Gaza war one of bloodiest in 21st century: Report

Compared to percentage of population killed, Gaza is among the top 5 most violent conflicts of 21st century, professor tells Israel's Haaretz daily

 15/08/2024 Thursday

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In a recent investigation, Israel's Haaretz daily highlighted the 

ongoing Israeli war on Gaza as one of the “bloodiest” wars of the 21st century.

According to the newspaper, the war has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom were in zones previously designated as “safe” by the Israeli military.

The report criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for accusing “the international community of hypocrisy concerning the war in the Gaza Strip – and to claim it is ignoring other conflicts and humanitarian disasters.”

For example, Netanyahu in January said: “Where was South Africa when millions were killed or expelled from their homes in Syria and Yemen?”

“But a cold examination of the numbers killed in the Gaza Strip reveals this is one of the bloodiest wars since the beginning of the century, especially if you examine the rate of mortality out of the total population,” the report added.

Haaretz pointed out that the Gaza war has resulted in an extraordinarily high death toll, with approximately 40,000 Palestinians killed since the onslaught began on Oct. 7 last year -- equating to around 2% of Gaza's population of two million.

-Targeting safe areas

Despite the Israeli army's designation of certain areas in Gaza as “safe areas,” the daily said that “most of the residents of Gaza have been displaced, but their escape to areas the Israel Defense Forces (army) has designated as safe zones has not always helped, and many have been killed in these areas too.”

The Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted “safe areas” where displaced civilians gathered, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people, including women and children.

The report noted that international organizations and media outlets have consistently verified the casualty figures provided by Gaza's Ministry of Health.

As of Wednesday, the ministry reported nearly 40,000 Palestinian deaths and over 92,000 injuries due to the ongoing war, with more than 10,000 people still missing under the rubble.

Haaretz compared the Gaza conflict to other major humanitarian disasters.

“In the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar, for example, about 25,000 people have been killed, according to the United Nations.

“The war in Gaza also stands out in comparison to wars from the 1990s, for example those that took place in the former state of Yugoslavia. One of these regions was Bosnia, and in the worst year of the conflict, 1991, the average number of deaths per month was 2,097 – and the total number killed over four years there was 63,000,” it added.

- 4,000 fatalities per month

The newspaper highlighted the alarming death rate in Gaza, which averages around 4,000 fatalities per month, far surpassing the monthly death toll in Ukraine's ongoing conflict.

One of the most striking aspects of the Gaza war, according to Haaretz, is the lack of safe refuge for civilians. The densely populated, 360-square-kilometer (139-square-mile) area offers little to no escape for non-combatants, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

“The difference that stands out the most between the rest of the wars of the 21st century and the war in the Gaza Strip is the size of the territory where the fighting is taking place, and the inability of the uninvolved civilians to flee the battles – and in particular the percentage of casualties among the overall population,” the newspaper elaborated.​​​​​​​

Living conditions for displaced civilians in so-called “humanitarian” zones are dire, with overcrowding, disease and a lack of shelter and medical supplies. Haaretz emphasized the staggering impact of the war, noting that 2% of Gaza's population has been killed in less than a year—a level of destruction rarely seen outside of Africa since World War II.

Michael Spagat, a professor at the University of London who specializes in monitoring conflict casualties, told Haaretz that “in terms of the total number of dead, I assume Gaza won't be among the 10 most violent conflicts of the 21st century.”

"But compared to the percentage of the population killed," Spagat assumes it is already “among the top five.”

The devastation in Gaza has led to widespread starvation and malnutrition, particularly among children. As of Wednesday, 115 infants had died since the start of the war, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. The ministry also reported that 37 Palestinians, including children, have succumbed to hunger and malnutrition during the conflict.

Adding to the grim toll, Gaza's Civil Defense announced the deaths of two more rescue workers in Rafah on Wednesday, bringing the total number of first responders killed since Oct. 7 to 82.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 92,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of genocide and ordered a halt to its military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge before the city was invaded on May 6.

Israel’s endgame in Gaza, an impossible mission

by Dr Daud Abdullah
August 15, 2024 

A person holds a placard that reads ‘The Nakba never ended’ in London during the ‘National March for Gaza’ on August 3, 2024 [CARLOS JASSO/AFP via Getty Images]

Throughout the war on Gaza the weapon of disinformation has been used with lethal effect. From the beginning, Israel’s Western allies led the assault on global public opinion. Untruths about the beheading of babies and rape of Israeli women were repeated and overblown without verification. Other fabrications that continue to gain currency include the claim that Israel does not have an endgame in Gaza. Of course it does.

For Israel’s right-wing government, the ideal endgame is a second Nakba. That requires the depopulation of every town and village in Gaza, and the forced expulsion of survivors to the Egyptian Sinai. Eighty-four per cent of Gaza’s territory is now under evacuation orders.

Calls for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza started long before ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’. In October 2021, Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, told Arab parliamentarians: “I am not holding any conversations with you, you anti-Zionists…You are [here] due to a mistake because [Israel’s first Prime Minister David] Ben-Gurion didn’t finish the job and throw you out in 1948.”

More recently, in November 2023, Avi Dichter, the incumbent security cabinet member and agriculture minister, announced: “We are now rolling out the Gaza Nakba.”

“Gaza Nakba 2023. That’s how it’ll end,” he stressed.




Everything that has taken place in Gaza since October 2023 confirms that there is indeed a plan. It is to make Gaza unlivable so that its inhabitants would simply pack up and leave. Already, a total of 1.9 million people, or nine in every ten in Gaza have been displaced.

WATCH: Nakba survivor: ‘The current war on Gaza is crueller than the Nakba’

Even so, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s army remains demoralised and substantially weakened. Senior army officers and officials in the intelligence community have been openly criticising the prime minister, saying that the war is unwinnable. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari caused uproar when he told Israel’s Channel 13 in June that “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.” He added: “To say that we are going to make Hamas disappear is to throw sand in people’s eyes.”

Similarly, former Mossad deputy chief Ram Ben-Barak lamented the fact that Israel is losing the war in Gaza. “This war lacks a clear objective, and it’s evident that we’re unequivocally losing it,” Ben-Barak told Israeli public radio. “We are forced to engage in fighting in the same areas and end up losing more soldiers,” he said.

Faced with this reality of mounting losses of men and equipment, and the refusal of hundreds of reservists to fight in Gaza, the Israeli government has resorted to the supreme court to order the conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into the army. They were previously exempt from military service. Whereas some 1,000 were expected to register on 5 August, only 30 actually turned up.




76 years on, Palestinians are still living the Nakba – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]Like a desperate and compulsive gambler making the last throw of his dice, Netanyahu has therefore decided to intensify the bombing of Palestinian shelters across Gaza, claiming that a similar campaign was conducted by the Allies during World War Two. According to his twisted logic, the Israeli prime minister reckoned that by killing more civilians this would pressure Hamas to surrender or even force the civilians to rise up against the resistance. What he has failed to acknowledge is that after the destruction of 58 German cities, neither did Hitler capitulate or did the German people rise up against him. Likewise, although the German Blitz of London and other British cities in 1940-41 killed an estimated 40,000 people, that did not force the British people to rise up against Churchill.


As it stands, there is nothing to suggest that Gaza’s civilian population is about to seek refuge in Egypt or rise up against the Hamas-led resistance. Israel’s ruling elite have clearly not learnt the lessons from their 1982 invasion of Lebanon. At the time, their objective was to eradicate fighters from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the country. In the end, they were drawn into a war of attrition that lasted two decades until they were booted out in 2000. All that was achieved is that they created the conditions for a resistance movement, Hezbollah, to emerge with a military capability that none of the Palestinian forces possessed then or now.

Having learnt the hard way from their 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the Biden administration has tried in vain to deter Netanyahu from a protracted war in Gaza. For the US, what started as an operation to defeat Al-Qaeda eventually turned into an operation of regime change and then state building. Eventually, it spent two decades fighting in Afghanistan and achieved none of its objectives.

Israel’s current war in Gaza bears distinct similarities to its misadventure in Lebanon and the American fiasco in Afghanistan. Gaza has evidently become the quagmire that was predicted. The ‘absolute’ defeat of Hamas that was promised ten months ago is proving to be more distant and difficult than envisaged. Worse still, the preferred option of expulsion and reoccupation also seems unattainable. With or without an endgame, Israel faces a mission impossible in Gaza.

 Dr Daud Abdullah
abdullahdaud74

China’s Railway Diplomacy on High Speed in Vietnam

2024/08/15•World

UCG/Universal Images Group via G

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Vietnam plans to construct two high-speed rail (HSR) lines in collaboration with China by 2030. The routes aim to enhance transport connectivity with China, boosting economic ties, trade, and investment.

