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Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Anne Frank's relative criticises Netanyahu as 'fanatical'
Quotable Anne Frank's relative criticises Netanyahu as 'fanatical' Oliver Elias, the great cousin of Anne Frank, calls on Jews, Germans and the international community to condemn Israel and its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, for its war on Gaza.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanon: Hezbollah Links National Security Strategy Talks to Reconstruction Efforts
Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah officials continued in southern Lebanon as the party maintains that discussions of its arsenal or the national security strategy hinge on several key issues, mainly the reconstruction efforts. Hezbollah continues to link any discussion of its weapons to a set of conditions, hindering the government's process for reform. Hezbollah MP Hasan Fadlallah accused the government of shunning its responsibilities, although the international community has made it clear that aid for reconstruction after Israel's war on Lebanon is contingent on the country implementing political and economic reforms, as well as ensuring that weapons are solely in the hands of the state. 'Positions made by some in the government are not only outside the bounds of the ministerial statement, but also contradict it entirely, shunning the responsibilities the government has vowed to the Lebanese people', said Fadlallah at a ceremony held by the party. He added that the parliament granted the government its vote of confidence based on the vows the government made in the ministerial statement, 'but it seems some are trying to be selective in these commitments based on personal wishes, preferences, or even foreign dictates', said the MP. Fadlallah went on to say 'the first clause of the ministerial statement commits the government to expediting the reconstruction of what the Israeli enemy has destroyed. The second clause tasks the government with bearing full responsibility for national security, protecting Lebanon's borders and entry points, and deterring aggression. The third calls for all necessary measures to liberate occupied Lebanese territories'. He questioned the government's performance and priorities saying: 'What have they done regarding these three clauses?..Has the government fulfilled its commitment to reconstruction? There are five or six provisions that need to be implemented first, after which the discussion about Lebanon's defense, that requires a comprehensive national security strategy, can be addressed.' He underscored that 'once these clauses are implemented, only then we can discuss other matters." Also, Hezbollah officials have escalated criticisms towards Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after the latter's 'decisive' statements regarding the party's disarmament. 'The relations between Hezbollah and PM Nawaf Salam remain based on what is left of goodwill and has not been severed. Channels of communication are still active', said Hezbollah bloc member Amin Sherri. Regarding the atmosphere surrounding last week's meeting between Hezbollah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc and President Joseph Aoun, Sherri said in a radio interview that it was 'excellent and positive,' with discussions focused on key agreed-upon issues.
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Israel says after IAEA report, the international community must stop Iran
Israel said on Saturday that the latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency showed that Iran's nuclear program was not peaceful and that Tehran remained determined to complete its nuclear weapons program. 'The international community must act now to stop Iran,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement, adding that the level of uranium enrichment Iran had reached 'exists only in countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons and has no civilian justification whatsoever.'
Free Malaysia Today
28-05-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Gaza rescuers say 13 killed in Israeli strike on school
Gaza's civil defence agency says it does not have the equipment needed to lift rubble to rescue the wounded and recover martyrs. (AP pic) GAZA CITY : Palestinian rescuers said an Israeli strike at dawn today killed 13 people at a Gaza City school, as Israel presses ahead with what it has described as a renewed push to destroy Hamas. 'Civil defence crews in Gaza City retrieved 13 martyrs and 21 injured from inside Fahmi Al-Jarjawi School in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood, after the Israeli occupation forces targeted it at dawn today,' Gaza's civil defence agency wrote on Telegram. Israel has stepped up its offensive this month, aiming for 'the defeat of Hamas', more than 18 months after the group's October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war. The intensified fighting has drawn condemnation from the international community as an aid blockade lasting almost three months has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in the Palestinian territory. Spain's foreign minister on Sunday called for sanctions on Israel as European and Arab nations gathered in Madrid. ADVERTISEMENT VIDCRUNCH Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Quality Auto Back 360p 240p 144p Auto Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x / Skip Ads by The talks aimed to stop Israel's 'inhumane' and 'senseless' war in Gaza, Jose Manuel Albares told reporters before the meeting opened. Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza 'massively, without conditions and without limits, and not controlled by Israel', he added, describing the territory as humanity's 'open wound'. Spain also urged partners to impose an arms embargo on Israel and 'not rule out any' individual sanctions against those 'who want to ruin the two-state solution forever', he added. The fresh condemnation came after Gaza rescuers said 22 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Israeli air strikes across the Palestinian territory yesterday. Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said seven people were killed in a strike on a home in Jabalia, in the north. Some people were still under the debris, he added, as 'the civil defence does not have search equipment or heavy equipment to lift the rubble to rescue the wounded and recover the martyrs'. 'Hunger, desperation' Two more people, including a woman who was seven months pregnant, were killed in an attack targeting tents sheltering displaced people around Nuseirat in central Gaza, he said, adding that doctors were unable to save the unborn child. Also included in the toll were the civil defence's director of operations Ashraf Abu Nar and his wife, according to Bassal. Fatal strikes were also recorded around Deir el-Balah in the centre of the territory, Beit Lahia in the north, and the main southern city of Khan Yunis. Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday that an Israeli strike in the southern city of Khan Yunis killed nine children of a pair of married doctors, with the Israeli army saying it was reviewing the reports. Israel has in recent days partially eased a blockade that was imposed on March 2 and exacerbated widespread shortages of food and medicine in Gaza. Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body that coordinates civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said '107 trucks belonging to the UN and the international community carrying humanitarian aid… were transferred' into Gaza yesterday. But critics charge this is nowhere near enough, especially as many of the aid trucks end up being looted. The World Food Programme has called on Israel 'to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster', saying 'Hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming is contributing to rising insecurity.' Aid controversy The head of a controversial US-backed group preparing to move aid into the Gaza Strip also announced his abrupt resignation yesterday. In a statement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, executive director Jake Wood said that he felt compelled to leave after determining the organisation could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to 'humanitarian principles'. The foundation has vowed to distribute about 300 million meals in its first 90 days of operation. But the UN and traditional aid agencies have already said they will not cooperate with the group, amid accusations it is working with Israel. Gaza's health ministry said Sunday that at least 3,785 people had been killed in the territory since a ceasefire collapsed on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,939, mostly civilians. Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Khaleej Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
UAE develops AI system to improve emergency response time
A global system that responds to distress signals from a device, which can even be implanted into a watch, could rescue people from emergencies much faster thanks to technology developed by the UAE. The artificial intelligence-powered platform, which has been in its testing phase in the country, was revealed at a meeting of international experts held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. 'The AI dashboard will be able to differentiate between false alarms and real ones,' said Hamad Albadry from the National Search and Rescue Center (NSRC). 'It has taken over a year to develop this one of a kind system. We are proposing to take it to the international community so that we can achieve faster response times for emergencies.' He was speaking on the sidelines of the Cospas-Sarsat meeting which began in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. This is the first time that this event is being held in the UAE. Over the next ten days, delegates from various entities will hold meetings to discuss how to increase cooperation and cut down the time needed to respond to emergencies. An international organisation that provides space-based relay of distress signals, or alerts, from emergency beacons, Cospas-Sarsat provides alerts to search and rescue (SAR) authorities internationally. More than 45 countries and international organisations are members of it, including the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The UAE has been a member since 2009 and the NSRC is the only entity authorised to receive and process satellite distress signals in the country. The organisation only monitors alerts from a digital distress beacon that transmit on 406 MHz, which is picked up by satellite systems and is then relayed to the nearest national SAR unit of its member countries. AI dashboard According to Hamad, the distress beacon can be implanted into something as small as a watch, if needed. 'If the person is in distress, he can send out the alert from his watch and the NSRC will respond if its in this area,' he said. A mechanical engineer by profession, Hamad was the brain behind the AI dashboard that he developed while working towards his doctoral degree in AI. He said the system, which has been tested for the last year or so at the NSRC, has already seen a positive results. 'We have ground systems that need to be maintained 24-7,' he said. 'This AI dashboard is able to alert us when the system is degrading. In some cases it can even fix itself.' Importance of cooperation According to Saif Alkaabi from the NSRC, such meetings will improve cooperation between member nations and help those who are in distress. 'The most prominent challenges while doing SAR include the difficulty in accessing remote areas, diverse geographical environments and reliance on inaccurate data in some cases,' he said. 'Such meetings are essential for standardizing and exchanging expertise. It also showcases the UAE as a global center for preparedness and innovation in rapid response.' Established in 2013, the NSRC is a federal authority that provides land, maritime, and aerial search and rescue services. It conducted over 1,200 rescue missions during 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, covering land and maritime rescues, medical evacuations, and real-time responses to distress alerts.
