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The world is losing its humanity, UNRWA chief says

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The UN has warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza (pic BBC)

The Middle East is on the “edge of an abyss” as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas, UN agency chief Philippe Lazzarini has told the BBC.

The commissioner-general of UN relief agency UNRWA said violence could spill over across the region. He warned about the dire situation for civilians inside Gaza, calling again for humanitarian aid corridors into the territory. Mr Lazzarini said he fears “the world is now losing its humanity”.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Mr Lazzarini reiterated calls for humanitarian aid corridors, saying help “needs to be uninterrupted… predictable and meaningful” to help the people of Gaza.

Speaking in Jerusalem, the head of UNRWA condemned Hamas’s attack on Israel, calling it a “horrific and barbaric massacre” that had created a “national trauma, a collective trauma in Israel”. “But this event still does not justify that the war is conducted without any restraint,” he said. “And I do not believe that killing even more civilians is in the interest of the future security and peace here in the region.”

Asked if Israelis were respecting international humanitarian law, Mr Lazzarini said: “Listen, we are now in a situation where there is a total siege being imposed in the Gaza Strip. “We are in a situation where more than a million people have been asked to be displaced. So this amounts to collective punishment, and collective punishment is a violation of international humanitarian law.”

He added: “We call to the Israelis and to anyone relevant in this conflict to respect international humanitarian law. There is no exception for anyone.”

(BBC)



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Ex-Nigeria President Buhari’s remains land back in the country

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[pic BBC]

The remains of Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari have been brought back to the country two days after his death at the age of 82 at a clinic in London.

His successor, Bola Tinubu, was at the airport in the northern state of Katsina to receive the body.

It will then be transported to Buhari’s home some 80km (50 miles) away in Daura where it will be buried in his family’s compound.

Among the other dignitaries at the airport in Katsina were Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, Niger’s former President Mahamadou Issoufou and Buhari’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Buhari’s house is already filled with mourners as friends, family and well-wishers await the arrival of his corpse.

Nigeria’s government had declared Tuesday a public holiday to honour Buhari – who was also a former army general, one of only two Nigerians to have led the country as both a military leader and a democratically elected president.

Officials say the funeral, initially expected on Monday, was delayed for logistical reasons.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who accompanied the late leader’s corpse back to Nigeria, stated that Buhari had died after a brief illness without revealing any further details.

A group of men and women, dressed in northern Nigerian Muslim attire, walk on the road outside the home of Muhammadu Buhari. There are green trees behind them.
Mourners are waiting outside the compound of Buhari’s home in Daura [BBC]

Tributes poured in for the late leader who served for two four-year terms after initially being elected president in 2015, becoming the first opposition leader to defeat an incumbent.

The man he beat, President Goodluck Jonathan, described Buhari as someone who “was selfless in his commitment to his duty and served the country with character and a deep sense of patriotism”.

Former military ruler, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, who overthrew Buhari in a 1985 coup, also showered praise on the octogenarian.

“He is a man who, even in retirement, remained a moral compass to many, and an example of modesty in public life,” Babangida noted.

Tinubu, who will attend the funeral prayer in Daura, declared a seven-day national mourning period in honour of his predecessor.

In an official condolence statement released on Sunday evening, Tinubu said the nation would pay its final respects to the former leader with dignity and honour, starting with the lowering of all national flags to half-mast across the country from Sunday.

Map of Nigeria showing Katsina region highlighted and locators to mark the positions for Abuja, the capital, and Daura.

[BBC]

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Foreign News

Trump imposes 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes

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Around 70% of tomatoes consumed in the US come from Mexico, a trade body says [BBC]

The US is imposing a 17% tariff on most tomatoes imported from Mexico with immediate effect, the government said.

The duty came into force after the US withdrew from a long-standing agreement with its southern neighbour, arguing that the deal “had failed to protect US tomato growers from unfairly priced Mexican imports”.

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that “for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes”.

Mexico rejected accusations it had dumped its tomatoes on the US market at low prices and said the popularity of Mexican tomatoes was down to their good quality.

The measure is expected to lead to higher prices at supermarkets and restaurants, such as pizza parlours and Mexican eateries.

Tomato-based pizza sauces and salsas are among the products likely to be most hit.

About 70% of tomatoes consumed in the US are imported from Mexico, according to advocacy group Florida Tomato Exchange.

Backers of the newly imposed tariff argue that it will encourage consumers to buy tomatoes grown in the US, thereby boosting local trade.

But the Mexican economy and agriculture ministry said it would be “impossible to substitute Mexican tomatoes” given the volume imported from Mexico.

