Tehran - (AFP) - Iran has expressed its willingness to contribute to "putting an end" to the war between Moscow and Kiev, according to what the Secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, told his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, in Tehran on Wednesday.

The visit of the Russian official comes in light of the rapprochement witnessed for months in the relations between Tehran and Moscow, which are subject to US sanctions.

It also comes as Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of using Iranian-made drones to attack Ukrainian targets, most notably energy facilities. After Iran repeatedly denied sending weapons to any party "for use in war", it admitted for the first time last week that it had provided Russia with such aircraft before the start of the war in late February.

On Wednesday, Shamkhani reaffirmed Tehran's support for "any ceasefire initiative between Russia and Ukraine based on dialogue," according to the official IRNA news agency.

He stressed his country's readiness "to play a role in putting an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine."

For its part, the Russian Security Council said in a statement that the two sides "exchanged views on a series of international problems, especially the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East."

On November 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian revealed that his country had supplied Russia with "a limited number of drones months before the war in Ukraine."

Tehran previously confirmed that it would not remain "indifferent" if Ukraine provided it with evidence of Russia's use of these drones against it.

This issue raises tension between Tehran and Kiev, as the latter reduced Iran's diplomatic presence there, and warned it of "the consequences of complicity in crimes" that Moscow is accused of committing.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak considered that Patrushev's visit to Tehran indicates that the "Kremlin is exhausted" by the war.

He wrote on Twitter, "The resources of the Russian Federation are running out. Hence the hysterical requests for a break (negotiations). Hence Patrushev's visit to Tehran: looking for a way to continue the war, obtaining missiles / drones," considering that this should be an incentive. To double" Western military aid to Ukraine.

Tehran has previously denied press reports about its intention to supply Russia with ballistic missiles and additional numbers of drones.

For his part, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi confirmed during his meeting with Patrushev that "the principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to oppose war."

"The widening and escalation of the war are a source of concern for all countries," he added, according to a statement by the presidency.

Western parties, including Washington and the European Union, recently imposed sanctions on Tehran over the drone issue, in addition to those imposed on it under various headings, most notably the nuclear program.

During his meeting with Patrushev, Shamkhani stressed the importance of the two countries "establishing joint institutions to confront the sanctions."

For its part, the Russian statement spoke of the two officials' affirmation of "the importance of enhancing the exchange of experiences regarding the development of economic capabilities ... and the strengthening of economic relations" between them in the face of "the pressures imposed through sanctions."

On the other hand, the Russian Security Council stated that the discussion dealt "in detail with issues of bilateral cooperation in the field of maintaining security, including cooperation in order to ensure public security and confront terrorism and extremism."

The issue of "information security" was also discussed, in addition to measures aimed at confronting the interference of Western security services in the internal affairs of our two countries.

Patrushev's visit comes at a time when Iran has been witnessing protests for weeks following the death of Mahsa Amini, which led to the death of dozens, including members of the security forces.

Iranian officials accused "enemies", led by the United States, of involvement in the "riots". Tehran also criticized Western positions in support of the protests, considering them "interference" in its internal affairs.

Iran also witnessed, on October 26, an attack on a religious shrine in the city of Shiraz (south), which killed 13 people and was claimed by the Islamic State.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - Palestine , represented by the Palestinian Trade Center "Pal Trade ", participated in the Sial Paris 2022 exhibition, the largest in the world for food industries, in a special pavilion distinguished by its design with images of Islamic and Christian sanctities and Palestinian products , in which seven companies displayed their agricultural and food products. The five are two commercial deals worth $200,000, and it is expected that 52 potential deals will be concluded, with an estimated value of about $2,300,000, following the agreement to follow up on procedural and technical matters after the end of the exhibition activities.

Director of Export Promotion Yousef Al-Lahham said: “With the organization of the Palestinian Trade Center Paltrade, and as a continuation of the center’s promotional plans to enter new markets and be present in the most important specialized international exhibitions, the Palestinian companies participating throughout the days of the exhibition, which is a unique opportunity to view food products, were able to hold He held 630 meetings, including 79 serious meetings with representatives of international companies and institutions.

Al-Lahham added: "Palestine's participation in this exhibition, the largest in the world, which included about 21 sections, came after a three-year hiatus due to the Corona pandemic, in addition to attracting about 7,200 exhibiting companies from all over the world, and the most prominent actors and experts specialized in the food and beverage sector from about 130 A country where his mother visited about 160,000 visitors over the course of his five days.

He stressed that the participation of Palestine, represented by "Pal Trade" in this major global event, comes as an extension of the important role of the Palestinian Trade Center in highlighting the great development achieved by the Palestinian food and agricultural industries. Global, and discuss the main challenges facing this industry in the world.

The Ministry of the Palestinian Ambassador to France, Hala Abu Hasira, met with the Palestinian wing, and met with the participants and the representative of the Trade Center "Pal Trade" Youssef Al-Lahham, and expressed her happiness at the presence of Palestine in the most important and largest food exhibition in the world, and it was agreed with her to strengthen the presence of the Palestinian product in the French market in particular. As it expressed its willingness to provide all facilities for any economic activity held between Palestinian and French businessmen, whether inside the country or in France.

Basra - (AFP) - At least one person was killed Thursday, while "dozens" were injured, as a result of a stampede between fans who had gathered since the early morning in front of the Palm Trunk Stadium in Basra in southern Iraq, to watch the final match of the Gulf Cup between Iraq and Oman. Two medical and security sources told AFP.

Many Iraqis are looking forward to this final match of the 25th Gulf Cup, a tournament that Iraq will host on its soil for the first time in more than 40 years, during which it has gone through many wars and conflicts.

A medical source, who preferred not to be identified, said that "a person died, while about dozens of others were slightly injured," as a result of a stampede among thousands of fans who did not carry cards and wanted to watch the match, which starts at seven o'clock in the evening (16:00 GMT).

A source in the Ministry of Interior confirmed this toll. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, "The reason for the stampede was the arrival of large numbers of fans, especially people who do not have a card."

He added that the fans "gathered since the morning and tried to enter," which led to overcrowding in front of the stadium gates and a stampede.
An AFP photographer inside the stadium reported hearing the sounds of ambulances that came to collect the injured from this accident, adding that the entrance gates to the stadium were closed when the stampede occurred.

In the aftermath of the incident, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani went to Basra, according to a statement issued by his office.
The statement stated that Al-Sudani held an "urgent meeting with a number of ministers and the governor of Basra to find out the preparations for the 25th Gulf Cup final."

In a message, Al-Swadani called on the people of Basra to "provide assistance and support to all your brothers in the concerned authorities to show the final of the Gulf Championship 25 in the most beautiful way."

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Army Command called on the Iraqis, in a statement, to "commit to the instructions and directives for the final of the Gulf Championship in its twenty-fifth edition," and that "in order to complete this football wedding in a civilized manner befitting the history of Iraq."

And scenes captured by AFP photographers showed thousands of people gathered in the vicinity of the stadium since the early hours of the morning.
This match is of great importance to the Iraqis, as if Iraq wins it, it will be the fourth title in its history and the first in nearly 35 years.

The tournament includes 8 countries, namely Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and the UAE.

However, organizational problems have emerged since the opening of the tournament two weeks ago, as journalists and thousands of card-holders were unable to enter the stadium, for no apparent reason.

