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Palestinians flock to the Zikim crossing to acquire limited food aid as hunger crisis worsens with the ongoing Israeli blockade in North Gaza, Gaza on August 18, 2025. [Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut – Anadolu Agency]
The UN human rights office on Tuesday said over 1,850 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access food in Gaza in less than three months, warning that humanitarian conditions are worsening as Israel continues to restrict aid, Anadolu reports.
“Reaching the meagre supplies available can be a deadly pursuit,” spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva, noting that between May 27 and Aug. 17, the human rights office documented that 1,857 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, “including 1,021 killed in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 836 killed on the routes of supply trucks.”
“Most of these killings appear to have been committed by the Israeli military,” he said.
He warned that “the risk of starvation is everywhere in Gaza,” describing it as “a direct result of the Israeli government’s policy of blocking humanitarian aid.”
“In the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid to enter in quantities that remain far below what would be required to avert widespread starvation.”
The spokesperson also noted that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, displaced to the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, have little or no access to essential services and supplies, including food, water, electricity, and tents.
He added that the Israeli army has intensified its attacks in the north of the strip, while displacement orders continue even in areas where strikes are recorded.
The spokesperson also recalled High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk’s remarks that warned against plans for a military takeover of Gaza City, saying such a move “must be immediately halted.”
Al-Kheetan said the plan has a “huge risk” for civilians, explaining the risks as mass displacement, more killings, and more misery.
He also addressed the recently released footage of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, showing Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi in prison.
“Video footage showing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir berating and taunting Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi face-to-face inside an Israeli jail is unacceptable,” he said.
“The minister’s behavior and the publication of the footage constitute an attack on Barghouthi’s dignity.”
Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party government Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are participants and complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide providing Israel with army and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote Labour for Genocide.
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Vice President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Justice Julia Sebutinde.[Photo/monitor.co.ug]
The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has written to the judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), calling for the removal of Ugandan Judge Julia Sebutinde, Vice-President of the Court. The letter pointed out that Sebutinde had breached Articles 2 and 18 of the Court’s Statute when she openly revealed her ideological bias in favour of Israel, despite the ongoing genocide being committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territories.
Article 2 of the Court’s Statute obliges judges to display integrity, impartiality, and independence. Should any of these conditions be breached, Article 18 provides that the judge concerned must be removed with the consent of the other Members of the Court.
The AOHR UK added that Judge Sebutinde has not only abandoned impartiality and integrity but has also expressed messianic religious ideas that encourage the perpetuation of the crime of genocide, which has already claimed tens of thousands of victims, the majority of whom are women, children, and the elderly.
The AOHR UK explained that on 10 August 2025, during a speech delivered in a church in Uganda, Judge Sebutinde openly declared her religious support for the actions of the occupying power, stating:
“The Lord relies on me to stand with Israel… signs of the end times are appearing in the Middle East, and I want to be on the right side of history… I am convinced that time is running out, and I encourage you to follow developments in Israel. I feel humbled that God has allowed me to be part of the last days.”
The rights group emphasised that such statements were not surprising. It recalled that when the Court ordered provisional measures in the Gaza genocide case, and later issued its Advisory Opinion on 19 July 2024 regarding the nature of the Israeli occupation, Judge Sebutinde was the only judge to oppose all measures, including the facilitation of humanitarian aid. Her lengthy dissenting opinion to the Advisory Opinion clearly revealed her religious convictions and her absolute support for the occupation, denying—through biblical lens—the existence of Palestine and the Palestinian people.
Sebutinde’s dissenting opinion, AOHR UK noted, relied heavily on biblical narratives and stories granting Israel fictitious rights, thereby conferring false legitimacy on the horrific crimes committed against Palestinian civilians. “Such reasoning not only contradicts the foundations of international law but also emboldens the continuation of genocide, undermining the very principles upon which the Court’s authority rests;” the letter read.
AOHR UK pointed out that Judge Sebutinde’s expressed views “mirror the rhetoric of Israeli leaders such as Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, and Smotrich, who for over 22 months of killing, destruction, starvation, and displacement have invoked biblical and Talmudic narratives to justify crimes and spur on the military in pursuit of the “Greater Israel” project, as Netanyahu recently articulated.”
Relatedly, the AOHR UK urged states, scholars, thinkers, lawyers, and legal practitioners worldwide to press the judges of the ICJ to remove Judge Sebutinde, in order to safeguard the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the Court—particularly in light of overwhelming evidence that Israel considers itself a state above the law, emboldened by the colonial support of the West led by the United States.