By Dragan Pavlicevic

The Vietnamese government announced in April 2024 that it aims to start construction of two high-speed railway (HSR) lines in cooperation with China by 2030. One of the proposed routes will link Haiphong, a key port in the north of the country, with Lao Cai province bordering China’s Yunnan province, via the capital Hanoi. Another will connect Hanoi to Lang Son province, neighboring China’s Guangxi province.


Traversing some of Vietnam’s key manufacturing hubs and FDI destinations, these lines should eventually become part of an expanded cross-country railway network, as envisioned by long-shelved but recently revived plans to modernize Vietnam’s rail system.

The two proposed railway routes will be important assets for Vietnam’s economy. Improved transport connectivity with China will deepen economic ties, particularly in tourism, trade and investment. Establishing passenger-dedicated lines will free up capacity on the existing cargo railways, which will be crucial as trade volume continues to grow and as manufacturing relocates to Vietnam from China due to rising production costs and geopolitical uncertainties.

The new HSR lines will link up with the recently built lines extending China’s railway network to the Vietnamese border, facilitating imports of Chinese industrial goods and materials. When integrated into the broader transport network across Southeast Asia, Vietnam hopes to benefit from better connectivity with regional markets and further establish itself as an industrial hub and investment destination.

Planners also seem to intend to leverage the project for industrial upgrading and broader development, mimicking China’s experience. China used HSR to acquire new technology and capabilities in the railway sector and as a springboard for a broader developmental agenda, creating new pockets of economic activity around the HSR lines.


There are also important symbolic aspects to capital developmental projects. The ability to deliver economic growth has been fundamental to the legitimacy of one-party rule in Vietnam. The HSR project, which symbolises modernity and development, will play into narratives of competent and effective governance. Understanding itself as a regional leader, modernising the national railway system is also a matter of status positioning for Vietnam, both domestically and internationally.

But there are caveats to Vietnam’s HSR project. High-speed railway projects often fall behind their original deadlines and run over projected costs, raising questions about their cost–benefit ratio and financial sustainability. If the project faces delays, cost overruns or burdensome debt, it may not achieve its goals and will likely adversely affect the credibility of the Vietnamese government. Establishing terms that minimise these risks could prove crucial for defining the project’s long-term impact.

Vietnam must also carefully navigate the geopolitical and geoeconomic context. Hanoi’s relationship with China is burdened by territorial disputes in the South China Sea and Vietnam’s increasing closeness with the United States and Japan in defence and strategic relations. Making Beijing a stakeholder in a capital developmental project which aims to bring economic and strategic gains to both sides will help counterbalance security and strategic tensions and manage related risks. This exemplifies Vietnam’s policy of ‘cooperation and struggle’ towards great powers as it aims to strike a delicate balance between the United States and China while maintaining its autonomy.

It is currently unclear whether the larger north–south HSR route project will also be financed and constructed by China, since Hanoi has previously entered discussions with Japan. While the Vietnamese government could be seeking to balance relations with China and Japan by getting them both involved in this strategically important and economically lucrative railway project, Hanoi could also be instrumentalising this competition for its own benefit. As was demonstrated in the case of Indonesian HSR, bringing the two to compete for the project may result in more favourable terms of engagement when it comes to the price tag, financing conditions and structure of the project.


Sino–Vietnamese HSR cooperation also reveals dynamics related to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in which exports of infrastructure have played a central role. Despite criticisms over the BRI’s financial burdens and political externalities, Chinese efforts to deepen ties with Southeast Asia through the development of modern regional railway networks have recently found new momentum. The completion and reportedly solid performance of China-built railways in Indonesia and Laos seem to have prompted Vietnam to reassess and expedite plans for developing railway infrastructure after years of ambivalence.

This suggests that both the BRI and HSR projects remain important mechanisms for building foreign relations. Beijing’s reformulation and scaling down of the BRI with the slogan ‘small is beautiful’ may have misled some observers to believe that the era of large-scale financing and construction of capital infrastructure projects, characteristic of the BRI during the 2010s, is over.

Yet the BRI remains shaped by pragmatic considerations. As long as the infrastructure gap continues to constrain Southeast Asian countries’ development and demand for infrastructure development persists, China will seek to leverage its experience and resources to deepen connectivity and integration with and across the region.

Dragan Pavlićević is Associate Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University, China.

WAIT, WHAT?!

