Kabul (AFP) - At least 12 people were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan after a strong earthquake was felt thousands of kilometers away, but the region seemed to have avoided a major human catastrophe Wednesday that could result from an earthquake of this magnitude.

The epicenter of the 6.5-magnitude earthquake was located in southeastern Afghanistan near the border town of Jaram with Pakistan and Tajikistan, with a depth of more than 187 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake struck around 9:00 pm (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, Kabul time, and lasted for more than 30 seconds. It was felt by people from Central Asia to New Delhi, India, more than 2,000 km away.

"It was a strong earthquake and we feared huge damage because of its intensity, that's why we issued a warning," Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for rescue services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told AFP.

"But fortunately our fears turned out to be wrong. The people panicked because of the strength of the earthquake, but the damage was minimal," he added.

The region is frequently subject to earthquakes, especially in the mountainous Hindu Kush region located near the intersection of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

We spent the night in the open air

In the Jarm area, which is close to the epicenter of the earthquake, no human injuries were recorded, according to one of the residents.

"There are 2,000 to 3,000 people living in our village, and we spent the whole night in the open," Inamullah said in a telephone interview.

"We were all scared and stayed up all night," he added.

Residents of cities and towns in Afghanistan and Pakistan fled their homes in panic to places far from buildings, and did not return hours later.

"We spent the night in the yard... It was cold outside, but we preferred to stay there rather than return," student Nida Rehan, 24, said in a telephone interview with AFP from Kabul.

Khudadad Heights, a sprawling multi-storey residential complex in the Pakistani capital, was evacuated after cracks appeared in its walls.

More than 55,000 people were killed in an earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria last month, sparking concerns across the region.

One of the parents, Ekhlaq Kazmi, a retired professor in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, said, "The children started screaming that there was an earthquake. We all ran outside. The horrors of the earthquake in Turkey and neighboring countries affected our nerves a lot."

Officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, north of the Pakistani capital, said nine people were killed in the earthquake, including two women and two children.

- Alert -

Officials in Afghanistan reported that three people were killed and 44 wounded, but telephone and Internet lines with remote parts of the country were severed and communications intermittent.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that health centers in the country had been put on alert.

In the Afghan capital, Kabul, Nur Mohammad Hanifi erected a tent in the street for his family to live in.

"No one dares to enter homes," Hanifi told AFP, wrapping his family in blankets.

In Afghanistan, many families were celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, outside their homes when the earthquake struck.

"I heard people screaming as they went out into the street," said Masih, who was outside with his family when the earthquake struck.

And the people who were inside their homes and apartments quickly left them.

"They fled without putting on their shoes, just carrying their children," an AFP correspondent said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked the National Disaster Management Authority to prepare to deal with any emergency.

In June of last year, more than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands were displaced when a 5.9-magnitude earthquake, the deadliest in terms of the number of victims in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century, hit the impoverished Paktika province.

Afghanistan is under the weight of a humanitarian catastrophe, which worsened with the Taliban's seizure of power in August 2021.

The sums of international financing allocated for development, on which the South Asian country depends, disappeared after the hardline movement took control, while assets abroad were frozen.

The Director in charge of running the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency, Dr. Muhammad Salem Al-Sharqawi, stressed the necessity of drafting a reference document on media terminology for the Palestinian cause, calling for the formation of a committee to draft this document and submit it to the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers for approval and circulation to the media in the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Al-Sharqawi, who was a participant in the virtual workshop held by the Union of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (UNA) yesterday, Tuesday, entitled "Media Circulation of Terminology of the Palestinian Issue", with the participation of the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in addition to News agencies, members of the union, and a number of diplomats and media professionals, stressed "the magnitude of the challenge involved in not controlling the issue of media terminology and the dangers it poses to the correct perception of the reality of the Palestinian cause... which is one of the most important of these issues that are lost among digital terminology and maps to be At the top of the pyramid of misinformation in the concepts it proves.

Al-Sharqawi stated that "preserving the Jerusalem concepts and terminology that constitute the history and identity of the Holy City and its present" comes within the tasks of the agency that was entrusted with the responsibility to carry out the duties of protecting and preserving the cultural heritage of the city of Jerusalem, as it is a common heritage of humanity. Preserving the cultural identity of the city and consecrating its legal status and religious and civilized character.

During his intervention, Al-Sharqawi reviewed part of the contributions of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency of the Al-Quds Committee headed by Moroccan King Mohammed VI in supporting the Palestinian cause at various levels, especially at the media level, including his patronage of the agency’s silver jubilee celebration.

Al-Sharqawi warned against "media handling without familiarity or knowledge and without scrutiny or investigation into these terms and their dimensions," saying: "The media, field correspondents, and opinion writers must verify the concepts and terms before publishing them in their materials so that they do not convey a distorted image and do not harm ordinary citizens such as Those who are steadfast in the city of Jerusalem.

In front of the media incitement machine against the Jerusalemites, Al-Sharqawi said: How urgently we need to recall the historical appeal “Al-Quds Appeal” signed in 2019 by King Mohammed VI and His Holiness Pope Francis, regarding the Holy City “as a common heritage of humanity, and as, above all, a land A meeting and a symbol of peaceful coexistence for the followers of the three monotheistic religions, and a center for the values of mutual respect and dialogue.

The Jordanian Parliament voted, on Wednesday, to approve a proposal to expel the Israeli ambassador, against the background of the racist statements and actions of the Israeli Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, towards Jordan and Palestine.

The Palestine Parliamentary Committee and a large number of deputies demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Jordan, based on several proposals submitted in this regard.

Parliament Speaker Ahmed Al-Safadi said during the parliament session: "We in the House of Representatives call on the government to take effective and effective measures towards the occupation government's finance minister's use of a map of the so-called Israel that includes the borders of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories."

