Latest news with #Sarai
Toronto Star
6 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
Israeli envoy pushes back as Ottawa calls out ‘disturbing' food restrictions on Gaza
OTTAWA - The MP overseeing Canada's foreign aid is calling on Israel to stop restricting the flow of food aid to the Gaza Strip — while Israel's ambassador is pushing back on Ottawa's suggestion that his country is violating humanitarian law. 'Gaza is officially the hungriest place on earth. This is profoundly disturbing,' Randeep Sarai, the secretary of state for international development, posted Monday on the platform X. Star Exclusive RCMP says it's probing potential war crimes related to Israel-Hamas conflict Ben Mussett The Israeli government has set up an agency to distribute aid in four locations in Gaza, effectively shutting down hundreds of sites that had been operated by international agencies across the territory. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Israel says this was necessary in order to stop aid from reaching Hamas, but the World Food Programme says aid diversion was not happening to any significant degree. The new system, operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, does not operate in northern areas of Gaza that Israeli ministers have said should be cleared of Palestinians. The foundation, which is backed by Israel and the U.S., insists it has successfully distributed aid and has disputed reports of near-daily shootings at or near its distribution sites. The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it doesn't address Gaza's mounting hunger crisis and allows Israel to use aid as a weapon. Aid groups have described chaotic scenes of violence as crowds of desperate Palestinians rush aid distribution centres while Israeli soldiers fire shots nearby. Aid groups like Oxfam say it sets a dangerous precedent to have a warring party control who receives aid, instead of neutral organizations subject to global scrutiny. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'We urge the Government of Israel to immediately restore aid flow into Gaza and allow the UN and humanitarian organizations to work independently to provide urgent, life-saving aid to civilians,' Sarai wrote Monday. He repeated the federal government's call for a ceasefire and for Hamas to release all hostages. 'Civilians must be protected and treated with dignity — humanitarian law must be upheld,' Sarai wrote. In a social media post, Israel's Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed said aid is still being distributed and accused United Nations agencies of choosing to 'cherry pick the facts to paint an alternative version of reality and demonize Israel.' He repeated the claim that the 'UN feeds Hamas' and insisted the new aid distribution system is working better than the one previously run by international organizations — a view that virtually no western country other than the U.S. seems to share. 'In a desperate effort to remain relevant, (UN agencies) lambaste the best efforts of Israel and its partners to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population,' Moed wrote. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Palestinian health officials and witnesses said Israeli forces fired on people Tuesday as they headed toward an aid distribution centre, killing at least 27. The Israeli army said it fired 'near a few individual suspects' who left the designated route, approached its forces and ignored warning shots. Israel bars foreign journalists from entering Gaza without being accompanied by Israeli soldiers. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation refused to say Monday whether it receives any public or private funds from Canada. 'GHF is a registered non-profit ... like most non-profits, we don't disclose our donors,' the agency wrote in an email which did not identify any spokesperson. The federal Liberals have been taking heat from human rights groups for not following through on a threat last month to impose targeted sanctions on Israel if the situation worsens in the Palestinian territories. Since then, international organizations have repeatedly warned of a risk of famine in Gaza, while the Israel government has said it will expand settlements in the West Bank. — With files from The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israeli envoy pushes back as Ottawa calls out ‘disturbing' food restrictions on Gaza
OTTAWA – The MP overseeing Canada's foreign aid is calling on Israel to stop restricting the flow of food aid to the Gaza Strip — while Israel's ambassador is pushing back on Ottawa's suggestion that his country is violating humanitarian law. 'Gaza is officially the hungriest place on earth. This is profoundly disturbing,' Randeep Sarai, the secretary of state for international development, posted Monday on the platform X. The Israeli government has set up an agency to distribute aid in four locations in Gaza, effectively shutting down hundreds of sites that had been operated by international agencies across the territory. Israel says this was necessary in order to stop aid from reaching Hamas, but the World Food Programme says aid diversion was not happening to any significant degree. The new system, operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, does not operate in northern areas of Gaza that Israeli ministers have said should be cleared of Palestinians. The foundation, which is backed by Israel and the U.S., insists it has successfully distributed aid and has disputed reports of near-daily shootings at or near its distribution sites. The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it doesn't address Gaza's mounting hunger crisis and allows Israel to use aid as a weapon. Aid groups have described chaotic scenes of violence as crowds of desperate Palestinians rush aid distribution centres while Israeli soldiers fire shots nearby. Aid groups like Oxfam say it sets a dangerous precedent to have a warring party control who receives aid, instead of neutral organizations subject to global scrutiny. 'We urge the Government of Israel to immediately restore aid flow into Gaza and allow the UN and humanitarian organizations to work independently to provide urgent, life-saving aid to civilians,' Sarai wrote Monday. He repeated the federal government's call for a ceasefire and for Hamas to release all hostages. 'Civilians must be protected and treated with dignity — humanitarian law must be upheld,' Sarai wrote. In a social media post, Israel's Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed said aid is still being distributed and accused United Nations agencies of choosing to 'cherry pick the facts to paint an alternative version of reality and demonize Israel.' He repeated the claim that the 'UN feeds Hamas' and insisted the new aid distribution system is working better than the one previously run by international organizations — a view that virtually no western country other than the U.S. seems to share. 