Red hands raised in Congress as US seeks more funds for wars

Anwar Iqbal 

DAWN

Published November 1, 2023

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin testifies as protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza raise their hands, painted in red, during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Austin, on Tuesday.—AFP


WASHINGTON: As US secretaries of state and defence began to brief the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday on the Biden administration’s request for more money to fund the wars in Israel and Ukraine, a line of anti-war protesters got up and raised red-stained hands in the air.

They shouted: “Ceasefire Now, Protect the Children of Gaza and Stop Funding Genocide” before they were removed from the room.



Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Biden administration’s request for an additional $106 billion, which includes $14.3 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian relief — including for Israel and Gaza.

A press release sent to various media outlets said the protesters were from an organisation called CODEPINK.

The organisation said multiple members, including 29-year US Army veteran and former diplomat Col. Ann Wright and peace activist David Barrows, were arrested for their actions. CODEPINK said the red-painted hands of the silent audience members were meant to symbolise blood.

The protesters also said they attended the hearing to denounce the Biden administration’s support for “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.

Secretary Blinken did not respond to the protesters, but when he was asked later about the possibility of a ceasefire, he said that would only help Hamas regroup. A pause, however, for humanitarian reasons can be considered, he added.

Also on Tuesday, a prominent Jewish intellectual and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote in his column, “Israel, it’s time to consider a ceasefire”.

Similar sentiments were echoed by thousands of Jewish peace activists across the US who called for immediate ceasefire and justice for Palestinians. Rabbi Alissa Wise, a rabbinical council member with Jewish Voice for Peace, told CNN she wakes “up every single morning with tears in my eyes, rage in my heart and I channel it into action”.

Wise, who has distributed hundreds of messages demanding peace in the Middle East, said: “My coping mechanism is to yell into the void, yell into the halls of Congress.”




Earlier this week, thousands of Jews and other peace activists marched on Capitol Hill, where they carried Palestinian flags and rallied in support of Palestinian rights.

Rabbi Wise led a smaller sit-in with hundreds of activists inside one of the Capitol buildings. The action was organised by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow, two of the largest US Jewish groups calling for a just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

Last week, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly called for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas, which was angrily dismissed by Israel.

“We’re watching a genocide unfold in real time. In just three weeks, the Israeli military has killed over 8,000 Palestinians in Gaza, among them over 3,000 children,” JVP said in a statement. “That’s more than the annual number of children killed in conflicts across the globe since 2019.”

JVP and its supporters shut down the Grand Central station in New York this weekend to emphasise the need for a ceasefire in Gaza.



“Ceasefire now.” “Let Gaza live,” Banners covering train schedules at Grand Central declared. “Never again for anyone” and “Palestinians should be free.”

JVP said that thousands attended the protest, about 500 participated in civil disobedience, and over 350 people were arrested, including rabbis, elected officials, elders, and celebrities. The sit-in was the largest act of civil disobedience in New York City since the Iraq invasion.

Recent opinion surveys show that the protests are having an impact on American public opinion, even though not as much as the protesters expect.

A News-Nation/Decision Desk HQ poll released on Monday found 49 per cent of respondents said their sympathies lie more with Israelis, while 10pc said their sympathies lie more with Palestinians. Another 26pc said they sympathised “about equal” between both Israelis and Palestinians, and 15pc said they weren’t sure.

Younger voters — aged 18-34 — were more likely than older voters to say they sympathise more with Palestinians as 24pc of that age group said they were with the Palestinians. While 52pc of Americans approve of President Biden’s handling of the conflict, 48pc disapprove.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2023

Intertwined struggles

BLM activists see many similarities between victimisation of Palestinian and young African-American men

Rafia Zakaria 

Published November 1, 2023 

A LOT of things about the current conflict between the state of Israel and the occupied territories of Palestine reflect past positions. Just like it always does, the US has thrown its support behind the Israeli state.

And as has been typical of it, the US stood with Israel by voting against the UN resolution calling for a humanitarian truce this past weekend. President Joe Biden has reiterated his support numerous times and has also shown scepticism about the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks.

Many other US lawmakers, both Democrat and Republicans, have fallen in line behind him; echoing their support in accordance with the sums of money they draw from the Israeli lobby. The exception to this rule has been a group of progressive Congresswomen, including Palestinian-American Rashida Tlaib and Somali-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, but there are very few politicians who have agreed with their point of view.

However, at the same time, there is something remarkably different about the way this particular Palestinian-Israeli conflict is being perceived in the US. It is an important factor because if anyone at all can defeat the powerful pro-Israel lobbyists who have done everything they can to shore up support, it would be a swing in opinion in the American voting public. Of late, there has been evidence of just that.

Over the past several weeks, demonstrations in support of Gaza have been taking place non-stop all over America. In larger cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Detroit, these demonstrations have drawn many thousands of participants.

One of them, organised by the Jewish group Jewish Voices for Peace, that was demanding a ceasefire, occupied all of Grand Central Station this past weekend, forcing police to shut down the rail terminal. “Not in our name,” the protesters chanted, underscoring how the ceaseless bombardment of the Gaza Strip was not something that they, as Jewish people themselves, supported.

Crucial to the new protests has been a translation of the Palestinian cause and the occupation of Muslim lands into a language that Americans understand. In recent years, or at least as far back as 2021, pro-Palestinian activists began collaborating with organisers from the Black Lives Matter movement.

Crucial to the new protests has been a translation of the Palestinian cause into a language that Americans understand.

Reporting on pro-Palestinian protests that were held in 2021 — another time clashes between Hamas and the Israeli state were taking place — National Public Radio reported on how collaboration between pro-Palestine supporters and African-American civil rights activists happened in two phases.

Prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, African-Americans many of them evangelical Christians, had supported Christian Zionism and along with that the establishment of the Israeli state. Following the 1967 war, and Israel’s military takeover of Palestinian land this perspective began to change.

Today, the actions of the Israeli state are being seen as acts of settler-colonialism in which white people largely from Europe took over the land of the Palestinians using the power of the British Empire.

Another way to put it would be that Europeans still unwilling to deal with sizeable population of Jews in Europe decided to settle them on land owned, loved and tended by non-Europeans and Muslim people. In the first few decades following 1967, such a perspective was being described as anti-Semitic.

That accusation, where any criticism of the state of Israel is termed ‘anti-Semitic’, is still being levelled by many Jewish-Americans who are aghast at the sudden support for the Palestinian cause.

However, the work done by the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement on American campuses has been successful in highlighting how the support US lawmakers have given to Israel is akin to providing the state with a moral carte blanche to kill and occupy with impunity.

BDS is still coming under tremendous fire, its supporters or really any pro-Palestinian college students at Ivy League colleges in the US have faced threats and intimidation this time as well.

Other student groups, such as those involved with Black Lives Matter, have seen for themselves how powerful Jewish interests, who want to deflect attention away from anything Israel decides to do, come after BDS supporters.

Over the years, the Israel-Palestine conflict has been seen from the perspective of the oppressive politics of white supremacy. Black Lives Matter activists see many similarities between the victimisation of Palestinian men by Israeli authorities and the victimisation of young African-American men by the police in the US.

TikTok, particularly TikTokLive, has provided a platform for some of these conversations. In one recent one, African-American civil rights activists and Zionist Jews attempted a dialogue. The former were quick to question the entitlement of the latter along with their use of phrases similar to the ones racist whites have long used against them.

One of these, ‘I have Palestinian friends’, came under scrutiny in its suggestion that everyday interactions somehow take away the reality of Jewish Israelis being the oppressors or at least complicit in oppression and the Palestinian Arabs being largely defenceless.

It is not just African-Americans. One poll taken after Hamas’s Oct 7 attacks revealed that 25 per cent of Americans in their early 30s have positive views about the Palestinian struggle against occupation. The volume of people at protests and at other such online forums suggests that the percentage is an accurate reflection of changing views.

If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is translated via the lens of the American civil rights movement, it is very likely that support for it will continue to increase. If this is the case, closer to the US presidential election, it may change calculations about support for Israel.

That would be a very tall order for a country that sends billions to Israel every year as even a small shift can lead to a very different vision of the future.

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.
rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2023

The Arab inaction

The ongoing Israeli war in Gaza has compounded the predicament of Arab countries

Zahid Hussain 

Published November 1, 2023 

WITH the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, public opinion around the world is turning against the Israeli invasion. While protest rallies are sweeping across the globe, Western countries have remained steadfast in their backing for Israel’s war crimes.

Ignoring calls to obey the laws of war, Israeli jets hit the Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday, massacring dozens of civilians sheltered there. The relentless Israeli bombings have killed over 8,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, but the US and some of its Western allies are still not willing to call for a ceasefire.

Now, with the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza underway, an already catastrophic situation in the occupied territory is worsening. It is not just an unfolding humanitarian crisis; the use of brutal military power, in fact, threatens the entire region.

The theatre of conflict is expanding with the Israeli bombing of Lebanon and Syria and the extension of military action to the West Bank.

Despite incessant Israeli bombing over the last few weeks, which has reduced a large part of Gaza to rubble, the Palestinian resistance has not been crushed. The Israeli prime minister has warned that the war in Gaza will be a protracted one.

It is already perhaps the longest war Israel has fought since it became a state. It has also exposed the vulnerability of the Zionist state, notwithstanding its massive military power. Even the complete destruction of the Gaza Strip would not make this colonial power secure.

Meanwhile, the US has increased its military presence in the region, heightening the danger of an American-backed Israeli invasion turning into a wider conflagration. That will not only have implications for the Middle East, it will also impact global geopolitics.


The ongoing Israeli war in Gaza has compounded the predicament of the Arab countries.

The ongoing Israeli war has compounded the predicament of the Arab countries, some of whom had made peace with Israel. Initially, the response of most of these countries was guarded, and they avoided direct condemnation of the Israeli aggression.

It was not surprising, given their receding support for the Palestinian struggle against occupation and their move to normalise relations with the Zionist state despite its policy of expansionism and apartheid.

But with public outrage at the massacre of the Palestinian population rising at home, these governments have come under intense pressure, causing some tangible shift in stance. The Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza, which killed hundreds of people, has particularly heightened tensions, forcing Arab states to cancel their summit meeting with President Joe Biden in Amman.

The American president was then visiting Israel to show solidarity with its leaders over the Oct 7 attack by Hamas that killed hundreds of Israeli soldiers and civilians. There, he justified Israel’s massive military response as the country’s ‘right to defend itself’.

