MADRID: Passengers wearing masks and wheeling suitcases arrived at Madrid’s main airport on Sunday as Spain opened its borders to most European countries and ended a state of emergency imposed to contain the coronavirus.
Spain’s borders are now open to all European Union countries except Portugal, as well as Schengen Area members outside the bloc and Britain in a much-needed boost to the country’s tourism industry which accounts for more than 12 percent of the economy.
British tourists will be allowed in without having to quarantine, Spain said on Saturday, even though they will still be subject to 14 days isolation upon their return..
Spaniards were also allowed to move freely around the country from Sunday and many were expected to visit friends, relatives and second homes in other regions. Since March 14, people have had to remain in their own provinces.
At Madrid’s international Adolfo Suarez-Barajas airport there was a palpable sense of relief for passengers, many of whom were making journeys to see loved ones after months apart.
“My situation is a little complicated because my wife lives in Italy and I live in Spain so we haven’t seen each other for four months,” said Alberto Bos, who was flying to Milan.
All arriving passengers will have their temperature taken, submit information about where they have come from, and provide their whereabouts in Spain in case they need to be traced.
Spain’s border with neighboring Portugal will reopen on July 1.
“It’s very strange because we aren’t used to traveling anymore,” said Italian tourist Martina, who was among the first to arrive in Spain on a flight from Bergamo.
Stickers on the floor of the arrivals hall made sure those waiting for passengers complied with social distancing measures.
“We will allow British visitors to enter Spain just like the rest of the European Union or Schengen area from 21 June freely and without the need for the quarantine,” foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told BBC News on Saturday.
But Britain’s own quarantine measures, requiring a two-week period of self-isolation for most people entering the country, could put off potential travelers. Britain is due to review its quarantine rule on June 29, three weeks after it was introduced.
Some 1,500 German tourists touched down in Mallorca early last week as part of a pilot scheme to establish a travel corridor between the two areas, ahead of the lifting of restrictions on Sunday.
In his final address during the state of emergency, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez praised Spaniards on Saturday for coming together during one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns but warned they should remain vigilant as there could be a second wave.
Spain, which has recorded more than 245,000 coronavirus cases and over 28,000 deaths, has been easing its lockdown restrictions in recent weeks.
Spain reopens its borders as state of emergency comes to an end
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Spain reopens its borders as state of emergency comes to an end
- Spain’s borders are now open to all European Union countries except Portugal
- British tourists will be allowed in without having to quarantine
France probes 2012 reporters’ deaths in Syria as crime against humanity
- US journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed by an explosion in the east of the war-torn country
- Edith Bouvier: ‘This wasn’t a case of us being in the wrong place at the wrong time — we were deliberately targeted’
Prominent US journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed by an explosion in the east of the war-torn country in what a US court later ruled was an “unconscionable” attack that targeted journalists on the orders of the Syrian government.
The French judiciary had been treating the alleged attack as a potential war crime, but on December 17 widened the investigation to a possible crime against humanity, a charge for which French courts claim universal jurisdiction regardless of locations or nationalities involved.
The anti-terror prosecutors’ office told AFP that new evidence pointed to “the execution of a concerted plan against a group of civilians, including journalists, activists and defenders of human rights, as part of a wide-ranging or systematic attack.”
Colvin — a renowned war correspondent whose career was celebrated in a Golden Globe-nominated film “A Private War” — was killed in the Syrian army’s shelling of the Baba Amr Media Center in Homs on February 22, 2012.
The Washington federal court, which in 2019 ordered Syria to pay $302.5 million over her death, said in its verdict that Syrian military and intelligence had tracked the broadcasts of Colvin and other journalists covering the siege of Homs to the media center.
They then targeted it in an artillery barrage that killed Colvin and Ochlik.
French investigators also believe that both were “deliberately targeted.”
In addition, they told AFP, they extended the probe to cover suspected Syrian government “persecution” of civilians, including Colvin and Ochlik, as well as British photographer Paul Conroy and French reporter Edith Bouvier — who were wounded in the attack — and Syrian translator Wael Omar, as well as “other inhumane acts” committed against Bouvier.
One of Bouvier’s lawyers, Matthieu Bagard, said the new probe “opens the door to treat a certain number of procedures against journalists in armed conflict zones as crimes against humanity.”
His lawyer colleague, Marie Dose, called the shift in the investigation “a great step forward for war reporters.”
Clemence Bectarte, a lawyer for Ochlik’s family, said she now expected judges to issue arrest warrants “for the high-ranking political and military officials whose involvement has been established.”
