Argentina Convicts 11 Ex-Officials for Disappearances, Torture, Murders During Military Dictatorship y más noticias internacionales
HAVANA TIMES – Presentamos las noticias internacionales en breve recopilada por Democracy Now el jueves, 28 de marzo de 2024.
Video Shows Israeli Forces Shooting and Bulldozing Two Gazan Civilians as One Was Waving White Flag
Mar 28, 2024
Image Credit: Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera has released a video showing Israeli soldiers fatally shooting two unarmed Palestinians near Gaza City, then burying their bodies with a bulldozer. Thee men can be seen waving pieces of white fabric before they are shot dead.
Indiscriminate Israeli attacks continued throughout the Gaza Strip Wednesday. Mussa Dhaheer lost his parents in an Israeli airstrike on Rafah.
Mussa Dhaheer: “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. I can’t make sense of what happened. My parents, my father, with his displaced friends who came from Gaza near the industrial area and were staying with him, they were all together when suddenly they were all gone like dust. They fled from one death and came to another. … If the Security Council issues another resolution, they will hit more. For God’s sake, do not pass more resolutions. That’s enough. Every time they pass a resolution, they hit us more. We’re all dying, my parents last night. We will be tomorrow. Others will follow. We’re all on the way to death.”
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Israeli Siege on Al-Shifa Hospital Continues: Journalist, at Least 13 Children Among Those Killed
Mar 28, 2024
The Israeli raid and siege on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is now in its 10th day. The rights group Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor says at least 13 children have been killed by Israeli forces in and near Al-Shifa since the raid started. Meanwhile, local media is reporting Palestinian journalist Muhammad Abu Sakhil was shot and killed at Al-Shifa Hospital.
In related news, the Palestine Red Crescent says Israel recently released seven of its members who were detained in the raid on Al-Amal Hospital in February. The health workers, including the director of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, spent 47 days in prison. Eight other Red Crescent staffers are still being held. This comes as UNRWA said 171 of its employees have now been killed in Gaza.
The death toll in Gaza since October 7 has now topped 32,500, including 14,000 children.
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Israel Kills Four Palestinians in Raid on Jenin in Occupied West Bank
Mar 28, 2024
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed at least four Palestinians Wednesday. Three of them were killed in an overnight air raid.
Amira Ararawe: “I started screaming, and my nephew was with me. I was calling for an ambulance or a car and calling on the people to come and help us to move bodies from the ground. People came to help because the ambulance was late because the checkpoint was closed. We carried Hamza, and he was still breathing. But when we reached the ambulance, he died.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 450 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7. Another 4,700 have been wounded, and over 7,300 have been detained.
Also in the occupied West Bank, a gunman opened fire near the town of al-Auja. The Israeli human rights group Looking the Occupation in the Eye said the three injured included two Israeli activists who were on their way to help Palestinian shepherds.
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Another State Dept. Official Makes Public Exit to Protest U.S. Support for Israeli Genocide
Mar 28, 2024
Here in the U.S., another State Department official has publicly resigned over the Biden administration’s support for Israel. Annelle Sheline was a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor who focused on promoting human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. In a piece for CNN, she writes, “Whatever credibility the United States had as an advocate for human rights has almost entirely vanished since the war began.” Annelle Sheline will be joining us later in the broadcast.
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“A Dangerous Precedent in U.S. Foreign Policy”: Center for American Progress Blasts State Dept.
Mar 28, 2024
The president of the Center for American Progress, Patrick Gaspard, who is also a longtime Democratic insider and former U.S. ambassador to South Africa, blasted the Biden administration’s defense of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Gaspard’s comments came after State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters this week that the U.S. believes Israel is complying with international humanitarian law. Gaspard said Miller’s statement is “a gross disregard of overwhelming evidence and a dangerous precedent in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy.”
Meanwhile, the White House says it is working with Israel to reschedule a date for a D.C. visit by an Israeli delegation to discuss the planned invasion of Rafah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously canceled the meeting after the U.S. refused to veto a U.N. Security Council ceasefire resolution.
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Ireland to Intervene in South Africa’s Genocide Case at ICJ; Protests Continue in Amman, Jordan
Mar 28, 2024
Ireland says it will intervene in support of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale.”
In Jordan, police continue to crack down on thousands of protesters who have been demonstrating near the Israeli Embassy in Amman for three days. Protesters could be heard chanting “betrayal” as they called on Jordan to cancel its deals with Israel.
Imad Al-Malhi: “Our message has been a message of the Jordanian Popular Movement since the beginning of October 7th and before that. We are asking the Jordanian government to cancel the Wadi Araba peace treaty with Israel and all its annexes that we believe harm Jordanian national interests. This requires us to stand with the choices of the Palestinian people, who are facing an aggression by the Zionist entity, the American administration and the European West.”
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2 Bodies Recovered from Baltimore Bridge Collapse; 4 Others Presumed Dead
Mar 28, 2024
In Baltimore, rescue workers recovered the bodies of two victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse from the Patapsco River. The men were identified as 35-year-old Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, originally from Mexico, and 26-year-old Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala. Another four people are still missing and presumed dead. All six victims were immigrant overnight construction workers.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the investigation into the cargo ship’s collision with the bridge could take one to two years to complete. President Biden has vowed to direct federal funds to pay for the entire cost of the bridge’s reconstruction.