No step has been taken by Israel thus far to stop its invasion. There is not even any move by the Arab countries to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel, which is the least they could have done to increase the pressure on that country.

The Arab League meeting in Cairo on Oct 11 condemned the killing and targeting of civilians “on both sides”, equating the occupied and the occupation force. The Arab foreign ministers, who attended the meeting, vaguely talked about the need for peace, even as Israel relentlessly bombed the occupied territory in an action that has no parallel in recent years.

There was no mention of Israel’s long blockade of the enclave, which is home to over two million Palestinians, and the virtual ethnic cleansing that led to the Oct 7 incident. Surely, the killing of Israeli civilians cannot be condoned; but equating it with the ongoing massacre in Gaza is sheer hypocrisy. The response of the OIC countries has been equally feeble and flimsy.

But the widespread public protests triggered by the attack on the hospital have compelled the Arab states to play a more proactive role. Recently, Arab foreign ministers succeeded in lobbying UN member states to pass a UN General Assembly resolution condemning both the Oct 7 attacks and Israel’s atrocities, and calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities”.

The watered-down, non-binding resolution was passed by the UNGA by an overwhelming majority, demonstrating Israel’s growing isolation in the international community.

Along with Israel, the US voted against the resolution, rejecting any restraint in the use of military power. Soon after the resolution, Israel launched the ground invasion of Gaza, cutting off all communication lines. Hundreds more children have been killed in Gaza since then.

What has provided Israel complete impunity is the increasing indifference of Arab countries towards the Palestinian right to a state. Several Arab countries have recognised Israel under the US-sponsored Abraham Accords of 2020, including the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

The name of the Abraham Accords is meant to reflect the shared belief of the Abrahamic faiths, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, regarding the role of Abraham as spiritual patriarch.

The UAE and other Gulf countries saw commercial and other benefits in the field of technology in the agreement, which is also envisaged as an anti-Iran front. Interestingly, Sudan agreed to join the accord on the American assurance that the country would be removed from the list of states promoting terrorism.

Huge financial benefits were also promised to the impoverished nation. Similarly, Morocco signed the normalisation agreement with Israel in exchange for US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over disputed Western Sahara.

Although Saudi Arabia didn’t sign the accord, it gave its tacit approval to the deal. The kingdom, however, had come close to recognising the Zionist state just before the start of the latest Israeli war on Gaza.

The accord certainly helped Israel ease its isolation and there was nothing in the deal about Palestinian rights and the end of Israeli expansionism. Israel even continued to build settlements on the occupied land with no end in sight to the apartheid.

The so-called peace agreement is one-sided. In fact, it allows Israel to further suppress the Palestinian population. Now, coming under growing public pressure, some Arab leaders are condemning the Israeli aggression but are not ready to go beyond that. In fact, they don’t mean what they say.

The writer is an author and journalist.
zhussain100@yahoo.com
X (formerly Twitter): @hidhussain

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2023

COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT

Child deaths in Gaza exceed global rate: NGO
Monitoring Desk 

Published October 31, 2023 

Damaged residential buildings are seen in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, near Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City October 30, 2023. - Reuters

THE number of children who have lost their lives during the recent Israeli military campaign over the past three weeks in Gaza has exceeded the annual child mortality rate in armed conflicts worldwide for each of the past four years, Save The Children said.

Gaza’s health authorities have reported that over 3,000 children have been killed since October 7.

“Decades of conflict and the ongoing military occupation and blockade of Gaza hinder the right to self-determination and consequently, has adverse impacts on the development of Palestinian communities, greatly increasing the vulnerability of children, particularly children most impacted by inequality and discrimination,” the report by Save The Children said.

“Palestinian children and their families continue to live in an environment characterised by violence, poverty and insecurity,” it added.

The report also underscores that children with disabilities encounter extra hurdles because of physical barriers and discrimination in society. The impact of war on them means their traumas will require a significant amount of time to heal.

The United Nations secretary general’s annual report on children and armed conflict, cited by Save the Children, reveals that in 2022, a total of 2,985 children were killed in 24 countries, with 2,515 in 2021 and 2,674 in 2020. In 2019, the UN reported 4,019 children killed in global conflicts.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2023

Canadian govt, civil society at odds over Gaza invasion

Syed Rashid Husain 

DAWN

Published October 31, 2023 

Children climb on the rubble of a destroyed home the day after an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp, in Gaza Strip on Monday.—AFP

TORONTO: With a tragedy of immense proportions unfolding before the world’s eyes in Gaza, the heat from the conflict is being felt around the world, in all realms; Canada being no exception.

Despite being a G7 member and ‘the closest ally’ of the US, Ottawa, is finding it hard to balance its response.

On the streets, protests are breaking out throughout the country, virtually every day, urging the government to act. Although both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel are holding demonstrations, the pro-Palestine faction is obviously more dominant now, and cars waving Palestinian flags are also becoming a common sight in many parts of the country.

In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 raid on Israel by Hamas, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to be solidly standing by Tel Aviv.

The stance generated a calibrated and strong reaction from within Canadian civil society, which so proudly speaks of its diversity.

Although cars waving Palestinian flags are becoming a common sight on the streets, Canadian varsities and legislatures are still trying to balance their pro-Israel tilt with pro-Palestinian public sentiment

To temper his stance, Trudeau visited a mosque in Toronto the very next Friday, where he received a somewhat hostile reception. He was booed, with many congregants underlining that people in Gaza are also humans.

