“The U.S. military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on
Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid
into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the
Israel-Hamas war. The final, overnight construction sets up a complicated
delivery process more than two months after U.S. President Joe Biden ordered it
to help Palestinians facing starvation as food and other supplies fail to make
it in as Israel recently seized the key Rafah border crossing in its push on
that southern city on the Egyptian border. Fraught with logistical, weather and
security challenges, the maritime route is designed to bolster the amount of
aid getting into the Gaza Strip, but it is not considered a substitute for far
cheaper land-based deliveries that aid agencies say are much more sustainable.”
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Eye on Extremism
May 16, 2024
Associated Press: US Military Says Gaza Strip Pier Project Is Completed, Aid
To Soon Flow As Israel-Hamas War Rages On
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“The U.S. military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on
Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid
into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the
Israel-Hamas war. The final, overnight construction sets up a complicated
delivery process more than two months after U.S. President Joe Biden ordered it
to help Palestinians facing starvation as food and other supplies fail to make
it in as Israel recently seized the key Rafah border crossing in its push on
that southern city on the Egyptian border. Fraught with logistical, weather and
security challenges, the maritime route is designed to bolster the amount of
aid getting into the Gaza Strip, but it is not considered a substitute for far
cheaper land-based deliveries that aid agencies say are much more sustainable.”
Associated Press: Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Acknowledge Attacking A US Destroyer
That Shot Down Missile In The Red Sea
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“Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday claimed targeting a U.S. Navy destroyer
and a commercial ship in the Red Sea. However, the attack on the warship
apparently happened nearly two days earlier and saw the vessel intercept the
missile targeting it. The latest statement from the Houthis comes as their
attacks on shipping, which have disrupted trade through a vital corridor
leading onto the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, have slowed in recent
weeks. Though the rebels have not acknowledged the slowdown, the U.S. military
has suggested its airstrikes and interceptions of Houthi fire have disrupted
their assaults and chewed into their weapon stockpiles. Recently, the Houthis
have been claiming days-old attacks.”
Pakistan
Voice Of America: China Presses Pakistan To Address Security Concerns Of
Workers, Projects
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“China on Wednesday hailed its "ironclad" relationship with Pakistan and
vowed to further enhance economic and anti-terrorism security cooperation
between the neighboring countries at a bilaterial strategic dialogue in
Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi renewed the pledge at a news
conference after hosting formal talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq
Dar, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister. Broadcast live by
Pakistan's state-run TV, the media talk comes just weeks after a suicide car
bombing in northwestern Pakistan killed five Chinese engineers who were working
on a hydropower project. Their local driver also was killed. The Pakistani
military said this month that its probe into the March 26 attack revealed that
an Afghan national carried it out and terrorists based in Afghanistan had
planned it.”
Yemen
Associated Press: Yemeni Security Forces Deploy In Aden As Anger Simmers Over
Lengthy Power Outages
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“Yemeni authorities deployed security forces and armored vehicles across the
port city of Aden Wednesday, as protesters were expected to take to the streets
in the latest in a series of protests over hours-long electricity outages
caused by a shortage of fuel for power stations. For several days, hundreds of
demonstrators in three central districts of Aden blocked roads and set tires on
fire, protesting electricity shortages as temperatures soared to 40 degrees
Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). On Monday and Tuesday, security forces moved
in to disperse the demonstrations, beating protesters with batons and
barricading the entrances of some streets, three witnesses told The Associated
Press on Wednesday. Aden, home to one million people, is governed by the
Southern Transitional Council, a group backed by the United Arab Emirates that
controls much of the south in the country fractured by nine years of civil war.”
Middle East
The New York Times: The Unpunished: How Extremists Took Over Israel
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“By the end of October, it was clear that no one was going to help the
villagers of Khirbet Zanuta. A tiny Palestinian community, some 150 people
perched on a windswept hill in the West Bank near Hebron, it had long faced
threats from the Jewish settlers who had steadily encircled it. But occasional
harassment and vandalism, in the days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, escalated
into beatings and murder threats. The villagers made appeal after appeal to the
Israeli police and to the ever-present Israeli military, but their calls for
protection went largely unheeded, and the attacks continued with no
consequences. So one day the villagers packed what they could, loaded their
families into trucks and disappeared.”
Associated Press: Netanyahu Fends Off Criticism At Home And Abroad Over His
Lack Of A Postwar Plan For Gaza
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“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday fended off criticism
that he is not planning for a postwar reality in the Gaza Strip, saying it was
impossible to prepare for any scenario in the embattled Palestinian enclave
until Hamas is defeated. Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure from critics
at home and allies abroad, especially the United States, to present a plan for
governance, security and rebuilding of Gaza. He has indicated Israel seeks to
maintain open-ended control over security affairs and rejected a role for the
internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. That position stands in
contrast to the vision set forth by the Biden administration, which wants
Palestinian governance in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a
precursor to Palestinian statehood.”
Australia
Daily Mail: One Of Australia's Most Notorious Alleged Terrorists Neil
Christopher Prakash Refuses To Respond To Judge As He's Ordered To Stand Trial
- But Cops Claim He 'no Longer Holds' Extremist Views
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“An accused Australian jihadi has refused to respond to a magistrate as he
ordered the former rapper to stand trial for terrorism offences. Once branded
as Australia's most-wanted alleged terrorist, Neil Christopher Prakash appeared
in Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link on Thursday. Wearing a black
long-sleeve shirt, Prakash sat silently in the prison room and stared straight
ahead as Magistrate Rohan Lawrence spoke. The video player is currently playing
an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard 'Mr Prakash, can
you see and hear me?' the magistrate asked. The accused did not respond despite
doing so with his lawyers earlier. The accused terror recruiter also did not
respond when the magistrate asked him to enter a guilty or not guilty plea to
the terrorism-related offences, which include engaging in hostile activity in a
foreign state, being a member of a terrorist organisation and advocating
terrorism."
Technology
Reuters: Turkish Competition Board Fines Google Over Failure To Comply With
Regulation
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“The Turkish competition authority said on Thursday that it decided to fine
Google over its failure to fulfil obligations regarding a part of its local
search services. The authority said it will fine the company daily five ten
thousandths of its 2023 revenues until it complies with the competition board's
decisions, starting from April 15. The board said the fine was imposed as
previously implemented measures by Google to address the competition
authority's concerns over local search services failed to include hotel
inquiries.”
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