Also, the editorial witnessed the departure of the Kuwaiti delegation, which prompted Iraq to apologize due to some organizational problems.

At the time, the Iraqi Football Association expressed its "deep regret at the scenes of the mass stampede that occurred in front of the stadium and inside the main booth," stressing that "the Iraqi Federation, as well as those in charge of organizing the tournament, will take into account the need to avoid what happened to ensure that the organizational process appears in the best way, starting with the matches. The second day of the tournament.

Two weeks ago, the city of Basra began receiving thousands of Arab fans who flocked to this city located in the far south of Iraq, and it is the center of the richest Iraqi province in oil, but it suffers from a deterioration in its infrastructure.

Iraq sometimes witnesses similar incidents, the most recent of which was the stampede that occurred in Karbala during the Ashura commemoration in the year 2019, in which millions of Shiite Muslims from Iraq and neighboring countries participated, and 31 people were killed.

MOSCOW (Xinhua) -- A Su-25 fighter crashed while returning to its base in the Belgorod region Thursday "after completing a combat mission," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said that the fighter crashed in a deserted area, killing the pilot, and the accident did not cause any losses on the ground, adding that a technical malfunction led to the accident.

Earlier in the day, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported via Telegram that a fighter of the Ministry of Defense crashed in Valuisky district, and an investigation team is working at the accident site.

It was previously reported that the pilot had ejected from the plane and was still alive.

The Belgorod region is located in southwestern Russia, near Ukraine.

Beirut - (AFP) - In a heritage building that has become a museum in the heart of Beirut, a rich archive mixes with events that summarize the capital's golden past and the hidden corruption it stored, with works of art that simulate a present exhausted by successive crises, to draw the features of a country living in a state of permanent turmoil.

Newspaper clippings, film negatives, and entry statements gleaned from the archives of Caf des Roi, one of the pre-civil war (1975-1990) one of the most famous nightclubs in Ain Mreisseh in West Beirut, tell of faulty official politics, entrenched corruption, general strikes, and student protests that marked an era. important in the history of Lebanon.

In addition to this archive, ten artists participating in the exhibition, which opened Thursday, entitled "Hello, Beirut?" Contemporary artworks that vary between photos, videos, and interactive installations, simulate their vision of Beirut's present, which is also depleted by corruption and the failure of successive political authorities to manage the country's crises.

"Sometimes it is strange to explain what we are witnessing without knowing what happened in the past," exhibition director Delphine Abi Rached Darmansi told AFP.

"Beirut is suffering and we are suffering," she added, pointing out that much of the misery that the Lebanese live in today is rooted in the crises of the past.

According to the curators, the idea of the exhibition stemmed from a ten-year search in the archives of the nightclub for its owner, Prosper Guy Barra (1914-2003), a Lebanese billionaire whose name stuck to the golden age of Beirut before the civil war.

It was supplemented by research in the archives of newspapers and magazines to shed light on that period in Lebanon's history.

Among the artworks, a text by Guy Bara is displayed in which he wrote, speaking of the political class at the time, “those sick minds obsessed with collecting money,” in an impression that still prevails among the Lebanese who have been exhausted by an unprecedented economic collapse that has been going on for nearly three years amid political paralysis.

"He was talking in the sixties about what we live in today," says Darmansi.

Today, more than three decades after the end of the civil war, the Lebanese are living in very difficult circumstances due to the economic crisis, which the World Bank ranked among the worst in the world, and the repercussions of the horrific Beirut port explosion in August 2020.

More than eighty percent of the population now lives below the poverty line, with the local currency losing more than ninety percent of its value against the dollar. Many, especially young people, chose to emigrate with the inability of the political authority to provide salvage solutions and implement reforms to stop the bleeding.

Ten young artists, at the invitation of the curator Roy Dib, are presenting works that embody their own view of Beirut today, dealing with several issues, including the October 17 protests, the economic crisis, immigration, and the relationship with a city in decline.

Rawan Nassif (38 years old) is participating in the exhibition through a short documentary that presents the history of the Beiruti neighborhood of Msaitbeh, in which she grew up and then returned to it after two decades to care for her sick parents before they died this year.
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She tells Agence France-Presse that the film "shows the repercussions of the losses" to which Beirut was subjected, adding, "Beirut today mourns its dead and mourns all the opportunities it previously provided" to its residents and visitors, before it gradually lost them.

Raoul Mallat (28 years old) combines, in a short film, video clips drawn from the family archive during his childhood, and other recently captured clips of Beirut.

"This project helped me a lot to express my sadness over some aspects of my city that I will never find again," he told AFP during the opening of the exhibition.

The exhibition will open its doors in the "Beit Beirut" building in Sodeco for a whole year, and will be accompanied by various cultural programs.

The three-storey building has a special memory in Lebanon. At the request of the Barakat family, the prominent architect Youssef Aftimos built, according to a distinctive design based on the open corner, the first floor of it in the twenties of the last century.

In later years, another architect added the upper two layers of it according to the same architectural style.

With the outbreak of the civil war, the Barakat family abandoned the elegant house on the street, which had turned into a main line of contact between the warring parties.

Snipers made their headquarters in the building and witnessed rounds of gunfire, dogfights and looting.

In 2017, the building was reopened and converted into a museum and cultural space, before it re-closed its doors in recent years.

Through the holes left by the gunmen in the walls of the building, footage of the protest demonstrations that took place in Lebanon for months, starting on October 17, 2019, can be viewed today through small screens installed in the openings of the walls.
In one of the rooms, worn furniture and destroyed belongings collected from the abandoned "Café de Roi" nightclub are displayed.

Rola Abu Darwish and Rana Qabout, through an artistic installation they participate in in the exhibition, simulate the idea of the ruins and the troubled existence of Lebanon.
"Beirut was built on rubble," Abu Darwish, 38, told AFP. "For me, the rubble is one of the most important elements of Beirut."
"It's part of where we live, how we live and who we are. And I feel like the direction we're taking today is going to cause more debris."

Al-Bireh - "Jerusalem" dot com - The General Federation of Palestinian Industries concluded the activities of the Palestinian Products Exhibition 2022 , which was held in the municipal halls of Al-Bireh over a period of three days, with the participation of 50 companies and pilot projects, including 15 companies from the Gaza Strip, through which hundreds of national products were displayed. .

"This year's exhibition was distinguished by the diversity of companies, in addition to the participation of different companies from the Gaza Strip, despite the obstacles of the occupation," said Noureddine Jaradat, Chairman of the Federation's Board of Directors.

He added, "The participation of thousands of citizens and the gathering around the national companies in the exhibition confirms the conviction of our people in the importance of supporting the national product, and their high confidence in it, stressing the importance and necessity of following up the companies, in order to maintain a high level of quality and continuous development to remain at the forefront."

Jaradat extended his greetings and appreciation to President Mahmoud Abbas, who provided all facilities, support, and sponsorship for the success of the exhibition, and to the Prime Minister, the government, the Ministry of Economy, and the Governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, who attended the opening, and had an impact on the success of its activities and promotion.

He stressed the importance of these events, which support Palestinian companies in reaching out to consumers, and to enable the delivery of shopping baskets of national products to Palestinian homes.

In turn, the Secretary General of the Federation of Industries, Ouda Shehadeh, said that the exhibition this year represented a shift in the quality of the participants, as the focus was on youth and entrepreneurial projects and the participation of small and medium enterprises, which gave this segment great importance, and opened a way for communication with shoppers.

Beirut - (AFP) - Egypt has released two senior businessmen after nearly two years of pre-trial detention on terrorism charges, their families said Saturday.

Maryam, the daughter of businessman Safwan Thabet , wrote on social media, "My father, Safwan Thabet, and my brother Saif al-Din Thabet are with us," without specifying when they were released.

Safwan Thabet, in his late 70s, is the founder and former CEO of the Juhayna dairy group.

He had been arrested in December 2020 and charged with joining and financing the Muslim Brotherhood. The group has been banned and classified as "terrorist" in Egypt since 2013.

As for his son, Saif Al-Arbaeen, he was arrested in February 2021.

Philip Luther of Amnesty International said the two men "were punished simply for daring to defy demands by Egyptian security officials to hand over their family's assets in Juhayna".

"They showed rare courage in resisting officials' attempt to blackmail them," Luther added in a statement issued in September 2021.

The prolonged pre-trial detention of Safwan Thabet and his son in solitary confinement, a measure Amnesty International said amounted to "torture", sparked international calls for their release.

When Egypt secured a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund in October last year, the Washington-based advocacy group Freedom Initiative drew attention to their situation.

"Egypt's political economy remains largely controlled by a few state actors willing to detain, intimidate, and harass even beloved business figures," Alison McManus of the organization said in a statement, referring to Safwan Thabet and his son.

Among the terms of the loans, Cairo pledged to privatize key public assets and increase transparency in government business dealings.

The authorities also released hundreds of political prisoners last year, although human rights organizations estimate that some 60,000 people remain in detention, many of whom face harsh conditions in overcrowded cells.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - Today, Wednesday, settlers attacked sheep shepherds and forced them to leave their pastures in the "Al Thaghla" area in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.

Local sources reported that an armed group of "Tsekhar Man" settlers, established on citizens' lands east of Yatta, attacked sheep herders in the "Al-Thala" area near Wadi Al-Jawaya in Masafer Yatta, chased their livestock, and forced them to leave their pastures by force.

It is noteworthy that the occupation and settlers escalate their attacks on shepherds and farmers at this time of the year, to prevent them from cultivating them, and depriving them of access to pastures, with the aim of striking livestock, the only source of income for hundreds of families and families that live in these areas, and pastures are an essential source of feeding their herds. .

In another context, a group of settlers from the "Gush Etzion" settlement bloc attacked a house on the main street in the "Beit Zata" area of the town of Beit Ummar, belonging to Youssef Yaqoub Al-Wahidi and his brothers, and smashed the windows.

And local sources reported that the settlers smashed the windows of a vehicle belonging to the citizen, Ayman Abdel Aziz Al-Hatawi, while it was parked in front of his house on the main street.

The settlers also attacked Mohammed Jamil Awad (54 years old), while he was grazing his sheep, and beat him.

Paris - (AFP) - The sarcophagus of Ramesses II returns to France after an absence of about half a century from its display in Paris in 1976, and the king, who is considered with Tutankhamun as the most prominent of the pharaohs, will be the most prominent element in a huge exhibition to be held in the French capital next spring. .

"When I was told that (the sarcophagus of Ramses II) would arrive in Paris, I almost cried with joy that I would see it," said Egyptologist and professor at the Louvre College Dominique Faro, who is the scientific coordinator of this exhibition entitled "Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs," in a statement to Agence France-Presse. Here again!"

He recounted that he was sixteen when the exhibition was held in 1976 at the Grand Palais, and added, "It was in my room on a large poster. I went to see it eight times in a row."

Ramesses II, one of the rulers of the Nineteenth Dynasty, is considered one of the most famous pharaohs. He ruled for 67 years and was an important military commander and built a large number of temples.

This traveling exhibition began in San Francisco in 2022 and will continue in Sydney next fall, but the sarcophagus will only be shown in France, from April 7 to September 6.

The exhibition includes countless tools, solid gold and silver jewelry, statues, amulets (talismans), masks and other coffins. It is expected to attract a large number of visitors, similar to the exhibition that was held for Tutankhamun, which was prepared in the same place in 2019 and attracted 1.4 million visitors.

The exhibition was organized at that time, as well as the current exhibition, by the world's leading company in the field of organizing cultural and artistic events, "World Heritage Exhibitions".

Egypt exceptionally lent to France the famous coffin made of cedar wood painted yellow, an "exception" that the Egyptian authorities presented to France, in appreciation of the efforts of French scientists who rescued the mummy of Ramesses II and treated it from fungi during the exhibition held in 1976, according to Farrow.

The coffin is shown empty, as the law prohibits the removal of royal mummies from Egypt.

The coffin lid features color-enhanced details

Faro explained that the lid of the sarcophagus represented "the king (...) with his hands crossed, holding a scepter and a whip (...) and with a false braided beard."

The researcher in the history of Egypt explained that the appearance of hieratic administrative inscriptions along its length "testifies to the transfer of the mummy of Ramesses with the aim of saving it three times at the end of the modern empire, around 1070 BC, and then 100 years later."

According to the Egyptologist, "the tomb of Ramses in the Valley of the Kings was plundered and his body was placed" in this sarcophagus. All parts were transferred to the tomb of his father, Seti I.

During the rule of the Twenty-First Dynasty, the sarcophagus was moved again "to a cache at the Deir el-Bahari site, west of Luxor, which contained hundreds of mummies, including mummies of kings of the modern empire."

It was not until 1881 that this cache was found, which had been looted. Faro recalls the circumstances of their transportation, "The mummies were transported from Luxor to Cairo by boat, and this won the approval of the inhabitants who gathered on the banks of the Nile."

In the exhibition, which is being held in Paris, only mummies of animals can be seen, especially kittens, "which were raised and sacrificed by their owners to be presented to the gods," according to Farrow.

The specialist identified the discovery of these mummies in recent years near Cairo, in the cemetery of the kings of the ancient empire, between 2700 and 2200 BC.

In addition to it, the visitor discovers the "Tanis treasure", which was named after the new capital, Tanis, which was rebuilt by Ramesses II east of the Nile Delta after the first capital he founded was buried with mud.
This treasure consists, according to Farrow, of "a sarcophagus of pure silver, guards for fingers and toes, or masks of pure gold, and jewelry, coming from the royal tombs that were found in this city in 1939 and 1940."

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Palestine Real Estate Exhibition 2022 kicked off today, Monday, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh, with the participation of 35 companies, 5 banks and 5 sponsors. The exhibition will be held for three days under the auspices of President Mahmoud Abbas, at the Millennium Hotel in Ramallah.

The organization of the exhibition came as an initiative of the Real Estate Developers Union, a strategic partnership with Al-Nabali and Al-Faris Real Estate Company, strategic sponsorship from the Palestine Islamic Bank, gold from Jericho Gate Company, the Royal Group, and Thabet Real Estate Company, and implementation from the “Eventive Public Relations” and “U. TC Investment and Real Estate”, while the inauguration was in the presence of the Governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Dr. Laila Ghannam, the head of the Real Estate Developers Union, Alaa Abu Ein, developers and workers in this sector, businessmen and representatives of banks, and a crowd of citizens.

During his speech at the opening of the exhibition, Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh said: "The land in Palestine is not only real estate, but rather real estate, identity, and a field of struggle with the occupation. It is also the geographical base for production, and the political base for our Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."

