On the eve of Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio New Zealanders are asking Mr Peters to speak up for Palestine.
In the last few days 1606 people have signed anopen letter to Mr Peterswhich we have sent him this afternoon, New Zealand time.
Open letter requesting government action on the future of Gaza
Kia ora Mr Peters,
The situation in Occupied Gaza has reached another crisis point.
Last Sunday Israel announced it was ending its January ceasefire agreement with Palestinian groups resisting the occupation and was once more imposing a total ban on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Israel says this is because it wants to extend the first phase of the ceasefire agreement rather than negotiate phase two which would see the agreed withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The renewed blockade on food, water, fuel and medical supplies has been widely condemned as a breach of the ceasefire agreement and the use of “starvation as a weapon of war” by Palestinian groups, international aid organisations and many governments. The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has called for “humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately”. Israel has refused this request.
Compounding the crisis is US President Donald Trump’s recently declared intention to permanently remove all the Palestinian people of Gaza and send them to other countries such as Egypt and Jordan so Gaza can be rebuilt as a US territory in the Middle East – in his words “the riviera of the Middle East”.
Israel has accepted this US proposal but Palestinians and the vast majority of governments and civil society groups around the world are appalled at the scheme.
To this point our government has not commented on either Israel’s new blockade of humanitarian supplies into Gaza or the US President’s plan for ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territory.
Back in December 2023, when the government was commenting, the Prime Minister stated “…Israel must respect international humanitarian law. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected…Safe and unimpeded humanitarian access must be increased and sustained.”
None of this has happened in the more than 14 months since.
We are asking our government to speak out once more on behalf of the people of New Zealand to, at the very least, condemn Israel’s use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war and to call for international humanitarian and human rights law to be applied.
We believe the way forward for peace and security for everyone who calls the Middle East home is for all parties to follow international law and United Nations resolutions so that a lasting peace can be established based on justice and equal rights for everyone in the region.
New Zealand has an internationally respected voice which can make a strong contribution to this end. We are asking the government to use this voice.
It took thousands of years to develop the world’s extraordinary range of domesticated farm animals – an estimated 8,800 livestock breeds across 38 farmed species.
But this diversity is dwindling fast. Advances in selective breeding and artificial insemination have fuelled the global spread of a small number of profitable livestock types. Their popularity has left ever more heritage breeds at risk of extinction.
Why does this matter? Each breed represents vital genetic diversity for the livestock species on which we rely, known as agrobiodiversity. As the number of breeds shrink, we lose their genetics forever.
There are bright spots amid the decline. Hundreds of passionate farmers are working hard to keep heritage breeds alive around Australia. As my new book shows, they do it primarily for love.
Which livestock breeds are disappearing – and why?
Cattle have experienced the highest number of extinctions, with at least 184 breeds lost globally.
Of all chicken breeds, one in ten is now extinct, and a further 30% are endangered.
The fleece of Elliotdale sheep has been used to make woollen carpets. Sue Curliss, CC BY-NC-ND
Pigs fare little better. Australia’s 2.5 million pigs are predominantly Large White, Landrace and Duroc crossbreeds, while none of the eight remaining purebred pig breeds in Australia currently has more than 100 sows registered with the Rare Breeds Trust. While not all sows are registered, we know breeds such as Tamworths are at dangerously low numbers.
How did this happen? Over the past century, the goal of animal husbandry has shifted from breeding hardy, multipurpose animals to increasing performance for economic gain. For livestock, performance means more of what humans value, such as pigs with extra ribs, prolific egg-laying hens and sheep with finer wool.
Huge sums have been spent on selective breeding and artificial insemination technologies. This, in turn, has made it possible for a small number of profitable livestock types to be farmed globally.
For instance, when you buy a roast chicken, it will likely be one of just two types of fast-growing broilers (meat chickens), the Ross or the Cobb. Their genetics are developed and trademarked by two multinational agribusinesses who dominate the global broiler market.
Chicken breed numbers have shrunk too, risking rare breeds such as Transylvanian naked neck cockerel bantams. Scott Carter, CC BY-NC-ND
It’s hard to overstate how big the increases in production have been from reproductive technologies. In the dairy industry, for instance, milk yield per cow has doubled in the past 40 years. These volumes are around six times greater now than a century ago.
Holsteins, the top dairy breed, have become globally dominant. Almost 1.4 million of Australia’s 1.65 million dairy cows are Holsteins. But as Holstein numbers soar, other breeds dwindle. Many farmers have simply stopped rearing other breeds, leading to many becoming endangered or extinct.
For Holsteins themselves, this has come with a cost. Selective breeding for high milk volume has meant Holsteins suffer more medical issues such as metabolic diseases and frequent mastitis. They also have reduced fertility and longevity.
Researchers have found 99% of Holstein bulls produced by artificial insemination in the United States are descended from just two sires. This wide dissemination of limited bloodlines has led to the spread of genetic defects.
Our food systems face growing threats. Genetic diversity provides a safeguard for livestock species against lethal animal diseases such as H5N1 bird flu and African swine fever.
If we rely on just a few breeds, we risk a wipe out. The Irish potato famine is a catastrophic example. In the 1800s, Irish farmers took up the “lumper” variety of potatoes to feed a growing population. But when fungal rot struck in the 1840s, it turned most of the crop to mush – and led to mass starvation.
Some breeds have very useful traits, such as resistance to particular pests and diseases.
Chickens and other birds die in swathes if infected by Newcastle disease, one of the most serious bird viruses. But breeds such as the hardy Egyptian Fayoumi survive better, while the European Leghorn – whose genetics are used in commercial egg-laying breeds – is highly susceptible.
Local breeds can also have better resistance to endemic pests. The Indian zebu humped cattle breed, for example, is less prone to tick infestation than crossbreeds.
Climate change is also making life harder for livestock, and some breeds are better adapted to heat than others.
For different cultural groups, local heritage breeds also have unique symbolic and culinary value.
While it’s well-known eating less meat would benefit ecosystems, animal welfare and human health, eating meat remains entrenched in our diets and the economy. Pursuing more sustainable and higher-welfare approaches to livestock production is crucial.
Some Aussie farmers love heritage breeds
A cohort of Australian farmers is working hard to conserve dozens of endangered livestock breeds such as Large Black pigs, Shropshire sheep and Belted Galloway cattle.
A rare Belted Galloway cow with a one week old calf. Scott Carter, CC BY-NC-ND
But these farmers are hampered by our reluctance as consumers to pay more to cover the cost of raising slower-growing breeds in free-range environments. Not only that, but meat processors are increasingly closing their doors to small-scale producers.
Why persevere? For four years, I’ve conducted ethnographic research with Australia’s heritage breed farmers. I found they were motivated by one of the most powerful conservation tools we have: love.
Of his endangered English Leicester sheep, one farmer told me:
I consider them to be family; they have been our family for over 150 years. I talk to them, and the rams in particular talk to me. Sorry if I sound like a silly old man, but you must talk to them. I gave myself a 60th birthday present by commissioning a large portrait of an English Leicester head, which hangs in our kitchen (I do not have a painting of my wife).
Love doesn’t often feature in agricultural research. But it is an important force. We know from wildlife conservation that humans will act to save what they love. This holds for livestock, too.
Catie Gressier receives funding from the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project scheme as well as the European Research Council. She is affiliated with the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia as a potential step towards a ceasefire, the UNIAN news agency reported.
“Our position is that we do not recognize the occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian under any circumstances,” Zelensky told reporters.
He confirmed that potential territorial concessions were discussed during a March 11 meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. delegations in Saudi Arabia.
Zelensky noted that Washington took into account Kiev’s stance on the issue.
He stressed that the territorial issues are “complex” and should be addressed later at the negotiating table.
U.S. warplanes launched extensive airstrikes across northern Yemen on Saturday night, targeting multiple Houthi-controlled locations in a large-scale operation. According to Houthi estimates on Sunday, the bombardment resulted in at least 31 deaths and 101 injuries.
Widespread military campaign
American fighter jets carried out approximately 40 airstrikes targeting multiple locations across six Houthi-controlled governorates in northern Yemen. The coordinated assault struck sites in the capital Sanaa as well as Dhamar, Al-Bayda, Marib, Hajjah, and Saada provinces, according to the Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah TV.
In Sanaa, the strikes focused on strategic military installations including the Jabal Attan area housing missile brigade headquarters, the Jarban area in Sanhan district east of the capital, and Al-Jarraf residential neighborhood in the north, which reportedly contains significant Houthi political offices.
The bombing campaign extended to critical civil infrastructure in Saada province, the Houthi main stronghold in Yemen’s far north, where the U.S. warplanes targeted a key power plant in Dahyan area.
Additional targets included sites in Marib’s oil-rich Majzar district, areas in central Al-Bayda province, positions in the outskirts of Dhamar province and military sites in Hajjah province.
The U.S. Central Command publicly announced the large-scale operation against “Iranian-backed Houthi targets” via social media, stating the mission aims to “defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
This is the first military operation conducted by the U.S. military against the Houthi sites since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office in January and redesignated the group as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
Trump posted on social media Truth Social that the aerial attacks on the “terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses were to protect American shipping, air and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom.”
He also warned the Houthis that if they do not stop their attacks “starting today … hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before.”
Civilian impact & casualties
The strikes on residential areas, particularly in Sanaa’s Al-Jarraf neighborhood, caused widespread panic among civilians. One resident, speaking under the pseudonym Ahmed Hayani, described the terrifying experience to Xinhua: “I was at home with my children when suddenly we heard a huge explosion and the glass of the house’s windows fell on us, as if an earthquake had struck.”
He recounted four massive explosions that followed within minutes as missiles struck a building in the neighborhood. Security forces quickly cordoned off streets leading to the targeted structure while ambulances rushed to retrieve victims. The resident noted significant damage to nearby homes and the traumatic night experienced by all neighborhood inhabitants.
Following Saturday’s night bombardment, witnesses reported that huge explosions continued on early Sunday in Faj Attan, generating powerful shockwaves that affected scores of businesses in neighboring areas and shattering storefront windows. Ambulances were seen rushing to the targeted neighborhoods following the attacks.
The Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health in Sanaa reported this morning that most casualties were women and children, describing the attacks as “a full-fledged war crime.”
Houthi response & regional implications
In response to the U.S. strikes, the Houthi Supreme Political Council — the group’s highest governing authority — vowed a “painful” retaliation, framing the American attacks as support for Israel and warning they would “drag the situation to a more severe and painful level.”
In a statement, the council said “the aggressors against Yemen will be punished in a professional and painful manner,” while calling on the international community to address what it termed “U.S.-Israeli recklessness.”
The Houthi leadership also confirmed that its naval operations would continue until the blockade on Gaza is lifted, and humanitarian aid is permitted entry.
Fatima Asrar, research director at the Washington Center for Yemeni Studies, told Xinhua that the Houthis are unlikely to be deterred by these strikes.
“The Houthis have a known pattern of escalation, and they will not yield to deterrence,” she explained, predicting the group may target Israel directly “to justify their position of weakness and frame it as support for the Palestinians so that they can garner sympathy.”
The renewed conflict comes after Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, coinciding with the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
On Tuesday, the Houthi group announced that it would resume launching attacks against any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the crossings of Gaza Strip are reopened and aid allowed in.
From November 2023 to Jan. 19, the Houthi group launched dozens of drone and rocket attacks against Israel-linked ships and Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The attacks later expanded to include U.S. and British ships after the U.S.-British navy coalition started to intervene, launching air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group.
The Houthis stopped their attacks on Jan. 19, when the Gaza ceasefire deal took effect.
The Houthi group has maintained control of Sanaa and most of northern Yemen for more than a decade with strong ties to Iran.
Yemen’s Houthi group said it launched a retaliatory attack against the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea on Sunday in response to dozens of U.S. airstrikes on its positions.
“The American enemy launched a blatant aggression against our country with more than 47 air raids targeting Sanaa and seven other governorates,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
“In response to the aggression, we carried out a military operation, targeting USS Harry S. Truman and its escorts with a drone and 18 ballistic and cruise missiles,” Sarea stated.
The Houthi attack came after the Houthi Supreme Political Council — the group’s highest governing authority — vowed a “painful” retaliation, framing the American attacks as support for Israel and warning they would “drag the situation to a more severe and painful level.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that his group would “continue to impose a naval blockade on the Israeli enemy” in its area of operations, including the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, until the entry of aid into Gaza is permitted.
U.S. warplanes launched extensive airstrikes across northern Yemen on Saturday night, targeting multiple Houthi-controlled locations. According to the latest Houthi estimates on Sunday, the bombardment resulted in at least 53 deaths and 98 injuries.
This is the first U.S. military operation against the Houthi group since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed power in January and redesignated the group as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
Trump warned on the social media platform Truth Social on Saturday that if the Houthis do not stop their attacks on the Red Sea shipping, “hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before,” claiming the U.S. aerial attacks on the “terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses were to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom.”
The U.S. Central Command said earlier on X platform that the airstrikes were launched from a U.S. aircraft carrier north of the Red Sea.
The U.S. airstrikes came days after the Houthi group announced on Tuesday that it would resume launching attacks against Israeli-linked shipping until the crossings of the Gaza Strip are reopened and aid allowed in.
From November 2023 to Jan. 19 this year, the Houthi group, which currently controls much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, launched dozens of attacks against Israel-linked ships and Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians who are engulfed in a prolonged conflict with Israel.
The attacks later expanded to include U.S. and British ships after the U.S.-British navy coalition started to intervene and launch strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group.
The Houthis stopped their attacks on Jan. 19, when a Gaza ceasefire deal took effect.
