Ukraine demands banned cluster bombs from US to drop on Russian forces

News Network

March 8, 2023

Two American lawmakers say Ukraine is pushing the United States to provide it with banned cluster bombs to drop them on Russian forces from drones.

Jason Crow and Adam Smith who serve on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said Kiev has urged members of Congress to press the White House to approve the weapons shipment, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Cluster bombs include anti-armor bomblets Ukraine plans to use against Russian forces by drones. That is in addition to the 155-millimeter artillery cluster shells Ukraine has already requested.

Cluster munitions, banned by more than 120 countries, normally release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians.

The lawmakers said Ukraine is seeking the MK-20, an air-delivered cluster bomb, to release its individual explosives from drones.

They said Ukrainian officials called on American lawmakers at last month's Munich Security Conference to press for White House approval.

Ukraine hopes cluster bombs will give it an edge in the fight against Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also participated in last month's conference. The senator who is considered the main supporter of the US -industrial complex in Congress confirmed that Ukrainian officials in Munich called for cluster munitions. He said he would support the request.

"This is a war where (the Ukrainians) are outmanned," Graham told Reuters. "And cluster munitions really are pretty lethal to mass formations as well as armor. In the areas where they are going to use this stuff there are no civilians."

So far, the Biden administration has refrained from officially sending any cluster munitions to Ukraine. However, even though the export of such weapons has been banned by Congress, media outlets such as Politico have suggested that US President Joe Biden and even his Secretary of State Antony Blinken could potentially override this ban.

An American adviser to the Ukrainian military has also called on Washington to send Kiev forces cluster munitions to fight Russia.

Dan Rice said in December that the US “really needs to” supply Kiev’s forces with cluster bombs to increase “base lethality” and “win the war” against Russia.

In October, Russian officials revealed that the Kiev forces had used cluster munitions to arm a US-made HIMARS rocket launcher to strike a river crossing in Kherson, which killed four civilians, including a journalist. Kiev, however, has denied responsibility for the attacks.

In this regard, a former CIA contractor told Press TV that the Ukrainian forces were already using banned cluster munitions and other illegal weapons, so Washington’s decision to provide Kiev with more lethal ammunition made no difference.

Cluster bombs are banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that addresses the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm caused to civilians by cluster munitions through a categorical prohibition and a framework for action. The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets, dispersing over vast areas, often killing and maiming civilians long after they are dropped.

The convention bans all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. More than 100 countries have signed the treaty, but the United States has not.

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BJP indeed lured 50 Cong MLAs with Rs 50 crore each: DKS backs Karnataka CM claim

News Network

November 14,2024

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday backed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his claim that the BJP had offered Rs 50 crore each to 50 Congress MLAs in an attempt to "topple" the state government.

Addressing reporters here, Shivakumar, also the Congress state president, said, “The BJP indeed lured 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore each.”

He defended Siddaramaiah’s statement and said the Congress MLAs were briefed about the BJP’s alleged 'Operation Lotus', a term used to describe the BJP's attempts to destabilise ruling governments through horse-trading.

“Some of our MLAs informed the Chief Minister about this matter, and he, in turn, shared it with the media,” Shivakumar said.

At an event in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah reiterated the claim that "none of the Congress MLAs had accepted the offer".

He also accused the BJP of filing false cases against him in a bid to "remove him and overthrow his government".

The BJP has yet to respond to the allegations.

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Hundreds of Palestinian kids kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured by Israel: UN expert expresses shock

News Network

November 14,2024

The UN special rapporteur for Palestine has slammed Israel’s parliament for passing a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian children, who are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” in Israeli custody.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a Thursday post on X, characterized the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.

The UN expert highlighted the grave impact of this policy, noting that up to 700 Palestinian minors are taken into custody each year, a practice she described as part of an unlawful occupation that views these children as potential threats.

Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”

She further criticized the international community for its inaction, suggesting that ongoing diplomatic efforts, which often rely on the idea of resuming negotiations for peace, have contributed to normalizing such human rights violations against Palestinian children and the broader population.

The comments by Albanese came in response to Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passing a law on November 7 that authorizes the detention of Palestinian children under the age of 14 for “terrorism or terrorist activities.”

Under the legislation, a temporary five-year measure, once the individuals turn 14, they will be transferred to adult prison to continue serving their sentences.

Additionally, the law allows for a three-year clause that enables courts to incarcerate minors in adult prisons for up to 10 days if they are considered dangerous. Courts have the authority to extend this duration if necessary, according to the Knesset.

The legislation underscores a shift in the treatment of minors and raises alarms among human rights advocates regarding the legal and ethical ramifications of detaining children and the conditions under which they may be held.

Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently in Israeli jails—around one-third without charge or trial. Also, an unknown number are arbitrarily held following a wave of arrests in the wake of the regime's genocidal war on Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Israeli regime, under the supervision of extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has turned prisons and detention centers into “death chambers,” the ministry of detainees and ex-detainees’ affairs in Gaza says.

Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalized across Israel’s jail system, reports indicate.

Over 270 Palestinian minors are being detained by Israeli authorities, in violation of UN resolutions and international treaties that forbid the incarceration of children, as reported by Palestinian rights organizations.

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