ISRAEL – The head of Israeli military intelligence has resigned for failing to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack. The Israeli army announced the departure of Major-General Aharon Haliva yesterday. He is the first senior Israeli official to take responsibility for failing to prevent the assault, with the government seeking to keep the focus on its ongoing war in Gaza. Haliva, who served in the military for 38 years, reportedly took responsibility for failing to prevent the attack in his resignation letter. More than 1,100 people were killed in the attack, while about 240 were taken captive. “Major General Aharon Haliva, in coordination with the chief of the general staff, has requested to end his position, following his leadership responsibility as the head of the intelligence directorate for the events of October 7,” the military said in a statement. With the approval of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the military statement said, it was decided that Haliva “will end his position and retire” from the army “once his successor is appointed in an orderly and professional process”. The Hamas offensive caught Israel and its security establishment off-guard. In response, Israel launched a war on Gaza which has killed more than 34,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. Haliva is the first of any official or politician to take responsibility for the security failures. “The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever,” Haliva wrote in his resignation letter. However, the pressure has only grown as calls for Israel to agree to a deal to secure the release of the captives persist, and the tension across the region threatens to spark conflict with Iran. Speaking to Al Jazeera, political analyst Yossi Mekelberg said as the conflict drags on with no end in sight, Haliva’s move to quit seemed inevitable. “Something is rotten in the kingdom of Israeli intelligence,” Mekelberg, associate fellow at the British think tank Chatham House, said. “The pressure on Haliva was immense”, he said, adding, not just for the October 7 failures, but also for failing to gauge the Iranian response to the Israeli attack on its consular building in the Syrian capital, Damascus, which pushed the region to the brink of war. “They left the country and the region on edge – it seems that no one warned [of] the possibility of more than 300 missiles, including ballistic, [being launched] against Israel,” Mekelberg added. While Haliva and others have accepted blame for failing to stop the attack, others have stopped short, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said he will answer tough questions about his role but has not outright acknowledged direct responsibility for allowing the attack to unfold. Instead, he continues to present a bullish front, insisting on pushing forward with the military campaign in Gaza in an apparent bid to outlast the political pressure, which has grown both at home and internationally. Omar Ashour, from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies suggested Haliva’s resignation letter was “a clear nudge or dig” at Israel’s leader to follow suit and quit. “But knowing Netanyahu it’s highly unlikely to shift his position,” the analyst continued. “We’ll have to wait and see, there are always surprises in this war.” (Al Jazeera)…[+]

BRAZIL – Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro rallied thousands of supporters in Rio de Janeiro in a bid to raise his political capital after losing a bid for reelection to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October 2022 and facing allegations of involvement in a coup. Images shared on social media and broadcast by the media showed a large crowd of Bolsonaro supporters, many wearing Brazilian football jerseys. Organizers of the demonstration estimated attendance at 100,000 people. Authorities did not release a tally. Right-wing Bolsonaro, the subject of police probes before and during his four years in office, is facing an investigation into his alleged role in a campaign to undermine faith in Brazil’s voting system, which culminated in a Jan. 8, 2023, insurrection by thousands of his supporters in Brasilia, the capital. On February 8, police seized Bolsonaro’s passport and accused him of editing a draft decree to overturn the results of the 2022 election, pressing military chiefs to join a coup, and planning to jail Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. “Have you seen the draft decree? Neither have I,” Bolsonaro told reporters. “I want to see it, the people want to see it and so does the press.” The former president, who cannot run for office until 2030, said his government never played “outside the four lines of the Constitution.” Last month, Brazil’s federal police formally accused Bolsonaro, a vaccine skeptic during the COVID-19 pandemic, of tampering with his vaccination records, opening the door to criminal charges. Last Sunday Bolsonaro also used the opportunity to praise Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab and owner of the social media platform X, whom Bolsonaro called a defender of free speech. Bolsonaro urged the crowd to give the billionaire “a round of applause.” After Musk said he would challenge a decision by Moraes ordering X to block certain accounts, lawyers representing Musk told Brazil’s Supreme Court that X would comply with every ruling issued by the court or Brazil’s top electoral court, according to a letter seen by Reuters yesterday. Moraes is investigating “digital militias” that have been accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of Bolsonaro. (Reuters)…[+]

“Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk has no objections to the request for legal assistance that was made by the Netherlands,” Humphrey Dundas, spokesman of the VP, told Times of Suriname. Last week the Dutch media reported that the Dutch justice department had asked Suriname for legal assistance because they want to question Brunswijk about a batch of gold that was found in the house of Siegfried Pier Wortel who is a convicted felon. The gold reportedly has a street value of € 6 million. The VP has confirmed via his notary that the gold belongs to him. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Dutch Justice department has already sent the request to Suriname’s Justice and Police Minister Kenneth Amoksi. “We received information about the request for legal assistance. We have not received the formal reports. Brunswijk is willing to cooperate with the investigation. Amoksi could not be reached for comment. It is not clear if Brunswijk is labeled as suspect or as witness…[+]

BOGOTA – Tens of thousands of Colombians marched to reject economic and social reforms being proposed by the leftist government of President Gustavo Petro, the latest in a series of demonstrations against Petro’s policies. The reforms, which Petro says will fight deep inequality but which opponents say will damage the country’s alreadystruggling economy, were key campaign promises for the 64-year-old leader, who took office in 2022. Despite gray skies and rain, some 70,000 people marched in Bogota, the capital, according to city government estimates, chanting “out with Petro,” waving national flags and blowing on trumpets before gathering in the central Bolivar Square. The march comes after a Senate committee earlier this month rejected a proposed health reform aimed at stripping power from insurers and expanding access to healthcare, as the government took control of two major insurers it said had failed to correctly care for patients. The government is expected to propose a new version of the health reform once the new legislative session begins in July. Pension and labor reforms are still being debated by lawmakers. “This government’s policies are dire. The health system, despite its flaws, was working and now Petro is putting an end to it by plunging patients who have no healthcare or medicine into a crisis,” said Monica Leon, a 45-year-old doctor. Accountant Miguel Angel Larrota, 52, said he was protesting against bad governance and demanding that Petro “not destroy what works and put an end to the corruption he promised to fight.” Paloma Valencia, a senator from the opposition Democratic Center, a conservative political party founded by former President Alvaro Uribe, said the march was bringing together not only opponents but people who voted for Petro two years ago. People also took to the streets in the city of Medellin and in Cali, near the Pacific coast. Marches have also previously taken place in support of Petro’s reforms. (Reuters)…[+]

GUANGZHOU – A total of 38 hydrological stations at 24 rivers in south China’s Guangdong Province have reported water levels surpassing the alert threshold as of 4 p.m. last Sunday, according to the provincial department of water resources. The lower reaches of the Beijiang River were expected to experience big floods caused by the heavy and continuous downpours. The provincial disaster reduction committee has initiated a Level IV emergency response to tackle the floods that hit the cities of Shaoguan and Qingyuan in Guangdong. Rescue efforts are also underway. A total of 652 people have been relocated and properly resettled in the Longgui Township in Shaoguan, according to the local officials. Over 200 sanitation workers were deployed to promptly clear the streets of mud and fallen trees, and to dredge waterways and drains. The Guangdong provincial meteorological observatory forecasted frequent precipitation in Guangdong Province over the next week. (Xinhua)…[+]