Canada intends to recognize Palestinian state at U.N. General Assembly
Carney said the move was necessary to preserve hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a long-standing Canadian goal that was "being eroded before our eyes."
"Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025," the prime minister said.
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Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
U.S. to ease criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia, says report
The Trump administration plans to scale back criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia over human rights, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing drafts of the State Department's annual human rights report. The draft reports related to those countries were significantly shorter than the ones prepared by the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden, who left office in January, following Republican Donald Trump's November 2024 election win. The State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has not yet officially released this year's report, which covers last year's incidents. A senior State Department official in a briefing with reporters declined to provide specific details about the contents of the report but said it had been restructured in a way that "removes redundancies, increases report readability." The United States has traditionally viewed the promotion of human rights and democracy as well as press freedom as core foreign policy objectives, although critics have repeatedly pointed out the double standard Washington has had towards its allies. Under Trump, the administration has increasingly moved away from the traditional promotion of democracy and human rights, largely seeing it as interference in another country's affairs. Instead, Trump officials have interfered in other ways, repeatedly weighing in on European politics to denounce what they see as suppression of right-wing leaders, including in Romania, Germany and France, and accusing European authorities of censoring views such as criticism of immigration. On El Salvador, the draft State Department report states that it had "no credible reports of significant human rights abuses" in 2024, the Post said. The previous report published under the Biden administration said there were "significant human rights issues" there including credible reports of "degrading treatment or punishment by security forces" and "harsh and life-threatening prison conditions." The Trump administration has deported people to El Salvador with help from the government of President Nayib Bukele, whose country is receiving $6 million from the U.S. to house the migrants in a high-security mega-prison. The draft report makes no mention of corruption or threats to the independence of Israel's judiciary, the Post reported. The previous report mentioned isolated reports of government corruption and cited the criminal case of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust — all of which he denies. Previous references to Israeli surveillance of Palestinians and restrictions of their movements were also not addressed in the draft report, the newspaper said. The final report on Russia issued under the Biden State Department made several references to violence and harassment faced by LGBTQ+ people in Russia. The Washington Post said the draft report removed all references to LGBTQ+ individuals or crimes against them, and descriptions of government abuses that remained had been softened. The embassies of El Salvador, Israel and Russia in Washington did not immediately respond to separate emailed requests for comment. The Trump administration has moved to reshape the State Department's human rights bureau, which it said had become a platform for "left-wing activists to wage vendettas against 'anti-woke' leaders." Usually, the annual report is released around March or April each year but has been delayed this year. The State Department official said the report would be released "in the very near future." "The report is not meant to be every single human rights abuse that's happened in every single country. It's meant to be illustrative and a broad picture of what the conditions of human rights are on the ground in each country," the official said.
Japan Times
7 hours ago
- Japan Times
Israeli military chief opposes Gaza war expansion, raising pressure on Netanyahu
Israel's military chief has pushed back against Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to seize areas of Gaza it doesn't already control, three Israeli officials said, as the Israeli prime minister faces increasing pressure over the war both at home and abroad. During a tense, three-hour meeting on Tuesday, Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory, which it withdrew from two decades ago, and could lead to harm to the hostages being held there, the sources briefed on the meeting said. The Israeli military says it already controls 75% of Gaza after nearly two years of war, which began when militant group Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities in October 2023. It has repeatedly opposed imposing military rule, annexing the territory, and rebuilding Jewish settlements there — policies advocated by some government members. 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Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Wednesday that the military chief has both the right and the duty to voice his opinion, but said that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives are achieved. The prime minister's office confirmed the meeting with Zamir on Tuesday but declined to comment further and the military did not respond to a request for comment. The prime minister is scheduled to discuss military plans for Gaza with other ministers on Thursday. A fourth source said Netanyahu wants to expand military operations in Gaza to put pressure on Hamas. Eyal Zamir, Israel's military chief of staff, pushed back against plans to expand the war in Gaza, warning it could trap troops in the enclave and bring harm to the hostages. | REUTERS Netanyahu, who in May said that Israel would control all of Gaza, leads the most right-wing coalition government in Israel's history and some of his key partners have in the past threatened to quit if the government ended the war. Following a 40-minute meeting with the prime minister on Wednesday, opposition leader Yair Lapid told reporters he had advised Netanyahu that the public was not interested in continuing the war and that a full military takeover would be a very bad idea. A public poll last month by Israel's Channel 12 also showed support for a diplomatic deal that would end the war and secure the release of the hostages. There are 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, of whom at least 20 are believed to be alive. Videos released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group in Gaza, last week of two extremely emaciated captives triggered international condemnation. Close to 200 Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza since the war began, about half of them children, according to Gaza's health ministry. More than 20 died on Wednesday when a truck believed to be carrying food overturned as it was swarmed by a desperate crowd, according to local health authorities. The latest ceasefire talks in Qatar broke down last month. Hamas insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war, while Israel accuses the group of lacking sincerity about giving up power afterward and must be defeated. An expansion of the military offensive in heavily populated areas would likely be devastating. "Where will we go?" said Tamer Al-Burai, a displaced Palestinian living at the edge of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza. "Should people jump into the sea if the tanks rolled in, or wait to die under the rubble of their houses? We want an end to this war, it is enough, enough," he said by phone. The war in Gaza has also overextended Israel's military, which has a small standing army and has had to repeatedly mobilize reservists. It is not clear if more reservists would be needed to expand operations and take more territory. The military continued to carry out airstrikes across Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 135 people in the past 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said, with the death toll since the beginning of the conflict now at more than 61,000, mostly civilians, it says. About 1,200 people were killed, including more than 700 civilians, and 251 hostages taken to Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
The Diplomat
10 hours ago
- The Diplomat
As Trump Lifts Sanctions on Myanmar Elites, Is the US Eyeing Rare Earth Reserves?
As Myanmar's military pushes forward with its plan to consolidate power through sham elections, the Trump administration may be looking to bring the junta in from the cold. The military junta that overthrew Myanmar's democratically elected government in 2021 is preparing the ground for national elections in December and January. The junta's hope is these deeply flawed elections would consolidate its power and provide it with a fig leaf of legitimacy. Helping its cause are moves by the Trump administration indicating it may be looking to bring the Myanmar junta in from the cold. A week ago, U.S. President Donald Trump removed sanctions on some allies of Myanmar's generals and their military-linked companies, a move condemned by the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar. Then came reports the Trump administration was exploring opportunities to access Myanmar's rare earth minerals in an effort to sideline its strategic rival, China. On July 31, Myanmar's military regime canceled the nationwide state of emergency it had kept in place since the coup, a necessary precondition for holding elections under the military-authored constitution of 2008. Hours later, however, it reimposed a state of emergency in dozens of townships where opposition forces are either in control or gaining ground. It then declared martial law in these areas. This underlined the junta's lack of control over much of the country, which would make holding a free and fair election virtually impossible. Last year, the military was unable to conduct a full census to be used to compile voter rolls. It was only able to count 32 million people in just over half the country's townships; it had to estimate another 19 million people in areas outside its control. The July 31 order also handed power from the commander-in-chief of the military to a head of state, which was presented as a return to civilian governance. However, power didn't actually change hands – Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the coup and military, remains in control as acting president. Opposition groups have said they will boycott the election, which the U.N. special rapporteur for Myanmar called a 'fraud.' Myanmar's generals may try to use Trump's apparent interest in the country's rare earths as leverage in their attempt to normalize relations with the United States ahead of a poll. Rare earths have emerged as a critical source of leverage for Beijing in the China-U.S. trade war. China is not only a large miner of rare earths; it dominates the processing required to use them, accounting for around 90 percent of global refining. In recent years, China has begun reducing its own mining and increasing its extractions from neighboring Myanmar, the third-largest producer in the world. Since the coup, rare earth mining has exploded in northern Kachin State, much of which is controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), an ethnic armed group that opposes the junta. Late last year, the KIO seized two important rare earth mining towns from the military and demanded a greater role in taxing exports to China. Beijing initially closed the border in response. However, trade soon resumed after the two sides reached a deal on export taxes. Two different proposals have reportedly been put to Trump for ways to access Myanmar's rare earth deposits. One would entail opening talks with the junta; the other talking directly with the KIO. Part of this effort could entail Trump reducing the punitive 40 percent tariffs his administration imposed on Myanmar to sweeten the deal. Yet, challenges remain to making this a reality. The mines are located in the contested war-torn mountains of northern Myanmar bordering China, which are controlled by the KIO. There is no real infrastructure capable of transporting exports to India's remote northeastern states. The only other export route is south through territory controlled by the junta or other ethnic armed groups. In addition, any attempt by the United States and its allies to extract thousands of tons of rare earth material away from China's borders would likely anger Beijing. It could pressure the KIO by reducing fuel and food imports coming from China. The group's independence and ability to fight the junta relies on trade with China. It would not take long for such an agreement to fall apart. Finally, rare earths mining is extremely polluting and dangerous. Even under Trump, it is unlikely U.S. companies would gamble on the inevitable reputational and legal risks that would accompany such a project, especially in a war zone. In essence, any attempt by the Trump administration to secure rare earths from Myanmar through any intermediary will not go anywhere. There is therefore no justification, on any grounds, for the Trump administration to reduce sanctions on Myanmar's generals or their cronies. Likewise, although the junta is attempting to legitimize its brutal rule by offering a patina of constitutional processes, its elections will not bring real change to the country. Myanmar's people have repeatedly demonstrated over the past four decades, in every remotely free and fair election, that they do not want the military involved in the governance on their country. If the junta does go ahead with this election, the world's governments should call it out for the farcical charade of democracy it will represent. This includes the administration in Washington. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