The Mexican government said it would try to negotiate a new deal before its producers were hit, but also promised to help Mexican tomato growers find new markets.

US tomato growers first petitioned the US government for help in 1996, arguing that they were being undercut by Mexican growers, whom they accused of dumping their tomatoes in the US at a price lower than their normal value.

In order to protect its tomato growers, the US issued an anti-dumping order, imposing duties on imported tomatoes in order to make US tomatoes more attractive to consumers.

Since then, the two countries have signed five agreements which suspended those tariffs in exchange for Mexico agreeing to sell their tomatoes at or above a minimum price.

It is the latest of these suspension agreements – signed in 2019 – that the US has now withdrawn from.

The US president has also threatened to impose 30% tariffs on all Mexican goods from 1 August.

Trump said this was because Mexico, in his view, had not done enough to stop North America becoming a “Narco-Trafficking Playground”.

Other countries, such as Brazil and China, as well as the EU trading bloc have also been threatened with US tariffs.

[BBC]

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Thousands of Afghans moved to UK under secret scheme

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[pic BBC]

Thousands of Afghans have been moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data, it can be revealed.

In February 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked.

The previous government learned of the breach in August 2023 and created a new resettlement scheme nine months later. It has seen 4,500 Afghans arrive in the UK, with a further 600 people and their immediate families still to arrive.

The existence of the leak and relocation scheme were kept secret for more than three years after the government obtained a super injunction.

Details of the major data breach, the response and the number of Afghans granted the right to live in the UK as a result were only made public on Tuesday after a High Court judge ruled the gagging order should be lifted.

The leak contained the names, contact details and some family information of people potentially at risk of harm from the Taliban.

The government also revealed on Tuesday:

  • The secret scheme – officially called the Afghan Relocation Route – has cost £400m so far, and is expected to cost a further £400m to £450m
  • The scheme is being closed down, but relocation offers already made will be honoured
  • The breach was committed mistakenly by an unnamed official at the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
  • People whose details were leaked were only informed on Tuesday

Speaking in the House of Commons, Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” to those whose details had been included in the leak, which came to light when some appeared on Facebook.

He said it was as a result of a spreadsheet being emailed “outside of authorised government systems”, which he described as a “serious departmental error” – though the Metropolitan Police decided a police investigation was not necessary.

Healey said the leak was “one of many data losses” related to the Afghanistan evacuation during that period, and contained the names of senior military officials, government officials, and MPs.

The MoD has declined to say how many people may have been arrested or killed as a result of the data breach, but Healey told MPs an independent review had found it was “highly unlikely” an individual would have been targeted solely because of it.

He said that review had also judged the secret scheme to be an “extremely significant intervention” given the “potentially limited” risk posed by the leak.

In a High Court judgement issued on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said it was “quite possible” that some of those who saw the Facebook post containing the leaked personal data “were Taliban infiltrators or spoke about it to Taliban-aligned individuals”.

An email has been sent to those impacted by the breach, urging them to “exercise caution”, and take steps like protecting their online activities and not responding to messages from unknown contacts.

Healey said those who have been relocated to the UK have already been counted in immigration figures.

Tuesday’s disclosure dates back to the August 2021 withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, which saw the Taliban retake power and quickly surround the capital Kabul.

The leak involved the names of people who had applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme, which the UK government set up to rapidly process applications by people who feared reprisals from the Taliban and move them to the UK.

The evacuation – which saw 36,000 Afghans moved to the UK – has already been heavily criticised in the years since it was launched, with a 2022 inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Committee finding it was a “disaster” and a “betrayal”.

When the government set up a new relocation scheme last year in response to the leak, members of the press quickly learned about the plans.

The government asked a judge to impose a superinjunction on the media, preventing outlets by law from reporting any detail.

Healey told the House even he had been prevented from speaking about the breach because of the “unprecedented” injunction, after being informed while still shadow defence secretary.

Reading a summary of his judgment in court, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the gagging order had “given rise to serious free speech concerns”.

He continued: “The superinjunction had the effect of completely shutting down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy.

“This led to what I describe as a ‘scrutiny vacuum’.”

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge, who was in government when the secret scheme was established, said “this data leak should never have happened and was an unacceptable breach of all relevant data protocols”.

Erin Alcock, a lawyer for the firm Leigh Day, which has assisted hundreds of Arap applicants and family members, called the breach a “catastrophic failure”.

Earlier this month, the government confirmed it had offered payouts to Afghans whose information had been compromised in a separate data breach.

[BBC]

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