US military ends Gaza floating pier mission

According to Reuters, the US military announced on Wednesday that its mission to install and operate a temporary, floating pier off the coast of Gaza was complete, formally ending an extraordinary but troubled effort to bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

The pier, announced by President Joe Biden during a televised address to Congress in March, was a massive endeavor that took about 1,000 US forces to execute. Aid began flowing via the pier to Gaza in May, an operation aimed at helping avert famine after months of war between Israel and Hamas.

But bad weather and distribution challenges inside Gaza limited the effectiveness of what the US military says was its biggest aid delivery effort ever in the Middle East. The pier was only operational for about 20 days.

"The maritime surge mission involving the pier is complete. So there's no more need to use the pier," Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of US Central Command, told a news briefing.

Cooper said efforts to distribute aid to Gaza arriving by sea would now shift to the established port of Ashdod in Israel. At least 5 million pounds of aid, which are either in Cyprus or on ships, will be going to Ashdod in the coming days, he said.

"Our assessment is that the temporary pier has achieved its intended effect to surge a very high volume of aid into Gaza and ensure that aid reaches the civilians in Gaza in a quick manner," Cooper said, adding that nearly 20 million pounds of aid was delivered to Gaza.

The pier became a sore point in Congress, where Republicans branded it a political stunt by Biden, who was under pressure from fellow Democrats to do more to aid Palestinians after months of staunchly supporting Israel's punishing war on Hamas.

"This chapter might be over in President Biden’s mind, but the national embarrassment that this project has caused is not. The only miracle is that this doomed-from-the-start operation did not cost any American lives," Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said.

Cooper said he expected the pier, which was authorized to be used until the end of July, to cost less than the US$230 million the Pentagon had expected it to cost.

Cooper said the United States had so far delivered more than one million pounds of aid through Ashdod and he was confident more could be delivered through that port.

"We look forward to millions more pounds of aid going through that pathway," he said.

While the pier brought in sorely needed aid to a marshalling area on Gaza's shore, the 1,200-foot-long (370-metre-long) floating pier had to be removed multiple times because of bad weather.

The pier has not been used since June, when it was moved to Ashdod port because of rough seas. It was unclear if the US military had started dismantling the pier at Ashdod before its expected return to United States.

The UN World Food Program paused operations at the pier in June because of security concerns, causing aid to pile up on the Gaza shore.

The United Nations has long said maritime deliveries were no substitute for land access. It said land routes needed to remain the focus of aid operations in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor last month said there is a high risk of famine.

Aid officials say about 600 trucks of humanitarian and commercial supplies are needed in Gaza daily to meet the needs of the population.

 

 

 

 

 

Indians freed from slave like working conditions in Italy

Dozens of Indian nationals held in “slave-like” working conditions near Verona in northern Italy have been freed, a spokesperson for Italy’s financial police told CNN.

Thirty-three Indian farm workers were allegedly forced to work more than 10 hours a day, seven days a week, for wages of around US$4 an hour that were sometimes withheld, a statement from the police said.

The police spokesperson said they also confiscated more than US$500,000 in cash and other assets from two Indian nationals suspected of being gang-masters. The money is believed to be tied to the alleged sale of the workers as low-cost labor, they said.

This comes as Italian authorities were investigating the death of a 31-year-old Indian national who died after his arm was severed in an accident at a fruit farm in June.

The 33 freed workers were lured to Italy by Indian brokers who worked with traffickers in promising people legitimate jobs, the spokesperson said.

The workers had each paid more than 17,000 euros (around US$18,500) for travel and for what turned out to be fake seasonal work permits to enter the country, according to the spokesperson.

Many of the workers were charged an additional 13,000 euros (around US$14,100) in a promise of permanent work permits, according to the police statement.

“To guarantee their total silence and submission, the two Indian subjects took away the passports of the laborers as soon as they arrived in Italy and imposed on them an absolute ban on leaving the dilapidated houses in which they were forced to live under threat, several times implemented, of physical retaliation in case of refusal,” the police statement said.

The identities and genders of the freed workers have not been made public.

The financial police said they are now investigating the business relationships the suspected gang-masters had with other entities, including many companies who used the low-cost labor.

On Saturday, the Indian embassy in Rome said on X that it was aware of media reports about Indian nationals working in agricultural farms in Italy.

“We are in contact with Italian authorities and the Indian community to ensure safety and well-being of Indian nationals,” it added.

