Tuesday evening was unlike any other in the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Lebanon. Israel other, far more coldblooded plans for the residents there.
The boys used to gather in the enclosed pitch every day, the ball rolled between their feet, and laughter rose above the echo of light blows on the walls. Children and boys under the age of 20 came to the only place where they were allowed to be… children.
The game was exciting, simple, like their lives, crowded with hardship but full of hope. They thought of nothing but scoring a goal, winning a game, or seizing a moment of joy that makes them forget life in the refugee camp, even for a little while — but that game was never completed.
Israel strikes — the moment that changed everything
As the ball was kicked towards the goal, a terrifying explosion rang out, walls collapsed, laughter stopped, and the place was filled with dust and screams.
The playground that had been their refuge turned into a graveyard — 13 young boys who had entered the place innocently left it as martyrs.
Deliberate targeting of children… from Gaza to Ain al-Hilweh
What happened on the football pitch is not an isolated incident. The scene brings to mind images of children in Gaza who were killed inside their schools, at the gates of shelters, in bread queues, and on the beach while playing football as well or flying kites.
Classrooms were targeted as if they were barracks, tents as if they were military sites, and hospitals as if they were legitimate targets. Children were always a target — in their homes, in their streets, in their little dreams that found no place to live.
Today, the same scene is repeating itself, this time in Ain al-Hilweh. It is as if targeting Palestinian children has become a constant, wherever they are: in Gaza, in the West Bank, in the camps, and the diaspora refugees.
They went to play… and returned as martyrs
These boys did not go to a battlefield, nor to a military site. They went to a football pitch.
To a small space that gave them a simple right: the right to dream… and to run after a football.
But the missile that fell on their heads ended everything — the match was over with the score rendered irrelevant. Traces of the ball remained melted on the rubble — bearing witness to a new massacre added to a long record of massacres targeting Palestinian children wherever they are.
While Indonesians worry about President Prabowo Subianto’s undemocratic moves, the failures of his flagship “breakfast” policy, and a faltering economy, Australia enters into another “treaty” of little import. Duncan Graham reports.
COMMENTARY:By Duncan Graham
Under-reported in the Australian and New Zealand media, Indonesia has been gripped by protests this year, some of them violent.
The protests have been over grievances ranging from cuts to the national budget and a proposed new law expanding the role of the military in political affairs, President Prabowo Subianto’s disastrous free school meals programme, and politicians receiving a $3000 housing allowance.
More recently, further anger against the President has been fuelled by his moves to make corrupt former dictator Soeharto (also Prabowo’s former father-in-law) a “national hero“.
Ignoring both his present travails, as well as his history of historical human rights abuses (that saw him exiled from Indonesia for years), Prabowo has been walking the 27,500-tonne HMAS Canberra, the fleet flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, along with PM Anthony Albanese.
The location was multipurpose: It showed off Australia’s naval hardware and reinforced the signing of a thin “upgraded security treaty” between unequals. Australia’s land mass is four times larger, but there are 11 Indonesians to every one Aussie.
Ignoring the past Although Canberra’s flight deck was designed for helicopters, the crew found a desk for the leaders to lean on as they scribbled their names. The location also served to keep away disrespectful Australian journalists asking about Prabowo’s past, an issue their Jakarta colleagues rarely raise for fear of being banned.
Contrast this one-day dash with the relaxed three-day 2018 visit by Jokowi and his wife Iriana when Malcolm Turnbull was PM. The two men strolled through the Botanical Gardens and seemed to enjoy the ambience. The President was mobbed by Indonesian admirers.
This month, Prabowo and Albanese smiled for the few allowed cameras, but there was no feeling that this was “fair dinkum”. Indonesia said the trip was “also a form of reciprocation for Prime Minister Albanese’s trip to Jakarta last May,” another one-day come n’go chore.
Analysing the treaty needs some mental athleticism and linguistic skills because the Republic likes to call itself part of a “non-aligned movement”, meaning it doesn’t couple itself to any other world power.
The policy was developed in the 1940s after the new nation had freed itself from the colonial Netherlands and rejected US and Russian suitors.
It’s now a cliché — “sailing between two reefs” and “a friend of all and enemy of none”. Two years ago, former Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi explained:
“Indonesia refuses to see the Indo-Pacific fall victim to geopolitical confrontation. …This is where Indonesia’s independent and active foreign policy becomes relevant. For almost eight decades, these principles have been a compass for Indonesia in interacting with other nations.
“…(it’s) independent and active foreign policy is not a neutral policy; it is one that does not align with the superpowers nor does it bind the country to any military pact.”
Pact or treaty?
Is a “pact” a “treaty”? For most of us, the terms are synonyms; to the word-twisting pollies, they’re whatever the user wants them to mean.
We do not know the new “security treaty” details although the ABC speculated it meant there will be “leader and ministerial consultations on matters of common security, to develop cooperation, and to consult each other in the case of threats and consider individual or joint measures” and “share information on matters that would be important for Australia’s security, and vice-versa.”
Much of the “analysis” came from Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s media statement, so no revelations here.
What does it really mean? Not much from a close read of Albanese’s interpretation: ”If either or both countries’ security is threatened,
to consult and consider what measures may be taken either individually or jointly to deal with those threats.”
Careful readers will spot the elastic “consult and consider”. If this were on a highway sign warning of hazards ahead, few would ease up on the pedal.
Whence commeth the threat? In the minds of the rigid right, that would be China — the nation that both Indonesia and Australia rely on for trade.
Indonesia’s militaristic president Prabowo Subianto is seizing books which undermine his political agenda. Duncan Graham #indonesiahttps://t.co/akvGdOqC9d
Keating and Soeharto
The last “security treaty” to be signed was between PM Paul Keating and Soeharto in 1995. Penny Wong said the new document is “modelled closely” on the old deal.
The Keating document went into the shredder when paramilitary militia and Indonesian troops ravaged East Timor in 1999, and Australia took the side of the wee state and its independence fighters.
Would Australia do the same for the guerrillas in West Papua if we knew what was happening in the mountains and jungles next door? We do not because the province is closed to journos, and it seems both governments are at ease with the secrecy. The main protests come from NGOs, particularly those in New Zealand.
Foreign Minister Wong added that “the Treaty will reflect the close friendship, partnership and deep trust between Australia and Indonesia”.
Sorry, Senator, that’s fiction. Another awkward fact: Indonesians and Australians distrust each other, according to polls run by the Lowy Institute. “Over the course of 19 years . . . attitudes towards Indonesia have been — at best — lukewarm.
And at worst, they betray a lurking suspicion.
These feelings will remain until we get serious about telling our stories and listening to theirs, with both parties consistently striving to understand and respect the other. “Security treaties” involving weapons, destruction and killings are not the best foundations for friendship between neighbours.
Future documents should be signed in Sydney’s The Domain.
Duncan Graham has a Walkley Award, two Human Rights Commission awards and other prizes for his radio, TV and print journalism in Australia. He now lives in Indonesia. This article was first published by Michael West Media and is republished with permission.
Gaza unexploded ordnance has created dangerous levels of contamination across the Strip. Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the Government Media Office in Gaza, warned that the munitions litter destroyed neighbourhoods, directly threatening civilian lives and exposing the population to constant danger.
Al-Thawabta said that preliminary official assessments indicate that there are approximately 20,000 shells, rockets and heavy ammunition scattered inside destroyed buildings, on top of rubble and in the soil. He explained that these huge quantities have turned the destroyed areas into something resembling ‘undemarcated minefields’, where movement is fraught with danger.
He added that current estimates indicate tens of thousands of remnants of shells, rockets, aerial bombs and cluster bombs, as well as artillery ammunition, guidance components and large explosive objects. This is complicating the efforts of the teams responsible for dealing with them and increasing the likelihood of injuries and explosions at any moment.
Gaza unexploded bombs
Al-Thawabta explained that unexploded ordnance poses immediate and long-term dangers, most notably the possibility of sudden explosion when moved or touched, the spread of deadly shrapnel, damage to property, and disruption of humanitarian and field work.
This debris also prevents medical and relief teams from reaching a number of areas and prevents many residents from safely returning to their homes or carrying out their daily work and activities.
He noted that children, displaced persons and workers are most vulnerable to these dangers, especially in areas where there is active movement in search of basic necessities.
He said that the continued presence of these munitions exacerbates human suffering and causes economic and social paralysis that hinders reconstruction and affects all health, educational and humanitarian services.
Al-Thawabta explained that the volume and density of munitions scattered inside destroyed buildings and mixed with debris, in addition to the presence of buried or hidden munitions that are difficult to detect, pose significant challenges to explosive ordnance disposal teams.
These teams already suffer from a lack of resources and specialised technical capabilities.
He called for urgent support to enable these teams to carry out detection and dismantling operations in accordance with the required safety standards.
Without immediate international action, the Gaza unexploded ordnance will continue to endanger every step civilians take.
It’s the Canary’s tenth anniversary year – and so, it’s fitting that for the first time in our decade-long journey, we’ve won an award. Not just any old award, mind. The SEAL Award puts us in the same company as (hold your nose) the Guardian, the Financial Times, and the Washington Post.
The Canary has won a SEAL Award
The Sustainability, Environmental Achievement, and Leadership (SEAL) Awards have been running for several years. And now, the Canary’s Monica Piccinini has been recognised with one of the 12 awards in 2025. Monica has been working tirelessly on issues surrounding the Amazon rainforest: exposing the state and corporations’ destruction of it, their human rights violations against its indigenous peoples, and how this crucial ecosystem is central to the survival of us and the planet.
Now, SEAL has recognised Monica’s work for the top-notch investigative reporting that it is – and has given her one of this year’s journalism awards. She’s in what some may consider esteemed company – although at the Canary, we’d question that. Regardless, Monica joins the following roll-call of winners of a SEAL Award this year:
Amudalat Ajasa • Washington Post, Guardian, Hofstra Chronicle.
Brendan Montague • the Ecologist; founder of DeSmog UK.
Monica Piccinini • the Ecologist, the Canary.
Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco • Grist, Chicago Public Media.
Hayley Smith • L.A. Times.
Malavika Vyawahare • Mongabay.
Eva Xiao • Financial Times.
Groundbreaking work
You can read Monica’s extensive back catalogue of vital work for the Canaryhere. She said of the SEAL Award:
Receiving the 2025 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award is genuinely moving.
So much of this work happens quietly, following threads that often lead to difficult truths about our environment, people’s health, and their rights.
The Canary has given me the freedom to pursue those stories fully, and I’m deeply grateful to our editor and the whole team for backing that work every step of the way. This recognition is a reminder of why thorough, persistent reporting matters, and why these stories need to be told. It encourages me to keep asking difficult questions and to continue reporting with honesty and accountability.
Thank you, Monica!
Editor-in-chief and CEO of the Canary Steve Topple said:
Monica’s work for the Canary is a testament to her resilience, passion, and perseverance as a journalist. She has relentlessly exposed both state and corporate mendacity and violence when it comes to the Amazon rainforest and its Indigenous peoples.
Often putting herself personally in the firing line, Monica has reported on some of the most pressing issues of our time when it comes to the future of the planet – not least the destructive and catastrophic BR-319 highway; the COP summits and their inability to affect meaningful change, and how corporate operations in the Amazon threaten the health of us all.
For us, Monica is the epitome of what rigorous, independent, disruptive, punching-up journalism should be; the kind that only a handful of outlets like the Canary and our friends at the Ecologist would platform. We’re pleased that Monica is in the same realms as the Guardian and others (we knew that already). However, for us, she is far better than that. Her work is authentic and completely free of any corporate, state, or system capture – something other outlets cannot claim.
We’re proud and humbled to call Monica a ‘Canary’, and look forward to continuing to platform her globally-important work.
The UN Security Council passed a regime change resolution against Gaza on Monday, effectively issuing a mandate for an invasion force to enter the besieged coastal enclave and install a US-led ruling authority by force.
Passing with 13 votes in favour and none in defiance, the new UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution has given the United States a mandate to create what it calls an “International Stabilisation Force” (ISF) and “Board of Peace” committee to seize power in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump has hailed the resolution as historic, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has stood in opposition to an element of the resolution that mentions “Palestinian Statehood”.
In order to understand what has just occurred, it requires a breakdown of the resolution itself and the broader context surrounding the ceasefire deal.
When these elements are combined, it becomes clear that this resolution is perhaps one of the most shameful to have passed in the history of the United Nations, casting shame on it and undermining the very basis on which it was formed to begin with.
An illegal regime change resolution In September 2025, a United Nations commission of inquiry found Israel to have committed the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
For further context, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the most powerful international legal entity and organ of the UN, ruled that Israel is plausibly committing genocide and thus issued orders for Tel Aviv to end specific violations of international law in Gaza, which were subsequently ignored.
Taking this into consideration, the UN itself cannot claim ignorance of the conditions suffered by the people of Gaza, nor could it credibly posit that the United States is a neutral actor capable of enforcing a balanced resolution of what its own experts have found to be a genocide.
This resolution itself is not a peace plan and robs Palestinians of their autonomy entirely; thus, it is anti-democratic in its nature.
It was also passed due in large part to threats from the United States against both Russia and China, that if they vetoed it, the ceasefire would end and the genocide would resume. Therefore, both Beijing and Moscow abstained from the vote, despite the Russian counterproposal and initial opposition to the resolution.
It also gives a green light to what the US calls a “Board of Peace”, which will work to preside over governing Gaza during the ceasefire period. The head of this board is none other than US President Trump himself, who says he will be joined by other world leaders.
Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who launched the illegal invasion of Iraq, has been floated as a potential “Board of Peace” leader also.
Vowed a ‘Gaza Riviera’
On February 4 of this year, President Trump vowed to “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip. The American President later sought to impose a plan for a new Gaza, which he even called the “Gaza Riviera”, which was drawn up by Zionist economist Joseph Pelzman.
Part of Pelzman’s recommendations to Trump was that “you have to destroy the whole place, restart from scratch”.
As it became clear that the US alone could not justify an invasion force and simply take over Gaza by force, on behalf of Israel, in order to build “Trump Gaza”, a casino beach land for fellow Jeffrey Epstein-connected billionaires, a new answer was desperately sought.
Then came a range of meetings between Trump administration officials and regional leaderships, aimed at working out a strategy to achieve their desired goals in Gaza.
After the ceasefire was violated in March by the Israelis, leading to the mass murder of around 17,000 more Palestinians, a number of schemes were being hatched and proposals set forth.
The US backed and helped to create the now-defunct so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” (GHF) programme, which was used to privatise the distribution of aid in the territory amidst a total blockade of all food for three months.
Starving Palestinians, who were rapidly falling into famine, flocked to these GHF sites, where they were fired upon by US private military contractors and Israeli occupation forces, murdering more than 1000 civilians.
The ‘New York Declaration’
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and France were busy putting together what would become the “New York Declaration” proposal for ending the war and bringing Western nations to recognise the State of Palestine at the UN.
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, here came Trump’s so-called “peace plan” that was announced at the White House in October. This plan appeared at first to be calling for a total end to the war, a mutual prisoner exchange and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza in a phased approach.
From the outset, Trump’s “20-point plan” was vague and impractical. Israel immediately violated the ceasefire from the very first day and has murdered nearly 300 Palestinians since then. The first phase of the ceasefire deal was supposed to end quickly, ideally within five days, but the deal has stalled for over a month.
Throughout this time, it has become increasingly clear that the Israelis are not going to respect the “Yellow Line” separation zone and have violated the agreement through operating deeper into Gaza than they had originally agreed to.
The Israeli-occupied zone was supposed to be 53 percent of Gaza; it has turned out to be closer to 58 percent. Aid is also not entering at a sufficient rate, despite US and Israeli denials; this has been confirmed by leading rights groups and humanitarian organisations.
In the background, the US team dealing with the ceasefire deal that is headed by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff has been juggling countless insidious proposals for the future of Gaza.
Even publicly stating that reconstruction will only take place in the Israeli-controlled portion of the territory, also floating the idea that aid points will be set up there in order to force the population out of the territory under de facto Hamas control. This has often been referred to as the “new Gaza plan”.
The disastrous GHF
As this has all been in the works, including discussions about bringing back the disastrous GHF, the Israelis have been working alongside four ISIS-linked collaborator death squads that it controls and who operate behind the Yellow Line in Gaza.
No mechanisms have been put in place to punish the Israelis for their daily violations of the ceasefire, including the continuation of demolition operations against Gaza’s remaining civilian infrastructure. This appears to be directly in line with Joseph Pelzman’s plan earlier this year to “destroy the whole place”.
The UNSC resolution not only makes Donald Trump the effective leader of the new administrative force that will be imposed upon the Gaza Strip, but also greenlights what it calls its International Stabilisation Force. This ISF is explicitly stated to be a multinational military force that will be tasked with disarming Hamas and all Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip.
The US claims it will not be directly involved in the fighting with “boots on the ground”; it has already deployed hundreds of soldiers and has been reportedly building a military facility, which they deny is a base, but for all intents and purposes will be one.
Although it may not be American soldiers killing and dying while battling Palestinian resistance groups, they will be in charge of this force.
This is not a “UN peacekeeping force” and is not an equivalent to UNIFIL in southern Lebanon; it is there to carry out the task of completing Israel’s war goal of defeating the Palestinian resistance through force.
In other words, foreign soldiers will be sent from around the world to die for Israel and taxpayers from those nations will be footing the bill.
‘Self-determination’ reservation
The only reason why Israel has reservations about this plan is because it included a statement claiming that if the Palestinian Authority (PA) — that does not control Gaza and is opposed by the majority of the Palestinian people — undergoes reforms that the West and Israel demand, then conditions “may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood”.
A keyword here is “may”, in other words, it is not binding and was simply added in to give corrupted Arab leaderships the excuse to vote yes.
Hamas and every other Palestinian political party, with the exception of the mainstream branch of Fatah that answers to Israel and the US, have opposed this UNSC resolution.
Hamas even called upon Algeria to vote against it; instead, the Algerian leadership praised Donald Trump and voted in favour. Typical of Arab and Muslim-majority regimes that don’t represent the will of their people, they all fell in line and bent over backwards to please Washington.
It won’t likely work As has been the story with every conspiracy hatched against the people of Gaza, this is again destined to fail. Not only will it fail, but it will likely backfire enormously and lead to desperate moves.
To begin with, the invasion force, or ISF, will be a military endeavour that will have to bring together tens of thousands of soldiers who speak different languages and have nothing in common, in order to somehow achieve victory where Israel failed.
It is a logistical nightmare to even think about.
How long would it take to deploy these soldiers? At the very least, it’s going to take months. Then, how long would this process take? Nobody has any clear answers here.
Also, what happens if Israel begins bombing again at any point, for example, if there is a clash that kills Israeli soldiers? What would these nations do if Israeli airstrikes killed their soldiers or put them in harm’s way?
Also, tens of thousands of soldiers may not cut it; if the goal is to destroy all the territory’s military infrastructure, they may need hundreds of thousands. Or if that isn’t an option, will they work alongside the Israeli military?
It is additionally clear that nobody knows where all the tunnels and fighters are; if Israel couldn’t find them, then how can anyone else?
After all, the US, UK, and various others have helped the Israelis with intelligence sharing and reconnaissance for more than two years to get these answers.
How do regimes justify this?
Finally, when Arab, European, or Southeast Asian soldiers return to their nations in body bags, how do their regimes justify this? Will the president or prime minister of these nations have to stand up and tell their people . . . “sorry guys, your sons and daughters are now in coffins because Israel needed a military force capable of doing what they failed to do, so we had to help them complete their genocidal project”.
Also, how many Palestinian civilians are going to be slaughtered by these foreign invaders?
As for the plan to overthrow Hamas rule in Gaza, the people of the territory will not accept foreign invaders as their occupiers any more than they will accept Israelis. They are not going to accept ISIS-linked collaborators as any kind of security force either.
Already, the situation is chaotic inside Gaza, and that is while its own people, who are experienced and understand their conditions, are in control of managing security and some administrative issues; this includes both Hamas and others who are operating independently of it, but inside the territory under its de facto control.
Just as the Israeli military claimed it was going to occupy Gaza City, laying out countless plans to do this, to ethnically cleanse the territory and “crush Hamas”, the US has been coordinating alongside it throughout the entirety of the last two years. Every scheme has collapsed and ended in failure.
It has been nearly a month and a half, yet there are still no clear answers as to how this Trump “peace plan” is supposed to work and it is clear that the Israelis are coming up with new proposals on a daily basis.
There is no permanent mechanism for aid transfers, which the Israelis are blocking. There is no clear vision for governance.
How a US plan envisages Gaza being permanently split into two sections – a green zone and a red zone. Image: Guardian/IDF/X
‘Two Gazas’ plan incoherent
The “two Gazas” plan is not even part of the ceasefire or Trump plan, yet it is being pursued in an incoherent way. The ISF makes no sense and appears as poorly planned as the GHF.
Hamas and the other Palestinian factions will not give up their weapons. There is no real plan for reconstruction. The Israelis are adamant that there will be no Palestinian State and won’t allow any independent Palestinian rule of Gaza, and the list of problems goes on and on.
What it really looks like here is that this entire ceasefire scheme is a stab in the dark attempt to achieve Israel’s goals while also giving its forces a break and redirecting their focus on other fronts, understanding that there is no clear solution to the Gaza question for now.
The United Nations has shown itself over the past two years to be nothing more than a platform for political theatre. It is incapable of punishing, preventing, or even stopping the crime of all crimes.
Now that international law has suffocated to death under the rubble of Gaza, next to the thousands of children who still lie underneath it, the future of this conflict will transform.
This UNSC vote demonstrates that there is no international law, no international community, and that the UN is simply a bunch of fancy offices, which are only allowed to work under the confines of gangster rule.
If the Palestinian resistance groups feel as if their backs are against the wall and an opportunity, such as another Israeli war on Lebanon, presents them the opportunity, then there is a high likelihood that a major military decision will be made.
In the event that this occurs, it will be this UNSC resolution that is in large part responsible.
When the suffering in Gaza finally ends, whether that is because Israel obliterates all of its regional opposition and exterminates countless other civilians in its way, or Israel is militarily shattered, the UN should be disbanded as was the League of Nations. It is a failed project just as that which preceded it.
Something new must take over from it.
Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specialising in Palestine. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle and it is republished with permission.
Regional student journalists at the University of the South Pacific have condemned the Samoan Prime Minister’s ban on the Samoa Observer newspaper, branding it as a “deliberate and systemic attempt to restrict public scrutiny”.
The Journalism Students’ Association (JSA) at USP said in a statement today it was “deeply
concerned” about Samoan Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt’s ban on the Samoa Observer from his press conferences and his directive that cabinet ministers avoid responding to the newspaper’s questions.
“The recently imposed suspension signals not merely a rebuke of one newspaper, but a more deliberate and systemic attempt to restrict robust public scrutiny,” the statement said.
“The JSA is especially concerned that these attacks are eroding youth confidence in the [journalism] profession.” Image: JSA logo“It raises serious concerns about citizens’ right to information, as well as the erosion of transparency, accountability, and public trust.”
“We also note reports of physical confrontations involving journalists outside the Prime Minister’s residence, which are deeply troubling. This is an alarming trend and signals a reverse, if not decline in media rights and freedom of speech, unless it is dealt with immediately,” the JSA said.
“With its long-standing dedication to reporting on governance, human rights, and social
accountability issues, the ban on the Samoa Observer strikes at the heart of public discourse and places journalists in a precarious position.
Not an isolated case
“It risks undermining their ability to report freely and without the fear of reprisal.”
Sadly, said the JSA statement, this was not an isolated case.
“Earlier this year, the JAWS president Lagi Keresoma faced defamation charges under Samoa’s libel laws over an article about a former police officer’s appeal to the Head of State.
“Samoa’s steep decline in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index further highlights the ongoing challenges confronting Samoan media.”
JAWS’ recent statement highlighting government attempts to control press conferences through a proposed guide, further added to the growing pattern of restrictions on press freedom in Samoa.
“These recent incidents, coupled with the exclusion of the Samoa Observer, send a chilling
warning to Samoan journalists and establish a dangerous precedent for media subservience at the highest levels,” said JSA.
“Journalists must be able to perform their work safely, without intimidation or assault,
as they carry out their responsibilities to the public. These incidents raise serious
questions about the treatment of media professionals and respect for journalistic work.
“As a journalism student association with many of our journalists and alumni working in
the region, we are committed to empowering the next generation of journalists.
“The JSA is especially concerned that these attacks are eroding youth confidence in the
profession.
“We believe strongly in defending a space where young people can enter a field that is critical to democratic accountability, public oversight, and civic engagement.”
The editor of Samoa’s only daily newspaper barred on Monday from accessing the Prime Minister’s press conferences says media freedom in Samoa is under attack.
Samoan Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt “temporarily” banned the Samoa Observer from engagements with him and his ministers.
In a statement, La’aulialemalietoa said the Observer had been “unfair and inaccurate” in its reporting on him, particularly during his health stay in New Zealand.
“While I strongly support the principles of the public’s right to information and freedom of the media, it is important that reporting adheres to ethical standards and responsible journalism practices, given the significant role and influence media plays in informing our community,” he said.
“There have been cases where stories have been published without sufficient factual verification or a chance for those involved to respond, which I believe is fundamental to fair reporting.”
La’aulialemalietoa pointed to several examples, such as an article regarding the chair he used during a meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, several articles based on leaks from inside the government, and an article “aimed at creating discord during my absence”.
“In the light of these experiences, I have decided to temporarily suspend this newspaper from my press engagements starting today [Monday].”
‘We just want answers’
However, Samoa Observer editor Shalveen Chand told RNZ Pacific the newspaper was just doing its job.
“We don’t really have any sides. We just want answers for questions which we believe the people of the nation need to know,” Chand said.
The Prime Minister’s ban on the Samoa Observer takes up the entire front page of the newspaper’s edition yesterday. Image: Samoa Observer screenshot RNZ
“If he has taken the step to ban us, he has just taken a step to stifle media freedom.”
Chand said that the government had a history of refusing to answer or ignoring questions posed by their reporters.
“It doesn’t change the fact that the job that we have to do we will continue doing. We will keep on holding the government accountable. We will keep on highlighting issues.”
“We’re not against the government, we’re not fighting the government. We just want answers.”
The Samoa Observer said it could still access MPs and other officials, and it could still enter Parliament and cover sittings.
But La’aulialemalietoa has reportedly asked his ministers not to engage with the Observer or any of its reporters.
Chand said, so far, there had not been any engagement from the government, and they did not know what they needed to do to have the ban lifted.
Ban ‘disproportionate’ says PINA
The Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) called the ban “disproportionate and unnecessary”, stating it represented a grave threat to media freedom in the country.
“PINA urges the government of Samoa to immediately reverse the ban and uphold its commitment to open dialogue and transparent governance,” the association said in a statement.
PINA noted that Samoa already had a legally mandated and independent mechanism (the Samoa Media Council) to address concerns about media accuracy, fairness, or ethical conduct.”
The Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) said La’aulialemalietoa’s decision “undermines constitutional rights on media freedom and people’s right to seek and share information”.
“Banning an entire news organisation from press conferences hurts the public interest as people will lose access to independent reporting on matters of national importance,” PFF Polynesia co-chair Katalina Tohi said.
The PFF is urging the Prime Minister “to rethink his actions”.
Confrontation outside PM’s home On November 16, La’aulialemalietoa said three newspaper reporters and photographers trespassed his home, despite being stopped by police at the gate. Those reporters were from the Samoa Observer and the BBC.
“Their approach was rude, arrogant, invasive and lacked respect for personal privacy.”
But Chand denies that anybody had entered the compound at all, rather accessing the outside of the fence by the road.
“He’s the Prime Minister of Samoa, he’s a key public figure, and we as the press wanted to know how he was.”
As far as what played out afterward, Chand recalled things differently.
“One of my journalists had gone to ask, basically, how his trip had been and if he was doing okay . . . there was no regular communication with the Prime Minister during his eight-week stay in New Zealand.
“He told the journalist at the gate to come back on Monday, and the journalist was leaving. I had just come to drop off a camera lens for the journalist. I was getting into my car when two men unexpectedly walked out and started to assault me.”
Chand said he had received no explanation for why this had happened.
PMN News reported last night that BBC journalist Dr Mandeep Rai, who witnessed the incident, said the Samoa Observer team acted “carefully and respectfully”, and that the hostile response was surprising.
Ever since, Samoa Observer journalists have been bombarded with online abuse, Chand said.
“Attacks against me have actually doubled and tripled on social media . . . fake pages, or even people with real pages . . . it has somewhat impacted my family members a bit,” Chand said.
“But hey, we’re trying to do a job.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
French minister for overseas Naïma Moutchou left New Caledonia at the weekend after a 5-day stay, with an announcement regarding a re-scheduled referendum-like consultation on a project for the French Pacific territory’s political future — but few pledges regarding further French commitment to tackle a dire financial situation.
Her visit also coincided with another formal announcement from one major “moderate” component of the pro-independence movement to officialise an already existing split with the now hard-line FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front).
On Friday, November 14, the PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party) revealed the outcome of its 50th Congress held six days earlier, which now makes official its withdrawal from the FLNKS (a platform it was part of since the FLNKS was set up in 1984).
It originally comprised PALIKA, UPM (Progressist Union in Melanesia), Union Calédonienne (UC) and Wallisian-based Rassemblement démocratique océanien (RDO).
The PALIKA said it decided to formally split from FLNKS because it had disagreed with the FLNKS approach since the May 2024 riots.
Since the announcement on Friday, PALIKA spokesman Charles Washetine told several local media his party was still supporting a project of “full sovereignty” with France, through negotiation and dialogue.
But “it’s certainly not through destruction that we will build something for our children”, he stressed.
He admitted the Bougival text was “perfectible”.
Distanced from FLNKS
At the time, especially after the FLNKS Congress held in August 2024, two of its significant components, PALIKA and UPM had already distanced itself from the FLNKS and the CCAT, saying it “did not recognise itself”.
The CCAT (Field Action Coordinating Cell) is a group that was then tasked to organise protests against a planned Constitutional change that later degenerated into the riots claimed the lives of 14 people.
At its August 2024 Congress, at which neither PALIKA nor UPM took part, FLNKS also resolved that such “mobilisation tools” as CCAT and several other groups, were officially accepted into the party’s fold.
Christian Téin, who was at the time the CCAT leader, was also elected president of the FLNKS in absentia.
He had been arrested two months earlier and flown to Paris, where he served one year behind bars before judges ruled he could be released, pending his trial at a yet undetermined date.
He is still facing crime-related charges in relation to his alleged role during the May 2024 riots.
UPM held its congress at the weekend and it is widely believed it will make similar announcements regarding its formal withdrawal from FLNKS.
‘I’m not interfering’
“I’m not interfering in local politics, but PALIKA has been a major player in terms of dialogue, forever . . . What matters to me is to know who my interlocutors are,” Moutchou said on PALIKA’s split from FLNKS.
She noted however that in its latest communiqué, FLNKS had still expressed the wish to pursue dialogue.
“But they are rejecting the Bougival agreement, they’re rejecting it in block. They just don’t want to talk on this basis. So the door should stay open.”
During talks with the French minister last week, most of the topics revolved around the so-called Bougival political compromise that resulted in the signing, on July 12 of a document, initially by all political parties, under the auspices of former French Overseas Minister Manuel Valls.
The Bougival text envisages the creation of a “State of New Caledonia”, its collateral “New Caledonian Nationality” and the transfer of a number of French key powers (such as foreign affairs) to the Pacific territory.
But FLNKS, on August 9, formally rejected the text, saying their negotiators’ signatures were now null and void because the text was regarded as a “lure of independence” and that it did not satisfy the party’s demands in terms of short-term full sovereignty.
Since then, as part of a new cabinet let by French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Manuel Valls was replaced in October by Naïma Moutchou.
FLNKS urged to rejoin negotiation
In this capacity, she travelled to New Caledonia for the first time, saying she did not want to “do without FLNKS”, provided FLNKS did not want to “do without the other (parties)”.
Parties supporting the Bougival document have also urged FLNKS to re-join the negotiating process, even if this means the original July 2025 document has to be modified according to their demands.
During her stay last week, separate meetings (locally described as “bilateral”) were held with every political force in New Caledonia, including FLNKS, and other pro-independence movements (such as the PALIKA and the UPM, regarded as “moderates”), but also the pro-France parties (such as Les Loyalistes, Rassemblement-LR, Calédonie Ensemble and Wallisian-based Eveil Océanien).
The FLNKS declined to join a final roundtable with other political stakeholders on Thursday and Friday last week, saying it was not mandated to negotiate.
True to her approach of “listening first and replying after”, Moutchou refrained from making any comment or announcement during the first three days of her mission.
De facto referendum now comes first But as she prepared to leave on Friday, she spoke to announce that the project of a “citizen’s consultation” (a de facto referendum) would take place sometime in February 2026 to ask the local population whether they supported the Bougival document’s implementation.
The consultation was already in the pipeline as part of the Bougival document, but it was originally planned to happen after a Constitutional review purposed to incorporate the text, ideally before the end of 2025.
But the Constitutional process, which would require the approval of votes from both the French Senate (Upper House) and National Assembly (Lower House), was delayed by instability in the French politic, including the demise of former Prime Minister François Bayrou and the subsequent advent of his successor Sébastien Lecornu.
On Friday, Moutchou also issued a brief communiqué saying that “pro-Bougival” parties had agreed to confirm their support in the implementation of the text and to “hold an anticipated citizens’ consultation”.
“We’re going to ask New Caledonians for their opinion first. This will give more power to what is being discussed”, she told public broadcaster NC la 1ère last Friday.
She said this was to “give back New Caledonians their voice in a moment of tension, because we indeed are in a moment of tension, when political choices are not always understood”.
In a media statement released the same day, the FLNKS reiterates its stance, saying “the so-called Bougival project cannot constitute a working base because it goes against (New Caledonia’s) decolonisation process”.
‘Written in black and white’
“It’s written in black and white in the Bougival agreement project: the decolonisation process goes on”, Moutchou told local media.
The party also warns against “any attempt of forceful passage (passage en force) risks bringing the country to a situation of durable instability”.
In terms of security, Moutchou said “to be very clear, it will be zero tolerance”.
“Security forces will stay as long as needed. We currently have 20 gendarmerie squadrons (more than 2500 personnel). This is 20 out of the 120 squads available for the whole of France”, she told NC la 1ère.
“I’m very attached to the authority of the State. There are rules and they must be respected. You can demonstrate, you can say you don’t agree. But you don’t cross the red line,” she told Radio Rythme Bleu on Friday.
The FLNKS said during the minister’s visit, they had handed over a project for a “framework agreement” that would serve as a basis for “future discussions”.
Favourable reaction
On the pro-France side, several leaders have reacted favourably to Moutchou’s parting release.
“The minister’s visit concludes on a positive note”, Rassemblement-LR leader Virginie Ruffenach wrote on social networks, saying this citizen consultation project will “turn New Caledonians into judges of peace”.
“At this stage, FLNKS does not seem to want to find an agreement with the (French) State and New Caledonia’s political forces. The other forces have therefore made the choice to submit the Bougival agreement to New Caledonians before the (French) Parliament approves a Constitutional Bill”, wrote Les Loyalistes leader Sonia Backès.
However, it remains unclear on what basis this de facto local referendum will be held in terms of electoral role and who will be qualified to vote.
No new economic pledge In the brief communiqué on Friday last week, a “plan to re-launch New Caledonia’s economy” to “address the challenges” is also mentioned as one of the agreed goals.
But there was no announcement regarding further financial assistance from France to salvage New Caledonia’s economy, still bearing the consequences of the May 2024 insurrectional riots and that has caused material losses of over 2 billion euros (about NZ$4 billion), an estimated drop of 13.5 percent of its GDP and thousands of unemployed.
There are also increasingly strident calls to convert the 1 billion euro French loan (bringing New Caledonia to an estimated 360 percent indebtedness rate regarded as “unbearable”) into a grant.
Moutchou said this was currently “not on the agenda”.
The crucial mining industry, which was already suffering industrial issues even before the May 2024 riots, compounded with emerging regional competition, needed to be re-structured in order to overhaul its business model and production costs, she said.
‘We don’t have the financial means to build the new prison’ A 500 million euro project to build a new prison, initially announced in early 2024 for scheduled completion in 2032, will no longer take place, despite numerous condemnations due to the appalling living conditions for prisoners in the current Camp Est prison complex in Nouméa.
The Camp Est suffers an overpopulation ratio of 140 percent.
“I’m not going to tell you stories, in the current (French) budgetary conditions, we don’t have the financial means to build the new prison”, she told NC la 1ère.
Instead, it was now envisaged to set a semi-freedom centre for host inmates serving moderate jail sentences, thus relieving the overcrowded Camp Est premises of an estimated one hundred people.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
As you know, there’s a tiny group of Dame Jacinda Ardern haters in New Zealand who are easily triggered by facts and the ongoing success of the former prime minister on the world stage.
The tiny eeny weeny group is made to look bigger online by an automated army of fake profile bots who all say the same five or six things and all leave a space before a comma.
This automation is imported into New Zealand so many of the profiles are in other countries and simply are not real humans.
Naturally this illusion of “flooding the zone” programmatically on social media causes the non-critical minded to assume they are a majority when they have no such real evidence to support that delusion.
Yet here’s some context and food for thought.
None of the haters have run a public hospital, been a director-general of health during a pandemic, been an epidemiologist or even a GP and many struggle to spell their own name properly let alone read anything accurately.
None of them have read all the Health Advice offered to the government during the covid-19 pandemic. They don’t know it at all.
Know a lot more
Yet they typically feel they do know a lot more than any of those people when it comes to a global pandemic unfolding in real time.
None of the haters can recite all 39 recommendations from the first Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19, less than three of them have read the entire first report, none have any memory of National voting for the wage subsidy and business support payments when they accuse the Labour government of destroying the economy.
Most cannot off the top of their heads tell us how the Reserve Bank is independent of government when it raises the OCR and many think Jacinda did this but look you may be challenged to a boxing match if you try to learn them.
The exact macro economic state of our economy in terms of GDP growth, the size of the economy, unemployment and declining inflation forecasts escape their memory when Jacinda resigned, not that they care when they say she destroyed the economy.
They make these claims without facts and figures and they pass on the opinions of others that they listened to and swallowed.
It’s only a tiny group, the rest are bots.
The bots think making horse jokes about Jacinda is amusing, creative and unique and it’s their only joke now for three years — every single day they marvel at their own humour. In ten years they will still be repeating that one insult they call their own.
Bots on Nuremberg
The bots have also been programmed to say things about Nuremberg, being put into jail, bullets, and other violent suggestions which speaks to a kind of mental illness.
The sources of these sorts of sentiments were imported and fanned by groups set up to whip up resentment and few realise how they have been manipulated and captured by this programme.
The pillars of truth to the haters rest on being ignorant about how a democracy necessarily temporarily looks like a dictatorship in a public health emergency in order to save lives.
We agreed these matters as a democracy, it was not Jacinda taking over. We agreed to special adaptations of democracy and freedom to save lives temporarily.
The population of the earth has not all died from covid vaccines yet.
There is always some harm with vaccines, but it is overstated by Jacinda haters and misunderstood by those ranting about Medsafe, that is simply not the actual number of vaccine deaths and harm that has been verified — rather it is what was reported somewhat subject to conjecture.
The tinfoil hats and company threatened Jacinda’s life on the lawn outside Parliament and burnt down a playground and trees and then stamp their feet that she did not face a lynch mob.
No doors kicked in
Nobody’s door was kicked in by police during covid 19.
Nobody was forced to take a jab. No they chose to leave their jobs because they had a choice provided to them. The science was what the Government acted upon, not the need to control anyone.
Mandates were temporary and went on a few weeks too long.
Some people endured the hardship of not being present when their loved ones died and that was very unfortunate but again it was about medical advice.
Then Director-General of Health Sir Ashly Bloomfield said the government acted on about 90 percent of the Public Health advice it was given. Jacinda haters never mention that fact.
Jacinda haters say she ran away, but to be fair she endured 50 times more abuse than any other politician, and her daughter was threatened by randoms in a café, plus Jacinda was mentally exhausted after covid and all the other events that most prime ministers never have to endure, and she thought somebody else could give it more energy.
We were in good hands with Chris Hipkins so there was no abandoning as haters can’t make up their minds if they want her here or gone — but they do know they want to hate.
Lost a few bucks
The tiny group of haters include some people who lost a few bucks, a business, an opportunity and people who wanted to travel when there was a global pandemic happening.
Bad things happen in pandemics and every country experienced increased levels of debt, wage subsidies, job losses, tragic problems with a loss of income, school absenteeism, increased crime, and other effects like inflation and a cost of living crisis.
Haters just blame Jacinda because they don’t get that international context and the second Royal Commission of Inquiry was a political stunt, not about being more prepared for future pandemics but more about feeding the haters.
All the information it needed was provided by Jacinda, Grant Robertson and Chris Hipkins but right wing media whipped up the show trial despite appearances before a demented mob of haters being thought a necessary theatre for the right wing.
A right wing who signed up to covid lockdowns and emergency laws and then later manipulated short term memories for political gain.
You will never convince a hater not to hate with facts and context and persuasion, even now they are thinking how to rebut these matters rather than being open minded.
Pandemics suck and we did pretty well in the last one but there were consequences for some — for whom I have sympathy, sorry for your loss, I also know people who died . . . I also know people who lost money, I also know people who could not be there at a funeral . . . but I am not a hater.
Valuing wanting to learn
Instead, I value how science wants to learn and know what mistakes were made and to adapt for the next pandemic. I value how we were once a team of five million acting together with great kotahitanga.
I value Jacinda saying let there be a place for kindness in the world, despite the way doing the best for the common good may seem unkind to some at times.
The effects of the pandemic in country by country reports show the same patterns everywhere — lockdowns, inflation, cost of living increases, crime increase, education impacts, groceries cost more, petrol prices are too high, supply chains disrupted.
When a hater simplistically blames Jacinda for “destroying the economy and running away” it is literally an admission of their ignorance.
It’s like putting your hand up and screaming, ‘look at me, I am dumb’.
The vast majority get it and want Jacinda back if she wants to come back and live in peace — but if not . . . that is fine too.
Sad, ignorant minority
A small sad and ignorant minority will never let it go and every day they hate and hate and hate because they are full of hate and that is who they really are, unable to move on and process matters, blamers, simple, under informed and grossly self pitying.
I get the fact your body is your temple and you want medical sovereignty, I also get medical science and immunity.
It’s been nearly three years now, is it time to be a little less hysterical and to actually put away the violent abuse and lame blaming? Will you carry on sulking like a child for another three years?
It’s okay to disagree with me, but before you do, and I know you will, without taking onboard anything I write, just remember what Jacinda said.
In a global pandemic with people’s lives at stake, she would rather be accused of doing too much than doing too little.
Gerard Otto is a digital creator, satirist and independent commentator on politics and the media through his G News column and video reports. This article is republished with permission.
Israel and the US are now dictating their terms over Palestine, and Hamas and various Arab partners are at the receiving end of this diktat, says Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.
The UN Security Council gained 13-0 votes, opening the way for the crucial next steps for the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
However, both China and Russia were highly critical and abstained, citing the vague details of the resolution.
Russia had also circulated a rival resolution stressing that the occupied West Bank and Gaza must be joined as a contiguous state under the Palestinian Authority and underlining the importance of a Security Council role to provide security in Gaza and for implementing the ceasefire.
Bishara said that the stabilisation force would be from countries friendly to Israel and the US.
‘Complicated job’
“And that means their job is not just going to be to keep the peace on the borders but to also find a way to disarm Hamas,” he said.
“I think that’s going to be a complicated job because that also involves Israel acting on its own commitments, which means withdrawing to a narrow corridor on the eastern part of Gaza and so on.
“All of this will be very difficult to implement.”
Bishara said the US would be involved but only from the outside.
“The US doesn’t want to get involved in terms of troops or money. But those countries who are going to contribute soldiers and money, they are going to need guarantees – in terms of a safe passage forward in relation to Hamas.
“This is really important.”
The breakdown of the UN Security Council vote on the US-sponsored Gaza resolution. Image: UN
Bishara said no Arab or Muslim-majority country wanted to be put in a position — even under pressure — of doing Israel’s bidding in Gaza or “doing Israel’s dirty work because Israel failed”.
“After two years of genocide, of killing tens of thousands of people, it failed to disarm Hamas directly on the battlefield.”
‘Important step’
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the Gaza resolution as “an important step in the consolidation of the ceasefire” and called for the diplomatic momentum to be translated into “concrete and urgently needed steps on the ground”.
Stephane Dujarric said the UN was committed to its role in implementing the US resolution, including “scaling up humanitarian assistance” in Gaza and “supporting all efforts to move the parties toward the next phase of the ceasefire”.
He also said Guterres “commends the continued diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, the United States and regional states”.
The secretary-general also “underlines the importance of moving to the next phase of the US plan, leading to a political process for the achievement of the two-state solution in line with previous United Nations resolutions,” he added.
However, the Russian ambassador said this was no day of celebration for the Security Council, and he added thatthe integrity of the council was now in question.
The Chinese ambassador said the resolution that was adopted was vague and unclear.
‘Day of shame for UN’
Craig Mokhiber, a former senior UN human rights official, described the vote as a “day of shame for the United Nations”.
“Not a single member of the Council had the courage, principle, or respect for international law to vote against this US-Israel colonial outrage,” Mokhiber said in a post on X.
“This proposal has been rejected by Palestinian civil society and factions, and defenders of human rights and international law everywhere,” he said, adding that the “struggle for Palestinian freedom will continue”.
Mokhiber was the former director of the New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and left his post in 2023 in protest over the UN’s failure to prevent Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The UN Security Council has just adopted the horrific US resolution with 13 yes votes and 2 abstentions. Not a single member of the Council had the courage, principle, or respect for international law to vote against this US-Israel colonial outrage. This proposal has been…
The Algerian ambassador, who voted for the resolution, warned that it was explicit against Israeli annexation, and forced displacement.
Ambassador Amar Bendjama said his country was particularly grateful to Trump “whose personal engagement has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza”, which ended almost two years of “unbearable suffering” for the Palestinians.
“But we underline that genuine peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without justice, justice for the Palestinians who have waited for decades for the establishment of their independent state,” he said.
Bendjama also said the resolution needed to be read in its entirety.
“It clearly affirms no annexation, no occupation, no forced displacement,” he said.
He went on to say that humanitarian aid must be distributed in Gaza “without interference” from Israel.
Israel and the US are now dictating their terms over Palestine, and Hamas and various Arab partners are at the receiving end of this diktat, says Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.
The UN Security Council gained 13-0 votes, opening the way for the crucial next steps for the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
However, both China and Russia were highly critical and abstained, citing the vague details of the resolution.
Russia had also circulated a rival resolution stressing that the occupied West Bank and Gaza must be joined as a contiguous state under the Palestinian Authority and underlining the importance of a Security Council role to provide security in Gaza and for implementing the ceasefire.
Bishara said that the stabilisation force would be from countries friendly to Israel and the US.
‘Complicated job’
“And that means their job is not just going to be to keep the peace on the borders but to also find a way to disarm Hamas,” he said.
“I think that’s going to be a complicated job because that also involves Israel acting on its own commitments, which means withdrawing to a narrow corridor on the eastern part of Gaza and so on.
“All of this will be very difficult to implement.”
Bishara said the US would be involved but only from the outside.
“The US doesn’t want to get involved in terms of troops or money. But those countries who are going to contribute soldiers and money, they are going to need guarantees – in terms of a safe passage forward in relation to Hamas.
“This is really important.”
The breakdown of the UN Security Council vote on the US-sponsored Gaza resolution. Image: UN
Bishara said no Arab or Muslim-majority country wanted to be put in a position — even under pressure — of doing Israel’s bidding in Gaza or “doing Israel’s dirty work because Israel failed”.
“After two years of genocide, of killing tens of thousands of people, it failed to disarm Hamas directly on the battlefield.”
‘Important step’
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the Gaza resolution as “an important step in the consolidation of the ceasefire” and called for the diplomatic momentum to be translated into “concrete and urgently needed steps on the ground”.
Stephane Dujarric said the UN was committed to its role in implementing the US resolution, including “scaling up humanitarian assistance” in Gaza and “supporting all efforts to move the parties toward the next phase of the ceasefire”.
He also said Guterres “commends the continued diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, the United States and regional states”.
The secretary-general also “underlines the importance of moving to the next phase of the US plan, leading to a political process for the achievement of the two-state solution in line with previous United Nations resolutions,” he added.
However, the Russian ambassador said this was no day of celebration for the Security Council, and he added thatthe integrity of the council was now in question.
The Chinese ambassador said the resolution that was adopted was vague and unclear.
‘Day of shame for UN’
Craig Mokhiber, a former senior UN human rights official, described the vote as a “day of shame for the United Nations”.
“Not a single member of the Council had the courage, principle, or respect for international law to vote against this US-Israel colonial outrage,” Mokhiber said in a post on X.
“This proposal has been rejected by Palestinian civil society and factions, and defenders of human rights and international law everywhere,” he said, adding that the “struggle for Palestinian freedom will continue”.
Mokhiber was the former director of the New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and left his post in 2023 in protest over the UN’s failure to prevent Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The UN Security Council has just adopted the horrific US resolution with 13 yes votes and 2 abstentions. Not a single member of the Council had the courage, principle, or respect for international law to vote against this US-Israel colonial outrage. This proposal has been…
The Algerian ambassador, who voted for the resolution, warned that it was explicit against Israeli annexation, and forced displacement.
Ambassador Amar Bendjama said his country was particularly grateful to Trump “whose personal engagement has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza”, which ended almost two years of “unbearable suffering” for the Palestinians.
“But we underline that genuine peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without justice, justice for the Palestinians who have waited for decades for the establishment of their independent state,” he said.
Bendjama also said the resolution needed to be read in its entirety.
“It clearly affirms no annexation, no occupation, no forced displacement,” he said.
He went on to say that humanitarian aid must be distributed in Gaza “without interference” from Israel.
For six years, Alternative Jewish Voices has spoken in an aspirational voice. This is intentional. Research shows, the voice that mobilises new political engagement is a voice of moral clarity which invites others to join the work of making a better world.
We ground our voice in facts, and today’s facts are shattering. We share the outrage that we hear. However, outrage alone does not make change. It has to be channeled forward into principled action.
Hope is resistance. AJV met last week to ask where we find that hope now, while grief and anger feel overwhelming.
With unprecedented Western permission and complicity, Israel’s genocide is ongoing. The IDF has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and decimated the built environment of Gaza.
Bombed half a dozen countries
Along the way, Israel has bombed half a dozen countries which are not at war with it.
The silence of governments like ours imagines this dystopia as a new baseline. They will settle for negotiating the speed of Israel’s new crimes against the survivors of Palestine.
We utterly reject their selective amnesia — but each time we call out our complicit government, we need to call them forward and judge them against something better.
We do that by placing the value of human life at the centre of our understanding. People have laboured for a century and a half to embed a rights-based vision of human dignity and equality.
Rights are not an opinion; rights are the basis of international law and institutions. That today’s governments spit on Palestinians’ rights does not invalidate Palestinians’ rights. It raises the stakes.
Now we must fight for the vision even as we wield it.
Our baseline is a world in which people flourish with their basic needs and dignity ensured. We protest the deficits from that standard. We judge Israel and its powerful accomplices against the standard of an accountable, just peace for all who live between the river and the sea.
Daily erosion of our democracy
Even as our allies have taken the step of recognising Palestine, Luxon, Seymour and Peters cosy up to Donald Trump. We are reeling from their daily erosion of our democracy.
Our government’s position on Palestine and the value it places on our own lives follow from a single agenda. This government is harming far more people than it is benefiting. We find hope in the work that brings together a majority for change.
While Palestine has become the cement of a broad global movement, Zionism is shifting. Israel used its years of Zionist-Jewish permission to consolidate new sources of support. It is no longer dependent upon Jewish social licence.
Christian Zionism, long the majority of Zionism, is now an insider shaping American policy. Israel dedicates new budgets to influencing American Christians.
In Aotearoa, Israel’s deputy foreign minister has met with Christian nationalist Brian Tamaki and Alfred Ngaio. There are five rabbis in this country, while 130 Christian Zionist clergy wrote together of their representatives’ time with Winston Peters before Peters declined to recognise Palestine.
In order to lend effective support to the liberation of Palestine, our protest needs to target the evolving structures and financial flows of Aotearoa’s Zionism.
This does not relieve the Zionist-Jewish community of responsibility. Globally, Zionist-Jewish institutions have eagerly wrapped Israel’s violence in the guise of Jewish identity, in order to place Israel’s genocidal actions beyond challenge.
Peace of the graveyard
Aotearoa’s Zionist-Jewish spokespeople still imagine only the peace of the graveyard, after which there might be a nicer Zionism.
A significant segment of Liberal-Zionist Jews seems to have turned against the war — although not against Zionism. That speaks to some capacity for change despite the institutions.
We welcome every effort to end this genocide. However, as principled anti-Zionists our goal is greater than the cessation of firing. In our own community and in Palestine, we must change the conditions that give rise to genocide. We need to decolonise the Jewishness that taught us to stake our future on the oppression and slaughter of others. There is no nicer Zionism.
To realise a liberatory Jewishness, we need new institutions with genuinely new communal leadership. We work for a future without Jewish supremacy or exceptionalism. Two-thirds of Jewish New Yorkers aged 18-44 just voted for Mayor Mamdani in one such act of qualitative, visionary change.
We will not displace this toxic new Right power by emulating their perpetual outrage. That would only turn us into the thing we oppose.
Outrage alone leaves one numb with grief and alienation. It stokes the identity politics which deny that we can live together. It leads to the despair which hardens the status quo.
We will only displace this power with an aspirational, broadly based vision of something better. We learn from the long, great works of our time: the works of peace, Indigenous rights, the common cause of dignified life in the hardest places.
Tangled roots of colonisation
That quality of holistic movement has coalesced around Palestine. We have never heard so many people acknowledge that the change must reach to the tangled roots of colonisation, racism, capitalism and fascism.
AJV brings to this our Jewish inheritance which recognises that social, ecological and material justice are inextricable. Together we will place life and justice at the centre of the work that needs doing, here and there.
In this dark time, hope is resistance and these are our ways forward.
In outrage and in aroha, we are Alternative Jewish Voices of Aotearoa.
Marilyn Garson writes about Palestinian and Jewish dissent. This article was first published by Sh’ma Koleinu – Alternative Jewish Voices and is republished with permission. The original article can be read here.
At the opening of his Otzma Yehudit faction meeting today, extremist National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for the assassination of Palestinian Authority leaders in the West Bank. He also demanded that Netanyahu take action if the UN recognised a Palestinian state.
Ben Gvir calls for ‘targeted eliminations of senior Authority figures’
In his speech, extremist Ben Gvir said:
Netanyahu needs to announce that Abu Mazin (Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority) has no immunity if they accelerate the recognition of this fabricated state. If the UN recognises this, Mr Prime Minister, I need to order targeted eliminations of senior Authority officials, who are terrorists in every sense of the word. And you, Mr Prime Minister, need to order the arrest of Abu Mazen. We have a cell ready for him in prison, to receive the same conditions as all the terrorists in the prisons. And I call on the Prime Minister to arrest Abu Mazen. I will take care of him.
According to Ben Gvir:
The so called Palestinian people, must not have a state. This people cannot rise…
Speech a ‘dangerous incitement’
The Presidency has released a statement saying it holds the Israeli government “fully responsible” for Ben Gvir’s remarks against President Abbas.
It has strongly condemned and rejected his speech, calling it a “dangerous incitement that encourages murder and constitutes a call for Israeli colonists to commit further terrorist acts against the Palestinian people, their land, and their holy sites”. The presidency has called on the US administration and the international community to act. It said they must pressure the ‘Israeli’ government to stop its “incitement campaign against the Palestinian people and their leadership”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said:
These statements (from Ben Gvir) reflect an official policy within the occupying state, one that replaces the rule of law with force, disregards international legitimacy, and relies on impunity…The State of Palestine affirms that such systematic incitement reveals a political mentality that rejects peace and threatens regional and international security.
Ben Gvir: an extremist government minister
Otzma Yehudit – the Jewish Power Party – is a far-right, ultra-nationalist and anti-Arab party, led by Ben Gvir. The party calls for West Bank annexation and for complete Israeli occupation rule between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It also wants ‘Israeli’ sovereignty over the Al Aqsa compound, supports settlement expansion, and the deportation of “Arab extremists”.
National Security Minister Ben-Gvir is an illegal extremist settler, living in the occupied West Bank. He is known for his extremist views and actions. He has numerous criminal convictions, including eight for offences related to racism, and has promoted racist ideologies against Arabs. Ben Gvir is also arming settlers, and calling for the execution of Palestinian prisoners.
The UN Security Council has tonight, November 17, approved the US resolution to authorise the creation of an international stabilisation force (ISF) in Gaza.
The ISF will work with the Israeli occupation and Egypt. Its supposed aim is to ensure humanitarian access, train and deploy a Palestinian police force, and secure borders. The ISF will also ensure the decommissioning of weapons held by Gaza’s resistance groups. Israeli occupation forces are required to fully withdraw from the Strip once the ISF takes control.
In light of that, it remains to be seen if extremist Netanyahu will listen to Ben Gvir’s call for him to act.
After the end of two consecutive years of Israel’s genocide, the risks to civilians in the Gaza Strip are escalating due to mines and unexploded ordnance scattered across large areas, amid massive destruction and rubble that hides large quantities of explosives.
United Nations data indicates that 328 people have been killed or injured since October 2023 as a result of explosions caused by these remnants, while international organisations warn that the number is likely to rise as residents continue to return to their damaged homes.
Gaza: the dangers persist
Humanity & Inclusion reported that more than 53 people have been killed and hundreds of civilians injured by unexploded ordnance, especially those who tried to clear the rubble themselves or return to their homes.
Xinhua News Agency reported that around 320 Palestinians have been killed or injured since the start of the conflict as a result of these remnants, reflecting the seriousness of the situation throughout the Strip.
Specialised organisations estimate that the process of clearing Gaza of unexploded ordnance could take between 20 and 30 years, given the extent of the destruction and the presence of thousands of unexploded shells buried under rubble or inside destroyed buildings. The authorities concerned point out that Gaza has become one of the most contaminated areas in the world in recent years.
Difficulties in removing mines
Explosive ordnance disposal teams in Gaza face enormous challenges, most notably:
Difficulty in bringing in the necessary equipment due to Israeli restrictions imposed on the Strip.
Working in unstable areas littered with rubble, craters and destroyed buildings.
The proliferation of mines and munitions near residential areas, including schools and hospitals.
The risks go beyond direct injuries, as mines prevent displaced persons from returning to their homes and hinder reconstruction efforts. Children are at particular risk when munitions are mixed with rubble or small metal objects that appear harmless. The effects of remnants also extend to agricultural soil and the local climate, compounding the human suffering in the sector.
The need for urgent international action
The blockade imposed on Gaza is an additional obstacle to mine clearance efforts, as the occupation prevents the entry of specialised equipment and experts. There is an urgent need for international intervention to secure equipment, fund explosive ordnance disposal programmes, and ensure a safer environment for residents trying to rebuild their lives amid widespread destruction.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday sentencedousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 July Uprising.
Guilty
An international crimes tribunal made up of three judges found Sheikh Hasina guilty of several crimes, including incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities during protests in July and August last year, which brought down her government. Clashes between protesters and security forces escalated, resulting in over 1,000 deaths and widespread injuries in the weeks leading to Hasina’s ousting.
Bangladesh created the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act of 1973. This statute provides the legal foundation for the trials, which is aligned with the nation’s international commitments under the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions. Furthermore, it reflects the complementarity principle of the Rome Statute, which empowers domestic courts to prosecute international crimes when they have the capacity and willingness to do so.
British lawyers acting on behalf of Hasina, had filed an urgent appeal with the UN last week, stating that the trial of Sheikh Hasina is “manifestly unfair.” They argued that proceeding with a death sentence after such a flawed process would amount to a “summary execution”
While the new interim leader of Bangladesh, Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus’s promised accountability, in the aftermath of Hasina’s fall, violent reprisals against her supporters have been reported.
Sheikh Hasina’s historical links to the UK
According to this paper, after India gained independence from Britain in 1947, the partition created significant political and social challenges, especially as India lay geographically between East and West Pakistan, complicating governance and logistics.
The call for independence in 1971 was led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina has many international links. Her son, Sajeeb Wajed Joy, is a dual citizen of Bangladesh and the United States. In the United Kingdom, her niece, Tulip Siddiq, is a Labour MP in the UK. Also, her nephew, Radwan Mujib Siddiq, is married to a Finnish national,
In September, Britain’s FTreported that over $200bn was allegedly plundered from Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasina’s time as prime minister – some of which ended up in the UK.
According to the FT in the UK, Siddiq, faced scrutiny over property and family connections which led to her resignation as a City minister in January. She acquired a London flat in her early 20s from a developer linked to Hasina’s government.
Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Land Minister during Hasina’s government was identified by the FT as the owner of a vast portfolio of over 300 UK properties.
US denies wrongdoing
According to a May 2024 report in The Diplomat, Sheikh Hasina publicly alleged that a “white man,” understood to be from the US, offered her a guaranteed re-election in exchange for allowing a foreign airbase in Bangladesh.
US has denied any wrongdoing. “We have had no involvement at all. Any reports or rumors that the United States government was involved in these events is simply false,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing when asked about reported claims of US involvement in Hasina’s August ousting. .
According to The Economist in June, the IMF and ADB have approved multi-billion dollar loans to Bangladesh recently and made some “low hanging fruit” reforms.
“Bangladesh still depends heavily on exports of textiles, has woeful infrastructure and is not creating enough jobs for its youngsters. These issues have grown urgent now that America is waging tariff wars,” according to the Economist.
It also warned that Bangladesh aligning with China could hurt relations with the US. The interim leader, Yunus, was in China in March for his first big bilateral trip, where he “signed a handful of agreements.”
On the day of the friendly match between the Palestinian national team and the Basque Country national team, the northern Spanish city of Bilbao became a stage for widespread solidarity with the Palestinian people, as sport intersected with the humanitarian and political scene in an exceptional moment that brought thousands together under one slogan: Freedom for Palestine:
On Saturday 15 November, sport transcended competition. Bilbao took a clear moral stance, declaring that stadiums can become spaces for justice and that football can champion the causes of the people and give voice to the oppressed.
The large crowd was not just there to support two teams, but to collectively express their refusal to remain silent and their insistence that Gaza is not far away and that Palestine — with all its pain and resilience — is present in the heart of Europe. On that day, the Basques and Palestinians came together around a meaning broader than sport: the meaning of freedom.
The streets of Bilbao speak for Gaza
Hours before the match kicked off at San Mamés Stadium, the streets of Bilbao were filled with Palestinian flags raised in a huge march that started in the city centre and headed towards the stadium. The scene resembled a massive popular event, with citizens of all ages and backgrounds responding to calls from Basque human rights organisations to express their solidarity with the Palestinians amid the war on Gaza.
Participants chanted slogans calling for an end to what they described as genocide, for those responsible for the crimes to be held accountable, and for pressure to be put on Israel to comply with international law. The banners carried by the demonstrators clearly reflected the general mood in the city, with messages ranging from ‘Stop Genocide’ to ‘Free Palestine.’ The Palestinian and Basque flags were displayed side by side, symbolising the intersection between the struggles of the two peoples.
Local authorities confirmed that they had granted permits for the march and that the Basque regional police accompanied the demonstrators to ensure the smooth running of the event, which was evident in the organisation and discipline during the march.
A humanitarian moment before a sporting one
On the pitch, both teams played beautiful football, but the bigger picture was off the pitch.
The match ended with a 3-0 victory for the Basques, but no one on the pitch paid attention to the score. The event was not about competition, but about human solidarity.
It was clear to everyone – from the fans to the players – that Palestine had emerged victorious in spirit, even if it lost on the scoreboard.
Solidarity was not limited to the streets; the Palestinian team received an exceptional welcome upon its arrival in Bilbao. Fans gathered to greet the players, take photos with them, and present them with traditional Basque berets, in a scene that reflected the depth of popular sympathy for Palestine.
The team’s pre-match training sessions also saw a remarkable turnout, accompanied by chants of ‘Palestine’ and waving flags, making the players feel that they were playing a match with a significance that went beyond the pitch:
The stadium turns into a canvas of solidarity
As soon as the players entered the stadium, it became clear that this was not just a friendly match. The stands were filled with Basque fans waving Palestinian flags, while a joint tifo displaying the colours of both countries was displayed. Before the starting whistle, the players stood holding a large banner calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza, amid applause and cheers from the crowd.
The two teams exchanged symbolic gifts: the Palestinians presented keffiyehs, and the Basques presented white roses, in a message of peace consistent with the overall tone of the match. The cultural dimension was not absent from the event, as the match was attended by local artists and musical groups who participated in short performances that supported the message of the event.
A sporting competition in a spirit of brotherhood
On a technical level, the match started at a good pace for both sides, but the Basque team had the upper hand, successfully capitalising on their chances to win the match 3-0. It was clear that the result was not the focus of attention, neither for the fans, nor for the organisers, nor even for the two teams, as the spirit of solidarity dominated every aspect of the match.
After the match, the Palestinian players expressed their pride in participating in this historic event, emphasising that their message had been heard and that their presence on the pitch was, as some of them described it, ‘a voice for Gaza.’
A political and humanitarian event for Gaza in Bilbao under the guise of sport
The choice of the Basque Country for this match was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The region, which has a long history of struggle for its identity and independence, sees Palestine as a cause close to its heart. Local organisations drew parallels between the tragedy of the Palestinian people and that of the city of Guernica, which was bombed during the Spanish Civil War, giving the day added humanitarian significance.
The match also received widespread attention from the Spanish and international media, which described it as ‘a day of solidarity expressed through sport’ and a rare moment when a humanitarian cause was able to make its presence felt in a European football stadium of this magnitude.
Palestine left San Mamés with something more important than goals. It left with a new voice, broad popular support, and a humanitarian image that reached millions around the world.
The match was a platform on which the Basques and Palestinians together sent a single message:
Sport can break the silence, and when solidarity comes out of the stands, it becomes a political stance that cannot be ignored.
Women who survived abuse by Jeffrey Epstein have come together to push the US Congress to release the files on the sex trafficker.
Epstein survivors speak out again
In the powerful new film by World Without Exploitation, survivors hold up photos of themselves at the age they were when they first met Epstein. In the video, they say:
I suffered so much pain
Some were as young as 14 when they met their abuser, who trafficked teen girls all over the world to be abused by powerful men. One woman explains that there are “about a thousand” fellow survivors.
The public service announcement (PS) is a call to action for the American public to email their representative in Congress, asking them to support the survivors. This comes ahead of an expected vote to release the files on Tuesday.
One survivor who features in the video, Danielle Bensky, told NBC
Many people scroll and they see our stories, and they want to find a way to advocate, and they’re not really sure how. We really want to tell people that you can get out there and you can do this for yourself and be a part of what’s starting to really feel like a movement
Evidence ever-mounting against Trump
Last week, a huge cache of emails from Epstein to people such as his brother and Ghislaine Maxwell implicated powerful men even further. These were especially damning for US president Donald Trump. In one email, Epstein says:
I have met some very bad people. None as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.
The most bizarre part of the emails was that they seemed to suggest that Trump received oral sex from former President Bill Clinton, and even weirder, that Vladimir Putin took photos of the act.
Up until now, Trump has dismissed the files as a smear campaign from the democrats. He even attacked one of his long-time supporters, Marjorie Taylor Greene, last week when she informed him that she would be voting for the files to be released. However, it’s worth pointing out that her texts lay the blame at Democrats’ doors and she still supports Trump.
Just three days ago he posted on his Truth Social platform:
The Democrats are using their withering power to push the Epstein Hoax again
He also called Republicans who supported the call for the files to be released “weak” and “soft and foolish”.
However, on Truth Social last night, Trump said:
House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide
This, to be fair to him, is true, but only because they can’t really hide it now that the emails are out there.
He did, though, still call it a hoax, continuing:
And it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’
The vote is expected to happen tomorrow, but let’s see what tricks the Trump White House tries to pull next to wriggle out of it. Overall, though, the fact that survivors of Epstein’s horrific abuse have to beg elected politicians to serve them a morsel of justice in the first place says all you need to know.
The world’s largest indigenous education conference has kicked off in Auckland, bringing with it thousands of indigenous educators from around the world.
About 3000 people were welcomed by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei for the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education 2025 (WIPCE) with a pōwhiri at the city’s waterfront on Sunday.
Around 3800 delegates are expected to attend the conference at the Aotea Centre over the week.
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) is hosting the event which is set to be the largest academic conference hosted in New Zealand this year.
WIPCE 2025 attendees fill out Auckland’s Cloud for the beginning of the conference. Image: Tamaira Hook/RNZ
WIPCE 2025 co-chair and AUT vice-chancellor Damon Salesa said it was an honour to host such an extraordinary range of speakers.
“Each kaikōrero brings their unique perspectives and knowledge. This conference is an opportunity to listen, learn and be inspired by those who continue to lead and shape Indigenous education across the world,” he said.
The four-day conference features keynote presentations from a number of Māori academics including educator Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, linguistic and cultural revilitalists Professor Leonie Pihama and Raniera Proctor, legal academic Eru Kapa-Kingi and Māori movie star Cliff Curtis.
There are also a number of break out sessions, guest speakers and panels discussions featuring academics from around the world.
WIPCE 2025 co-chair Damon Salesa (right) at the conference opening. Image: Tamaira Hook/RNZ
WIPCE 2025 co-chair Meihana Durie said the gathering came at a pivotal time for indigenous education and indigenous rights.
“We are immensely grateful for the pōwhiri yesterday hosted by iwi manaaki, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, which highlighted the sheer importance of those themes within the unique dimensions of Indigenous ceremony, language and ritual.”
Professor Meihana Durie . . . “Only educational platform designed specifically for native peoples from around the world to come together to share our stories, our challenges and our successes.” Photo: WIPCE 2025
“WIPCE is the only educational platform designed specifically for native peoples from around the world to come together to share our stories, our challenges and our successes with each other.” he said.
Outside of the conference is the Te Ao Pūtahi, a free, public festival with live performances from Māori artists inlcluding kapa haka rōpu Ngā Tūmanako, Sons of Zion, Corrella, Jackson Owens and Betty-Anne and a number of food and gift stalls.
A public festival with live performances from Māori artists inlcluding kapa haka rōpu Ngā Tūmanako, Sons of Zion, Corrella, Jackson Owens and Betty-Anne and a number of food and gift stalls. Image: Tamaira Hook/RNZ
Twenty-one cultural excursions named Te Ao Tirotiro will also be held across the city, including an onboard waka sailing demonstration and a hāngi.
The conference ends on Thursday.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
University of the South Pacific’s Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, who edited the inaugural edition of Pacific Media journal along with co-editor Dr Amit Sarwal, has responded to the publication with a Q and A.
The new journal has replaced the Pacific Journalism Review, which was founded by Professor David Robie at the University of Papua New Guinea and published for 30 years.
This new publication, supported by Tuwhera Open Access at Auckland University of Technology, was also founded by Dr Robie and the Asia Pacific Media Network and it is hoped that it will offer greater community media access and flexibility.
What does this new publication, Pacific Media, signal?
Dr Shailendra Singh: It signals an ongoing commitment to research on Pacific media, development, and democracy — just when such research is most urgently needed to understand the impact of multiple forces reshaping the region. These include artificial intelligence, misinformation and disinformation, the intensifying geopolitical contest between China and the West, the drugs and HIV epidemic, and the existential threat of climate change. With the world on track for a three-degree Celsius temperature rise, some reports describe this as a “death sentence” for Pacific reefs, food security, and livelihoods.
Yet, even as Pacific media confront one of the most complex and challenging reporting environments in history, they remain financially fragile, due to the impacts of digital disruption and covid-19.
The 2024 Pacific Media International Conference was quite an innovative step — bringing media academics and the industry together. How has that helped the region?
It created greater awareness of the challenges facing Pacific news media and exposed some of the industry’s structural weaknesses. Importantly, it fostered a better understanding — and hopefully, greater empathy — among the public toward the difficult conditions under which Pacific journalists operate. The conference underscored the importance of ongoing research, provided direction for future studies, and demonstrated the power of regional collaboration by amplifying Pacific voices and ideas.
How does the partnership between the USP Journalism Programme and the Pacific Media publishers, Asia Pacific Media Network, contribute to journalism excellence in the region?
Pacific Media – congratulations from USP Journalism. Image: USP
Research on Pacific media is as scarce as it is vital for the development of Pacific journalism. The USP Journalism Programme and the Asia Pacific Media Network are the only two entities consistently conducting dedicated research on Pacific media, democracy, and development. Historically, both have been vocal about threats to media freedom and the welfare of journalists. They have documented the impact of coups and other forms of repression, while advocating for journalist safety, ethical standards, and media independence through awareness and education.
What next?
The next step is to consolidate and expand research, and training and development. This means deepening partnerships between academia and industry, mentoring a new generation of Pacific media researchers and journalists, and securing sustainable funding for long-term studies.
It also involves strengthening regional collaboration so that Pacific voices lead the global conversation about the region — rather than being spoken to and for. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that Pacific media remain resilient, independent, and equipped to serve their communities in the face of profound social, technological, and environmental change.
The next edition of Pacific Media, edited by Khairiah A Rahman and Dr Rachel Khan, will also be published shortly.
Republished from Pacific Media journal’s website.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Thousands gathered across Ireland to demand the United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP30 (currently taking place in Belém, Brazil) takes decisive action. The Dublin rally was the main event, billed as the National Climate Demonstration, and organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition (SCCC). Attendees included the Green Party, with party leader and Dublin West TD Roderic O’Gorman leading their bloc. After referencing the importance of those at COP30 committing to further meaningful action, he said:
It’s about the global situation, but it’s also about climate action here in Ireland. Making people’s homes warmer, making their energy cheaper, giving their energy cheaper, giving their energy to the global economy.
Calls to retrofit homes a win for all expect polluters
Everyone in Ireland deserves a warm, well-insulated home. This is critical for better health and wellbeing, lower energy bills, as well as climate resilience. Ensuring everyone can access retrofitting programmes and clean, affordable heating must be a national priority.
We can get there by investing in state-led retrofitting programmes that target the coldest homes first, and ramping up rollout of heat pumps, district heating and nationwide solar PV initiatives. At a minimum, all social housing should be retrofitted by 2030 and minimum energy efficiency standards introduced for rental properties.
This sort of policy represents a win in almost every way imaginable: for the climate, through lower energy usage and thus less pollution; for the health service through fewer people becoming ill from living in miserable, damp homes; for the economy via all the jobs created and the upskilling involved; and for basically every human in Ireland (and whatever non-humans animals they cohabit with) in terms of lower energy costs and a more pleasant home environment.
Of course, it doesn’t benefit energy companies when they lose out on inflated bills to heat poorly insulated homes, and it undermines the neoliberal notion that the state can never do anything useful.
Data centres melting the planet and killing the climate
Other demands include a call to “End Fossil Fuels Now – Power People, Not Polluters” and a request for “Clean Energy for People, Not Data Centres and Big Tech”. Ireland remains a major hub for data centres due to its role as a tax haven for mainly US corporations to operate from. Friends of the Earth – who were present at the Dublin rally – also call for action on this, pointing out that:
Data centres now use more than 20% of the nation’s total electricity – that’s more electricity than all the urban homes in the country combined and twice as much as all rural households.
They continue:
…data centres are using up vital renewable energy resources that should be used to serve human wellbeing. We need to prioritise renewable energy for purposes such as powering our homes and keeping the lights on in our hospitals and schools.
It’s well known that Ireland’s debasement before US interests cheats the world’s public realm out of tax via a race to the bottom, and helps to fund Zionist genocide through mass purchase of electronic components by giant tech corporations based here. Now we know it wrecks the climate and hoovers up energy needed elsewhere too.
In Belfast a smaller rally took place in Writer’s Square, with members of the Green Party in Northern Ireland present, alongside youth movement Fridays for Future Northern Ireland. Among the speakers was Professor John Barry of Queen’s University Belfast, who called on polluters to:
Keep the oil in the soil, the coal in the hole and the frack in the crack!
COP30 rammed to the gills with fossil fuel lobbyists
All those involved, along with similar protests across the globe will be hoping their calls are heeded by those at COP30. The fact they still refer to it as climate change in the event’s title is enough to set off alarm bells, bringing to mind George Monbiot’s remark in which he said:
It’s climate breakdown. Calling it climate change is like calling an invading army unwanted visitors.
More worrying still is the deluge of lobbyists that have once again descended on the conference. Campaign group Kick Big Polluters Out has determined that a shocking:
…1600 fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted access to the COP30 climate talks…
This means that those intent on wrecking the planet:
…significantly outnumber almost every country delegation at COP30 – with only host country Brazil (3805), sending more people.
It seems the same logic that applies to upgrading the Irish house applies to fixing the environment that houses us all, with the perverse logic of capital overriding basic common sense policies. When the voice of polluters gets free reign, it’s perhaps best to give the final word to those who are so often shut out of the conversation, like Tom BK Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network:
It is unethical to give access to these Big Polluters that continue a road of ecocide, terracide and genocide against Mother Earth, Father Sky, nature and humanity. It is immoral to call this the Indigenous Peoples COP when local Indigenous Peoples are forced to lift their voices to gain entry when the fossil fuel lobbyists can freely waltz in with no struggle.
At a time when sport is considered a fair and equitable human space that transcends borders, the reality in the Gaza Strip reveals one of Israel’s most systematic attacks on Palestinian sports infrastructure and society since the war began nearly two years ago.
Figures released by the Football Association confirm the extent of the widespread destruction that has affected everything related to sport: facilities have been completely demolished, stadiums have been turned into detention centres, and hundreds of athletes have been killed or injured during the aggression.
Unprecedented human losses in Gaza
The latest statistics from the Gaza Sports Federation indicate that the Israeli aggression has killed more than 774 athletes since the start of the war, including a large number of children and hundreds of facilities and club headquarters, making the sports sector one of the most affected civilian sectors.
The losses are not limited to athletes and players, but also include referees, coaches and administrators, many of whom have been lost to Palestinian sport, creating a void that will be difficult to fill in the near future.
Total destruction of sports infrastructure
Sports facilities that witnessed a long history of championships, activities and competitions have now been reduced to ruins. According to the Sports Federation, 285 sports facilities have been completely or partially destroyed, while the Government Media Office has documented 292 destroyed facilities, including stadiums, halls and administrative headquarters.
Among the most damaged facilities are:
1. Palestine Stadium
The largest and most famous stadium in Gaza, with a capacity of 10,000 spectators, it has hosted international and historic matches. Satellite images from September show tents crowded inside after it was turned into a displacement centre following the complete destruction of its facilities. Palestine Stadium hosted the historic match between the Palestinian national team and Egypt’s Zamalek Club in 2000, as well as Jordan’s Al-Wehdat Club when it faced Shajaiya in the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup. Satellite images taken on 29 September show tents crammed into the stadium, which has been turned into a refugee camp after all its facilities were destroyed by continuous bombing.
2. Yarmouk Stadium
One of the oldest stadiums in Palestine (founded in 1952), it can accommodate approximately 15,000 fans. Its facilities were destroyed and it became a gathering place for displaced persons. It was also used in the past as a detention centre by the occupying forces.
3. Al-Sudaniya Stadiums
This area is home to major clubs such as Gaza Sports Club and Al-Hilal, but its landmarks have completely disappeared from satellite images.
4. Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun Stadiums
Both have been completely destroyed, and their pitches and facilities have disappeared, with no possibility of a return to sporting activity in the near future.
5. Khan Yunis Sports City
It was invaded by occupation forces and completely bulldozed in early 2024, in one of the biggest losses to a sports facility in the southern Gaza Strip.
6. Rafah Municipal Stadium
Founded in 1953, it was turned into a shelter for displaced persons for long periods before the city was evacuated.
7. Five-a-side football pitches
These are the most widespread in Gaza and were a source of recreation for children and young people. According to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory, the occupation destroyed more than 300 five-a-side football pitches, as well as 22 swimming pools and 28 fitness centres.
Sport: from a space for life to a scene of disaster
Israel did not stop at bombing and bulldozing; many playgrounds were turned into detention and torture centres, according to testimonies and human rights reports. In other areas, displaced people took refuge in the playgrounds, despite their destruction, in search of temporary shelter, turning sports facilities into overcrowded camps instead of centres for activities and tournaments.
Two years of ongoing crimes have led to widespread international campaigns calling for Israel’s sporting isolation. European club fans have raised slogans such as:
‘Red card for Israel’
‘Stop the genocide’
‘Show Israel the red card’
International players from the Athletes 4 Peace initiative, such as Paul Pogba and Hakim Ziyech, joined in, calling for Israel’s participation in all international sporting events to be suspended.
On 23 September, UN experts issued a report calling on FIFA and UEFA to immediately exclude Israel due to documented crimes and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and athletes.
FIFA and UEFA’s position – awkward silence and clear selectivity
On 2 October, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that sport ‘cannot solve geopolitical conflicts,’ while UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin merely expressed sorrow for the suffering of civilians, refusing to impose any sanctions on Israeli clubs and players.
This stance sparked widespread outrage, especially since UEFA decided to freeze Russia’s participation in its tournaments a few days after the start of the war in Ukraine, while taking no action against Israel despite thousands of martyrs and unprecedented destruction of civilian and sports infrastructure.
Sport between extermination and the will to live in Gaza
Two years of war have shown that sport in Gaza has been a direct target, not collateral damage. The stadiums where children’s dreams were born and Palestine’s most prominent stars graduated from have been turned into ashes or detention centres. With the silence of international sports institutions, Palestinian sport seems to be facing a complete eradication, going beyond physical destruction to the destruction of the memory, identity and future opportunities of an entire generation.
BREAKING RIGHT NOW: Bev Turner interviews Donald Trump in the White House for GB News as the BBC deadline passes.
This is going to be must watch.
A superstar and journalistic force already making massive waves in DC. pic.twitter.com/hQvq0CvSol
We wouldn’t call Bev Turner’s chat with Trump a ‘softball interview’, but only because doing so would suggest it was harder hitting than it was. Take this clip for instance:
‘I’m getting a question I’ve never thought of, or never been asked before!’
You’re obviously a really good dad, your children really like you which is obvious… everybody loves their parents, but they don’t all like their parents when they’re adults, and they clearly have so much respect and warmth towards you.
And I often think watching you that actually being a good president is a bit like being a good father. Tough love, clear boundaries in the interests of the people that you’re looking after.
Does it ever occur to you how much the role is like being a father, being a president?
Usually, you don’t conduct an interview by telling a politician they’re wonderful and then asking them to expand on that thought.
And I’m sorry, but if you look at his two reject sons and think they have any emotion towards their father besides ‘fear’ then you’re criminally preposterous. They may have good reason to fear him too, with DJ Scott Melker alleging the following (as reported by the Miami New Times):
The way Melker tells it in a lengthy Facebook story posted last night, he lived in the same freshman dorm at UPenn as Donald Trump Jr., who attended the Wharton School. One day, the elder Trump showed up to pick up his son for a baseball game and flat-out slapped the crap out of his kid when he wasn’t dressed for the occasion.
“Don Jr. opened the door, wearing a Yankee jersey. Without saying a word, his father slapped him across the face, knocking him to the floor in front of all of his classmates,” Melker writes on Facebook. “He simply said ‘put on a suit and meet me outside,’ and closed the door.”
While Don Jr. does have the most slappable face in history, it’s certainly not good parenting to give in to that urge.
I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York magazine in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.
Trump also allegedly contributed the following skit to Epstein’s notorious birthday book:
Voice over
There must be more to life than having everything.
Donald
Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.
Jeffrey
Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald
We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey
Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald
Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey
As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.
Donald
A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.
Why wouldn’t you question him on all this if given the chance!?
Grim
As you’d imagine, people are flabbergasted that GB News would treat Trump in such a fashion:
GB News gave Trump 45 minutes of soft focus propaganda, and didn’t ask a SINGLE question about his long documented ties to Epstein. This from a channel that screams nonstop about “protecting women and children.” When it’s their guy, the outrage magically disappears. Their concern… pic.twitter.com/sA1CFhypiC
On November 11, a Dutch court ruled that the Netherlands will extradite Mustafa Ayyash to Austria, after the country submitted a European arrest warrant for him. He will remain in the psychiatric wing of top security PI Vught prison until his extradition on November 17. Ayyash had been fighting his extradition, until the ruling last week, after being detained at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, on September 19.
Mustafa Ayyash case—Israel, UK, US criminalise ‘Gaza Now’ by claiming it supports Hamas
Ayyash is a Palestinian journalist and Founder of Gaza Now, one of the most popular online media outlets in Palestine, with millions of followers globally. ‘Israel’, the UK, and the US, have labelled Gaza Now a ‘Hamas-supporting media network‘, accusing Ayyash of participation in and spreading propaganda for a terrorist organisation. These accusations have been based on some bitcoin wallets that were used for humanitarian aid fundraising—according to Gaza Now—being linked to transactions with members of Hamas, and these bitcoin wallets have been linked to Ayyash. He continues to deny all allegations against him.
European extradition requests do not require much information. So neither of Ayyash’s lawyers have any more information other than what is on the sanction list.
Ayyash was in court this week for his extradition hearing. This was only the second time anyone outside of the prison—except his lawyer—had seen him since his arrest in September.
Handala Foundation: ‘Ayyash has been broken physically and mentally’
Ayyash has been broken physically and mentally. He was in a bad condition. He looked very thin and pale, and seemed to have a problem with his leg. He was stumbling. The picture we saw of him on the plane showed him looking very fit and well. He looks as if he has lost about 10kg since he went into jail.
There are fears Ayyash could be extradited to ‘Israel’ at a later date. Although there is currently no extradition request from ‘Israel’, if this happens his life would be in extreme danger. The Israeli occupation makes no secret it kidnaps, arbitrarily detains, and murders journalists, for speaking the truth.
Abueleyan says:
The lawyers and the Dutch media are not seeing Mustafa’s case as a political process. This is a big problem. They only focusing on the extradition, not the consequences of it, they aren’t checking how they will torture him in jail. Although they present themselves as human rights lawyers they have discouraged us from filing a report at the UN Committee Against Torture. But they’re aware Mustafa has spent a majority of the last 30 days in isolation, for very weak argumentations.
Mustafa Ayyash has been in solitary confinement for more than 15 days. This is torture.
The UN adopted the Nelson Mandela Rules in 2015. They establish minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, prohibit torture, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. They also prohibit placements in solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days—which is considered torture.
Abueleyan says Ayyash’s treatment is violating his human rights.
If someone is in pre-trial detention, it’s extra contraindicated to be using isolation, especially for this long. He has also been prevented from having contact with his family.
Dutch authorities have also physically abused Ayyash while he was detained. When he was able to speak with his brother each week, at the start of his detention in the Netherlands, Ayyash told him he had been beaten by the prison staff. Abueleyan says the date he claims this happened corresponds with his first day in Isolation.
We’ve studied his medical file extensively, and have confirmation that, at least during this day, they used force on Mustafa. Six people sat on top of him and forcibly injected him with sedatives.
Coordination of governments around the world in support of the abusive Israeli regime
The Israeli occupation is colluding with governments around the world, to silence those who speak out about its crimes against humanity. Each time, Hamas is used—with great success—as the excuse to silence Israeli regime critics, and destroy lives. ‘Israel’ and Western governments have intentionally manufactured hysteria around Hamas, to make this method of silencing so effective.
In January 2024, the Israeli regime initiated sanctions against Ayyash and Gaza Now. It issued seizure orders on Gaza Now’s cryptocurrency wallets and froze related assets. This was supposedly to “thwart the activity of the designated terrorist organisation Hamas”. Then, two months later, the UK and US jointly sanctioned Ayyash and Gaza Now.
Austria granted Ayyash asylum after the Israeli regime bombed his home in Gaza, killing all 40 occupants. He has Austrian citizenship. Austrian police violently raided his home, shortly after the UK and US sanction list was published. They left his pregnant wife permanently injured, but they did not charge Ayyash. He was arrested by Dutch authorities while travelling to the Netherlands, to file a complaint against Austria at the International Criminal Court (ICC), when he was arrested at the airport.
Ayyash’s detention sets a dangerous precedent
Abueleyan explains:
The investigation in Austria has been ongoing since April 2024. There’s no indication they have any new information. We’re hoping it might be different in Austria, as Mustafa has a house and his life there. There would be less fear of him fleeing. But seeing how it’s going so far, I have very little hope he will see the outside of a prison.
Austria will continue detaining Ayyash, until his hearing takes place, a few days after entering the country. Until then, the outcome of this case remains unknown. His detention sets a dangerous precedent, where political pressure outweighs justice and due process. It also highlights growing weaponisation of counter-terror laws to suppress journalism critical of the Israeli regime’s crimes against Palestinians. Those countries, while claiming to support press freedom and freedom of speech, are working with Israel to silence the truth. By doing this, they do not only undermine their own values, they also erode the protections journalists depend on—which are vital to holding power accountable.
As we’ve reported, Trump has haemorrhaged support from his base recently, and for more than one reason. In response to all that, MAGA supporters are supposedly burning their red MAGA hats:
Regarding Trump’s support for Israel, there is some variation in how the right are approaching the issue. Some are making a similar point to the left, and saying America shouldn’t be offering unconditional support to a rogue nation which has committed a genocide; others are just straight-up antisemitic.
As an example of the latter, the man burning his hat in the video at the top said:
Alright, so this is a Trump 2020 hat. And if you’re just going to be owned by the Jews, and go against everybody that actually is America First, and cover for pedophiles… then you can fuck off, Trump.
The man’s comments are very much in line with the ‘groyper’ wing of the US right, of which Nick Fuentes is the figurehead:
Pro-Israel Jew Larry Ellison is in the process of buying Tiktok, Paramount, and Warner Bros and he just put Bari Weiss, an Israeli spy, in charge of CBS.
The Jews lost control of the narrative so now they are literally buying more of the media.
While America ceasing its unconditional support for Israel would certainly be a positive development, we can’t pretend there aren’t opportunists like Fuentes looking to capitalise on the situation.
People warned it will happen
The rise of antisemitism on the right is something that people warned would happen if Zionists kept arguing criticism of Israel was itself antisemitic (and by ‘Zionists’, we mean supporters of Israel existing as an expansionist Jewish apartheid state in which non-Jews don’t have rights). People warned it would happen because the situation gave the impression that the genocide and preceding repression of the Palestinians was a Jewish phenomenon rather than an Israeli phenomenon.
Take the comments from the man above; while it’s obviously an antisemitic trope to say ‘Jews own politicians’, Trump has been happy to take money from billionaires like Larry Ellison and Miriam Adelson who are big backers of Israel:
Speaking in Israel, Trump suggests he moved the embassy to Jerusalem as a promise to the Adelsons, who he says have paid more visits to the White House than anyone he can think of.
He then says he asked Miriam if she loves Israel or America more and she refused to answer. Insane pic.twitter.com/jg9VXciRgg
When you have a situation in which Israel is committing a genocide and your leader is surrounded by donors who support it, of course it’s going to be easy to convince people who want simple answers that the ‘Jews are secretly running America’.
The reality is that Jewish people aren’t collectively controlling Trump; it’s a handful of selfish billionaires who think they can influence world events as if the world was a chess board. In fact, some of these Israel-backing donors aren’t even Jewish, including Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.
Rightward travel
Reactionary politics are always a response to the current moment. What this means is that politicians, commentators, and influencers constantly need to push things further to rile up the base.
The direction of travel in recent years has been towards a mono culture which is white, straight, and Christian. And as a result, right-wing figures who fall outside this bracket are finding themselves squeezed out:
NO WAY, HELL JUST FROZE OVER: Ben Shapiro just told Matt Walsh and everyone else on the Right, you won’t survive if you refuse to police your own extremists.
He’s pointing to the Young Republicans’ leaked chats (hit by Politico), Hitler jokes, gas‑chamber talk, and slurs.… pic.twitter.com/SZrqOkMXkz
Trump himself promised ‘America First’, and yet clearly he’s running a ‘Billionaires First’ administration. MAGA aren’t ready to accept that the oligarchy is the problem, though, so they’re instead doubling down on blaming minorities and sub-groups.
It’s scary to think the Republicans could descend further after Trump, but at the same time they may obliterate any chance they have of creating an electoral coalition, because they keep freezing out more and more voters:
After ending his first presidential run, President Trump entered a ‘wilderness’ phase in which most Republicans seemed happy to let him disappear. Trump did not walk off into the sunset, however, and he was able to return because his base of supporters never abandoned him.
Trump’s base included politicians, with Marjorie Taylor-Greene chief among them. Since returning to power, however, Trump hasn’t rewarded Greene in any meaningful way. This could be why Greene has recently turned against him. At the same time, she could be genuine when she says she wants an immediate release of the Epstein Files—something Trump now strongly opposes.
All this has boiled over, anyway, beginning with the following:
There’s a lot of evidence for Trump’s mental and physical decline but this new nickname for Marjorie Taylor Greene is so boomerishly lame and stupid that it’s, by itself, reason to invoke the 25th Amendment. pic.twitter.com/iMErH0KJok
President Trump just attacked me and lied about me. I haven’t called him at all, but I did send these text messages today. Apparently this is what sent him over the edge.
The Epstein files.
And of course he’s coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next weeks vote to release the Epstein files.
It’s astonishing really how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level.
But really most Americans wish he would fight this hard to help the forgotten men and women of America who are fed up with foreign wars and foreign causes, are going broke trying to feed their families, and are losing hope of ever achieving the American dream.
That’s what I voted for.
I have supported President Trump with too much of my precious time, too much of my own money, and fought harder for him even when almost all other Republicans turned their backs and denounced him.
But I don’t worship or serve Donald Trump.
I worship God, Jesus is my savior, and I serve my district GA14 and the American people.
I remain the same today as I’ve always been and I will continue to pray this administration will be successful because the American people desperately deserve what they voted for.
For me, I remain America First and America Only!!!
You may not have heard of him, but ‘cat turd’ is well respected by the right wing on Twitter (so well respected that Elon Musk has tried and failed to win his admiration). Would you believe that he cared about Epstein very much when he thought it would implicate people he didn’t like?
Every scumbag famous Hollywood actor, politician, musician, athlete. etc. who was involved in Epstein island or Diddy parties needs to be exposed for the evil demonic pedos they are, arrested, shunned from society, and given life in prison.
Trump sent a gargantuan response to his Truth Social next (we’d advise skimming this, tbh):
I am withdrawing my support and Endorsement of “Congresswoman” Marjorie Taylor Greene, of the Great State of Georgia. Over the past few weeks, despite my creating Record Achievements for our Country including, a Total and Complete Victory on the Shutdown, Closed Borders, Low Taxes, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEI, stopping Biden’s Record Setting Inflation, Biggest Regulation Cuts in History, stopping EIGHT WARS, rebuilding our Military, being RESPECTED by every Country in the World (as opposed to being the laughingstock that we were just 12 months ago!), having Trillions of Dollars (Record Setting!) INVESTED in the U.S.A., and having created the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World from being a DEAD Country just 12 months ago (and so much more!), all I see “Wacky” Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN! It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn’t have a chance (unless, of course, she had my Endorsement — which she wasn’t about to get!). She has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore, but with 219 Congressmen/women, 53 U.S. Senators, 24 Cabinet Members, almost 200 Countries, and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day. I understand that wonderful, Conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her District of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my Complete and Unyielding Support. She has gone Far Left, even doing The View, with their Low IQ Republican hating Anchors. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
If you had the patience to read through that giant wall of nonsense, you’ll note that he said:
I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day
Indeed, there really is nothing worse than some “lunatic” going on and on with themselves.
I am now being contacted by private security firms with warnings for my safety as a hotbed of threats against me are being fuelled and egged on by the most powerful man in the world.
The man I supported and helped get elected.
Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats and multiple convictions of men who were radicalized by the same type rhetoric being directed at me right now.
This time by the President of the United States.
As a woman I take threats from men seriously.
I now have a small understanding of the fear and pressure the women, who are victims of Jeffrey Epstein and his cabal, must feel.
But as people have noted:
You’ve literally amplified and cheered on very similar posts by President Trump towards others, but now it’s an existential threat because it’s you?
Greene isn’t the only one saying this. Specifically, many of the people making this point are opposing America’s perceived subservience to Israel:
Trump’s approval is down 50% with 18-29 year olds since the beginning of 2025.
And the reason is clear— the MAGA movement has been hijacked by Israel First and has completely lost touch with the “forgotten men and women” of America.
It’s worth noting that many of the people turning against Trump are mostly just as bad as him. At the same time, if the American right is able to force the release of the Epstein Files and end the special relationship with Israel, then that would be a positive development.
Israeli prison guards punish the prisoners “by breaking their thumbs” said a released detainee as lawyers speak out about torture, abuse, rape, starving and killings in a notorious underground Israeli prison facility where detainees are held without sunlight, brutalised.
And nobody in New Zealand says a word.
Scores of detainees from Gaza have also been held in a notorious Israeli military detention camp known as Sde Teiman, where reports of killings, torture and sexual violence, including rape, have been rife since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
And Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has not said anything about a new law that Israel just voted for that would impose the death penalty for so-called “terrorism” offences based on “racist” motives against Israelis.
That’s a law exclusively aimed at Palestinians while Israeli settlers are exempt.
