Japan has taken another step to bolster its network of security partners by launching negotiations with the Philippines on a visiting forces agreement and making the Southeast Asian country the first recipient of its new military aid program.
Australias Support To Pacific Surges As China Focuses On Friendly States, Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map Shows
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<-- Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map
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as someone who has spent time on many of these places, islands, this was of particular interest as a way of indicating geopolitics, applied finance, etc
LowyInstitute
Rakan Abed El Rahman reports for The National from Rafah, southern Gaza, where Palestinians injured in Israeli air strikes are crossing into Egypt to receive urgent medical attention.
02-11-2023
For yrs, a vote on to might have been the least measure to come up in the . But delays in moving the measure, the fragile balance of in & feuds between & inside both parties over the show that there is no easy vote.
The commotion around the issue centers on & newly elected House s decision to pay for the $14.3B in aid to ONLY IF there are EQUAL cuts in the budget.
The s struggle to send $14B in emergency to is exposing rifts that leave looking like a divided super power unable even to rush help to a friend that believes its fighting an existential .
A vote on the package was expected on Thurs, though that now appears at risk, as the countrys political schisms & a fractured consensus once again threaten to paralyze .
It shouldnt be this hard.
I just donated to help MSFUSA save lives of people caught in crisis. Join me here:
No borders.
The vice chair of the , Sen , said she also favored a single effort to & :
Some have argued for decoupling funding to address these threats, & focusing only on the Iranian-backed terrorists who massacred so many Israelis on . We must recognize that our interests are being aggressively challenged by all of these actors in an effort to dismantle the that we established following WWII.
Even in the , where Min Ldr is a forceful advocate for , some are demanding additional $$ for in exchange for greenlighting Ukraine aid. (using human lives & as chits in )
The reality is these issues are all connected, & urgent. Our adversaries are cheering for . So lets instead show them , Sen Cmte Chair (D-WA) told lawmakers.
Funding for for & enjoys a relatively wide backing, but a growing number of have become skeptical on help for Kyiv, leaving its approval in doubt.
New (& ) has indicated he does not agree w/the admins approach of combining & funding into a single bill.
, press for , in Senate testimony
President s 2 top lieutenants testified in the on Tues on behalf of a $105B request to support Israel, & other priorities, amid uncertainty over whether congressional are willing to keep the funding taps open for Kyiv.
France, Britain and the Netherlands draw up plans to send aid to Gaza by ship to ease the plight of Palestinian civilians and alleviate pressure on the border crossing with Egypt, which has become a chokepoint for convoys.
Only 131 lorries carrying water, food and medicine have been allowed into Gaza since Israel closed border points and restricted power and water supplies following Hamass deadly assault.
Impeding aid to Gaza may be a crime - ICC prosecutor
"The court has been investigating in the occupied Palestinian territories since 2021, looking into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity there from 2014 onwards."
/ UPDATE
Mirnaelhelbawi on Twitter has created one central place for people sending QR codes for their ESims : GazaESimsGMail.com
This is working!
(They are freely passed on & first priority is to , , workers, etc.)
Her efforts also made The New York Times!
You lovely people! Keep it going!
Wael Abo Omar, a spox for Gazas border crossing, said that 33 aid trucks carrying water, food & medicine entered Gaza from today, bringing the total to 117 trucks since was first allowed into on Oct. 21.
Aid
/
Lovely Twitter & IG Peeps, if you can connect w this person to help or at least spread the word, please do!
To get around issues, they are looking for ESims (NOT $$) to give to , , workers, etc
Asking for Euro, but , , , are sending too!
Twitter:
Twitter journalist involved & w open DMs & email
IG
Bernie Sanders
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, and getting worse by the minute, Sanders wrote on X. Israel must obey international law and allow innocent men, women, and children the food, water, medical supplies, and fuel that is desperately needed. NOW.
said on Saturday that 's will support links in with "internationally recognized organizations", prompting 's communication minister to say would fight the move.
still,
Elon Musk, the billionaire boss of , says his satellite communications network will be used to support international agencies facing a in Mr Musk made the offer on his X platform after agencies said they were struggling to contact their teams inside Gaza because most communication networks were cut overnight. Access to Starlink has (initially) played a vital role in s war effort.
says will support connectivity to organizations in
Several intl orgs & agencies expressed their concern for colleagues in , after losing contact as a result of the communications . for WaPo & other outlets said they had lost contact w/ inside Gaza.
The families of Israeli held in the Gaza Strip have expressed fear for the fate of their relatives amid s ops, & frustration they have not been kept informed. Gallant said he would meet them on Sun.
"As Gazans Scrounge for Food and Water, Hamas Sits on a Rich Trove of Supplies"
"Hamas has spent years stockpiling desperately needed fuel, food and medicine, as well as ammo and weapons, in the miles of tunnels it has carved out under Gaza."
The supports pauses for stuff getting in, as well as for people getting out, spox said Fri.
He said the US continues to push for more to reach & added should be delivered & restored to Gaza. cut the power supply when it announced a & hasnt allowed fuel in aid deliveries. are running out of fuel, which they are using to power generators in the absence of .
" is not only the ultra-right supporter who always voted against to and made corresponding statements that were considered to be anti-Ukrainian.
""Where Ukraine is concerned, it's sufficient to look at his's ratings with his respect to his support of Ukraine. His rating is very poor. This means that all of this suits us well."
The propagandist cheered.
Satterfield said his work is focusing on two key issues: increasing deliveries (including ) into , as well as establishing a securing mechanism for & their families to leave the territory.
The catastrophic conditions facing hundreds of thousands of in Gaza risk getting worse still, as dwindling fuel supplies threaten food & humanitarian operations, the World Food Program said in a stmnt Fri.
The Red Crescent Society said it received 10 trucks in on Fri through the border crossing, 6 for the & 4 from the Egyptian Red Crescent. It said the trucks carried & supplies but no , which has blocked from entering. The ICRC said earlier that entered alongside the trucks.
"It pains me that humanitarian aid, a very basic right for people, is constantly questioned while at the same time despair is live streamed."
Our aid operation is crumbling and for the first time ever, my colleagues report now that people are hungry. Civil order is collapsing and anger starts to channel towards my colleagues how long can we last I dont know, but certainly no more than a few days.
Philippe Lazzarini
Humanitarian aid
We should avoid conveying the message that a few trucks a day means the siege is lifted for humanitarian aid this is not true. The current system in place is geared to fail. What is needed is meaningful and uninterrupted aid flow and to succeed we need a humanitarian ceasefire to ensure this reaches those in need. This should not be too much to ask for.
Philippe Lazzarini
France Deploys One LHD, Two Frigates to the Eastern Mediterranean
The French Navy (Marine Nationale) Mistral-class LHD Tonnerre departed its home port of Toulon yesterday. The vessel is now en route to the Eastern Mediterranean, an area where naval vessel presence is getting increasingly busy...
"there are at least 3 NH90TTH, 2 Super Puma or Cougar and one Tiger helicopters aboard Tonnerre"
song is kind of relevant for civil war but generally relevant for all wars to those guilty: please stop killing innocent civilians/innocent children. It is super rotten we need a better way to resolve differences and navigate demand
LOOKIE WHAT I FOUND!!
"Military aid" is an oxymoron. Discuss.
has also called for more oversight of the sent to totaling >$60B to date. In Feb, following a House Armed Services Cmte hearing on the topic, he tweeted that American taxpayers deserve to know if the Ukrainian govt is being entirely forthcoming & transparent about the use of this massive sum of taxpayer resources.
, who serves on the Armed Srvcs Cmte, was 1 / 57 lawmakers all who voted against a May $39.8B package for .
explained his opposition by saying that the should not be sending another $40B abroad when our own is in chaos, American mothers are struggling to find baby formula, gas prices are at record highs, & American families are struggling to make ends meet, w/o sufficient oversight over where the money will go.
We need to stabilise a safe and fully operational humanitarian corridor in .
For this purpose it's essential to establish warranties on the humanitarian aid entering and on the final destination, ensuring that only civilians have access to the supplies.
With a trickle of aid flowing into the besieged Gaza Strip from Egypt, humanitarian staff and diplomats face a web of political, security and logistical obstacles as they try to build up and sustain deliveries of relief.
Gaza Aid Efforts Near Collapse, Hospitals Close as Israeli AirstrikesIntensify
Those who desire desire fed.
O Israel, how can you be so cruel
To warn the people of Gaza, your rule
No aid, no hope, no way
To battle the coming dismay
Your threats, they leave us feeling so fooled
Refusal to allow aid into Gaza is a war crime
2/2
The refusal to allow aid into Gaza is a war crime. It is collectively punishing civilians for the actions of fighters. And because nearly half of the people in Gaza are children, it is collectively punishing children for the actions of adult fighters.
Sari Bashi, HRW programme director
palestine