The Bureau of Consular Affairs of the U.S. Department of State has announced a revised schedule of reciprocity for the Palestinian Authority. Effective May 2, 2023, the visa validity period for several nonimmigrant visa categories for Palestinian travelers will be increased from a maximum of three years to a maximum of five years.

All Palestinian Authority passport holders who were issued a non-immigrant visa on or after May 2 will be eligible for the full five-year validity. This corresponds to the validity period of Palestinian passports.

The office said: The increase in the validity period to five years reflects the commitment of the United States to facilitate Palestinian tourist, educational and commercial travel. It will give Palestinians more opportunities to reconnect with family members in the United States and travel to study, and the extended validity period will open up new opportunities for bilateral economic cooperation.

He indicated that the change in the validity of the visa does not apply retroactively to visas issued before the date of May 2, 2023. The validity period for these visas will be three years as a maximum.

Arsenal stopped the bleeding of points and increased the tribulations of its neighbor Chelsea when it beat it 3-1 on Tuesday in the London derby at the "Emirates" stadium at the end of the thirty-fourth stage of the England Football Championship, regaining the lead and reviving its hopes of winning its first title since 2004.

The captain, the Norwegian international midfielder Martin Odegaard, imposed himself as the star of the match, by scoring a brace in the 18th and 31st minutes, taking advantage of two crosses by Swiss international Granit Xhaka, and Brazilian international Gabriel Jesus added the third goal in the 34th minute.

Noni Madueki scored the only goal for Chelsea in the 65th minute.

Arsenal regained the tone of victories that it missed in its last four matches (three draws and a loss) and achieved its 24th victory this season, raising its tally to 78 points, regaining the lead by two points from Manchester City, the defending champion, who won at Fulham 2-1 on Sunday.

Manchester City has two postponed matches against West Ham United for the 28th stage, which it will play tomorrow, Wednesday, at the Etihad Stadium, and its host, Brighton, for the 32nd stage, which will be held on May 24.

On the other hand, Chelsea continued bleeding points and its disastrous results, as it suffered its fifth loss in its last eight matches in the league, in which it did not taste the taste of victory, so its balance froze at 39 points in twelfth place with a postponed match.

It is the sixth loss for Chelsea out of the six matches he has played so far, led by his new-old coach, Frank Lampard, in various competitions.

Arsenal pressed from the start, and Gabriel Martinelli almost did it in the fifth minute when he took advantage of a ball that Spanish defender Cesar Aspilicueta tried to return with his head to his Spanish international goalkeeper Kepa Arisabalaga, so the Brazilian international striker snatched it and followed it from close range, which bounced off the latter and was dispersed by the defense (5).

Keba continued his brilliance and blocked Saka's header from close range, before the defense dispersed it (15).

Odegaard succeeded in translating the artillery's control into a wonderful goal with a powerful shot with his left from inside the area, after a pass from Xhaka hit the crossbar and hugged the net (18).

And goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale saved Arnal's goal from the equalizer by deftly deflecting Ben Chilwell's shot from inside the area into a corner (24).

Odegaard strengthened Arsenal's lead with a replica goal of the first when he received a cross from the left side of Xhaka, followed by his left from close range to the left of Kiba (31).

Jesus added the third goal, taking advantage of a ball that he himself prepared for Xhaka in front of the goal, so the latter hit it and bounced off defenders Thiago Silva and French Wesley Fofana and prepared in front of the Brazilian, who followed it from close range between Kepa's legs (34).

Arsenal continued its advantage in the second half, and Kepa brilliantly saved his goal by deflecting a header from Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalaich from the goal (47).

Xhaka almost added the fourth goal with a creeping shot from inside the area, which Kiba pushed away with difficulty to a corner (53).

Madueki succeeded in reducing the difference when he received a ball behind the defense from Croatian international Mateo Kovacic, so he prepared it for himself inside the area and hit it with his left hand to the right of Ramsdale (65).

Substitute defender Jordi Alba saved his club, Barcelona, from falling into the trap of a disappointing draw against his guest, Osasuna, by scoring the winning goal in his own net 1-0, and brought him close to crowning the first title since 2019 and the 27th in its history, Tuesday, in the thirty-third stage of the Spanish Football League.

Barcelona was on the way to stumbling in front of its guest, who played with ten players since the 27th minute, after his defender Jorge Irando was sent off, but Alba, who entered in the 76th minute in place of Alejandro Balde, succeeded in scoring the winning goal five minutes before the end of the match.

Barcelona continued its revival and achieved its second successive and twenty-sixth victory this season, strengthening its lead with 82 points, expanding the difference to 14 points from its traditional rivals and direct pursuers, the defending champion Real Madrid, who lost to its fourth host Real Sociedad 0-2.

Barcelona now needs two points to win the first league title since 2019.

As for Osasuna, who will meet Real Madrid next Saturday in the Spanish Cup final, it has fallen to ninth place with 44 points.

"I was lucky to score many goals as a fullback," Alba said in a statement to the "Dazon" broadcast network. It was important to win, it was a difficult match against a team that had a good season.

"We haven't won La Liga for a while, and for someone from here, it feels very good," he added.

It was clear that coach Xavi Hernandez wanted to kill the match early, so he started it with a pressing attack, relying on the Polish trio Robert Lewandowski, Brazilian Rafinha and Gavi.

However, the Catalan team's aspirations were not translated into reality, with Osasuna's defense steadfast in the face of many attempts to penetrate it.
An opportunity arose for Barcelona when Pedri received a ball behind the defense, so he set off towards the goal on his way to being alone with goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez, but the defender obstructed him at the edge of the area, so the referee punished him with a direct red card (27).

Despite the numerical shortage, Osasuna's net remained difficult for the "Blaugrana", who suffered a blow that was not taken into account by the injury of its midfielder Gavi in the adductor muscle in the 36th minute, after the intervention of Pablo Ibanes, so Ansu Fati entered instead.

Missed opportunities continued in the second half for Barcelona, which imposed a siege on the Osasuna penalty area, without any results, despite the Dutchman Frankie de Jong alone in the 56th minute, as goalkeeper Fernandes shone in blocking his attempt and removing it from the goal.