“Shame on you. How many more Palestinian children need to be slaughtered?” a woman in the crowd was heard asking the prime minister outside the mosque, as he was leaving. “How many more before you call for a ceasefire?”

Muslims have historically been supporters of Trudeau and his Liberals, and many here think that this episode would carry a political backlash for him. With his popularity already sliding, he cannot afford to offend the Muslim vote bank much, observers say.

The conflagration in the Middle East has already resulted in a political casualty; the incumbent New Democrat Party (NDP) lawmaker from Hamilton, Toronto, 29-year-old Sarah Jama, was ejected from the party caucus over her statement on Gaza.

The rookie parliamentarian —who reportedly has family in the Palestinian territories — had focused on the plight of Palestinians under Israeli occupation in her statement. Later, she also accused Israel of being an “apartheid” state.

Student unions in the limelight

While the political fallout continues, another battle is raging in educational institutions, generating a debate on the issue of promoting the battle of ideas within the campuses and limits on it.

On October 12, three York University unions — the York Federation of Students, York University of Graduate Student Association and the Glendon College Student Union — issued a joint statement expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people “and their ongoing fight against settler-colonialism, apartheid, and genocide.”

The next morning, on Friday, the university issued a statement, saying it “unequivocally condemns the inflammatory statement(s)” by its student unions. Later Jill Dunlop, Ontario’s minister of colleges and universities urged student groups to apologise and rescind their stance.

The next week, on October 20, York University further demanded the executive board of the three student unions to step down, warning that noncompliance could result in sanctions, including the university no longer recognising the unions.

Around the same time, 74 students at Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) Lincoln Alexander School of Law (LASL) delivered an online letter to the school, expressing their “unequivocal support” for Palesti­nians. The letter listed several demands, which included a call for the law school to “name and confront Israel’s colonial violence.”

It also urged the administration to recognise the Palestinian “resistance as fundamentally just.”

But as expected, this letter also sparked a backlash among certain sections of society, with online threats emerging to report the students to the Law Society of Ontario and to future law firm employers.

The university is now undertaking a formal independent review to see if the letter has breached policies on non-academic conduct and freedom of speech.

Then, last week, the Ontario-based Western University fired chaplain Aarij Anwer, who also served as a volunteer counsellor for Muslims, after he made online comments about the Gaza crisis that the school’s president called “divisive”.

Anwer’s post was in response to comments by former Canadian Senator Linda Frum, who criticized a Toronto rally supporting Palestinians.

In a statement on X, Anwer said: “No one is celebrating the murder of Israeli babies. Palestinians are mourning the death of their babies. It’s incredible how Israel sympathisers simultaneously are the oppressor and the victim.”

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2023

 

COVID-19 Test Info of 81.5 Cr Indians Leaked in Biggest Data Breach: Report

A crore (/krɔːr/; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 10⁷ in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000

Newsclick Report | 30 Oct 2023

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Names, Aadhaar and passport information, phone numbers and addresses have been advertised on the dark web, according to US cybersecurity agency Resecurity.

In the country’s biggest data leak, COVID-19 test details, including names, Aadhaar and passport information, phone numbers and addresses, of 81.5 crore Indians with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have been advertised on the dark web.

According to an exclusive report by News18, American cybersecurity and intelligence agency Resecurity noticed the leak on October 9.

A threat actor going by the alias ‘pwn0001’ posted a thread on Breach Forums accessing Aadhaar and passport records.

Pwn0001 shared spreadsheets containing four large leak samples with fragments of Aadhaar data as proof1.

“One of the leaked samples contains 100,000 records of PII related to Indian residents. In this sample leak, HUNTER analysts identified valid Aadhaar Card IDs, which were corroborated via a government portal that provides a “Verify Aadhaar” feature. This feature allows people to validate the authenticity of Aadhaar credentials,” Resecurity said.

Pwn0001 claimed that the data—extracted from the COVID-19 test details—was sourced from ICMR.

Sources confirmed to News18 that the epicentre of leak has not been identified as parts of the test data are sent to the National Informatics Centre, ICMR and health ministry.

News18’s query, calls and messages sent to ICMR’s director general on Saturday remained unanswered.

According to sources, CERT-In informed ICMR about the breach and the verification of sample data, which matches with the actual data of ICMR.

After the leak, the government has roped in top officials of different agencies and ministries.

As foreign actors are involved in the leak, the sources added, it should be probed by a premier agency. The CBI will likely investigate the matter once the ICMR files a complaint.

At present, remedial measures have been taken and the required SoP has been deployed to control the damage.

Hackers have tried to hack ICMR data multiple times since February. Central agencies and the council are aware of it. Last year, more than 6,000 attempts were made to hack ICMR servers. Agencies had asked the ICMR to take remedial action to avert data leak, the sources said.

This is not the first time that the health system has been targeted. Last year, a cyber-attack triggered changes in various AIIMS services. News18 had reported that the attack was linked to “one of India’s neighbouring countries” with an IP address originating from there.

In June, a Telegram bot allegedly posted personal data of Indians registered with the CoWIN portal for vaccination. The health ministry denied the report and said that the allegations were “mischievous in nature”. Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the nodal cyber security agency found that the CoWIN platform was not “directly breached”.

