Video: UK secretly resettles thousands of Afghans after data breach
The United Kingdom set up a secret plan to resettle thousands of Afghans in Britain after a data leak accidentally disclosed private information of more than 33,000 people. Britain's defence minister told Parliament Tuesday the breach that revealed details about Afghans who worked with British forces happened in 2022 but was suppressed under a 'super injunction.'
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Al Jazeera
13 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
UK sanctions senior Russian intelligence officers over cyberattacks
The United Kingdom says it has sanctioned more than 20 Russian spies, hackers and agencies over what it called a 'sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity' to destabilise Europe. The Foreign Office said on Friday it was sanctioning three units of the Russian military intelligence GRU agency and 18 of its officers. Those sanctioned include officers it said were involved in preparing the attack against Ukraine's Mariupol theatre in the first month of the war in 2022, which killed hundreds of civilians of taking shelter inside the building. It also sanctioned those it accuses of involvement in targeting former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were the victims of a nerve agent Novichok poisoning attack in 2018 in the UK. 'GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,' Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement. The UK also said Russia had targeted media outlets, telecoms providers, political and democratic institutions, and energy infrastructure in the UK. British authorities have repeatedly accused Moscow of orchestrating malign activity, ranging from traditional espionage and actions to undermine democracy, to sabotage and assassinations. Russia denies claims Earlier this month, three men were convicted over an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked business in London that police said was carried out at the behest of the Wagner mercenary group. Moscow has rejected such accusations, saying they were politically motivated and that it posed no threat to the UK. In addition to the sanctions aimed at GRU, the British foreign ministry said it was sanctioning three leaders of the 'African Initiative,' which it said was a Russian-funded social media content mill conducting information operations in West Africa. The UK has recently ramped up its military spending to help change its approach to defence, partly to address threats from Russia, nuclear risks and cyberattacks. The European Union and NATO also issued statements on Friday condemning what they described as Russia's destabilising hybrid activities. The UK move came on the same day the EU approved a new host of stiff sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. The EU sanctions package includes a lower oil price cap, a ban on transactions with Nord Stream gas pipelines, and the targeting of more shadow fleet ships.
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Israel's narrative cannot survive the truth, so it's silencing the world
We are living in truly extraordinary times. We recently witnessed the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, being sanctioned by the United States for doing her job – that is, documenting Israel's abuses against Palestinians during its ongoing military assault on Gaza. But with more than 58,000 Palestinians killed to date in Gaza, the case for Israel is weaker than ever. So, for Israel's sake, we need to silence and ban everything. Of course, silencing and censorship have been the modus operandi of the pro-Israel camp since October 2023. In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel, they came for all those who insisted that the history of Palestine and Israel did not begin on October 7, 2023, and for pointing to the longer history of occupation, settler colonialism, or the siege of Gaza since 2007 – they were silenced, censored, and punished. Those were the days of the now‑discredited reports of 'beheaded babies'. Across the US and Europe, some faced death threats and social media attacks, while others were reprimanded by employers and line managers for criticising Israeli policies or publicly expressing pro-Palestinian views. In schools across Maryland, Minnesota, Florida and Arizona, teachers were suspended and student clubs shut down for pro-Palestine activism. University professors in the US and the United Kingdom were reported to the police for 'liking' or sharing pro-Palestinian social media posts. In May 2024, Maura Finkelstein became the first tenured academic to be dismissed for anti-Zionist speech. She was fired from Muhlenberg College after posting a Palestinian poet's work. Between October 2023 and now, there have been scores of such cases around the world. Only a few days ago, four adjunct professors at the City University of New York were dismissed for their Palestine solidarity activism. Then they came for the press. While the foreign press has been banned from entering Gaza, Palestinian journalists there have been treated as legitimate military targets by Israel. On average, 13 journalists have been killed per month – a toll higher than that of 'both World Wars, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia and the United States war in Afghanistan combined'. It is the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded. Elsewhere, journalistic voices – especially those of Middle Eastern or North African descent – have been systematically silenced for supporting the Palestinian cause or criticising the Israeli government. This includes Australian radio host Antoinette Lattouf, who was dismissed in December 2023 after posting a Human Rights Watch report alleging that 'Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza'. Palestinian-Canadian journalists Yara Jamal (CTV) and Zahraa al-Akhrass (Global News, during maternity leave) were both sacked in October 2023, following pressure from Honest Reporting Canada. Briahna Joy Gray and Katie Halper were also fired from Hill News for statements critical of Israel. Gray announced on X: 'The Hill has fired me … there should be no doubt that … suppressing speech – particularly when it's critical of the state of Israel.' Beyond dismissals, Western media executives have shaped the narrative, repeating Israeli propaganda, mischaracterising Palestinian activism as pro-Hamas or anti-Semitic, portraying Israelis as victims far more often than Palestinians, and whitewashing Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The BBC, in particular, has faced repeated criticism for its pro-Israel bias. From the language used in headlines to the disproportionate airtime given to Israeli officials, its reporting has consistently been accused of downplaying Palestinian suffering and mirroring Israeli government talking points. Staff resignations, open letters, and public protests have all challenged the broadcaster's editorial stance on Gaza. At Upday, Europe's largest news aggregator owned by Axel Springer, employees were instructed to 'colour the company's coverage of the war in Gaza with pro‑Israel sentiment'. Internal documents obtained by The Intercept revealed staff were told not to 'push anything involving Palestinian casualty tolls' unless 'information about Israel' was given 'higher