UN, aid groups slam US-Israel-backed initiative after deadly rush in Gaza

After the Israeli military opened fire on crowds of people who rushed to an aid distribution point supported by Israel and the United States, at least three Palestinians were killed in Gaza.

Authorities in Gaza claim that 46 people were hurt and seven were missing as a result of the deadly incident in Rafah, which occurred on Tuesday.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the organization that spearheaded the initiative, refuted the report, while the Israeli military claimed that troops had opened fire on the area outside the distribution center and that control had been restored.

Israel and the US have defended the incident, which has drawn criticism from the UN and aid organizations.

A summary of the response follows:

Nations Unified

The images and videos from the aid stations set up by GHF, according to Antonio Guterres, a spokesman for the UN secretary-general, are “heartbreaking, to say the least.”

According to Stephane Dujarric, “We and our partners have a detailed, principled, and operationally sound plan supported by member states to provide aid to a desperate population.”

We saw the plan that they published and that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation [Gaza Humanitarian Foundation] presented to us, and it is not done with the parameters that we believe are in line with our principles, which we apply across the board, from Gaza to Sudan to Myanmar, to anywhere you want to talk about.

Palestine

The Israeli military’s actions in Rafah were condemned by the Gaza government media office.

The occupation forces, who were stationed in or around those areas, opened live fire on frightened civilians who were lured there on the slurriest of grounds in exchange for offering them aid, the statement read.

“What happened today in Rafah is a deliberate massacre and a full-fledged war crime committed against civilians who had been starved for more than 90 days because of the siege.”

The office continued, “This incident is undeniable proof that the Israeli occupation has completely failed to deal with the humanitarian catastrophe it has purposefully caused.”

Israel

Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, acknowledged the GHF site’s chaos but claimed it was minor.

He said, “We came up with a strategy to have American friends and control over the distribution of food to Palestinian families.” “Somehow there was a momentary loss of control.” We finally regained control of it, thanks.

He added that the Gaza Strip had no documented malnutrition, and that “you don’t see one, not one emaciated person] from the start of the war to the present.”

United States

The US State Department also downplayed the GHF site’s rush and defended criticism of the aid program as “complaints about style.”

Has opposed this [aid] dynamic,” Masso. They tried to stop the Gaza distribution centers’ supply of aid, but they were unsuccessful, according to Tammy Bruce, the State Department’s spokesperson.

It’s not surprising that there might be some issues with those kinds of things. The good news is that Hamas-based aid to the people of Gaza has been successful.

She continued, “The real story is that a lot of aid and food is getting into Gaza.” We’re dealing with 8, 000 boxes, which is a challenging environment with a positive impact.

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

“The requirements are enormous,” he said. The GHF team retreated at one point in the late afternoon to allow a small number of Gazans to safely take aid and dissipate, according to a statement from the organization.

According to the group, operations have now resumed, with the distribution of approximately 8, 000 food boxes, which it claims will provide 5.5 million people for three and a half days, and adding up to approximately 462, 000 meals.

Refugees International

The US-Israel aid initiative is run by military, according to Hardin Lang, the organization’s vice president for policy and programs.

He told Al Jazeera from Washington, DC, “This is not the way you try to feed a population, much less a population that is on the verge of famine.”

A “very large and complex logistical operation” is what is needed to prevent famine, or stop it if it is already occurring. Additionally, it includes food. You must have access to acute malnourishment centers and medical facilities, which are not included in this plan.

He continued, “This is not designed to serve the needs of people.” Instead of attempting to meet the needs of a very depressed population, it seems to have been intended to relocate people to the south of Gaza.

Norwegian Refugee Council

The NRC’s spokesperson, Ahmed Bayram, urged Israel and the US to abandon their initiative and allow humanitarian organizations to continue.

He claimed that what we are seeing is in fact a summary of the tragedy in which Gaza’s residents are living.

SpaceX’s Starship test flight loses control 30 minutes after launch

BREAKING,

According to the Reuters news agency, SpaceX, the multibillionaire company that runs commercial space flight, SpaceX, lost control of its ninth test flight 30 minutes after the uncrewed rocket vehicle was launched into space from Texas.

After an onboard leak caused uncontrollable spinning in space, the Starship then re-enttered the atmosphere on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The test flight lost control after going beyond previous failures, according to Reuters.

SpaceX claimed that the Starship went into “rapid unscheduled disassembly” in a social media post.

