Latest news with #Abdallah
DW
18-05-2025
- DW
US authorities name California health clinic blast suspect – DW – 05/18/2025
A bomb exploded near a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, killing one person. The FBI characterized the explosion as an "act of terrorism," later identifying a 25-year-old as the suspect. Police investigating a bombing at a fertility clinic in the US city of Palm Springs, California have identified a 25-year-old male as the suspect and the only fatality in Saturday's explosion. Authorities told a press conference on Sunday that they were "fairly confident" that the suspect was the man who died in the explosion. Four others were injured in the bombing, which the FBI has said was a terrorist act. The suspect was a resident of Twentynine Palms, a town about 35 miles (57 kilometers) from Palm Springs, a popular desert resort city near Los Angeles. Palm Springs' mayor said the bomb was either in or near a car next to the IVF clinic Image: picture alliance/dpa/ABC7 Los Angeles via AP What do we know about the investigation? Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, told reporters that "all of the embryos" at the fertility clinic were saved. "The subject had nihilistic ideations, and this was a targeted attack" against the facility that provides In vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, Davis said. "Good guys one, bad guys zero," he added. The FBI agent said police had searched the suspect's home in Twentynine Palms and had evacuated some residents as a precaution. The suspect reportedly posted a manifesto online and tried to record the explosion, but officials said the video had failed to upload. Speaking to reporters on Saturday evening, Davis had said, "make no mistake — this is an intentional act of terrorism." Authorities said that the blast outside a Palm Springs fertility clinic was caused by a bomb Image: ABC AFFILIATE KABC via REUTERS No ongoing threat to the public "We do not believe that there's an ongoing threat to the public in the Twentynine Palms area," Davis added. Local police chief Andy Mills said Palm Springs would be "stronger and more resilient as a result" of the attack, which he said had failed. "Our determination to continue life as we know it here in Palm Springs continues unabated," Mills said. What did the clinic say? Dr. Maher Abdallah, the director of the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic, confirmed that his clinic was damaged. In a phone interview with The Associated Press, he said that all of his staff were safe and accounted for. "I really have no clue what happened," Abdallah said. "Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients." The explosion damaged the office space where consultations with patients are conducted, but the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos were unharmed, Abdallah said. *Editor's note: DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and obliges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases. Edited by: Rana Taha
DW
18-05-2025
- Health
- DW
Blast near California reproductive health clinic kills one – DW – 05/17/2025
A bomb exploded near a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California. One person died in the explosion. An explosion damaged a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs in the US state of California on Saturday. Police and firefigherts responded to an explosion. The blast resulted in the death of one person. Citing law enforcement sources and the facility, ABC News reported that at least five people were injured in the explosion. "The blast appears to be an intentional act of violence and the blast extends for blocks with several buildings damaged, some severely," Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said. "There has been one fatality, the person's identity is not known." What caused the explosion in Palm Springs? The city's mayor said that the explosion was caused by a bomb. "It has been identified as a bomb that was either in or near the car," Mayor Ron DeHarte said. The Palm Springs city government said in a Facebook post that the explosion occurred before 11 a.m. PDT (6 p.m. GMT). The Los Angeles office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a social media post that it was investigating the explosion and had deployed bomb technicians to the scene. What did the clinic say? Dr. Maher Abdallah, the director of the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic, confirmed that his clinic was damaged. In a phone interview with The Associated Press, he said that all of his staff were safe and accounted for. "I really have no clue what happened," Abdallah said. "Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients." The explosion damaged the office space where consultations with patients are conducted, but left the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos unharmed, Abdallah said. Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
Irish Times
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
War and aid cuts pushing Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia to work in illicit gold mines
Holding small bags and young children, a dozen people wait in a wooden hut near a dry riverbed that marks the Sudan-Ethiopia border. Some 20-70 Sudanese arrive each day at the border town of Kurmuk before entering the Ethiopian province of Benishangul-Gumuz, says an official with the UN agency for migration overseeing the new arrivals from Sudan who are fleeing that country's civil war. 'I thought my home was safe,' says Adiby Bain Abdallah (85), a recent Sudanese arrival sitting in a large tent at the Kurmuk transit centre. Abdallah, who is blind, says he walked for seven days with his 14-year-old granddaughter, Histeghlan, from his home in Damazin, the capital of Sudan's Blue Nile State,which borders Ethiopia. Damazin is held by the Sudanese army but faces intensifying drone attacks from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, which together control western swathes of the Blue Nile State. Abdallah says he and his granddaughter spent nine days hiding in the hills around Damazin with only water to consume as fighting intensified around the city, which is located alongside big energy infrastructure including a dam and power station. READ MORE The two returned to Damazin during a brief lull in the fighting before leaving for Ethiopia when the sound of bombings and gunfire once again rang out across the city at the end of March. 