Today's Newsletter

• It was widely reported that Sir Keir Starmer is to vow that he will use terror laws to tackle the small boats crisis. Speaking at the Dover constituency of Natalie Elphicke, the Tory MP who defected to Labour on Wednesday, the Labour leader will announce on Friday that if elected, his government will scrap the Rwanda scheme in place of a new border security command modelled on the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism. His proposals have been supported by Neil Basu, the former head of UK counter-terrorism policing from 2018 to 2021, who advised Labour on the plan.

• Leading universities have raised concerns with Rishi Sunak that non-student "agitators" are infiltrating on-campus protests over Gaza, Daily Telegraph reports. In the meeting, the heads of 17 top universities were asked to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to antisemitism; meanwhile, Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, said he was "personally committed” to supporting institutions that needed help managing the protests and rooting out extremists. The Prime Minister's spokesman said police already had powers to take action if people were engaging in illegal activity or acting on behalf of a proscribed group.

• PA Media reports that pro-Palestinian protesters who have targeted defence industrial sites in the UK have been described as "misguided" by the Defence Secretary. Speaking at the BAE shipyard in Glasgow, which was recently blocked by demonstrators in protest of the Gaza war, Grant Shapps told journalists that the UK does not have defence exports to Israel in any "meaningful number." Mr Shapps also commented on Israel's offensive in the Rafah area, saying that the country had been "savagely attacked" by Hamas but needed to "do more" to adhere to international law.

• Four members of a militant group are believed to have been killed during an air strike in Lebanon, Reuters reports. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Thursday's strikes, but two security sources in Lebanon said the four killed were members of Hizballah. The conflict between Hizballah and Israel has rumbled on in parallel to the Gaza war since October and has been at its most intense since they were at war in 2006.

• Associated Press reports that a man who admitted trying to kill three police officers in a New York terrorist attack has been sentenced. Trevor Bickford, 20, was sentenced to 27 years in prison after deciding to wage "jihad" against US officials stationed at Times Square, fracturing one officer's skull with a machete on 21 December 2022. The judge cited the 20-year-old Bickford’s age and history of mental illness as reasons for leniency from federal sentencing guidelines that recommended a life term.

• A court in Australia has heard that a 3-D printed gun, chemicals used for explosive devices, and extremist material were found in the home of a man accused of plotting a terror attack, The Guardian reports. Artem Vasilyev, 27, has pleaded not guilty to one count of committing other acts done in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act. It was alleged by the court prosecutor that electronic devices purported to belong to Vasilyev contained documents on nationalist ideology, footage of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre, and files relating to neo-Nazi and right-wing extremism.

Starmer will use terror laws to tackle migrant crossings

(£) Daily Telegraph, 09/05/2024

Sir Keir Starmer will vow on Friday to use terror laws to tackle the small boats crisis, as part of plans to work more closely with Europe to combat people smugglers. The Labour leader will announce plans to scrap the Rwanda scheme and use the money to create a border security command with new powers to treat people smugglers like terrorists. He will use a speech in the Dover constituency of Natalie Elphicke, the Tory MP who defected to Labour on Wednesday, to argue for greater European cooperation on immigration and to try to counter Conservative claims that Labour has no plan to stop the boats. His proposals have been backed by Neil Basu, the former Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner and the head of UK counter-terrorism policing from 2018 to 2021, who advised Labour on the plan.

Also: BBC News, Daily Express, The Guardian, (£) iNews, PA Media, (£) Reuters, Sky News, The Sun, (£) The Times

I’ll use MI5 to help smash small boat smuggling gangs – who are no better than terrorists

The Sun, 09/05/2024

Sir Keir Starmer writes, "When I was the country’s chief prosecutor, I smashed terrorist gangs abroad, ironically winning praise from the then Home Secretary, Theresa May. If elected Prime Minister, I would smash people-smuggling gangs like I smashed terrorist gangs."

This is comment or editorial reporting.

Andy Burnham speaks out after terrorism arrests in Greater Manchester with police cordons in place

Manchester Evening News, 09/05/2024

Andy Burnham has said three men were arrested on suspicion of terrorism arrests in Bolton and Wigan as a 'preventative move'. The Greater Manchester Mayor spoke on BBC Radio Manchester this morning after Greater Manchester Police officers arrested three men - aged 35, 36 and 51 - on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism last night (May 8). The arrests were made after four raids were carried out at properties in Bolton, Great Lever, Abram and Hindley. Police scene remains in place across four locations this morning, including outside a house on Crankwood Road in Abram and on Fairclough Street in Hindley, while the men remain in custody. Follow live updates here.

Gym put in lockdown as armed police storm in and arrest suspected terrorist

Manchester Evening News, 09/05/2024

A gym owner has spoken of the 'shocking' moment armed police stormed his Wigan gym to arrest a customer suspected of terrorism offences. Officers placed The Warehouse Gym, on Platt Lane in Hindley, in lockdown at approximately 7:30pm on Wednesday evening (May 8), owner Jonny Hart told the Manchester Evening News. He said his customers watched on as a fellow gym-goer was apprehended and dragged away in cuffs. Pictures show armed officers and police dogs sweeping the area following the arrest. It comes as Greater Manchester Police arrested three men across the region on suspicion of terrorism offences.

Also: ITV News, The Sun

The Rwanda scheme is a gamble – we must tackle the boats like terrorism

 (£) Daily Telegraph, 09/05/2024

Neil Basu writes, "Having served as the UK’s counter-terror chief, I know that a joined-up strategic approach can stop criminal gangs and save lives."

This is comment or editorial reporting.

Vice-chancellors warn Rishi Sunak over non-student ‘agitators’

(£) Daily Telegraph, 09/05/2024

Leading universities have raised concerns that non-student “agitators” are infiltrating on-campus protests over Gaza to “stir division”. Vice-chancellors sounded the alarm over the presence of extremist groups at the demonstrations in a meeting with Rishi Sunak. They were summoned to Downing Street by the Prime Minister on Thursday for talks on the spread of pro-Palestinian encampments. The meeting came after the University of Cambridge rejected calls to clear a pro-Gaza camp on the lawn outside King’s College. The US-style protests, which have seen students occupy the grounds of universities across the country, have been raging for five days.

Gaza protests at defence sites misguided, says Shapps

PA Media, 09/05/2024

Pro-Palestinian protesters who target defence industrial sites in the UK are “misguided” and “naive”, the Defence Secretary has said. Grant Shapps spoke as he visited the BAE shipyard in Glasgow, which demonstrators blocked earlier this month to protest against military arms being sent to Israel. A number of other factories also saw demonstrations. During his visit, the UK Government minister viewed progress on HMS Cardiff, the latest Type 26 frigate under construction at the shipyard, before touring the Royal Navy base at Faslane in Argyll and Bute. Speaking to journalists in Glasgow, Mr Shapps said the UK does not have defence exports to Israel in any “meaningful number”.

Don’t make Gaza protest camps a culture war, universities tell Sunak

(£) The Times, 09/05/2024

University leaders have warned ministers not to escalate tensions over pro-Palestinian protests on campuses by turning the issue into a new “culture war”. Vice-chancellors and other university figures who attended a meeting with the prime minister and other cabinet ministers on Thursday said they had urged them not to politicise the protests. Rishi Sunak used the roundtable discussion at No 10 to tell university leaders that they needed to take a “zero-tolerance” approach to antisemitism. More than a dozen encampments have been set up on the grounds of British universities in the past fortnight to protest over the war in Gaza, inspired by campus protests in the United States.

University leaders must take ‘personal’ care to protect Jewish students, Sunak says

The Guardian, 09/05/2024

University leaders should take “personal responsibility” for protecting Jewish students on campus, Rishi Sunak said to vice-chancellors during an antisemitism roundtable hosted at Downing Street. Sunak told the meeting of 17 higher education institutions from England and Scotland, along with Jewish student and community groups, that it was imperative for universities to “remain bastions of tolerance, where debate takes place with respect for others and where every student feels safe”. The meeting was convened by the prime minister after the proliferation of student encampments in protest at the fighting in Gaza, with concerns that Jewish students could be intimidated or harassed.

Also: Associated Press, BBC News, London Evening Standard

Inciting violence has ‘no place’ on university campuses, student leader says

PA Media, 09/05/2024

University leaders should ensure “red lines” are drawn between free speech and inciting violence in pro-Palestinian protests on campuses, the leader of a Jewish student group has said. Edward Isaacs, president of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), urged universities to take “swift and decisive action” to protect Jewish students. Vice-chancellors from a number of leading UK universities were summoned to a meeting with the Prime Minister at No 10 on Thursday to discuss antisemitism on campuses and keeping Jewish students safe. Rishi Sunak called for universities to remain “bastions of tolerance” during the roundtable with vice-chancellors.

