China supports Russia's draft resolution in the UN Security Council on the issue of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Wednesday.

Wang made the remarks at a regular press conference in response to a media inquiry about the draft resolution proposed by Russia at the UN Security Council in February, calling for the establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate the gas pipeline accident.

It was reported that Russia had begun to implement the silence procedure on the draft resolution, but the United States and some other Western members of the UN Security Council broke the silence and objected to such a committee.

Noting the great impact of the Nord Stream gas pipeline bombing incident, Wang said most members of the international community demanded confirmation of the truth.

Noting that the draft resolution proposed by Russia is aimed at promoting international investigations by the United Nations, Wang noted, adding that China agrees with the idea and supports the draft resolution.

Wang said the United Nations, as the most competent and representative international institution, presiding over international investigations will help build synergy with existing investigations by individual countries, and discover the truth more quickly.

The spokesperson said China supports the UN Security Council's discussions on relevant issues, and constructively participated in the consultations on the draft resolution. Some developing countries members of the UN Security Council also put forward reasonable views and proposals.

Wang added that China has also noted the behavior of some Western countries in the UN Security Council and hopes that those countries will sincerely abandon selfish geopolitical interests, earnestly fulfill their obligations and responsibilities as UN Security Council members, and constructively participate in the consultations on the draft resolution to make positive efforts for Reach a consensus on the decision early on.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned Wednesday that Tunisia urgently needs to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, after the European Union expressed concern about the deteriorating political and economic situation in this country.

"The most important thing they can do in Tunisia from an economic point of view is to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund," Blinken said in response to a question about Tunisia during a hearing of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"We strongly encourage them to do so because the economy may be heading into the unknown," he added.

Tunisia is struggling under mounting debt and price hikes exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It reached a tentative agreement in October for a new loan from the International Monetary Fund of about $2 billion.

The World Bank sought to ensure reforms in Tunisia, and recently expressed its concern about a series of racist attitudes against the backdrop of statements by President Kais Saied in which he criticized the large presence of illegal immigrants in his country and talked about a conspiracy to change the "demographic composition" in the country.

On Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that the bloc is concerned about the deteriorating political and economic situation in Tunisia and fears its collapse.

"If Tunisia collapses, it threatens an influx of migrants towards the European Union and causing instability in the Middle East and North Africa region. We want to avoid this situation," he said.

On Tuesday, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry expressed its rejection of Borrell's statements, considering them "exaggerated."

Blinken also expressed his concerns about the political transformation of Tunisia under Said, who has monopolized all powers since July 25, 2021.

The opposition accused Saeed of carrying out a coup in the country from which the Arab Spring was launched a decade ago.

With a lump, Umm Esmat is preparing to receive the holy month of Ramadan , which begins on Thursday and will be heavy this year, after the earthquake caused severe damage to her house, and made her live overnight with her family in a tent in northern Syria .

"The month of Ramadan this year is different from the previous Ramadan and the year before," the woman told AFP, after she finished shopping with her daughter from a nearby shop in the town of Sheikh Hadid in the Afrin region in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo.

Inside a tent that has become her home since the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and neighboring Turkey on February 6, Umm Esmat is arranging the bags of rice, bulgur, oil, dates and sweets she has bought. She brings household utensils from her neighboring house that survived the aftermath of the earthquake.

"Ramadan this year is difficult for us because our spirits were broken and we are now living in a tent," she added, burningly, as she sat inside the tent, which was empty except for mattresses and a heater.

The earthquake severely damaged her house, some of whose walls collapsed and others cracked. She had no choice but to pitch a tent in front of the house, which is surrounded by olive trees.

The earthquake killed about six thousand people across Syria, causing widespread destruction in five Syrian governorates, especially those bordering Turkey. The earthquake worsened the living conditions of the population.

The month of Ramadan this year comes at a time when food needs in Syria are at their highest levels since the outbreak of the conflict 12 years ago, according to what the United Nations World Food Program announced last week. 12.9 million people are currently food insecure.

And the program warned last week that unless it gets additional funding, it will have to cut (aid) off 3.8 million people out of a total of eight million by July.

In a camp that was hastily set up after the earthquake occurred in the countryside of Jenderes, one of the areas most affected by the earthquake in northern Syria, Hilal Muhammad al-Safarjali sells chocolate bars, biscuits and sweets on a table that he placed between the tents, in order to secure his daily livelihood after losing his house due to the disaster.

The man, originally displaced from Damascus, told AFP, "I do not know how to say Happy New Year, and by God, we are not fine after the earthquake."

He added, "We are homeless and do not feel stable (...) We are not well at all, and we are not comfortable in the tents," stressing, "We have no helper but God."

In the same camp, Umm Jumaa mourns the month of Ramadan that comes to her, and she lost her husband, who was killed in the earthquake.

"The month of Ramadan comes without my husband," she told AFP. "It will be very difficult. We lost him, and he was the head of the house."

The National Committee, to promote the boycott of the products of the Israeli occupation , affirmed the national model of resistance recorded by our Palestinian people, by expanding the boycott of the products of the occupation at the local and international levels, and strengthening the status of the national product in terms of product quality and competitive price.

And she stressed that the boycott process is an extension and accumulation of popular, field, industrial, and economic action towards strengthening the boycott, stressing the need to involve all Palestinians in the battle of survival and steadfastness, in light of the great challenges that the Palestinian cause is going through, in light of the extremist Israeli government that fights everything that is Palestinian.

The meetings of the National Committee to Promote the Boycott of Occupation Products, which were held today, Wednesday, at the mobilization and organization headquarters of the "Fatah" movement in Ramallah, were chaired by the Vice-President of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement "Fatah" Mahmoud Al-Aloul, and in the presence of a member of the Executive Committees of the PLO and the Central Committee of the "Fatah" movement, Azzam Al-Ahmad. Dr. Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Minister Ahmed Assaf, a member of the Board of Directors of the Palestinian Food Industries Federation, a member of the Board of Directors of the Palestinian Food Industries Federation, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority, and officials from the Federation of Industries, Municipalities, and the Boycott and Divestment Movement from Israel. ", and from government institutions, and the Consumer Protection Association.

The participants stressed the importance of spreading awareness among the secondary student movement, in universities, schools, mosques, popular frameworks, and unions, about the importance of boycotting the products of the occupation, to strengthen the Palestinian national economy, which comes within one of the tools of the comprehensive popular resistance among our people.

And they congratulated our Palestinian people on the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan, which constitutes an additional opportunity and space to strengthen and develop the strategic plan for this boycott, and to circulate it at the level of governorates, areas close to the apartheid wall and settlements, to consolidate the independence of the Palestinian economy and disengage from the economy of the occupation and its settlements, through an integrated program that will be followed up by Before the collection of institutions and events, it starts from the holy month of Ramadan and continues throughout the year. It is based on public awareness, the involvement of sectoral activities that include youth, women, trade unions and associations, the media and places of worship, and then measuring the impact to enhance the public’s motivation towards the boycott.

They stressed that the struggle of our heroic prisoners against the occupation prison administration for the 37th day, and the start of a hunger strike by 2,000 prisoners tomorrow, with the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan, makes it imperative for us to support them at all levels, by involving all Palestinians in resisting the occupation through various methods, and strengthening the boycott.

They pointed out the need to search for national alternatives and creative long-term solutions, to rid the Palestinian economy of Israeli dependence, through the existence of alternative products, whether national, Arab or international.

