The forever prisoner’: Abu Zubaydah’s drawings expose the US’s depraved torture policy
Exclusive: For 21 years, the detainee has been in US custody without charge, tortured and sexually humiliated, with no prospect for release
Warning: the images and descriptions of torture in this article are extremely graphic
A detainee held in the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay who was used as a human guinea pig in the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program has produced the most comprehensive and detailed account yet seen of the brutal techniques to which he was subjected.
Abu Zubaydah has created a series of 40 drawings that chronicle the torture he endured in a number of CIA dark sites between 2002 and 2006 and at Guantánamo Bay. In the absence of a full official accounting of the torture program, which the CIA and the FBI have labored for years to keep secret, the images give a unique and searing insight into a grisly period in US history.
Japan: Public reluctant to defend Taiwan should China invade
A new opinion poll has found that over half of the Japanese population is of the opinion that the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) should not become involved in fighting if China invades Taiwan.
A full 80% of the 3,000 adults interviewed by the Asahi Shimbun daily newspaper recently expressed concern that Japan would become caught up in the conflict if Beijing were to attack Taiwan in an effort to unify it with the Chinese mainland.
Political analysts and members of the public from across Japan's political spectrum said they were "not at all surprised" at the outcome of the poll.
It is widely expected that the US would go to Taiwan's aid in the event of any such assault. The government in Tokyo, which is at present presiding over a massive increase in arms spending, has in the past stated that a Chinese invasion of the island would pose a critical threat to Japan too, as it would leave Beijing in control of the sea lanes used to transport 90% of the nation's energy needs and 60% of its food supplies.
OBTF Cascade: The military unit where the Russian elite get to ‘play war’ in Ukraine
Want to boast that you fought for the homeland, but without risking your life? Welcome to OBTF Cascade, the Russian military unit that allows career politicians and their military-aged sons to play war in Ukraine – at a safe and comfortable distance from the blood being spilled on the front line.
“Fiery hearts. Nerves of steel.” Such are the characteristics of troops belonging to OBTF Cascade – at least according to the unit’s Telegram channel, which is filled with aerial videos of Russian drone bombings accompanied by heavy metal music and portrait pictures of its well-groomed and well-equipped “fighters”.
“When the Motherland called, the cadets took up arms without hesitation and stood up to defend their native land,” one of the photo captions reads, adding that the brave young men in the pictures previously studied at Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and had promising futures as investigators.
Dozens killed in Gaza bombings
- Israel continued its air attacks on Gaza killing at least 26 Palestinians, including several leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement. More than 80 people have been injured as the Israeli military offensive enters its third day.
- The killing of Ali Ghali, head of Islamic Jihad’s rocket force, and of Ahmed Abu Daqqa, a senior commander of its armed wing, have brought to five the number of senior figures from the faction killed since Israel began striking Gaza on Tuesday.
Arrest of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was illegal, top court rules
Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan was unlawful, overturning a lower court’s ruling on Tuesday that it was legal.
The court ordered that Khan be released, according to officials in Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Khan was arrested on May 9 by paramilitary troops in a sudden operation that saw officers smash their way into a courthouse in the capital Islamabad to detain him on multiple corruption charges.
He was then detained in a guesthouse inside police headquarters where he appeared for a special hearing in front of a judge behind closed doors on Wednesday before being remanded in custody for eight days for a charge brought by Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency.
Title 42: Confusion and fear at US border as law change looms
As the hours count down to a dramatic shift in US immigration policy and an expected surge of migrants at the southern border, those already waiting to enter from Mexico are increasingly desperate.
Beneath an unrelenting sun, hundreds of people are standing in a dry and dusty wasteland. Waiting.
Hungry and thirsty, exhausted and frightened, they have all gathered right beside the huge steel border fence that separates them from the United States. They can see through it, to the place they have sacrificed so much to try to reach.
But no-one knows if they will be allowed across that border.
Rosario Medina says that to find food for her grandchildren she has been sifting through dumpsters, and even gathering water for the babies bottles from the polluted Rio Grande river.
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