Shtayyeh added: "The issue of development, construction and real estate development for us is very important, in order to enhance people's steadfastness on their land. In addition to that, this sector occupies 13% of the labor force in the Palestinian territories, with 94 thousand people working in the construction and construction sector, and this is a large number." There is nothing wrong with it, and it is considered one of the most important employment sectors in Palestine.”

And the Prime Minister continued: "Jerusalem needs more than anthem and singing, and if there is a sector that needs to be strengthened and developed in Jerusalem, it is the housing sector, because the restrictions on our people in Jerusalem are in order to push them outside the city limits, and therefore I wish the workers in this sector to They devote part of their investments in the city of Jerusalem, and are ready to facilitate what we can.

And Shtayyeh added: "I wish those in charge of this sector to direct work in the countryside, and if there is a message in the construction and real estate sector, it is to strengthen people on their land everywhere, mainly in rural areas that need to strengthen the steadfastness of its people, and that there is interest in workers and insurance." On their lives, in addition to that, the issue of complaints that come from apartment owners must be addressed.

And the Prime Minister went on: "In the Gaza Strip, we need 50,000 housing units, and in the West Bank, we need no less than 10,000 housing units annually. Thanks to the banks for providing financing for this important sector.

And Shtayyeh added: "I say to the mayors, whether it is in Ramallah, Al-Bireh, Betunia and all Palestinian municipalities, we must work with workers in this sector in order to reduce the cost of construction and housing. The square meter in Palestine is high and we need creative and technological solutions in order to reduce the cost, and we We know that the issue is supply and demand, and there is high supply and high demand, but supply does not intersect with demand because of the price. Therefore, workers in this sector must study well how to meet supply and demand in order to provide people with housing that is said to be affordable.

The Prime Minister said: "Investment in this sector is safe, the price of the land does not fall, but rather rises or stabilizes, and the risk in it is negligible in the true sense, and it is an important source of income, and every one of the attendees is a success story, and I hope that we will keep moving forward gradually."

Shtayyeh added: "We, as a government, have opened state lands for investment, and the spirit of partnership between you and us is not in terms of profit sharing. We provide you with state land and endowments to invest in in order to preserve it, and in the coming days we will announce the opening of investment in Jabal Qurantal, which is a land with an area of 8 thousand acres, you as developers are required to come up with ideas and I invite you to cooperate to promote large projects, and we are ready to provide all the elements of success, whether by laws or whether by opening lands for investment.

For her part, the Governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Dr. Laila Ghannam, on the vital role of the private sector in advancing development in Palestine, considering that the exhibition is an opportunity to highlight the excellence of companies working in the field of real estate development.

For his part, Abu Ein stressed the importance of the exhibition in terms of highlighting the vital role played by real estate developers, whether on the economic or national level, through investing in the real estate sector, and providing housing and facilities, in a way that enhances the resilience of citizens.

Abu Ein referred to the participation of about 45 companies in the activities of the exhibition, explaining that among the participants were 35 real estate companies and five banks: the Arab Bank, the Bank of Palestine, the Cairo Amman Bank, the Palestinian Islamic Bank, and the Arab Islamic Bank.

Abu Ein noted that the banks' participation came as a result of their contribution to supporting the real estate sector and providing facilities for it. Relationship to the development of a law for real estate development, investment in and development of government properties.

Vienna - (AFP) - The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday expressed his hope to maintain a scheduled visit to Iran to try to resolve a sensitive file, after Iranian statements raised doubts about it.

Last week, Rafael Grossi reported on a meeting to be held "by the end of November" to address the issue of three facilities in which traces of uranium were discovered, despite Iran's non-declaration of nuclear activities there.

And the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, announced on Wednesday that the visit "is not currently on the agenda," according to the official IRNA news agency.

When asked about the matter, Grossi said that Iran had not informed him of the cancellation of the meeting.

He commented during a press conference on the first day of the quarterly session of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, "We hope that this technical meeting will take place. There are doubts, and I hope that (the Iranians) will clarify them."

"The situation will worsen if even a simple technical meeting cannot be held, but I do not want to speculate," the UN official added, calling for the resumption of dialogue "as soon as possible."

Islami later told IRNA that during a meeting last week between Iranian officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency, "it was decided that a delegation from the agency would go to Iran."

But he questioned the "usefulness" of the visit if the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors approved a draft resolution proposed by the United States and three European countries on Tuesday. In this context, the Iranian official said, "It is not clear whether the IAEA's visit to Iran will lead to results and be beneficial."

In the face of the lack of progress on this file that has been pending for months, the United States and the three European countries that are party to the Iranian nuclear agreement (the United Kingdom, France and Germany) submitted a draft resolution to the IAEA condemning Tehran for its lack of cooperation with the UN body, according to diplomatic sources.

An Islamist said that the four countries "drafted a draft resolution and brought documents that they realize are incorrect, and this is rejected by the Islamic Republic," according to what was quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

The Iranian official considered that "the adoption of the policy of maximum pressure and the promotion of accusations by the forces of arrogance (referring to the United States and its allies) and the Zionists, is the nature of those who are addicted to sanctions and addicted to this policy."

According to the draft resolution seen by Agence France-Presse, the Board of Governors "expresses deep concern" about this problem, which remains unresolved "because of the insufficient cooperation of Iran."

The text adds that the council "considers it necessary and urgent" for Tehran to provide without delay "technically credible explanations" about the presence of traces of uranium, as well as to ensure "access to sites and equipment" for "sample collection".

And the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, added, "We have responded to all allegations (...) of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and if their intentions (Western countries) were good and willing to continue negotiations, they would not have submitted a draft resolution" against Iran.

This issue has been a major point of divergence in talks to revive the 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear program, which have stalled since early September.

The 2015 agreement made it possible to lift sanctions on Tehran in return for reducing its nuclear activities and ensuring the peacefulness of its program. However, the United States withdrew from it in 2018, re-imposing sanctions on Iran, which responded by gradually retracting most of its commitments.

Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine revealed Wednesday that its embassies abroad had recently received 31 threats or suspicious packages with the return address of a Tesla electric car dealership in Germany.

Ukraine's embassy in Madrid said late last month that a security guard was slightly injured after opening a booby-trapped parcel intended for the embassy, after which Ukraine reported more similar incidents.

"We have a total of 31 cases in 15 countries," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, noting that Ukraine's embassies in Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Denmark are among the diplomatic offices that have received suspicious packages.
"All packages have the same sender address: a Tesla car dealership in Sindelfingen, Germany. They were sent from post offices that are not equipped with video surveillance systems," he added.
Kuleba confirmed that Ukrainian embassies and consulates had been "working under strict security measures" for a week, including explosives and forensic experts.
"The criminals were also keen to follow procedures not to leave traces of their DNA on the parcels," he said, adding that he is in contact with his counterparts in countries where Ukrainian embassies have been subjected to threats.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian diplomatic missions in European Union countries received parcels containing animal eyes, which Kiev described Friday as a "well-planned campaign of intimidation".

AMMAN - (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF ) mission reached (Tuesday) an expert-level agreement with the Jordanian government on the fifth review of the government's economic reform program supported by the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement.

And Jordanian Finance Minister Muhammad Al-Ississ said, in a press conference with the head of the IMF mission, Ali Abbas, and the governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, Adel Sharkas, that the program signed with the International Monetary Fund is a national program par excellence based on national goals set by the government to raise the competitiveness of the economy to provide jobs and raise the level of economic growth. Transparency and improved financial accountability.

He added that the program seeks to strengthen the social protection network and maintain financial and monetary stability, something that many countries have lost in light of the difficult economic conditions the world is going through, including recession accompanied by inflation during the Corona pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

Al-Ississ confirmed that the government is still up to its commitment and concluded from this review that it will not raise taxes or fees or impose new fees and taxes.

In turn, the Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan said that Jordan's success in completing the review on time for the fifth time represents a clear message confirming the soundness of the economic approach and the stability of the macroeconomic, financial and monetary environment, and that Jordan is "taking steady steps towards economic reform."

He explained that the program aims to support the competitiveness of the Jordanian economy and its ability to attract investments, along with strengthening the social safety net.

In turn, the head of the IMF mission, Ali Abbas, said that during the past two weeks, the Fund's teams worked with government agencies, civil society institutions and the private sector to review the Jordanian macroeconomy.

He added that the prudent fiscal and monetary policies helped maintain macroeconomic stability and continued access to international markets despite the turbulent global economic conditions.

Abbas expected the Jordanian government to reduce the level of the primary deficit (excluding grants) by 0.7 percent of GDP, to reach 3.7 percent in 2022, and the costs incurred by fuel and food subsidies that exceeded expectations will be compensated by rationalizing spending on items that do not represent priority and power. Revenue collection that greatly exceeded expectations.

Abbas said that the Jordanian government confirmed its strong commitment to the rules of financial prudence to reduce public debt to 80% until 2027.

Jordan's public debt balance rose during the first half of this year to 29.16 billion dinars ($41 billion), compared to 28.7 billion dinars at the end of 2021, according to statistics from the Jordanian Ministry of Finance.

The statistics showed that Jordan's internal debt at the end of the first half amounted to 13.89 billion dinars, and the external debt amounted to 15.26 billion dinars.

Thus, the public debt ratio reaches 88.4 percent of the Kingdom's GDP.

BEIJING, (Xinhua) -- Results of data released by the China Asset Management Association showed that the assets under management of IPO funds in China reached 27.29 trillion yuan (about 3.84 trillion US dollars) by the end of last August.

The figure was 231.9 billion yuan higher than the end of July, according to the association, an industry body overseen by China's securities regulator.

By the end of August, a total of 10,262 IPO funds had been operated by 140 fund management companies, said the association.

The data showed that the volume of closed funds reached nearly 3.25 trillion yuan, while the volume of open funds amounted to about 24.04 trillion yuan.

The association said that among the 140 fund management companies, 45 are foreign-funded and 95 are local.

Miami - (AFP) - An 85-year-old woman was attacked by an alligator in Florida while she was walking her dog on the bank of a lake in a retirement home, US media reported.

A neighbor in the Fort Pierce region of the state located on the southeastern coast of the United States recounted that she saw the victim who came to the rescue of her dog after he was attacked by the two of the three-meter animal, before she was swept away in turn by the water.

The neighbor, who was known only by her first name, Carol, told the local WBBF channel, "I remember that she was trying to get back to the surface of the water and breathe air. And I told her: 'Swim to the treadmill.' She told me: 'I can't, the crocodile is holding me.'"

Carol, 77, notified relief teams and tried to save her friend with a stick, but the victim had "missed the scene".

The Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission reported to local media that the woman died of her injuries, while her dog survived the accident.

The crocodile was caught after it was spotted, especially by a helicopter belonging to the local police chief's office. The animal weighs about 300 kilograms, according to employees of a company specializing in catching crocodiles, in statements reported by the "WBBF" channel.

Alligators are so common in Florida that they sometimes even traverse the streets or take advantage of the sunny weather to move around on the grass on the golf courses.

But according to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, the chance of a Florida person being injured by an alligator attack is only 1 in 3.1 million. In addition, crocodile attacks killed 26 people in the state between 1948 and 2021, according to the latest figures available in this field.

According to Carroll, the unidentified victim was a "shy and sweet" widow.

LOS ANGELES - (Xinhua) -- NASA has decided to extend the science mission of its "Insight" space probe on Mars and operate its seismograph for a longer period than previously planned, according to a statement from the agency.

As the power available to InSight dwindled, the mission team adjusted the mission schedule in order to maximize the amount of operational research they could do.

NASA said Tuesday that the probe is expected to automatically shut down the seismometer -- InSight's last operational science instrument -- by the end of June in order to conserve energy, surviving on power that its solar panels can generate until about December.

And NASA indicated that the team now intends to program the probe so that the seismometer can work for a longer period, perhaps until the end of August or even early September.

NASA stated that Insight is now on an extended mission after achieving its science goals. The probe has detected more than 1,300 earthquakes since it landed on Mars in 2018, providing information that allowed scientists to measure the depth and composition of the Martian crust, mantle and core.

NASA said InSight, with its other instruments, recorded invaluable weather data, examined the soil under the rover, and studied remnants of Mars' ancient magnetic field.

Jerusalem - "Al Quds" dot com - The national and Islamic forces, the youth movement, the people, clans and residents of the Shuafat camp and Anata town, in occupied Jerusalem, called for a comprehensive strike and a declaration of civil disobedience next Sunday.

A joint statement said that this step comes in response to the crimes of the frenzied occupation government against the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and all areas, especially the criminal and retaliatory measures of abuse, torture, humiliation and daily oppression at the Shuafat camp checkpoint.

And she indicated that the steps will start by calling on workers not to go to their places of work inside the occupied interior, and calling on citizens to boycott the occupation and not to deal with it in various ways (official transactions, paying bills, fees and taxes, the occupation municipality), and closing the road leading to the Shuafat camp checkpoint and not allowing anyone Passing through it, closing the entrance to the town of Anata on Sunday morning at 4:30 am, and not allowing workers to go to their workplaces inside the occupied interior.

It called on the masses to show solidarity with us and support their struggle to end the injustice and oppression that the people of the region suffer from at the oppressive and racist occupation barriers.

Written by: Rasem Obeidat
What happened in the press conference that President Abbas held with German Chancellor Schultz on 8/16/2022, in which he answered a question from a journalist about the Munich operation carried out by the Palestinian group “Black September” in the summer of 1972, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed. The government of Germany and the state of the entity are responsible for it. Will the Palestinian Authority apologize for that operation? The response came from President Abbas, that there are 50 collective crimes committed against our Palestinian people, in addition to the individual crimes that continue and do not stop. From scratch and inside his home.... President Abbas did not finish his press conference, until the leaders of the entity state, in addition to the Western colonial countries, attacked him, including the German Chancellor himself Schultz, who refused to classify the entity state, which is now suffocating with its racism, as an "apartheid" state "Apartheid ... in addition to the United States of America."

A fierce campaign was launched against President Abbas, including incitement, censure, defamation, cursing, and contempt, by saying that what he said was a lie, disgusting talk, and an immoral act that history will not forgive him. At the hands of the Palestinian organizations, while Gantz, the Minister of the Occupation Army, who was defending his meetings with President Abbas, who was subjected to a campaign of harsh criticism from many members of the entity’s government, said that the security coordination succeeded in saving the lives of many soldiers and settlers of the entity’s state.

President Abbas, who issued a statement clarifying his position on the issue of the Holocaust, that he and our people do not deny the Holocaust against the Jews and consider it a heinous crime in modern history, but on the other hand there are crimes that the Zionist occupation carried out and is still carrying out against our people. Perhaps the Goldstone report after the aggressive war launched on the Gaza Strip in In 2008-2009, he clearly indicated that the occupation army committed war crimes in its aggression against the Gaza Strip, as well as in the battle of "Saif al-Quds" in May / 2021, the entity state killed 69 Palestinian children, whose pictures were published in major international newspapers, even in the newspaper "Haaretz". Likewise, in the last aggressive war on the Gaza Strip in August 2022, Israel killed 16 Palestinian children, and then continued its crimes against our Palestinian people, by killing three Palestinian resistance fighters in the old town of Nablus and a fourth boy in Hebron, and matters reached their climax after the operation The Mughrabi Gate, by executing the young man, Muhammad Shahham, inside his home from scratch... And last Thursday, 8/18/2022, an Israeli force killed the young Wassim Khalifa from Nablus, not to mention dozens of individual and collective crimes, from Deir Yassin, Kafr Qassem, Al-Tantura, Al-Samou’, and Al-Dawayima to crimes The execution of the two journalists, Sherine Abu Aqleh, Ghfran and Rasneh, the young Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, and the boy with special needs Iyad al-Hallaq..etc.

President Abbas has been insulted by the "sacred cow" that should not be attacked, either by deed, or by word, or by condemnation or denunciation, in connection with the crimes it commits against our Palestinian people and the state terrorism it practices. Didn’t the former extremist American representative, Nick Haley, say that the era of reprimanding and condemning the entity’s state in the United Nations is over forever? Didn’t the former chief of staff of the entity’s army, Rafael Eitan, describe our Palestinian people as “narcotic cockroaches in a bottle?” Didn’t Begin say, the former prime minister of the entity, that Our Palestinian people are human animals, walking on four legs.

Are these statements not the height of racism and extremism? We realize that the values of humanity, the principles of justice and democracy, the right of peoples to self-determination, respect for the resolutions of international legitimacy, its laws, agreements and decisions, have fallen from the gate of Ukraine. Seven days after the forced Russian military operation in Ukraine, America, along with the colonial West countries, rose to say that what Russia is doing is a violation. Ukraine's sovereignty, transgressing human rights and democracy, committing war crimes, and violating international legitimacy... while seventy-four years of occupation of the land of the Palestinian people, the expulsion and displacement of more than half of them, and the practice of all forms of ethnic cleansing and apartheid against them, are not war crimes, a violation, an infringement, and a breach of international legitimacy And her decisions..?? It is selectivity and abhorrent duplication in applying the laws and decisions of international legitimacy, in a manner that serves the interests and objectives of the colonial powers.

The statements made by President Abbas are an expression of the position of all Palestinians, which must be adopted and supported by all the Palestinian political, institutional and popular components and components. Abbas, and indicating that the leaders of the entity state, what they want, is only to continue managing the conflict, and improving the conditions for their occupation of our people, “economy in exchange for security” and what is known as “reducing the conflict” without granting it any national and political rights, ending the occupation, and enabling it to establish A Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital, with a guarantee of the right of return for Palestinian refugees in accordance with international legitimacy, and agrees with the leaders of the entity state America and the colonial West countries, especially Britain, France and Germany in this vision and those positions, despite the hollow and worn-out statements about what is known as the two-state solution , which did not leave it the continuous and increasing settlement any chance of implementation on the ground.

Hence, what happened in Berlin and the fierce incitement attack against President Abu Mazen against the background of his failure to apologize for the Munich process, and the talk about the crimes of the entity state against our people, must be a turning point towards transferring the decisions of the Central Council and the previous decisions of the National Council and the Executive Committee from above. The table turned to the practical application of it, by announcing the exit from the Oslo process and the dissolution of all its security, political and economic obligations (stopping security coordination, withdrawing mutual recognition, and stopping work with the Paris Economic Agreement), and initiating comprehensive legislative and presidential elections and for the National Council, in a way that unites the struggle tool and the true partnership In leadership and decision-making and through a unified strategy and vision based on an agreed-upon political program and a national project whose features and addresses are defined clearly and accurately based on steadfastness and resistance.

Jerusalem - "Jerusalem" dot com - Ahmad Jalajel - Jerusalem Governorate reported, on Tuesday, that the number of Palestinian detainees in the governorate has reached 400 since the beginning of the year.

Marouf al-Rifai, the media advisor to the Jerusalem governorate, said in press statements that this is a dangerous escalation compared to the number of detainees in the same period of 2022.

And Al-Rifai indicated that the occupation forces expanded their arrest campaigns against activists and young men in Jerusalem, following the civil disobedience that took place in several areas of Jerusalem governorate two days ago.

He pointed to the escalation of mass arrests carried out by the occupation security forces, especially with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, and the Jewish Passover holiday coinciding with the third week of it, as they carry out precautionary arrests before this date every year.

Al-Rifai considered that the escalation of arrests against Jerusalemite youths is a continuation of the systematic policy pursued by successive occupation governments to pressure the youths of the Holy City to empty it of its original inhabitants, in a desperate attempt to Judaize it and replace them with settlers.

Brussels - (AFP) - The European Union imposed new trade restrictions on Russia and expanded the list of people targeted by asset freezes and travel bans to the European Union, as part of an eighth package of sanctions against Moscow that took effect Thursday.

These new measures, which were published in the Official Journal of the European Union, are "a response to Russia's escalation in the illegal war that it continues to wage against Ukraine and is manifested in particular by annexing Ukrainian lands after + fake referendums + mobilizing additional forces and threatening to use nuclear weapons," she said. European Commission.

The sanctions also pave the way for the introduction of a cap on Russian oil prices agreed by the Group of Seven, and for a ban on European citizens from taking positions on the management bodies of some Russian state-owned companies.

The eighth batch of European sanctions since the start of the war launched by Moscow on Ukraine on February 24, imposes a new import ban worth seven billion euros to reduce Russia's revenues.

In particular, they include a ban on imports of iron and steel products, machinery and hardware, plastics, vehicles, textiles, shoes, leather, ceramics, some chemicals, and non-gold jewelry.

The new export restrictions aim to limit Russia's ability to develop its defense and security sector. It relates in particular to “the ban on the export of coal, including coke (used in Russian industrial sites), certain electronic components (found in Russian weapons), technical materials used in the aviation sector, as well as some chemical products,” as stated by the European Commission.

A ban on the export of small-caliber weapons is also planned.

In addition, thirty individuals and seven entities have been added to a blacklist of more than 1,300 names subject to an asset freeze and travel ban to the European Union.

The persons and entities added to the list are "involved in the Russian occupation, illegal annexation and + bogus referenda + in the occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions".

Among them are military personnel and senior officials, as well as companies supporting the Russian armed forces.

Bans on crypto assets have been tightened, expanding the range of services that can no longer be provided to the Russian government.
He said that the ban imposed by the European Union on imports of Russian crude oil by sea is still in place.

The commission said that "setting price ceilings, once implemented, will allow European operators to transfer Russian oil to third countries, provided that the latter's price remains below the previously set ceiling."

And she explained that the procedure, in coordination with the G7 partners, “will become effective after December 5, 2022 for crude oil and February 5, 2023 for refined petroleum products, after a new decision of the Council” (member states).

