![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaFears for Gazans as aid groups halt work over deadly Israeli strikePublished2 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, EPAImage caption, Israel’s military said the strike on World Central Kitchen’s convoy was a “grave mistake” and vowed to protect aid workersBy David Gritten & Mahmoud Elnaggar BBC News and BBC ArabicMany Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be wondering how they are going to feed their families after World Central Kitchen (WCK) paused its operations in response to the killing of seven of its aid workers in an Israeli air strike. Another US charity it works with, Anera, has also suspended work because of the escalating risks faced by its local staff and their families. Together, they were serving two million meals a week across the Palestinian territory, where the UN has warned that an estimated 1.1 million people – half the population – are facing catastrophic hunger because of Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of order.WCK’s decision to pause its work also led to the “freezing” of a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus, which the charity helped set up last month to increase the trickle of aid getting into the north of Gaza and avert a looming famine.The WCK convoy was hit on Monday night as it travelled south along the Israeli-designated coastal aid route, just after they had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of food from a barge at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah.That barge was part of a four-vessel flotilla that sailed back to Cyprus with 240 tonnes of supplies that could not be brought ashore in the wake of the strike. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned that “what happened to World Central Kitchen threatens the entire aid system” and had left it “on the brink”.Image source, @chefjoseandresImage caption, Before the strike, World Central Kitchen was providing about 350,000 meals across Gaza each dayWCK accused the Israeli military of a “targeted attack” on vehicles clearly marked with the charity’s logo and whose movements had been co-ordinated with Israeli authorities. The victims were British, Polish, Australian and Palestinian, and also included a dual US-Canadian citizen.The military’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, described the strike as a “grave mistake” that had followed “misidentification at night”.He also vowed to take “immediate action” to ensure that more was done to protect aid workers, including the immediate establishment of a new “humanitarian command centre” to improve co-ordination. “Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza,” he stressed.However, aid groups say they are not sure such promises will lead to meaningful changes. They also assert that this was not an isolated incident, with 196 Palestinian aid workers reportedly killed since the war began in October.Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and a former UN humanitarian chief, told the BBC that WCK was “among those who have the closest co-operation with the Israelis”, in terms of sharing information about their workers’ locations and planned movements.Before the strike, WCK was playing an increasingly prominent and important role in Gaza, with 400 Palestinian staff and 3,000 people working indirectly for it in its 68 community kitchens and distribution system. WCK has provided 12% of the 193,000 tonnes of aid from international organisations that had reached Gaza since October, according to data from Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body tasked with co-ordinating deliveries. However, UN agencies were responsible for 80% of the total. WCK’s founder, the chef José Andrés, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that it was “analysing the situation and how to keep doing the work we do”.Anera – which was providing 150,000 meals a day in collaboration with WCK – said it understood the consequences pausing its own work would have on Palestinians, but that its Palestinian staff had for the first time deemed the risk to their safety and that of their families “intolerable”.It said the charity’s logistics co-ordinator and his son had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Deir al-Balah in March, despite the fact that the co-ordinates of the shelter where they were staying had been provided to the Israeli military.”We’ve asked for explanation as to why that site was struck and we’ve received none,” Derek Madsen of Anera told the BBC. “These sites are known and so I think it is very difficult for us to understand how these strikes happen.”BBC VERIFY: What do we know so far?JEREMY BOWEN: The war is at a crossroadsWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Facing danger to feed millionsCharity founder ‘heartbroken’ over workers’ deathsANALYSIS: Deadly strike shows aid workers’ protection in crisis, agencies sayPROFILES: Who were the seven aid workers killed in Gaza?Project Hope, another US-based organisation, paused its work for three days in solidarity with WCK and to “reassess the security situation as we prioritise our staff members’ safety”. Arlan Fuller, director of emergency preparedness and response, said in a statement sent to the BBC that its employees were deeply concerned by the deaths of the WCK team, and that the strike has raised significant doubts about the effectiveness of co-ordination with the Israeli military.For the people of Gaza, the suspension of WCK’s operations “means more famine, more dead children, more epidemic disease because people are so malnourished”, Mr Egeland warned. At least 27 children are reported to have died as a result of malnutrition since October, according to the World Health Organization.Mr Egeland urged Israel to start by opening the Karni and Erez border crossings with northern Gaza to allow aid convoys to drive there directly. Most aid convoys are currently forced to start at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom and Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossings with the south of Gaza and then pass through what the UN calls “high-risk areas”, mainly due to shooting and shelling or the breakdown in civil order.Cogat says Israeli forces have co-ordinated the entry of more than 500 lorries into the north over the past two months via those routes as well as a new gate and military road that runs south of