💡 SPOTLIGHT

Gaza aid airdrops: Why U.S. humanitarian “theatrics” do more harm than good

The U.S. has joined several other countries in airdropping aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, but this showy international response is ill conceived and unlikely to avert the looming famine in the coastal enclave, writes Manahel Al-Sehwei in Arabic-language independent digital media Daraj.

Starving people are waiting for food to fall from the sky. They watch, as planes drop packages carried by huge parachutes, and follow the path of the parachutes, running after them. Children dive into the sea and wave to fishermen arriving with food parcels. The scene seems to document a poignant and profound human moment, in which a starved population finds food coming from a country like the U.S.

But the truth behind the airdrops of aid by the U.S., Egypt, Jordan and Egypt is much darker; it is an inhuman and slow method to deliver aid to starving Palestinians. Janti Soeripto, the head of Save the Children, called the airdrops “theater" that was fueling chaos on the ground.

The aid has not been distributed equally because humanitarian organizations were not involved in the recent airdrops. People are not trained to properly handle airdropped aid, which raises the risks of humiliation and deadly stampedes. It seems that the U.S. deliberately excluded aid organizations in an effort to create an image of false humanity amid its unconditional supply of arms and diplomatic support to Israel.

How can a country that supplied Israel with 10,000 tons of weapons to bomb the Palestinians send food to the people of Gaza who are killed by its weapons?

The U.S. decided to join in airdropping aid following the "bread massacre", on Feb. 29, when more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops while they were attempting to get food. The disaster triggered sharp condemnations from several parties, including Israeli allies. The UK, France, Italy and Germany called for an investigation.

Humanitarian organizations are crucial, particularly in the distribution of aid. Their role was evident in Syria, where the UN World Food Program conducted 309 airdrop operations in Deir ez-Zor, which had been besieged by the Islamic State and other groups for more than a year, to deliver more 6,500 metric tons of humanitarian aid. The WFP had coordinated with volunteers on the ground for distribution and changed airdrop sites four times over the course of 15 months to avoid risks for aircraft or volunteers.

The efforts demonstrate the importance of having groups that coordinate operations and distribute aid on the ground. The exclusion of aid groups and volunteers further humiliates a population living in inhumane conditions. [...]

— Read the full article by Manahel Al-Sehwei for Daraj, translated into English by Worldcrunch.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• UN aid convoy reaches northern Gaza: A convoy of trucks from the UN World Food Program (WFP) has entered northern Gaza for the first time in three weeks, as the area faces a major humanitarian crisis. A boat carrying 200 tons of food aid also set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday, inaugurating a new maritime corridor into the Palestinian territory. Follow Worldcrunch’s coverage of the situation in the Middle East here.

• U.S. to have first presidential rematch since 1956: U.S. President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump are set for an election rematch in November, after both secured their respective parties’ nominations. The two contenders of the 2020 vote will provide the U.S. with its first rematch in a presidential election in nearly 70 years. Read more about the rematch that’s giving Europe nightmares here.

• Ukraine launches mass drone strikes as Putin reiterates nuclear threat: Ukraine pounded targets in Russia on Tuesday using dozens of drones and rockets, causing a fire at Rosneft's biggest oil refinery. In an interview with Russian state television on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said Kyiv’s escalation of attacks aimed at interfering with the presidential elections later this week. The Russian leader also warned that his country was ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence was threatened.

• Navalny ally Leonid Volkov blames Putin for assault in Lithuania: Leonid Volkov, a long-time ally of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has blamed the Kremlin after he was attacked outside his home in Vilnius, Lithuania last night. The activist said his arm was broken and his leg hit 15 times with a hammer. While the alleged assailant is unknown, Volkov wrote in a post on Telegram that this was “an obvious, typical criminal ‘hello’ from Putin, from criminal Petersburg.” Check out this article about Navalny’s “complicated” legacy in Ukraine.

• Honduran ex-first lady announces run for presidency after husband’s conviction: Former Honduras first lady Ana García de Hernández announced on Tuesday that she plans to seek the country’s presidency next year, just days after her husband’s U.S. drug trafficking conviction. Juan Orlando Hernández, who served as Honduras’ president from 2014 to 2022, was convicted of conspiring with drug traffickers to move tons of cocaine to the U.S. and could be sentenced to life in prison.

