Arms sale – Central News Hub

Over 100 celebrities tell Labour to halt Israel arms sale

The letter highlighted that over 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been “murdered” by Israel since Oct. 7…reports Asian Lite News

More than 100 British celebrities have urged Labour leader Keir Starmer to “take a stand against the ongoing atrocities committed by Israel” in Gaza, the Guardian reported on Sunday.

Artists for Palestine UK coordinated the joint letter, which urged Starmer, as a former human rights lawyer, to “demonstrate [the UK’s] commitment to human rights and international law” by suspending arms sales to Israel if he wins the general election.

Among the musicians, actors, writers, and filmmakers, signatories included comedian Steve Coogan, actor and rapper Riz Ahmed, actresses Miriam Margolyes, Juliet Stevenson, Dame Harriet Walter, Lena Headey and Maxine Peake, singer Paloma Faith, director Mike Leigh, and author Michael Rosen.

“As a former human rights lawyer, you have a unique opportunity to bring about meaningful change by ending UK complicity in war crimes in Gaza,” the letter read. “The UK must no longer remain complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

It continued: “Continuing to sell arms to a country whose leader is accused of such grave violations of international law is morally reprehensible.”

It comes as UK government ministers announce that they have found “no reason” to suspend weapons exports to Israel after reviewing the most recent three-month period of the Gaza war.

The letter adds to the pressure already exerted on the Labour leader by London mayor Sadiq Khan, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, and over 50 Labour MPs who have urged that the UK government stop supplying Israel with weapons.

The letter highlighted that over 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been “murdered” by Israel since Oct. 7.

A Labour spokesperson told the Guardian: “Labour has repeatedly called on the government to publish at least a summary of the legal advice around arms sales, given our serious concerns over the horrifying scenes in Gaza.

“We have been clear that the government must uphold both our domestic and international legal obligations when it comes to arms exports.

“If Labour wins the election, we will assess the most up-to-date legal advice and we will act on what it says.”

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US to expedite arms sales to counter China

The proposed sales come amid increased tension between Washington and Beijing over a contentious trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, reports Asian Lite News

With an aim to outcompete China, the US will speed up its arms sales to allies and partners.

The US will expedite arms sales to allies and partners by removing several bureaucratic road bumps that could cause delays in order to better compete with countries such as China, reported Wall Street Journal.

The report said on Friday that the Defence Department launched an initiative to streamline US arms sales to foreign countries, especially to allies and partners that have provided military equipment to Ukraine.

The US promised European allies who have provided military equipment to Ukraine that it would be able to replenish their stocks, but the US defence industry is facing a backlog, reported Wall Street Journal.

The US could speed up arms sales by having US defence officials help countries draft initial requests for military equipment that would help avoid delays caused by requests that trigger security concerns, the report said.

The Defence Department only approves contracts once a year for certain military equipment, which means countries that fail to submit their orders by the Defence Department’s deadline must wait until the following year, the report added.

However, the State Department is currently consulting with the Defence Department on this matter in light of the mission to speed up arms sales to allies, according to the report.

United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.

The proposed sales come amid increased tension between Washington and Beijing over a contentious trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan this month triggered a new round of tensions in the region. Ever since the visit of the US delegation, Beijing launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island, which included live-fire drills and military aircraft overflights close to Taiwan’s airspace.

Meanwhile, two United States Navy warships entered the Taiwan Strait in the first such transit since China staged unprecedented military drills around the island.

On Sunday, the guided-missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville were making their voyage “through waters where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with the international law,” the US 7th Fleet in Japan said in a statement as quoted in CNN.

A 110-mile strait is a stretch of water that separates the democratic self-ruled island of Taiwan from mainland China.

Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan despite China’s ruling Communist Party never having controlled the island — and considers the strait part of its “internal waters.” (ANI)

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