Political row erupts overs Hurricane Helene disaster relief

Brajesh Upadhyay and Jake Horton
BBC News, Washington


A political row has erupted after Donald Trump claimed Americans hit hard by Hurricane Helene were losing out on emergency relief money because it had been spent on migrants.

The White House swiftly rebutted the claims and accused Republicans of spreading "bold-faced lies" about funding for the disaster response.

On Wednesday US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), which he oversees, was short on cash for the rest of hurricane season.

Trump and his allies expressed outrage that the agency had spent over $640m (£487m) on housing migrants. But US officials said that money was allocated through a totally different funding pot to disaster relief.

With less than a month to go before the White House election, Trump and the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris are neck and neck in the handful of swing states, such as storm-hit North Carolina and Georgia, that will decide the vote.

The deadliest mainland US hurricane since Katrina in 2005, Helene tore through the south-east last week, claiming at least 225 lives and leaving hundreds more missing.

Both Trump and Vice-President Harris have made trips to some of the affected states.

At an event in Evans, Georgia, on Friday, Trump said: “A lot of the money that was supposed to go to Georgia and supposed to go to North Carolina and all of the others is going and has gone already.

“It's been gone for people that came into the country illegally, and nobody has ever seen anything like that. That's a shame.”

Fema did receive a budget from Congress - $640m in the last fiscal year - to provide housing to immigrants applying for US citizenship.


Hurricane Helene: North Carolina house swept down river and smashes into debris

But the cash came via a federal immigration agency, Customs and Border Protection.

It was spent through Fema's Shelter and Services Program (SSP) and is a separate pot of money to the agency's Disaster Relief Fund of nearly $20bn, which is used to respond to hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Fema's disaster relief budget for the year expired at the end of September and the agency is currently running on temporary funding while Congress negotiates a new annual budget.

The agency has responded to Trump's claim with a dedicated fact-check page, and a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

“This is false," Fema said in a statement. "No money is being diverted from disaster response needs.”

So far, more than $45m has been given to communities affected by Hurricane Helene, said the agency.

Fema has also shipped over 11.5m meals and 12.6m litres of water in the aftermath of Helene, said Vice-President Harris on Friday, adding that more than 5,600 federal personnel were on the ground.

But Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday that it was "madness" for billions of dollars in foreign aid to be sent to Ukraine, instead of to American citizens who had lost everything in the storm.

Meanwhile, critics of Trump have pointed out that when he was president back in 2019, $155m was transferred from Fema's operating budget to fund deportations of migrants to Mexico.

CRYPTOZOOLOGY

I found Loch Ness monster on ship’s sonar, claims captain

By Mark Macaskill
Daily Telegraph UK·
4 Oct, 2024 


Sloggie claims the image picked up on his sensors resembles a plesiosaur at the bottom of Loch Ness.

A captain has claimed he found the Loch Ness monster using the sonar system on his boat.

Shaun Sloggie, 30, was preparing his Spirit of Loch Ness pleasure boat to sail last month when a large object was spotted on the vessel’s underwater sensors.

The outline, which was detected nearly 100m beneath the surface of the Highland loch, bears an eerie resemblance to a plesiosaur, which many have speculated could be the reptile group the fabled Loch Ness Monster belongs to.

The footage has reignited speculation that Nessie, the creature alleged to inhabit the large body of water near Inverness, might really exist.

“I said: ‘What the hell is that?’” recalled Sloggie of the sighting on September 22.
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“It was bigger than anything else I’ve ever seen. We’ve seen all sorts of fish that shouldn’t be here, but this? This was different. You should have felt the chills on the boat.”

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he added: “I’ve worked here for nine years and never seen anything like it.

“And sonar doesn’t lie, the boat hasn’t been on five whisky distillery tours before going out on the loch, it’s just doing its job.”
Object remained visible for two to three minutes

Sloggie, who works for Cruise Loch Ness, said the object remained visible for two to three minutes and that he and maritime pilot Liam McKenzie, 29, were able to take a screenshot before it disappeared from the dashboard.

He said it appeared in different colours, which are thought to indicate pockets of air and heat signatures suggesting the object was alive.

A previous sonar image captured on Loch Ness in 2020 was said to be the most “compelling” evidence yet of the existence of Nessie.

Sloggie said the previous image was believed to show a creature “eight to 10 metres long and one metre wide” but speculated that the new object was “a lot bigger than that”.

The image was captured while the boat was close to the mouth of the loch, which Sloggie said was the ideal location for a large predator to catch salmon and other fish going in and out.

“There are fish in the loch that shouldn’t be here. There are prehistoric creatures living in the loch and unknown codes of DNA, so there is room for mystery,” he said.

“This could change the angle of science on the loch. But how do you find out what it is? I’ve always known there’s something there. What it is, is a mystery. But it definitely springs open people’s imaginations. It’s not just about tourism, there’s real science in studying the loch.”

Discover more

'Loch Ness monster' spotted in tourist's photo
Loch Ness mystery: Is Nessie a giant eel?
Did Rhys Darby just prove the Loch Ness Monster exists?
'Incredible' photos emerge during largest Loch Ness hunt in 50 years

With a depth of almost 243m and a length of about 38km, Loch Ness has the largest volume of freshwater in Great Britain. It is thought to be about 10,000 years old and was formed at the end of the last Great Ice Age.

An official register of sightings has now logged 1157 reports – including webcam images – from records and other evidence stretching back through the centuries.

On May 2, 1933, the Inverness Courier carried a story about a local couple who claimed to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface”.

Another famous claimed sighting is a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson.

It was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed that the pictures were staged.

Other sightings include James Gray’s picture from 2001 when he and his friend Peter Levings were out fishing on the loch, while namesake Hugh Gray’s blurred photo of what appears to be a large sea creature was published in the Daily Express in 1933.

US ignored evidence of Israeli arms misuse and rushed more weapons — report

State Department officials pushed to restrict weapons sales to Israel due to human rights concerns in Gaza, but their appeals were repeatedly denied by higher-ups, according to an investigation by ProPublica.

In late August, the Times of Israel said, citing the Israeli Defence Ministry, that the army received over 50,000 tons of weapons since the start of Tel Aviv's genocide in besieged Gaza. / Photo: AA Archive

Top American officials dismissed appeals from several State Department officials to stop weapons deliveries to Israel, even amid escalating civilian casualties in besieged Gaza, according to a new investigation.

According to an investigative piece by ProPublica, which cited leaked emails and cables, when the Palestinian death toll stood at around 25,000 deaths in late January, US envoy to Israel Jack Lew urged the State Department to approve the delivery of 3,000 more bombs to Israel, arguing it wasn't possible the Israeli military would misuse the weapons.

ProPublica, a non-profit investigative journalism outlet based in New York, said the pressure to keep arms deliveries to Israel also came from US military contractors who manufacture the weapons.

"Lobbyists for those companies have routinely pressed lawmakers and State Department officials behind the scenes to approve shipments both to Israel… When one company executive pushed his former subordinate at the department for a valuable sale, the government official reminded him that strategising over the deal might violate federal lobbying laws," the ProPublica investigation said, citing leaked emails.

The US State Department's response to ProPublica article didn't address any of the highlighted issues, and only said that the US expects recipients of US arms to be compliant with international law.

An Israeli government spokesperson, however, slammed the article as "biased", saying it's trying to portray the US-Israel relations as "improper."

Despite documented reports and evidence of Israel deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians, Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged the civilian sufferings, but said, "We started with the premise on October 7 that Israel had the right to defend itself."



Protecting Israel from scrutiny

The investigation also emphasised that the US embassy in Israel tries to protect Israel from scrutiny, with US diplomats in Israel refusing to take funds from the State Department's Middle East Bureau earmarked to probe human rights violations carried out by Israel.

"In most places, our goal is to address human rights violations," Mike Casey, a former US diplomat in occupied Jerusalem, was quoted in the investigation as saying.

"We don't have that in Jerusalem."

Despite disagreeing on almost every issue, both Democrats and Republicans hail Israel as a "beacon of democracy" in a region filled with opposition to US interests.

Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has said she has no intention of changing Joe Biden's policy towards arming Israel during an interview with CNN.

Republican candidate Donald Trump has also argued that no US president served Israel like he did, saying that he is the "best friend Israel has ever had".



Israel lives on US donation


Israel is the largest recipient of US aid and military assistance. Since 1948, Israel has received over $310 billion in aid from the US, both economic and military.


According to Israeli media, the military has received over 50,000 tonnes of weapons since the start of Tel Aviv's genocide in besieged Gaza.


The Biden administration has so far resisted calls to condition any arms transfers to Israel even though senior US officials have criticised Tel Aviv over the high civilian death toll in Gaza, where Tel Aviv has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 100,000 others in last 365 days.

Some 10,000 Palestinians are feared to be buried under rubble of the bombed homes.

Another 10,000 have been abducted by Israel and dumped in Israeli torture chambers. Experts and some studies say this is just a tip of an iceberg and the actual Palestinian death toll could be around 200,000.

Israel is accused of genocide at the ICJ and Palestinians says US is fully complicit in it.
SOURCE: TRT World

River level at Amazon rainforest port hits 122-year low amid drought


Reuters
Published on Oct. 4, 2024

Scientists predict the Amazon region may not fully recover moisture levels until 2026.

By Bruno Kelly and Jake Spring

MANAUS, Brazil (Reuters) - The river port in the Amazon rainforest's largest city of Manaus on Friday hit its lowest level since 1902, as a drought drains waterways and snarls transport of grain exports and essential supplies that are the region's lifeline.

Below-average rainfall - even through the rainy season - has plagued the Amazon and much of South America since last year, also feeding the worst wildfires in more than a decade in Brazil and Bolivia. Researchers say climate change is the main culprit.

RELATED: Brazil's Amazon rainforest fires in August reach 14-year high

Scientists predict the Amazon region may not fully recover moisture levels until 2026.

Last year, the drought became a humanitarian crisis, as people reliant on rivers were stranded without food, water or medicine.

