Tag: US

  • Death toll crosses 9,000: What we know about day 27

    Death toll crosses 9,000: What we know about day 27

    Biden finally calls for a ‘pause’ in war

    For the first time since October 7, US President Joe Biden has called for a humanitarian “pause” to Israel’s war in Gaza, asserting the eimportance of evacuation of all citizens in Gaza.

    “I think we need a pause,” he said on Wednesday when a heckler referred to an immediate ceasefire during a campaign speech.

    Biden was asked what he meant by “pause” to which he responded, “Time to get the prisoners out.”

    The White House later clarified that the reference was of captives under Hamas.

    Almost 200 killed, over 100 missing in Jabalia bombing

    According to a report by Gaza’s Government Media Office, more than 1,000 people have been affected by bombing on Jabalia refugee camp which includes 195 killed, 120 missing and at least 777 wounded.

    The Israeli military attacked the camp on Tuesday as well as Wednesday promoting the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deem the attacks “appalling”, while the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the “disproportionate attacks” could amount to “war crimes”.

    Israel, on the contrary, claimed to have targeted a Hamas commander.

    12,000 targets in Gaza attacked

    Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari has stated that more than 12,000 targets have been attacked since October 7.

    Eleven bakeries destroyed

    UN relief agency UNOCHA has reported on the destruction of 11 bakeries in Gaza that were struck by Israel since October 7.

    Now, only nine bakeries are reportedly left in Gaza as of Wednesday.

    While UNOCHA is supplying the bakeries with flour, they are, nonetheless, struggling to operate due to fuel shortages and additionally, people have to wait in long queues.

    Israel-Lebanon conflict continues

    Al Jazeera reported that the Israeli army claimed that one of its drones was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon.

    The military responded by attacking the squad and the site from where the rocket was launched.

    Egypt to help evacuate ‘about 7,000’ foreign nationals

    The Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that Egypt will help evacuate “about 7,000” foreigners and dual nationals from Gaza through Rafah border.

    These 7,000 people consist of “more than 60” nationalities.

    At least 60 people detained across the occupied West Bank

    In an overnight raid by the Israeli forces, at least 60 people have been detained across the occupied West Bank.

    The total number of Palestinians detained since October 7 now crosses 1,800.

    Additionally, 132 people have been killed in the occupied West Bank while more than 2,100 are wounded.

    Israeli agricultural sector struggling

    The Ministry of Labor reported that Israel’s agricultural sector is reportedly affected with “significant damage” as thousands of foreign workers have left since October 7.

    More than a quarter of about 30,000 foreign workers working in Israel have departed while about 20,000 Palestinian agricultural workers have not been allowed to enter Israel.

    The ministry has now given a green signal to 5,000 foreign workers to overcome the shortage in the agriculture sector.

    Credits: Al Jazeera

  • New York police arrest hundreds at Jewish protest urging Gaza ceasefire

    New York police arrest hundreds at Jewish protest urging Gaza ceasefire

    Hundreds of people were arrested Friday when police broke up a large demonstration of mostly Jewish New Yorkers who had taken over the main hall of Grand Central station in protest of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, police and organizers said.

    The New York Police Department said at least 200 people had been arrested, while protest organizers put the number at more than 300.

    Photos from the scene showed long lines of young people standing in handcuffs and wearing black sweatshirts with the words “Not In Our Name” and “Cease Fire Now” printed in white.

    The massive sit-in was called by the group Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City, which said thousands of its members had attended the protest, blocking the main concourse of the city’s central rail station.

    Pictures showed the terminal packed with protesters who held up banners reading “Palestinians should be free” and “Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living.”

    Organizers called the peaceful sit-in “the largest civil disobedience New York City has seen in 20 years.”

    Rabbis launched the event by lighting Shabbat candles and reciting the Jewish prayer for the dead, known as the kaddish.

