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World Australia, Italy and others halt funding to U.N. agency over claim staff involved in Hamas attack on Israel

Australia, Italy and others halt funding to U.N. agency over claim staff involved in Hamas attack on Israel​

Updated on: January 27, 2024 / 4:07 PM EST / CBS/AFP

Several key donor countries to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees joined the U.S. and said on Saturday they would halt their funding following accusations by Israel that several UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas's Oct. 7 attack.

The U.S. State Department said on Friday they suspended payments to the organization. The U.S. underlined that "UNRWA plays a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support." The UNRWA is the United Nations humanitarian agency that serves Palestinians.

The organization said it had opened an investigation into allegations from Israel that some of its staff members participated in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said 12 UNRWA employees had been accused of participating.

UNWRA head Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on Saturday that nine countries have suspended funding to the agency which threatens "our ongoing humanitarian work across the region including and especially in the Gaza Strip." He added, "It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region. "

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT


Palestinians walk at the entrance of a UNWRA school used as shelter in Gaza City. Key donors have paused funds to the U.N. agency after a claim staff participated in Hamas attacks on Israel. OMAR EL-QATTAA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Canada's International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen also announced on Friday that Ottawa had "temporarily paused any additional funding to UNRWA while it undertakes a thorough investigation into these allegations."


UNRWA responded by saying it had fired several staff over Israel's accusations, promising a thorough investigation into the claims, which were not specified, while Israel vowed to stop the agency's work in Gaza after the war. U.N's top spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was briefed on the situation by Lazzarini and was "horrified by this news and has asked Mr. Lazzarini to investigate this matter swiftly."

Here are what the countries that have suspended funding have said about the allegations:

Germany announced late Saturday they are suspending funding to UNRWA.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Saturday that while UNRWA provides "vital, life saving work", Brisbane would "temporarily pause disbursement of recent funding."

"We welcome UNRWA's immediate response, including terminating contracts and launching an investigation," she said on the social media platform X.

Finland, which had a four-year agreement to provide five million euros ($5.4 million) annually to UNRWA, suspended its payments and called for an "an independent and thorough investigation", in a statement from its foreign ministry.

"We must make sure that not a single euro of Finland's money goes to Hamas or other terrorists," it said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said it was joining the ranks of those suspending funding, adding, "We are committed to providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population while protecting Israel's security."

Switzerland, which has made annual contributions of around 20 million Swiss francs ($23 million) to UNRWA, said Saturday no decision would be taken on the 2024 payment until the accusations were clarified.

"Switzerland has zero tolerance for all forms of support for terrorism, and for calls to hatred or incitement to violence," it added.

Dutch Minister for Trade and Development Geoffrey van Leeuwen announced a freeze in funding for UNRWA while the investigation is ongoing, saying the government was "extremely shocked."

"The accusation is that the attack was committed on Oct. 7 with UN money, with our money," he told public broadcaster NOS on Saturday.

The British government said it was "appalled by the allegations" made by Israel and would be "temporarily pausing any future funding" while the Foreign Office reviewed the claims. The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, has vowed to hold "accountable, including through criminal prosecution", any agency employee found to have been involved in "acts of terror."

Canada's International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen also announced on Friday that Ottawa had "temporarily paused any additional funding to UNRWA while it undertakes a thorough investigation into these allegations."

Guterres pledged to conduct an "urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA," Dujarric said.

World Ukraine invites China’s Xi to ‘peace summit’

Ukraine invites China’s Xi to ‘peace summit’​

2024年1月27日

Xi-Jinping-red-background-800x450.jpg

File photo. Chinese President Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses the opening of a study session on boosting the high-quality development of the financial sector, attended by principal officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance) in Beijing, China, 16 January 2024. [EPA-EFE/XINHUA / JU PENG]


Ukraine has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to participate in a planned “peace summit” of world leaders in Switzerland, a top diplomatic adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russia’s invasion approaches its second anniversary.

China has close ties with Russia and has refrained from criticising its invasion of Ukraine but has also said the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected and has offered to help mediate in the conflict.
“We are definitely inviting China to participate in the summit, at the highest level, at the level of the President of the People’s Republic of China,” the adviser, Ihor Zhovkva, told Reuters in an interview this week.