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Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote Labour for Genocide.
The Lower Swat Forest Division team of the Forest Department is engaged in rescue and relief activities in the flood-affected areas of Mingora, KP. Photo: Pir MusavirPTI/X
Pakistan has witnessed frequent heavy rains and floods in recent times causing massive human and material loss claimed to be the result of human-induced global changes in the climate
Pakistan is yet again facing heavy casualties and massive destruction due to unusual heavy rains and floods across the country this year. According to the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), more than 650 people have been killed and over 900 others have been injured in rain-related incidents across the country since June 26.
The flash floods in mostly the northeastern parts of the country have also displaced hundreds of thousands with scores still reported missing.
It is estimated that Pakistan has already received 50% more rain this year in comparison to last year. The country’s meteorological department has warned that the current spell of heavy rains is expected to last until August 19 with three more spells of heavy rains through September after that.
The upcoming spells may cause massive flooding in the areas along the Indus river in the coming days, Pakistani authorities have warned.
Though death and destruction from the floods have been recorded across all the provinces of Pakistan, including the capital Islamabad, the northeastern Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP), and Gilgit-Baltistan have been hit the hardest.
Last week, huge flash floods washed away villages and communication networks at various places in the hilly region of KP and Gilgit-Baltistan. Heavy rains and cloud bursts have destroyed roads, railway lines, schools, hospitals, and other essential civilian infrastructure in KP, Gilgit-Baltistan, and other parts of Pakistan.
Buner in KP, which witnessed a cloud burst last week, has been the hardest-hit district, amassing more than half of all deaths recorded in the province with scores of people still missing.
According to the NDMA, KP recorded the highest number of people killed at 390, followed by Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province, which has recorded 164 deaths. Even the drier regions such as Balochistan have recorded over a dozen deaths due to the heavy rain and flash flooding.
Fresh heavy rains on Monday have made the relief and rescue operations difficult, particularly in the most affected regions in the hills.
Effects of climate change
Residents in Pakistan’s hilly areas who lost their houses in the flash floods say there were no early warnings of the heavy rains which multiplied the loss of lives and property.
Inam Haider Malik, head of the NDMA, claimed in a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday that it is difficult to predict cloud bursts and flash floods and warned that at least three more spells of heavy rain in the coming days may cause flooding in the lower areas in Pakistan. He emphasized that the “scale of loss is part of the climate change impacts”.
Pakistan’s chief meteorologist Zaheer Babar also claimed that the unusually heavy rains are a result of climate change. However, he also underlined that the impact of erratic rain is multiplied due to haphazard construction near the river valleys and unscientific disposal of waste in the river beds, Geo Tvquoted Babar saying.
“The situation in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan is devastating. We are in the midst of a climate emergency,” claimed Ammar Ali Jan, leader of the Haqooq-e-Khalq Party (HKP). In his posts on X, Ammar also demanded “Pakistan should receive climate reparations, including debt relief” as it is a victim of “fossil-fuel driven model of Western development.”
Taimur Rahman, leader of the Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP), underlined the failure of the Pakistani state to treat all its citizens equally, resulting in disproportionate losses to the poor during such floods.
Taimur claimed that the government in the country uses most of its resources on developing flood preventive mechanisms around richer localities while ignoring the needs of the majority of people.
Pakistan has faced repeated floods in the last few years with an increase in the overall rainfall during the monsoon season in particular. In 2022, in a similar situation, floods killed over 1,700 across Pakistan and affected over 33 million people, badly impacting the peoples livelihoods and the overall economy of the country as it tried to recover from the effects of COVID-19. The floods also destroyed crops, intensifying the overall food insecurity in the country.
Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him. He says that Reform UK has received millions and millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with US Special Operations Command in April, 2025. Photo: X
The action was announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called the Venezuelan government a “criminal organization”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Thursday, August 14, that he is sending troops to the southern Caribbean Sea to carry out military operations in the region. He said the goal is to arrest Latin American drug traffickers and linked one of these groups to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Rubio reinforced, without presenting evidence, the White House narrative that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), an alleged criminal organization. On July 25, the US State Department classified the group as an international terrorist group.
Now, Rubio has stepped up his game, stating that he is sending air and naval troops to control cartels that bring “poison” to the US. He stated that drug trafficking is a threat to US security and again called the Maduro government a “criminal organization”.
“These are groups that are operating with impunity in international waters, simply exporting to the United States poison that is killing, that is destroying communities… The Cartel de los Soles is one of the largest criminal organizations that exist in the hemisphere, which unfortunately has not been given enough attention. It is a cartel that today is indicted in the federal courts of the United States. It is not a government, the Maduro regime is not a government, it is a criminal organization,” Rubio said in a statement.
