ISLAMABAD (AFP) - The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed at least one policeman Friday in Islamabad, the first such attack in the capital in years.

Islamabad has largely escaped sporadic attacks in the cities of Lahore and Karachi, as well as in the border regions near Afghanistan.

Police official Suhail Zafer Chata said that the police were chasing a taxi they suspected was being driven by a driver with a female passenger, and that the driver detonated an explosive device inside the car after being arrested.

"They were stopped and the man with long hair was asked to come out," Chata told AFP at the scene.

He added, "He got out, but quickly went back inside and pressed the button to detonate the car."

He pointed out that the fate of the passenger is not known, but it was confirmed that a policeman was killed and six people, including four policemen, were wounded.

The Pakistani Taliban later claimed responsibility for the blast, asserting that the attack "on the enemies of Islam" was in retaliation for the recent killing of a senior member.

The group, which is separate from the Afghan Taliban but espouses a similar hardline Islamic ideology, scrapped a ceasefire with the government in November.

Haji Mohammad Saeed, 60, a retired government official who lives in the neighborhood where the attack took place, said the authorities should end all negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban. "They are taking advantage of this dialogue and carrying out acts of violence," he added.

Pakistan has been suffering for some time from almost daily bombings across the country, but security has improved dramatically after a military crackdown that began in 2016.

Violence against security officials in the northwestern border regions with Afghanistan has escalated over the past year, blamed on militant groups linked to the Pakistani Taliban.

Earlier this week, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif called for a new security operation against the Pakistani Taliban, after agents held in a police station overpowered their captors and held them hostage for three days.

"Terrorism is escalating again... There is an indirect effect of the situation in Afghanistan and this affects Pakistan. We have to launch this operation," he said.

Kabul - (AFP) - The Taliban Minister of Higher Education justified Thursday the ban on women entering universities in Afghanistan, saying that they "do not respect the dress code", while the G7 foreign ministers denounced the measures taken against women, saying that they could be considered " A crime against humanity."

In a brief message on Tuesday evening, Minister of Higher Education Nada Mohamed Nadeem ordered all public and private universities in the country to stop female education until further notice.

On Thursday, he justified this decision by saying that "those female students who were going to university... did not respect the instructions regarding hijab. Hijab is obligatory in Islam," referring to the obligation to cover a woman's head, face and body completely.

The minister noted that the girls, who were studying in a province far from their home, "did not travel with a mahram, an adult male companion."

"Our Afghan honor does not allow a young Muslim woman from a province to be present in a distant province without her father, brother or husband accompanying her," he said.

On Thursday, UNESCO "strongly" condemned the Taliban's decision, calling for its "immediate repeal". "UNESCO condemns the Taliban's decision to deny women access to universities, which comes after 15 months of excluding girls from secondary school," she said. It denounced "a gross violation of human dignity and the basic right to education."

The Taliban increased restrictions on freedoms, especially against women, who were gradually excluded from public life and excluded from secondary schools.

Women were also excluded from most public jobs or given low wages to keep them at home.

Women are no longer allowed to travel without a male family member and must wear the burqa. In November, the movement banned women from parks, gardens, gyms, and public swimming pools.

The decision to prevent them from entering the university shocked the country, and sparked international condemnation.

On Thursday, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries said that the Taliban's treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan could be considered a "crime against humanity."

"The Taliban's policies designed to exclude women from public life will have consequences for how our country deals with the Taliban," they said in a statement.

In the morning, about twenty Afghan women defied the regime by demonstrating on a Kabul street to defend their right to study.

Policewomen stopped a number of women, a protester told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Two were released during the day, but a number of them remained in detention, according to the same source.

And after the demonstration was scheduled to be held in front of the campus of Kabul University, which is the largest and most famous in the country, it was moved to another location due to the heavy deployment of the security forces.

Such gatherings are becoming increasingly rare in Afghanistan since the arrest of prominent women activists earlier this year, while journalists are also prohibited from covering them.

The day after the announcement, armed guards were posted in front of a number of universities to prevent demonstrators from entering campuses.

A female student, who refused to reveal her identity for fear of retaliation from the Taliban, whose members were patrolling the vicinity of her institution, said, "We are helpless...we have lost everything."

The decision was met with the resentment of Afghan female students, especially since it came less than three months after allowing thousands of young women to take university entrance exams.

Although the Taliban pledged, after returning to power in August 2021, to show greater flexibility, it soon returned to its very strict interpretation of Sharia law that characterized its rule between 1996 and 2001.

And in a surprise coup on March 23, the movement closed secondary schools a few hours after reopening them.

Several Taliban officials said there were not enough teachers or money, and that schools would reopen once an Islamic curriculum was developed.

During the twenty years of the presence of international forces in Afghanistan, the various governments that ruled the country with the support of the West allowed girls to go to school and women to work, although the country remained socially conservative.

Moscow - (AFP) - The Kremlin said Thursday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the United States did not show "any intention to listen to Russian concerns" and that Washington was waging an "indirect war" against Moscow in Ukraine .

Zelensky received a hero's welcome during a lightning visit to Washington, his first outside the country since the start of the Russian attack in February, during which he met his US counterpart, Joe Biden, and delivered a speech in Congress that won warm applause from its members.

And the Ukrainian president secured pledges to receive a massive aid worth nearly $45 billion and additional arms shipments, including for the first time the Patriot anti-missile defense system.

"So far, we note with regret that President (US Joe) Biden and President Zelensky have not said anything that could be considered a possible intention to listen to Russian concerns," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov added that during the visit, no "real calls for peace" or US "warnings" were heard to Zelensky against "continuing the bombing of residential buildings in the towns and villages of the Donbass region" in eastern Ukraine, parts of which are controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

"This indicates that the United States continues its trend of waging an indirect war against Russia, de facto, until the last Ukrainian," he added.

On Wednesday, the day of Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the United States, the Kremlin warned that sending more American weapons to Ukraine would only "exacerbate" the conflict.

Russia has suffered major field setbacks in recent months. Its forces have been routed from the Kharkiv region in the northeast and from the city of Kherson in the south.

In response, starting in October, Moscow resorted to the tactic of massively bombing Ukrainian infrastructure, depriving millions of people of electricity, water, and heat in the midst of winter.

This particularly affected the capital, Kiev, where the electricity situation remained "difficult" on Thursday, according to the head of the city's military administration, Sergei Popko.

The US Patriot system will "significantly" boost Ukraine's air defenses against Russian strikes, according to Zelensky.

In outlining his military's priorities for 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to continue strengthening military capabilities, including nuclear.

And he announced the entry of new Russian hypersonic cruise missiles, the Zircon, into service "at the beginning of January," with the intention to increase the number of the Russian armed forces to 1.5 million soldiers.

And Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu considered that the Russian army is fighting "the forces of the West combined," and revealed that Moscow intends to establish bases to support its fleet in the occupied cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk in southern Ukraine.

On Thursday, the ministry announced that Shoigu had conducted an inspection tour of Russian sites in Ukraine, without specifying their location or date.

The Russian Defense Minister visited the "special operations" area a few days ago, in an indication of Moscow's desire to strengthen its control over its military personnel there.

For his part, Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov confirmed Thursday that the goal of the Russian forces in Ukraine now is to occupy the entire Donetsk industrial region in eastern Ukraine. He said he had noticed "stability" on the 815-kilometre front line.

But the fighting and shelling continues, with at least one person killed and 14 wounded across Ukraine on Wednesday, according to Kiev.

In the east, the former head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, was injured in a Ukrainian attack on a hotel in Donetsk, a stronghold of pro-Russian separatists, and is expected to undergo surgery.

The Russian Investigative Committee, the body in charge of investigating major cases, confirmed that the strike, which resulted in deaths and injuries, was carried out with "high-precision ammunition and may have been fired from a truck equipped with the French Caesar artillery system."

The head of the town of Lyubimivka, located on the left bank of the Dnieper River under the control of the Russian army in Kherson (south), was also killed in a bomb attack on Thursday, according to the Russian occupation administration, which said that Andrei Shtepa, "was tragically killed in a car explosion" orchestrated by "Ukrainian terrorists." .

In a related development, Russian news agencies reported that the only Russian aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, which is currently undergoing maintenance in the far north, a fire broke out on board and did not cause any deaths or injuries.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - Palestine Islamic Bank provided its support to 10 charitable and developmental associations in the various governorates of the country, within the framework of its sustainable social responsibility program.

The support provided by the bank was represented by contributing to the provision of many supplies necessary for the work of the beneficiary associations and helping them to continue providing their services as they work in various fields such as caring for orphans, supporting people with special needs, empowering women and health education, in addition to providing various community services.

The support provided by the Bank included the Palestinian Society for Care and Development, the In’ash al-Usra Association and the Women’s Union in Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, in addition to the Saida Islamic Charitable Association and the Arab Orphan Home in Tulkarm Governorate, the Palestinian Association for Orphans in Jenin Governorate, and the Qalqilya Association for Rehabilitation in Qalqilya Governorate.

In the Hebron Governorate, the Bank provided its support to the Palestinian Association for Child Culture and Arts and the Charitable Association for Orphans in Beit Ula, in addition to supporting the Natuf Association for Environment and Community Development in Gaza.

The General Manager of the Palestine Islamic Bank, Dr. Imad Al-Saadi, that the bank, through its sustainable social responsibility program, provides its annual support to dozens of institutions, especially in the health and education sectors, as they are vital and essential sectors for achieving sustainable development, indicating that this support also includes many other sectors such as charitable and developmental societies, given the importance of the role they play in serving different groups of society.