    “While Shabbat is typically a day of rest, we cannot afford to rest while genocide is unfolding in our names,” said Rabbi May Ye, in a statement released by organizers.

    “The lives of Palestinians and Israelis are intertwined, and safety can only come from justice, equality, and freedom for all,” the rabbi said.

    Israel launched its bombardment of Gaza after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on 7 October, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 220 others, according to Israeli officials.

    The Hamas-run health ministry said Friday that Israeli strikes on Gaza had now killed 7,326 people, more than 3,000 of them children.

  • Palestinian Health Ministry provides credible casualty figures: UN

    Palestinian Health Ministry provides credible casualty figures: UN

    While US President Joe Biden has questioned the reliability of the death toll coming from Gaza, the United Nations has verified that the figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health have a history of being credible.

    “In the past, the five, six cycles of conflict in the Gaza Strip, these figures were considered as credible and no one ever really challenged these figures,” the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said while speaking to the media on Friday.

    On Thursday, the Health Ministry released a 212-page document with names and identity numbers of those killed in Israeli air raid since October 7, having collected the data from morgues and hospitals.

    The list consists of 6,747 people killed in the Israeli attacks, including 2,665 children whereas 529 bodies are yet to be identified.

    Anadolu Agency has said that 8,400 people have been killed including at least 7,028 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis.

  • 80 per cent of Gaza burns victims are children: What do we know about day 15

    80 per cent of Gaza burns victims are children: What do we know about day 15

    13 Palestinians killed in occupied West Bank

    At least 13 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank.

    The Israeli raid led to clashes in the Nur Shams refugee camp.

    Among the killed Palestinians are seven children whereas one Israeli officer also died.

    Israel-Lebanon border

    Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah alongside Palestinian armed groups are still at odds as cross-border attacks continue.

    Al Jazeera reports that the attacks are limited to areas only a few kilometres on each side of the border, adding that Hezbollah is trying to stop Israeli potential operation into Gaza.

    ‘Fuel will not enter Gaza’: Israeli army spokesperson

    Daniel Hagari says the 20 trucks carrying aid into Gaza from Egypt will go to the southern part of the besieged enclave.

    But he stated that “fuel will not enter Gaza”.

    At a news conference after the opening of the Rafah crossing earlier, Hagari told reporters that only food, water and medical aid will be allowed to enter the enclave.

    Israeli air raids kill 46 in Gaza

    Air raids through the night have reportedly killed at least 46 people.

    Preparations for ‘next phase of war’

    Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has disclosed that the war will be carried through three phases and that preparations are underway “for the next phase of the war” which is said to be a ground operation.

    The first phase is under way which, as he explained, aims to destroy the military infrastructure of Hamas military. The second phase will be “lower intensity” operations to “destroy pockets of resistance”.

    “The third phase will require the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza strip, and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel,” as highlighted in his statement.

    800 EU officials condemn chief’s support of Israeli attacks on Gaza

    In the light of the recent incessant Israeli attacks on Gaza, more than 800 EU officials have written to European Union’s chief, Ursula von der Leyen, condemning her “uncontrolled” support of Israel.

    Al Jazeera has reported seing the letter whereas the signatories of the letter say they “hardly recognise the values of the EU” and that there has been a “seeming indifference demonstrated over the past few days by our institution towards the ongoing massacre of civilians in the Gaza Strip, in disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law”.

    The signatories are also upset by the Commission’s “double standards” as on one hand, the Russian blockade of Ukraine is deemed as an act of terror, while Israel’s blockade of Gaza is “completely ignored”.

    “If Israel does not stop immediately, the whole Gaza Strip and its inhabitants will be erased from the planet,” the letter read.

    “We urge you [von der Leyen] to call, together with the leaders of the whole Union, for a ceasefire and for the protection of civilian life. This is at the core of the EU existence,” they said, warning “the EU risks losing all credibility”.

    The letter brings to light the conflict within the EU on the Israel-Gaza war.