They emphasized that there is an investment movement in Palestinian productive sectors through which we can substitute imports, and we have productive sectors that compete in quality not only in Palestine but also in the Arab world and globally, and these are factors reinforcing the boycott. Some Palestinian products into the 1948 territories.

They also called on stores to organize offers on the Palestinian product to attract housewives and the local consumer.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced, on Wednesday, that he is not interested in commenting on what Israel announced about the killing of a person who was carrying an explosive belt and suspected of being linked to Hezbollah, saying that "silence is part of the political battle."

Last Wednesday, the Israeli army announced that it had killed a person who was carrying an explosive belt in the town of Yara in northern Israel, when an explosive device exploded near the Megiddo intersection in the area, wounding a citizen.

He indicated that he was conducting an extensive investigation to "examine the extent of Hezbollah's involvement" in the operation.

The army later ruled out the suspect's use of a tunnel to cross into Israel, noting that it found out "how he crossed the fence," without giving further details.

According to Israeli Army Radio, the suspect used a ladder to scale a fence between the Lebanese and Israeli borders.

Hezbollah has not issued any comment since the incident.

Nasrallah said in a televised speech today, "Hezbollah's silence (...) reflects wisdom and this confuses the enemy," noting that "silence is part of a political, media, psychological and military battle with this enemy."

However, he described the person whom Israel announced his killing, without revealing his identity and name, as a "resistance" and a "martyr fighter".

Nasrallah added, "We are not interested in commenting on every incident. Sometimes commenting is about not commenting, and this is part of the battle and part of managing the battle."

And he continued, "Let him (the Israeli) investigate, take his time, and discuss whether this resister entered from Lebanon or not, and if he entered from Lebanon, how did he enter and who sent him (...) and when he reaches results, he builds on what he requires."

The Israeli army had stated that it was interrogating a driver whom the suspect asked to pick him up, before he was intercepted on the road.

The United Nations Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that its units "did not notice" anyone crossing the southern border into Israel.

Nasrallah affirmed that "any aggression that targets any region in Lebanon and any person present on Lebanese soil, be it Lebanese, Palestinian or any other nationality (...), the resistance will definitely and swiftly respond to it."

Lebanon and Israel are officially at war. Lebanon witnessed a bloody war in the summer of 2006, which began with the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah members.

During the war, 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon, most of them civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.

A private source confirmed, this evening, Wednesday, that there is a serious consensus regarding the "democratization" of the General Union of Palestinian Teachers , an issue that was one of the most prominent provisions of the agreement signed last year, and teachers demand its implementation, and continue their protests for that.

The source, who preferred not to be named, confirmed in his interview with Al-Quds.com that the agreement on "democratizing the union" came after the decision of the Central Council of the Union to approve the amendments that were put forward during last year's agreement, which led to stopping the teachers' strike at the time. While the source indicated that what remains is the issue of the 15%, the nature of the work allowance, and that the Ministry of Finance implement this.

Teacher Faisal Jadallah from the Nablus Education Directorate, and one of the observers of the agreement concluded with teachers last year, said in an interview with Al-Quds.com, “The meeting of the Central Council of the Union yesterday approved the amendments demanded by the teachers, but procedural matters remained that could be agreed upon.” Later, it is the issue of the time limit.

Jadallah confirmed the seriousness of all parties to the initiative that led to the agreement last year, as the Teachers Union emphasized important issues, namely: opening the door for affiliation to all, holding preparatory conferences in the branches up to the General Conference, and the amendments to the union system will be published soon, so that it will be available For all teachers to read it.

As for the financial part related to the teachers' strike, Jadallah confirmed that during the past days, things were positive, and the Minister of Finance dealt with them positively, and it remains for the Ministry of Finance to respond regarding placing the 15% on the salary slip in the nature of work item, and disposing of this percentage according to The usual salary exchange rate, hoping that the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister will deal positively with the matter, and he said: "We are close to a solution, which means the end of the crisis."

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Central Council of the Teachers Union convened in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in which 67 out of 75 members attended, and the amendments that were put forward by institutions and events during the initiative that led to last year’s agreement were discussed, according to what Al-Amin confirmed to Al-Quds. General of the Union of Palestinian Teachers prevailing Irzeigat.

Irzeigat said: "The central council of the federation approved all the amendments presented, and it was decided to start implementation by holding elections for the federation's branches in the middle of next May, provided that the federation begins receiving applications for affiliation with it in the middle of next month, leading to the convening of the conference, which are demands teachers, and the federation has fully implemented its obligations, and a clear position is required from all parties in this regard.

In turn, Omar Assaf, a member of the mediation initiative that led to the signing of the agreement last year, told Al-Quds.com: "We are in the process of communicating with all parties, and we hope to get out of this impasse. Some issues still need to be overcome, and everyone must assume their responsibility to get out." This crisis."

Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh confirmed, during a press conference about two weeks ago, the government's commitment to the agreements signed with unions, including the Teachers' Union, but the "teachers' movement" rejected that, and stressed the necessity of fully implementing the provisions of the agreement, and announced the continuation of the protest steps, including the strike, which It's been going on since the 5th of last month.

Throughout the days of the strike, teachers carried out sit-ins in front of the headquarters of the education directorates in the West Bank in response to the "teachers' movement", amid the teachers' insistence on demanding their rights until the implementation of an agreement concluded, in May 2022, between the Palestinian government, the General Union of Palestinian Teachers and the "teachers' movement". sponsored by many institutions and personalities, and the strike stopped after that, but protests and strikes have returned since February 5, 2023, to demand the implementation of this initiative.

The agreement included 5 items, namely: returning discounts to teachers, professionalizing education, issuing a teacher protection law, working to “democratize the union”, and depositing a 15% bonus for the nature of work on the salary slip, starting from the first month of the new year 2023.

Today, Wednesday, Israeli forces arrested two young men while they were near the Dead Sea , east of Jericho .

According to local sources, those forces arrested a young man, Muhammad Nader Abu Qatam, from Aqabat Jaber camp, south of Jericho, and another from Bethlehem, while they were near the Dead Sea.

Today, Wednesday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh called on France and the countries of the world to take measures to stop the incitement practiced by extremist Israeli officials against the Palestinian people, and not to give them platforms to express their racism.

During his meeting with the French Consul General in Jerusalem, Rene Trokaz, Shtayyeh welcomed the statement of the French Foreign Ministry, which denounced the statements of the Israeli Minister Smotrich in Paris, through which he denied the historical existence of the Palestinians.

He said, "The extremist ministers in the Israeli government represent a trend that pushes for more settlements, killing, and destroying the possibility of a two-state solution."

Shtayyeh added, "The Knesset's approval of the law abolishing the disengagement law, which allows the return to 4 settlements in the West Bank, means a decision to reoccupy the West Bank, as it coincides with more incursions, killings, and land confiscation."

Shtayyeh renewed France's call for recognition of Palestine, considering that this is the right time to protect the two-state solution and for France to be a model for other European countries towards recognition.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the third largest party in Turkey , announced on Wednesday that it would not field a candidate for the presidential elections scheduled for May 14, offering tacit support to the opposition coalition's candidate against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"We will not put forward a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections," Pervin Buldan, co-chair of the party, said in a press conference.

"Turkey needs reconciliation, not conflict," she added, saying she wanted to end the Erdogan era.