SPECIAL REPORT:By Peter Cronau for Declassified Australia
Australia is caught in a jam, between an assertive American ally and a bold Chinese trading partner. America is accelerating its pivot to the Indo-Pacific, building up its fighting forces and expanding its military bases.
As Australia tries to navigate a pathway between America’s and Australia’s national interests, sometimes Australia’s national interest seems to submerge out of view.
Admiral David Johnston, the Chief of the Australia’s Defence Force, is steering this ship as China flexes its muscle sending a small warship flotilla south to circumnavigate the continent.
He has admitted that the first the Defence Force heard of a live-fire exercise by the three Chinese Navy ships sailing in the South Pacific east of Australia on February 21, was a phone call from the civilian Airservices Australia.
“The absence of any advance notice to Australian authorities was a concern, notably, that the limited notice provided by the PLA could have unnecessarily increased the risk to aircraft and vessels in the area,” Johnston told Senate Estimates .
Johnston was pressed to clarify how Defence first came to know of the live-fire drill: “Is it the case that Defence was only notified, via Virgin and Airservices Australia, 28 minutes [sic] after the firing window commenced?”
To this, Admiral Johnston replied: “Yes.”
If it happened as stated by the Admiral — that a live-fire exercise by the Chinese ships was undertaken and a warning notice was transmitted from the Chinese ships, all without being detected by Australian defence and surveillance assets — this is a defence failure of considerable significance.
Sources with knowledge of Defence spoken to by Declassified Australia say that this is either a failure of surveillance, or a failure of communication, or even more far-reaching, a failure of US alliance cooperation.
And from the very start the official facts became slippery.
Our latest investigation –
AUSTRALIA’S DEFENCE: NAVIGATING US-CHINA TENSIONS
We investigate a significant intelligence failure to detect live-firing by Chinese warships near Australia, has exposed Defence weaknesses, and the fact that when it counts, we are all alone.
— Declassified Australia (@DeclassifiedAus) March 7, 2025
What did they know and when did they know it The first information passed on to Defence by Airservices Australia came from the pilot of a Virgin passenger jet passing overhead the flotilla in the Tasman Sea that had picked up the Chinese Navy VHF radio notification of an impending live-fire exercise.
The radio transmission had advised the window for the live-fire drill commenced at 9.30am and would conclude at 3pm.
We know this from testimony given to Senate Estimates by the head of Airservices Australia. He said Airservices was notified at 9.58am by an aviation control tower informed by the Virgin pilot. Two minutes later Airservices issued a “hazard alert” to commercial airlines in the area.
The Headquarters of the Defence Force’s Joint Operations Command (HJOC), at Bungendore 30km east of Canberra, was then notified about the drill by Airservices at 10.08am, 38 minutes after the drill window had commenced.
When questioned a few days later, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared to try to cover for Defence’s apparent failure to detect the live-fire drill or the advisory transmission.
“At around the same time, there were two areas of notification. One was from the New Zealand vessels that were tailing . .. the [Chinese] vessels in the area by both sea and air,” Albanese stated. “So that occurred and at the same time through the channels that occur when something like this is occurring, Airservices got notified as well.”
But the New Zealand Defence Force had not notified Defence “at the same time”. In fact it was not until 11.01am that an alert was received by Defence from the New Zealand Defence Force — 53 minutes after Defence HQ was told by Airservices and an hour and a half after the drill window had begun.
The Chinese Navy’s stealth guided missile destroyer Zunyi, sailing south in the Coral Sea on February 15, 2025, in a photograph taken from a RAAF P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane. Image: Royal Australian Air Force/Declassified Australia
Defence Minister Richard Marles later in a round-about way admitted on ABC Radio that it wasn’t the New Zealanders who informed Australia first: “Well, to be clear, we weren’t notified by China. I mean, we became aware of this during the course of the day.
“What China did was put out a notification that it was intending to engage in live firing. By that I mean a broadcast that was picked up by airlines or literally planes that were commercial planes that were flying across the Tasman.”
Later the Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, told ABC that two live-fire training drills were carried out at sea on February 21 and 22, in accordance with international law and “after repeatedly issuing safety notices in advance”.
Eyes and ears on ‘every move’ It was expected the Chinese-navy flotilla would end its three week voyage around Australia on March 7, after a circumnavigation of the continent. That is not before finally passing at some distance the newly acquired US-UK nuclear submarine base at HMAS Stirling near Perth and the powerful US communications and surveillance base at North West Cape.
Just as Australia spies on China to develop intelligence and targeting for a potential US war, China responds in kind, collecting data on US military and intelligence bases and facilities in Australia, as future targets should hostilities commence.
The presence of the Chinese Navy ships that headed into the northern and eastern seas around Australia attracted the attention of the Defence Department ever since they first set off south through the Mindoro Strait in the Philippines and through the Indonesian archipelago from the South China Sea on February 3.
“We are keeping a close watch on them and we will be making sure that we watch every move,” Marles stated in the week before the live-fire incident.
“Just as they have a right to be in international waters . . . we have a right to be prudent and to make sure that we are surveilling them, which is what we are doing.”
Around 3500 km to the north, a week into the Chinese ships’ voyage, a spy flight by an RAAF P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane on February 11, in a disputed area of the South China Sea south of China’s Hainan Island, was warned off by a Chinese J-16 fighter jet.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to Australian protests claiming the Australian aircraft “deliberately intruded” into China’s claimed territorial airspace around the Paracel Islands without China’s permission, thereby “infringing on China’s sovereignty and endangering China’s national security”.
Australia criticised the Chinese manoeuvre, defending the Australian flight saying it was “exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace”.
Two days after the incident, the three Chinese ships on their way to Australian waters were taking different routes in beginning their own “right to freedom of navigation” in international waters off the Australian coast. The three ships formed up their mini flotilla in the Coral Sea as they turned south paralleling the Australian eastern coastline outside of territorial waters, and sometimes within Australia’s 200-nautical-mile (370 km) Exclusive Economic Zone.
“Defence always monitors foreign military activity in proximity to Australia. This includes the Peoples Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Task Group.” Admiral Johnston told Senate Estimates.
“We have been monitoring the movement of the Task Group through its transit through Southeast Asia and we have observed the Task Group as it has come south through that region.”
The Task Group was made up of a modern stealth guided missile destroyer Zunyi, the frigate Hengyang, and the Weishanhu, a 20,500 tonne supply ship carrying fuel, fresh water, cargo and ammunition. The Hengyang moved eastwards through the Torres Strait, while the Zunyi and Weishanhu passed south near Bougainville and Solomon Islands, meeting in the Coral Sea.
This map indicates the routes taken by the three Chinese Navy ships on their “right to freedom of navigation” voyage in international waters circumnavigating Australia, with dates of way points indicated — from 3 February till 6 March 2025. Distances and locations are approximate. Image: Weibo/Declassified Australia
As the Chinese ships moved near northern Australia and through the Coral Sea heading further south, the Defence Department deployed Navy and Air Force assets to watch over the ships. These included various RAN warships including the frigate HMAS Arunta and a RAAF P-8A Poseidon intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance plane.
With unconfirmed reports a Chinese nuclear submarine may also be accompanying the surface ships, the monitoring may have also included one of the RAN’s Collins-class submarines, with their active range of sonar, radar and radio monitoring – however it is uncertain whether one was able to be made available from the fleet.
“From the point of time the first of the vessels entered into our more immediate region, we have been conducting active surveillance of their activities,” the Defence chief confirmed.
As the Chinese ships moved into the southern Tasman Sea, New Zealand navy ships joined in the monitoring alongside Australia’s Navy and Air Force.
The range of signals intelligence (SIGINT) that theoretically can be intercepted emanating from a naval ship at sea includes encrypted data and voice satellite communications, ship-to-ship communications, aerial drone data and communications, as well as data of radar, gunnery, and weapon launches.
There are a number of surveillance facilities in Australia that would have been able to be directed at the Chinese ships.
Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD) Shoal Bay Receiving Station outside of Darwin, picks up transmissions and data emanating from radio signals and satellite communications from Australia’s near north region. ASD’s Cocos Islands receiving station in the mid-Indian ocean would have been available too.
The Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) over-the-horizon radar network, spread across northern Australia, is an early warning system that monitors aircraft and ship movements across Australia’s north-western, northern, and north-eastern ocean areas — but its range off the eastern coast is not thought to presently reach further south than the sea off Mackay on the Queensland coast.
Of land-based surveillance facilities, it is the American Pine Gap base that is believed to have the best capability of intercepting the ship’s radio communications in the Tasman Sea.
Enter, Pine Gap and the Americans The US satellite surveillance base at Pine Gap in Central Australia is a US and Australian jointly-run satellite ground station. It is regarded as the most important such American satellite base outside of the USA.
The spy base – Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (JDFPG) – showing the north-eastern corner of the huge base with some 18 of the base’s now 45 satellite dishes and covered radomes visible. Image: Felicity Ruby/Declassified Australia
The role of ASD in supporting the extensive US surveillance mission against China is increasingly valued by Australia’s large Five Eyes alliance partner.
A Top Secret ‘Information Paper’, titled “NSA Intelligence Relationship with Australia”, leaked from the National Security Agency (NSA) by Edward Snowden and published by ABC’s Background Briefing, spells out the “close collaboration” between the NSA and ASD, in particular on China:
“Increased emphasis on China will not only help ensure the security of Australia, but also synergize with the U.S. in its renewed emphasis on Asia and the Pacific . . . Australia’s overall intelligence effort on China, as a target, is already significant and will increase.”
The Pine Gap base, as further revealed in 2023 by Declassified Australia, is being used to collect signals intelligence and other data from the Israeli battlefield of Gaza, and also Ukraine and other global hotspots within view of the US spy satellites.
It’s recently had a significant expansion (reported by this author in The Saturday Paper) which has seen its total of satellite dishes and radomes rapidly increase in just a few years from 35 to 45 to accommodate new heightened-capability surveillance satellites.
Pine Gap base collects an enormous range and quantity of intelligence and data from thermal imaging satellites, photographic reconnaissance satellites, and signals intelligence (SIGINT) satellites, as expert researchers Des Ball, Bill Robinson and Richard Tanter of the Nautilus Institute have detailed.
These SIGINT satellites intercept electronic communications and signals from ground-based sources, such as radio communications, telemetry, radar signals, satellite communications, microwave emissions, mobile phone signals, and geolocation data.
Alliance priorities The US’s SIGINT satellites have a capability to detect and receive signals from VHF radio transmissions on or near the earth’s surface, but they need to be tasked to do so and appropriately targeted on the source of the transmission.
For the Pine Gap base to intercept VHF radio signals from the Chinese Navy ships, the base would have needed to specifically realign one of those SIGINT satellites to provide coverage of the VHF signals in the Tasman Sea at the time of the Chinese ships’ passage. It is not known publicly if they did this, but they certainly have that capability.
However, it is not only the VHF radio transmission that would have carried information about the live-firing exercise.
Pine Gap would be able to monitor a range of other SIGINT transmissions from the Chinese ships. Details of the planning and preparations for the live-firing exercise would almost certainly have been transmitted over data and voice satellite communications, ship-to-ship communications, and even in the data of radar and gunnery operations.
But it is here that there is another possibility for the failure.
The Pine Gap base was built and exists to serve the national interests of the United States. The tasking of the surveillance satellites in range of Pine Gap base is generally not set by Australia, but is directed by United States’ agencies, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) together with the US Defense Department, the National Security Agency (NSA), and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Australia has learnt over time that US priorities may not be the same as Australia’s.
Australian defence and intelligence services can request surveillance tasks to be added to the schedule, and would have been expected to have done so in order to target the southern leg of the Chinese Navy ships’ voyage, when the ships were out of the range of the JORN network.
The military demands for satellite time can be excessive in times of heightened global conflict, as is the case now.
Whether the Pine Gap base was devoting sufficient surveillance resources to monitoring the Chinese Navy ships, due to United States’ priorities in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, North Korea, and to our north in the South China Sea, is a relevant question.
It can only be answered now by a formal government inquiry into what went on — preferably held in public by a parliamentary committee or separately commissioned inquiry. The sovereign defence of Australia failed in this incident and lessons need to be learned.
Who knew and when did they know If the Pine Gap base had been monitoring the VHF radio band and heard the Chinese Navy live-fire alert, or had been monitoring other SIGINT transmissions to discover the live-fire drill, the normal procedure would be for the active surveillance team to inform a number of levels of senior officers, a former Defence official familiar with the process told Declassified Australia.
Inside an operations room at the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) head office at the Defence complex at Russell Hill in Canberra. Image: ADF/Declassified Australia
Expected to be included in the information chain are the Australian Deputy-Chief of Facility at the US base, NSA liaison staff at the base, the Australian Signals Directorate head office at the Defence complex at Russell Hill in Canberra, the Defence Force’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command, in Bungendore, and the Chief of the Defence Force. From there the Defence Minister’s office would need to have been informed.
As has been reported in media interviews and in testimony to the Senate Estimates hearings, it has been stated that Defence was not informed of the Chinese ships’ live-firing alert until a full 38 minutes after the drill window had commenced.
The former Defence official told Declassified Australia it is vital the reason for the failure to detect the live-firing in a timely fashion is ascertained.
Either the Australian Defence Force and US Pine Gap base were not effectively actively monitoring the Chinese flotilla at this time — and the reasons for that need to be examined — or they were, but the information gathered was somewhere stalled and not passed on to correct channels.
If the evidence so far tendered by the Defence chief and the Minister is true, and it was not informed of the drill by any of its intelligence or surveillance assets before that phone call from Airservices Australia, the implications need to be seriously addressed.
