According to Middle East Eye, Morocco’s drone strikes have targeted 170 civilians in Western Sahara since 2021, resulting in the tragic loss of 86 lives. Some of these individuals were Moroccan, and some were Algerian nationals, but all of them were targeted by advanced drone technology manufactured mainly by Israel.
What was once a low-level and isolated conflict between two equally outfitted parties has, in the past couple of years, morphed into a campaign of high-tech scorched-earth domination. This drastic imbalance between the effective capabilities of Moroccan forces and those they’re fighting against would simply not be possible without Israeli weaponry.
Morocco first received three Israeli drones through a French company in 2014, which had already been used in combat. After a formal agreement between the two nations in 2020, Morocco purchased 150 additional drones. The exact quantity remains unknown, but estimates suggest somewhere in the hundreds; the arsenal contains drones with both surveillance and offensive capabilities.
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Morocco utilizes Chinese, Turkish, and American-manufactured drones as well, but their use of Israeli weaponry is especially relevant as these products seem to make up the majority of their supply. These are generally considered to be the “cream of the crop” in combat-drone technology. The precise and accurate nature of Israeli-derived surveillance can be partnered with already-existing munitions systems, exponentially increasing the lethality of conventional, tried-and-true, ballistics.
Not limited solely to the sale of drone technologies, Morocco also utilizes Israeli-manufactured missile defense systems and spyware technologies. Additionally, the Israeli firm Elbit Systems, a drone manufacturer whose products make up a sizable portion of Morocco’s new high-tech arsenal, announced the opening of two factories in Morocco to produce vague “defense systems.”
The Sahrawi still rely on Soviet rifles, ancient Toyotas, and on-the-ground intelligence gathering. The Moroccan government is on track to create a system where ubiquitous surveillance drones allow all perceived insurgent activity to be instantly observed and punished by ubiquitous combat drones. This is a level of relative asymmetry resulting from unprecedented technology that has never been seen.
Overall, the corporate media has largely ignored much of the Western Sahara conflict, failing to delve into its nuanced complexities. While Forbes covered Morocco’s procurement of Israeli and Turkish weapons and the nation’s role in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, it neglected Morocco’s use of Israeli weapons to suppress dissent in Western Sahara.
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Furthermore, the lack of corporate coverage surrounding this nearly four-year-long crisis raises concerns about Big Media’s ability to prioritize crucial stories and underscores the pressing need for a more balanced and nuanced approach to reporting on global issues.
Source: MEE Staff, “Morocco Accused of Using Israeli Weapons to Kill Civilians in Western Sahara,” Middle East Eye, March 22, 2024.
Student Researcher: Bennett Silberman (Diablo Valley College)
Faculty Evaluators: Nolan Higdon and Mickey Huff (Diablo Valley College)
John Kelly was driving to Dublin for a work meeting when he began to feel a tightness in his chest
“I had to pull the car over and phone emergency services, and I just thought this is it; I’m having a heart attack.”
John Kelly was driving to Dublin for work when he felt a tightness in his chest and pins and needles in his arm.
He called an ambulance and spent the next three days in the hospital for extensive tests, but these all came back clear.
“I was visited by a doctor who said the problem wasn’t with my heart,” he said.
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“When I asked what the problem was, he pointed to my head.”
John Kelly
By the early 2000s, the Dungannon-born businessman had spent most of his career in the corporate world
John had experienced a severe panic attack.
Previously, the Dungannon-born businessman spent most of his career in the corporate world, occupying a senior position at a soft drinks company.
In the early 2000s, he started his own sales training business, and soon after this, his symptoms of anxiety began.
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“I had been self-employed for a few years, and I thought I was doing OK; I had a nice house, loving family, but I suppose work was getting increasingly pressurised.
“One day, I just remember feeling like this fog on my brain and not understanding what it was, but I was still able to function.”
A few days later, John had his first panic attack.
Therapy
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John was eventually referred by his GP for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
It is an NHS-approved talking therapy that can help you manage problems by changing the way you think and behave.
John described this as the start of his recovery.
“I would use the analogy of being in a boat that is leaking, and then you’re given the right tools.
