Latest news with #InternationalRedCross
RNZ News
6 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
What's happening in Gaza 'worse than hell on earth': Red Cross
The head of the International Red Cross says what is happening in Gaza has become "worse than hell on earth" - and surpasses any acceptable legal, moral and humane standard. Former foreign correspondent and political editor for The Independent, Donald Macintyre spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
ABC News
7 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Another attack at aid station in Gaza
Isabella Higgins: A third major shooting attack near a southern Gaza aid distribution point in as many days is fueling deep despair amongst the Palestinian community. At least 27 were killed in the latest attacks and hundreds more reported injured in what Palestinian authorities allege is another instance of Israeli troops firing upon civilians. The Israel Defense Forces says it's investigating but is questioning the number of people injured after conceding firing warning shots in the early hours of Tuesday morning. From Jerusalem, here's Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran. Matthew Doran: In a makeshift hospital ward inside a tent at southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital, 22-year-old Motaz Alfarati is among dozens lying in beds and on the floor, bandaged and bloodied after a deadly early morning attack. Motaz Alfarati: In one moment we heard the noise of Apache helicopters. They were throwing around grenades around us and on the asphalt and anyone who doesn't stand and who moved was shot at by a sniper in his head, in his leg, in his stomach. Matthew Doran: Palestinian authorities allege Israeli forces opened fire on the thousands trying to access an aid distribution point near Rafa. Motaz was there and says many travelled for hours to arrive at the site. Motaz Alfarati: There were thousands and thousands who came to the area in order to take aid boxes. But there is not enough. Matthew Doran: The International Red Cross says more than 180 people were rushed to its field hospital in Rafa. Israel says it's investigating the incident. It's different rhetoric to what the government and the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday after the first attack near the site, rejecting allegations it was responsible for more than 30 being killed and dozens more injured. David Mencer: Israel is not preventing Gazans from accessing humanitarian aid and the IDF did not fire at civilians in or near aid distribution zone. Matthew Doran: David Mencer is the Israeli Government's spokesperson. David Mencer: The warning shots were fired away from the aid distribution point in response to the threat perceived by the IDF troops. Matthew Doran: Israeli authorities accuse Hamas of undermining the new private aid model in Gaza, fuelling chaos in the strip near the handful of distribution sites. The IDF and politicians continue to refer to video they claim shows armed gunmen targeting civilians, despite the vision being recorded kilometres away from the aid facility. Jeremy Laurence: Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza are unconscionable. Matthew Doran: Jeremy Laurence is the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson. Jeremy Laurence: The wilful impediment of access to food and other life-sustaining relief supplies for civilians may constitute a war crime. Matthew Doran: For its part, the organisation running the aid sites, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, says food is being distributed without incident, millions of meals handed to Palestinians in recent days. But it's wrapping that insistence in a significant caveat, that it has no control over what happens outside the fence lines of its facilities, which is where these attacks have happened. This is Matthew Doran in Jerusalem, reporting for AM.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Canberra slams Russian jailing of Australian who fought for Ukraine
Australia's government said Saturday it was "appalled" by a Russian-controlled court's 13-year penal colony sentence for an Australian man who was captured while fighting for Ukraine. Oscar Jenkins, a 33-year-old from Melbourne, was convicted of being a "mercenary in an armed conflict" by the court in Ukraine's Russian-occupied east Lugansk region, prosecutors said. The former biology teacher was ordered to serve his time in a "strict regime penal colony". "The Australian Government is appalled at the sham trial and 13-year sentence given to Australian man Oscar Jenkins," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. The government has "made clear" to Moscow that Jenkins must be treated as a prisoner of war, as a serving member of the regular Ukraine army, she said in a statement. "Russia is obligated to treat him in accordance with international humanitarian law, including humane treatment," the foreign minister said. Australia had "serious concerns" for Jenkins, she said, and was working with partners including Ukraine and the International Committee of the Red Cross to press for his welfare and release. Russia and its eastern Ukrainian proxies consider foreigners travelling to fight in Ukraine as "mercenaries". - Glass cage - This enables them to prosecute the fighters criminally, rather than treating them as captured prisoners of war with protections and rights under the Geneva Convention. Russia-installed prosecutors said Friday that Jenkins "took part in combat operations against Russian military personnel between March and December 2024". They posted a video showing Jenkins standing in a courtroom behind a glass cage, his hands behind his back and his expression despondent. Russian forces captured Jenkins in December 2024. That same month, he appeared in a video shared by a Russian military blogger showing him being roughly interrogated and slapped in the face. He was then believed to have been killed in captivity, until Russia confirmed he was alive. A later video showed him undergoing a medical examination, with his captors heard joking in the background that his blood pressure showed "he wasn't dead". Australia's government said it was providing consular support to Jenkins' family. Australia opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, condemning it as illegal and immoral. Ties with Moscow had already been damaged by the July 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 by a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of 298 people aboard including 38 Australians. djw/tym
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Indian homecoming for Polish grandchildren
It didn't come as a surprise earlier this year in March when Kieran Kyle Culkin walked away with the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in A Real Pain. In the comedy-drama, Culkin sets off on a journey through Poland with his mismatched cousin (played by Jesse Adam Eisenberg) to honour their Jewish grandmother, a holocaust survivor. Coincidentally, a few weeks before the Oscars, a group of young Polish men and women were retracing their grandparents' journey in India. Their ancestors were among the Polish children orphaned during the course of World War II, who found refuge in this country. Twenty Polish youth, some of them grandchildren of the Polish survivors, visited Balachadi (Jamnagar) and Valivade (Kolhapur) in February under the Jamsaheb Memorial Youth Exchange Programme. The visit was organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, after PM Narendra Modi's visit to Poland last year. 'Our grandfather was always talking about India. He called it his second home,' says Arkadiusz Michałowski (Arek), 28, a resident of Warsaw, whose (late) grandfather Wieslaw Stypula, was one of about 1,000 Polish children orphaned during World War II who were sheltered by the Maharaja of Nawanagar (presently Jamnagar), Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, in the erstwhile state of Gujarat. The year was 1942, when Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, and the exiled Polish Government in London was anxious about the future of their younger generations. The Maharaja, whose musical skills were appreciated by the great Polish pianist and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski, created a home within his estate for the orphaned children. 'It was my grandfather's dream to show us where he spent his childhood, introduce us to the people who remember the camp, and show us the memorial in Balachadi that he was instrumental in designing,' says Arek, who was visiting India with his 25-year-old sister Kasia Michalowska. The memorial depicts a woman with a babe in her arms, caressing the head of a child reaching up to her. 'The woman symbolises Mother India, an Indian child is in her arms and she is hugging a Polish child with her other arm. It is symbolic of how the Good Maharaja in India protected all the Polish children,' says Arek. 'I cried when I read the poem carved on the memorial. It was written by my grandfather in the Balachadi camp when he was a teenager. It is part of him, his story, and my past,' say Arek, remembering his grandfather who passed away last year. Little Poland in books After World War II, the efforts of the International Red Cross helped these Polish children reunite with their surviving families across the world, including Poland, the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Books and documentaries have captured their experiences. Poles in India 1942-1948: Second World War Story is a collective work of these Polish survivors, based on archival documents and personal reminiscences. Many survivors have travelled to India on various occasions to take a trip down memory lane. Two documentary films, A Little Poland in India and Jindobrey India, made between 2012 and 2015, have explored this journey through intimate conversations with the survivors. For the Polish youth, it was a moving experience to visit the places that meant so much to their grandparents. 'Our grandfather was dedicated to sharing the story of his life in India. He had photos from his childhood and material he collected for his books, which focussed mostly on his memories of India, and the Good Maharaja. He didn't want to share horror stories from the war. He wanted to convey that, even during the darkest times, there were still good people in the world. His books dwelt on how wonderful India appeared to the Polish children, who knew only the dark and brutal world war,' says Kasia, her voice choked with emotion, standing amidst the students of the Sainik school in Balachadi. Christmas in Balachadi Their grandfather would often tell them stories about India. 'The Polish children hated spinach and tried to throw it away. They played musical instruments as a band and started a Polish Scouting Team. They learned the Nawanagar Anthem, but every morning they raised the Polish flag in the centre of the camp,' continues Arek. Christmas celebrations were different in Balachadi. Jam Saheb, whom the children lovingly called 'Bapu', would send bags full of gifts saddled on camels, and watch their traditional performances. 'They tried to recreate the 'Jasełka' (Nativity Play) using things they had in the camp. In Polish tradition, Santa Claus comes in a cart drawn by flying reindeers but in Balachadi they saw camels, which they found exotic. They missed the Christmas snow as December was still quite warm in Balachadi,' Kasia recalls. while shopping for family and friends, picking up colourful Indian handicrafts and postcards. 'Granddad would pick these up for us whenever he visited India,' she adds, donning a hand embroidered jacket, while Arek chooses traditional Indian jewellery for his fiancée. Peace and bedtime stories Barbara Gutowska, 22, the granddaughter of (late) Roman Gutowski, another Polish child who lived in the Maharaja's camp, says visiting India has been a surreal experience. 'I am standing in the place I have known only from my childhood bedtime stories. The place that my grandfather considered his home. The place where he grew up, played, began primary school, made friends and experienced various exotic adventures. I have found peace,' she adds. A student at the University of Warsaw, Gutowska is keen on learning Indian classical dance. Bartosz Jezierski, 17, a high school student, stands at the memorial museum of one of the largest Polish survivors' camps in Valivade, 10 km from Kolhapur. 'My grandfather, Andrzej Jezierski, was one of the children who were lucky enough to find refuge here,' he says. These young people are struck by the similarity between two entirely different places and cultures. 'This trip showed me that we are not as different as we might think,' says Kasia, a student at the University of Warsaw. Her brother echoes her sentiments. 'I am, and always will be, very grateful for the huge act of kindness and selflessness shown by the Good Maharaja. If not for him, I would not be here in this world. It is the debt of a lifetime, which I hope we will be able to repay one day by helping others in need,' says Arek, with humility. The writer is an independent documentary filmmaker and author of A Little Poland in India and Jindobrey India.
Asahi Shimbun
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Princess Aiko visits Osaka Expo, advocates for world peace
Princess Aiko visits the Singapore Pavilion at the Osaka Kansai Expo on May 9. (Pool) OSAKA—Princess Aiko has visited the Osaka Kansai Expo to deepen her understanding of global cultures and the efforts of international aid organizations. Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, visited various pavilions and exhibits during her two-day visit to the world fair. The princess expressed her heartfelt aspiration for "world peace" at the Singapore Pavilion where she drew a finger across an interactive panel to write the phrase before it was projected onto a large screen alongside other visitors' dreams. She also admired art installations at the pavilion, including intricate paper-cutting art that represents the harmony between urban living and nature. The princess said she was very impressed to learn how urban life and nature coexist in balance, according to Singaporean Ambassador Ong Eng Chuan, who guided the tour. Aiko also toured the Grand Ring, a massive wooden structure and symbol of the expo, on May 8 and visited the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Pavilion. There, she reflected on the global humanitarian efforts showcased in the exhibition, commenting, 'The displays clearly conveyed their strong commitment to addressing conflicts and disasters around the world.'
