Washington, May 21 (IANS/DPA) US President Joe Biden’s security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has insisted on access to humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip in talks with the Israeli leadership.

It is important that Israel and Egypt conclude their talks on the early reopening of the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, Sullivan stressed in talks with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, the White House said on Monday.

Humanitarian workers must be able to safely deliver aid to those in need throughout the Gaza Strip, Sullivan stressed.

He added that all available border crossings must be used for aid to reach the coastal territory.

Galant and Halevi had informed Sullivan about “new alternative approaches” to fighting the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas in Rafah.

The US has harshly criticised a major Israeli ground offensive in the southern Gaza Strip city, located on the border with Egypt.

“Both sides agreed to continue talks,” the White House said. Sullivan also met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In his meetings with the ministers in the war cabinet, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, Sullivan reiterated that the US wanted to see Hamas defeated and all Israeli hostages still in the group’s hands released.

He had made similar comments in talks with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid.

During his visit to the region, Sullivan also met with Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and newly appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa of the Palestinian Authority (PA), it was reported. They had discussed ending the fighting through a hostage agreement.

–IANS/DPA

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Frankfurt, May 21 (IANS/DPA) The second and highest-profile trial linked to a far-right coup plot in Germany begins on Tuesday, with the alleged 72-year-old ringleader Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss going before a Frankfurt court.

The prince will stand trial before the Higher Regional Court, together with eight others. Federal prosecutors accuse them of having been members of or having supported a terrorist organisation. They include former members of the German armed forces and a former member of parliament for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

They are accused of belonging to the “Reichsburger” network. So-called “Citizens of the Reich” believe that the modern German republic illegitimately replaced the German Reich that was founded in 1871 and continued under the Nazi regime until 1945. They reject the legitimacy of Germany’s modern federal state and its laws.

The trial is the second of three mammoth trials surrounding the alleged coup attempt. A trial against alleged members of the group’s military arm began in Stuttgart at the end of April. Other alleged members will stand trial in Munich from June 18.

The plot was uncovered during a large-scale anti-terror raid in December 2022.

According to the indictment, the group began planning and preparing for “Day X” – the date of the coup – starting in August 2021.

Specifically, an armed group was supposed to infiltrate the parliament building in Berlin to arrest German politicians and then install a new interim government with Reuss as head of state.

They were said to have accepted they might have to sacrifice their lives to achieve their goals.

According to the prosecutors, around 500,000 euros ($543,000) and a large arsenal of weapons were made available to the conspirators. Concrete preparations, such as the recruitment of military personnel, had also taken place.

The accused were united by a deep rejection of state institutions and the free democratic order, according to the federal prosecutor’s office, which has described the group’s ideology as “a conglomerate of conspiracy theories.”

The alleged leaders of the plot, Prince Reuss and Rudiger von Pescatore, a former soldier who is said to have led the military arm of the group, are on trial in Frankfurt.

Reuss is a descendant of a noble family whose princely title carries no formal weight. Germany’s monarchy was abolished more than a century ago.

The outlines of structures for a separate state order are said to have been worked out, with Prince Reuss acting as head of state. The former Berlin judge and former AfD lawmaker Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, who is also one of the Frankfurt defendants, was supposed to have been the equivalent of the justice minister.

Strict security precautions are in place for the trial. A lightweight metal hall with an area of around 1,300 square metres has been specially erected on the outskirts of Frankfurt.

According to the court, the defendants face up to 10 years in prison if they are found guilty on one charge. In the event of several guilty verdicts and a total sentence, they would face a maximum of 15 years in prison. The accused are presumed innocent until a judgment is reached.

In addition to the trial in Frankfurt, other members of the group in Stuttgart and Munich must also stand trial before the respective higher regional courts.

The trial in Frankfurt alone is of unprecedented dimensions for the Higher Regional Court, court spokeswoman Gundula Fehns-Boer said. The indictment comprises 617 pages.

Nine defendants, five judges, two supplementary judges and no fewer than 25 defence lawyers will be present at the trial. Ten people were originally scheduled to stand trial, but one of them died in a hospital in March, the court spokeswoman said.

Around 260 witnesses will be summoned, and 40 to 45 police officers will provide security to them on each day of the trial. The court has scheduled 48 trial days through January.

