Latest news with #Ibtihal
Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
‘Free Palestine': Microsoft employee protests during Satya Nadella's keynote speech, video goes viral
A Microsoft engineer disrupted CEO Satya Nadella's keynote address during the company's Build developer conference in Seattle. Joe Lopez, a firmware engineer, who has worked on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform for four years, interrupted the speech with a protest against the company's ties to Israel. As Nadella spoke on stage, Lopez climbed onto his chair and shouted, 'Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians? How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?' His protest was quickly cut short as security personnel escorted him out of the event. Before being removed, Lopez was joined by a former Google employee who stood up and shouted, 'Free Palestine, I'm a former Google worker and all tech workers…' She was stopped by security personnel by then. Watch here: A post shared by No Azure for Apartheid (@noazureforapartheid) Following the protest, Lopez sent an email explaining his protest, citing his deep concern over Microsoft's involvement in Israeli military operations through its cloud services, The Verge reported. 'Like many of you, I have been watching the ongoing genocide in Gaza in horror. 'I have been shocked by the silence, inaction, and callousness of world leaders as Palestinian people are suffering, losing their lives and their homes while they plead for the rest of the world to pay attention and act,' Lopez wrote. He also wrote, 'Microsoft continues to facilitate Israel's ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people,' and said he could no longer remain silent. Lopez also referenced a recent incident in April when two Microsoft employees, Ibtihal and Vaniya, were fired after disrupting the company's 50th anniversary celebration with a similar pro-Palestine message. 'I saw Ibtihal and Vaniya's disruption of Microsoft's 50th anniversary on April 4 and was shocked to hear the words coming from their mouths. Microsoft is killing kids? Is my work killing kids?' he wrote in the mail. Lopez's protest came after Microsoft published a blog post just a few days earlier. In the blog, the company stated it had carried out an 'internal review' into the issue with assistance from an independent third-party firm. According to the post, their investigation found 'no evidence to date that Microsoft's Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza.'
Saba Yemen
10-04-2025
- Business
- Saba Yemen
Kuwaiti initiative to support Abu al-Saad receives reaction
Kuwait - Saba: The initiative of Kuwaiti businessman Abdullah Al-Dabbous received widespread interaction on social media platforms after he offered a job to Moroccan engineer Ibtihal Abu Al-Saad, who was fired from the American company Microsoft for expressing her solidarity with the victims of the genocide in Gaza. Al-Dabbous wrote on the X platform, "We tried to contact engineer Ibtihal Abu Al-Saad to make a job offer, but we found that her LinkedIn account had been deleted." He added sarcastically, "This is not surprising, as LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft." Activists considered this initiative "a noble stance that reflects Arab chivalry and a practical vindication of the efforts to silence voices supporting Palestine." Others emphasized that "this is not strange for Kuwait, which has always expressed its unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and stood by all who champion the truth and defend justice." Former Kuwaiti MP Osama Al-Shaheen commented, saying, "A noble Muslim businessman from dear Kuwait. Salute to your generous initiative towards a worthy cause and a courageous heroine." In the same context, organizational development expert Muhammad Tahami said, "The resignation of engineer Ibtihal was not just news, but a glimmer of human dignity that broke through the wall of silence in a digital world steeped in cold calculations." He added to Quds Press on Wednesday, "She was fired because she spoke the truth and stood with Palestine. Not only did she lose her job, but she paid the price for her moral stance." A video clip has gone viral showing Microsoft employee Abu Al-Saad interrupting a speech by the company's CEO of Artificial Intelligence, Mustafa Suleiman, during the company's 50th anniversary celebration. In an unexpected moment, Ibtihal explicitly protested Microsoft's support for the Israeli occupation army in its aggression against the Gaza Strip, accusing Suleiman of complicity in this war. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Jordan Times
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Syria's road to recovery: Call for global support as refugees return home
AMMAN — As Syria marked the 14th anniversary of the conflict's eruption on March 15, a potential window for peace and recovery is emerging. Since the fall of Bashar Al Assad's regime three months ago, over a million Syrians have returned to their homeland while another million is expected to follow within the next year, according to UNHCR. The situation was highlighted by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, who recently warned that international support is crucial to prevent social and political divisions from deepening and to help refugees return safely and sustainably. In his op-ed, Grandi stated, 'If we neglect immediate humanitarian needs in Syria, social and political divisions will not heal... Without global support, millions of Syrian refugees and displaced people will see their dream of return ruined.' International donors pledged 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion) in aid for Syria on Monday at the Brussels conference seeking to help set the war-torn country on the road to stability after Al Assad's ouster. For many refugees, return is far from guaranteed, despite a rising desire to rebuild lives in their homeland. A recent survey by UNHCR showed that 27 per cent of Syrian refugees intend to return within the next 12 months — an increase from less than 2 per cent before the Assad regime's fall. A struggle to rebuild amid destruction However, the challenges refugees face upon their return are considerable. For many, returning to their homes means confronting widespread destruction: shattered infrastructure, ruined homes, and a lack of basic services such as water, electricity, and healthcare. Grandi's visit to Syria underscored the immense difficulties these returnees face. 'Many families are taking the brave step of returning home, longing for a better future, but they face overwhelming difficulties: destroyed and damaged homes, shattered infrastructure and widespread poverty,' Grandi said in a statement shared with The Jordan Times. In Aleppo, one of Syria's hardest-hit cities, Grandi met with families who spoke of their struggles. These returnees not only need housing and jobs but also vital services like healthcare and education, which are either absent or inadequate, the statement said. Ibtihal, a returnee from Jordan, shared her experience to the UNHCR: 'If you want anything, you have to go to Damascus, but the cost of travel is too high, and I simply cannot afford it. If you want to see a specialist doctor there, it costs 150,000 Syrian pounds ($11.5) just for the consultation. I do not have that kind of money.' Access to education is another major challenge. Many children who have returned from neighbouring countries face a disrupted education system, with schools either damaged or under-resourced. Ibtihal and her family's youngest son, Omar, for instance, was enrolled in school in Jordan but has yet to resume his studies in Syria due to a lack of available schooling options. The need for urgent action International organisations continue to stress the need for increased funding and reconstruction efforts. 'To make returns sustainable, safe and dignified, and to prevent further displacement in the longer-term, we need a comprehensive approach,' Grandi urged. 'This means investing in jobs, restoring healthcare, rebuilding schools, and re-establishing essential services like electricity and clean water.' As Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR's Representative in Syria, pointed out, 'Without an injection of international support, in terms of more humanitarian aid and early recovery and reconstruction activities, refugee returnees will not be able to rebuild their lives in Syria.' The risk is that hope could turn into frustration, leaving many refugees stranded in their host countries. The EU's recent decision to lift some sanctions has been framed as a step toward easing Syria's recovery, but broader concerns remain about the long-term viability of resettlement efforts. Grandi describes this moment as critical. 'Cooperation between neighbouring countries, donors, and the Syrian caretaker authorities is essential to bring much-needed peace and stability to Syria and the entire region.'
