24-10-2025

Month: June 2022

UN panel finds Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli fire

The Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked “Press” and a helmet, was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli army operation in Jenin camp in the northern area of the occupied West Bank.

“We find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli security forces,” UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

 

“It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation. We at the UN Human Rights Office have concluded our independent monitoring into the incident.

“The shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities,” she said.

She added that the information came from the Israeli military and the Palestinian attorney general.

“We have found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists,” Shamdasani said.

In line with its human rights monitoring methodology, the UN rights office inspected photo, video and audio material, visited the scene, consulted experts, reviewed official communications and interviewed witnesses.

The findings showed that seven journalists arrived at the western entrance of the Jenin refugee camp soon after 6am.

At around 6:30am, as four of the journalists turned into a particular street, “several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli security forces.

“One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder; another single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly.”

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has urged Israel to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing and into all other killings by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and in the context of law enforcement operations in Gaza.

Girls arrested in Iran for removing hijab

A number of girls “removed their hijab at the end of the sports event without observing the religious considerations and legal norms”, state news agency IRNA quoted Shiraz police chief Faraj Shojaee as saying. “With the coordination of the judiciary, a number of perpetrators and people related to this gathering were identified and arrested on Thursday,” he said.

A video purporting to show Tuesday’s “Go Skateboarding Day” event went viral in Iran on social media.

“Holding any mixed sports or non-sports gathering without observing the religious and legal norms is prohibited… and the organisers will be dealt with according to the law,” Shojaee added.

Japanese man loses USB stick with entire city’s personal details

Why? It contained the personal details of nearly half a million people. The unnamed man placed the memory stick in his bag before an evening of drinking in the city of Amagasaki, north-west of Osaka.

He spent several hours drinking in a local restaurant before eventually passing out on the street, local media reported. When he eventually came around, he realised that both his bag and the memory stick were missing.

The Japanese broadcaster NHK reports that the man, said to be in his 40s, works for a company tasked with providing benefits to tax-exempt households.

He had transferred the personal information of the entire city’s residents onto the drive on Tuesday evening before meeting colleagues for a night on the town.

City officials said the memory stick included the names, birth dates, and addresses of all the city’s residents. It also included more sensitive information, including tax details, bank account numbers and information on families receiving social security.

Luckily for the man, city officials said the data contained on the drive is encrypted and locked with a password. They added that there has been no sign that anyone has attempted to access the information so far.

But the embarrassing incident prompted an apology from officials, with the city’s mayor and other leaders bowing in apology to residents. “We deeply regret that we have profoundly harmed the public’s trust in the administration of the city,” an Amagasaki city official told a press conference.

3.5m children in Bangladesh lack safe water after floods, says UN

Unicef, the UN children’s agency, said it needed $2.5 million quickly in order to fund its emergency response.

Relentless downpours last week inundated vast stretches of Bangladesh’s northeast, with troops deployed to evacuate households cut off from neighbouring communities.

“The situation caused by flash floods in northeastern Bangladesh has deteriorated rapidly over the last week,” Sheldon Yett, Unicef’s representative to the South Asian country, told reporters in Geneva via video link.

“3.5 million children are in urgent need of safe drinking water. That is a staggering two million more children than just a few days ago. Huge areas are completely under water and are disconnected from safe drinking water and food supplies.

“Children need help right now.”

He said more than 40,000 water points and almost 50,000 toilets had been damaged, warning that water-borne disease can spread very quickly when people are forced to drink contaminated water.

Yett said cases of diarrhoea and other deadly diseases were rising steadily.

“Nearly half a million people have been evacuated into crowded evacuation centres that are not equipped to cater for the safety of women, girls and children,” he said.

Ninety percent of health facilities in Sylhet division around the regional capital have been inundated, while more than 5,000 schools and learning centres are submerged, he added.

Yett said Unicef had brought supplies in by truck as Sylhet airport — the country’s third-largest — was closed down until Thursday.

The agency has delivered 1,750,000 water purification tablets and 9,000 jerry can water containers, along with thousands of hygiene kits for women and adolescent girls.

“Unicef is helping children who were lost in the chaos to reunite with their families,” said Yett.