Gaza City.Israel has also facilitated the now-suspended maritime corridor set up by WCK as well as airdrops of aid by Western and Arab countries. The UN says both are helpful but cannot replace the large-scale delivery of aid by land. The first WCK aid ship was carrying 200 tonnes of aid and took several days to reach Gaza. By comparison, a lorry can carry about 20 tonnes and the nearest Israeli container port is only a 40km drive from northern Gaza.A C-130 transport plane meanwhile has a maximum payload of 21 tonnes, but only about 40 airdrops have taken place so far and they are considered expensive, ineffective and dangerous for people on the ground. The UN says 159 lorry loads of aid crossed into Gaza by land each day on average between 1 and 28 March, and that the pre-war average was 500 lorry loads, including fuel.Cogat says the pre-war average only included 70 food lorries and that 140 entered each day during March. It insists there is no limit to the amount of food and other humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza and accuses UN agencies of failing to distribute aid effectively.Image source, ReutersImage caption, The Open Arms. a Spanish charity vessel, returned to Cyprus on Wednesday after the maritime aid route was suspendedThere was no apparent drop-off in aid crossing into Gaza following the strike on the WCK convoy, with 217 lorries transferred via Israel and Egypt on Wednesday and 179 food packages being airdropped, according to Cogat. But Nate Mook, who was chief executive of WCK until 2022, warned that the longer-term consequences could be “devastating” for Gazans because “we probably have not seen the last of the aid organisations to pull out”.Zawar Ali of International Medical Corps told the BBC that it was reconsidering its safety protocols and whether to restrict its workers’ movements. It had already decided to relocate its field hospital from the north of Rafah to al-Mawasi, an area to the west which the Israeli military has declared “humanitarian zone” but has still carried out strikes on what it says are Hamas targets. Dr Bashar Murad, the executive director of the Palestinian Red Crescent, said many of its paramedics were refusing to evacuate wounded and sick people from the north to the south in their ambulances due to the lack of safety guarantees, despite their protection under international law and co-ordination efforts by international organisations.Aseel Baidoun of Medical Aid for Palestinians said it had not suspended operations after a strike in January damaged a residential compound in al-Mawasi that housed the British charity’s local team and their families, injuring several people. But now, she added: “We really are scared of the security [situation].””If a foreigner with international immunity is bombed and killed, then what will they do to us?” Mohammed Aborjela, a Palestinian online content creator who launched the Youth of Gaza initiative to deliver aid after the war began, told BBC.He said Palestinian aid workers faced higher risks and greater challenges than their international colleagues, but insisted it would not stop him and his colleagues continuing their work. “The danger of not providing aid is no less important than the danger of being killed,” he added.Natalia Anguera of Action Against Hunger also said it would try to continue working despite “more and more challenging” conditions. “Most of our staff are… Palestinians. They are suffering themselves, but they also have a very strong and clear commitment to their humanitarian mandate. They want to go on delivering,” she told the BBC. She said the international community needed to push strongly for a humanitarian ceasefire because it was the only way that aid organisations would be able to scale up their response to the level required.Mr Egeland also stressed the importance of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which he said was “bigger than the rest of us combined” but was being “systematically undermined by Israel”.Israel accuses UNRWA of supporting Hamas, which triggered the war when its gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October last year. The agency has denied this, but in January it sacked nine of the 12 employees accused in an Israeli document of playing a part in the attacks.UNRWA called for a “complete reversal in policies” from Israel in response to Monday’s strike, including lifting the ban on it delivering aid to northern Gaza.Related TopicsIsrael-Gaza warIsraelPalestinian territoriesMore on this storyAid worker’s family criticises selling Israel armsPublished2 days agoBiden ‘outraged’ over Israel strike on aid workersPublished4 days agoWhat we know about Israeli strike on aid convoyPublished1 day agoTop StoriesJeremy Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished5 hours agoLive. Israelis demand hostage deal six months on from Hamas attacksPost Office bosses earned millions despite scandalPublished9 hours agoFeaturesThe eclipse’s 4-minute window into the Sun’s secretsThe Papers: ‘Gaza famine’ warning and Corrie ‘budgeting row’Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe singer-songwriters who are pop’s new breakout starsIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Path of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipse’A game of Jenga’: Inside the perilous Baltimore bridge clean-upElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. Sounds simple, right?Fresh, surreal comedy from the mind of Lucia KeskinAttributioniPlayerThis family bonds over Race Across the WorldThese are the the things we love on the BBCAttributioniPlayerOne of the most talented bands to never make it…Why did trailblazers Microdisney fail to achieve the commercial success they deserved?AttributioniPlayerDid you know these scenes were filmed in… Glasgow?!Ali Plumb travels through the city’s silver screen sightsAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?2Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than ever3Hardest Geezer: The man who ran the length of Africa4Post Office bosses earned millions despite scandal5Woman dies after stabbing in busy city centre6Nail technicians join forces to raise prices7’Gaza famine’ warning and Corrie ‘budgeting row’8Large-scale police response to disorder in Glasgow97 lessons from my first series of University Challenge10Incinerator opposed by Barclay sees permit delayed](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/16C5D/production/_133077239_gettyimages-2121060867.jpg)