A final word In just a couple of weeks the whole Defence environment for Australia has changed, for the worse.
The US military announces a drawdown in Europe and a new pivot to the Indo-Pacific. China shows Australia it can do tit-for-tat “navigational freedom” voyages close to the Australian coast. US intelligence support is withdrawn from Ukraine during the war. Australia discovers the AUKUS submarines’ arrival looks even more remote. The prime minister confuses the limited cover provided by the ANZUS treaty.
Meanwhile, the US militarisation of Australia’s north continues at pace. At the same time a senior Pentagon official pressures Australia to massively increase defence spending. And now, the country’s defence intelligence system has experienced an unexplained major failure.
Australia, it seems, is adrift in a sea of unpredictable global events and changing alliance priorities.
Peter Cronau is an award-winning, investigative journalist, writer, and film-maker. His documentary, The Base: Pine Gap’s Role in US Warfighting, was broadcast on Australian ABC Radio National and featured on ABC News. He produced and directed the documentary film Drawing the Line, revealing details of Australian spying in East Timor, on ABC TV’s premier investigative programme Four Corners. He won the Gold Walkley Award in 2007 for a report he produced on an outbreak of political violence in East Timor. This article was first published by Declassified Australia and is republished here with the author’s permission.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China will continue to work closely with Jordan to promote common development: ambassador
AMMAN, March 16 — China will continue to work closely with Jordan to promote common development and contribute to regional and global peace, stability, and development, Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Chen Chuandong said here on Sunday.
Chen made the remarks during a press conference held in Amman on the outcome of China’s recently concluded “two sessions” — the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress, China’s national legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body.
Hailing the “strong complementarity” of both countries in economic structure and calling Jordan a “close partner,” Chen said some of China’s reform and development policies and measures are consistent with Jordan’s modernization drive.
The Chinese ambassador called on Jordan to make use of Chinese exhibitions to promote its products, particularly dates and olive oil, emphasizing the vast opportunities for agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
He stressed that China will uphold global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.
This year, China will continue to offer initiatives and solutions for hot-spot issues, promote the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and strive for a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue, contributing to peace and stability in the Middle East, he said.
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 16 March 2025 – The Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) Board of Directors held its first meeting for the year 2025, chaired by Mr. Hassan Khalifa Al Jalahma on Sunday, 16 March 2025.
The Board reviewed the topics on the agenda and approved the CBB’s annual report and audited financial statements for the year 2024. The Board also discussed the CBB’s investment policy for 2025, and reviewed the CBB’s activities thus far in 2025.
The Board also reviewed key monetary and banking indicators for the year 2024 including the money supply, which increased by BD0.3 billion to reach BD 16.3 billion at the end of December 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. As for retail banks, total private deposits increased to around BD14.2 billion at the end of December 2024, an increase of 0.4% compared to the end of December 2023. The outstanding balance of total loans and credit facilities extended to resident economic sectors increased to BD12.3 billion at the end of December 2024, an increase of 4.6% compared to the end of 2023, with the Business Sector accounting for 42.3% and the Personal Sector at 48.3% of total loans and credit facilities. The balance sheet of the banking system (retail banks and wholesale sector banks) increased to $247.8 billion at the end of December 2024, an increase of 3.9% compared to the end December of 2023.
Point of Sales (POS) data for January 2025 totaled 21.2 million transactions (77.4% of which were contactless), an increase of 25.4% compared to the same period in 2024. The total value of POS transactions for January 2025 totaled BD 433.0 million (51.9% of which were contactless), an increase of 14.6% compared to the same period in 2024.
The banking sector maintained a high level of capital adequacy and liquidity, as the capital adequacy ratio of the banking sector reached 21.2% in Q4 2024 compared with 19.7% in Q4 2023. The capital adequacy ratio for the various banking sectors was 32.0% for conventional retail banks, 16.9% for conventional wholesale banks, 24.6% for Islamic retail banks, and 19.6% for Islamic wholesale banks in Q4 2024.
The total number of registered Collective Investment Undertakings (CIUs) as of January 2025 stood at 1741 CIUs, compared to 1678 funds as of January 2024. The net asset value (NAV) of the CIUs increased from US $11.139 billion in Q4 2023 to US $11.170 billion in Q4 2024, reflecting an increase of 0.3%. The NAV of Bahrain domiciled CIUs decreased from US $4.309 billion in Q4 2023 to US $4.268 billion in Q4 2024, reflecting a decrease of 1%. The NAV of overseas domiciled CIUs increased from US $6.830 billion in Q4 2023 to US $6.902 billion in Q4 2024, reflecting an increase of 1.1%. Additionally, the NAV of Shari’a-compliant CIUs increased from US $1.618 billion in Q4 2023 to US $1.715 billion in Q4 2024, reflecting an increase of 6%.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Federico Donelli, Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Trieste
The civil war in Sudan that began in April 2023 involves several external actors. The conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in a quest for political and economic power. The situation has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Various foreign states have picked a side to support. They include Chad, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In particular, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are providing financial and military support to the warring parties, although they have denied it. Political scientist Federico Donelli, who has studied the influence of these Gulf monarchies in Sudan, unpacks the implications of their intervention.
How did the UAE and Saudi Arabia get involved in Sudan?
Domestic factors within Sudan were the primary triggers for the outbreak of the civil war. Framing the Sudanese conflict as a proxy war may underestimate or overlook important internal variables.
But it’s also important to highlight the indirect involvement of other states. In the Horn of Africa region, Sudan has interacted the most with Middle Eastern states over the past two decades. Among these states, two Gulf monarchies – Saudi Arabia and the UAE – stand out.
Political relations between Saudi Arabia and Sudan date back to the independence of the Sudanese state in 1956. And people-to-people links have flourished over centuries. This is largely because Sudan is geographically close to Saudi and the two Muslim holy cities of Mecca (Makkah) and Medina.
The case of the UAE is different. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the Emirates have expanded their economic and financial influence in Africa, investing in niche sectors such as port logistics. Sudan in particular came to the fore for the Emirates at the end of the 2010s when regional balances shifted before and after the Arab uprisings.
Between 2014 and 2015, Saudi Arabia and UAE influence in Sudanese politics increased under President Omar al-Bashir. Both monarchies wanted to counter Iran’s ability to project power into the Red Sea and in Yemen. In 2015, after breaking off relations with Iran, Sudan contributed 10,000 troops to a Saudi-led military operation in Yemen to fight Houthi rebels. Both the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces took part, and personal links were forged.
In the post-Bashir era that began in 2019, Saudi and UAE influence has continued to grow, thanks to those direct links.
In general, both monarchies are status seekers. In a changing international context, Sudan is a testing ground for their ability to influence and shape future political settlements.
Seeing the post-2019 transition as an opportunity to influence Sudan’s regional standing, the two monarchies chose to support different factions within Sudan’s security apparatus. This external support exacerbated internal competition.
Riyadh, in conjunction with Egypt, maintained close ties with army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Abu Dhabi aligned itself with the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Dagalo, or Hemedti.
Since 2019, the relationship between the UAE and Saudi Arabia has changed. After more than a decade of strategic convergence, especially on regional issues, the two Gulf monarchies began to diverge on issues like their view on political Islam. This divergence has been evident in various crisis scenarios, including in Sudan.
Although both countries jointly supported the initial Sudanese transition after Bashir’s ouster, the deterioration of relations between Hemedti and al-Burhan created conditions for a showdown between the two monarchies.
However, the conflict in Sudan didn’t break out because of the rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. But Sudan’s local actors felt able to go to war because they were aware of external support. And once the conflict broke out, both monarchies were reluctant to withdraw local support lest they appear weak in the eyes of their regional counterpart.
Why is Sudan important to these countries?
My recent study with political scientist Abigail Kabandula shows that the UAE and Saudi Arabia gradually increased their presence in Sudan after the 2011 Arab uprisings. The fall of some regimes, including Egypt, made the two Gulf monarchies fear that instability could entangle them.
Our analysis identifies two main reasons for the two countries’ influence in Sudan:
changes to the regional power structure
the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa.
The US pivot to Asia – shifting resources from the Middle East to the Pacific – and the Arab Spring protests increased uncertainty among Gulf states. This led to a realignment of regional power dynamics and the formation of rival blocs. As a result, the UAE and Saudi Arabia sought closer ties with African countries. In Sudan, the relationship has developed through both military and political engagement.
Our analysis shows an increase in both countries’ interest in Sudan between 2012 and 2020. However, our research also highlighted some key differences in their growing influence.
In the early years after the Arab uprisings, the UAE’s influence grew rapidly, driven by concerns about the spread of protests. This was particularly important given Sudan’s proximity to Egypt.
Saudi Arabia maintained a more stable level of influence from 2010 to 2020. This was despite Riyadh also initially fearing the spread of the protests.
Both Gulf states were wary of al-Bashir’s growing ties with Turkey and Qatar, which they feared would strengthen a pro-Islamist bloc in the region. However, after Bashir’s overthrow in 2019, their approaches began to diverge.
The two Gulf monarchies view Sudan as a key country because of its geographical location.
Sudan is situated between two major regions – the Sahel and the Red Sea – characterised by instability and conflict. These regions face interconnected challenges: political instability, poverty, food insecurity, and internal and external wars. They also face population displacement, transnational crime and the threat of jihadist groups.
Moreover, Sudan is an important link between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa. The country is a crossroads, influencing current and future geostrategic dynamics in the region.
The Gulf monarchies, including Qatar, have also invested heavily – between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion – in Sudan’s agri-food sector, which is vital to their food security. Sudan, with its abundant water resources, offers a large amount of fertile land, making it attractive to Gulf companies.
What can we expect to see next?
Similar to other current global crises – such as those in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Democratic Republic of Congo – the conflict in Sudan seems difficult to resolve through negotiations. Two main factors contribute to this difficulty.
First, both parties see the victory of one side as entirely dependent on the defeat of the other. Such logic leaves no room for a win-win solution. Second, the current international context supports the continuation of hostilities. The global shifting balance of power provides both warring parties with opportunities for external support. This complicates efforts to find a peaceful solution.
There are now two centres of power and governance in the country. It is likely that this division will become more pronounced.
– Middle Eastern monarchies in Sudan’s war: what’s driving their interests – https://theconversation.com/middle-eastern-monarchies-in-sudans-war-whats-driving-their-interests-251825
A former US diplomat, Nabeel Khoury, says President Donald Trump’s decision to launch attacks against the Houthis is misguided, and this will not subdue them.
“For our president who came in wanting to avoid war and wanting to be a man of peace, he’s going about it the wrong way,” he said.
“There are many paths that can be used before you resort to war.” Khoury told Al Jazeera.
The danger to shipping in the Red Sea was “a justifiable reason for concern”, Khoury told Al Jazeera in an interview, but added that it was a problem that could be resolved through diplomacy.
Ansar Allah (Houthi) media sources said that at least four areas had been razed by the US warplanes that targeted, in particular, a residential area north of the capital, Sanaa, killing 31 people.
The Houthis, who had been “bombed severely all over their territory” in the past, were not likely to be subdued through “a few weeks of bombing”, Khoury said.
“If you think that Hamas, living and fighting on a very small piece of land, totally surrounded by land, air and sea, and yet, 17 months of bombardment by the Israelis did not get rid of them.
‘More rugged space’ “The Houthis live in a much more rugged space, mountainous regions — it would be virtually impossible to eradicate them,” Khoury said.
“So there is no military logic to what’s happening, and there is no political logic either.”
Providing background, Patty Culhane reported from Washington that there were several factual errors in the justification President Trump had given for his order.
“It’s important to point out that the Houthi attacks have stopped since the ceasefire in Gaza [on January 19], although the Houthis were threatening to strike again,” she said.
“His other justification is saying that no US-flagged vessel has transited the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden safely in more than a year.
“And then he says another reason is because Houthis attacked a US military warship.
“That happened when Trump was not president.”
Is the world waiting for hundreds of thousands of people to die of hunger in Gaza to do something to save them ? pic.twitter.com/xMFJBNzJNY
— Ahmed Hassan 🇾🇪 أحمد حسن زيد (@Ahmed_hassan_za) March 14, 2025
Down to 10,000 ships She said the White House was now putting out more of a communique, “saying that before the attacks, there were 25,000 ships that transited the Red Sea annually. Now it’s down to 10,000 so, obviously, sort of shooting down the president’s concept that nobody is actually transiting the region.
“And it did list the number of attacks. The US commercial ships have been attacked 145 times since 2023 in their list.”
Meanwhile, at least nine people, including three journalists, have been killed and several others wounded in an Israeli drone attack on relief aid workers at Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, according to Palestinian media.
The attack reportedly targeted a relief team that was accompanied by journalists and photographers. At least three local journalists were among the dead.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Centre said in a statement that Israel had killed “three journalists in an airstrike on a media team documenting relief efforts in northern Gaza”, reports
“The journalists were documenting humanitarian relief efforts for those affected by Israel’s genocidal war,” the statement added, according to Anadolu.
In a statement, the Israeli military claimed it struck “two terrorists . . . operating a drone that posed a threat” to Israeli soldiers in the area of Beit Lahiya.
“Later, a number of additional terrorists collected the drone operating equipment and entered a vehicle. The [Israeli military] struck the terrorists,” it added, without providing any evidence about its claims.
‘Liberation’ poetry In Auckland on Saturday, protesters at the Aotearoa New Zealand’s weekly “free Palestine” rallies gave a tribute to poet Mahmoud Darwish — the “liberation voice of Palestine” — by reciting peace and justice poetry and marked the sixth anniversary of the Christchurch mosque massacre when a lone white terrorist gunned down 51 people at Friday prayers.