In the 62nd minute, French substitute Othman Dembele strangely missed a goal, after he crossed it on a silver platter from Fati, but he hit it next to the right post.

Osasuna relied on counter-attacks despite his ordeal and threatened the Catalan goal on more than one occasion had it not been for the brilliance of German goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

And between missed opportunities from Lewandowski and substitute Ferran Torres, and a canceled goal by the Polish international due to the offside of his colleague Torres as well (79), the solution came with experience through Alba, who took advantage of a header by De Young inside the area and hit it with a wonderful spiral from close range into Osasuna’s goal, giving his team three valuable points. On his way to winning the title.

Real Madrid suffered its seventh loss this season, its sixth outside its bases, and its third in its last three matches, when it fell to its fourth host, Real Sociedad, with two clean goals.

Real Madrid's balance froze at 68 points in second place and threatened to drop to third place in the event that its neighbor Atletico Madrid defeated its guest Cadiz on Wednesday, while Real Sociedad strengthened its chances of winning the last, fourth card that qualifies for the Champions League next season, after strengthening its position in fourth place. With 61 points, eight points ahead of chasing temporarily, Villarreal V, who is also a guest at Valencia tomorrow.

It seemed well that Real Madrid was affected by the absence of its Croatian stars Luka Modric and the Austrian David Alaba due to injury, the Brazilian Vinicius Junior and the French Eduardo Camavinga due to the injury and its top scorer and French captain Karim Benzema after the Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti preferred to rest him.

Real Madrid was the first to threaten his Brazilian international defender Eder Militao with a header, following a corner kick that goalkeeper Alex Remiro hardly pushed into a corner (9).

The crossbar denied Martin Subimendi from granting progress to Sociedad by returning his ball from close range, with the goal open in front of him (16).

Belgian international goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved his own goal by blocking veteran David Silva's shot from close range, before the defense dispersed it (19).

And Militao almost did it with a header from close range, which passed next to the right post (24).

Real Sociedad succeeded in opening the scoring through former Real Madrid international Japanese midfielder Takefusa Kubo, who took advantage of a wrong ball from Militao to Courtois, and followed it into the empty goal (47).

Real Madrid's ordeals increased by expelling his defender, Dani Carvajal, by meeting him with a second yellow card (61).

And Courtois saved his goal from a second goal by deflecting a powerful shot by Andre Barinichea from a free kick from outside the area (81).

Barinichea added the second goal when he received a ball inside the area from Silva, so he prepared it for himself and slid it to the right of Courtois (85).

Elche became the first to be relegated to the second division, losing to Almeria 1-2.

Almeria scored first through Brazilian striker Leo Baptistao in the 22nd minute, following a pass from his compatriot Rodrigo Eli, and Adrian Embarba added the second goal early in the second half (52), before Argentine striker Esequial Ponce scored the only goal for the guests in the last minute.

Elche suffered its 23rd loss this season, so its score stuck at 16 points in last place, 17 points behind Valencia seventeenth and the last survivor of relegation five stages before the end of the season, while Almeria strengthened its hopes of survival by rising to fourteenth place with 36 points.

The Gulf breathed a sigh of relief with its precious and historic victory over its guest, Al-Ettifaq, 2-1, on Tuesday, at Prince Muhammad bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, in the twenty-fifth stage of the Saudi Football League.

The agreement that started the scoring was through Muhammad Al-Kuwaikibi (23), and Al-Khaleej responded with goals from the Albanian Sokol Sikaleshi (34 from a penalty kick) and the Portuguese Fabio Martinez (71).

It is the first victory for the Gulf over its neighbor Al-Ettifaq in the league, as they met 7 previous times, losing all of them.

It is the second successive victory for the Gulf and the seventh this season, so it got rid of the penultimate fifteenth place leading to the second division and rose to the fourteenth with 23 points, while the balance of the agreement was frozen at 30 points in eighth place.

The Gulf took advantage of the loss of justice against its host, Abha, with a single goal scored by Tunisian Saad Baqir (81) at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Mahalla.

Abha raised its tally to 30 points and rose to ninth place temporarily, while Al-Adalah fell to the fifteenth place after its balance froze at 21 points.

Al-Raed dealt a heavy blow to Amal Al-Batin, who finished in last place, to survive, after defeating him 3-1.

Moroccan striker Karim El Berkawi imposed himself as the star of the match by scoring the pioneer hat-trick in the 17th, 23rd and 28th minutes, while the only goal of Al-Batin came through Colombian Andres Roa (39).

Al-Raed raised its balance to 29 points in the eleventh place, while Al-Batin's balance froze at 15 points.

Al-Taei overcame the obstacle of its guest, Al-Fayhaa, 2-1 at Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musaed bin Jalawi Stadium in Hail.

Al-Taei advanced through Algerian Amir Saeoud (6) before defender Alpha Semedo from Guinea-Bissau equalized by mistake for Al-Fayhaa in his own goal (19), but he atone for his mistake by scoring the winning goal for his team in the 38th minute.

Al-Taie advanced to seventh place with 34 points, while Al-Fayhaa's balance was frozen at 25 points in twelfth place.

Lens tightened the screws on Paris Saint-Germain, the leaders, and Marseille, the second, by defeating its host, Toulouse, 1-0, on Tuesday, in the thirty-third round of the French Football Championship.

Lens owes its victory to its Belgian international striker Luis Obenda, who scored the only goal in the 33rd minute, bringing his tally to 18 goals this season.

Lens took advantage of Paris Saint-Germain's loss to its guest Lorient 1-3 on Sunday, strengthening its position in third place with 69 points, reducing the difference between them to six points, and to one point between him and Marseille II, who won Auxerre 2-1 on Sunday as well.

On the other hand, Toulouse, who won the Cup competition on Saturday at the expense of Nantes, suffered its sixteenth loss this season, so its score froze at 41 points in thirteenth place.

The stage ends on Wednesday with the Brest meeting with Nantes.

Zamalek club announced its apology for not playing the Egyptian Super Cup football match against its traditional rival, Al-Ahly, which is scheduled for next Friday in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, against the backdrop of suspending the penalty for suspending Al-Ahly player Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba.”

The Egyptian Federation announced the selection of Pyramids Club, the runner-up of the League and Cup competitions last season, as a replacement for Zamalek.

Mortada Mansour, President of Zamalek, against whom a judicial ruling was issued to remove him from his post, after executing a one-month prison sentence in the case of insulting and slandering Mahmoud Al-Khatib, President of Al-Ahly Club, said, “Zamalek will not participate in a farce, and it is unacceptable what happened in the crisis of punishment for Al-Ahly player Mahmoud Abdel Moneim + Kahraba.” +".

The Appeals Committee, "Grievances" of the Egyptian Football Association, decided to suspend the penalty for the attacker, "Kahraba", issued by the Disciplinary Committee, which had previously announced that the Al-Ahly player had been suspended for 12 matches and fined one million pounds, due to offensive chants with his club's fans after the Zamalek match in the league.

Mansour added, in a video broadcast on his official Facebook page, on Tuesday, "We do not take our decisions from social media. Our decisions are based on the interest of the club ... and it will not preserve the interest of the club more than its board elected by the General Assembly."

Mansour explained that the real audience is the one who sees the council’s ability to achieve its interests, and that in order to preserve the club’s dignity, it refused to apologize to Mahmoud Al-Khatib, President of Al-Ahly Club, with the text of a message he received, preferring to be imprisoned.

And he added, "The electrification penalty was postponed more than once... The matter provokes the fans of Zamalek, and I apologize to the Zamalek fans in Egypt and the UAE for not attending the team, and we cannot play in these circumstances."

And he continued, directing his speech to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Ashraf Sobhi, “We took the right decision, despite the threats that come to me daily, to isolate or expel from the club. What did I do when 100 million pounds were seized for the club’s account in Banque Misr?”

The Egyptian Federation announced the selection of Pyramids Club, the runner-up of the League and Cup competitions last season, as a replacement for Zamalek.

The federation sent an official letter to the Pyramids Club inviting it to participate in the Super Cup match, provided that the mission’s travel will be tomorrow evening, Wednesday.

A member of the Board of Directors of the Federation, Ehab El-Komy, revealed in televised statements that Pyramids officials agreed to participate in the match, adding that there are penalties that “will be imposed on Zamalek for withdrawing from the match, according to the regulations of the Football Association’s Competitions Committee, up to the ban from playing the Super Cup for two consecutive years and a fine.”

Al-Koumi revealed earlier today, in press statements, that the Pyramids club will participate in the Super Cup instead of Zamalek, in the event that its withdrawal is confirmed, according to the regulations.

The Football Association gave Zamalek club, in an official speech today, 60 minutes to formally define its position on participating or apologizing for not playing the super match.

Zamalek responded in an official statement on the club's website, confirming its apology for not participating, pointing out, "Zamalek's apology for participating in the match at the expense of its dignity and pride."

Zamalek confirmed resorting to the International Federation of the Game (FIFA) "to put an end to injustice, favoritism, crude courtesies, and disregarding laws and regulations in favor of a single club, in addition to bullying and racism against some of its players."

It is noteworthy that Al-Ahly arrived in the Emirati city of Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday afternoon, in preparation for the meeting.

Agence France-Presse learned from a source familiar with the file, on Tuesday, that Paris Saint-Germain, the leaders of the French Football League, will suspend its Argentine star, Lionel Messi, for several days, after he opened a disciplinary procedure against him for traveling to Saudi Arabia without the club’s approval.

And while several media outlets, including Radio Monte Carlo and the sports newspaper L'Equipe, indicated that he was suspended for two weeks, the source asked by AFP did not confirm the duration of the suspension, saying that the Argentine would be absent for "several days."

For his part, a source close to the club explained that the administration "most likely" will suspend Messi for a period of two weeks, noting that "no one is above the institution."

The source familiar with the file added: "He cannot train or play, and he will not be paid during the period of disciplinary action."

Messi missed training the day after losing to Lorient 1-3 on Sunday in the local league. The Ballon d'Or holder for the best player in the world was seen in Saudi Arabia under a contract with the country's tourism authority, where he regularly promotes him on his social networks.

Paris Saint-Germain will meet its host Troyes next Sunday in the thirty-fourth stage of the league, a match that the world champion may miss if this two-week suspension is confirmed. In any case, the Argentine will not participate in Wednesday's training, according to the source familiar with the file, who was asked by AFP.

This disciplinary measure comes at a crucial moment for Messi's future in Paris Saint-Germain, as he is at the end of his contract with the French capital club.

The 35-year-old has scored 15 league goals this season, his second season with Paris Saint-Germain.

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that an armed group had stormed and vandalized its cultural attaché in Sudan, while Riyadh is organizing evacuations of civilians from this country and is leading efforts to stop the ongoing battles between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

Saudi Arabia is trying to play a mediating role to stop the escalation of the conflict that has been going on for nearly three weeks between the army, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by his deputy, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hemedti."

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement reported by the official news agency (SPA) that "the building of the Saudi Cultural Attaché in the Republic of Sudan was stormed yesterday, Tuesday morning, by an armed group that destroyed equipment and cameras and seized some of the attaché's property, and disrupted the attaché's systems and servers."

The ministry did not mention any injuries as a result of the raid.

The Kingdom condemned "in the strongest terms the storming of the Cultural Attaché building in Khartoum," calling for "respecting the sanctity of diplomatic missions and punishing the perpetrators."

It also renewed its call to "stop the military escalation between the conflicting parties, end the violence, and provide the necessary protection for diplomats, residents, and Sudanese civilians."

Saudi Arabia is part of the international quartet for Sudan, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States.

During the past few days, the Saudi Foreign Minister made contacts with Al-Burhan and Daglo to discuss ways to stop the escalation of the conflict.

The Kingdom is leading extensive efforts to evacuate civilians from the port of Port Sudan to the port of Jeddah, which gave it a central role in the crisis. As of Tuesday evening, Saudi Arabia had evacuated more than 5,600 civilians, the vast majority of them foreigners, from 102 countries on six continents.

On Wednesday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will hold an emergency meeting at its headquarters in Jeddah at the level of its executive committee to discuss developments in the situation in Sudan, at the invitation of Saudi Arabia, the current chairman of the Islamic Summit.

The battles in Khartoum and other regions, especially Darfur (west), resulted in more than 500 dead and 5,000 wounded, according to official statements that are believed to be much less than the reality.

The ongoing battles in Sudan have forced more than 334,000 people to flee inside the country, and more than 100,000 others to seek refuge in neighboring countries, according to a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration in Geneva on Tuesday.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said that the occupation forces and settlers carried out 442 attacks during the month of April, which ranged from direct assault on citizens, vandalism, land leveling, tree uprooting, property seizures, closures, and physical injuries.

In its monthly report on "violations of the occupation and measures of colonial expansion", the commission stated that these attacks concentrated in Nablus governorate with 67 attacks, followed by Bethlehem governorate with 60 attacks, then Salfit governorate with 59 attacks.

She pointed out that the number of attacks carried out by settlers in the month of April amounted to 138, including their attempt to establish a new settlement outpost in the Jordan Valley, specifically in Sakot, and these attacks were concentrated in the Bethlehem governorate with 36 attacks, and Nablus with 26 attacks.

Moayed Shaaban, the Settlement and Wall Resistance Commission, said, "In April, the occupation authorities issued 117 notices to demolish, halt construction, and evacuate Palestinian facilities, ranging from notices of demolition or stopping construction under the pretext of non-licensing and eviction under the pretext of training. Most of them were concentrated in the governorates of Salfit with 42 notices, and Hebron and Ramallah with 21 notices for each. Of which.

Shaaban added that the demolitions carried out by the occupation forces during the month of April amounted to 3 demolitions of 11 homes, a commercial establishment, and a source of livelihood, in the governorates of Tulkarm, Jerusalem, and Hebron.

He pointed out that 2,220 trees were damaged and uprooted at the hands of settlers, most of which were olive trees. These operations were concentrated in the governorates of Bethlehem, with the uprooting of 1,705 trees, and the Nablus governorate, with the uprooting of 385 trees.

Shaaban said that, in the same month, the occupation authorities issued three seizure orders for military purposes, which stipulated the confiscation of 53 dunums of citizens’ lands in the Qalqilya and Ramallah governorates. square meters of the lands of the village of Azzun, east of Qalqilya, while the third order ordered the confiscation of 20 dunums for the purposes of expanding a military point on the citizens’ lands in the village of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah.

The Standard Chartered Bank report expected the economic growth rate in Qatar for the year 2023 to reach 4.0%, to be the highest in the Gulf region, which is recording growth at varying rates ranging from 2% to 3.5% for this year.

The World Bank said in the Economics Report for Africa and the Middle East for the second quarter of this year 2023: that the State of Qatar should benefit in successful ways from the World Cup to expand the tourism sector and its position as a global sports destination, especially as it hosts 14 sporting events in the year 2023.

The report said: The relevant institutions in the State of Qatar plan to raise the contribution of the tourism sector to the gross domestic product to 12% in 2030 from its current share of 7%. It can achieve this goal by attracting 6 million visitors annually by 2030. He pointed out that Qatar is working to develop the production capacity of the North Field by 64%, to raise natural gas production to 126 million tons by 2026 from the current 77 million tons. The first phase (110 million tons) is scheduled to be completed in 2025.

The report suggested that investment to expand gas production would be a supportive factor for activities in other sectors, including the growth of private sector credit, which rose to 17% on an annual basis last January.

Mohanad Mokahl, CEO and Regional Head of Client Coverage for Commercial and Institutional Banking at Standard Chartered Qatar, said: “With increasing levels of uncertainty around the world, no market will be sufficiently immune from economic headwinds. However, the data shows us that Qatar is in a good position and can withstand these challenges.”

The report dealt with other areas, foreign exchange reserves in Qatar, and the regional focus report for Africa and the Middle East covers the economies of 24 countries, and it is part of the global focus report for Standard Chartered.

Standard Chartered Bank is a leading global banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world's most vibrant markets and is listed on the financial markets in both London and Hong Kong.

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, on Tuesday criticized the West's "baseless" accusations against Iran's "peaceful" nuclear program.

An Islamist made the remarks in a speech at a ceremony in the Iranian capital, Tehran, during which he pledged that the IAEA was determined to eliminate the Western "hype" surrounding Iran's nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Eslami said that while some countries have gained technology and nuclear capacity through spending money, Iran has achieved its "high status" through the efforts of local experts.

He added that the agency sought during his tenure to present those aspects of Iran's nuclear energy that could be effective in improving people's lives and making its effects more realistic.

In this regard, Islami indicated that his country has made private investments in this field, including the preparation of a strategic document that defines the agency's vision for 20 years, in addition to the movement and plan-based approach in the nuclear sector.

He stressed that the agency seeks to expand its research and industrial capabilities.

Last November, the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors issued a resolution urging Iran to cooperate with the agency's investigators regarding "uranium traces" that were found at "three undeclared Iranian sites."

During a visit to Iran by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in early March, the two sides reached an agreement on increasing interactions between Iran on the basis of cooperation and enhancing openness to IAEA inspections.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied in an interview with the "Washington Post" that Washington had warned Kiev about the leak of secret intelligence documents last month that contained sensitive information about Ukraine, before the news spread in the media.

The embarrassing security breach revealed US concern surrounding a possible Ukrainian counter-attack against Russian forces, as well as concerns about the capabilities of Ukrainian air defenses.

"I did not receive information from the White House or the Pentagon in advance," Zelensky told the newspaper, in an interview conducted in Kiev on Monday, adding, "We did not have that information.

I personally was not informed. It's definitely a bad story."