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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaFears for Gazans as aid groups halt work over deadly Israeli strikePublished2 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, EPAImage caption, Israel’s military said the strike on World Central Kitchen’s convoy was a “grave mistake” and vowed to protect aid workersBy David Gritten & Mahmoud Elnaggar BBC News and BBC ArabicMany Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be wondering how they are going to feed their families after World Central Kitchen (WCK) paused its operations in response to the killing of seven of its aid workers in an Israeli air strike. Another US charity it works with, Anera, has also suspended work because of the escalating risks faced by its local staff and their families. Together, they were serving two million meals a week across the Palestinian territory, where the UN has warned that an estimated 1.1 million people – half the population – are facing catastrophic hunger because of Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of order.WCK’s decision to pause its work also led to the “freezing” of a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus, which the charity helped set up last month to increase the trickle of aid getting into the north of Gaza and avert a looming famine.The WCK convoy was hit on Monday night as it travelled south along the Israeli-designated coastal aid route, just after they had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of food from a barge at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah.That barge was part of a four-vessel flotilla that sailed back to Cyprus with 240 tonnes of supplies that could not be brought ashore in the wake of the strike. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned that “what happened to World Central Kitchen threatens the entire aid system” and had left it “on the brink”.Image source, @chefjoseandresImage caption, Before the strike, World Central Kitchen was providing about 350,000 meals across Gaza each dayWCK accused the Israeli military of a “targeted attack” on vehicles clearly marked with the charity’s logo and whose movements had been co-ordinated with Israeli authorities. The victims were British, Polish, Australian and Palestinian, and also included a dual US-Canadian citizen.The military’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, described the strike as a “grave mistake” that had followed “misidentification at night”.He also vowed to take “immediate action” to ensure that more was done to protect aid workers, including the immediate establishment of a new “humanitarian command centre” to improve co-ordination. “Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza,” he stressed.However, aid groups say they are not sure such promises will lead to meaningful changes. They also assert that this was not an isolated incident, with 196 Palestinian aid workers reportedly killed since the war began in October.Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and a former UN humanitarian chief, told the BBC that WCK was “among those who have the closest co-operation with the Israelis”, in terms of sharing information about their workers’ locations and planned movements.Before the strike, WCK was playing an increasingly prominent and important role in Gaza, with 400 Palestinian staff and 3,000 people working indirectly for it in its 68 community kitchens and distribution system. WCK has provided 12% of the 193,000 tonnes of aid from international organisations that had reached Gaza since October, according to data from Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body tasked with co-ordinating deliveries. However, UN agencies were responsible for 80% of the total. WCK’s founder, the chef José Andrés, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that it was “analysing the situation and how to keep doing the work we do”.Anera – which was providing 150,000 meals a day in collaboration with WCK – said it understood the consequences pausing its own work would have on Palestinians, but that its Palestinian staff had for the first time deemed the risk to their safety and that of their families “intolerable”.It said the charity’s logistics co-ordinator and his son had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Deir al-Balah in March, despite the fact that the co-ordinates of the shelter where they were staying had been provided to the Israeli military.”We’ve asked for explanation as to why that site was struck and we’ve received none,” Derek Madsen of Anera told the BBC. “These sites are known and so I think it is very difficult for us to understand how these strikes happen.”BBC VERIFY: What do we know so far?JEREMY BOWEN: The war is at a crossroadsWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Facing danger to feed millionsCharity founder ‘heartbroken’ over workers’ deathsANALYSIS: Deadly strike shows aid workers’ protection in crisis, agencies sayPROFILES: Who were the seven aid workers killed in Gaza?Project Hope, another US-based organisation, paused its work for three days in solidarity with WCK and to “reassess the security situation as we prioritise our staff members’ safety”. Arlan Fuller, director of emergency preparedness and response, said in a statement sent to the BBC that its employees were deeply concerned by the deaths of the WCK team, and that the strike has raised significant doubts about the effectiveness of co-ordination with the Israeli military.For the people of Gaza, the suspension of WCK’s operations “means more famine, more dead children, more epidemic disease because people are so malnourished”, Mr Egeland warned. At least 27 children are reported to have died as a result of malnutrition since October, according to the World Health Organization.Mr Egeland urged Israel to start by opening the Karni and Erez border crossings with northern Gaza to allow aid convoys to drive there directly. Most aid convoys are currently forced to start at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom and Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossings with the south of Gaza and then pass through what the UN calls “high-risk areas”, mainly due to shooting and shelling or the breakdown in civil order.Cogat says Israeli forces have co-ordinated the entry of more than 500 lorries into the