Former Guantanamo prisoner: Ron DeSantis watched me being tortured

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 17 March 2023

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LONDON - A former detainee of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp has claimed that Florida governor and 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis witnessed him being tortured during the time he was stationed there, reveals The Independent in an interview with the Guantanamo prisoner.

Mansoor Adayfi, a Yemeni citizen who was held for 14 years on the US Naval base in Cuba, told The Independent in an extraordinary interview that he was brutally force-fed by camp staff during a hunger strike in 2006, and that Mr DeSantis was present for at least one of those sessions.

“He was watching, and I was really screaming, crying,” Mr Adayfi, a Yemeni, tells The Independent in a lengthy video interview from his home in Belgrade. “I was bleeding and throwing up. We were in the block yard, so they were close to the fence.”

The United Nations has characterised the force-feeding of hunger strikers at Guantanamo Bay as torture. The US government has denied that the practice amounts to torture, and it has been used against prisoners over successive administrations during hunger strikes.

Mr DeSantis was stationed on the base between March 2006 and January 2007, according to his military records.

An investigation by The Independent details the following claims:

- Two prisoners held at the camp at the time Mr DeSantis was stationed there claim he witnessed the forced-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners.

- Mr Adayfi claims that Mr DeSantis had initially told him he was there for the detainees’ welfare.

- Mr DeSantis was stationed at Guantanamo during a year marked by riots, hunger strikes and death.

- Part of his role was to field concerns and complaints from prisoners.

- Mr DeSantis emerged from his time at Guantanamo as an advocate for its continued use, and against the release of detainees

Mr DeSantis has not responded to several requests from The Independent for comment on the allegations and for clarity about his role in the notorious prison camp.

As an assumed candidate for the 2024 election, Mr DeSantis is likely to face questions about this time in his career and what impact — if any — witnessing the treatment of Guantanamo detainees has had on his politics.

Until now, he has not spoken in detail about this part of his career. In public, he has advocated for the continued use of Guantanamo Bay to hold detainees suspected of involvement of terrorism, but he has not spoken in detail about his time spent at the camp.

But Mr Adayfi is not the only former detainee who says that they recognised Mr DeSantis from their time at the prison camp.

Ahmed Abdel Aziz, a former prisoner who was released after 13 years without being charged with a crime and is currently back at home in Mauritania, also claims that Mr DeSantis witnessed the force-feeding at Guantanamo.

The use of torture at Guantanamo Bay — euphemistically referred to as “enhanced interrogation” by the Bush administration — was approved by defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld for use as early as 2002. Those techniques included “hooding, stress positions, isolation, stripping, deprivation of light, removal of religious items, forced grooming, and use of dogs”, according to a 2005 Human Rights Watch report.

UK to design and build nuclear submarines under Aukus deal with Australia and US

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 14 March 2023

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SAN DIEGO, USA - Australia will operate a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines based on a British design as both countries modernise their navies, it has been announced.

The Aukus deal – involving the UK, the US and Australia– will see the new boats in operation in the late 2030s following a construction phase which will create thousands of jobs in the United Kingdom (UK).

Announcing the deal alongside US president Joe Biden and Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese, Rishi Sunak said the partnership would deliver “one of the most advanced” submarines “the world has ever known”, creating thousands of jobs in British shipyards.

The new SSN-Aukus submarines will be in operation for the Royal Navy by the late 2030s under the plan, and will also give Australia its first nuclear-powered capability.

The UK’s submarines will mainly be built by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and Rolls-Royce. They will replace the Royal Navy’s Astute-class boats when they enter into operation. The plan could see the number of UK hunter-killer subs double.

Australia’s boats will be built in South Australia, using some components manufactured in the UK, and will be in service in the early 2040s.

The three leaders met in San Diego to announce the next stage of the Aukus programme.

Mr Sunak said it was “the most significant multilateral defence partnership in generations”.

As part of the agreement, Australia will buy US Virginia-class submarines in the 2030s as a stop-gap measure until the new vessels are operational. The new submarines will also incorporate US technology.

The Aukus partnership was announced in 2021 as Australia sought to respond to China’s assertive actions in the Pacific.

The latest stage comes as the UK publishes its updated integrated review of foreign and security policy, which highlights China’s “more aggressive stance”.

The deal caused a diplomatic rift with France, which had expected to supply diesel-powered submarines to the Canberra government.

The Aukus programme will result in closer collaboration between the three nations.

Beginning in 2023, Australian military and civilian personnel will embed with the US Navy and Royal Navy, and in the two countries’ industrial bases to accelerate the training of Australian personnel.

The US plans to increase port visits by nuclear-powered submarines to Australia this year, with the United Kingdom increasing visits in 2026.

From 2027, UK and US boats could be deployed on “forward rotation” to Australia to help develop training and expertise.

Silicon Valley Bank is largest failure since 2008 crisis

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 11 March 2023

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By David French, Echo Wang and Alun John

CALIFORNIA, USA - Startup-focused lender SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O) became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis on Friday, in a sudden collapse that roiled global markets, left billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors stranded.

California banking regulators closed the bank, which did business as Silicon Valley Bank, on Friday and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver for later disposition of its assets.

Based in Santa Clara, the lender was ranked as the 16th biggest in the U.S. at the end of last year, with about $209 billion in assets. Specifics of the tech-focused bank's abrupt collapse were a jumble, but the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes in the last year, which had crimped financial conditions in the start-up space in which it was a notable player, seemed front and center.

As it tried to raise capital to offset fleeing deposits, the bank lost $1.8 billion on Treasury bonds whose values were torpedoed by the Fed rate hikes.

Silicon Valley Bank's failure is the largest since Washington Mutual went bust in 2008, a hallmark event that triggered a financial crisis that hobbled the economy for years. The 2008 crash prompted tougher rules in the United States and beyond.

Since then, regulators have imposed more stringent capital requirements for U.S. banks aimed at ensuring individual bank collapses won't harm the wider financial system and economy.

The main office and all branches of Silicon Valley Bank will reopen on March 13 and all insured depositors will have full access to their insured deposits no later than Monday morning, the FDICsaid.

But 89% of the bank's $175 billion in deposits were uninsured as the end of 2022, according to the FDIC, and their fate remains to be determined.

The FDIC is racing to find another bank over the weekend that is willing to merge with Silicon Valley Bank, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the details are confidential. While the FDIC hopes to put together such a merger by Monday to safeguard unsecured deposits, no deal is certain, the sources added.

An FDIC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

BUYERS SOUGHT

Separately, SVB Financial, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, is working with investment bank Centerview Partners and law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to find buyers for its other assets, which include investment bank SVB Securities, wealth manager Boston Private and equity research firm MoffettNathanson, the sources said. These assets could attract competitors and private equity firms, the sources added.

It's unclear if any buyer will step up to buy these assets without SVB Financial having filed for bankruptcy first. Credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings said on Friday it expected SVB Financial to enter bankruptcy because of its liabilities.

SVB did not respond to calls for comment.

Companies such as video game maker Roblox Corp RBLX.N and streaming device maker Roku Inc (ROKU.O) said they had hundreds of millions of dollars in deposits at the bank. Roku said its deposits with SVB were largely uninsured, sending its shares down 10% in extended trading.

Technology workers whose paychecks relied on the bank were also worried about getting their wages on Friday. An SVB branch in San Francisco showed a note taped to the door telling clients to call a toll-free telephone number.

SVB Financial CEO Greg Becker sent a video message to employees on Friday acknowledging the "incredibly difficult" 48 hours leading up to the collapse of the bank.

The problems at SVB underscore how a campaign by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks to fight inflation by ending the era of cheap money is exposing vulnerabilities in the market. The worries walloped the banking sector.

U.S. banks have lost over $100 billion in stock market value over the past two days, with European banks losing around another $50 billion in value, according to a Reuters calculation.

U.S. lenders First Republic Bank (FRC.N) and Western Alliance (WAL.N) said on Friday their liquidity and deposits remained strong, aiming to calm investors as their shares fell. Others such as Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) issued unusual statements to reassure investors.

MORE PAIN

Some analysts forecast more pain for the sector as the episode spread concern about hidden risks in the banking sector and its vulnerability to the rising cost of money.

"There could be a bloodbath next week as...short sellers are out there and they are going to attack every single bank, especially the smaller ones," said Christopher Whalen, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met banking regulators on Friday and expressed "full confidence" in their abilities to respond to the situation, Treasury said.

The White House said on Friday it had faith and confidence in U.S. financial regulators, when asked about the failure of SVB.

The genesis of SVB's collapse lies in a rising interest rate environment. As higher interest rates caused the market for initial public offerings to shut down for many startups and made private fundraising more costly, some SVB clients started pulling money out.

To fund the redemptions, SVB sold a $21 billion bond portfolio consisting mostly of U.S. Treasuries on Wednesday, and said it would sell $2.25 billion in common equity and preferred convertible stock to fill its funding hole.

By Friday, the collapsing stock price had made its capital raise untenable and sources said the bank tried to look at other options, including a sale, until regulators stepped in and shut the bank down.

The last FDIC-insured institution to close was Almena State Bank in Kansas, on Oct. 23, 2020.