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☆ Neom's push for foreign investment is getting trickier after allegations of Saudi brutality
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Saudi Arabia needs foreign businesses to help it realize its Neom megacity project. The BBC reported that Saudi officials were given a license to use lethal force to clear land. But underneath the image is a far darker reality, say campaigners, which could threaten the foreign cash and expertise Saudi Arabia needs to realize its ambitions. Though his decision took place in 2022, it was given new urgency by a whistleblower giving more detail on how Saudi officials may have acted. Amnesty International said businesses ought to be wary of doing deals in Saudi Arabia and called for UK officials to push for an independent investigation into the Neom land clearances.

Persons: —, Malcolm Aw, Col Rabih Alenezi, Dana Ahmed, Mohammed bin Salman, Jamal al, Neom Organizations: BBC, Saudi, Service, UN, Telegraph, Amnesty International, Amnesty, Politico, The Atlantic Council, Business Locations: Saudi Arabia, Saudi

CNN —A road being built by the Israeli military splitting Gaza in two has reached the Mediterranean coast, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery shows. The plan has not been adopted by the IDF, but it includes elements that are coming into existence, including the Netzarim Corridor. Satellite imagery from November shows the tracks emerging, at a time when the military’s focus turned to surrounding Gaza City, advancing from the east. I remember it vividly.”Abu Holi was seldom open, Munther Al-Ashi, a lawyer from Gaza City, told CNN. “If our house in Gaza City has not been shelled, I would like to go back to it.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Al Rashid, Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, Chikli, Israel, Shimon Orkabi, Volker Türk, ’ Emily Harding, Harding, Jamal Al, ”, ” Al, Rozzi, Khan Younis, “, Munther Al, Ashi, Al Rozzi Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Al, Diaspora Affairs, IDF, Maxar Technologies, Planet Labs, Hamas, Israeli Engineering Corps, Combat Engineering Corps, Palestinian Friendship Hospital, Palestinian Friendship, UN, Human, Intelligence, National Security, Technology, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Israel, Rights Watch Locations: Gaza, Israel, Netzarim, Israeli, Gaza City, Be’eri, Chikli, Wadi Gaza, Turkish, Washington ,, ”, Rafah, “

Wreaths of smoke hung over the UN shelter, after a huge blaze broke out at the UNRWA Khan Younis Training Center, video obtained by CNN showed. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Israeli forces have surrounded the Nasser Medical Complex, cutting off crucial medical, food, and fuel supplies. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said Israeli forces are “surrounding” their headquarters and the Al-Amal Hospital and have enforced “restrictions on movement around both the building and the hospital”. Six people were killed in attacks on Khan Younis on Wednesday, PRCS added, three of which had been “targeted” at the entrance of their headquarters. “We were expecting to die at any minute.”Jamal al Rozzi, an aid worker displaced near Khan Younis, said he was forced to flee to Rafah on Wednesday after heavy bombardment in the area.

Persons: Khan Younis, ramped, ” Thomas White, White, ”, António Guterres, Fatima Shbair, Amal, Nasser, Ashraf Al, Qudra, Al, PRCS, WAFA, ” “, Hisham Sayegh, ” Sayegh, “, ” Jamal al Rozzi, ” Al Rozzi Organizations: CNN, UN, Training Center, UNRWA Affairs, World Health Organization, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, of Health, AP Hospitals, Hamas, Nasser, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Amal, Aqsa University, Rights Monitor, Med HR, National Society for Rehabilitation Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Khan, “, Palestine, Al, Geneva, Egypt

CNN —A near-total communications blackout in Gaza, the longest of the war, has now lasted one week with no signs of abating, preventing humanitarian and emergency services from operating effectively in the territory. Israel has in the past faced accusations of deliberately severing Gaza’s communications – charges on which it has not commented. The IDF told CNN that it was aware of the allegation, and that the incident was under review. This is where it becomes dangerous.”Al Rozzi, who is executive director of the National Society for Rehabilitation, told CNN that he struggles to get even a trickle of a connection. A senior American official has in the past told CNN that the U.S. applied pressure on Israel to restore connectivity in Gaza when it was severed.

