World

Israeli forces raze parts of Gaza, UN halts all food distribution in Rafah

Published

4 weeks ago

22/05/2024

Israeli forces thrust deeper into Jabalia in northern Gaza and southern Gaza’s Rafah City on Tuesday, worsening the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.

The simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip this month have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes, and sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the main United Nations agency in Gaza, said on Tuesday that food distributions had been suspended in Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity caused by Israel’s expanding military operation. The UN warned that humanitarian operations across the territory were nearing collapse.

In Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked Israel to lift the blockade on medical supplies into Gaza, saying approximately 700 seriously ill patients are stuck in a war zone.

“Crossings from Egypt into Gaza have remained closed for two weeks, cutting off the primary pipeline for emergency health supplies into Gaza.”

As there are only two functional hospitals remaining in northern Gaza, the WHO chief said it is imperative to ensure their ability to deliver health services.

More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict in Gaza, which is now in its eighth month, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Also on Tuesday, inspectors of the Israeli Communications Ministry confiscated photographic equipment and halted a live broadcast of the U.S.-based AP, according to Israeli state-owned Kan TV news.

The Israeli action was carried out in the southern city of Sderot, near the Gaza Strip, when the AP team was documenting the situation in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict.

According to the ministry, a new Israeli law enacted in early April grants the government the authority to bar the broadcasting of the Qatari news channel Al Jazeera in Israel. And AP violated the law by transferring the materials it filmed to Al Jazeera, the ministry added.

The Israeli action brought oppositions from both U.S. and Israeli sides. AP said it strongly disavowed the action of the Israeli government, while the White House expressed concern over the Israeli action, adding that it believes journalists have the ability and right to do their jobs.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the government “went crazy.”

At present, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to return the equipment the ministry had previously confiscated from the AP following American pressure, according to the Israeli state-owned Kan TV news.

Source(s): CGTN

World

Russia-Ukraine conflict: China urges U.S. to stop ‘unacceptable’ smears

Published

12 hours ago

15/06/2024

China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations on Friday urged the United States to stop using the Ukraine issue as an excuse to smear China.

Geng Shuang said the U.S. side has spread the lie that China has supported Russia in its war efforts. “This is unacceptable,” he told a UN Security Council briefing on arms supplies to Ukraine.

China is neither the creator of the crisis in Ukraine, nor a party to it, he said, adding that China has always been pushing for a political settlement and for peace talks.

China has not provided lethal weapons to any party to the conflict, and has always strictly controlled dual-use items, Geng stressed.

He said that economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia complies with WTO and market rules, is not targeted against any third party and does not run counter to international law.

“As a matter of fact, since the outbreak of the war, the trade between the U.S. and Russia has also never stopped,” said Geng.

“This is nothing but hyping up,” he said. “It is an attempt to divert people’s attention on the conflict and creating differences.”

China urges the U.S. to stop using the Ukraine issue as an excuse to smear China and to impose unilateral sanctions and unreasonable suppression on Chinese companies, he said.

Geng also urged the U.S. to make real and positive efforts to end the war and restore peace.

Source(s): CGTN

World

Li: China’s economic upgrade to bring new opportunities for global development

Published

2 days ago

14/06/2024

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Friday that the upgrading of China’s economic structure will bring new opportunities for global development.

Li made the remarks when meeting with representatives from industrial and commercial circles in Auckland, New Zealand. The Chinese premier is paying an official visit to the country.

China is pursuing modernization through high-quality development and various upgrades will bring new opportunities for global development, he noted.

He said consumption upgrading will unleash new market demands, and there will be an increasing need for high-quality goods such as dairy and health products as well as beef and lamb from New Zealand.

Industrial upgrading will open up new areas of cooperation, and more business opportunities will emerge in new energy, information technology, biomedicine and other emerging industries, he noted.

Trade upgrading will create new space for growth, and the potential of cooperation in service trade and cross-border e-commerce will be released at a faster pace, he added.

