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Winnipeg Free Press
7 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel says it struck militants posing as aid workers in Gaza
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Tuesday that it recently struck a group of militants in the Gaza Strip who were disguised as aid workers and using a car with the logo of World Central Kitchen, an international charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés. The army said it carried out an airstrike on the men after confirming with the charity that they were not affiliated with it and that the car did not belong to it. World Central Kitchen confirmed that the men and the vehicle were not affiliated with it. 'We strongly condemn anyone posing as World Central Kitchen or other humanitarians, as this endangers civilians and aid workers,' it said in a statement. The military shared video footage showing several men in yellow vests standing around a vehicle with the charity's logo on its roof. The military said five of the men were armed. The relief group, founded in 2010, has worked from Haiti to Ukraine, dispatching teams that can quickly provide meals on a mass scale in conflict zones and after natural disasters. The group prides itself on providing food that fits with local tastes. In April, an Israeli strike killed seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza. Israel quickly admitted it had mistakenly killed the aid workers and launched an investigation. In November, an Israeli strike killed five people, including a World Central Kitchen worker who Israel said was part of the Hamas attack that sparked the war. WCK said at the time that it was unaware the employee had any connection to the attack. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 are still alive. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Israel's air and ground offensive has since displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and pushed the territory toward famine. It has killed more than 61,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. Besides those killed, 121 adults and 101 children have died of malnutrition-related causes, the ministry has said. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Winnipeg Free Press
10-08-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Taliban investigating death threats against United Nations' Afghan female staff, report says
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban are investigating explicit death threats against dozens of Afghan women working for the United Nations, according to a report published Sunday. In its latest update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the U.N. mission to the country said that dozens of female national staff were subjected to explicit death threats in May. The threats came from unidentified individuals related to their work with the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, other agencies, funds, and programs, 'requiring the U.N. to implement interim measures to protect their safety,' according to the report. It said that the Taliban told the U.N. mission that their personnel were not responsible for the threats. An Interior Ministry investigation is underway, the report said. Afghan authorities, including the Interior Ministry, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the report or the investigation. The Taliban barred Afghan women from working at domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations in December 2022, extending this ban to the U.N. six months later, and then threatening to shut down agencies and groups still employing women. Humanitarian agencies say the Taliban have hampered or interfered with their operations, allegations denied by authorities. The U.N. report is the first official confirmation of death threats against Afghan women working in the sector. The report also highlighted other areas affecting women's personal freedoms and safety. In Herat, inspectors from the Vice and Virtue Ministry began requiring women to wear a chador, a full-body cloak covering the head. Dozens of women deemed 'not in compliance' were barred from entering markets or using public transportation. Several women were detained until relatives brought them a chador, the report said. In Uruzgan, women were arrested for wearing a headscarf, a hijab, rather than a burqa. Women have also been denied access to public areas, in line with laws banning them from such spaces. In Ghor province, police forced several families to leave a recreational area. They warned the families against visiting outdoor picnic sites with women. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. In Herat, Vice and Virtue inspectors stopped family groups with women and girls from accessing an open recreational area, only allowing all-male groups. Nobody from the Vice and Virtue Ministry was immediately available to comment on the Ghor, Herat and Uruzgan incidents, which the U.N. said happened in May. In Kandahar, the Public Health Department instructed female health care workers to be accompanied to work by male guardians with an identification card proving that they were related to the woman by blood or marriage. It wasn't immediately clear if the card is specific to Kandahar or will be rolled out across Afghanistan. 'The process to apply for a mahram (male guardian) identification card is reportedly cumbersome and can take up to several weeks as it requires the de facto Department for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and a member of the local community (e.g. malik, imam or village elder) to verify the relationship,' the U.N. report said.
