UN expert condemns Israeli killing of Al Jazeera journalist, urges war crime prosecution

Irene Khan said journalists are protected as civilians under international humanitarian law and targeting them deliberately was a war crime. (AFP/File)
Irene Khan said journalists are protected as civilians under international humanitarian law and targeting them deliberately was a war crime. (AFP/File)
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Updated 06 August 2024
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UN expert condemns Israeli killing of Al Jazeera journalist, urges war crime prosecution

UN expert condemns Israeli killing of Al Jazeera journalist, urges war crime prosecution
  • Ismail Al-Ghoul and Ramy El Rify were deliberately killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza
  • IDF says Ghoul was a Hamas operative who took part in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel

ZURICH: A United Nations expert on Tuesday condemned Israel’s killing last week of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul and cameraman Ramy El Rify in Gaza and urged that the deaths be prosecuted as a war crime.
The two men died in a July 31 airstrike by the Israeli military, which said Al-Ghoul was a Hamas operative who took part in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces has released a document seized from Hamas computers that it said corroborates its claim.
“I strongly denounce the deliberate targeting by Israel of two journalists in Gaza, which adds to an already appalling toll of reporters and media workers killed in this war,” Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, said in a statement.
Israel’s military said Al-Ghoul belonged to the elite Nukhba unit and was involved in recording and publicizing attacks on Israeli troops.
Al Jazeera rejected what it said were “baseless allegations” and said Al-Ghoul had worked for the network since November 2023 and his only profession was as a journalist.
The IDF said the Hamas documents it had seized in Gaza listed members of the organization’s military wing, and that as of 2021, Al-Ghoul had been an engineer in the Hamas Gaza Brigade.
Khan said journalists are protected as civilians under international humanitarian law and targeting them deliberately was a war crime. That status is only forfeit if they participate directly in hostilities, and Israel had not provided concrete evidence of that, she said.
“Given Israel’s failure to heed earlier calls for accountability, I urge the International Criminal Court to move swiftly to prosecute the killings of journalists in Gaza as a war crime and call on the international community to urgently consider the use of international mechanisms to investigate crimes against journalists in Gaza,” she added.

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Report finds e-commerce platform Etsy profiting from illegal Israeli settlements

Report finds e-commerce platform Etsy profiting from illegal Israeli settlements
Updated 07 August 2024
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Report finds e-commerce platform Etsy profiting from illegal Israeli settlements

Report finds e-commerce platform Etsy profiting from illegal Israeli settlements
  • Investigation identified at least 44 shops operating from 16 illegal settlements, but claims there could be “many more”
  • Etsy could face allegations of money laundering if proceeds found to have entered Irish financial system where subsidiary is located

LONDON: A new report has revealed that the American e-commerce platform Etsy is conducting business with dozens of shops located in illegal Israeli settlements.

Published jointly by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change, Global Justice Now, and War on Want, the report identified at least 44 Etsy stores operating in 16 different settlements considered illegal by the UN and international law as of July.

“Etsy isn’t simply turning a blind eye to stores listed on its site operating in illegal Israeli settlements, it is directly profiting from and even, in certain cases, promoting them,” said Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now.

“Doing so risks complicity in war crimes, and the reality is, they’re not the only company profiting from the human misery inflicted on Palestinians day in, day out. It’s time to bring an end to this shameless corporate profiteering.”

Most of the identified shops are located in the West Bank, including 14 in Ariel and at least nine in Maale Adumim, two of the largest illegal settlements and frequent sites of conflict following expansion plans.

The report also noted that with hundreds more sellers listed simply under “Israel” without specific locations, there could be many more Etsy stores operating from illegal settlements.

Claire Provost, report author and co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Journalism and Social Change, explained that despite “explicit connections” between the hosts and locations, “so far, these ties have gone under the radar and unchallenged.”

“Western complicity in Israeli war crimes is so pervasive that even Etsy, the popular platform for ‘feel good’ shopping, is connected to businesses in the settlements,” Provost said.

Etsy, which operates in Israel through its subsidiary Etsy Ireland UC, could face questions and allegations of money-laundering if proceeds from illegal settlement businesses are found to be entering the Irish financial system.

A similar complaint involving booking.com, filed in November 2023, is currently under investigation by authorities in the Netherlands.

The company said that it disagreed with the allegations and emphasized that “no laws prohibit listings in illegal Israeli settlements.” However, the outcome of the investigation could set a precedent for operations in Israeli settlements.

In response to the findings, Etsy announced an internal review and stated that it seeks to “comply with applicable laws, including relevant anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.”

“By promoting business in Israel’s illegal settlements, Etsy is aiding and abetting the war crimes of both forced displacement of the indigenous people and the transfer of civilians of the occupying force into occupied territory,” said Neil Sammonds, senior campaigner on Palestine at War on Want.

“Etsy’s complicity extends to the crime of apartheid. It must cease these heinous, unlawful activities immediately.”


Musk’s X accuses advertisers of boycotting platform in new lawsuit

Musk’s X accuses advertisers of boycotting platform in new lawsuit
Updated 07 August 2024
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Musk’s X accuses advertisers of boycotting platform in new lawsuit

Musk’s X accuses advertisers of boycotting platform in new lawsuit
  • Lawsuit accuse advertisers of withhelding billions of dollars in advertising revenue from X
  • Ad revenue on X has slumped since Musk took over the platform

LONDON: Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Tuesday sued a global advertising alliance and several major companies, including Mars and CVS Health, accusing them of unlawfully conspiring to boycott the site and causing it to lose revenue.
X filed the lawsuit in federal court in Texas against the World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever and Danish renewable energy company Orsted, in addition to Mars and CVS Health.
The lawsuit said advertisers, acting through a World Federation of Advertisers initiative called Global Alliance for Responsible Media, collectively withheld “billions of dollars in advertising revenue” from X, previously known as Twitter.
It said they acted against their own economic self-interests in a conspiracy against the platform that violated US antitrust law.
The World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever, Mars and CVS Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Orsted declined to comment on Wednesday.
In a statement on Tuesday about the lawsuit, X’s chief executive Linda Yaccarino said “people are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is constricted. No small group of people should monopolize what gets monetized.”
Ad revenue at X slumped for months after Musk bought the company in 2022. Some advertisers had been wary of ad spending under Musk amid questions and fears that their brands would appear next to harmful content that under prior owners might have been removed.
The advertising group launched the responsible media initiative in 2019 to “help the industry address the challenge of illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetization via advertising.”
Christine Bartholomew, an antitrust expert and professor at University at Buffalo’s law school told Reuters that lawsuits alleging unlawful boycotts can face a high bar.
X must show that there was an actual agreement to boycott joined by each advertiser, Bartholomew said. “Proving this requirement is no small hurdle” in cases where an agreement might be implicit, she said.
Even if the case succeeds, X cannot force companies to spend ad revenue on the platform, Bartholomew said.
The case was filed in the Northern District of Texas and assigned to US District Judge Reed O’Connor. The district has become a favored destination for conservatives suing to block Biden administration policies.
X said in its lawsuit that it has applied brand-safety standards that are comparable to those of its competitors and that “meet or exceed” measures specified by the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.
The lawsuit said X has become a “less effective competitor” in the sale of digital advertising.
X is seeking unspecified damages and a court order against any continued efforts to conspire to withhold ad dollars.
Video-sharing company Rumble on Tuesday filed a separate antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers.

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British Muslim MP accuses host of ‘sneering contempt’ over UK riots interview

British Muslim MP accuses host of ‘sneering contempt’ over UK riots interview
Updated 06 August 2024
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British Muslim MP accuses host of ‘sneering contempt’ over UK riots interview

British Muslim MP accuses host of ‘sneering contempt’ over UK riots interview
  • Zarah Sultana spoke about the importance of calling the incidents ‘Islamophobic’
  • Good Morning Britain host Ed Balls repeatedly interrupted her in ‘unacceptable and deeply uncomfortable’ interview

LONDON: British Muslim MP Zarah Sultana has accused Good Morning Britain presenter Ed Balls of attempting to patronize her during a Monday morning interview about the recent far-right riots in the UK.

Labour’s Sultana engaged in a heated debate with the presenter and former politician, emphasizing the importance of labeling the far-right violence as “Islamophobic.”

“The sneering contempt of ‘journalists’ will never stop me from calling out racism and Islamophobic hate,” Sultana wrote on X.

During the interview, Balls repeatedly interrupted Sultana, accusing her of not answering the questions.

“If you want to answer the questions, you can but you don’t have to,” Balls told Sultana.

In a tense exchange, co-presenter Kate Garraway asked Sultana why it was important to use the term “Islamophobic” alongside “racist” and “thuggery” to describe the events. Balls interrupted again, stating: “They definitely said racist over the weekend.”

As Sultana explained how protesters attacked a mosque over the weekend, Balls interjected once more, saying: “But Keir Starmer has condemned that,” to which Sultana replied: “I’m just finishing the question if that’s OK.”

The incident has sparked online criticism, with some calling the episode “unacceptable and deeply uncomfortable,” and accusing Balls of being “reckless” for his repeated interruptions of the MP.

Balls and ITV faced scrutiny for interviewing his wife, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, on the same program, raising questions about the impartiality of the interview.

The UK has been grappling with a wave of far-right violence, including attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers.

The unrest follows a stabbing rampage at a dance class in Southport that left three girls dead and several injured, fueled by false online rumors that the 17-year-old suspect was a Muslim immigrant.

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Meta apologizes over removal of Malaysia PM posts on Hamas leader

Meta apologizes over removal of Malaysia PM posts on Hamas leader
Updated 06 August 2024
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Meta apologizes over removal of Malaysia PM posts on Hamas leader

Meta apologizes over removal of Malaysia PM posts on Hamas leader
  • Meta said post was removed by mistake
  • Apologize ccomes a day after Anwar’s office summoned Meta representatives to seek an explanation

KUALA LUMPUR: Tech giant Meta apologized Tuesday for removing social media posts by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The apology came a day after Anwar’s office summoned Meta representatives to seek an explanation on why the leader’s Facebook and Instagram posts about Haniyeh’s death had been removed.
Meta is the parent firm of the two popular social media platforms.
“We apologize for an operational error where content from the Prime Minister’s Facebook and Instagram Pages were removed,” Meta said in a statement emailed to AFP.
“The content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label.”
The political leader of Palestinian armed group Hamas was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday in an attack blamed on Israel, which has not directly commented on it.
Anwar’s posts included a video showing the premier on a phone call with a Hamas official, offering his condolences.
On Instagram, there was a note by Meta, shared by Anwar, that the posts were taken down because of association with “dangerous individuals and organizations.”
Anwar’s office had described Meta’s removal of the posts as “a blatant suppression of free expression” and demanded an apology from the tech behemoth.
Anwar last week accused the tech giant of “cowardice” for removing his posts.
Israel, the United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
Anwar, who met Haniyeh in Qatar in May, has defended Malaysia’s ties with the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group, which launched a deadly attack against Israel on October 7 that triggered the war in Gaza.
Anwar stressed during a visit to Germany in March that Malaysia’s links were with Hamas’ political wing and not with its military arm.


China will launch first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink, newspaper reports

China will launch first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink, newspaper reports
Updated 06 August 2024
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China will launch first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink, newspaper reports

China will launch first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink, newspaper reports

BEIJING: A Chinese state-owned enterprise is close to launching the first batch of satellites for a megaconstellation designed to rival US company Space X’s Starlink’s near-global Internet network, a state-backed newspaper reported on Monday.
A successful launch would mark an important step in Beijing’s strategic goal of creating its own version of Starlink, a growing commercial broadband constellation that has about 5,500 satellites in space and is used by consumers, companies and government agencies.
The competition to occupy Earth’s lower orbits also has military implications, with the potential to affect the balance of power between warring countries.
The launch, led by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), will take place at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, one of China’s main satellite and missile launch centers, located in the northern province of Shanxi, the China Securities Journal reported.
The launch is part of SSST’s “Thousand Sails Constellation” plan, also known as the “G60 Starlink Plan,” which began last year and aims to deploy more than 15,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
SSST did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
LEO satellites usually operate at altitudes of 300km to 2,000km from the Earth’s surface and have the advantage of being cheaper and providing more efficient transmission than satellites at higher orbits.
Starlink, operated by billionaire Elon Musk, has tens of thousands of users in the United States so far and plans to add tens of thousands more satellites to its system, which is the largest of its kind.
Chinese researchers in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have over the past two years studied the deployment of Starlink in the war in Ukraine and repeatedly warned about the risks it poses to China, should the country find itself in a military conflict with the United States.
In January, an op-ed published in a PLA mouthpiece described the deployment of Starlink as a “serious threat to the security of space assets of various countries.”
SSST’s “Thousand Sails constellation” is one of three “ten-thousand star constellation” plans China is hoping will allow it to close the gap with SpaceX.
SSST’s plan is to launch 108 satellites this year, 648 satellites by the end of 2025, provide a “global network coverage” by 2027, and get to 15,000 satellites deployed before 2030.