According to the company, “Success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX tries to make life multiplanetary.”

Musk has spent billions of dollars on the creation of Starship. The billionaire, who was born in South Africa, claims that the initiative is a part of his business space flight company’s Mars colonization strategy.

A SpaceX Starship detonated shortly after takeoff on March 6 for the most recent test launch.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,189

On Wednesday, May 28, 2018, this is the current situation:

Fighting

    As the two nations continue to trade drone attacks, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported in a post on Telegram that the Russian air defenses destroyed or intercepted 112 Ukrainian drones over a three-hour period, the majority of which were over central or southern regions of the nation.

  • Six Ukrainian drones were repelled as they approached the Russian capital, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He claimed that recovery teams were examining the ground’s fragments.
  • 10 people were hurt when Russia deployed 60 drones nightly across various areas of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Air Force officials.
  • After three Russian airstrikes hit the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk late on Monday night, over 850 residents were left without power in the area.
  • More than 20 warships, boats, support vessels, 25 aircraft, and helicopters, according to a post from Russia’s military on Telegram, along with 3, 000 service members, have begun naval drills in the Baltic Sea.

Politics

  • Donald Trump, the president of the United States, claimed that he had “protected Russia from really bad things.” He stated in a post on TruthSocial: “Which Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that, if it weren’t for me, there would have been a lot of really bad things happening to Russia already, and I mean REALLY bad things.”
  • Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said in a post on X: “I only know of one REALLY bad thing: WWIII. I hope Trump comprehends this.”
  • Trump made his remarks after the Kremlin reported that the US president may be experiencing “emotional overload” as a result of Trump’s earlier assertions that Putin was “absolutely crazy” about the scale of Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian cities.
  • After Trump “given some guidelines to Putin a week ago,” the US special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, told Al Jazeera, the US is awaiting a response from Russia.
  • After Merz claimed that France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the US had lifted the range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of “pretentiousness.”

Energy

  • According to The New York Times, satellite images show that Russia is installing new electricity lines in the southeast of Ukraine, connecting the grid to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which the New York Times reported.
  • The Trans-Balkan pipeline from Greece to Ukraine will be supplied through a gas import mechanism, according to a post from Ukraine’s energy regulator on Facebook.
  • German Galushchenko, the energy minister of Ukraine, expressed hope that all participating nations would concur that the Trans-Balkan Route’s “common strategic goals” would be met as Ukraine continues to look for non-Russian gas supply routes.

Argentinian judge withdraws from a negligence trial about Maradona’s death

The fate of the case is uncertain as one of the three judges presiding over a negligence trial involving the death of Argentinian football player Diego Maradona.

Judge Julieta Makintach announced on Tuesday that she would withdraw from her position following reports that she had taken part in a documentary about Maradona’s passing and its aftermath.

Dalma and Gianinna, Maradona’s eldest daughters, Fernando Burlando and Fernando Burlando, both represented them in court.

While the proceedings are pending, judges are generally prohibited from conducting interviews and other public commentary. A three-judge panel that evaluated the fate of seven healthcare workers who assisted Maradona in his final days has been constituted by Makintach since March 11.

Following Maradona’s death by cardiac arrest in 2020, the group of six have been charged with negligent homicide.

A significant amount of scrutiny has been drawn in by this well-known case in Argentina. Maradona won the 1986 World Cup with the help of the national football team.

His participation in the World Cup that year has since become a sporting legend. Even a foul he committed in the quarterfinal has been dubbed the “Hand of God” because it gave Argentina the victory it had over England, a rival nation that had an ongoing territorial dispute with.

Maradona was named one of FIFA’s two “Players of the Century” in 2000, along with Pele from Brazil.

However, Maradona struggled with addiction, and he died shortly after having brain surgery to remove a blood clot. In turn, questions were raised about whether the football player received adequate medical care during his final years as a result of his death.

A neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who attended him were the defendants in the seven cases. If found guilty, they could spend up to 25 years in prison. Eight people are scheduled to appear in court separately.

The seven main defendants are scheduled to face off against them in court hearings involving more than 190 witnesses. Maradona’s death was “was predetermined,” according to one coroner who testified to the court in March, and most likely came from an “agony.”

However, last week, one of the principal defendants, Leopoldo Luque, demanded that Judge Makintach be sacked from the bench.

When Maradona passed away, Luque was both a personal physician and neurosurgeon. Julio Rivas, Luque’s attorney, claimed that the BBC, a British news outlet, had approached him to participate in the documentary.

Through that conversation, Rivas explained that Juan Makintach, Judge Makintach’s brother, was connected to the documentary’s production company.

Additionally, police alleged that Judge Makintach had approved a camera in the courtroom.

As the case was being reviewed, prosecutor Patricio Ferrari requested that the trial be put on hold for a week on May 20. The trial’s beginning was depicted in footage that the court received from the documentary. The judge appeared to be a central figure in the proceedings.

Judge Makintach has refuted accusations of misconduct. Ferrari, however, argued that Ferrari’s claim that the situation threatens the judiciary’s standing.

Brazilian prosecutors sue Chinese carmaker BYD over labour conditions

Brazilian labor attorneys have filed a lawsuit against BYD, a Chinese automaker, and two contractors over allegations of illegal trafficking of workers to live and work in “analogue” conditions.

The prosecutors, who are accused of enforcing labor laws, announced in a statement on Tuesday that they would seek damages in the amount of 257 million reais ($45 million) from BYD, China JinJiang Construction Brazil, and Tecmonta Equipamentos Inteligentes.

In order to construct a BYD plant in Camacari, in the northeastern state of Bahia, the three companies were accused of trafficking Chinese workers. According to the prosecutors, the companies “extremely degrading” the workers there.

220 Chinese workers were discovered to be living in conditions similar to slavery and those who were victims of international human trafficking in December of last year, according to the statement.

In addition to compensating moral damages, the prosecutors are seeking damages worth 50, 000 reais ($8, 867) per violation multiplied by the number of employees impacted.

Authorities claim they “rescued” 163 Chinese workers from Jinjiang and 57 from Tecmonta during a police raid in December 2024.

The workers were allegedly brought to Brazil with visas that didn’t fit their jobs, according to the prosecution, and they were victims of international human trafficking.

They also allege that the workers’ conditions at the construction site made them rely on their employers almost entirely, withholding up to 70% of their wages and demanding high contract termination costs. According to the prosecutors, some of the workers’ passports were taken away, limiting their ability to leave.

Additionally, the lawsuit details dreadful living conditions, including some stale beds.

According to the prosecutors’ statement, “in one dormitory, only one toilet was identified for use by 31 people,” forcing employees to get up at 4am to wash themselves before their workdays.

Outside of China, Brazil has the largest market for BYD. The Chinese automaker has stated that it is working with the authorities, will respond to the lawsuit in court, and is committed to protecting human rights.

In an effort to “smear” China and Chinese businesses, a company spokesman said in December that allegations of unfavorable working conditions were a part of a campaign.

The Brazilian labor attorneys, however, refuted the claim that their lawsuit was motivated by anti-Chinese sentiment.

In an interview, deputy labor prosecutor Fabio Leal stated that “our lawsuit is very well-founded and contains a significant amount of evidence from the investigation process.”

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal signs new six-year contract

Lamine Yamal, a teenage sensation in Spain, has agreed to a new six-year deal with Barcelona, according to the Catalan football team.

The 17-year-old helped Spain win the Euro 2024 title and was a key player in Barcelona’s domestic treble-winning campaign.

This season, Barca won La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, and the Copa del Rey, beating their fierce rivals in the finals of both the competitions in the process.

Yamal, a member of the club’s renowned La Masia academy, has quickly gained notoriety for his dribbling, playmaking, and goalscoring.

In a 2-0 victory over crosstown rival Espanyol in mid-May, the Barca-born forward scored the difference goal that earned his side’s 28th Spanish league title.

Hansi Flick’s former German national team coach, Hansi Flick, led Barca to the Champions League semifinals, where they were then defeated by Inter Milan after extra time.

Yamal had a record-setting season with 18 goals and 13 assists, which is best in the Spanish top flight.

The winger, who can play either flank, was key to Spain’s 2-1 victory over England in the summertime European Championship final. In the 2-1 victory over France in the semifinal, he also scored.

Yamal made his Barcelona debut in April 2023, and he has already made 106 appearances.

Lamine Yamal, who joined his hometown club at the age of 7, will only be 23 in a statement posted on social media platform X that detailed how far the player has come.

[Albert Gea/Reuters] Marc-Andre ter Stegen, left, and Lamine Yamal lift the trophy after winning La Liga.