Two of the pro-Palestine protesters hold West Papuan and Palestinian flags – symbolising indigenous liberation – at Saturday’s rally in Auckland. Image: APR
This photo taken by a mobile phone shows smoke rising after an airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)
The death toll from U.S. overnight airstrikes on Houthi sites across northern Yemen has risen to 31, with at least 101 others wounded, Al Jazeera reported Sunday.
The death toll is expected to rise further as U.S. airstrikes continue across Yemen.
The casualties were reported across multiple locations, including the capital Sanaa, the northern province of Saada, a Houthi stronghold, as well as other Houthi-controlled Yemeni provinces.
The military campaign, which started Saturday evening, struck the Al-Jarraf residential neighborhood in northern Sanaa, followed by several bombardments on the Shoab residential area in eastern Sanaa, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
Later in the evening, fresh strikes hit sites in the northern part of the province’s namesake central city Saada, the group’s northern main stronghold.
According to local residents, the strikes in Sanna targeted ammunition and rocket depots near the Houthi-controlled state television station in the Al-Jarraf neighborhood. A white smoke plume could be seen rising from the neighborhood, and a series of explosions were triggered following the airstrikes, witnesses said.
This is the first military operation conducted by the U.S. military against the Houthi sites since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office in January and redesignated the group as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
Trump posted on social media Truth Social that the aerial attacks on the “terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses were to protect American shipping, air and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom.”
He also warned the Houthis that if they do not stop their attacks “starting today … hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before.”
In the meantime, the U.S. Central Command posted footage on X showing warplanes taking off a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, saying that it “initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
Following the U.S. airstrikes, the Houthis vowed to launch retaliatory attacks, saying “this aggression will not pass without a response,” and that the group is “fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation,” the Houthis’ political bureau said in a statement aired by al-Masirah TV.
On Tuesday, the Houthi group announced that it would resume launching attacks against any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the Gaza Strip’s crossings are reopened and aid allowed in.
From November 2023 to Jan. 19, the Houthi group, which currently controls much of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, had launched dozens of drone and rocket attacks against Israel-linked ships and Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The Houthis stopped their attacks on Jan. 19, when the Gaza ceasefire deal took effect.
The civil war in Sudan that began in April 2023 involves several external actors. The conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in a quest for political and economic power. The situation has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Various foreign states have picked a side to support. They include Chad, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In particular, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are providing financial and military support to the warring parties, although they have denied it. Political scientist Federico Donelli, who has studied the influence of these Gulf monarchies in Sudan, unpacks the implications of their intervention.
How did the UAE and Saudi Arabia get involved in Sudan?
Domestic factors within Sudan were the primary triggers for the outbreak of the civil war. Framing the Sudanese conflict as a proxy war may underestimate or overlook important internal variables.
But it’s also important to highlight the indirect involvement of other states. In the Horn of Africa region, Sudan has interacted the most with Middle Eastern states over the past two decades. Among these states, two Gulf monarchies – Saudi Arabia and the UAE – stand out.
Political relations between Saudi Arabia and Sudan date back to the independence of the Sudanese state in 1956. And people-to-people links have flourished over centuries. This is largely because Sudan is geographically close to Saudi and the two Muslim holy cities of Mecca (Makkah) and Medina.
The case of the UAE is different. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the Emirates have expanded their economic and financial influence in Africa, investing in niche sectors such as port logistics. Sudan in particular came to the fore for the Emirates at the end of the 2010s when regional balances shifted before and after the Arab uprisings.
Between 2014 and 2015, Saudi Arabia and UAE influence in Sudanese politics increased under President Omar al-Bashir. Both monarchies wanted to counter Iran’s ability to project power into the Red Sea and in Yemen. In 2015, after breaking off relations with Iran, Sudan contributed 10,000 troops to a Saudi-led military operation in Yemen to fight Houthi rebels. Both the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces took part, and personal links were forged.
In the post-Bashir era that began in 2019, Saudi and UAE influence has continued to grow, thanks to those direct links.
In general, both monarchies are status seekers. In a changing international context, Sudan is a testing ground for their ability to influence and shape future political settlements.
Seeing the post-2019 transition as an opportunity to influence Sudan’s regional standing, the two monarchies chose to support different factions within Sudan’s security apparatus. This external support exacerbated internal competition.
Riyadh, in conjunction with Egypt, maintained close ties with army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Abu Dhabi aligned itself with the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Dagalo, or Hemedti.
Since 2019, the relationship between the UAE and Saudi Arabia has changed. After more than a decade of strategic convergence, especially on regional issues, the two Gulf monarchies began to diverge on issues like their view on political Islam. This divergence has been evident in various crisis scenarios, including in Sudan.
Although both countries jointly supported the initial Sudanese transition after Bashir’s ouster, the deterioration of relations between Hemedti and al-Burhan created conditions for a showdown between the two monarchies.
However, the conflict in Sudan didn’t break out because of the rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. But Sudan’s local actors felt able to go to war because they were aware of external support. And once the conflict broke out, both monarchies were reluctant to withdraw local support lest they appear weak in the eyes of their regional counterpart.
Why is Sudan important to these countries?
My recent study with political scientist Abigail Kabandula shows that the UAE and Saudi Arabia gradually increased their presence in Sudan after the 2011 Arab uprisings. The fall of some regimes, including Egypt, made the two Gulf monarchies fear that instability could entangle them.
Our analysis identifies two main reasons for the two countries’ influence in Sudan:
changes to the regional power structure
the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa.
The US pivot to Asia – shifting resources from the Middle East to the Pacific – and the Arab Spring protests increased uncertainty among Gulf states. This led to a realignment of regional power dynamics and the formation of rival blocs. As a result, the UAE and Saudi Arabia sought closer ties with African countries. In Sudan, the relationship has developed through both military and political engagement.
Our analysis shows an increase in both countries’ interest in Sudan between 2012 and 2020. However, our research also highlighted some key differences in their growing influence.
In the early years after the Arab uprisings, the UAE’s influence grew rapidly, driven by concerns about the spread of protests. This was particularly important given Sudan’s proximity to Egypt.
Saudi Arabia maintained a more stable level of influence from 2010 to 2020. This was despite Riyadh also initially fearing the spread of the protests.
Both Gulf states were wary of al-Bashir’s growing ties with Turkey and Qatar, which they feared would strengthen a pro-Islamist bloc in the region. However, after Bashir’s overthrow in 2019, their approaches began to diverge.
The two Gulf monarchies view Sudan as a key country because of its geographical location.
Sudan is situated between two major regions – the Sahel and the Red Sea – characterised by instability and conflict. These regions face interconnected challenges: political instability, poverty, food insecurity, and internal and external wars. They also face population displacement, transnational crime and the threat of jihadist groups.
Moreover, Sudan is an important link between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa. The country is a crossroads, influencing current and future geostrategic dynamics in the region.
The Gulf monarchies, including Qatar, have also invested heavily – between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion – in Sudan’s agri-food sector, which is vital to their food security. Sudan, with its abundant water resources, offers a large amount of fertile land, making it attractive to Gulf companies.
What can we expect to see next?
Similar to other current global crises – such as those in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Democratic Republic of Congo – the conflict in Sudan seems difficult to resolve through negotiations. Two main factors contribute to this difficulty.
First, both parties see the victory of one side as entirely dependent on the defeat of the other. Such logic leaves no room for a win-win solution. Second, the current international context supports the continuation of hostilities. The global shifting balance of power provides both warring parties with opportunities for external support. This complicates efforts to find a peaceful solution.
There are now two centres of power and governance in the country. It is likely that this division will become more pronounced.
Federico Donelli is Senior Research Associate at the Istituto di Studi di Politica Internazionale, ISPI (Milan) and Non-Resident Fellow at the Orion Policy Institute, OPI (Washington, DC).
This photo taken by a mobile phone shows smoke rising after an airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15, 2025. The U.S. warplanes on Saturday night launched airstrikes on several Houthi sites in Yemen’s capital Sanna and the northern province of Saada, killing at least 13, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)
The U.S. warplanes on Saturday night launched airstrikes on several Houthi sites in Yemen’s capital Sanna and the northern province of Saada, killing at least 13, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
“This is an initial toll as the number of death could increase,” the TV cited the Houthi-run health ministry as saying, adding that at least nine others were injured.
The Houthi TV reported four airstrikes in the Al-Jarraf residential neighborhood in northern Sanaa and several other airstrikes on the Shoab residential neighborhood in eastern Sanaa.
Later in the evening, fresh strikes hit sites in the northern part of the province’s namesake central city Saada, the group’s northern main stronghold. No further details were provided by the television.
According to local residents, the strikes in Sanna targeted ammunition and rocket depots near the Houthi-controlled state television station in the Al-Jarraf neighborhood. White smoke plume could be seen rising from the neighborhood, and a series of explosions were triggered following the airstrikes, witnesses added.
Osama Sari, a Houthi official, wrote on X that the strikes on Al-Jarraf neighborhood also damaged parts of the Specialized Modern University near the Airport Road.
Another Houthi source told Xinhua that the airstrikes also targeted two houses of key Houthi leaders.
This is the first military operation conducted by the U.S. military against the Houthi sites since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed power in January and redesigned the group as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
Trump posted on social media Truth Social that the aerial attacks on the “terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses were to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom.”
He also warned Houthis that if they do not stop their attacks “starting today… Hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before.”
In the meantime, the U.S. Central Command posted footage on X showing warplanes taking off a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, saying that it “initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
Following the U.S. airstrikes, the Houthis vowed to launch retaliatory attacks, saying “this aggression will not pass without a response,” and that the group is “fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation,” the Houthis’ political bureau said in a statement aired by al-Masirah TV.
On Tuesday, the Houthi group announced that it would resume launching attacks against any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the crossings of Gaza Strip are reopened and aid allowed in.
From November 2023 to Jan. 19, the Houthi group, which currently controls much of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, had launched dozens of drone and rocket attacks against Israel-linked ships and the Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The Houthis stopped their attacks on Jan. 19, when the Gaza ceasefire deal took effect.
Andrew Clennell: The Trade Minister, Don Farrell, joins me now from Adelaide. Don Farrell, thanks for your time. You’re due to talk to the US Trade Ambassador tomorrow.
Minister for Trade: Pleased to be with you.
Andrew Clennell: And you spoke at two o’clock Friday morning to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. How did your chat with Mr Lutnick go and what are you hoping to achieve with Mr Greer?
Minister for Trade: Look, Andrew, I did speak with Commerce Secretary Lutnick. That’s the second contact we’ve had with one another since he just recently was appointed to that position. I obviously expressed my disappointment that we had not been able to reach an agreement over the suspension of tariffs on steel and aluminium. But I did say that there’s obviously a further review, and you’ve talked about some of the issues that potentially arise, that the U.S. Government is undertaking by the early part of April. I indicated to him that we want to continue to talk with them. I find that discussion is the best way to resolve these issues. Not retaliatory tariffs, but discussion. What we need to do, Andrew, is find out what it is that the Americans want in terms of this relationship between Australia and the United States and then make President Trump an offer he can’t refuse.
Andrew Clennell: And did Howard Lutnick give you any indication of what they might be after? Because obviously you offered them some form of critical minerals deal. Did he give any, any ray of light you had a chance? I mean, I think you’ve said that President Trump allowed Australia or the Prime Minister to believe there was a chance when there wasn’t. Has he given you any suggestion there’s a chance, or was he holding the line and saying, look, this is our America First policy, that’s it.
Minister for Trade: Look, it wasn’t a pessimistic conversation, I’m pleased to say, Andrew. but look, he gave, you know, no assurances about what might happen in the next round of negotiations. Our job is to sit down and continue to talk. I think the important thing here to understand, Andrew, is that when President Trump, in his first iteration, gave Australia an exemption to Prime Minister Turnbull, it was one of over 30 exemptions that the United States gave to a range of countries around the world. So, more than 30 countries, including most of our competitors in the American market, were able to get an exemption. On this occasion, not one country, not one country got an exemption on either steel or aluminium. Now, that’s obviously, we think that’s bad news. We think it’s bad news, obviously, for the companies that trade in Australia with the United States. It’s also bad news for the Americans because what that has done is simply pushed up the price of steel and aluminium in the US market and that has to have an impact both on, on inflation and on jobs. So, part of my job is to continue to put the arguments to the Americans that in fact, this is the wrong policy to adopt. We should actually be doing the opposite. We should be making more free trade, more fair trade, rather than less trade.
And of course, one of the things that we’ve done in government is diversify our trading relationship. So, we have new agreements with the United Kingdom, we’ve got new agreements with India. I think we’re just about to get another offer from the Indians to even expand our trading relationship with India. We’ve signed a new agreement with the United Arab Emirates. This is like dealing with the Woolies warehouse of the Middle East. If you can get your products into the United Arab Emirates, then you can get it all around the Middle East. On Tuesday night, I spoke with my Korean counterpart, Mr. Ahn, and we’ve got identical problems with the United States. Of course, they sell a lot more steel into the United States than we do. But we are talking about how we can expand our relationship with Korea so that we can sell more product into Korea.
So, it’s a two-pronged approach. Andrew, we are continuing the discussions with the United States. We’ll continue to discuss. We’re not going down the track of some countries in applying retaliatory tariffs. I don’t think that will work, it hasn’t worked for any other country, why would it work for us? We want to explain our position and we want to get those exemptions for Australian companies because it’s good for prosperity in the United States, but it’s also good for prosperity in Australia.