Source: Ammon

The Israeli army confirmed, on Wednesday, that it had intercepted a drone belonging to the " Hamas " movement that flew over the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military spokesman said that the plane did not infiltrate into the settlements around the Gaza Strip, and did not pose any threat.

Eyewitnesses monitored the Iron Dome system firing two missiles in the sky of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, towards a drone belonging to the resistance.

The ceremony of imitating US President Joe Biden, on Tuesday, was not devoid of medals for a number of artists and personalities, including singer Bruce Springsteen and actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, from a joking hint of his intention to run for the presidential elections in 2024, by jokingly saying that he was looking forward to achieving the “double title.” ".

Biden honored a number of figures in the worlds of art and culture by awarding some of them the “National Medal of the Arts” and others the “National Medal of the Humanities.”

Among the honorees is the African-American writer Colson Whitehead, who pointed out to Joe Biden that he twice won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, for "Underground Railroad" and "The Nickel Boys".

And the 80-year-old Democratic president commented, "I might also try to achieve the double title," and was met with applause and laughter.
Biden has previously expressed his intention to run for the 2024 elections, but has not officially launched his campaign.

Among the most prominent of those imitated by Biden are singer Bruce Springsteen, nicknamed “The Boss” (the President), actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who became famous for her role as US Vice President in the series “Veep”, fashion designer Vera Wang and “Empress of Soul Music” Gladys Knight.

The White House enumerated the merits of the "Born in the USA" singer, saying, "Bruce Springsteen's music celebrates our victories, heals our wounds, and gives us hope. It embodies this indomitable spirit that characterizes America."

Biden again hinted at his electoral intentions by addressing the rock star, using one of his famous songs Born to Run ("Born to Run"), as the verb to run also means to run for election, and he said, "Bruce, some people are born to run, my friend."

Biden concluded the celebration by saying that all the honorees make "this country better," including writer Anne Patchett, American Indian academic and activist Henrietta Mann, and biographer and journalist Walter Isaacson.

اختطفت قوة إسرائيلية خاصة، الأربعاء، شابًا من داخل منطقة المريح في نابلس.

وبحسب مصادر محلية، فإن القوة الخاصة أطلقت النار تجاه الشاب قبل أن تعتقله مصابًا وتقتاده إلى جهة مجهولة.

A former girlfriend of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny has sued him for $40 million for using her voice without her permission in a number of his songs, some media reported.

And the "Notisl" website reported on Monday that Carlize de la Cruz Hernandez, who was in a romantic relationship with the rap star in 2011 and 2016, filed a lawsuit against him in early March before a court in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico.

In the lawsuit, Carly's said she recorded "Bad Bunny Baby" on her phone in 2015, when Bad Bunny was not yet the reggaeton star he is today.

She added that Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Martinez Ocasio, later used this recording without permission at the beginning of the song "Pa Te" and, a few years later, in the song "Dos Mel 16" from his Grammy-winning album "Un Verano Cin Te".

The lawsuit indicated that the artist's team sent contracts requesting de la Cruz Hernandez's approval to use her phrase in "Dos Mile 16", but one day before the album was released in May 2022, but he did not wait to receive a response from her.

The lawsuit added that "thousands of people have made comments on Carlize de la Cruz Hernandez's social media accounts" since the song's release, "which has caused and continues to cause her anxiety, anguish, a sense of intimidation, confusion and anxiety."

Today, the General Investigation Branch in the Governorate Police managed to arrest a wanted man for his involvement in committing more than 40 theft crimes in Hebron .

Colonel Louay Arziqat, the media spokesman for the police , explained that this wanted man was a fugitive from justice 5 years ago, and more than 40 theft crimes were recorded against him in several areas of the governorate, including theft of homes, shops and vehicles.

Colonel Arziqat added that during a patrol of the General Investigation Department in the city's Tahrir area, it was noticed that this wanted man attempted to steal a vehicle parked on the side of the road, and the patrol rushed to pursue and arrest him, noting that 18 judicial warrants were issued against him on charges of theft, fraud and fraud.

Colonel Arziqat confirmed the reservation of the arrested person until he was referred to the competent authority to follow up the necessary legal procedures against him.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Health, Mai Al-Kaila , appealed to all international institutions, human rights and human rights institutions, and the International Red Cross, to urgently take action to curb the increasing racist occupation attacks on treatment centers, patients, health workers, and ambulance workers.

In a statement, Al-Kaila, from the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, called on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the international diplomatic corps in Palestine to make an urgent visit to the Palestine Medical Complex to see the reality of the occupation attacks at dawn today on the medical complex.

At dawn today, the Israeli occupation forces carried out a flagrant attack on the Palestine Medical Complex, where they fired dozens of tear gas and stun grenades intensively and continuously for more than two hours.

As a result of the occupation attack, dozens of patients (including children in incubators) and cadres working in the complex suffocated and panicked, many of whom suffocated severely, and a number of patients suffered from severe chest pain.

The minister added, "The occupation attacks the ambulance and treatment centers and crews that provide humanitarian service to patients, and this is prohibited by all international human rights conventions and conventions, calling on the international community and international institutions to stand up to their responsibilities to curb the practices of the occupation."

The statement issued by the ministry added, "Since the beginning of this year, dozens of cases of direct and intentional assault on treatment centers in various governorates have been documented, targeting cars and ambulance crews and preventing them from reaching and treating the wounded, which led to the injury of dozens of patients inside treatment centers and during their transfer between cities and treatment centers." .

The Hebrew newspaper “Haaretz” revealed, on Wednesday, that the office of the Israeli army spokesperson led a fraud operation against the Israelis during Operation “Guardian of the Walls / Sword of Jerusalem ” in May 2021, in an attempt to show that it had achieved victories at the expense of the “Hamas” movement in the Gaza Strip .