'The conflict [in Sudan] is extending to every place in Sudan, there is no security and safety,' says Abdallah. Adiby Bain Abdallah (85), a recent Sudanese arrival, at the Kurmuk transit centre in Ethiopia. Photograph: Peter Biro/European Union In another corner of the same tent, Amina Abdullah (20) nurses her three-month-old baby, Ahmad. She is originally from Nyala, the capital of south Darfur, which lies some 1,600km from Kurmuk. According to local media reports the city – which is under RSF control – has faced repeated aerial strikes from the Sudanese army in recent weeks as it attempts to oust its former military ally. Abdullah fled Nyala in a pickup truck with her husband while heavily pregnant. 'Our journey was very difficult because of all the checkpoints where we would be asked where we are from and who our tribe is.' She gave birth in Kosti, a city south of Khartoum which is facing drone attacks on key infrastructure and an outbreak of cholera . She eventually arrived in Ethiopia at the beginning of April with her newborn son. The UN has said there is growing desperation in Sudan, in part due to reduced aid in the region. The Irish aid agency Goal provides meals at the Kurmuk transit centre, as well as at three refugee camps in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. The feeding programme, which is supported by the EU humanitarian office and the World Food Programme, is still operating but Goal's global operations have been hit by cuts to USAid imposed by the Trump administration, with large job losses expected globally. Jane Curtin, Goal's head of communications, says US government funding cuts to other humanitarian aid agencies in the region may put further pressure on Goal's feeding programme in Benishangul-Gumuz. Another recent arrival in Kurmuk from Damazin, Arise Abdewa (35), came with her mother, sister, niece and children. Separated from her husband, Abdewa says earning an income to support her family is her priority in Ethiopia. 'We need food, clothes and blankets'. Arise Abdewa from Damazin in Sudan, who arrived in Kurmuk with her mother and children. Photograph: Hannah McCarthy The lack of aid for refugees in Kurmuk has pushed many Sudanese refugees into mining gold in the economically poor but gold-rich region . Along the road from Kurmuk to Assosa, the capital of Benishangul-Gumuz, are a series of artisanal and small-scale gold mines owned by local Ethiopian and foreign investors. Sudanese typically work on a commission basis, keeping 10 per cent of any gold ore they find; while local Ethiopians receive a higher commission of 30 per cent. The illicit gold mining sector has emerged and evolved in Ethiopia since 2018 due to 'worsening conflict and insecurity in the country, in particular, since the war in Tigray began in 2020 '‚ says Ahmed Soliman, a senior research fellow focused on Africa at Chatham House. 'As a result of the insecurity, we're seeing [the mining sector] increasingly informalised and outside of federal government control.' He says: 'The kind of regional state authorities and armed actors who have involvement in these supply chains are not using this resource to better improve the region, service delivery or to build infrastructure; they're using it as an extractive resource to grow their own wealth.' Workers at gold mines in Kurmuk face exposure to harmful chemicals such as mercury and cyanide, which can contaminate the surrounding water and soil, and which are associated with increased miscarriages, birth defects and deaths. At a gold mine at Uoldong along the Kurmuk-Assosa road which The Irish Times visited, workers lacked protective equipment, while two young Sudanese women were living in a tent between an open mine and an orange-hued waterhole used for panning gold. At a gold mine at Uoldong along the Kurmuk-Assosa road which The Irish Times visited, workers lacked protective equipment. Photograph: Hannah McCarthy A representative of Plan International , an international NGO which runs the Kurmuk transit centre along with the UN refugee agency and Ethiopian government refugee office, told The Irish Times it received reports in November 2024 that three Sudanese women were raped while working at a local gold mine. Gold extracted in Benishangul-Gumuz is often illegally smuggled out of Ethiopia including across the porous border into Sudan, where a multibillion-dollar gold trade is sustaining the two-year-long war that has divided the Sudanese state between the Sudanese army and the RSF while displacing more than 15 million people from their homes, according to the UN . 'The [gold] commodity is the most significant source of income for the two main warring parties ... both of which hold very substantial areas of artisanal gold production and, in the case of the army, also industrial gold production areas,' says Soliman. Sudan's wartime gold industry has embedded itself in regional African economies and supply chains, feeding a cross-border network of governments, armed groups, commodity traders and arms dealers profiting from and fuelling conflict. According to the US state department, the principal export markets for gold from sub-Saharan Africa are the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and India. A 2024 report by Swiss Aid estimated that undeclared gold from Africa worth €101 billion ended up in the UAE between 2012 and 2022. Soliman says that as part of its Vision 2030 strategy, the Emirates has been 'expanding and developing [its] interests with both state and non-state actors in East Africa,' viewing gold as a way to diversify the UAE economy and reduce dependency on oil.