Al-Saadi stressed the necessity of integrating roles by all sectors to support these associations and maintain their existence in light of the great challenges they face and the importance of the services they provide to their beneficiaries and their diversity between social, health, educational and other services.

Al-Saadi added: “The sustainable social responsibility policy of Palestine Islamic Bank stresses the need for it to contribute to the development process and to play an active role in community service, providing relief to our people, improving their living conditions and strengthening their steadfastness in light of the difficult circumstances they suffer from, in line with the global goals of sustainable development.”

The message and vision of Palestine Islamic Bank revolves around providing qualitative and modern comprehensive banking solutions in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia and investment with an advanced technological perspective. Online and Islamic Mobile, which offers a distinctive package of banking services through an easy and safe environment that enhances the digital experience for individual and corporate customers. The bank also recently won the award for “Best Bank Providing Banking Services and Products Compliant with Islamic Sharia in Palestine” for the year 2022 by the International Union of Bankers Al-Arab and his magazine, "The Banking Executive".

Ramallah - "Al-Quds" dot com - Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Hussein Al-Sheikh condemned today, Thursday, field executions in the West Bank.

The sheikh said in a statement, "The field executions practiced by the occupation government in various governorates of the homeland will not intimidate our people from continuing steadfastness and defiance until freedom and independence, and we call on the international community to provide international protection for our Palestinian people."

Moscow - (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Thursday that his country will continue its strikes on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which was previously hit by missiles, causing major power and water outages with low temperatures in winter.

Putin said on the sidelines of a medal-giving ceremony in the Kremlin, "Yes, we are doing it, but who started it?", considering that these bombings are a response to an explosion that damaged the Crimean bridge built by Russia, and other attacks attributed by Moscow to Kiev.

Putin also blamed Kiev for "blowing up the power lines of the nuclear power plant in Kursk," a Russian region on Ukraine's border, and "not providing water" to the breakaway, pro-Russian Donetsk region in the east of the country.

"Not providing water to a city of one million people is an act of genocide," he said, accusing Western countries of turning a blind eye to the actions of Ukrainian officials.

"On our part, as soon as we do something in response, the clamor spreads throughout the universe," he added.

"This will not hinder us from carrying out our combat missions," he added.

Since the attack on the Crimean Bridge in October, Russia has intensified its firing of missiles at civilian energy infrastructure, depriving millions of Ukrainians of electricity and even water and heat as winter approaches .

Ukraine's electricity company, Okrinergo, confirmed that the electricity grid was still suffering from a "significant deficit" on Thursday, after the latest Russian strikes on Monday.

Moscow (AFP) - Belarusian dissident Maria Kolesnikova has been returned to prison after being transferred to a hospital's intensive care unit last week and is being monitored by doctors, her supporters say.

The authorities arrested Kolesenkova and sentenced her to 11 years in prison last year, following massive popular demonstrations against the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko.

"Maria was transferred from Gomel emergency hospital to her prison at the end of last week," said a statement published by the media office of the opposition party, Victor Babariko.

Fears escalated following reports that Kolesnikova, one of the leaders of the unprecedented demonstrations, had been taken to the medical facility for treatment.

The statement said Kolesnikova would be under the supervision of doctors for at least 10 days.

The statement added that Kolesnikova's father "was able to see his daughter and confirmed that she was alive" during a 10-minute visit.

Babarikov's media office said Kolesnikova "has lost some weight and is still suffering from some weakness," adding that she was being treated for an ulcer.

Last Thursday, her supporters said she was "getting better".

Kolesnikova, 40, was one of three women who led the 2020 public protest movement in Belarus, along with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the presidential candidate to replace her imprisoned husband, and Veronika Tsepkalo.

The latter two fled the country under pressure from the authorities.

According to her relatives, Kolesnikova was kidnapped by the Belarusian special services and taken to the Ukrainian border for exile. However, she jumped out of the car window and tore up her passport, which led to her imprisonment.

The protest movement, which included thousands of demonstrators, was gradually suppressed, with thousands arrested, forced exile, and harsh prison sentences imposed on activists and journalists.

Tripoli - (AFP) - The National Oil Corporation in Libya called on foreign companies to return and resume their work in the fields of exploration and production, justifying its request for a "gradual" improvement of the security situation in the country.

The NOC, a government body, said in a statement posted on its website that it calls on all "international companies with which oil and gas exploration and production agreements have been signed to resume their work in Libya."

The Tripoli government, headed by Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba, had in turn invited foreign companies to return and resume their work.

It also expressed its willingness to "facilitate the return and provide a safe work environment in cooperation with the Libyan civil and military authorities."

The Foundation announced that this call came in light of its efforts to lift the "force majeure" following a realistic analysis of the security situation, which began to improve significantly.

"Force majeure" is considered a temporary suspension of work, and a protection provided by law to the corporation in facing the obligations and legal liability resulting from failure to meet oil contracts due to events beyond the control of the contracting parties.

Excavation work has begun in sites that were difficult to work in in the recent past, and a large number of international service companies are now located there, according to the statement.

The National Oil Corporation announced last month that it seeks to increase its oil production to "two million barrels per day" within "three to five years."

Since March, two governments have competed for power in Libya, one based in Tripoli (west) and recognized by the United Nations, and the other supported by Parliament and the camp of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man of the East.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The lawyer for the Affairs of Prisoners and Ex-Detainees, Karim Ajwa, confirmed that the health condition of the injured detainee, Muhammad Mansour, from the Bedu village, northwest of Jerusalem, is gradually stabilizing.

Ajwa stated that the injured Mansour had been arrested several days ago, after being shot in the legs by the occupation army, and was transferred to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, where he is now.

He added that the detainee underwent surgery and iron bars were placed in his legs, and it is expected that he will undergo another operation to place platinum at the site of the injury.

Ajwa indicated that the Ofer military court had held a hearing to extend the detention of the injured Mansour, and it was held without his presence due to his poor condition, and his detention was extended for 7 days.

CAIRO - (Xinhua) - The container ship "EVER ATOP", the largest and most modern container ship in the world, crossed the Suez Canal during its maiden voyage.

The Suez Canal Authority stated today (Sunday) in a statement, a copy of which was received by Xinhua News Agency, that the navigation traffic in the Suez Canal witnessed yesterday, Saturday, the transit of the giant container ship "EVER ATOP", the largest and most modern container ship in the world, on its first sea voyage, within The caravan of the south in the navigational course of the new Suez Canal, on its journey from Malaysia to the Netherlands.

She explained that "EVER ATOP" is the tenth ship in a series of the latest giant container ships of the shipping line "EVER GREEN" of the "A24" class, all of which have transited the Suez Canal so far.

The ship is distinguished by its huge dimensions, as it is 400 meters long, 61.5 meters wide, 16.30 meters draft, and its tonnage is 224,000 tons, and its carrying capacity exceeds 24,000 containers.

In accordance with the protocol followed by the Suez Canal Authority in dealing with giant ships crossing the canal for the first time, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Authority, Captain Hisham Helmy, Chief Pilot Mumtaz, and Captain Ashraf Habib, Chief Pilot, were delegated to board the container ship "EVER ATOP" and welcome its crew. And handing a souvenir to the captain of the ship.

The head of the authority emphasized that the successive transit of the latest and largest container ships through the Suez Canal is a certificate of confidence in the canal’s ability to receive the current and future generations of the global fleet of container ships, and an affirmation of the canal’s capabilities that made it the first destination and the perfect choice for the transit of giant container ships operating on the Suez Canal. Transfer of world trade between East and West.

Lieutenant General Osama Rabie explained that the Suez Canal has made great strides towards implementing its ambitious strategy to raise the level of navigational services provided to transit ships and enhance the competitiveness of the canal through the continuation of work on projects to develop the navigational course, in addition to the authority’s adoption of environmentally friendly policies and practices within the efforts made to announce the Suez Canal. green".

Yesterday, Saturday, the navigation traffic in the canal witnessed the crossing of 83 ships from both directions, with a total tonnage of 5.5 million tons.

Sindaf - (AFP) - Near the lines of contact with the Kurdish forces in northern Syria, the displaced Ahmed Yassin fears that he will once again find himself forced to flee from a village under the control of Syrian factions loyal to Ankara, in the event that Turkey launches a ground attack on the area.

Yassin, 34, told AFP, "Despite the conditions we lived through, including tragedy, lack of job opportunities and poverty...we are currently threatened with displacement again because of the military battle that could take place."

After repeated displacement during the past five years, Yassin resides in an overcrowded camp on the outskirts of the village of Sandaf, near the Tel Rifaat area, which is under the control of Kurdish forces in Aleppo Governorate (north), and it is one of the three areas designated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month as targets for attack. Berri is waving a charge in northern Syria.

Since November 20, Turkey has launched a series of air strikes and artillery strikes against Kurdish forces' positions in Syria and Iraq, after accusing them, despite their denials, of being behind an improvised explosive device attack in Istanbul on November 13 that killed six people.

After the strikes, which mostly hit military points of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Ankara threatens a ground attack, the timing of which has not been specified, and through which it aims to achieve its endeavor to establish a safe area thirty kilometers deep at its southern borders, including the areas of Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Kobani located in the areas of influence of the Kurds in the Aleppo governorate. .

Yassin, a daily laborer who lives with his wife and two children in the camp, like other residents, expresses his concern that he will find himself caught in the fire, in the event of a Turkish attack that would prompt the Kurdish forces to respond by targeting the area in which he lives.

The man who was displaced from his hometown in the south of the neighboring Idlib governorate (northwest) years ago as a result of the battles says, "In the end, we only reap a headache. Most of what we want is for God to release it for us and for us to return to our region, our lands, and our homes."
"Life is difficult and we are threatened by the war," he added.

Human rights organizations warn of the repercussions of any military operation in northern Syria, the densely populated area, calling on all parties to stop any escalation and protect civilians on both sides.

A coalition of organizations, including Save the Children, warned in a joint statement Thursday that any "further escalation in hostilities will put the population residing in overcrowded villages in the area at risk, which could lead to a new wave of displacement."

And live, according to the statement, "some of the poorest communities along the northern regions, where poverty, insecurity and the risk of conflict already prevail."

From time to time, Muhammad Abu Ali (45 years), who resides in Sandaf camp with his wife and five children, one of whom has special needs, finds himself trapped between intermittent exchanges of shelling by the Kurdish forces and the pro-Ankara factions, which leads to "a state of panic and fear among the residents." the camp".

The man from southern Idlib, who in turn experienced the experience of displacement several times, adds that there is one of two options, "either a (military) operation takes place that will bring us back to our homes, or they reach an agreement among themselves so that we stay in the camp."

Regardless of what the situation will be like in the coming period, all that matters to Abu Ali is that "we live the remaining days of our lives in our homes."

Since 2016, Ankara has launched three ground operations in Syria, especially targeting Kurdish fighters, and has taken control, along with loyal Syrian factions, of large areas near its borders.

At points on the contact line with Tell Rifaat, the fog almost obscures the view. Some military points appear to be devoid of pro-Ankara Syrian fighters, while there are no preparations for an imminent Turkish attack, according to an AFP correspondent.

The same scene is repeated in the vicinity of the city of Manbij, which is under the influence of the Kurdish forces, which Ankara considers "terrorist". No heavy equipment such as tanks, armored vehicles and machine guns appear, and the number of fighters is limited in some points to one or two.

Inside some of the brick centers, the fighters are chatting, some playing with their mobile phones while others sip tea.

"There are no current arrangements for a military operation in the field," a pro-Ankara Syrian fighter, who identified himself as Youssef Abu al-Majd, while stationed in an area supervising Tal Rifaat, told AFP.

A few days ago, Moscow sent military reinforcements to several points in northern Syria under the control of the Kurds and the regime forces, including Tal Rifaat, at a time when it, along with Washington, which supports the Kurds, warns of the consequences of any military escalation in northern Syria.

Moscow and Tehran, allies of Damascus, and Turkey have been coordinating for years regarding the situation in Syria.

Abul-Majd believes that "unless the factions take the green light from the Turkish ally, they will not be able to move on their own."
He added, "Unless the Turkish ally takes the green light from the United States, Russia and Iran, it will not take any military action" in northern Syria.

Paris - (AFP) - Scientists have succeeded in observing a very rare phenomenon that occurred 8.5 billion light-years away from planet Earth , in which a huge black hole appears to devour a star, then spits out the waste of its "meal" in the form of a luminous stream.

The black hole has a gravitational attraction that causes any star that approaches it to be torn apart, as the material that the star is made of disintegrates, then it rotates very quickly around the black hole before it swallows part of it forever.

This phenomenon called "tidal rupture" is rarely accompanied by the emission of a particle-based light flux, which comes from the star's matter and is transient and travels at a speed close to light.

Two studies published this week in the journals Nature and Nature Astronomy say the last time an event of this kind was observed was in 2012.

Since then, new monitoring methods have been invented, including a large-capacity camera installed at the Palomar Observatory in California, which allows “a survey of the sky,” Susana Fergani, a researcher affiliated with the National Center for Scientific Research at the Paris-PSL Observatory, told AFP.
The astrophysicist who participated in the research explained that this telescope, known as the wicky Transient Facility, "monitors every night dozens of bright streams in the sky and can choose the most prominent of them."

Indeed, one of these outbursts seemed out of the ordinary, as it was neither a supernova (an explosion of a star at the end of its life that produces unusual luminosity), nor was it a gamma-ray burst (the most powerful source of light in the universe).

And in an effort to provide a clearer view, a number of multinational astronomers have coordinated among themselves to arm instruments from all over the world to observe the phenomenon on a variety of wavelengths, from X-rays to radio waves.

These include the Northern extended millimeter array (NOEMA) radio telescope in the French Alps, and the spectrograph on the European Southern Observatory (ESO)'s Very Large Telescope in Chile.

Scientists have determined that the light stream originated an estimated 8.5 billion light-years from Earth, around a black hole likely lurking at the center of the host galaxy.

Dubbed AT2022cmc, the jet is "a billion times more powerful than our Sun's X-ray luminosity," said Susanna Fergani. Its duration is very short, 30 days. "The AT2022cmc stream is transient, unlike the jets from active galactic nuclei, which extend on much larger scales," the researcher added. This jet appears to have been caused by the black hole tearing apart the star.

It is unlikely that the jet comes from light swallowed by the black hole, since nothing can escape from these "cosmic goblins", but rather from the accretion disk surrounding the black hole spewing out particles at its ends. Just like a squeezed toothpaste tube, explains the European Observatory.

This phenomenon, which is still not well understood, could be caused by the speed of rotation of the black hole, as it rotates on itself at a speed that allows it to produce this jet. The future Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) being built in Chile should make it possible to observe other outbursts of this type, and thus better understand the extreme environments surrounding black holes.

Berlin - (AFP) - A self-portrait by Max Beckmann , considered one of the most prominent German expressionist artists, will be auctioned in Germany next week, for a price that could reach 30 million euros.

A masterpiece that has been in private property since it was painted in 1943, Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa (Self-portrait yellow and pink) depicts the artist while he was in exile in the Netherlands after fleeing Nazi Germany.

The painting, which he gave to his wife Mathilde, who kept it until her death in 1986, remained for decades in a private Swiss collection and has not been shown to the public since the mid-1990s.

"No similar work of art has been sold at auction in Germany since 1945," said Michaela Kapitsky, director of the Berlin-based Griesbach house in charge of the sale.

The price of the painting could reach between 20 and 30 million euros, which is the highest estimate so far for a painting sold in Germany, according to the house.

Collectors, museums and other institutions from all over the world are interested in buying them in Germany's thriving art market.

Paris - (AFP) - The study of what people with disabilities can provide for space missions is the focus of the mission of the disabled Briton John MacPhail, who was chosen by the European Space Agency as part of the unprecedented "Parasturaunt" project in the field of space exploration.

Until yesterday, people with disabilities were excluded from the list of people selected by the agency to become astronauts. Guillaume Wertz, chief astronaut physician at the European Space Agency, explains to AFP that "the Parastronaut project entails a complete change of philosophy" related to the concept of medical eligibility that originated in the military and concerns the selection of military pilots.

During the launch of the selection campaign in February 2021, the agency announced that it would give the opportunity to one or more candidates who suffer from disabilities in their lower limbs (as a result of an amputation or congenital anomaly).

Also among the candidates are those whose height does not exceed thirty centimeters or those who suffer from asymmetry in the legs. The intellectual and psychological skills required are the same conditions as for other astronauts.

"We dealt with a large group of candidates and met amazing people," says Wertz, who participated in the selection stages, noting that the process "proved that disability is not a barrier, and we believe in that."

At the same time, the European Space Agency launched a "feasibility study" regarding sending an astronaut with disabilities on a manned space flight, to stay on the International Space Station, for example.

Any small changes in the highly precise field of space missions can be very complex or very costly.

The systems currently in place, for example, are designed for people of a certain size. So how to ensure that "someone of a smaller size will have access to the buttons?" For what Virts wonders.

The agency therefore intends to work with Britain's John MacPhail to find the best way to identify and eliminate potential difficulties.
Will the first disabled astronaut be able to fly quickly into low orbit? "Space is not an activity for those in a hurry," Werts explains.

"It is difficult to predict the timetable for similar missions because it depends on what we will face, and there is still a lot of work to be done," he added. But it is possible that the disabled astronaut will be sent into space "within the next 10 years".

Kamran Malik, director general of the British charity Disability Rights, considers this project "exciting", given that people with disabilities are "excluded from the great achievements of human beings".

"If we really want to explore the universe, we have to accept that it should not be reserved for a particular group of people," he told AFP. He welcomes the European Space Agency's move to work with astronauts to find out their needs.

"I am a wheelchair user, and it's much better when people ask me what works for me and what I need, rather than making assumptions about what a person can or cannot do," he says.

He notes that he dreamed during his teens of becoming an astronaut while watching the launch of a spacecraft. He says, "Certainly, they quickly replied to me that the matter would not be achieved, and I was told, 'Do not aspire to become an astronaut'... Today I regret not having pursued my dream."

غزة- أحمد المشهراويّ - احتشدت المئات من الجماهير الرياضية ومشجعي الكرة بقطاع غزة مساء أمس الأحد في صالة سعيد صايل بالمدينة، يتقدمهم الشخصيات الرسمية والاعتبارية والرياضية وممثلي المؤسسات الأهلية والشعبية في عرس رياضي ووطني عربي كبير، لمشاهدة مونديال كأس العالم التي تستضيفه العاصمة القطرة الدوحة، وكذلك لقاء الافتتاح الذي جمع قطر المستضيفة ومنتخب الأكوادور بدعوة من اللجنة القطرية لإعادة إعمار قطاع غزة التي تسعى لتفير مساحات للمشجعين الفلسطينيين لمتابعة مباريات مونديال قطر 2022، وذلك من خلال شاشات عرض ضخمة. وكانت الجماهير وصلت مبكراً منذ ساعات الظهر إلى الصالة مصطحبة عائلاتها وأطفالها في وفود وجماعات حاملين الأعلام الفلسطينية والقطرية وصور اللاعبين الذين يشجعونهم.

