Day: 17 June 2023

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Palestinians rally in Tayibe against home demolitions by Israel

Scores of Palestinians demonstrated today in the Palestinian city of Tayibe in the 1948-occupied territories in protest of the Israeli policy of home demolitions targeting the native Palestinian population in the country. The protesters blocked route 444 in the city to express their rejection of the Israeli policy, under which dozens of homes and structures in the city and elsewhere across the occupied territories are at risk of demolition. They chanted slogans and waved banners denouncing the unfair Israeli planning and construction policies which favor the Israeli Jewish population against the indigenous Palestinian community. Over the last two months, Israeli occupation authorities handed notifications to several households in the city demanding them to evacuate their homes. Arabs in today’s Israel are Palestinians who stayed on their land following the creation of the occupying state in 1948 and their descendants. They make up about 20 percent of the country’s nine million people. By law, their rights are equal to those of Jewish citizens. But in practice they suffer discrimination in employment, housing, policing and other essentials.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

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Convoy held in Baqa al-Gharbiyye in support of cancer-stricken prisoner Walid Daqqa

A convoy involving dozens of cars was held today in the city of Baqa al-Gharbiyye in the 1948-occupied territories demanding Israeli occupation authorities to immediately release prisoner Walid Daqqa, a Palestinian in Israeli prisons since 1986 who is currently battling death as a result of advanced bone marrow cancer. The convoy set off from the town of Kafr Qassem, passing through the towns of Kafr Bara, Jaljulia, Al-Tira, Al-Taybeh and Qalansuwa, until it arrived in Baqa al-Gharbiyye, the hometown of Daqqa. The participants raised pictures of prisoner Daqqa and Palestinian flags, in addition to banners calling for his immediate release. Daqqa is a Palestinian writer and activist who has been imprisoned by Israel since 1986 for his resistance of the Israeli occupation. In December 2022, he was diagnosed with advanced bone marrow cancer and was declared in urgent need of a transplant, but has not yet had a transplant. On May 22, Daqqa was transferred to the intensive care unit at the Assaf Harofeh hospital south of Tel Aviv due to further health complications. But three days later, Israeli authorities transferred him back to the Ramleh prison’s clinic in Israel, which is notorious for its difficult conditions, despite calls by rights groups to keep him hospitalized for constant monitoring and treatment if he is not released. His imprisonment also violates the 1993 Oslo Accords, which had a clause for the release of all Palestinian prisoners detained prior to the signing of the agreement.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

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Israeli forces assault, detain a child in Arraba

Israeli occupation forces assaulted and arrested a Palestinian child today during an Israeli military raid in the town of Arraba, in the northern West Bank province of Jenin, according to Palestinian security sources. 13-year-old Mohammad Shahin Arda was brutally assaulted by Israeli occupation soldiers who arrested him under the pretext of filming them as they stormed the town, said the sources. The child was taken to an unknown destination.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

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Washington Welcomes HH the Amir’s Visit to Iraq

The United States of America welcomed the visit of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to the Republic of Iraq on June 15.

In a statement, the United States National Security Council Spokesperson Adam Hodge said that the US welcomed the visit of HH the Amir to Baghdad and the active support of HH the Amir, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, other leaders in the region, and the Iraqi people.

He stressed, “The United States fully supports Iraq’s sovereignty, independence, and increasing integration into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and broader Arab region.”

Source: Qatar News Agency

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Minister of Social Development and Family Meets Officials on COSP16 Sidelines

HE Minister of Social Development and Family, Chairperson of the 42nd session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad met separately with HE Minister of Social Affairs of the Republic of Tunisia Malek Zahi, HE Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector of the Arab League Ambassador Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, HE Ministerial Commissioner of Hungary’s Prime Minister Office Dr. Laszlo Lovaszy, and Executive Director of the International Disability Alliance Vladimir Cuk.

The meetings took place on the sidelines of the 16th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP16), which was concluded Friday at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

During the meetings, they reviewed aspects and opportunities for cooperation in the development field and enhancing services provided to persons with disabilities, in addition to discussing topics for the work of the 16th session of the conference and coordinating Arab and international positions regarding the draft resolutions and final recommendations of the session.

The general discussions in the 16th session of the conference focused on “aligning national policies and strategies with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” where several files were highlighted, including support for reproductive health and accessibility, as well as ways to enhance the health services that this group deserves.

Source: Qatar News Agency

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A government official calls for the re-operation of the eighth oil exploration block, east of Diyala

The Qazaniya district directorate in Diyala governorate demanded the investment of the eighth oil exploration block to revive the national economy.

Director of the district, Mazen Akram, told the correspondent of the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) that in light of the investment openness with the oil countries, we demand the re-operation of the eighth exploratory patch located in the Raghla region within the joint administrative borders between Diyala and Wasit.

He added that the seismic survey report conducted in 2016 by a specialized team confirms that the exploratory area, which exceeds 175 km, is outside the scope of earthquakes and is not threatened, indicating that the eighth oil exploration block includes huge quantities of oil and gas that would revive the economic reality of the two provinces and achieve a qualitative leap in the file of services in the province.

The director of the Qazania district stressed the importance of investing in natural resources and frozen funds in the ground, especially since the exploratory area is ready for investment from all biological, security and technical factors.

In 2012, the Ministry of Oil granted oil and gas exploration licenses in the eighth exploration block, which includes Diyala and Wasit, to a consortium of British and Pakistani companies. It includes large reserves of crude oil and natural gas.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

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Head of the Journalists Syndicate, Moayad Al-Lami, receives gifts and souvenirs from Arab delegations on the occasion of the Iraqi National Press Day

Head of the Union of Arab Journalists, the Head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, Moayad Al-Lami, received gifts and souvenir shields from representatives of brotherly and friendly delegations members of the Union of Arab Journalists, on the occasion of the Iraqi National Press Day 154, coinciding with the meetings of the permanent office of the Union of Arab Journalists, held today, Saturday, in the headquarters of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate in the center of the capital, Baghdad.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

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A fire devours greenhouse farms in northern Babylon

The Civil Defense teams put out today, Saturday a fire that broke out in farms growing crops using the greenhouse method in Jableh district, north of Hilla, without injuries.

Civil Defense media Director Aqil Abdullah said, “A fire broke out in farms that grow crops using the greenhouse method, which led to their destruction and significant material damage to the fields.

He added that the civil defense teams rescued the remaining crops, and that the police opened an investigation to find out the causes of the fire.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

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Trade Minister from Kirkuk: The current season has achieved self-sufficiency in the wheat crop

The Minister of Trade, Atheer Dawood Al-Ghurairy, announced that the current season has achieved self-sufficiency in the wheat crop.

He said in press statements today that we inspected the marketing sites in Kirkuk and met a number of farmers who marketed the wheat crop to find out the reasons for the momentum in the process of receiving marketed quantities.

He stressed overcoming all obstacles; to absorb all the incoming quantities of wheat, absorb the momentum, and organize the process of entering the wheels of the marketers.

The Minister confirmed that the current season, praise be to God, has achieved self-sufficiency, and that wheat stocks secure citizens’ rations of flour until the next marketing season, and that the total marketed quantities of wheat to date have exceeded the expected quantities, with the continuation of the marketing process that is witnessing its climax in the governorates of northern Baghdad and the region.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency