Workers call off protest that grounded flights at Kenya’s main airport

Update Workers call off protest that grounded flights at Kenya’s main airport
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People walk at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ahead of a strike by Kenya airports union workers to protest against a proposed deal for India’s Adani Group in Nairobi, Kenya on Sept. 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Update Workers call off protest that grounded flights at Kenya’s main airport
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Passengers wait for their flights during a strike by Kenya airports union workers to protest against a proposed deal for India’s Adani Group ADEL.NS, to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 30 years, in Nairobi, on Sept. 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 01 October 2024
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Workers call off protest that grounded flights at Kenya’s main airport

Workers call off protest that grounded flights at Kenya’s main airport
  • The decision came after a day-long talks between the union leaders and the government
  • The union wrote on X that a return to work agreement had been signed

NAIROBI: Kenya’s airport workers’ union has called off a strike that grounded flights in the country’s main airport on Wednesday over awarding the contract for its modernization and operations to an Indian firm.
The decision came after a day-long talks between the union leaders and the government.
The workers were protesting a build-and-operate agreement between the Kenyan government and India’s Adani Group that would see the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport modernized, and an additional runway and terminal constructed, in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years.
The union wrote on X that a return to work agreement had been signed and the union’s secretary general Moss Ndiema told journalists and workers that the union would be involved in every discussion moving forward.

 


“We have not accepted Adani,” he said.
Transport Minister Davis Chirchir told journalists that the government would protect the interests of Kenyan citizens during the quest to upgrade and modernize the main airport.
Hundreds of workers at Kenya’s main international airport demonstrated on Wednesday as planes remained grounded, with hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport.
Kenya Airport Workers Union, in announcing the strike, had said that the deal would lead to job losses and “inferior terms and conditions of service” for those who will remain.
Kenya Airways on Wednesday announced there would be flight delays and possible cancelations because of the ongoing strike at the airport, which serves Nairobi.
The strike affected local flights coming from the port city of Mombasa and the lake city of Kisumu, where delays have been reported by local media.
At the main airport, police officers had taken up security check-in roles with long lines seen outside the departure terminals and worried passengers unable to confirm if their flights would depart as scheduled.
The Kenya Airports Authority said in a statement that it was “engaging relevant parties to normalize operations” and urged passengers to contact their respective airlines to confirm flight status.
The Central Organization of Trade Unions’ secretary-general, Francis Atwoli, told journalists at the airport that the strike would have been averted had the government listened to the workers.
“This was a very simple matter where the assurance to workers in writing that our members will not lose jobs and their jobs will remain protected by the government and as is required by law and that assurance alone, we wouldn’t have been here,” he said.
Last week, airport workers had threatened to go on strike, but the plans were called off pending discussions with the government.
The spotting of unknown people moving around with airport officials taking notes and photographs raised concerns that the Indian firm officials were readying for the deal, local media outlets reported last week.
The High Court on Monday temporarily halted the implementation of the deal until a case filed by the Law Society and the Kenya Human Rights Commission is heard.

 


Arab American PAC rejects both Trump and Harris over their support for Israel

Arab American PAC rejects both Trump and Harris over their support for Israel
Updated 5 sec ago
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Arab American PAC rejects both Trump and Harris over their support for Israel

Arab American PAC rejects both Trump and Harris over their support for Israel
  • Analysts said Harris’ chances could be hurt if Arab and Muslim Americans did not vote or voted for a third party. Many from those communities have lost relatives in Gaza and Lebanon and have urged supporters to not vote for Trump or Harris

WASHINGTON: The Arab American Political Action Committee said on Monday it will not endorse Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris or Republican former President Donald Trump citing what it called their “blind support” for Israel in wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Nov. 5 US elections will mark the first time AAPAC has chosen not to endorse a candidate since the group’s 1998 inception. It usually endorses Democrats.
Polls show the race between Harris and Trump as tight. Arab and Muslim Americans overwhelmingly backed President Joe Biden in 2020 but have been vocal opponents of US support for Israel, which has eroded their backing of Democrats.
Trump has historically had low approval from that community due to past statements and his policy of a travel ban targeting Muslim-majority nations when he was in office. Like Harris and Biden, Trump has also been a vocal supporter of Israel.
Analysts said Harris’ chances could be hurt if Arab and Muslim Americans did not vote or voted for a third party. Many from those communities have lost relatives in Gaza and Lebanon and have urged supporters to not vote for Trump or Harris. Some like advocacy group Emgage Action have backed Harris, citing Trump as a bigger threat.
“Both candidates have endorsed genocide in Gaza and war in Lebanon,” AAPAC said in a statement. “We simply cannot give our votes to either Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump, who blindly support the criminal Israeli government.”
Israel has denied genocide allegations at the World Court and said it is defending itself after an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants that it estimated killed about 1,200 people and in which around 250 were taken hostage.
Israel’s assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 people, the local health ministry said, while displacing nearly its entire population and causing a hunger crisis. In Lebanon, where Israel said it is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, the death toll is over 2,000, the Lebanese government said.

 


Australia urges citizens to leave Israel citing rising tensions

Australia urges citizens to leave Israel citing rising tensions
Updated 15 October 2024
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Australia urges citizens to leave Israel citing rising tensions

Australia urges citizens to leave Israel citing rising tensions
  • Some airlines have reduced and suspended flights to Israel after the escalation in conflict caused airspace closures, the advisory said

SYDNEY: Australia has warned its citizens not to travel to Israel and urged Australians there to leave the country while commercial flights remained available, citing the conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.
“The Australian government has serious concerns the security situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories could deteriorate rapidly,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a post on X late Monday.
There continues to be a high threat of military and terrorist attacks against Israel and Israeli interests across the region, the Australian government’s travel advisory said.
Some airlines have reduced and suspended flights to Israel after the escalation in conflict caused airspace closures, the advisory said.
Israel on Monday expanded its targets in its war with Hezbollah, killing at least 21 people in an airstrike in north Lebanon, health officials said, while millions of Israelis took shelter from projectiles fired back across the border.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed on Sunday in central Israel after a Hezbollah drone strike.
 

 


UN Security Council backs Lebanon peacekeepers after Israeli attacks

A general view of a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sep. 1, 2024. (AP)
A general view of a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sep. 1, 2024. (AP)
Updated 15 October 2024
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UN Security Council backs Lebanon peacekeepers after Israeli attacks

A general view of a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sep. 1, 2024. (AP)
  • “UNIFIL peacekeepers remain in all positions and the UN flag continues to fly,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement

UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United Nations Security Council on Monday expressed strong concern after several UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon came under fire amid clashes between the Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
In a statement adopted by consensus, the 15-member council also urged all parties — without naming them — to respect the safety and security of the personnel and premises of the UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL.
“UN peacekeepers and UN premises must never be the target of an attack,” said the council, reiterating its support for UNIFIL and the operation’s importance for regional stability.
The Security Council also called for the full implementation of its resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 with the aim of keeping peace on the border between Lebanon and Israel. The council “recognized the need for further practical measures to achieve that outcome,” but did not offer specifics.
Since the start of Israeli ground operation in Lebanon on Oct. 1, UNIFIL positions have been affected 20 times, including by direct fire and an incident on Sunday when two Israeli tanks burst through the gates of a UNIFIL base, the UN said.
“Five peacekeepers have been injured during these incidents, including one peacekeeper who sustained a bullet wound,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Monday. “The source of that gunfire has yet to be confirmed by UNIFIL.”
For the past two weeks Israel has been telling UN peacekeepers to move 5 km (3 miles) back from the so-called Blue Line — a UN-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights — for their own safety.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday in a statement addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL.”
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Monday that UN troops would not move. After briefing the Security Council behind closed doors, he told reporters that he would meet with Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon on Tuesday.
Lacroix added that the UN is “reviewing constantly the situation, and we have contingency planning for all scenarios.”
UNIFIL MANDATED ‘TO ASSIST’
Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters ahead of the council meeting that it was important that UNIFIL be able to do its job.
The Security Council authorized UNIFIL — under resolution 1701 — “to assist” Lebanese forces in ensuring southern Lebanon is “free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon.”
“We have to stand against ... every suggestion that if resolution 1701 was not implemented it’s because UNIFIL did not implement, which was never its mandate,” said Lacroix, stressing that UNIFIL had a supporting role.
Danon said last week that the Lebanese army and UNIFIL had failed to gain control of the area.
He argued that Israel was now acting to enforce resolution 1701, telling the Security Council: “Our soldiers are now in the field, along the border in Lebanon, exposing and dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure.”
The United States and France have said that strengthening Lebanon’s army would be crucial to implementing resolution 1701.
“UNIFIL cannot prevent the hostilities,” Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Monday. “UNIFIL is being jeopardized and endangered and one country openly threatens its personnel, which is unacceptable.”
UNIFIL is also authorized under resolution 1701 “to assist” – if requested by the Lebanese government – in preventing the illicit transport of weapons into the country. The resolution 1701 also bans parties from crossing the Blue Line by ground or air. UN officials have long reported violations by both sides.
Danon told the Security Council last week that it “must ensure the right mechanisms are in place for the Lebanese army and UNIFIL to meet their obligations.”
When asked what that might look like, Danon told Reuters on Monday that he wanted to see “a more robust mandate for UNIFIL to deter Hezbollah.”
Any changes to UNIFIL’s mandate would have to be authorized by the Security Council. Diplomats said there are no such discussions at the moment. The mission is currently authorized until Aug. 31, 2025.

