A strong campaign in support of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese has emerged in response to an ongoing campaign to sack her. Three former rapporteurs urged the UN on April 27 to publicly defend their successor, stating that she has been the target of attacks that have been “slanderous” and “personal”. In her second year in the role, Albanese tweeted on Wednesday, she “saw too many deaths [of Palestinians]too much arbitrariness, zero accountability” and faced accusations against her work to uncover these abuses – “hideous words … to hide a much more hideous…
Author: National Tone
The UN warns that fighting between the army and the RSF risks causing a humanitarian catastrophe that could spill into other countries.Fierce fighting is continuing in Khartoum, Sudan, as the army tries to push back the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from around the presidential palace and army headquarters, in spite of a supposed seven-day ceasefire in the conflict that erupted on April 15. Heavy bombardments were also reported on Thursday in Khartoum’s sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum. Sudanese reports on Tuesday said 550 people had died and 4,926 people wounded so far in the conflict. The sides appear…
Taipei, Taiwan – Chinese authorities monitor the phones of ethnic minority Uighurs for the presence of 50,000 known multimedia files that are used to flag violent extremism, with possession of the Quran enough to trigger a police interrogation, according to a forensic investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW). While the list of “violent and terrorist” content includes violent audio, video and images produced by militant groups such as ISIS (ISIL), it also includes material from organisations that promote the identity or self-determination of Uighurs, a mostly Muslim minority, in far-western Xinjiang. The organisations include the separatist East Turkestan independence movement,…
CHICAGO — It has been more than three years since Major League Baseball issued its report on an electronic sign-stealing scheme by the Houston Astros. Keynan Middleton definitely remembers. The reliever struck out Carlos Correa on a 96.2 mph fastball on Wednesday night, closing out a 6-4 victory for the Chicago White Sox against the Minnesota Twins. Following his first save since 2021, Middleton talked about how much he relished that last swing by Correa, who played for the Astros at the time of the scandal. “I knew I was going to face Correa, and I don’t like him. So…
As the war enters its 435th day, we take a look at the main developments.Here is the situation as it stands on Thursday, May 4, 2023: Fighting At least 21 civilians were killed in a Russian attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and the surrounding region, with dozens more wounded, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. A 58-hour weekend curfew was imposed in the city, the head of Kherson’s regional military administration, Alexander Prokudin, said on Telegram: “From 20:00 Moscow time on May 5, a curfew will begin in Kherson, [it] will last until 06:00 on May 8.” Ukraine denied…
Lawyers leading case against Hambali say more time needed to prepare as defence criticises delays.Medan, Indonesia – Military prosecutors at Guantanamo Bay have suggested that the full trial of Hambali, detained over attacks that killed hundreds in Indonesia, start in March 2025, even though he and his two co-accused have been in detention for 17 years. Hambali, an Indonesian whose real name is Encep Nurjaman, has been held at Guantanamo since 2006 along with his co-accused, Malaysian nationals Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep and Mohammed Farik Bin Amin. Hambali is accused of involvement in the Bali bombings in 2002, which left…
USAID head says shipments will resume to war-torn region in Ethiopia only after ‘oversight measures are in place’.The United States aid agency USAID has said it is pausing food shipments to Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region after it discovered that goods it supplied were being sold on the local market. USAID administrator Samantha Power made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday, explaining that the aid had been intended “for the people of Tigray suffering under famine-like conditions”. “We have made the difficult decision to pause all USAID-supported food assistance in the Tigray region until further notice,” Power said. She added…
Bradford’s hopes of League Two automatic promotion were ended after a dramatic 3-2 stoppage-time defeat at Crewe.Needing victory to maintain hopes of a top-three finish, they fought back from a 2-0 half-time deficit with goals from Andy Cook and Jamie Walker. But they could not find a winner and instead gave away a penalty deep into added time which Chris Long converted.The Bantams now head into the final round of fixtures still needing a point to mathematically secure a play-off place.Crewe led 2-0 at the interval thanks to a Dan Agyei double. He tore off down the left flank and…
Washington, DC – A spokesperson for the US State Department has faced a barrage of questions about what the United States has done to get accountability for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Al Jazeera journalist who was fatally shot by Israeli forces last year. At a news briefing on Wednesday, which coincided with World Press Freedom Day, Vedant Patel repeatedly told reporters that Washington is seeking accountability by asking Israel to review its military rules of engagement. “[Reviewing] rules of engagement sounds like it’s something to deter and prevent this [from] happening again,” one visibly frustrated journalist said.…
Sam Kerr dealt the decisive blow as Chelsea fought back from a goal down to emerge 2-1 winners over Liverpool and keep their charge towards a fourth successive WSL title on track.Emma Hayes’ side remain third in the table on 43 points after 17 games, four behind Manchester United and one behind Manchester City, but the Blues have two games in hand over both Manchester clubs. Visitors Liverpool stunned the reigning champions inside the first two minutes when Natasha Dowie’s expert ball found Emma Koivisto lurking at the back post, firing past Ann-Katrin Berger on the half-volley.Chelsea exerted some half-hearted…