وقد زين المكان الذين نظم بشكل مرتب وضعت فيه الطاولات والمقاعد بشكل منظم وعليه الأعلام العنابية لون علم دولة قطر، فيما علقت في المكان صوراً ضخمة لأمير قطر الشيخ تميم بن حمد آل ثاني ووالده وصوراً كبيرة للاعبي فريق قطر والأعلام الفلسطينية والقطرية والبالونات في مهرجان عربي كبير مساندة للمنتخب العنابي، وكذلك علقت صور لأعلام الدول المشاركة في كأس العالم الـ32.

وقال المواطنة عبير أحمد إنني وصلت مع عائلتي اليوم لمشاهدة هذا الحدث العربي الكبير المميز، إنه فخر لكل عربي ومسلم، ونحن نشاهد دولة عربة كقطر تستضيف حدثاً بهذه الإمكانات والترتيب.

أمّا الشاب خالد عبد الجواد، وهو طالب في الثانوية فقال: نشعر أننا اليوم في عيد يجمع كل العرب بل العام بأسره، نشكر كل من ساهم في هذه التجهيزات، ونؤكد من غزة المحاصرة أن قلوبنا مع العرب جميعاً.

بدور ذكر عبد الرحمن الخالدي مسؤول الإعلام بـاللجنة القطرية أن هذا الحضور الكبير للجماهير الفلسطينية في الضفة وغزة يأتي ذلك لاهتمام قطر بالمناطق التي تعاني من حصار وأوضاع اقتصادية صعبة، لذلك أقامت شاشات عرض كبيرة ليعيش المشجع أجواء المونديال والمشاهدة مجاناً.

Translation by "Jerusalem" dot com - The US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Neides, visited, on Thursday, the Kiryat Netafim settlement near Salfit , to pay his respects to one of those killed in the operation of the martyr Muhammad Souf, which killed 3 settlers.

According to the Hebrew website Ynet, Nidis arrived at the settlement, accompanied by the head of the so-called "Samaria Settlement Council," Yossi Dagan.

The visit comes days after his statements, in which he said that any visit to the settlements would disturb many people, and he also stressed that his country's administration would confront any attempt to annex the Palestinian territories.

Nidis expressed his sympathy to the settler's family.

Nusa Dua (Indonesia) - (AFP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on the rich G-20 countries to limit the repercussions of raising interest rates, at a time when the US Federal Reserve is tightening its policies to combat inflation.

"We must control global inflation and resolve systemic risks in the field of economy and finance," Xi said at the G20 summit in Bali.

"Advanced economies must reduce the negative repercussions of adjustments in their monetary policy and ensure debt stability to remain at a sustainable level," he added.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to their highest level since before the 2008 financial crisis, as it seeks to curb rising inflation.

This US monetary move led to a rise in the value of the dollar to levels not seen in two decades, putting pressure on developing economies that depend on exports and are also trying to reduce inflation.

Xi's remarks to the summit came the day after his meeting with US President Joe Biden.

His talks with Biden seemed friendly, as the two presidents indicated their desire to reduce the tension that the relationship between the two countries witnessed in recent months.

Jerusalem Hadith

In an interview with the official Israeli radio "Kan", the US ambassador to Israel, Thomas Naides, said that his country will confront any attempt that the next government headed by Netanyahu might make to annex parts of the West Bank or the Jordan Valley in particular. This warning came after news circulated about the possible appointment of the head of a Jewish party steeped in extremism and racism, Itamar Ben Gvir, and his statements in which he said, "We were one step away from applying sovereignty in the West Bank." He also praised Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the racist "Kach" movement.

He added that he considers himself one of his students, and a banner was famous for him in one of the demonstrations, which read: "Death to the Arabs and expel the Arab enemy." It seems clear that these racist statements cannot be tolerated or ignored by any politician, regardless of his nationality or positions.

The issue of annexation is a big problem for Israel, not because of international positions, but rather because of the large Palestinian presence in the West Bank in all its cities and villages, which makes annexation a serious problem that extremist Jewish leaders are thinking about with all seriousness and fear.

And if the United States, as its ambassador says, will confront the annexation attempts, then the big question is what about the annexation of Jerusalem and the large settlement construction in it, and the non-stop Judaization efforts in the Old City and the various suburbs? Why does Washington not work to stop these plans, and why does it not support the Palestinian national existence and rights, which are threatened by annexation, and turn its verbal positions into actions?

Speaking of American positions, it should be noted that progressives won the congressional elections, who consider ending the Israeli occupation a political priority, and that the Palestinians have every right to get rid of the burden of apartheid under which they suffer. These positive positions prompted the “Israeli lobby” in AIPAC to spend tens of millions of dollars to confront these positions and defeat those in charge.

We appreciate the positive positions of these politicians, and we hope that they will turn into an influence in the American public policy, which is strongly biased towards supporting the occupying power.

بقلم: د. عبد الله أبو عيد
تمهيد:
ما دفعني للكتابة في هذا الموضوع هو أنني لمست عدم معرفة غالبية أبناء شعبنا للكثير من المعلومات والتفاصيل عن المحكمة الجنائية الدولية وذلك يشمل أيضاً غالبية المثقفين والأكاديميين، وسبب ذلك أن القليل من المواطنين سمحت لهم الظروف في الاطلاع على ذلك، ولعل هذا هو السبب الرئيسي لكتابة هذا المقال.
شهد العالم بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية واهوالها وما حدث خلالها من مجازر رهيبة ودمار هائل حركة واسعة ونشطة من العديد من الدول والأكاديميين، وبشكل خاص، خبراء القانون الدولي وحقوق الانسان، من أجل ايجاد بعض القواعد القانونية التي تقلل من امكانية تكرار خروقات حقوق الانسان، ويمنع الافلات من العقاب، لذلك تم عقد عدة معاهدات ومواثيق دولية، على رأسها معاهدات جنيف الأربع لعام 1949 وبعدها العهدين الدوليين لحقوق الانسان، الأولى لتطبيق نصوصها خلال الحرب والاحتلال الحربي والثانية كي نساعد على حفظ حقوق البشر خلال السلم.
إلا أن كافة تلك المعاهدات كانت خاليةً من آليات محدودة لتنفيذ بنودها مما ساعد على الافلات من العقاب. لذلك تداعى عدد من الأكاديميين والخبراء إلى عقد اتفاقية دولية تهدف إلى انشاء محكمة جنائية دولية لمعاقبة من يرتكبون أخطر الجرائم وأشدها خطراً على السلم والأمن الدوليين .
أولاً: أهم مبادئ المحكمة الواردة في النظام الأساسي:
اشتمل النظام الأساسي للمحكمة على عدة مبادئ وردت فيه باعتبارها المبادئ التي أنشئت المحكمة من أجلها، وهذه المبادئ هي:
1- مبدأ التكامل: أي أن المحكمة الجنائية لا تعتبر بديلاً للقضاء الوطني في الدول الأعضاء، بل مكملة لذلك القضاء. أي أن الأصل أن يحاكم المتهمين، بالجرائم الخطيرة التي تقع ضمن اختصاصات وصلاحية المحكمة الدولية، هو محاكمتهم أمام القضاء الوطني. إلا أن النظام الأساسي للمحكمة نص على أن الاستثناء واللجوء إلى المحكمة الجنائية الدولية يكون في حالة عدم رغبة الدولة في محاكمة المتهم، أو في حالة عدم قدرتها على القيام بذلك، كما نصت عليه المادة (17) من النظام الأساسي.
2- إن المحكمة لا تنظر إلا في أخطر الجرائم وأشدها خطراً على السلم والأمن الدوليين لذلك نصت المادة الخامسة من النظام الأساسي على أن اختصاص المحكمة محصور في أربع جرائم هي: جريمة ابادة الجنس البشري (Genocide)، والجريمة ضد الانسانية (Crime Against Humanity)، وجرائم الحرب (War Crimes)، وجريمة العدوان (Crime of aggression). لهذا السبب رفضت المحكمة شكوى تركية ضد متهمين عسكريين اسرائيليين اتهموا بارتكاب جريمة قتل تسعة مدنيين اتراك كانوا على متن الباخرة مرمرة عام 2009.
3- أن المحكمة لا تنظر إلا في الجرائم التي حدثت أفعالها بعد تاريخ نفاذ صلاحيتها وبدء اختصاصها وهو تاريخ 1/7/2002.
4- إن من يتقدم بالشكوى إلى المحكمة هم: دولة عضو في المحكمة، أية دولة غير عضوة في المحكمة بشرط تقديمها طلباً لذلك وقبولها خطياً بشروط المحكمة، مجلس الأمن استناداً إلى صلاحيته في الفصل السابع من ميثاق الأمم المتحدة، والمدعي العام.
5- إن المحكمة لا تتم إلا بحضور المتهم أمام المحكمة كما نصت عليه المادة (63).
6- أنه لا يجوز محاكمة أي متهم أكثر من مرة على نفس التهمة، إلا إذا كانت محاكمته من الدولة ذات العلاقة، كان يشوبها عدم الجدية أو أية عيوب خطيرة.
7- إن الجرائم الأربع، التي تختص بها المحكمة، لا تتقادم أبداً.
8- إنه ليس هناك أي متهم يتمتع بالحصانة مهما كان منصبه رفيعاً وهاماً.
9- أن المحكمة لا تحاكم إلا الأشخاص الطبيعيين وليس الدول والمنظمات.
ثانياً: انضمام دولة فلسطين إلى المحكمة:
كانت دولة فلسطين قد تقدمت بطلب للانضمام للمحكمة في عام 2009، بعد الحرب على قطاع غزة في أواخر عام 2008، إلا أن طلبها هذا تم رفضه بحجة أن فلسطين لا تعتبر دولة.
في عام 2012 قررت الجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة قبول فلسطين في المنظمة الدولية كدولة مراقبة، وبذلك أصبحت مؤهلة للانضمام إلى عضوية المحكمة، خاصة بعد انضمامها إلى عدة منظمات حكومية دولية كاليونسكو وغيرها. لذلك تقدمت دولة فلسطين بطلب جديد للانضمام إلى المحكمة، كدولة عضو فيها، وتم قبولها بتاريخ 1/4/2015. ويجدر القول، بأنه وفقاً لنص المادة (11) من النظام الأساسي والمادة (126) منه فإن صيرورة فلسطين عضواً لا يؤهلها للتقدم بشكاوي إلا بعد مرور شهرين على عضويتها، أي بعد 1/6/2015. وبذلك لن تستطيع التقدم بشكاوي تتعلق بجرائم ارتكبت قبل هذا التاريخ.
ثالثاً: العقبات والمعيقات الممكن مواجهتها لدى المحكمة:
قد يظن البعض، بل الكثير من الفلسطينيين، بأن تقديم الشكوى للمحكمة أصبح متاحاً لدولتنا، وبذلك فقد تحقق لنا ما أردناه لمحاكمة كافة المتهمين بالاعتداء على أبناء شعبنا وبسرقة أراضينا وغيرها من التهم الواردة في الشكاوي المقدمة للمحكمة، إلا أن الصورة هي أبعد من أن تكون وردية، إذ أن هناك العديد من العقبات والمشاكل التي تنتظر من يتقدم بشكوى للمحكمة، خاصة إذا لم يكن له دعم وسند قوي. ويمكننا حصر العقبات التي يمكن أن تواجهنا في الأمور التالية:
1- عقبات قانونية: كما أشرنا أعلاه، هناك بعض العقبات القانونية لعل أهمها ما يأتي:
أ. اشتراط النظام الاساسي وجوب حضور المتهم أمام المحكمة كي تسير المحكمة في المحاكمة، لذلك يمكن لأي متهم عدم المثول أمام المحكمة وبذلك يتم تأجيل المحاكمة.
ب. من العقبات القانونية الأخرى أن مجلس الأمن يحق له بموجب المادة (16) من النظام الاساسي، أن يطلب تأجيل المحاكمة لمدة سنة قابلة للتجديد لسنة أخرى، وهذا البند تم وضعه في النظام الأساسي بناء على طلب من الولايات المتحدة المسيطرة على المجلس بهدف وجود امكانية لها كي تتدخل في المحاكمة لصالح أصدقائها وحلفائها.
ج. من المعيقات القانونية الممكن حدوثها هو أن المحكمة لها الحق في أن تقرر بأن البينات والمستندات المقدمة ضد المتهمين غير كافية لإدانتهم وتجدر الاشارة هنا إلى أن السلطات الاسرائيلية أغلقت مؤخراً مراكز منظمات حقوق انسان فلسطينية متخصصة وصادرت ما لديها من وثائق، جزء كبير منها له علاقة بالبينات ووثائق اثبات الجرائم المرتكبة ضد المواطنين وأملاكهم، هادفةً بذلك إخفاء كافة المستندات القانونية التي تثبت ارتكابها جرائم خطيرة. كذلك هناك عائق قانوني آخر، هو ان النظام الأساسي ينص على أن المحكمة يمكن لها الحق في عدم السير في المحاكمة بسبب كبر سن المتهم أو كونه مريضاً.
د. بالإضافة إلى كل هذه الأسباب فإن النظام الأساسي يتسم بالتعقيد ومليء بنصوص يمكن تأويلها على أكثر من وجه، وبذلك يمكن استغلالها من قبل محامٍ قدير لصالح المتهم.
ه. كذلك فإن اختصاص المحكمة يقتصر على جرائم محدودة العدد ومقيد تقديمها بزمان ووقت محددين.
2- عقبات سياسية: لعل أهم العقبات السياسية هو استخدام التهديد والوعيد ضد قضاة المحكمة والمدعي العام. وخير مثال على ذلك ما قام به بعض المسؤولين الأمريكيين خلال حكم الرئيس ترامب من تهديد للقضاة ومنعهم من دخول الولايات المتحدة هم وأفراد عائلاتهم، وتهديد مسؤول الأمن القومي بمصادرة أراصدتهم في البنوك.
وفي هذا الصدد يجدر ذكر بأن الولايات المتحدة، بعد انشاء المحكمة، قامت بتوقيع اتفاقيات مع أكثر من (40) دولة تتعهد فيها تلك الدول بعدم تقديم أية شكوى أمام المحكمة ضد أي مواطن أو عسكري أمريكي. كما أبلغت الولايات المتحدة عشرات الدول التي تتلقى مساعدات أمريكية بأن هذه الدول لن تحصل على أية مساعدات أمريكية فيما لو تقدمت بأية شكوى ضد أي مواطن أمريكي.
3- عقبات مالية: على الرغم من أن عدد الدول الأعضاء في المحكمة بلغ في عام 2015 (123) دولة، إلا أن معظمها هي من دول العالم الثالث الفقيرة، بينما هناك دول عظيمة كبيرة وغنية ليست أعضاء فيها مثل: الولايات المتحدة، وروسيا والصين.
بالإضافة إلى هذه الأسباب، فإن المدعي العام في المحكمة يلعب دوراً هاماً في مجال تقديم الشكوى والتحقيق فيها. لذلك ترى أن المدعي العام الجديد كريم خان، البريطاني من أصل باكستاني، قد مضى على انتخابه حوالي سنة وأربعة شهور دون أن يحرك شكوى فلسطين حتى الآن، مما يؤشر على توجهاته غير الودية، الأمر الذي قد يؤثر على مصير الشكوى.
وفي الختام، نؤكد بأنه على الرغم من كل هذه العقبات والمصاعب، إلا أن اللجوء إلى المحكمة له عدة فوائد، لعل أهمها هو اعلامي، بالإضافة إلى أن مجرد تقديم الشكوى ضد بعض المسؤولين الاسرائيليين قد يجعلهم يحسبون حساب التطرف ويقللون من عدوانهم قليلاً خوفاً على ما ينتظرهم في المستقبل من اعتبارهم مطلوبين للعدالة ويتوجب على كافة الدول الأعضاء في المحكمة القاء القبض عليهم حال دخولهم إلى أراضيها، كما ينص عليه النظام الأساسي للمحكمة، وبذلك يتم تقييد حريتهم في الحركة والسفر الى الخارج.

Bamako - (AFP) Thousands took part in a protest demonstration Friday in Bamako after the broadcast of a video containing "blasphemous phrases and actions" against the Koran and Islam, an AFP journalist reported.

The demonstration was organized on the initiative of the Supreme Islamic Council of Mali, the main Islamic organization in the country, on Istiklal Avenue in the center of the capital, Bamako.

"What happened is unforgivable. Those who made blasphemous statements must be arrested and prosecuted," Imam Abdullah Fadiga told AFP, amid a crowd of demonstrators.

Police estimated the number of demonstrators in the thousands, but organizers told AFP that "more than a million people" were present.

"We want dialogue between religions, and for each person to respect each other's religion," said Happy Diallo, who is about forty years old and works as a teacher in a Quranic school.

On the banners carried by the demonstrators, phrases such as "No to blasphemy" and "No more attacks on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad" were written.

On the same day, the public prosecutor's office in Bamako told AFP that six people, including a writer, had been placed in pre-trial detention on the grounds of "an insult of a religious nature liable to cause a disturbance of public order."

The Public Prosecutor said in a statement that these arrests come in the wake of the broadcast of a video clip on social media, "showing a man making insulting statements towards Muslims and performing actions insulting to the Qur'an, the Prophet Muhammad, and Islam."

An investigation was opened on Monday and the man who made the offensive remarks is still at large. A source in the prosecution told AFP that the six for whom an arrest warrant was issued on Thursday are accused of complicity, mainly because they refused to tell the authorities the whereabouts of the hiding person.

Zarzis - (AFP) - Demonstrations renewed Friday in the city of Zarzis, in southeastern Tunisia , which is a starting point for irregular migrants to Europe, to demand the disclosure of the fate of 12 people who went missing at sea a month and a half ago.

A boat left the coast of the city with 18 Tunisian immigrants on board, seeking to reach the Italian coast, disappeared on the night of September 20 to 21.

On October 10, fishermen found eight bodies, several of them Tunisians, and 12 Tunisian migrants are still missing.

On Friday, about 3,000 people demonstrated in a "day of rage" against local and national authorities, chanting, among other things, "the thieves of our country, the two fighters of our children," according to an AFP correspondent.

Zarzis, which has a population of approximately 75,000, witnessed a general strike on October 18, to demand an investigation into the boat sinking and to intensify the search for the missing, as well as to protest the burial of some victims without verifying their identities.

The local authorities mistakenly buried four Tunisian immigrants in a cemetery called "Garden of Africa", which is usually reserved for the burial of the bodies of immigrants from sub-Saharan countries when they are found off the coast of the region.

Under pressure from the protesters, recently buried bodies were exhumed and buried in other cemeteries in the city after identifying them.

After this tragedy, President Kais Saeed ordered the Ministry of Justice to open an investigation to determine the responsibilities.

With the mild weather between spring and early fall, the frequency of irregular migration attempts from the Tunisian and Libyan coasts to the Italian coast increases, and sometimes ends with drowning.

1,765 migrants were lost in the Mediterranean, including 1,287 in the central Mediterranean, which is the most dangerous migration route in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Faced with migratory pressures, Tunisian authorities struggle to intercept or rescue migrants and complain of a lack of resources, security officials recently told AFP.

The mass exodus of Tunisians is due to the deepening economic crisis and the unstable political situation.

More than 22,500 migrants - Tunisians, sub-Saharan and other nationalities - have been intercepted off the Tunisian coast since the beginning of the year, according to official data.

Geneva - (AFP) - The United Nations expressed its deep concern Friday after the Taliban interrupted a press conference in Afghanistan, subjected participants to searches and arrested the organizers of the event.

"We have received very disturbing reports that yesterday afternoon (Thursday) a number of security officials in Kabul interrupted a press conference held by a women's civil society organisation," a spokesman for the UN human rights office, Jeremy Lawrence, told reporters in Geneva.

He added that Zarifa Yaqubi and "four of her male colleagues" were arrested at the event organized by the Afghan Women's Movement for Equality and remain in detention.

"We are concerned about the well-being of these five individuals and have sought information from the authorities regarding their detention," he added.

Citing anonymous sources, Lawrence said the other participants in the event were held for about an hour, subjected to body searches and had their phones searched before being released.

One of the participants confirmed the authenticity of the news, telling AFP that Yacoubi is the organizer of the event, which aims to "launch a new movement for women's rights."

"When the event started, the Taliban told us we couldn't hold it and they asked the present journalists to leave," said Mandigarh, a women's rights activist who did not want her full name to be revealed for safety reasons.

After it was over, she added, the Taliban sent policewomen who "searched our phones and deleted all the photos taken during the event."

"They also insulted and threatened us before allowing us to leave the place one by one," she added.

"When you are not able to organize even a small event to demand basic human rights, you are very disappointed," she said.

For his part, Lawrence stressed that "all Afghans have the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and opinion without fear of arrest or intimidation."

"We urge the de facto authorities to respect these rights," he added.

He also reminded that Afghanistan is a signatory to the Convention against Torture and called on the Taliban to "respect the rights of all detainees."

(AFP) - Arsenal confirmed its lead in Group A and its direct qualification to the final price of the European League competition ( Europa League ) in football, by defeating its Swiss guest Zurich 1-0 Thursday in London in the last sixth round.
Arsenal owes its victory to its Scottish international defender Kieran Tierney, who scored the only goal in the 17th minute.
It is the fifth victory of the London team in the competition, so it finished the group stage in the lead with 15 points, two points ahead of its pursuer and its only competitor for the direct card, Eindhoven, the Dutch winner, who beat Bodo Glimt of Norway, with two goals to the Icelandic Alphonse Sampsted (36 mistakes in his team’s goal) and the Belgian Johan Bakayoko (52) vs. A goal by Slovenian Nino Zugili (90 + 3).
The Dutch team will play a play-off to qualify for the final price of the second continental competition with one of the third-place finishers in the Champions League.
Italy's Roma survived a disappointing exit by defeating its Bulgarian guest Ludogorets 3-1.
Roma needed a draw to maintain his hopes of continuing his career in the competition and going into the play-off round qualifying for the final price.
Ludogorets was the first to score through Brazilian striker Rick (42), but the capital team responded with a hat-trick in the second half through Lorenzo Pellegrini (56 and 65 from two penalties) and Nicolo Zaniolo (85).
Roma strengthened its position in second place in Group C, with 10 points, compared to 7 for Ludogorets, who will compete in the qualifying playoffs to the Tournament League competition.
Spanish Real Betis, who was the guarantor of its direct qualification, strengthened its lead by defeating its Finnish guest, HJK Helsinki, with three clean goals, which were scored by Aitor Roybal (20 and 41) and French Nabil Fekir (90 + 3).
Manchester United beat its Spanish host, Real Sociedad, 1-0, but it did not accomplish its mission by being satisfied with the fifth place.
The two teams entered the meeting having previously secured one of the first two places, but United were required to win by two goals or more to lead the group after they fell at home 1-0 in the first round against the Basque team.
Sociedad and United finished the group with 15 points each, but the first snatched the lead by goal difference (+8 vs. +7).
The young Argentine Alejandro Garnacho (18 years) scored the only goal of the match from a beautiful game after the Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea raised a ball that the Portuguese Bruno Fernandez rose to in the middle of the field and passed it with his head to his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo and from him to the young Argentine Bennett towards the left side to the outskirts of the area, he received it He penetrated into it and finished it beautifully with his left hand at the top of the goal (17), scoring his first goal with the team.
Ronaldo had a golden opportunity to double the score after defender John Pacheco lost the ball in front of his area. The Portuguese snatched it and tried to drop it “Loeb” over the advancing goalkeeper, but it was long and slammed into the top of the net (42).
After that, De Gea, who was not called by coach Luis Enrique in the preliminary squad for the Qatar World Cup 2022, saved his team from a achieved goal when he first blocked a powerful long shot from outside the area by Andoni Gorosabel, prepared in front of Pablo Marin, who followed it from close range. (43).
The second half did not witness any opportunities despite Dutch coach Eric ten Hag's attempt to score the second goal by throwing Marcus Rashford, knowing that the Brazilian Anthony and the French Anthony Marcial Gaba due to injury and Jaidon Sancho due to illness.
In Group Six, and after the competition was wide open between four teams to reserve the first two places, the Dutch Feyenoord took the lead by defeating its Italian guest Lazio 1-0, while the second place went to the Danish Midtjylland, who defeated its Austrian guest Sturm Graz 2-0, noting that All teams finished with 8 points.
And in the seventh, the German Freiburg, who was the guarantor of the lead, tied with its Azerbaijani host Karabakh 1-1, and French Nantes snatched second place by defeating its Greek host Olympiacos 2-0.
And in the eighth, France’s Monaco qualified for the qualifying play-off for the final price by defeating its guest, Serbian Red Star, 4-1, while Hungarian Ferencváros, who was the guarantor of the group’s top spot, lost to its Turkish host, Trabzonspor, 0-1.
In the second, the Turkish Fenerbahçe booked its direct card by defeating its Ukrainian host, Dynamo Kiev, with two clean goals scored by Arda Guler (23) and the Brazilian Willian Arau (45 + 2).
Fenerbahçe took advantage of the stumbling of his former partner in the lead, French Rennes, with his guest AEK Larnaca of Cyprus, with a goal by Mattis Albin (17) against a goal by Portuguese Rafa Lubis (76).
And in the fourth, Union Berlin, Germany, secured its qualification for the playoffs, by defeating its Belgian host, Saint-Gilloise, with a direct card, with a goal by Sven Mitchell (6).
In the same group, Portugal's Braga beat Sweden's Malmo 2-1 and secured the qualification for the Conference League.

Turkish clubs Basaksehir, Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia and Nice of France joined the qualifiers for the final price of the Conference League football competition on Thursday, after the final sixth round of the group stage.
The four clubs joined Post Ham United of England (Group B), Villarreal of Spain (Third), Djurgarden of Sweden (Sixth), and Sivasspor of Turkey (Seventh).
Istanbul Basaksehir qualified for the final price by defeating its Scottish guest, Hearts, 3-1, to secure top spot in Group A with 13 points, on goal difference, against Italian Fiorentina, who beat RFS Latvia 3-0.
Fiorentina is in the play-offs that qualify for the final price with one of the third-placed players in the European League competition, according to the competition system.
Alkmaar booked its ticket by defeating its guest and direct chaser Dnipro, Ukraine, 2-1, to secure the lead with 15 points, five points ahead of the latter.
Slovan Bratislava secured its qualification by defeating its Lithuanian host Vilnius 2-1, to confirm its lead in Group H with 11 points and a goal difference against Basel, the Swiss, who defeated its Armenian host, Pyunik, with the same result.
France's Nice achieved the most important draw with its German host Cologne 2-2, leading Group D, with a difference in the two direct confrontations, against the Serbian Partizan Belgrade, which tied with its Czech guest Slovatsko 1-1.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - Today, Wednesday, November 2nd, marks the 105th anniversary of the infamous Balfour Declaration .

This promise was issued on this day in the year 1917, according to which Britain granted the Jews the right to establish a national home for them in Palestine, based on the false saying, “A land without a people for a people without a land.”

The promise came in the form of a statement addressed by the British Foreign Secretary at the time (Arthur James Balfour) in the government of David Lloyd George, to Lord Rothschild (one of the leaders of the global Zionist movement), after negotiations that lasted three years between the British government on the one hand, and British Jews and the Zionist Organization World on the other hand, through which the Zionists were able to convince Britain of their ability to achieve Britain's goals and preserve its interests in the region, and this is the translation of its text.

This promise was the first actual step for the West on the road to establishing an entity for the Jews on the land of Palestine in response to the aspirations of global Zionism at the expense of an indigenous people rooted in this land for thousands of years.

Thus, Britain achieved the saying: “He who does not have a promise has given to those who do not deserve it”, and that day will be a black day in the history of the Palestinian people, but in the history of all mankind, and a blow to justice and international legitimacy.

Written by: Attorney Ali Abu Hilal *
The Israeli occupation authorities and prison administrations continue the policy of medical negligence against male and female prisoners, which portends more risks threatening their health conditions. Last Thursday, 10/27/2022, the Palestinian prisoner Azhar Assaf suffered from a health problem as a result of medical negligence and procrastination practiced by the Israeli prison administration. In order to transfer her to the hospital, and as a result, the female prisoners in Damon Prison carried out a protest step by returning meals and closing the sections.
It is noteworthy that the captive Assaf is from the village of Al-Jib, northwest of Jerusalem, and has been detained since the eleventh of last September. She suffers from many health problems, most notably neurological problems, hearing and vision problems, and is languishing alongside (32) prisoners in the "Damon" detention center.
Female prisoners face tragic conditions on several levels, especially since a group of them suffer from health problems, and they need close health follow-up, including a group of wounded women.
The prisoners’ bodies warned against the policy of medical negligence practiced by the occupation authorities and prison administrations against male and female prisoners, and called on the competent bodies to intervene in order to release the prisoner Assaf, especially since during this year the women prisoners faced the tragedy of the death of their comrade, the captive Saadia Farajallah, as a result of her exposure to the crime of medical negligence (murder). slow).
Prison administrations continue their repressive practices and abuse of female prisoners, as last Saturday, October 29, 2022, they prevented female prisoners from communicating with their families in Damon Prison from communicating with their families via public phones. The families of the female prisoners stated that the occupation prisons administration punished them by cutting off contact with their families in response to the protest steps they took to reject the policy of medical negligence to which they are subjected. She explained that the protests began after the prisoner, Azhar Assaf, suffered complications in her health condition as a result of medical negligence, as the prison administration delayed her transfer to the hospital for several hours, indicating that even when she was transferred to the hospital, she was given the wrong treatment, which exacerbated her health condition even more without knowing her health status until now. The families of the female prisoners confirmed that they are subjected to great neglect, and they are all subjected to medical negligence without regard to their health conditions in light of the poor conditions of detention that they suffer from, and indicated that the prison administration gives the female prisoners only an hour a week to communicate by phone with their families, so they divide it between them on a daily basis so that they can hear their voices. relatives.
It is noteworthy that the policy of arresting Palestinian women is an old policy that began with the beginnings of the occupation of Palestine, as more than (17) thousand Palestinian women have been arrested since 1967. During the current year, the occupation authorities re-arrested 7 released female prisoners, who are the journalist Bushra Al-Taweel from Al-Bireh, and a decision was issued against her. Administrative detention, the freed prisoner Yasmine Shaaban from Jenin, the freed prisoner Lina Abu Ghulamy from Nablus, the freed prisoners Tahrir Abu Sariya and Maryam Arafat, and Palestine Farid Najm from Nablus. The number of female prisoners in the occupation prisons now stands at 32, languishing in Damon Prison, of whom 17 are subject to various sentences, 8 of whom are serving prison sentences of more than 10 years, and two are subject to administrative detention, and the rest are still awaiting trials, while the Occupation Court issued a ruling this year. Harsh against the Jerusalemite prisoner "Nawal Fateha" with an actual prison term of 8 years.
The female prisoners suffer from severe suffering, as the prison administration continued to violate the rights of the female prisoners, depriving them of all the necessities of life, including their right to receive treatment for patients inside the prison, whose suffering multiplies with the exacerbation of diseases in their bodies due to the failure to provide appropriate treatment, which led to the death of the prisoner Saadia Salem Farajallah. (65 years) from Hebron, in July of this year, as a result of a heart attack in Damon Prison due to deliberate medical negligence.
The female prisoners also suffer from the policy of deliberate medical neglect, whether for sick cases or for the wounded who were injured at the time of arrest, led by the Jerusalemite prisoner "Israa al-Jaabis", where the occupation has continued for years to refuse to perform necessary surgical and functional operations for her, and the female prisoners have complained for many years about the lack of a gynecologist. In the prison clinic for the care of female prisoners, and not dispensing appropriate medicines for medical conditions among them.
Today, the prisoner, Azhar Assaf, suffers from a policy of medical negligence, and she needs to be transferred as soon as possible to the hospital to receive appropriate treatment, or to be released immediately so that she can be treated abroad and save her life. The occupation bears responsibility for her life if it continues the policy of neglect against her.
* Lawyer and university lecturer in international law.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Housing Bank seeks to find a new concept of community service and interaction with its bodies and institutions, through many contributions and donations directed to a group of schools, universities, and associations in various governorates. The Housing Bank has recently presented a device Computer and printer for Al-Israr 4 School, a school specialized in teaching sick children from the first to the tenth grade inside Ramallah Hospital, as part of efforts to strengthen partnership between the public and private sectors.

For his part, Osama Herzallah, the Regional Director of the Housing Bank, stated that the Housing Bank is always keen to provide support and care to various parties as one of the means it adopts in society, in the framework of a clear translation of the Bank's vision of its commitment to active participation in social responsibility, especially in the educational sector. He emphasized that the Bank's role is not limited to being an economic institution only, but rather goes far beyond that, as it provides a helping hand and assistance to various segments of society, especially that the donation serves sick children and contributes to their keeping up with their classroom lessons despite the health conditions they face.

The school principal thanked Dr. Dear Zalloum, the Housing Bank for its generous support, as this contribution helped to provide devices that facilitate the exchange of information and the delivery of the scientific and cultural message with the least possible time and effort.
This donation came out of the bank's keenness to improve educational services in schools and its belief in the importance of providing modern means that help create an appropriate educational and cultural environment for the exchange of scientific, practical and cultural experiences.

Amman- “Al Quds” dot com - Quds Bank held its annual meeting under the slogan “Everest”, to discuss the bank’s performance during the year 2022 and the strategic plan for the next three years, in the presence of Deputy Governor of the Palestinian Monetary Authority Muhammad Manasra, Chairman of the Board of Directors Akram Abdel Latif Jarab, members of the Board of Directors and the President The bank's CEO, Salah Hadmi, his deputy, and a number of heads of departments and directors of departments.

The meeting, which was held in the Dead Sea region in Jordan, included discussion sessions on the most prominent achievements of Quds Bank during the year 2022, and the most important future development steps that the Bank intends to implement during the next three years, in addition to an open dialogue with the Deputy Governor of the Monetary Authority to discuss the challenges facing the banking sector. Palestinian.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank, Akram Abdel Latif Jarab, opened the meeting with a speech in which he welcomed the Deputy Governor and the attendees from the members of the Board and the Executive Management. He also called for the aim of convening this meeting to be to set a road map for the coming years and to define the main objectives of the Bank in order to move forward and achieve more. Of progress and success as a continuation of the success path achieved by the bank in light of the challenges facing the Palestinian banking sector and the economic sector in general. Jarab also emphasized that the human element is the bank's most valuable resource and the most influential in achieving the bank's vision and mission, and they are the real influencer in achieving the bank's growth goals and profits.

For his part, Salah Hadmi, CEO of the Bank, welcomed the Deputy Governor of the Monetary Authority, then gave a detailed explanation of the Bank's performance in all its activities, indicating the economic conditions and their impact on the Palestinian market. Hedmi highlighted the strengths of the bank's results compared to other banks through the explanation he gave.

Hadmi indicated that this meeting is different in its way, as it comes under the slogan "Everest" and in the form of dialogue discussion sessions between the Board of Directors, the executive management and the middle management with the aim of reviewing the performance in the past period for each department and department through questions and inquiries with comparisons between banks, in addition to discussing business development plans. And the foundations and programs that will be developed and then applied in the future with the aim of improving the level of work between the bank’s departments, and providing services according to well-studied and transparent work mechanisms, not only to reach customer satisfaction, but also to levels that exceed their aspirations.”

As for the Deputy Governor of the Monetary Authority, Muhammad Manasra, he gave a presentation on the latest developments in the Palestinian banking sector and the role of the Monetary Authority and its mechanism of action in maintaining financial stability with the aim of achieving financial inclusion.

Manasra touched on the strategy of digital transformation and financial technology that the Monetary Authority is working to promote and develop. The speech included an open dialogue with the heads of departments in the Bank and the directors of departments, and it included several important topics and axes, which were answered by the Deputy Governor of the Monetary Authority.

Over the course of two consecutive days, the meeting dealt with discussion sessions on the bank's strategic plan, which included main dimensions and topics: human capital, the bank's financial performance, financial technology, digital transformation, and customer relationship management.

Participants in the meeting discussed proposals and recommendations aimed at achieving the bank's future vision, as well as strategies and development policies at the internal level to improve and retain employee performance, which enable the bank to compete strongly in providing the best services and products.

The meeting also included a motivational speech presented by the Jordanian athlete and adventurer of Palestinian origin, "Mustafa Salameh", who is known for his spirit of adventure and excellence in the sport of climbing, and who achieved several achievements by climbing a group of the highest known peaks around the world, explaining to the audience the difficulties he faced during his trips and the hardships that might weaken his resolve. , which inspires them and helps them overcome any future challenges during their career in their practical lives and reflect them on the ground.

At the end of the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors and all the Bank's employees for their efforts in making this constructive meeting a success.

Hadmi concluded by talking about the bank's recommendations and aspirations during the coming years, stressing Quds Bank's determination to continue the journey of change and progress in its various indicators and to improve its position in the local market at all levels, in a way that guarantees it achieving its vision aimed at investing and participating in building a society and economy that achieves financial inclusion and provides a distinguished experience. To customers, employees and shareholders, in accordance with the principles of sustainability on which it is based.

PARIS - (Xinhua) French President Emmanuel Macron vowed on Wednesday that he would "not leave France without a solution" to confront soaring inflation and strikes.

"Together we will face the storm," he said during an interview titled "French Emergencies" broadcast on national television ((France 2)).

He pointed out that the country is expected to witness an estimated 15 percent increase in electricity and gas prices at the beginning of next year, stressing that the government will continue the "tariff shield" related to energy, and will help students and low- and middle-income families, in addition to businesses.

He added that the government's strategy is to "stabilize public spending, pay off our debts, maintain growth, create jobs and cut taxes."

He also pledged to create more job opportunities for young people.

The President called for "social dialogues" to prevent and end strikes, particularly the recent strikes that caused a nationwide fuel scare.

At the same time, he defended the decision to reform the pension system, related to raising the retirement age to 65 years. Otherwise, pension contributions should be increased or pensions for the elderly reduced, according to Macron.

And he added, "As of 2023, we will have to change the legal retirement age by 4 months annually."

Macron acknowledged that compared to China, France is lagging behind in the production of electric cars and batteries, pointing out that it aims to produce two million electric cars and two million batteries made in France by the end of his presidency in 2027.

At the same time, he stressed that the government will continue to support families in purchasing electric cars.

San Francisco (AFP) - Last summer, Alphabet , Google's parent company, reported its weakest revenue growth since 2013, excluding the start of the pandemic, in a strong indication of the growing difficulty for the digital advertising giants in the face of inflation and competition.

The US giant group announced on Tuesday revenues of $ 69.1 billion in the third quarter, up 6% year-on-year.

Its net profit was $14 billion, far below expectations.

Following the announcement of the results, Alphabet's stock plunged more than 6% during electronic trading after the closing of the New York Stock Exchange.

Between July and September, YouTube ad revenue fell 2% to $7 billion, after the market had expected a slight uptick.

"Google's faltering is a bad sign for digital advertising in general," said Evelyn Mitchell, an analyst at Insider Intelligence, adding, "This disappointing quarter for Google heralds tough times if macroeconomic conditions continue to deteriorate."

She noted that "this is the first time that YouTube ad revenue has decreased since the company began publishing them separately in late 2019, largely due to competition from streaming platforms and short video services" on mobile applications such as TikTok.

Alphabet's vice president and network sales director Philip Schindler acknowledged during a conference call that some advertisers, particularly financial services companies, had "pulled out" of the platform.

The world leader in digital advertising is suffering from cuts to brands' budgets due to inflation and rising interest rates. It is also paying the price for comparison with its results in 2021, when pandemic-related health restrictions greatly boosted online activities.

The rapid rise of TikTok has also undermined the dominance of Google and Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram) in this market. In 2021, the entertainment app outperformed Google in the competition for the title of the most popular website in the world, according to the online service provider Cloudfire.

Major platforms have tried to copy the format of videos on TikTok (through “Reels” on Instagram and “Shorts” on YouTube), but they are having difficulty converting their investments into profits.

“We have gone through exceptional periods of growth, but there have also been times that, in my opinion, give the company time to improve its business, to ensure that we are ready for the next decade of growth,” said Sundar Pichai, president of the giant Google Group, which is headquartered in Mountain View. “We are in one of those.” times".

Alphabet has slowed its hiring pace, after accelerating it significantly during the pandemic. The company had approximately 187,000 employees as of September 30, an increase of about 13,000 compared to the end of June.

"We will continue to hire new people to perform important roles, including especially engineers," said the company's chief financial officer, Ruth Porat, while several giant technology companies laid off employees this year, including Netflix, Twitter and Snap.

A month ago, Google announced the closure of its online video game platform Stadia, three years after it was launched with great fanfare, this service that allows playing without a console or computer, through cloud computing services.

At the same time, the company reaffirmed its smartphone ambitions with the launch of the Pixel 7. Between July 2021 and June 2022, about 6.2 million phones were sold to the brand, an increase of 129% year-on-year, according to Canalys figures.

Also, the cloud computing service "Google Cloud" is performing well, as it continued to grow with quarterly revenues of $6.9 billion, up from $5 billion in the same period last year.

However, the share of "Pixel" phones in the global market is still small, while "Google Cloud" ranks third among cloud service providers, behind Amazon ("AWS") and Microsoft ("Azure"), which accounted for 55% of this market in August, according to Canalys.

Precision-targeted online advertising remains widely the focus of Alphabet's business, to the chagrin of authorities and many consumers.

Google has recently added a new tool that gives Internet users more control over the content of ads that appear while browsing websites, hoping to meet the requirements of its users, while ads on other services, including TikTok and Instagram, blend in more smoothly with the contents.

CAIRO - (Xinhua) The " Gas Exporting Countries " Forum expressed during a ministerial meeting in Cairo (Tuesday) its deep concern about attempts to change the natural gas pricing mechanism and impose maximum price limits for political motives, referring to a proposal by European countries to put a ceiling on the price of gas used in gas generation. electricity.

The forum said in a statement published by the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources on its official Facebook page that "the natural gas market is undergoing radical changes in terms of the quantities pumped, market conditions, and arrangements for contracts and investments."

The meeting was attended by energy ministers and senior officials from the member states, namely Egypt, Algeria, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, as well as Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mozambique, Norway, Peru and the UAE as observers.

During the meeting, the representatives of the countries expressed "deep concern about attempts to change the gas pricing mechanism, manage the risks of market performance, and impose maximum price limits for political motives." Both".

The forum emphasized "the importance of cooperation and coordination among member states and support for clear and frank dialogue between producers, consumers and all relevant parties with the aim of ensuring the security of both supply and demand, in addition to ensuring transparency, fairness and openness of gas markets."

He explained that "the lack of investments since 2015 due to the decline in natural gas prices and misleading calls to stop investing in natural gas projects resulted in an imbalance in supply and demand, which exacerbated geopolitical tensions, and Europe has now become the preferred destination for LNG shipments to compensate for the quantities that have been reduced in pumping." In the pipelines, the market bottleneck is expected to continue in the medium term, as most of the new projects will be put on production after 2025.

During the meeting, a presentation was made on global gas, as natural gas contributes to the energy mix by 23% currently, which will increase to 26% in 2050, supported by population growth and the doubling of the total gross product.

The forum affirmed "its support for African countries in their struggle towards alleviating energy poverty," and called for "providing a balanced sharing of risks between producers and consumers, so that natural gas contributes to supporting the least developed and developing countries in their struggle to improve food security and raise energy poverty to ensure a fair and comprehensive energy transition."

He pointed to "the size of the huge investments required to meet the growing global demand for energy, the importance of pumping investments in a timely manner to ensure market stability, and the need to provide the necessary financing without obstacles and apply technology without discrimination."

He stressed "the importance of developing the basic energy infrastructure to ensure the free flow of gas and the stability of global gas markets, and condemning any deliberate attacks to harm them."

He pointed out the importance of enhancing cooperation in expanding the application of natural gas technologies such as carbon capture and storage, gas flaring, reducing methane and gas emissions in the transportation sector, and exploring new areas to benefit from the benefits of natural gas for hydrogen production.

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla, Chairman of the Ministerial Council of the Forum in its 2022 session, said, "We are meeting today at this critical time, when all global efforts are directed towards achieving a triple goal of energy, which is security, sustainability and abundance of energy, and since natural gas is the cleanest hydrocarbon fuel that will continue to Because of its important role in the future of the energy mix, Egypt is eager to work with all member states of the forum to develop realistic and applicable initiatives through which energy security can be ensured.

During the meeting, Al-Mulla explained that "the tensions the world is witnessing caused turmoil in the energy markets," and noted the importance of the forum as one of the important platforms for dialogue on all activities of the natural gas industry, as the total gas reserves of the member states represent 72% of the global reserves of natural gas.

For his part, Mohamed Arkab, Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines, called for "innovative options and solutions to ensure the security of energy supplies, meet the growing demand for natural gas, and achieve a balance with the goals of sustainable development."

He pointed to Algeria's reforms regarding the hydrocarbons law, increasing its production capacities and its commitment to reducing carbon emissions to protect the environment.

For his part, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said that "long-term gas contracts are one of the solutions to attract investments in gas projects and represent a protection network for supply and demand and the stability of the gas market."

He added, "The slowdown in the global economy since last February, the shift to a green economy, the decline in investments in the global gas industry, and the politicization of international gas trade have led to global instability."

He continued, "Europe's abandonment of Russian gas led to jumps in gas prices at high rates and negative consequences for consumers and producers, and these measures will undermine conditions and result in a negative impact on the economic situation," stressing that "the forum must remain neutral and aim to support the infrastructure."

Dr. Ramadan Abul-Ela, professor of petroleum engineering and vice-president of Pharos University in Alexandria, considered that the proposal of most European Union countries to set a limit on gas prices "does not correspond to logic or economics, because any commodity is subject to supply and demand and is not determined by a specific price."

Abu El-Ela told Xinhua that "the decision of the gas-exporting countries corresponds to the decision of OPEC Plus, which reduced production in order to achieve some kind of stability in oil prices, because the global economy is expected to decline, and thus the demand for oil and gas derivatives will decrease."

He stressed that "Europe cannot impose such an order on the producing countries, as this is almost impossible," and pointed out that "the European proposal is a kind of politicization of the gas trade."