrowding and the breakdown of sanitation services means that rotting garbage is piling up on the streets, posing yet another threat to residents and refugees left homeless by Israeli bombardments – that of disease.

 

Surveillance camera captures Israeli drone strike killing civilians in Deir Al-Balah

On 1st January 2024, a surveillance camera in Deir Al-Balah recorded a harrowing drone strike on three civilians. The footage shows the moment a missile, possibly from a drone or reconnaissance aircraft, struck the individuals. The first victim, following Israeli instructions to evacuate, was hit and instantly killed. His brother Ghazi, who came to his aid, and their cousin also became victims of the strike


January 4, 2024 

 

US education official resigns over Biden's Gaza War policy

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
04 January, 2024

The resignation comes amid mounting pressure from within the administration over Biden's staunch pro-Israel stance.

A senior official in the US Education Department stepped down on Wednesday, citing President Joe Biden's handling of the conflict in Gaza, the latest sign of dissent in the administration as deaths continue to grow in the war.

Also on Wednesday, 17 Biden re-election campaign staffers issued a warning in an anonymous letter that Biden could lose voters over the issue.

Tariq Habash, special assistant in the Education Department's Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, said: "I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government."

Habash, a Palestinian-American and an expert on student debt, was appointed early in Biden's presidency as part of a build-out of the Education Department's student loan expertise.

The 17 anonymous Biden re-election campaign staffers, in their letter, published on Medium, urged Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

"Biden for President staff have seen volunteers quit in droves, and people who have voted blue for decades feel uncertain about doing so for the first time ever, because of this conflict," the staffers wrote in the letter.

Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller earlier on Wednesday said that the US has not observed acts in Gaza that constitute genocide. His remarks were in response to proceedings launched by South Africa at the International Court of Justice over Israel's military operations in Gaza.

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Walaa Sabah

Israel also has denied claims of genocide in Gaza.

Josh Paul, a former State Department official, resigned from the Biden administration in October in protest over what he called the administration's "blind support" for Israel.

In November, more than 1,000 officials in the US Agency for International Development (USAID), part of the State Department, signed an open letter urging the Biden administration to call for an immediate ceasefire.

After at least three cables criticising the administration's policy were filed with the State Department's internal "dissent channel," Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged disagreements in a November letter.

In December, some staff in the Biden administration held a vigil near the White House to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.




Hamas' 7 October attack on Israel killed 1,139 people, according to Israeli tallies. Some 240 hostages were also taken back to Gaza. The total recorded Palestinian death toll from Israel's retaliatory offensive had reached 22,313 by Wednesday, almost 1% of Gaza's 2.3 million population, the Gaza's health ministry said.

Israeli bombardments have flattened much of the densely populated enclave, leaving most Gazans homeless, with food shortages threatening famine.

The United States has publicly slammed the rhetoric of some Israeli ministers who have advocated the mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and pushed Israel to curb civilian deaths in Gaza. Critics argue that Washington is not using its leverage as a major supplier of arms and aid to influence Israeli policy.

(Reuters and The New Arab Staff)

Second Biden admin official quits over US support for Israeli war in Gaza

Tariq Habash, a Department of Education policy adviser, says he can't stay silent and accuses Biden administration of turning blind eye "to what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government".



AA

Habash accuses Biden administration of aiding Israeli indiscriminate violence against Palestinians in Gaza, questioning integrity of Palestinian death counts in Israeli attacks and voting against resolutions that called for a ceasefire at the UN. / Photo: AA

Tariq Habash, a Department of Education policy adviser appointed by the Biden administration has quit to protest the administration's unwavering military support of Israel's brutal war in Gaza — that has left more than 22,313 Palestinians dead and wounded 57,296 others — and its handling of the war's repercussions at home and abroad.

Habash, a Biden administration appointee who had worked in the education department to help overhaul the student loan system and address inequities in higher education, told The Associated Press he submitted his resignation on Wednesday.

That was after he and others had "done everything imaginable" to work within the system to try to register their objections to administration leaders, he said.

Habash becomes at least the second official, and the first known official of Palestinian origin, to resign from the administration in protest of President Joe Biden's actions regarding the war.

State Department veteran Josh Paul stepped down in October as the administration accelerated arms transfers to Israel.

Habash had been among the administration staffers of Middle East, Muslim and Jewish background taking part in meetings with senior White House officials and others in the administration in response to staffers' concerns on the US role in the war.

Habash described the sessions as more briefings from higher-ups than opportunity for staffers to be heard.

"I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government," Habash wrote in his resignation letter.

He said the actions of the Biden administration have put millions of innocent lives in danger in Gaza.

