A Spanish vessel is towing a barge carrying 200 tons of food destined for the people of Gaza. The boat is leaving from Cyprus. Everyone in Gaza needs this food.
The Open Arms boat left Larnaca a little before 9:00 in the morning on a journey that might last two days.
Gaza does not have a working port, so a charity called World Central Kitchen from the US is building a dock to get the supplies.
The UN says that there is not enough help for Gaza, and this has caused a risk of famine.
The fastest and best way to deliver help to the area is by using the road. But organizations that provide help say that Israeli rules make it difficult to bring in only a small amount of what is actually needed.
If the Open Arms ship can reach Gaza, then more ships from Europe and the United Arab Emirates will also come to bring more help to Gaza.
Israel is happy about the new sea route and is helping to send supplies to Gaza. At the same time, they are still fighting against Hamas.
The fighting started when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7th. They killed around 1,200 people and took 253 hostages. Over 31,180 people have died in Gaza, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
The Open Arms, a boat owned by a charity called Open Arms, is pulling a barge full of food like rice, flour, beans, canned veggies, and canned meat.
While they are on the water, Palestinians who work for WCK will keep building a dock somewhere in Gaza. This dock will be used to unload the aid. They are using debris from broken buildings and infrastructure that has been destroyed in the last five months.
If the dock is finished on time, WCK plans to put the food on trucks and give it to people who need it. The charity has about 60 kitchens in Gaza and has given over 35 million meals to around1. 7 million Palestinians who had to leave their homes.
‘Operation Safeena’, a boat, is going to Gaza for the first time. This is a learning experience for WCK’s founder, Spanish celebrity chef JoséAndrés, who shared this information on X, which used to be called Twitter. “While [Open Arms] is being moved, the jetty is also being built. “
“We might not succeed, but not trying at all would be the worst failure. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen. ” We can deliver many meals every day. “He said the people from the north will have food to eat. “
The United Nations says that at least 576,000 people in Gaza, which is one quarter of the population, are very close to starving.
It says that 300,000 people in the north are in trouble. The UN can’t reach them because of fighting and chaos. They need help soon.
The health ministry in Gaza said that 25 people, including many children, have died from not having enough food and water in the hospitals.
Nine people were shot and killed by Israeli forces while waiting for help in Gaza City. The Israeli military did not respond right away.
Yamen, a father of four in Deir al-Balah, said his family is starving because there isn’t enough food and what is available is too expensive.
WCK has 500 more tons of aid in Cyprus that they are ready to send. Their plan is to have a constant stream of boats and barges carrying food towards Gaza.
The Open Arms is the first ship to provide medical help as part of a program supported by Cyprus, the European Union, the UK, and US.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said that the journey was full of hope and kindness and could be very helpful to the people.
The US is building a temporary dock off the coast of Gaza to help deliver supplies to the area.
Western and Arab countries are also dropping supplies from the air,mainly over the northern part of Gaza. However, many people believe that they do not work well and are expensive.
The UN says that using roads is the only way to transport a lot of food to stop famine.
It is asking Israel to open the border crossings in the north and to use the port of Ashdod, which were closed after the attacks on 7 October.
Israel says they are not stopping aid from coming in or being given out. They say it’s the fault of UN agencies for not getting the aid to the people who need it.
Before the war, about 500 trucks that can carry and transport up to 20 tons of materials entered Gaza every day. In the first 10 days of March, about 162 trucks came into Gaza every day through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, which are controlled by Egypt and Israel, according to the UN.
Tag: Cyprus
-
First assistance ship departs from Cyprus
-
David Hunter: Appeal against manslaughter ruling in Cyprus commences
A case has started where the prosecution is appealing the decision and punishment given to a man who was released from jail for murdering his very sick wife.
David Hunter, who is 76 years old, was blamed for killing his wife Janice at their house in Cyprus in 2021. However, he was found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder, and as a result, he was let out of prison.
Mr Hunter, who lives in Ashington, Northumberland, might be accused of planning to commit murder again.
The appeal hearing might be held in April or May.
Mr Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, said during his trial that he smothered his 74-year-old wife because she pleaded with him to do so. She was experiencing a unique type of blood cancer.
