International

Algeria circulates U.N. Security Council resolution demanding cease-fire in Gaza

Published

4 weeks ago

May 30, 2024

Algeria circulates U.N. Security Council resolution demanding cease-fire in Gaza

New York, NY – Algeria is circulating a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that would demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and order Israel to halt its military offensive in the southern city of Rafah immediately.

The draft resolution, obtained Wednesday evening by The Associated Press, also demands that the cease-fire be respected by all parties and calls for the immediate release of all hostages taken during Hamas’ attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Some diplomats are hopeful for a quick vote, potentially as early as Wednesday. “It is our hope that it can be done as quickly as possible because life is in the balance,” Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong told reporters.

U.S. Reaction to the Proposal

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “We’re waiting to see it and then we’ll react to it.” The United States has vetoed multiple resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.

The draft demands compliance with previous Security Council resolutions that call for the opening of all border crossings and humanitarian access to Gaza’s 2.3 million people who desperately need food and other aid.

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The proposed resolution states that “the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip constitutes a threat to regional and international peace and security.” It expresses grave concern at “famine spreading throughout the Gaza Strip” and the suffering of Palestinians who took refuge in Rafah.

Immediate Halt of Military Offensive

The resolution would demand that Israel “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in Rafah.” It condemns what it calls “the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, including women and children, and civilian infrastructure” and reiterates the council’s demand for all parties to comply with international law requiring the protection of civilians.

Algeria’s U.N. ambassador, Amar Bendjama, who is also the Arab representative on the Security Council, told reporters after emergency closed council consultations Tuesday that he would be sending the draft resolution to the 15-member council later in the evening.

Context of the Emergency Meeting

Algeria called the emergency council meeting as Israel pushed ahead with its military operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge. It followed Sunday night’s Israeli airstrikes that triggered a fire engulfing tents in a camp for displaced Palestinians west of Rafah, killing 45 people and injuring over 100 others.

Algeria circulates U.N. Security Council resolution demanding cease-fire in Gaza

Related Topics:Algeria council Gaza U.N. Security

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International

US state bans medical treatment for transgender children

Published

5 hours ago

June 29, 2024

Trends Admin

US state bans medical treatment for transgender children

The Texas Supreme Court has backed a law that stops doctors from giving medical treatment to children who feel their gender is different from the one they were born with.

This treatment includes puberty blockers, hormones and other medicines that help transgender children feel more comfortable in their bodies, Reuters reported on Friday.

The Texas law took effect on September 1, 2023, after Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed it in June 2023.

The law prohibits doctors from performing gender transition procedures or treating gender dysphoria in individuals under 18 years old.

Opponents of the law, including parents, doctors, and advocacy groups, took legal action to stop it from being enforced. A judge agreed with them, issuing an injunction and ruling that the law likely went against the Texas Constitution.

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On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court overturned the earlier decision, declaring the law constitutional and allowing it to stand

In the majority opinion, Justice Rebeca Huddle stated that although parents have a significant right to make decisions about their children’s healthcare without government intrusion, this right is not absolute.

International

Minister arrested over alleged witchcraft

Published

18 hours ago

June 28, 2024

Trends Admin

Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem

Minister arrested over alleged witchcraft

A high-ranking politician in the Maldives has been arrested and detained, reportedly on suspicion of casting spells against the country’s president.

Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem, State Secretary for Environment, Climate Change, and Energy, was taken into custody along with her ex-husband and two other accomplices.

The group has been ordered to remain in jail for a week pending an investigation.

The arrests have sent shockwaves through the political landscape of the Maldives, a nation known more for its idyllic beaches and tourism than for allegations of sorcery at the highest levels of government.

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The Maldives police have not officially stated the reasons behind the arrest of the minister. However, they have declined to confirm or deny media reports suggesting that the charges involve ‘black magic’ directed at President Mohamed Muizzu.

The accusations have sparked widespread speculation and concern among the public and within political circles.

Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem has been a prominent figure in the government, actively involved in shaping policies related to climate change and sustainable development.

Her sudden arrest on such unusual charges has raised many questions about the underlying political dynamics at play.

Minister arrested over alleged witchcraft

International

Israeli forces arrest 28 Palestinians in raids in occupied West Bank

Published

1 day ago

June 28, 2024

Trends Admin

Israeli forces detain 28 Palestinians in West Bank raids

Israeli forces arrest 28 Palestinians in raids in occupied West Bank

The Israeli military has arrested 28 Palestinians in a series of raids across the occupied West Bank, according to a Palestinian rights group.

The overnight raids, part of Israel’s increasingly violent assault on the occupied territories, targeted the governorates of Jenin, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah and el-Bireh, Nablus and Jerusalem, said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society on Thursday.

Israeli forces had doled out “severe beatings” and made threats against detainees’ families, said the group, which keeps a daily tally of arrests.

Violence in the West Bank, already on the rise before Israel’s current war on Gaza erupted in October, has since escalated with frequent army raids on Palestinian groups, rampages by Jewish settlers in Palestinian villages, and deadly Palestinian street attacks.

Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said the Israeli military had “dramatically” increased its operations, conducting about 38 raids a day, with an uptick in detentions. Home demolitions have gone up by 25 percent since last year, displacing more than 1,000 Palestinians.

In Jenin, where nine Palestinians were arrested, armed confrontations broke out in the city and its refugee camp in the early hours of Thursday.

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Palestinian media said Israeli forces had raided a pharmacy near Jenin Government Hospital, on the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp, transferring detainees to an unknown destination.

A resident said Israeli bulldozers destroyed infrastructure inside the camp and in the city of Jenin.

During the raid, Palestinian fighters attacked Israeli armoured vehicles with explosive devices, killing one soldier and wounding 16.

“There were two explosions. The first one caused injuries. The second, that’s where the death happened,” said Odeh.

“According to preliminary Israeli investigations, the devices were buried or located a metre and a half into the ground, so deeper than the Israeli military vehicles usually dig to be able to find those improvised devices,” she said.

The Israeli military confirmed the death. The soldier “fell during operational activity in the area of Jenin”, it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Wafa news agency reported that four Palestinians were arrested in an overnight swoop on Hebron.

Israeli forces had stormed the town of Yatta, south of the city of Hebron, arresting three people, including a female university student. Another man was arrested in the town of Dura, southwest of Hebron.

The Israeli military also arrested a man after shooting him in the foot in the Qalandiya refugee camp, while another man was taken into custody in Deir Ghassana village, northwest of Ramallah.

Since October 7, Israel has carried out a total of 9,430 arrests in the West Bank in near daily raids.

The United Nations’ human rights chief Volker Turk warned this month that the situation in the West Bank was “dramatically deteriorating”, saying earlier that people there were being “subjected to day after day of unprecedented bloodshed”.