According to the newspaper, the operation aimed to raise awareness among Israelis of their army's attacks in Gaza and the "price" paid by Hamas and the Palestinians.

The Israeli army used fake accounts on social networks in order to hide the fact that it was run by the office of its spokesperson, to publish publications that include videos and other fake accounts to market to the Israelis.

The tweets and videos were posted under the hashtag #Gazarepents, with captions including: "We have to show how strong we are... Share so everyone knows we're responding in a big way."

According to the newspaper, this plan began a few days after the start of the operation, after the Israeli army spokesman felt that the Israeli public was more impressed by Hamas' missile strikes and was not sufficiently affected by the army's attacks, which in turn tried to show that the campaign he led stemmed from the public.

In addition to the fake accounts known as "bots", the Israeli army used two very popular accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers, and they were identified as secret, and hashtags were launched through them, including "Let them die", "Kill them permanently", and "Destroy Gaza with everyone in it." .

It was noted that the accounts were deliberately referring to right-wing personalities, politicians, and activists in their tweets, but the response from the Israeli public in comments, likes, and so on was very weak. Despite this, the army spokesman's office won an internal award for the fraud.

The Israeli army admitted that it carried out the fraud and that what happened was a "mistake", but said that the videos that were published were authentic and were not fake, and that most of them were filmed by Palestinians.

The newspaper says that the Israeli army participated for years in qualitative operations during which it tried to break the narrative of the other side and influence the residents of Gaza, Lebanon and others, and to achieve operational achievements, within the framework of a psychological war it leads.

During Operation "Guardian of the Walls/Saif al-Quds," a campaign was launched targeting the residents of Gaza through social media, and tweets were made from official accounts such as the army's spokesperson for the Arabic language, or the Israeli prime minister's spokesperson for the Hebrew language as part of this psychological warfare.

An Israeli security source said that what happened was prohibited by law, and even during the spread of the Corona virus, the Israeli army was not allowed to use some of its capabilities to locate the injured, and this is a sensitive matter.

Hedi Zilberman, a former spokesman for the Israeli army, was a major part of the operation, and he was behind the misleading attempt to carry out a ground operation to get Hamas members to enter the tunnels with the aim of destroying them while they were inside, but the operation did not succeed, and he had exploited Gilad Cohen, an officer in that fraud. The Israeli army used to run the "Abu Ali Express" channel on Telegram, as part of the "war of awareness" on social networks, which made its page the most influential among Palestinians, Arabs, and even Israelis and military correspondents before it was terminated.

يواصل الأسرى في سجون الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، لليوم الثاني والثلاثين على التوالي، تصعيد خطوات العصيان ضد إدارة السجون، احتجاجًا على تطبيق الإجراءات التنكيلية بحقهم والتي أوصى بها الوزير المتطرف إيتامار بن غفير، وأولها التحكم في كمية المياه، وتقليص ساعات استخدام الحمامات المخصصة للاستحمام، في الأقسام الجديدة في (نفحة، وجلبوع).

وكانت إدارة السّجون أبلغت لجنة الطوارئ العليا للأسرى، أنها ستضاعف وتوسع من دائرة عقوباتها وتهديداتها في حال استمروا بخطواتهم الراهنّة، وعلى ضوء ذلك أعلنت الحركة الأسيرة وعلى قاعدة الوحدة، مضاعفة حالة الاستنفار والتعبئة بين صفوفها، حتّى موعد الإعلان عن الإضراب المفتوح عن الطعام.

يشار إلى أنّ لجنة الطوارئ أعلنت عن سلسلة خطوات نضالية ضد إجراءات (بن غفير)، تبدأ بالعصيان، وتكون ذروتها بإعلان الإضراب عن الطعام في الأول من شهر رمضان المقبل.

ويبلغ عدد الأسرى في سجون الاحتلال، نحو (4780)، من بينهم (160) طفلاً، و(29) أسيرة، و(914) معتقلًا إداريًا.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated, on Friday, that the number of martyrs has reached (88) since the beginning of this year, including 17 children and one woman.

Jenin governorate recorded the highest number with 35 martyrs, while Nablus came second with 21 martyrs.

The number of martyrs in Hebron governorate was 7, followed by 6 in Jerusalem, 5 in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, and the same number in Qalqilya governorate.

While the number of martyrs in Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate reached 3, two in the Gaza Strip, the same in Bethlehem, one in Salfit, and another in Tubas.

The Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, appeared Thursday for the first time before European investigators, as part of investigations centered on his wealth and suspicions of money laundering, according to a judicial source told AFP.

There is a set of judicial investigations affecting the governor of the Lebanese Central Bank, whether in Lebanon or abroad, centering on suspicions of money laundering and "illegal enrichment".

A judicial source revealed, in a statement to France Presse, that Salama answered before the first investigating judge in Beirut, Charbel Abu Samra, "to 100 questions that were asked to him and provided an extensive explanation" and "refuted all suspicions accusing him of money laundering," noting that the interrogation session lasted more than five hours. .

According to the source, he will represent Salameh at ten o'clock on Friday morning to complete the investigation with him, indicating that the European delegation intends to "ask 100 additional questions," thus completing its mission with regard to Salameh personally.

An AFP correspondent had reported a heavy security presence in the vicinity of the Palace of Justice in Beirut upon the arrival of Salameh and his defense agents on Thursday morning.

Investigators from France, Germany and Luxembourg are looking into money laundering and embezzlement cases in Lebanon linked to Salameh. In January in Beirut, they heard witnesses, including bank managers and current and former employees of the Banque du Liban.

The European investigations focus on the relationship between the Banque du Liban and the “Fore Associates” company, which is registered in the Virgin Islands and has an office in Beirut, and its economic beneficiary is Raja Salameh, brother of the Governor of the Banque du Liban.

It is believed that the company played the role of intermediary to purchase treasury bonds and Eurobonds from the Central Bank of Lebanon by receiving a subscription commission, which was transferred to Raja Salameh's accounts abroad.

A year ago, the European Judicial Cooperation Unit "Eurojust" announced that France, Germany and Luxembourg had frozen 120 million euros of Lebanese assets following an investigation targeting Salameh and four of his close associates, including his brother, on charges of money laundering and "embezzlement of public funds in Lebanon worth more than $330 million." and 5 million euros, respectively, between 2002 and 2021.

And on Thursday, the judicial source suggested that "the European investigators will leave Beirut on Saturday morning, provided that they return at a later date to listen to the ruler's brother, Raja Salameh, and his assistant, Marianne Howayek."

Salameh was absent from a session that was scheduled for Wednesday, on the pretext that he had not received an answer about a memorandum he submitted, in which he considered that “the presence of international judges in Lebanon and the investigation of financial files with him contradicts national sovereignty.” However, the Lebanese judiciary rejected the content of the memorandum and set a date for his interrogation, Thursday.

The wealth of Salameh, one of the longest-serving central bank governors in the world who has served as the architect of Lebanon's financial policies since taking office in 1993, has been the focus of a local investigation in Lebanon since April 2021.

And after the prosecution in February against Salameh, his brother, and his assistant, Marianne Howayek, the Lebanese state, represented by the head of the Cases Authority in the Ministry of Justice, Judge Helena Iskandar, filed a personal claim against them for “crimes of bribery, forgery, use of counterfeiters, money laundering, illegal enrichment, and tax evasion.”

The judge requested that several measures be taken against the defendants, including “arresting them, seizing their real estate properties, and freezing their bank accounts,” in addition to “freezing the accounts of their spouses and minor children with Lebanese and foreign banks,” and preventing them from disposing of their real estate.

Salama denies the accusations against him, considering that his prosecution comes in the context of a political process to "tarnish" his image.

And he confirms that he accumulated his wealth from his previous work for two decades in the global financial institution "Merrill Lynch" and from investments in several fields, apart from his work at the head of the governance of the Banque du Liban.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy (R-C), who chairs the subcommittee on the Middle East in the US Senate, said Thursday that it should be possible for the US to condition aid on Israel in order to send a message to the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

"If we're going to continue to support the Israeli government, they have to be engaged in the ongoing work of a future Palestinian state — and that doesn't seem to be the policy of this government right now," Murphy said in an interview on CNN. Referring to the position of the current Israeli ministry, it warned against "the Netanyahu government's attack on the two-state solution in particular (and its undermining of this solution), which is very bad for US-Israeli relations in the long run."

"So whether it's a condition of helping Israel, whether it's a condition of visits to the United States (of Israeli officials), we have to send the message that this attack on the two-state solution in particular is very bad for the relationship between the United States and Israel in the long term," Murphy added.

Murphy noted, "The Netanyahu government is really undermining the bonds that have bound Israelis together (referring to the judicial amendment) and I am concerned that we are at a moment where we are witnessing the obliteration of (the prospect of) a future Palestinian state, due to the pace of settlements through the legalization of outposts." settlements, and I think the United States needs to draw a tougher line with this government."

It is noteworthy that Senator Bernie Sanders (of Vermont) said last month that he would introduce new legislation on American aid to Israel regarding the Netanyahu government’s approach to the Palestinians, while the other Senator from the same state, Peter Welch, indicated that the controversy surrounding the United States providing the money that ends up The matter in the service of settlement expansion is not accepted by many Democrats.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on this subject, "Murphy's comments come one day after (Israeli) President Isaac Herzog warned that Israel may face a civil war due to deep differences over Netanyahu's plans to reform the Israeli judiciary.

Senator Murphy is historically one of Israel's closest friends.

The President of Malawi announced Thursday that Cyclone Freddy , which lasted for an exceptional period, killed 326 people in the country, according to a new toll, while the total number of victims in South African countries exceeded 400 since the arrival of this phenomenon at the end of February.

"Since yesterday (Wednesday), the death toll from this disaster has increased from 225 to 326, and the number of displaced people has doubled to 183,159," said Lazarus Chakwera, during a visit to Blantyre (south), the epicenter of the storms.

The hurricane, which struck the region twice, following a ring path rarely recorded by meteorologists, killed 73 people in Mozambique and 17 in Madagascar.

The cyclone formed off the coast of Australia in early February and passed an unprecedented distance of more than 8,000 km from east to west in the Indian Ocean.

It made landfall for the first time on February 21 on the eastern coast of Madagascar, killing seven people. The phenomenon, which has been going on for more than 35 days, then struck Mozambique, killing ten people.

Then the cyclone hit Madagascar for the second time in early March, killing ten people. Then he headed towards Mozambique, where he caused 63 deaths.

But in Malawi, which has so far only seen an increase in rainfall levels and where the cyclone finally struck on Monday, the toll was the highest.

The epicenter of the disaster is in the densely populated region of Blantyre, the country's economic capital. A state of disaster and two weeks of national mourning have been declared. The police and army were deployed.

President Chakwera repeated his call for help on Thursday, saying the "needs are huge". The day before, the president had called for international help to deal with the massive devastation, describing the disaster as a "national tragedy".

And the hurricane, whose strength weakened with winds that were still reaching a speed of 200 km per hour, carried heavy rains that led to floods and landslides. Rescue operations are continuing and corpses are being dispersed.

The southwest Indian Ocean is hit by tropical storms and cyclones several times a year during the cyclone season, which runs from November to April.

شيع الآلاف المواطنين في جنين، مساء اليوم الخميس، جثامين الشهداء الأربعة الذين ارتقوا في مجزرة جديدة ارتكبتها وحدات إسرائيلية خاصة عصر اليوم.