In March 2012, France opened a probe for murder into the death of Ochlik and for attempted murder over the injury of Bouvier, both French nationals.
The probe was widened into potential war crimes in October 2014, and in 2016, non-French plaintiffs joined the legal action.
“This wasn’t a case of us being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Bouvier in 2013. “We were deliberately targeted.”
In 2016, then-Syrian president Bashar Assad claimed that Colvin was “responsible” for her own death.
“It’s a war and she came illegally to Syria,” he said, accusing the reporter of working “with the terrorists.”
The battle of Homs, Syria’s third city, was part a civil war triggered by the repression of a 2011 revolt against Assad’s government.
Colvin, who was 56 and working for the Sunday Times when she died, was known for her fearless reporting and signature black eye patch which she wore after losing sight in one eye in an explosion during Sri Lanka’s civil war.
Assad was ousted in December after rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Islamist group seized control of Damascus, ending more than 50 years of his family’s iron-fisted rule.
Pro-Russian hackers attack Italian websites after president compares invasion of Ukraine to Nazis
- The NoName57 hacker group hit the websites of the defense, interior and transport ministries
- The group on Monday said it attacked Italian banks, ports, airports and local transport agencies
MILAN: A pro-Russian hacker group attacked Italian government websites on Tuesday in what it said was a reaction to a speech by Italian President Sergio Mattarella that compared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the Nazis ‘ “wars of conquest.”
The NoName57 hacker group, which announced the attacks on social media, hit the websites of the defense, interior and transport ministries, as well as law enforcement agencies. Access to the sites was spotty.
The group on Monday said it attacked Italian banks, ports, airports and local transport agencies, but those attacks did not cause major disruptions.
Mattarella, asked about the attacks during a visit to Montenegro, said that he hoped Russia “will return to play a significant and important role in the international community, respecting the principals of international law and the dignity and sovereignty of every country.”
In a speech in Marseille, France, on Feb. 5 Mattarella said that patterns that led to World War II were repeating, including “wars of conquest.”
“This was the project of the Third Reich in Europe. Today’s Russian aggression against Europe is of this nature,’’ he said.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed dismay about Mattarella’s remarks.
New Delhi, Doha upgrade ties to strategic partnership during Qatari emir’s visit
- Among GCC countries, India already has strategic partnerships with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and Kuwait
- India and Qatar set target to double bilateral trade within 5 years, from the current $14bn
NEW DELHI: India and Qatar elevated on Tuesday their ties to a strategic partnership, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on his state visit to New Delhi — the first in nearly a decade.
On the two-day trip, the Qatari ruler was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers and business leaders. This is his second official visit to India. The first was in March 2015.
Breaking with established norms, Modi personally welcomed the emir at the New Delhi airport as he arrived in the Indian capital on Monday evening. Their meeting was held at Hyderabad House on Tuesday afternoon.
“Both sides have today agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership, and India and Qatar have signed an agreement in this regard today,” Arun Kumar Chatterjee, international affairs secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters after the meeting.
“What we are looking at is deepening cooperation in the fields of trade, energy investment, (and) security, as well as in the regional and international forum.”
Among Gulf Cooperation Council countries, India already has strategic partnerships with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and Kuwait.
“Trade, investment and energy were among the major topics of discussion between the two leaders today. The trade today between India and Qatar is about $14 billion annually. Both sides have agreed to set a target to double this in the next five years,” Chatterjee said.
“Both leaders today identified a number of areas in which the Qatar Investment Authority can increase investments in India. This includes infrastructure, ports, shipbuilding, energy — including renewable energy, smart cities, food, parks, startups and new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning.”
The QIA, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, currently has about $1.5 billion in direct foreign investment in India’s retail, power, IT, education, health, and housing sectors.
Indians make up the largest expatriate community in Qatar with over 700,000 Indian nationals living and working in the Gulf state.
An agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion was also signed during the visit, as well as memoranda of understanding on cooperation in archives and documentation, youth affairs and sports.
Anil Trigunayat, former diplomat and a distinguished fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation think tank in New Delhi, told Arab News that while the key feature of the visit was the “strategic partnership, which means greater collaboration in defense security, space and cyber cooperation,” it was significant not only for bilateral relations, “but also for exchanging views on the US approach to the region and ending the Gaza war, where Qatar is playing a critical role.”
UN condemns ‘summary executions’ of children by M23 in DR Congo
- “Our office has confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week,” rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said
- “We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons“
GENEVA: The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has summarily executed children in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The UN rights office warned the situation in eastern DRC was “deteriorating sharply, resulting in serious human rights violations and abuses.”
