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Significant part of Gaza facing ‘famine-like situations’: WHO

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Wednesday thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza have been diagnosed with malnutrition.

“Despite reports of increased delivery of food, there is currently no evidence that those who need it most are receiving sufficient quantity and quality of food.”

Tedros said 8,000 children under five years old have been diagnosed and treated for acute malnutrition in Gaza.

“However, due to insecurity and lack of access, only two stabilisation centres for severely malnourished patients can operate,” the WHO chief added.

Tedros stated 32 deaths in the besieged Palestinian enclave have been attributed to malnutrition.

United Nations officials have warned of the risk of famine as Israel continues its war on Gaza. In January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to “ensure the delivery of basic services and essential humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza”.

The UN’s top court reasserted that ruling in March, demanding that Israel take “all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay… the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.

Some of Israel’s closest allies, including the United States, have also called for more aid to enter Gaza and reach people in need.

Last month, Israel seized and shut down the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which had served as a major gateway for aid and humanitarian workers.

Last month, International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of alleged war crimes, including using “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”.

A UN-backed independent commission also accused Israel of inflicting hunger on Palestinians.

“In relation to Israeli military operations and attacks in Gaza, the Commission found that Israeli authorities are responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or wilful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and outrages upon personal dignity,” the panel said in a report on Wednesday.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 270 aid workers in Gaza, including seven World Central Kitchen employees in April – an incident that sparked global outrage.

Several killed, injured in Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih

By
IFP Media Wire
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Russia Ukraine War
Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine in this handout image released on June 12, 2024.

Nine people have been killed and 29 injured, including five children, after a Russian ballistic missile struck an apartment building in Kryvyi Rih. Klymenko confirmed the toll on Wednesday evening after recovery work ended at the site.

Photos shared by the emergency services showed rescue teams clambering over piles of rubble and timber to help the injured and the dead.

“Every day and every hour, Russian terror proves that Ukraine, together with its partners, should strengthen air defences,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the attack.

Kryvyi Rih, in southern Ukraine, is Zelensky’s hometown.

He posted video footage from the scene of the attack showing rescue workers looking for survivors in the ruins and renewed his appeal for Ukraine’s allies to step up deliveries of sophisticated air defence systems to ward off Russian air attacks.

The United States has agreed to send another Patriot missile system, two US officials said late on Tuesday in Washington. Assistance to Ukraine is a key issue at the annual Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will start in Italy on Thursday.

“Modern air defence systems can provide maximum protection for people, our cities and our positions. And we need them as much as possible,” Zelensky added.

About 635,000 people lived in Kryvyi Rih before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The city has come under regular attack during the conflict.

It lies in the southern industrial Dnipropetrovsk region where officials said three people, including a 13-year-old boy, were injured in a Russian drone attack on Wednesday.

NATO says Ukraine must ‘prevail’ to join military alliance

By
IFP Media Wire
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NATO Ukraine

“I expect that allies will actually make important announcements between now and the summit and also at the summit for more military equipment … which is urgently needed to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels.

“And without that, of course, there is no membership issue to be discussed. We need to ensure that Ukraine prevails – that’s an absolute minimum for Ukraine to become a member of the alliance.”

Ukraine formally applied to join the US-led alliance in September 2022, citing its ongoing armed conflict with Russia. Despite Kiev’s requests for an expedient path to membership, the alliance has so far refused to provide Ukraine with a timetable or a roadmap for accession. The allies have further ruled out admitting Ukraine until the conflict with Russia is resolved.

Ukrainian officials, nevertheless, have continued their push for concrete steps towards accession.

“We also expect specific decisions regarding Ukraine’s membership in NATO, in a package with other guarantees of continuity of military aid and increased interoperability,” Olga Stefanishina, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister responsible for Euro-Atlantic integration, told Politico magazine this month.

The White House, however, said that Ukraine would not become a member of the alliance during the upcoming summit in Washington. “We do not anticipate that there’ll be an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, but we think there will be a substantial show of support for Ukraine as it works to win its war,” US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien stated in May.

Since 2023, Ukraine has signed bilateral security pacts with several NATO members, including the UK, France and Germany. These agreements do not have the same power as Article 5 of the NATO Charter, however, which stipulates that an attack against one member must be treated as an attack against the alliance as a whole.