Andrew Clennell: Well, I think you’ve got Buckley’s chance of arguing free and fair trade to the Trump administration, to be frank Minister, but what’s the worst-case scenario here? What’s the worst-case scenario? $30 billion, our exports to the U.S. Could we lose it all?
Minister for Trade: Look, I don’t believe so, Andrew. And just on that first point you made, Buckley’s chance. When I came to this job three years ago, we had $20 billion worth of trade bans in China. People told me, look, you will never, never, ever get that trade back. At the end of last year, the last of the products that had been subject to those trade impediments, namely crayfish, we got back into China. And since then, in the first month of that new trade, we got $188 million of crayfish sold into China. You can reverse these decisions, Andrew, so, don’t give up on us just yet. You can get countries to realise. You can get countries if you keep talking to them and you keep making your arguments, which is exactly what I intend to do. If you keep making your arguments, you can in fact convince countries that the policies that they are adopting are in fact counterproductive, just as they were with China.
Andrew Clennell: Okay, but what’s the worst-case scenario? What’s the worst-case scenario here?
Minister for Trade: Look, I wish I could tell you exactly what the American Government is finally going to do. To be honest with you, I suspect they don’t even know themselves right now. They’re conducting this review. They’re conducting the review in respect of every single trade agreement they have. It’s not just Australia, it’s every country. And my job in the discussions that go on in this coming week and in the weeks ahead is to get the best result for Australian producers, and that’s what I intend to do. And it’ll only be by reaching out, by having discussions, by putting our point of view that we’re going to get an acceptable outcome here.
Andrew Clennell: In any of these discussions, do you talk about the prospect of a phone call between Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump?
Minister for Trade: Oh, that’s way above my pay grade, I’m afraid, Andrew.
Andrew Clennell: Is it though? Kevin Rudd asks.
Minister for Trade: Well, he’s the ambassador, of course he asks, and that’s the job of the ambassador to do that representation on behalf of the Australian Prime Minister.
Andrew Clennell: How many times has he asked, do you know?
Minister for Trade: No, I don’t know the answer to that question, Andrew. But you know, we were amongst the first countries to ring President Trump when he was elected and congratulated him. The Prime Minister did that. And we of course got a second phone call with him to express our concerns about the direction that he was taking in respect of tariffs.
To the best of my knowledge, we were the only country in the world where he said, I’m going to give some consideration to not applying these tariffs to you. Now, I know we didn’t get the exemption in the end, but we were the only country that at least got him to say, look, we’re going to give some consideration to this. Ultimately, the consideration was that they would not do it.
As I’ve said on Sky previously, the people around President Trump, particularly Mr. Navarro, I think, were determined that they weren’t going to go down the track that they went down last time. So, I mentioned before over 30 countries got exemptions for steel and aluminium. They were determined, the people around President Trump were determined not to go down that track again. They were going to apply the tariffs, the 25 per cent tariffs, and no country was going to get an exemption. But look, we will continue to talk. As I said, I’ve spoken to Commerce Secretary Lutnick on Friday morning, tomorrow US time, so, Tuesday morning, I think 7:30, I’m going to have my conversation with Jamieson Greer. We’re going to work out firstly what it is that the Americans want out of this arrangement, because it’s still not clear to me what it is that they are seeking. But once we find that out, we’ll work through this issue and we’ll work through it in Australia’s national interest.
Andrew Clennell: Why haven’t you been to the US, yourself?
Minister for Trade: Look, can I say this, Andrew, modern communications these days, a telephone call, a video conference, which is what I’ll be doing with Jamieson Greer, Ambassador Greer, on Tuesday, we’re getting our message across. After that first conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese, we embarked on a course of action which was determined in consultation with the officials in the United States about how best to progress our concerns about the introduction or the reintroduction of tariffs. We followed that. We followed that course of action and we followed it until last Wednesday when it became clear that the Americans were not going to give us an exemption. So, we had a plan. We had a plan for how we deal with this issue. We were hopeful, certainly based on early discussions, that we would get a successful result here. In the event that that didn’t happen. But we’re not giving up. We’re continuing the talks. And in fact, in lots of ways, the talks will be beefed up in the weeks and the months ahead as we try and resolve all of these issues, but these are not easy issues, Andrew.
Andrew Clennell: No, they’re not. But Peter Dutton says you haven’t got the relationships. He’s pointed the finger at Kevin Rudd. The suggestion is Albanese, the Prime Minister, was seen as too close to Joe Biden. Penny Wong found out from the media that this had occurred. What do you say to all that? I mean, his contention as we go into an election campaign is their government would have better luck with the US Administration. What do you say to that?
Minister for Trade: Look, Peter Dutton couldn’t go two rounds with a revolving door Andrew. What happened? When we came to government, there were $20 billion worth of tariffs and trade impediments with the Chinese. If Peter Dutton’s so good at building relationships and solving problems, they didn’t get a cent, they didn’t get a cent or a single tariff removed in that previous three years in government. We got the best result or the best response of any country in the world. We got a consideration by the President to review these tariffs. Now ok, it didn’t ultimately result in us getting the tariffs removed and we accept that. We accept that situation. I’d ask your listeners, who do you think is going to be better to negotiate with the United States? Somebody with a proven record of getting results or somebody, when they had the opportunity to get some results, did nothing. Did nothing. They did nothing.
Andrew Clennell: What would a tariff do to the beef industry?
Minister for Trade: It would certainly have a clearly a negative impact. The United States I think is, if it’s not the largest export market for our beef industry, it would have a significant impact. We are expanding our beef exports, our beef exports right now thanks to the Albanese Labor Government, are the best that they’ve ever been. We’re exporting more beef than we ever have. The significance, of course to the United States about our beef exports is that most of it goes into McDonald’s hamburgers. And if you push up the price of those beef exports by 25 per cent or 10 per cent or whatever the figure is, then you simply push up the price of hamburgers in the United States. It doesn’t make any sense, Andrew. It doesn’t make any sense at all.
Andrew Clennell: Sure.
Minister for Trade: You want to be pushing prices down. You don’t want to be pushing them up.
Andrew Clennell: Indeed. There’s also speculation the trade war could harm the PBS somehow and cause pharmaceutical prices to go up. How would that occur and what do you make of that speculation?
Minister for Trade: Well, it simply is speculation. That’s all it is, Andrew. I’ve not heard one comment from any person in the United States that refers to the PBS. We’ve got a terrific health system. We’re continuing to improve all the time. Minister Butler is always coming up with new ideas to improve our health system. The PBS is an essential part of our health system and there will be absolutely nothing that the Americans can do to impact on our health system or the PBS system. And we certainly, we certainly would not contemplate doing anything at any stage that makes our health system more expensive. We want to put downward pressure on the cost of health and we’re going to continue to do that, especially if we get re-elected in a few weeks’ time.
Andrew Clennell: It’s been reported the deal that Australia put on the table was access to our critical minerals like lithium, manganese, what’s the nature of that deal? Presumably America would still have to pay for the minerals. Would they get the minerals at a cheaper rate? Would they have the first right of refusal on the minerals? What are the minerals to be used for? Making mobile phones, electric cars and the like?
Minister for Trade: Yeah, look, Australia is very fortunate in the sense that we have either the largest or the second largest reserves of all critical minerals and rare earths in the world. Now, critical minerals are different from other minerals. If you go up to the Pilbara, you can see iron ore as far as the eye can see, Andrew. Critical minerals tend to be in much smaller deposits and they’re much deeper down. Two things about that. They are more expensive to extract and they take longer to dig out of the ground and they don’t last as long so you’ve got to keep finding new resources. What this means for what we were proposing to the Americans was continued and improved investment in getting access to those critical minerals. We’ve got some of the most sophisticated miners in Australia, Andrew. We’ve got a very sophisticated mining operation here, much more sophisticated than the Americans. But the thing we often don’t have is access to capital. So, the offer to the Americans was, look, we’ll work with you. You want these critical minerals, you want them for electric batteries in cars, you’ve mentioned some of the other things, mobile phones, all of these sorts of things. But the process of extraction is expensive, we need capital. We want to work with other countries. We want to particularly work, for instance, with the Europeans. We’ve made them some offers in this regard. It’s not about cheaper prices, it’s not about preferred access. It’s about ensuring that they’ve got a reliable supply chain to ensure that when they need these critical minerals, you’ve got a reliable country like Australia who can provide them.
Andrew Clennell: So, would that be Australian money or American money? When you talk about increased investment –
Minister for Trade: Both. Both.
Andrew Clennell: Okay. So, an Australian financial offer was put on the table?
Minister for Trade: No, it wasn’t a financial offer in that sense. It was a way forward to try and get support both in Australia and in the United States for extracting these critical minerals. So, if we’re going to go down the track of decarbonising our economies, this is the way we need to go. But it’s going to require investment, significant investment. The Australian Government is already making significant investments in this area. But to get to where we want to get to in terms of that net zero project, then we need more investment and –
Andrew Clennell: Do you see the hand of Elon Musk? Do you see the hand of Elon Musk in any of this? The keenness of the Americans for these critical minerals.
Minister for Trade: Well, look, they didn’t accept our offer. So, if Mr Musk was involved in this, then he doesn’t appear to have influenced the result, if that was what he was after. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Musk was not involved in any of these discussions that I –
Andrew Clennell: All right, no worries. We’re nearly out of time. Overnight, the PM reiterated in a meeting with European leaders he would consider sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if there was peace. That’ll be controversial with a lot of Australians because it’s not our region. We know Peter Dutton doesn’t support this. Is the PM trying to muscle up here after Peter Dutton has continually called him weak? What’s the motivation to get involved in this conflict?
Minister for Trade: Andrew, for the last 80 years, in other words, since the end of World War II, Australia has been involved in peacekeeping missions all the way around the world. We’ve come out right from day one, Prime Minister Albanese has been very clear and very strong on this, we support Ukraine. Ukraine’s fight for democracy. Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty is Australia’s fight. It’s Australia’s fight. We’ve made significant financial contributions to Ukraine to ensure that they can defend themselves from this illegal and immoral monster, Putin, and we’ll continue to do that. And if Prime Minister Starmer says, look, will you contribute to peacekeeping? I think that’s the right thing to do. Look, it’s not all about popularity and so forth, but it’s the right thing to do. We want to see peace around the world. The best thing that Australia can do in terms of any international relationship is to support peace. And if we can make a contribution to that peacekeeping effort, then I think we should. And I think Mr. Dutton is completely on the wrong track here. Australians support the Ukrainian fight. I was on the steps of Parliament House just a couple of weeks ago with Premier Malinauskas. His background is Lithuanian. He knows exactly what happens if you don’t stand up to bullies like Putin. It’s in our interest to defend democracy in Ukraine. It’s in our interest to be part of a peacekeeping force when there’s peace.
Andrew Clennell: Finally, and briefly, there was something of a blow to the government late last week with the default market offer out, that Australians face price rises of up to 10 per cent on their power bills. Will the government’s electricity subsidy be extended and increased in the budget?
Minister for Trade: Well, you know the answer to that question, Andrew. You’ll have to ask the Treasurer, and you’ve only got a few more sleeps to find out what’s going to be in the next budget.
Andrew Clennell: Well, I might ask him on the show next week. Thanks very much, Don Farrell.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday signed an order on the makeup of a delegation tasked with interacting with international partners on peace efforts.
According to the order published online, Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky’s office, has been appointed to lead the delegation.
The team also includes Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Deputy Head of the President’s Office Pavlo Palisa.
Zelensky authorized Yermak to modify the delegation with Sybiha’s approval.
Earlier this week, Yermak, Sybiha, Umerov and Palisa had a meeting with a U.S. delegation in Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. warplanes on Saturday night launched airstrikes on several Houthi sites in Yemen’s capital Sanna and the northern province of Saada, killing at least 13, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
“This is an initial toll as the number of death could increase,” the TV cited the Houthi-run health ministry as saying, adding that at least nine others were injured.
The Houthi TV reported four airstrikes in the Al-Jarraf residential neighborhood in northern Sanaa and several other airstrikes on the Shoab residential neighborhood in eastern Sanaa.
Later in the evening, fresh strikes hit sites in the northern part of the province’s namesake central city Saada, the group’s northern main stronghold. No further details were provided by the television.
According to local residents, the strikes in Sanna targeted ammunition and rocket depots near the Houthi-controlled state television station in the Al-Jarraf neighborhood. White smoke plume could be seen rising from the neighborhood, and a series of explosions were triggered following the airstrikes, witnesses added.
Osama Sari, a Houthi official, wrote on X that the strikes on Al-Jarraf neighborhood also damaged parts of the Specialized Modern University near the Airport Road.
Another Houthi source told Xinhua that the airstrikes also targeted two houses of key Houthi leaders.
This is the first military operation conducted by the U.S. military against the Houthi sites since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed power in January and redesigned the group as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
Trump posted on social media Truth Social that the aerial attacks on the “terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses were to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom.”
He also warned Houthis that if they do not stop their attacks “starting today… Hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before.”
In the meantime, the U.S. Central Command posted footage on X showing warplanes taking off a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, saying that it “initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.”
Following the U.S. airstrikes, the Houthis vowed to launch retaliatory attacks, saying “this aggression will not pass without a response,” and that the group is “fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation,” the Houthis’ political bureau said in a statement aired by al-Masirah TV.
On Tuesday, the Houthi group announced that it would resume launching attacks against any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the crossings of Gaza Strip are reopened and aid allowed in.
From November 2023 to Jan. 19, the Houthi group, which currently controls much of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, had launched dozens of drone and rocket attacks against Israel-linked ships and the Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The Houthis stopped their attacks on Jan. 19, when the Gaza ceasefire deal took effect.
Source: The White House
President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on Friday will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.
Dan Robinson, a 34-year veteran of Voice of America and its former White House correspondent, wrote last year: “I have monitored the agency’s bureaucracy along with many of its reporters and concluded that it has essentially become a hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media. It has sought to avoid accountability for violations of journalistic standards and mismanagement.”
Voice of America’s management told staff not to call Hamas and its members terrorists, “except when quoting statements.”
Daily Caller: “Multiple Voice Of America Reporters Have Posted Anti-Trump Content On Social Media”
“Multiple Voice of America (VOA) reporters have repeatedly posted anti-Trump comments on their professional Twitter accounts, despite a social media policy requiring employee impartiality on social media platforms.”
Rep. Scott Perry wrote in a 2022 letter that Voice of America has “grown exceedingly partisan over the past several years.”
A 2016 report from Office of Personnel Management cited by Rep. Perry revealed that Voice of America Persian employees said that outlet tolerated “coercion for partisan political purposes.”
The Washington Free Beacon: “VOA Misallocates Funds and Suppresses Negative Stories About Iran. This Lawmaker Wants To Investigate.”
Voice of America: “What Is ‘White Privilege’ and Whom Does It Help?”
“Today, the phrase is used passionately and widely in the context of racial profiling — police treatment of people as criminal suspects based on their race.”
A 2022 lawsuit claimed Voice of America has “been infiltrated by anti-American, pro-Islamic state interests, and that the message of VOA had been compromised in a manner that was biased toward the Islamic state factions in Iran.”
In October 2020, Voice of America wrote that the “allegations that Russia played a role in perpetuating the scandal to benefit Trump could undermine the emails’ credibility” downplaying the validity of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
In July 2020, Voice of America faced criticism for “sharing a story and video appearing too favorable to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.”
In September 2019, the Daily Caller reported that Voice of America employed a Russian anti-U.S. propagandist.
In May 2019, Voice of America fired reporters for their roles in canceling a broadcast midstream after pressure from the Chinese government.
In March 2019, Voice of America ran a segment about transgender migrants seeking asylum in the United States.
Source: The White House
It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden. No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.
Our economic and national security have been under attack by the Houthis for too long. Today, President Trump’s action and leadership are moving to end this.
Shipping Disruption
Houthi attacks against shipping since 2023 have caused a sustained negative effect on global trade and the economic security of the United States. A 2024 Defense Intelligence Agency report detailed how container shipping through the Red Sea has precipitously declined due to Houthi attacks.
Before their attacks, 25,000 merchant ships passed through the Red Sea annually. The current number has dropped to around 10,000 ships annually.
Imports of consumer goods and cars to the United States, as well as agricultural exports from our own Gulf of America, have been rerouted due to the Houthi attacks.
In November 2023, the Houthis seized the ship M/V Galaxy Leader and began to attack commercial ships with anti-ship missiles and unmanned vehicles.
Houthi attacks caused approximately 75% of U.S.- and UK-affiliated vessels to reroute around Africa instead of transiting the Red Sea. Traveling around Africa takes an average of ten days longer than sailing through the Red Sea. Additional fuel costs are roughly one million dollars more for each voyage around Africa.
Higher shipping rates caused by Houthi attacks probably increased global consumer goods inflation between 0.6 and 0.7 percent in 2024.
Impacts to Allies and Partners
The Red Sea serves a primary conduit for trade between Europe and Asia. Around 95% of ships traveling between Europe and Asia normally would go through the Red Sea.
Out of the top ten importers (by value) of trade through the Red Sea, five are EU nations.
Houthi attacks caused approximately 60% of EU-affiliated vessels to reroute around Africa instead of transiting the Red Sea
The Houthis have attacked U.S. warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023.2023
October 19, 2023: The USS Carney, a U.S. Navy destroyer, intercepted multiple missiles launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. These missiles posed a threat to U.S. forces.
November 19, 2023: The Houthis attacked and seized the M/V Galaxy Leader and held the multinational crew hostage for over a year.
December 3, 2023: Houthi forces launched missiles and drones targeting three commercial ships in the Red Sea. The USS Carney responded to distress calls and intercepted three drones during this assault.
December 16, 2023: The USS Carney engaged and destroyed 14 drones launched by the Houthis in the southern Red Sea, preventing potential attacks on U.S. military and commercial maritime vessels.
December 26, 2023: The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely responded to a distress call from the commercial vessel Maersk Hangzhou, which was under attack by Houthi forces. U.S. Navy helicopters engaged, resulting in the sinking of three Houthi boats.
December 30, 2023: Houthi forces fired anti-ship ballistic missiles targeting the USS Gravely. The destroyer successfully intercepted the incoming missiles, preventing any damage.
2024
January 10, 2024: The Houthis launched a large-scale missile and drone attack against U.S. and UK naval forces in the Red Sea. The coordinated defense successfully neutralized all incoming threats.
January 15, 2024: The Houthis rebels targeted the U.S.-owned M/V Gibraltar Eagle with a missile, resulting in damage to the vessel.
January 17, 2024: The Houthi rebels targeted the U.S.-owned cargo ship Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden using drones, resulting in damage to the vessel.
January 26, 2024: The oil tanker Marlin Luanda, linked to British interests, was attacked by Houthi missiles in the Gulf of Aden, causing a fire onboard.
August 21, 2024: The Houthi rebels attack the Greek-flagged oil tanker M/V Sounion, threatening a massive oil-spill and followed by a months-long salvage effort.
September 27, 2024: The USS Spruance, USS Stockdale, and USS Indianapolis were targeted by a barrage of missiles and drones launched by Houthi forces in the Red Sea. All threats were intercepted without any damage to the U.S. warships.
November 11, 2024: Houthi forces launched a coordinated attack involving drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles against the USS Spruance and USS Stockdale in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The U.S. destroyers successfully intercepted all incoming threats.
December 1, 2024: While escorting U.S.-flagged merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane intercepted multiple missiles and drones launched by Houthi forces, ensuring the safety of the convoy.
December 9–10, 2024: The USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane again faced Houthi-launched drones and missiles while escorting merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. All threats were neutralized without any damage.
The President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, had a telephone conversation this evening with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
Given the positive outcome of the talks held in Jeddah at the beginning of the week and following this morning’s video conference called by Prime Minister Starmer, the two leaders discussed in particular the ongoing initiatives and the shared commitment to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Lastly, the call provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on the recent developments in the Middle East region.
NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program has returned to Wānaka, New Zealand, for two scheduled flights to test and qualify the agency’s super pressure balloon technology. These stadium-sized, heavy-lift balloons will travel the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes for planned missions of 100 days or more. Launch operations are scheduled to begin in late March from Wānaka Airport, NASA’s dedicated launch site for mid-latitude, ultra long-duration balloon missions. “We are very excited to return to New Zealand for this campaign to officially flight qualify the balloon vehicle for future science investigations,” said Gabriel Garde, chief of NASA’s Balloon Program Office at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. “Our dedicated team both in the field and at home has spent years in preparation for this opportunity, and it has been through their hard work, fortitude, and passion that we are back and fully ready for the upcoming campaign.” While the primary flight objective is to test and qualify the super pressure balloon technology, the flights will also host science missions and technology demonstrations. The High-altitude Interferometer Wind Observation (HIWIND), led by High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, will fly as a mission of opportunity on the first flight. The HIWIND payload will measure neutral wind in the part of Earth’s atmosphere called the thermosphere. Understanding these winds will help scientists predict changes in the ionosphere, which can affect communication and navigation systems. The second flight will support several piggyback missions of opportunity, or smaller payloads, including:
Compact Multichannel Imaging Camera (CoMIC), led by University of Massachusetts Lowell, will study and measure how Earth’s atmosphere scatters light at high altitudes and will measure airglow, specifically the red and green emissions. High-altitude Infrasound from Geophysical Sources (HIGS), led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, will measure atmospheric pressure to collect signals of geophysical events on Earth such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. These signals will help NASA as it develops the ability to measure seismic activity on Venus from high-altitude balloons. Measuring Ocean Acoustics North of Antarctica (MOANA), led by Sandia National Laboratories and Swedish Institute of Space Physics, aims to capture sound waves in Earth’s stratosphere with frequencies below the limit of human hearing. NASA’s Balloon Program Office at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility is leading two technology demonstrations on the flight. The INterim Dynamics Instrumentation for Gondolas (INDIGO) is a data recorder meant to measure the shock of the gondola during the launch, termination, and landing phases of flight. The Sensor Package for Attitude, Rotation, and Relative Observable Winds – 7 (SPARROW-7), will demonstrate relative wind measurements using an ultrasonic device designed for the balloon float environment that measures wind speed and direction.
NASA’s 18.8-million-cubic-foot (532,000-cubic-meter) helium-filled super pressure balloon, when fully inflated, is roughly the size of Forsyth-Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, which has a seating capacity of more than 35,000. The balloon will float at an altitude of around 110,000 feet (33.5 kilometers), more than twice the altitude of a commercial airplane. Its flight path is determined by the speed and direction of wind at its float altitude. The balloon is a closed system design to prevent gas release. It offers greater stability at float altitude with minimum altitude fluctuations during the day to night cycle compared to a zero pressure balloon. This capability will enable future missions to affordably access the near-space environment for long-duration science and technology research from the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes, including nighttime observations. The public is encouraged to follow real-time tracking of the balloons’ paths as they circle the globe on the agency’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility website. Launch and tracking information will be shared across NASA’s social media platforms and the NASA Wallops blog. NASA’s return to Wānaka marks the sixth super pressure balloon campaign held in New Zealand since the agency began balloon operations there in 2015. The launches are conducted in collaboration with the Queenstown Airport Corporation, Queenstown Lake District Council, New Zealand Space Agency, and Airways New Zealand. “We are especially grateful to our local hosts, partners, and collaborators who have been with us from the beginning and are critical to the success of these missions and this campaign,” said Garde. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia manages the agency’s scientific balloon flight program with 10 to 16 flights each year from launch sites worldwide. Peraton, which operates NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, provides mission planning, sustaining engineering services, and field operations for NASA’s scientific balloon program. The Columbia team has launched more than 1,700 scientific balloons over some 40 years of operations. NASA’s balloons are fabricated by Aerostar. The NASA Scientific Balloon Program is funded by the NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics Division. For more information on NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/scientificballoons. By Olivia Littleton NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
Responding to a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel published today concluding that Israel has systematically used sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence against Palestinians since October 2023 and carried out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in Gaza by destroying women’s healthcare and reproductive health facilities and blocking access to reproductive healthcare, Amnesty International’s Senior Adviser on gender, conflict and international justice, Lauren Aarons, said:
“These damning findings are another clear illustration of the devastating impact of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its use of gender-based violence to oppress Palestinian women and girls across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to use sexual violence to perpetuate oppression on Palestinians of all genders, especially in Israeli detention centers.
“The report exposes yet again the horrors of Israeli atrocity crimes in Gaza, and how they specifically impact women. They follow the findings of Amnesty International’s own December 2024 report which concluded that Israeli authorities committed and are committing genocide in Gaza. Acts that formed part of Israel’s genocide documented by Amnesty International included the killing and seriously injuring tens of thousands of women and girls and deliberately subjecting them to conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, in whole or in part.
These damning findings are another clear illustration of the devastating impact of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its use of gender-based violence to oppress Palestinian women and girls across the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Lauren Aarons, Senior Adviser on gender, conflict and international justice
“Palestinian women in Gaza have been subjected to a range of gendered forms of bodily and mental harm, including reproductive and other gender-based violence.
“Even after the first phase of the ceasefire came into force horrific conditions of life inflicted by Israel during the offensive have continued to disproportionately affect women and girls. This includes damage and destruction of homes, medical facilities including maternity wards, maternal care clinics and other life-sustaining infrastructure as well as shelters protecting women and girls from gender-based violence. Israel’s decision to completely block entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the past 12 days has already exacerbated the catastrophic conditions facing women and girls. Even prior to the imposition of these measures as a clear form of collective punishment, Israel had banned the entry of mobile homes and heavy machinery to remove the rubble. This means that hundreds of thousands of women and girls continue to live in dire conditions in tents or crowded schools, exposed to violence and with scarce access to clean water contributing to a hygiene crisis.
“Palestinians released from Israeli detention centers have also told Amnesty International that they were subjected to torture and sexual violence while in detention.
“The publication of the COI report must prompt the international community to take urgent action to protect the rights of Palestinian women and address gendered crimes being committed against women and men. In addition to a long-lasting ceasefire, urgent measures are needed to repair hospitals, clinics and sanitation facilities, Israel must lift its genocidal siege on the occupied Gaza Strip and restore the electricity supply. It must also repeal its ban on UNRWA, whose work is vital to addressing the humanitarian catastrophe including the needs of women and girls.
“No discussion of human rights is possible without tackling Israel’s decades long impunity for its violations against Palestinians. The world must act to ensure justice is a reality for all Palestinians and to restore some faith in international law for all.”
Background:
In a December 2024 report Amnesty International documented how Israel during its military offensive has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction
The organization has also documented evidence of war crimes by Israeli forces in Gaza including indiscriminate attacks resulting in mass civilian casualties wiping out entire families and destroying residential neighbourhoods.
The organization has also documented violations of international law by Hamas and other armed groups including launching indiscriminate rocket attacks into Israel as well as deliberate killings of civilians and hostage-taking since 7 October 2023.