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“This wonderful bucket that helps you empty the boat of some of that water, but the boat was still leaking.”
John waited several months for his first CBT appointment through the NHS and was given an initial six sessions.
He later paid for further sessions through the private sector.
John said CBT was the starting point of a longer journey that included coaching, training and self-reflection.
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“I was able to reconfigure my thoughts and not catastrophise things and realise they’re just thoughts, you don’t have to act on them, but it also took a lot of self-reflection and working on myself.
“It really got me thinking, if this is what happened to me…it must be happening to others.”
Siobhan O’Neill is mental health champion for Northern Ireland
Over 20 years on, issues around waiting lists and access to talk therapies remain.
In Northern Ireland, it is recommended that mental health support or treatments should be made available within nine weeks.
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But research published in June this year by the office of Northern Ireland’s mental health champion shows this target is being missed in a high number of cases.
Data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey shows 47% of those who sought services before October 2021 did not receive effective treatment within nine weeks.
The Department of Health has acknowledged that health trusts were experiencing “significant pressures” that put increased demands on services.
A spokesperson added that the mental health strategy was working towards reducing waiting lists and supporting people in times of crisis.
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‘Many suffer in silence’
Prof Siobhán O’Neill is Northern Ireland’s mental health champion.
She said psychological therapies were known to be “very effective,” but waiting lists are simply too long.
Prof O’Neill said this resulted in mental health problems getting worse with many people “suffering in silence”.
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“It’s really important to see a man coming forward and talking about this publicly, in terms of how he recovered and what worked for him,” she said.
After years of working on his own physical and mental health, John Kelly now coaches businesses on bringing positive cultural change to their organisations.
John Kelly
John Kelly is taking part in the Brilliant by Design event in the Titanic Hotel
This Thursday, he is sharing his story as part of the Brilliant by Design event in Belfast’s Titanic Hotel.
A line-up that also includes Northern Irish rock musician and frontman of The Answer and the Unholy Gospel, Cormac Neeson.
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John Kelly said: “I suppose being involved in this event does show how far you can come, but there is still such a stigma around mental health.
“I just want to share my story because I think it can help others; I’m living proof that no matter how down or anxious you feel, things can get better.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Shares in Raspberry Pi jumped on Tuesday after the UK computer maker reported higher than expected profits in its first earnings report since its debut on the London Stock Exchange in June.
The Cambridge-based company, which makes small, low-cost computers, said sales volumes were slightly lower than expected but weighted towards higher-margin products, boosting profits.
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Shares rose 8 per cent to 376p. They floated at 280p in June.
Raspberry Pi’s initial public offering, at a valuation of £542mn, was seen as a rare victory for the London market, which has been struggling to attract listings particularly from technology companies, which generally prefer New York.
The company reported a gross profit of $34.2mn in the first six months of 2024, higher than internal forecasts and a 47 per cent increase on the same period in 2023. Revenue for the period was $144mn, up from $89.3mn last year. It kept its full-year outlook unchanged.
Raspberry Pi began selling its products to the public in 2012. It was set up under the auspices of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a UK charity founded in 2008 to promote computing to young people.
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The company said the £178.9mn raised in the IPO would be used to fund engineering projects, with new product releases scheduled before the end of 2024.
Its listing was seen as a boost for the London stock market at a time when the listings market had been very quiet and with technology companies generally seeking to access deeper capital markets and higher valuations in the US.
Cambridge-based chipmaker Arm, one of Raspberry Pi’s shareholders, listed in New York for a $52bn valuation in September 2023.
Raspberry Pi’s chief executive Eben Upton told the Financial Times in June that there was too much gloom about the prospects of the UK stock market. “Many of the stories that people tell about the differences between the US and the UK — particularly this sort of magical [high valuations] — don’t seem to be real,” he said.
Fundment has launched a cash Isa and cash Lifetime Isa, backed by a fully digital cash investment system.
It has partnered with Investec Bank to offer a 12-month fixed rate deposit within its cash Isa and cash Lifetime Isa options, with plans to expand cash investment choices in the future.
Fundment founder and chief executive Ola Abdul said: “We’re expanding our Isa range in line with adviser demand.
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“This move, coupled with the full digitisation of our underlying cash investment functionality, demonstrates our commitment to providing advisers with the tools they need to serve their clients effectively.”
The platform has also fully digitised its cash investment process, streamlining operations for advisers.
From digital account opening and client approval to automated payments of fees, income, and dividends, the process is intuitive and designed to save time, allowing advisers to focus on delivering value to their clients.
Investec head of funding partnerships David Hunt said: “Our collaboration with Fundment aligns perfectly with our commitment to tech-driven, digitally-enabled financial solutions.
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“By leveraging our API, Fundment has created a frictionless experience for advisers and their clients.”
Beyond the 12-month FRD in cash Isas and cash Lisas, Fundment offers fixed term deposits within pension and general investment wrappers.
These Investec Bank products are available in three-, six-, 12-, and 24-month terms.
Factbox: Cash Isas and cash Lifetime Isas
Cash Isa allowance: For the 2024/25 tax year, the maximum that can be contributed to a cash Isa is £20,000, with tax-free interest.
Contributions up to £4,000 are permitted into a cash Lifetime Isa (Lisa), with a government bonus of 25% (or up to £1,000 annually).
The Fundment cash Isa is available from age 18, while the cash Lisa is for those aged 18-39.
Many cash Isas allow flexible withdrawals, but early withdrawals from a cash Lisa (for non-home buying reasons before age 60) incur a 25% penalty.
Cash Lisa funds can be used penalty-free for a first home purchase under £450,000.
Isas can be transferred between providers without loss of allowance.
Currently only one cash Lisa per tax year can be opened and funded but, following changes enacted in April 2024, it is possible to open more than one cash Isa in the same tax year.
Among the sea of glossy black and white penguins that call a popular Australian aquarium home, one baby bird stands out like a sore thumb.
Chocolatey brown, obscenely fluffy, and towering a head above his own foster parents – plus weighing more than both combined – is Pesto.
Affectionately dubbed a “fatty”, an “absolute unit”, and a “linebacker”, the chonky chick has shot to viral superstardom and attracted a legion of obsessed fans, including popstar Katy Perry.
Pesto has reached an audience of billions – dominating social media algorithms, securing wall-to-wall breakfast TV coverage in the US and UK, and drawing travellers from around the globe to Melbourne’s Sea Life Aquarium.
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Born in January weighing only 200g (7oz), the nine-month-old king penguin is now more than a hundred times the size. At a whopping 22.5kg (50lb), he is the biggest chick the aquarium has ever seen.
It is normal for penguins to stack on some “healthy baby chub” after they hatch, the aquarium’s Jacinta Early tells the BBC, but keepers had no idea Pesto would become so immense.
“It’s a combination of nature [and] nurture, really,” the marine biologist explains.
Pesto’s biological father is quite tall, but he’s also been very well looked after by his foster parents Tango and Hudson: “He eclipses them now, which also makes him look comically large.”
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Hand-fed several times a day, Ms Early says Pesto’s considerable heft is also partly attributable to his “very healthy appetite” – a gentle way of saying he gobbles up to 30 fish daily.
But she stresses he’s healthy – essentially half fluff – and he’ll soon begin to drop weight naturally.
“If I poked him, my entire finger would completely [disappear] deep in his feathers,” Ms Early says.
“When he does start to fledge, he’ll lose a lot of that baby fluff, and he’ll also lose much of that weight, so he’ll slim down nice and sleek.”
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He’s already losing a smattering of his baby feathers, but she says there’s much more to Pesto than his cuddly appearance anyway.
She describes him as a social butterfly who chatters away in a “cute little whistle tone” and loves annoying the adult penguins “like any typical toddler would”.
“He tends to be the first one to kind of say hi [to keepers] and he also does respond to his name.”
“We definitely do have our favourites,” Ms Early says, diplomatically. “[But] Pesto seems to be a little bit in love with all the keepers as well.”
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Sea Life Melbourne
Pesto is on a sea food diet – he sees food, and he eats it
Even though staff have long been besotted with the chick, seeing the love he’s attracted from the public has been an absurd experience, they say.
