Blinken offers support to family of slain Palestinian journalist

Blinken offered the support of US diplomats in Jerusalem to the family of Abu Akleh, who also held US citizenship.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with the family of slain Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh after criticizing Israel’s use of force at her funeral, an official said Sunday.

Blinken, during his flight Saturday to Berlin for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, offered “deep condolences” in a phone call with family members of Shireen Abu Akleh, a State Department official said.

The top US diplomat “noted Abu Akleh’s journalistic body of work and the importance of a free and independent press,” the official said on customary condition of anonymity.

Also read: Shireen Abu Akleh funeral: Antony Blinken condemns ‘intrusion’ by Israel

Blinken offered the support of US diplomats in Jerusalem to the family of Abu Akleh, who also held US citizenship.

Abu Akleh, a prominent journalist for Al Jazeera television, was killed Wednesday when she covered an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank.

Al Jazeera said Israel shot her “in cold blood.” Israel, which has been facing a series of attacks, initially said Palestinian gunmen could be to blame before backtracking and promising to investigate.

Also read: India, Russia became partners of choice out of necessity because…: United States

At her funeral on Friday, baton-wielding Israeli police descended upon mourners and grabbed Palestinian flags, with the pallbearers struggling not to drop her casket.

Blinken earlier said he was “deeply troubled” by the Israeli police’s actions and the State Department urged a transparent investigation into her killing.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

Close Story

Less time to read?

Try Quickreads

6 more die of ‘fever’ in North Korea amid reports of Covid outbreak

North Korea on Tuesday reported six additional deaths from “fever,” days after announcing its first Covid case, and said it was ramping up the military distribution of medicines. Since the country announced its first Covid case last Thursday, leader Kim Jong Un has put himself front and centre of North Korea’s disease response, overseeing near-daily emergency Politburo meetings on the outbreak, which he has said is causing “great upheaval” in the country.
Taliban dissolve Afghanistan’s human rights body, other key agencies

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan dissolved five key departments of the former U.S.-backed government, including the country’s Human Rights Commission, deeming them unnecessary in the face of a financial crunch, an official said on Monday. Dissolved was the High Council for National Reconciliation, the once high-powered National Security Council, and the commission for overseeing the implementation of the Afghan constitution. After taking over last year, the Taliban assured the world they would be more moderate.
Turkey ‘will not allow’ Sweden, Finland joining NATO: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he won’t allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO because of their stances on Kurdish militants, throwing a wrench into plans to strengthen the western military alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At a press conference in Ankara late Monday, Erdogan poured cold water on expectations that Turkish opposition to the enlargement plan could be easily resolved.
Sri Lanka down to last day of petrol, PM says ‘next few months most difficult’

Sri Lanka’s new prime minister said on Monday the crisis-hit nation was down to its last day of petrol, as the country’s power minister told citizens not to join the lengthy fuel queues that have galvanised weeks of anti-government protests. Appointed prime minister on Thursday, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said in an address to the nation the country urgently needed $75 million in foreign exchange to pay for essential imports.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal talks about spam and facts, Elon Musk replies

Twitter Parag Agrawal on Monday posted a lengthy thread on spam accounts on the micro-blogging platform – an issue that Twitter’s would-be owner and Tesla Elon Musk has been critical of – and tweeted that internal estimates of such accounts on the service for the last four quarters were “well under 5%”. Fighting fake accounts has been a cornerstone of Musk bid to reform Twitter, his primary reason to buy out the platform.