Latest news with #JamieClarke
RTHK
18 hours ago
- Politics
- RTHK
Tunisian-led aid bus convoy departs for Gaza
Tunisian-led aid bus convoy departs for Gaza Around 1,500 participants of the so-called Resilience Convoy depart from Tunis on Monday. Photo: AFP Jamie Clarke reports A humanitarian convoy named Soumoud, meaning "steadfastness" in Arabic, departed from the Tunisian capital Tunis on Monday, with a goal to challenge the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, according to the Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP). Organised by the Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine in Tunisia, the land convoy brings together approximately 1,500 Tunisians and 200 Algerians, united in a call for global solidarity with the Palestinian people. "This is primarily a land-based convoy, mobilising all available resources to transport stockpiled humanitarian aid to Rafah," said Jaouaher Chamma, a member of the organising committee. Algerian, Mauritania, Moroccan and Libyan activists were also among the group, Chamma noted. The convoy is expected to pass through several Tunisian regions before entering Libya, where it will continue its journey in coordination with local NGOs. From there, it will head to the Saloum border crossing in eastern Libya and on into Egyptian territory, with the goal of reaching the Rafah crossing into Gaza. "This initiative aimed to send a message to all free people of the world to stand against occupation and genocide," TAP quoted convoy spokesperson Wael Naouar as saying. "Breaking the blockade is not just about delivering aid," Naouar said. "It's also about evacuating the wounded so they can receive medical treatment outside the occupied territories." The convoy's journey comes amid growing international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where access to essential supplies and medical care remains severely restricted due to the ongoing conflict and blockade. (Xinhua)
RTHK
6 days ago
- General
- RTHK
World War II bombs defused in Cologne after evacuation
World War II bombs defused in Cologne after evacuation Ambulances prepare to evacuate a hospital in Cologne-Deutz. Photo: AFP Jamie Clarke reports Over 20,000 people were evacuated from central Cologne on Wednesday after three unexploded World War II bombs were found, the biggest such operation in the German city since the end of the war. Bomb squad technicians defused the three American explosives, two weighing 1,000kg and one 500kg, at 7:19pm (1719 GMT) on Wednesday, having earlier set up an evacuation zone of about 10,000 square metres for 12 hours. Road and train lines were closed throughout the day, and city officials went door to door, vacating about 20,000 people from their homes and closing 58 hotels as well as numerous restaurants and businesses. The heart of the city was left deserted, with a hospital, two old people's homes, nine schools and a TV studio evacuated. Weddings had to be relocated from Cologne's town hall, and a man was taken into custody after trying to break through a barrier and enter the zone, local authorities said. The bombs had been found during building work on Monday in the Deutz area on the east bank of the River Rhine. German construction sites have regularly unearthed unexploded World War II ordnance. In Frankfurt, the discovery of a 1.4-tonne bomb in 2017 led to the removal of 65,000 people, the biggest such evacuation in Europe since 1945. In 2021, four people were injured when a World War II bomb exploded at a building site near Munich's main railway station, scattering debris over hundreds of metres. (AFP)
RTHK
06-05-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
Pakistan conducts second missile test
Pakistan conducts second missile test Pakistan conducted its first training launch of a surface-to-surface missile on Saturday. File photo: Inter-Services Public Relations Jamie Clarke reports Pakistan conducted a second missile test and India ordered civil defence drills in an escalating stand-off over contested Kashmir that the UN said on Monday has brought the two nations to the brink of war. New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing an attack on tourists last month - the deadliest against civilians on the Indian-administered side of the Himalayan territory for years - sparking a series of heated threats and diplomatic tit-for-tat measures. Pakistan rejects the accusations, and the two sides have exchanged nightly gunfire since April 24 along the de facto border in Kashmir, the militarised Line of Control, according to the Indian army. UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday said relations between Pakistan and India had reached a "boiling point", warning that "now is the time for maximum restraint and stepping back from the brink" of war. The Pakistani military said on Monday it had tested a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 120 kilometres, a launch "aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops". The missile test comes as Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi was in Islamabad for talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, ahead of a visit to India on Thursday. Tehran has offered to mediate between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, and Araghchi will be the first senior foreign diplomat to visit both countries since the April 22 attack sent relations into a tailspin. "We will spare no effort to help de-escalate the situation between the two countries," Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said. Pakistan announced a previous test on Saturday of a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 kilometres - about the distance from the Pakistan border to New Delhi. It has not said where either of the tests took place. Sharif, who cancelled a visit to Malaysia scheduled for Friday, said the launch "clearly shows that Pakistan's defence is in strong hands". Indian information ministry officials said that several civil defence "mock drills" would take place on Wednesday, preparing people to "protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack". Muslim-majority Kashmir, a region of around 15 million people, is divided between Pakistan and India but claimed in full by both. No group has claimed responsibility for the April 22 killing of 26 mainly Hindu men in the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam, but Indian police are seeking at least two Pakistani citizens they say are among the alleged gunmen. (AFP)
RTHK
06-05-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
Israel plans to seize Gaza under expanded offensive
Israel plans to seize Gaza under expanded offensive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a new offensive in Gaza will be an intensive military operation. File photo: Reuters Jamie Clarke reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday an expanded offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas would be "intensive" after his security cabinet approved plans that may include seizing the Gaza Strip and controlling aid. However an Israeli defence official said the operation would not be launched before US President Donald Trump concludes his visit next week to the Middle East. Netanyahu said in a video message the operation would be "intensive" and would see more Palestinians in Gaza moved "for their own safety". He said Israeli troops would not follow previous tactics based on short raids by forces based outside Gaza. "The intention is the opposite," he said, echoing comments from other Israeli officials who have said Israel would hold on to the ground it has seized. Israeli troops have already taken over an area amounting to around a third of Gaza, displacing the population and building watchtowers and surveillance posts on cleared ground the military has described as security zones, but the new plan would go further. One Israeli official said the newly approved offensive would seize the entire territory of the Gaza Strip, move its civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas' hands. Israel resumed its offensive in March after the collapse of a US-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for two months. It has since imposed an aid blockade, drawing warnings from the UN that the 2.3 million population faces imminent famine. (Reuters)
RTHK
28-04-2025
- RTHK
Murder charges filed over Vancouver attack
Murder charges filed over Vancouver attack Police work at the scene, the morning after a vehicle was driven into a crowd in Vancouver. Photo: Reuters Jamie Clarke reports Murder charges have been filed against a suspect in a car ramming attack that killed 11 people between the ages of 5 and 65 at a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver. The British Columbia Prosecution Service charged Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, with eight counts of second degree murder and said more charges were possible. Police said the suspect has a history of mental health issues. The man was arrested after a black Audi SUV entered the street just after 8 pm Saturday and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival. Dozens of others were injured, some critically. 'It is the darkest day in Vancouver's history,' Police Interim Chief Steve Rai told a news conference. 'The person we have in custody does have a significant history of interactions with police and health care professionals related to mental health," he said. Video of the aftermath shows the dead and injured along a narrow street in South Vancouver lined by food trucks. The front of the driver's SUV is smashed in. Kris Pangilinan, who brought his pop-up clothing and lifestyle booth to the festival, saw the vehicle enter past the barricade slowly before the driver slammed on the gas in an area that was packed with people after a concert. He said hearing the sounds of bodies hitting the vehicle will never leave his mind. "He sideswiped someone on his right side and I was like, 'Oh, yo yo.' And then he slammed on the gas,' he said. 'And the sound of the acceleration, it sounds like an F1 car about to start a race. "He slammed on the gas, barreled through the crowd. And all I can remember is seeing bodies flying up in the air higher than the food trucks themselves and landing on the ground and people yelling and screaming. It looked like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins and all the pins are flying into the air.' Pangilinan said that it would be hard to believe 'that someone has some malice against the Filipino people.' Suspect was detained by bystanders before the police arrived Video circulating on social media shows a young man in a black hoodie with his back against a chain-link fence, alongside a security guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him. 'I'm sorry,' the man says, holding his hand to his head. Rai declined to comment on the video. Prime Minister Mark Carney cancelled his first campaign event and two major rallies on the final day of the election campaign before Monday's vote. (AP)