وانطلق موكب تشييع الشهداء، الطفل عمر محمد عوادين (16 عامًا)، والشابين نضال أمين زيدان خازم (28 عاماً)، وصالح بركات شريم (29 عاماً)، من مستشفى الدكتور خليل سليمان الحكومي، وجاب شوارع المدينة تجاه المخيم، حيث ألقيت نظرة الوداع على جثامينهم، قبل الصلاة عليهم في مسجد المخيم الكبير ومواراتهم الثرى بمقبرة الشهداء في المخيم.

كما جاب موكب تشييع الشهيد لؤي خليل الزغير (37 عامًا) شوارع مدينة جنين، قبل نقله إلى منزل عائلته التي ألقت نظرة الوداع على الجثمان، قبل الصلاة عليه في المسجد الكبير، ومواراته الثرى في مقبرة الشهداء في الحي الشرقي بالمدينة.

وندد المشاركون في تشييع جثامين الشهداء، بجرائم الاحتلال المستمرة بحق الشعب الفلسطيني، ودعوا إلى تعزيز الوحدة الوطنية للتصدي للاحتلال.

Polish President Andrzej Duda announced Thursday that his country will deliver the first batch of four MiG-29 fighter-bombers to Ukraine, marking the first such delivery by a NATO member.

"In the first stage, we will transfer in the coming days... four fully operational planes to Ukraine," Duda told reporters.

Kiev has asked several times from its Western allies to deliver modern fighter-bombers in the hope of obtaining American F-16 fighters.

However, shortly after that, the White House confirmed that Poland's decision "does not change" the US position opposing sending US-made planes to Kiev.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Poland's decision "does not change our calculations regarding the US-made F-16s," adding that the Polish move "does not affect or change" that.

In response to the Polish announcement, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat said, "MiG fighters will not solve problems, we need F-16 fighters. But MiGs will contribute to strengthening our capabilities."

Russia did not immediately comment on the Polish declaration, but the Kremlin has said several times that the delivery of Western weapons to Kiev will only prolong the conflict and the "suffering" of the civilian population without changing Moscow's "military objectives" in Ukraine.

During his press conference, the Polish president added, "Additional aircraft are currently being prepared and maintained, and they are likely to be transferred successively."

"Therefore, we can say that we are about to send these MiGs to Ukraine," he said, noting that Poland currently has more than ten MiGs inherited from the former German Democratic Republic.

"These MiGs are still in service with the Polish Air Force. They are in their last years of operation, but the majority of them are still fully operational," Duda said.

He added that the MiG-29 fighters are "planes that Ukrainian pilots can use today without additional training."

On Thursday morning, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that Poland wants to transfer MiG-29s to Ukraine "within the framework of a larger coalition of countries."

In response to a question about the member states of this alliance, Blaszczak referred to Slovakia, but added, "Of course we are open to others."

"We definitely want to run our business in the framework of an alliance," he said.

The MiGs, which will be transferred to Ukraine, will be replaced by the South Korean F-50, which Poland bought, and then by the American F-35.

Last year, Poland's neighbor Slovakia announced that it wanted to discuss sending MiG-29s to help replace losses in Ukraine's existing stockpiles. However, no final decisions have been made in this regard since then.

Duda's announcement came after talks with his Czech counterpart Petr Pavel, who was a general in NATO, in Poland.

Likewise, the Polish president's statements came after the defense minister announced earlier that Polish intelligence had dismantled a Russian spy network.

Blaszczak told Polish public radio that it was a "spy group... gathering information for those who attacked Ukraine".

اعتقلت قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، مساء اليوم الخميس، 4 مواطنين من القدس المحتلة.

وبحسب مصادر محلية، فإن تلك القوات اعتقلت الفتى محمود مسودة (15 عاماً)، والطفل يمان حجاج (15 عاماً)، وأعادت اعتقال الطفل وائل شاهين (17 عاماً)، لحظة الإفراج عنه اليوم، بعد أن أمضى سبعة أشهر في سجونها، وجميعهم من بلدة سلوان.

كما واعتقلت قوات مماثلة، شاباً من البلدة القديمة -لم تعرف هويته بعد- واقتادته إلى أحد مراكز التحقيق.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that a conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be "a very good thing."

He stressed that the United States had long been "encouraging" such contact, saying, "We think it is very important for the Chinese to listen to the point of view of the Ukrainians, not just the point of view of (Vladimir) Putin."

The Ukrainian president announced at the end of February that he expected to meet with the Chinese president, while the Wall Street Journal reported at the weekend that Xi Jinping intends to speak soon to his Ukrainian counterpart, which will be their first conversation since the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.

According to the newspaper, the call could take place after the Chinese president's upcoming visit to Moscow next week.

China did not explicitly condemn or support Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but it provides diplomatic support to Moscow.

On February 24, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Beijing published a 12-point document calling on Moscow and Kiev to hold peace talks.

But if China seeks to present itself as a mediator in this dispute, its position as an ally of Russia raises doubts among Westerners about its role.

The United States recently accused it of intending to supply weapons to Russia, which China strongly denied.

Today, Thursday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh called on the South Korean Parliament to adopt a resolution calling on the Korean government to recognize the State of Palestine , and to raise the level of diplomatic representation between the two countries, in a way that contributes to supporting and preserving the two-state solution.

This came when he received, in his office in Ramallah, the Speaker of the South Korean Parliament , Kim Jin-pyo , and a number of parliament members, in the presence of the representative of the Republic of Korea to Palestine, Song Se-jin.

During the meeting, Shtayyeh discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two countries in many sectors, especially in the field of vocational and technical training and artificial intelligence, in addition to exchanging experiences and establishing joint investments, appreciating the Korean support provided to Palestine and our people.