Winnipeg Free Press
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Cambodia gather to praise ceasefire with Thailand and mourn the dead
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Cambodia on Friday held a religious ceremony to honor soldiers killed in recent border clashes with Thai forces and to pray for peace. They marched from the country's main religious school near the Royal Palace in the capital, Phnom Penh, to a nearby temple, where they were joined by nuns and laymen and women. The monks chanted and prayed to honor the souls of the dead soldiers. A board inside the temple displayed the photographs of more than 40 men in uniform. It wasn't clear whether these images were of soldiers killed, or included those who were wounded and captured. Cambodia has admitted only to the deaths of six of its troops in the fighting, which began late last month and continued for five days. Dozens of people on both sides, including civilians, were killed in the fighting and over 260,000 displaced on both sides of the border. A ceasefire that took effect on July 29 ended major fighting, though both sides have alleged violations of the truce and the underlying dispute over territorial claims has not been resolved. Khem Sorn, the chief monk for Phnom Penh, said the main purpose of Friday's ceremony was to show support to the government for working toward peace and ending the war with a ceasefire. It was also intended to honor to the souls of the Cambodian soldiers and civilians who were killed, and to appeal to all Buddhist countries, especially Thailand, to live in peace with each other, he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. 'It means that we only want to live side-by-side with Thailand as a good neighbor, living with unity and peace with each other,' Khem Sorn said. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. The recent fighting was triggered by a land mine explosion in disputed land along the border that wounded five Thai soldiers. That came just a week after a similar incident. It was the latest eruption of hostilities in a decades-old dispute over ownership of several small pockets of territory along the 800-kilometer (500-mile) land border. Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to delay crucial trade talks, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire on July 28. Talks in Malaysia on Thursday reaffirmed both sides' commitment to the ceasefire deal but failed to secure the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers, who were captured in disputed circumstances after the truce went into effect. Thailand says it is treating the men in full compliance with international humanitarian law and will free them once 'active hostilities' end. The United States and China, which both played an active role in encouraging an end to the fighting, separately hailed Thursday's reaffirmation of the ceasefire, and said they look forward to supporting the parties involved in securing the peace process.
Winnipeg Free Press
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel again intercepts Gaza-bound ship carrying activists and humanitarian aid
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing all cargo, including baby formula, food and medicine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Sunday. The coalition that operates the vessel Handala said the Israeli military 'violently intercepted' the ship in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communication, just before midnight Saturday. 'All cargo was non-military, civilian and intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation and medical collapse under Israel's illegal blockade,'' the group said in a statement. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israel's Foreign Ministry posted on X early Sunday that the Navy stopped the vessel and was bringing it to shore. It was the second ship operated by the coalition that Israel has prevented in recent months from delivering aid to Gaza, where food experts have for months warned of the risk of famine. Activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 activists on board the ship Madleen when it was seized by the Israeli military in June. The ship's interception comes as Israel faces mounting international criticism over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, with concern growing over rising hunger in the territory amid Israeli restrictions on aid. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. A regional human rights group, Adalah, said the raid on the vessel violated international law. It demanded the immediate release of the 21 activists, including lawmakers and human rights campaigners, from 10 countries. 'The flotilla never entered Israeli territorial waters, nor was it intended to do so; it was headed toward the territorial waters of the State of Palestine, as recognized under international law,' Adalah said in a statement. 'Israel has no legal jurisdiction or authority over the international waters in which the vessel was sailing.' Adalah demanded immediate disclosure of the activists' location and legal status. Lawmaker Nicola Fratoianni, of a left-wing environmentalist party, called on the Italian government to ensure the safety of the two Italians on board. Also on board were seven U.S. citizens, including a human rights attorney, a Jewish U.S. war veteran and a Jewish-American activist, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
Winnipeg Free Press
26-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
At least 25 people killed by Israeli gunshots and strikes in Gaza, some while seeking aid
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 25 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight, according to health officials and the ambulance service on Saturday, as ceasefire talks appear to have stalled and Palestinians in Gaza face famine. The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought. Israel's army didn't respond to request for comments about the latest shootings. Those killed in strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said. The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the U.S and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas. His comments came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the United States, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when. For desperate Palestinians a ceasefire can't come soon enough. The United Nations and experts say that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition. While Israel's army says it's allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter, the U.N. says it is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting. The Zikim crossing shootings come days after at least 79 Palestinians were killed trying to reach aid entering through the same crossing. Israel's military said at the time its soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians who posed a threat, and that it was aware of some casualties. Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More then two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticizing Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. For the first time in months Israel said it is allowing airdrops, requested by Jordan. A Jordanian official said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in a newspaper article on Saturday that the U.K. was 'working urgently' with Jordan to get British aid into Gaza. Aid group the World Central Kitchen said on Friday that it was resuming limited cooking operations in Deir al-Balah after being forced to halt due to a lack of food supplies. It said it's trying to serve 60,000 meals daily through its field kitchen and partner community kitchens, less than half of what it's cooked over the previous month. ———————— Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt
