How Ethiopia went from celebrating journalists to jailing them May 5 2025 Hundreds of media workers have been detained, often on terror charges, or forced into exile by Abiy Ahmed’s regime Illustration: Hello Von/The Guardian When Ethiopia was chosen by the United Nations to host the global celebrations for World Press Freedom Day in May 2019, it held a glitzy ceremony in the capital, Addis Ababa, attended by nearly 1,000 people. The prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, had come to power a year earlier promising to end decades of repression and usher in an unprecedented era of freedom. Exiled news outlets were invited back to Ethiopia, journalists were released from prison and a host of new publications sprang up. But any hopes of a lasting press freedom were dashed in 2020 with the outbreak of war between Abiy’s military forces and local rulers in Tigray, Ethiopia’s northernmost region. Amid mounting allegations of atrocities, the government restricted journalists’ access to Tigray and imposed a communication blackout, cutting off the region’s phone and internet. People would roll down their window and say they would come and kill me -Anonymous journalist Ethiopia clamped down on independent media, claiming it was protecting national security and describing the rebels in Tigray as terrorists. Initially, the government refused to term the conflict a war and instead referred to it as a “law-enforcement operation”, anticipating a swift victory. By the time the conflict ended two years later, about 600,000 people had been killed and nearly 10% of women aged 15 to 49 in Tigray had been raped. According to Reporters Without Borders’ annual press freedom index , Ethiopia went from being 110th out of 180 countries in 2019 to 145th this year, as mass arrests and the detention of media workers across the country took their toll. Abiy Ahmed at the World Press Freedom prize ceremony in Addis Ababa in 2019. A year later the government was clamping down on Ethiopia’s independent media. Photograph: AFP/Getty “My trouble started on the first day of the war,” says one Ethiopian journalist. “I wrote an article about Ethiopia descending into a civil war and pro-government activists started labelling me a mercenary, a CIA agent. “These people had hundreds of thousands of followers [on social media] and were sharing my picture.” Soon, online threats morphed into physical ones. “While I was driving, people would roll down their window and say they would come and kill me,” says the journalist. “In the comments of the social media posts, people were pointing out my address, saying they knew my house and would attack me. I was confronted in a restaurant, a parking lot … I was an easy target.” Eventually, they fled, joining at least 53 other Ethiopian journalists and media workers exiled since the war began in 2020, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Since 2019, at least 200 journalists have been arrested , according to Ethiopia Press Freedom Defenders. Five of the many Ethiopian journalists to have been targeted in recent years (clockwise from top left): Tesfa-Alem Tekle; Woldegiorgis G Teklay; Belete Kassa; Yayesew Shimelis; and Guyo Wariyo.Photograph: Yabele Media, Ethio News, Ethio Forum, Oromia Media Network Although the Tigray war is over, the restrictions on media have continued as conflict flares in other parts of the country, human rights groups say. The CPJ counts 12 journalists behind bars in Ethiopia, putting it among the worst countries in Africa for jailing journalists. Two journalists have been killed, including Dawit Kebede Araya , a reporter for the regional broadcaster Tigrai TV, who was gunned down by an unidentified attacker near his home in Tigray in January 2021. In 2022, the Dimitsi Woyane TV station in Tigrai was hit by a drone strike . The CPJ did not attribute either to the government, but called for an investigation. Several independent media outlets have been shut down. Two foreign correspondents for the Economist and the New York Times have been deported. One Ethiopian journalist was arrested after fleeing to Djibouti and charged with terrorism offences for his coverage of conflict in Amhara, another region of Ethiopia beset by conflict. Gobeze Sisay arriving in Ethiopia after his arrest in Djibouti in 2023 and transfer under unclear circumstances. He was charged with terrorism offences. Photograph: EBC/YouTube Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, says: “Authorities often invoke anti-terror and hate speech laws, as well as state-of-emergency provisions, to suppress critical reporting and to hold journalists behind bars on vague allegations and charges, amid seemingly indefinite investigations.” Amir Aman Kiyaro, a freelance videographer for the Associated Press, was detained in 2021 at his home in Addis Ababa after returning from a trip to Oromia, Ethiopia’s biggest region, to report on a rebel group there. At the time, war was creeping close to Addis Ababa and a state of emergency was in place that curtailed civil liberties. Amir was detained for four months but never charged . State media outlets accused him of colluding with the rebels, who are classed as terrorists. We’re operating as if we’re under this total state of emergency, this constant cloud of fear -Tsedale Lemma “As an independent journalist, I wanted to talk to people and document the situation on the ground,” he says. “They were portraying me as having committed a cardinal sin, something very terrible, just for doing my job.” Last month, police detained seven journalists at the privately owned Ethiopian Broadcast Service. On 23 March the outlet had aired claims by a woman who said she had been raped by soldiers in 2020. The woman later recanted her allegations and the outlet’s founder apologised, saying it has discovered the allegations were fabricated after the programme had aired. Police accused the journalists of terrorism and working with “extremist” groups to overthrow the government. “If you are not promoting what the government wants, you are seen as against the system,” says an editor. “Every week, we get letters from government offices complaining about our coverage. “It’s not because we publish wrong facts, but because we are reporting on things like conflict and inflation, things that are seen as critical.” Most journalists now practise self-censorship, says the editor: “Many independent media just repeat government statements. I ask the journalists, ‘Why do you do that?’ They say, ‘I have children, I need to survive.’” Birtukan Temesgen cries on EBS TV. After saying soldiers had gang-raped her, she later said the allegations were false. Seven EBS journalists were then detained. Photograph: EBS/YouTube Tsedale Lemma, founder of Addis Standard, one of Ethiopia’s leading independent media outlets, says the police and security services routinely flout legal protections for media workers. “We’re nowhere close to protecting the media from this coordinated assault the government is waging against it, whether it’s mass arrests, disappearances of journalists, the mass defamation of journalists or the delegitimisation of their work,” she says. Addis Standard has had repeated run-ins with the government. In 2020, a senior member of its newsroom was detained without charge for two months. In 2021, the government briefly suspended the outlet , halting work in its newsroom for a week. Late last year, its video team were detained for a day as they were reporting on people migrating to Addis Ababa. Just two weeks ago police raided the Standard’s office and the home of an employee, confiscating computers and phones, and detaining three managers, one of whom was assaulted, Tsedale says. “We’re operating as if we’re under this total state of emergency, [and] this constant cloud of fear doesn’t give journalists the confidence to stay the course with you,” says Tsedale. “No matter how many resources you spend training and mentoring them, they are always on the lookout for a safer, secure job.” Another editor shares similar stories about colleagues being detained while covering news and held for days at police stations. With Ethiopia gearing up for its general election in 2026, he fears further clampdowns. “In two years, we won’t have any independent media left if things continue like this.” A government spokesperson did not reply to messages seeking comment on the state of press freedom in Ethiopia. It has previously said several independent media outlets are highly partisan and do not adhere to proper journalistic ethnics regarding impartiality and verifying facts, instead advocating for certain ethnic groups within Ethiopia’s multi-ethnic federation of more than 80 different peoples. © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

© International Human Rights Committee Incident Report , Pakistan May 12th, 2025 Tortured in Court, Denied Bail, Deprived of Care: A Case of Genocidal Persecution in Karachi The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) strongly condemns the custodial death of Mr   Tahir Mahmood aged 71, on Sunday 11th May 2025, an Ahmadi Muslim unjustly arrested and imprisoned in Malir, Karachi  for the peaceful act of offering Friday prayers . His death is the latest in Pakistan’s escalating campaign of genocidal intimidation  and religious apartheid  targeting the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. A PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE: CHARGED FOR FAITH, PUNISHED FOR PRAYER On March 12, 2025 , the City Court of Karachi rejected bail applications for Tahir Mahmood Sahib and two other Ahmadis — Ijaz Hussain  and Ayaz Hussain  — based on false and sectarian charges under Pakistan Penal Code Sections 295 and 298 , weaponized specifically against Ahmadis. The complainant in the case, Shoaib Khan , is a known official of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP)  — a violent extremist group that has orchestrated hate campaigns and violence against Ahmadis with impunity. A STAGED COURTROOM, A COORDINATED MOB: HOW JUSTICE WAS SABOTAGED On the day of the hearing, the courtroom and its premises were swarmed by TLP-affiliated lawyers, clerics, and supporters , many of whom verbally abused and physically attacked the Ahmadi accused in full view of law enforcement. The presiding judge, in the presence of TLP lawyers and amid anti-Ahmadi slogans, allegedly reassured the extremists that bail would be denied “as per expectations.” Following the rejection, Mr Tahir Mahmood  and Mr Ijaz Hussain  were violently dragged from the courtroom, physically assaulted by lawyers and mobs , and handed over to police, who continued the torture in custody. These events were filmed and proudly disseminated through social media channels linked to religious extremist networks. TORTURE, STARVATION, AND MEDICAL NEGLECT IN CUSTODY Once in police custody, Mr Tahir Mahmood was reportedly interrogated and beaten for refusing to denounce his faith and speak against the founder and Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya community. In the following weeks, his health rapidly deteriorated . Witnesses and reports confirm he was weak, drowsy, and covered in oral blisters , making it painful to eat or drink. Despite clear signs of medical distress, he was denied proper treatment , ultimately leading to his death in custody on May 11, 2025 . A SYSTEMATIC CAMPAIGN OF STATE-SPONSORED RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION This was not an isolated incident. The Pakistani state continues to tolerate — and often abet — the persecution of Ahmadis through: Weaponized laws  (PPC 295, 298) that criminalize Ahmadi religious identity. Mob influence on judiciary  orchestrated by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan . Torture and humiliation  in police custody for prisoners of conscience. Desecration of Ahmadi mosques  and coordinated hate campaigns across provinces. IHRC CALLS FOR URGENT INTERNATIONAL ACTION The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) demands: A full independent inquiry  into the custodial death of Tahir Mahmood Sahib and prosecution of all those involved in his arrest, torture, and abuse — including TLP-affiliated lawyers and complicit police officers. International sanctions  on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan  and its leadership; immediate designation as a terrorist organization . Immediate medical and legal protections  for all Ahmadi Muslims currently imprisoned under blasphemy or anti-Ahmadi laws. Repeal of discriminatory constitutional and penal code provisions  (especially PPC 295, 298) targeting the Ahmadiyya community. Deployment of international observers  in Pakistan’s major cities to document and report on religious persecution. THE WORLD MUST NOT LOOK AWAY Tahir Mahmood Sahib did not die of natural causes. He was systematically stripped of dignity, protection, and basic human rights  — all because of his faith. His death is a glaring indictment  of Pakistan’s descent into a religious apartheid state , where bigotry is policy, and extremism is law. The international community must act — now  — to stop this descent into darkness. © All rights reserved. • International Human Rights Committee

