Seven foreign aid workers and their Palestinian translator have been killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the city of Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip, which is enduring a genocidal Israeli war.

Gaza’s Government Media Office announced the information on Monday, saying the victims were all employees of the World Central Kitchen (WCK), a food aid charity.

It said the foreigners included citizens of Australia, Canada, Poland and the UK.

"This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER," the WCK posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Gaza-based resistance movement of Hamas said the attack had sought to "terrorize" workers of international humanitarian agencies and deter them from pursuing their missions.

The Israeli regime began the war on October 7 after Gaza’s resistance groups carried out Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed around 32,800 Palestinians and injured nearly 75,300 others.

Chef Jose Andres, who started the WCK in 2010, said on X that he was heartbroken and grieving for the families and friends of those who had died in the airstrike.

The Israeli regime, he said, "needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.”

Last month, the United Nations warned that in the absence of any changes in the war, Gaza was on course to experience all-out famine. (Source: Press TV) @LauraRuHK

The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a probe into allegations that Ukraine and its Western backers are involved in terrorist activities on Russian soil. It follows complaints from MPs and public figures last week.

The initial claim, which the Committee confirmed receiving last Wednesday, identified the US and its allies as allegedly driving a string of attacks on Russian soil. The agency is looking into the purported “organization, financing and conduct of terrorist acts” by those nations. “The US and its allies are today conducting terrorist acts on Russian territories with the hands of ISIS and Ukrainian special services,” Nikolai Kharitonov, of the Communist Party, was one of the MPs who filed the claim. Last week he wrote on Telegram “We demand that the political leadership of the US and Ukraine, as well as the intelligence services of these countries, be held criminally liable for organizing, financing, and conducting terrorist operations directed against Russia and the entire modern world.”

The complaint was signed by three Russian lawmakers as well as some public figures, including the philosopher Aleksandr Dugin. His daughter Darya was killed by a car bomb in August 2022. @LauraRuHK

Il partito di Giorgia Meloni, Fratelli d'Italia,' per anni ha fatto campagna contro lo Ius Soli, ma Guido Crosetto, Ministro della Difesa, non si fa nessun problema a proporre di arruolare migranti nell'esercito usando la promessa della cittadinanza italiana come incentivo. @LauraRuHK https://infodifesa.it/la-difesa-in-cerca-di-militari-il-progetto-di-arruolare-giovani-migranti-in-cambio-della-cittadinanza/?fbclid=IwAR1huraitKTqYv-CX62odLWMcCV99ZQ7uE1aNVtTn7EWlgEeb39pCV4qagk#google_vignette

Yet another resounding "success" of US foreign policy. 😂 For the first time, more people in Southeast Asia favour alignment with China over the United States, according to a new survey – driven by disillusionment with Washington’s foreign-policy actions and the economic benefits of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, among other factors.
The Americans’ “strong, almost unquestioning” pro-Israel stance on the Gaza war, in particular, had led to “diminished confidence in US moderation and deliberation”, said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.
“This extends beyond the fact that there are large Muslim populations in Southeast Asia. US willingness to hold up and veto UN processes looking at Israeli behaviour have decreased trust in Washington’s commitment to the current rules-based international order,” Chong said.

The sixth edition of “The State of Southeast Asia” study was led by researchers from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and surveyed close to 2,000 Southeast Asians from January to February on key issues facing the region.
China saw a significant surge in popularity among respondents, with 50.5 per cent indicating that the Asian giant is their preferred choice of alignment compared with the US, up from 38.9 per cent a year earlier.

Conversely, the US saw a drop in popularity from 61.1 per cent last year to 49.5 per cent in the latest study. (...) The shift towards China was “particularly evident” in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and Laos, the study said, as these states had benefited from Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. It found a 20 per cent increase in respondents’ preference for China in these countries.
Support for the US, meanwhile, has waned in Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar and Cambodia, the study revealed.
The Philippines was an outlier, however, recording a significant increase in confidence in the Americans – primarily due to increasing tensions in the South China Sea. @LauraRuHK https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3257494/southeast-asians-swing-towards-china-alignment-pro-israel-bias-hurts-us-new-survey-shows?module=top_story&pgtype=homepage

European prosecutors are investigating allegations of criminal wrongdoing in connection with vaccine negotiations between Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla.

Investigators from the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) have in recent months taken over from Belgian prosecutors investigating von der Leyen over "interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest," according to legal documents seen by POLITICO and a spokesperson from the Liège prosecutor's office. While EPPO’s prosecutors are investigating alleged criminal offenses, no one has yet been charged in connection with the case.

The probe was originally opened by Belgian judicial authorities in the city of Liège in early 2023 after a criminal complaint lodged by Frédéric Baldan. He was later joined by the Hungarian and Polish governments — although the latter is in the process of withdrawing its complaint after the election win by a pro-EU government led by Donald Tusk.@LauraRuHK

Russia has set up a flawless trap to country 404.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially demanded to Kiev the “immediate arrest and extradition” of EVERYONE in 404 involved in terrorism.

That falls under the UN-adopted International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

The Ministry revealed no names, aside from the head of the SBU, Vasily Malyuk - who “cynically admitted on March 25 that Ukraine organized the bombing of the Crimean Bridge in October 2022 and revealed details on the organization of other terrorist attacks in Russia.”

Everyone knows how 404 will respond. That will constitute a breach of Ukraine’s international obligations on fighting terrorism and “entail its international legal responsibility.”

Using the letter of the law, Moscow is about to prove that 404 is a certified terror state. And on top of it “led” by a cokehead dictator: elections in 404 supposed to have been held yesterday, were cancelled.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has apprehended, jointly with the Federal Customs Service, a group of smugglers who had been carrying explosives hidden inside Orthodox icons and liturgical utensils from Ukraine into Russia.

"In the process of inspecting a vehicle at the Ubylinka international automobile checkpoint (near the Latvian-Russian border in the Pskov Region), FSB officers uncovered foreign-made explosives that had been hidden inside a consignment of Orthodox icons and liturgical utensils and were being smuggled from Ukraine into Russia," the FSB said.

As many as 27 ready-to-use improvised explosive devices disguised as icons, 70 kg of a factory-made high-power plastic explosive, 91 electric detonators, and components for an RPG-7 rocket launcher were confiscated from a cargo shipment originating in Ukraine that had passed through Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia en route to Russia. (Source: TASS) @LauraRuHK

More on World Central Kitchen, whose aid workers were targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip. Wyatt Reed and Max Blumenthal wrote an article about it a few days ago. 📌State Department-linked Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés has emerged as the US government’s preferred conduit for aid to enter Gaza, following the Biden administration’s decision to suspend funding to the enclave’s main supplier of food, aid and education, the UNRWA. Immediately before their recent pivot to Gaza, Andrés’ WCK spent several weeks providing meals to Israeli soldiers following Hamas’ October 7 attack.

On October 16, when Spain’s then-Minister for Social Rights, Ione Belarra, condemned Israel for conducting a “genocide” in Gaza, Andrés immediately jumped to Tel Aviv’s defense and demanded her resignation. The chef’s intimate relationship with the US predates the current conflict in Ukraine. In 2020, he was honored at an event by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he was warmly introduced by now-CIA chief Bill Burns, who called it a “special pleasure” to bring Andrés onstage. @LauraRuHK https://thegrayzone.com/2024/03/27/us-state-depts-chef-gaza-aid-rubble/

❗️In merito alle richieste avanzate dalla Russia nei confronti dell’Ucraina nell’ambito della Convenzione Internazionale per la repressione degli attentati terroristici compiuti per mezzo di esplosivi e della Convenzione Internazionale per il contrasto alle attività di finanziamento del terrorismo
 
⚡️Il sanguinoso atto terroristico compiuto il 22 marzo a Krasnogorsk (Mosca), che ha sconvolto il mondo intero, non è stato certo il primo attacco terroristico perpetrato ai danni del nostro Paese negli ultimi tempi. Come mostrano le attività di indagine condotte dalle autorità competenti della Federazione Russa, tutte le tracce di questi crimini riconducono all’Ucraina.

Altri feroci attentati compiuti per mezzo di ordigni esplosivi sono costati la vita ai giornalisti Daria Dugina e Maksim Fomin (noto con lo pseudonimo di Vladlen Tatarskij), hanno causato il grave ferimento dello scrittore Evgenij Prilepin e la morte del suo autista Aleksandr Šubin, mentre 5 persone sono morte a seguito dell’esplosione avvenuta sul Ponte di Crimea e 42 persone sono rimaste ferite nell’esplosione avvenuta nella caffetteria di San Pietroburgo. Gli assalti condotti dall’organizzazione terroristica chiamata “Corpo volontario russo” (RDK) hanno lasciato dietro di sé morti e mutilazioni tra i civili, tra i quali anche bambini.