Russia has cited Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO and the alliance’s continued expansion eastward as one of the root causes of the current conflict. Moscow views NATO as a threat to its security and has insisted that Ukraine must become a neutral country with limited armed forces.

UN accuses Israel and Hamas of war crimes

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

Twin reports on the actions of Israel and Palestinian groups, released on Wednesday by the independent Commission of Inquiry (COI), constitute the UN’s first in-depth investigation into the events since October 7. Both sides stand accused of indiscriminate killings and sexual violence.

The use of the term “crimes against humanity”, as in the report against Israel, is usually reserved for the most serious international crimes knowingly committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians.

The findings, based on interviews with victims and witnesses, submissions, satellite imagery, medical reports and verified open-source information, were swiftly condemned by Israel, extending the antagonism between the Israeli government and international organisations.

The commission, set up by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, will present the reports to the council next week. They cover the period from the attack on southern Israel by Palestinian groups on October 7 to the end of 2023.

The report on Israel’s actions says it committed acts including forced starvation, murder or wilful killing, collective punishment and intentional attacks on civilians. It takes note of “a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population in Gaza” by the Israeli military.

“The immense numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza and widespread destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure were the inevitable result of a strategy undertaken with intent to cause maximum damage, disregarding the principles of distinction, proportionality and adequate precautions,” a COI statement says.

“The crimes against humanity of extermination; murder; gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys; forcible transfer; and torture and inhuman and cruel treatment were committed,” it reads.

The frequency, prevalence and severity of sexual and gender-based crimes against Palestinians by Israeli security forces during the period amounted to signs that some forms of such violence “are part of ISF operating procedures”, it adds.

More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza and about 85,000 others injured, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health in the enclave.

Israel launched its war in Gaza after the October 7 attack, in which Palestinian groups killed about 1,200 people and took some 250 others to Gaza as captives. Israel has announced 116 captives remain in Gaza, of which 41 are reportedly dead.

The report on the actions of Palestinian groups says the military wings of Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups performed deliberate killings and mistreatment of civilians, hostage-taking, and sexual and gender-based violence during the attack. Civilians and members of the Israeli security forces were victims, it notes.

“These actions constitute war crimes and violations and abuses of [international humanitarian and human rights law],” the report says.

“Women were subjected to gender-based violence during the course of their execution or abduction,” it states. However, it adds that reports of rape could not be independently verified. Hamas has repeatedly denied allegations its fighters committed acts of sexual violence during the attack.

The COI says it was “particularly egregious that children were targeted for abduction”.

The report also adds that Israeli authorities “failed to protect civilians in southern Israel on almost every front”.

“Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza,” COI chair Navi Pillay stated.

“Hamas and Palestinian armed groups must immediately cease rocket attacks and release all hostages. The taking of hostages constitutes a war crime.”

“It is imperative that all those who have committed crimes be held accountable,” he added.

Israel, which refused to cooperate with the team of experts, was swift to condemn the report. Rejecting the findings, it accused the COI of “systematic anti-Israeli discrimination”.

“The CoI has once again proven that its actions are all in the service of a narrow-led political agenda against Israel. Today’s reports confirm what we have repeatedly said: the Pillay Commission will never do justice to the Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism,” stated Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN Meirav Eilon Shahar.

Israel has consistently accused international organisations, including the UN, of anti-Israel bias and anti-Semitism, with the claims increasing during its war in Gaza.

It reacted with fury last month as the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for arrest warrants against top Israeli and Hamas leaders, alleging war crimes.

US announces 300 new sanctions against Russia

By
IFP Media Wire
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Kremlin

The announcement comes as President Biden is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a leader’s summit of the Group of Seven (G7) nations this week. The global grouping has been at the forefront of working to financially choke off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage war.

“We are increasing the risk for financial institutions dealing with Russia’s war economy and eliminating paths for evasion, and diminishing Russia’s ability to benefit from access to foreign technology, equipment, software, and IT services,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

“Every day, Russia continues to mortgage its future to sustain its unjust war of choice against Ukraine.”

Still, it’s unclear the impact the sanctions will have on harming Russia’s capability to wage war.