A drone view shows boats stranded on the Rio Negro as the river reached its lowest point in its history during the most intense and widespread drought the country has experienced since records began in 1950, in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil October 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Bruno Kelly)

This year authorities are already on alert. In hard-hit Amazonas state, at least 62 municipalities are under states of emergency with more than half a million people affected, according to the state's civil defense corps.

"This is now the most severe drought in over 120 years of measurement at the Port of Manaus," said Valmir Mendonca, the port's head of operations, who said the river level is likely to keep falling for another week or two.

With the region never fully recovering due to weaker-than-usual seasonal rains, many of the impacts of the drought last year look set to repeat or reach new extremes.

The Port of Manaus measured the Rio Negro river at 12.66 meters on Friday, according to its website, surpassing the previous all-time low recorded last year and still falling rapidly.

SEE ALSO: Amazon rainforest could be next source of deadly viruses, scientists warn

The Rio Negro is a major tributary of the Amazon River, the world's largest river by volume. The port sits near the "meeting of the waters" where the black water of the Negro meets the sandy-colored Solimoes, which also hit a record low this week.

Grain shipments have been halted on the Madeira River, another tributary of the Amazon, because of low water levels, a port association said last month.

Researchers are once again finding the carcasses of Amazon freshwater river dolphins, which they blame on thinning waters driving the threatened species into closer contact with humans.

Port worker Francisco Ferreira measures the level of the Rio Negro at the Porto de Manaus as the river reaches its lowest point in its history during the most intense and widespread drought the country has experienced since records began in 1950, in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil October 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Bruno Kelly)

National disaster monitoring agency Cemaden has already called the drought Brazil's worst such event since at least the 1950s.

The drought has also sapped hydropower plants, Brazil's main source of electricity. Energy authorities have approved bringing back daylight saving time to conserve electricity, although the measure still requires presidential approval.

The extreme weather and dryness is affecting much of South America, with the Paraguay River also at an all-time low. That river starts in Brazil and flows through Paraguay and Argentina to the Atlantic.

The same extreme heat and dryness is helping drive surging fires in the Amazon and neighboring Pantanal, the world's largest wetlands. Bolivia is also on track to break a record for most fires ever recorded, according to data from Brazil's space research agency.

(Reporting by Bruno Kelly in Manaus and Jake Spring in Sao Paulo; Editing by Brad Haynes and Matthew Lewis)

UK Submarine Service report uncovers misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours

'We must be better than this and do better than we have,' said the head of the Royal Navy (Picture: MOD)

The head of the Royal Navy has apologised after an investigation found misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours had taken place in the Submarine Service.

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key, said he had accepted all 37 recommendations of the investigation in full.

Adm Sir Ben apologised to the whistleblower who raised the alarm about alleged sexual harassment and abuse on board the UK's submarines.

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• US Navy welcomes first submarine built for mixed-gender crew into the fleet

He ordered an internal inquiry into the claims made in a newspaper interview in October 2022 by Sophie Brook, a former naval officer, and other women about their treatment while serving in the elite Submarine Service.

Adm Sir Ben confirmed that misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours did happen and described it as intolerable.

He accepted all of the recommendations in the report including the formation of a new Head of Culture team and a review of submariner leadership training.

The First Sea Lord also commended the courage of Ms Brook in coming forward.

'We must be better'

Adm Sir Ben said: "As the Head of the Royal Navy, today I also offer a public apology, both to Ms Brook and to any personnel – past or present – that have been subject to any form of unacceptable behaviour during their time in service.

"I am truly sorry."

The Royal Navy chief alluded to how the service would go forward to improve the experiences of personnel in the Royal Navy while understanding "there is more to be done".

He added: "Poor practices and behaviours in the past that may have been normalised in some quarters should never have been considered acceptable, and they have no place today.

"We must institute a culture that does not allow space for this behaviour to exist, and we must deal with perpetrators swiftly, without fear or favour, which I can confirm we have now done.

"Internal action has been taken against a number of individuals, up to and including discharge from the service."

Adm Sir Ben concluded his statement by saying: "We must be better than this and do better than we have."

The allegations

BFBS Forces News understands some of the allegations were reported to the MOD's serious crime unit, but there was insufficient evidence to bring prosecutions. However, it is also understood that three people were discharged as a result of the investigation.

The investigation's report has now been published, but much of it is heavily redacted.

The allegations included several reports of sexual misconduct, including the assault of a woman in her bed by a man of higher rank who tried to kiss her. She was then discouraged by the XO from reporting it.

Another of the allegations made was that a "crush depth rape list" is common across the service in which women and men are marked in the order they would be raped in a catastrophic event.

The specific allegation made to the investigation, their consideration of the evidence and their conclusion on the balance of probabilities were all redacted.

But the report does say the allegation led to several recommendations, one of them being administrative action as a result of the findings.

Another allegation was that bras were stolen from the laundry, leading to a recommendation that personnel be given the resources to wash their own underwear.

Royal Navy whistleblower who raised alarm about abuse on UK submarines tells of relief after investigation

Sky News
Fri 4 October 2024 


A whistleblower says she feels relief after the Royal Navy apologised for misogyny, bullying and unacceptable behaviour that she experienced while serving.

