BARBADOS – Forensic authorities in the Dominican Republic worked Wednesday to identify the remains of at least 14 mostly decomposed bodies, found on an abandoned vessel 10 nautical miles of its northern coast. The Dominican Republic Navy said the 14 skeletons appeared to belong to individuals from Senegal and Mauritania, according to the documentation found next to the bodies.

Authorities are also working to determine the cause and time of the deaths and whether 12 packages of a substance found on the boat contained illicit drugs, presumably cocaine or heroin. Cell phones and geolocation devices were also found on the boat, the Navy said.

The Atlantic route from West Africa to the European Union territory is one of the most dangerous in the world. Boats that miss their destination can be swept away by Atlantic trade winds and currents from east to west, drifting for months. Migrants aboard often die of dehydration and malnutrition. Others have also been known to jump into the ocean out of desperation.

An Associated Press investigation published last year revealed that in 2021, at least seven boats from northwest Africa had been found in the Caribbean and Brazil, all carrying dead bodies. The bodies found Tuesday in the Dominican Republic are being analysed by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) in Santiago, the country’s second largest city and near where the discovery was made, said Nairobi Viloria, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office. Meanwhile, the substance found next to the bodies is being analysed in laboratories operated by the country’s anti-drug agency, said Carlos Devers, a spokesman for the National Directorate of Drug Control. (Caribbean.loopnews.com)…[+]

RUSSIA – Russian prosecutors have demanded a 15-year sentence for Ksenia Karelina, a Russian American citizen, accused of treason for donating to a charity supporting Ukraine. Karelina, who was not included in a major prisoner swap between Russia and the West last week, that also saw the release of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, is on trial in the city of Yekaterinburg.

“The prosecution requested a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment in a general regime penal colony,” Russian state media quoted her lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, as saying on Thursday. She pleaded guilty, with the court press service saying she made a closing appeal to the judge on Thursday. The verdict is expected on August 15.

Karelina was born in Russia but emigrated to the United States in 2012 and became a US citizen in 2021. The Los Angeles spa employee was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB), after flying to Russia to visit her family in Yekaterinburg at the start of the year. Investigators brought the treason charge after discovering on her mobile phone that she had donated $51.80 to Razom, a charity that provides aid to Ukraine, when Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.

The FSB alleged that the ultimate beneficiary was the Ukrainian army. Mushailov said the prosecutors’ request for 15 years was too harsh because Karelina had cooperated with the investigation, including by voluntarily giving up her phone. He said she had pleaded guilty in the hope of getting a lower sentence and because “it was stupid in this situation to deny the obvious”. Razom said at the time of her arrest that it was “appalled”. The charity’s website says it supports a range of humanitarian projects including the supply of first aid kits, wood stoves, generators, radios and vehicles to front-line Ukrainian medics. (Aljazeera)…[+]

ISRAEL – Israel has revoked the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats serving the occupied Palestinian territory. “There is a price for anti-Israel behaviour,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday, citing Norway’s recognition of Palestinian statehood and its backing of an International Criminal Court (ICC) case implicating Israeli leaders in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity as reasons for the move.

The Norwegian ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem on Thursday, where he was informed that the diplomats, all based in Tel Aviv, would have their accreditation revoked in seven days and their visas annulled in three months. “This is an extreme act that primarily affects our ability to help the Palestinian population,” said Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide in a statement, warning that the decision would have “consequences” for its relationship with the Israeli government.

Norway is still considering its response to the situation. The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday that mentioned “serious statements by senior Norwegian officials” that were viewed as anti-Israeli. In an official note delivered to the Norwegian embassy in Tel Aviv, the ministry also accused Norway of “one-sided policies and statements” since the October 7 Hamas-led attack in southern Israel that preceded Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. Spain, Ireland and Norway announced their decision to recognise a Palestinian state back in May, drawing a strong rebuke from Israel whose leaders have repeatedly spoken out against Palestinian statehood. (Aljazeera)…[+]

GAZA – Hamas’ choice of a hardline political leader did little to comfort Gazans displaced, hungry, and seeking a way out of their misery after nearly 10 months of war on Wednesday. The Palestinian militant group appointed Yahya Sinwar to lead its political bureau on Tuesday, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in an attack Iran blamed on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

The move consolidates power within the organization under Sinwar, who until this week was the head of Hamas in Gaza. Sinwar, a hardened militant with many years spent in an Israeli prison, is viewed as less compromising in dealings with Israel and closer to Iran than his predecessor. He is accused by Israel of being the mastermind of the October 7 attack and believed to be hiding in a tunnel in Gaza.

“I’m surprised about this move,” said Hatem Mohammed, 47, a Gaza-based retired civil servant for the Palestinian Authority that is run by Fatah, a rival party to Hamas. “It’s a hasty, irrational and reactionary move in response to Haniyeh’s assassination. They (Hamas) know internally that he’s not fit for the job. He’s an emotive and hasty person.”

“This appointment sends a message that the war will continue. I don’t know what they were thinking,” said Mohammed, who said he lost five members of his family in the war and suffers from infection brought about by food poisoning. Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people in the enclave, according to the Palestinian authorities. Sinwar, meanwhile, is believed by US officials to be deep underground, possibly surrounded by Israeli hostages as human shields.

Sinwar’s appointment has cast uncertainty on the fate ceasefire talks with Israel that would also see Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners released. He is hard to reach, is considered more hardline than Haniyeh, and is seen as being less vulnerable to pressure from Arab nations than Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar. (CNN)…[+]

KIEV – Ukraine continued its gradual rearguard action during the past week, ceding ground in feet and inches to preserve the lives of its soldiers while managing to prevent a Russian breakthrough anywhere along its front line. Meanwhile, it began to receive its first F-16 fighter jets from Western allies, a new weapon that could help turn the balance of power in the skies, which is key to developments on the ground. It also continued to build an estimated 15 new battalions it is counting on to one day mount a counteroffensive that will roll back Russian conquests.

The fighting was fiercest in central Donetsk, the eastern province that has seen many of the bloodiest battles of this war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Pokrovsk was the focus of Russian efforts on August 1. “Pokrovsk, I would say for today, this is a priority for them … the largest number of personnel, the largest number of weapons and [glide bombs], everything they have, they are centring today in the Pokrovsky direction,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying by Suspilne, Ukraine’s public broadcaster. Pokrovsk lies 20km (12.4 miles) off the tip of a salient that Russian forces have created west of Avdiivka since seizing it in February. (Aljazeera)…[+]