The Peoples' Democratic Party, whose presidential candidate for 2018 finished third, with 8.4 percent of the vote, is seen as capable of changing the results in the May elections, which opinion polls expect to be fierce.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which is allied with small parties of the left and the far left, was excluded from the opposition coalition, which includes six parties, due to the presence of the nationalist "Bon Party" party in its ranks.

It is likely that the announcement of the HDP, less than eight weeks before the presidential elections, will weaken Erdogan's chances of re-election by taking advantage of the divisions in the opposition.

The head of state must face the consequences of the devastating earthquake that occurred on February 6, which claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people in the country.

Taking the 2019 municipal elections as an example, the general director of the "Team" institute for opinion polls said, "This announcement affects the Kurds who have supported the HDP since its inception. These voters follow the party's decisions to a very large extent."

In those elections, the Peoples' Democratic Party in Istanbul called for voting for the candidate of the Republican People's Party, Ekrem Imamoglu, and contributed to his election.

The seizure of Imamoglu, the largest city in Turkey, from the ruling Justice and Development Party, was a severe blow to Erdogan.

Building on the success of 2019, the opposition coalition's candidate for the presidential elections, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People's Party, has intensified his contacts with HDP officials in recent months.

The two spoke with the two co-chairs, pledging after their meeting to solve the "Kurdish problem" once he was elected.

In particular, Kilicdaroglu denounced the "discrimination" against the Kurdish language in Turkey, as well as the replacement of dozens of mayors from the Peoples' Democratic Party in the Kurdish-majority southeast with administrators appointed by the government.

The Turkish government accuses the Peoples' Democratic Party of being linked to the "PKK", an armed group that Ankara and its Western allies classify as "terrorist".

The party's leader, Selahattin Demirtas, has been imprisoned since the end of 2016 on charges of "terrorist propaganda".

The opposition coalition brings together six parties with different orientations.

The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla announced today (Wednesday) that the revenues of the Sukari gold mine in the Eastern Desert amounted to $7.5 billion until last February.

Al-Mulla said in a press statement, "The Sukari mine produced 5.2 million ounces from the start of production until the end of last February, with estimated revenues of about $7.5 billion."

Gold production from this mine began in 2009.

The minister affirmed the mine's ability to achieve more (production) in light of the investments and intensive exploration activity in it.

The statement indicated that the Sukari mine, through the intensification of its exploration activities during the past two years, has added about two million ounces to the mineral reserves, and the life of the underground mine has been extended from 3 to 9 years by adding about half a million ounces to its reserves.

He added that one of the most important additions made to the mine is the implementation of geophysical exploration using modern technologies for the first time in Egypt, in cooperation with the Air Petroleum Services Company.

According to the statement, it is intended to produce between 450 and 480 thousand ounces from the Sukari mine during the current year.

Al-Mulla considered that the achievement of this production by the Sukari mine and the start of commercial production of gold from the Iqat site confirm that mining investment in Egypt is on the right path towards maximizing the returns of our mineral wealth for the benefit of the Egyptian economy.

Al-Mulla had announced yesterday (Tuesday) the start of the experimental operation of gold production from the site (Iqat) in southern Egypt, whose reserves are estimated at about 1.2 million ounces.

He pointed out that primary bullion is currently being produced and stamped through the Department of Stamps and Scales with the appropriate caliber for its quality or stamped with the international code ((9999)) in preparation for export or using it to increase Egypt’s gold reserves in cooperation with the Central Bank.

Today (Wednesday), China successfully sent four meteorological satellites into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The satellites, belonging to the Tianmu-1 meteorological constellation, were launched on a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket at 5:09 p.m. (Beijing Time) and entered the planned orbit.

The satellites will be used primarily to provide commercial meteorological data services.

This launch is the 19th mission of the "Kuaichou-1A" carrier rocket.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Lebanese , most of them retired military personnel, participated in a demonstration in downtown Beirut to protest the deteriorating living conditions, before the security forces dispersed them by firing tear gas after they tried to storm the Grand Serail campus.

This move brought to mind the unprecedented demonstrations that Lebanon witnessed in the fall of 2019, protesting the beginning of the deterioration of economic conditions and calling for the departure of the political class, which to this day is still in control without offering any solutions.

The demonstrators gathered in Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut, opposite the Government Serail. Some of them raised Lebanese flags, chanting anti-authority slogans. One of the demonstrators, wearing a military uniform, carried a banner that read, "We appeal to the Arab and international community to rid us of the corrupt ruling class," signed by "retired Lebanese army."

The demonstration, which lasted a few hours, included hit-and-run operations after the security forces fired tear gas at the demonstrators in order to disperse them, after a group of them managed to remove the barbed wire and advance towards the Grand Serail, according to AFP correspondents at the scene.

A demonstrator was wounded in the head as tear gas was fired, and a member of the army was injured as a result of the demonstrators throwing stones, according to what AFP correspondents saw.

The official National Information Agency in Lebanon reported cases of fainting among the demonstrators.

She said that members of the army separated the demonstrators from the security forces, to contain tension, after tear gas was fired extensively.

Captain Amal Hammoud, 53, who retired two years ago, said on the sidelines of her participation in the demonstration, "We left the military institution in the hope that we would live in luxury and educate our children (...) but they kept our money in the banks until we became beggars."

"The people want their most basic rights and their livelihood, but they hit them with tear gas," she added.

"My salary was about four thousand dollars before the crisis, and it is equivalent to $150 today," retired Brigadier General Khaled Naous, 70, told AFP.

He added, "We feel humiliated while trying to live a decent life because we are unable to secure the necessities of our house... We have reached a stage of despair, as the banks took our retirement compensations and we had no salaries left, and for this reason we go to the streets today."

Since the summer of 2019, Lebanon has been witnessing an economic crisis that the World Bank ranked among the worst since 1850, and it is considered the worst in Lebanon's history. This coincides with an acute liquidity crisis and tight banking restrictions, with which depositors can no longer access their outstanding savings.

On Tuesday, the lira recorded a historic collapse, with the exchange rate exceeding the threshold of 140,000 against the dollar, which caused an increase in the prices of all commodities, especially fuel, commodities, and foodstuffs, which are now priced in dollars after subsidies were lifted. Several gas stations stopped selling fuel.

The exchange rate fell on Wednesday to about 110,000 against the dollar, the day after the Bank of Lebanon issued a circular to limit the collapse of the lira, which lost nearly 98 percent of its value.

Political paralysis exacerbates the situation, in light of a presidential vacuum for months, during which the country has been running a caretaker government that is unable to take necessary decisions, including reforms required by the international community and the International Monetary Fund to provide support in order to stop the bleeding.

Since the end of President Michel Aoun's term at the end of October, the Lebanese parliament has failed 11 times to elect a president due to deep political divisions.

A delegation of retired military personnel later met Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to present their demands, the National Agency reported.

A protester who identified himself as Hatem (73 years old), a retired high school teacher, told AFP, "I receive my salary in pounds, and all those who receive their salaries in pounds have collapsed, and they can no longer provide the minimum" of their needs.

He added, "How do I live? My salary equals one hundred dollars, while the generator bill is one hundred dollars," referring to private generators that cover hours of power outages throughout the day and require customers to pay in dollars or according to the black market exchange rate.