Apple Alert: Threat Notifications Strike at Heart of Indian Democracy, Says Apar Gupta

Newsclick Report | 31 Oct 2023

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The founding director of @internetfreedom and lawyer, in an X post, calls for full government disclosure regarding its spyware purchases and deployments.

New Delhi: As the list of Opposition leaders, journalists and others, going public about getting Apple alerts of their iPhones, warning about ‘State-sponsored attack’ possibilities, Apar Gupta, and advocate and founder director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, has called for full disclosure by the Indian government of its spyware purchases and deployment.

“This issue strikes at the heart of Indian democracy,” he said, noting the fact that the timing of these notifications, ahead of the ensuing Assembly elections was indeed “alarming”.

Read Also: 18 Media Organisations Write to CJI; Call for Steps to end Repressive Use of Probe Agencies Against Scribes

On Tuesday morning, several Opposition leaders of the INDIA bloc tweeted on X scheenshots of Apple alerts, cautioning them against ‘State-sponsored attacks” on the iPhones.  Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, K C Venugopal and Pawan Khera, Samajwadi party’ chief Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, NCP’s Supriya Sule, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra , Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, senior journalists Siddharth Varadarajan and Sriram Karri are among those who received the Apple alerts.

Read Also: Pegasus: Supreme Court Says Right To Privacy Must be Protected

Read the full X post by Apar Gupta on the threat notifications and their implications for India’s democracy ahead of the elections:

“These threat notifications are due to state sponsored attacks that use spyware such as Pegasus to infect their smartphone. As per Apple, “Apple threat notifications are designed to inform and assist users who may have been targeted by state-sponsored attackers. These users are individually targeted because of who they are or what they do. Unlike traditional cybercriminals, state-sponsored attackers apply exceptional resources to target a very small number of specific individuals and their devices, which makes these attacks much harder to detect and prevent. State-sponsored attacks are highly complex, cost millions of dollars to develop and often have a short shelf life....State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time. Detecting such attacks relies on threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete. It’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected.”

Let me directly address the naysayers. Are these merely 'false alarms'? Let's consider the evidence:

Firstly, reports indicate that India has been a ground for deploying Pegasus spyware by NSO Group, an Israeli firm. In October, 2019, state attackers targeted activists, and in July, 2021 they extended their reach to public officials and journalists.

The Union Government has not clearly denied these activities in the Supreme Court of India. Moreover, investigations by Amnesty, Citizen Lab, and notifications from WhatsApp corroborate its use, suggesting a pattern in India and a matching victim profile.

Secondly, Access Now and Citizen Lab last month have confirmed the validity of Apple's threat notifications sent to Russian journalists, including Meduza's publisher. These confirmations lend high credibility to such notifications.

Thirdly, Financial Times disclosed in March that India is seeking new spyware contracts starting at approximately $16 million and potentially escalating to $120 million in the next few years. These contracts involve companies like the Intellexa Alliance, recently featured in a report called 'The Predator Files'.

With imminent state assembly elections and the 2024 general elections not far off, the timing of these threat notifications is alarming.

Public cynicism or judicial stupor should not preclude us from demanding an independent, transparent technical analysis and clear disclosures from the Government of India regarding its spyware purchases and deployments. This issue strikes at the heart of Indian democracy.”

Opposition Leaders Say They got Apple Alert on ‘State-Sponsored Attacks' on iPhones

PTI | 31 Oct 2023

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TMC’s Mahua Moitra, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress' leaders Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Khera shared X screenshots.

Representational image. | Image courtesy: Pexels

New Delhi: At least four Opposition leaders on Tuesday claimed to have received messages from Apple warning them of "state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" their iPhones and posted the purported screenshots on their X (formerly Twitter)  handles.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress' Lok Sabha Member Shashi Tharoor and his party's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared the screenshots on X.

PTI reached out to Apple for comments on the matter but there was no immediate response.

"Received text and email from Apple warning me that the government trying to hack into my phone and email. @HMOIndia -- get a life. Adani and PMO bullies - your fear makes me pity you," Moitra said sharing the screenshots.  Tagging Chaturvedi to the post, she claimed that three other leaders of the opposition INDIA alliance have received similar messages.

Chaturvedi also shared a similar screenshot which she claimed to have received from Apple and said, "Wonder who? Shame on you. Cc: @HMOIndia for your kind attention".

Replying to Moitra's post, she said, "So not just me but also @MahuaMoitra has received this warning from Apple. Will @HMOIndia investigate?" Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor also shared a post about him receiving a similar message.

"Received from an Apple ID, threat-notifications@apple.com, which I have verified. Authenticity confirmed. Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?" he said on X, tagging the Prime Minister's Office, the Congress, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.

Khera also shared a screenshot of a similar message on X and said, "Dear Modi Sarkar, why are you doing this?" The message shared by the MPs stated, "ALERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone".

"Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone. While it's possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously," it stated.

Bangladesh's Garment Workers Intensify Protest for Wage Raise After two Killed

People's Reporter | 31 Oct 2023

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The striking employees claimed their minimum pay should be Rs 23,000 starting January next year, following the new remuneration structure.

23,000.00 Indian Rupees = 276.18 US Dollars

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s garment workers from factories in Dhaka and its surrounding areas have been staging protests for over a week for their wages to be raised. 

What began as a peaceful movement is turning into a more aggressive one as workers at several locations blocked highways in support of their demands. 

The movement takes place in the wake of the untimely death of Russell Howladar, a 26-year-old employee who was allegedly shot and killed by the police. In a fire, one more worker perished.

For the last week, the employees of many textile companies in the districts of Gazipur, Mirpur, Ashulia, Savar, and Narayanganj in Dhaka have persisted in their agitation and demand for a pay rise.

The striking employees claimed their minimum pay should be Rs 23,000 starting January next year, following the new remuneration structure. Because of this, their grades are meant to be adjusted this month, but the factory owner has not acted to raise the pay or modify the grade yet. Their intention is to continue operating the factory on the previous wage structure.

Shafiqul Molla, an agitating worker, said that currently, they get a salary of Rs 8,000. According to the new wage structure, their salary is supposed to be Rs 23,000, but the owner is ready to increase it only to Rs 10,000 to 11,000. They should have increased this salary by changing grades, but the owners did not negotiate with the workers regarding the new wage hike and the grade change. That is why they are forced to take to the streets, they said.

A protester, Abu Sufian, said, “Now I get a salary of Rs. 8,000. The current rise in commodity prices cannot be sustained. Therefore, everyone has started a movement to increase the salary.”

Another agitating worker, Ali Ahmed, said, “In the current market, the prices of all kinds of goods have increased, but our salaries have not increased even though the prices of goods have increased. We are paid around Rs 8,000 per month. With this money, the family cannot be run by paying the monthly expenses and the child’s school fees. So, we have demanded to make our salary a minimum of 23 thousand rupees.”

Shafiqul Islam, a protesting worker, said that “everyone entered the factory in the morning, but they stopped the machine. At one stage, when the workers of other factories came down on the road, they also joined the protest march on the road, and the police then fired tear gas shells and drove them away.”

The Industrial Area Police-2 said that a worker died in a clash with the police during the ongoing workers’ movement in Gazipur, demanding an increase in wages.

After the death of a worker in a police firing, the agitating workers set fire to the garment factory of Anant Group’s ABM Fashion Limited in Gazipur. Fire service personnel brought the fire under control. At least 50 garment workers were injured by rubber bullets and baton charges during the labour-police clash. Fifteen of them have been admitted to Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital.

According to local sources, workers have been protesting in Konabari and surrounding areas since the morning of October 30 for seven days, demanding a salary hike. The police clashed with the workers several times. Later, the police dispersed the protesters by firing tear gas shells and rubber bullets. 

Meanwhile, an injured worker died in Gazipur’s Basan area. When the news spread, the workers started protesting again in the Konabari area. In the meantime, the ABM Fashion Limited factory was set on fire in that area.

The police also clashed with garment workers in Dhaka’s Mirpur, Ashulia, Savar, and Narayanganj. Several workers were injured in the incident.

Various labour organisations and garment workers have been demanding increased wages in Bangladesh for the past several months. Additionally, various international organisations and countries were pressuring the country’s authorities to increase the wages of garment workers.

The workers have demanded a wage of Rs 23,000, but the government and the owners have not made any kind of compromise on the matter so far. On the other hand, although there is a wage increase at the beginning of the new year, the owner has not yet discussed with the workers the new wage increase along with the grade change. As a result, the workers in the garment industry started protesting directly on the streets to demand an increase in wages.

According to the sources of the Industrial Police, workers’ dissatisfaction was seen in 69 factories in Ashulia, Gazipur, and Narayanganj areas from October 22 to 28 due to the demand for salary and wage increases. 

State Minister for Labour Mannujan Sufian held a meeting with the labour leaders last Sunday. About 100 leaders of trade unions and federations were present in the meeting held at Shram Bhavan. They urged the government to announce minimum wages for garment workers soon. In response, the state minister said there is time until November 30 to recommend it to the wage board, and the new wages will be implemented on December 1.

The angry workers complained that when they took to the streets to demand an increase in wages, the police beat the workers. Tear shells and rubber bullets were fired at them, while in some places, the workers were attacked by outsiders.

US Seeks Strategic Dialogue With Russia

M K Bhadrakumar | 31 Oct 2023

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Against the backdrop of the gathering storms in West Asia, the Biden Administration probably seeks to calm the nerves.

Almost four weeks into Hamas’ attack on Israel, Russia is in no hurry to exploit the Joe Biden administration’s quandary over the collapse of West Asia’s security. The Western media was unanimous that Russia was waiting in the wings to seize the opportunity once the US took its eye off the ball in Ukraine. However, no such thing happened. 

The Ukraine war is on autopilot. The compass has been set, the die is cast and the calculus is holding steady with regard to the strategic objectives set by President Vladimir Putin in February last year. Russia senses that it has gained the upper hand in the war and that is irreversible. 

Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed and the fighting is presently restricted to two sectors of the frontline, as Russian forces strengthen the security of the Donetsk region and seek to regain control of territories up north in the borderlands of Donbass and Kharkov region from where they retreated for tactical reasons last September and October.

Yet, Moscow has not begun its grand offensive, as many had predicted. One plausible explanation is that Moscow is watching the maelstrom sweeping through West Asia. Moscow is particularly sensitive about any spillover into Syria. 