–IANS/DPA

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New York, May 21 (IANS/DPA) A UN resolution tabled by Russia against an arms race in space failed in the UN Security Council.

The draft resolution received seven votes in favour, seven countries, including the US, voted against it while Switzerland abstained.

The measure failed on Monday as it did not obtain the nine votes necessary to pass it in the powerful 15-nation council.

In view of a US resolution against nuclear weapons in space that failed last month due to Russia’s veto, US representative Robert Wood accused Moscow of manipulative tactics.

The debate at the United Nations follows US reports in February about Russia’s nuclear ambitions in space.

Several major US media outlets reported findings about Russia attempting to develop an anti-satellite nuclear weapon based in space, which could pose a threat to national and international security.

In response, the US government stated that Russia was developing military capabilities for use against satellites. However, no details were provided on the specific nature of this threat.

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the accusations, saying that Russia was against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. Moscow labelled the US draft resolution in the UN Security Council as propaganda.

–IANS/DPA

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Tel Aviv, May 21 (IANS/DPA) The US military, on Tuesday, said that over 569 tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered to the Gaza Strip through a US-built temporary pier.

The temporary harbour is serving as a hub for the delivery of aid supplies to meet the urgent needs of the Palestinian people, as Gaza itself has no harbour deep enough for larger cargo vessels.

The first aid deliveries arrived in the embattled coastal territory on Friday.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on social media platform X early on Tuesday that the 569 tons of humanitarian assistance, which so far have reached Gaza through the pier, came from donors, including the US, the UK, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union.

“The pier is a temporary solution to surge humanitarian assistance to Gaza to meet the urgent needs of the Palestinian people,” the post continued.

Newspaper The Times of Israel reported that the quantity of aid corresponds to some 25 lorries loads of aid.

According to earlier Pentagon statements, around 90 lorry loads per day will initially reach the Gaza Strip via the floating pier, while up to 150 lorry loads are expected per day at a later stage.

A lack of basic supplies has led to a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip over seven months after the war between Israel and Hamas began.

The war started when fighters from Hamas and other militant groups from Gaza killed some 1,200 people in the unprecedented massacre of communities and army bases in southern Israel on October 7. They also injured and raped countless others and took more than 200 hostages back to Gaza.

Israel responded by sealing off the Palestinian territory and launching a massive aerial campaign to eliminate Hamas. At the end of October, Israeli ground troops were sent in, and much of the coastal strip has since been rendered uninhabitable.

Some 35,500 Palestinians are said to have been killed in the fighting so far, while thousands of others are threatened by famine.

–IANS/DPA

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New York, May 21 (IANS/DPA) The trial against former US President Donald Trump in New York in connection with hush money payments to an adult film star has seen a chaotic day in which the presiding judge cleared the jury and the press from the courtroom and admonished a witness.

Judge Juan Merchan became visibly angry during the questioning of defence witness Robert Costello because he appeared to question Merchan’s authority.

Costello, who Trump’s defence team brought to the stand to attack the credibility of key prosecution witness Michael Cohen, continued to answer several questions after Merchan had already accepted the prosecution’s objection on Monday.

The judge instructed Costello, a former federal prosecutor, that he was not allowed to continue answering after an objection was sustained. In the case of one objection, that was upheld, Costello then said “Jeesh” and rolled his eyes.

Merchan then ordered the jurors out of the courtroom and asked Trump’s witness, Costello, to maintain proper decorum in his courtroom.

When Costello continued to scowl at the judge, Merchan blurted out audibly angrily: “Are you staring me down?” He then had the courtroom cleared with the help of loud and cutting instructions from the court staff.

Court transcripts reveal that Merchan forbade comments on his decisions and threatened to have Costello removed from the stand if he did not change his behaviour.

Journalists and observers were allowed to re-enter the room after a few minutes, and the questioning continued.

Trump’s lawyers have said they do not plan to call any further witnesses after Costello. Closing arguments are expected on May 28.

The public prosecutor’s office in New York accuses Trump of wanting to improve his chances of success in the 2016 presidential election by paying $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

The payment itself was not illegal. However, Trump is said to have manipulated documents when reimbursing the amount to lawyer Michael Cohen in order to conceal the true reason for the transaction, making the payments illegal campaign financing.

Trump, who is campaigning to win re-election in November as the Republican Party candidate, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. If found guilty, he could face a prison sentence.

–IANS/DPA

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