‘The report exposes yet again the horrors of Israeli atrocity crimes in Gaza, and how they specifically impact women’ – Lauren Aarons
Responding to a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel published today, which concluded Israel has systematically used sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence against Palestinians since October 2023 and carried out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in Gaza by destroying women’s healthcare and reproductive health facilities and blocking access to reproductive healthcare, Lauren Aarons, Amnesty International’s Senior Adviser on Gender, Conflict and International Justice, said:
“These damning findings are another clear illustration of the devastating impact of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its use of gender-based violence to oppress Palestinian women and girls across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to use sexual violence to perpetuate oppression on Palestinians of all genders, especially in Israeli detention centres.
“The report exposes yet again the horrors of Israeli atrocity crimes in Gaza, and how they specifically impact women.
“Palestinian women in Gaza have been subjected to a range of gendered forms of bodily and mental harm, including reproductive and other gender-based violence.
“Even after the first phase of the ceasefire came into force, horrific conditions of life inflicted by Israel during the offensive have continued to disproportionately affect women and girls. This includes damage and destruction of homes, medical facilities including maternity wards, maternal care clinics and other life-sustaining infrastructure as well as to shelters protecting women and girls from gender-based violence.
“Israel’s decision to completely block entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the past 12 days has already exacerbated the catastrophic conditions facing women and girls.
“Even prior to the imposition of these measures as a clear form of collective punishment, Israel had banned the entry of mobile homes and heavy machinery to remove the rubble. This means that hundreds of thousands of women and girls continue to live in dire conditions in tents or crowded schools, exposed to violence and with scarce access to clean water contributing to a hygiene crisis.
“Palestinians released from Israeli detention centres have also told Amnesty that they were subjected to torture and sexual violence while in detention.
“The publication of the report must prompt the international community to take urgent action to protect the rights of Palestinian women and address gendered crimes being committed against women and men.
“In addition to a long-lasting ceasefire, urgent measures are needed to repair hospitals, clinics and sanitation facilities. Israel must lift its genocidal siege on the occupied Gaza Strip and restore the electricity supply. It must also repeal its ban on UNRWA, whose work is vital to addressing the humanitarian catastrophe including the needs of women and girls.”
In a December 2024 report, Amnesty concluded that Israeli authorities committed and are committing genocide in Gaza. Acts included the killing and seriously injuring tens of thousands of women and girls and deliberately subjecting them to conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, in whole or in part. The organisation has also documented violations of international law by Hamas and other armed groups including launching indiscriminate rocket attacks into Israel as well as deliberate killings of civilians and hostage-taking since 7 October 2023.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon(PA-5)
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, today joined Reps. Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, in leading 103 Members of Congress in demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Department of State Secretary Marco Rubio regarding the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil and attempt to revoke his Green Card.
Khalil is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The administration does not allege that he has committed any crime nor that he has ever been charged with a crime. Instead, the administration has invoked an obscure clause in the Immigration and Nationality Act as justification for arresting and attempting to deport him.
“This maneuver evokes the Alien and Sedition Acts and McCarthyism. It is the playbook of authoritarians, not of elected officials in a democratic society who claim to be champions of free speech,” the members wrote.
The members continued, “The Constitution guarantees everyone in our country, including lawful permanent residents, the right to speak freely without fear of retribution from the government. (…) Weaponizing the immigration system to crush and chill protected free speech puts our nation on the side of authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.”
“While there may be disagreement with Mr. Khalil’s speech, it is his Constitutional right in our democracy to express his political views. That is why every American should be outraged by this brazen attempt to use the power of the United States government to silence and punish people who do not agree with the sitting President. President Trump has said Mr. Khalil’s arrest and attempted removal is the ‘first of many.’ Silencing dissent is the work of despots, not democracies,” the members concluded.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman issued an order temporarily preventing the government from removing Mr. Khalil while the court considers the legality of the arrest and detention.
The Members are requesting a response from Noem and Rubio by March 27th, 2025.
Find the full letterhere.
Find the full list of the 103 Members of Congress who signed onto the letterhere.
The letter was endorsed by 18 Million Rising; A New Policy; Action Corps; Adalah Justice Project; Alliance of Baptists; America’s Voice; American Civil Liberties Union; American Friends of Combatants for Peace; American Friends Service Committee; American Humanist Association; American Immigration Council; American Immigration Lawyers Association; American Muslims for Palestine (AMP); Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action); Amnesty International USA; Arab American Institute (AAI); Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote); Bend the Arc: Jewish Action; CASA; Center for Constitutional Rights; Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law; Center for Jewish Nonviolence; Center for Victims of Torture; Christians for a Free Palestine; Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA); CODEPINK; Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP); Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim; Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); DAWN; Defending Rights & Dissent; Detention Watch Network; Emgage Action; Franciscan Action Network ; Freedom Forward; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA); Hindus for Human Rights; Human Rights First; IfNotNow Movement; IMEU Policy Project; Immigrant Defense Project; Immigrant Justice Network ; Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC); Immigration Equality; Indivisible; International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN); International Refugee Assistance Project; J Street; Jewish Voice for Peace Action; Justice Democrats; MADRE; MoveOn; MPower Change Action Fund; Muslim Advocates; Muslim Legal Fund of America; Muslims for Just Futures; National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum; National Immigrant Justice Center; National Immigration Law Center; National Immigration Project; National Iranian American Council; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; New Israel Fund; New Jewish Narrative; Nonviolent Peaceforce; P Street; Partners for Progressive Israel; Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus; Peace Action; Prayers for Peace Alliance; Presente.org; Project South; Rabbis for Ceasefire; ReThinking Foreign Policy; Right to the City Alliance; Rising Majority; RootsAction.org; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team; Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC); Sunrise Movement; T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; The Nexus Project; The Southern Poverty Law Center; Unitarian Universalist Association; United Church of Christ; United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR); United We Dream Network; US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action; USAHello; Win Without War; Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation ; Arlington For Palestine; Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta; Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago; Borderlands for Equity; CAIR- Philadelphia; CAIR-WA; Dignidad/The Right to Immigration Institute; Elmahaba Center; Estrella del Paso; Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef); Jews For Racial & Economic Justice; Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; Mennonite Action Philadelphia; Miami Valley Immigration Coalition; New York Immigration Coalition; North Carolina Muslim Bar Association; OneAmerica; Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans – PANA; Pax Christi New Jersey ; Peace Action Montgomery; Prayers for Peace Alliance; Saratoga Black Lives Matter; Showing Up For Racial Justice Bay Area; SURJ Northern Virginia; West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship; Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center; Woori Juntos.
Marking 14 years since the start of the Syrian conflict, top UN officials raised alarm over renewed violence and growing instability, warning that without urgent action, Syria’s fragile transition could be at risk.
UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen called for an immediate end to hostilities and urged all parties to protect civilians in accordance with international law.
“What began as a plea for reform was met with staggering brutality, leading to one of the most harrowing conflicts of our time,” he said in a statement on Friday, recalling the peaceful pro-democracy protests that started on 15 March 2011 and were met with brutal repression.
“Families continue to mourn the loss of loved ones, communities remain fractured, millions remain uprooted from their homes, and far too many persist in their search for the missing. The pain and sacrifices of the Syrian people must never be forgotten.”
Brutal conflict
In the initial months of the crisis, as many as 2,000 civilians were killed, with thousands more suffering enforced disappearances, torture, deprivation of liberty and persecution. Navi Pillay, the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, described the pattern of violations as “widespread and systematic” against the civilian population, “which may amount to crimes against humanity.”
Over the years, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed and more than 12 million forced to flee their homes, including over six million who fled as refugees to neighbouring countries.
Syria at crossroads
The Assad regime fell in December 2024, but Syria remains at a crossroads, with fighting erupting between Syrian Caretaker Authority forces and soldiers loyal to the former regime, and a pressing humanitarian crisis.
“More than three months since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria now stands at a pivotal moment,” Mr. Pedersen said.
“Syrians have experienced emotions of great hopes in these times – but also of deep fears,” he added, expressing deep concern over violence against civilians.
The Special Envoy emphasised that building trust is essential to a successful transition, warning that “a climate of distrust and fear could endanger the entire process.”
Time for bold moves
Mr. Pedersen called for inclusive governance, citing the National Dialogue as a foundation and urging concrete follow-up actions. He also took note of the caretaker authorities’ newly issued Constitutional Declaration, expressing hope that it would lay the groundwork for restoring the rule of law and ensuring a stable transition.
“Now is the time for bold moves to create a genuinely credible and inclusive transitional government and legislative body, a constitutional framework and process to draft a new constitution for the long term that is credible and inclusive, and genuine transitional justice,” he said.
He reiterated the need for full political inclusion of Syrian women in shaping the country’s future.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also underscored the urgent need for “bold and decisive measures” to ensure safety, dignity and inclusion for all Syrians.
“Since 8 December [2024], there isrenewed hopethat Syrians can chart a different course and the chance to rebuild, reconcile, and create a nation where all can live peacefully and in dignity,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
“Now is the time for action. Bold and decisive measures are urgently needed to ensure that every Syrian – regardless of ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, or gender – can live in safety, dignity, and without fear.”
He reiterated UN’s commitment to supporting an inclusive political transition that ensures accountability, fosters national healing, and lays the foundation for Syria’s long-term recovery and reintegration into the international community.
“We stand with the Syrian people towards the promise of a better Syria – for all Syrians. Together, we must ensure that Syria emerges from the shadows of war into a future defined by dignity and the rule of law – where all voices are heard, and no community is left behind,” Mr. Guterres said.
Protect all civilians: Security Council
Also on Friday, the UN Security Council called for the implementation of an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process, facilitated by the United Nations and based on the key principles listed in resolution 2254 (2015).
“This includes safeguarding the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity and religion. This political process should meet the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians, protect all of them and enable them to peacefully, independently and democratically determine their futures,” read a statement by the President of the Security Council.
The Council also condemned the widespread violence in Latakia and Tartus provinces since 6 March, including mass killings of civilians among the Alawite community, underlining the urgency of inclusive, transparent justice and reconciliation in Syria.
Presidential statements are issued by the President of the Security Council on behalf of its members. The statements are adopted at a formal meeting and issued as an official document of the UN’s primary body on international peace and security.
To provide its community with greater security and confidence, the Gems Protect risk-mitigation feature allows investors in the Gems Miner program to offset any possible financial losses
LIMASSOL, Cyprus, March 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gems Launchpad, a community-driven launchpad built around an exclusive investor network, introduces a new financial safeguard, Gems Protect, designed to shield users who invested in its recently launched Gems Miner initiative. Gems Miner is a blockchain-based tool allowing users to generate tokens from four premium projects launched on the Gems Launchpad, enabling passive portfolio diversification. The Gems Protect system calculates the total value of a user’s mined tokens from the activation date to the current evaluation date, and if their portfolio drops by more than 25 percent, they can qualify for a claim under the protection plan.
The idea behind these virtual miners is to provide a more robust and risk-managed architecture for Gems’s community while streamlining a more predictable and accessible path to investing in promising early-stage projects. There are three types of Gems Miners: Mini, Miners, and Mega, each offering different token generation rates. The first series of Miners unlocks earning potential by allowing users to mine tokens from these four exclusive premium projects: Incentiv, Olympus AI, RAIN, and Prodex.
As an investment protection plan covering up to 75 percent of one’s initial investment, Gems Protect offers an additional layer of financial security. This protection mechanism is implemented via smart contracts to ensure transparency and automation. Quarterly snapshots and claim eligibility checks are executed algorithmically, eliminating the need for any potential manual intervention.
Gems Protect is issued as a non-transferable NFT, guaranteeing transparency, traceability, and security on the blockchain. If a user purchased a Gems Miner before the introduction of this feature, they will have the opportunity to purchase Gems Protect retroactively, with the same terms and conditions.
“We developed this new feature because we value our community and want to ensure they feel secure and confident when they invest in our launchpad projects,” says Isaac Joshua, CEO of Gems Launchpad. “We launched our Nodes and Miners initiative because diversification is highly undervalued in Web3, and with the Gems Protect feature, our community receives another layer of security. By protecting up to 75 percent of the original investment in a Gems Miner, we are providing true peace of mind.”
About Gems: Gems is a distinguished crypto launchpad with the mission of unearthing genuine “gems” in the Web3 landscape through rigorous due diligence. The platform aims to bring together a robust ecosystem for blockchain projects by focusing on launching innovative ventures, expanding communities, penetrating new markets, and leveraging its international network of investors, known as Leaders, to partake in the early stages of groundbreaking projects. Gems launchpad model is driven by active community participation, creating a synergistic environment that benefits both visionaries and the adoption of pioneering ideas. For more information, visit: https://gems.vip/
Disclaimer: This press release is provided by Gems Launchpad. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector–including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining–complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release.
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South Africa’s world-renowned Narrative Therapist and Psychosocial Specialist, Ncazelo Mlilo, has been nominated in the prestigious Women Changing the World Awards.
The awards, according to a statement by psychosocial organisation, Phola, are like the Grammy Awards for recognising women across the world who are doing incredible work, making a positive difference in various industries and areas, including business, sustainability, leadership, health, education, product development, innovation, and technology.
Mlilo, who is based in Johannesburg, has been selected for two categories, the People’s Choice Award for Non-Profit and Social Enterprise, and the Women in Therapy and Counselling Services Award.
This recognition celebrates the groundbreaking work in mental health, her development of Afrocentric, culturally sensitive narrative-based methodologies, and her dedication to empowering communities worldwide.
The awards ceremony will take place during a summit in London, in the United Kingdom on 2-3 April 2025.
Mlilo has over 25 years’ experience in trauma counselling.
She has worked with children, youth, women, families, and communities to address the effects of HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence (GBV), poverty, conflict, and other hardships.
Mlilo co-created the Tree of Life (ToL) Methodology, currently used in over 60 countries including the USA, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Iran, India, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and across Africa.
