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☆ Palestinian Authority renews request for United Nations membership
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Richard Roth | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

United Nations CNN —The Palestinian Authority is again requesting membership in the United Nations, according to a post on X from the Palestinian permanent observer mission to the UN on Tuesday. In September 2011, the Palestinian Authority failed to win UN recognition as an independent member state. Since then, Hamas has ruled Gaza and the Palestinian Authority governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The US favors a reformed Palestinian Authority leading both the West Bank and Gaza as part of an eventual independent state. But Israel has rejected the prospect of the Palestinian Authority returning to Gaza after the ongoing war, and has dismissed the idea of establishing a Palestinian state in the territories.

Persons: Palestinian Territories Riyad Mansour, Fatah, Israel, Dr, Mohammed Mustafa, ” Abbas, CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman, Abeer Salman Organizations: United Nations CNN, Palestinian, United Nations, UN, “, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, West Bank Locations: United, State, Palestine, Palestinian Territories, Gaza, Sunday, Ramallah

Lives Ended in Gaza Since the war started, more than 30,000 people have been killed during Israel’s bombardment and invasion. Hamas ruled Gaza and ran a covert military organization, the identity of its fighters unclear, even to other Gazans. She worked with people who had been wounded and displaced by Israeli attacks on Gaza as well as with first responders. She moved to Egypt after the 2014 Gaza war but returned a few months before the current war. He performed complicated operations on Gaza’s war wounded while running Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah until his retirement.

Persons: Israel, Marah, Farah, Farah Alkhatib, Kinder, Selena al, Lubna Elian, Yousef Abu Moussa, Abdulhadi, Maram, Youmna Shaqalih, Abdulrahman Abuamara, Ghadeer Mohammed Mansour, Salah, Khaled Jadallah, Doaa Jadallah, Mahmoud Alnaouq, Jannat Iyad Abu Zbeada, Rami Abu Reyaleh, Alhelou, “, ”, —, Faida AlKrunz, Saud AlKrunz, tinker, Ahmed Abu Shaeera, Al Aqsa, Youssef Salama, Hedaya Hamad, Salah Abo Harbed, Jeries Sayegh, Inas, “ Sara ”, ” Sayel, Ai Wei Wei’s, Heba Zagout, Ali, Amneh, Belal Abu Samaan, Israel ”, Abu Yousef Al, Abdallah Shehada, Tarazi, Heba Jourany, Osama Al, Haddad, Riyad Alkhatib, ” Mahmoud Elian Organizations: UNICEF, Oxygen, Al, Awda, F.C, Barcelona, Facebook, Islamic, Palestinian Authority, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Free Gaza Circus, Christian, Officially, American International School, Palestine Athletics Federation, Najjar, United Nations, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Israel, Spain, Norway, Italian, Australia, Egypt, Turkey, Bolivia, Argentina, Panama, Mexico, Qatar, Al Aqsa, Jerusalem, “ Palestine, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Palestinian, Old City, Mazaj, Gaza City, Manhattan, Chicago, Mecca, Rafah, Libya, Uganda, Ireland

When Israel established a checkpoint near the Mousas' land a decade ago, the family converted their ancestral farm into a parking lot for Palestinian workers entering Israel. But the lot has been empty since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip, and Israel, fearing more attacks, barred Palestinian workers from the West Bank from entering Israel. Before October, over 10,000 Palestinian workers crossed the checkpoint there daily, heading to Israeli construction sites and farms. An estimated 200,000 Palestinians worked in Israel and Israeli settlements before the war, according to the Israeli workers' hotline Kav LaOved. The Palestinian economy in the West Bank contracted by over a fifth in the last quarter of 2023, according to the Palestinian economic ministry.

Persons: Mohammed Mousa’s, They've, Israel, “ I've, Mousa, “, Alaa Mousa, Ahmad Srour, ”, Srour, “ We’ve, we’ve, Nidal Khawaja, Khawaja, Israel's, Bezalel Smotrich, Khalid Al, Esseily, Khalidi, Raul Sargo, Mohammed Mousa Organizations: West Bank, —, Palestinian Authority, Bank, World Bank, Palestinian Economic Ministry, Palestinian, Associated Press, Israel, Israel's Finance Ministry, Israeli Builders Association Locations: West Bank, Nilin, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, U.S, israel

☆ Myanmar Border Guards Flee to Bangladesh Amid Clashes With Rebels
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Ruma Paul and Sudipto GangulyDHAKA (Reuters) - At least 95 Myanmar border guards, some of them wounded, have fled to Bangladesh over the last few days as fighting intensifies between rebel forces in Myanmar and the junta regime, officials in Bangladesh said on Monday. Members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) entered Bangladesh with their weapons and 15 of them had bullet wounds when they crossed the border, Shariful Islam, a spokesman for Border Guard Bangladesh, said on Monday, adding that the wounded received treatment at different hospitals. Bullets and mortar shells from across the Myanmar border landed on Bangladesh territory on Monday, killing at least two people, a government official in Cox's Bazar said. Panic has gripped the refugee camps in Myanmar with many waiting to cross over to Bangladesh as supply chains have been cut off due to the ongoing conflict, according to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Some of the Rohingya Muslims want to flee here as they are living in constant fear without basic needs," Rohingya refugee Oli Hossain said.

Persons: Ruma Paul, Sudipto Ganguly, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Rahman, Mohammad Shamsud Douza, Oli Hossain, Nick Macfie Organizations: Sudipto Ganguly DHAKA, Myanmar Border Guard Police, Border Guard Bangladesh, Bangladesh Locations: Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bangladesh's, Cox's Bazar, Islam, Bandarban, Bazar

Rohingya traditionally take to sea in October, at the end of the rainy season, on journeys fraught with danger. Of 3,572 Rohingya who have left on 34 boats this year, 31% of them were children, data showed. In 2022, one of the deadliest years for the Rohingya at sea, a fifth of the about 3,705 people who fled were children. "Children making the boat journeys was not a trend before," said Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh's refugee relief and repatriation commissioner based in Cox's Bazar. With little hope of settling in Bangladesh or being accepted elsewhere, they feel they have no choice but to take to sea, Rahman said.

Persons: Riska, Chris Lewa, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Rahman, taka, Mohammed Taher, Ruma Paul, Sudipto Ganguly, Krishna N, Das, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights DHAKA, Malaysia, Thomson Locations: Sabang, Aceh province, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bangladeshi, Cox's Bazar, Arakan, Southeast Asia, Indonesia's Aceh, South Asia, Dhaka, Mumbai

☆ Opinion: ‘Nothing prepares you to cover a war at home’: The vital mission to report on Sudan’s conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Nima Elbagir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Port Sudan CNN —I have reported on conflicts around the world for over two decades, but nothing prepares you to cover a war at home. To so many Sudanese, though, they are instantly recognisable as the words of the people’s poet: Mahjoub Sharif. I was warned to never, ever play with any of the tapes in the cassette deck, especially the tapes of Sharif’s songs. Yet, the moment the war broke out earlier this year, home was the only place I wanted to be. Forty years after I watched my parents sing and cry and laugh to the Sudanese songs smuggled out to them, I find myself searching through Spotify for Sudanese playlists.

Persons: Port Sudan CNN —, –, “, Mahjoub Sharif, ”, We’d, Zohra Bensemra, Reuters Sharif’s, they’d, Omar al, Bashir, it’s, Nima Elbagir, Jake Tapper_00030428, Alex Platt, I’ve, Sharif, Mohammed Mekki Ibrahim, Mohammed Wardi, Abdelgadir Salim – Organizations: Port Sudan CNN, Red Cross, Reuters, Rapid Support Forces, Wagner, UN, CNN Locations: London, Geneina, Sudan's Darfur, Ourang, Adre, Chad, Russia, Khartoum, Cairo, Jeddah, Sudan, Sudan’s, Darfur

☆ Exclusive: UAE plans to maintain ties with Israel despite Gaza outcry, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Alexander Cornwell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Abu Dhabi became the most prominent Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Israel in 30 years under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020. "The indiscriminate damage visited upon the people of Gaza in pursuit of Israel's security risks extinguishing that hope," she said. Israel and the UAE have developed close economic and security ties in the three years since normalisation, including defence cooperation. None of four sources ruled out that the UAE could downgrade or sever its ties if the crisis escalated. While criticising Israel's conduct of the war, Abu Dhabi has also condemned Hamas for its attack.

Persons: Ronen, Abu Dhabi, Israel ABU, Abraham, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sheikh Mohamed, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Israel, Washington, Anwar Gargash, Lana Nusseibeh, Abu, Jordan, James Dorsey, Netanyahu, Israel's, Abdel Fattah al, Mohammed Mursi, Omar Hassan al, Bashir, Alexander Cornwell, Dan Williams, Steven Scheers, Maha El Dahan, Michael Georgy, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, UAE, United Arab Emirates, Israel, U.S, Abraham Accords, Israeli, Qatari, UN Security Council, Reuters, West Bank, Gaza, National University of Singapore, European Union, Egypt's, Thomson Locations: Petah Tikva, Israel, UAE, Gaza, Israel ABU DHABI, Abu, Palestinian, Arab, United States, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, reining, East Jerusalem, Israeli, Iran, Yemen, OPEC, Al Aqsa, Islam, Egypt, Jerusalem

☆ Saudi Arabia, UAE leaders meet as Israel-Hamas war threatens to spill over
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Saudi state news agency SPA showed footage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, receiving UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Riyadh's airport. Public meetings between the crown prince and Sheikh Mohammed have been rare in recent years as the close allies competed for investment and regional influence. Sheikh Mohammed attended a summit between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Riyadh on Friday, Saudi and UAE state media said. Last year, Prince Mohammed and Sheikh Mohammed met when Prince Mohammed visited Abu Dhabi to offer his condolences on the death of Sheikh Khalifa, the UAE's previous president. Sheikh Mohammed also visited Jeddah last year, and the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November.

Persons: Prince Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mohammed, Prince Mohammed, Abu, Sheikh Khalifa, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Defence, United Arab Emirates, Gulf Cooperation Council, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, GCC, Thomson Locations: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Israel, East, Riyadh's, Riyadh, UAE, Iran, Gaza, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah

☆ Suspect in killing of French teacher put under formal investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

French police and firefighters stand in front of the Gambetta-Carnot school, where French teacher Dominique Bernard was killed in a knife attack on Friday, after the school was evacuated following a bomb alert in Arras, northern France, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A 20-year-old man suspected of stabbing a teacher to death and wounded three people at a French school has been placed under formal investigation for murder in connection with a terrorist organisation, the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said. The main suspect in the Friday attack, known as Mohammed M, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said before the man was placed under investigation on Tuesday evening. Mohammed M's 16-year old brother was put under formal investigation for complicity in murder in relation with a terrorist organisation and their cousin was put investigation for voluntarily abstaining from preventing a crime, the office said in a statement on Wednesday. Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gambetta, Carnot, Dominique Bernard, Pascal, Mohammed M, Jean, Francois Ricard, Mohammed M's, Gerald Darmanin, Dominique Vidalon, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Islamic State, Thomson Locations: Arras, France, Israel

PARIS (AP) — The Louvre Museum in Paris and Versailles Palace evacuated visitors and staff Saturday after receiving bomb threats, police said. Paris police said officers searched the museum after it received written bomb threats. Political Cartoons View All 1211 ImagesThe former royal palace at Versailles also received bomb threats, and the palace and its sprawling gardens were being evacuated while police examine the area, according to national police. Macron urged the people of France to “stay united.”___Schaeffer reported from Arras, France. Associated Press journalists Thomas Padilla in Paris and Nicolas Garriga in Arras, France contributed to this report.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron's, Mona Lisa, Gerald Darmanin, Mohammed M, Gambetta, Carnot, ″, Emily Noge, ’ ’ It’s, ‴, Samuel Paty, Macron, “, ” ___ Schaeffer, Thomas Padilla, Nicolas Garriga Organizations: PARIS, Louvre Museum, Police, police, Gare de Lyon, Counterterrorism, The Associated Press, Education Ministry, Associated Press Locations: Paris, Versailles, France, Israel, Louvre, Gare, Arras, Ingushetia, Chechnya, Chechen

☆ The history behind Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel this weekend. AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Saturday, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented sea, air, and ground offensive on Israel. Rising tensions between Israel and HamasThough it caught Israel by surprise, the Hamas attack comes after months of worsening tensions between the two sides. A spokesperson for Hamas told Al Jazeera it launched the attack partly because of "atrocities in Gaza, against Palestinian people, our holy sites like Al-Aqsa." AdvertisementAdvertisementKhalfa told France24 that Hamas launched its attack now "to capitalize on Israel's vulnerability."

Persons: reigniting, —, Mohammed Salem, David Khalfa, Jaurès, France24, Israel, Al, Ammar Awad, Mohammed Mhawish, Yoav Gallant, James Stavridis, Benjamin Netanyahu, Tsafrir, Netanyahu, Khalfa Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Service, Israeli Defense Forces, Gaza Ministry, Health, Human Rights Watch, Israel's, The, U.S, NBC News, NBC, AP, BBC Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Gaza, North Africa, Middle, Aqsa, Islam, Al Jazeera, Al, Jerusalem's Old, Egypt, The Nation, Saudi Arabia, United States, Saudi

☆ Saudi Arabia is pouring billions into soccer, golf, and Formula 1. Its crown prince doesn't care if anyone calls it 'sportswashing.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Saudi Arabia is pouring billions into sports in a bid to transform its economy. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has made the sector a key part of his Vision 2030 plan. But the reality is that the crown prince has a grander ambition: to level up Saudi Arabia's economic growth. "But Saudi Arabia is piling into other sports too, because they want to achieve a lot in a short period of time." AdvertisementAdvertisementAs Crown Prince Mohammed made clear last week, all this forms part of a broader strategy to supercharge Saudi Arabia's economy through investment.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, bankrolled, —, Cristiano Ronaldo, Phil Mickelson, Anthony Joshua, –, Jamal Khashoggi, they've, Steve Luciano, AP Ronaldo, Al Nassr, Ballon, Karim Benzema, Neymar, Sadio, PIF, LIV Golf, Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, LIV, Joshua, that's, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Frank Warren, Prince Mohammed, Mohammed bin Salman, Leon Neal, Simon Chadwick, Chadwick, megastars, Ronaldo –, Salman, bin Salman, Saudi Arabia –, St Andrews, Nick Kyrgios, who've, Elsa, he'd, they'll Organizations: Newcastle United, Service, Washington Post, Saudi, Investment Fund, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle, AP, Saudi Pro League, Georgetown University Qatar, PGA, WWE, Fox News, SKEMA Business School, Indian Premier League, FIFA Locations: Saudi Arabia, Saudi, England, Riyadh, Brazil, Liverpool, Kingdom, Jeddah, Lille, France, Reiche, Iran, Miami, Augusta, bankroll

☆ U.S.-Iran relations from 1953 coup to 2023 detainee swap deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

1980 - The U.S. cuts diplomatic ties with Iran, seizes Iranian assets and bans most trade with Tehran. U.S. officials accuse Tehran of operating secret nuclear weapons program. 2013 - Hassan Rouhani is elected Iran’s president on a platform of improving Iran’s relations with the world and its economy. In September, Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company is attacked by drones and missiles believed to be from Iran; Tehran denies involvement. 2023 - In August, Iran and the United States agree a swap of detainees and the unfreezing of $6 billion of Iranian assets in South Korea.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mohammed Mossadegh, Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Ruhollah Khomeini, Jimmy Carter, Carter, Ronald Reagan, Reagan, George W, Bush, Barack Obama, Hassan Rouhani, Donald Trump, Qassem Soleimani, Ebrahim Raisi, Arshad Mohammed, Michael Georgy, Parisa, Samia Nakhoul, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Central Intelligence, CIA, U.S, Embassy, Hostage, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Thomson Locations: Rights DUBAI, United States, Iran, South Korea, Qatar, U.S, Tehran, Iraq, North Korea, Britain, France, United, Fordow, Saudi Arabia’s, Baghdad, Vienna, Washington