• Two killed in China restaurant blast near Beijing: A suspected gas leak explosion ripped through a restaurant in Sanhe, in China's northern Hebei province early on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 26 more, and destroying the four-storey building.

• Japan’s Space One rocket explodes on inaugural flight: Kairos, a solid-fuel rocket manufactured by Japanese company Space One, has exploded seconds after it was launched on Wednesday, in a major setback for Japan’s space development aspirations. The startup aimed at becoming the country’s first private firm to put a satellite into orbit. Speaking of satellites, we offer this recent focus by Les Echos on Copernicus.

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Bogota-based daily El Espectador features Colombia’s newly appointed Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo on its front page, with a headline that is a play on her name, calling Camargo “una luz,” meaning “a light.” Camargo was selected after a month of deliberations that drew protests and complaints from supporters of Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, who argued that judges were obstructing his nominees. Camargo is an experienced prosecutor with few political ties, so many are hoping that she will be able to make the Attorney General’s Office more impartial and independent. More about Colombia on Worldcrunch here.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Slippery sanctions: How UK firm Renishaw keeps working for the Russian army

Despite Western sanctions against doing business in Russia, and Renishaw's promises that it has closed its business there, Russian defense plants continue to receive both measuring equipment and software from the British engineering company, reports Anastasia Korotkova in Russian independent media Vazhnyye Istorii.

🇬🇧🇷🇺 Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war the British engineering company Renishaw has closed its businesses in Russia and Belarus, losing approximately 1% of its revenue. The company said in a statement that it "tries to control any attempts to purchase products through alternative means." But, customs data show that this is not working out so well: in 2023, Russia imported approximately 360 million rubles ($3.9 million) worth of equipment from Renishaw. Moreover, the basic software required for the equipment's operation is freely accessible.

🎯 Kamil Galeev, an expert at the Rhodus Intelligence analytical project, explained that these systems are necessary for the military-industrial complex, where maximum precision is essential. “When a machine has cut a part, the Renishaw device checks whether it has been cut correctly or not," Galeev explains. "The majority of consumer goods do not require the use of measuring instruments because small discrepancies make no difference. But military manufacturing requires very high precision.”

💻 Renishaw devices require Renishaw software to operate, and the company’s website invites Russian clients to contact the British office for support. Usually, the client whose email is linked to the order can download the necessary software. Yet basic software (GoProbe and the simplified Inspection Plus) can be downloaded even without registration; GoProbe is available on both the App Store and Google Play.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

32 years

German sportswear giant Adidas has posted its first annual loss since 1992, reporting a net loss of 58 million euros ($63.4 million). The company warns that sales in North America are expected to fall by around 5% this year, due to struggles with high inventories and low demand, as consumers’ interest in sportswear wanes. Adidas is hoping to see growth in the second half of this year, thanks to ongoing footwear trends and new CEO Bjorn Gulden, who took over the company at the start of last year.

📣 VERBATIM

“Weapons exist in order to use them.”

— Russian President Vladimir Putin today warns the West about Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty is threatened. Speaking to Russia's RIA state news agency and Rossiya-1 state television about the risk of an all-out nuclear war, Putin added: “I don't think that here everything is rushing to it, but we are ready for this.” This escalation in rhetoric comes just days before Russia’s presidential election, on March 15-17, which will almost certainly see Putin remain president for another six-year term, despite ongoing military setbacks in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

A woman looks at a bonfire in Tehran as part of Iran’s Fire Festival (or Chaharshanbeh Soori), held annually on the last Wednesday eve before the Spring holiday of Nowruz. According to Iran’s Emergency Services, at least 15 people have died and an estimated 4,720 have been injured in incidents linked to the fire festival, which involves pyrotechnic displays and jumping over bonfires. — Photo: Rouzbeh Fouladi/ZUMA

👉  MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH  

• Odessa Postcard: How Ukraine's Black Sea Pearl Absorbs The Trauma Of War — LES ECHOS

• Paris Is Relying On Exploitation Of Migrant Workers To Prepare For The Olympics — DARAJ

• The Challenges Of Turning On The Lights In Nepal’s Far-Flung Himalayas— GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL

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