"I cannot be quietly complicit as this administration fails to leverage its influence as Israel’s strongest ally to halt the abusive and ongoing collective punishment tactics that have cut off Palestinians in Gaza from food, water, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies, leading to widespread disease and starvation," said Habash.

Habash accused the Biden administration of aiding indiscriminate violence against Palestinians in Gaza, questioning the integrity of Palestinian death counts in Israeli attacks and voting against resolutions that called for a ceasefire at the UN

"And administration leaders have even repeated unverified claims that systematically dehumanise Palestinians," he wrote. In addition, he revealed experiencing dehumanisation and identity erasure by peers, the media and the US government.

Habash, whose family lived through the Nakba, or Catastrophe in 1948, when Palestinians were forced from their lands to make way for an Israeli state, said hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were violently and forcibly expelled from their homes and his relatives have never been allowed to return to their familial homes for 75 years.

"Millions of Palestinians have faced decades of occupation, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid, and the Biden Administration's passive acceptance of this status quo is wholly out of line with democratic values. Our government continues to provide unconditional military funding to a government that is uninterested in protecting innocent lives," added Habash.

The White House referred questions about Habash to the Department of Education and a department spokesperson said "we wish him the best in his future endeavours."

Pressure on US universities


Biden and his top officials have defended Israel's devastating air and ground invasion in Gaza. They point to their repeated urging to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to change how it is fighting the war so as to lessen killings among Palestinian civilians.


Fallout from the Israel's war in Gaza has roiled campuses across the US and reignited a debate over free speech. College leaders have struggled to define the line where political speech crosses into harassment and discrimination, with Jewish and Arab students raising concerns that their schools are doing too little to protect them.


The issue came to a boil in December when the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT were asked to testify at a congressional hearing on campus anti-Semitism. Asked by Republican lawmakers whether alleged calls for the "genocide"of Jews would violate campus policies, the presidents offered lawyerly answers and declined to say unequivocally that it was prohibited speech.


Their answers sparked weeks of backlash from donors and alumni, ultimately leading to the resignation of Liz Magill at Penn and Claudine Gay at Harvard.


The Education Department has warned colleges that they’re required to fight anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on their campuses or risk a loss of federal money.

The agency has opened civil rights inquiries at dozens of schools and colleges in response to complaints of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the wake of October 7, including at Harvard, Stanford and MIT.


Education Secretary Miguel Cardona met with Jewish students from Baltimore-area colleges in November and vowed to take action to keep them safe.

He later met with the leaders of national Muslim, Arab, and Sikh organizations to discuss the rise of Islamophobia on college campuses.


In his resignation letter, Habash wrote, "The Department of Education must play an active role in supporting institutions as they respond to the needs of students, faculty, and staff. This includes protecting all students who choose to exercise their first amendment right to engage in non-violent actions, including expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza."

Earlier months of the war saw some administration staffers sign petitions and open letters urging Biden to call for a ceasefire.

Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza

Israel has launched relentless air and ground invasion on Gaza since a cross-fence attack by Hamas on October 7.

Hamas launched its biggest attack on Israel in decades, firing thousands of rockets and sending fighters over the militarised fence to enter Israeli towns nearby.

Hamas says its attack was in response to Israeli violations in the flashpoint Al Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem and increased violence by illegal Jewish settlers across the occupied West Bank.

More than 22,000 Palestinians have since been killed and over 57,000 wounded in Israeli attacks, while nearly 1,130 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas blitz.​​​​​, many reportedly from own Israeli tanks and fighter jets.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and some 90 percent of the 2.3 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

South Africa has launched a case at the United Nations' top court arguing that Israel's military invasion in Gaza amounts to genocide.

SOURCE: TRTWORLD AND AGENCIES

SpaceX accused of unlawfully firing staff critical of Elon Musk

3rd January 2024
By Mariko Oi

Business reporter

BBC


SpaceX has been accused of unlawfully firing eight workers who were critical of its multi-billionaire chief executive Elon Musk.

A complaint by a US labour agency says the employees sent an open letter to the firm's executives in 2022, detailing workplace concerns.

The letter called him a "distraction and embarrassment", according to Reuters news agency.

The BBC has approached the rocket and satellite firm for comment.

The complaint by a regional official at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accused SpaceX of violating the workers' rights under federal labour law which allows co-workers to jointly advocate for better working conditions.

The complaint also said those involved in the open letter were interrogated before being discharged.

Lawyers for one of the former employees, Deborah Lawrence, have reportedly accused SpaceX of having a "toxic culture", where harassment is tolerated.


In a statement, seen by Reuters, Ms Lawrence said: "We wrote the open letter to leadership not out of malice, but because we cared about the mission and the people around us".