Three judges agreed with the defense’s argument that he had acted on an impulse because he loved his wife.
He was in jail for 19 months before being convicted of manslaughter, but he was not found guilty of premeditated murder.
The prosecution went to the Court of Appeal in Nicosia on Tuesday to challenge Mr. Hunter’s not guilty verdict for murder and his punishment for manslaughter.
Michael Polak, who is the director of Justice Abroad and representing Mr. Hunter, stated that the court has instructed the prosecution to submit their arguments within two months. The defense will then have two months to respond to these arguments.
Mr Polak said that after being in prison for over 19 months and going through a trial, David Hunter was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. This led to his release from custody. At that moment, they believed that the legal process was finished for him.
“He said it can be really stressful for anyone, especially someone like David, to constantly worry about going back to prison for the rest of their life. ”
Mr Polak said that he was not happy with the decision to continue pursuing David, but his team would keep supporting him and keep fighting for him. -
Israelis on trial in Cyprus for raping British tourist
Five men from Israel are being tried in Cyprus for sexually assaulting a 20-year-old British woman together.
The supposed attack supposedly happened at a hotel in Ayia Napa, which is a well-liked place for tourists to visit.
A crowded courtroom in a place called Famagusta, which is close to Ayia Napa, had many family members of the accused people present to show their support.
The people being accused are 19 or 20 years old and are from a town called Majd al-Krum in Israel. They say the accusations are not true.
During the meeting on Thursday, their attorneys expressed dissatisfaction that they had not yet been shown important evidence, such as the DNA report.
Someone said that the report could prove that his two clients were not in the room when the alleged attack happened on September 3rd.
The person in charge of enforcing laws for the government said that the test on the DNA would be finished by the end of today.
After the meeting ended, the families of the defendants hurried to hug them. One of the men was clearly crying while hugging his mother.
A previous lawmaker from Cyprus, Skevi Koukouma, went to the meeting along with members of a prominent women’s group called Pogo.
Ms Koukouma said they were there to send a message that “people who have been hurt should feel comfortable telling their story and trust that others will believe them”. “She said there are other people with them. ”
The trial will start again on 16 October.
Israel’s foreign ministry first stated that six Israeli citizens were taken into custody for their suspected involvement in the attack. -
New investigation into soldier’s death in Cyprus crash
A car driven by an American serviceman hit and killed a British soldier in Cyprus. An investigation into the soldier’s death will begin soon.
Colour Sgt Anthony Oxley was working away from home in June 2016 when he was in a car accident at the RAF Akrotiri base.
The man, who was 40 years old and lived near Wakefield, was hit by a vehicle while riding a motorcycle.
A meeting to plan for an investigation before a formal inquiry happened in Cyprus in June.
‘Unanswered questions’
The newest investigation is the second one in less than two years, both done by the government of Cyprus.
The first event was postponed last year because Sally, the wife of Colour Sgt Oxley, received a document with statements from witnesses just one hour before the meeting was supposed to begin.
In 2018, a UK investigation concluded that he died based on the information available, without pointing to a specific cause.
They discovered that he had died because his head was hurt badly in the accident.
Mrs Oxley, who lives close to Barnsley, has requested for a new investigation to take place in the UK.
The woman, who is 45 years old, said she still has a lot of questions without answers. She felt that the investigation in 2018 was not thorough enough.
Sally Oxley says she still has a lot of things she doesn’t understand about her husband’s passing.
In April, her lawyers asked the attorney general for England and Wales if they could go to the High Court and request a new investigation.
KRW Law, who is representing Mrs. Oxley, stated that the US Air Force led the investigation into the crash and very little information was shared with the public, even though the incident occurred in British territory.
Mrs Oxley reported that she was told by a US general during a meeting that the US serviceman who caused the accident would not be held responsible and that there would be no further action taken.
Christopher Stanley, a lawyer from KRW Law, mentioned that there were differences in the evidence provided by witnesses. He believes that a new investigation should be conducted for the sake of justice.
Mrs Oxley said that she understands that the result will never be different, but she feels that her husband’s 21 years of service should not be summed up as dying from blunt force. “It is not satisfactory. ” -
Israelis detained in Cyprus on rape allegation
The foreign ministry of Israel said that six Israeli citizens have been arrested in Cyprus. They are suspected of sexually assaulting a British tourist.