Italy has a complicated history with labor trafficking. In 2018, the financial police said that at least a quarter of all agriculture-related labor was tied to a gang-master system whereby farm and other labor workers are contracted out by individuals who “own” them. The practice has been illegal since 2016 after a female laborer working under slave-like conditions for little money died.

More than 11 percent of all workers in Italy work in the black market, meaning they are not documented even if they are Italian nationals, and neither they nor their employees pay taxes on their salaries, which serves to enable labor trafficking, according to the police spokesperson.

Oil tanker capsizes off Oman coast

According to Saudi Gazette, the search operation is under way to locate 16 missing crew members, 13 of whom are Indian, after an oil tanker capsized off the coast of Oman. Three of the missing crew members are Sri Lankan.

An Indian official told the BBC that the foreign ministry was coordinating the operation with Oman's maritime authorities.

Oman officials said late on Monday that the oil tanker ‑ Prestige Falcon ‑ had capsized 25 nautical miles southeast of its Ras Madrakah peninsula.

The Comoros-flagged vessel was on its way to the port of Aden in Yemen when it capsized.

Officials from Oman's Maritime Security Centre told Reuters news agency on Tuesday that the vessel remained "submerged, inverted" but didn't confirm if it had stabilized.

Oman's defense ministry, which runs the center, did not respond to the BBC's questions about whether the contents of the tanker had spilled into the sea.

The 117.4 meter long tanker was built in 2007, according to marinetraffic.com. The area the ship capsized in falls in the province of Duqm in Oman, where the country has a massive industrial port.

Indians form a majority of the global maritime workforce and they are often the victims of accidents or piracy.

Seventeen Indian crew members of the MSC Aries, a commercial ship with links to Israel, were stuck when Iranian troops seized the vessel in April. They were released after negotiations between India and Iran.

In 2022, 16 Indian crew members of a ship were held in the custody of Equatorial Guinea's navy for nine months.

10th anniversary of downing of MH17 airline

According to Reuters, the Netherlands commemorated on Wednesday the 298 victims of flight MH17 that was shot down over Ukraine 10 years ago with a ceremony attended by the bereaved and representatives from Malaysia, Australia, Britain, Belgium and Ukraine.

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces, the precursor of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

All passengers and crew on board, including 196 Dutch citizens, were killed, leaving the plane's wreckage and the remains of the victims scattered across fields of corn and sunflowers.

Based on an international investigation, a Dutch court in 2022 said there was no doubt the plane was shot down by a Russian missile system and that Moscow had "overall control" of the forces of the separatist 'Donetsk People's Republic' in eastern Ukraine from May 2014. Russia denies any involvement.

During Wednesday's ceremony, which took place at the MH17 monument in the village of Vijfhuizen near Amsterdam, loved ones read out loud the names of all the victims.

Mark Rutte, who was prime minister when the disaster happened and a strong critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin ever since, drew applause for his efforts during his time in office to keep the international spotlight on the incident.

The Dutch court convicted two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader in absentia of murder for their role in the transport into eastern Ukraine of the Russian military BUK missile system that was used to shoot down the plane.

"Justice requires a long, long breath," said Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who took office earlier this month, adding that "a conviction is not the same as having someone behind bars".

Commemorating the victims, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X that Russia's accountability "is inevitable".

"In fact, Russia murdered the MH17 victims twice. First with a missile. Second, with lies that abused their memory and hurt their relatives," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba added.

Moscow denies any responsibility for MH17's downing and in 2014 it also denied any presence in Ukraine. However, the EU's outgoing foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday called on Russia to finally accept its responsibility.

"The evidence presented makes it abundantly clear that the BUK surface-to-air missile system used to bring down Flight MH17 belonged beyond doubt to the armed forces of the Russian Federation," Borrell said.

"No Russian disinformation operation can distract from these basic facts, established by a court of law."

 

 

 

 

Reemergence of ISIS in Oman

According to Reuters, Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Shi'ite mosque in Oman. The reemergence of ISIS in Oman, attack on Shi'ite mosque and killing of large number of Pakistanis is a cause of grave concern. We refer to one of our blogs dated November 28, 2015 where effort was made to answer a key question, who is godfathering this most brutal group of killers? Even at that time we strongly believed that ISIS would have not become a phantom unless some of the countries were not supplying funds, trained mercenaries and above all the most lethal arms.