Disney seeks to dismiss wrongful death lawsuit because widower signed up to Disney+ trial

By Philip Marcelo
Updated August 15, 2024 —

New York: Does signing up for Disney’s popular streaming service mean you have agreed to never sue the entertainment giant over anything forever?

That is what Disney argues in a wrongful death lawsuit involving a 42-year-old New York doctor whose family claims had a fatal allergic reaction after eating at an Irish pub in Disney Springs in October.

Jeffrey Piccolo has claimed his wife Kanokporn Tangsguan’s death was due to an allergic reaction to a dish at a Disney theme park.CREDIT:FACEBOOK

Disney is asking a Florida court to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it by Jeffrey Piccolo, the husband of Kanokporn Tangsuan, a family medicine specialist with NYU Langone’s office in Carle Place, on Long Island.

The company argues Piccolo had agreed to settle any lawsuits against Disney out of court through the arbitration process when he signed up for a one-month trial of Disney+ in 2019 and acknowledged that he had reviewed the fine print.

“The Terms of Use, which were provided with the Subscriber Agreement, include a binding arbitration clause,” the company wrote in its motion. “The first page of the Subscriber Agreement states, in all capital letters, that ‘any dispute between You and Us, Except for Small Claims, is subject to a class action waiver and must be resolved by individual binding arbitration’.”

Disney also notes in its response that Piccolo agreed to a similar arbitration provision when he created an account on Disney’s website and app ahead of the ill-fated theme park visit.


Disney is fighting for a widower's wrongful death suit to be thrown out over a Disney+ trial signed up years ago after his wife died from a severe allergic reaction at the Walt Disney Parks and Resort.

But Piccolo’s lawyer, in a response filed earlier this month, argued that it was “absurd” to believe that the more than 150 million subscribers to Disney+ have waived all rights to sue the company and its affiliates in perpetuity – even if their case has nothing to do with the popular streaming service.

“The notion that terms agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney+ free trial account would forever bar that consumer’s right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, and this court should not enforce such an agreement,” Brian Denney, Piccolo’s lawyer, wrote in the August 2 filing.

Disney, in its May 31 filing, argued that whether Piccolo actually reviewed the service terms is “immaterial”. It also noted the arbitration provision “covers ‘all disputes’ including ‘disputes involving The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates’.”

Arbitration allows people to settle disputes without going to court and generally involves a neutral arbitrator who reviews arguments and evidence before making a binding decision, or award.

Disney said that it is “deeply saddened” by the family’s loss but stressed the Irish pub is neither owned nor operated by the company. The company’s stance in the litigation doesn’t affect the plaintiff’s claims against the eatery, it added.

“We are merely defending ourselves against the plaintiff’s attorney’s attempt to include us in their lawsuit against the restaurant,” the company wrote in an emailed statement.

Raglan Road, the Irish pub in Disney Springs where Tangsuan dined, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday. Disney Springs is owned by Disney, which leases some of the spaces in the outdoor dining, shopping and entertainment complex to other companies.

Piccolo’s lawsuit, which was filed in February, claims that he, his wife and his mother decided to eat at Raglan Road on October 5, 2023, because it was billed on Disney’s website as having “allergen free food.”

After informing their server numerous times that she had a severe allergy to nuts and dairy products, Tangsuan ordered the vegan fritter, scallops, onion rings and a vegan shepherd’s pie.

The waiter then “guaranteed” that the food was allergen-free even though some of the items were not served with “allergen free flags”, the lawsuit states.

About 45 minutes after finishing their dinner, Tangsuan had difficulty breathing while out shopping, collapsed and eventually died at the hospital, despite self-administering an EpiPen during the allergic reaction, according to the lawsuit.

A medical examiner’s investigation determined later she died as a result of “anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system,” the lawsuit said.

An October 2 hearing has been scheduled on Disney’s motion in county court in Orlando. Piccolo seeks more than $US50,000 in his lawsuit.

AP

Philippines poverty rate at 15.5% in 2023, statistics agency says

Youths are pictured at a slum area in Baseco, Tondo city, metro Manila, Philippines

PHOTO: Reuters file

PUBLISHED ON August 15, 2024 

MANILA — The Philippines' poverty rate dropped to 15.5 per cent last year from 18.1 per cent in 2021, with rising food prices limiting the reduction in the number of poor, the government's statistics agency said on Thursday (Aug 15).

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said there were 17.54 million people living below the poverty line, a decrease of 2.4 million from the previous survey two years earlier.

