Countries at UN rally behind expert who accused Israel of ‘genocide’/node/2483421/world
Countries at UN rally behind expert who accused Israel of ‘genocide’
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, is seen on a TV screen delivering her rapport during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, on March 26, 2024. (AFP)
Countries at UN rally behind expert who accused Israel of ‘genocide’
Dozens of diplomats, mostly representing Arab and Muslim countries but also Latin America, took the floor to defend her mandate and her work
And Qatar, on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, thanked Albanese for her report and demanded the international community “put an end to genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli war machinery”
Israel has killed more than 32,414 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas government's Ministry of Health
Updated 27 March 2024
AFP
GENEVA: The UN expert who concluded Israel was committing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip received broad support at the United Nations on Tuesday, with countries speaking up to back her and her report.
Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, told the UN Human Rights Council that countries should impose an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel.
Expanding in person on her report released on Monday, Albanese said Israel was characterising the entire Gazan population as “targetable, killable and destroyable,” and had ostentatiously laid bare its “genocidal intent” to “rid Palestine of Palestinians.”
Dozens of diplomats, mostly representing Arab and Muslim countries but also Latin America, took the floor to defend her mandate and her work.
Pakistan, speaking for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, backed her call for sanctions and an arms embargo.
“We commend your courage in documenting... acts amounting to genocide in Gaza,” Islamabad’s representative said.
“The occupation force’s dangerous and ruthless push for a final solution to the Palestinian question is plain for all to see, as its forces encircle Rafah like vultures and its ravenous land grab continues unabated in the West Bank.”
Egypt, speaking for Arab group countries, affirmed their support for Albanese’s mandate and said they were gravely concerned about Israel’s “structured and systematic attack to make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable.”
And Qatar, on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, thanked Albanese for her report and demanded the international community “put an end to genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli war machinery.”
In her speech, Albanese told the top UN rights body that Israel had “destroyed Gaza.”
“When genocidal intent is so conspicuous, so ostentatious, as it is in Gaza, we cannot avert our eyes: we must confront genocide, we must prevent it and we must punish it,” she said.
“The genocide in Gaza is the most extreme stage of a long-standing settler-colonial process of erasure of the native Palestinians.”
Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council, although they do not speak on behalf of the UN.
In response, Russia said it was “horrified” by Israel’s military operation that had seen “civilian infrastructure targeted” while China said it was was ready to facilitate peace talks.
The European Union called for “proper and independent investigations on all allegations” and while appalled by the civilian death toll it recognized Israel’s right to self-defense.
Albanese’s speech concluded to applause in the chamber. Israel was not present, nor was its chief ally the United States.
Israel has long been harshly critical of Albanese, and on Monday immediately rejected her report as an “obscene inversion of reality.”
The United States called her mandate “biased against Israel.”
In the rights council on Tuesday, the only firm support for such positions came from non-governmental organizations.
The World Jewish Congress said Albanese’s mandate “seeks to entrench divisions and a one-sided narrative instead of pursuing a balanced and inclusive approach.”
The European Union of Jewish Students said Albanese’s “resignation is imperative” for the council to retain any credibility on issues concerning Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 32,400 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the territory.
Taiwan and China need peace given ‘multifold changes’ internationally, president says
Lai Ching-te, who China detests as a ‘separatist, has repeatedly called for talks with Beijing
China has stepped up its military and political pressure against the democratically-governed island
Updated 58 min 26 sec ago
Reuters
TAIPEI: Taiwan and China need to talk to each other to achieve peace given the “multifold changes” in the international situation, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Monday, calling for dialogue instead of confrontation.
Lai, who China detests as a “separatist,” has repeatedly called for talks with Beijing, which has stepped up its military and political pressure against the democratically-governed island it sees as sovereign Chinese territory.
But both China and Taiwan face pressure from the new administration of US President Donald Trump, who has imposed tariffs on China and threatened similar measures against imported semiconductors, a sector Taiwan dominates.
Speaking in Taipei to members of the Taiwanese business community who have invested in China, Lai said Taiwan and China’s common enemies were natural disasters and their common goal was the well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
“Therefore, we should, especially at a time of multifold changes in the international situation, have a good dialogue and exchanges between the two sides of the strait in order to achieve the goal of peace,” he said.
Taiwan very much welcomes talks with China on the basis of equality without preconditions and dialogue should replace confrontation, but Taiwan’s future can only be decided by its people, Lai added.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China says Taiwan must accept that the two sides of the strait are part of “one China,” something Lai and his government have refused to do.