Tom Tugendhat announces crackdown on hate preachers and extremists from entering UK: 'A visa is a privilege!'

GB News, 09/05/2024

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has announced a ban on hate preachers and extremists from entering the UK. Appearing on GB News, the minister confirmed that those who "start spreading hate" will be "expelled from the country". In discussion with Martin Daubney, Tugendhat says he has been "working hard" with the Foreign Office to make sure that the authorities "know exactly who is trying to come here and why". He added that the ban "is something the government should be doing", and hailed the plans for the ban. Tugendhat stated: "A visa is a privilege. It's not a right. You have no right to come here if you're a foreigner.

MI5 agent attacked his female partner with a machete and sexually abused her before threatening to murder another woman and her child

Daily Mail, 10/05/2024

MI5 has apologised to an abuse victim whose secret agent ex-partner attacked her with a machete and sexually assaulted her. The woman has complained to a watchdog after the service didn't promptly disclose information about the agent - who can't be named for legal reasons.  Even while under investigation by the police, the man was able to leave Britain and work for an intelligence service abroad. In a preliminary hearing of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) on Thursday, MI5's barrister Neil Sheldon KC apologised to the woman who complained to the IPT.

Also: BBC News

BBC failed to correct student over Israel genocide claim

(£) Daily Telegraph, 09/05/2024

The BBC has been accused of fuelling anti-Israel sentiment after a pro-Palestinian student claimed the country had been found guilty of a “plausible genocide” in an interview. The incorrect comments, made in an interview with Amol Rajan by a student at the University of Leeds were not challenged on-air, and the corporation has told The Telegraph it does not plan to issue a correction. Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday morning the student said “the ICJ [International Court of Justice] ruled that Israel is committing a plausible genocide” in Gaza. Mr Rajan did not correct the claim despite the International Court of Justice judge – who presided over the January case – saying in a BBC interview two weeks ago that it “isn’t what the court decided”.

Universities which fail to act on students glorifying Hamas, or voicing anti-Jewish racism, must face crippling fines

The Sun, 09/05/2024

The Sun's editorial team writes, "Students who illegally glorify Hamas, or voice anti-Jewish racism, must be stripped of their uni places and their state finance. Universities which fail to act must face crippling fines."

This is comment or editorial reporting. 

Social media giants to be called before a parliamentary inquiry over misinformation

Associated Press, 09/05/2024

Social media platforms will be under the microscope as part of a parliamentary probe into their influence and impact on Australian society. The federal government will create a committee to investigate content people are exposed to online. The joint standing committee is set to examine algorithms on social media platforms and how they determine what users see, as well as their impact on mental health. Harmful content online such as extremist material and scams will be at the centre of the inquiry. The decision of Facebook's parent company Meta to abandon deals with media companies to support public interest journalism will also be in focus.

India says Canada has shared no evidence of its involvement in killing of a Sikh separatist leader

Associated Press, 10/05/2024

India said Thursday that Canada has shared no evidence to back its allegation that the Indian government was involved in the slaying of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada last year, despite the recent arrests of three Indian men in the crime. India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal also reiterated India’s longstanding allegation that Canada harbours Indian extremists. Three Indian nationals who had been living in Canada temporarily were arrested on Tuesday in the slaying last June of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had set off a diplomatic spat with India last September when he cited “credible allegations” of India’s involvement in the slaying of the Sikh separatist. India rejected the accusations.

Militants bomb a girls school in northwestern Pakistan, once a Taliban stronghold. No one was harmed

Associated Press, 09/05/2024

Militants detonated a bomb at a girl’s school in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s volatile north-west, badly damaging the structure, police said Thursday. No one was harmed in the overnight attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack late Wednesday that targeted the only girls school in Shawa, a town in the North Waziristan district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, local police chief Amjad Wazir said. UNICEF condemned the bombing as “despicable and cowardly act that could jeopardise the future of many young and talented girls.”