up in the story'. There is more. After October 7, students at Harvard were subjected to terrifying doxxing campaigns labelling them anti-Semitic or terrorist sympathisers, their photos and personal data shared publicly. As Israel's scholasticide continued in Gaza, the silencing spread on campuses across the US and Europe. Palestine solidarity encampments saw students demanding their institutions cut ties with Israeli universities and the military‑industrial complex. They faced brutal police crackdowns, suspensions, and some were denied graduation. Universities swiftly imposed new restrictions on gatherings and protests to curb student Palestine solidarity. Now, under a Trump administration, such suppression is public policy, extending to threats of arrest, denaturalisation and deportation for pro‑Palestinian voices, including lawmakers like NYC mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani. Trump falsely labelled him 'illegal', branded him a 'communist', and threatened arrest if he obstructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 'operations' – echoing GOP Representative Andy Ogles's call for denaturalisation and deportation, citing alleged misrepresentations in Mamdani's naturalisation without any evidence. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Justice Department had received related requests. We have also seen Palestinian flags banned at sporting and music events. Individuals have been refused entry into public venues and businesses for wearing a keffiyeh. The International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, was warned that he and the ICC would be 'destroyed' if they did not drop the case against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Four ICC judges were sanctioned by the US government. Academy Award‑winner Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency, UTA, for remarks at a Palestine solidarity rally. Melissa Barrera was dismissed from the cast of Scream VII for social media posts describing Israeli actions as genocide and ethnic cleansing. Spyglass Media Group stated it has 'zero tolerance for antisemitism … including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion'. Recently, performers like Bob Vylan and Irish group Kneecap used their platforms at music festivals to show solidarity with Palestine. The group now faces terror charges. Vylan's shows in Europe were cancelled, and his US visa revoked, putting an upcoming tour of the country in doubt. The pro-Israel camp also launched a campaign against the Glastonbury Festival after both artists performed there in June. They targeted the BBC for airing the performances live and pressured organisers to distance themselves from the musicians. The backlash made clear that even major cultural institutions are not safe from censorship efforts. Adding to this troubling trend, widely respected Israeli‑American historian and genocide scholar Omer Bartov has become a focal point of a fierce backlash. In an op‑ed for The New York Times, titled 'I'm a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It', Bartov declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, pointing to the systematic infrastructure destruction, forced population shifts and rhetoric by Israeli leaders, arguing it matches both UN and legal definitions of genocide. Since then, he has been slammed by pro‑Israel factions, accused of misapplying the term and urged to be 'cancelled', a campaign he rebuts by highlighting that many genocide studies experts share his conclusion. The reputational assault currently faced by Bartov demonstrates how even the world's leading genocide experts are now being targeted for naming Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide. This may already appear to be an extensive campaign of suppression. But consider: what does it say about Israel's position if it relies so heavily on censorship? Nonetheless, it remains insufficient. For Israel's sake, every student, academic, activist, musician, artist or lawmaker who criticises its policies must now be branded a terror supporter. Every civil society organisation, human rights group or international body documenting Israeli abuses must be labelled anti-Semitic. Only then can we claim we saw nothing. Only then can we say we heard nothing. And only then can we justify why we did nothing when the genocide was ongoing in Gaza. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
Al Jazeera
6 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
EU hits Russian oil, shadow fleet with new sanctions over Ukraine war
The European Union has approved a new raft of stiff sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, including a lower oil price cap, a ban on transactions with Nord Stream gas pipelines, and the targeting of more shadow fleet ships. 'The message is clear: Europe will not back down in its support for Ukraine. The EU will keep raising the pressure until Russia ends its war,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement on Friday. Kallas said the EU move amounts to 'one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date' linked to the war, which is now in its fourth year. It comes as European countries start to buy United States weapons for Ukraine to help the country better defend itself. US President Donald Trump announced the deal to supply more weapons to Ukraine and threatened earlier this week to impose steep tariffs on Russia unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, had proposed to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45, which is lower than the market price to target Russia's vast energy revenues. The EU had hoped to get major international powers in the Group of Seven countries involved in the price cap to broaden the impact, but conflict in the Middle East pushed up oil prices and the US administration could not be brought on board . In 2023, Ukraine's Western allies limited sales of Russian oil to $60 per barrel , but the price cap was largely symbolic as most of Moscow's crude – its main moneymaker – cost less than that. Still, the cap was there in case oil prices rose. Oil Russia's main source of income The linchpin of Russia's economy is oil income, allowing President Vladimir Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse. The EU has also targeted the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany to prevent Putin from generating any revenue from them in future, notably by discouraging would-be investors. Russian energy giant Rosneft's refinery in India was hit as well. The pipelines were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany but are not in operation. They were targeted by sabotage in 2022, but the source of the underwater explosions has remained a major international mystery. Additionally, the new EU sanctions are targeting Russia's banking sector, with the aim of limiting the Kremlin's ability to raise funds or carry out financial transactions. Two Chinese banks were added to the list. The EU has slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russia since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. But each round of sanctions is getting harder to agree, as measures targeting Russia bite the economies of the 27 member nations. Slovakia held up the latest package over concerns about proposals to stop Russian gas supplies, which it relies on.