The NLRB's general counsel acts like a prosecutor and brings cases to the five-member board appointed by the organisation's president.

If SpaceX does not settle, the case will be heard by an administrative judge, whose decision can be appealed to the board and then to a federal appeals court. A hearing is scheduled for 5 March.

If the NLRB finds that the firings violated labour law, it can order that workers be reinstated and given back pay.

Mr Musk's companies have been accused of violating employees' rights before.

In October, the NLRB accused X, formerly known as Twitter, of illegally firing an employee over tweets challenging the company's return-to-office policy. X denied wrongdoing.

Electric car maker Tesla has also faced several NLRB complaints, which included allegations of race discrimination at its factories. Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination.

In August, the US Department of Justice sued SpaceX, alleging it discriminated against refugees and asylum seekers in its hiring practices.

At the time, Mr Musk posted on X: "US law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are considered advanced weapons technology".

Strikes shut doors at world-renowned French monuments

Tourists travelling to visit historic French landmarks the Eiffel Tower and Normandy's Mont Saint Michel have found their doors closed for part of the past two weeks, as striking workers complain of underinvestment and too many visitors.

Issued on: 04/01/2024

A board warns about a strike at the Eiffel Tower, Wednesday, December 27, 2023, Paris, France. 

© Lewis Joly, AP


Investment in Mont Saint Michel, a fortified tidal island topped by an abbey, is "not at an appropriate level for this fantastic monument", one staff representative said.

And an Eiffel Tower unionist last week warned that the cost of "major maintenance, renovation and conservation work" is being "underestimated" at the 125-year-old iron structure.

In Normandy, Herminia Amador Chacon of the CGT union said Mont Saint Michel workers "all have joint problems in the knees or the ankles" from staffing and guiding visitors around the site, which is accessible only by climbing 350 stairs.

Others are posted out in the wet, rainy Channel weather for hours on end, with one reception worker calling the spot "marvellous but badly heated".

Only around 15 of the Mont Saint Michel's 55 workers have walked out since the open-ended strike began on December 26.

But that has been enough to shut the gates of the abbey -- one of France's most visited monuments, with around 1.5 million tourists per year -- many days since.

Lise, 25, and Thomas, 24, had travelled the 70 kilometres (43 miles) from Norman town Flers to visit on Wednesday, only to find a sign saying the abbey was only open between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm.

While "a little disappointed", the pair judged the staff could not "be on strike over nothing".

Worker representatives at Mont Saint Michel are asking for more staff, extra pay for those with foreign language skills and compensation for the physically demanding parts of the job, as well as better facilities on site.

Abbey general secretary Arnaud Noblet said extra staff were already on hand during the busy summer season and a small number of new jobs were being created.

He dismissed the idea that spending on the abbey was not in line with revenues.

Pooling of resources among landmarks managed by the Centre for National Monuments (CMN) authority means "major monuments like the abbey keep the small ones alive", Noblet said.

Eiffel Tower 'heading for disaster'

In Paris, strikers among the Eiffel Tower's 360-strong workforce said they had walked out for one day on December 27 to protest against "unrealistic management" with "over-ambitious, impossible-to-achieve" business goals.

"The Eiffel Tower is an old lady. It's 130 years old. Some of the lifts date back to 1899. There's a lot of work (to be done)," the workers said.

They added that managers' projections of 7.4 million visitors per year were unrealistic -- the tower hosted 5.9 million in 2022 -- leaving a funding gap that workers believe has management firm SETE "heading for disaster".

But SETE boss Jean-Francois Martins said the Eiffel Tower was "in good economic shape", even after the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation hit renovation costs.

He said he believed workers fear jobs could be cut to make up for pandemic-era losses.

Italian tourist Alessandro Monaco, 40, was disappointed.

"We were quite stunned to see there was a strike. It's a real shame not to be able to visit today," he told AFP on the day of the stoppage last week.

Others were more sanguine.

"The important thing is to see it, strike or no strike," said 40-year-old French visitor Marie-Christine Riviere.

While the Eiffel Tower strike on December 27 lasted for just one day, "if the situation continues... the Eiffel Tower will be closed during the Olympic Games period" in July-August, worker representatives warned.

(AFP)

Japan quake death toll rises to 92, missing 242

Anamizu (Japan) (AFP) – The death toll from a devastating earthquake in central Japan rose to 92 on Friday, regional authorities said, with the number of missing jumping to 242.

Issued on: 05/01/2024 -

People walk past fallen utility poles and damaged buildings in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture

 © Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

Two elderly women were pulled from the rubble, but hopes of finding other survivors faded as thousands of rescuers raced against the clock four days after the 7.5-magnitude quake on New Year's Day.