north over the past two months via those routes as well as a new gate and military road that runs south of Gaza City.Israel has also facilitated the now-suspended maritime corridor set up by WCK as well as airdrops of aid by Western and Arab countries. The UN says both are helpful but cannot replace the large-scale delivery of aid by land. The first WCK aid ship was carrying 200 tonnes of aid and took several days to reach Gaza. By comparison, a lorry can carry about 20 tonnes and the nearest Israeli container port is only a 40km drive from northern Gaza.A C-130 transport plane meanwhile has a maximum payload of 21 tonnes, but only about 40 airdrops have taken place so far and they are considered expensive, ineffective and dangerous for people on the ground. The UN says 159 lorry loads of aid crossed into Gaza by land each day on average between 1 and 28 March, and that the pre-war average was 500 lorry loads, including fuel.Cogat says the pre-war average only included 70 food lorries and that 140 entered each day during March. It insists there is no limit to the amount of food and other humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza and accuses UN agencies of failing to distribute aid effectively.Image source, ReutersImage caption, The Open Arms. a Spanish charity vessel, returned to Cyprus on Wednesday after the maritime aid route was suspendedThere was no apparent drop-off in aid crossing into Gaza following the strike on the WCK convoy, with 217 lorries transferred via Israel and Egypt on Wednesday and 179 food packages being airdropped, according to Cogat. But Nate Mook, who was chief executive of WCK until 2022, warned that the longer-term consequences could be “devastating” for Gazans because “we probably have not seen the last of the aid organisations to pull out”.Zawar Ali of International Medical Corps told the BBC that it was reconsidering its safety protocols and whether to restrict its workers’ movements. It had already decided to relocate its field hospital from the north of Rafah to al-Mawasi, an area to the west which the Israeli military has declared “humanitarian zone” but has still carried out strikes on what it says are Hamas targets. Dr Bashar Murad, the executive director of the Palestinian Red Crescent, said many of its paramedics were refusing to evacuate wounded and sick people from the north to the south in their ambulances due to the lack of safety guarantees, despite their protection under international law and co-ordination efforts by international organisations.Aseel Baidoun of Medical Aid for Palestinians said it had not suspended operations after a strike in January damaged a residential compound in al-Mawasi that housed the British charity’s local team and their families, injuring several people. But now, she added: “We really are scared of the security [situation].””If a foreigner with international immunity is bombed and killed, then what will they do to us?” Mohammed Aborjela, a Palestinian online content creator who launched the Youth of Gaza initiative to deliver aid after the war began, told BBC.He said Palestinian aid workers faced higher risks and greater challenges than their international colleagues, but insisted it would not stop him and his colleagues continuing their work. “The danger of not providing aid is no less important than the danger of being killed,” he added.Natalia Anguera of Action Against Hunger also said it would try to continue working despite “more and more challenging” conditions. “Most of our staff are… Palestinians. They are suffering themselves, but they also have a very strong and clear commitment to their humanitarian mandate. They want to go on delivering,” she told the BBC. She said the international community needed to push strongly for a humanitarian ceasefire because it was the only way that aid organisations would be able to scale up their response to the level required.Mr Egeland also stressed the importance of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which he said was “bigger than the rest of us combined” but was being “systematically undermined by Israel”.Israel accuses UNRWA of supporting Hamas, which triggered the war when its gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October last year. The agency has denied this, but in January it sacked nine of the 12 employees accused in an Israeli document of playing a part in the attacks.UNRWA called for a “complete reversal in policies” from Israel in response to Monday’s strike, including lifting the ban on it delivering aid to northern Gaza.Related TopicsIsrael-Gaza warIsraelPalestinian territoriesMore on this storyAid worker’s family criticises selling Israel armsPublished2 days agoBiden ‘outraged’ over Israel strike on aid workersPublished4 days agoWhat we know about Israeli strike on aid convoyPublished1 day agoTop StoriesJeremy Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished5 hours agoLive. Israelis demand hostage deal six months on from Hamas attacksPost Office bosses earned millions despite scandalPublished9 hours agoFeaturesThe eclipse’s 4-minute window into the Sun’s secretsThe Papers: ‘Gaza famine’ warning and Corrie ‘budgeting row’Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe singer-songwriters who are pop’s new breakout starsIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Path of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipse’A game of Jenga’: Inside the perilous Baltimore bridge clean-upElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. Sounds simple, right?Fresh, surreal comedy from the mind of Lucia KeskinAttributioniPlayerThis family bonds over Race Across the WorldThese are the the things we love on the BBCAttributioniPlayerOne of the most talented bands to never make it…Why did trailblazers Microdisney fail to achieve the commercial success they deserved?AttributioniPlayerDid you know these scenes were filmed in… Glasgow?!Ali Plumb travels through the city’s silver screen sightsAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?2Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than ever3Hardest Geezer: The man who ran the length of Africa4Post Office bosses earned millions despite scandal5Woman dies after stabbing in busy city centre6Nail technicians join forces to raise prices7’Gaza famine’ warning and Corrie ‘budgeting row’8Large-scale police response to disorder in Glasgow97 lessons from my first series of University Challenge10Incinerator opposed by Barclay sees permit delayed
[ad_1] Together, they were serving two million meals a week across the Palestinian territory, where the UN has warned that an estimated 1.1 million people – half the population –…
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaDesperate TikTok lobbying effort backfires on Capitol HillPublished22 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, TikTok has few supporters on Capitol Hill – and may have lost some this weekBy Sam CabralBBC News, WashingtonUS congressional offices have told the BBC they are being deluged with calls from TikTok users about legislation that could see the popular app banned.Callers range from teenagers to the elderly, and most are “really confused and are calling because ‘TikTok told me to'”, one Republican staffer revealed.A Democratic staffer said the most aggressive and threatening calls their office received came from adult women.So far, TikTok’s big mobilization appears to be backfiring.Lawmakers and their staff say that the lobbying campaign has actually worsened the concerns they have about the app and its parent company ByteDance, and strengthened their resolve to pass the legislation. The bill, introduced by a bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers, would mandate that ByteDance sell TikTok within six months, or TikTok would be removed from mobile app stores in the US.The legislation is sailing through Congress, winning rare unanimous approval from a key committee, and the full House is expected to vote on it on Wednesday. President Joe Biden has said that he will sign it into law if it reaches his desk.Its swift advance has drawn a frantic last-minute push by TikTok to mobilise users directly against those responsible for the legislation.TikTok confirmed to the BBC it had sent a notification urging TikTokers to “call your representative now” to urge them to vote against the measure. Users said that the app gave them a direct link for calling the representatives for their districts.Are Chinese tech firms a security risk?Florida Congressman Neal Dunn’s office told the BBC it has received more than 900 calls from TikTokers, “many of which were vulnerable school-aged children” and some of whose extreme rhetoric had to be flagged for security reasons.Mr Dunn, a Republican, is an original co-sponsor of the bill.”This effort by ByteDance validated the Congressman’s concerns,” his office said in a statement.”American phones were geolocated and TikTok users were locked out of the platform until they called their members of Congress. ByteDance weaponized the app against America, and that is exactly why the Congressman supports this measure.”When contacted about those allegations by the BBC, TikTok provided the statement: “With regards to users being locked out of the app until they called, that is false. All users had two methods for dismissing the notifications.”Lawmakers have long accused ByteDance of having links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and have cast the video-sharing app as a potential threat to Americans’ privacy and mental health. TikTok, which says it is now used by more than 170 million people in the US, and ByteDance deny those claims.TikTok sparks user revolt in US over sale planCarlos Gimenez, who sits alongside Mr Dunn on the House committee behind the bill, said he would not be deterred from voting for it “regardless of TikTok’s targeted campaign against members of Congress”.A spokesperson for New York Democrat Ritchie Torres – a joint leader of the legislation – confirmed that his office too has received “seemingly endless calls” though none were of a threatening nature.”I am deeply troubled by reports of young people calling Congress, threatening to commit suicide or otherwise harm themselves,” Mr Torres said in a statement to the BBC.”The iron grip that TikTok has on the minds of young people is a profound public health hazard.”This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, TikTok boss grilled on CCP ties: ‘I am Singaporean’Staffers to other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also reported hundreds of calls to their offices, from app users young and old, who do not have a clear idea of either who or why they are calling. “We’ve gotten calls from people who are angry and screaming, some people who are asking kindly if TikTok is going to be banned, and some have said TikTok wouldn’t let them on the app without calling their [representative],” a spokesperson for Dusty Johnson told the BBC.”We’ve had callers that sound 12 years old and callers that sound like they are in their sixties,” the source continued.Mr Johnson, a South Dakota Republican, has been outspoken about the national security threat posed by TikTok and is supportive of the proposed bill, “so it’s certainly possible that our office is targeted because of those things”, his spokesperson added.”TikTok’s defensive efforts make it clear they don’t want to divest from ByteDance, whether that is TikTok’s decision or ByteDance’s top-down order to TikTok.”Related TopicsSocial mediaTikTokUS CongressUnited StatesMore on this storyTikTok sparks user revolt in US over sale planPublished12 hours agoUS bill could force ByteDance to divest TikTokPublished3 days agoAre Chinese tech firms a security risk?Published24 March 2023Top StoriesArmy’s top IRA spy ‘cost more lives than he saved’Published3 hours agoFertility clinic licence suspended over concernsPublished2 hours agoWest Bank violence: ‘My child’s destiny was to get killed’Published7 hours agoFeaturesWhy does International Women’s Day matter?Did State of the Union change how voters see Biden?Weekly quiz: Which billionaire hired Rihanna to celebrate a wedding?Singapore sting: How spies listened in on German generalMH370: The families haunted by one of aviation’s greatest mysteriesPride, pilgrims and parades: Africa’s top shotsWhy did the IRA not kill Stakeknife?’I’m really shy’ – The return of Gossip’s Beth DittoHow are the child benefit rules changing?Elsewhere on the BBCThe ultimate bromanceWatch the masters of satire Peter Cook and Dudley Moore with a look back through the archivesAttributioniPlayerDid one man from Iraq make Norway rich?Meet the man behind Norway’s rise to oil richesAttributionSoundsCan new evidence solve aviation’s greatest mystery?Ten years after the Malaysian Airlines flight disappeared, new technology may explain whyAttributioniPlayerHow Trump’s golf dream turned into a nightmare…His controversial golf development in Aberdeenshire was greenlit with awful consequencesAttributionSoundsMost Read1Boy, 11, found driving BMW towing caravan on M12TV star shaken after Jaguar brakes fail during drive3Meghan: ‘We’ve forgotten our humanity’ online4Fertility clinic licence suspended over concerns5US says UFO sightings likely secret military tests6Five killed in Gaza aid drop parachute failure – reports7Army’s top IRA spy ‘cost more lives than he saved’8Rail-crazy couple get married on moving train9’Bearman already marked out as potentially a special one’AttributionSport10Constance Marten: I carried baby’s body in a bag](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/85C7/production/_132874243_gettyimages-1475393692.jpg)
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaBad blood over Singapore Taylor Swift tour subsidiesPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, EPAImage caption, The Singapore leg of the Eras tour has Swifties flying in from around the regionBy Frances Maoin SingaporeIn the glitzy Asian city-state of Singapore, the sequins are out, limousines polished and hotel pillows plumped.The city’s hosting Taylor Swift’s Eras tour this week – an honour, but one that has come at a cost.That cost was initially reported to be as high as S$24 million (£14m; $18m) for the six shows to be exclusive to South East Asia.Culture minister Edwin Tong has since told Singapore’s CNA the figure was “nowhere as high” – although he still refused to be drawn on the exact figure. The broadcaster, however, suggested it may have been just $2m for all six.But the fact any money had been spent only came to light after an outburst from the prime minister of Thailand, who accused Singapore of paying concert organisers US$2-3m per night.That triggered criticism across the region. In the Philippines, a lawmaker criticised the move, saying “this isn’t what good neighbours do” – and called for a formal protest against the grant.But while governments are seeing red – it’s the fans who are paying the price, literally.Swift is heard everywhere across South East Asia, home to roughly 700 million people – from alleyways in Ho Chi Minh to taxi cabs in Bangkok. So for many it was a punch in the guts to learn all six shows would be held in the region’s most expensive city.Singapore’s currency – one of the strongest in Asia – has long been a deterrent for visitors. But for a chance to see their idol, many of her fans are willing to grin and bear it.Look what you made me doFlight-loads of fans have been touching down at Singapore’s Changi Airport all week, many coming from China and its territories.Swift isn’t playing in China so Singapore is the next best thing for many.One woman flying in from Shenzhen told the BBC she and her friend had spent S$1,200 each on tickets alone. They’ve resorted to camping at a friend’s house after hotel rates across the city surged.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Taylor Swift in Sao PauloOn the luxe end of things, the city’s landmark hotel Marina Bay Sands has sold out of its S$50,000 Swift packages which included four VIP tickets and a three-night stay in a suite.Then there’s 22-year-old Allen Dungca in the Philippines, who scraped together his wages to take him and his mother to Singapore.This Thursday, they’ll take a four-hour bus ride to Manila, stay at an airport motel for the night, then grab their dawn flight the next day.The enterprising student snapped up the travel package back in July. He eventually tracked down the tickets on a resale night, after weeks of desperate hunting.”I am very lucky,” he says of the S$400 outlay for seats in the nosebleed section. “The seller was kind and not a scalper.” Resales now are going for thousands. And he had almost fallen for a scam, a shady character named Pat Steve, later exposed online. He estimates the whole endeavour is costing him S$2,000 – the monthly income of an upper-middle class family in the Philippines, a country where a fifth of the population lives under the poverty line.”Right now, I’m a student with a part-time job and I can afford my wants and needs. But it’s sad, other Swifties don’t have any means or budget to watch her overseas and I know most Filipino Swifties love her so much.”The Philippines arguably has the most ardent Swift fan base – Spotify data showed Quezon City in Manila had played the most streams of the singer last year.The Filipino Swiftie drag queen dazzling AsiaThe pop star has toured in the Philippines before – but the bag of money from Singapore undoubtedly sweetened the deal, say analysts.Clean, modern Singapore has long been seen as a base in the region for big events. It has the infrastructure, the transport links and a high-earning, expat-heavy population. Image source, EPAImage caption, Swift-themed water and light shows on the bay are among the city’s Swiftie attractions this weekIt’s also seen as reliably stable in a region which has experienced political chaos. A decade ago Swift cancelled her shows in Thailand because of the military coup and resulting protests.Still, while it’s common for governments around the world to give out subsidies and tax breaks to bring in events, the reported spend goes beyond anything else publicly known in Singapore.Samer Hajjar, a marketing lecturer at the National University of Singapore, says it’s “above average” even for the city-state.And fans are quite blunt. “It’s kinda greedy,” says Mr Dunga. “But it’s wise… because their economic response will be way more than that.”But will it be though?Show me the moneyIn Australia, the leg of the tour preceding Singapore, officials suggested the tour had provided a A$145m “uplift” in consumer spending. More than 570,000 tickets were sold across seven nights in Sydney and Melbourne, nearly double the number sold for Singapore’s six shows.But not all of that money counts, says economists.More than 90% of show-goers were probably local, estimates KPMG’s chief economist Dr Brendan Rynne, so their dollars would be “just a transfer from one category of spending (or saving) to another”.Only foreign visitors would have been adding to the books – and they accounted for just 2% of visitors, he estimated. After doing the maths he projected Swift had added only A$10m (£5.1m; $6.5m) to GDP.Still, Australia didn’t use public funds to have Swift play in the country, state government officials confirmed to the BBC. Neither did Japan, the only other Asian stop on the tour.What does Taylor mania mean for the globe? Singapore has said Swift’s tour will bring certain economic benefits to the country.But just how much net gain will be generated is unclear. The BBC has reached out to Singapore’s tourism board but they have refused to reveal foreign visitor estimates or other modelling. A local bank, Maybank, has suggested that consumer spending may top S$350m – but that’s based on the very optimistic prediction of 70% of attendees being from out of town.Even Singapore’s Formula One Grand Prix only saw 49% of spectators from overseas in 2022, with a record 300,000 crowd.