Syria detains Damascus-based leader of prominent Palestinian faction
BEIRUT — Syria on Saturday detained a prominent Damascus-based Palestinian official whose group was close to the government of ousted president Bashar Assad.
Talal Naji , 79, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, or PFLP-GC, was detained Saturday morning shortly after he left his house with a driver and two guards, a Palestinian official told The Associated Press.
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25 minutes ago
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Federal Judge Blocks Trump From Enforcing DEI and Anti-Trans Executive Orders
A federal judge on Monday blocked several of President Donald Trump's executive orders that have threatened federal funding to nonprofits that primarily service LGBTQ+ communities. District Judge Jon Tigar in Oakland, California, issued a preliminary injunction halting three of Trump's anti-DEI and anti-transgender executive orders. Nine nonprofits around the country, including the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, had sued the Trump administration, calling its actions unconstitutional. 'While the Executive requires some degree of freedom to implement its political agenda, it is still bound by the Constitution. And even in the context of federal subsidies, it cannot weaponize Congressionally appropriated funds to single out protected communities for disfavored treatment or suppress ideas that it does not like or has deemed dangerous,' Tigar wrote in the order. Hard-won queer rights are under attack. HuffPost remains committed to standing with the LGBTQ+ community. Support our work by The federal government therefore cannot withhold funding from grant recipients if they continue programs that promote diversity or service transgender people. The order will remain in effect nationwide while the case continues, and Trump administration's lawyers are likely to appeal. On Jan. 20, Trump's first day in office, he signed an executive order announcing the federal government would only recognize 'two sexes, male and female,' and barred the promotion of 'gender ideology,' a right-wing term used to refer to the existence of transgender people and their rights. Shortly after he also signed two orders directing agencies to terminate federal funding for all diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Almost immediately, nonprofit organizations saw that their contracts, totaling hundreds of thousands and, in some cases, millions of dollars in federal funding, were being canceled. On April 22, the Department of Justice informed FORGE, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that provides training and support to crime victims, that it was terminating a $749,000 grant to update its toolkit to support transgender survivors of sexual assault. The very next day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the Los Angeles LGBT Center, another plaintiff in the suit, that it was terminating a $1 million grant to study new strategies to mitigate the spread of sexually transmitted infections among all populations, but specifically including gay and bisexual men and transgender women, court documents show. 'All of [these organizations] have lost funding because they serve trans people and BIPOC people … For some of these groups, the amount of the budget they are losing is almost 50% of their budget. These are people who do things like give people their HIV meds, feed people, house people,' Kevin Jennings, the chief executive officer of Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ legal advocacy group, told HuffPost ahead of the order. 'So let's be really clear about what the bottom line of these cuts is. People will die. People don't have any place to live, don't have a place to live, adequate nutrition. We consider this a life and death lawsuit,' he added. Over the last six months, advocacy groups have sounded the alarms as Trump has leveraged executive orders to withhold federal funding from universities, nonprofits and medical institutions that specifically service people of color and transgender communities and to scrub federal websites that include data, research, history on those groups. Already, HIV advocates worry that the Trump administration's cuts to the CDC and termination of hundreds of federal research grants on treatment and prevention has reversed the momentum of the decadeslong fight to end the epidemic.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Madleen boat seized by Israel forces: What to know
(NewsNation) — Israeli forces said on Monday they seized a Gaza-bound aid boat and several people who were on board. The voyage on the Madleen had set out to protest Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip by a group of activists. The seizure of the ship was the result of a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war. This latest development opens up a whole new discussion to be had. What is the Madleen, and who are the key organizations? What were the consequences of the interception for the activists onboard? What are the potential outcomes of the IDF's actions against the flotilla? The Madleen is a boat used by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which set out on a week-long voyage from Sicily, Italy, to protest Israel's ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a movement composed of campaigns and initiatives from different parts of the world, all working together to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. Several of its founding groups include the Free Gaza Movement, European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza, and İHH İnsani Yardım Vakfı. Palestinians say Israeli fire kills 12 near aid sites. Israel says it fired warning shots Greta Thunberg was one of the 12 activists on board the Madleen who were detained. Thunberg is a Swedish climate campaigner. Along with her was Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, and Brazil's Thiago Ávila. Hassan had been previously barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. The boat had also stopped last week to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard. All 12 activists who were aboard the Madleen were detained by Israel's Foreign Ministry. Reports from Israeli media indicated that the Madleen and its crew members were being taken to the port city of Ashdod. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said all the activists would be returned to their home countries without harm. Israel says it has recovered the bodies of 2 Israeli-American hostages from the Gaza Strip On Sunday, the IFM made assurances that it would halt the 'Madleen from reaching the Gaza Strip. They also acknowledged that the humanitarian aid on the boat would be sent to Gaza through established channels. With the Freedom Flotilla unable to reach Gaza, the possible outcome of those people in need in the area getting the aid they need only shows more difficulty ahead. Spain and Turkey officials condemned Israel for the seizure of the vessel, saying, 'This heinous act by the Netanyahu government, which threatens the freedom of navigation and maritime security, once again demonstrates that Israel is acting as a terror state.' Hamas seeks amendments to Gaza ceasefire proposal but US envoy calls it 'unacceptable' The Freedom Flotilla last month attempted to reach Gaza by sea but failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, including the damage caused to the front section of the ship. Israel previously had started allowing basic aid into Gaza last month after a nearly three-month blockade, They were warned by humanitarian workers and experts of famine if the blockade and its military offensive continued. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thunberg's boat docks in Israel after military blocks entry to Gaza
A sailboat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists has docked in the Israeli port of Ashdod after the Israeli military blocked it from reaching Gaza on Monday. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on X that the activists were "currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health." It also published a photo of Thunberg after she disembarked. The Madleen, from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), set sail from Sicily one week ago carrying aid for Palestinians and hoping to add pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza. However, they were intercepted by Israeli forces early on Monday after an order from Defence Minister Israel Katz. The activists were expected to be handed over to the police and prison authorities to be "medically examined and registered." They were then to be offered the opportunity to watch a video of the atrocities committed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, before being returned to their home countries via the Ben Gurion International Airport. In a statement earlier on Monday, the FFC said the Madleen had "been attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military" in international waters. "The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated," the FFC said in a statement. FFC organizer Huwaida Arraf said Israel had no legal authority to detain those aboard the ship. "These volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalized for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade — their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately,' Arraf said. "We are undeterred. We will sail again. We will not stop until the siege ends and Palestine is free," the FFC said. The activists argue that Israel must guarantee unhindered humanitarian access to the coastal strip. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, however, stated that the zone off the Gaza Strip is closed to unauthorized vessels under the naval blockade in place since 2007. A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry labelled the international activists' action a "provocation" and a "gimmick," while the ministry has labelled the Madleen a "selfie yacht." Left-wing Israeli activists protested in Ashdod against the military's deployment, holding up signs calling for the government to "end the blockade, the hunger, the genocide."