Hatem continued, "I am now forced to be a vegetarian, since I am unable to buy meat or a bottle of gas," explaining that he has been traveling for weeks on foot in Beirut due to his inability to provide fuel for his car.

Amnesty International said, "Its offices will deliver petitions signed by more than 200,000 people around the world to the Israeli authorities, calling on them to put an end to the demolition of Palestinian homes, as a first step towards dismantling the apartheid system ."

And she said in a statement, today, Wednesday, that the Amnesty International petition entitled: “Destroy apartheid, not the homes of the Palestinians,” will be delivered to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , and it has been signed by people in at least 174 countries.

These signatures will be presented on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is observed annually by the international community in memory of the 69 peaceful anti-apartheid demonstrators killed by South African police on 21 March 1960.

“Israel's discriminatory planning policies and systematic home demolitions of Palestinians epitomize the racism that lies at the heart of its brutal apartheid regime,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director. For decades, the Israeli authorities have sought to achieve their clearly racist demographic goals, by expelling Palestinians from their homes and displacing them from their land.

Since the beginning of 2023, more than 400 Palestinians have been displaced as a result of the demolitions, while hundreds of thousands are at risk of displacement.

"The apartheid system is a crime against humanity and a gross violation of human rights. The continued failure to hold the Israeli authorities to account is a stain on the conscience of the international community. Today, Amnesty International's demand for an end to this injustice has the support of 203,410 people from countries around the world." "The world. This solidarity reminds us that the voices against Israel's apartheid regime are getting louder. We will not remain silent until this system is dismantled and the Israeli authorities are held accountable."

With the convening of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the organization called on member states to support the moves and decisions aimed at ending the Israeli apartheid regime. This includes replenishing funding for the UN database of companies engaged in activities in or dealing with illegal settlements, meeting their legal obligations, and taking steps to hold Israel accountable for its violations, including through the Universal Periodic Review of Israel, scheduled for May 9 in Human Rights Council.

Amnesty International reiterated its call on all states to put pressure on the Israeli authorities to put an end to home demolitions, forced displacement and settlement expansion, and to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip. And an end to impunity for illegal attacks committed against Palestinians by the occupying army and settlers.

French President Emmanuel Macron estimated, on Wednesday, that the controversial retirement system reform would "be implemented by the end of the year," considering it "necessary," during a television interview on "TF1" and "France 2" channels, in the midst of escalating social anger.

"This reform is necessary, it does not make me happy," Macron said in the 35-minute interview.

"I am not seeking re-election...but between the short-term opinion polls about my popularity and the public interest of the country, I choose the public interest of the country," he added.

"If I have to put up with unpopularity, I will."

He explained that "there is no solution" except to work more. Macron's pension reform raises the retirement age from 62 to 64.

He hoped the reform would enter into force by the end of the year, "so that things get back on track."

Macron, who on Tuesday ruled out any possibility of a cabinet reshuffle, dissolving parliament, or holding a referendum on reforming the pension system, repeated the arguments made by his presidential camp since the government passed the draft amendment to the pension system without a vote in parliament.

He explained that Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne "has my confidence to lead this government team," calling on her to "expand the majority."

On Wednesday, the French President denounced the indifference of some "major companies" that made unexpected large profits that allowed them to buy back their shares on the stock exchange, and called on them to make an "extraordinary contribution" so that "workers can benefit" from these funds.

He indicated that he intends to "ask the government to work on an exceptional contribution."

The craftsman Shazli Al-Maghraoui stands in his workshop in the Tunisian capital, amidst jugs and pots lined up here and there, waiting for customers who have been bringing copper cooking utensils for years to coat them with a layer of tin and polish them for use in preparing food during the month of Ramadan.

Al-Maghrawi, 69, is among a few craftsmen specializing in polishing and polishing copper utensils. He has been loyal to his workshop for decades, which was established in 1977 in the Bab Al-Khadra neighborhood near the old city of the Tunisian capital, while the luster of this craft no longer attracts Tunisian youth who abandoned the business. arduous.

Every year before the month of Ramadan, Tunisians are keen to carry all copper utensils to specialized workshops to clean and repaint them, so that they are ready to prepare various dishes during this month.

Many clients, most of them women, who stand at the entrance to the workshop, repeatedly request that they hurry to prepare their dishes before the first days of Ramadan.

"It won't be possible. We have other requests, and as you can see I work on my own," Maghraoui replies, as he tends to the fire of his stove.

He melts a piece of tin between his fingers, then paints a container with its liquid to scrape it off later, then drowns it in a large bucket of water.

Tunisians call this process “tinting” and it consists of covering the utensils with a layer of molten tin to protect the food and preserve it from oxidation caused by the copper metal.

The effect of this becomes a "couscous" (a bowl for preparing couscous) or a "karwana" (a bowl for preparing soup), beautiful in shape and very shiny.

Maghraoui explains that this tradition "has been around for centuries and is always alive".

Tunisian mothers keep copper utensils in their kitchen, which they inherit and pass on to their granddaughters, to be among the basic necessities for preparing their homes before marriage.

"I feel a beautiful feeling when I use the 'dawzan' (a copper bottle) and it shines throughout the month of Ramadan," Sanaa Bukhris, 49, proudly told AFP.

"This tradition reminds me of the beautiful time and my mother's preparation for the holy month," added Bukhreis, who specializes in accounting and has been married for 28 years. "These utensils inherited from my mother contain blessings."

Dalila Boubaker, 53, a housewife, was only able to polish two pieces this year, while other Tunisian families struggled in search of something to cook amid an acute economic and social crisis the country is going through.

"The prices have become very high," she comments.

The cost of the "Qasdra" process ranges between 20 and 200 dinars (between 6 and 60 euros), and prices vary according to the size of the vessel.

The craftsmanship of kitchen utensils is declining due to the rise in copper prices around the world, but on the other hand, there is still a growing demand for polishing old utensils in Tunisia, according to many craftsmen.

Craftsman Abdel-Jalil Al-Ayari, 60, awaits every year this period that precedes the month of Ramadan, throughout the fifty years he spent in his profession in his workshop in the Old City.

He notes that "customers want their utensils to be ready before the start of Ramadan, and the woman is happy because her kitchen is decorated with clean utensils."

"No one wants to learn this craft today. They refuse to work in a workshop that is all black and they are afraid of getting dirty," he added, as he hums a song by Umm Kulthum broadcast from an old radio set that he placed in a corner of the workshop.
"We can no longer accept more orders," says Mabrouk Ramadan, 82, a craftsman who owns three shops in the "Nahas Market" in the Old City.

In the midst of this famous market in the capital, about fifty stores display kitchen supplies produced by craftsmen in a new look and design. With the approaching month of Ramadan, Tunisians buy cooking utensils, coffee preparation, teapots, small cups and pots.

Ramadan also displays old utensils for sale. “It is like jewelry to some clients,” says the craftsman, who laments the indifference of his sons to the importance of this profession.

There is a heartbreak for Al-Maghrawi, who personally bought his workshop twenty years ago from the heirs of its owner, who no longer had any interest in it. "Every time we lose a colleague in the craft, it is a loss for this profession and a step towards its extinction," he says.

He reveals his hands, which are blackened and damaged with deep grooves, and concludes that "the new generation is looking for easy work and does not like to see this."

Today, Wednesday, the Israeli occupation forces notified the halt of construction in 15 homes in the village of Al-Jiftlik, north of Jericho .

