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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- We have to move now -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ten Yemeni soldiers were killed in an attack launched by the Houthis on Tuesday evening in an area south of the strategic city of Ma'rib, the last recognized position of authority in northern Yemen, two government military officials told AFP on Wednesday.

The two officials said that the Iran-aligned Houthis have sent reinforcements to the Marib fronts, which they have been trying to control for years, in recent days, despite efforts to restore peace in the war-stricken country and a recent agreement to exchange hundreds of prisoners.

A military official, who preferred not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said, "The Houthis launched an attack on mountain hills overlooking the Harib district, south of Ma'rib, and made progress on that front, causing the displacement of dozens of families."

"At least 10 soldiers were killed, in addition to an unknown number of attackers," he added.

Another government military official confirmed the attack and the toll.

Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, has witnessed a bloody conflict since 2014 between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels. The conflict escalated with the intervention of Saudi Arabia at the head of a military coalition in March 2015 to stop the Houthis' advance after they took control of the capital, Sana'a.

Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and caused a humanitarian crisis that the United Nations described as the worst in the world, with the displacement of millions of people.

The fronts of Marib, the oil-rich region that is the government's last stronghold in the north, witness frequent clashes between the Iran-backed Houthis and government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition.

The latest attack took place the day after the rebels and the government, during negotiations in Berne, Switzerland, reached an agreement to exchange more than 880 prisoners, in a new sign of hope with the acceleration of efforts to end the war.

The announcement of the exchange also came days after Saudi Arabia and Iran, which support opposing sides in the conflict, announced that they had reached an agreement to restore their diplomatic relations after seven years of estrangement.

Al-Khair at the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, Majid Al-Madhaji, said, "The Houthis are interested in sending a clear political message that (...) the Tehran-Riyadh deal does not mean that Sana'a is finished and has become settled, and that it will obey what Tehran will do."
"If al-Houthi managed to achieve any military breakthrough, it would change the entire dynamic of the negotiations," he added.

And he considered that the recent attack "is a clear message that the military options are closer than the current negotiation options for the Houthis, as they believe that they have an opportunity to formulate the equation on the ground now" with calls to end the war.

During a Security Council meeting this month, UN officials said the recent detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran could provide momentum towards peace on the part of the warring parties in Yemen.

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, urged the parties to the conflict to "seize the opportunity" created by this diplomatic breakthrough in the Gulf. During a video briefing to the Security Council, he referred to "relentless diplomatic efforts being made at various levels to end the conflict in Yemen."

The Swedish diplomat visited Tehran this month, while the US special envoy to Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, visited Riyadh and the Sultanate of Oman, which often mediates in the region's disputes, according to the US State Department.

Grundberg praised "the diplomatic momentum at the present time at the regional level, welcoming the tireless efforts of the countries of the region, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman."

However, despite the high expectations, the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement is not expected to solve all the problems in Yemen, where the influence of the two regional powers is only one dimension of the multi-layered and highly complex conflict, analysts have warned.

اقتحم مستوطنون، اليوم الأربعاء، الموقع الأثري في بلدة سبسطية، شمال غرب نابلس.

وقالت مصادر محلية، إن عشرات المستوطنين اقتحموا الموقع الأثري بحماية مشددة من قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، التي أغلقت المنطقة أمام المواطنين.

وأشار إلى أن مواجهات اندلعت بين الشبان وقوات الاحتلال التي أطلقت قنابل الصوت والغاز باتجاه المواطنين.

The official spokesman for the presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, warned of the danger of the continuous Israeli escalation against our people, which is represented by the imposition of punitive measures on the prisoners that go beyond international conventions and norms, and the continuation of the incursions into Palestinian cities and towns, in addition to the continuation of settlement, all of which will lead to an explosion of the situation in a way that he will not be able to. nobody control it.

Abu Rudeineh said, "This systematic Israeli escalation against our heroic prisoners, which is led by the fascist extremist Ben Gvir, will have serious repercussions, and the international community, and all its international forums, including the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, and relevant regional and international organizations, must immediately intervene and stop these crimes." Continuing against our families before it's too late.

He added that the issue of prisoners is the central issue of the Palestinian people and its leadership, and all Palestinians support these heroes in their battle against the racist jailer, pointing out that President Mahmoud Abbas is in intensive contacts with all relevant international parties, to stop these Israeli attacks against our prisoners and our people.

The official spokesman for the presidency indicated that the extremist Israeli government is trying, through this deliberate escalation, to thwart all international efforts aimed at stopping tension and non-escalation, and evading the implementation of its obligations in accordance with the signed agreements, especially the cessation of unilateral measures that violate all international legitimacy resolutions.

Abu Rudeineh concluded his statement by saying: Our people and their leadership will not allow our national constants to be violated, foremost of which is Jerusalem with its Islamic and Christian sanctities, and our captured heroes, and all Palestinians must unite to confront these Israeli crimes and aggressions that aim to undermine our rights.

The Minister of Agriculture, Riyad Al-Atari , announced an imminent government decision to exempt livestock fodder from taxes in marginalized areas targeted for settlement, which include about 80% of the livestock sector, after a previous decision taken by the government to exempt farmers in the vegetable sector.

This came in a speech by Al-Atari, in which he opened at the ministry's headquarters today, Wednesday, the meeting of the sectoral working group for agriculture, which includes government institutions, local civil organizations and international partners.

He said: There are two important decisions by the government: the first is to remove any taxes from farmers in the vegetable sector, and this has already been taken, and the second is a decision that is under procedures for approval, and it requires exempting all livestock breeders in marginalized areas from the tax on fodder, and these make up about 80% of the livestock sector. in the country.

Likewise, Al-Atari announced the lifting of protection on about 240,000 dunams that were classified as natural reserves, and opening them to investment in all sectors, including the agricultural sector.

He added: The committee in charge of following up the file has completed its work, and we await the approval of the Council of Ministers as soon as possible.

Al-Atari reviewed, before the committee, the reality of the agricultural sector, saying that its position has witnessed progress in recent years, thanks to local and international partnerships.

He said, "Despite the difficult situation we live in because of the occupation, especially under the current Israeli government, we continue to achieve great successes in the agricultural sector. The occupation not only controls lands and resources, but there are daily confiscations of land, attacks on farms and farmers, and the closure of crossings." In the Gaza Strip, however, we can say that we have reached an advanced stage in the governance of the agricultural sector.

The Minister of Agriculture reviewed a set of pillars on which the Ministry worked with its partners, which would make progress this year, thanks to local and international partnerships, and the support of the government, which has given this sector serious attention.

He said that the agricultural cluster plan continues to achieve successes, especially in the development of natural resources. During the past three years, we were able to reclaim 20,000 dunams, build 1,200 km of roads, increase water by about 1.5 million cubic meters, and plant about 1.5 fruit trees, focusing on species. subtropical.

Al-Atari pointed out that the activity of the Agricultural Credit Corporation was launched at a "high pace", as well as the Palestinian-Jordanian Company for Agricultural Marketing.

He said: 2023 will be the year of launching large infrastructure projects with the support of Arab funds amounting to 11 million dollars, especially for the development of the water and natural resources sectors.

The Minister of Agriculture suggested holding a special meeting of the committee in the Gaza Strip, to study and define priorities, with the participation of all relevant parties there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

We spent the night in the open air

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- Alert -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Ammon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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