Floods are a regular menace to millions of people in low-lying Bangladesh, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability.

Thousands of quake survivors without food, shelter in Afghanistan

GAYAN: Aid trickled to devastated villages in remote parts of Afghanistan on Friday but thousands of people remain without food, shelter and water three days after the country’s deadliest earthquake in decades.

Wednesday’s 5.9-magnitude quake struck hardest in the rugged east along the border with Pakistan while people slept, killing more than 1,000 and leaving thousands homeless.

Entire villages have been levelled in some of the worst affected districts, where survivors said they were even struggling to find equipment to bury their dead.

“There are no blankets, tents… there’s no shelter. Our entire water distribution system is destroyed. There is literally nothing to eat,” 21-year-old Zaitullah Ghurziwal told an AFP team that reached his village in hard-hit Paktika province.

The area was still being roiled by aftershocks that were sending frightened locals scurrying from whatever shelter they had sought in badly damaged dwellings.

One aftershock early Friday killed five people, according to Maqbool Luqmanzai, director of health in Gayan district.

Aid was starting to trickle through in some areas. AFP saw seven trucks from the United Nations World Food Programme trundle into the village of Wuchkai on Fri­day morning, 24 hours after leaving Kabul, to distribute tents and emergency rations.

Two Doctors Without Borders trucks also arrived with medical supplies.

Mohammad Amin Huzaifa, head of information for Paktika province, said heavy rain and floods were hampering efforts to reach those affected.

Communications have also been hit as the quake toppled mobile phone towers and power lines. The earthquake struck areas already suffering the effects of heavy rain, causing rockfalls and mudslides that wiped out hamlets perched precariously on mountain slopes.

Officials say nearly 10,000 houses were destroyed, an alarming number in an area where the average household size is more than 20 people.

“Seven in one room, five in the other room, four in another, and three in another have been killed in my family,” Bibi Hawa said on a hospital bed in the Paktika capital Sharan.

At Wuchkai, a cemetery on a rise overlooking the village had 11 fresh graves — all members of the same family. Save the Children said more than 118,000 children were impacted by the disaster.

“Many children are now most likely without clean drinking water, food and a safe place to sleep,” the international charity said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the global agency has “fully mobilised” to help. Accor­ding to his office, refugee agency UNHCR has dispatched tents, blankets and plastic sheeting; the World Food Programme has delivered food stocks for about 14,000; and the World Health Organisation has provi­ded 10 tonnes of medical supplies sufficient for 5,400 surgeries.

Iftikhar A. Khan adds from Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday dispatched second tranche of relief assistance for earthquake-hit Afghanistan.

Minister for States and Fro­ntier Region Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood handed over the humanitarian assistance to Sardar Muhammad Shakeeb, charge d’affaires of Afghanistan, during a ceremony at Nur Khan Airbase, Rawalpindi.

The ceremony was attended by NDMA chairman Lt Gen Akhter Nawaz and officials of NDMA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The consignment arranged by NDMA consists of family tents and essential food items, which were dispatched through a PAF C130 aircraft.

The minister said Pakistan will continue to support Afghans during the humanitarian crisis. He said relevant authorities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NDMA and other departments were in close contact with the Afghan authorities for the transportation of relief goods.

Afghan Charge d’affaires thanked the Pakistani government for sending humanitarian assistance promptly.

It may be mentioned that the first NDMA consignment of relief goods was sent on June 23.

 

Two people have been shot dead and 14 injured, some seriously, in a shooting at a nightclub and nearby streets in the centre of the Norwegian capital Oslo, police say.

There was gunfire at about 01:00 local time (23:00 GMT) in three locations including a gay bar.

A suspect has been arrested and two weapons seized.

Police believe the suspect is the only person involved in the shooting. No motive for the attack has been given.

Shots were fired at the London Pub, a popular gay bar, as well as near the Herr Nilsen jazz club and a takeaway.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called it a “terrible and deeply shocking attack on innocent people”.

“I saw a man arrive with a bag, he picked up a gun and started to shoot,” journalist Olav Roenneberg of public broadcaster NRK said.

One witness in the London Pub told NRK that he had been hit by flying glass.

