Category World News

After making a rare trip to the besieged territory on July 18, the late Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierattista Pizzaballa, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, criticized Israel’s bombardment and blockade of Gaza as “morally unacceptable.” Three people were killed when Israel attacked Gaza’s only Catholic church during their trip.

In response to President Donald Trump’s ongoing scrutiny of the case, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that one of its top officials requested a meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement from her deputy, Todd Blanche, on Tuesday, stating that Maxwell and he would be meeting to ensure the government’s Epstein investigation was transparent.

According to Blanche, “This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths or from the duty to pursue justice wherever the circumstances may lead.”

“President Trump has ordered us to release all credible information.” The FBI and the DOJ will hear what Ghislane Maxwell has to say if she has information on anyone who has committed crimes against victims.

The Epstein scandal has caused the Trump administration to face backlash from his base, according to Blanche’s statement.

A review of Epstein’s case resulted in no new evidence, according to a memo from the Justice Department and the FBI on July 7.

However, the Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, which claimed Bondi herself had mentioned a client list that was “sitting on my desk right now” earlier this year, became outraged.

Members of Trump’s base have long supported conspiracies involving ringed sex offenders in the most powerful levels of government, and some have questioned the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, speculating that it was an orchestrated cover-up.

The billionaire financier, who had a powerful social circle, committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 as he waited for his sex-trafficking trial.

Since her 2021 conviction on five federal counts related to her role in the sexual abuse of underage girls, Maxwell, a close friend and former girlfriend of Epstein’s, has been imprisoned.

Blanche claimed to have “dialed with Ms. Maxwell’s attorney to see if she would be interested in speaking with departmental prosecutors.”

He continued, “I look forward to meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the near future.”

David Oscar Markus, a Maxwell’s attorney, confirmed that Ghislaine would continue to represent her legal team in court with the government.

“We applaud President Trump for his determination to find the truth in this case.” He added, “We don’t have any other comments at this time.”

Following Trump’s request last week to request that the grand jury’s transcripts be unsealed, Bondi and Blanche are now asking the federal court to do so.

Trump backed the FBI and Justice Department’s earlier assessment, which turned out to be inconclusive of any new information about any prominent politicians and businesspeople in Epstein’s orbit.

Although the July memo spewed cold water on the claim, one of the conspiracy theories that are currently floating about the case is that Epstein used his sex-trafficking ring to blackmail powerful figures.

No corroborating “client list” was found during this thorough review, according to the memo. Additionally, Epstein’s actions were not supported by any conclusive proof that he blackmailed well-known people.

Trump facing MAGA criticism for Epstein

Trump’s own years-long relationship with Epstein have recently been subject to renewed scrutiny as a result of prominent MAGA base members’ disapproval of the memo’s conclusions.

The president has made an effort to dispel the outcry, calling the controversy the “Epstein hoax” and denouncing his supporters as “weaklings” for continuing it.

Some of the most powerful members of the MAGA movement, who have demanded Bondi’s resignation, were disappointed by that.

Bondi pledged earlier this year that the Justice Department would release additional documents involving Epstein’s clients, including “a lot of names” and “a lot of flight logs.”

However, the department’s information hasn’t been updated since Trump’s assassination.

Trump has been subject to conflicting reports in the media regarding his ties to Epstein. After the paper covered a “bawdy” letter Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein for his 50th birthday, he recently sued The Wall Street Journal.

A government committee tasked with investigating the attacks has discovered that more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in sectarian violence in Syria’s coastal regions earlier this year.

The committee reported that it had located 298 suspects in connection with the deadly violence in the Alawite heartland of the country that resulted in the deaths of at least 1, 426 people from minority communities in March.

Following a recent wave of violence involving the nation’s Druze population, the findings of Tuesday raise further questions about how well-equipped is the new administration to manage sectarian tensions and maintain security following Bashar al-Assad’s, who is also an Alawite, overthrow.

More than 1,700 people were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in a region of Syria’s coast where government forces and allies were accused of carrying out summary executions, mostly against Alawite civilians.

No evidence was presented in the committee’s report that Syria’s military leadership had ordered attacks on the Alawite community, according to the report.

According to spokesman Yasser al-Farhan, the committee’s investigation found “serious violations against civilians on March 7, 8 and 9 including murder, premeditated murder, looting, destruction and burning of homes, torture, and sectarian insults,” according to spokesman Yasser al-Farhan at a press conference in Damascus.

According to him, the committee confirmed the names of “1, 426 dead, of which 90 women are mostly civilians,” adding that an undetermined number of additional dead had not been determined.

According to al-Farhan, the investigation also “identified 298 individuals by name” who were suspected of being involved in the crimes, he continued.

According to officials, these have been subjected to legal proceedings, and 37 people have been detained.

How many suspects were security forces members, they didn’t say.

Bigger than just violations, nbsp, nbsp,

Authorities have charged al-Assad’s loyal gunmen with starting the conflict and carrying out deadly attacks that resulted in the deaths of dozens of security personnel.

According to the committee, 238 army and security forces members were killed in the Tartous, Latakia, and Hama provinces’ attacks.

Al-Farhan claims that about 200, 000 pro-government military reinforcements then converged on the area.

Jana Mustafa, a 24-year-old Baniyas student whose father was killed in the violence, stated that the report had not been in her hands because the “truth was clear to me.”

She complained that the committee’s announcements appeared to include “justifications for everything that happened,” saying that “the number of bodies, the mass graves, and the victims’ screams were sufficient to clarify what happened.”

“The problem extends beyond just violations,” he says. She continued, “It was directed at a whole sect.”

The committee said its findings were based on testimony from hundreds of witnesses and victims as well as more than 30 on-site visits, meetings with dozens of people in the towns and villages where violations took place. Additionally, it heard from government representatives.

Al-Farhan claimed that the committee had identified individuals among those responsible for the violence who were “linked to particular military organizations and factions” and that they had “violated military orders and are suspected of committing violations against civilians.”

“Frustrated and disappointed”

Rama Hussein, 22, said she was “sad, disappointed, and frustrated” with the committee despite the fact that her three sisters, two cousins, and grandfather were all killed in the Jableh region.

No one observed my testimony or visited us; she claimed, “I don’t know who this committee met or who they saw.”

She urged compensation for the victims’ families and said, “I hope we see real accountability, not just reports and press conferences.”

According to human rights organizations and international organizations, women, children, and the elderly were among the victims.

Before killing or sparing them, gunmen allegedly entered homes and inquired whether they were Sunni or Alawite.

Jumaa al-Anzi, the committee’s chairman, claimed that some of the suspects had been identified after being vetted by authorities for their involvement in the investigation into those who posted videos of violations on social media.

The judiciary was given two lists of people “suspposed to being involved in attacks or violations,” according to the body.

The committee’s chair, Al-Anzi, stated that “we have no proof that the]military] leaders gave orders to commit violations.”

The committee’s report was received on July 13th, the same day as sectarian violence broke out in Suwayda, the presidency had claimed.

Sunni Muslim Bedouin clans and Druze armed groups, as well as government security forces who intervened, engaged in bloodshed.

In retaliation against Bedouin communities, Druze-backed groups attacked them.

More than 128, 500 people have been displaced, according to the UN, and hundreds have been killed. As a result of a ceasefire, the violence has largely subsided.

The committee chair claimed that the violence in Suwayda was “painful for all Syrians” but “belongs to the purview of his committee.”

In Bangladesh, hundreds of protesters have gathered to demand accountability after a fighter jet of the Air Force crashed into a Dhaka school, killing 31 people, including 25 students.

The Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into their school and blew up on them on Monday, when the children, many under 12, were about to leave for class. The aircraft’s mechanical malfunction, according to the military.

As two government officials visited the crash site on Tuesday, students from the school and nearby colleges protested, yelling, “Why did our brothers die? ” and demanding an accurate death toll. We demand solutions”!

Local TV footage shows hundreds of protesting students breaking through the main gate of the federal government secretariat in the capital, some of whom were waving sticks. They were also requesting the resignation of the education adviser.

The protesting students demanded that those who had died and were injured be named, that their families be compensated, that outdated and risky jets be decommissioned, and that changes be made to the air force training procedures.

About 80 students were hurt when police used tear gas and sound grenades to disperse the crowd, according to Jamuna TV, a station in Bangladesh.

Talebur Rahman, the deputy commissioner of the Bangladesh Metropolitan Police, claimed that the Reuters news agency had not received any information about the number of injured.

According to Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury, the students have a number of demands from the crash site at Milestone School and College.

They want an exact figure – the hospital’s capacity to house the names of the people who died and those who are injured. Additionally, Chowdhury argued, “They want compensation and a public apology.”

They also want the air force to alter its training procedures and depart from its outdated aircraft.

In a statement from the military, 165 people were admitted to hospitals in the city and 31 had died. 68 people were still receiving care, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and 10 were in critical condition.

The interim administrator of the nation, Muhammad Yunus, said in a press release that the government, the military, school, and hospital authorities were working together to publish a list of the named victims.

Additionally, it stated that the air force would be instructed not to fly training aircraft over densely populated areas.

The country is in mourning, according to the statement.

As depressed locals watched as rescue workers searched the burned-out buildings for debris on Tuesday.

The entire world is in mourning, the statement read. This is something that [this country] has never experienced,” said Al Jazeera’s Chowdhury.

Some parents had no control over their children.

Abul Hossain shook his head as he described Nusrat Jahan Anika, his nine-year-old daughter, who was killed in the collision.

“I went to school with her yesterday morning, like I always do. Hossain told Reuters, “I had no idea this would be my last encounter with her.” On Monday night, she was laid to rest.

Rubina Akter claimed Raiyan Toufiq, who had escaped after his shirt caught fire while he was climbing a staircase, miraculously made it out.

Akter told Reuters, “He sprinted to the ground floor and jumped on the grass to obuse it.”

He was saved from severe burns by torn his shirt and vest inside.

When the plane crashed, Smriti, a student in 11th grade, said she felt her eardrums were “about to burst.”

Some children lay on their limbs, some of their lifeless bodies dispersed around, I saw. Can they be saved? Tell me, “When will they ever have access to their parents’ arms again?” she inquired.

According to the military, the jet was taking off from a nearby airbase for a routine training mission. The pilot attempted to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas after experiencing mechanical failure, but it crashed into the school campus.

Flight lieutenant Mohammed Toukir Islam, one of the victims, was the pilot. He was finishing his training and making his first solo flight.