“China’s participation will be very important to us. We are working with the Chinese side. We involve our partners in the world so that they convey to the Chinese side how important it is to participate in such a summit.”

China’s Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “no limits” partnership in Beijing just three weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Since then, China has dramatically increased its Russian energy imports.
Putin says the invasion was necessary to protect Russia’s own security, while Kyiv and the West say it is an unprovoked war of aggression and a land grab.

Neutral Switzerland agreed to host the Ukraine peace summit on Ukraine at Zelenskyy’s request but no date or venue has yet been set. Zhovkva said teams were still working on the details.

Switzerland agreed Monday (15 January) to a request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to host a peace summit of world leaders on ending Russia’s full-scale invasion — but without inviting Moscow.

Peace plan​

Zhovkva also said the national security advisers of a record 82 countries had taken part in talks this month in the Swiss town of Davos that focused on Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan.

Russia has not been invited to the planned summit and has previously said Ukraine’s 10-point plan will come to nothing.

That plan envisages the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, withdrawal of all Russian troops, protection of food and energy supplies, nuclear safety, and the release of all prisoners of war.

“We will talk about a certain road map (at the summit) to implement this (peace) formula,” said Zhovkva.

Ukraine is scrambling to maintain international support amid signs of war weariness among its Western allies after the failure of Kyiv’s counteroffensive last year to bring a breakthrough on the battlefield. The frontlines have remained little changed and the war in Gaza has recently become a more pressing focus of global attention.

Zhovkva hailed the participation of many countries from the Global South at the Davos talks, saying Ukraine hoped to maintain this level at the summit.

China’s representative participated in a meeting on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia last summer, and Xi and Zelenskyy have also spoken by phone.

Beijing last year put forward its own 12-point plan for peace in Ukraine that involves declaring a ceasefire but does not stipulate that Russia should withdraw from any of the territory it has seized.

Russia denies Putin reaching out to US​

The Kremlin on Friday denied a Bloomberg report that President Vladimir Putin was “putting out feelers” to the United States for possible talks on ending the war in Ukraine and might consider dropping key demands on Ukraine’s security status.

The Bloomberg report said Putin was “testing the waters” on whether Washington was ready to engage in talks, and had reached out to the United States via indirect channels.

It cited two people close to the Kremlin as saying Putin “may be willing to consider dropping an insistence on neutral status for Ukraine and even ultimately abandon opposition to eventual NATO membership – the threat of which has been a central Russian justification for the invasion”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked by reporters about the story, and specifically whether Moscow was really ready to give up its demands on neutrality and NATO.

“No, this is a wrong report. It absolutely does not correspond to reality,” Peskov said.

[🇵🇰] Villagers kill rare white leopard in Kerthar National Park

Villagers kill rare white leopard in Kerthar National Park​

The body was recovered in the village of Mohammad Ali Faqeer; SWD registers case against 5 involved in the killing

Sameer Mandhro
January 23, 2024

a white leopard shot dead within the limits of kerthar national park photo express


A white leopard shot dead within the limits of Kerthar National Park.


Local villagers killed a rare white leopard within the boundaries of Kerthar National Park on Monday night, officials said.

The Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) swiftly took action, registering a case against five individuals involved in the killing.

Sources revealed to The Express Tribune that the leopard was shot dead at approximately 12:30am, and photos of the incident were circulated on social media, sparking public outrage.

SWD officials, led by Deputy Conservator Wajid Shaikh, identified two of the individuals responsible as Qadar Bux and Ghulam Hussain Sonaro from the local community.

A white leopard shot dead within the limits of Kerthar National Park. PHOTO: EXPRESS

A white leopard shot dead within the limits of Kerthar National Park. PHOTO: EXPRESS

Shaikh expressed the department's commitment to apprehending the culprits, stating, "We will have to arrest these men." The SWD learned about the incident through social media, prompting a prompt response.

The body of the killed animal was recovered in the village of Mohammad Ali Faqeer, within the jurisdiction of taluka Thano Bola Khan.

Deputy Conservator Shaikh confirmed the unprecedented nature of the incident, noting that a white leopard had never been sighted in Kerthar National Park before.

He speculated that the leopard might have migrated from Balochistan. The last recorded sighting of a leopard in the area dates back to 1976.