    The letter also read that the European Commission’s “recent unfortunate actions or positions seem to give a free hand to the acceleration and the legitimacy of a war crime in the Gaza Strip”.

    “We would have been proud if the European Union … had called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and indiscriminate violence against civilians,” the letter read.

    UN update on casualties in Gaza, West Bank
    Death toll in the Palestinian enclave has risen up to 4,137 which includes 70 percent of children and women.

    Additionally, more than 1,000 people are said to be missing and are presumably under the buildings attacked by Israel.

    1.4 million people are internally displaced in Gaza while at least 30 percent of residency has been destroyed or damaged in Gaza.

    80 per cent of Gaza burns victims are children

    Ghassan Abu Sitta has said that medical workers no longer have dressings for burns victims.

    “We have more than 70 wounded with burns covering more than 40 per cent of their body surface. 80 per cent are children,” Abu Sitta said on X (formerly Twitter).

    10,000 Palestinians imprisoned in two weeks

    There were already about 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli prisons before the attacks of October 7. Following the incident, 4,000 Gazan labourers in Israel have reportedly been arrested while other 1,070 have been taken in in army raids in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

    Cairo Peace Summit to address war on Gaza

    More than a dozen countries participated in a conference in Cairo, Egypt to discuss ways to “de-escalate” the Israel-Palestine escalation while there is also a fear of the conflict rippling throughout the Middle East.

    The Cairo Summit for Peace was attended by Jordan, France, Germany, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Qatar, South Africa and other countries alongside the United Nations and European Union.

    Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi urged all the leaders to collectively carve out a way to end the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip and establish peace between the two sides.

    He also asserted the need to deliver aid to Gaza and call for a ceasefire as well as attainment of the two-state solution.

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also attended the summit and appealed for the opening of the humanitarian corridors.

    “We will remain on our land.”, he added, saying that Palestinians will not leave.

  • Israeli minister visits Saudi Arabia in a first

    Israeli minister visits Saudi Arabia in a first

    Israeli tourism minister, Haim Katz, visited Saudi Arabia for a United Nations (UN) conference. It is said to be the first public trip of an Israeli cabinet member to Saudi Arabia.

    Leading a delegation, Katz arrived in Riyadh to attend the UN event on Tuesday.

    “Cooperation in the field of tourism has the potential to bring hearts together, and economic progress,” Katz stated.

    The meeting has been held a few days after US President Joe Biden urged the establishment of formal ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

    “I think such a peace would go a long way first to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and advance a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This is something within our reach,” Israeli prime minister had said to Biden.

    On Tuesday, the same day as Saudi Arabia and Israel met, a Saudi delegation went to the occupied West Bank — first in three decades — to reassure Palestinians that despite the improving relationship with Israel, Saudi Arabia will continue to stand by Palestinians.

    “The Palestinian matter is a fundamental pillar,” said Naif bin Bandar Al Sudairi, head of the Saudi delegation and new ambassador to Palestine. He met with top Palestinian diplomat Riyad al-Maliki in Ramallah.

  • US places visa restrictions on Bangladeshis as conflict continues

    US places visa restrictions on Bangladeshis as conflict continues

    The US Department State has released a statement on Friday stating that the country will be imposing visa restrictions on “Bangladeshi individuals responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh”.

    In the statement, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the step is a reflection of America’s commitment to supporting “Bangladesh’s goal of peacefully holding free and fair national elections, and to support those seeking to advance democracy globally,”

    The people in question are members of law enforcement, the ruling party, and the political opposition including current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of opposition and ruling political parties, and members of law enforcement, the judiciary, and security services.

    Moreover, any other individual or personnel found “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh may also be found ineligible for US visas under this policy in the future”

    “The United States is committed to supporting free and fair elections in Bangladesh that are carried out in a peaceful manner,” the statement read.

    Previously this year, in May, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the new visa policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) (“3C”) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to support Bangladesh’s goal of holding free, fair, and peaceful national elections.