Thousands of rescuers from all over Japan have been battling aftershocks and roads littered with gaping holes and blocked by frequent landslides in the Ishikawa region to reach hundreds of people in stranded communities.

On Thursday afternoon, 72 hours after the quake, the two older women were miraculously pulled alive from the remains of their homes in Wajima, one of them thanks to a sniffer dog called Jennifer.

People walk in front of a collapsed building in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture © Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

The port city of Wajima on the Noto Peninsula was one of the worst hit, with a pungent smell of soot still in the air and faint columns of smoke visible from a huge fire that destroyed hundreds of structures on the first day.

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"I was relaxing on New Year's Day when the quake happened. My relatives were all there and we were having fun," Hiroyuki Hamatani, 53, told AFP amid the burnt-out cars, wrecked buildings and fallen telegraph poles.

Collapsed buildings in the town of Monzen in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture on January 5, 2024 © Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP

"The house itself is standing but it's far from livable now... I don't have the space in my mind to think about the future," he told AFP.
Grief

The powerful main tremor, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, injured at least 330 people, local authorities said.

Around 30,000 households were without electricity in the Ishikawa region, and 89,800 homes there and in two neighbouring regions had no water.

Hundreds of people were in government shelters.

The Suzu area was also devastated, with fishing boats sunk or lifted like toys onto the shore by tsunami waves that also reportedly swept one person away.

A huge crack is pictured in a road in the town of Monzen in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture © Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP

Noriaki Yachi, 79, fought back tears after his wife was pulled from the rubble there and confirmed dead, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.

"My life with her was a happy one," Yachi said.

Earthquakes have hit the Noto region with intensifying strength and frequency over the past five years.

The country is haunted by a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.

It also swamped the Fukushima atomic plant, causing one of the worst nuclear disasters in history

burs-stu/cwl

© 2024 AFP

Ruin and rescue dogs in quake-ravaged Wajima

Wajima (Japan) (AFP) – Joining soldiers and firefighters in the desperate search for survivors after a huge earthquake in central Japan was rescue dog Elsa, described by her trainer as "the best of the best".


Issued on: 05/01/2024 -

Elsa the rescue dog helps firefighters search for people in quake-hit Wajima 

© Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

Nimbly crossing loose roof tiles and splintered wooden beams, she sniffed through the wreckage of a destroyed wooden house in Wajima, one of the cities worst hit by the 7.5-magnitude earthquake on New Year's Day.

Along with rescuers including Japanese troops, the large black dog with pointed ears was searching for an elderly woman possibly buried under the rubble of her home.

"Please Elsa, please find her," came a voice from a crowd of neighbours and other relief workers watching their efforts, three days after the disaster struck.

The dog was brought to the coastal city by Yasuhiro Morita from his rescue dog training centre around 500 kilometres (300 miles) away in western Tottori region.

"She reacts to dead bodies when searching the rubble -- she is trained to always bark when she finds a body," Morita told AFP.

Strong aftershocks have shaken the region since Monday's terrifying main tremor 

© Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

"But today, she just wandered off towards the bystanders instead, which likely means there was no body inside," he said.

Morita described Elsa as "the best of the best in western Japan", but she wasn't the only mutt on the job -- the defence minister announced Thursday that a rescue dog named Jennifer had found an elderly woman under the rubble who was pulled out and saved.

The ravaged house was just one of the devastating scenes in Wajima and other parts of Ishikawa on the Sea of Japan coast.

Strong aftershocks have shaken the region since Monday's terrifying main tremor, which triggered landslides, a major fire and a tsunami more than a metre high.

So far 92 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster 

© STR / JIJI Press/AFP

As of Friday, 92 people had been confirmed dead in the disaster, with 242 others reported missing.

Wajima resident Hiroyuki Hamatani, 53, had been relaxing with his relatives when the quake struck.

"Things fell over and walls crumbled, and the entrance door also collapsed. The house itself is standing, but it's far from liveable now," he told AFP.

Water and food are scarce, as "supplies have hardly arrived yet, but I guess they're on their way now", he said.

"I don't have the space in my mind to think about the future. Things are all scattered inside my house. More aftershocks could make it collapse, so I can't go back just yet."

On the approach to Wajima, fallen boulders partially blocked roads © Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

On the approach to Wajima -- a city of around 23,000 residents, known for its artisan lacquerware -- tunnels were partially blocked by fallen boulders, and mountain surfaces had been left barren by landslides.

Flattened houses lined the route, with debris and snow dotting the sides of the road.
'No trace left'

Even more shocking sights awaited those who made it into the city.