The PSA considers individuals as "poor" if their incomes are not enough to buy basic food and non-food needs.

The government aims to reduce poverty incidence to nine per cent by the end of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's term in office in 2028.

"If food inflation had been lower, of course the reduction in poverty could be much, much bigger," National Statistician Dennis Mapa told a news conference.

The average inflation rate last year was 6.0 per cent, well above the central bank's two per cent to four per cent comfort range.

PSA conducts a family income and expenses survey every two years to determine poverty incidence and other income indicators. Over 160,000 families were interviewed for the survey, PSA said.

Fury in China as deliveryman kneels before guard

Kelly Ng
BBC News

X
Videos of a delivery rider kneeling before a security guard has led to protests in China

Chinese authorities have called for gig workers to be treated with kindness after videos of a delivery rider kneeling before a security guard led to protests by dozens of riders.

Guards stopped the rider from leaving a building in Hangzhou on Monday - saying he damaged railings while scaling them during a rushed delivery.

Worried that his subsequent deliveries would be delayed, the rider got on his knees and pleaded to be let go, the city's police said in a statement.

The incident sparked outrage online, with many urging better protections for workers in the industry.

Some 12 million people work as delivery riders in China, and the pandemic has fuelled explosive growth in the sector.

But the industry - much like in the rest of the world - is notorious for its tight deadlines, where low-wage riders are subject to tough penalties over delays and poor customer feedback.

Many also work long days, earning less than a dollar for each delivery.

The hard life of a homeless Shanghai deliveryman

The incident on Monday drew huge crowds of angry delivery riders to the building in downtown Hangzhou, leading the police to dispatch dozen of officers to manage the situation - including from the special weapons and tactics team.

Videos shared on social media show the riders chanting, "Apologise! Apologise!"

At one point, they start belting out China's national anthem.

Hangzhou police issued a statement on Tuesday urging the public to "stay calm and seek to understand one another".

Meituan, the delivery platform that the rider in question was working for, said it will "take thorough responsibility" to look into whether he was treated unfairly, and ensure its delivery riders are properly protected.

The platform added that it has paid to repair the broken railings.

Hashtags related to the incident have clocked up hundreds of millions of views on microblogging platform Weibo in the last few days.

Some users condemned the security guards' "bullying tactics", while others acknowledged that the rider had made a mistake.

"They are both low-wage workers. Why did it have to come to this?" one user wrote. "It's a hot day, it's not easy for all of us. Let's try to empathise with one another."

Others cited poor working conditions as a factor.

"Why do delivery riders break traffic rules so often? It's simple. They will be fined if their deliveries are delayed," another user wrote.

"This is the power of the platforms they work for. And so the riders work as hard as they can and risk their lives in order to complete what they have to do.

"It's exactly how sweatshops function."

China has over the years introduced guidelines to protect the rights and interests of gig workers, but problems remain.

Incidents of riders clashing with security guards in China have made headlines in the past.

In January this year, a delivery rider in the eastern city of Qingdao was stabbed to death by a security guard for entering a building without authorisation.

Research by the China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based NGO, shows gig workers have held at least 400 protests in the last five years to demand improvements.

Myanmar’s Rebel Militias Redeploy Towards Mandalay


Anti-regime forces aim to take the former royal capital by year’s end.

By Luke Hunt
August 15, 2024
THE DIPLOMAT

The walls and outer moat of the former royal palace in Mandalay, Myanmar

.Credit: ID 237393235 © Vika12345 | Dreamstime.com

Myanmar’s anti-regime forces are being re-deployed to the south, north, and east of Mandalay amid rising expectations of a coming battle with the military aimed at wresting control of the old capital from the ruling junta by the end of the year.

Militias from Kayin (Karen) State in the southeast and Shan State in the north were ordered this week to reinforce Mandalay’s flanks after securing significant battlefield victories elsewhere in the war-torn country, sources with the People’s Defense Force (PDF) told The Diplomat.

“People are selling up their personal belongings in Mandalay. They don’t want to see a repeat of what happened in Lashio. Everyone evacuated their homes as Lashio was falling and they lost all their possessions, including their pets, their dogs,” a PDF source said. “They were too late.”

The source said that the capture earlier this month of Lashio, the largest city in northern Shan State, by the Three Brotherhood Alliance had enabled the redeployment. People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) that are currently training with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) will also be dispatched to support an offensive on Mandalay, the source added.

