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Human Rights Watch says reports of sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners align with previous findings

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Palestinian prisoners detained by the Israeli army are taken to the Nasser Hospital for medical treatment after being released by the Israeli forces in Khan Yunis, Gaza on August 20, 2024 [Doaa Albaz/Anadolu Agency]

Human Rights Watch said reports detailing sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention facilities are consistent with findings from previous investigations conducted by the organisation and other rights groups.

The statement was made by deputy Director of Human Rights Watch and its representative to the European Union institutions, Claudio Francavilla in remarks to Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

Francavilla said information published in a report by Nicholas Kristof regarding sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons corresponds with evidence previously documented by Human Rights Watch and other organisations.

He called for impartial and transparent investigations, fair legal proceedings and unrestricted access for the International Committee of the Red Cross and independent monitors to all Israeli detention facilities.

Francavilla also urged the European Union to take concrete measures to pressure Israeli authorities to halt what he described as ongoing grave human rights violations and ensure accountability.

The comments came after The New York Times published a report alleging that Palestinian men and women detained in Israeli prisons had been subjected to multiple forms of sexual violence.

Israel criticised the report following its publication on Monday.

READ: International human rights organisations call for UN action on proposed “Execution of Palestinian Prisoners Law”

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ...
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says disinhibition and swearing are typical and common symptoms, small Orca speaks bluntly.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says disinhibition and swearing are typical and common symptoms, small Orca speaks bluntly.

Continue ReadingHuman Rights Watch says reports of sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners align with previous findings

‘Epic Insider Trading’: Nearly $1 Billion in Crude Oil Shorts Taken Just Before Report of US-Iran Peace Deal

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Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Fuel storage tanks are seen at a petroleum depot in Ambes, near Bordeaux, southwestern France, as global oil supply chains face acute disruption, on May 5, 2026. (Photo by Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images)

“Only a select few in the top tax bracket are benefiting from this, and the majority of you ain’t in it,” said former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Observers are once again raising concerns about insider trading on Wednesday after a trader took a colossal crude oil short position just over an hour before a US-Iran peace deal was reported to be on the horizon, causing prices to fall.

The Kobeissi Letter, a financial newsletter, reported on X that at 3:40 am on Wednesday, “nearly 10,000 contracts worth of crude oil shorts were taken without any major news.”

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Thanks to Trump's Iran War, Big Oil Raking in $30 Million Per Hour in Windfall Profits

Thanks to Trump’s Iran War, Big Oil Raking in $30 Million Per Hour in Windfall Profits

This was equivalent to $920 million in notional value, which the letter described as “an unusually large trade” so early in the morning. But it would soon pay off.

At 4:50 am, just 70 minutes later, Axios published an exclusive scoop by Middle East reporter Barak Ravid that the White House believed the US and Iran were on the verge of agreeing to a one-page “memorandum of understanding” to end the war, which included more nuclear negotiations, one of the key sticking points for US President Donald Trump.

By 7:00 am, just over two hours after Axios dropped its report, oil prices had fallen by 12%, allowing the savvy investor to make $125 million in a matter of hours, which led to accusations that it was yet another example of “epic insider trading” by those in the know about Trump’s plans.

Prices have since rebounded by about 8% after Iran announced the creation of the new “Persian Gulf Strait Authority,” to mediate the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz on its terms.

The Trump administration has already been deluged with accusations that its members are using insider information to take advantage of financial markets and prediction market apps.

Last month, an active-duty US special forces soldier was indicted by the Department of Justice after he made about $400,000 betting on Polymarket that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would be removed from power, a bet he allegedly placed using classified information about an operation he himself was involved with.

More bettors collected around $1 million in profits from bets on the specific timing of Trump’s war with Iran in late February. The Financial Times also reported a surge of more than $580 million in oil futures trading right before Trump announced a pause in strikes on Iran’s energy facilities in March.

Of course, Wednesday’s bet theoretically could have been made without the aid of insider information.

The new peace framework is the latest in what has seemed to be an endless pattern over the past several weeks in which US officials tell media outlets that a peace agreement is on the horizon, causing oil prices to dip, only for it to collapse later in the week, often with Trump issuing hostile threats or making new demands.

It has become such a familiar story that some have speculated that the announcement of productive ceasefire talks is deliberately choreographed to calm oil markets and bring down prices, which have become a growing problem for Trump among voters.

But as The Economic Times explained, the bet placed Wednesday morning likely “is not a routine hedge” or “a portfolio rebalancing move.”