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder, speaking to CNN, did not confirm or deny Zelensky's claim, merely noting Washington's commitment "to work closely with Ukraine and our international allies to ensure they receive the security assistance they need to defend their country."

US authorities accuse Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old National Guard member who was arrested last month, of publishing confidential documents on the Internet, in the worst leak since Edward Snowden in 2013.

Zelensky commented to the newspaper that Washington ignored his warning, "This is not useful for the reputation of the White House, and I think it is not beneficial for the reputation of the United States."

The documents also contained information about Russian and Ukrainian troop losses, details about NATO reconnaissance flights over the Black Sea, and reports indicating possible US spying on Ukraine.

"Anything that provides advance information to our enemy in one way or another will certainly reflect negatively on us," Zelensky told the newspaper, refusing to confirm or deny the authenticity of any of the leaked materials.

According to the newspaper, Zelensky pointed out that the great war effort made by the United States must prevail over his personal feelings.

"I can't risk our country," he told the newspaper, adding, "Where I can speak frankly I do so. But there are big risks."

It is suspected that Teixeira posted the documents from early March in a private chat group on the social networking platform Discord.

The leak raised questions about why a low-ranking member would have access to such potentially harmful secrets.

The Hebrew newspapers published today, Wednesday, focused on the military escalation with the Gaza Strip, following the martyrdom of the prisoner Sheikh Khader Adnan in Israeli prisons.

The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth saw in an analytical report by its military correspondent, Yossi Yehoshua, that Israel's response to the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip is a missed opportunity to improve the security situation in the near future and restore deterrence that has eroded to the point that Palestinian organizations are now allowing themselves to launch rockets in broad daylight.

Yehoshua said that the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements are seeking to draw a new equation with Israel, and it has succeeded, and the Israeli opportunity to show that "the owner of the house has gone mad," not only because of the events in the south (Gaza), but also, and especially because of what happened on the northern front during Passover. , a very weak cold was lost.

He pointed out that the Israeli response last night was implemented late, not during the day, and did not cost the organizations in Gaza a heavy price, at a time when tens of thousands of settlers were under cover of rocket fire and spent the night in bomb shelters, only to discover in the morning the orders of the home front to return to normal life.

He pointed out that this time, unlike the recent "Dawn" operation against the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the martyrdom of Khader Adnan dragged Hamas into the equation as well, noting that the missile strikes from Gaza in broad daylight, especially with the return of Israeli students to their homes, brought the residents of the cover back to the gloomy reality. Hearing the whistling of missiles and sirens that color their routine with anxiety and frustration.

He considered that the shooting in broad daylight was aimed at creating a new equation on the part of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, which indicates that the deterrence force is in a state of continuous erosion, and that the policy of containment and the studied responses to such events have become disproportionate.

The Israeli military correspondent said: "The Israeli response to the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip was supposed to determine to a large extent the security reality of the Netanyahu government in the coming period, especially since the month of Ramadan is behind us, and the summer months await us, and the logic that has been used so far with regard to Gaza Is changing and not for the better. In addition to the strong reaction, the political echelon must remember from the previous experience of all Israeli governments over generations, that the Gaza problem cannot be solved by force alone. Common sense must also be used, and if terrorist organizations want to draw a new equation With Israel, this is the time to change this equation out of force and not just through rocket fire.

Yehoshua believed that there are 3 important issues that should disturb the Israeli security establishment this morning. Iron Dome, after years in which the percentage of intercepting missiles seriously approached, showed a decrease in its quality after failing to intercept several missiles fired at populated areas, and it was supposed to In previous operations, it showed a higher and unprecedented capacity in confronting missiles, especially in Operation “Al-Fajr” last August, after the rate of intercepting missiles reached 96%, which is the highest recorded rate, and since then there has been a clear decrease in the rate of Its success in confronting the missiles, and during the escalation from southern Lebanon, it was supposed to intercept 28 missiles, but it intercepted only 3, but the success rate of the interception, according to the policy, was 92%.

As for the second and third issues, they are the West Bank and the northern front, where the Israeli army is still focusing on these two fronts so as not to repeat the scenario of what happened in the month of Ramadan, and to drag Israel into fighting on 3 fronts.

He believed that it was necessary to convey a message to the Gaza Strip similar to that conveyed to Syria by launching attacks to confirm that there is no intention to change the policy followed in the face of threats, considering that the message was important in order to restore the deterrence force that has eroded.

And he indicated that there was a dilemma about whether the Islamic Jihad should be isolated this time and not bring a price from Hamas, indicating that the rockets were launched with the knowledge of Hamas and its leadership in Gaza, and it even took responsibility with the Islamic Jihad for launching them for the first time since Operation "Guardian of the Walls/Saif al-Quds." And in Israel, they see that Hamas is sovereign and must pay the price, and Hamas knows that, but it has not suffered any real harm.

In another report, the newspaper says, in a report by its other military correspondent, Yoav Zeitoun, that more than 100 rockets have been launched from Gaza since the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government, while 37 rockets were launched from the northern front.

And considered that these numbers are disturbing and indicate the great damage caused to the Israeli deterrence force.

It indicated that official data indicates that only 3 rockets were launched in the five months that followed Operation "Dawn" in early August of last year, against Islamic Jihad, during which two leaders of the movement were assassinated. This was considered a test of deterrence after that operation, compared to the launch of 5 missiles in the six months following Operation “Guardian of the Walls/Saif al-Quds” in 2021, 21 after Operation Protective Edge in 2014, 67 after Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, and 196 after Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009.

Zeitoun says that since January of this year, days after the formation of the right-wing government led by Netanyahu, deterrence began to fade rapidly, and it has suffered severe damage in recent months, not only because of the killing of 19 Israelis in a series of attacks from Jerusalem and the West Bank, but in light of the continued The erosion of deterrence towards the Islamic Jihad, which continues to dictate its agenda over the security reality.

He believes that the factions in Gaza have established a new equation since the first weeks of forming the Netanyahu government, and every operation in the West Bank in which Palestinian victims were killed leads to shelling from the Strip.