According to local sources, those forces stormed the village and notified 15 houses that were roofed with "Zinko", some of which had been built for decades, to halt construction. They belong to the families of Jahalin, Najajra and Tamamra.

Bank of Palestine issued its first sustainability report under the title “For a Green and Sustainable Future”, in accordance with the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative, as a commitment from the Bank to periodic and voluntary disclosure about adopting best practices in applying sustainability principles to deal with all segments of society and measuring the impact of these dealings on the environment.

The report focused on the main sustainability axes at Bank of Palestine (environment, society, governance), especially detailing the Bank’s achievements in the field of sustainability for the year 2021, in line with the Bank’s approach to achieving the sustainable development goals of its strategy, which is in line with the Bank’s internal strategy and the standards of sustainable development of the United Nations. United.

The report sheds light on Bank of Palestine’s efforts in achieving sustainability in previous years, including the year 2021, especially its financial, banking and service activities and operations, with the aim of reducing environmental impacts, enhancing social responsibility, working within the framework of governance, transparency, and striving to achieve financial inclusion.

The report includes several sections related to the Bank's approach to sustainability and its main indicators achieved internally and externally.

Mr. Hashim Shawa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank of Palestine, expressed the utmost importance to the completion of this report, indicating the centrality of the Bank’s sustainability strategy, stressing that the focus on sustainability will continue through the adoption of a clear, ambitious and long-term policy and strategy, which will contribute significantly to the Bank’s direction towards a better future. He added that submitting such a report would increase the confidence of customers and investors in the bank and its performance, as it is the safety valve for the work of any institution seeking to advance its work and ensure its continuity.

For her part, Dr. Tafeeda Al-Jarbawi, Chair of the Sustainability Committee in the Board of Directors of Bank of Palestine, expressed her happiness at issuing the first sustainability report in Bank of Palestine for the year 2021, in line with its strategic directions towards focusing on sustainability as a main focus in planning, developing policies, operations, and banking and service activities, stressing that the Bank’s involvement in The path of sustainability stems from its compliance with values and concern for future generations by preserving the environment and the highest ideals in management and governance.

Al-Jarbawi added that the timing of the launch of the sustainability report, which will be launched periodically, coincides with the ambitious goals set by the Board of Directors within its strategy, since sustainability is an essential part of the fabric of our work, especially since we aspire to become pioneers in this field at the level of the banking and national sectors, by following Best practices that have a positive impact on the life of the Palestinian people.

In his turn, Mr. Mahmoud Shawa, General Manager of Bank of Palestine, confirmed that our future success as an institution is linked to enhancing transparency and effective communication with the bank’s customers, adding that the report constitutes a transparent and reliable reference for the bank’s various achievements and efforts during the past period, hoping that we will witness a clearer and practical application of sustainability standards in all of the bank’s operations. , including customer loans related to environmentally friendly projects, such as green energy, agriculture, water purification, waste and solid waste treatment, and its recycling process.

It is noteworthy that Bank of Palestine adopts international best practices, in accordance with sustainability standards, which take into account the provision of value-added financial and banking services that meet the aspirations of customers from various segments, while ensuring the measurement of the impact of operations on the local environment, to ensure the best methods of management and good governance.

Ethiopia's parliament on Wednesday removed the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front from the official list of terrorist groups, a major step in the peace process following a two-year war in the north of the country.

"The House of Representatives approved the decision to declassify the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on the terrorist list by a majority of votes," Parliament said on Facebook, adding that the move would strengthen the November 2022 peace agreement between the Tigray Front and the federal government.

He added, "It was noted during the discussion of the draft decision to cancel the classification of the Tigray People's Liberation Front as terrorist, that it is indispensable to support the peace agreement concluded between the federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front."

The front that had been dominating Ethiopian politics was officially designated a terrorist organization in May 2021, six months after the outbreak of the war.

Under the terms of the peace agreement signed in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, the TPLF agreed to disarm in return for access to Tigray, which was largely cut off from its surroundings during the war.

Since the agreement, the delivery of some basic needs and aid has resumed to Tigray, which has faced severe shortages of food, fuel, liquidity and medicine.

Access to the region of six million people remains restricted, and it is impossible to independently verify the situation on the ground.

The war led to the deaths of countless civilians, the displacement of more than two million Ethiopians, and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people from conditions close to famine.

There is a great discrepancy in the estimate of human losses, as the United States estimates that about half a million people have died in the conflict, while the African Union envoy to the region, Olusegun Obasanjo, said that the death toll could reach 600,000 people.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending 20 years of war with neighboring Eritrea, and was once considered the leader of a new generation of progressive African leaders before the war dealt a blow to his reputation in Washington.

And Monday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken accused all parties to the conflict in Tigray, i.e. the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces and the rebels of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, of committing war crimes, but he specifically accused the Ethiopian Federal Army and its allied forces, i.e. the Eritrean army and the forces and militias in the Amhara region, of committing crimes against humanity. Among them are "murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence and persecution", without accusing the rebels in Tigray of that.

For its part, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded Tuesday in a statement, accusing the United States of adopting a "selective and divisive approach."

Since the conclusion of the peace agreement, telecommunications, banking and electricity services have slowly resumed in Tigray, with the Ethiopian national airline resuming commercial flights between Addis Ababa and Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, in December.

The war broke out in November 2020 when Abiy Ahmed sent forces to Tigray with the support of Eritrea, accusing the Tigray People's Liberation Front of attacking army bases in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed, on Wednesday, his country's "no intention" to rebuild evacuated settlements in the northern occupied West Bank, a day after a parliamentary vote in this regard raised Washington's concern.

On Tuesday, the settlers celebrated the parliament's abolition of part of a law that prevents them from residing in areas in the West Bank, according to a decision issued since 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, in addition to four settlements in the northern West Bank.

The law passed that year prevented the Israelis from staying in those areas, but the amendment that was passed on Monday night allows them to return to those settlements near the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the parliament's vote annulled "a discriminatory and humiliating law that prohibits Jews from residing in areas in northern Samaria (the biblical name for the northern West Bank), which is part of our historic homeland."

"However, the government does not intend to establish new communities in these areas," the statement added.

Settlement is considered illegal under international law, but Israel believes that there is a difference between random outposts that are built without a permit and those that have been agreed upon, in which about 475,000 Israelis live.

The West Bank, where more than 2.9 million Palestinians live, is under Israeli military rule.

The new Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu has been sworn in and pledged to expand settlements throughout the West Bank.

According to the government statement, it will not allow settlers to return to the four sites that were vacated in 2005.

The government statement came after Washington expressed its concern and described the vote as a "provocative" step.

"The legislative changes announced today are provocative and counterproductive to efforts to restore some calm as we approach Ramadan and Easter," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Tuesday.

According to Patel, the Israeli move "clearly contradicts" the promises made by then Prime Minister (in 2005) Ariel Sharon to former US President George W. Bush, as well as the assurances made by the Netanyahu government just two days ago.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed the parliamentary vote, describing it as "historic" and considering it "enhancing our presence in Homesh."

Last year, clashes broke out between Israeli security forces and Palestinians from the village of Burqa, who said they were the owners of the land on which the Homesh settlement was built.

The Palestinians continued to protest against the settlers' return to the land, and they also appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, which last January granted 90 days to justify the failure of the Israeli authorities to expel the settlers who returned to the site.