“They’re building up a force to take Mandalay and the generals within the EAOs and PDF are telling us that they want to capture Mandalay before the end of 2024,” she said, adding the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) from the Three Brotherhood Alliance was also sending troops.

With the fall of Lashio the military lost control of its Northeast Regional Command and a major defense garrison, which sent soldiers scurrying and enabling a broader framework to be established for a tilt towards Mandalay.

Some 20 Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), including the KNLA and the three armed groups that make up the Three Brotherhood Alliance, as well as their PDF allies, have recorded a series of stunning victories since launching a dry season offensive last November.

They now control nearly all of Myanmar’s ethnic states, long stretches of the country’s borders with Thailand, Laos, China, Bangladesh, and India, and about 75 major towns and cities.

The major exceptions are Yangon, Naypyidaw, and Mandalay in the Irrawaddy Basin, the traditional home of the military which ousted an elected government in early 2021 and tipped the country into civil war.

EAO troop deployments are also on the back of recent battlefield victories by the Mandalay PDF. Last weekend, it launched offensives on three townships, 100 kilometers southwest of Mandalay, seizing a Chinese-owned oil and gas pipeline, a police station, and a garment factory used as a junta post.

Meanwhile, NUG-backed militias captured nine military posts near Thabeikkyin, about 100 kilometers north of Mandalay, on the Irrawaddy River. These were small gains in the overall context of the three-and-a-half-year conflict but the PDF source said rebel militias were now poised.

“Mandalay will be next and the EAOs-PDF including the Karen who are sending forces north are confident that it will be taken before the end of this year. After that it’s difficult to say where next but Naypyidaw and Yangon are the obvious choices,” she said.

Should Mandalay fall, then the international political dynamics should also change in favor of the exiled National Unity Government (NUG) and its struggle for recognition among regional players, in particular India, China, and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

China is still pushing the prospect of elections – even if restricted to areas under military control – India has stuck with the military by closing its borders, and ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus has been reduced to barely a talking point when leaders and foreign ministers meet.

In fact, ASEAN has proved infuriating and contributed little to any peace effort. Its sole focus has been negotiations with the military. One negotiator, a former prime minister, has apparently offered refuge for the military’s chief Min Aung Hlaing, if required.

Like most wars, Myanmar’s conflict is a battle of perceptions. Mandalay, the historical seat of kings until the British annexation in 1885, remains the country’s cultural center and its importance can not be discounted. Whoever controls Mandalay will lay claim to the country.

China backs Myanmar's efforts for early political reconciliation

China's top diplomat Wang Yi meets with Myanmar's junta leader

Anadolu staff |15.08.2024 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

ANKARA

China on Thursday backed the Myanmar junta’s efforts towards early political reconciliation, saying that Beijing is willing to deepen bilateral ties with its Southeast Asian neighbor.

After arriving in Myanmar on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the junta chief.

"China supports Myanmar's efforts towards early political reconciliation within the constitutional framework, and is willing to work with Myanmar to deepen bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields," the state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang as saying.

In June, Min Aung Hlaing announced the holding of long-delayed elections next year, an announcement also welcomed by political parties.

The junta leader said that Myanmar attaches great importance to its relations with China, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to remain a friendly neighbor that China can always trust, according to Xinhua.

He also thanked Beijing for playing a key role to bringing peace to Myanmar and said he hoped China will continue supporting Myanmar in safeguarding domestic stability and achieving political reconciliation.

"Myanmar stands ready to continue to work with China in combating cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud and will never allow any act that harms China's security and interests," he said.

In February 2021, Myanmar’s army overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power in a military coup.

The country fell into deep social, political, and economic turmoil as the army launched brutal campaigns against perceived opponents.

Since October, fighting between the military and armed opposition groups has intensified and spread to most of Myanmar.

Since the 2021 coup, over 2,470 airstrikes have been carried out, resulting in over 1,300 deaths.

More than 2.8 million people in the war-torn country are displaced, and at least 18 million require humanitarian aid, according to UN agencies.


*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid

 

‘The night is also ours’: Thousands light Kolkata streets in vigil after gruesome rape, murder of doctor in hospital

Medical professionals and activists hold posters and candles as they take part in a midnight protest to condemn the rape and murder of a young medic, in Kolkata on August 14, 2024. — AFP pic

Thursday, 15 Aug 2024 

KOLKATA, Aug 15 — Thousands took to the streets of Kolkata early Thursday morning to condemn the rape and murder of a medic that has triggered protests across India demanding better safety for women.