For its part, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz says that the rounds of escalation on the Gaza borders are nothing new, and all successive governments in recent decades have had to face similar dilemmas, but the only difference this time is that the current right-wing government is very hardline, and its members are calling for a more stringent campaign. Continuously and with a strong hand towards the Palestinians, but practically in the previous escalation about a month ago, after rockets were fired in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa and the attack on worshipers, the Netanyahu government took a very disciplined line while adhering to the hard-line rhetoric in the media.

The newspaper saw in an analytical report by its military correspondent, Amos Harel, that the real danger after the death of Khader Adnan may be reflected from the West Bank, and is expected to lead to revenge attacks, whether through shooting or other operations.

Harel indicated that the issue of Khader Adnan's hunger strike did not receive any attention from the right-wing government, and it is not clear whether it reports to the political level about his health or any warnings of the possibility of his martyrdom and preventing that.

For its part, the Hebrew Maariv newspaper highlighted the settlers' anger at the weak Israeli reaction against the factions in Gaza, pointing to a state of discontent pervading the Gaza Strip and the settlement leaders who accused their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of weakness and surrender to Hamas.

In the same context, the Israeli army spokesman said in a press briefing this morning that 104 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, and that Iron Dome intercepted 90% of them according to the established policy, noting that 11 rockets fell into the sea and 14 exploded in Gaza, 24 were intercepted, and 84 landed in open areas.

He pointed out that his forces attacked 16 targets in two stages in Gaza, including sites for the production and storage of weapons, missiles and military equipment for Hamas, in addition to a site for its naval force, and a ground tunnel.

On Wednesday morning, the Israeli occupation forces demolished a residential building in Dahiyat al-Salam in the town of Anata, east of occupied Jerusalem.

According to Al-Quds.com correspondent, this procuratorate belongs to Mahmoud Hamdan, as the occupation authorities claim that it was built without a permit.

On Wednesday, Palestinian press institutions called for protection for journalists, in light of the ongoing violations by the occupation against them.

This came in separate statements on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, which was adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization "UNESCO", on the third of May of each year.

In a statement, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate saluted and praised the masses of Palestinian journalists who prove daily the intersection of their professionalism with their patriotism by enduring crimes and violations, and the unjust occupation measures that target them through shooting and raising martyrs, as well as serious injuries from bullets, gas bombs, arrest, detention, and prevention. From work, travel bans, even moving between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, seizing and destroying equipment, financial fines and threats with the aim of intimidating them, the Palestinian media is still creative in revealing more about the ugly face of the occupation despite the risks and costs. as she said.

The Syndicate called on the international community and international institutions to expedite the procedures of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which accepted the complaint submitted by the Syndicate of Journalists to investigate the crimes of the occupation, foremost of which is the assassination of fellow journalist Sherine Abu Aqleh, and fellow martyrs in the Gaza Strip, and the rest of the crimes committed by the terrorism of the occupation.

She concluded her statement by stressing the continuation of the efforts of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate to follow up with the United Nations Human Rights Council and the rest of the international and regional institutions and federations within the due efforts to provide protection for the steadfast and professional Palestinian journalist despite all the risks.

For its part, the Journalist Support Committee said that the Israeli occupation continues its violations against journalists and media professionals in the occupied Palestinian territories, which have increased to (174) Israeli violations since the beginning of the current year 2023, and the number of journalists detained in the occupation prisons has increased to 19 journalists and media workers.

The committee warned against the persistence of the Israeli occupation in ignoring the basic principles of freedom of the press, by continuing its violations, without the slightest concern for what the third of May represents every year, which the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this international day in 1993, by Following the recommendation adopted by the twenty-sixth session of the General Conference of UNESCO in 1991.

And she called for the necessity of releasing the imprisoned media writer Walid Daqqa, who is sick with cancer, before it is too late, especially since his health condition is deteriorating due to the deliberate medical negligence against him, after the Israeli occupation authorities transferred him last Sunday, April 30, from Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, to Ramla Prison Hospital.

She also demanded the need to put pressure on the occupation to release 19 prisoners in the occupation prisons, as well as to lift the house arrest of the two Jerusalemite journalists, Lama Ghosheh and Raeda Golani, as they are subject to house arrest according to unfair conditions, and they are prevented from communicating and communicating, and they only move within the limits of the house.

Humanitarian and human rights institutions called for intervention to stop the detention policy, renew the administrative detention of detained journalists in the occupation prisons, and release all journalists who are politically detained by the occupation without legal justification.

For its part, the Palestinian Journalists Forum said that the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day coincides with the impact of the continued violation of press freedom in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially by the Israeli occupation authorities, which committed 1185 violations from 2022 until the end of last April, and 19 journalists are languishing in their dark prisons. This violates international and humanitarian conventions and norms that affirm the protection of journalists and the guarantee of freedom of journalistic work. The Palestinian media knights also suffer from violations by the security services due to their journalistic work.

The forum said in a statement that it looks forward to achieving justice by holding the Israeli occupation accountable for its crimes against its knights, especially colleagues Sherine Abu Aqleh and colleagues Ghufran and Rasneh, as well as more than 50 journalists who died treacherously and treacherously with bullets and missiles of the occupation since 2000, reaffirming the need to investigate Freedom of the press by ensuring a free and independent media environment, and providing legal and effective guarantees to ensure the security of journalists while performing their duties.

He stressed that the arbitrary measures of the occupation authorities aim to obscure the facts in flagrant violation of the principles of international law, and fall within the framework of policies to silence mouths and prevent the transfer of the truth of what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories, and in view of that, he calls for the necessity of an effective and binding intervention for all international, human rights and humanitarian institutions and human rights activists. And the relevant international and media institutions, led by the International Federation of Journalists, to carry out their duty to provide protection for journalists, stop persecuting the media, raise their voice, and take practical moves and measures to stop the occupation’s crimes against them and guarantee their press freedom.

He also stressed the need to put pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to release journalists who are in their prisons, and to stop arresting journalists and putting them in dark cells for nothing but their practice of the media profession.