“At that hour, in that size,” it said, “a crude oil short of that magnitude is a deliberate, high-conviction directional bet.”

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a one-time Trump cheerleader who’s become one of his leading critics, suggested Trump’s erratic approach to negotiating an end to the war was just a tool used by him and his allies to profit.

“When is everyone going to start realizing that the on-again, off-again war/peace rhetoric is really just insider trading? And sprinkle in some murder,” Greene wrote on social media. “Only a select few in the top tax bracket are benefiting from this, and the majority of you ain’t in it.”

Democrats in Congress have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate what Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) suggested could be “mind-blowing corruption” by the White House, not only related to Trump’s wars, but also to his tariff regime, which has caused similar market chaos that bettors have been able to capitalize on with fortuitously timed wagers.

But critics have described profiting from the machinations of a war that has killed more than 1,700 civilians as particularly grotesque.

“This has to stop,” said Fox News commentator Jessica Tarlov. “Lives on the line so they can insider trade!”

Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Continue Reading‘Epic Insider Trading’: Nearly $1 Billion in Crude Oil Shorts Taken Just Before Report of US-Iran Peace Deal

Trump tells aides to prepare for extended blockade of Iran: Report

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US President Donald Trump holds a press conference at the White House in Washington, DC on April 25, 2026.[Celal Güneş – Anadolu Agency]

US President Donald Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Citing US officials, the report said that in recent meetings, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports.

He assessed that his other options—resume bombing or walk away from the conflict—carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials added, the report said.

The US and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Tehran to respond with strikes on what it described as US interests across the region, many of them in Gulf countries.

READ: Trump meets national security team to discuss Iran’s proposal: White House

A ceasefire was announced on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, followed by talks hosted in Islamabad on April 11-12, but the negotiations ended without an agreement.

Trump later said the truce had been extended at Pakistan’s request pending a proposal from Tehran.

He signaled Monday that he was unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the war after Tehran proposed a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while leaving questions about its nuclear program for later negotiations.

READ: Former US official: Iran war is direct extension of ‘Greater Israel’ project

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ...
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …

Continue ReadingTrump tells aides to prepare for extended blockade of Iran: Report

Protests at RAF Fairford demand end to British complicity in Iran war

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https://socialistworker.co.uk/palestine-2023/protests-at-raf-fairford-demand-end-to-british-complicity-in-iran-war/

Coaches came from Bristol, Birmingham and London

‘Trump’s imperialism and militarism is spreading racism, it’s spreading far right politics and we need to oppose it’

Warplanes roared overhead as hundreds of people marched to RAF Fairford airbase on Saturday.

The base in Gloucestershire is one of 12 US bases in Britain. It is home to the huge B52 and B1 bombers used by the US to spread murder and destruction in Iran. 

A group of Iranians displayed photos of all the children killed in a school in Minab, southern Iran, on the first day of the assault. And protesters lined up in a chain along the barbed wire fence of the base. 

Marzi, an Iranian living in London, told Socialist Worker, “I’m here to oppose the war in Iran. There’s a ceasefire but it’s quite fragile and we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We oppose bombing in Iran and everywhere around the world.”

Protester Andrew pointed to Britain’s complicity in the war. He told Socialist Worker, “I don’t think we should be involved in it in any way, including our bases being used. It’s not ‘our war’ but we are involved. By letting the US use these airbases, we are involved.”

…

CND general secretary Sophie Bolt told the marchers, “There is a fragile ceasefire. But Donald Trump is again threatening to commit war crimes in Iran. He is talking about bombing bridges and power stations. 

“The airbase at RAF Fairford will be used by the US to do that. It’s absolutely central to Trump’s illegal war in Iran.”

She added, “Starmer is lying to the British public when he says Britain’s base at Fairford will only be used defensively. He has no say in how these bombers are deployed. It is not going to make us more safe. We have been dragged into this war and that makes us all a target.”

But Bolt also pointed out the unpopularity of Trump’s wars, explaining that US veterans and their families had joined protests against the war last week. “Trump’s catastrophic war is leaving him more and more isolated, both internationally and in the US”, she said. 

…

https://socialistworker.co.uk/palestine-2023/protests-at-raf-fairford-demand-end-to-british-complicity-in-iran-war/

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Nigel Farage 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.
Nigel Farage 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.

Continue ReadingProtests at RAF Fairford demand end to British complicity in Iran war