“I was in the outer bar in London when it happened. I just noticed that a shot was fired, and I was hit by a shard of glass. There were more and more and more shots, so I escaped into the inner bar and tried to get as many as possible with me,” he said.

“At first people did not understand what was happening, but then there was panic.”

A woman told the Verdens Gang newspaper that the gunman had taken careful aim at his targets. “When I understood that it was serious I ran. There was a man covered in blood motionless on the floor,” she said.

Another man told the newspaper he had seen a lot of people on the ground with head wounds.

Oslo is due to hold its annual Pride parade later on Saturday.

Norway’s Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said the incident had shaken the country.

“Norway is a community of trust where everyone should feel safe outside on a Saturday night,” she said, according to NRK.

The SNP’s Westminster group has questions to answer over its handling of a harassment complaint against MP Patrick Grady, the FM has said.

Nicola Sturgeon said she still had confidence in her party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford.

But she said a victim who does not feel supported “is by definition unsupported”.

Mr Grady was found to have made unwanted sexual advances to a teenage SNP staffer.

An independent panel said he last week that he touched and stroked the neck, hair and back of his male colleague during a social event in 2016, and recommended the former SNP chief whip be suspended from parliament for two days.

It emerged that Mr Blackford had subsequently urged his party’s MPs to “give as much support as possible” to Mr Grady after audio of an SNP group meeting was leaked to the Daily Mail.

 

Mr Grady’s victim told BBC Scotland on Thursday that the party was closing ranks and attempting to discredit him in order to limit the fallout from the case, and was more interested in finding the source of the leaked audio than addressing the issues that it raised.

He dismissed Mr Blackford’s apology over what was said at the group meeting and his “regret” that the victim felt unsupported as a “cop out” and a “publicity stunt” that was done to protect the politician’s position and reputation.

Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament later on Thursday that the comments made by Mr Blackford and SNP MP Amy Callaghan – who also urged MPs to “rally round” Mr Grady – in the leaked audio were “utterly unacceptable” and “indefensible”.

Speaking to BBC Scotland on Friday morning, the first minister repeated her offer to meet the victim to discuss his concerns about the way his complaint was handled and the lack of support he says he was given by the SNP after he made the allegation against Mr Grady.

The first minister said: “I know Ian Blackford feels deep regret that the victim in this case fuels unsupported.

“And let me be very clear – a victim who feels unsupported by definition was unsupported, because making sure a victim feels supported is a crucial part of any process and I take seriously”.

Ian Blackford apologises to victim and says Patrick Grady should “reflect” on behaviour

The staffer has accused Mr Blackford of attempting to “ambush” him after he initially made his complaint by inviting him to a meeting without telling him Mr Grady was also going to be there.

Mr Blackford also allowed Mr Grady to remain in his role as the SNP’s chief whip for the next three years while his victim continued to work for the party at Westminster, which he described as a “living hell”.

The first minister said: “I have confidence in Ian Blackford, but that is not saying that I don’t think there are questions here to be addressed and answered by the SNP, including by our Westminster group. I absolutely think that is the case.

“What I think about what happened is not unimportant – I’m the leader of the SNP.

“But what is most important is what the victim and the complainer in this case thinks happened, and whether that was appropriate or not.”

What has Mr Blackford had to say?

The MP initially refused interview requests by BBC Scotland in response to the claims that were made about his handling of the case by Mr Grady’s victim, who is still employed by the SNP.

But he did agree to speak on Thursday evening, when he said Mr Grady should “reflect on his behaviour” – but refused to directly call on him to step down as an MP.

Mr Blackford said: “Of course I apologise for how the complainant feels in this process and I am offering to sit down and meet with the complainant so I can listen to them and draw any lessons that need to be learned.”

Mr Blackford also said that he “regrets the fact the discussion took place in the way that it did” during the group meeting when he asked MPs to support Mr Grady.

Patrick Grady apologised after an investigation found him guilty of making unwanted sexual advances to a teenage member of SNP staff

He added: “I was responding to a particular question about what would happen once Patrick had served his suspension.

“There has been an independent process that has found Patrick Grady guilty of a serious misdemeanour. When someone has served a suspension of course I have got to make sure that people are not put in a position where they feel the punishment they are going to see is going to be ongoing.