The terrorist threat can only be fought jointly and arriving at few consensuses is a must. These are: 1) the US must accept its defeat in Syria, it has destroyed the country but could not overthrow Assad, 2) the US must also stop supplying funds and arms to the ISIS, 3) the US and its allies must also stop buying stolen oil from ISIS. If all these measures are not taken immediately than the world will be right in assuming that ISIS is ‘B’ team of CIA and pentagon.

The immediate reply was provided by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who said that the US actions in the Middle East helped ISIS becoming the monster.

He also said that ISIS attained the present size due to irresponsible US politics that focused on fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad instead of joining efforts to root out terrorism.

Lately, President Barack Obama said that Russia has to make a strategic choice as Assad can’t stay in power. This statement is a challenge to Russia who openly defies any and every attempt to depose Assad.

No one has a doubt that the US is godfathering ISIS; it has earlier godfathered al-Qaeda, which led to the armed assault against Afghanistan and Iraq. Ironically both the countries were not involved in 9/11 attacks in any manner what so ever.

Medvedev and Obama met in the Malaysian capital at the East Asia Summit that followed a week of talks and conferences in Asia dominated by the battle against terrorism. The UN unanimously endorsed a resolution calling the member countries to take all necessary measures to combat ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Obama said the US and its allies must go ahead with their battle against ISIS in Syria and Iraq with or without Russia’s cooperation.

Obama made two policy statements: 1) Russia has not officially committed to a transition of Assad moving out but they did agree to a political transition process and 2) we’ll find out over the next several weeks whether or not we can bring about that change in perspective with the Russians.

Medvedev has rightly said that global cooperation in fighting terrorism can only be successful if all actions are coordinated and sponsored by international institutions like the UN. He said this after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in Kuala Lumpur.

Ban urged Russia and the US to cooperate in fighting terrorism, adding he would unveil a plan early next year. However, Obama categorically said that the US and its allies will press ahead with their battle against ISIS with or without Russia’s cooperation.

 

 

 

 

Oman: Shi'ite mosque attacked, nine killed

According to Reuters, Islamic State, the Sunni Muslim dominated militant group, claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an assault on a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Oman that left at least nine people dead, including three attackers, a rare security breach in the oil-producing Gulf state.

Four Pakistanis, an Indian and a police officer were among those killed in the gun attack, according to Pakistani, Indian and Omani officials. The Oman police said 28 people of various nationalities were wounded, including security personnel.

The attack began on Monday evening at the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque in the Wadi al-Kabir neighbourhood of Oman's capital Muscat, authorities said, 500 meters from an international school and an adjacent skateboard park and less than 10 kilometers from a string of five-star beach resorts.

Such violence is exceptional in the wealthy, Sunni Muslim-dominated Gulf states ‑ ordinarily secure and stable ‑ raising fears that Islamic State, which has operated in the shadows since it was largely crushed by a US-led coalition in 2017, may be attempting a comeback in new territory.

Islamic State said in a statement late on Tuesday that three of its "suicide attackers" fired on worshippers at the mosque on Monday evening and exchanged gunfire with Omani security forces until morning.

The group also published what it said was a video of the attack on its Telegram site.

Another video shared on social media and verified by Reuters showed people running from the mosque while gunfire could be heard.

Police have not said whether they have identified a motive for the attack or made any arrests. Omani authorities also have not released the identity of the attackers.

A local source said the mosque was also known as Imam Ali mosque and is a Shi'ite place of worship in Ibadi-ruled Oman, which has a small but influential Shi'ite minority.

Describing the incident as a "terrorist" attack, the Pakistani foreign ministry said 30 survivors were being treated in hospitals.

Islamic State said its fighters attacked a gathering of Shi'ite Muslims who were "practicing their annual rituals."

Monday evening marked the beginning of Ashura, an annual period of mourning, which many Shi'ite Muslims mark publicly, to commemorate the 7th century death of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. The observation of Ashura has sometimes triggered sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in some Middle East countries, though not typically in Oman where the Ibadi sect promotes tolerance.

Most Omanis adhere to Sunni Islam or to the Ibadi faith, which is a branch of Islam that has much in common with mainstream Sunni Islam.

"This is a very unprecedented event ... the likes of it we have not seen in Oman's history," Pakistan's ambassador to Muscat, Imran Ali, said after visiting some victims in hospital.

