Alsephina

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Cubana de Aviacion flights to Buenos Aires were canceled because fuel suppliers in Argentina refused to serve the airline.

The companies have invoked "provisions of the United States blockade against Cuba" to not supply the aircraft of the Cuban state airline.

Additionally, this measure has affected other airlines contracted by Cubana de Aviacion, preventing them from fulfilling commitments to passengers.

This surprising decision took place despite the Cuban flights being approved by the Argentina's National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC).

In response to this situation, the airline has decided to assist affected passengers in Cuba by sending them back on flights operated by other airlines connecting to Argentina. Other passengers will be eligible for a full refund of their airfare. ⠀

During the first quarter of 2024, the Cuban airline transported 3,221 passengers with an occupancy rate of 61 percent. The number of Argentine travelers to Cuba increased by 44 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 12,753 people.

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Seventy-two of the 99 journalists killed worldwide in 2023 were Palestinians reporting on Israel’s war on Gaza, making those 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year had it not been for the deaths in the ongoing war on Gaza, the CPJ said in its annual report released on Thursday.

“In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year,” the organisation said.

In total, it documented 77 journalists killed in the war on Gaza last year while doing their jobs: 72 Palestinians, three Lebanese and two Israelis.

The Palestinian victims account for nearly 75 percent of all journalists killed worldwide.

“This war is unprecedented in terms of the threat to journalists,” Jodie Ginsberg, president of the CPJ, told Al Jazeera from New York.

“What’s important to remember about this war is that Gazan journalists are the only journalists able to report on what’s happening inside Gaza. International journalists have not been able to get in, have not been allowed in, except on very, very controlled trips that are overseen by the Israeli army.

“So we are entirely reliant on those [Palestinian] journalists, who are risking their lives to bring us this story,” she added.

On February 7, the New York-based press freedom organisation said the number of journalists killed in the war on Gaza had risen to 85.

The CPJ has previously attacked what it calls the “persecution” of journalists by Israeli forces and is investigating whether a dozen journalists killed in the Gaza conflict were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers, which would constitute a war crime.

In the Palestinian territories, even when journalists are not on the job, they face the risk of Israeli bombardment or arrest. Gaza’s Government Media Office said at least 126 Palestinian media workers have been killed since Israel’s war began on October 7. ⠀

“It’s very important that these killings are thoroughly investigated and that those responsible are held accountable,” Ginsberg told Al Jazeera.

She said her organisation was doing the work to document attacks against journalists in Gaza, which could later be used as evidence and presented to bodies such as the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court.

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• China and Russia surpass the U.S. in approval ratings in Africa.

• U.S. approval ratings in Africa at 56%, lagging behind China (58%) and Russia (64%).

• Russia's increasing popularity is attributed to arms sales, military training, and economic initiatives in Africa.

The survey which involved 130 countries globally saw a global increase in America’s disapproval ratings from 33% in 2022 to 36% in 2023. However, the US’s approval ratings between the same period remained the same at 41%.

In Africa however, the US’s approval rating stands at 56%, with China and Russia having 2% and 8% more respectively. ⠀

In Uganda, Gambia, and Kenya the approval rating of the US dropped by 29, 21 and 14 percentage points, respectively. With 23% and 25%, respectively, Libya and Somalia had the lowest scores. ⠀

As the US media recently claimed, citing an anonymous US source, Moscow may be able to address the continent's urgent security demands through arms sales that exceed Washington's capacity, which might account for Russia's increasing popularity in Africa. ⠀

Russia has been on a mission to increase its influence in Africa. In addition to military ties, Russia has initiated a number of economic initiatives with the continent, including the building of a House of Africa in several of its states, shipments of free grains to the continent, nuclear deals, and more.

Over the last week, Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have erupted on campuses across the United States, calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and cessation of U.S. military aid to Israel.

On Wednesday, 93 people were arrested at the University of Southern California's Los Angeles campus for trespassing. Despite certain U.S. politicians branding the demonstrators as "anti-Semitic" and the arrest of students, the anti-war protests continue to gain momentum.

The University of Southern California (USC) has closed its gates amid rising tensions after pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police on Wednesday.

A growing number of protesters, including students and non-students, started a "Gaza Solidarity Occupation" at the university's Alumni Park on Wednesday morning.

The USC Divest from Death Coalition said it was made of USC students, staff, faculty, alumni and Los Angeles community members. USC has come under fire after the university announced last week that it cancelled valedictorian Asna Tabassum's planned speech after pro-Palestinian posts, citing potential campus safety risks.

The students with "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" opposed Israeli military action in Gaza and demanded the university divest from companies that "profit from Israeli apartheid."