An imposing seven-storey building lay on its side, while fallen utility poles blocked a path surrounded by twisted wreckage.

An imposing seven-storey building lay on its side © Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

"Is someone there? Answer us please!" a soldier was heard shouting while his team searched the ruins of a home for another missing resident, entering through broken windows.

The quake sparked a blaze that laid waste to an entire market area where 200 structures reportedly burned down.

There, the ground was blanketed in charred building materials, with burned-out cars sitting in front of a topsy-turvy backdrop of houses dislodged from their foundations.

Fallen utility poles block a path surrounded by twisted wreckage © Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

Standing looking at the ruins was Shinichi Hirano, 47.

"This is where my grandma's house used to be, but it's all burned down," he told AFP.

"She passed away a while ago, so her house has long been vacant, but still, this area is full of fond memories," he said, reminiscing about a cake store and a barbershop he used to frequent as a child.

"But they're all gone. I only see burned ruins now," he said, with a sad smile on his face.

"It pains me" to see these familiar places decimated, Hirano said, adding: "I'm just speechless."

The quake sparked a blaze that laid waste to an entire market area © Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP

An 80-year-old man, who declined to give his name, gazed on woefully as the pungent smell of soot wafted through the air.

Even three days after the earthquake, faint columns of smoke were still billowing here and there in the desolate city.

"I came to check on my relatives. I haven't been able to see them yet," the elderly man said.

"This is just terrible. There is no trace left," he said.

"Terrible," he repeated, sighing heavily at the sight. "It's just like war."

© 2024 AFP

Plane wreckage being cleared from Tokyo airport after collision

Tokyo (AFP) – Japanese workers began clearing the burnt wreckage of a passenger jet on Friday, three days after a near-catastrophic collision with a coast guard plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

Issued on: 05/01/2024

All 367 passengers and 12 crew on board the Japan Airlines plane escaped down emergency slides

 © Richard A. BROOKS / AFP

Five of the six crew on the smaller aircraft died in the incident on Tuesday but all 379 people on the Japan Airlines Airbus were evacuated just before it was engulfed in flames.

TV footage from Haneda, one of the world's busiest airports, showed diggers with cutting equipment sawing up the wings and the charred fuselage as planes took off and landed on adjacent runways.

A Japan Coast Guard spokeswoman said clearance work was also underway to remove the mangled remains of its plane, which had been heading to deliver aid to earthquake-hit central Japan.

The evening collision saw a ball of fire and black smoke erupt underneath the JAL airliner as it sped down the runway after hitting the coast guard plane on the tarmac.

Videos shot by passengers showed bright orange flames seen from the plane windows as babies cried and people shouted for the doors to be opened.

In one clip, a young voice can be heard shouting: "Please let us out. Please. Please open it. Just open it. Oh, god."

All 367 passengers and 12 crew escaped down emergency slides and were all off within 20 minutes, with only two suffering minor physical injuries, JAL said.

Soon afterwards, the entire aircraft was an inferno and dozens of fire engines were trying to put out the blaze.

No 'visual contact'

The cause of the accident is being investigated, with specialist teams travelling from France, Britain and Canada to help with the probe.

The flight recorder and voice recorder from the coast guard plane have been found, as has the flight recorder from the passenger jet.

According to a communications transcript released by the Japanese government, the Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 was cleared at 5:44 pm by air traffic control to land.

On the tarmac, the coast guard plane was instructed 15 seconds later to "taxi to holding point C5" near the edge of the runway.

The pilot acknowledged the order immediately afterwards, the transcript showed.

Roughly two minutes later, the Japan Airlines plane landed and slammed into the coast guard's DHC-8, suggesting that the latter had proceeded onto the actual runway.

Broadcaster NHK said Friday that one of its cameras at Haneda had recorded the coast guard plane entering the runway from a taxiway, and stopping for about 40 seconds before the crash.

The coast guard plane's captain Genki Miyamoto, its only survivor, said immediately after the accident that he had permission to take off, NHK reported.

The JAL flight crew had no "visual contact" of the other plane, although one of them spotted "an object" just before impact, an airline spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

"After the plane landed and around the time when the front wheels touched or were about to touch the ground -- during those few seconds, they said they felt an impact," the spokesman said.

Experts said it was remarkable that the passengers appeared to have left their belongings behind on the plane, including at least one pet dog and one cat.

"Passengers seemed to have followed instructions in a textbook manner," Terence Fan, an airline industry expert from Singapore Management University, told AFP.

"This is exactly what evacuation policies are designed for -- the airframe itself is not meant to survive the blaze, ultimately."

© 2024 AFP