UNICEF: Israel killed 500 children in Gaza

UNICEF has said that the Israeli occupation killed around 500 Palestinian children during the war on the Gaza Strip and wounded around 3,000 others.

Chief of UNICEF’s Gaza Field Office Pernille Ironside said that 469 children were killed. The number is expected to rise.

She described the effects and damage of the Israeli war on the Palestinian children as “bad,” noting that nine children were killed in the last 48 hours.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced a higher number. They said that 560 children were killed and 11,000 wounded.

Meanwhile, three children were killed on Thursday in Al-Nafaq Street in the north-east of the Gaza Strip. Several international organisations said that targeting children during the war mounts to war crimes and perpetrators must be held account for them.

UNICEF stressed that children in Gaza are experiencing difficult living conditions. They make up around half of Gaza’s population, 1.8million. UNICEF said that the Israeli occupation has destroyed the houses of more than 50,000 children

Eddy Eats: The Kings Head Inn, Newton-under-Roseberry

The sun was shining, and She Who Must Be Fed was in the mood for a nice drive out in the country.

“Let’s go somewhere picturesque,” was the request.

I’d heard the King’s Head at the foot of Teesside’s most famous landmark, Roseberry Topping, was pretty as a postcard so we jumped into the EatsMobile and off we went.

The place has just had a £400,000 revamp of its main pub and eating area, plus its accommodation facilities have grown by four new bedrooms to a total of 12.

And even though it had been shut up with the builders in for the best part of three months, the King’s Head’s previous good reputation has obviously been retained and the place was packed to the rafters when we arrived.

Fresh from a bracing walk on Saltburn beach that morning, I’d had a good breakfast to keep me going, but Mrs E had hardly eaten a bite.

She was “saving herself” for her Sunday lunchtime scran, whatever that means.

So, by the time we got there, she was ravenous and in no mood to wait around.

“You look like you’re ready to nibble on that menu,” I told her.

“Just order and don’t be cheeky,” came the reply.

So I did - or at least, I tried to.

We asked for starters, an inviting-looking chicken pate dish and a fish starter, but were told both were not available as the menu was currently being given an overhaul.

The new menu is probably great, but She Who Must Be Fed was none too happy without her appetiser.

So we got some crusty bread and olives to nibble on instead at £4.95, which came with olive oil and a sweet balsamic glaze. Very tasty.

We washed it down with a nice beer shandy for her, and a pint of lager for me.

I ordered the triple Sunday roast and was asked if I wanted to go large, which, inevitably, I did. Now I’m the first to admit I’ve got a healthy appetite, but this was truly enormous.

Three different meats arrived on a plate piled high with two giant Yorkshires and all the trimmings.

I hardly managed to make a dent, but it was very good value at just £12.95.

Mrs Eats more modestly ordered the peppered belly pork at £10.95.

The slow-cooked belly was served with fondant potato, a tasty pepper sauce, black pudding and baby vegetables.

“Beautiful,” was the verdict on the main.

The portion sizes were so generous that neither of us could squeeze in a dessert, which was a shame, especially with such tempting delights as triple chocolate fudge cake, sticky toffee pudding and chocolate and strawberry sundae on the menu.

The new-look pub is smart but cosy, with low-level lighting and dark wood panels.

The revamp has spruced it up, but it’s managed to keep hold of most of its character.

And if those menu changes get swiftly ironed out, the King’s Head Inn is a nigh-on perfect Sunday lunch destination.

Algerians gather in solidarity with Gaza

Thousands of Algerians participated in a gathering in Harsha Hassan Hall in Algiers, organised by the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Anadolu reported.

A number of Islamic leaders spoke, including the deputy leader of the Salvation Islamic Front Ali Belhadj and the spokesman of the Palestinian Islamic Movement Hamas, Ismail Ridwan.

The gatherers chanted: “the nation wants to liberate Palestine” and “Oh, Hamas… Jihad is the basis.” They also held posters with anti-US slogans written on them –”US arms terrorism” and “US, we will not forget Abu-Ghraib prison.”

One of the speakers described what is happening in the Gaza Strip as a “tragedy.” Another said: “Without weapons, Gaza will never be liberated.”

Belhaj denounced the Algerian authorities for banning marches and protests in the capital. “Closed halls are not enough for Algerians who support Gaza,” he said. “Algerians want streets to march in even if this causes them trouble.”

Algerian authorities banned marches and protests in streets in 2001, four days after a protest in Algiers for the rights of the Amazigh (Berbers.) It resulted in the looting of some shops and clashes with the police, demonstrators and local youths

Palestinians rally in support of Gaza in West Bank

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have held massive demonstrations in support of the Palestinian resistance in the besieged Gaza Strip.

A huge turnout of Palestinian protesters rallied across the West Bank including in the cities of al-Khalil (Hebron), Nablus, Tulkarm, Qalqilya and Jenin.

In Hebron, demonstrators met resistance from the Palestinian Authority’s security forces who also made arrests while firing tear gas at them.

Attacks by the Palestinian Authority have brought increasing pressure on acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas.

Protesters have been staging ongoing rallies in the West Bank in condemnation of the Israeli aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have called for more retaliatory responses to Israeli attacks after three senior commanders of the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, were killed in an airstrike in Rafah on Thursday.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh decried the killing of the three commanders, saying that Palestinians will continue their fight against the Tel Aviv regime and will not accept anything less than the complete lifting of the Israeli siege on Gaza.

Tensions have been running high in occupied Palestine since Israel launched a deadly military operation against the Gaza Strip on July 8.

The death toll from the Israeli war in Gaza stands at nearly 2,090. Some 10,300 others have been wounded since the Israeli aggression began.

In response, Palestinian resistance fighters have continued to rain a barrage of rockets onto the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

The UN Security Council has called for an “immediate” and “unconditional” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

GMA/AB/SS

‘I didn’t think of Iraqis as humans,’ says U.S. soldier who raped 14-year-old girl before killing her and her family

An Iraq War veteran serving five life terms for raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her parents and sister says he didn’t think of Iraqi civilians as humans.

‘I was crazy,’ Green said in the exclusive telephone interview from federal prison in Tucson, Arizona. ‘I was just all the way out there. I didn’t think I was going to live.’

Green talked about what led up to the March 12, 2006, attack on a family near Mahmoudiya, Iraq, that left him serving five consecutive life sentences.

‘There’s not a word that would describe how much I hated these people,’ Green said. ‘I wasn’t thinking these people were humans.’

Spc. James P. Barker of Fresno, California, testified that he pitched the idea of going to the al-Janabi family’s home to Sgt. Paul E. Cortez of Barstow, California, who was in charge of the traffic checkpoint.

Green, who talked frequently of wanting to kill Iraqis, was brought along.

Cortez testified that Barker and Green had the idea of having sex with the girl and that he didn’t know the family would be killed.

Green, then a private,saidhe had ‘an altered state of mind’ at the time. ‘I wasn’t thinking about more than 10 minutes into the future at any given time,’ Green said. ‘I didn’t care.’

At the Iraqi home, Barker and Cortez pulled Abeer into one room, while Green held the mother, father and youngest daughter in another.

Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, stood guard in the hall. As Barker and Cortez raped the teen, Green shot the three family members, killing them.

He then went into the next room and raped Abeer, before shooting her in the head. The soldiers lit her remains on fire before leaving. Another soldier stood watch a few miles away at the checkpoint.

Luhansk welcomes Russian aid convoy

A Russian humanitarian aid convoy has been enthusiastically welcomed by residents of the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk.

Reports say the people in Luhansk rushed to meet the aid convoy after it reached the city on Friday.

The trucks were sent to warehouses, equipped with refrigerators prepared by self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) authorities during the week.

According to the administration of the LPR, 24 aid distribution centers have been set up in the city, 12 of which are to open on Saturday morning.

The speaker of the parliament of the Union of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Oleg Tsaryov said that local authorities have already compiled a list of people who were in most need of aid.

“Pensioners, families where both parents work in public sector, refugees who suffered from bombardments, invalids and hospital patients will be the first to receive the relief aid,” he said.

The humanitarian aid convoy, includes a total of 70 trucks loaded with food, water, generators and sleeping bags.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the entry of the Russian convoy represented a “flagrant violation of international law.”

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence the pro-Russians.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions of Donetsk and Luhansk held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.

SRK/MHB/MAM

Irom Sharmila re-arrested on charges of attempt to suicide

IMPHAL: Three days after being released following a sessions court order, civil rights activist Irom Sharmila Chanu was on Friday rearrested from a makeshift camp in Imphal where she had been continuing her fast.

Despite strong opposition from Sharmila and her supporters, police took her away around 10.30 am. The makeshift camp is located near the state-run JNIMS hospital, where she was being forced-fed nasally, and her residence. Sharmila, who was taken inside the JNIMS hospital, refused to take liquid food through her nose, sources said, adding she was administered IV drops.

Demanding repeal of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, the 42-year-old activist has been on a fast since November 2000.

Manipur deputy chief minister Gaikhangam, who also holds the home portfolio, said Sharmila was picked up since her health had deteriorated. “The government’s duty is to save the lives of its citizens, for which she was picked up,” the minister said.

Despite strong opposition from Sharmila and her supporters, police took her away around 10.30 am on Friday. (PTI photo) Police were tight-lipped about the charges under which they had taken Sharmila away. She was likely to be produced before the chief judicial magistrate (Imphal East) on Saturday.

On Tuesday, an Imphal sessions court had ordered Sharmila’s release, accepting her plea that she did not fast unto death and hence did not attempt suicide. She had continued to fast after being released from jail on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Sharmila had said she would continue to fast until the oppressive Act is repealed. “The deterioration of my health during my struggle is not a concern,” she had said. “I’m not attempting to end my life.”