In Texas, police bulldozed into student protesters at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday. More than 50 people were arrested, said a report from local media outlet Austin American-Statesman.

On Monday, more than 40 students from Yale University, who occupied Beinecke Plaza at the center of campus starting Friday night, were arrested.

Last week, Shafik, Columbia University's president, sent a letter to the New York Police Department (NYPD), requesting that the police help remove individuals who had occupied the South Lawn of the university's Morningside Heights campus.

The NYPD arrested more than 100 protesters from the campus of the university on the afternoon of April 18.

However, despite pressure and arrests, students occupying Columbia's West Lawn said they are planning to remain until the university meets their demands for divestment from anything related to Israel. The negotiations between the university and student protesters regarding the dismantling of the pro-Palestinian encampment are still underway.

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• Domestic demand for oil will rise only 1 per cent year on year in 2024 after growing 11 per cent in 2023, state-owned oil and gas producer says

• Oil consumption will continue to grow in other sectors such as petrochemicals, but will peak before 2030, executive says

Although oil consumption will continue to grow in other sectors such as petrochemicals, the oil industry has to seek new business models and breakthroughs amid the global clean-energy transition, an executive said on Thursday.

“We believe that China’s oil consumption will reach its peak before 2030 at 780 to 800 million tonnes per year,” said Wu Mouyuan, vice-president at CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute (ETRI), a research arm of state energy giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the parent company of PetroChina.

“From 2031 to 2050, oil will no longer be consumed as a transportation fuel, but converted into a feedstock for chemical production,” he said in Hong Kong, where the company released a report on oil and gas industry development. China’s consumption of oil will continue to decline after 2031, to 200 to 250 million tonnes per year after 2050, as the country strides towards nationwide net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, he estimated. ⠀

Fossil fuels fell below 80 per cent of global energy consumption for the first time in 2023, data from the International Energy Agency showed. Meanwhile, investments in clean energy exceeded US$1.7 trillion last year, compared with around US$1.1 trillion in fossil-fuel energy.

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The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that fragments of the bird flu virus had been detected in some samples of pasteurized milk in the U.S. While the agency maintains that the milk is safe to drink, it notes that it is still waiting on the results of studies to confirm this.

The findings come less than a month after an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu was found, for the first time, in herds of dairy cows in several states. It has since been detected in herds in eight states. ⠀

The FDA is specifically testing whether pasteurization inactivates bird flu in cow milk. The findings will be available in the “next few days to weeks,” it said. ⠀

Still, the virus remains a cause of concern among health officials, given its particularly high mortality rate of around 50%. Bird flu doesn’t spread easily from person to person, but there’s worry that it could mutate as it spreads among cows to a version that spreads more easily among people. So far, there’s no evidence indicating that has happened, according to the CDC.

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Saudi Aramco’s chief executive has praised China’s contribution to helping the west hit its net zero targets as the world’s largest oil producer strengthens commercial ties with Beijing.

Speaking at World Energy Congress on Monday, Amin Nasser defended China against the accusations that it was “dumping” cheap solar panels and electric vehicles on Europe. ⠀󠀶󠀶

As the west tries to reduce its oil consumption, Saudi Aramco has turned to China and other markets for growth. ⠀ 󠀶󠀶

China is the biggest market for Saudi crude and increasingly important for Aramco’s ambitions to convert 4mn barrels a day of its oil production — approximately 40 per cent of its current output — into petrochemicals by 2035. ⠀ 󠀶󠀶

Nasser said that western policymakers were misjudging the future energy consumption of developing countries as they drew up climate targets.

“A lot of the policymakers do not understand what is required and how [energy transition] is going to happen,” he said. “Eighty per cent of the consumption of hydrocarbons [oil and gas] by 2050 is going to be in the Global South. Today it is 40 per cent in the Global North and 60 per cent in the Global South. So that is huge growth in the Global South,” he said.

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Maldives’ ruling People’s National Congress party won an absolute majority in parliament in elections held Sunday, giving President Mohamed Muizzu’s pro-China policies a boost.

President Muizzu’s party won 71 seats seats in 93-member parliament or Majlis, reported The Edition a local news platform, Monday. The main opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party, won 12 seats.

Muizzu won the presidential vote last year on a campaign to reduce India’s influence in the island. The president moved soon after taking office to demand the removal of Indian troops stationed on one of the country’s islets. New Delhi has agreed to withdraw its troops, who operate radars and aircraft, from the island nation by May 10.

Beijing, in the meantime, upgraded its diplomatic ties with the Maldives to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” during Muizzu’s five-day visit to China in January. China agreed to provide free military assistance to the Maldives and President Xi Jinping said China will seek to boost direct flights to the island nation. The two countries also agreed to increase cooperation in areas of trade, investment, agriculture and others.

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Li Auto, Tesla’s nearest rival in mainland China, reduced the price of all its vehicles by up to 5.7 per cent, just a day after the US carmaker offered discounts to local customers amid an escalating discount war.

The Beijing-based company announced on Monday morning that it would cut prices by between 18,000 yuan (US$2,485) and 30,000 yuan as a way of “focusing on customer value”. It said it is determined to keep improving its offerings for Chinese families such as its large vehicles fitted with household appliances.

On Monday, it cut the price of its Li Mega multipurpose minivan by 30,000 yuan, or 5.4 per cent, to 529,800 yuan. Launched in March this year, the fully-electric minivan described by its maker as being essentially a “mobile home” is designed to cater to the travel demands of wealthy families and is fitted with a refrigerator and a sofa. ⠀

“It is a fresh sign that the electric vehicle (EV) price war has spread to the premium segment now that Tesla and Li Auto, the two leaders, have joined the price competition,” said Eric Han, a senior manager at Suolei, an advisory firm in Shanghai. “Their pricing strategies are detrimental to small and unprofitable rivals whose profit margins will be squeezed further.” ⠀

On Sunday, Tesla lowered prices of its Shanghai-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles by more than 5 per cent, a move that came hot on the heels of price cuts it made in the US, its biggest market, on Friday. ⠀

BYD, the world’s bestselling electric-car maker, fired the first salvo in a price war in February, slashing the prices of some budget models to lure young and low-income Chinese drivers.

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Barbados indicated on Friday its intention to recognise Palestine as an independent State says Minister of Foreign Affairs Kerrie Symmonds in talks that according to the official started in September last year. ⠀

The FM said there is an incongruity and inconsistency because "how can we say we want a two-state solution if we do not recognise Palestine as a state?” ⠀

The Palestine State recognition it is expected to be very welcomed by the local pro-Palestinian campaign group, the Caribbean Against Apartheid in Palestine (CAAP), which has been pushing for Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who has previously condemned the genocide in Gaza, to do more to stop the Israeli siege.

Declared a state by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in November 1988, and accepted as a UN non-member observer state in 2012, the State of Palestine has so far been recognised by 140 of the UN’s 193 member states.

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A group of settlers who attacked the village of Al Sawiya, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank resulted in the death of a Palestinian and left at least two others wounded by gunfire this Saturday.

Dozens of settlers from the Ali settlement, also located south of Nablus, attacked citizens' homes in the western part of the village, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, which cites several witnesses at the site, The agency says once a 50-year-old was shot in the chest and a 26-year-old was shot in the face.

Mohammad Awadallah Musa, 50, driver of the ambulance carrying the wounded was later killed when other Israeli settlers and soldiers attacked the vehicle. ⠀

WAFA reports that dozens of colonists from the illegal Eli settlement, built on stolen Palestinian lands south of Nablus, ansd have attacked homes of Palestinian citizens in the eastern area of the village.

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As tensions with China rise, scientists at America’s leading universities complain of stalled research after crackdown at airports

Stopped at the border, interrogated on national security grounds, laptops and mobile phones checked, held for several hours, plans for future research shattered. ⠀

Earlier this month the Chinese embassy in Washington said more than 70 students “with legal and valid materials” had been deported from the US since July 2021, with more than 10 cases since November 2023. The embassy said it had complained to the US authorities about each case. ⠀

“The impact is huge,” says Qin Yan, a professor of pathology at Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut, who says that he is aware of more than a dozen Chinese students from Yale and other universities who have been rejected by the US in recent months, despite holding valid visas. Experiments have stalled, and there is a “chilling effect” for the next generation of Chinese scientists. ⠀

The refusals appear to be linked to a 2020 US rule that barred Chinese postgraduate students with links to China’s “military-civil fusion strategy”, which aims to leverage civilian infrastructure to support military development. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute thinktank estimates that 95 civilian universities in China have links to the defence sector.

Nearly 2,000 visas applications were rejected on that basis in 2021. But now people who pass the security checks necessary to be granted a visa by the State Department are being turned away at the border by CBP, a different branch of government.

“It is very hard for a CBP officer to really evaluate the risk of espionage,” said Dan Berger, an immigration lawyer in Massachusetts, who represents a graduate student at Yale who, midway through her PhD, was sent back from Washington’s Dulles airport in December, and banned from re-entering the US for five years. ⠀

Academics say that scrutiny has widened to different fields – particularly medical sciences – with the reasons for the refusals not made clear.

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