'In a desperate effort to remain relevant, (UN agencies) lambaste the best efforts of Israel and its partners to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population,' Moed wrote. Palestinian health officials and witnesses said Israeli forces fired on people Tuesday as they headed toward an aid distribution centre, killing at least 27. The Israeli army said it fired 'near a few individual suspects' who left the designated route, approached its forces and ignored warning shots. Israel bars foreign journalists from entering Gaza without being accompanied by Israeli soldiers. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation refused to say Monday whether it receives any public or private funds from Canada. 'GHF is a registered non-profit … like most non-profits, we don't disclose our donors,' the agency wrote in an email which did not identify any spokesperson. The federal Liberals have been taking heat from human rights groups for not following through on a threat last month to impose targeted sanctions on Israel if the situation worsens in the Palestinian territories. Since then, international organizations have repeatedly warned of a risk of famine in Gaza, while the Israel government has said it will expand settlements in the West Bank. — With files from The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Denver woman struck by lightning after it hits tree in front of her window
DENVER (KDVR) — A Denver woman feels lucky to be safe after being struck by lightning through a window during Saturday's storms. Making for a cozy weekend in for these Vazquez sisters. Denver broke a 75-year daily record for rainfall on Sunday: NWS Cristina and Sarai Vasquez live along Federal Boulevard in West Highlands. They decided to stay in on Saturday night due to the storms. Cristina was freshly showered and decided to sit by a window near the top of their home. Watching the storm gain strength outside, her sister Sarai warned her not to sit too close before the unthinkable happened. 'Since the window is right by the tree, it literally looked like the whole back of the window was lit up, I just saw fire, and then it sounded like an earthquake, and my ears were ringing, and that's why I was staring at her like, did this just happen?' Sarai said. Lightning struck a large tree in their front yard and those electric currents traveled through the window and hit Cristina, who says she was on her phone when it all happened. 'I heard a loud noise and so I looked out of the window and then as soon as I looked back at my phone I see my arms light up, all my arm hairs stood up and then I turned at looked at my sister and my phone flew out of my hands,' she said. She felt some tingling and then numbness directly after, but was shockingly okay. They called 911 just to be safe and responding paramedics say they were just as shocked to see her unharmed. Supercell forms 3 tornadoes in Colorado Friday, including an EF-2: NWS 'I thought it was no big deal until the guys from the ambulance, one of them said, 'did you see the tree? You are one in a million, you need to go buy a lottery ticket.' I'm still shocked about it. I told my parents I always knew I was electric,' she joked. The National Weather Service is giving the following tips Indoor Lightning Safety: Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity. Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets. Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches. Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls. She is spreading her story to warn others of the dangers of these types of storms. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sharjah 24
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sharjah 24
'Music of the Self' at the Arab Cultural Club
The exhibition was attended by Dr. Omar Abdul Aziz, Chairman of the Club's Board of Directors, and a number of artists and art enthusiasts. The exhibition featured 28 acrylic paintings on canvas. A rich experience Taghreed Al Mahrazi is a painter, designer, and photographer with over ten years of experience. Her work has varied between drawing, colour mixing, technical sculpture, watercolour techniques, pottery, ceramics, mural painting, jewelry design, and landscape painting. She holds a Master's degree in Business Administration and works as a designer at Al Kajouja Company. She participated in several art exhibitions, including "Made in the Emirates" (2015), "Sarai" (2015), "Art Fashion" (2016), "First Avenue Mall" (2020), "Art the Maker" Market (2020), and "Art Smiley" (an online exhibition) (2020). She also received many honorary certificates. A beautiful symphony The "Music of the Self" exhibition presented several colour groups, each representing a complete visual ensemble. Through these, Al Mahrazi sought to present a rich colour experience that would capture the attention of those who hoped for it, relying on her strong talent and intelligent sensitivity towards colour, enabling her to create rich colour compositions with precise, harmony, like a beautiful symphony. Post pandemic world The exhibition, as a whole, is the culmination of an artistic direction that the artist began during the Corona pandemic, in which she sought different compositions and new formulations, as she envisioned the world after the pandemic. In her first painting, she envisioned the world as clusters of small dots rippling in a world distributed in yellow and blue, indicating that the future of the world will be filled with energy and joy. She developed this vision through her previous paintings, and her reliance on colour expressionism, which she excels at, was one of the keys to the beauty of this experience. Meticulous technique Commenting on the exhibition, Dr. Omar Abdel Aziz said that Taghreed Al Mahrazi presents a single, diverse visual sentence, saturated with colours and musical harmony, and represents a complex experience of embodiment and abstraction, impression and symbolism, simplicity and composition, miniature, decoration and engraving, with good handling of light and shadow. He added that Al Mahrazi work was a visual polyphony system, through which she wanted to challenge herself as an artist, and bring out what was inside her in a beautiful expression. It was truly the music of her own self, imprinted with harmony and consistency. He explained that the artist relied on acrylic colours and tried to suggest the technique of watercolour painting, and this is one of the strengths of acrylic when the artist masters its handling. She benefited from the space and free flow techniques. In a word, the exhibition is a single visual sentence presented through multiple color series.
Global News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Canada election 2025: Surrey Centre
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Surrey Centre is a federal riding located in British Columbia. This riding is currently represented by Liberal MP Randeep Sarai who first took office in 2015. Sarai collected 16,862 votes, winning 43.93 per cent of the vote in the 2021 federal election. Voters will decide who will represent Surrey Centre in British Columbia during the upcoming Canadian election on April 28, 2025. Visit this page on election night for a complete breakdown of up to the minute results. Candidates Liberal: Randeep Sarai (Incumbent) Conservative: Rajvir Dhillon NDP: Dominic Denofrio Green: Krishan Khurana Communist: Ryan Abbott People's Party: Beverly Tanchak