During the meeting, he reviewed the latest developments on the ground, saying: "Today we are facing an extremist government in Israel, which is working on systematic destruction of the two-state solution, and is practicing escalatory measures against our people, including killing, arresting, demolishing homes and seizing lands, and hours ago the occupation forces assassinated four of our children." In Jenin, since the beginning of the year, 88 martyrs have died.

He added, "The international community must stop using double standards when it comes to Palestine and our cause, and in order to end the occupation of our lands, it must be costly, as Israel reaps profits from its occupation of our land, its theft, and the seizure of our capabilities."

The Prime Minister stressed that there is no real partner for peace in Israel, and it renounces all the agreements signed with it, denies all international efforts and the efforts of mediators for peace, and continues its crimes against our people.

An official in the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's forces in Libya announced, Thursday, the discovery of uranium containers that the International Atomic Energy Agency revealed were missing in Libya.

"In response to what was stated in the International Atomic Energy Agency's report on the loss of 2.5 tons of uranium" in Libya, the Secretary-General of the General Command of the Libyan Armed Forces, Major General Khaled Al-Mahjoub, said, "A force from the army was assigned and found these barrels in an area only About five kilometers from the warehouse "in which it was originally" in the direction of the Chadian border.

And according to a report prepared by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, to the member states, the inspectors of the UN body discovered, during a visit they conducted on Tuesday in Libya, that "ten containers containing about 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of uranium concentrate ("yellow cake") were no longer available. It is located at the location that the authorities had announced."

Al-Mahjoub explained that the containers were located in a location in southern Libya, and that the IAEA visited it in 2020, made an inventory of the quantity, and "closed the warehouse door with red wax."

He pointed out that the agency pledged at the time to secure "the needs of the guards," which include "special clothes, masks, and others to protect those charged with guarding against the diseases caused by this substance," but the agency did not provide these needs, according to the statement. The guards had to stay away from the warehouse.

Al-Mahjoub attached his statement, posted on his Facebook page, to a videotape showing a man wearing protective clothing counting 18 barrels.

Al-Mahjoub confirmed in a phone call with Agence France-Presse that the agency had been informed of the discovery of the barrels. and "the situation is under control".

In his statement, he believed that those who seized the barrels "are ignorant of their nature and do not know their danger and left them after realizing that they are useless," and it is likely that the culprit is a Chadian faction.

The IAEA had stated that the site, which it did not name, was "not under the control of the government" recognized by the United Nations and based in Tripoli.

Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 after 42 years of rule, Libya has witnessed chaos and power struggles.

Today, two governments are fighting over power, one in the capital (west) headed by Abdul Hamid al-Dabiba, and the other in Sirte headed by Fathi Bashagha, supported by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man in the Libyan east.

On Thursday in Berlin , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the criticism of the controversial judicial reform program as "absurd," while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern in this regard.

At the German Chancellery, Schulz did not hide his "grave concern" about reforming the Israeli judiciary, which his critics see as a threat to democracy, which Netanyahu categorically rejects.

The reform program, which aims to limit the powers of the Supreme Court, has led to a deep division in the Jewish state. On Wednesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned of the danger of a "civil war".

"As a partner of democratic values and a close friend of Israel, we are following the discussions very carefully and with great concern, and I will not hide it," Schulz said during a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Berlin.

He urged Netanyahu to reconsider the settlement proposed by the Israeli president, which was rejected by the Israeli prime minister and his coalition on Wednesday.

"We will be happy, as friends of Israel, if the last word has not yet been said on this proposal," Schultz said.

Faced with questions from journalists during the press conference, which started one hour late, Netanyahu rejected several times any danger to the country's democracy.

"It is being said that I am a ruler who abolishes democracy. It will not take long to realize that this is absurd and absurd," he said.

The visit of the Israeli leader put the German government under pressure, so that Netanyahu's opponents asked Berlin to cancel the visit.

Germany and Israel established strong diplomatic relations in the decades following World War II, and Berlin pledged to preserve the Israeli state after the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany.

Successive German governments have described Israeli national security as a major priority in foreign policy, which Schulz confirmed Thursday.

On Thursday, Netanyahu will meet German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, before leaving Berlin in the evening.

Steinmeier said during a trip to Tallinn, Estonia, on Wednesday that he planned to discuss the controversial reforms with Netanyahu.

Since the announcement in early January of the reform plan that the most right-wing government in Israel's history wants to implement, weekly mass demonstrations have taken place across the country to denounce what critics describe as an anti-democratic aberration.

Liat Tzvi, 52, a researcher at Tel Aviv University, told AFP during Thursday's gathering, "I fear that this place will turn into a religious state, that the Jewish laws will be occupied and that democratic freedom as we know it will no longer exist."

Meanwhile, around 500 people gathered in the afternoon near the famous Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin.

"We will fight for democracy. Democracy is a must, we cannot abandon it," said Gilat Fish, an Israeli who has lived in Bonn for five years and came to Berlin to demonstrate.

Herzog made troubling remarks on Wednesday about the state of the country.

And he warned that "anyone who believes that a real civil war that kills human lives is a limit that we will not reach, has no idea what he is talking about," stressing that he is convinced that "the majority of Israelis want a compromise."

Herzog continued, "Exactly now, in the seventy-fifth year of the independence of the State of Israel, the abyss is close. Today I tell you what I told them: Civil war is a red line. I will not allow it to happen."

The Israeli prime minister and his allies see reform as necessary to rebalance elected officials and the Supreme Court.

They consider unelected Supreme Court justices to be politicized and have more power than elected representatives.

On Tuesday, the Israeli Knesset approved, in a first reading, a clause allowing the cancellation of some Supreme Court decisions, and it had already adopted other provisions in February that were condemned.

عين الرئيس الجزائري عبد المجيد تبون الخميس أحمد عطاف وزيرا للخارجية خلفا لرمطان لعمامرة، في إطار تعديل وزاري شمل نحو 10 وزارات، بحسب بيان تلاه المتحدث باسم رئاسة الجمهورية.

وتم تعيين أحمد عطاف (70 سنة) الذي سبق أن شغل المنصب بين 1996 و1999 قبل وصول عبد العزيز بوتفليقة للحكم. وكان قبلها شغل منصب وزير مكلف بالشؤون المغاربية والإفريقية. وهو دبلوماسي متخرج من المدرسة الوطنية للإدارة التي تخرج منها تبون نفسه.

وتولى رمطان لعمارة (71 سنة) رئاسة الدبلوماسية في حزيران/ يونيو 2021 خلفا لصيري بوقدوم، وسبق له شغل المنصب بين 2013 و2017. وخلال الأسابيع الأخيرة لحكم بوتفليقة بداية 2020 تولى منصب نائب رئيس الوزراء مكلفا بالشؤون الخارجية.

وبدا واضحا غياب رمطان لعمامرة (71 سنة) في الأيام الأخيرة خاصة عندما لم يستقبل مسؤول السياسة الخارجية للاتحاد الأوروبي جوزيب بوريل خلال زيارة للجزائر، الأحد والاثنين.

وشمل التعديل الوزاري11 حقيبة منها المالية بتعيين لعزيز فايد مدير الميزانية خلفا لابراهيم جمال كسالي. وكذلك تم تعيين رئيس اللجنة الأولمبية عبد الرحمان حماد وزيرا للشباب والرياضة خلفا لعبد الرزاق سبقاق.

وكان آخر تعديل وزاري أجراه تبون في حكومة أيمن بن عبد الرحمان، في ايلول/سبتمبر مسّ خاصة وزارة الداخلية بتعيين إبراهيم مراد مكان كمال بلجود الذي أصبح وزيرا للنقل ثم غادر في هذا التعديل.

أدانت وزارة الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين الأردنية، اليوم الخميس، استمرار الاقتحامات الإسرائيلية للمدن الفلسطينية المحتلة والاعتداء عليها، والتي كان آخرها العدوان على مدينة جنين اليوم.

وشدد الناطق الرسمي باسم الوزارة السفير سنان المجالي، على ضرورة وقف إسرائيل للإجراءات الأحادية كافة، وحماية المدن الفلسطينية من هذه الاعتداءات المتكررة والمتواصلة.

وأكد موقف الأردن الرافض لهذه الاعتداءات، وضرورة وقف التصعيد والحملات ضد الشعب الفلسطيني وبشكل فوري، محذراً من عواقب هذا التصعيد الذي لن يؤدي إلا لمزيد من التدهور والعنف، وتقويض الجهود الرامية إلى تحقيق التهدئة.

At least five people were killed in a helicopter crash in a remote area in northern Iraq , as the authorities of the autonomous Kurdistan region announced Thursday, stressing that among the dead were "members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party."

In response to a question by AFP about this incident, the details of which have not yet been known, a source in the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies classify as "terrorists", said that the organization is "investigating" the matter without confirming or denying that the dead or the helicopter belonged to the group or not. .

And the Anti-Terrorism Service in the Kurdistan region announced in a statement that a Eurocopter AS350 helicopter "crashed" on Wednesday night in the Dohuk region, "which led to the killing of all its passengers."

For his part, the official responsible for communication with foreign media in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Lawk Ghafouri, confirmed that "at least five people were killed," adding that "the investigation is still ongoing by security officials to determine who the helicopter belonged to and the reasons for the accident."

"Some of the passengers who were killed in the accident are members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, according to the preliminary investigation," he told AFP.

The PKK rebels are active in training camps and bases for them in northern Iraq, which is repeatedly bombed as a result of this conflict, as Ankara, which has established military bases in northern Iraq for 25 years, repeatedly launches air strikes and military operations against the organization.

Ankara, for its part, denied that the helicopter belonged to it, according to a statement by the Turkish security forces.

On February 10, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced a "suspension" of its military actions in Turkey, following the devastating earthquake that struck the country.

Turkish military operations in northern Iraq exacerbate pressure on relations between Ankara and the central government of Iraq in Baghdad, which accuses Turkey of violating its territorial sovereignty, even though the two countries are important trading partners. Iraq has repeatedly demanded that Turkey withdraw from its territory.

Civilians find themselves in the line of fire as a result of this conflict. In July 2022, nine Iraqi civilians were killed in a bombing that targeted a tourist resort in the Kurdistan region. Baghdad held Turkey responsible, while Turkey denied this.

Also, in early March, a number of Yazidi fighters linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in drone strikes attributed to Turkey in the Sinjar region.

A month earlier, eight missiles targeted a Turkish base in northern Iraq, without causing any casualties.

أخطرت قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، اليوم الخميس، بهدم ووقف العمل والبناء في منشأة صناعية، وغرفتين زراعيتين، في بلدة دير بلوط غرب سلفيت.

وبحسب مصادر محلية، فإن تلك القوات سلمت المواطن جميل عبد الوهاب عبد الله، إخطارين أحدهما لهدم منشأة صناعية، وآخر بوقف العمل والبناء في غرفة زراعية.

فيما سلمت المواطن ناجي حسني موسى إخطاراً بوقف البناء في غرفة زراعية في المنطقة الغربية من البلدة.

The Spanish judiciary rejected a lawsuit filed by Morocco against a Spanish journalist who accused the kingdom of spying on him using the Israeli Pegasus software.

And the Madrid Court of First Instance considered, in a decision seen by Agence France-Presse, Thursday, that the journalist was not defamed in Morocco, and therefore rejected the kingdom's lawsuit.

In response to a question from Agence France-Presse, the office of the kingdom's lawyer, Ernesto Diaz Bastian, indicated that it intends to appeal the ruling.
This lawsuit, filed by the Moroccan authorities against Ignacio Sombrero (68 years old), represents a new episode in the "Pegasus case", which was revealed in July 2021 by an investigative media coalition that confirmed that 50,000 people around the world had been exposed to espionage through Pegasus from governments, including the Moroccan government.