A long-awaited investigation into sexual harassment and abuse on board the UK's nuclear-armed submarines found "intolerable" behaviour - and it said more needs to be done despite the Royal Navy's recent attempts to improve the experience of personnel.

Sophie Brook - who raised the alarm in 2022 - spoke to Sky News following a meeting with the head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Ben Key.


She said she welcomed the Navy's apology to her but she wants to see meaningful changes.

"I am appreciative of the full and unreserved apology that the First Lord Sea has given me," she said.

"That means a lot to have had that both verbally and in a written letter and acknowledgment of everything that happened.

"I have relief that it's finally come to an end."

Ms Brook first spoke to Sky News in October 2022 when she detailed misogynistic abuse and bullying that she said led her to self-harm, including finding a serving officer naked in her bed and having an officer stick his tongue in her ear while she looked through a periscope.

Describing her ordeal, she said: "I was punched in the kidneys while I was on the periscope, I had someone lick my ear while I was again on the periscope and the same person put their penis in my pocket.

"It ranged from quite minor to serious incidents but even the minor ones - when they're repeated or sustained over a number of months or years, actually they start to weigh you down."

Ms Brook previously told Sky News she initially raised concerns internally about her alleged mistreatment. But she claimed that the Royal Navy turned on her, accusing her of fraud and of revealing information about the movement of a submarine.

She was formally dismissed from the service in June 2022 and handed a five-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. By that time, she had already resigned and left the navy.

On the fraud charge, Ms Brook said she decided to plead guilty at court-martial because she had not been allowed more time to produce bank records that she claimed showed she had made car journeys that she had claimed petrol money for.

On the litigation, a Royal Navy spokesperson said previously: "All court martial trials are independent and presided over by a judge advocate, who is appointed in the same way as judges in other courts and ensures that matters are handled fairly and in compliance with the law."

Admiral Key ordered an internal inquiry into the claims made by Brook and other women about their treatment while serving in the elite Submarine Service.

In a statement, Admiral Key said: "The conclusion of the investigation into misconduct in the Submarine Service marks an inflection point for the Royal Navy.

"The investigation has confirmed misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours did occur during the investigation period, and this is intolerable.

"As the head of the Royal Navy, today I also offer a public apology, both to Ms Brook and to any personnel - past or present - that have been subject to any form of unacceptable behaviour during their time in service. I am truly sorry."

The number of women serving in the Royal Navy remains low and even more so in the Submarine Service where women were only allowed to serve from 2014.

Sky News understands in the last two years alone, there have been nearly 30 investigations into misogyny and sexual offences, and more than 20 individuals have been discharged.

Ms Brook said she hopes the Navy's response is not just a token gesture, but a starting point for real, substantive change.

She said: "I think all that really matters is that the actions in future change...

"Certainly everything that the government was saying they are doing in the Royal Navy to improve things in the submarine service sounds like they should work and should improve the lived experience of people.

"Hopefully as long as these things do happen, it will make life better."

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK


Royal Navy chief apologises after investigation finds ‘bullying and misogyny’ in submarine service

Jane Dalton
Fri 4 October 2024 

A Royal Navy investigation found ‘misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours’ in the submarine service (Getty)


The head of the Royal Navy has apologised after an investigation found “misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours” in the submarine service.

There was at least one report of rape, and women suffered lewd comments and sexual gestures, an official report has revealed.

The first sea lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key, ordered an investigation two years ago into allegations made by former lieutenant Sophie Brook, who had described a “constant campaign of sexual bullying”.

The report found numerous cases of abuse, lewd comments and ‘at least’ one report of rape (Getty)

Sir Ben said on Friday: “The investigation has confirmed misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours did occur during the investigation period, and this is intolerable. During the investigation process, Ms Brook made several requests for redress.

“Those that are within my gift to offer – I have. When I met with Ms Brook this morning, I apologised to her personally and unreservedly, praising her courage in coming forward.

“As the head of the Royal Navy, today I also offer a public apology, both to Ms Brook and to any personnel – past or present – that have been subject to any form of unacceptable behaviour during their time in service. I am truly sorry.”

He added: “We must be better than this and do better than we have.”

Ms Brook said she was still concerned about ‘the navy’s commitment to delivering meaningful change’ (Getty)

Ordering the investigation in 2022, he branded the allegations “abhorrent”, promising: “Anyone who is found culpable will be held accountable for their actions regardless of their rank or status.”

A heavily redacted final report of the investigation into allegations across the submarine service listed numerous incidents of abuse and harassment by male submariners, some of whom were senior officers, against their female colleagues.

Among the most serious were at least one report of rape, while others included lewd comments and sexual gestures.

Administrative action, “up to and including discharge from the Royal Navy”, has been taken against “several individuals”, according to an executive summary published alongside the full report.

Ms Brook told Sky News she was still concerned about “the navy’s commitment to delivering meaningful change”.

She said: “It is my hope that this report is not just a token gesture but a starting point for real substantive change.

“I came forward not just to see justice for myself but to shine a light on a culture that for too long has been permitted to thrive within some of the most elite branches of the armed forces.”

The Ministry of Defence said it was improving reporting mechanisms for sexual offences and that it had a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offences.