The SWD is taking legal measures in response to this unfortunate incident. The leopard's body is being transferred to Hyderabad, where it will be presented before the court.

The department plans to initiate preservation procedures after obtaining necessary permissions.


tribune.com.pk

Villagers kill rare white leopard in Kerthar National Park | The Express Tribune

The body was recovered in the village of Mohammad Ali Faqeer; SWD registers case against 5 involved in the killing
tribune.com.pk
tribune.com.pk

[🇷🇺] Russia's parliamentary leader warns of a third world war

Russia's parliamentary leader warns of a third world war​

DPA
Sat, January 27, 2024 at 11:42 PM GMT+8·1 min read
Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma, arrives for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. -/Kremlin/dpa

Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma, arrives for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. -/Kremlin/dpa

Russian parliamentary leader Vyacheslav Volodin has evoked the danger of a third world war on the 80th anniversary of the end of the siege of Leningrad.

"Fascist ideology has become the norm for the leadership of NATO countries," Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

He accused Western governments, including explicitly the German government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of supporting a policy of genocide in Ukraine. "This is a dangerous path that could lead to a new world war," Volodin said.

Russia's main justification for its war against Ukraine, which has been going on for almost two years, is the claim that the neighbouring country needs to be "de-Nazified."

Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly uses historical comparisons with World War II to justify his attack on the neighbouring country.

He equates the invasion of Ukraine that he ordered with the Soviet Union's defence against Nazi Germany's criminal war of aggression. Especially on anniversaries, Moscow uses the argument of "defending the memory of the war dead" for its war propaganda.

Exactly 80 years ago, on January 27, 1944, Soviet troops broke through the German Wehrmacht's siege ring around what was then Leningrad, now St Petersburg.

Before this, German troops had deliberately caused the deaths of an estimated 1.2 million people, who died from bombing, hunger and cold.

Germany's ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, characterized the blockade as "a particularly shocking and brutal war crime in the midst of the criminal invasion of the Soviet Union."

[🇺🇸] US to station nuclear weapons in Britain 'imminently', report claims

US to station nuclear weapons in Britain 'imminently', report claims​

The UK must keep Ukraine at the top of the agenda "because they're fighting for us out there", a former NATO secretary general has told Sky News. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin made his first remarks on the military plane crash this week - and accused Ukraine.

Saturday 27 January 2024 15:37, UK

America is reportedly planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK in response to the growing threat from Russia.

They would be kept at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk under the proposals - which are detailed in The Telegraph.

It says Pentagon documents reveal contracts for a new facility and "show the US intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base".

The paper says it would be the first time in 15 years that America has stationed nuclear weapons in the UK.

"Unredacted documents on the US department of defence’s procurement database reveal plans for a 'nuclear mission' that will take place 'imminently' at RAF Lakenheath", reports The Telegraph.

The nuclear weapons that could be located at the base are reported to be B61-12 gravity bombs, which can be deployed from fighter jets.

The Telegraph says it's part of a NATO programme to "develop and upgrade nuclear sites" in the wake of Russia's invasion.

Responding to the report, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "It remains a longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location."

[🇨🇳] China orders a Japanese fishing boat to leave waters near Japan-held islands claimed by Beijing

China orders a Japanese fishing boat to leave waters near Japan-held islands claimed by Beijing​

BEIJING (AP) — China's coast guard said Saturday its officers ordered a Japanese fishing vessel and several patrol ships to leave waters surrounding tiny Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea. It marked the latest incident pointing to lingering tensions between the sides.

By The Associated Press

Saturday, January 27, 2024

BEIJING (AP) — China's coast guard said Saturday its officers ordered a Japanese fishing vessel and several patrol ships to leave waters surrounding tiny Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea. It marked the latest incident pointing to lingering tensions between the sides.

China says the islands belong to it and refuses to recognize Japan’s claim to the uninhabited chain known as the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. Taiwan also claims the islands, which it calls Diaoyutai, but has signed access agreements for its fishermen with Japan and does not actively take part in the dispute.

Coast guard spokesperson Gan Yu said in a statement that the vessels “illegally entered” the waters, prompting its response. “We urge Japan to stop all illegal activities in the waters immediately and to ensure similar incidents would not happen again,” the statement said. But the statement did not specify whether the vessels complied with the order.

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