February 13, 2024

*) UNGA president warns another phase of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza ‘is at our doorstep’ The president of the UN General Assembly expressed grave concern over Israel’s assault on the city of Rafah in the southern besieged Gaza. Dennis Francis said on X that he was “deeply distressed by the escalating military operation into Rafah,” where over a million civilians were already sheltering in the most dire conditions. Francis said “another phase of this humanitarian catastrophe” was “at our doorstep” and that this was “not a path to sustainable peace.” *) Egypt hits back at Israeli minister Smotrich’s ‘disgraceful’ remarks The diplomatic tensions between Egypt and Israel escalated following controversial remarks made by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned as “disgraceful” and “irresponsible” comments by Smotrich who claimed Cairo has “considerable responsibility” for Hamas’s October 7 attack. In a statement, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said, “Egypt fully controls its territory, and does not allow any party to involve Egypt’s name in failed attempts to justify its own shortcomings.” *) Kremlin, Musk deny Russian army using Starlink Both the Kremlin and Elon Musk rejected Ukraine’s claims that Russian troops fighting on the frontline were using Starlink internet terminals. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Starlink could not be “officially supplied” in Russia and thus “it cannot be officially used here in any way.” Musk also rejected Kiev’s claims, saying his “companies have probably done more to undermine Russia than anything.” *) Qatar frees eight ex-Indian officers after dropping death sentences Qatar released eight Indian ex-naval officers after dropping their death sentences, India’s foreign ministry said. The men were charged with spying for Israel, according to sources, though India and Qatar did not confirm the charges. Their death sentence, handed down in October, was dropped in December. The Indian foreign ministry credited the Qatari emir for the decision more than 18 months after their arrest challenged diplomatic ties between the two countries. And finally… *) Biden joining TikTok causes stir over national security concerns US President Joe Biden’s debut on TikTok has caused a stir — not least because the Chinese-owned social media platform is still officially considered a security risk by Washington. Republicans criticised Biden for using an app that is banned on US federal government devices over fears it harvests data for Beijing. Even the White House admitted it still had concerns about TikTok.