Could Israel keep the lights on and water running during a regional war?
Israeli utilities have deployed backup generators, filled water reservoirs to the brim and stepped up cyber defences in case the Gaza conflict triggers war against Israel on multiple fronts, Reuters reports. The Energy Minister has told Israelis there is no need to panic about the possibility of blackouts and energy supply disruptions as Israel has a wide variety of sources2024-05-01 | Israel, Middle East, News
Jordan says Israel settlers attacked Jordanian aid convoys on way to Gaza
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said some Israeli settlers attacked two of its humanitarian aid convoys as they made their way towards the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Both convoys managed to continue on their journey and reach their destination in war-devastated Gaza, the Ministry added in a statement. Such a route to the Gaza Strip would have taken them through the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel. “Two Jordanian2024-05-01 | Israel, Jordan, Middle East
Gaza: wounded children struggle to recover amid decimated health system and horrific scenes
In bombed-out Gaza, thousands of child amputees and injured children are struggling to recover without adequate pain relief and devices like wheelchairs, according to Save the Children’s emergency medical staff, even as the looming Rafah Israeli invasion threatens to kill and maim more Palestinians, including children. Over six months of the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, the rate of attacks2024-05-01 | International Organisations, Israel, Middle East
Brown University agrees to Israel divestment vote to end student encampment protests
Students at Brown University have agreed to end their campus encampment after the administration committed to a vote on divesting from Israel-affiliated companies. The organisers agreed to dismantle the Main Green encampment today and refrain from organising any unauthorised protests until 26 May. Students have been calling on the university to divest from companies linked to the Israeli government and2024-05-01 | Asia & Americas, Australia, Europe & Russia
Yemen: STC ‘abandons’ separatist agenda, joins Saudi-backed Islah Party
The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) has reportedly abandoned its separatist ambitions and joined a new political alliance with the Islah Party and other groups loyal to the Saudi-led coalition. According to a report published today by the Yemen Press Agency, citing political sources, this collaboration was announced following a workshop in the internationally-recognised government’s interim capital, Aden. It was2024-05-01 | Middle East, News, Saudi Arabia
China says Fatah and Hamas have political will to advance reconciliation
China said yesterday that representatives of Palestinian Fatah and Hamas movements have expressed the will to seek reconciliation through dialogue at unity talks in Beijing, Reuters has reported. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian pointed out that talks were held at the invitation of the Chinese government. The Hamas delegation in Beijing was headed by Mousa Abu Marzouk, while his Fatah2024-05-01 | Asia & Americas, China, Israel
Huawei and UNESCO launch digital literacy initiative in Morocco
Chinese tech giant Huawei has teamed up with UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) to launch a comprehensive digital literacy initiative in Morocco, aiming to improve the digital skills of 10,000 Moroccan educators by 2025. The initiative is part of a broader effort under the Global Education Coalition and the Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) to integrate effective technology use2024-05-01 | Africa, Asia & Americas, China
Israel minister: ‘Political blackmail’ by far-right MKs harming national security
Israeli War Cabinet Minister and ex-Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisenkot, has slammed what he described as the “political blackmail” practised by far-right ministers, saying they “harm Israel’s national security”. “The cabinet defined the goals of the war six months ago. Over the last day, two cabinet members have been blackmailing with political threats,” Eisenkot said in a statement yesterday evening.2024-05-01 | Africa, Egypt, Israel
Israel: far-right minister says Netanyahu vowed to invade Rafah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have promised to invade the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and not end the ongoing war on the besieged Gaza Strip, Anadolu has reported. The claim was made by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday. “I warned the prime minister [of the consequences] if, God forbid, Israel2024-05-01 | Africa, ICJ, International Organisations
Journalism has become a risky profession in Tunisia
This title is inspired by a statement made by lawyer Sania Al-Dahmani, a political analyst at one of the private radio stations in Tunisia, who was referred for investigation for “criminal acts”, these acts were commenting on those referred for investigation in a case known as “conspiracy against state security”. A few days before that, journalist Mohamed Boughalleb, who is2024-05-01 | Africa, Article, Opinion
UN rights chief ‘troubled’ by ‘heavy-handed’ suppression of US student protests
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday that he is “troubled” by the “heavy-handed” steps taken to disperse and dismantle pro-Palestine protests on university campuses in the US, Anadolu has reported. “Freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly are fundamental to society, particularly when there is sharp disagreement on major issues, as there are in2024-05-01 | Asia & Americas, Canada, Europe & Russia
Are American students more ‘Arab’ than their Arab counterparts?
Democracies — with all their faults and shortcomings — generally tend to allow their citizens the right to protest. Even if the authorities use violence to break-up protests, which we have already seen on some US university campuses, or incite against those taking part, as has been seen in the UK and Europe, protests are still allowed, and are often2024-05-01 | Africa, Article, Asia & Americas
Injured Palestinians have nowhere to seek medical care in Gaza City
Gaza City has no operational hospital, while wounded Palestinians still seek somewhere to treat the injuries sustained in Israel’s bombing, MEMO’s correspondent in the Strip has warned. “We urgently need several well-equipped field hospitals to cope with the catastrophic situation here,” Motasem Dalloul said. It is not just a matter of injured Palestinians needing medical care for their wounds, Dalloul2024-05-01 | Israel, Middle East, News
Israel forces detaining record numbers of Palestinian children without charge
A record number of Palestinian children are being held in administrative detention by Israeli occupation forces, figures released by the Israel Prison Service show. According to Defence for Children International – Palestine, “the numbers have never been this high. 61 children are currently held by Israeli forces without charge or trial, equivalent to about one in three out of all2024-05-01 | Israel, Middle East, News
Israel forces open fire at suspects on Egypt border
An Israeli military force yesterday opened fire at suspects in the Mount Harif area on the Egyptian border, Israeli Army Radio reported. No Israeli soldiers were injured, the report added, stating that the suspects attempted to smuggle drugs into Israeli territories, causing damage to the infrastructure of the separation barrier between Egypt and Israel. In a related context, Egyptian President2024-05-01 | Africa, Asia & Americas, Egypt
Israel held hostage by 'irresponsible lunatics', opposition leader Lapid says
Israel is held hostage by “irresponsible lunatics”, Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, said on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports. “The State of Israel has become a hostage of irresponsible lunatics. You can’t go on like this,” Lapid wrote on X. He accused Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of failing to achieve the objectives of the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip since2024-04-30 | Israel, Middle East, News
EU Commission launches probe into Meta on disinformation concerns
The European Commission initiated formal proceedings, Tuesday, to investigate Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, on concerns about disinformation as EU Parliament elections near, Anadolu Agency reports. The investigation stems from suspicions regarding Meta’s policies and practices related to deceptive advertising, political content and the availability of effective tools for real-time civic discourse and election monitoring. “Big digital2024-04-30 | Asia & Americas, EU, International Organisations
Gaza healthcare workers suffering with mental health amid war
Gaza’s healthcare workers have had to face unprecedented challenges to provide medical assistance to thousands of people, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports. According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) mental health staff, the impact of working in such extreme conditions will leave scars for years to come. The report says some healthcare workers in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, say they are living in constant2024-04-30 | Israel, Middle East, News
Russia says United States is being hypocritical over ICC and Israel
Russia said, on Tuesday, that the United States was being hypocritical by opposing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation of Israel but supporting the Court’s warrant for the arrest of President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reports. The ICC – which can charge individuals with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide – is investigating Hamas’s 7 October cross-border attack and Israel’s2024-04-30 | Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, ICC
US police forcibly remove headscarf of woman taking part in pro-Palestine protest
Police in the US South-east forcibly removed a headscarf from a woman taking part in a pro-Palestine protest at a university, as shown in footage of the incident, Anadolu Agency reports. Footage from Arizona State University posted late Monday, which quickly went viral, shows the police forcibly removing the headscarf of a woman while she tries to cover her hair2024-04-30 | Asia & Americas, Israel, Middle East
‘Yes, it is genocide’ in Gaza says Israeli professor of Holocaust studies
In a blistering essay on the mass killing and devastation in Gaza, Amos Goldberg, professor of Holocaust History at the department of Jewish history and contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has argued that Israel is committing the crime of genocide. “Yes, it is genocide” wrote Goldberg in an important intervention dismissing many of the flawed arguments cited2024-04-30 | Israel, Middle East, News
Palestinian prisoner wins prestigious Arabic literary award
Palestinian novelist Basim Khandaqji, currently incarcerated by the Israeli occupation state, has been awarded this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) for his book ‘A Mask, the Colour of the Sky’. The award was announced on Sunday at a ceremony in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi and was received on his behalf by Rana Idriss, owner of Dar Al-Adab,2024-04-30 | Israel, Middle East, News
Paris council suspends funding for elite university after pro-Palestine demonstrations
The leader of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France, which includes Paris, has announced the suspension of funding for the Sciences Po University in the French capital because of pro-Palestine demonstrations. The announcement was made by Valerie Pecresse in a post on X yesterday. The former presidential candidate for the Republicans claimed to defend “the right to free, informed and respectful2024-04-30 | Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, France
Restoring China’s vanishing oyster reefs
Natural oyster reefs clinging on Natural oyster reefs in south Dalian, with members of the public visible in the background. During field research, Ren Zengying identified healthy, naturally forming oyster reefs along the south Dalian coast near Bangchui Island, Shicao, Fujiazhuang, Heishijiao, Qixianling and Lushunkou. (Images: Ren Zengying) Conservation predicament Fishers harvest farmed oysters near Guanglu Island, off the coast of Liaoning province.2024-04-30 | Ocean, Conservation, Ecosystems
What should we expect from the US intifada for Gaza?
The mass protests at dozens of US universities cannot be reduced to a stifling and misleading conversation about anti-Semitism. Thousands of American students across the country are not protesting, risking their own futures and safety because of some pathological hatred of the Jewish people. They are doing so because they reject and are justifiably outraged by the mass killing of2024-04-30 | Article, Asia & Americas, Israel
90-year-old man from Ireland walked entire Palestine march route
Meet 90-year-old Eric from Cork in southern Ireland, who joined a Gaza solidarity march through his city in support of the US university students that have been setting up Palestine camps and demanding the US stop its support for Israel's genocidal war. Eric chatted happily with younger activists and posed for photos at the rally.2024-04-30 | Europe & Russia, Israel, Middle East
Egypt sends 115 humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza
Official Egyptian charity and religious organisations sent their seventh relief convoy on Monday with aid for the Palestinians in Gaza, as part of an international campaign under the guidance and patronage of the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University, Ahmed Al-Tayeb. “The convoy includes 115 trucks carrying approximately 2,000 tonnes of food supplies, in addition to medical and basic supplies, the2024-04-30 | Africa, Egypt, Israel
US ‘does not support’ ICC probe into Israel
The US expressed its opposition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigating Israel’s practices in Gaza, amid reports that the body will issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press briefing: “We’ve been really clear about the ICC investigation. We do not support it. We don’t believe that they have the jurisdiction.”2024-04-30 | Asia & Americas, ICC, International Organisations
Israel officials will be held accountable, human rights council head says
Israeli officials will be held accountable for their actions against Palestinians, Haissam Bou-Said, International Human Rights Council (IHRC) chief administrative officer to the UN in Geneva, said in a television interview. Speaking on “Al-Hekaya” programme on MBC Misr yesterday, Bou-Said said: “We confirm that accountability will come, and it will not be far away. There may be surprises in some2024-04-30 | ICC, International Organisations, Israel
Sudan’s Burhan affirms keenness to strengthen ties with Russia
Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, yesterday affirmed his country’s willingness to enhance ties with Russia in a way that serves the common interests of the two countries, Anadolu reported. This came during a meeting with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Port Sudan, east of the2024-04-30 | Africa, Europe & Russia, News
Report: 124 countries will be poised to arrest Netanyahu if ICC issues arrest warrant
The Hebrew Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said yesterday that the issuance of arrest warrants against top Israeli officials by the International Criminal Court (ICC) will be a very strong blow to the state of Israel. “The 124 countries recognised by the Hague Court will be obligated to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Galant, Army Chief of Staff Herzi2024-04-30 | ICC, International Organisations, Israel
Third Kuwait medical delegation heads to Gaza
The third Kuwaiti medical team has set off for Gaza to support doctors on the ground. Deputy Director General of the Kuwaiti Relief Society, Omar Al-Thuwaini, said: “For the third time, our relief medical team is heading to Gaza to perform surgical operations and implement charitable projects.” Al-Thuwaini added in a video that the team consists of 17 volunteers, including2024-04-30 | Israel, Kuwait, Middle East
Morocco’s Justice and Development Party slams calls for resignation of its secretary-general
The opposition Justice and Development Party denounced calls for the resignation of its Secretary-General, Abdelilah Benkirane, after the party lost in elections in Fez. In a statement issued yesterday, the party’s General Secretariat expressed its dissatisfaction with what it called “media and partisan interference” in the party’s internal affairs, describing it as “immoral and unprofessional” and firmly rejected it. The2024-04-30 | Africa, Morocco, News
Senegal adopts Arabic as an official language instead of French
The Senegalese government announced it is abandoning French as an official language and is replacing it with Arabic. The Senegalese government’s decision came after a Cabinet meeting held on Sunday and is considered a sign of the political transformation that Senegal is witnessing, after the young oppositionist, Bassirou Faye, won the presidential elections a few weeks ago. The president-elect said2024-04-30 | Africa, Europe & Russia, France
Bismillah, The Beast [Part I] – A Short Story
The brothers soon became successful in their crafts. Many of the women in Marrakech whispered to their fathers about Aderfi’s sons, seeking them out for their promising careers and amassing wealth. For them to be married to merchants, too, would have boosted their reputations. An Angel is Near A Palatial Oasis But a warm fire was lit up ahead, and the desert cold2024-04-30 | #Culture, Family and Community, featured
Gaza revives student movement in the US
The American student movement in solidarity with Gaza revives, these days, the great role played by other movements in confronting the Vietnam War (1955 to 1975), which many consider an important factor in the ending of imperialist military aggression against the Asian country. The university camps that are spreading throughout the United States are of exceptional importance at this moment2024-04-29 | Article, Israel, Middle East
Gaza Hospital staff questioned by ICC war crimes prosecutors, sources say
Prosecutors from the International Criminal Court have interviewed staff from Gaza’s two biggest hospitals, two sources told Reuters, the first confirmation that ICC investigators were speaking to medics about possible crimes in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports. The sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, told Reuters ICC investigators had taken testimony from2024-04-29 | ICC, International Organisations, Israel
Turkiye in talks with ExxonMobil on LNG deal
Turkiye is in talks with US energy supermajor ExxonMobil over a multibillion-dollar deal to buy liquefied natural gas as Ankara seeks to curb its dependence on Russian energy, the Financial Times reports. According to the report, Turkiye is seeking to build a “new supply portfolio” that will make it less reliant on any single partner, Turkish Energy Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar,2024-04-29 | Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, News
Jordan, Egypt say Hamas can't be eliminated, Israel Occupation cause of conflict
The top diplomats of Jordan and Egypt said, Monday, that the Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas, can’t be eliminated amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports. “Hamas is an idea that can’t be eliminated,” Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, said on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia. He said that the Palestinian2024-04-29 | Israel, Jordan, Middle East
Pinto da Costa glory days over
The Dragon Stadium, or Estádio do Dragão, of FC Porto, rose in a standing ovation to outgoing President of 42 years who brought his club to top of the world Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa’s legacy is well known in Portugal, as President of Futebol Clube do Porto since 1982. FC Porto is a name which resonates around the world but2024-04-29 | Opinion
Taliban treatment of women under scrutiny at UN rights meeting
Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government faces criticism at a UN meeting on Monday over its human rights record, with Washington accusing the movement of systematically depriving women and girls of their human rights, Reuters has reported. However, in an awkward first for the UN Human Rights Council, the concerned country’s current rulers will not be present because they are not recognised by2024-04-29 | Afghanistan, Europe & Russia, International Organisations
Israeli gov to collapse without Rafah invasion?
Agreeing to an Egyptian-mediated deal with Hamas is a 'humiliating surrender', Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a statement as he threatened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull out of the governing coalition and cause its collapse if the latter takes the negotiated deal and halts plans to launch an offensive against Gaza's southern city of Rafah. The2024-04-29 | Israel, Middle East, Palestine
Lao PDR Lawmakers Meet to Further ICPD25 Programme of Action
Managing and using demographic benefits and investing in youth. Addressing climate change and its impact on the public sector and social protection. Promoting health and well-being, including rights to sexual and reproductive health. Enhancing the availability and use of demographic information. Strengthening partnerships and mobilizing resources. Related Articles Building Resilience and Mental Health Capacity of Youth African, Asian Parliamentarians Debate How People-Centered Policies Aid Development of2024-04-29 | Conferences, Development & Aid, Featured
Greece finds 10 more migrants after 25 rescued off Greek island
Greek rescuers found ten migrants on a rocky area of the island of Samos overnight after recovering the body of one migrant and rescuing 25 whose boat had sunk, the coastguard said today, Reuters reports. A search and rescue operation was underway, while authorities have launched an investigation into the case, the coastguard said in a statement. In a separate2024-04-29 | EU, Europe & Russia, Greece
The Memoirs of Shah Tahmasp I: Safavid Ruler of Iran
“It occurred to my defected mind to write a memoir of my life and deeds … so that whenever our supporters read it they will remember us with a prayer … they should realize it is free of the appearance of dissimulation, lies and hypocrisy.” It is almost a truism that every ruler wishes to be remembered, but it is2024-04-29 | Iran, Middle East, Review - Books
Yemen: container ship reportedly targeted with missiles, says security firm
A Malta-flagged container ship has reportedly been targeted by three missiles 54 nautical miles north-west of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Mokha while en route from Djibouti to the Saudi city of Jeddah, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Monday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it was informed by the Company Security Officer of an2024-04-29 | Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, Middle East
Gaza devastation extends far beyond those killed by Israeli bombs and air strikes, says MSF
International NGO Médecins Sans Frontières — Doctors Without Borders — has pointed out that six months into Israel’s war in Gaza, the devastation extends far beyond those killed by Israeli bombardments and air strikes. “With a decimated healthcare system and inhumane living conditions, Palestinians in Rafah face increased risks of disease outbreaks, starvation and the long-term impact of psychological trauma,”2024-04-29 | International Organisations, Israel, Middle East
Syria’s President Assad meets Bahrain FM to discuss bilateral relations
In a landmark meeting, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad welcomed Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani to Damascus yesterday, reported SANA news agency. It was the first visit by a Bahraini foreign minister to Syria in 13 years, indicating a thaw in relations between the two countries. During the meeting, the pair discussed various aspects of bilateral relations with2024-04-29 | Bahrain, Middle East, News