The Chinese premier hopes New Zealand entrepreneurs will make the most of the momentum, seize the opportunities and make greater results.

China will always be open to enterprises from New Zealand and other countries, Li said.

He promised that Beijing would further expand market access, create a market-oriented and internationalized business environment that is first-class and based on the rule of law, and provide more support and facilitation for foreign-funded enterprises to invest and operate in China.

Li also expressed his hope that more New Zealand entrepreneurs will become “Rewi Alley” in economic and trade exchanges between China and New Zealand in the new era, and play a greater role in enhancing mutual understanding between the two sides to better contribute to the sound development of bilateral ties and bring more benefits for the peoples of the two countries.

Rewi Alley was a dedicated New Zealander who spent six decades living and working in China until his passing in Beijing in 1987.

World

G7 summit opens amid protests

Published

2 days ago

14/06/2024

The three-day 2024 Group of Seven (G7) summit kicked off Thursday in Borgo Egnazia, a faux medieval town constructed as a luxury resort on the heel of Italy’s boot.

Though the summit venues have been located far from population centers since police clashed with protesters at the 2001 G8 summit in the northern port city of Genoa, protests against the G7 summit still take place near the venue.

On the opening day, in Brindisi, a city 60 kilometers away from the venue, protesters held Palestinian flags and displayed banners with slogans such as “Boycott the G7,” “Stop Destroying the Planet” and “No More War.” They criticized the G7 for failing to play a positive role in environmental protection, social justice and maintaining peace.

Lukas Hufert, an art student from Germany, traveled to participate in the protest. He told Xinhua that the G7’s handling of international affairs is “full of hypocrisy,” likening it to a Trojan horse that appears grand but is filled with selfish schemes inside, “offering no help to the world’s vulnerable groups.”

Addressing Ukraine crisis

The Ukraine crisis, Gaza conflicts and the relations with the Global South top the agenda of the summit. The management of artificial intelligence (AI), issues facing Africa and climate change are also included in the key sessions.

Italy is holding the G7 rotating presidency this year. In addition to the G7 leaders, heads of state from over 10 other countries and international organizations were invited to attend the conference, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who attended the meeting for a second successive year.

He signed a new, long-term security accord with U.S. President Joe Biden after signing a 10-year security accord with Japan, with Tokyo promising to provide Kyiv with $4.5 billion this year.

In addition to that, during the first day of their meeting, the G7 nations agreed on a deal to provide $50 billion of loans for Ukraine backed by interest from frozen Russian assets. They hailed the accord as a powerful signal of Western resolve.

Although many technical details still need to be worked out, G7 members, the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Britain, and the European Union (EU) are expected to contribute to the loan, with cash to reach Kyiv by the end of the year.

Russia regards attempts by the West to take income from its frozen assets as criminal, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, adding that the G7’s plans will not benefit the West and may result in a new economic crisis.

Multiple challenges

Many of the G7 leaders are struggling at home but look to project confidence on the world stage as they confront an array of problems, including lagging economic performance, the surging of AI and turmoil in the Middle East.

The leaders expressed their concerns about the situation in Gaza, calling on Israel to refrain from a full-scale offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, “in line with their obligations under international law.”

They’re also expected to address China’s industrial capacity. On Tuesday, the EU announced it would impose extra duties of up to 38.1 percent on imported Chinese electric vehicles (EV) from July. China has expressed strong opposition to the plan, saying that the EU is politicizing economic and trade issues and that it will take measures to safeguard its interests.

A spokesperson of the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday that the EU’s move damages the legitimate rights and interests of China’s EV industry, disrupts China-Europe cooperation in NEVs, and distorts the global automobile industry chain and supply chain. It urged the EU to properly handle economic and trade frictions and have healthy competition with China.

The G7 may have a very different complexion next year.

Biden faces an uphill battle to win re-election in November, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is reported to lose power in a national election next month, while French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved his country’s parliament on Sunday after his party was trounced in the European vote.

Source(s): CGTN