Women in UK's submarine forces suffered bullying and abuse by male colleagues, probe finds

PAN PYLAS
Fri 4 October 2024

LONDON (AP) — Women in the submarine forces in the U.K.’s Royal Navy suffered multiple incidents of abuse and harassment by male submariners, some of whom were senior officers, including of “at least” one report of rape, according to an internal investigation published Friday.

The heavily redacted report arose from allegations by former Lt. Sophie Brook of a “constant campaign of sexual bullying” she had endured while in the service.

The head of the Royal Navy apologized to Brook personally as the investigation's findings were made public while praising her "courage" in coming forward.

Admiral Ben Key, who ordered the probe in 2022 after the allegations came to light, said the “investigation has confirmed misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable” behavior.

"This is intolerable," he said. "Today I also offer a public apology, both to Ms. Brook and to any personnel — past or present — that have been subject to any form of unacceptable behavior during their time in service. I am truly sorry.”

Brook, who has since left the submarine service, said “multiple people” had contacted her with similar concerns after she first went public with her accusations.

After leaving the Royal Navy in early 2022, Brook was subsequently given a suspended jail sentence for sharing in an email sensitive information about her experience in the submarine service.

The report stated that there have been sanctions “up to and including discharge from the Royal Navy” against “several individuals.”

In a statement provided to Sky News, Brook said she “remains concerned about the Navy’s commitment to delivering meaningful change."

“I came forward not just to see justice for myself but to shine a light on a culture that for too long has been permitted to thrive within some of the most elite branches of the Armed Forces," she said.

Women make up about 10% of full-time Royal Navy personnel and have been eligible to serve on submarines since 2011, with the first women joining three years later.

Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate

Marie HEUCLIN
Fri 4 October 2024 

Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean is one of the most important 

US military bases and was used for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq 

Raymonde Desiree was 25 when she was forced to leave her native Chagos Islands as Britain emptied the Indian Ocean archipelago of its inhabitants to make way for a strategic military base.

Fifty-one years later, the petite matriarch says she, like many Chagossians living in Britain, is angry at not being given a say in the islands' fate as they are now handed over to Mauritius.

Britain announced Thursday that it would transfer sovereignty of the remote archipelago but keep the joint American-British base on Diego Garcia island, an agreement US President Joe Biden hailed as "historic".


But in Crawley, a town south of London that is home to a large Chagossian community, members of the diaspora described the announcement as the latest in a long line of injustices.

Desiree recalled giving birth to her first child on the boat that took her to the Seychelles from the Chagos Islands, as Britain emptied the archipelago of its inhabitants shortly after granting independence to Mauritius -- but not the Chagos -- in 1968.

From there, she was sent to Mauritius, where she "suffered", especially from discrimination, she told AFP through an interpreter, speaking her native Creole.

Granted British citizenship, like the other roughly 2,000 Chagos inhabitants who were expelled, she eventually moved to Britain in 2004.

She said the new deal left her "saddened".

"When I was born, the Chagos Islands weren't under Mauritius," she said.

"I will never be Mauritian," said Jemmy Simon, 36, whose grandparents were among those expelled from the Chagos.

Despite her British passport, "I'm Chagossian," she said.

"Going back to the Chagos Islands under Mauritian rule, that's not going to happen. We were not consulted... They should have given us the right of self-determination."

- 'Uprooted' -

The deal aims to put to rest half a century of legal battles over the islands.

It comes after the International Court of Justice recommended in 2019 that Britain hand them over.

During the hearings, Britain apologised for the "shameful" eviction of islanders. But it ignored the ICJ ruling at the time.

Under the agreement, members of the Chagossian diaspora will be allowed to return -- though not to Diego Garcia, the largest of the archipelago's roughly 50 islands.

But "that's where my parents are from", said Marilyn Ladouceur, 65, adding that the deal had left her "extremely angry".

Born in Mauritius, she recalled an impoverished childhood there before moving to Britain in 2004.

The deal, she said, will turn the Chagos Islands "into another Mauritius".

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk on Friday urged Britain and Mauritius to make sure the ensuing treaty cementing the deal will "fully embrace human-rights driven solutions to the outstanding issues of remedy and reparation of the wrongs of the past".

It should "enable the Chagossian people to return to their ancestral territories... (and) build sustainable and prosperous futures", he said in a statement.

But beyond the difficulties of repopulating a remote archipelago and despite the promise of financial assistance under the deal, a return looks unlikely for many Chagossians now living in Britain.

Louis Vivian Marie, 72, said he had felt "uprooted" ever since leaving the islands at seven or eight years old.

"How can such a thing happen?" he says he still wonders.

But he says he plans to stay in Britain with his Mauritius-born wife, who is applying for British citizenship.

Desiree, meanwhile, has abandoned her dream of returning.

"I'm too old," she said, adding she was also unsure in what kind of condition she would find her long-deserted island.

mhc/alm/fjb/jhb/js

UK cedes Chagos Islands to Mauritius in deal securing Diego Garcia military base

NEWS WIRES
Thu 3 October 2024 




The UK agreed on Thursday to renounce sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, but agreed a deal with Mauritius to secure the future of a UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia.

The British government agreed Thursday to hand sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, in a deal to secure the future of a strategically important U.K.-U.S. military base.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the agreement will secure the future of the base at Diego Garcia, the largest in the chain of remote islands off the tip of India that has been under British control for over 50 years.

The base, which is home to around 2,500 personnel, mainly Americans, has been involved in military operations including the 2003 war in Iraq and the long-running war in Afghanistan.

Britain's Labour government said without the deal the secure operation of the military base would be under threat, with contested sovereignty and legal challenges, including through various international courts and tribunals.

The agreement also paves the way for the potential return of the few people still alive who were forcibly displaced from their homes on the islands decades ago.


Where are the Chagos Islands, why has the UK given them to Mauritius and what about the Falklands?

William Mata
Fri 4 October 2024 

Where are the Chagos Islands, why has the UK given them to Mauritius and what about the Falklands?


The UK Government has reached a political agreement to allow Mauritius to take sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

The historic agreement struck this week means Mauritius will assume sovereignty over the archipelago while the joint US-UK military base remains on Diego Garcia island.

Reaction to the deal was mixed, with some hailing the end to a bitter and long-running dispute over Britain's last African colony.

But others, including Tory leadership candidates, suggested it could undermine UK security.

Here is what it means.

The Chagos Islands (Google Maps)
Where are the Chagos Islands?

The chain of Indian Ocean islands are claimed by Mauritius but are actually more than 2,000km away from the African nation.

Chagos has seven atolls and around 60 islands; of these, Diego Garcia is by far the largest.

Mauritius is an island off the east coast of Madagascar, also an island, which is off the coast of south-east Africa.

Chagos archipelago is a strategic point in the Indian Ocean between Africa and India, which is why it is a useful spot for nations seeking regional influence.

Around 3,000 people live on the islands, who are mostly British and American servicemen.

Britain is giving up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean in return for securing the long-term future of a strategically important military base (John Parker/Sylvia Cordaiy Photo Library Ltd/Alamy/PA)

How did the UK come to have the islands?

The islands were home to the Chagossian people before they were expelled in the Sixties and Seventies by the US and UK governments as they established an airbase on Diego Garcia.

The Chagossians mostly then settled in Mauritius and have not been allowed back since, although the new agreement paves the way for their return.

There is a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, part of the cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean that makes up the Chagos Islands (PA Media)

Why has Britain handed it to Mauritius?

Human rights campaigners, who have called for full reparations to generations affected by the forcible displacement of islanders, argued the deal does not go far enough to address the wrongs of the past.

Chagossians were forced to leave the central Indian Ocean territory in the Sixties and Seventies to make way for the military base.

The expulsions are regarded as a shameful parts of Britain's modern colonial history and Chagossians have spent decades fighting to return to the islands.

The United Nations' highest court, the International Court of Justice, previously ruled the UK's administration of the territory was unlawful and must end.

A joint statement from the UK and Mauritius governments said the new deal will be subject to a treaty that will "address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians".

The Foreign Office said the agreement means the status of the base will be undisputed and legally secure.

Former Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell (PA Archive)
Could China now develop a base?

There have been concerns raised by Labour’s political opponents that the agreement will allow China to develop influence in the area.

Former foreign secretary James Cleverly described the move as "weak, weak, weak" while former security minister Tom Tugendhat suggested it risked allowing China to gain a military foothold in the Indian Ocean.

Jonathan Powell, the prime minister's special envoy for negotiations between the UK and Mauritius, said China would not be able to develop a base in the Chagos Islands.

He said United States officials have been "intimately involved" in the negotiations, telling Times Radio: "Every single sentence and paragraph has been through an inter-agency process, all of the agencies in Washington. We've secured all of their red lines in that negotiation.

"When you come to see the detailed treaty, which is really quite long with the exchanges of letters, you'll see that this idea of a Chinese base is just hooey. It can't happen, won't happen.”

The treeless landscape of the Falkland Islands (PA Media)
Will the UK now hand back the Falkland Islands to Argentina?

After the UK agreed to return the Chagos Islands, the Argentine foreign minister, Diana Mondino, said it is time to take steps for the Malvinas (as the Argentinians call the islands) are returned.

"We welcome this step in the right direction and the end to outdated practices,” she said.

“Following the path we have already taken, with concrete actions and not empty rhetoric, we will recover full sovereignty over our Malvinas Islands.

"The Malvinas were, are and will always be Argentine."

Argentina has long wanted back the Falklands but residents of the islands voted 99 per cent in favour of remaining part of the UK in 2013.

In a statement earlier on Thursday, Falklands governor Alison Blake sought to reassure residents that Britain's commitment to the South Atlantic territory was "unwavering".

She said the historical context of the two territories was "very different".
What other territories does the UK have?

British overseas territories are listed by the government as:

Anguilla


Ascension


Bermuda


British Virgin Islands


Cayman Islands


Falkland Islands


Gibraltar


Montserrat


St Helena


Tristan da Cunha


Turks and Caicos Islands

Gang jailed over 'shocking' McDonald's slavery case

Leigh Milner
BBC News, East of England
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court, London
Brian Farmer
BBC News, East of England

BBC

Three gang members who trafficked 12 people from eastern Europe have been jailed after being convicted of trafficking and modern slavery.