On Wednesday, a citizen died of his wounds sustained in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip said that Hashel Mubarak (58 years old), from the north of Gaza City, was killed by the Israeli aggression.

It indicated that 5 citizens were injured of varying degrees as a result of the aggression.

The Israeli occupation forces launched a series of raids on sites and targets of the resistance in Gaza.

Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the "Hamas" movement, said on Wednesday morning that his movement had informed all the mediators who intervened in the cease-fire, of the need for the occupation to hand over the body of the martyr Khader Adnan to his family, so that he could receive the honor and reverence befitting the heroic martyrs, he said.

In a press statement, Haniyeh reiterated Hamas' firm stance on the premeditated murder of Sheikh Adnan.

Haniyeh saluted the resistance, the captive movement, and the Palestinian people, for carrying out their duty along the battlefield with the occupation, especially from Gaza, which established through the current round the fact that it is the strategic asset of the people, prisoners, and sanctities through its unified performance, which was ready for all possibilities in confronting the occupation. like he said.

A senior Israeli official said, on Wednesday morning, that despite the ceasefire and the return to normal on the Gaza Strip front, it is too early to assess whether this round is behind us and has ended.

The official denied - as reported by the Hebrew website Ynet - that Israel had agreed to a cease-fire, claiming that Hamas and Islamic Jihad were forced to stop firing rockets, and the Israeli army contented itself with attacking the positions of the two movements.

The official said: "In any case, it is still too early to say that the tour is over."

In response to a question about the possibility of handing over the body of Sheikh Khader Adnan, the official said: "There is absolutely no obligation to return his body, but on the other hand, there is no justification or any criteria that meet or justify the detention of his body."

Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for the "Hamas" movement, said, on Wednesday, that his movement worked in all military, political and media tracks to pay the occupation the price for its crime after the martyrdom of the prisoner Sheikh Khader Adnan, and his bombing of Gaza.

Qassem stressed, in a press statement, that Hamas will continue to support the prisoners, and a shield and sword for the Palestinian people in all its places of residence.

He added, "The joint operations room and the resistance factions in the Gaza Strip presented an honorable field national unity painting in this tour against the occupation."

The Israeli occupation forces launched, at dawn and Wednesday morning, a campaign of arrests among citizens in separate areas of the West Bank.

According to local sources, these forces arrested the leader of Hamas, Azzam Salhab, and 3 of his sons, Azzam, Abdullah, and Hamza, from their home in Hebron.

The editor, Arqam Harsha, from Qafin, and Imad Abu Asbeh, both from Tulkarm, were arrested.

In Ramallah, Yaman Bairat and Adam Hamayel from Kafr Malik, Abd al-Karim Abu Alia and Majed al-Naasan from al-Mughayyir, and the editor Mustafa al-Qadi from al-Bireh were arrested.

The Israeli occupation forces demolished, at dawn on Wednesday, two houses in Salfit and Qalqilya, one of which belonged to the family of a martyr, and the other to a prisoner, claiming that they had carried out two operations that killed 4 settlers.

According to local sources, large forces stormed the village of Haris in Salfit, and raided the home of the family of martyr Muhammad Souf, who carried out a stabbing and run-over attack on November 15, killing 3 settlers and wounding 7 with varying degrees of injury.

The sources pointed out that the occupation forces evacuated the houses of citizens from around the house before detonating it.

In Qalqilya, the occupation forces demolished the house of the prisoner Younis Hailan (19 years old), in the town of Hajjah, east of the governorate.

Helan was arrested in October of last year, after he stabbed a settler, who was later announced dead.

Life returned to the Gaza Strip, naturally, after the mutual cease-fire that began at four o'clock in the morning today, Wednesday.

A cease-fire agreement was reached with Egyptian, Qatari and UN mediation, without any conditions or restrictions by the two parties other than a return to calm.

Intensive Israeli raids on resistance targets caused damage to citizens' homes, which led to the death of one citizen and the wounding of 5 with varying degrees of injury.

Several sites and targets belonging to the resistance were subjected to heavy bombardment by the Israeli occupation aircraft.

The Israeli army claimed that it had bombed weapons and missile depots and their production sites, as well as underground tunnels, and targets of Hamas's naval forces, claiming that these extensive raids aimed at harming the movement's military capabilities.

While the resistance continued, until the last minutes, to fire rockets at the settlements around the Gaza Strip, causing a lot of damage, while about 14 settlers sustained bruises and panic attacks while trying to reach shelters, and 3 foreign workers from Asia sustained moderate and minor actual injuries as a result of a rocket falling on a construction site in Sderot.

The Israeli army also announced the return of life to normal in the border settlements.

A young man (25 years old) was killed after midnight, as a result of a shooting crime that took place in the occupied city of Nazareth.

According to the Hebrew website Ynet, a young woman was moderately wounded during the same incident.

The American Axios website revealed, on Wednesday evening, that the US security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority recently sent the US State Department a new report regarding the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Sherine Abu Aqleh, at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, “according to a senior US official and a letter written by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) ) and send it to Secretary of State Blinken."

Journalist Abu Aqleh was killed during an Israeli military raid on the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank about a year ago, "as the killing constituted a point of tension in the relationship between the United States and Israel, and it became a sensitive political issue within the Democratic Party."

The Biden administration has faced pressure from dozens of Democratic lawmakers in Congress and the family of journalist Abu Aqelah to do more to ensure accountability for the circumstances of her killing, and "the new report can renew and intensify this pressure," according to the website.

Axios says, "A senior US official confirmed that the US security coordinator, General Michael Wenzel, recently sent a report on Abu Aqelah's death, but stressed that it does not include any new findings or conclusions."

Senator Van Hollen, in a letter to Blinken, called on the State Department to show lawmakers an unedited copy of the report submitted by Wenzel and his team.

Senator Van Hollen's office said the letter, which was shared with Axios, was sent to Blinken Monday night. In the letter, Van Hollen requested immediate congressional review to summarize the report on the death of Sherine Abu Aqleh.