Persons: ” Juliette Touma, “, ”, ” Jamal al Rozzi, Khan Younis, Alp Toker, Netblocks, Oredoo, Israel, Abed Zagou, ” Hisham Mhanna, Al Rozzi, ” al Rozzi, ” Toker Organizations: CNN, UNRWA, UN, IDF, Anadolu Agency, Getty, International Committee, Red, National Society for Rehabilitation, of Health, American Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Jerusalem, Rafah

☆ ‘Where will I leave these children, on the street?’ The struggle for survival faced by disabled Palestinians in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Rosa Rahimi | Sana Noor Haq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“There was chaos in the place, children crying, and smoke and fire spread,” Al-Naizi told CNN, sharing videos of the aftermath. It took about two hours to evacuate the group, according to Al-Naizi, as many of the children had to be carried. “Where will I leave these children, on the street?” Al-Naizi said. Streams of Palestinians – including women, children and the elderly – have been making their way south in a growing exodus along daily evacuation corridors announced by the IDF. Hazem Saeed Al-NaiziAs Israeli troops close in on Gaza City, Al-Naizi fears the orphanage will be displaced again.

Persons: Hazem Saeed Al, Naizi, ” Al, ”, “, Hamza, Muhammad, Naizi Israel, Volker Türk, Abu Jazar Sama, Sama, Walid Mahmoud Nazzal, ” Sama, ” Heba Abu Jazar Sama, Heba Abu Jazar Sama, Sama’s, Jamal Al Rozzi, Ayas, Saeed Al, Reham Shaheen, bedsores, Shaheen, Gazans, Al Rozzi, Fidaa Fouad Khamis Omar, Khan Younis, ’ Al Rozzi’s, Adham, Israel, Omar, , ” CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury, Abeer Salman, Akanksha Sharma, Mostafa Salem, Zeena, Eyad Kourdi Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian Ministry of Health, West Bank, Humanitarian Affairs, IDF, United Nations, Palestinian Central Bureau, Statistics, Palestinian, Palestinian Union of, UN, Human Rights Watch, National Society for Rehabilitation, Humanity, HRW, Aid, National Society for, Rehabilitation, Amnesty International Locations: Gaza, Gaza City, Al, Ramallah, Palestinian Union, “, Wadi Gaza, Khan

☆ Drone, explosive attacks target US forces across Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

There had been four attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria in the past 24 hours, a separate U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The security sources said the patrol was accompanied by Iraqi counter-terrorism forces and that a vehicle in the patrol was damaged. A drone was also launched at al-Harir air base in Erbil which house U.S. and international forces but was downed before reaching its target, security sources said. It added that the base had been evacuated of U.S.-led coalition forces on Oct. 20. The U.S. military official said they "don't have any updates regarding adjustments in force posture throughout Iraq and Syria."

Persons: Kamal Ayash, Jamal al, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Idrees Ali, Timour Azhari, Mark Heinrich, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: U.S, Federal Iraqi, Pentagon, United, Thomson Locations: MOSUL, Iraq, U.S, Israel, Syria, Mosul, Ain, Asad, Baghdad, Erbil, Gaza, Iran, Tehran, Iranian, United States, Anbar, Badrani, Washington

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as outcry grows over Gaza crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Andrew Raine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

People injured in Israeli attacks on Al-Maghazi refugee camp are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza on November 5. CNNDozens were killed and many more injured in a blast at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip late Saturday night, according to an official at a nearby hospital. Video taken at the Al-Aqsa Martyr's hospital showed multiple bodies laid out under white tarpaulin and those of five children. A dense area: The Al-Maghazi refugee camp is located in the central part of the coastal enclave south of Wadi Gaza. The IDF has repeatedly called for civilians in Gaza to move south of Wadi Gaza as it has intensified its air and ground assault on Gaza City and Northern Gaza.

Persons: Khalil Al, Balah, Dr, Daqran, Jamal Al Aloul, ”, Samah Shaqoura Organizations: Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, CNN, Al, Aqsa Martyr’s, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, IDF Locations: Al, Aqsa, Deir Al, Balah, Gaza, Israeli, Wadi Gaza, Gaza City, Northern Gaza

CNN —Dozens were killed and many more injured in a blast at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip late Saturday night, according to an official at a nearby hospital and eyewitnesses who spoke with CNN. One resident of the camp told CNN: “We were sitting in our homes, suddenly we heard a very, very powerful sound of an explosion. People check the damage at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp on Sunday. Alaloul, who is a freelance photojournalist with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, said his home was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. The Al-Maghazi refugee camp is located in the central part of the coastal enclave south of Wadi Gaza, the waterway that divides north from south Gaza.

Persons: Mohammad al Hajj, Dr Eyad Abu Zaher, ”, Khalil Al, “, Mahmud Hams, Muhammed Alaloul, Alaloul, Kenan, Rahaf, Ahmad, …, Qais, ” Alaloul, Jamal Al Aloul, Samah Shaqoura, CNN “, Sundos Shaqura, Israel, Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Blinken, Mohammed Shia, ” “ Israel, We’ve Organizations: CNN, Hamas, of Health, Al, Israel Defense Forces, Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital, IDF, Getty, Israel, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Sunday, Anadolu, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Iraqi Locations: Gaza, Aqsa, AFP, Wadi Gaza, Ramallah, Turkish, Jordan, Iraq, Sudani, Baghdad

In Saturday’s initial report, OCHA said at least 11,300 people are dead in Derna, Libya, due to devastating flooding. The Libyan Red Crescent Society told CNN earlier on Sunday that it never released the high death figure tolls to the UN from flooding in Derna. People walk through rubble and debris left by flooding in Derna, Libya, on Sunday, September 17. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters An aerial view of the devastation after flooding caused by Storm Daniel on September 15. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters People carry some of their belongings as they walk along a muddy street on September 14.

Persons: OCHA, “ We’re, ” Farhan Haq, Haq, ” Haq, Esam Omran, Zohra Bensemra, Amr Alfiky, Ayman Al, Yousef Murad, Storm Daniel, Muhammad J, Abdullah Doma, Ahmed Elumami, Jamal Alkomaty, Abdullah Mohammed Bonja, Omar Jarhman, Ali Al, Saadi, Derna Organizations: CNN, UN, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, World Health Organization, WHO, Crescent, Sunday, Libyan Red Crescent Society, Reuters, United Arab Emirates, Reuters Volunteers, Elalwany, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Reuters Workers, Planet Labs PBC, AP, AFP Locations: Libya, Derna, Libyan, AFP, Shahhat, Storm

☆ Ten countries and territories saw severe flooding in just 12 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Hong Kong CNN —September started with a typhoon that ripped through Hong Kong, uprooting trees and flooding the city. People walk past houses destroyed by heavy rain and flooding in Derna, Libya, on September 13, 2023. Elsewhere in Europe, a separate storm – Storm Dana – saw torrential rain across Spain, damaging homes and killing at least three people. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters An aerial view of the devastation after flooding caused by Storm Daniel on September 15. Abdullah Mohammed Bonja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images This satellite photo shows the extent of Derna's flooding on September 12.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, ”, Jung, Eun Chu, Esam Omran, Chu, they’ve, Storm Daniel, Angelos Tzortzinis, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Theodoros Skylakakis, “, Megala, Giannis Floulis, Dana –, Cross, Martin Griffiths, Ciaran Donnelly, Amr Alfiky, Ayman Al, Zohra Bensemra, Yousef Murad, Muhammad J, Abdullah Doma, Ahmed Elumami, Jamal Alkomaty, Abdullah Mohammed Bonja, Omar Jarhman, Ali Al, Saadi, Haikui –, Saola, Haikui, Maria Clara Sassaki, Rick Cinclair, Phil Klotzbach Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, UN, City University of Hong, Getty, Greek, CNN, International Committee, International Rescue, United Arab Emirates, Reuters Volunteers, Reuters, Elalwany, Anadolu Agency, Reuters Workers, Planet Labs PBC, AP, AFP, CNN Brasil, Worcester Telegram, Gazette, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University Locations: Hong Kong, Libya, City University of Hong Kong, Derna, Europe, Greece, Palamas, AFP, Megala Kalyvia, Turkey, Istanbul, Bulgaria, Spain, Libyan, Shahhat, Asia, Taiwan, China, Shenzhen, Americas, Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazilian, United States, Nevada, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Leominster , Massachusetts, El

☆ ‘We knew ahead of time’: A decade of turmoil left Libya unprepared for natural disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Split between two rival administrations since 2014 and having failed to hold presidential elections, Libya faces an uphill battle when it comes to severe natural disasters. Planet Labs PBC/AP Planet Labs PBC/AP Satellite images show Derna, Libya on September 2, before the flooding, left, and after the dams collapsed, right. Responding to criticism regarding lack of preparedness by the LNA, Al-Mismari said that in such situations, 50% of the responsibility falls on authorities (LNA) and 50% falls on citizens. Turkey, which backs the Tripoli government, also said it is mobilizing personnel and supplies to assist authorities in eastern Libya. Tamer Ramadan, head of international Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Libya, told CNN Tuesday that the issue of rival governments in Libya does not affect their operation.