    Under this policy, the US could restrict the issuance of visas for any Bangladeshi individual found guilty in tampering with the election results.

    The United States has said it will not release the names or numbers of people in Bangladesh subject to the visa restrictions.

    Reported by Dhaka Tribune, US Embassy Spokesperson Bryan Schiller told UNB that “Visa records are confidential under US law,” and so, the names or numbers of people will not be revealed.

    He further added that the imposition of the restriction has been done “After a careful review of the evidence”

    On the contrary, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Md Shahriar Alam responded to the update stating that the government has “nothing to lose and that they are not worried about the visa restrictions issue, as they are doing nothing wrong”.

  • American entrepreneur paying $4 per hour criticised for exploiting Pakistanis

    American entrepreneur paying $4 per hour criticised for exploiting Pakistanis

    A video shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday is being criticised by users. The video, which features an X user named Christian, says that he remotely hires people from Pakistan to work for him.

    He has a marketing agency and he stated he pays his employees $4 an hour and “they’re extremely grateful to be working with me”.

    Christian explains that he hires a virtual assistant from Pakistan for administrative level tasks for his business like formatting spreadsheets, setting up email accounts and pays them 4 USD an hour.

    He justifies the meagre amount by expounding that an average monthly income in Pakistan is 280 USD, but as he is paying them four USD an hour, they are getting 160 USD a week or 640 USD a month, which is almost 3 times the average income, “a really great living for them”, he adds.

    “They live very very well.”

    He also added that if they perform well, the pay can be raised up to $7 an hour which is 4-6 times the average monthly income of a typical person in Pakistan.

    “They’re really grateful to be working with me because of the money they make. They have a great income, I get a great employee — it’s a win win.”

    He, however, concluded the video keeping in mind the expected criticism;

    “Before you leave a comment, yes i have US based employees. Yes, they make way more than $4 an hour. I’m just saying for this specific task, I pay a Pakistani assistant $4 an hour and they are very appreciative of it.”

    While some appreciated his work, many have criticised him for exploiting people from developing countries by paying them less than those from developed countries.

  • Who is the first Pakistani to travel into space?

    Virgin Galactic will be flying into space on October 5, carrying three space tourists, including one Pakistani.

    Virgin Galactic is a spaceflight company that launched its first commercial space tourism flight on June 29, 2023.

    On Thursday, the company announced the launch of Galactic 04, its fourth commercial spaceflight and ninth space mission overall.

    It will host three space tourists from the US, the UK, and Pakistan. It will be the first time that a Pakistani will fly to space.

    The names of the crewmembers are yet to be released but as per our research, Namira Salim from Pakistan will be onboard.

    Salim is a Pakistani polar adventurer and artist based in Monaco and Dubai.

    Galactic 04 will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico, carrying the passengers to suborbital space and back. In simpler words, suborbital flight is a short journey into space where a spaceship goes up but does not stay in space. It leaves the earth’s atmosphere for a brief time and comes back right after. It is a quick trip to experience weightlessness and witness space. Unlike an orbital spaceflight, it does not circle the earth.

    Space.com explains that the space tourists will be carried by Virgin’s VSS Unity space plane taken into the sky by a carrier craft named VMS Eve. Eve will drop Unity at an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters); the space plane will then fire up its rocket motor to get to suborbital space.

    “VSS Unity passengers get to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see Earth against the blackness of space. A ticket to ride the space plane currently costs $450,000”.

    So far, the company has launched Galactic 01, Galactic 02 and Galactic 03 on June 29, August 10 and September 8, respectively; keeping up with its goal of launching at least one commercial space flight a month.

  • Pakistani doctor jailed in US for attempting to aid ISIS

    Pakistani doctor jailed in US for attempting to aid ISIS

    Muhammad Masood, a 31-year-old licensed Pakistani doctor living in the United States on a work visa, has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for attempting to provide material support to terrorist organisation ISIS, according to court documents.