Decree signed by General Assimi Goita days after rare protest suspends activities ‘until further notice’, citing ‘reasons of public order’. Mali's military ruler, Assimi Goita, seized power after coups in 2020 and 2021 [File: Mahamadou Hamidou/Reuters] Mali’s military government has suspended the activities of political parties “until further notice”, days after a rare pro-democracy rally. The decree signed on Wednesday by the transitional president, General Assimi Goita, cited “reasons of public order” and covered all “associations of a political character”, according to state media. It was issued a week after authorities announced the repeal of a law governing the operation of political parties – a decision interpreted by legal experts as a step towards their dissolution. In response, a coalition of dozens of parties formed to “demand the effective end of the political-military transition no later than December 31” as well as a return to constitutional order. On Saturday, the new coalition mobilised several hundred people to protest in the capital, Bamako, against the military government’s move. Another protest had been expected later this week. Cheick Oumar Doumbia, one of the leaders of the weekend demonstration, said he was “not surprised” by the decree. “I expected this because this is their way of preventing us from carrying out our activities, but we will continue to defend democracy in Mali,” he told The Associated Press news agency. “We are a people committed to democracy.” Goita seized power after coups in 2020 and 2021. Last week, a national political conference said he should be installed as president for a renewable five-year term. In 2024, the authorities had already suspended the activities of political parties for three months. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Africa News Smoke billows after a drone attack on the port of Port Sudan [Anadolu via Al Jazeera] Port Sudan came under drone attack again on Friday, May 9, the sixth consecutive day of strikes in the coastal city that has become a vital hub for humanitarian aid and a refuge for civilians fleeing Sudan’s two-year war. The attacks, reportedly carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), targeted key infrastructure including the airport, the port, and public buildings. Footage online showed thick smoke rising over the city, but no official casualties or damage assessments have been released yet. The United Nations has expressed grave concern, warning that this latest escalation risks mass civilian casualties and the destruction of essential infrastructure. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, through his spokesperson Farhan Haq, said he is alarmed by the violence spreading into an area that has served as a safe haven for thousands displaced from Khartoum and beyond. The UN is urging all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and refrain from targeting civilians. With aid routes now threatened, the crisis in Sudan risks deepening even further. Source: Africa News.

Aamir Peerzada, BBC News Farhat Javed, BBC Urdu An Indian paramilitary soldier keeps watch from behind a fence in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir (EPA) Mohammed Waheed was fast asleep at his home in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the early hours of Wednesday morning when a huge blast shook his home. "Before we could even process what was happening, more missiles struck, causing widespread panic and chaos," he told the BBC, adding that he had jumped out of bed and run outside along with his family and neighbours. "Children were crying, women were running around, trying to find safety." Mr Waheed lives in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir - it is one of at least three places that were hit by Indian missile strikes on Wednesday. The Indian military said it carried out the strikes in response to a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 civilians. It has blamed Pakistan-based militant groups for the attacks, accusing Islamabad of tacitly supporting them - a charge Pakistan has consistently denied. The BBC spoke to witnesses in both Indian and Pakistan administered Kashmir who described the strikes by India as well as the aftermath of shelling by Pakistan. Pakistan said eight civilians were killed and 35 others injured as a result of the strikes this morning, according to Islamabad. India's army has also said that at least seven civilians have been killed by Pakistani shelling on its side of the Line of Control (LoC) - the de facto border between both countries. 'Killed while making tea' Ruby Kaur, who lived in India's Poonch district along the LoC has been identified as one of the Indians who has been killed. Her uncle, Buava Singh, told the BBC that a mortar shell struck near Ms Kaur's house around 1:45 am, killing her on the spot and injuring her daughter. "Her husband was not keeping well. She woke up to make tea for him when the mortar shell landed close to her house," he said. He added that the heavy shelling on Wednesday morning was something "we have never seen so far". Singh says that there were no community bunkers in the area, which meant residents were forced to take shelter in their homes. "The shrapnel hit her head. She was bleeding heavily. We rushed her to a nearby hospital, but she was declared dead," Mr Singh said. Another resident from Poonch said they heard "loud explosions for hours on Wednesday night". "It was a panicky situation across the city and other areas close to the Line of Control (LoC)," Dr Zamrood Mughal said over phone. "People couldn't sleep the entire night. People abandoned their homes and ran for safer places. A shell hit the main town near the forest office and damaged the nearby structure." A damaged portion of Bilal Mosque is seen after it was hit by an Indian strike in Muzaffarabad (Reuters) 'Terrified of what might come next' Muhammad Younis Shah in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, described how four missiles fired by India landed on an educational complex in the Nangal Sahadan suburb, destroying a mosque in the process. "There is a school and college for children, a hostel, and a medical complex here," he says. "The first three missiles came in succession, while the fourth missile came with an interval of five to seven minutes." While rescue operations in the are underway, locals say they are anticipating further escalation of the violence, and terrified of what may come next. "We're terrified, and we don't know what to do," says Mr Waheed. "People are fleeing their homes and the sense of uncertainty is overwhelming."” His fellow Muzaffarabad resident Shahnawaz echoes this, saying he and his family were now "desperately searching for safe locations". "We were anticipating something would happen, and now we're gripped with fear of further escalations." Delhi emphasised its actions on Wednesday were "focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature", but locals in the targeted areas in Pakistan-administered Kashmir say that their mosques and residential complexes were among the sites hit. Mr Waheed told the BBC he could not fathom why his local mosque was hit in the strike which he claims injured "dozens of men and women" in his neighbourhood in Muzaffarabad. "It's hard to understand," he says. "It was a normal street mosque where we prayed five times a day. We never saw any suspicious activity around it." Delhi emphasised its actions on Wednesday targeted terrorist infrastructure and said thee were chosen "based on credible intelligence inputs". But locals in the targeted areas in Pakistan-administered Kashmir say that their mosques and residential complexes were among the sites hit. Mr Waheed cannot fathom why his local mosque was hit, which injured "dozens of men and women" in his neighbourhood in Muzaffarabad. "It's hard to understand," he says. "It was a normal street mosque where we prayed five times a day. We never saw any suspicious activity around it." Copyright © 2025 BBC

Flora Drury BBC News A city view of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administrated Kashmir. Source: BBC Two weeks after a deadly militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, India has launched a series of strikes on sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The Indian defence ministry said the strikes - named "Operation Sindoor" - were part of a "commitment" to hold those responsible for the 22 April attack which left 25 Indians and one Nepali national dead "accountable". But Pakistan, which has denied any involvement in last month's attack, has described the strikes as "unprovoked", with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying the "heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished". Pakistan's military says it has shot down five Indian aircraft and a drone. India has yet to respond to these claims. Pakistan's military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured. India's army said at least 10 civilians were killed by Pakistani shelling on its side of the de facto border. Where did India hit? Delhi said in the early hours of Wednesday morning that nine different locations had been targeted in both Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistan. It said these sites were "terrorist infrastructure" - places where attacks were "planned and directed". It emphasised that it had not hit any Pakistani military facilities, saying its "actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature". According to Pakistan, three different areas were hit: Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Bahawalpur in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told GeoTV that the strikes hit civilian areas, adding that India's claim of "targeting terrorist camps" is false. Why did India launch the attack? The strikes come after weeks of rising tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the shootings in the picturesque resort town of Pahalgam. The 22 April attack by a group of militants saw 26 people killed, with survivors saying the militants were singling out Hindu men. It was the worst attack on civilians in the region in two decades, and sparked widespread anger in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country would hunt the suspects "till the ends of the Earth" and that those who planned and carried it out "will be punished beyond their imagination". However, India has not named any group it suspects carried out the attack in Pahalgam and it remains unclear who did it. But Indian police have alleged two of the attackers were Pakistani nationals, with Delhi accusing Pakistan of supporting militants - a charge Islamabad denies. It says it has nothing to do with the 22 April attacks. In the two weeks since, both sides had taken tit-for-tat measures against each other - including expelling diplomats, suspending visas and closing border crossings. But many expected it would escalate to some sort of cross-border strike - as seen after the Pulwama attacks which left 40 Indian paramilitary personnel dead in 2019. Why is Kashmir a flashpoint between India and Pakistan? Kashmir is claimed in full by India and Pakistan, but administered only in part by each since they were partitioned following independence from Britain in 1947. The countries have fought two wars over it. But more recently, it has been attacks by militants which have brought the two countries to the brink. Indian-administered Kashmir has seen an armed insurgency against Indian rule since 1989, with militants targeting security forces and civilians alike. This was the first major attack on civilians since India revoked Article 370  that gave Kashmir semi-autonomous status in 2019. Following the decision, the region saw protests but also witnessed militancy wane and a huge increase in the number of tourists visiting the region. In 2016, after 19 Indian soldiers were killed in Uri, India launched "surgical strikes" across the Line of Control – the de facto border between India and Pakistan - targeting militant bases. In 2019, the Pulwama bombing, which left 40 Indian paramilitary personnel dead, prompted airstrikes deep into Balakot - the first such action inside Pakistan since 1971 - sparking retaliatory raids and an aerial dogfight. Neither spiralled, but the wider world remains alert to the danger of what could happen if it did. Attempts have been made by various countries and diplomats around the world to stop the current situation escalating. Already, UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for "maximum restraint", while US President Donald Trump said he hoped the fighting "ends very quickly". Copyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved.