Independent analyses of Russia’s wartime economy have found that President Vladimir Putin has managed to implement deft policies to circumvent the punishment of sanctions.

High revenue from continued, and some illicit, oil sales is a major financial stream. Putin’s focus on domestic production and trade with countries like China, and others that have not joined sanctions, are key avenues for Russia to circumvent sanctions on certain blocked materials.

The Treasury Department and State Department announced Wednesday about 300 sanctions were issued on individuals and entities whose products and services enable Russia to sustain its war effort and evade sanctions, according to a statement from Treasury.

The sanctions target individuals and entities in Russia and across the world, including in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Caribbean.

The actions taken Wednesday also include new guidelines for foreign financial institutions, warning them of the risk of being sanctioned for transacting with Russia’s war economy. The Treasury identified foreign branches of Russian banks as sanctioned — citing branches in China, India and Kyrgyzstan.

The Treasury Department is also taking steps to impede the Russian government’s ability to employ IT consultancy services and design services, with these restrictions taking effect in September. The measures are meant to target the Russian government specifically, and not individuals, the agency added in its statement.

“Despite the new prohibitions, OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] continues to maintain authorizations for certain telecommunication and internet-related transactions, as well as humanitarian transactions,” the Treasury announced in a statement.

Further sanctions target Russia’s pursuit of liquified natural gas exports. The sanctions also seek to disrupt Russia’s efforts to circumvent sanctions, by designating 90 individuals and entities across the world that are identified as part of the supply chains fueling the Russian military. The individuals and entities are identified as being located in Russia, Belarus, the British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the People’s Republic of China, Serbia, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Washington has sanctioned more than 4,000 Russian individuals and companies since February 2022, aiming to harm the country’s military efforts against Kiev. The move by the US comes before the G7 summit in Italy, where Washington had hoped to announce progress on the confiscation of frozen Russian sovereign assets. However, the US and its EU allies have reportedly been unable to agree on the next step.

Moscow “will not leave the aggressive actions of the US unanswered”, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated in response to Washington’s announcement.

Armenia says to leave Russia-led security bloc

By
IFP Media Wire
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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

Pashinyan, who has tried to cultivate closer ties with the United States and European Union, said in March that Armenia, traditionally a close Russian ally, would leave the CSTO unless the security bloc detailed its commitment to uphold his country’s security in a satisfactory way.

Pashinyan’s comments to parliamentarians – reported by the Armenpress news agency – suggest he feels he has not received such a commitment and is resolved to quit the CSTO.

“We will leave. We will decide when to exit… Don’t worry, we won’t return,” said Pashinyan, an ex-journalist who came to power in 2018 on the back of street protests that swept away Russia-friendly politicians.

The CSTO, headquartered in Moscow, also includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Belarus. It had announced it was waiting for Yerevan to clarify its stance.

Pashinyan is under pressure from protesters unhappy about what they say are unacceptable land concessions made to try to secure an elusive peace deal with Azerbaijan, which Pashinyan said on Wednesday was close to completion despite a remaining sticking point.

Ties between Russia and Armenia, host to various Russian military facilities, have become increasingly rancorous since Azerbaijan retook its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September last year by force despite the presence there of Russian peacekeepers.
The CSTO did not intervene and Azerbaijan’s military action prompted a mass exodus of the region’s more than 100,000 ethnic Armenian population to Armenia.

Pashinyan has since made a series of statements voicing his disenchantment with the CSTO and Russia, saying he feels his South Caucasus country can no longer rely on Moscow to guarantee its security.

He has also accused at least two unnamed CSTO members of apparent collusion with Azerbaijan over a 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020 and has asked some Russian personnel stationed in Armenia to leave.

“It turned out that the members of the (CSTO) alliance are not fulfiling their contractual obligations, but were planning a war against us with Azerbaijan,” Armenpress quoted Pashinyan as saying on Wednesday.

Russian peacekeeping troops who were deployed in Karabakh after that 44-day conflict completed their full withdrawal on Wednesday, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry noted.

The Russian foreign ministry said in March it was alarmed by the way Armenia’s political leadership was making public statements about the CSTO, which it said it believed were best made within the confines of the CSTO.