Gunmen kill 7 barbers in Pakistan's volatile Baluchistan province

Associated Press, 09/05/2024

Attackers fatally shot seven barbers before dawn Thursday in a home in a volatile province in south-western Pakistan, police and a government official said. The killings occurred near the port city of Gwadar in Baluchistan province, police official Mohsin Ali said. All of the barbers were from Punjab province and lived and worked together. Provincial Interior Minister Ziaullah Langau condemned the killings and said police were investigating who was behind the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Separatists in Baluchistan have often killed workers and others from Punjab as part of a campaign to force them to leave the province, which for years has experienced a low-level insurgency by the Baluchistan Liberation Army and other groups demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad.

Afghan women struggle under male guardian rules

AFP, 10/05/2024

Since the Afghan Taliban returned to power, Afghan women have been barred from going on long trips, travelling by plane or entering government buildings unless they are accompanied by a man. Under the Taliban government's austere interpretation of Islamic law, the "mahram" practice long rooted in Afghan society has become compulsory. On a recent visit to their former university in Kabul, Mariam and a female friend were stopped from entering the building to collect a transcript. "At the entrance, the Taliban told us that we needed a mahram," said Mariam, whose name has been changed to protect her identity like other women AFP interviewed.

Israel hits Gaza after truce talks end

AFP, 10/05/2024

Israel launched fresh strikes in the Gaza Strip Friday after negotiators pursuing a long-stalled truce agreement left talks in Cairo without having secured a deal. AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip early Friday witnessed artillery strikes on Rafah on the territory's southern border with Egypt, while witnesses reported air strikes and fighting in Gaza City further north. Israeli and Hamas negotiating teams left Cairo Thursday after what the Egyptian hosts described as a "two-day round" of indirect negotiations on the terms of a Gaza truce, according to Egyptian intelligence-linked Al-Qahera News. Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip and whose unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel sparked the war there, said its delegation had left for Qatar, home to the Palestinian militant group's political leadership.

‘We will fight with our fingernails’ says Netanyahu after US threat to curb arms

The Guardian, 09/05/2024

Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel will stand alone and “fight with our fingernails” in defiance of US threats to further restrict arms deliveries if Israeli forces proceed with an offensive on the southern Gazan city of Rafah. Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was speaking on Thursday after Israeli and Hamas delegations left the ceasefire negotiations in Cairo. It was unclear whether the talks had broken down or simply paused, but the failure to reach an agreement in this week’s round of meetings raised fears of an imminent Israeli attack on Rafah.

Also: (£) Daily Telegraph

UNRWA to close East Jerusalem headquarters after arson attack by ‘Israeli extremists’

CNN, 09/05/2024

The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees will shutter its East Jerusalem headquarters after the compound was set on fire by “Israeli extremists” while staff were inside, its chief said Thursday. In a statement on social platform X, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the arson attack was the latest in a series of threats, harassment and violent incidents perpetrated by Israelis against the agency’s staff over the past two months. “This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. This took place while UNRWA and other UN Agencies’ staff were on the compound,” Lazzarini said. “It is an outrageous development. Once again, the lives of UN staff were at a serious risk.”

Israel shells Rafah as Biden vows arms suspension

AFP, 09/05/2024

Israel shelled Rafah on Thursday as US President Joe Biden offered his starkest warning yet over the conduct of its war against Hamas, vowing to cut off arms transfers if an offensive into the southern Gaza city goes ahead. Israel has already defied international objections by sending in tanks and conducting "targeted raids" in the border city, which it says is home to Hamas's last remaining battalions -- but is also crowded with displaced Palestinian civilians. AFP journalists reported heavy shelling in Rafah early Thursday, and the Israeli military later said it was also striking "Hamas positions" further north in the centre of the Gaza Strip.

Rafah's hospitals will run out of fuel in three days, WHO says

PA Media, 09/05/2024

The World Health Organisation says it has only three days of fuel for its medical operations in southern Gaza, with shortages already forcing one of three remaining hospitals in the city of Rafah to shut down. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israel's military took control of the Palestinian side early on Tuesday, blocking the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid. The UN says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine”. Israel said it reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing, the other main entry point for aid, on Wednesday. However, UN officials say no aid has entered Gaza, and there is no one to receive it on the Palestinian side because of ongoing fighting.

Israeli defence minister tells 'friends and enemies' Israel will achieve war aims

(£) Reuters, 09/05/2024

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told Israel's "enemies and friends" on Wednesday that it would do whatever necessary to achieve its war aims in Gaza and the north, in an apparent response to U.S. pressure to halt its operation in Rafah. The comments, at a ceremony to commemorate Israel's war dead, followed U.S. President Joe Biden's warning that the United States would halt weapons supplies if Israel moved into Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. "I turn to Israel's enemies as well as to our best of friends and say - the State of Israel cannot be subdued," he said, according to remarks released by his office. "We will stand strong, we will achieve our goals - we will hit Hamas, we will hit Hizballah, and we will achieve security."

Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera office in Nazareth

BBC News, 09/05/2024

The incident comes after Israeli forces targeted another of the broadcaster's offices in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday. Relations between the broadcaster and the Israeli government have long been tense but worsened dramatically following the outbreak of war in Gaza. With foreign journalists banned from entering the strip, Al Jazeera staff based in the area have been some of the only reporters able to cover the war on the ground. In April, the Israeli parliament approved a law giving the government the power to ban broadcasts of TV channels, including Al Jazeera. On Sunday, Israel's government moved to shut down the operations of the channel in the country, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying his cabinet had agreed to the closure while the war in Gaza is ongoing.

More than 100,000 flee Rafah as Israel steps up strikes, says UN

The Guardian, 09/05/2024

More than 100,000 people have fled Rafah after Israel intensified its bombardment, UN officials have said, in the largest movement of population in Gaza for many months. Humanitarian officials are tracking the numbers of those fleeing Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, where more than 1 million people displaced from elsewhere in the territory have been sheltering. The numbers are expected to rise, with deep concern among aid officials on Thursday that those newly displaced will end up in makeshift encampments without any services, living in the rubble of their former homes without “basic essentials necessary for life”.

Gaza's sick and injured search for help as Rafah assault brings hospitals to their knees

(£) Reuters, 09/05/2024

Souad Zohair, 73, has been kept alive by kidney dialysis three days a week at a hospital in Rafah, but that's shut now by Israel's latest offensive. Her daughter brought her up the dangerous coastal road to the last hospital left in the Gaza Strip that still has functioning dialysis machines. In a crowded room, her blood was trickling through tubes from her hand into the machine. Today, she'll live. "This is the only remaining hospital [for dialysis] serving the entire Gaza Strip, serving around 1,000 remaining patients with kidney failure," said Dr Saeed Khattab, head of the kidney department at Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Joe Biden's decision to halt supply of arms to Israel if Rafah is invaded could come back to haunt him

Sky News, 09/05/2024

Mark Stone, US Correspondent for Sky News, writes in his analysis, "The intended consequence of President Biden's threat to stop sending some weapons to Israel is straightforward: to stop the Israeli military from going into Rafah without a clear, deliverable plan for the civilian population. But there are so many unintended consequences. In Tel Aviv and on Capitol Hill they are beginning to play out already."

This is comment or editorial reporting.

The West is proving that Islamist terrorism works

 (£) Daily Telegraph, 09/05/2024

Jake Walli Simons writes, "The instinct is no longer to support Israel, but to reward the fanatics who carried out the October 7 attacks."

This is comment or editorial reporting.

Maine man sentenced to 27 years in prison in New Year’s Eve machete attack near Times Square

Associated Press, 09/05/2024

A Maine man who admitted trying to kill three police officers with a machete in a terrorist attack near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve 16 months ago was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Thursday in a courtroom packed with officers. The sentencing of Trevor Bickford in Manhattan federal court came after Judge P. Kevin Castel listened to emotional statements from the three police officers who Bickford attacked about two hours before midnight on Dec. 21, 2022, as the officers screened New Year’s revellers at the sole entrance to an otherwise closed-off Times Square. Bickford shouted “Allahu Akbar” — the Arabic phrase for “God is great” — before striking the officers in the head with the machete and trying to grab an officer’s gun. One officer suffered a fractured skull.

Also: ABC News

Biden officials propose denying some migrants earlier in asylum process

The Guardian, 09/05/2024

The Biden administration on Thursday proposed a new rule that it said would streamline asylum processing at the southern border by quickly denying certain migrants deemed to “pose a national security or public safety risk”. The proposed rule would allow immigration officials to reject and deport migrants who are already ineligible for asylum at an earlier stage in the process, a change administration officials said would enhance national security and save taxpayer dollars. The rule targets migrants who have been “convicted of a particularly serious crime”, who have “participated in the persecution of others”, who are “inadmissible on national security or terrorism-related grounds” or for whom there are reasonable grounds to deem them a danger to the security of the United States, according to a memo distributed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump accuses Biden of siding with Hamas

AFP, 09/05/2024

Donald Trump accused election rival Joe Biden Thursday of siding with Hamas when he threatened to stop sending US weapons to Israel as it wages war against the Palestinian militant group in Gaza, calling the president's stance "disgraceful." Biden warned Wednesday of halting weapons supplies if Israel pushes ahead with its long-threatened Rafah ground offensive, his most direct warning yet over the civilian impact of the war. "Crooked Joe is taking the side of these terrorists, just like he has sided with the Radical Mobs taking over our college campuses," Trump posted on his Truth Social network, referring to the protests against the war that have spread across US universities.