The discovery of the 31-year-old’s brutalised body last week at a state-run hospital has sparked widespread outrage, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding swift punishment for those who commit “monstrous deeds” against women.

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Large crowds marched through the streets of Kolkata in West Bengal to condemn the killing, with a candlelight rally at midnight coinciding with the start of India’s independence day celebrations on Thursday.

The protesters in Kolkata, who marched under the slogan “reclaim the night”, called for a wider tackling of violence against women and held up handwritten signs demanding action.

“We want justice,” read one sign at the rally. “Hang the rapist, save the women,” read another.

“The atrocities against women do not stop,” midnight marcher Monalisa Guha told Kolkata’s The Telegraph newspaper.

“We face harassment almost on a daily basis,” another marcher, Sangeeta Halder, told the daily. “But not stepping out because of fear is not the solution.”

Medical professionals, activists and citizens of Siliguri chant as they take part in a protest march named 'The Night is also ours' to condemn the rape and murder of a young medic, in Siliguri on August 14, 2024.

Doctors in government hospitals across several states on Monday halted elective services “indefinitely”, demanding speedy justice and better workplace security.

Protests have since occurred in several other hospitals across the country, including in the capital.

Modi, speaking in New Delhi on Thursday morning at independence day celebrations, did not specifically reference the Kolkata murder, but expressed his “pain” at violence against women.

“There is anger for atrocities committed against our mothers and sisters, there is anger in the nation about that,” he said.

“Crimes against women should be quickly investigated; monstrous behaviour against women should be severely and quickly punished,” he added.

“That is essential for creating deterrence and confidence in the society.” — AFP

‘Reclaim the night’: Thousands rally in India after doctor’s rape, murder

Protesters across India are demanding more safety for women after a trainee doctor’s body was found in a state hospital.

15 Aug 2024

Thousands of people protested in the eastern city of Kolkata to condemn the rape and murder of a doctor in a state-run hospital that also provoked demonstrations across India demanding better safety for women.

The protests were held at more than 100 locations across Kolkata and spread to surrounding towns in the state of West Bengal late on Wednesday and rallies took place in several other Indian cities early into Thursday morning.

The 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, her brutalised body discovered last week.

Large crowds of women and men marched through the streets of Kolkata, with a candlelight rally at midnight coinciding with the start of India’s Independence Day celebrations on Thursday

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Students join demonstrators for a midnight rally protesting against the murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata, India [File: Bikas Das/AP]

The protesters in Kolkata and other cities, who marched under the slogan “reclaim the night”, called for a wider tackling of violence against women and held up handwritten signs demanding action.

“We want justice,” read one sign at a Kolkata rally. “Hang the rapist, save the women,” read another.

Many government hospitals in cities across India suspended all services except emergency departments earlier this week, as junior doctors sat outside in protest, demanding justice for the victim.

“Doctors nationwide are questioning what is so difficult about enacting a law for our security,” Dhruv Chauhan, from the Indian Medical Association’s Junior Doctors’ Network, told the Press Trust of India news agency. “The strike will continue until all demands are formally met.”

“It is not just about one night. Every night, women should have this freedom and choice to go out, so that in future no girl child’s parents have to think in case it gets late in the evening, whether their child shall return home safe or not,” Shalini Datta, one of the demonstrators, told The Telegraph newspaper, which is based in Kolkata.

Tanushree Das attended one rally with her daughter. “I believe the night is not just for men to enjoy, women also have equal rights. We have come out to claim this space for ourselves so that women no longer have a sense of fear associated with nights,” she said.




Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking in New Delhi on Thursday at Independence Day celebrations, did not specifically reference the Kolkata case but expressed his “pain” at violence against women.

“There is anger for atrocities committed against our mothers and sisters, there is anger in the nation about that,” he said.

“Crimes against women should be quickly investigated; monstrous behaviour against women should be severely and quickly punished,” he added.

“That is essential for creating deterrence and confidence in the society.”

Crimes against women in India rose 4 percent in 2022 from the previous year, data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), released late last year, showed.

At one Kolkata protest, a male participant, Neel Ghosh, said: “There is only space for justice now, nothing else, we will not be satisfied with anything else other than real justice.”

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

'Hang the rapist': Thousands protest after rape, murder of medic in India

Demonstrators held signs calling for justice and an end to violence against women.