“I am absolutely determined that our processes are fit for purpose, that they are as good as they can be, and that any complainant in any situation can be properly supported.”

Mr Blackford has faced calls to resign from the Conservatives and Labour, with Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross claiming the victim had been “badly let down every single step of the way by the SNP”.

Mr Ross said: “The handling of this whole sorry affair has been a disgrace from start to finish and has been ongoing for years. Patrick Grady’s behaviour was covered up and the SNP have put more focus on party discipline than supporting a victim.

“The disgusting actions of the SNP Westminster leader have made it less likely that any victims come forward in the future. No wonder the victim has rejected the feeble, hollow apology that Ian Blackford gave after days of silence.”

Labour’s Shadow Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray, said there was a “pattern of behaviour” in the SNP where harassment is covered up by senior party leadership figures, and that there were “incredibly serious questions that must be answered”.

What did Patrick Grady do?

In its report, the Independent Expert Panel – which recommends punishments for MPs over bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct – wrote: “An unwanted physical touching, with sexual intent, from a senior MP to a junior member of staff, even on a single occasion, is a significant breach of the policy.”

It noted that Mr Grady had shown “genuine remorse” and made “efforts to address his behaviour”.

But it recommended that he “be suspended for two sitting days, make a public apology in the House of Commons, and a private one to the complainant”.

SNP MP Patricia Gibson has been cleared after appealing against a ruling of sexual misconduct against the same staffer

Mr Grady, the MP for Glasgow North, has admitted his behaviour and said he apologised unreservedly for it.

He told the Commons: “I am profoundly sorry for my behaviour and I deeply regret my actions and their consequences” and pledged that it would never

He also pledged that “such behaviour on my part will never happen again”.

Meanwhile, SNP MP Patricia Gibson has been cleared of allegations of sexual misconduct against the same male staff member.

The complaint against her was initially upheld by the Parliament’s Standard’s Commissioner, which found that she had made unwelcome physical contact of a sexual nature in Stranger’s Bar in Parliament in January 2020 while she was drunk.

But she appealed to the Independent Expert Panel, which ruled on Thursday that the initial investigation “was materially flawed in a way that affected the decision of the Commissioner”.

Rail passengers across Britain face severely restricted services as the strike enters its third day, with disruption expected over the weekend.

Despite continuing talks, no resolution has been reached in the dispute over job losses, pay and conditions.

People are being advised to only travel by train if necessary, with just one in five services running on Saturday.

Some 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union walked out on Tuesday and Thursday this week.

 

Some commuters were able to work from home on the first two strike days, but there are several big events in London over the weekend, including a sell-out Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park and Ed Sheeran at Wembley.

Several seaside destinations have no services, including Bournemouth, Blackpool, Margate, Llandudno, and Skegness. And no trains are running in Cornwall.

Services across England, Wales and Scotland are primarily restricted to main lines, and those are only open between 07:30 and 18:30 BST.

Passengers with pre-booked tickets for Saturday are able to travel on Sunday or Monday instead, or claim a refund.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is looking for a pay rise of at least 7% and assurances of no compulsory redundancies.

The union, whose members include everyone from guards and signallers to catering staff and cleaners, says an offer of a 2% pay rise, with the possibility of a further 1%, was “unacceptable”, pointing to the rising cost of living.

Network Rail said it would consider a pay rise above 3%, but only if the union agreed to modernise working practices.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said members are “standing up for all working people trying to get a pay rise and some job security”.

But, on the eve of the third walkout, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urged the union not to “keep hamstringing the country”, adding they should “agree a deal to bring our rail industry into the 21st Century”.

Union bosses have warned more strikes are likely if a settlement cannot be reached.

Two Tory MPs who have been critical of Boris Johnson say they may stand for election to the committee which runs the party’s leadership elections.

The move follows the party losing by-elections at Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield to the Lib Dems and Labour.

Following the results, party chairman Oliver Dowden resigned, saying “someone must take responsibility”.

Mr Johnson has admitted the results were not “brilliant” but vowed to “listen and learn”.

The prime minister survived a vote of no confidence in his leadership earlier this month, although 148 of his MPs voted to oust him.

Under the rules of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs, Mr Johnson is safe from a further challenge for a year.

But Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, has said he is minded to throw his hat into the ring and stand for election to the committee’s executive, saying he would “be in favour of rule change and effectively that would be another vote of confidence”.

“The sooner the better. We will only probably have one week left before summer recess and I think we should seriously consider having another vote,” he told the BBC.

Steve Baker, MP for Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, also said he hoped colleagues would “consider allowing him to serve” although he would not comment on changing the rules.

 

Following the by-election defeats Mr Johnson said he would focus on “delivering for the people of this country”.

Speaking on Friday, the prime minister said he expected critics to continue to “attack him” and he “had to take that”.

However, he added he would “get on with the job of delivering for the people of this country”.

Speaking during a Commonwealth leaders summit in Rwanda, Mr Johnson said there would be “tough times ahead” and people would “continue to beat me up”.

“In the end, voters, journalists, they have no-one else to make their complaints to, I have to take that,” the prime minister told reporters.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said he would be in favour of another vote of confidence

The two by-election defeats prompted Conservative Party chair Oliver Dowden to quit saying: “We cannot carry on with business as usual.”

Mr Dowden said in a letter to the prime minister that supporters were “distressed and disappointed by recent events and I share their feelings”.

“Somebody must take responsibility and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office,” Mr Dowden said.

Former Conservative leader Michael Howard said that the party and the country would be “better off” under new leadership.

Lord Howard said cabinet ministers should consider resigning and that party rules should be changed to allow for a new confidence vote in the prime minister.

Cabinet ministers including Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab have given Mr Johnson their backing.

Asked if he had full confidence in the prime minister’s ability to win the next election, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “Boris Johnson is our leader, is the PM and he will be taking us into the next election.”

Turkey, Israel agree to restore ties to ambassadorial level

The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 and have often traded barbs over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Energy has emerged as a key area for potential cooperation as they strive to mend their relations.

“We will continue the high-level mutual visits in the short term,” Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid. “We have launched work on raising our diplomatic representation to ambassador level.”

Lapid was visiting Ankara after months of warming ties but amid worries voiced by Israel that its citizens could come under attack by Iranian agents in Turkey, a Nato member state.

Cavusoglu said he and Lapid were in close contact regarding threats to Israeli citizens. Lapid thanked Turkey for helping foil a suspected Iranian plot to harm Israelis in Istanbul and said the effort was still underway.

Israel has warned its citizens against travel to Turkey, citing suspected assassination or abduction plots by Iran, which has vowed to avenge the May 22 assassination of a Revolutionary Guards colonel in Tehran that it blamed on Israeli agents.

“In recent weeks, the lives of Israeli citizens have been saved thanks to security and diplomatic cooperation between Israel and Turkey,” Lapid said. “We are confident that Turkey knows how to respond to the Iranians on this matter.” Cavusoglu visited Israel last month to encourage expanded economic cooperation. It was the first such visit by a senior Turkish official in 15 years.

Through the years of acrimony, Turkey and Israel have maintained trade, which stood at $6.7 billion in 2021, up from $5 billion in 2019 and 2020, according to official data.

Lapid is set to take over from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the head of a caretaker government, after he and Bennett acted on Monday to dissolve parliament and hold an early national election.

Turkey has detained eight people allegedly working for an Iranian intelligence cell that planned to assassinate Israeli tourists in Istanbul, local media reported on Thursday.

The eight, who were not all Iranian nationals, were detained in a raid last week in three houses in Istanbul’s popular Beyoglu district, the private IHA news agency reported.

Israel last week urged its citizens to leave Turkey immediately because of “possible” threats from Iranian operatives.

Iran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war but tensions have ratcheted up following a string of high-profile incidents Tehran has blamed on Israel.

The Islamic republic claimed Israel was responsible for the killing of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayyad Khodai in his Tehran home on May 22.

IHA said Iran sent agents disguised as businessmen, tourists and students to Istanbul to assassinate Israelis in retaliation for Khodai’s murder and other attacks.

It said the Iranians had split into four groups of two assassins who could better track their Israeli targets.

“The hitmen in the assassination team, who settled in two separate rooms on the second and fourth floors of a hotel in Beyoglu, were (detained) with a large number of weapons and ammunition,” IHA said.

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