❗️In relazione a questo, il Ministero degli Affari Esteri della Federazione Russa, nell’ambito della Convenzione Internazionale per la repressione degli attentati terroristici compiuti per mezzo di esplosivi e della Convenzione Internazionale per il contrasto alle attività di finanziamento del terrorismo, ha trasmesso alle autorità ucraine le richieste di arresto immediato e di estradizione di tutti i soggetti coinvolti in tali atti di terrorismo.

Tali richieste includono anche l’arresto del capo del Servizio di Sicurezza dell’Ucraina Vasil’ Maljuk, il quale il 25 marzo ha ammesso con freddezza che l’Ucraina è responsabile dell’esplosione al Ponte di Crimea dell’ottobre 2022, e ha rivelato i dettagli relativi alla pianificazione di altri attentati compiuti all’interno della Federazione Russa.

La lotta al terrorismo internazionale è responsabilità di ogni Paese.

☝️La parte russa esige dal regime di Kiev l’immediata interruzione di ogni tipo di sostegno alle attività terroristiche, l’estradizione dei colpevoli e il risarcimento per i danni causati alle vittime. L’inadempimento da parte dell’Ucraina agli obblighi sanciti nell’ambito delle Convenzioni per la lotta al terrorismo ne comporterà la perseguibilità ai sensi del diritto internazionale.

The White House reportedly cancelled Ramadan meal after many Muslim invitees declined the invitation in protest of President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

#GazaGenocide #RamadanInGaza

@PressTV

The fusion of Liberalism to Zionism has long defined the Democratic Party in the US, but

“Israel’s war in Gaza has supercharged a transformation on the American Left. Solidarity with Palestinians is becoming as essential to leftist politics – as is support for abortion rights or opposition to fossil fuels. And, as happened during the Vietnam War and the struggle against South African apartheid – leftist fervour is reshaping the liberal mainstream”.

Put plainly, in tandem to Israel moving to the far Right, pro-Palestinian support in the U.S. has hardened. By November 2023, 49 percent of American Jewish voters ages 18 to 35 opposed Biden’s request for additional military aid to Israel. American Jews – those most committed to Zionism; the ones who run establishment institutions – see that liberal America is becoming less ideologically hospitable. They are responding to this shift by forging common cause with the American Right. What are the implications for Team Biden and Netanyahu? Read Alastair Crooke's latest article https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/04/01/israel-war-netanyahu-gamble/

As you know, cognitive warfare aims, among other objectives, to create confusion and undermine trust not only in targeted societies but also among targeted individuals. We are all bombarded with fake news, but those of us who choose to be on the frontlines of the information war also receive threats via messages/email/ phone calls. In addition to this toxic mix, impostors who claim to be "friends" or officials from friendly countries keep approaching us (the fake Maria Zakharova's email comes to mind, and so do messages from people claiming to work for Russian state media) other impostors are trying to impersonate us after hacking our communications. Their objective is to make it increasingly difficult for anyone to figure out who is who, what is true and what is not and thus disturb our activity or undermine our credibility (no, i am not an escort and don't approach subscribers with strange offers). I am very vigilant but obviously my limited skills and means can't protect me from hackers. In addition, i have recently discovered that many email messages i received from subscribers to this channel ended up in the spam box. For this reason i invite those who intend to contact me to use this alternative email and to avoid sending attachments. Thank you for your understanding. lauraru852@yandex.ru

Come sapete, la guerra cognitiva mira, tra gli altri obiettivi, a creare caos, confusione mentale e a minare la fiducia non solo all'interno delle società sotto tiro, ma anche tra gli individui scomodi. Siamo tutti bombardati da fake news, ma quelli di noi che scelgono di stare in prima linea nella guerra dell'informazione ricevono anche minacce attraverso messaggi, e-mail e telefonate. A questo mix tossico si aggiungono impostori che si dichiarano "amici" o funzionari di Paesi amici e che continuano ad avvicinarci (mi viene in mente la falsa lettera di Maria Zakharova e i messaggi di persone che affermano falsamente di lavorare per i media di Stato russi); altri impostori cercano di impersonarci dopo aver hackerato le nostre comunicazioni. Il loro obiettivo è quello di rendere sempre più difficile per chiunque capire chi è chi, cosa è vero e cosa no e quindi disturbare la nostra attività o minare la nostra credibilità (no, non sono una escort e non mi rivolgo agli iscritti al canale con strane offerte). Sono molto vigile, ma ovviamente le mie capacità e i miei mezzi sono limitati e non possono proteggermi dagli hacker. Inoltre, recentemente ho scoperto che molti email ricevuti dagli iscritti a questo canale sono finiti nella casella spam. Per questo motivo invito coloro che intendono contattarmi a utilizzare questa indirizzo email alternativo e ad evitare di inviare allegati. Vi ringrazio per la vostra comprensione. lauraru852@yandex.ru