    “A Rochester man was sentenced today to 216 months in prison, equivalent to 18 years, followed by five years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization,” a press release issued by the US Department of Justice stated.

    The court documents revealed that Masood was previously employed as a research coordinator at a medical clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, under an H-1B visa.

    As per the official statement, Masood’s activity from January 2020 to March 2020 depicted his attempts to become a part of the militant outfit and provide material support in carrying out terrorist acts in the US.

    “Between January 2020 and March 2020, Masood used an encrypted messaging application to facilitate his travel overseas to join a terrorist organization,” the statement added.

    It further stated that the Pakistani man made multiple statements about his desire to join ISIS and also pledged his allegiance to the designated terrorist organisation and its leader.

    “Masood also expressed his desire to conduct ‘lone wolf’ terrorist attacks in the United States.”

    On February 21, 2020, he bought a plane ticket from Chicago, Illinois, to Amman, Jordan, with plans to travel to Syria from there.
    However, his travel plans changed on March 16, 2020, as the borders were closed by Jordan under coronavirus travel restrictions.

    He then decided to fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, where he would meet a person who he believed would help him with travel via a cargo ship to deliver him to the territory claimed by ISIS.

    On March 19, 2020, Masood traveled from Rochester to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to board a flight bound for Los Angeles, California.

    However, he was eventually arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) upon arrival at the airport.

    Masood pleaded guilty last year on August 16 to attempting to provide material support to Daesh.
    Senior Judge Paul A. Magnuson sentenced him to 18 years in prison on Friday, after the completion of investigations by the FBI’s JTTF.

  • Lizzo counter-sues backup dancers for ‘malicious prosecution’

    Lizzo counter-sues backup dancers for ‘malicious prosecution’

    Pop singer Lizzo has been sued by former backup dancers of her troupe for sexual harassment, unprofessionalism and body shaming. In the suit filed earlier this month, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez detailed instances of being shamed for weight gain, being coerced into touching nude dancers.

    On Wednesday, Lizzo’s lawyer said in a statement sent to The Independent, that the singer was now counter suing the dancers for ‘malicious content’, describing the lawsuit as a sham.

    The statement included photos of the three plaintiffs Davis, Williams and Rodriguez with “the performers after the topless cabaret show at the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris” on 5 March, 2023. In their lawsuit, the dancers had claimed they were not informed by Lizzo that the dancers performing would be naked, “robbing them of the choice not to participate”.

    The plaintiff’s also described Lizzo pressurising cast members to take turns touching the nude performers “catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas”.

    However, Lizzo’s statement said the images released show the plaintiff’s happily spending time in the club they had complained about in the lawsuit:

    “These images showing the three plaintiffs gleefully revelling backstage after the topless show were taken after their February 2023 visit to Bananenbar in Amsterdam that they complain about in their lawsuit.”

    Neema Rahmani, representing the three dancers in the lawsuit, responded to the images, and said they had previously addressed all the instances where the plaintiff’s appeared to be happy alongside Lizzo, during the time the

    “Of course, they wanted to keep their jobs. They had bills to pay just like everyone else but they finally had enough of the abuse. We stand by every claim in the lawsuit and look forward to trial.

    “We’ve been hearing from other former employees sharing similar stories, and as seen in the Los Angeles Times article today about how Lizzo used intimate footage of her dancers without their approval in the 2022 HBO Max Love Lizzo documentary, we’re seeing even more of a pattern of just how much Lizzo thinks of those who work for her. Clearly, not very much.”

    Furthermore, Rahmani slammed the singer’s statement as an “empty threat” and said they were ready to meet the lawyer and his client in the courtroom because they had no plans of backing down.

    “I’ve handled thousands of cases, including prosecuting drug cartels so we have no plans to back down. Let’s see if Singer can actually try a case in a courtroom instead of the media,” said Rahmani.