It’s a generally busy period of year for the aquarium, amid school holidays, but crowds have been flocking to the penguin exhibit to catch a glimpse of the glorified pom-pom.
Millie Jacoby – a Brit who has lived in Melbourne for the past year – is one such Pesto groupie.
The 25-year-old has visited the penguin twice already and brags that she was a fan before he became an online sensation.
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“We walked in and there was just this big, fluffy penguin… and we just kind of fell in love.
“He deserves to be famous.”
Olivia Wilson, who has been managing Pesto’s demanding media schedule for the aquarium, jokes that she’s not sure what’s the bigger drawcard to Melbourne this weekend: Pesto or the Australian Football League grand final – a sporting event taken so seriously that the entire state of Victoria gets a public holiday the day before to celebrate.
“You name a country, and he has had a mention in the media… there are very few places across the globe that haven’t had a bit of Pesto love.”
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Singapore’s former transport minister has pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining gifts as a public servant and obstruction of justice, in a rare graft case in the city-state that prides itself on transparency and clean governance
S Iswaran, who was instrumental in bringing the Formula One Grand Prix to Singapore as transport minister, had initially denied any wrongdoing and vowed to clear his name after he was slapped with 35 charges this year.
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But in an unexpected move on Tuesday, prosecutors amended the charges at the start of his trial to just five, and Iswaran pleaded guilty to all of them.
The amended charges include four counts of obtaining valuable items and one of obstruction of justice. The remaining 30 charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing, prosecutors said.
Iswaran, 62, is accused of obtaining gifts with a total value of S$403,297.92 (US$312,494.20) from two local businessmen during his tenure as minister.
Prosecutors have sought a jail term of six to seven months. Iswaran’s lawyers are asking for no more than eight weeks, according to Singaporean media Channel News Asia and the Straits Times.
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The corruption case against Iswaran is the first involving a Singaporean minister since 1986. Singapore prides itself on being one of the world’s least corrupt countries, and its ministers are among the highest paid — earning about S$1mn a year — in part to discourage corruption.
The case comes at a sensitive time for the ruling People’s Action party, which has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965.
The Asian financial hub is set to hold elections in 2025, and while the PAP is expected to win again, its reputation has taken a hit from a recent series of scandals, including the corruption allegations against Iswaran.
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Iswaran resigned this year after he was charged by authorities. He has said he will return his salary and allowances received since the beginning of the investigation in July last year.
According to a January charge sheet seen by the Financial Times, the kickbacks allegedly included tickets to English Premier League football matches, Formula One races and plays including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton and Kinky Boots, as well as a business class flight from Doha to Singapore in 2022.
Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau has said Iswaran received some of the alleged bribes from Ong Beng Seng, one of the city-state’s most high-profile property tycoons, for “advancing (his) business interests”.
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Ong has not been charged. He is the founder of Hotel Properties, which has brands such as the Four Seasons and InterContinental in its property portfolio.
The company has previously said Ong is providing details of his dealings with Iswaran to the watchdog.
LEBANON has suffered its deadliest day in a generation after almost 500 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
It comes just days after Israel wiped out Hezbollah commanders claimed to be plotting a devastating October 7-style massacre.
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Smoke from heavy Israeli air raids billows from the southern Lebanese village of TaibehCredit: Alamy
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Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Marjayoun, near the Lebanon-Israel border
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A congested highway along the southern entry to BeirutCredit: AFP
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Cars sit in traffic as they flee the southern villages amid Israeli airstrikesCredit: AP
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Israeli fighter jets fly over the port city of HaifaCredit: AFP
Israel has vowed to do “whatever is necessary” to wipe Hezbollah from its northern border – sparking some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire since hostilities flared last October.
At least 492 were killed and 1,645 injured, including 35 children.
The grim death toll is the highest daily tally since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.
Ten of thousands of residents fled from the south in desperate search of shelter as Israel pounded Lebanon with bombs from the air.
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The main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading toward Beirut in a staggering mass exodus.
Families from south Lebanon loaded cars, vans and trucks with belongings and people, sometimes multiple generations in one vehicle.