Lai said there can be no illusions about peace, and Taiwan should aim for peace through strength by bolstering its defenses, and must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other democracies.
“Only with sovereignty is there the country. Only with Taiwan is there the Republic of China,” he added, referring to the island’s formal name.
The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communist forces, who set up the People’s Republic of China in Beijing.
FBI staff ordered to reveal their role in Jan. 6 probes by Monday
Latest action stokes fear about a fresh round of firings at the law enforcement agency
Critics say Trump’s team is carrying out a purge of FBI and Justice Department officials
Updated 03 February 2025
Reuters
WASHINGTON: FBI employees were ordered on Sunday to answer a questionnaire about any work they may have done on criminal cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, stoking fear about a fresh round of firings at the law enforcement agency. The list of questions in the memo, seen by Reuters, direct employees to give their job title, any role they played in the investigations into the Jan. 6 riot by supporters of President Donald Trump and whether they helped supervise such investigations.
“I know myself and others receiving this questionnaire have a lot of questions and concerns, which I am working hard to get answers to,” Chad Yarbrough, the assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI headquarters, wrote in a weekend email seen by Reuters.
Yarbrough told employees the answers are due by 3 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) on Monday.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the questionnaire.
Democrats and other critics have said Trump’s team is carrying out a purge of FBI and Justice Department officials who played roles in the criminal cases against Trump and the Jan. 6 rioters.
On Trump’s first day back in office on Jan. 20, he commuted the sentences of 14 people in connection with the Capitol attack and pardoned the rest — including those who violently attacked law enforcement officers.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove on Friday demanded that the FBI by Tuesday at noon ET (1700 GMT) turn over to him a list of every employee who worked on Jan. 6 cases, as well as a list of those who worked on a criminal case filed last year against leaders of the militant Hamas group in connection with the Gaza war.
He also fired eight senior FBI officials from agency headquarters as well as the heads of the Miami and Washington, D.C., field offices.
Bove last week fired more than a dozen career Justice Department prosecutors who worked on the two now-dismissed criminal cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith against Trump, one involving actions taken to try to overturn the 2020 election results and the other involving classified government documents.
Mark Zaid, a lawyer who specializes in national security, said in a letter to Bove that his actions appeared to be in violation of due process and if an individual’s information was made public, it could threaten their safety.
“If you proceed with terminations and/or public exposure of terminated employees’ identities, we stand ready to vindicate their rights through all available legal means,” the letter, which Zaid released on X, said.
Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, in an email to staff on Friday announcing details about the order from the Bove, said the request “encompasses thousands of employees across the country who have supported these investigative efforts.”
“I am one of those employees, as is acting Deputy Director (Robert) Kissane,” Driscoll noted.
Despite reports about other firings throughout the bureau, emails seen by Reuters from both the FBI Agents Association and from James Dennehy, the assistant FBI director in charge of the New York office, made it clear that no one else had been asked to resign.
Nevertheless, some employees on Friday started to clear out their desks amid concerns they might be next, according to the FBI Agents Association email seen by Reuters.
“Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own, as good people are being walked out of the FBI and others are being targeted because they did their jobs in accordance with the law and FBI policy,” Dennehy wrote on Friday, saying he gave credit to Driscoll and Kissane for “fighting for this organization.”
Dennehy added that other than the select group of people named in Bove’s memo, “NO ONE has been told they are being removed at this time.”
After imposing sweeping tariffs, Trump announces talks with Canada and Mexico
China, Mexico and Canada are the top three US trade partners and all have vowed to retaliate when the tariffs take effect Tuesday
Experts warn that Trump’s tariffs could reduce US economic growth and throw Canada and Mexico into recession
Says Americans may feel economic “pain” from his tariffs, but argued it would be “worth the price” to secure US interests
Updated 03 February 2025
Agencies
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said he will discuss the punishing tariffs he has levied on Canada and Mexico with both countries on Monday, after arguing that Americans may feel economic “pain” from the 25 percent duties but that it will be “worth the price.”
Speaking to reporters after he flew back to Washington Sunday evening from a weekend in Florida, Trump said he was “speaking with Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau tomorrow morning, and I’m also speaking with Mexico tomorrow morning.”
“I don’t expect anything very dramatic,” he added.
Trump has also hit China with a 10-percent tariff in addition to levies already in place.
A fervent supporter of tariffs, Trump had always maintained that their impact would be borne by foreign exporters, without being passed on to American consumers, contradicting the opinion of a broad range of experts.