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Alabama Democrat Flips State Seat After Running on Abortion Rights, IVF Access
Mar 28, 2024
In Alabama, a Democrat has flipped a seat in the state Legislature after running on abortion rights and preserving access to IVF, in what Democrats hope is a bellwether ahead of November. Marilyn Lands said of her victory, “Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation. Our legislature must repeal Alabama’s no-exceptions abortion ban, fully restore access to IVF, and protect the right to contraception.”
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Court Upholds Undated Ballots Law in PA; MT Supreme Court Strikes Down GOP Voter Suppression Laws
Mar 28, 2024
Voting rights advocates in Pennsylvania are expressing alarm after a federal appeals court ruled undated mail-in ballots should not be counted, even if they arrive on time. The ACLU said this could result in thousands of Pennsylvania voters losing their votes. The Republican National Committee praised the ruling.
Meanwhile, in Montana, the state’s Supreme Court has struck down four Republican laws aimed at restricting the vote, including one which would have largely ended same-day voter registration.
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White Supremacists Who Murdered Ahmaud Arbery Ask Court to Overturn Federal Hate Crime Convictions
Mar 28, 2024
In Georgia, the three white men who chased down and killed Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to toss out their hate crime convictions. The three convicted murderers say prosecutors did not prove they targeted Arbery, whom they shot and killed while he was out for a jog, because he was Black. During the trial of William Bryan and father and son Greg and Travis McMichael, prosecutors shared dozens of racist text messages and social media posts from the men in the months and years before the murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. Ahmaud’s father, Marcus Arbery, responded to the news Wednesday.
Marcus Arbery: “The evidence is just too strong against those men. I don’t care what them lawyers have said. Evidence was just too strong. And me and my family, we just have to be strong and just sit back. We know everything will be all right, because the evidence was just too strong against those three men.”
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Trump Lashes Out at Judge Hours After He Imposed Gag Order on Ex-President
Mar 28, 2024
Image Credit: Jane Rosenberg
Donald Trump lashed out at New York Judge Juan Merchan, and the judge’s daughter, just hours after he imposed a gag order on Trump ahead of his criminal hush money trial next month. On his Truth Social platform, Trump called Judge Merchan a “hater” and accused him of being “biased and conflicted.” In response to the gag order, Trump claimed Merchan was “wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement.” The gag order does not technically shield Merchan from public statements by Trump.
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Joe Lieberman Dies, Leaves Behind Legacy of Championing War on Iraq, Blocking Healthcare Access
Mar 28, 2024
Former Connecticut senator and vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman has died at the age of 82. Lieberman was a leading backer of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also helped kill the public option in the Affordable Care Act and fought efforts to expand Medicare eligibility. In 2000, he became the first Jewish vice-presidential nominee on a major party ticket when he ran as Al Gore’s running mate. In 2008, he endorsed Republican Senator John McCain for president over Barack Obama. In his memoir, McCain said he was sorry he didn’t choose Lieberman as his vice-presidential running mate over Sarah Palin.
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Phoenix Approves Measure to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat as Florida Blocks Similar Efforts
Mar 28, 2024
Image Credit: Reuters / Callaghan O’Hare
The Phoenix City Council has approved a new ordinance to protect many workers from extreme heat. Phoenix is the hottest city in the country. Contractors working with the city will be required to provide cooling breaks, cold water and air conditioning.
Meanwhile, in Florida, the Republican-led state Legislature recently passed a bill barring municipalities in Florida from adopting any local measures to protect workers from extreme heat.
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Argentina Convicts 11 Ex-Officials for Disappearances, Torture, Murders During Military Dictatorship
Mar 28, 2024
In Argentina, a court has convicted 11 former officials of crimes against humanity for committing atrocities against over 600 people during the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. The victims included transgender women, high school students, and prisoners who gave birth in captivity and whose babies were taken from them. The court ruled the former military, police and government officials were involved in forced disappearances, torture, rape and murder at secret torture centers on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
On Sunday, thousands of Argentines gathered in Buenos Aires to remember the victims of the military dictatorship.
Rolando Gutierrez: “Today, some families here in Argentina are still searching for their children. The idea is that every March 24, we should remember that date so we don’t repeat those mistakes. A people that has a memory does not repeat those mistakes.”
This all comes as Argentina’s new far-right President Javier Milei faces renewed criticism for downplaying dictatorship-era atrocities.
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Indonesia Arrests 13 Soldiers over Torture Death in West Papua
Mar 28, 2024
In Indonesia, 13 soldiers have been arrested after video emerged showing them torturing a man at a military outpost in the West Papua region. The Indonesian military also issued a rare apology for the incident. According to Amnesty International, the man who was tortured later died.
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Death Toll in Moscow Terror Attack Reaches 143 as Immigrant Communities Report Spike in Attacks
Mar 28, 2024
In Russia, the death toll from last week’s concert hall attack has risen to 143. Around 80 people remain hospitalized after surviving the worst terror attack in Moscow in decades. The arrest of four Tajik nationals has sparked an increase in attacks on Central Asian migrants in Moscow and other cities. The Embassy of Tajikistan in Russia has warned its citizens to stay home if possible.
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UN Secretary-General Guterres Calls for Slavery Reparations
Mar 28, 2024
Image Credit: Bryan Olin Dozier / NurPhoto
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has called for reparations for the transatlantic slave trade to “help overcome generations of exclusion and discrimination.” Guterres made the statement on the U.N. International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery.