Showing posts with label Hamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hamas. Show all posts

Friday, December 15, 2023

South Sudan named in most dangerous countries to visit - “security” highest warning level of “extreme”

Report from The Independent - independent.co.uk/news/world
By Helen Coffey
Dated Friday, 15 December 2023 - here is a copy in full:

World’s most dangerous countries to visit in 2024 revealed

Lebanon, Palestinian Territories and Russia have all seen notable risk rating increases


The world’s most dangerous countries to visit in 2024 have been revealed in a new study.


South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Somalia were named as the riskiest nations in the 2024 risk map compiled by medical and security consultancy International SOS.


The annual map assesses various factors to inform travellers and businesses about potential threats in countries across the globe.

It pulls together medical and security risk ratings, reflecting the impact of events such as the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas.


This year, for the first time, the map also includes ratings based on the dangers of climate change, after International SOS saw a rising trend in the number of climate-related alerts being issued to clients as rising global temperatures increased health risks around the world.


The data, compiled by Inform (a collaboration between the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change and Joint Research Centre of European Commission), estimates the future risk of humanitarian crises and disasters caused by climate change.


“Just one example, the extreme heat events this year, with the first ever named heatwave Cerberus hitting Europe, may become commonplace,” said Dr Irene Lai, global medical director at International SOS.


“In addition to the physical impacts of extreme heat, there can be significant negative effects on mental health. It is essential businesses plan for this, adapting our way of living and working to protect health, while also taking steps to slow and eventually reverse the trend in rising temperatures.”


Countries were graded for each category of risk – medical, security and climate change – on a five-level scale ranging from “low” to “very high” for medical and climate change, and “insignificant” to “extreme” for security.


For “security”, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Somalia were all given the highest warning level of “extreme”.


Parts of Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Russia and across the Sahel all saw increases in security risk, alongside Ecuador and parts of Colombia following a rise in criminality and unrest.


View original: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/most-dangerous-countries-world-2024-b2464568.html


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Saturday, November 04, 2023

Algeria becomes the second Arab nation to declare official support for Palestine and to confront Israel

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: While searching the internet for the latest news on Sudan and South Sudan, I saw this news report and thought it best to post it here for future reference. Some say Sudan is, or will be, part of a coalition of countries led by Iran intent on annihilating Israel. I am doing my best not to post inflammatory news here. No doubt, the horrors and humanitarian catastrophe in Israel and Palestine will adversely affect the people of Sudan and South Sudan, the delivery of enough aid, and set back progress and hopes for long awaited peace, development and prosperity.

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Algerian parliament authorizes President Tebboune to support Gaza amid Israeli assaults

Report at Al Bawaba 'The Hub of Middle East Content'

By Mansour Al-Maswari

Dated Thursday, 2 November 2023; 07:50 GMT - here is a copy in full:

Demonstrators march with signs in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during a rally in Algiers on October 19, 2023. AFP


Highlights

Algeria becomes the second Arab nation to declare official support for Palestine and to confront Israel.


(ALBAWABA) - In a significant move, the Algerian Parliament has officially authorized President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to enter the conflict in support of Gaza, with a unanimous vote of 100/100. 


This decision comes in response to the escalating Israeli massacres against the Palestinian population in the besieged Gaza Strip.


Algeria becomes the second Arab nation to declare official support for Palestine and to confront Israel. 


View original: https://www.albawaba.com/news/algerian-parliament-authorizes-president-tebboune-support-gaza-amid-israeli-assaults-1540187


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POSTSCRIPT from Sudan Watch Editor


Algeria is the largest country in Africa and the 10th largest in the world, it is a predominantly Muslim country of North AfricaHere are snippets from Encyclopaedia Britannica, maps of Africa, Algeria; recent news reports.

Map of Africa (Courtesy: Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Algeria

By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 31, 2023 - excerpts:


Algeria, large, predominantly Muslim country of North Africa. From the Mediterranean coast, along which most of its people live, Algeria extends southward deep into the heart of the Sahara, a forbidding desert where Earth’s hottest surface temperatures have been recorded and which constitutes more than four-fifths of the country’s area. The Sahara and its extreme climate dominate the country. The contemporary Algerian novelist Assia Djebar has highlighted the environs, calling her country “a dream of sand.”


The capital is Algiers, a crowded bustling seaside metropolis whose historic core, or medina, is ringed by tall skyscrapers and apartment blocks. Algeria’s second city is Oran, a port on the Mediterranean Sea near the border with Morocco. Less hectic than Algiers, Oran has emerged as an important centre of music, art, and education.

Map of Algeria (Courtesy: Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Land

Algeria is bounded to the east by Tunisia and Libya; to the south by Niger, Mali, and Mauritania; to the west by Morocco and Western Sahara (which has been virtually incorporated by the former); and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It is a vast country—the largest in Africa and the 10th largest in the world—that may be divided into two distinct geographic regions. The northernmost, generally known as the Tell, is subject to the moderating influences of the Mediterranean and consists largely of the Atlas Mountains, which separate the coastal plains from the second region in the south. This southern region, almost entirely desert, forms the majority of the country’s territory and is situated in the western portion of the Sahara, which stretches across North Africa.


Capital: Algiers

Population: (2023 est.) 46,116,000

Form Of Government: multiparty republic with two legislative houses (Council of the Nation [1441]; National People’s Assembly [462])

Head Of State And Government: President: Abdelmadjid Tebboune, assisted by Prime Minister: Ayman Benabderrahmane

Official Languages: Arabic; Amazigh


Recent News

Oct. 26, 2023, 11:07 AM ET (Yahoo News)

Hamas-Israel conflict: Algeria offers to host Palestine's football matches – the bigger history

Oct. 10, 2023, 12:06 PM ET (AP)

Algeria forces Francophone schools to adopt Arabic curriculum but says all languages are welcome


View original: https://www.britannica.com/place/Algeria

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Related News


Algeria Intensifies Efforts to Stop the Fighting in Sudan

Echoroukonline report by Dalila Henache

Dated 30 October 2023 - excerpts:


Algeria is ready to intensify efforts with regional and international partners to stop the fighting between Sudanese parties, taking into account the supreme interest of their country and establishing a new era that meets the ambitions and aspirations of the Sudanese people, President of the National People’s Assembly, Ibrahim Boghali, announced.

During his meeting, on Monday, with the Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to Algeria, Nadia Mohamed Khair Othman, to review bilateral relations and ways to raise them to the level of the aspirations of the two peoples, Boughali explained, in this regard, “the keenness of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to resolve crises by giving priority to the language of dialogue and refusing to resort to force and foreign interventions,” according to a statement by the NPA’s Council.

Full story: https://www.echoroukonline.com/algeria-intensifies-efforts-to-stop-the-fighting-in-sudan

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Five new realities after four weeks of Israel-Gaza war

BBC News report by Jeremy Bowen, International editor, in southern Israel

Dated Friday, 3 November 2023 - excerpts:


One of the first things to understand about the reportage, analysis and commentary that has poured out since the Hamas attacks of 7 October is that no-one has the full story. Not only is it, as ever, hard to penetrate the fog of war to work out what is happening on the battlefield. The new shape of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has not yet emerged.

Events are still moving fast. Fears that the war could spread are very real. New realities in the Middle East are out there somewhere, but their shape and the way that they will work depend on the way this war goes for the rest of the year, and probably beyond.

Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67306902

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UPDATES - Sat 4 Nov 2023 14:08 GMT; 15:14 GMT:


UK Urges Iran to Use Influence to Prevent Escalation of Israel-Hamas Conflict

Report at Asharq Al-Awsat English by Rabi’ Al-Thani

Dated Saturday, 4 November 2023 - excerpts:


British foreign minister James Cleverly has urged Iran to use its influence with groups in the Middle East region to prevent an escalation of Israel's conflict with Hamas. 

Britain's Foreign Office said Cleverly spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday, telling him "Iran bore responsibility" for the actions of groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, that it has supported for many years. 

Cleverly also reiterated that Iranian-backed threats against people in the United Kingdom were unacceptable and must stop, a Foreign Office spokesperson said.

Full story: https://english.aawsat.com/world/4647391-uk-urges-iran-use-influence-prevent-escalation-israel-hamas-conflict

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Algeria Will Again Send an Ambassador to Spain After 19-Month Diplomatic Crisis

Report at Asharq Al Awsat English

Dated Sat, 4 Nov 2023 - excerpts:


A breakthrough in the strained relations between Algeria and Spain is looming after reports that Algiers plans to send a new ambassador to Madrid, ending a 19-month diplomatic crisis.

Senior Algerian political sources said the two countries are in the process of resolving their crisis, adding that their relations are about to return to normal.

Full story:

https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4647561-algeria-will-again-send-ambassador-spain-after-19-month-diplomatic-crisis

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Iran, Qatar Coordinate Efforts to Support Palestine

Report from Tasnim News Agency, Iran

Dated 15 October 2023 - 10:39 - excerpt:

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The foreign ministers of Iran and Qatar weighed plans for cooperation among Muslim nations to assist the people of Gaza and force the Israeli regime to end its brutal strikes on Palestinians.

Full story: 

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2023/10/15/2971951/iran-qatar-coordinate-efforts-to-support-palestine


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Monday, October 30, 2023

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: ICC Prosecutor's statement after visiting Rafah Border between Egypt & Gaza

“International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC addresses journalists after visiting the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on 29 October 2023. From Cairo, the Prosecutor gives a statement on the current situation in Israel and the State of Palestine”. 


Video courtesy of Al Arabiya - english.alarabiya.net.  


Transcript

Follow along using the transcript facility at the video.


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VIDEO: ICC Prosecutor speaks in Cairo on the situation in Israel and Palestine after his visit to Rafah

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ICC prosecutor at Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza says he hopes to visit Gaza, Israel

Report at Al Arabiya - english.alarabiya.net
With AFP (Agence France-Presse)
Published Sunday, 29 October 2023: 08:57 PM GST
Updated Monday, 30 October 2023: 01:52 AM GST - here is a copy in full:

ICC prosecutor at Rafah border crossing says hopes to visit Gaza, Israel

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters about the violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in The Hague, Netherlands October 12, 2023. (File photo: Reuters)


International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said Sunday preventing access to humanitarian could be a crime, after visiting Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza, the main entry point for international aid.


“Impeding relief supplies as provided by the Geneva conventions may constitute a crime within the court jurisdiction,” Khan told reporters in Cairo.


He said he wanted “to underline clearly to Israel that there must be discernible efforts without further delay to make sure civilians” in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory “receive basic food, medicines”.


“I saw trucks full of goods full of humanitarian assistance stuck where nobody needs them, stuck in Egypt, stuck at Rafah,” Khan said.


“These supplies must get to the civilians of Gaza without delay.”


On Sunday the United Nations warned it feared a breakdown of public order after looting at food aid centres in Gaza run by its agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.


UN chief Antonio Guterres said the situation was “growing more desperate by the hour” as casualties in the war increase and essential supplies of food, water, medicine and shelter dwindle.


People in the Palestinian territory have lived under Israeli blockade for 16 years and under complete siege for the past three weeks after the territory’s Hamas rulers launched deadly attacks into Israel that sparked a war.


Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border on October 7 in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 239 others, according to Israeli officials.


The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed more than 8,000 people, mainly civilians and half of them children.


Khan said his office had an ongoing investigation into “any crimes committed on the territory of Palestine and any crimes committed, whether it’s by Israel and Palestine or whether it’s acts committed on the territory of Palestine or from Palestine into Israel.”


“This includes current events in Gaza and also current events in the West Bank,” Khan said, adding that he was “very concerned also by the spike of the number of reported incidents of attack by settlers against Palestinian civilians” in the territory Israel has occupied since 1967.


Khan also said hostage taking was a breach of the Geneva Conventions.


“I call for the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel and for their safe return to their families,” Khan said.


The British lawyer said “Israel has clear obligations in relation to its war with Hamas, not just moral obligations but legal obligations” to comply with the laws of conflict.


“These principles equally apply to Hamas in relation to firing indiscriminate rockets into Israel,” he said.


View original: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2023/10/29/ICC-prosecutor-at-Rafah-border-crossing-says-hopes-to-visit-Gaza-Israel


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