The Secretary of State did not provide details of the operation, but said the goal is to intercept the flow of drugs in the region.
Venezuelan military personnel interviewed by Brasil de Fato do not believe the United States could launch a military attack against the country. Sectors within the Armed Forces say they have not definitively ruled out any possibility, but understand the dispatch of planes and ships as yet another threat and a show of force by the White House.
Henry Navas Nieves, head of the Master’s program in Military History at the Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela, agrees with this thesis and states that the US learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, two conflicts that had a very high political, military, and economic cost for people in the United States.
“Since Obama, a new model of US warfare against expanding countries has emerged. They have abandoned direct armed confrontations and learned that it was possible to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in Libya without deploying any soldiers. And they apply and replicate this. The use of their own military forces is inconvenient in these cases, and they resort to harassment and unilateral coercive measures,” Nieves told Brasil de Fato.
The military understands that the White House’s logic is based on encouraging conflicts and attacks by paramilitary and far-right groups in Venezuelan territory.
This week, the Venezuelan government announced that it had demobilized a new attempted attack against strategic structures in Venezuela. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Tuesday, August 12, that security forces had identified terrorist plans organized by far-right sectors in conjunction with paramilitaries.
According to him, explosives were seized that had the capacity to hit targets at a distance of up to 1.2 kilometers and were intended to be used to attack hospitals, gas stations, and political figures.
One of the targets was Venezuela Plaza in downtown Caracas. According to Cabello, the group intended to blow up the Monument to the Victory of the Great Patriotic War against Nazism, a memorial to the Soviet Union, which was inaugurated in the first half of this year.
Navas claims that these new US military threats are “inexplicable” because they are based on an unfounded accusation: that Maduro leads a criminal organization.
“The Venezuelan government has actually dealt a severe blow to drug trafficking. These aggressive measures also respond to Venezuelan police operations against the far right, which attempted to organize terrorist attacks, something that was denounced and dismantled by security forces, in addition to the tons of explosives seized,” he stated.
Escalation in threats
Since the July 27 municipal elections, the US has increased its attacks on the Venezuelan government. In an interview with Fox News, US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said that more than USD 700 million in Maduro’s assets had been seized. She said that these were “mansions, cars, planes, and jewelry”, but presented no evidence and gave no indication of the location of these assets.
Navas argues that this escalation of threats is the result of a profound crisis the US is experiencing, involving a struggle between different conservative wings. He believes Rubio’s group seeks dominance in the region to regain the “sympathy” of its support base in Florida, where the Latin American far-right living in the US is concentrated.
“There is a mosaic of interests in the US vying for space and seeking to control the White House’s political decisions. Rubio leads one of them, and he is putting pressure on the government to launch an offensive against Venezuela in an attempt to overthrow the government. This is an escalation and a response to the Maduro government’s advance, which has seen significant victories in the recent regional, legislative, and municipal elections,” he said.
Last week, the US announced an increase to USD 50 million (approximately R$270 million) in the reward for information leading to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro. The message was promptly responded to by the Venezuelan government. Foreign Minister Yván Gil called the announcement “a ridiculous political propaganda operation and a joke.”
Another speaker was Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López. He called this “immoral” and emphasized that criminal groups operating in Venezuela, such as the Aragua Train, have been “completely dismantled”.
Maduro also refuted the accusations and said that the Venezuelan response could be “the beginning of the end of the American empire”. This Thursday, August 14, the president called the US advance a “war of declarations”.
The heightened tension also resonated with the Venezuelan far right. Former extreme-neoliberal congresswoman and opposition figure María Corina Machado thanked the Republican president on Thursday for “pressuring to defeat this criminal organization”.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
The broadcaster lost a major defamation case earlier this year after Mr Adams took them to court over a 2016 episode of its Spotlight programme
Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams (Brian Lawless/PA)
Gerry Adams has said he has made donations to “good causes” after the BBC paid the former Sinn Fein president 100,000 euro (£84,000) in defamation damages.
The broadcaster lost a defamation case earlier this year after Mr Adams took them to court over a 2016 episode of its Spotlight programme and an accompanying online story.
They contained an allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson.
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[D]onations have been made to “Unicef for the children of Gaza”, local GAA organisations, a support group for republican prisoners and their families called An Cumman Cabhrach, to the Irish language sector, to the “homeless and Belfast based-youth, mental health and suicide prevention projects” and others. …