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Saudi crown prince once vilified by President Joe Biden has been elevated from a fist bump to a hearty handshake. Biden smiled and shook hands with the crown prince, who is often referred to by his initials MBS, as the announcement wrapped up. The cordial greeting was a sharp contrast to the last time Biden and the crown prince met, just over a year ago, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. During that encounter, Biden awkwardly greeted the crown prince with a fist bump, a moment roundly criticized by human rights activists, who were already upset at Biden's decision to meet with the Saudi leader. Biden refused to speak to Prince Mohammed at the start of his administration.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Mohammed bin Salman, Narendra Mod, Bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, Fred Ryan, year's Biden, Prince Mohammed, ” Khashoggi Organizations: DELHI, Group, MBS, Indian, The Washington Post Locations: Saudi, New Delhi, India, East, Europe, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Ukraine

☆ US, EU slam far-right Israeli minister’s ‘racist’ claim his rights outweigh that of Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Kareem Khadder | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Jerusalem CNN —The United States and European Union Friday slammed comments by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir that his right to life outweighs Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement in the occupied West Bank. “We strongly condemn Minister Ben Gvir’s racist, destructive comments on the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents of the West Bank,” a US State Department spokesperson said. Ben Gvir’s far-right Jewish Power party draws support mainly from Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, and Ben Gvir is himself a settler. The United States frequently says that it considers settlements in the area Israel captured in 1967 to be an obstacle to peace. Palestinians want the West Bank to be part of a future Palestinian state.

Persons: Itamar Ben Gvir, Ben Gvir’s, Joe, Biden, State Antony, Blinken, ” Ben Gvir, Mohammed, ”, Mohammed Magadli, Ben Gvir, ” Israel, “, Itamar Ben Gvir … Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, European Union, National Security, West Bank, US State Department, Union, Israel’s, Jewish, EU, United, Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Jerusalem, United States, ”, State, Palestinian

[1/2] A view of rubble that remains at the site of the historic Siraji Mosque that was demolished for the expansion for a road in Basra, Iraq July 16, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed AtyBASRA, Iraq July 16 (Reuters) - The demolition on Friday of a 300-year-old minaret of a mosque in Iraq's southern city of Basra to make way for road expansion has enraged locals, religious and cultural authorities who condemned it as a further erosion of Iraq's cultural heritage. Built in 1727, the 11-metre (36 ft) Siraji minaret and its mosque were toppled by a bulldozer at dawn on Friday morning, its brown mud-brick spire with turquoise ornaments disappearing in a cloud of dust. Basra resident Majed al Husseini said, standing by the rubble of the mosque. The Sunni endowment did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment.

Persons: Mohammed Aty BASRA, Majed al Husseini, Ahmed al, Badrani, Mosul's Al, Nuri, Basra Governor Asaad Al Eidani, Mohammed Munla, Munla, Timour Azhari, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Islamic, Reuters, Islamic State, Thomson Locations: Basra, Iraq, Iraq's, Mesopotamia, Islamic State, Baghdad, Basra Governor

☆ Rohingya refugees demand citizenship and security on first return to Myanmar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh said on Saturday they would not return to Myanmar to “be confined in camps” after making their first return visit as part of efforts to encourage their voluntary repatriation. Twenty Rohingya Muslim refugees and seven Bangladeshi officials visited Maungdaw Township and nearby villages in Rakhine state on Friday to see the arrangements for resettlement. Myanmar is offering Rohingya national verification cards (NVC), which Rohingya refugees regard as inadequate. A Myanmar delegation, however, visited the camps in March to verify a few hundred returnees for a pilot repatriation project. “UNHCR maintains that dialogue with the Rohingya refugees is a must to make an informed decision,” the agency said in a statement.

☆ Rohingya say will not go home to Myanmar to be stuck in camps
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, May 6 (Reuters) - Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh said on Saturday they would not return to Myanmar to "be confined in camps" after making their first return visit as part of efforts to encourage their voluntary repatriation. Nearly a million Rohingya Muslims live in squalid camps in the Bangladeshi border district of Cox's Bazar. Myanmar is offering Rohingya national verification cards (NVC), which Rohingya refugees regard as inadequate. A Myanmar delegation, however, visited the camps in March to verify a few hundred returnees for a pilot repatriation project. “UNHCR maintains that dialogue with the Rohingya refugees is a must to make an informed decision,” the agency said in a statement.

