UAE condemns killing of Israeli embassy staff in Washington DC
The UAE has strongly condemned the shooting incident in Washington DC in which two Israeli Embassy staff were killed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has denounced the act and expressed its condolences and solidarity with the families of the victims and the people of Israel.
US authorities have charged Elias Rodriguez, a Chicago native, with two counts of first-degree murder.
The two victims struck by gunfire and killed were a couple identified as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26.
After the shooting, Israeli embassies around the world immediately stepped up security.
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Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Jeremy Corbyn: UK must decide if it will 'block efforts to expose truth' over Israel support
Jeremy Corbyn has told Middle East Eye that the British government must decide whether it will support an inquiry into UK involvement in Israel's war on Gaza, or 'block our efforts to expose the truth'. On Wednesday, the former Labour leader presented in parliament his bill for an independent, Chilcot-style public inquiry into Britain's support for Israeli military operations in Gaza. The bill passed without division and Corbyn hailed the development, telling MEE: 'We have passed a major hurdle in establishing an independent inquiry into the UK's involvement in Gaza. 'I will now be writing to the prime minister to ask for assurance that the government will not stand in the way.' The independent MP said: 'The government must decide: will it support an inquiry that has support from MPs across the political spectrum, or will it block our efforts to expose the truth?' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters John McDonnell, the former Labour shadow chancellor, who is also supporting the bill, told MEE: 'All we are asking for is the truth to be told about the genocide taking place in Gaza, not just to expose the horrendous brutality of Israel's actions, but to enable those accountable for this war crime to be held to account.' The Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) bill is now on the House of Commons' order of business for 4 July, though it is listed low down the order paper and will only be debated if the government decides to give it the time. There are already indications that Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government will seek to torpedo efforts to establish an inquiry, which would seek the full cooperation of both Labour and Conservative ministers involved in decision-making processes since October 2023, when Israel's war on Gaza began following the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October. Asked by Corbyn about the provision of components for the F-35 jets used by Israel and if the government would support his inquiry, the UK Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer replied: 'I do not see that this could be any further scrutinised and litigated… or what an independent inquiry on the F-35 parts would achieve.' In an earlier statement on Gaza, Falconer said the British government was 'appalled by repeated reports of mass casualty incidents, in which Palestinians have been killed when trying to access aid sites in Gaza'. He said Britain was continuing to 'strongly support efforts led by the US, Qatar and Egypt to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza', and that the Israeli government's 'decision to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict aid' undermined these goals. 'All we are asking for is the truth to be told about the genocide taking place in Gaza' - John McDonnell, former Labour shadow chancellor Presenting his bill in parliament shortly after Falconer's response, Corbyn spoke of the need for an inquiry into the UK's 'economic, military and political cooperation with Israel since October 2023,' including the sale or supply of weapons and the use of the Royal Air Force base Akrotiri on Cyprus, from which transport and spy planes fly regularly. He said the inquiry should find out the full list of military shipments to Israel, stating: 'It's very simple: until this government ends the sale of weapons to Israel, it remains complicit in the mass murder of Palestinians.' Corbyn referenced the Chilcot inquiry into the UK's involvement in the Iraq war, which was published – after much resistance from the government – in 2016 and found 'serious failings within the British government'. Labour's leader at the time, Corbyn apologised for his party's 'catastrophic decision to go to war in Iraq'. In parliament on Wednesday, Corbyn said 'history is now repeating itself'. UK: Corbyn and new independent MPs urge Labour to act on Gaza Read More » 'Over the past 18 months, human beings have endured a level of horror and inhumanity that should haunt us all forever,' he said of Israel's war on Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 55,000 Palestinians. 'We are not just witnessing a war, we are witnessing a genocide, this time live-streamed all over the world,' he continued. Corbyn highlighted Britain's "highly influential role in Israel's military operations'. Export data released in May showed that the UK approved $169m worth of military equipment to Israel between October and December 2024, shortly after the Labour government had partially suspended arms exports over concerns they could be used unlawfully in Gaza. RAF flights British surveillance flights over Gaza have continued even following Foreign Secretary David Lammy's announcement that the UK was suspending free trade agreement talks with Israel in response to its expanded military operations in the Palestinian enclave. RAF shadow aircraft have conducted hundreds of surveillance flights from Akrotiri over Gaza since the war began. Corbyn called for the inquiry to uncover what exactly the base in Cyprus is being used for, regarding the supply of arms and intelligence. 'In the future, our history books will shame those who had the opportunity to stop this massacre' - Jeremy Corbyn At least 40 parliamentarians now support Corbyn's bill, and MEE understands that more MPs have expressed support for a second reading following the former Labour leader's Wednesday speech in parliament. 'Today, children are taught about history's worst crimes against humanity. They are asked to reflect on how these crimes could have possibly occurred,' Corbyn said in that speech. 'In the future, our history books will shame those who had the opportunity to stop this massacre but chose to enable atrocity after atrocity instead.'
Zawya
2 hours ago
- Zawya
Liberia - President Boakai Declares June 5th is ‘World Environment Day'; to be Observed as a Working Holiday
The President of the Republic of Liberia His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has by proclamation declared Thursday, June 5, 2025, as 'World Environment Day' to be observed throughout the Republic as a 'Working Holiday'. The United Nations General Assembly, by a Resolution adapted in 1972, declared June 5th each year to be observed as 'World Environment Day' by all Member States. According to a Foreign Ministry release, as a member of the world environmental community, Liberia will join in the celebration of the World Environment Day under the global theme: 'Ending Plastic Pollution' and the national theme: 'Enhance the three R: Reduce, Reuse and&Recycle. The Proclamation has called upon all people residing in the territorial confines of Liberia to cooperate with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in executing appropriate programs befitting the occasion. The observance of World Environment Day provides the opportunity to focus worldwide attention on the importance of the environment, and to empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development. The celebration of the Day calls for positive actions and best practices on how we can end plastic pollution within our various communities or environment. The proclamation stresses that it is our responsibilities in finding a suitable way on how to end/mitigate this act of pollution within our environment. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Liberia.
Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Critical juncture
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam last week declared his government's intentions on the host of difficult problems facing the country. He began with the issue of security. He said Lebanon has achieved 80 per cent of its goals by asserting the Lebanese army's control of the south in accordance with the provisions of the November ceasefire deal with Israel despite daily Israeli violations. While obliged to withdraw completely from Lebanon, the Israeli army has retained what it calls 'strategic posts' several hundred metres within Lebanese territory, arguing they are essential for protecting northern Israeli settlements. While Hizbollah's fighters and arms have withdrawn and Hizbollah arms dumps and posts have been destroyed from the border zone to territory north of the Litani River, Israel continues to target the movement's members wherever they are found and has reportedly killed 150 since the beginning of the ceasefire. This being the case, Hizbollah insists on retaining some weapons. Once Israel stops attacking HIzbollahis, there will be no need for them to bear arms. Last week Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas agreed that Palestinian factions based in the 12 refugee camps in Lebanon must also be disarmed. They said the existence of 'weapons outside the control of the Lebanese state has ended.' They also discussed the 'regularisation' of the existence of 270,000 Palestinians in the country. They are barred from some professions and owing property or businesses and cannot secure public service jobs or access healthcare and social security, Salam told 'The Wall Street Journal,' 'All over the Lebanese territory, the state should have a monopoly on arms. We don't want to put the country onto a civil-war track, but believe me, this is not going to affect our commitment to the need to extend and consolidate the authority of the state.' This will necessitate expanding and army the military to defend the state's sovereignty and territorial integrity and strengthen the domestic police force to impose law and order on a country which has, since independence in 1943, practiced laisser faire across the board. Salam has declared his intention of going on the warpath against endemic corruption and of reforming and restoring public confidence in banks which have contributed heavily to the country's 6-year economic and financial crisis. He said the World Bank and Gulf states have offered Beirut their support in this endeavour. He called for independence of the judiciary and pledged no government interference in the 2000 explosion of a stockpile of amonium nitrate in Beirut port killed 2018,injured 7,000 bs near the port. Investigating judge Tariq Bitar has recently returned to the case and is set to issue an indictment on August 4th, 2025, the fifth anniversary of the blast which shook Lebanon to the core. Salam said discussions have been held with Damascus and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the repatriation of the estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. He said that now that the Assads have left power in Syria 'everything is possible.' Talks between Washington and Tehran over restoration of an agreement to limit Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions has created a favourable atmosphere as well as a commitment by these external powers to 'restore Lebanon,' Salam said. When CNN's Becky Anderson asked Salam if Lebanon would normalize relations with Israel, he took a firm line by saying that his country would stick with the Arab peace plan adopted by the 2002 Beirut summit. This called for full Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territory occupied in 1967, including Syria's Golan Heights, the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem. 'We are committed to peace, but a peace based on the two-state solution.' His reply dismisses her suggestion of a 'path to peace' as the requirement for Lebanese relations with Israel. It can be said that Nawaf Salam is qualified to be Lebanon's prime minister at this critical juncture in the country's recent history. He was born in December 1953 into a highly political family deeply committed to Lebanon. His grandfather reformist Selim Salam was elected to the Ottoman parliament in 1912. His uncle Saeb Salam, fought for Lebanon's independence from France and subsequently served four times as prime minister between 1952 and 1973. His cousin Tammam Salam was prime minister between 2014 and 2016. Nawaf Salam's academic achievements are outstanding. He earned a doctorate in political science from France's Sciences Po, a Master of Law from Harvard Law School, and a doctorate in history from the Sorbonne. He practiced law, lectured at distinguished universities, and worked as a legal consultant in France, the US, and Lebanon. From July 2007 to December 2017, he served as Lebanon's UN ambassador. In November 2017, he was elected to the International Court of Justice, becoming the second Lebanese to assume this post. He attracted international attention by presiding over the South African lawsuit against Israel for committing genocide against Gaza. Following the election of army chief Joseph Aoun as president of Lebanon, Salam was nominated by parliament as prime minister and took up the post on January 14th this year. The fifth general to assume the presidency, Aoun pre-empted Salam, his candidate for prime minister, by vowing to battle mafias, halt drug trafficking, tackle corruption and fight sectarianism. He pledged to promote economic, political, and judicial reform. He pormised to end Israel's occupation of Lebanese territory and 'affirm the state's right to a monopoly on the carrying of arms.' Elected at a time of multiple crises in Lebanon, Aoun has a mighty example to emulate. This was the first general to take power, Fuad Chehab, who assumed the presidency after the country's first civil conflict in 1958. He was an incorruptible, autocratic figure who unified the country, launched reforms and social development, and built state institution. During his presidency, There were five prime ministers, including Saeb Salam. Lebanon hopes the duo of Aoun and Nawaf Salam could match some of the achievements of Chehab and his associates. Photo: TNS
