WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

31

2024

By DAN WILLIAMS and GABRIELLE TÉTRAULT-FARBER

Israel accuses 190 UN staff of being ‘hardened’ militants

WORLD

AN Israeli intelligence dossier that prompted a cascade of countries to halt funds for a U.N. Palestinian aid agency includes allegations that some staff took part in abductions and killings during the October 7 raid that sparked the Gaza war. The six-page dossier, seen by Reuters, alleges that some 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants. It has names and pictures for 11 of them. The United Nations has not formally received a copy of the dossier, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying information to tarnish UNRWA, which says it has…

Jan

30

2024

By PHIL STEWART and IDREES ALI

Biden faces pressure to strike Iran after US troops killed

WORLD

THE killing of three U.S. troops and wounding of dozens more by Iran-backed militants is piling political pressure on President Joe Biden to deal a blow directly against Iran, a move he's been reluctant to do out of fear of igniting a broader war. Biden's response options could range anywhere from targeting Iranian forces outside to even inside Iran, or opting for a more cautious retaliatory attack solely against the Iran-backed militants responsible, experts say. American forces in the Middle East have been attacked more than 150 times by Iran-backed forces in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and off the coast of…

Jan

30

2024

By The African Mirror

Israeli settlers hold conference on resettlement in Gaza

WORLD

HUNDREDS of members of the Israeli settler community gathered for a convention in Jerusalem calling for Israel to rebuild settlements in Gaza, and the northern part of the Occupied West Bank. Israel withdrew its military and settlers from Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it does not intend to maintain a permanent presence again, but that Israel would maintain security control for an indefinite period. There has been little clarity, however, about Israel's longer-term intentions, and countries including the United States have said that Gaza should be governed by Palestinians. The conference…

Jan

30

2024

By CHRIS GALLAGHER

Foreign-born residents file suit in Japan over alleged racial profiling

WORLD

THREE foreign-born residents of Japan filed a lawsuit against the national and local governments over alleged illegal questioning by police based on racial profiling. It is the first such lawsuit in Japan, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers, and comes amid a sharp rise in the number of foreign workers coming to the country to help stem labour shortages as its population ages and declines. It also comes amid a renewed debate over what it means to be and look Japanese after a Ukrainian-born, naturalised Japanese citizen was crowned Miss Japan last week. The three men filed the lawsuit with the Tokyo District…

Jan

29

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and EMMA FARGE

UN urges reversal of funding pause for Palestinian refugee agency

WORLD

U.N. officials urged countries to reconsider a pause in funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinians, pledging that any staff found involved in Hamas' attack on Israel would be punished and warning that aid for some two million people in Gaza was at stake. At least nine countries, including top donors the U.S. and Germany, have paused funding for the UNRWA refugee agency after allegations by Israel that a dozen of its 13,000 staff in Gaza were involved in the October 7 rampage. "While I understand their concerns – I was myself horrified by these accusations - I strongly appeal to the governments that…

Jan

29

2024

By JONATHAN STEMPEL and LUC COHEN

Trump will appeal $83.3 million E. Jean Carroll verdict

WORLD

DONALD Trump was handed a stinging defeat on Friday by a Manhattan jury that ordered him to pay $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll, who said he destroyed her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by denying he raped her. Jurors needed less than three hours to reach a verdict in Manhattan federal court following a five-day trial. The sum that the former U.S. president was ordered to pay far exceeded the minimum $10 million Carroll had sought. Trump plans to appeal. Carroll's case has become an issue in Trump's campaign to retake the White House in the November U.S. election. Trump…

Jan

29

2024

By The African Mirror

Masked gunmen kill one person in Istanbul Catholic church

WORLD

TWO masked gunmen shot one person dead during Sunday service at a church in Istanbul, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, adding that authorities were working to capture the assailants. Yerlikaya said the attack, which Ankara condemned, took place around 0840 GMT at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in the Sariyer district, and that one person - who was targeted by the gunmen - was killed while attending the service. "A comprehensive investigation was launched on the matter and work has been started to capture the attackers," Yerlikaya said on social media platform X. Speaking to reporters outside the church,…

Jan

28

2024

By The African Mirror

More countries pause funds for UN Palestinian agency

WORLD

BRITAIN, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland became the latest countries on Saturday to pause funding for the U.N. Refugee Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), following allegations that some of its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The United States, Australia and Canada had already paused funding to the aid agency, a critical source of support for people in Gaza, after the allegations by Israel. The agency said on Friday it had opened an investigation into several employees and severed ties with those people. Encouraging more donor suspensions, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said UNRWA should be replaced once fighting…

Jan

28

2024

By GABRIELLE TÉTRAULT-FARBER

UN agency probes staff suspected of role in Oct. 7 attacks

WORLD

THE United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said that it had opened an investigation into several employees suspected of involvement in the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas and that it had severed ties with those staff members. "The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7," said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General. "To protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to…

Jan

28

2024

By The African Mirror

Trafigura assesses Red Sea risks after tanker attacked by Houthis

WORLD

COMMODITIES trader Trafigura said it was assessing the security risks of further Red Sea voyages after firefighters put out a blaze on a tanker attacked by Yemen's Houthi group a day earlier. The U.S. military said a U.S. Navy ship and other vessels assisted after the Marlin Luanda was hit by a Houthi anti-ship missile. "No further vessels operating on behalf of Trafigura are currently transiting the Gulf of Aden and we continue to assess carefully the risks involved in any voyage, including in respect of security and safety of the crew, together with shipowners and customers," a Trafigura statement…