Colombia says it will break diplomatic relations with Israel on Thursday over its actions in Gaza.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro made the announcement at a rally in Bogotá’s Bolívar Square on Wednesday, describing the Israeli government’s handling of the war in Gaza as “genocidal.”

Israel launched its assault in the Palestinian territory following terror group Hamas’ attacks on October 7, which left more than 1,200 people dead and saw more than 250 taken hostage – many of whom remain in captivity today.

Now nearing its eight month, Israel’s war in the isolated enclave has killed more than 34,000 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Related article ‘My whole family has perished:’ 22 killed in Israeli airstrike on Rafah, hospital staff say

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, condemned Colombia’s announcement and accused Petro of rewarding Hamas, which controls Gaza, saying he was siding with the “most despicable monsters known to humanity.” Katz also called Petro a “hate-filled, antisemitic president,” but said relations between both countries would remain warm despite the president’s actions.

Hamas said it “highly appreciated” Petro’s position, saying in a statement that it considered the decision “a victory for the sacrifices of our people and their just cause” and calling on other countries to follow suit.

South Africa has previously accused Israel of violating international laws on genocide, telling the United Nations’ top court that Israel’s leadership was “intent on destroying the Palestinians in Gaza” – a case which Israel dismissed as “absurd blood libel.”

The International Court of Justice later ordered Israel to “take all measures” to prevent genocide but stopped short of ordering its government to halt the war.

Regional neighbor Bolivia also cut diplomatic ties with Israel last year, citing “crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people” in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas.

(CNN)

Police arrested about 300 protesters during campus raids at Columbia University and CUNY in New York on Tuesday night, officials say.

Eric Adams, the city’s mayor, says the “massive operation” took place at Columbia’s request to remove those who were disrupting a peaceful protest.

Elsewhere, rival protesters have clashed at pro-Palestinian encampments in Los Angeles.

At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), vice-chancellor Mary Osako said: “Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight”.

She says the university “immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support”.

Footage online appears to show masked counter-demonstrators – supporting Israel – attacking their rivals with sticks and attempting to dismantle barricades.

US universities have been gripped by protests over the war in Gaza, as students demand a boycott of companies and individuals with ties to Israel.

(BBC News)

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has for the first time admitted that its Covid-19 vaccine could cause a rare side effect that could lead to blood clots and death, according to court documents.
The company is fighting a class action lawsuit alleging that its inoculation, which was developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, can result in death and serious injury.

The legal battle was initiated by Jamie Scott, a father of two, who suffered a blood clot that left him with brain damage after he was inoculated in April 2021 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. He is seeking compensation over claims that the AstraZeneca vaccine is “defective” and less safe than expected, an allegation the company denies.

In May 2023, AstraZeneca also insisted that “we do not accept that TTS [Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome] is caused by the vaccine at a generic level,” as quoted by The Daily Telegraph.

TTS is a rare condition, in which a person has blood clots, which could reduce the blood flow, combined with a low platelet count, which could prompt difficulties in stopping the bleeding. TTS symptoms include severe headaches and abdominal pain.

Despite previous denials, AstraZeneca said in court documents, which were submitted to the UK High Court in February but received media attention only recently, that “it is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known.”

“Further, TTS can also occur in the absence of the AZ vaccine (or any vaccine),” the company added, as quoted by the Telegraph.

At the same time, AstraZeneca insists the available data shows the drug has “an acceptable safety profile,” and that “regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.”

Dozens of Western countries suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine in the spring of 2021 over fears it may have caused some patients to develop blood clots.  At the time, the head of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) vaccines strategy, Marco Cavaleri, said that there was an evident link between AZ vaccine intake and blood clots in the brain, but maintained that the benefits still outweighed the risks.

According to World Health Organization data, the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine has an efficacy of 72%. As of April 2021, over 17 million people had received the jab in the EU and the UK, with just under 40 cases of thrombosis, according to the company.

(Agencies)