Tag Archives: probe

Gaza: Guterres urges probe into killings at food distribution sites

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More than 30 people were killed and over 100 wounded while waiting in the early morning to get food from two sites in Rafah and Middle Gaza run by the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to media reports.

The organization is backed by Israel and the United States and uses private US security contractors supervised by the Israeli military. Aid distributions began at the end of May, bypassing the UN and other humanitarian agencies.

Risking their lives

UN chief António Guterres issued a statement on Monday saying he was “appalled” by the reports.

“It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” he said.

“I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”

He stressed that Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid. 

Allow UN operations

“The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately,” he said.

“The UN must be allowed to work in safety and security under conditions of full respect of humanitarian principles.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate permanent, sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

“This is the only path to ensuring security for all. There is no military solution to the conflict,” he said.

More to follow… 

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International Criminal Court: Deputies take over amid Prosecutor misconduct probe

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In a statement on Monday, the prosecutors’ office confirmed that deputies Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang are taking the lead, ensuring continuity across all cases and operations.

The transition follows Prosecutor Khan’s announcement on 16 May that he would temporarily step aside while the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) conducts an external inquiry into the allegations.

The investigation into widely reported allegations of sexual misconduct is being conducted by the OIOS at the request of the ICC’s governing body. Mr. Khan has denied the allegations.

Although the ICC’s Independent Oversight Mechanism typically handles such matters, the OIOS was brought in given the circumstances of the allegations and perceptions of possible and future conflicts of interest.

Duty of care

The prosecutors’ office said it would fully cooperate with the investigation, while underscoring the need to protect the privacy and rights of everyone involved – emphasising the importance of safeguarding the integrity of the OIOS investigation.

“The Office is acutely aware of the duty of care it owes to all staff members and personnel, especially affected individuals,” the statement underscored.

Impartial and fair process

The Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC – which elects the 18 judges – said on Sunday that the OIOS investigation was being carried out to ensure a full independent, impartial and fair process.

“The findings of the investigation will be handled in a transparent manner in accordance with the Rome Statute and the legal framework of the Court,” it noted.

Upholding ICC’s mandate

In assuming leadership, the Deputy Prosecutors underlined the importance of ensuring continuity of the office’s activities across all areas of work, and particularly in its mission to investigate and prosecute the most serious crimes – genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression – with independence and impartiality.

Court in the spotlight

The Prosecutor’s leave of absence comes at a sensitive moment for the ICC, which is conducting investigations and prosecutions across multiple conflict zones, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Sudan (Darfur) and Ukraine.

Last November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, prompting the United States to announce punitive sanctions against the Court.

These include measures against senior personnel – including Prosecutor Khan – with threats of arrest should they travel to the US.

Relationship with the United Nations

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent judicial body established under the Rome Statute, adopted in 1998 and in force since 2002. Although not part of the United Nations, the ICC works closely with it under a cooperative framework.

The UN Security Council can refer situations to the ICC, enabling the Court to investigate and prosecute most serious crimes. Notable referrals include the situations in Darfur, Sudan (2005) and Libya (2011).

In return, the ICC reports to the Security Council when needed involving referrals.

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Missing Malaysian Airlines MH370 ‘deliberately crashed’ in 2014, shows new evidence

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The sudden disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on March 8, 2014 was a deliberate attempt to crash the plane, said a report by The Independent, citing the discovery of a landing gear door of the ill-fated plane by a Madagascar fisherman. It further, suggested that the pilot “deliberately downed” the aircraft resulting in the loss of lives of all 239 passengers onboard.

The report said the gear door, found at the home of a fisherman named Tataly 25 days ago, was the material evidence that explains how the pilot “intended to destroy” the plane. It quoted British engineer Richard Godfrey and an American MH370 wreckage hunter Blaine Gibson to support the claim.

“The level of damage with fractures on all sides and the extreme force of the penetration right through the debris item lead to the conclusion that the end of the flight was in a high-speed dive designed to ensure the aircraft broke up into as many pieces as possible. The crash of MH370 was anything but a soft landing on the ocean,” Godfrey was quoted as saying.

File photo of MH370; A Madagascar fisherman found door gear of MH370, shows new evidence

In 2017, the fisherman found the landing gear door that washed ashore after the tropical storm Fernando and kept it with him for five years without knowing its significance, while his wife used it as a washing board.

“The combination of the high speed impact designed to break up the aircraft and the extended landing gear designed to sink the aircraft as fast as possible both show a clear intent to hide the evidence of the crash,” Independent quoted a report published by the experts as saying.

How MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014?

The Beijing-bound MH370 disappeared off the radar about 40 minutes after take-off from Kuala Lumpur on the fateful night of March 8, 2014 when its communication systems were switched off and the flight changed the route into the southern Indian Ocean.

The probe concluded that the plane crashed in a remote area of about 232,000 kilometers off the sea bed. So far, some suspected fragments of the aircraft have been recovered from beaches in Reunion, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa, and Pemba Island (Zanzibar).

Malaysia, Australia, and China, who carried out the first search at a cost of over $151 million, suspended the probe in January 2017. even the US-based seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity, which conducted a second search, yielded no result.

Chinese spy working at Twitter? FBI asks company after whistleblower reveals it

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Chinese rights activists overseas have said that they are concerned but unsurprised at recent allegations that an agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working at Twitter, saying such infiltration is part of Beijing’s global influence operation, media reports said.

The FBI informed Twitter of at least one Chinese agent among its employees, according to US Senator Chuck Grassley, while hacker and whistleblower Peiter Zatko said the company’s lax security sparked fears that personal data on Chinese users was being collected by authorities in China, RFA reported.

Zatko, Twitter’s former head of security, levelled the allegations during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailing internal clashes between some who sought advertising revenue from China, and others who were concerned about doing business inside China amid rising geopolitical tensions, the report said.

“This was a big internal conundrum,” Zatko told the hearing, adding that Twitter appeared reluctant to turn away from China. “In a nutshell, if we were already in bed, it would be problematic if we lost that revenue stream,” he said.

Zatko said the FBI had told the company that China’s secret service, the Ministry of State Security, had an agent on the payroll, RFA reported.

A Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging platforms hiring process was independent of foreign influence, and that access to personal data was subject to stringent controls, adding that Zatko’s allegations were “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.”

France-based commentator Wang Longmeng said the CCP has long targeted Western social media platforms to wage its overseas influence campaigns, and that some of the company’s regional executives have close ties to the CCP, including Kathy Chen, RFA reported.

Chen’s 2016 appointment as Twitter’s managing director for Greater China raised concerns in particular, as it emerged she had served as a software engineer in the People’s Liberation Army’s strategic missile force.

“Kathy Chen, who had a military background, joined [the company], then Fei-fei Li became an independent director,” Wang said. “The CCP’s infiltration of Western media is one of its key strategies.”

“It’s not surprising that the whistleblower revealed there are Chinese agents at Twitter, because there have been suspensions and deleted accounts, and yet Twitter still allows CCP diplomats to spread rumors and lies,” he said, RFA reported.

While China bans Twitter, Facebook and other US social media firms, government agencies and diplomats use the platforms to reach an international audience.