Observer
29-04-2025
- Business
- Observer
Oman-Tanzania Business Forum highlights trade opportunities
MUSCAT: The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) hosted the Oman-Tanzania Business Forum on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at its headquarters in Muscat. The event focused on strengthening economic and trade relations between the two countries and witnessed the participation of senior officials and business representatives from both sides. The forum was attended by Eng Hamoud bin Salem al Saadi, Second Deputy Chairman of OCCI and Chairman of the Chamber's branch in Al Batinah South, and Dr Hashil Twaibu Abdallah, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the United Republic of Tanzania. Also present were Said bin Hilal al Ismaili, Omani representative in the Oman-Tanzania Business Council, and a number of Omani and Tanzanian businesspeople. In his opening remarks, Dr Abdallah highlighted the growing investment opportunities in Tanzania, noting the government's reforms to improve the business climate, including a single-window system for company registration and simplified investment procedures. 'We welcome all investors to explore the growing opportunities in Tanzania. This visit strengthens the historic relationship between Oman and Tanzania,' he said. The forum included discussions on key Tanzanian sectors open to Omani investment, including agriculture, construction, tourism, mining, ICT and healthcare. Officials emphasised the legal incentives and economic stability Tanzania offers investors and called for enhanced cooperation in mutually beneficial sectors. Eng Hamoud al Saadi stated that the relationship between Oman and Tanzania is built on deep-rooted trade and cultural ties, with Omani traders historically playing a significant role along the East African coast. 'We are focusing on vital and promising sectors that offer genuine opportunities for joint investment,' he said. He urged participants to leverage the roundtable meetings to initiate dialogue and develop strategic partnerships. Dr Abdallah reaffirmed Tanzania's readiness to welcome Omani investors. 'We are committed to facilitating Omani investment into vital sectors and building partnerships that advance joint development,' he said. Said al Ismaili noted the forum's role in building direct relationships between Omani and Tanzanian businesspeople. 'This is a valuable opportunity to enhance bilateral cooperation and open new investment avenues,' he said, adding that the Joint Oman-Tanzania Business Council is fully committed to supporting this collaboration. Mohammed bin Ali al Gharbi from OCCI delivered a presentation titled, 'Explore the Omani Market', highlighting Oman's stable economy, investor-friendly environment and commitment to economic diversification under Oman Vision 2040. He noted that Oman's key exports include petroleum products, LNG, minerals, fish and petrochemicals. The forum concluded with a roundtable meeting where participants discussed trade and investment opportunities, shared insights, and explored practical mechanisms for overcoming challenges. The dialogue laid the groundwork for building productive partnerships and increasing Omani presence in Tanzanian markets.
Asharq Al-Awsat
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanon Says Two Killed in Israeli Strikes in South
Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli air strikes killed two people in the south on Friday, with Israel announcing attacks in the same areas targeting Hezbollah militants. Despite a November 27 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, Israel has continued to conduct near-daily strikes in Lebanon, AFP said. An Israeli attack on "a car on the Sidon-Ghaziyeh road resulted in one dead", a Lebanese health ministry statement said on the fourth straight day of Israeli attacks in the south. Hours later, the ministry said another Israeli strike on a vehicle around Aita al-Shaab had also killed one. Israel's military said it had "conducted a precise strike in the area of Sidon and eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist Muhammad Jaafar Mannah Asaad Abdallah". It said Abdallah was "responsible, among other things, for the deployment of Hezbollah's communication systems throughout Lebanon". On Friday evening, it announced "a Hezbollah terrorist was struck and eliminated' by the Israeli military in the area of Aita al-Shaab. An AFP journalist said the Israeli attack in Sidon had hit a four-wheel-drive vehicle, sending a column of black smoke into the sky. At the scene of the strike, members of the security forces stood guard as a crowd gathered to look at the charred remains of the vehicle after firefighters had put out the blaze. The Israeli military has also said it was behind other attacks this week that it said killed Hezbollah members. Hezbollah, significantly weakened by the war, insists it is adhering to the November ceasefire, even as Israeli attacks persist.