Men and women had been forced to work in various places including McDonald’s in Caxton, Cambridgeshire, and at a bakery in Hertfordshire, prosecutors said.

Zdenek Drevenak, 47, was given a 13-year jail term, Jiri Cernohous, 49, a nine -year term and Martin Slovjak, 46, a four-year term at Southwark Crown Court.

All three, who come from the the Czech Republic and lived in Enfield, north London, were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court in May.

Crown Prosecution Service
(left-right) Jiri Cernohous, Martin Slovjak and Zdenek Drevenek have been convicted of trafficking, forced labour and servitude offences

"The victims, who spoke little or no English, were forced to work in various roles at a bakery in Hoddesdon, a car wash, a McDonald’s restaurant, as well as carry out domestic household tidying and cleaning," said a spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after Friday's sentencing.

"The wages earned were routinely withheld from the victims aside from the occasional release of a derisory sum."

She said "vulnerable" people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia were "often selected" from "poor or rural" backgrounds with a "view to being exploited".

They had been housed in Enfield, she added.

'Invisible handcuffs'


Specialist prosecutor Kate Mulholland said victims were "controlled and manipulated" in the "most despicable way".

She described the case as "shocking... [they] may not have been under lock and key, but their ability to escape was undermined by the various methods of control – and as a result they remained trapped in ‘invisible handcuffs’".

The CPS said victims had passports and identity documents confiscated.

Gang members went on trial after an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.


A recent BBC report told how signs of modern slavery, including paying the wages of four men into one bank account, were missed and victims were exploited for more than four years.

McDonald’s UK said it had improved systems for spotting "potential risks", while the British Retail Consortium said its members would learn from the case.

Crown Prosecution Service
Monika Daducova is awaiting sentence for similar modern slavery offences


The CPS said a fourth gang member also convicted of similar offences, Monika Daducova, 44, also living in Enfield, would be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

Israel acting with impunity in Middle East, says former Irish President

MEMO
October 4, 2024 


Former Irish President Mary Robinson attends a press conference after the first meeting of the International Working Group on Environmental Consequences of Military Actions held in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 29, 2023. [Vladimir Shtanko – Anadolu Agency]

Former Irish President, Mary Robinson, on Friday accused Israel of acting with impunity in the Middle East, highlighting what she sees as a lack of restraint on the part of global powers, particularly the US, Anadolu Agency reports.

Her comments came amid heightened tensions in the region, with Israeli air strikes reported in southern Beirut and the Occupied West Bank.

Speaking on RTE’s Morning Ireland, Robinson, representing The Elders—an international non-governmental organisation founded by Nelson Mandela and Richard Branson—emphasized the need for de-escalation from all parties involved in the conflict.

She stressed that The Elders condemn violence on all sides and are in no way anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic.

“All parties need to de-escalate and recognise that military aggression and retaliatory attacks cannot solve this conflict,” she said. “Civilians are paying the price for the pursuit of military approaches over dialogue and political solutions.”

READ: 1 year of Gaza genocide: Pro-Israel bias pervades Western media, says expert

Robinson highlighted the contrast in the international community’s response to Israeli and Palestinian civilians, criticising Israelis’ protection from potential Iranian attacks while accusing global powers of failing to provide any form of protection for Palestinian civilians in Gaza and Lebanese civilians.

This disparity, according to Robinson, illustrates a broader imbalance in the international response to the crisis.

She added that The Elders have long called for the US to restrain Israel’s military actions through measures such as the suspension of arms transfers.

“Arms transfers, especially of offensive weapons that are not required for legitimate self-defence, cannot be justified in a context where international humanitarian law is being violated,” she argued.

Robinson specifically criticized US President, Joe Biden, for continuing to supply arms to Israel despite widespread harassment of violations of international law. “International humanitarian law is being horribly transgressed,” she said, referring to the impact of Israel’s recent attacks in Gaza.

In her strongest remarks, Robinson condemned what she called Israel’s “overreaction” in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of nearly 42,000 people and countless injuries, particularly among children.

She warned that the current escalation, which includes strikes on Lebanon, has the potential to spark further conflict with Iran.

“This bad right-wing government of Israel has decided it can now attack aggressively,” Robinson said. “It has over-reacted in relation to Gaza and decimated Gaza with not just 42,000 killed, but think of the injuries, particularly to children, life-affecting injuries. Now the people of Lebanon and the potential for retaliatory attacks on Iran.”

Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 41,800 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.

The conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,100 people and injured over 3,000 others since 23 September.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

Religious fundamentalism in Israel threatens road to peace: Ex-UK envoy

MEMO
October 4, 2024 

Palestinians walk near debris of destroyed buildings as the scale of destruction, caused by Israeli attacks, comes to surface following the withdrawal of Israeli army in Khan Yunis, Gaza on September 29,2024. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]

As Israel continues its major offensives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, while also striking Syria and Yemen, a diplomatic breakthrough toward peace seems more distant than ever.

Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his right-wing Likud Party lead the Israeli government, but it also includes figures positioned even further to the right, many with a strong religious agenda that some, like retired British diplomat William Patey, might label extremist.