She has developed other methodologies like COURRAGE, the Narratives in the Suitcase Project, O.U.T.R.R.A.G.E.D. for GBV prevention.
Mlilo trains over 1 000 mental health practitioners worldwide every year, with her work reaching an estimated 100 000 people, annually.
She is also a prominent keynote speaker at international conferences, including the Trust’s Collective Narrative Practices Conference, held in 2024 in Australia, the Narrative Therapy Centre Conference, where she spoke about the Narratives in the Suitcase, held in Australia in 2023, among others.
As a result, her work is the intervention of choice in these global institutions, like the Dulwich Centre Foundation in Australia and NHS Foundation Trust in the UK. – SAnews.gov.za
The Iranian Government has continued to ramp up efforts to restrict the rights of civilians including young children as part of a concerted effort to crush dissent, investigators mandated by the UN Human Rights Council said on Friday.
In their latest and final report, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran alleged ongoing serious rights violations by the Iranian authorities stemming from massive protests after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022.
Ms. Amini, from the Iranian Kurdish community, had been arrested by the country’s “morality police” for allegedly not complying with rules on how the hijab should be worn.
Allegations of crimes against humanity
“In repressing the 2022 nationwide protests, State authorities in Iran committed gross human rights violations, some of which the Mission found to have amounted to crimes against humanity,” said Sara Hossain, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission.
“We heard many harrowing accounts of harsh physical and psychological torture and a wide range of serious fair trial and due process violations committed against children, including some as young as seven years old.”
Since April 2024, the State has increased criminal prosecution against women who defy the mandatory hijabthrough the adoption of the so-called “Noor plan.”
“Women human rights defenders and activists have continued to face criminal sanctions, including fines, lengthy prison sentences, and in some cases the death penalty for peaceful activities in support of human rights,” the Independent Mission asserted.
Speaking in Geneva on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council, Ms. Hossain noted that Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities “had been specially targeted in the context of the protests”, with “some of the most egregious violations…carried out in peak protest towns in minority-populated regions”.
Testimonies gathered inside and outside Iran for the report which has been shared with the Iranian Government pointed to men, women and children being held “in some cases at gunpoint” with “nooses put around their necks in a form of psychological torture”.
Online surveillance
The Mission – which comprises senior human rights experts acting in an independent capacity – noted that these measures “come despite pre-election assurances” by President Masoud Pezeshkian to ease the strict enforcement of mandatory hijab laws.
This enforcement increasingly relies on technology, surveillance and even State-sponsored “vigilantism”, the investigators stated.
“Surveillance online was a critical tool for State repression. Instagram accounts, for instance, were shut down and SIM cards confiscated, in particular of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders,” explained the Independent Mission’s Shaheen Sardar Ali.
Vigilantes and intrusive apps
Ms. Ali pointed to the use of the “Nazer” mobile application “which is a particular app that the Government has instituted, where after vetting, sort of normal citizens can also complain – file a complaint – against someone who’s just passed by and hasn’t got the mandatory hijab. So, this technology that’s being used for surveillance is really very far-reaching and highly intrusive.”
According to the Fact-Finding Mission, 10 men have been executed in the context of the 2022 protests and at least 11 men and three women remain at risk of being executed, amid “serious concerns over the adherence to the right to a fair trial, including the use of torture-tainted confessions, and due process violations”.
The Mission’s report will be presented to Member States at the Human Rights Council next Tuesday.
Independent Mission
The Independent Mission was established by the Human Rights Council in November 2022, with a mandate to “thoroughly and independently investigate alleged human rights violations” in Iran related to the protests that began in September that year, especially with respect to women and children.
It was also tasked by the Council to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations, as well as to collect, consolidate and analyse evidence of such violations and preserve evidence, including in view of cooperation in any legal proceedings.
Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council
The Security Council today condemned the widespread violence perpetrated in Syria’s Latakia and Tartus provinces since 6 March — including mass killings of civilians among the Alawite community — calling on the interim authorities to protect all Syrians without distinction.
Unanimously adopting a presidential statement (to be issued as document S/PRST/2025/4), the 15-nation organ also condemned attacks targeting civilian infrastructure. It called on all parties to immediately cease all violence and inflammatory activities and ensure the protection of all civilian populations and infrastructure, as well as humanitarian operations. Further, all parties and States must ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those affected and the humane treatment of all persons. The Council also urged a rapid increase of humanitarian support across Syria.
Recalling resolution 2254 (2015), the Council called on all States to respect Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity and refrain from any action or interference that may further destabilize the country. It further urged Syria to take decisive measures to address the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, underscoring its obligations under relevant Council resolutions related to counter-terrorism.
Underlining the urgency of inclusive, transparent justice and reconciliation in Syria, the Council called for swift, transparent, independent, impartial and comprehensive investigations to ensure accountability and bring all perpetrators of violence against civilians to justice. Accordingly, it took note of the Syrian interim authorities’ announcement of the establishment of an independent committee to investigate such violence and identify those responsible. The Council also noted such authorities’ decision to establish a committee for civil peace.
The Council further called for an inclusive political process led and owned by Syrians, facilitated by the UN and based on the principles outlined in resolution 2254 (2015). This includes safeguarding the rights of all Syrians — regardless of ethnicity or religion — meeting their legitimate aspirations and enabling them to peacefully, independently and democratically determine their futures.
After 14 years of war, Syria has entered a new and uncertain chapter. The country is devastated – 90 per cent of Syrians live in poverty.
Despite the challenges up to one million people living in camps and displacement sites across the country’s northwest intend to return home within the next year.
As those Syrians prepare to return home, they are beginning the difficult process of rebuilding and confronting the past.
Ms. Al-Kateab, the filmmaker behind the award-winning documentary, For Sama, captured life under siege in Aleppo before fleeing the country in 2016.
Since then, she has remained a powerful advocate for the Syrian people, co-founding Action For Sama, a campaign, advocating for human rights, dignity, and accountability for all.
In this interview with UN News, as Syria stands at a crossroads, she shares her determination to make sure justice is not forgotten in the country’s next chapter.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
UN News: Waad, how have you been processing the past few months?
Waad Al-Kateab: I think it’s really confusing. We are over the moon, but at the same time, it was something that seemed so far away.
I thought the ending of my story was dying in exile, not being able to go back, never being able to see this beautiful day. And it just happened out of the blue, without any indication.
We were not ready, but that does not matter. It happened, and we are really happy.
At the same time, the pain and grief we had to go through for the last 14 years – and for so many of us, even 50 years, when Hafez al-Assad was president – it was just too much to handle.
I’m still thinking, is this real? Am I just having a long, beautiful dream?
UN News: Have you been in contact with people on the ground in Syria? What have they been telling you?
Waad Al-Kateab: Until now, because of my refugee status, I was not able to go back. But I’m working on this, and hopefully, at any second I will get citizenship in the UK, so I will be able to move freely.
My parents went back in January, and some of our friends too. I was also able to communicate with my family who were in Syria the whole time, whereas before, I couldn’t even call or send a message because I was worried of what the regime could do to them.
It’s not easy – the country is tired, the economy is very bad, there’s no electricity, no water but what everyone has in common is the feeling that it’s definitely a new beginning.
We’re afraid, but we’re not really scared. We can do anything we want.
UN News: When you still lived in Aleppo, you spent years capturing both the resilience of people and the devastation around them. What moments have stayed with you from that time?
Waad Al-Kateab: To be honest, the situation I couldn’t accept was when we were displaced out of Aleppo.
I understood early on that we were fighting against a dictatorship that would stop at nothing. I was okay with that. I knew the risk I was taking, the risk my husband Hamza was taking, even our own daughter.
We were fighting in our own way – me, with my camera, my husband, with his work in the hospital.
Then came the siege – six months with no medication, no food, no basic services. And then, forced displacement. That, for me, was the most cruel thing: throw us out from our own country where we wanted to be.
It was the moment which really broke me. Saying goodbye to everything – my home there, the hospital, the people we knew.
For the past few years, I’ve forced myself not to picture going back because it didn’t seem possible. But now, it is.
So many people I know went back. They send me pictures from the neighbourhood, the university: “See, it’s there. We are back.”
And I can’t wait to be there myself.
UN News: You talk about your excitement, your family’s excitement, and this chapter closing. Do you think the hardest part of the work has been done now?
Waad Al-Kateab: Definitely. The hardest work has been done.
Now, with this new chapter, there’s a lot to do, and it’s difficult in a very different way. But the shelling, the bombings – that’s over.
There are so many important issues – transitional justice, detainees, the disappeared. There are very difficult conversations to have about revenge; and the economy – it has more than crashed.
There are so many authorities, agendas and international players in a country starting from scratch. But now, we are in charge. It’s very heavy to carry but we’re here and we’re going to do it.
I’m very hopeful and excited.
UN News: You mention transitional justice, what does real accountability look like to you now?
Waad Al-Kateab: Bashar Al-Assad was responsible, but there are many others – those who ordered killings, those who carried them out, those who helped him. And I’m not just talking about individuals, but also foreign governments and armies.
There is no way to have a future in Syria if we don’t face what happened. For everyone responsible, it must start with an apology and end with accountability.
Right now, militias and former regime soldiers still have weapons, trying to hide or defend themselves. This is very serious, and all weapons should be handed to the new government.
For victims like us, now it’s about asking: what do we want? What can happen? How do we return to normal life? There is a lot to be done.
UN News: You’ve lived in the UK for almost a decade now. You said you’d like to return. Would that be long-term?
Waad Al-Kateab: To be honest, we never imagined this moment would happen, so we built a life away from Syria.
Even in our conversations with our daughters, I wanted them to love Syria and understand what happened but also, I wanted to protect them.
Now, I see they picked up way more than we realised, they picked up what we felt. For them, Syria was a place where people die.
They don’t understand and they ask: “What if Assad is still hiding there? What if he’s waiting for us to go and then he kills us?”
The discussion of going back has triggered many difficult things for them.
For me and Hamza, we don’t have to think about it, we want to go back of course. So, we agreed on one visit and when we come back, we’ll talk – what we want, what they want. They definitely have an equal say.
Whatever decision we take, one way or another, we will be back.
UN News: With your advocacy, what role do you see yourself having in the rebuilding of Syria?
Waad Al-Kateab: We’ve done so much around the world – working with communities who know Syria well and others who know nothing about it.
For us, the biggest achievement has always been awareness and preserving the narrative of what happened. Now, more than ever, that’s a priority on the ground in Syria.
For me, it’s not just about For Sama as a film, but about everything I’ve learned as a filmmaker – years of telling my own story and others’. Now, I want to bring it back to Syria through screenings and conversations, not just as a film event, but as a space to hear from people.
This is part of transitional justice, especially acknowledgment – helping local communities talk to each other, understand each other’s experiences and start healing.
UN News: What would be your message to the international community today?
Waad Al-Kateab: Syria is not like any other conflict. People tried to compare it to Iraq or Afghanistan, but this is different. Even how the regime fell and what comes next is unknown.
As the U.S. slashes foreign aid, Syrian civil society is at risk of collapse. Organizations that fought for justice and protected civilians for over a decade are now struggling. The international community must step up.
A successful transition must be Syrian-led, free from armed groups or foreign influence.
The world has a responsibility to support this in a way that reflects Syrians’ aspirations for peace, justice and accountability.
GAZA, Palestine – The following are the latest updates on food security and WFP operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Gaza
In the 42 days of the ceasefire starting 19 January, WFP delivered over 40,000 metric tons of food into Gaza and provided lifesaving assistance to 1.3 million people. In addition, over US$ 6.8 million in electronic cash assistance (e-wallets) supported nearly 135,000 people (26,600 households), helping families to buy what they needed most.
Since March 2, WFP has not been able to transport any food supplies into Gaza due to the closure of all border crossing points for both humanitarian and commercial supplies.
WFP currently has sufficient food stocks to support active kitchens and bakeries for up to one month, as well as ready-to-eat food parcels to support 550,000 people for two weeks.
WFP has approximately 63,000 metric tons of food destined for Gaza, stored or in transit in the region. This is equivalent two to three months of distributions for 1.1 million people, pending authorization to enter Gaza.
In the first week of March, WFP was able to sustain its activities in Gaza using stocks brought in during the ceasefire; WFP provided food assistance to some 73,000 vulnerable people across Gaza during this period.
As it did prior to the ceasefire, WFP is reducing the quantity of ready-to-eat food parcels provided to families to stretch its supplies and serve more people in need.
Right now, WFP supports 33 kitchens across Gaza providing a total of 180,000 hot meals daily.
A total of 25 bakeries are also supported by WFP, but on March 8 six of these bakeries were forced to close due to a shortage of cooking gas.
Commercial food prices have begun to surge since the March 2 closure of border crossings. In some cases, prices on staple items such as flour, sugar, and vegetables have increased over 200 percent. Traders have begun withholding goods due to uncertainty over when new supplies would arrive.
West Bank
WFP is increasingly concerned about growing food insecurity in the West Bank, where military activity, displacement, and movement restrictions are disrupting markets and limiting access to food.
Tens of thousands of people in the West Bank have been displaced since mid-January.
These disruptions and the worsening economic conditions over the last year are putting upward pressure on prices. With rising displacement and unemployment, even basic food items have become unaffordable for many families.
WFP is supporting more than 190,000 people with monthly cash vouchers and has provided one-off assistance to 16,000 people most in need. Humanitarian cash assistance can be delivered efficiently through local supply chains and markets. It also helps to stabilize the economy.
WFP needs US$265 million in funding for the next six months for operations to assist 1.4 million people in Gaza and the West Bank.
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