Israel approves plan to expand Gaza war, including ‘occupation’ of territory The Washington Post May 5, 2025 By  Lior Soroka ,  Annabelle Timsit ,  Gerry Shih ,  Alon Rom  and Claire Parker   Israeli soldiers survey the destroyed building of central Gaza along the border with Israel in April. (Heidi Levine/For The Washington Post)   TEL AVIV — The Israeli government has approved a plan to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip, which would include the occupation of the territory, Israeli officials said Monday.   Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved the new Gaza war plan at a meeting Sunday night, David Mencer, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told reporters Monday.   During the meeting,  Netanyahu “emphasized that the plan differs from previous ones by shifting from raid-based operations to the occupation of territory and sustaining it,” another Israeli official said Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.   The Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff, who presented the plan to the security cabinet, said it would allow for stronger strikes against Hamas and help bring home the  hostages  who remain in the territory, the official said.   Israel ended its two-month ceasefire with Hamas and resumed attacks on Gaza on  March 18 . Since then, the Israeli military has  dramatically altered the map of the enclave , declaring about 70 percent of it either a military “red zone” or under evacuation orders, by a U.N. assessment, and pushing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into ever-shrinking pockets.   The expanded operations involve seizing and occupying more territory in Gaza, which will require more ground troops, a former Israeli military official with knowledge of the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning,   said ahead of the cabinet vote. Israel plans to mobilize tens of thousands of reservists.   The plans stop short of the complete military occupation of Gaza that the IDF has weighed, the former official said. Implementing such an occupation is considered difficult, but not impossible, given the staffing levels required, they said.   Mencer, the prime minister’s spokesman, described the war objectives approved overnight as “the expanding and the holding of territories, not occupation,” in a news briefing Monday. He did not answer a question about whether this “holding of territories” would be permanent.   He also said Israel intends to move Gaza’s civilian population southward “for its own defense,” without giving further details. Forced displacement is a crime under international law.   The Israel Defense Forces also plans to mobilize tens of thousands of reservists.   “ We are issuing tens of thousands of reserve call-up orders to intensify and expand the operation in Gaza — increasing the pressure with the goal of bringing our people home and defeating Hamas,” Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, said in a speech Sunday at a naval commando base.   “We will operate in additional areas and destroy all infrastructure — above and below ground.”   Netanyahu’s security cabinet also ratified on Sunday a plan to  overhaul the distribution of food  within Gaza, on the condition that Hamas cannot access the supplies. As The Washington Post previously reported, the plan involves Israel taking control of — and sharply reducing — the distribution of lifesaving aid inside the territory.   Israel would establish up to six hubs at which humanitarian workers would hand packages of food and supplies directly to vetted civilian families while private U.S. contractors provided security.   International aid groups say that the plan violates their rules on impartiality in aid distribution and that the presence of armed people could lead to outbreaks of violence at the distribution zones.   Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was the sole dissenter against the aid distribution plan at the Sunday meeting, a person with knowledge of the discussion said. Ben Gvir said he did not understand why Israel had to provide humanitarian aid, arguing there was “enough food” in the enclave,  said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive conversations.   Since Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas, IDF operations have killed more than 2,400 Palestinians and injured more than 6,400, according to the  Gaza Health Ministry .   Hamas-led fighters streamed out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, to attack communities in southern Israel. They killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took another 250 back to the enclave as hostages.   Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at eradicating Hamas. Since the October 2023 attack, it has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.   Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz  said in March  that he had instructed the IDF to seize Palestinian territory permanently if the hostages were not released. He did not provide details or a time frame.   “I have instructed the IDF to seize additional territory in Gaza, while evacuating the population, and to expand the security zones around Gaza to better protect Israeli communities and IDF soldiers ,” Katz said in a statement then. “The more Hamas refuses to release the hostages, the more territory it will lose — territory that will be annexed to Israel.”   “We will intensify the fighting with blows from the air, sea, and land, and by expanding the ground maneuver, until the hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated,” he said.   Timsit reported from London; Shih and Parker reported from Jerusalem.   Copyright 2025 The Washington Post

The United Arab Emirates used its "reservation" in signing the UN Genocide Convention to argue that the UN court has no authority over Sudan's accusations related to the genocide in Darfur. Image: Hussein Malla/AP Photo/picture alliance Richard Connor with AFP, Reuters The Netherlands-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday dismissed Sudan 's claim that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had fueled genocide in Darfur. Last month, Khartoum argued before the UN's top court that the UAE was violating the Genocide Convention by supplying weapons to paramilitary forces. What did the court say? The judges sided with the UAE in its ruling , accepting its arguments that the UN court "manifestly lacked" jurisdiction to rule on the case. Sudan had made a request to the court for urgent measures against the Gulf nation.  However, the UAE had firmly argued that the court was not legally competent to rule on the matter.  When the UAE signed up to the UN's Genocide Convention in 2005, it entered a "reservation" to a key clause allowing one country to sue another at the ICJ over disputes. This reservation meant the Hague-based ICJ had no power to intervene in the case, the Emiratis said. While the top UN court agreed with this, it expressed its concern about violence in the region. The ICJ said it was "deeply concerned about the unfolding human tragedy in Sudan that forms the backdrop to the present dispute." "The violent conflict has a devastating effect, resulting in untold loss of life and suffering, in particular in West Darfur," the court added. In their ruling, the judges added that, regardless of the opt-out clause, states "remain responsible for acts attributable to them which are contrary to their international obligations." What is happening in Sudan's civil war? Since April 2023, Sudan has been plunged into chaos by a brutal power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The conflict has sparked what aid agencies now call the world’s worst displacement and hunger crisis, with famine officially declared in five regions, according to a UN-backed report. North Darfur has become a flashpoint, where the UN says at least 542 civilians have been killed in just the past three weeks. On Sunday, the RSF struck Port Sudan , the army said, marking the first attack on the seat of the military-aligned government in the country's two-year war .  Edited by: Darko Janjevic © 2025 Deutsche Welle

