International
Israeli far-right minister asks the US to “respect” its rejection of the truce in Gaza
Israel’s Finance Minister, the anti-Arab ultra-nationalist Bezalel Smotrich, asked the United States to “respect Israeli democracy and the position of its officials,” after the Government of the North American country criticized him for rejecting a possible truce with the Islamist group Hamas.
“Just as the United States would reject international pressure to reach a surrender agreement with Al Qaeda and Bin Laden, Israel will not be subjected to any external pressure that could damage its security,” the minister wrote on social network X.
“I respect the position of the United States and thank it for its support of Israel in the face of regional threats, but I hope it respects Israeli democracy and the position of the citizens of Israel and its elected officials,” he added.
The United States, Israel’s main partner and supplier of weapons, is also a mediator – along with Qatar and Egypt – in the war between the Jewish State and the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, the mediating countries demanded that Israel and Hamas “resume urgent discussions on August 15 in Doha or Cairo to close all remaining gaps and begin the implementation of the agreement without further delay.”
The initiative received extensive support from the international community, and even Israel – which is receiving more and more pressure to sign the agreement – agreed to send a delegation with the mediators.
However, Smotrich said that the draft of the truce agreement – prepared by US President Joe Biden – is a “dangerous trap” that creates “an illusory symmetry between Israeli hostages (…) and despicable terrorists.”
The Biden government will not allow “extremists,” even in Israel, to deviate talks about the ceasefire from their course, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said on Friday.
“The idea that [Biden] would support an agreement that puts Israel’s security at risk is simply erroneous, outrageous, absurd,” the spokesman stressed, stressing that Smotrich “should be embarrassed.”
However, the far-right minister returned to the charge this Saturday: “The surrender agreement lets most of the kidnapped die, frees many murderers, returns terrorists to the north of the Gaza Strip, leaves the border and allows Hamas to smuggle weapons and restore its power to return and attack Israel,” he wrote in X.
“No criticism or attack will distract me from the goal,” he concluded.
Until now, the agreement had been stalled by Hamas’ demand that the ceasefire be definitive, and the insistence of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to resume fighting until the Islamist group was “extinguished”.
The war broke out on October 7 of last year after a Hamas attack on Israel that left about 1,200 dead and 251 kidnapped. Currently, 111 hostages remain in the Strip, although at least 39 would have lost their lives.
After more than 10 months of escalation, the Israeli offensive has left in the Gaza Strip almost 40,000 dead – mostly children and women – more than 90,000 injured, 10,000 missing under the rubble and 1.9 million displaced people who survive in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
International
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
At least 10 newborns have died following a fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Jhansi, India, which was attributed to a faulty oxygen machine, authorities reported on Saturday, adding that 39 babies were rescued.
“Unfortunately, 10 infants have died,” said Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, regarding the fire that occurred on Friday night.
The fire started at 10:30 PM (17:00 GMT) at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The rescued babies, all only a few days old, were moved to another area of the hospital for treatment.
Dr. Narendra Senga, the director of a medical faculty attached to the hospital, also confirmed the death toll of 10 infants.
International
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Seven British citizens were arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking in an operation that led to the seizure of 1.2 tons of the drug, which is made from cannabis resin, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported on Saturday.
“National Police agents, in collaboration with the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK, have dismantled an organization allegedly dedicated to transporting drugs in trucks in Marbella and Elche,” the ministry stated in a press release.
“Agents seized 1,200 kilos of hashish and arrested seven British citizens,” the report specified.
The drugs were found in Marbella and Fuengirola, in southern Spain, as well as in Elche, in the southeastern region.
Part of the hashish was hidden in “large plastic barrels filled with fine mortar sand.”
In addition, the police seized over €63,000 in cash, five passenger vehicles, and a heavy-duty truck.
All of the detainees have been placed in pretrial detention.
Spain serves as the gateway for most of the hashish sold in Europe, due to its proximity to North Africa, the main production area.
In 2022, Spain seized 324.7 tons of hashish, according to the latest available official annual data.
International
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
Fourteen members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested in Spain following an investigation that began with the kidnapping and murder of an associate, the Spanish National Police announced on Sunday.
“The dismantled criminal network, based in Catalonia, is allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area of the region,” explained the National Police in a statement. The victim had traveled from Italy to meet with some of the leaders of the gang.
The criminal organization was “mainly composed of Mexican individuals” and was “linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.”
The victim, a 46-year-old man, was allegedly working for the organization and had traveled to Barcelona from Italy to meet with leaders of the criminal network. The kidnapping took place between late May and June, and the victim’s family in Kosovo alerted the police after receiving a ransom demand of €240,000 (approximately $253,000). The family paid part of the ransom, $32,000 in cryptocurrency.
The victim’s body, whose nationality was not disclosed, was found in August in a forest, showing signs of violence and in an advanced state of decomposition.
The arrested individuals are allegedly connected to drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder. They received packages from Mexico containing methamphetamine soaked into pieces of clothing, which were sent to Catalonia. Once in Spain, they extracted the drug in a laboratory they operated.
The Sinaloa cartel is named after the northwestern Mexican state where it was founded and remains one of the most important criminal organizations in the world, despite the incarceration of two of its historic leaders, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, in the United States.
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
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