As bombs rained down, children crammed onto parents’ laps and suitcases were tied to car roofs. Highways north were gridlocked.
Israel has warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of its widening air campaign against Hezbollah.
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But the UK’s foreign office – while continuing to advise Brits to leave while flights are available – has stopped short of ordering an evacuation.
‘Escalation’ of cross-border attacks pushing Israel and Hezbollah to brink of ‘all-out war’
Fears of an all-out war in the region have been stoked by the escalation – with Lebanon still reeling from two deadly attacks on communication devices last week.
After almost a year of war against Hamas in Gaza on its southern border, Israel is shifting its focus to the northern frontier.
It is where Iran-backed Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, also backed by Iran.
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Israel claims it has foiled a plot to stage an assault similar to the devastating October 7 assault by Palestinian terror group Hamas.
President Isaac Herzog said Hezbollah commanders killed in strikes on Friday in Beirut were meeting to plan a shocking massacre.
Israel’s Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel is “not looking for wars” but warned its army is in “full readiness”.
Describing civilian casualties as a “tragedy”, he insisted Israel “makes vast efforts not to hit civilians and make every effort to mitigate harm to civilians”.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile told Lebanese citizens: “Israel’s war is not with you, it’s with Hezbollah.
“For too long Hezbollah has been using you as human shields.”
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Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the eastern areas of Baalbeck in the Bekaa valleyCredit: AFP
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Civil defense workers carry an elderly citizen who fled from the south as he arrives at a school turned into a shelter in BeirutCredit: AP
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Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts rockets fired from LebanonCredit: Reuters
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A man walks on a beach as smoke billows over southern LebanonCredit: Reuters
The latest bloodshed has prompted the US to deploy more troops to the Middle East amid fears of an all-out war exploding on the Lebanese border.
The Department of Defense said “additional” service members will be joining up with the 40,000 fighters already in the Middle East.
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A dozen US warships and fighter jet squadrons are also in the region on standby.
It is still unclear the exact number of troops being sent over or where they are being stationed.
The Pentagon has already bolstered its US Central Command since tensions in the Middle East reached boiling point almost a year ago.
An additional 7,000 troops were sent across in the wake of the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
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Navy warships were quickly deployed across the region, with some in the Red Sea and another six warships in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Four squadrons of fighter jets are also in the Middle East, as well as advanced F-22 fighter jets, which arrived last month, Military Times reported.
Their presence in the Middle East is designed to help defend Israel in their war as well as to protect US and allied assets.
The Pentagon’s General Pat Ryder also urged any US citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as they could.
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And this morning, Hezbollah said it had launched several attacks on Israeli military targets, including an explosives factory 60 km into Israel, with the “Fadi” series of rockets.
It said it attacked the explosives factory around 4am (1am GMT) and the Megiddo airfield three separate times overnight.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief has warned the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah is “almost a full-fledged war”.
Josep Borrell said: “This situation is extremely dangerous and worrying.
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“If this is not a war situation, I don’t know what you would call it.”
Pager and walkie-talkie strike
The spike in fighting follows the coordinated pager and walkie-talkie blitz last week with Israel sabotaging communications devices.
The attacks were aimed at Hezbollah and hit the terror group’s fighters and civilians in Lebanon and Syria.
The strikes, which hit Tuesday and Wednesday, killed at least 39 and left thousands more injured.
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Doctors in Lebanon have been overwhelmed by casualties after two waves of blasts – with many left blinded.
Skilled physicians say they have never had to surgically remove more eyes before as Hezbollah’s boss labelled the strikes a possible “declaration of war” from Israel.
One of those injured was the Iranian envoy to the country who has reportedly lost an eye.
Hezbollah’s boss Hassan Nasrallah said the group intends to seek revenge for the attacks that “crossed over all the red lines” and will not stop until the war in Gaza ends.
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Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said he “condemned the terrorist act of the Zionist regime… as an example of mass murder”.
Israel reportedly planted the explosives inside the pagers in a years’ long operation that involved firms in Taiwan and Hungary.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has ordered all members to stop using any types of communication devices, Reuters reports.
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