☆ Saudi crown prince is plotting to get US nuclear secrets by playing the White House, Russia, and China off against each other, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Saudi Arabia has snubbed the US and drawn closer to rivals including China. In recent months, Saudi Arabia has provoked the ire of the US, traditionally its closest international ally, while drawing closer to US adversaries including China and Russia. According to The Wall Street Journal, Crown Prince Mohammed may be using its relations with China and Russia to establish a closer US security relationship. Last week, it brokered talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have long been involved in proxy conflicts. US officials are wary of providing nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reported, as they believe the Saudis could seek to develop nuclear weapons, amid fears that Iran is again gearing up its nuclear program.

☆ Myanmar team in Bangladesh camps for Rohingya repatriation pilot project
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, March 15 (Reuters) - A Myanmar delegation is visiting Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh this week to verify a few hundred potential returnees for a pilot repatriation project, though a Bangladeshi official said it was unclear when they would be going home. Nearly one million Rohingya Muslim refugees are living in camps in the border district of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. "The international community are playing ping pong with the Rohingya," Tun Khin, president of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, told Reuters. "Rohingya refugees face an impossible choice. Stay in terrible conditions in refugee camps where rations are being cut, or return to their home country where genocidal policies continue.

REUTERS/Ruma PaulCOX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Mohammed Ismail says four of his relatives were killed by gunmen at the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh between April and October last year. The group has fought against Myanmar's security forces and some Rohingya say it has been recruiting fighters, often through coercion, in the Bangladesh camps. Ismail, who lives with his parents, wife and brother, says he fears for his life and understands why some Rohingya are fleeing Bangladesh. A FRAUGHT CHOICEReuters spoke with several refugees who returned to the Bangladesh camps after abandoning journeys to Malaysia, via Myanmar, out of trepidation. "People are risking their lives on sea journeys as there is no future here and criminal activities are rising," Aziz said.

☆ Deputy U.N. chief pushes women's rights during visit to Taliban heartland
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed expressed alarm to Taliban officials in Kandahar over violations of women's rights in Afghanistan, the United Nations said on Friday after she made a rare visit to the Taliban's southern heartland. Mohammed finished a four-day visit to Afghanistan on Friday, also meeting Taliban officials in the capital Kabul after the administration banned most female aid workers and stopped women and girls from attending high school and university. The U.N. General Assembly last month postponed for the second time a decision on whether the Taliban administration can send an ambassador to New York. Dozens of Taliban leaders are also subject to U.N. sanctions. No government has formally recognized the Taliban administration since it seized power in August 2021.

☆ Deputy U.N. chief has talks in Afghanistan on women's rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The United Nations deputy secretary-general discussed women's rights with Afghanistan's acting foreign minister on Wednesday after the Taliban authorities banned most female aid workers and stopped women and girls from attending high school and university. Amina Mohammed has also met with U.N. staff, aid groups and Afghan women "to take stock of the situation, convey solidarity, and discuss ways to promote and protect women's and girls rights," deputy U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York. In those talks, Mohammed "stressed the need to uphold human rights, especially for women and girls" and was "encouraged by exemptions" to the ban on female aid workers, Haq said. The Taliban administration on Dec. 24 ordered local and foreign aid organisations to stop female staff from working until further notice, days after it banned women from universities. Many aid groups, some of whom carry out humanitarian work under contracts with the United Nations, stopped operations following the ban.

☆ Iran and Britain's history of strained relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

DUBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - British-Iranian relations, which have been strained for decades, were back in the spotlight after Iranian authorities executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari for spying, charges he had denied. 1988 - Britain restores full diplomatic relations with Iran. 1994 - Britain accuses Iran of contacts with the outlawed Irish Republican Army, a charge Iran denies but relations worsen. 1999 - Iran says relations between Tehran and Britain have been upgraded to ambassadorial level. The same year, Iran accuses Britain of being behind bombings that killed six people in Iran.

☆ The US may have lost in the World Cup, but soccer is more popular than ever in America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +36 min

The Atlas Lions made history as the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal. They made history as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. It was Morocco's first World Cup win since 1998 — and its third-ever at the tournament. Less spoken about is that they also rate better on television than the men do in the World Cup. We’ll just have to wait and see, though with the US, Canada and Mexico hosting the 2026 World Cup, soccer isn’t going away anytime soon.

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