The Palestinian Bar Association announced, this evening, Wednesday, the end of its strike at the initiative of the Council of Ministers to issue a system of notarial bonds.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh signed the Cabinet's decision approving a special system regulating the certification and authentication of notary deeds with notaries.

Accordingly, the union confirmed, in a statement, to stop union activities and return to work as usual, starting on the morning of Sunday, corresponding to 3/26/2023, and to consider tomorrow as a preparation day for preparing files and returning to work.

The Syndicate called on all practicing lawyers and trainees to participate and engage in all national activities in support of our brave prisoners in their decisive battle with the enemy's executioners.

The strike began following the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council to suspend the notary bond system issued by the General Authority of the Bar Association in 2009.

The President of the Palestinian Council for Development and Reconstruction ( PECDAR ), Muhammad Abu Awad, signed with the management of the Islamic Development Bank in his capacity as director of the Al-Aqsa Fund, an agreement to rehabilitate and develop the departments of Yatta Governmental Hospital in Hebron, within the project to support the health sector in the West Bank, at a value of one million and 425 thousand US dollars.

PECDAR said in a statement today, Wednesday: “The project includes the rehabilitation and finishing of the first floor (children’s department), which has a total area of approximately 765 square meters. Al-Batini has an area of approximately 678 square meters, in addition to building and finishing the staircase node of the first floor (children's section), which is an area of 80 square meters.

The Palestinians are preparing to receive the holy month of Ramadan, which is scheduled to begin tomorrow, Thursday, amid hopes of restoring calm in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank , in light of the state of tension with Israel.

Over the past few days, the residents of the Gaza Strip, numbering more than two million people, have been decorating their homes and the surrounding narrow alleys, main streets and shops with colored lights and lanterns to welcome the holy month.

Rana Ahmed (28 years), a mother of three children from Gaza City, is one of the women who spent many days buying colorful decorations, lanterns and foodstuffs before the month of Ramadan in an attempt to create a beautiful atmosphere for her family members.

"For many years, the residents of the Strip have been deprived of such a festive atmosphere during the month of Ramadan because of the repeated wars with Israel and the bitter economic reality," says Rana, while she was wandering in the alleys of the ancient Zawiya market in the city center.

Rana, who had been complaining for many years about her poor economic condition, added, "My family has lived through bad conditions in the past years, and I was unable to prepare for Ramadan because my husband was unemployed."

And the woman continues, while it seemed well-off that her economic conditions improved after her husband got a job opportunity in Israel several months ago, which allowed her to save money to purchase the needs of the month of Ramadan.

In 2019, the Israeli authorities allowed the residents of the Strip to submit job applications in Israel for the first time, and the total number of permits granted to them since that time amounted to more than 15,000 permits, which is of economic benefit to the Strip.

Since 2007, Israel has imposed a tight siege on the coastal strip, after it was seized by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) by force. Since then, the economic situation in the strip has deteriorated, as its residents live in difficult living conditions.

Rana, who hopes that the month of Ramadan will pass calmly and reassuringly, believes that peace and indirect understandings between Hamas and Israel have allowed families in the Strip to celebrate the month of Ramadan according to their traditions.

Al-Aqsa Square witnessed in April of last year, coinciding with the month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover, violent clashes between Palestinian worshipers and the Israeli police forces, against the backdrop of the Jews' visit to the mosque, which resulted in the injury of dozens of Palestinian worshipers, which was met by a threat from the Palestinian armed factions to "not be silent."

In May 2021, during the month of Ramadan, the city of Jerusalem witnessed tensions between the Palestinians and the Israeli police against the background of the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in favor of Jewish associations, which resulted in military tension between Israel and the Palestinian armed factions in Gaza that lasted for 11 days and was described as the “most violent” since 2014. .

Despite this, happiness appeared on the face of Muhammad Jarada, the owner of a shop of children's toys and lanterns of various sizes in the middle of the Zawiya market, after he was able to sell most of his goods before the month of Ramadan.

He told Xinhua that in the past years, merchants worked hard to sell their goods accumulated in warehouses due to the security and economic conditions, but this year the matter seems different.

Jarada hopes that all military actions between the Gaza Strip and Israel will stop so that the local population can live in peace and security during the holy month of Ramadan and the rest of the year.

On the other hand, the atmosphere in the camps, towns, villages and cities of the West Bank seemed almost sad, mourning the dozens of Palestinian deaths as a result of the escalating wave of tension with the Israelis since the beginning of this year.

As a result, Wael Al-Saadi (45 years), who resides in the city of Ramallah, contented himself with buying foodstuffs for his family members in preparation for the month of Ramadan, without the usual decorations and colored lanterns for the first time in his life.

Al-Saadi, a father of four, told Xinhua, "Unfortunately, sadness prevails in all regions, as dozens of families lost their relatives who were killed or arrested by the Israeli forces."

Al-Saadi added that the situation in the West Bank "is very bad due to the Israeli forces' storming of the areas and the accompanying killing of young men. Therefore, people can hardly celebrate the advent of the month of Ramadan in solidarity with the families of the victims."

And close to him, Salem Al-Rifai, a vendor from Ramallah, blamed the Israeli measures and practices for slowing down the markets to prepare for the month of Ramadan, saying that the Palestinian people urgently need to restore their "normal life and stop military tensions."

Tensions have escalated between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank, resulting in the killing of 89 Palestinians by Israeli bullets since the beginning of this year, compared to 15 people killed in Israel as a result of Palestinian attacks, according to official Palestinian and Israeli statistics.

Bank of Jordan announced the winner of the grand prize for savings account holders in Palestine, amounting to half a million shekels, and he is Mr. Muhammad Ahmad Awad Ghannam from the Jenin branch.

In a distinguished festive atmosphere, Bank of Jordan presented a pleasant surprise to the winner Ghannam and his family, in the presence of the Regional Director of Bank of Jordan - Palestine Region, Mr. Saif Issa, a number of legal and civil society personalities, and a group of bank managers and employees, in addition to a distinguished presence from various media and influencers social media sites.

Mr. Issa confirmed that Bank of Jordan is always keen to reward its customers who save with it, with special cash prizes, within a long history of huge savings account campaigns in Palestine.

Mr. Saif Issa told Al-Quds.com, on the sidelines of the award announcement, "The award constitutes one of the most important means that the bank provides to citizens to provide means for savings, commensurate with the nature of Palestinian society, which desires to have means of saving, especially for its children and family." It is also part of the bank's strategy in Palestine to meet the needs of the local market, hence the importance of this award."

Issa confirmed that Bank of Jordan will announce in the near future a new program that includes higher and larger prizes, expressing his hope that this program will meet the needs and aspirations of the people in Palestine.

For his part, the winner, Ghannam, expressed his great joy at the award, and his deep thanks to Bank of Jordan for this surprise, stressing that the award will be a major reason for a better future for him and his family.

New York is still awaiting the possible indictment of former US President Donald Trump , while police barriers are deployed in front of Trump Tower and the Manhattan Courthouse, while journalists and law enforcement forces appear to be more numerous than the demonstrators supporting him.

Trump had confirmed that he would be arrested on Tuesday in the case of paying bribes to a pornographic actress. However, nothing happened.

Some US media outlets have speculated that a grand jury - a panel of citizens with broad investigative powers - could vote Wednesday evening in favor of an indictment, but it may take until next week for Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Berg to announce an indictment. Trump may then appear before a judge, after being held for a few minutes, symbolically.

