Australian senator queries missing evidence in aid worker murder investigation
Senator Mehreen Faruqi has written to Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong questioning why “crucial audio taken from Israeli drone footage” was not included in Australia’s investigation of the attack that killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and six other World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza.
In the letter, Faruqi asked why the investigation appeared not to have the ability to translate dialogue from the drone footage from Hebrew, according to information Zomi’s brother Mal Frankcom shared with Australian public broadcaster, the ABC.
“It is the Australian government’s duty to expend all efforts to seek justice for the murder of Zomi Frankcom and hold the perpetrators accountable,” wrote Faruqi, who is also the deputy leader of the Australian Greens.
A protester holds up a placard of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom at a Pro-Palestine demonstration in Melbourne, Australia
Swiss government approves law banning Hamas
Switzerland’s government has signed off on a draft law that bans Hamas and classifies it as a “terrorist organisation”. Under the law, which must now be reviewed by parliament, Hamas, its successor groups, and any groups who act on its behalf, would be banned.
Anyone who violates the ban would face prison or a fine, according to the government.
US woman indicted for attempt to drown 3-year-old Palestinian-American girl
A woman in Texas, United States has been formally indicted by a grand jury in the attempted drowning of a three-year-old Palestinian American girl earlier this year that police said was motivated by racial hatred.
The suspect, identified as Elizabeth Wolf, aged 42, was charged by a grand jury in Tarrant County in an indictment filed last month that included a hate crime enhancement, according to court records that came to light on Tuesday.
Human rights advocates have warned about rising threats against Palestinian Americans, Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Former US ambassador makes biblical case for ‘one Jewish state’ in new book
David Friedman, who served as ambassador to Israel under the administration of former US President Donald Trump, has published a new book called One Jewish State, proposing a path for “Israel to have complete sovereignty over all its biblical homeland”.
Friedman goes on to list numerous “biblical” sites in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including Hebron, Bethlehem and the Old City of Jerusalem, to illustrate his plan.
A close personal friend of Trump, Friedman faced criticism during his time as ambassador to Israel, including for posing next to a doctored image of Jerusalem showing the Third Jewish Temple where the Dome of the Rock stands today and referring to Israel’s occupation of Palestine as “alleged”.
As US ambassador to Israel, Friedman helped oversee the controversial relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem
Local sodas receive boost as Middle East boycotts Coke, Pepsi over Gaza: Report
Consumers in the Middle East are boycotting Coca-Cola and Pepsi, fuelling a surge in demand for local sodas as the global brands face backlash over the Israeli war in Gaza, Reuters reports.
Many consumers shunning Coca-Cola and PepsiCo cite US support of Israel over decades, including in the ongoing war in Gaza.
In the six months after October 7, PepsiCo beverage volumes in its Africa, Middle East and South Asia division barely grew after notching up 8 percent and 15 percent growth in the same quarters of 2022 and 2023, the company said.
Volumes of Coke sold in Egypt declined by double-digit percentage points in the six months that ended on June 28, according to data from Coca-Cola HBC, which bottles Coke there. In the same period last year, volumes were up in the high single digits.
While market analysts said it is hard to put a dollar figure on lost sales and PepsiCo and Coca-Cola still have growing businesses in several countries in the Middle East, Western beverage brands suffered a 7 percent sales decline in the first half of the year across the region, market researcher NielsenIQ said.
