Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Six In The Morning Tuesday 21 May 2024

 

White House says report of Israel seizing AP equipment is ‘concerning’

The White House has said it is looking into the incident wherein Israeli authorities seized equipment from The Associated Press, and called the incident “concerning”.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House believes journalists should have the ability and right to do their jobs.

Earlier we reported that Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press (AP) in southern Israel, accusing the news organisation of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.

The Qatari satellite channel is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organisations.

In a briefing, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organisation, says that even though supplies were pre-positioned supplies in warehouses and hospitals, live-saving aid is dwindling fast in Gaza.

“Without more aid flowing into Gaza, we cannot sustain our lifesaving support to hospitals and the population”, he said.


Israeli soldiers and police tipping off groups that attack Gaza aid trucks

Exclusive: Members of security forces giving settlers who intercept vital supplies information on location of convoys, group says

Individual members of Israel’s security forces are tipping off far-right activists and settlers to the location of aid trucks delivering vital supplies to Gaza, enabling the groups to block and vandalise the convoys, according to multiple sources.

Settlers intercepting the vital humanitarian supplies to the strip are receiving information about the location of the aid trucks from members of the Israeli police and military, a spokesperson from the main Israeli activist group behind the blockades told the Guardian.

The claim of collusion by members of the security forces is supported by messages from internal internet chat groups reviewed by the Guardian as well as accounts from a number of witnesses and human rights activists.


How does Portuguese-speaking Africa stand on Russia?

Russia has beefed up efforts to build stronger relations with Portuguese-speaking African nations, positioning itself as a military power without a colonial past.

Portugual said it is "greatly concerned" by reports that its former colony Sao Tome and Principe has signed a military cooperation accord with Russia "for an indefinite period." 

Sao Tome and Principe inked the agreement with Russia on April 24 in St. Petersburg, which calls for military training, logistical support and "possible collaborations" involving Russian ships and planes, according to the AFP news agency, which cited Russia's official news gazette. The deal was reportedly implemented on May 5. 

All six Portuguese-speaking, or Lusophone, countries in Africa have now signed military agreements with Russia. The first contacts arose during the Soviet era, when liberation organizations in the Lusophone countries that fought against the Portuguese colonial regime received political and military support from Moscow. After the end of the Soviet Union, relations with Russia continued. In recent years, Moscow has tried to intensify these ties.


Macron heads to riot-hit French territory of New Caledonia as tourists evacuate

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit riot-hit New Caledonia, Paris said Tuesday, as tourists are evacuated from the Pacific territory that has suffered over a week of unrest.


Macron "will leave as soon as this evening," government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot said, hoping to soothe tempers over his government's voting reform plans rejected by indigenous Kanaks.

Earlier Tuesday an Australian Air Force transport aircraft evacuated trapped tourists from a small domestic airport in New Caledonia's capital Noumea, as separatist roadblocks still hinder access to the international hub.

Australia and New Zealand sent an initial batch of planes to Noumea Magenta airport, where AFP correspondents saw the first Australian C-130 Hercules aircraft land and several coaches waiting.

Swarmed with tourists, town blocks off popular Mount Fuji viewing spot


By Tom Bateman

Japan's majestic Mount Fuji was some 700,000 years in the making, but on Tuesday, one viewing spot of it was gone.

On one side of a busy road, views of the 3,776-meter symbol of Japan with a Lawson convenience store in the foreground have vanished, as officials on Tuesday morning finished installing a 20-meter by 2.5-meter black mesh barrier to obstruct a photo spot that had become viral among tourists.

For locals, the mass of visitors and their refusal to obey rules on littering and parking had become a nuisance and traffic hazard.


Gazans ‘shackled and blindfolded’ at Israel hospital

Lucy Williamson & BBC Eye Investigations,BBC News

Medical workers in Israel have told the BBC that Palestinian detainees from Gaza are routinely kept shackled to hospital beds, blindfolded, sometimes naked, and forced to wear nappies – a practice one medic said amounted to “torture”.

A whistle-blower detailed how procedures in one military hospital were “routinely” carried out without painkillers, causing “an unacceptable amount of pain” to detainees.

Another whistle-blower said painkillers were used “selectively” and “in a very limited way” during an invasive medical procedure on a Gazan detainee in a public hospital.




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