Go ahead, terrorise the people living there.
Winston Peters is silent on behalf of you and me. He’s representing us on the world stage.
We not only do not condemn this, we don’t even mention it. New Zealand doesn’t care.
They are not us, they are not “we”.
Gerard Otto is a digital creator, satirist and independent commentator on politics and the media through his G News column and video reports. This article is an excerpt from a G News commentary and republished with permission.
Just some British patriots in Benidorm, taking over a street in Spain to shout in their own language about unwanted foreigners. It’s a blessing that they are too thick to understand irony. pic.twitter.com/qNGTD3bWtA
Some of those who know what’s going on have made comments like the following:
Its the Benidorm fiesta festival. It takes place every year and people do fancy dress.
They are tourists not immigrants. You should do this thing called “research” . pic.twitter.com/ZS4dNqEKiR
Is this irony? Satirical account fails to see satire
Brits in Benidorm engaging in satirical “protest” during the city’s Fancy Dress Party on November 13, 2025. The costumes and props are typical of the event’s humorous and provocative theme. https://t.co/GOUuOXAvSRhttps://t.co/VOa41xHhJZ
OVER 30,000 people- mainly British expats and tourists– lined Benidorm’s streets on Thursday for the annual ‘Fancy Dress Party’.
The event organised by hospitality associations in the Rincon de Loix ‘English Zone’ of the city and backed by the local council, has been going strong for over 30 years.
We couldn’t find any mention of the festival having a theme besides ‘fancy dress’, but there are many pictures from the event in this Daily Mail article. As you can see, people seem to have dressed in whatever outfit they fancied.
Some are actually saying it wasn’t a protest because it happened at a festival. We’ll be honest, we think that’s like saying Just Stop Oil’s Van Gogh protest was a work of art because it happened in a gallery:
BREAKING: 2 VAN GOGH PAINTINGS SOUPED HOURS AFTER PHOEBE AND ANNA SENTENCED
3 Just Stop Oil supporters have thrown soup over 2 of Van Gogh paintings in the ‘Poets and Lovers’ exhibition at the National Gallery.
So all in all, the Benidorm protest wasn’t quite as clean-cut as people thought. At the same time, it was still a mob of pissed-up shit houses doing British nationalism on Spanish soil.
Three executives from the Basque steel company Sidenor have been facing the scrutiny of the Spanish National Court in Madrid, accused of smuggling steel to Israeli weapons manufacturers. The case comes as global calls for sanctions on Israel intensify, with campaigners arguing that corporate complicity must be confronted alongside state action.
Though the historic proceedings have been almost totally ignored by English-speaking media, an AFP report (via MSN) suggests the steel was allegedly shipped to Israeli Military Industries, which the Ditch reports is now an Elbit Systems subsidiary. Elbit have been integral to the holocaust carried out by the Zionist entity in Palestine, providing the majority of weaponry to the Israeli Genocide Forces (IGF). There are instances of other cases being taken against corporations for their role in Zionist crimes, such as against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctionstarget Airbnb, but the Sidenor case appears to be at a more advanced stage than any other.
The Catalonian media outlet Ara covers proceedings more extensively. It reports on a “closed-door hearing that lasted just over an hour” in which president of Sidenor José Antonio Jainaga testified before a judge alongside two other executives. The boss argued that the material exported:
…is not among the products subject to special control by the administration.
Sanctions on Israel — Magistrate suggests the company had “full knowledge” of what they were doing
Spain recently voted for a total arms embargo on the illegitimate terror state, banning export of weaponry and any items of potential dual-use that could be used for military purposes. The country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is one of the few national leaders in the West to routinely describe ‘Israel’s’ crimes as genocide. Jainaga contended this recent law was not relevant in any case, saying that when the sale was made “there were no restrictions on trade relations” between Spain and the criminal settler-colony.
Jainaga’s argument largely focused on adherence to correct administrative proceedings, also stating he had received no formal instructions from Spanish or European authorities telling Sidenor to no longer ship to the Zionist regime. However, the organisation that brought the complaint – the Palestinian Community Association of Catalonia (PCAC) – are bringing the case on the basis of complicity in genocide, rather than simply the box-ticking of standard export procedures. Ara reports:
The magistrate [pointed] out that the steel sale that prompted the investigation, which originated in the port of Barcelona, was allegedly carried out with “full knowledge” that the company IMSI is a manufacturer of both heavy and light weapons, and that the supplied material could be used to manufacture armaments in the context of what is happening in Gaza.
David Aranda, lawyer for PCAC said:
It’s not just a purely administrative matter, whether they had authorisation [for the sale] or from whom they should have requested it, but whether there is complicity on the part of a Spanish company in the final stages of the genocide in Gaza or crimes against humanity.
The shipments are alleged to have totalled 1207 tonnes, and were made since August 2024, well into the campaign of mass slaughter carried out by the IGF in Gaza. Aranda continued:
We believe that [the investigation] is a key milestone because it sends a very strong message to companies: it’s not enough to simply profit from the genocide in Gaza.
Investigative reports led to French dockers blocking steel shipments
…more than a tonne of vehicle components to Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems…
The material in question was wheel bearings shipped on 29 January 2025, on a specific flight identified by the Ditch — “Air Europa flight UX1301 from Madrid to Tel Aviv”.
The company is based in Azkoitia, part of the Basque Autonomous Community, which has some powers of self-government enabling it limited scope to operate independently of control from Madrid. Activists in that region, along with other Basque areas, have long campaigned for complete independence from Spain. Due to this history of attempting to escape a foreign power controlling their land, support for Palestine has traditionally been strong in the region, similar to the Irish context. Recent examples include their leading football club Athletic Bilbao paying tribute to Palestinian refugees, and a match between the Basque and Palestinian national football teams.
Basque ruling class out of step with its people, just like everywhere else
It appears their corporate class are no less vile than anywhere else, however, and are happy to profit from the horrors of the Gaza holocaust. Yet another example of this depravity is Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) who are among the companies listed on a UN blocklist of corporate entities profiting from Zionist crimes. The sacks of shit in suits are currently attempting to win the contract for the renewal of the Belfast to Dublin rail connection, known as the Enterprise. They are compounding their insult to the Irish people by dragging the matter through the courts, claiming a lack of transparency in the tendering procedure.
For his part, Sidenor’s Jainaga is described by Ara as “a stalwart for the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV)”, the more conservative wing of Basque politics. Much like Ireland and numerous other nations, it seems the Basque people have a ruling class that have total disregard for international law, basic morality, and the wishes of their own population.
As pressure for sanctions on Israel continues to grow, the Sidenor case signals that corporations aiding the occupation may finally face real accountability.
Please note that this article contains extremely graphic depictions of rape, sexual assault, and torture. Extreme caution is advised.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) documented the shocking testimony of a 42-year-old Palestinian woman who, during her recent detention by Israel in northern Gaza, was subjected to sexual assault and severe torture in an Israeli prison.
Her testimony is a stark example of the systematic policy of sexual violence and psychological and physical torture practised by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian detainees.
Arrest and Enforced Disappearance
According to her testimony to PCHR, she was arrested while crossing an Israeli checkpoint in November 2024 and taken to an unknown location, blindfolded, where a series of organized and systematic violations began. She said:
I was tied up and stripped naked, and subjected to repeated beatings and psychological abuse. I felt as though all my humanity was being stripped from me, and that I was merely a tool for humiliation and oppression.
In her testimony to the human rights center’s staff, N.A. spoke of being subjected to various forms of torture and sexual violence, including being raped four times by Israeli soldiers, as well as being repeatedly verbally abused with obscene language, stripped naked and photographed, electrocuted, and beaten all over her body.
One Palestinian woman’s rape and torture at the hands of Israel
The detainee, N.A., explained to the centre’s lawyer:
In the early morning hours, I heard the soldiers shouting that prayers were forbidden in the morning, and I believe it was the fourth day of my detention in Gaza.” I was taken by soldiers to an unknown location because I was blindfolded. They ordered me to undress, which I did. They then placed me on an iron table, forcing my chest and head against it. My hands were tied to the bedpost, and my feet were forcibly pulled apart. I felt a penis being inserted into my anus and felt a man’s body raping me. I started screaming, and they began hitting me on my back and head. I was still blindfolded, and I felt the man ejaculate inside my anus. I screamed and was beaten the whole time. I could hear a camera; I think they were filming me. The rape lasted about 10 minutes. Afterward, I was left in the same position for an hour, with my hands cuffed to the bedposts, my face on the bed, and my feet on the floor. I was completely naked.
Another hour later, I was raped again in the same position. A penis was inserted into my vagina, and I was beaten while screaming. There were several soldiers present, and I could hear their laughter and the sound of a camera recording. The rape was very brief, and there was no ejaculation. During the rape, I was beaten on the head and back.
I can’t describe what I felt; I wished for death every moment. After the rape, I was left alone in the same room, handcuffed to the bed, naked for hours. I could hear soldiers outside speaking Hebrew and laughing. Then, I was raped again vaginally, and I screamed, but they beat me whenever I tried to resist. After about an hour, I don’t know the exact time, a masked soldier entered, removed the blindfold, and lifted the hood from his face. He was fair-skinned and tall. He asked me if I spoke English. I said no. He said he was Russian and asked me to touch his penis, but I refused. He then punched me in the face after raping me.
So, on that day, I was raped twice and left naked in the room for three days. On the first day, I was raped twice. On the second day, I was raped twice. On the third day, I was left naked while they looked at me through the keyhole and photographed me. One of the soldiers told me, “We will post your pictures on social media.” While I was in the room, I started my period, at which point I was told to get dressed and was moved to another room.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) noted that this testimony reflects a recurring pattern of violations against Palestinian detainees, including women, in Israeli prisons, and constitutes part of the ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide against the people of Gaza.
Urgent Human Rights Demands
In light of this testimony, PCHR called on the international community, including the United Nations and the States Parties to the Convention against Torture, to take immediate action to end these brutal practices. PCHR also urged the release of Palestinian detainees held arbitrarily and called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be granted unrestricted access to places of detention to ensure the protection of their rights and lives.
PCHR emphasised that all women and Palestinians subjected to sexual torture in Israeli prisons face a double threat under the current system. A law allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners exacerbates the already dire situation and necessitates urgent international action.
This woman’s testimony is a cry from the heart of Palestinian suffering, revealing the extent of the humiliation and psychological and physical destruction inflicted upon detainees. It confirms that what is happening in Israeli prisons is a systematic policy aimed at destroying the Palestinian people, not merely isolated incidents of abuse.
The night of drowning over the camps of displaced people in Gaza was not just a passing weather change, but a new chapter in a tragedy that repeats itself every winter, deepening this year with Israel’s forced displacement of hundreds of thousands and their accommodation in dilapidated tents that cannot withstand the wind or rain:
The dawn scene: rain pouring into Gaza’s tents
In the hours before dawn, while silence hung over the camp like an exhausting blanket, the sky began to cry out. Heavy rain suddenly poured down, as if the clouds had decided to empty all their anger at once.
It didn’t take long for the water to find its way into the tents. It didn’t just splash against the roofs… it penetrated them.
Um Muhammad, trying to lift a waterlogged blanket, told the Canary
I woke up to find my children sleeping in a pool of water… my heart ached. We just need a tent to shelter us.
In another tent, Abu Alaa was trying to remove the water that had not stopped flowing with a plastic container:
We shouted, we pleaded… but no one heard us. The tent gives way at the first drop of rain.
Amidst the cries, children were jumping in the mud, some shivering from the cold and others from fear. Seven-year-old Hala wrapped her coat around her thin body:
The water was coming in like a river… I was afraid the tent would collapse on us.
Camps turned into pools… and contaminated water flooded everyone
In the early hours of the morning, rain flooded many of Gaza’s displacement camps, mixing with sewage that had spilled out due to dilapidated infrastructure. The tents were transformed into a dangerous environment, flooded with contaminated water that increased the suffering of the residents.
The dirt floors inside the tents turned to mud, and the small feet of children sank into it with every step.
“We can’t stay here a minute longer” said Abu Mahmoud, carrying a wet broom:
The rain came in from everywhere… We went outside and didn’t know where to go.
Even the houses that residents tried to repair did not hold up. Rain seeped through cracked roofs and walls covered with nylon sheets, flooding what remained of the furniture.
Umm Ahmad recalls the details of her harsh night:
I woke up to the sound of water pouring into the house… Everything was flooded: the mattresses, the clothes… Even the food was ruined.
The scarcity and high prices of tarpaulins… and a new battle with winter
In the morning, the displaced people set out in search of new tarpaulins to repair their tents before nightfall, but they were faced with a harsh reality: a sharp rise in prices and a severe shortage due to a months-long ban on their entry into the sector:
Many were forced to evacuate their tents after they were completely flooded, leaving their children in the muddy streets of Gaza, their small bodies shivering from the cold.
Across the camp, the scene was the same: men running to secure tents, women trying to salvage what was left of their bedding, and two older people sitting helplessly after their blankets were flooded.
The cries mingled with the sound of the rain:
The tent is flooded!
Where are we going to go?!
The children are cold!
That night revealed not only the weakness of the tents, but also the fragility of life itself, and the extent of the wound that continues to bleed despite the ceasefire.
Unanswered questions… and winter knocking on the doors of fear in Gaza
Amidst all this, the biggest question remains: how will the children spend the coming winter nights in tents that cannot withstand the first wave of rain?
In Gaza, winter is not feared because it is cold, but because it lays bare everything that cannot be said and reveals the depth of pain that the displaced have been carrying for many months.
Despite all this pain, in every tent there remains a small whisper of resistance, spoken in a low voice:
We will remain standing… even if it is in the mud.
Michael West (@MichaelWestBiz) 
(@LetsStopC9) 
Christ the King vs “Judeo-Christian” 
Free Speech vs Cancel Culture 
NO WAY, HELL JUST FROZE OVER: Ben Shapiro just told Matt Walsh and everyone else on the Right, you won’t survive if you refuse to police your own extremists.
(@catturd2) 
3 Just Stop Oil supporters have thrown soup over 2 of Van Gogh paintings in the ‘Poets and Lovers’ exhibition at the National Gallery.
Support people in resistance: 