Zuckerberg’s new Meta AI app gets personal in a very creepy way   The Washington Post May 5, 2025 Column by  Geoffrey A. Fowler Mark Zuckerberg has a new way to invade your privacy: a creepier version of ChatGPT. Meta’s chatbot remembers everything, even what you might not want it to.   Last week, Facebook’s co-founder launched the  Meta AI app , a dedicated home for his company’s artificial intelligence chatbot. The app, which climbed to No. 2 on the iPhone free download charts, promises users a more “personalized” AI with tailored answers and advice. And it includes a new social network for people to share their AI conversations and   But Meta AI also brings something else to chatbots: surveillance. The first time I opened the app, I asked it to “describe me in three emojis.” It could, by drawing on years of personal information tracked by its sister apps Facebook and Instagram.   As a test, I also chatted with Meta AI about some intentionally sensitive topics. Afterward, I found it built a so-called  Memory  file about me that said my interests include natural fertility techniques, divorce, child custody, a payday loan and the laws about tax evasion.   In fact, Meta AI by default kept a copy of everything I said to it — to tailor its responses to me, to train a future version of Meta’s AI and, eventually, target me with ads. I was later able to delete its memory and my conversations, with some effort. But from my tests, Meta AI pushes the limits on privacy in ways that go much further than rivals ChatGPT, from OpenAI, or Gemini, from Google.   Whatever you chat about with Meta AI, just picture Zuckerberg watching. My conversations were tests, but more and more people are turning to AI for incredibly personal stuff, from  medical problems  to  virtual boyfriends .   Meta says its AI gives people what they want. “We’ve provided valuable personalization for people on our platforms for decades, making it easier for people to accomplish what they come to our apps to do — the Meta AI app is no different,” said Meta spokesman Thomas Richards. “We provide transparency and control throughout, so people can manage their experience and make sure it’s right for them.”   But for most users, Meta AI’s personalization brings a whole new set of privacy risks they might not yet appreciate, much less know how to control.   “The disclosures and consumer choices around privacy settings are laughably bad,” says  Ben Winters , the director of AI and data privacy at the Consumer Federation of America. “I would only use it for surface-level, fun prompts or things that don’t have anything to do with your personal information, desire, concerns, fears, or anything you wouldn’t broadcast to the internet.” Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at LlamaCon 2025, an AI developer conference, in Menlo Park, California, on April 29. (Jeff Chiu/AP)   Personalized AI’s privacy problems   A virtual assistant that can anticipate your needs — or even be your  therapist  — is the holy grail of AI. And Meta is not the only company pushing deeper into personal data in the hunt for it.   Google recently added an option to Gemini that lets you choose to use your  Google search history  to personalize its responses. ChatGPT has added the ability to  remember details across conversations .   But the era of personalized AI also brings new privacy complications: How do we manage what we want the bots to know, and how they use our information? “Just because these tools act like your friend doesn’t mean that they are,” says  Miranda Bogen , a director at the Center for Democracy & Technology who has  researched the privacy trade-offs of AI personalization .   5 privacy warnings about Meta AI 1) ‘Sharing’ is public With every Meta AI chat, there’s a  Share button  on the top right corner. Tapping on it will post the contents of that chat to a tab in the app called Discover.   But it’s important to note: Everything you share is public. There is no button to share with only your Facebook and Instagram friends, or over a direct message.   If you regret sharing something, you can dig into the settings to make all your past posts hidden from the public.   2) Meta AI is hooked into Facebook and Instagram If you set up a profile for the app using your existing Facebook or Instagram account, the AI will have access to information from your profile. And Meta AI can also share information derived from your chats back with Facebook and Instagram.   Don’t want all that data mingled? You have to create a separate Meta AI account.   3) Meta AI remembers everything Meta AI keeps a transcript or voice recording of every conversation you have with it. The AI learns from what you ask, and can reference it in future chats. It also keeps a list of what it deems to be key facts about you in a separate Memory file, which you can view under the app’s Settings.   You can delete past chats and Memories, but there’s no setting to stop Meta AI from recording them in the first place. The closest you can get is to use the  Meta AI website  without logging in.   4) Your chats are training Meta’s AI The contents of your chats — your words, photos and even voice — will end up being fed back into  Meta’s AI training systems.   Meta warns in its  terms of service : “do not share information that you don’t want the AIs to use and retain.”   5) Your chats can be used for ads While Meta AI doesn’t currently include ads, Zuckerberg has already  signaled  they’re coming.   Nothing about its privacy policy prevents it from using the contents of your chats to tailor ads either in Meta AI, or back on Facebook or Instagram.   During one conversation with Meta AI, Bogen mentioned baby bottles. After that, she says, the chatbot decided she must be a parent. AI systems, already notorious for stereotypes, might lead to new kinds of bias when they’re personalized. “It could start steering people in directions that maybe aren’t what they intend and are based on information that they’re not comfortable with that advice being based on,” she says.   And just imagine the real-life “Black Mirror” when AI starts inserting personalized ads into its answers and advice. Is it recommending a restaurant because it thinks I’ll like it, or because it’s being paid to? Meta AI has no ads today, but Zuckerberg  signaled  that he sees “a large opportunity to show product recommendations or ads” in it during an earnings call last week.   OpenAI says it does not share ChatGPT content with third parties for marketing purposes. (The Washington Post has a content partnership with OpenAI.) Google says that Gemini conversations are not currently being used to show ads and that the company would “clearly communicate” a change to users.   “The idea of an agent is that it’s working on my behalf — not on trying to manipulate me on others’ behalf,” says  Justin Brookman , the director of technology policy for Consumer Reports. Personalized advertising powered by AI “is inherently adversarial,” he says.   Taking control of your data There are three things that make Meta AI feel like a big shift for our privacy.   First, Meta AI is hooked into Facebook and Instagram. If you set up a profile for the app using your existing social media account, the AI will have access to a mountain of information collected by that social app. All of that will shape the responses the Meta AI bot gives you, even if some of Facebook’s or Instagram’s ideas about you  are way off-base . If you don’t want all that data getting combined, you’ll have to set up a separate Meta AI account.   Second, Meta AI remembers everything by default. It keeps a transcript or voice recording of every conversation you have with it, along with a list of what it deems to be key facts about you — such as topics you mention you’re “interested in” — in a separate Memory file. You can view its memories of you in the app’s Settings. But what if there’s something you don’t want the AI to remember? That’s understandable: There are plenty of things — like my test involving fertility techniques and tax evasion — people know to only Google in private.   Meta says it tries not to add sensitive topics to your Memory file, but my tests found it recorded plenty — like fertility and payday loans. What’s worse, the Meta AI app does not give you the ability to prevent it from saving chats or memories. (The closest you can get is to use the  Meta AI website  without logging in.) Nor does Meta AI offer a “temporary” mode, as ChatGPT does, that keeps a conversation out of your history.   The Meta AI app does allow you to delete chats and the contents of your Memory file after the fact. But when I tried to delete my memories, the app warned that they weren’t totally gone. The original chat containing the information remained in my history and could still be used. So then I also had to dig into my chat history and find that original chat, and delete it, too. (The nuclear option was to tap a setting instructing it to just delete everything.)   Third , And there’s one more subtle privacy concern, too. The contents of your chats — your words, photos and even voice — will end up being fed back into  Meta’s AI training systems.  ChatGPT lets you opt out of training by switching off a setting labeled “improve the model for everyone.” Meta AI doesn’t offer an opt out.   Why might you not want to contribute to Meta’s training data? Many artists and writers have taken issue with their work being used to train AI without compensation or acknowledgment.   Some privacy advocates say  we should be concerned , too, that AI systems can “leak” out training data in future chats. That’s one reason many corporations lock down their employees to only using AI systems that don’t use their data for training.   Meta says it trains and tunes its AI models to limit the possibility of private information from appearing in responses to other people.   Still, Meta has a warning in its  terms of service : “do not share information that you don’t want the AIs to use and retain.” I’d take them at their word.   Copyright 2025 The Washington Post

Reports say Israel is now eyeing occupation of the entire enclave, control of aid, and possible expulsion of Palestinians. Israel has rejected claims from aid groups that famine is stalking the enclave, despite having blocked the entrance of all supplies for more than two months [Mahmoud İssa/Anadolu Agency] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that a new offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip will be an intensive military operation aimed at defeating Hamas, but stopped short of detailing just how much of the enclave’s territory would be seized. In a Hebrew-language video message on X, addressing the Security Cabinet-approved plan to expand the Gaza offensive, Netanyahu said on Monday that Gaza’s Palestinian population “will be moved, for its own protection”. Eighteen months of Israeli attacks have killed more than 52,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including thousands of children, and wounded nearly 120,000 others. Netanyahu also said Israeli soldiers would not go into Gaza, launch raids and then retreat. “The intention is the opposite of that,” he said. His remarks come as Israel’s political and military leaders approved plans to expand the Gaza offensive and take over aid deliveries to the devastated and starving enclave. Netanyahu’s cabinet unanimously approved plans to call up reservists and put the Israeli military in charge of food and other vital supplies to the 2.3 million people suffering under its blockade of the Palestinian territory. Newswires reported unnamed Israeli officials suggesting that the plans include the “conquest” and full military occupation of the entire Gaza Strip. The expanded offensive “could go as far as seizing the entire enclave”, the Reuters news agency reported. “The plan will include, among other things, the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories, moving the Gaza population south for their protection,” a source told the AFP news agency. The source added that Netanyahu “continues to promote” United States President Donald Trump’s plan for the departure of Palestinians from the enclave. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi told Al Jazeera the group would only accept a deal with Israel that includes a comprehensive ceasefire and the complete withdrawal from Gaza. “Our people have no choice but to achieve a comprehensive deal that guarantees security and safety for our people,” he said, adding that any Israeli efforts to achieve concessions through threats or mass killings would fail. A United Nations spokesman said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “alarmed” by the Israeli plan that “will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza”. “Gaza is, and must remain, an integral part of a future Palestinian state,” said spokesman Farhan Haq. The plans have stirred significant tension inside Israel as well. While Netanyahu again asserted that the goal was to “defeat” Hamas and bring back several dozen captives held in Gaza, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli campaign group, said in a statement on Monday that the plan is “sacrificing” those still held in the Palestinian territory. Heated disagreements also reportedly erupted during the cabinet meeting between the political and military figures. Army chief Eyal Zamir reportedly warned that Israel could “lose” the captives in Gaza if it pushed ahead with a full-blown military offensive. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that, as Israel has done in the past two months, it should continue to block all food , water, medicine, fuel and other aid from entering Gaza to starve the population. He also advocated for “bombing food warehouses and generators” so there are no more supplies and electricity is fully cut off. But Zamir warned this would “endanger” Israel as it would expose the country to even more allegations of violations of international law . “You don’t understand what you are saying. You are endangering us all. There is an international law, we are committed to it. We cannot starve the Strip, your statements are dangerous,” Zamir said, according to Israel’s national broadcaster, Kan. In an interview with Israeli Army Radio, opposition leader Yair Lapid questioned Netanyahu’s decision to mobilise tens of thousands of reservists, saying the prime minister was calling up troops and extending their service without setting a goal for the operation. Another opposition figure, Yair Golan, said Netanyahu was only trying to save his government from collapsing as the plan “serves no security purpose and does not bring the release of the hostages closer”. Israeli aid plan ‘contravenes humanitarian principles’ Ben-Gvir was reportedly the only member of the Security Cabinet who opposed the plan for Israel to bypass existing aid routes by international organisations. Israel, which has blocked the entrance of all supplies into Gaza since March 2, reportedly plans to use US security contractors to control the flow of aid into Gaza. However, the plan is not expected to come into effect immediately, as Israeli officials believe there is enough food in Gaza for now, even as Palestinians are starving to death . The Israeli plans also envisage the establishment of a new “humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza that would work as a base for aid. The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), a forum that includes United Nations agencies, said on Sunday that Israeli officials were seeking its consent to deliver aid through what it described as “Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military, once the government agrees to re-open crossings”. In a statement, the HCT said such a plan would be dangerous and would “contravene fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”. The coalition said the UN would not participate in this scheme as it does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Al Jazeera the Israeli government wanted to “militarise, manipulate, politicise the aid by allowing only aid to a few concentration hubs in the south, a scheme where people will be screened where it’s a completely inoperable system”. “That would force people to move to get aid, and it would continue the starvation of the civilian population,” he added. On Monday, Hamas branded Israel’s plans to take over aid provision “political blackmail”. “We reject the use of aid as a tool of political blackmail and support the UN’s stance against any arrangements that violate humanitarian principles,” the armed group said in a statement, insisting that Israel is “fully responsible” for the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. © 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network

Israel redraws Gaza map, limiting Palestinians to a third of the enclave The Washington Post May 1, 2025 By  Miriam Berger   and  Júlia Ledur Since breaking the ceasefire, Israeli forces have declared about 70 percent of Gaza either a military “red zone” or under evacuation.   In the six weeks   since Israel resumed its war in Gaza, Israeli forces have dramatically altered its map, declaring about 70 percent of the enclave either a military “red zone” or under evacuation, according to the United Nations, and pushing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into ever-shrinking pockets.   The Israeli military says its evacuation orders allow civilians to flee ahead of fighting, and those who remain could be considered combatants. In practice, Palestinians say, the evacuation orders often force them to flee under fire. Recent evacuation orders have covered border areas and population centers and have displaced more than 420,000 people, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In addition, Israel has enlarged its “security zone,” also called a buffer zone, along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt. The military says the move is meant to prevent a Hamas attack similar to the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. Israeli officials have signaled they do not intend to relinquish this territory. These areas, where the military has deployed, are considered “no-go zones” and Palestinians risk being shot if they approach.   The largest such expansion has been in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Palestinians were ordered last month to evacuate as Israeli troops moved in. Rafah is on the border with Egypt, and previously the Israeli-controlled Philadelphi Corridor along that border served as part of the buffer zone. This month, Israel said the buffer zone now extends north to the city of Khan Younis and the newly declared Morag Corridor. Timeline of evacuation orders and restricted zones   These significant changes in the Gaza map have occurred since Israel ended the two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas on March 18 and resumed its military campaign. While Israel’s leaders say these moves are necessary for security and to pressure Hamas to return the Israeli hostages it holds, some Israeli officials have also signaled that the territorial changes could presage an extended occupation of Gaza that could last for months or more. Humanitarian agencies have warned that the evacuation orders and expansion of buffer zones have cut off thousands of Palestinians from their land and from aid, which is in short supply since Israel put Gaza under a complete siege nearly two months ago. Areas now under evacuation order include half of the enclave’s water wells and many medical and other vital facilities, according to OCHA. Not all civilians have left some areas that are under evacuation orders. Gaza territory under no restrictions has shrunk by almost half since the end of the ceasefire   The war has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. In the early months of the war, Israeli forces razed buildings and agricultural fields to create an initial buffer zone. Israeli officials said this was necessary to eliminate Hamas tunnels and prevent another attack. Legal experts said the military’s tactics violate international law. As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel initially pulled back its troops, retaining a buffer zone about 700 to 1,000 meters (or about half a mile) wide inside Gaza. The area comprised about 17 percent of the enclave, according to the Israeli rights group Gisha, which tracks access in Gaza. These areas were closed military zones, so Palestinians could not reach their land or homes. Sources: Evacuation areas are from the Israel Defense Forces. Restricted buffer zones were provided by Yaakov Garb of Ben-Gurion University via the  Harvard Dataverse repository.   By  Miriam Berger Miriam Berger, a staff writer on The Post's international news desk in Washington, has since Oct. 7 been on assignment in Jerusalem, where she covers Israel, the Palestinian territories and the war in Gaza. Before joining The Post, she was based in Jerusalem and Cairo and was a freelance reporter. follow on X@MiriamABerger   By  Júlia Ledur Júlia Ledur is a graphics reporter covering foreign news at The Washington Post. Before joining The Post in 2021, she worked as a graphics editor at the COVID Tracking Project at the Atlantic. Previously, she was on the graphics team at Reuters, covering Latin American politics, the environment and social issues with data and visuals.  follow on X@juledurg