With an eye on the formidable US naval build-up in Eastern Mediterranean with the deployment of two aircraft carrier groups, President Vladimir Putin has publicised that Russian jets equipped with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles are roaming the skies above the Black Sea, which can strike targets 1,000 km away at Mach 9 speed, which no existing missile defence system can intercept. Suffice to say, the war in Ukraine remains attritional. 

Curiously, Russia conducted a simulated nuclear strike in a drill on Wednesday overseen by Putin, hours after the Russian parliament voted to rescind the country’s ratification of the global comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT). The drill needs to be seen in the broader context of global strategic stability.

A Kremlin statement said, “The purpose of the training exercise was to check the level of preparedness of military command bodies, as well as the skill of the leadership and operational personnel in managing the troops (forces) under their command.” Everything, however, adds up in these extraordinary times. 

At its most obvious level, the Palestine-Israel conflict is a manifestation of the growing imbalance in the existing system of international relations. New wars are emerging; long standing conflicts are mutating (e.g., Nagorno-Karabakh). Last week, Pakistan bracketed Palestine and Kashmir as the UN’s unfinished business in the post-colonial era. North Korea and Iran are flash points that have no military solution. 

In the months ahead, without doubt, Washington will continue to provide Israel with military and diplomatic support but an extended Israeli operation lasting months in Gaza will mean dispersal of US resources that might be needed in other theatres. The conflict in Gaza underscores the imperative for a rethink in the US’ notions of global hegemony. The fact remains that the US, despite its self-proclaimed status as the “Indispensable Nation” (Madeleine Albright) and the guarantor of “rules-based order,” failed to prevent the latest eruption of conflict in West Asia. 

Arguably, therefore, the latest US proposal for a systematic resumption of strategic dialogue with Russia can be seen as a sign of positive thinking. Unsurprisingly, Moscow has displayed a studied indifference to the US proposal. But that needn’t be taken as the last word. Historically, Soviet-American strategic dialogue brought on board into the agenda all major issues and most minor issues affecting international security. 

The big question, therefore, is the timing of the US proposal. Against the backdrop of the gathering storms in West Asia, the Biden Administration probably seeks to calm the nerves by proposing talks with Russia on global strategic balance, since the guardrails in arms control no longer exist. This is one thing. 

At any rate, Russia’s “neutrality” in a West Asian conflict could also be a consideration. Equally, Western leaderships understand that the war against Russia is practically lost — although they will not admit it publicly — and engagement with Russia is needed.   

Again, although the US has provided Israel with significant military and diplomatic support and keep influencing the latter not to escalate the conflict, there are variables in the situation and any big conflagration in West Asia will require a massive concentration of material and financial resources that are limited even for a superpower, since there are other unresolved problems in the world, too.

The breakdown of trust in the Russian-American ties hurts the US interests. Fundamentally, it must also be understood that what Moscow seeks even today after nearly 20 months of battling NATO and the US in Ukraine’s killing fields is a sustained engagement with Washington and a willingness to accommodate mutual interests. 

On its part, Russia is conducting itself as a responsible power vis-a-vis the crisis in Gaza. There is no shred of evidence to show that Russia has acted as a “spoiler”. On the contrary, Moscow has been projecting its credentials as a potential peacemaker who enjoys good relations with all key players — Israel, Hamas, Iran and other regional states alike. 

In fact, President Biden’s recent remarks on the Gaza situation bring the US position rather close to Russia’s. Biden read out the following from a prepared text at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia: 

“Israel has the right and, I would add, responsibility to respond to the slaughter of their people.  And we will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against these terrorists.  That’s a guarantee… 

“But that does not lessen the need for — to operate and align with the laws of war for the Israeli — it has to do everything in its power — Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians.  And it’s difficult. I also want to take a moment to look ahead toward the future that we seek. 

“Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity, and peace. And there’s no going back to the status quo as it stood on October the 6th. That means ensuring Hamas can no longer terrorise Israel and use Palestinian civilians as human shields.

“It also means that when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next. And in our view, it has to be a two-state solution.” 

Putin couldn’t have put this across differently. There is a sense of expectation in Moscow that in the emergent conditions in regional security, the US and its allies will “reconsider their notions of defeating Russia in the Ukraine conflict at any cost” — as an establishment think tanker wrote in the Kremlin-funded RT last week. 

Trust is lacking, he concluded, “compromises without the full consideration of Russian interests” are difficult to reach, but “a pivotal stage in the (world) order … is taking shape before our eyes.”  

US Diplomacy Losing Traction in West Asia

M.K. Bhadrakumar | 28 Oct 2023

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Isolating Iran is no longer possible.

Russia’s Dy Foreign Minister & Special Envoy Mikhail Bogdanov (C) held talks with Iran’s Dy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Hamas’ head of International Relations Mousa Marzouk, Moscow, Oct. 26, 2023 

The US President Joe Biden is convinced that one of the reasons why Hamas launched the attack on Israel was because of the announcement during the G20 Summit in New Delhi on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor . But he also admitted that this reading was based purely on his instinct and he did not have any proof for it. 

Biden’s motivation in saying so lies in the US’ desperate need to reclaim its leadership role in the Muslim West Asia. The two most compelling realities rejecting the American leadership are: one, a strong united regional solidarity cutting across sectarian divides to seek a settlement on Palestine, like at no time before, and, two, the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement. 

