‘There is no Plan B for the people in Rafah’
More than 30 British NGOs have signed a joint statement urging the UK government to work urgently to prevent any further assault on Rafah.
In their statement, the signatories including Action Aid UK, Christian Aid UK, Care International UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Medical Aid for Palestinian, Oxfam GB and Save the Children UK said repeated statements by British politicians “have been ignored by Israel”.
- Israel’s seizure and closing of the Rafah crossing in Gaza raises concerns that already scarce supplies will be further depleted and lead to a “catastrophic” disaster.
- The incursion comes after Israel said it would continue its military operation in Rafah even after Hamas said it had accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal was far from Israel’s demands but that he would send a delegation to Cairo for talks.
- UN agencies and aid groups warn of devastating consequences of any Israeli military assault on Rafah after tens of thousands of Palestinians were ordered to evacuate before the attacks.
- At least 34,789 people have been killed and 78,204 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive.
‘They’ve destroyed us because of some tweets’: why has Saudi Arabia targeted these three sisters?
Last week one was sentenced to 11 years, another had to flee the country, a third could be arrested at any moment. And what were Manahel, Maryam and Fawzia al-Otaibi’s ‘crimes’? A few social media posts that outraged Saudi Arabia’s conservatives
In September 2022, Fawzia al-Otaibi was a week into a trip to her home country of Saudi Arabia, staying with a friend near the Bahrain border, when her phone rang. As soon as she heard the male voice on the other end of the line, she realised that returning had been a terrible mistake.
It was a police officer who, in 2019, had tracked her down and fined her for public indecency after she had posted a video on her Snapchat account, showing her dancing in jeans and a baseball cap at a concert in Riyadh. She and her two sisters, Maryam and Manahel, had become targets in a campaign of arrests, threats and intimidation by the Saudi authorities after they had used their popular social media channels to post about women’s rights. For her, the dancing clip wasn’t a political statement; it was just about sharing a happy moment with her followers.
Poland finds spy devices in government meeting room
Polish security services say they have discovered wiretapping devices in a meeting room. The two intelligence agencies involved have not said who they believe is behind the bugging attempt.
A Polish security services official on Tuesday said that devices had been located and taken apart in a government meeting room that was about to be used by ministers.
It was unclear how long the devices had been there, the official said declining to speculate on who had planted them.
What we know about the discovery
"The State Protection Service, in cooperation with the Internal Security Agency, detected and dismantled devices that could be used for eavesdropping in the room where the meeting of the Council of Ministers is to be held today in Katowice," spokesperson Jacek Dobrzynski wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"The services are conducting further activities in this matter," he added.
France denounces 'state hostage-taking' by Iran as couple mark two years in jail
France on Tuesday accused Iran of employing a policy of state hostage-taking and blackmail, as it called for the release of a French couple held in jail for the last two years.
Activists have long accused Iran of having a deliberate hostage-taking strategy aimed at extracting concessions from the West, but it is rare for a Western government to make such a strong statement.
Teacher Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris were detained in Iran in May 2022. They are accused of seeking to stir up labour protests, accusations their families vehemently deny.
"France condemns this policy of state hostage-taking and this constant blackmail by the Iranian authorities," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
Young Japan banker's suicide after power harassment recognized as work-related
The death of a then 25-year-old regional bank employee who took his own life after being harassed by a boss, including being ordered to work on holidays, has been recognized as work-related, sources close to the case have revealed to the Mainichi Shimbun.
The employee of The Towa Bank Ltd., a second-tier regional bank headquartered in the Gunma Prefecture capital Maebashi, died in May 2017, just two months after being transferred to a new department. It has been determined that his suicide was induced by multiple factors including being under heavy pressure from work duties he'd previously had no experience with and being subjected to power harassment by his boss, and that he had been psychologically driven into a corner and was in a state of overwork. His family plans to demand compensation from the bank.
In Europe, Xi looks to counter claims China is aiding Russia in Ukraine
Xi Jinping pushed back against allegations of his country’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine during meetings with European leaders, as the Chinese leader makes a six-day visit to the continent amid a period of rising China-Europe tensions spurred by concerns of Beijing’s close to ties Moscow.
“China is neither the creator of the crisis, nor a party to it or a participant. But we are also not a bystander, we have always been actively contributing to reaching peace,” Xi said during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris Monday, following a day of meetings that also included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“We also oppose using the Ukraine crisis to shed responsibility or defame a third country and provoke a new Cold War,” Xi added, in an apparent reference to allegations from Washington about the role of Chinese “dual use” exports like machine tools and microelectronics in supporting Russia’s defense industry.
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