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Singapore’s F1 Grand Prix brings thousands of overseas visitors each yearWhen pressed on the numbers, Maybank’s economist Erica Tay could not provide specifics, saying the 70% rate was based on Singapore’s “potential catchment” and the bank was not interested in estimating net profit.”Six concerts may not move a nation’s economic growth materially, but the strategic value of Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Singapore as a tourism destination outweighs that one-off boost,” she said.But business professor Julien Cayla from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University points out that public spend should be scrutinised – especially when it’s only revealed to citizens by another country’s government.And in a country where welfare benefits are relatively limited – it could be seen as a fraught spend.”To justify spending [reportedly] S$24 million on something that on the surface might not seem that critical to the economic health of the country over spending on people and public services… there’s a tension there,” Prof Cayla said.Nonetheless he and others say that when it comes to planning tourism, governments have mandate to throw around money and Singapore isn’t an exception. “They don’t necessarily like to advertise it. But the minute the government sees something that fits into a long-term strategy, it will sink government money in to support that,” he says.In a way, Singapore has just brought in Swift the same way it currently attracts huge multinational corporations.”What’s different here is that Taylor Swift as a business, is a very emotional business,” he said.”It’s dealing with the emotions of 10-18 year olds, who are very sad to not see the concert happening in Bangkok or Jakarta.”And in the words of the songstress herself, that’s caused a lot of bad blood.Related TopicsSingaporeTaylor SwiftAsiaPop musicUnited StatesMore on this storyWhat does Taylor mania mean for the globe?Published12 FebruaryThe Taylor Swift drag tribute dazzling AsiaPublished22 FebruaryWhat’s next for Taylor Swift in 2024?Published27 December 2023Super Bowl most watched US show since Moon landingPublished13 FebruaryDisney boss bets on Taylor Swift and FortnitePublished8 FebruaryTop StoriesHow more than 100 Gazans were killed at a food aid dropPublished5 hours agoSeven hostages killed in Gaza, Hamas saysPublished3 hours agoHow worried is Labour after losing Rochdale?Published8 hours agoFeaturesHow worried is Labour after losing Rochdale?Listen: Sunak’s Surprise Downing Street Speech. 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![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaMyanmar: Young people attempt to flee ahead of conscription orderPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsMyanmar coup Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, On 1 February, Myanmar entered its fourth year since the coupBy Kelly Ng BBC News, SingaporeA deadly stampede outside a passport office that took two lives and unending lines outside embassies – these are just some examples of what has been happening in Myanmar since the announcement of mandatory conscription into the military. Myanmar’s military government is facing increasingly effective opposition to its rule and has lost large areas of the country to armed resistance groups. On 1 February 2021, the military seized power in a coup, jailing elected leaders and plunging much of the country into a bloody civil war that continues today. Thousands have been killed and the UN estimates that around 2.6 million people been displaced.Young Burmese, many of whom have played a leading role protesting and resisting the junta, are now told they will have to fight for the regime. Many believe that this is a result of the setbacks suffered by the military in recent months, with anti-government groups uniting to defeat them in some key areas.”It is nonsense to have to serve in the military at this time, because we are not fighting foreign invaders. We are fighting each other. If we serve in the military, we will be contributing to their atrocities,” Robert, a 24-year-old activist, told the BBC.Many of them are seeking to leave the country instead. “I arrived at 03:30 [20:30 GMT] and there were already about 40 people queuing for the tokens to apply for their visa,” recalled a teenage girl who was part of a massive crowd outside the Thai embassy in Yangon earlier in February. Within an hour, the crowd in front of the embassy expanded to more than 300 people, she claims. “I was scared that if I waited any longer, the embassy would suspend the processing of visas amid the chaos,” she told the BBC, adding that some people had to wait for three days before even getting a queue number. In Mandalay, where the two deaths occurred outside the passport office, the BBC was told that there were also serious injuries – one person broke their leg after falling into a drain while another broke their teeth. Six others reported breathing difficulties. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, People gathering outside the Thai embassy in YangonJustine Chambers, a Myanmar researcher at the Danish Institute of International Studies, says mandatory conscription is a way of removing young civilians leading the revolution. “We can analyse how the conscription law is a sign of the Myanmar military’s weakness, but it is ultimately aimed at destroying lives… Some will manage to escape, but many will become human shields against their compatriots,” she said.Myanmar’s conscription law was first introduced in 2010 but had not been enforced until on 10 February the junta said it would mandate at least two years of military service for all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27. Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for the military government, said in a statement that about a quarter of the country’s 56 million population were eligible for military service under the law. The regime later said it did not plan to include women in the conscript pool “at present” but did not specify what that meant. The government spokesperson told BBC Burmese that call-ups would start after the Thingyan festival marking the Burmese New Year in mid-April, with an initial batch of 5,000 recruits.The regime’s announcement has dealt yet another blow to Myanmar’s young people. Many had their education disrupted by the coup, which came on top of school closures at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, the junta suspended 145,000 teachers and university staff over their support for the opposition, according to the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation, and some schools in opposition-held areas have been destroyed by the fighting or by air strikes.Then there are those who have fled across borders seeking refuge, among them young people looking for jobs to support their families.Young Burmese confront dashed dreams in exileWhy India wants to fence its troubled Myanmar borderIn response to the conscription law, some have said on social media that they would enter the monkhood or get married early to dodge military service. The junta says permanent exemptions will be given to members of religious orders, married women, people with disabilities, those assessed to be unfit for military service and “those who are exempted by the conscription board”. For everyone else, evading conscription is punishable by three to five years in prison and a fine.But Mr Min doubts the regime will honour these exemptions. “The junta can arrest and abduct anyone they want. There is no rule of law and they do not have to be accountable to anyone,” he said.Wealthier families are considering moving their families abroad – Thailand and Singapore being popular options, but some are even looking as far afield as Iceland – with the hope that their children would get permanent residency or citizenship there by the time they are of conscription age.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Myanmar people step on photos of military junta leader Gen Min Aung Hlaing during a gathering marking three years since the coupOthers have instead joined the resistance forces, said Aung Sett, from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, which has a long history of fighting military rule.”When I heard the news that I would have to serve in the military, I felt really disappointed and at the same time devastated for the people, especially for those who are young like me. Many young people have now registered themselves to fight against the junta,” the 23-year-old told the BBC from exile.Some observers say the enforcement of the law now reveals the junta’s diminishing grip on the country.Last October, the regime suffered its most serious setback since the coup. An alliance of ethnic insurgents overran dozens of military outposts along the border with India and China. It has also lost large areas of territory to insurgents along the Bangladesh and Indian borders.According to the National Unity Government, which calls itself Myanmar’s government in exile, more than 60% of Myanmar’s territory is now under the control of resistance forces. “By initiating forced conscription following a series of devastating and humiliating defeats to ethnic armed organisations, the military is publicly demonstrating just how desperate it has become,” said Jason Tower, country director for the Burma programme at the United States’ Institute of Peace. A turning point in Myanmar as army suffers big lossesWho are the rulers who executed Myanmar activists? Mr Tower expects the move to fail because of growing resentment against the junta. “Many youth dodging conscription will have no choice but to escape into neighbouring countries, intensifying regional humanitarian and refugee crises. This could result in frustration growing in Thailand, India, China and Bangladesh, all of which could tilt away from what remains of their support for the junta,” he said.Even if the military does manage to increase troop numbers by force, this will do little to address collapsing morale in the ranks. It will also take months to train up the new troops, he said.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Protesters gather in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok, ThailandThe junta had a long history of “forced recruitment” even before the law was enacted, said Ye Myo Hein, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.”So the law may merely serve as a facade for forcibly conscripting new recruits into the military. With a severe shortage of manpower, there is no time to wait for the lengthy and gradual process of recruiting new soldiers, prompting [officials] to exploit the law to swiftly coerce people into service,” he said.Even for those who will manage to escape, many will carry injuries and emotional pain for the rest of their lives.”It has been really difficult for young people in Myanmar, both physically and mentally. We’ve lost our dreams, our hopes and our youth. It just can’t be the same like before,” said Aung Sett, the student leader.”These three years have gone away like nothing. We’ve lost our friends and colleagues during the fight against the junta and many families have lost their loved ones. It has been a nightmare for this country. We are witnessing the atrocities committed by the junta on a daily basis. I just can’t express it in words.”Related TopicsMyanmar coup MyanmarAsiaMore on this storyMyanmar’s army is losing – and facing fire from a militant monkPublished23 JanuaryThe Chinese mafia’s downfall in a lawless casino townPublished23 November 2023The Myanmar soldiers refusing to fightPublished30 May 2023’We wish we could go back’: Life in a war-torn MyanmarPublished17 April 2023Top StoriesAnderson refuses to apologise for Islamist claimPublished40 minutes agoSweden’s bid to join Nato clears final hurdlePublished2 hours ago’Who will call me Dad?’ Tears of Gaza father who lost 103 relativesPublished2 hours agoFeaturesWhat is Nato and why is Sweden joining now?Gaza children search for food to keep families aliveListen: No Apology by Lee Anderson. 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