The Israeli embassy was told about it and their consul is talking to the local authorities.
However, the police or the UK government have not confirmed yet.
But according to reports from media in Cyprus, a court has decided to hold five foreigners in custody while they investigate an alleged rape of a tourist in Ayia Napa.
Reuters news agency also reported that the tourist was identified by a police source as a British woman.
The woman told the police on Sunday evening that she was attacked at her hotel in Ayia Napa earlier that day.
According to the person who provided the information, the five people who were arrested for the reported rape were Israeli men, and their ages were 19 and 20.
Israeli lawyer Nir Yaslovitz, speaking to Channel 12 TV, said that the Cyprus police have a serious suspicion about something, but this is not the first time we have dealt with such cases. According to The Times of Israel newspaper. I want the truth to be revealed.
In 2019, a woman from Britain went to the police in Cyprus and said that she was forced to have sex by 12 Israeli men and boys in Ayia Napa.
Later on, she withdrew her claim after being detained without a lawyer. Then, she was put on trial and found guilty of causing trouble in public.
Last year, the Supreme Court in Cyprus overturned her conviction, which made women’s rights activists very angry. -
Cyprus police detain 21 persons after an attempt to harm Syrian migrants by protestors
The police in Cyprus have apprehended 21 individuals and had to use tear gas and a water cannon. This was in response to a group of Greek Cypriots, who were wearing hoods and holding baseball bats, attempting to attack Syrian protesters in a small village. This village has experienced a lot of tension between its residents and migrants.
On Tuesday, the police reported that two groups of people, around 250 Syrians and 250 Greek Cypriots, held protests in the village of Chloraka on Monday evening. Unfortunately, the protests turned violent when a small number of people from each group started to set fire to trash bins and a fence of a building.
The special police team kept the two groups apart during the riot. However, one officer got badly burned on his hand by a homemade bomb thrown by the rioters.
A police spokesman named Christos Andreou said on Tuesday that the fights started when some Greek Cypriots tried to attack the migrants. He said that nine people from Greece living in Cyprus and twelve people who moved to Cyprus from another country were captured by the authorities.
They are being accused of having weapons and causing violence.
On Monday night, there were fights after a violent incident the day before. Two migrants and a Greek Cypriot man were taken by authorities after hundreds of people from Chloraka marched in protest against the increasing number of migrants who have moved to their village in the past few years. The residents feel that their village has become like a ghetto because of this.
Andreou said that the protest became violent when some smaller groups of demonstrators went on a rampage in the village. They supposedly attacked a migrant, caused damage to a restaurant owned by a migrant, and flipped over a car.
On Sunday, there was a protest because the police cleared out an empty apartment building in Chloraka to remove many migrants who were living there without permission. The police did many raids in the village over the past three years because a court said that no more asylum seekers or people with international protection could live there.
The next day, migrants held their own protest because they believed that they were not being treated fairly by the authorities and locals. They were also upset about the damage done to their property. Justice Minister Anna Koukkides-Procopiou and Police Chief Stelios Papatheodorou were present to meet a group of migrant people and listen to their complaints in order to calm down the situation.
Andreou, who spoke to a TV station called Sigma, said that a man from Syria was arrested because he is being looked into for potentially encouraging people to be violent on social media.
The President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, strongly criticized the events, saying that violence doesn’t solve anything and only leads to more violence.
Christodoulides wants the police chief and the justice minister to talk to the Chloraka municipal authorities and the Syrian migrants to make sure everyone is safe. The security and well-being of the people is very important and cannot be compromised.
He also tried to calm the worries of the people living in Chloraka. He said that his government is still focusing on dealing with the large number of migrants coming to Cyprus. He mentioned that they have already taken steps that have cut the number of people coming and applying for asylum in half.
The Cyprus Republic is a member of the United Nations and European Union. We are willing to follow our obligations to the international community. However, we will not accept anyone who uses our country as a good place for illegal migration. -
British miner sentenced to prison for ‘mercy killing’ his 52-year-old, wife in Cyprus
A former British miner who killed his wife in manslaughter has been imprisoned in Cyprus.
In their house on the island, Janice Hunter, his wife of 52 years, was suffocated by David Hunter, 76, after she ‘begged him’ to do so since she had blood cancer.
Hunter received a two-year prison term from the Paphos District Court judges; he has already completed the most of his sentence after spending 19 months in imprisonment.
According to Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, the firm that is defending Hunter, a defendant in Cyprus will serve 10 months in jail for every year they are sentenced to.
He had been ruled not guilty by judges before of the more serious crime of premeditated murder.
In a case that is a legal first for the nation, Hunter’s defence team had argued that he should receive a suspended sentence.
Ritsa Pekri, the defence attorney, claimed last week that the defendant’s motivation was to “liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.”
According to testimony given in court, Mrs. Hunter’s “wish” was to pass away, and her husband “had only feelings of love for her.”
Hunter, of Ashington, Northumberland, testified during his lengthy trial—which lasted more than a year—that his wife ‘cried and begged’ him to end her life.
He sobbed as he declared that he “never in a million years” would have killed Mrs. Hunter unless she had requested him to.
He demonstrated to the court how he covered his wife’s mouth and nose while telling the jury that after she went “hysterical,” he ultimately chose to grant her desire.
He then allegedly tried to kill himself by overdosing, but doctors were able to save him.
According to Hunter’s legal team, he was formally calculated to be freed from imprisonment by Cypriot prison officials.
-
Christodoulides is Cyprus new president
Turnout for the runoff stood at 72.2 percent, marginally higher than in the first round of voting.
Cyprus voters have elected the former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides as the next president of the small European Union member state, with his rival conceding defeat and congratulating him.
Christodoulides, 49, defeated fellow diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis with 51.9 percent of the vote compared to 48.1 percent on the divided Mediterranean island on Sunday.
Mavroyiannis, 66, told reporters: “Tonight a journey has ended, a great journey that I shared with thousands of people. I regret that we couldn’t achieve the change that Cyprus needed.”
Christodoulides, who defected from the conservative ruling DISY party to run as an independent, scored 32 percent a week ago against 29.6 percent for Mavroyiannis, who also ran as an independent backed by the communist AKEL party.
Widely tapped as the election favourite during the campaign, Christodoulides is seen as likely to take a hard line on moribund United Nations-backed talks on ending the island’s decades-old division.
Former top diplomat Christodoulides earlier voiced confidence about a win when he told reporters: “The Cypriot people know and understand what is at stake … I have complete confidence in their judgement.”
Supporters greet presidential candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis after he cast his vote during runoff elections outside a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus [Christina Assi/AFP] Rising prices
Voter turnout was 72.4 percent with more than 405,000 citizens casting a ballot, a fraction higher than in the first round.
Top concerns for many voters are the cost of living crisis, irregular immigration, and the island’s almost half-century of division between the Greek-speaking south and a Turkish-occupied breakaway statelet in the north that is recognised only by Ankara.
But many disaffected voters simply looked for “the least worse candidate – a characteristic in most elections, but more so in this one”, said Andreas Theophanous of the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish forces occupied its northern third in response to a Greek-sponsored coup, but voters appeared split over whether the division was a priority in the election.
Retiree Dora Petsa, 75, said she expects the new president “to settle the Cypriot question”.
But Louis Loizides, 51, said the country has “too many internal problems” from the economy to immigration, having taken in large numbers of asylum seekers, including many who cross the UN-patrolled Green Line.
‘Rich even richer’
The ruling DISY had been knocked out of the presidential race for the first time in its history, and the conservative party’s decision to back neither candidate threw the runoff wide open.
Pre-poll favourite Christodoulides last week squeezed out DISY leader Averof Neofytou, 61, who came third with 26.11 percent in the first round, despite the incumbent’s endorsement.
Mavroyiannis surprised observers by beating Neofytou and closing the gap with Christodoulides last week.
The new government will be under pressure to root out corruption and address higher energy bills, labour disputes and the struggling economy.
Vasso Pelekanou, a 47-year-old woman, said the new president should help the middle class, which she believes was abandoned by the last government.
“The rich have become even richer,” she said.