“Our office has confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week,” rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
“We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons,” she said.
She urged “Rwanda and M23 to ensure that human rights and international humanitarian law are respected.”
M23 fighters and Rwandan soldiers have seized Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces respectively.
In South Kivu, more than 150,000 people have been forced to flee, UN refugee agency UNHCR said.
UN experts say Rwanda effectively controls M23 and has at least 4,000 troops fighting alongside it.
The DRC government accuses Rwanda of “expansionist ambitions” and says it is stealing vast amounts of minerals.
Shamdasani said the situation was “very chaotic,” and the UN rights office was “receiving a lot of information... which we are not able to confirm or verify.”
It had, however, confirmed a case of three boys, thought to be aged between 11 and 15, who had been killed in Bukavu on Sunday “during an altercation with members of M23.”
The boys were allegedly wearing uniforms and carrying weapons found in an abandoned DRC army camp, firing shots and looting stores, she said.
“What appears to have happened is that they were asked to surrender their weapons and they refused to do so and they were killed,” she said.
The rights office had also documented cases of “ill treatment, conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, child and forced recruitment, intimidation and death threats,” she said.
Prison breaks from South Kivu’s Kabare and Bukavu jails on Friday had made matters worse.
“We have received protection requests from victims and witnesses (who) fear retaliation from escapees, given their active participation in the trials against some of these prisoners convicted of grave human rights violations and abuses, some of which amount to international crimes,” she said.
She said the UN had received “reports that journalists, human rights defenders and members of civil society organizations have been threatened, and forced to leave.”
UN rights chief Volker Turk “expresses his horror at the events unfolding in South and North Kivu, and the impact this is having on civilians,” she said.
“The risks of this spilling over into an even deeper and wider conflict are frighteningly real.”
The fighting has already spurred an exodus toward neighboring Burundi, UNHCR warned.
“Between 10,000 and 15,000 people have crossed into Burundi over the last few days,” spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters.
“Most of those arriving are Congolese, mainly from the Bukavu area,” he said.
He highlighted reports of thousands more people arriving through “unofficial border points,” including across rivers, “with reports of several individuals drowning.”
“Conditions in the communities near the border are extremely dire, with a lack of shelter, water and sanitation facilities,” he said.
Campaigners call on F-35 partner countries to end supplies to Israel
- Over 200 organizations send letter to government ministers in US, UK, Australia, Canada, elsewhere
- ‘The past 15 months have illustrated that Israel is not committed to complying with international law’
LONDON: More than 200 organizations worldwide have urged countries involved in the F-35 jet program to halt arms transfers to Israel over fears of humanitarian law violations, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
It comes as the war in Gaza reached 500 days, with the F-35 jet being used extensively by the Israeli Air Force to conduct bombing operations throughout the conflict.
The organizations signed a letter that was sent on Monday to government ministers in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway.
The 232 signatories come from the countries involved in production of the jet, as well as Jordan, Lebanon, India, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland and elsewhere.
Leading charities such as Oxfam, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch signed the letter, which was coordinated by the Campaign Against Arms Trade.
It says: “The past 15 months have illustrated with devastating clarity that Israel is not committed to complying with international law.
“Partners to the F-35 program have individually and collectively failed to prevent these jets from being used to commit serious violations of international law by Israel.
“States have either been unwilling to observe their international legal obligations and/or claimed that the structure of the F-35 program means that it is not possible to apply arms controls to any end-user, making the entire program incompatible with international law.”
Israel is part of the international agreement behind the F-35 program. British firms supply 15 percent of the parts used in the jet, which is produced by a global consortium led by US defense firm Lockheed Martin.
Governments including those of the US, the UK, Australia and Canada have faced legal action over their involvement in granting arms licenses to Israel that include F-35 components.
The UK in September suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel over fears that the weapons may be used to violate international humanitarian law.
But components of the F-35 were exempt from the suspension for reasons of “international peace and security.”
All countries in the F-35 program are parties to the arms trade treaty, except the US, which is a signatory.
The treaty requires the prevention of military transfers where a risk of humanitarian law violations exists.
More than 48,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, with some researchers saying the death toll could be up to 40 percent higher than the number recorded by the enclave’s Health Ministry.
Katie Fallon, advocacy manager at CAAT, said: “The F-35 jet program is emblematic of the West’s complicity in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
“These jets were instrumental in Israel’s 466-day bombardment of Gaza, in crimes that include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
“Since the limited ceasefire the US government, and lead partner to the F-35 program, has threatened Gaza with mass ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.
“This program gives material and political consent from all western partners, including the UK, for these crimes to continue.”
