Israel has yet to provide evidence of Unrwa staff terrorist links, Colonna report says
Exclusive: Review finds government has yet to substantiate claims UN relief agency staff have ties to Hamas or Islamic Jihad
Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence of its claims that employees of the UN relief agency Unrwa are members of terrorist organisations, an independent review led by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna has said.
The Colonna report, which was commissioned by the UN in the wake of Israeli allegations, found that Unrwa had regularly supplied Israel with lists of its employees for vetting, and that “the Israeli government has not informed Unrwa of any concerns relating to any Unrwa staff based on these staff lists since 2011”.
Israeli allegations of the involvement of Unrwa staff in the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel led major donors in January to cut their funding to the agency, the main channel of humanitarian support not only to Palestinians in Gaza but to Palestinian refugee communities across the region.
Global military spending soars to new record highs
The global defense budget saw its largest yearly increase in 14 years in 2023, according to the think tank SIPRI. Russia's war in Ukraine, the China-Taiwan crisis and other global conflicts played a significant role.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has updated its Military Expenditure Database for 2023, with top spenders such as the United States, China and Russia ratcheting up their military budgets.
Military spending is up in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Oceania and North and South America. It's the first time since 2009 that annual spending has increased in all geographical regions examined by SIPRI at once.
With a budget increase of 105%, the Democratic Republic of the Congo stood out as the country with the single largest increase in military spending in 2023 by percentage. Researchers attributed this boost to the protracted conflict between the government and non-state armed groups.
Thousands take to streets in Canary Islands to protest overtourism
Tens of thousands of demonstrators hit the streets across Spain's Canary Islands to demand changes to the model of mass tourism they say is overwhelming the Atlantic archipelago. "We Canarians are fed up with being second and third class citizens, we are fed up with overcrowding, with institutional mistreatment, with low salaries, with our heritage being destroyed," says Nieves Rodrigues Rivera, a teacher and writer.
Chinese general takes harsh line on Taiwan, other disputes at international naval gathering
By NG HAN GUAN and CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
One of China's top military leaders took a harsh line on regional territorial disputes, telling an international naval gathering in northeastern China on Monday that the country would strike back with force if its interests came under threat.
The 19th biennial meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium opened in the port city of Qingdao, where China’s northern naval force is based, providing a vivid backdrop to China's massive military expansion over the past two decades that has seen it build or refurbish three aircraft carriers.
The four-day meeting has drawn representatives from partners and competitors including Australia, Cambodia, Chile, France, India and the U.S. and comes amid heightened tensions over China’s assertive actions in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China seas, and as China's navy has grown into the world’s largest by number of hulls.
‘Infiltrators’: Modi accused of anti-Muslim hate speech amid India election
The Indian PM turned to old anti-Muslim tropes in an election rally, potentially signalling a shift in his campaign strategy, say analysts.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing accusations of spreading hatred against Muslims after controversial comments on Sunday wherein he equated the community to “infiltrators” and peddled anti-Muslim tropes in the middle of the country’s general elections.
Speaking at a crowded rally in the western state of Rajasthan, Modi said if the opposition led by the Congress party came to power, it would distribute the country’s wealth among “those who have more children”, in an apparent reference to Muslims, whom he had spoken about just before.
“Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators?” he said to the cheering crowd, before alleging that the opposition would take away even mangalsutras — the auspicious necklace that a husband ties around his wife’s neck in Hindu weddings — if given a chance.
Aid missions to hospitals in northern Gaza hampered by checkpoint delays, WHO says
From CNN's Ibrahim Dahman
Efforts to reach two hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend were only partly successful because of delays at checkpoints and ongoing fighting, according to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
"On 20 April, WHO and partners could only partially complete their mission to Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals due to severe delays at checkpoints and ongoing hostilities," Tedros wrote Monday on X.
As a result, he said "fuel and medical supplies did not reach Kamal Adwan, for the second time in the last 7 days, and partners were also unable to assess needs at Al-Awda to support restoration of services. This is further increasing the health risks of critical patients being treated there.”
The mission was nonetheless able to evacuate four critically sick patients from Kamal Adwan, along with their caretakers, including one at possible risk of having a leg amputated, he said.
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