International
Israel admits mistakes over medic killings in Gaza
Israel admits mistakes over medic killings in Gaza
Israel’s army has admitted its soldiers made mistakes over the killing of 15 emergency workers in southern Gaza on 23 March.
The convoy of Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulances, a UN car and a fire truck from Gaza’s Civil Defence came under fire near Rafah.
Israel originally claimed troops opened fire because the convoy approached “suspiciously” in darkness without headlights or flashing lights. It said movement of the vehicles had not been previously co-ordinated or agreed with the army.
Mobile phone footage, filmed by one of the paramedics who was killed, showed the vehicles did have lights on as they answered a call to help wounded people.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) insists at least six of the medics were linked to Hamas – but has so far provided no evidence. It admits they were unarmed when the soldiers opened fire.
The mobile video, originally shared by the New York Times, shows the vehicles pulling up on the road when, without warning, shooting begins just before dawn.
The footage continues for more than five minutes, with the paramedic, named as Refat Radwan, heard saying his last prayers before the voices of Israeli soldiers are heard approaching the vehicles.
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An IDF official briefed journalists on Saturday evening, saying the soldiers had earlier fired on a car containing three Hamas members.
When the ambulances responded and approached the area, aerial surveillance monitors informed the soldiers on the ground of the convoy “advancing suspiciously”.
When the ambulances stopped beside the Hamas car, the soldiers assumed they were under threat and opened fire, despite no evidence any of the emergency team was armed.
Israel has admitted its earlier account claiming the vehicles approached without lights was inaccurate, attributing the report to the troops involved.
The video footage shows the vehicles were clearly marked and the paramedics wore reflective hi-vis uniform.
The soldiers buried the bodies of the 15 dead workers in sand to protect them from wild animals, the official said, claiming the vehicles were moved and buried the following day to clear the road.
They were not uncovered until a week after the incident because international agencies, including the UN, could not organise safe passage to the area or locate the spot.
When an aid team found the bodies they also discovered Refat Radwan’s mobile phone containing footage of the incident.
The Israeli military official denied any of the medics were handcuffed before they died and said they were not executed at close range, as some reports had suggested.
Earlier this week, a surviving paramedic told the BBC the ambulances had their lights on and denied his colleagues were linked with any militant group.
The IDF promised a “thorough examination” of the incident, saying it would “understand the sequence of events and the handling of the situation”.
The Red Crescent and many other international organisations are calling for an independent investigation.
Israel renewed its aerial bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza on 18 March after the first phase of a ceasefire deal came to an end and negotiations on a second phase stalled.
More than 1,200 people have since been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
More than 50,600 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Israel admits mistakes over medic killings in Gaza
BBC
International
Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa
Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa
The Trump administration is reportedly considering shutting down nearly 30 embassies and consulates worldwide—including several in Africa—as part of a broader plan to streamline America’s diplomatic presence abroad.
This is according to an internal document from the US State Department, obtained by CNN.
Among the proposed closures are American embassies in Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.
A consulate in South Africa is also listed for potential shutdown.
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These developments come amid a sweeping attempt by the administration to shrink the size of the US federal government, with influence from the Elon Musk-backed Department of Government Efficiency.
In total, the document recommends closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates around the globe, including missions in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Africa, however, features prominently on the list—raising concerns about the potential diplomatic and developmental fallout for the continent.
While it’s unclear whether US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has approved the recommendations, the document indicates that American diplomatic operations in affected countries would be consolidated into neighboring nations’ missions.
Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa
International
Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000
Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000
A lady’s pocket watch discovered among the belongings of one of the passengers who drowned on the Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage could fetch up to 50,000 euros (66,000 dollars) at auction.
Hans Christensen Givard, a 27-year-old Danish second-class passenger, was one of 1,500 people killed when the ship collided with an iceberg in 1912.
Givard was heading to the United States with two other companions who died in the catastrophe.
The watch was discovered when Givard’s body was recovered from the North Atlantic, and he was buried in Halifax, Canada.
The pockets contained a savings book, keys, some cash in a wallet, a silver watch, a compass, and a passport.
The gold ladies’ pocket watch, which showed signs of saltwater corrosion, was also retrieved.
All of his goods were restored to his brother in Denmark, and his relatives are now selling the watch.
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The tragic incident of Givard led curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist and U.S. resident Mette Hjermind McCall, to publish the book Titanic, De Danske Fortaellinger (Titanic, The Danish Stories), which mentions the pocket watch.
Claes Goran Wetterholm, the world’s greatest specialist on the Scandinavian aspect of the Titanic tale, also showed it in Copenhagen in 2012.
The watch will be auctioned on April 26 by Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said, “This piece is documented in the official list of Hans’s effects compiled by the authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the weeks after the Titanic disaster and has remained in his family ever since.
“It was one of the centrepieces of the display of Titanic memorabilia in the Tivoli in Copenhagen in 2012, which illustrates its importance.
“The watch’s movement is frozen in time at the moment the cold North Atlantic waters consumed not only its owner but the most famous ocean liner of all time, Titanic, on April 15, 1912,” he added.
Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000
International
US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status
US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status
A federal judge on Monday blocked US President Donald Trump’s administration from quickly revoking the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.
The ruling by District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston is the latest order against Trump’s rapid push to carry out mass deportations, particularly targeting Latin Americans.
In March, the administration said it was moving to revoke the legal status of some 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who came to the United States under a “parole” program initially launched by former president Joe Biden in October 2022.
“The court grants emergency relief staying the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans,” Talwani wrote in her order.
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The parole program allowed entry to the United States for two years for up to 30,000 migrants per month from the four countries, which have grim human rights records.
In her order, Talwani said the Trump administration had acted on a flawed interpretation of immigration law, with expedited removal applicable to non-citizens entering the United States illegally, but not those authorized to be in the country, such as through the parole program.
Under Trump’s revocation, the immigrants would have lost their legal protection effective April 24, just 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security published its order in the Federal Register.
Trump has vowed to deport “millions” of undocumented migrants in his second term, after running an election campaign that focused on illegal immigration.
Among other measures, he has invoked rare wartime legislation to fly hundreds of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, which is imprisoning the migrants.
US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status
AFP
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