The Israeli company "NSO Group" developed the Pegasus software, which was sold to many countries, and it allows access to messages, data, and even the operation of the hacked phone's camera and microphone.

Among the 180 journalists on the list of personalities targeted by Pegasus is the Spaniard Sembrero, who has been writing about the Maghreb for more than two decades and is considered an expert on Morocco.

The journalist has confirmed repeatedly since 2021, in interviews and before a committee of the European Parliament, that he is convinced that Morocco is responsible for hacking his phone, admitting at the same time that he has no evidence of that.

The Moroccan authorities have always asserted that they do not possess Pegasus software.

Judge Sonia Lins Muñoz said in the text of the March 10 decision that the statements made by Ignacio Sombrero in interviews were the result of "the publication of a journalistic investigation by an international group about people who were spied on by Pegasus software" and are justified by "the seriousness of the facts that led to the opening of a criminal investigation.

And the judge continued, "Because of all this, (Morocco's) request is rejected," and the decision also bears the costs of litigation on the kingdom.

The Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, said today, Thursday, that his country is working to double the electric power exported to Palestine , which currently amounts to about 80 megawatts.

Al-Kharabsheh added, in a statement to reporters, after his talks with a Palestinian delegation headed by the head of the Palestinian Energy Authority, Dhafer Melhem, that the Al-Rama station, which was opened on the Jordanian side in August last year, worked to raise the capacity of supplying the Palestinians with electricity from 40 megawatts to 80 megawatts, and work is currently underway on it. Increasing levels of cooperation in various fields of energy.

He expressed his hope to move to the stage of doubling the electrical generation capacity on the Palestinian side, stressing Jordan's readiness to provide all possible forms of support that the Palestinians need in this field to upgrade the electrical system in Palestine.

Kharabsheh indicated that the talks with the Palestinian side come within the framework of the recommendations of the Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee to increase cooperation with our Palestinian brothers in various fields of energy, especially providing them with electric energy. energy, leading to an integrated Palestinian electricity system.

For his part, Melhem said in a joint statement with Minister Kharabsheh that the Palestinian side is working according to a strategy that stipulates the need to diversify energy sources and reduce dependence on one source. He started in 2008 by drawing 20 megawatts of electricity from Jordan, then 40 megawatts, followed by 2022 by raising it to 80 megawatts. The fourth phase aims to increase the energy imported from Jordan to reach 160 megawatts, according to the development of loads on the Palestinian side.

Melhem stressed the need to complete the infrastructure in Palestine to deliver electricity received from Jordan to other Palestinian governorates.

He said, "The Palestinian delegation is visiting Jordan to continue discussing areas of cooperation, especially in the field of energy, and to strengthen the Palestinian-Jordanian connection, which has now reached the city of Ramallah and many of its population centers. We look forward to strengthening this cooperation to deliver electricity to all governorates of Palestine."

He added, "The talks also focused on exchanging expertise and training in all energy fields, especially in the field of electricity and importing oil derivatives via Jordan, which contributes to diversifying energy sources in Palestine and enhances its disengagement from the Israeli occupation network."

In turn, the General Manager of the Jordanian National Electric Power Company, Amjad Al-Rawashdeh, said that the company is pursuing aspects of cooperation to provide the Palestinian side with part of its electrical energy needs through the Al-Rama station, by adding a transformer with a capacity of 80 megawatts in the station to enhance the reliability of the electrical energy supply, which qualifies them to increase reliability on the Jordanian side.

Al-Rawashdeh added: "The National Electric Power Company, in cooperation with the Palestinian side, is working to raise the training capabilities of the Palestinian brothers to meet their training needs and support their future plans and their growing needs for additional electric energies."

On Thursday evening, the victims of the "scaffolding" collapse at a construction site in the Ramat Gan area near Tel Aviv were unveiled, this afternoon.

According to Maariv newspaper, the two workers who were killed in the accident are Mustafa Hamada (48 years old) and Ali Hamada (35 years old), both of whom were from Al-Samou’ in Hebron .

Seven Palestinian workers were wounded in the accident.

On Thursday, the United Kingdom announced the immediate ban of the TikTok application on government agencies, due to security concerns.
"We will ban the use of TikTok on government agencies," Minister of State Oliver Dowden, whose portfolio includes cybersecurity, told Parliament, which would be done with "immediate effect".

Critics of the app, which allows sharing short videos, which is very popular among young people, accuse the Chinese authorities of giving access to user data around the world, which TikTok denies.

The British minister said it was a "precautionary" measure, adding, "We know there is already limited use of TikTok within the government, but it is a matter of good cyber hygiene."

"Given the special risks associated with government agencies that may contain sensitive information, it is wise and appropriate to restrict the use of certain applications," especially those that access and store "a large amount of data," he added.

This approach, "based on the specific risks of government agencies", follows similar bans taken notably by the United States, Canada and the European Union, Oliver Dowden said.

On Wednesday, China urged the United States to stop "unprovoked attacks" on TikTok, after the US government asked the Chinese parent company, "ByteDance", to give up its shares in the application, or face a ban for reasons of national security.

According to the Wall Street Journal and other American newspapers, the White House has issued an ultimatum stating that if TikTok remains owned by the Chinese group ByteDance, it will be banned in the United States.

TikTok confirmed to AFP that the US government had requested that the owner of the app give it up.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told the press Wednesday that Washington "has not yet presented evidence that TikTok threatens the national security of the United States."

"The United States should stop spreading false information on data security issues, stop unprovoked attacks (against TikTok) and provide an open, fair, appropriate and non-discriminatory work environment" for foreign companies, he added.