Persons: Storm Daniel, Khalifa Haftar –, ”, Anas El Gomati, Moammar Gadhafi, Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, Haftar, Jalel Harchaoui, ‘, ’, Harchaoui, Gomati, Osama Hamad, Osama Aly, ” Aly, “, Al Hurra, Jamal Alkomaty, ” Harchaoui, Ahmed al, Mismari, Al, ” Gomati, there’s, Ramadan, ” Ramadan Organizations: CNN, Planet Labs PBC, AP Planet Labs PBC, AP, ISIS, Libya –, Sadeq Institute, NATO, Libyan National Army, Royal United Services Institute, Emergency, Ambulance Service, Twitter, Analysts, United Nations, United, United Arab Emirates, Civil Protection Department, Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies Locations: Libya, Split, Libyan, Derna, Greece, Morocco, “, Tripoli, Benghazi, “ Libya, London, Cyrenaica, tatters, Derna’s, Al, Italy, Egypt, Russia, United Arab, Algeria, Turkey

Relatives of those still missing told CNN they are terrified. Here’s what we know so far:Where did the flood hit? Morgues are stacked to capacity and dead bodies have been left on the sidewalks outside, Osama Aly, spokesperson for the Emergency and Ambulance Service in Libya, told CNN Tuesday. Analysts have said that climate forecasts gave warnings days before the storm hit Libya, but that authorities in the east did not act quickly enough. Tamer Ramadan, head of international Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Libya, told CNN Tuesday that the issue of rival governments in Libya doesn’t affect their operations.

Persons: “, Areej’s, Emad Milad, ” Milad, Osama Aly, Muammar Gaddafi, Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, Khalifa Haftar, Osama Hamad, Esam Omran, Reuters Derna, Ahmed Al, Mismari, ” Al, Al, Tamer Ramadan, ”, Jamal Alkomaty, Daniel, ” Karsten Haustein Organizations: CNN —, Authorities, United Nations ’ International Organization for Migration, CNN, Emergency, Ambulance Service, UN, of National Unity, GNU, Libyan National Army, Reuters, Arabiya, Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies, Leipzig University, Science Media Center Locations: Derna, Libya, Tobruk, Benghazi, NATO, Tripoli, Egypt, UAE, Turkey, Italy, Algeria, Libya’s, Greece, Germany

☆ Biden is trying to lure Saudi Arabia's crown prince away from China with lucrative promises, despite once threatening to make him a 'pariah'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US has replaced its threats with lucrative contracts for the crown prince as part of a high stakes power game being waged over dominance of the region. Biden last weekend dispatched his national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, to Saudi Arabia, for discussions with Saudi officials. Last year, Crown Prince Mohammed and Xi agreed to deepen their cooperation across a range of economic and security issues. Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the royal palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 8, 2022. "It is important to note that Saudi Arabia is not seeking to burn its bridges with the United States.

The Justice Department wrote in its brief that a failed background check would not have kept Kelley, from conducting the shooting, and the government could not have known he intended to pursue the attack. But under Texas law, the United States is not legally responsible for the damages caused by that shooting." Critics said a successful appeal will ultimately undercut the background check system, damage the Biden administration’s gun safety law efforts and bolster the gun lobby. “The 26 dead and 22 injured at the Sutherland Springs mass shooting disagree.”Twenty-six crosses stand in a field to honor the victims killed during the mass shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in 2017. Now the survivors and victims must relive the traumatic shooting through an appeal that Alsaffar said could take as long as two years.

The disharmony between the Justice Department’s case and the Biden administration’s gun safety efforts as well as the fears and pressure that a lost appeal could damage gun safety laws are at the crux of the survivors' acrimony. Why are you doing all this (gun reform) and yet you’re fighting it over here?’” said Juan “Gunny” Macias, a survivor who was shot numerous times in the attack and viewed the president’s gun safety priorities as dissonant with the potential Justice Department appeal. The Justice Department has received two extensions to file its appeal brief, now due next week, and is unlikely to receive another one. “I assume the Justice Department is taking this position because the lawyers are looking for the best legal avenues that will give them the outcome they want,” he said. That’s what creates problems like the ones we’re facing.”For fear of what an appeal could mean for U.S. gun laws, a coalition of 37 gun safety organizations sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in October about the Justice Department’s intention to appeal.

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