Berg made no statement on the matter, and the grand jury works in secret to avoid perjury or tampering with witnesses before the trials begin, making it impossible to keep track of the proceedings.
In the latest statement from the Trump campaign team for the 2024 presidential election, two NYPD workers are pictured unloading a metal rail from a truck.

The photo was accompanied by a message intended to dramatize and solemnize the moment: "Barricades are being erected around the Manhattan courthouse while our nation awaits an announcement on whether President Donald Trump will be indicted even though he committed no crime."

Meanwhile, the 45th President of the United States (2017-2021) gives his constituents a date "on November 5, 2024, when we, the people, will take back the White House and restore America's greatness."

While waiting, he will have to answer before the courts regarding the payment of $ 130,000, before winning the 2016 presidential election, to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, with whom he supposedly had an affair.

Trump launched a pre-emptive strike on Saturday, announcing on his “Truth Social” platform that he would be formally and symbolically “arrested” on Tuesday.

And if he is arrested or even charged, it will set a precedent for a former president in the United States, because no American president has ever been charged, whether he was in office or left the White House.

He may be photographed and fingerprinted, and his hands may be handcuffed for a few minutes, based on US legal procedures.

However, the judicial authorities in New York want to avoid such a scene and the media and political chaos that may follow.

For his part, the billionaire denounced a "crackdown" led by the Democrats, while his calls for a "protest" failed.

Only about 40 of his supporters gathered on Tuesday in front of his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, while dozens of others gathered in New York on Monday outside the Palace of Justice and Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

However, fearing clashes in a city that has seen violence in the past, an NYPD spokesperson warned in an email that "the presence of uniformed police will increase in the city's five major boroughs...even if there is currently no threat." My grandfather is in New York."

Trumpists turn to social media to obstruct the judicial questioning of their champion. The Donald group on Reddit is striving to organize a "national strike".

The case of pornographic actress Stormy Daniels is legally complex. A New York court is seeking to determine whether Trump is guilty of misrepresenting data - a misdemeanor - or violating campaign finance laws - a criminal offense - by paying the woman, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in weeks. pre-election in November 2016.

Why? to buy her silence about an affair they believed to have existed outside of marriage, according to the charges.

The investigation, which took years, accelerated last week. Michael Cohn, Trump's former lawyer who paid off the sum in 2016 and has since become his enemy, testified before the grand jury. The actress also cooperated with prosecutors and the authority itself.

Also, Donald Trump was invited to speak before this jury, according to the American press. One of his lawyers said he would voluntarily "respond" to a summons from the New York judiciary.

The main fear of the authorities remains represented in repeating the chaos of the attack on the Capitol building in Washington on January 6, 2021, when Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest the results of the 2020 elections in which he was defeated by Joe Biden.

And he continues to assert, without evidence, that Biden "stole" the victory from him.

The security services managed to thwart a kidnapping and shooting attempt in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, and seized a firearm and arrested two suspects.

Colonel Louay Irzeigat, the media spokesman for the police, explained that, based on information available to the General Investigation Branch about the presence of a suspicious vehicle in the town of Beit Ummar, inside which a group of masked men was on their way to kidnap a citizen and open fire on public property immediately, a force of the General Investigation and security services set up an ambush them downtown to catch them.

Colonel Arziqat added that when the suspicious vehicle approached the checkpoint, the suspects tried to shoot at the force and flee, which prompted them to shoot at them and injure one of them in the foot before the force managed to control two of them and seize a Kalashnikov firearm in their possession.

Colonel Arziqat confirmed the reservation of the two arrested until they were referred to the competent authority to follow up the necessary legal procedures against them.

The United States described the statements of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding the denial of the existence of the Palestinians as “insulting” and “dangerous.”

"The latest comments by Secretary Smotrich, which were delivered on a platform adorned with an inaccurate and provocative map, are insulting, and they are deeply troubling, frankly It's serious."

“The Palestinians have a rich history and culture, and the United States deeply values our partnership with the Palestinian people,” Vedant said. “As President (Joe) Biden said last summer in Bethlehem, the United States remains committed to two states for two peoples, both of whom have ancient roots deep in the land, and who Together in peace and security."

Vedant added, "We also emphasized that two states along the 1967 lines with mutually agreed exchanges remain the best way to achieve equal measures of security, prosperity, freedom, and democracy for Palestinians and Israelis alike, and we also stress the importance of the United States' strategic relationship with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, second An Arab country is taking the courageous step to make peace with Israel. We welcome Israel's reaffirmation of the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan."

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said that the two prisoners, Shadi Halawa (40 years), from the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, and Ahmed Jaafra (57 years) from Bethlehem, are facing deliberate medical negligence from the Ramon prison administration.

Lawyer Youssef Mattia said, after his visit to Ramon prison, that the prisoner, Halawa, suffers from multiple health problems in the liver, kidneys, and nerves, and lives on painkillers.

He added that the prisoner Halawa, who was arrested on 12/12/2005, and sentenced to life imprisonment four times and 40 years, also suffers from a problem in the heart valves, and that the prison administration does not care about his difficult health condition, and transfers him every four months from one detainee to another.

He pointed out that the prisoner Jaafara, who was arrested on 14/6/2004, and sentenced to life imprisonment and 40 years, also suffers from deliberate medical negligence from the occupation prison administration, and complains of several problems and back pain (disc), in addition to the chronic sinus problem. He has been waiting for four years to undergo a sinus operation, but the prison administration is procrastinating.

The authority held the occupation prisons administration fully responsible for the continuation of the series of medical neglect against the prisoners, and called on all international institutions, human rights institutions and the Red Cross to play their necessary role towards the issue of prisoners, especially the sick ones.

Various types of hormonal contraceptives slightly increase the risk of breast cancer in women, and among these drugs the progestogen-only formulation is increasingly being used, according to a new study published Tuesday.

The researchers who prepared the study pointed out the need to take into account the benefits of contraceptive methods, such as protecting those who take them from other types of cancer, when analyzing this limited increase in the risk of breast cancer.

Other studies have previously found that the risk of breast cancer increases as a result of taking combination contraceptives of progestin and estrogen together.

While the use of progestogen-only drugs has been increasing for years, not enough studies have yet addressed their effects on the risk of breast cancer.

The new study, published in the journal "Plus Medicine", found that taking combined progestogen-only contraceptives carries a similar risk of breast cancer as taking drugs that combine estrogen and progestogen.

The study indicated that women who use hormonal contraceptives face an increased risk of about 20 to 30% of developing breast cancer, regardless of the type of contraceptive (pills, IUD, implant, injection) or its combination (estrogen and progesterone together or progesterone only).

This rate was similar to what was mentioned in previous studies, including a large study dating back to 1996.

To illustrate what these results mean, the researchers calculated the number of additional cases of breast cancer, knowing that the risk of this disease increases with age.

Eight out of 1,000 women who took hormonal contraceptives for five years, between the ages of 16 and 20, developed breast cancer. As for the age group between 35 and 39 years, 265 women out of 100,000 were diagnosed with this type of cancer.

"No woman likes to hear that a drug will increase her risk of breast cancer," Gillian Reeves, a professor at the University of Oxford and one of the study's authors, said in a press conference, adding that "the risk that the study talked about is very small compared to the actual risk."

And she continued, "This risk should be considered in light of the benefits provided by hormonal contraceptives, as they not only contribute to controlling pregnancy, but oral contraceptives provide significant and long-term protection against other types of cancer in women, such as breast cancer." Endometriosis and ovarian cancer".

Likewise, the study confirmed, similar to other research work, that the increased risk of breast cancer associated with hormonal contraceptives decreases in the years after a woman stops taking these drugs.

Stephen Duffy, a professor at Queen Mary University of London who was not involved in the study, said that these results are "reassuring because the effect I talked about is limited."

The study was based on data about ten thousand women under fifty who developed breast cancer between 1996 and 2017 in the United Kingdom, where it is now common to use combined contraceptives of progestin only, at the expense of those composed of progestin and estrogen.

It is recommended to use contraceptives that contain progestin only for breastfeeding women, or for those who face, if they take combination drugs of estrogen and progesterone together, health risks such as cardiovascular disease, or for smokers over 35 years of age.

Gillian Reeves noted that among the "many factors" that explain the increase in the use of progestin-only contraceptives is the possibility that "women are taking these drugs in the later stages of their lives," and of course they meet these conditions more.

In a well-known shop in northern Tehran, Mohammad Javad chose the first tie he would ever buy, as this piece of men's clothing has long been banned in Iran, where it is considered a symbol of Western decadence.

This 27-year-old dentist decided to buy a tie in order to dress up and impress the family of the woman he wants to marry, in his first meeting with them.

"In our society, putting on a necktie is like putting on a muzzle before the Covid pandemic, as people look at its owner strangely and even negatively in some neighborhoods. It's a cultural issue," the young man said, while the seller was adjusting his suit.

"I wouldn't wear them every day, but I find that they add elegance to a man. It will take some time before the current look changes, but that change is beginning," he added.

This high-end store on Nelson Mandela Boulevard displays an assortment of ties in a variety of colors, including cotton and wool.

"We sell about 100 of them per month. We import them mainly from Turkey, but some of them are made in Iran," said the deputy manager of the Zagros store, Muhammad Arjomand, 35.

"Customers buy them to wear at parties or at their work," he explained. He noted that "two out of ten people passing through this neighborhood wear a tie, and an increasing number of people are adopting it."

As for the Zagros sales manager, Ali Fattahi (38 years old), he indicated that the protests that erupted after the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, days after she was arrested by the morality police for violating the strict dress code for women, "had no effect" on sales. the shop.

After the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran in 1979, the Iranian clerics who took power under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini banned the necktie, which in their eyes symbolized submission to Western culture, according to a trader who asked not to be named.

He explained that the new ruling class saw the tie as a sign of decadence.

Under their suit jackets, ministers, diplomats, senior officials of government departments or heads of state enterprises wear shirts with open or closed collar buttons, or Mao collar.

Lawyer Masoud Mallabana pointed out that "wearing a necktie is certainly not a crime, neither according to the constitution nor according to Sharia, but there are restrictions on clothing in certain places, such as television."

Neckties were absent from storefronts for decades, but they returned to them during the reign of reformist President Mohammad Khatami between 1997 and 2005.

To choose his tie, Jawad came with his mother, who not only encouraged him to take the step of buying it, but also asked the seller to teach him how to tie it.
This 50-year-old female employee commented, "At one time, some sought to cancel the necktie, and the reason given was to reject any sign of Westernization. It was also free to cancel the suits and return to the traditional dress that was adopted during the time of the Qajar dynasty (1794-1925). Of course, this is impossible.”

On the same street, Mahran Sharifi (35 years old), who runs a store for the French brand "Pierre Cardin", noticed the attraction of young men to the necktie, which "gives prestige."

"Often young men come to choose a suit and we offer them to try on a tie," explained Sharifi, who hung a century-old picture of his grandfather, a tailor like his father, wearing a tie on the wall.

The necktie is almost mandatory for Iranians working in embassies, but most of them take it off when going out into the street so as not to be ridiculed.

Sadiq (39 years old), who works at the Japanese embassy in Tehran, said, "I tie my tie when I arrive at the embassy so that I don't attract people's eyes if I put it on the street. They think that whoever wears it is a foreigner or has a very formal meeting with foreigners."

"It's a matter of dress code. It's not written anywhere, but when you start working at the embassy, your colleagues tell you that you're supposed to wear it," he said.

The United Nations warned of the depletion of the planet's water resources "drop by drop", ahead of the start of a conference on Wednesday aimed at examining how to meet the needs of billions of people exposed to an imminent global water crisis.

"Overconsumption, overdevelopment, unsustainable exploitation of water resources, pollution and uncontrolled global warming are all depleting factors," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the introduction to a report published hours before the United Nations Conference on Water, which is being held for the first time in nearly half a century. Drop by drop, this source of life for humanity."

He added that the world is "walking blindly down a perilous path...and we are all suffering the consequences".

Some areas suffer from water scarcity and others face heavy amounts of it due to the intensity of precipitation, or suffer from water pollution, and the recurrence of tragedies. imminent global water crisis.

“The number of people who will be affected by this global water crisis depends on the scenario,” lead author Richard Connor told AFP. “If nothing is done, 40-50% of the world’s population will suffer from a lack of sanitation and about 20-25%.” percent of the scarcity of potable water. Even if the percentages do not change, the world population is increasing, and with it the number of people affected by this problem.

In an attempt to reverse the trend with the hope of ensuring by 2030 everyone has access to drinking water or a toilet, goals set in 2015, some 6,500 participants, including about a hundred ministers and about a dozen heads of state and government, are meeting until Friday in New York to work on Make specific commitments.

But some observers are concerned about the scope of these commitments and the availability of funding to implement them.

- We have to move now -

However, says Gilbert Hongbo, chair of the UN-Water Commission, a platform that coordinates the work of the United Nations, which does not have a dedicated body on the subject. "There is a lot of effort required and time is not on our side."

No conference of this magnitude since 1977 has been organized on this vital, long-neglected issue.

In a world where over the past 40 years the use of fresh water has increased by nearly 1% per year, the report by the United Nations Water Commission first highlights that water shortages are becoming "widespread generalized", worsening with the impact of global warming, even It is expected that it will soon affect even regions that were spared from this destitution in East Asia or South America.

Thus, about 10% of the world's population lives in countries where water stress has reached a high or critical level. According to a report by United Nations climate experts published Monday, "nearly half of the world's population" suffers from "severe" water shortages during at least part of the year.

The situation also highlights inequality. "Wherever you are, if you are rich enough, you will have access to water... The poorer you are, the more likely you are to suffer from these crises," says Richard Connor.

The problem does not lie only in the lack of water, but also in the pollution of the available water, due to the absence or dilapidation of sewage systems.
At least two billion people drink water contaminated with feces, exposing them to cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. This is not to mention contamination with drugs, chemicals, pesticides, microplastics or nanomaterials.

To ensure universal access to drinking water by 2030, current levels of investment must be at least tripled, estimates the UN Water Commission.

Also, all these sources of pollution threaten nature. According to the report, freshwater ecosystems that provide invaluable services to humanity, including helping to combat global warming and its effects, are "among the most threatened in the world."

"We have broken the water cycle... We have to act now because water insecurity undermines food security, health, energy security, urban development and (exacerbates) social problems," Henk Oveink, special envoy for water from the Netherlands, co-organizer of the conference with Tajikistan, told AFP. Act before it's too late, it's the opportunity of a generation."