According to Axios, "Van Hollen wrote in the letter that his office has asked State Department officials several times over the past 12 days about the report. His office was allegedly told that before the State Department releases the report for congressional review, the administration plans to make changes to its contents."

"While the administration has described its proposed changes as 'technical,' any actions to alter the US Security Coordinator's summarizing report in any way would violate the integrity of this process," Van Hollen added.

Van Hollen also stressed in the letter that "no one has been held accountable and an independent official investigation has not been completed" nearly a year after Abu Aqleh's death.

He added that during this period, Wenzel and his team had the opportunity to review further analyzes and assessments of the incident when they completed their report.

"I ask you to authorize the immediate release of the complete and unedited USSC report under the appropriate classification to me and other interested members of Congress," Van Hollen wrote in his letter to Blinken.

It is noteworthy that colleague Shereen Abu Aqleh, Al-Jazeera correspondent, was wearing a bulletproof vest with the words “Al-Sahafa” written on it when she was killed on May 11, 2022.

The Palestinian Authority and her family accused the Israeli army of deliberately targeting her.

It is noteworthy that the Biden administration said in a statement issued on July 4 that Wenzel's investigation found that "Abu Aqelah was most likely killed by unintentional Israeli fire, but the ballistics test of the bullet fragment that was removed from her body was inconclusive."

The Israeli occupation army concluded last September that she was likely killed in "accidental fire" by an Israeli soldier who did not realize she was a journalist. No one in Israel has been charged with her death.

Independent investigations by several news organizations, including The Washington Post, Associated Press, New York Times, and CNN, have revealed CNN, that Shireen was killed by an Israeli soldier.

The US Department of Justice informed the Israeli Ministry of Justice last November that the FBI had opened an investigation into the murder of Shereen Abu Aqleh, but so far no public updates have been made on this investigation.

The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, made a series of contacts with officials in Egypt and Qatar to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

In a statement published by his office, Haniyeh held the occupation responsible for what might result from the continuation of this brutal aggression. as stated in it.

Israeli warplanes attacked several sites of the Palestinian resistance, which in turn continues to fire rockets at the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, Israeli warplanes launched a series of raids on several targets of the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Quds.com correspondent in Gaza reported that reconnaissance and warplanes attacked an empty land in the vicinity of Al-Safina site, which belongs to the resistance, northwest of Gaza City.

This coincided with the targeting of another land in the al-Baydar area, and a third in al-Zaytoun neighborhood, in the south of Gaza City.

This was followed by the targeting of the "Al-Quds" site, west of Khan Yunis, with several missiles, before another site east of the city was bombed.

It also launched raids on the Badr site, west of Al-Shati refugee camp, northwest of Gaza City, several times, as well as the bombing of the Civil Administration site, east of the town of Jabalia, and the site of Al-Tal in Tal Al-Zaatar, both of which are in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Several citizens' homes were damaged as a result of the raids, which resulted in the injury of two civilians, one of whom was seriously injured.

While the ground forces of the resistance fired their heavy machine guns at the Israeli warplanes.

In conjunction with these raids, the Palestinian resistance fired many rockets towards the settlements around the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military spokesman said that his forces attacked several Hamas targets, including sites for the production of weapons and missiles, others for training, for the naval forces, and a ground tunnel.

The resistance had fired dozens of missiles towards the settlements around the Gaza Strip as part of its response to the martyrdom of the prisoner, Sheikh Khader Adnan.

Jenin governorate witnessed, on Tuesday evening, an unfortunate armed confrontation between the Palestinian security services and the group of the Jenin Battalion of Islamic Jihad, after they went out in a march condemning the martyrdom of the prisoner, Sheikh Khader Adnan.

According to local sources, gunfire was exchanged between the two sides, as a result of which a young man was slightly wounded by shrapnel.

According to the same sources, the security services arrested 3 citizens, including the activist Ghassan Al-Saadi.

The Islamic Jihad Movement accused the security services of suppressing a march condemning the assassination of Khader Adnan, while the official authorities did not comment on these accusations.

The Hebrew website Ynet revealed that Israel strongly rejected a proposal from Egypt to hand over the body of the martyred prisoner Khader Adnan to his family in Jenin in an attempt to calm the situation.

According to the Hebrew site, Egypt has conducted extensive contacts with Israel since the beginning of the event and the announcement of the death of Khader Adnan.

The site indicated that Egypt and the UN coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East, Thor Wensland, are conducting extensive contacts behind the scenes to try to prevent a broad escalation.

Israeli sources estimated that the response would be unusual for the continuous rocket fire from Gaza.

The Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip continued to fire rockets at the settlements in the outskirts, bringing the number of rockets and missiles since the morning to 40.

In the latest development, several rockets were launched towards Sderot and Kissufim this evening, 3 of which were intercepted.

Prior to this, several other shells were fired towards the settlements of the Eshkol complex.

According to the Israeli Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, 12 people, including 3 foreigners, were injured by the missile strike at noon on the town of Sderot, among them moderate and minor cases, and the rest with bruises and bruises.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security assessment session that lasted about two hours.

According to the Hebrew Channel 12, it was decided to respond to the rocket fire, while the Hebrew channel Reshet Kan expected that the escalation would continue for tomorrow or after in the event that the reactions escalated.

The South Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, on Tuesday, that the two parties to the conflict in Sudan had agreed, during a call with President Salva Kiir, to a seven-day armistice, starting on May 4, which raises hopes for an end to weeks of fighting.

The ministry said in a statement that the Sudanese army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, "agreed in principle to a truce for a period of seven days, from May 4 to 11."

She added that they "gave their consent ... to appoint representatives for peace negotiations to be held in the place of their choosing."

The two warring parties did not honor any of the previous truces.
The fighting that began on April 15 killed more than 500 people, most of them in Khartoum and Darfur (west), and injured thousands, according to an official toll that observers confirm is less than the reality.

And the United Nations considered that the conflict had plunged the country, one of the poorest countries in the world, into a "disaster in the fullest sense of the word."

President Salva Kiir is working on the initiative of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for East Africa, of which Sudan is a member, along with Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia and South Sudan.