 


Russia says it captured a southern Ukraine village in a push before winter comes

Russia says it captured a southern Ukraine village in a push before winter comes
Updated 15 October 2024
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Russia says it captured a southern Ukraine village in a push before winter comes

Russia says it captured a southern Ukraine village in a push before winter comes
  • Ukraine has deployed sophisticated long-range drones to strike targets inside Russia, including airfields, oil refineries and ammunition depots

KYIV, Ukraine: Russia said Monday it captured the village of Levadne in southern Ukraine as it probes for weaknesses along the war ‘s roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, including in eastern areas that are the main focus of Moscow’s military effort before winter arrives.
Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, reported no nighttime Shahed drone attacks on the country for the first time in about six weeks, after saying five days ago they struck a Shahed storage facility in Russia’s Krasnodar region where around 400 drones reportedly were being kept.
Levadne, in the Zaporizhzhia region, was seized by the Russians early on during the full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, but was recaptured by Ukrainian forces during a counteroffensive in the summer of 2023.
Ukrainian officials made no comment about Levadne’s reported capture, though they had previously noted that the Russian army was assembling troops there and was conducting local assaults at the end of last week.
Ukraine’s troops are straining to hold back Russia’s military might, especially in the eastern Donetsk region, and don’t have the manpower or weaponry to launch their own offensive. Though Russia’s gains have been incremental, its steady forward movement is slowly adding up as the Ukrainians are pushed backward.
In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was briefed on Russia’s autumn and winter plans for attacking Ukraine and said North Korea was supporting Moscow.
Ukraine says it needs more Western help to have a chance of holding back Russia’s invasion.
Zelensky said Monday that Ukraine’s victory plan will be publicly presented to Kyiv’s European partners and he dubbed it a strategy to compel Russia to come to a “just end to this war.”
Details of the plan have not been disclosed, but Zelensky has said the plan is about strengthening Ukraine “both geopolitically and on the battlefield” before any kind of dialogue with Russia.
Russia illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine, including Zaporizhzhia, in September 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from all four regions as the main condition for a prospective peace deal — a demand Ukraine and the West have rejected.
Last week, the Ukrainian General Staff reported a direct hit on the Shahed drone warehouse inside Russia.
“The destruction of the Shahed drone storage base will significantly reduce the ability of Russian occupiers to terrorize peaceful residents of Ukrainian cities and villages,” it said at the time.
Ukrainian officials are keen to show the West that they aren’t giving up the fight against their much bigger neighbor. An incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region has put Ukrainian troops on Russian soil for more than two months.
The Russians are managing to retake some territory in Kursk but the Ukrainians are capturing even more, according to Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military analyst from Information Resistance, a Kyiv-based think tank.
He told The Associated Press that the onset of winter fog and rain will affect the use of drones — an important element in Ukraine’s military strategy.
Ukraine has deployed sophisticated long-range drones to strike targets inside Russia, including airfields, oil refineries and ammunition depots.
The Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence said Monday that it destroyed a Russian military transport aircraft, a Tu-134, at a military airfield in Russia’s Orenburg region.
Russia, meanwhile, struck port infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa with a ballistic missile Monday, killing one person and wounding eight others, as well as damaging two merchant ships, officials said.
The attack damaged grain storage facilities, cargo cranes, administrative buildings, port equipment and vehicles, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksii Kuleba said on his Telegram channel.
Recent attacks on Odesa port facilities appear intended to disrupt the country’s exports of grains and other food staples.


Dutch woman accused of enslaving Yazidi women while part of Daesh goes on trial

A view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP)
A view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP)
Updated 15 October 2024
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Dutch woman accused of enslaving Yazidi women while part of Daesh goes on trial

A view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP)
  • It viewed the Yazidis as devil worshippers and killed more than 3,000 of them, as well as enslaving 7,000 Yazidi women and girls and displaced most of the 550,000-strong community from its ancestral home in northern Iraq

THE HAGUE: A Dutch woman who joined Daesh in 2015 went on trial in the Netherlands on Monday for crimes against humanity for allegedly enslaving two Yazidi women in Syria.
Hasna Aarab, 33, faces charges of taking part in slavery as a crime against humanity for keeping two Yazidi women as domestic slaves, between 2015 and 2016, while she lived in Raqqa with her small son and her Daesh fighter husband.
The Netherlands is only the second country to put an alleged Daesh member on trial for crimes against humanity against Yazidis, an ancient religious minority who combine Zoroastrian, Christian, Manichean, Jewish and Muslim beliefs.
Daesh controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014-2017, before being defeated in its last bastions in Syria in 2019.
It viewed the Yazidis as devil worshippers and killed more than 3,000 of them, as well as enslaving 7,000 Yazidi women and girls and displaced most of the 550,000-strong community from its ancestral home in northern Iraq.
In previous cases Germany convicted two members for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against Yazidis.
Aarab is also charged with membership of a terrorist organization from 2015 to 2022 and endangering her then 4-year old son by taking him to a war zone.
She told the court Monday that she felt alienated and depressed in the Netherlands and left Syria for a new life in 2015 but not to join Daesh.
“I heard some stuff (but) I did not think I would have to deal with IS atrocities,” she told judges.
In earlier procedural hearings Aarab’s lawyers said she was young and naive and was left in the house with the Yazidi by her then-husband, but did not command the women. The defense will present its full case later this week.
Under Dutch universal jurisdiction laws, national courts can try suspects for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed on foreign soil as long as the accused have a link to the Netherlands.