Audio captures Republican congressman claiming KKK is the ‘military wing’ of Democratic party

(£) The Independent, 09/05/2024

Newly-obtained audio has captured Republican congressman Scott Perry claiming that the Ku Klux Klan is “the military wing of the Democratic party” in a closed-door meeting with other lawmakers. In the audio, obtained by CNN, the Pennsylvania lawmaker also pushed the right-wing “replacement theory” – the baseless conspiracy theory that white people are slowly being replaced by minorities and immigrants – and claimed that migrants coming to the US “have no interest in being Americans.” The Ku Klux Klan has a long history of violence and is the oldest and most infamous of American hate groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. It has no affiliation with the modern Democratic party.

Contractor sprays paint in faces of Gaza college protesters while covering up a pro-Palestine mural

(£) The Independent, 09/05/2024

Anti-war protesters at an Ohio university were sprayed with paint this week, as they tried to stop a pro-Palestinian mural from being erased on campus. A video shows people spraying pro-Palestinian protesters at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday evening. The protesters were blocking an anti-war mural painted on a campus wall. Student protester Ameer Alkayali, 18, said he plans to take legal action against the university after being sprayed. “I stood against the wall, and the painters asked ‘Should we continue?’ The cops showed general confusion and didn’t tell them to stop,” Mr Alkayali told local outlet cleveland.com. “So, as seen in the video, they continue to just paint right over us.”

Students across Europe hold Gaza war protests ahead of UN vote on Palestinian statehood

The Guardian, 09/05/2024

Thirty-two people were arrested as Dutch police broke up a Gaza war protest at the University of Amsterdam, in a second day of unrest over the conflict. Police said the offences included public violence, vandalism and assault. Video captured by Reuters appeared to show officers in riot gear striking protesters and police knocking down makeshift barricades of desks, bricks and wooden pallets that seemingly had been used to set off fire extinguishers in hopes of pushing them back. The footage appeared to also show police dragging several students away as hundreds shouted: “Shame on you!” The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, said events at the university had crossed a line. “Demonstrations are allowed.

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters march in Malmo ahead of semi-final

Sky News, 09/05/2024

Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators joined a protest in Malmo, Sweden on Thursday against Israel's competing in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Protesters waving green, white, black and red Palestinian flags packed the historic Stortorget square near Malmo's 16th-century town hall before a planned march through the city for a rally in a park several miles from the Eurovision venue. Police estimated that between 10,000 and 12,000 people took part. Among those in the crowd was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. The march took place at the same time as Israel's entrant - 20-year-old Eden Golan - was taking part in the final dress rehearsal for the second Eurovision semi-finals, in the Malmo arena.

Also: (£) The Times

Israeli strike on Lebanon kills four Hezbollah fighters, security sources say

(£) Reuters, 09/05/2024

An Israeli air strike on a car in southern Lebanon killed four people on Thursday, according to Lebanon's civil defence, with security sources saying those killed were members of armed group Hizballah. The conflict between Hizballah and Israel has rumbled on since October in parallel to the Gaza war, with an escalation this week as both sides, fuelling concern of a bigger war between the heavily-armed adversaries. Israel has used artillery, drones and warplanes against targets in southern Lebanon, including to strike fighters from Hizballah and other armed groups. Fighters in Lebanon have launched rockets and their own drones into northern Israel. The Israeli military did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Thursday's strikes.

Guns and explosive chemicals found at Adelaide home of defence analyst accused of terror plot, court hears

The Guardian, 09/05/2024

Extremist material, a 3D-printed gun and chemicals used in explosive and incendiary devices were found in the home of a defence scientific analyst accused of plotting a terror attack, a trial has been told. Artem Vasilyev, 27, of Findon, in Adelaide’s western suburbs, has pleaded not guilty to one count of committing other acts done in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act. Scott Henchcliffe, for Vasilyev, told the South Australian supreme court on Thursday that all elements of the alleged offence were in dispute, but his client did not deny having an interest in firearms. “There will be evidence that Mr Vasilyev had a firearms licence and had three registered firearms at his house in 2021 – perfectly legal. And that is an example of important context you will hear,” he said.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim 2 attacks in Gulf of Aden as Iran official renews nuclear bomb threats

Associated Press, 09/05/2024

Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday claimed responsibility for two missile attacks in the Gulf of Aden on two Panama-flagged container ships that caused no damage. Meanwhile, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader again threatened that Tehran could build a nuclear weapon if it chose to pursue atomic armaments. The comments by Yemeni military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree and former Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi come as the allies of Hamas continue to pressure Israel over its continuing war on the militant group in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis insist their assaults on shipping through the crucial waterway leading to the Suez Canal and onward to the Mediterranean Sea will continue as long as the war goes on.

Also: (£) Reuters

Student protester suspended by ANU for expressing support for Hamas as police warn over encampments

The Guardian, 10/05/2024

A student protester who said Hamas deserved “unconditional support” has been suspended from the Australian National University, pending disciplinary action. The move came as Victoria Police pushed for more powers to shut down pro-Palestine encampments, saying if they were allowed to keep growing there was a “strong likelihood of violence occurring between protest and counter-protest groups”. The ANU confirmed on Thursday it had started disciplinary proceedings against Beatrice Tucker, who has been suspended from campus until a hearing on Tuesday. An open letter to the ANU vice-chancellor, Genevieve Bell, from Students and Staff Against War (SSAW) ANU declared the group’s unequivocal support for Tucker, demanding the disciplinary proceedings against them and another student be dropped.

Possible genocide committed in Sudan, report says

BBC News, 09/05/2024

A genocide may have been committed in the West Darfur city of El Geneina in one of the worst atrocities of the year-long Sudanese civil war, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW). It says ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity have been committed against ethnic Massalit and non-Arab communities in the city by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its Arab allies. The report calls for sanctions for those responsible for the atrocities, including the RSF leader, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti. About 15,000 people are feared to have been killed in El Geneina last year.

‘It’s unacceptable’: as pro-Palestine encampments grow at Australian campuses so do claims of antisemitism

The Guardian, 09/05/2024

Nazi salutes were allegedly performed during an Australian National University student association meeting this week, the latest in a string of accusations of antisemitism as pro-Palestine encampments enter their third week in Australia. The Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) says the alleged gestures occurred at the ANU Students’ Association’s (ANUSA) annual general meeting on Wednesday evening when a motion was raised by Jewish students to address antisemitism. The university has launched an internal investigation. A spokesperson says: “Any racism or hate speech, including antisemitism, is unacceptable at ANU.”

Man 'caught with explosives manual and weapons haul' facing terror trial

STV News, 09/05/2024

A Renfrewshire man is due to stand trial charged with terror offences. Darren Steele faces the claims which span between June 15, 2020 and February 2, 2023 at a property in Newton Mearns.

UK Home Office revokes visa of Palestinian student after protest speech

Middle East Eye, 09/05/2024

The UK government has revoked the student visa of a Palestinian student who lost relatives in Gaza after she spoke at a demonstration at the University of Manchester.

‘Shame on you Rishi Sunak': Activist at centre of US campus protests criticises PM's continued funding of Israel

LBC, 09/05/2024

American activist Cornel West has told LBC that leaders of UK universities should be proud of their "awakened" students setting up Gaza protest camps.

Universities chief says it would be ‘counter-productive’ to break up encampments but vows to protect Jewish students

LBC, 09/05/2024

It would be ‘counter-productive’ to remove pro-Palestine encampments that have sprung up on campuses across the UK, the Chief Executive of Universities UK has told LBC.

Ben-Gvir faces calls for removal after posting 'Hamas loves Biden' on X

Middle East Eye, 09/05/2024

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Thursday posted "Hamas [loves] Biden" on the social media platform X after the US president warned he would halt arms shipments if Israel carries out a "full-scale" invasion of Rafah.

India supports homeland for Palestinians, says Jaishankar

Asian Lite, 09/05/2024

Referring to the conflict in the Middle East and the Israel-Palestine issue, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that India supports a homeland for the Palestinians and is public about its stand.

Student protests upend hegemony on Israel and Palestine forever

Middle East Eye, 09/05/2024

The resounding collapse of freedom of expression and academic freedom in the United States over the last few months has not been seen since the McCarthyite 1950s and the violent suppression of Vietnam War protests in the late 1960s.

This is comment or editorial reporting.

UK pressure to stop Israel arms exports builds after Joe Biden warning

The National, 09/05/2024

The UK Government is coming under renewed pressure to suspend arms exports to Israel amid concerns of a ground offensive in Rafah – which has already led US president Joe Biden to act.

Columbia University alumni pledge to withhold financial support over Gaza war

Middle East Eye, 09/05/2024

Columbia University alumni have signed a letter pledging to withhold "all financial, programmatic, and academic support" to the university until a list of 13 demands is met.

Paramilitary attacks in Sudan's Darfur possibly ‘genocide': HRW

Middle East Eye, 09/05/2024

A series of attacks by Sudanese paramilitary forces in the western region of Darfur raise the possibility of “genocide” against non-Arab ethnic communities, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

Labour accuses Tories of incompetence as it unveils alternative asylum plans

National Newspaper, 09/05/2024

Opposition intends to use new counter-terrorism powers to tackle people-smuggling gangs bringing migrants across the Channel in small boats.

Conspiracy against state, army: No pardon for plotters, executors of May 9: Shehbaz

The News International, 10/05/2024

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir said on Thursday May 9 will undoubtedly remain a black day in the history of Pakistan.

Man gets death penalty for blasphemy on social media

The News International, 10/05/2024

A local court on Thursday awarded death penalty to a person accused of committing blasphemy on social media.

Balochistan unrest

The News International, 09/05/2024

Seven barber shop staffers were killed and one was injured on Thursday by unidentified gunmen in Balochistan’s port city of Gwadar. According to the police, all the victims were from Punjab.

This is comment or editorial reporting.

US report on religious freedom in Pakistan 'based on faulty assumptions': FO

The News International, 09/05/2024

Pakistan has categorically rejected the annual report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for 2024, saying that the findings about the country were based on “faulty assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations”.

UN agency says closing east Jerusalem HQ after arson by ‘Israeli extremists’

AFP, 09/05/2024

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Thursday it was temporarily shuttering its east Jerusalem headquarters after “Israeli extremists” set fire to the perimeter following weeks of repeated attacks.

Israel army says three troops wounded in Rafah tunnel blast

AFP, 09/05/2024

The Israeli military said three soldiers were wounded in an explosion Thursday in a “booby-trapped shaft” in Rafah, the south Gaza City where troops launched an incursion earlier this week.

Israeli officials defiant after Biden weapons warning on Rafah assault

Al Jazeera, 09/05/2024

Israeli officials have struck a defiant tone after US President Joe Biden warned that the United States would not provide weapons for a full-scale ground assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are hemmed in with no safe way to leave.

Give or take a few bombs, US complicity in genocide remains ‘ironclad'

Al Jazeera, 09/05/2024

Biden administration's decision to hold up delivery of 3,500 bombs hardly constitutes a betrayal of the Israeli killing machine.

Protesters rally in Sweden against Israel’s participation in Eurovision

Al Jazeera, 09/05/2024

Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, have taken to the streets in the Swedish city of Malmo to protest against Israel’s inclusion in Eurovision.

Al Jazeera (Middle East, Arabic Language)

• In India’s Arabica coffee capital, an election protest is brewing; Trump’s lawyer presses Stormy Daniels on day 14 of hush money trial; Philippines, US simulate mock invasions in largest ever war games; Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 806

Al Arabiya (Middle East, Arabic Language)

• More US weapons to be withheld if Israel goes into Rafah ‘in a big way’: White House; Israel due to get billions of dollars worth of US weapons despite Biden pause; Islamophobia caused by misconceptions, MWL Sec. Gen. Dr. Al-Issa tells Riz Khan; Schools across the globe accede to student demands to divest from Israel; Israel bombed every ‘designated safe area’ in Gaza: Palestinian diplomat Husam Zomlot

Geo TV (Pakistan, Urdu and English)

• Live updates: Israel-Hamas war; Pakistan, Ireland go toe-to-toe in inaugural T20I series today; KP CM Gandapur seeks clemency from 'powerful quarters' for Pakistan's progress; No deal with architects of dark chapter in history, vows army chief on May 9 anniversary