August 21, 2024

*) Hamas: Biden's remark give Israel 'green light' to continue war on Gaza Hamas has criticised claims by US President Joe Biden that it was backing away from a Gaza truce deal, calling his remarks a "green light" for Israel to continue the war. Hamas said the "misleading claims... do not reflect the true position of the movement, which is keen to reach a ceasefire" agreement and called Biden's remarks an "American green light for the Zionist extremist government to commit more crimes against defenceless civilians". Hamas stated that Biden's comments don't represent the movement's true stance, which has been focused on achieving a ceasefire. *) US sanctions former Haitian President Martelly for drug trafficking The US Treasury Department unveiled sanctions against former Haitian president Michel Martelly for trafficking drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States. The actions taken by Washington echo similar moves from the Canadian government, which imposed sanctions in 2022 against Martelly and two ex-prime ministers, accusing them of profiting from armed gangs. The US Treasury said in a statement that Martelly, former president of the Caribbean nation between 2011 and 2016, "abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States. *) Pro-Palestine protesters arrested in Chicago More than a dozen pro-Palestine demonstrators have been arrested during a protest that began outside the Israeli consulate and spilled out onto the surrounding streets on the second night of the Democratic National Convention. The intense confrontations with officers began minutes into the demonstration, after some protesters charged at a line of police that had blocked the group from marching. *) Ukraine's Kursk incursion prepared with US, UK, Poland — Russian media The newspaper Izvestia has reported that Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region was prepared together with the participation of intelligence from the United States, Britain, and Poland. Citing Russia's foreign intelligence agency, Izvestia said "The Ukrainian Armed Forces operation in the Kursk region was prepared with the participation of the US, UK and Polish intelligence services." *) New variant of mpox might be more contagious Public health officials have expressed concern about how quickly the new clade I Mpox variant seems to be spreading. However, other experts urge caution about the lethality of the virus. Epidemiologist Anne Rimoin from UCLA said “I think we have to be very, very cautious about saying that this is more dangerous.”