Immediately after China-Australia trade disputes were resolved and China decided to lift anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on Australian wine, Voice of America (VOA) published an article in Chinese claiming that Australia's compromise is not worth the gain. Quoting some so-called observers (not independent by any stretch of the imagination), this media outlet accused Australia of adopting an appeasement policy toward China in exchange for trade. American media routinely denounce any improvement of relations between China and US allies, this particular case is an attempt to exercise more pressure on Australia and smear China with the usual accusations. Washington wants its allies to be blind to its gaslighting techniques, and continue irrational policies to show their obedience to the US, as Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times. @LauraRuHK https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202404/1309989.shtml

🇨🇳🇮🇷🇵🇸⚡🇮🇱 China on the Israeli terrorist attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus:

"This is a grave violation of the UN Charter and international law and a breach of the sovereignty of both Syria and Iran. This attack is of an extremely vicious nature... 25 years ago, China's embassy in Yugoslavia was bombed by a US-led NATO airstrike... we feel the grief and pain of the Iranian government and people...

To allow impunity for such reckless acts would send a seriously wrong signal and would encourage even more risky acts... the red line of international law and the basic norms of international relations has been breached time and again, and the moral bottom line of human conscience has been crushed time and again."

🚩 @ResistanceTrench

A bit crude, but sadly very accurate.

ARMENIA - "Yerevan made decisions on Karabakh precisely under the influence of NATO, and the statements that Moscow and the CSTO allegedly did not help Armenia during the period of aggravation of the situation in the region are lies. The West wants Armenia to lose its sovereignty — this is their long-standing trick, which they used against many countries", the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said. ▪️The EU has been lavishing money on Armenia, and we know perfectly well that money buys influence. The EU is the largest donor in the country and has targeted areas such as the justice system (so-called "rule of law and anti-corruption"), education, green transition, women, LGBT+ rights, etc. The February 2024 report on EU-Armenia relations stated a "shared ambition to strengthen cooperation, including further engagement on new areas, e.g., security and defence" (!) ▪️Just to give an idea of how the EU is buying influence to further steer Armenia away from Russia, the EU is providing Armenia with a EUR 32 million budget support programme for the implementation of a new "education strategy and action plan". ▪️The ongoing EU4Innovation programme doled out EUR 23 million (it focuses on young people). ▪️Further, Armenia participates actively in the territorial cooperation Black Sea Basin programme which benefits of EUR  85 million for the 2021-2027 period to support joint projects between partners from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, Türkiye and Georgia. ▪️The Resilient Syunik Team Europe Initiative, launched on 18 January 2023, a joint effort of the EU, the European Investment Bank, Austria, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden, with Switzerland as an external partner, has a five-year budget starting at EUR 116 million. ▪️The EU is a key donor of Armenian "civil society", that is pro-West NGOs and activists: the on-going portfolio of EU civil society support for Armenia is EUR 33.95 million. ▪️The EU is the largest donor to Armenia’s justice sector, including via an ongoing budget support programme (2021-2023) with a total amount of EUR 30 million in this initial 3-year period and EUR 11 million planned for the second phase (2023-2025)... And this is just the tip of the iceberg! @LauraRuHK

The Ministry of "Infernal Affairs" of Ukraine brags about preparing a new attack on the Crimean Bridge. The Ukrainian spy agency GUR openly talks about its intention to destroy a civil infrastructure object, which is an act of terrorism. It is no coincidence that the Russian Foreign Ministry recently demanded from Kiev the immediate arrest and extradition of all persons involved in terrorist attacks on Russian territory, including the bombing of the Crimean Bridge, during which five people were killed. @LauraRuHK https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/ukraine-eyes-kerch-bridge-crimea-drone-attack

Ukrainian drone attack on the Alabuga Polytechnic hostel injured 14 students from 9 countries - Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Sudan. The student dorm is located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, in Tatarstan, 900 km east of Moscow.
This was clearly a terrorist attack committed against civilians deep inside the territory of the Russian Federation. ▪️According to the latest data received by Russian competent authorities, the enemy carried out an attack on the Alabuga SEZ using a UJ-22 Airborne unmanned aerial vehicle. This is a multi-purpose attack drone developed by a Ukrainian company and used by the Ukrainian armed forces since 2020. ▪️In the video a student from Kenya described the attack as barbaric and added "they want to scare us but they won't succeed." https://t.me/AussieCossack/15271