He said most of the 30 victims there were being treated for gunshot wounds while others had suffered injuries fleeing the attack, including being crushed in a stampede.

In March, the Islamic State group said it was behind an attack that killed more than 140 people at a concert hall near Moscow, and in January it claimed responsibility for two explosions in Iran that killed nearly 100.

Such high profile attacks have stoked fears of a comeback for a group with clandestine leadership and whose fighters are thought to be scattered in autonomous cells.

At its height of its power in the early-2010s, Islamic State declared a "caliphate" over a wide area of Syria and Iraq, imposing death and torture on detractors, and inspiring attacks in dozens of cities around the world. The group's control collapsed after a sustained military campaign by a US-led coalition.

 

Vance opposition to Ukraine aid irks Europeans

In February this year, European political and foreign policy elite heard directly from Senator JD Vance on his opposition to military aid for Ukraine and his blunt warning that Europe will have to rely less on the United States to defend the continent.

If those comments at the annual Munich Security Conference were a first wake-up call, alarm bells are now ringing loudly across the continent after Republican Donald Trump picked Vance as his vice presidential candidate for November's US election.

"His selection as the running mate is worrying for Europe," said Ricarda Lang, co-leader of the German Green party that is part of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, who took part in a panel discussion with Vance in Munich.

Vance stoked fears in Europe that if Trump returns to the White House, he will drop, or curb, US support for Kyiv and push Ukraine into peace negotiations to end the war that would give Moscow a substantial slice of Ukraine and embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin to pursue further military adventures.

That view was bolstered by a letter to EU leaders from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who visited Trump last week. Orban, a Trump ally, said the ex-president will be "ready to act as a peace broker immediately" if he wins in November.

Lang said on X that Vance had made very clear in Munich how quickly he and Trump would "deliver Ukraine to Putin".

At the Munich conference, Vance said Putin did not pose an existential threat to Europe, and Americans and Europeans could not provide enough munitions to defeat Russia in Ukraine.

He suggested the United States' strategic priorities lay more in Asia and the Middle East.

"There are a lot of bad guys all over the world. And I'm much more interested in some of the problems in East Asia right now than I am in Europe," he told the conference.

Speaking on a podcast with Trump ally Steve Bannon in 2022, Vance said, "I don't really care what happens in Ukraine one way or the other."

In Munich, he advocated for a "negotiated peace" and said he thought Russia had an incentive to come to the table

That stance is in stark contrast with the view of most European leaders, who argue the West should continue to support Ukraine massively with military aid and say they see no sign of Putin being willing to engage in serious negotiations.

Vance also voted against a US funding bill for Ukraine that eventually passed in April. In a New York Times op-ed justifying his vote, he argued Kyiv and Washington must abandon Ukraine's goal of returning to its 1991 borders with Russia.

Nils Schmid, the foreign policy spokesperson of Scholz's Social Democrat party - said he had observed Vance in Munich and concluded the senator saw himself as Trump's mouthpiece.

"He takes an even more radical stance on Ukraine than Trump and wants to end military support. In terms of foreign policy, he is more isolationist than Trump," Schmid told Reuters.

But some cautioned against jumping to conclusions about Vance, who was born into an impoverished home in southern Ohio.

"JD Vance is a devout Christian and the circumstances of his childhood give me great hope that he, like Speaker Mike Johnson, will conclude that US support for Ukraine is the only option," said Melinda Haring, a senior adviser for Razom for Ukraine, a US-based charitable organization that advocates for Ukraine.

"While Vance has come out strongly against Ukraine, he hasn’t been in a top job and as vice president I expect to see his views evolve."

Some diplomats also cautioned that the US election was far from over.

"We need to stop creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Trump hasn’t won and Biden hasn’t lost," said a French diplomat.

In Ukraine, politicians were wary of criticizing Vance openly, as they may have to deal with him as US vice president. But some acknowledged harboring concerns.

Oleksiy Honcharenko, a lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity party, said he had met Vance at the Munich conference and found him to be "a very intelligent and cool-headed man".

"Is there any concern about Vance's statements? Of course. The US is our biggest and most important ally," he told Reuters.

"We must remain allies and show the US that Ukraine not only needs help, but can help itself."

Maryan Zablotskyy, a lawmaker for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's Servant of the People party, argued Russia was harming US interests on many fronts. He said any US politician pursuing an America First agenda "will never be positive towards Russia".