Excluded Headlines: India bombs Pakistan, Israel wants US private security involved in Gaza aid, Guatemala to consult on water...
Stay up to date on the Global South news stories the US- and Eurocentric media overlook, with author and journalist, Tamara Pearson.
In this week’s Global South news:
India bombs Pakistan - India strikes on Pakistan have killed 31 people, and now the two countries are in high-level talks. After India’s first strikes, Pakistan responded with drones and missiles - killing 15 according to India, then today India said it struck Pakistan again. Both countries claim to be focusing on military targets, while reporting that civilians have been killed. The strikes follow the massacre in Pahalgam, in Indian Kashmir. But India’s Modi is using the tragedy to boost his popularity and advance the government’s strategic goals regarding the Indus River system. Local activists want de-escalation, peace, and demilitarization of Kashmir. Source, source, source, source, source.
Israeli cabinet approves plans to reoccupy Gaza, use US contractors to deliver aid - When announcing the plan, Israel said it would flatten every building in Gaza if a ceasefire and hostage deal weren’t reached by next week, when Trump will visit the region. “We are finally going to conquer the Gaza Strip. We are no longer afraid of the word ‘occupation.’ We are conquering Gaza, clearing it out and taking control of every area we enter. Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to… the south … and from there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries,” said Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. The Israeli cabinet also passed a plan to deliver aid to Gaza though private US security companies, Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) and UG Solutions, with 60 trucks delivering aid per day - 10% of what was allowed in during the short ceasefire period.
Israel hasn’t allowed any food or water into Gaza since March 2, and hundreds of thousands are at risk of famine. Israel says the new aid plan is a condition for ending that total blockade. Source, source, source, source.
Guatemala to consult on water - The Guatemalan government has announced a two-month long participatory consultation process for its water policy. Without being there, it is hard to know how real this process will be, but the government has recognised that, despite the country having a very high volume of freshwater per capita, it faces serious water shortages and problems due to contamination, transnational and private water exploitation and less water recently due to climate change. Source, source.
Israel strikes Yemen 40 times - Twenty of the strikes were on the capital, Sanaa, including the airport, which completely disabled the airport and caused US$500 million in damages. Yemen’s national airline now has no planes left, bar one that is in Oman. Industrial sites, an electricity plant, and coastal areas and ports were also hit. Source, source, source.
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