Patey, a former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, is concerned over the growing influence of religious extremism in Israeli policy-making, which he believes is a major obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

In an interview with Anadolu, Patey emphasized that religious ideologies, particularly among fundamentalist Jewish groups, are complicating negotiations and obstructing progress toward a two-state solution.

“When religion is brought into political argument, you’re dealing with fundamentalists, dealing with fundamentalist Jews,” he said, highlighting the difficulties this brings to negotiations.

Despite these challenges, he affirmed that Britain remains committed to supporting Israel’s right to exist within secure borders but warned that this should not come at the expense of Palestinians’ right to their own State.

“We now have a problem of 40,000 Palestinians being killed in Gaza and many people are growing up with unprecedented hatred toward Israel,” Patey noted.

He also discussed the evolving stance of Arab states, many of which have expressed a willingness to normalise relations with Israel through the Arab Peace Initiative if a Palestinian State is established.

“The majority of Arab states have made it absolutely clear they are more than willing to accept Israel as a normal, friendly partner within the Middle East if there’s a Palestinian State,” Patey explained.

READ: PA President Abbas says peace, tolerance cannot coexist with occupation

He stressed the need to gain wider acceptance in Israel for any peace initiative, warning that without it, peaceful co-existence between Israel and Palestine would remain elusive.

Reflecting on the UK’s current diplomatic approach, Patey described British policy as a “balancing act”, reiterating the UK’s support for Israel’s security while also being committed to the establishment of a Palestinian State.

“Britain will never abandon Israel if there’s an existential threat,” he said, but emphasized that this support must not undermine the Palestinians’ right to a secure and sovereign State.

Patey called for renewed efforts to convince Israelis of the merits of a two-state solution, cautioning that failure to do so could perpetuate instability in the region.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on 7 October last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Nearly 41,600 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 96,200 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

KINKY

Netanyahu planted listening devices in former UK PM's toilet, Johnson claims

October 4, 2024 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets with Benjamin Netanyahu at No. 10 Downing Street, in London, United Kingdom on September 5th, 2019. [Kate Green – Anadolu Agency]


Former UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has made a startling claim in his memoir “Unleashed”, alleging that a listening device was discovered in his personal bathroom at the Foreign Office following a visit by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in 2017.

Johnson said that Netanyahu, whom he refers to as “Bibi”, excused himself to use the facilities during their meeting. The former PM states “it may or may not be a coincidence but I am told that later, when they were doing a regular sweep for bugs, they found a listening device in the thunderbox.”

The allegation comes amid a history of similar accusations against Israel. In 2018, Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, was accused of placing listening devices near the White House to eavesdrop on then-President Donald Trump. According to Politico, three former US officials claimed that Israel had been identified by the FBI as the culprit behind the placement of several miniature devices in Washington DC, designed to monitor mobile telephone traffic.

The recent allegations have reignited discussions about Israel’s espionage activities against its so called allies. Historical cases include Jonathan Pollard, a former US Navy intelligence analyst, who was convicted of passing classified information to Israel in the 1980s. Another notable case is that of Ben-Ami Kadish, an American mechanical engineer who pleaded guilty in 2008 to providing classified US military documents to Israel. Additionally, Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood producer, admitted to being an Israeli spy in the 1970s and 1980s, helping to acquire technology for Israel’s nuclear weapons program.

Although not directly connected to Israel, the case of Jewish-Americans, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, is relevant to the broader history of espionage involving US secrets. The Rosenbergs were convicted of passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, an act that significantly advanced Soviet nuclear capabilities. The Rosenbergs’ case is often cited as one of the most famous instances of espionage during the Cold War and resulted in their execution in 1953.

In 2016 British intelligence labelled Israel as a “true threat” to the security of the Middle East. The revelations were reported by French newspaper, Le Monde, based on top secret documents obtained by whistleblower, Edward Snowden.

The latest case of alleged espionage targeting Johnson has sparked a conversation about whether Israel is a genuine ally of Western nations. Notably, after World War II, Zionist extremism became British spies’ biggest enemy, as revealed in an article by the Foreign Policy magazine.

Britain’s Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, was among the targets for assassination as was Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, who was regarded in 1946 as the main obstacle to the establishment of a Jewish state in the Middle East. The Stern Gang hit list included MI5’s new director-general, Sir Percy Sillitoe, who warned Atlee that “an assassination campaign in Britain had to be considered a real possibility”.

Users of X took to social media to highlight Zionism’s long track record of conducting terrorism. “Revisionist Zionists conducted a campaign of terror against British targets in Palestine, Germany, Italy, Egypt and in the UK in the 1940s” tweeted Professor David Miller.

Miller went on to list a number of Zionist terrorism in the UK specifically:

“The Stern Gang invented the book bomb and used it for the first time in the UK to attempt to kill Major Roy Farran in Wolverhampton. They killed his brother Rex, instead. The bomb was inside a hollowed out copy of Shakespeare’s plays”.

“They also tried to kill many of the Cabinet with 21 letter bombs targeting every prominent member of the Cabinet, including Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, Stafford Cripps and Sir Anthony Eden.”