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☆ Israel's attack on Rafah shows the troubling limits of Biden's influence
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewEarly on Tuesday, Israeli tanks seized control of the vital Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. But throughout its eight-month war, Israel has shown that it is willing to reject and ignore the advice of its most important international ally, the US. Israel on Monday warned civilians in eastern Rafah to evacuate, indicating that an attack may be imminent. His coalition is fragile, and he relies on the support of far-right lawmakers who are demanding an attack on Rafah. AdvertisementThe Gaza war has repeatedly threatened to spill into a wider regional conflict, and scenes of new civilian suffering in Rafah could intensify that threat.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Matt Duss, Biden, John Kirby, Netanyahu, Israel Biden, Israel, JIM WATSON, He's, Aaron David Miller, Dave Harden Organizations: Service, Hamas, Israeli, Business, Washington, Center for International, House, Monday, Biden, Getty, US, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Wall Street, New York Times, US Agency for International Development, West Bank, BBC Locations: Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Rafah, Ukraine, Israel —, Qatar, New York City, Palestinian, Saudi Arabia

CNN —Israeli forces last week launched another military operation on Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, bringing the sprawling medical facility north of the enclave back into the spotlight. Here’s what we know:Why are the Israeli forces raiding Al-Shifa again? Palestinian residents leave the area with a few items after Israeli forces besiege the Al-Shifa hospital with tanks and heavy gunfire in Gaza City, Gaza on March 18, 2024. Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Getty ImagesResidents of the area around Al-Shifa told CNN there was heavy firing in the vicinity. Meanwhile a doctor who cared for patients trapped inside Al-Shifa told CNN he fears two severely malnourished siblings will not survive due to lack of care and medication.

Persons: Shifa, ”, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Israel, Dawoud Abo, –, Mohammad Al Shawwa, Al Shawwa, “, ” Al Shawwa, Al Shawwa’s, Dr Ali Alghaliz, Rafiq Dughmosh, Rafif Dughmosh, Alghaliz, Mahmoud, Rafiq, “ Rafiq, Dr Ali, ” Alghaliz, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, ” Ghebreyesus, Jake Sullivan, Lloyd Austin, Jacquelyn Martin, ” Sullivan, Samantha Power Organizations: CNN, Israeli, Israel Defense Forces, Al, United Nations, IDF, Defense Ministry, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Shifa, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Getty, Islamic, Al Ahli Baptist Hospital, Aid, Health Organization, WHO, National, US, Pentagon, US Agency for International Development, USAID Locations: Al, Gaza City, Gaza, Israel, “, –, Anadolu, Al Ahli, Israel’s, Shifa, Rafah, ”

☆ US looking into possible airdrops of aid into Gaza, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The United States is looking into possible airdrops of aid into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis there deepens and assistance fails to reach the people in the war-torn strip, two US officials told CNN on Wednesday. One US official said the prospect of airdrops is being seriously considered based on the conditions on the ground. Earlier this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France airdropped relief aid on various areas in the Gaza Strip in a sign of how desperate the situation has become. “We are talking to Israeli officials about the need to open up far more crossings, far more passages into Gaza, so that vitally needed humanitarian assistance can be dramatically surged,” Power said. “This is a matter of life and death.”Power met on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, one of the US officials told CNN.

Persons: Axios, Samantha Power, ” Power, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant Organizations: CNN, United Nations, US Agency for International, Israeli Locations: United States, Gaza, Jordan, Egypt, UAE, Qatar, France, Israel

☆ First on CNN: Top US humanitarian official to travel to Middle East this week
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The US government’s top humanitarian aid official will travel to Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan this week in an effort to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that is veering into catastrophe. Power will “underscore the importance of protecting civilians and aid workers in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the spokesperson said. Power is the latest Biden administration to travel to the region to emphasize the US’ strong concerns over the deepening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn strip. Although the Biden administration has become increasingly critical of the toll of the Israeli offensive, it remains at odds with the international humanitarian community and nations like Jordan by vetoing calls for an immediate ceasefire. Ongoing outrage over the administration’s continued support for the Israeli military offensive threatens to be a political problem for Biden in an election year.

Persons: Samantha Power, “, Biden, –, Joe Biden, vetoing, ”, ” Christopher Lockyear Organizations: CNN, West Bank, US Agency for International Development, USAID, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Biden, UNRWA, Congress, United Nations, Doctors, UN Locations: Israel, Jordan, Gaza, ”, Rafah, Michigan, States

☆ Group of Palestinian-Americans skip Blinken meeting over Biden admin’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

More than 26,000 have been killed, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and Gaza is on the brink of famine. ‘Soul-searching’One of the invitees to the roundtable, Dr. Tariq Haddad, said in an intensely personal, 12-page letter to Blinken that he initially intended to go to the meeting. “My family are subsisting on animal feed, Secretary Blinken, because of your policies,” he said. Public oppositionAnd while Blinken was quietly confronted behind closed doors about the administration’s policy toward Gaza on Thursday, members of the administration, including Blinken, have also faced public displays of opposition. “And we are working 24/7 to try to dramatically expand the flow of food, medicine, shelter – I mean, so much is needed.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Joe, Biden, ”, “, Tariq Haddad, ” Haddad, Haddad, –, Matt Miller, ” Miller, Samantha Power, Power, doesn’t Organizations: CNN, Biden, Middle East, State Department, State, Palestinian, US Agency for International Development, USAID, Agency, USAID Missions Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, Thursday’s, ”

☆ Period poverty: How air pollution in Kenya could make periods heavier, more painful and more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Elizabeth Wells | Eoin Mcsweeney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Studies have linked air pollution to an increased risk of endometriosis , a condition that causes tissue like what lines the womb to grow outside of the uterus. Compared with Kenya, women can more easily access anti-inflammatory drugs and birth control commonly used to manage painful periods. She believes that the new research on air pollution should be a major concern for the millions of women struggling to manage their periods in Nairobi. Kenyan Senator Gloria Orwoba is calling for more research on the link between air pollution and women's reproductive health. Now, she tells CNN, targeted government intervention is needed to address the possible effects of air pollution on menstrual cycles.

Persons: Alice Shikuku, Shikuku, Mercy, Audrey Gaskins, we've, Gaskins, Oscar Lee, Lee, Emmie Erondanga, Miss Koch, Erondanga, Wanjiru Kepha, Kepha, Wanjiru, Damaris Atieno, Atieno, Sen, Gloria Orwoba, Orwoba, William Ruto's, she's, I'm Organizations: CNN, US Agency for International Development, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, China Medical University, World Health Organization, Miss, Huru International, Kenya, Kenyan, William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance Locations: Nairobi, Kenya, Korogocho, United States, Taiwan, Taichung, Shikuku's, Dandora, Miss Koch Kenya, Mukuru, Miss, Wanjiru Kepha

☆ Blinken acknowledges disagreements within State Department on Israel-Hamas war in email to staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged disagreements within the State Department over the Biden administration’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war in an email to staff Monday. His message to personnel, sent on the heels of his recent travels, comes amid growing anger and dissent not only from staff at the State Department but within the broader Biden administration. CNN reported last week that hundreds of personnel at the US Agency for International Development signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire, and there are reports of a “dissent memo” inside the State Department. “I know that for many of you, the suffering caused by this crisis is taking a profound personal toll,” Blinken wrote in his email Monday, which was seen by CNN. “We believe in Palestinian-led governance of Gaza, with Gaza unified with the West Bank.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Biden, “, ” Blinken, ”, I’ve, Blinken, HuffPost, Matthew Miller, ” Miller Organizations: CNN, State Department, Biden, US Agency for International Development, West Bank Locations: Israel, Washington, East, Asia, Gaza, Palestinian

“It has created great moral anxiety,” said one senior administration official. Elsewhere in the administration, officials are quietly fuming as the civilian death toll mounts. But Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have steadfastly rejected the idea of a lengthy pause in the fighting unless hostages are released. Administration officials argue they have had success in some areas as they work to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Still, steady pressure by the Biden administration on Israel to refine its war plans and define its objectives in Gaza has not yielded the level of clarity many US officials say is necessary.

Persons: Biden, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony Blinken, Netanyahu, Joe, John Kirby, that’s, ” Kirby, weren’t, “ They’re, We’ve, ” Blinken, Israel “, Kirby, “, Blinken, Israel, we’ve, Mark Regev, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Regev, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez Organizations: Tokyo CNN, CNN, State Department, US Agency for International Development, “, USAID, United States Government, State, ” National Security, Israel Defense Forces, West Bank, Israel, Democratic Party, ABC News, ABC Locations: Washington, Tokyo, Gaza, –, Israel, ”, Tel Aviv, Turkey, Egypt, States

☆ As Azerbaijan claims final victory in Nagorno Karabakh, arms trade with Israel comes under scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Max Saltman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Israeli ‘realpolitik’Young ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh in the town of Goris during evacuations to Armenia on October 1. Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure/AP Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh drive to Goris on September 28. Vahan Stepanyan/PAN Photo/AP Volunteers distribute food to ethnic Armenians arriving in Goris from Nagorno-Karabakh on September 28. Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh line up to receive humanitarian aid at a temporary camp in Goris on September 26. Wezeman, the researcher at SIPRI, said Israel could come under pressure from its Western allies to reconsider arms sales to Azerbaijan.

Persons: CNN —, Marut Vanyan, “ I’m, ”, “, Vanyan, Leonid Nersisyan, Rishon Le, Jack Guez, …, Pieter Wezeman, ” Wezeman, Emmanuel Dunand, Efraim Inbar, ” Inbar, Israel ’, Inbar, LORA, ” Hikmet Ajiyev, Ilham Aliyev, realpolitik, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Sergey Astsetryan, Aziz Karimov, Hayk, Vahan Stepanyan, Vasily Krestyaninov, Alain Jocard, Anatoly Matlsev, David Harapetyan, Irakli Gedenidze, Reuters Greta, Anthony Pizzoferrato, Samantha Power, Power, Astrig Agopian, Novlet, David Ghahramanyan, Israel Organizations: CNN, Azerbaijan, Applied Policy Research Institute, Israel Aerospace Industries, IAI, Autonomous Robotics, Getty, Haaretz, Artsakh Defense Army –, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, Israeli Ministry of Defense, Ovda Airport, Israel, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, “, APRI, Artsakh Defense Army, Reuters, AP, Erebuni, PAN, AP Volunteers, Karabakh, Technologies, US Agency for International Development, Volunteers, Vehicles, Red Cross, People, Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Stepanakert, Karabakh’s, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Rishon, Tel Aviv, AFP, Israel’s, Artsakh, Israel, Stockholm, Baku, Lachin, Iran, Iranian, Jerusalem, Ottoman, Turkey, Ottoman Empire, APRI Armenia, Syunik, Nakhchivan, Republic of Armenia, Goris, Yerevan, Kornidzor, Russia, United States

☆ Zelenskyy fires recruitment officials for accepting $10,000 bribes. Almost all Ukrainians think the country has a problem with corruption, survey suggests.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In a poll, 77.6% of Ukrainians said Zelenskyy was responsible for government corruption. It came out as Zelenskyy fired all the heads of Ukraine's regional military committees. The poll came out as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched an investigation into bribery related to military recruitment. Zelenskyy: Recruitment bribes at a time of war is 'high treason'On Friday, Zelenskyy said he dismissed the heads of Ukraine's regional military committees as investigations into corruption in Ukraine continued, particularly in its armed-forces recruitment. "We are dismissing all regional military commissars," a statement on Zelenskyy's official Telegram channel said.

Persons: Zelenskyy, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Petro Burkovskyi, Burkovskyi, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Russia, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, US Agency for International, Ilko, Democratic, Foundation, commissars, BBC News, National Agency on Corruption Prevention, Newsweek Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Spain

And earlier this week, Russia targeted a Ukrainian port on the Danube River near NATO ally Romania. Now, Russia’s defense ministry has warned that ships sailing to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will be viewed as military targets. Two thirds of the wheat that left Ukraine via the Black Sea ports went to developing countries, said Power. Russian drones attacked Ukraine's port infrastructure on the Danube river, targeting Ukrainian grain stocks and destroying storage hangars, the Ukrainian Army said. “We believe its targeting might also include attacks against civilian shipping in the Black Sea.

Persons: Barbara Woodward, Moscow’s, United Nations Linda, Thomas Greenfield, “, ”, Samantha Power, Antony Blinken, António Guterres, Bulgaria –, Power, Kees Huizinga, Huizinga, ” Katherine Brucker Organizations: CNN, United Nations, NATO, European, US Agency for International Development, UN, Romania, European Commission, Aspen Security, AP, U.S . Agency for International, Biden, Ukrainian Army, Ukraine Operational Command, European Union, Organization for Security, Cooperation Locations: Ukraine, United, Russia, Odesa, Ukrainian, Turkey, Kerch, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, West, United States, Europe

☆ Josh Hawley splits Senate GOP over 'duplicative' idea to create a new office tracking US aid to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Senate rejected a bill from Josh Hawley to establish a new office to oversee Ukraine aid. Many Republicans said they were confident in the Biden administration's aid tracking efforts. "We already have a very extensive operation to oversee spending in Ukraine," said Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah. Hawley's bill did win over at least one Republican who's a vocal supporter of aiding Ukraine: Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The underlying AUMF repeal bill, which is backed by a large bipartisan majority of senators and has been endorsed by the White House, is expected to pass the Senate on Wednesday.

“If I won the lottery, I’d do this for free because I have a passion for public health,” Bernstein said. I had to put other projects on hold to do pro bono work for the CDC. “If we want CDC to get better at fighting diseases, we need to stop tying their hands behind their back,” he said. A senior CDC official called it an “antiquated” system that “has not evolved over time.” The official spoke on the on the condition of anonymity so she could speak freely on the matter. ‘A real challenge to solve’The CDC is preparing a presentation to urge Congress it to fix this, Walensky said.

☆ Nigeria is oil rich and energy poor. It can’t wait around for cheaper batteries
▼ + stars: | 2021-11-03 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

But it’s coming under huge pressure from developed countries to abandon fossil fuels and shift to renewable energy in order to help save the climate. AKINTUNDE AKINLEYE/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockLike the United States, Europe and Britain, Nigeria sees a prominent role for renewable energy, notwithstanding its investments into gas power. “In Nigeria, clean energy is central to our government’s plan to transition to net-zero emissions,” Osinbajo, the vice president, continued. In Nigeria, energy poverty is itself a major driver of emissions, according to Olu Verheijen, the founder of Lagos-based energy advisory business Latimer Energy. This means that in some cases, certainly for Nigeria, gas has an important role to play in providing power.

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