AP

Large crowds marched through the streets of Kolkata in West Bengal to condemn the killing, with a candlelight rally at midnight. / Photo: AP


Thousands took to the streets of Kolkata to condemn the rape and murder of a medic that has triggered protests across India demanding better safety for women.

Large crowds marched through the streets of Kolkata in West Bengal to condemn the killing, with a candlelight rally at midnight coinciding with the start of India's Independence Day celebrations on Thursday.

The discovery of the 31-year-old's brutalised body last week at a state-run hospital has sparked widespread outrage, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding swift punishment for those who commit "monstrous deeds" against women

The protesters in Kolkata, who marched under the slogan "reclaim the night", called for a wider tackling of violence against women and held up handwritten signs demanding action.

"We want justice," read one sign at the rally. "Hang the rapist, save the women," read another.

"The atrocities against women do not stop," midnight marcher Monalisa Guha told Kolkata's The Telegraph newspaper.

"We face harassment almost on a daily basis," another marcher, Sangeeta Halder, told the daily. "But not stepping out because of fear is not the solution."

Halt of medical services

Doctors in government hospitals across several states halted elective services "indefinitely", demanding speedy justice and better workplace security.

Protests have since occurred in several other hospitals across the country, including in the capital.

Modi, speaking in New Delhi morning at Independence Day celebrations, did not specifically reference the Kolkata murder but expressed his "pain" at violence against women.

"There is anger for atrocities committed against our mothers and sisters, there is anger in the nation about that," he said.

"Crimes against women should be quickly investigated; monstrous behaviour against women should be severely and quickly punished," he added.

"That is essential for creating deterrence and confidence in the society."

Israeli army kills 2 more Palestinians during raid in northern occupied West Bank

2 Palestinians were killed in drone strike on Balata refugee camp in city of Nablus

Ahmed Asmar |15.08.2024 -



ANKARA

The Israeli army on Thursday morning killed two Palestinians and injured four others in a drone strike on the Balata refugee camp in the city of Nablus city in the northern occupied West Bank.

According to official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the drone strike took place as Israeli forces raided the Balata camp in eastern Nablus, triggering clashes with Palestinians.

It quoted local sources that identified the two slain Palestinians as Ahmad Sheikh-Khalil and Wael Masheh, both from the refugee camp.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces hindered the movement of the ambulances transferring the injured to hospital.

Israeli forces have been carrying out regular raids across various areas of the West Bank, which have escalated since the start of the Gaza conflict last Oct. 7. Palestinians have also faced violent attacks by illegal Israeli settlers.

Since then, at least 632 Palestinians have been killed, and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and called for the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar

Kurdish militias, Assad regime forces agree to Russia-brokered deal after clashes in eastern Syria

August 14, 2024 

Syrian fighters group load a pickup-mounted rocket launcher before firing at Syrian government forces’ positions in the northwest of Aleppo province on January 1, 2024 [OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images]

Kurdish militias and Syrian regime forces have agreed to a Russia-brokered deal to end a week of clashes and hostilities in eastern Syria, amid ever-increasing breakdowns in relations between Damascus and the militias.

Last week, Arab tribal forces in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor that are allied to the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad and Iran launched a surprise offensive on areas held by Kurdish-led militias under the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), capturing two towns in the province that are located near an oilfield held by American forces.

In retaliation during the clashes, Kurdish forces surrounded and besieged Syrian regime forces in the centres of the two major cities of Qamishli and Hasakah in the north-east, and also detained several Syrian army officers on their way to a security compound in Hasakah from their base outside the city.

It represented a severe breakdown in relations between the regime and the Kurdish-led authorities, collapsing a long-standing agreement which has seen the two often join forces, boost collaboration and mutually tolerate each other’s military presence in those provinces.

According to the Emirati newspaper, The National, which cited two unnamed Kurdish militants sources who spoke to it, Russian military officials set themselves on a mission to patch up the relations over the past few days following the events, with Russian officers reportedly going back and forth between a Syrian regime compound and Kurdish militia commanders in an effort to resolve the fallout.

Those efforts finally resulted in a deal brokered by the Russians on Monday, which stipulates that the Arab tribal forces allied with Assad and Iran would halt their attacks, and that regime officers and personnel would be released in exchange for 15 Kurdish militants captured over the last week.

“The pressure we have been applying on the regime helped” to achieve the deal, one of the Kurdish militia sources was quoted as saying.