Advisor to Iran’s Leader: Russia and China care about their own interests 

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Rahim Safavi

Safavi added that Iran has good ties with Russia and China but it also has relations with European states and other countries as well.

China and Russia have angered many people in Iran on several occasions recently including by supporting the UAE’s claim to the three Iranian islands of the Lesser Tunb, the Greater Tunb and Abu Moussa in the Persian Gulf.

The critics of the Iranian government’s foreign policy toward Russia and China say the policy is too soft on the two countries, which has emboldened them into siding with Iran’s adversaries at times.

Dozens killed in fire at building housing workers in Kuwait

By
IFP Media Wire
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Fire at building housing workers in Kuwait

Deputy prime minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah accused real estate owners of violations and greed, saying those factors contributed towards the incident.

“Unfortunately, the greed of real estate owners is what leads to these matters,” added Sheikh Fahad, who also runs the interior and defense ministries.

He ordered the arrest of the building’s owner during a visit to the site.

The fire was reported to authorities at 6:00 a.m. local time, Major General Eid Rashed Hamad said.

“The building in which the fire occurred was used to house workers, and there was a large number of workers there. Dozens were rescued, but unfortunately there were many deaths as a result of inhaling smoke from the fire,” another senior police commander told state TV.

“We always alert and warn against” cramming too many workers into housing accommodation, he added, without providing details on the workers’ type of employment or place of origin.

The fire was contained and authorities were investigating its cause, officials stated.

UN says almost all displaced people left Gaza’s Rafah

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

“They have been forced to vacate all UNRWA shelters there,” the agency wrote on X.

For months, Israel had encouraged Palestinian refugees to go to Rafah, touting it as a “safe zone”, and over a million took refuge there. But in May, ignorning international warnings of a humanitarian crisis, it launched an offensive into Rafah, galvanizing an exodus from the city.

Living conditions in Gaza in general are “unspeakable,” it said, adding that according to the UN humanitarian affairs office over 96% of women and children aged 6 to 23 months lack access to their fundamental nutritional necessities.

Since Oct. 7, 2023 more than 37,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and vast tracts of the territory lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah.

Armenia to become ‘strategic partner’ of US

By
IFP Media Wire
-
US Armenia Flags

The landlocked Caucasus country has long been a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance led by Russia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, however, froze Yerevan’s membership in CSTO after blaming Russia for not stopping Azerbaijan from reclaiming the long-disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian peacekeepers had been deployed to the region in 2020, after Azerbaijan reclaimed parts of Nagorno-Karabakh in a conflict with the local Armenian militia. Pashinyan himself recognized Baku’s sovereignty over the region and argued that its loss had long been inevitable.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan hosted US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia James O’Brien in Yerevan on Tuesday. A joint statement issued on the occasion “noted Armenia’s aspirations for closer cooperation with Euro-Atlantic institutions and the West”.

“The United States and Armenia reaffirmed their commitment to shared democratic values and to the goal of an Armenia that is democratic, prosperous, and peaceful,” the communique declared.

Relations between the two countries should be upgraded in the coming year, O’Brien and Mirzoyan said. Both sides will continue to expand commercial and trade ties, along with “increasing cooperation on sanctions and export controls”.

The US will offer “commercial solutions in nuclear energy and renewables” to promote Armenia’s “food security and energy independence”, according to the communique.

Washington has also promised to continue Armenia’s “defense transformation” through a long-standing partnership with the Kansas National Guard, while helping Armenian police “increase accountability and sustainability”.

Yerevan acknowledged “significant US contributions to Armenia’s justice sector reform efforts”, while the US said it would continue supporting Armenian “efforts aimed at fostering judicial impartiality, integrity and independence”, as well as institutions “focused on preventing and combating corruption and transnational organized crime”.

The US likewise pledged more funding for “a robust civil society and independent media environment” in Armenia.

Pashinyan’s government has also made overtures to France for military technology and reportedly offered his country as a possible destination for asylum-seekers turned away by the UK.

Last month, O’Brien visited Armenia’s neighbor Georgia in an effort to stop the government in Tbilisi from adopting a “foreign agents” law. His threats of sanctions and withholding funding for “supporting democracy” were ultimately unsuccessful.

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