The latest developments involving Hamas and Israel undermined the US efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to recognise Israel. No doubt, the Saudi stance on the Palestine problem has hardened. Biden reached out to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday in an attempt to create as much convergence as possible between Washington and Riyadh. 

But the White House readout shows that a critical mass remained elusive; even as the two leaders agreed on generalities, they couldn’t agree on the all-important specific issue of an urgent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

This profound disagreement is also reflected in the UN Security Council where the United Arab Emirates supported the Russian draft resolution, which called for “an immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire”, but opposed the US draft resolution, which was evasive on ending the fighting and instead harped on Israel’s right to self-defence.  

A joint statement on Thursday signed by the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Morocco called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. In an admonition to the US and Israel, the statement stated, “The right to self-defence by the United Nations Charter does not justify blatant violations of humanitarian and international law.” 

Looking ahead, the big question is about American intention. Is it muscle-flexing or a hidden plot to create facts on the ground that can be seized as casus belli to launch an offensive against Iran, which has been a longstanding project of the neoconservatives dominating the US foreign policy discourse? 

Biden declared at a press conference in the White House on Wednesday that he had warned Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that if Tehran continued to “move against” US forces in the region, Washington would respond. 

To quote Biden, “My warning to the Ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond. And he should be prepared. It has nothing to do with Israel.” (Biden was referring to growing attacks on American bases in Iraq and Syria.) 

The political deputy at the Iranian president’s office, Mohammad Jamshidi has since countered Biden’s remark, saying, “The US messages were neither directed to the leader of the Islamic Revolution nor were they anything but requests from the Iranian side. If Biden thinks he has warned Iran, he should ask his team to show him the text of the messages.”

Hours later, when asked to clarify, the US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby parried, “There was a direct message relayed. That’s as far as I’m going to go.” Conceivably, the recent attacks by militant groups in Syria and Iraq pose a headache to Biden in domestic politics. Reportedly, some two dozen US servicemen have been injured and one military contractor killed so far. There are roughly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria. 

Possibly, Biden was grandstanding. That is not something unusual in US-Iran standoffs. But more likely, the US hopes to nudge Iran to rein in the free-wheeling militia groups in Syria and Iraq from exacerbating the situation. 

Iran is on the same page as China and Russia and the Arab States in calling for an immediate ceasefire so that conditions are available for diplomacy to meaningfully tackle the Palestine problem. They stand for a two-state solution. Ironically, the US also claims it supports a two-state solution. 

This is what Biden stated at a press conference in the White House yesterday, reading out of a prepared text: “Israel has the right and, I would add, responsibility to respond to the slaughter of their people.  And we will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against these terrorists. That’s a guarantee… 

“But that does not lessen the need for — to operate and align with the laws of war for the Israeli — it has to do everything in its power — Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians …

“I also want to take a moment to look ahead toward the future that we seek. Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity, and peace.  And there’s no going back to the status quo as it stood on October the 6th …

“It also means that when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next.  And in our view, it has to be a two-state solution. It means a concentrated effort from all the parties — Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders — to put us on a path toward peace.” 

Do these words sound as if Biden is preparing for a war with Iran? For the first time, perhaps, there is a ray of hope that the US will no longer work around the Palestine problem. The bottom line, as the deliberations at the UN Security Council also testify, is that all responsible powers understand that West Asia continues to be the centre of gravity in world politics and a conflagration in the region could easily turn into a world war. And none of the big powers wants such an apocalyptic outcome. 

That said, while the US still has unrivalled power in West Asia, its influence has diminished, as new realities emerged:

• Israel has grown more powerful militarily and economically vis-a-vis Palestinians, but no longer enjoys regional dominance. 
• Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two dominant powers in West Asia, are increasingly asserting their own interests. 
• China, although a relatively new player, is no longer confining itself to economic diplomacy. 
• The US has lost the capacity to leverage the world oil market, as Russia works closely with Saudi Arabia within the ambit of OPEC+ to calibrate oil production level and prices. 
• Consequently, the petrodollar is weakening.  
• The Abraham Accords have been shelved practically. 
• The Arab-Israeli conflict has assumed new dimensions in recent years, thanks to the ascendance of the axis of resistance, which requires new postures and operational thinking on the part of the US. 
• Israeli politics has swung sharply to the extreme right. 
• The global environment is highly complicated; the peace process can no longer be under US mentorship. On Thursday, Russia hosted a trilateral meeting in Moscow with Iran’s deputy foreign minister and a Hamas delegation. Later, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also Special Presidential Envoy for West Asia and Africa, announced that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas “will soon arrive on an official visit” to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  

 

In an all-out war with Iran, the US will take heavy casualties and the state of Israel may face destruction. Indeed, Iran may opt for nuclear deterrent capability. It is a near-certainty that a US-Iran war will turn into a world war. Clearly, war is not an option. 

There is high risk, therefore, in an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza. If Israel gets bogged down in Gaza, which by no means cannot be ruled out, there is a high possibility that Hezbollah may open a second front. And that, in turn, can trigger a chain reaction that may spin out of control. Herein lies the danger if a ceasefire is not agreed upon early enough in the conflict.         

MK Bhadrakumar is a former diplomat. He was India’s ambassador to Uzbekistan and Turkey. The views are personal.

Courtesy: Indian Punchline