Earlier Sunday he acknowledged, in a series of messages on his Truth Social network, that Americans may feel economic “pain” from his tariffs, but argued it would be “worth the price” to secure US interests.
China, Mexico and Canada are the top three US trade partners and all have vowed to retaliate when the tariffs take effect Tuesday.
“Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!)” Trump wrote Sunday morning in all-caps on his Truth Social media platform.
“But we will Make America Great Again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid.”
Analysts expect the trade war to slow US growth and increase prices, at least in the short term, something the president had resisted acknowledging after frustration over rising costs was seen as a major factor in his 2024 election win.
Seeking to limit a spike in fuel prices, Trump has put the levy on energy imports from Canada at only 10 percent.
The president has cited illegal immigration and the trafficking of the deadly opioid fentanyl as reasons for the “emergency” measures.
But on Sunday he also expressed general outrage at trade deficits, which he has long viewed as signs of unfair treatment against the United States.
“The USA has major deficits with Canada, Mexico, and China (and almost all countries!), owes 36 Trillion Dollars, and we’re not going to be the ‘Stupid Country’ any longer,” he wrote.
The tariffs announcements capped an extraordinary second week of Trump’s new term, with the president facing the worst US aviation disaster in years — even as his administration moved to drastically overhaul the government in actions decried by critics as illegal.
While some economies believe the levies are likely to be temporary, the outlook is unclear because the White House set very general conditions for their removal.
A White House fact sheet gave no details on what the three countries would need to do to win a reprieve.
Trump vowed to keep them in place until what he described as a national emergency over fentanyl, a deadly opioid, and illegal immigration to the United States ends. China left the door open for talks with the United States. Its sharpest pushback was over fentanyl.
Canada hits back
In a separate social media post, Trump took particular aim at Canada, repeating his call for America’s northern neighbor to become a US state.
Claiming the United States pays “hundreds of billions of dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada,” Trump said that “without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country.”
“Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State,” he said, reiterating the expansionist threat against one of his country’s closest allies.
The US Census Bureau says the 2024 trade deficit in goods with Canada was $55 billion.
Canadian backlash was swift, with video posted to social media showing fans at a Toronto Raptors game Sunday booing during the US national anthem.
Canada said on Sunday it will take legal action under the relevant international bodies to challenge the tariffs.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also encouraged Canadians on Sunday to boycott their longtime ally after ordering retaliatory tariffs against $155 billion of US goods, from peanut butter, beer and wine to lumber and appliances.
Canadian officials said they were preparing measures to help business who might be hurt by the trade war.
Trudeau vowed Saturday to hit back with 25 percent levies on select American goods worth Can$155 billion ($106.6 billion), with a first round on Tuesday followed by a second one in three weeks.
Leaders of several Canadian provinces have already announced retaliatory actions as well, such as the immediate halt of US liquor purchases.
The White House has not publicly announced what actions could end the tariffs.
“It’s hard to know what more we can do, but we’re obviously open to any other suggestions that come our way,” Canada’s ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman told ABC News on Sunday.
Mexico, China push back
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she, also, was awaiting Trump’s response to her proposal for dialogue.
She said she had directed her economy minister to “implement Plan B,” which includes unspecified “tariff and non-tariff measures,” promising to detail Monday the steps she intends to take.
Trump said Sunday he also planned to hit the European Union with tariffs “pretty soon,” to which the EU said earlier it would “respond firmly.”
“Fentanyl is America’s problem,” China’s foreign ministry said, adding that China has taken extensive measures to combat the problem.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, raising her fist in the air in a speech outside the capital, vowed resilience.
She accused the United States of failing to tackle its fentanyl problem and said it would not be solved by tariffs.
Sheinbaum said she would provide more details on Monday of the retaliatory tariffs she ordered this weekend.
Warnings of inflation, recession
EY Chief Economist Greg Daco said Trump’s tariffs could reduce US economic growth by 1.5 percentage points this year, throw Canada and Mexico into recession and usher in “stagflation” — high inflation, stagnant economic growth and elevated unemployment — at home.
Trump’s move was the first strike in a what could be a destructive global trade war that Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics said would lead to a surge in US inflation that would “come even faster and be larger than we initially expected.
US crude oil futures jumped more than $2 to hit $75 per barrel, while stock futures fell. The S&P 500 E-mini futures were down 2 percent, while Nasdaq futures were down 2.75 percent.
The Trump tariffs, outlined in three executive orders, are due to take effect 12:01 a.m. ET (0501 GMT) on Tuesday. Markets were awaiting developments with anxiety, but some analysts said there was some hope for negotiations, especially with Canada and China.
“The tariffs look likely to take effect, though a last-minute compromise cannot be completely ruled out,” Goldman Sachs economists said in a note Sunday.
The tariff announcement made good on Trump’s repeated 2024 campaign threat, defying warnings from economists that a trade war would erode growth and raise prices for consumers and companies.
Trump declared a national emergency under two laws, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act, which give the president sweeping powers to impose sanctions to address crises.
Trade lawyers said Trump could face legal challenges for testing the limits of US laws. Democratic lawmakers Suzan DelBene and Don Beyer decried what they called a blatant abuse of executive power. Others warned about rising prices.
“No matter which way you slice it: costs are going to climb for consumers,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, vowing to try to “undo this mess.”
Republicans welcomed Trump’s action.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week showed Americans were divided on tariffs, with 54 percent opposing new duties on imported goods and 43 percent in support, with Democrats more opposed and Republicans more supportive.
Investors look ahead
Investors were considering the effects of additional tariffs promised by Trump, including those related to oil and gas, as well as steel, aluminum, semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals. Trump has also vowed actions against the European Union.
A European Commission spokesperson said the EU “would respond firmly to any trading partner that unfairly or arbitrarily imposes tariffs on EU goods.” Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, said it was counting on talks to avoid trade conflict.
Automakers would be particularly hard hit, with new tariffs on vehicles built in Canada and Mexico burdening a vast regional supply chain where parts can cross borders several times before final assembly.
Trump imposed only a 10 percent duty on energy products from Canada after oil refiners and Midwestern states raised concerns. At nearly $100 billion in 2023, imports of crude oil accounted for roughly a quarter of all US imports from Canada, according to US Census Bureau data.
White House officials said Canada specifically would no longer be allowed the “de minimiz” US duty exemption for shipments under $800. The officials said Canada, along with Mexico, has become a conduit for shipments of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the US via small packages that are not often inspected by customs agents.
Georgian police arrest opposition leaders at pro-EU protest
Earlier on Sunday, the Interior Ministry warned protesters in a statement that blocking the motorway was a criminal offense
Updated 03 February 2025
Reuters
TBILISI: Police in Georgia arrested several anti-government protesters on Sunday as thousands of demonstrators demanding new parliamentary elections briefly blocked a motorway on the edge of the capital Tbilisi.
A Reuters reporter saw three protesters being arrested, including Nika Melia, a leader of the country’s largest opposition party, the Coalition for Change.
Interfax news agency reported that Melia has since been released on bail after detention for an administrative offense.
“At the police station, I was sitting on a chair in handcuffs and was kicked by a police officer,” Interfax cited Melia as telling journalists afterwards.
Reuters could not independently verify the information.
There was no immediate comment from the police. Georgia’s Ministry Of Internal Affairs had said in a statement before the protest that the police would ensure the rally took place “in a peaceful environment, within the limits established by law.”
Former Tbilisi Mayor Giorgi Ugulava was also arrested, local media reported.
Georgians have been rallying nightly since November, when the ruling Georgian Dream party said it was suspending European Union accession talks until 2028, abruptly halting a long-standing national goal.
Georgian Dream held onto power in a disputed election in October that opposition parties say was rigged. The government says the vote was fair and free.
Protests had dwindled in recent weeks but they resumed with greater force on Sunday when thousands of people gathered outside a shopping complex on the northern edge of Tbilisi and briefly blocked the road leading out of the city. Police presence at the rally was considerable. Earlier on Sunday, the Interior Ministry warned protesters in a statement that blocking the motorway was a criminal offense.
One protester was seen by the side of the road, unconscious. Reuters was unable to establish what had happened to him.
Unverified video footage posted on social media showed scores of police in balaclavas beating protesters on the streets and others carrying away injured demonstrators into ambulances.
Trump to cut off all future funding to South Africa, Elon Musk’s original country
He alleged that “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY”
Trump pledged during his first administration to investigate claims of large-scale killings of white farmers in South Africa and violent takeovers of land
Updated 03 February 2025
Reuters
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would cut off all future funding to South Africa because he claimed, without evidence, that “certain classes of people” were being treated “very badly.”
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” he added.
In 2023, the United States obligated nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa, according to US government statistics.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said last month that he was not worried about the country’s relationship with Trump.
Ramaphosa said at the end of January that he had spoken to Trump after his election victory and looked forward to working with his administration.
During his first administration, Trump had pledged to investigate the unproven large-scale killings of white farmers in South Africa and violent takeovers of land.