Rabat/Jerusalem - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Secretary-General of the People's National Congress for Jerusalem, Major General Bilal Natsheh , signed yesterday a joint cooperation and coordination agreement between the Congress and Bait Mal Al-Quds Agency in Rabat, where he is on an official visit at the head of a high-level delegation.

In addition to Major General Natsheh, the agreement was signed on behalf of the agency by its Acting Director General, Dr. Muhammad Salem Al-Sharqawi, as it includes various sectoral programs in Jerusalem, specifically helping some Jerusalemite students studying in local universities.

It also includes holding joint events and special seminars in Jerusalem and other Palestinian governorates, in parallel with Moroccan cities.

After the signing of the agreement, which was the culmination of the strong relations between the conference and the Bayt Al-Mal Agency, the conference delegation witnessed the celebration of "Rabat, Capital of Islamic Culture", which is being held with the support of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization "ISESCO", in addition to the opening of the "Rabat" photo exhibition in Jerusalem. Which expresses the extent of the Kingdom of Morocco's support for the Holy City and its interest in strengthening steadfastness and bond in the city, which has been subjected to the fiercest occupation attack on it since its occupation to this day.

The family of the late Dr. Hanna Issa, the former Secretary-General of the Islamic Christian Organization for the Support of Al-Quds, was honored, as the honorary shield was received by the current Secretary-General, Hatem Abdel Qader, in the presence of the late’s wife in Ramallah, via “Zoom” visual technology.

During these activities, several speeches were delivered by Al-Natsheh, Al-Shobaki, Al-Sharqawi and others, all of which called for strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on the ground, especially in the city of Jerusalem , which is undergoing an unprecedented process of Judaization.

The events were attended by a large number of intellectuals, writers, politicians and activists, led by the Moroccan Ministry of Culture, the Mayor of Rabat, the diplomatic corps in Rabat, the Director General of ISESCO, Ambassador Al-Shobaki, the Beit Mal Al-Quds Agency, and the head of the Palestinian-Moroccan Struggle Support Association, the fighter Muhammad Bin Jelloun Al-Andalusi.

The delegation of the People's National Congress to Jerusalem, headed by Major General Natsheh and with the membership of Secretary Hatem Abdel Qader and the representative of the conference, Younis Al-Amouri, held a series of fruitful meetings in the Moroccan capital on the first day of the visit, which began on Monday. The embassy headquarters in the Moroccan capital.

During the meeting, they discussed the situation in Jerusalem and the latest developments in the Palestinian cause.

The delegation also held a session of talks with Beit Mal Al-Quds Agency, which the visit came at its invitation.

Dr. Muhammad Salem Al-Sharqawi, Acting Director General of the Agency, participated in the session with the delegation. The delegation also held a similar session with the First Chamber of the Moroccan Parliament, represented by Representative Khadija Al-Zoumi, First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

He also met with the second chamber in Parliament, the Council of Advisors, represented by the first deputy of the Council, Muhammad Hanin, and they were briefed on the ongoing Israeli violations in the Holy City, while Major General Natsheh sent an official invitation to them to visit Jerusalem in honor of the conference to see closely the course of the conditions and events that took place. the occupied city.

The delegation also visited the tomb of the founding king of the Moroccan state, the late King Mohammed V, and recited Al-Fatihah on his pure soul, while Major General Al-Natshe wrote a word in the record of honor at the place of the shrine.

BEIJING - (Xinhua) -- China's central bank continued to inject money into the financial system through open market operations on Monday.

The People's Bank of China said on its website that it had conducted a seven-day reverse buyback of 46 billion yuan (about 6.7 billion U.S. dollars) at an interest rate of 2 percent.

The move aims to maintain reasonable and ample liquidity in the banking system, according to the central bank.

Reverse repo operations, known as a "reverse repo", are operations in which the central bank buys securities from commercial banks through bidding, with the agreement to sell them back to them in the future.

Jerusalem - "Al-Quds" dot com - Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency said that the volume of development subsidies it provided between 2000 and 2022 to various sectors of the Holy City amounted to about $64 million.

The agency added, during a press conference held today, Wednesday, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its founding, that the Kingdom of Morocco contributed $16.7 million of the total contributions made by countries.

A report reviewed by the director in charge of running the agency, Mohamed Salem Al-Sharqawi, confirmed that the social assistance sector, culture, youth and sports received about 60% of the agency's expenditures, in implementation of the instructions of the Moroccan monarch, Chairman of the Jerusalem Committee King Mohammed VI, which requires that the agency give special attention to this sector.

He pointed out that the decent living program, which targets poor families in Jerusalem, distributes 29,000 loaves of bread daily to about 2,900 families, and creates economic support for 20 bakeries.

The report indicated that (the Jerusalem Orphan Sponsorship Program) sponsors 100 orphans and orphans from the children of Jerusalem, adding that 650 boys and girls benefited from the summer camps program for Jerusalem children in Morocco, in addition to the beneficiaries of the "summer camps for Jerusalem children in Jerusalem" program, which is funded by the Agency in partnership with Jerusalemite associations and in cooperation with the Directorate of Education in Jerusalem.

He stated that the (Civil Initiatives Project for a Sustainable Program for Human Development in Jerusalem) is interested in financing association projects in the fields of professions, training, women's empowerment, income generation, capacity support, and community inclusion.

He pointed out that the agency has a number of other social projects such as restoring and rehabilitating sports clubs and cultural centers and equipping them, distributing food parcels during the holy month of Ramadan and religious occasions, supporting and financing the individual and group lending program for building and restoring homes and housing, rehabilitating the homes of the poor and marginalized, and restoring mosques and the Moroccan corner.

The report stated that the Agency has completed several projects in the education sector, which accounted for about 20% of its budget, including: building 4 new schools, repairing and restoring 10 others, and the scholarship program for Jerusalemite students provides annual scholarships in the field of higher education for outstanding Jerusalemite students. And those in need to continue their studies in Palestinian, Moroccan and other universities, by 2000 dollars for literary majors, and 3 thousand dollars for medicine and engineering majors.

He said that the agency supported Jerusalem hospitals by purchasing ambulances, devices and equipment to help them perform their tasks, in addition to rehabilitating and restoring some of them, and establishing medical units and departments in hospitals in various specialties, indicating that during the period of the "Corona" pandemic, it provided hospitals with the necessary supplies to help them deal with the pandemic. .

It is noteworthy that the Bait Mal Al-Quds Agency is a social humanitarian institution, established on the initiative of the late Hassan II in 1995, and began its actual work during the year 1998, and works under the direct supervision of the Chairman of the Jerusalem Committee, the Moroccan King Mohammed VI, to implement social projects in Jerusalem to contribute In protecting the Holy City, preserving its religious and cultural heritage and supporting its residents.

Its projects are divided into sectors: education, health, housing, culture, sports, women's empowerment, youth and childhood care, as well as social assistance programs for people in difficult situations and groups with disabilities.

Jerusalem - "Al-Quds" dot com - The head of the Supreme Islamic Commission in Jerusalem, the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Dr. Ikrima Sabri , stressed the importance of the Arab and Islamic countries' support for the Bayt Mal Al-Quds agency because it is the practical project to support the Jerusalemites, indicating that interest in Jerusalem is an interest in part of The creed of every Muslim in this holy city.

The preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, in press statements on the sidelines of his participation in the celebration of the silver jubilee of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency in the capital, Rabat, praised the Kingdom of Morocco’s sponsorship of the agency since its establishment a quarter of a century ago, which enabled it to stand by the Jerusalemites and support their steadfastness, calling for its support to continue its efforts and perform its tasks.

Sabri said, "Moroccan care for Al-Quds Al-Sharif is clear, and it is not strange for the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to sponsor Al-Quds, which has great imprints in this city. adjacent to the wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Buraq Wall.

Al-Aqsa preacher explained that part of the Jerusalemites of Moroccan origin came with Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi and settled in it.

Sabri pointed out that the Moroccans have a close connection with Al-Quds Al-Sharif and its people from a spiritual and devotional perspective, and in terms of preserving the Arab-Islamic identity of the Holy City as well as a great affinity with the Jerusalemites, adding that the city of Jerusalem represents a miniature nation of multiple peoples melted into one crucible, which is Jerusalem. Which unites and does not separate, and it is the subject of unanimity among Arabs and Muslims, and it is a blessed land.

Rabat- “Jerusalem” dot com – Specialist doctors from Jerusalem, who are currently visiting the Kingdom of Morocco at the invitation of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency during a medical workshop in front of their Moroccan counterparts, talked about their experiences in dealing with cases resulting from the unfortunate events that the city witnesses from time to time, and falls The innocent Jerusalemites were killed by live bullets, rubber bullets, suffocation from tear gas, and then by the waste water used by the occupation forces.

They emphasized that these interventions are sometimes hampered by the difficulty of ambulances reaching places where tension usually prevails within the walls of the Old City in particular and the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, due to obstructions and prohibitions, which makes it difficult for rescue teams to perform tasks, in addition to the difficulty of dealing with a number of difficult cases in field hospitals. , which are being evaluated by the Palestine Red Crescent crews, and are forced to transfer them, as quickly as possible, to the emergency and emergency departments at Al-Makassed Hospital.

The workshop was organized by the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. It focused on emergencies in the Moroccan and Palestinian experience.

Dr. Adnan Farhoud, Director of Al-Makassed Hospital, Dr. Maher Dib, Medical Director of St. Joseph Hospital, Dr. Hani Abdeen, Medical Director of Al-Mutala Hospital, Dr. Mahmoud Elyan, Director of the Red Crescent Hospital in Jerusalem, and Dr. Mazen Abu Gharbia, Head of Department, participated in the workshop on the Palestinian side. Ambulances at Al-Makassed Hospital, and Dr. Haitham Al-Amleh, Head of the Treatment Department at Al-Mutala Hospital.

The workshop began with a speech delivered by the Secretary-General of the Moroccan Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Abd al-Karim Meziane Belfakih, on behalf of the Minister of Health, Khaled Ait Talib, welcoming the delegation of Jerusalem hospitals and the Palestinian medical and nursing cadres, and appreciating this initiative that opens horizons for the exchange of expertise and experiences between specialists from the two countries, Whether through official channels of communication between ministries, or through the efforts made by the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency, under the instructions of Moroccan King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee.

During the workshop, which was hosted by the National School of Public Health, Dr. Ilham Bachis, Head of the Emergency Department at the Directorate of Hospitals and Ambulatory Treatments at the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, gave a presentation on the control and regulation of the management of the emergency system in Morocco, inside and outside hospitals and health centers.

Examples of the experience of the Moroccan health sector in dealing with emergencies, disasters and health emergencies were presented.

KALAT, Afghanistan - (Xinhua) - A total of 300 people, mostly children, have been infected with whooping cough or pertussis in southern Afghanistan's Zabul province, and two children have died of the disease, Provincial Public Health Director Abdul Hakim Hakimi said on Tuesday.

In his statements to Xinhua, Hakimi said, "The disease, which is spreading in the Souri district of the state, has infected no less than 300 people, most of them children, while two children lost their lives during the past week."

He also confirmed that an emergency team of health officials has been sent to the region to treat those infected with the disease.
Meanwhile, the state's public health office has asked citizens not to leave their homes for several days to avoid the spread of the highly contagious disease.

It is noteworthy that whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that affects the respiratory system, and it is known as a violent, uncontrollable cough, and it usually makes breathing difficult.

Governorates - "Al-Quds" dot com - The general strike took place, Thursday morning, in the various governorates of the country , mourning the souls of the martyrs of the Nablus massacre that took place yesterday and left 11 martyrs and more than 100 wounded.

Institutions, schools and shops closed their doors, while public transport was disrupted in most governorates.

The national and Islamic forces called for a comprehensive strike in all parts of the governorates, and to go to points of contact for confrontation with the occupation forces.

Beirut - (AFP) - European investigators, Tuesday, in Beirut, heard two new witnesses, one of whom is the chairman of a bank, for eight hours in the context of investigations related to the governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, according to a Lebanese judicial source told Agence France-Presse.

On Monday, investigators from France, Germany and Luxembourg began their mission in Beirut by listening to witnesses in investigations related to money laundering and embezzlement cases in Lebanon linked to Salameh.

The judicial source, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said that the European investigators listened for more than eight hours to each of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Resources Bank, former Minister Marwan Khair El-Din, and the former deputy governor of the Central Bank, Ahmed Jishi.

Khair El-Din, who assumed the position of Minister of State in 2011, had a good relationship with Riad Salameh.
Jishi held the position of Deputy Governor of the Banque du Liban between 2003 and 2008.

"As far as I know, he has not received any summons," Pierre-Olivier Sur, Salameh's French lawyer, told AFP.

Two Lebanese judges, who attended both hearings, asked the two witnesses questions.

On Monday, the investigators heard from Saad Al-Andari, who is also Salameh's former deputy.

The judicial source, who is familiar with the content of the sessions, stated that the questions directed to Salameh’s deputies focus on decisions taken by the Central Council of the Banque du Liban, while “the questions directed to managers and owners of banks focus on accounts in them belonging to Raja Salameh, the brother of the Governor of the Banque du Liban, and transfers to the accounts of the two brothers in the outside".

He pointed out that "the delegations focused their questions on the role of Fore Associates," which is registered in the Virgin Islands and has an office in Beirut, and its economic beneficiary is Raja Salameh.

The European investigations focus on the relationship between the Banque du Liban and the “Fawry” company, which is believed to have played the role of intermediary to purchase treasury bonds and Eurobonds from the Central Bank by receiving a subscription commission, which was transferred to Raja Salameh’s accounts abroad.

On March 28, 2022, 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 From 330 million dollars and 5 million euros, respectively, between 2002 and 2021.

Since July 2021, the French financial judiciary has been investigating Salama's fortune, and in early December, a Ukrainian woman close to him was charged with charges, including money laundering and tax fraud.

It is scheduled that the former deputy governor of the Central Bank, Raed Sharaf El-Din, and the former director of parts, Noman Ndour, will appear before the European investigators on Wednesday.

According to intersecting judicial sources, Salama's name is not included in the list of people who will be heard at this stage.

Salama has always denied the accusations against him, considering that his prosecution comes in the context of an operation to "tarnish" his image.

Salama faces several issues in Lebanon, including a local investigation regarding his wealth based on a Swiss investigation, but it did not reach any results.

Despite the complaints, summons, investigations, and travel ban issued against him in Lebanon, Salameh remains in the position he has held since 1993, making him one of the longest-serving central bank governors in the world. His term is supposed to end in May 2023.

واشنطن – (أ ف ب) -ذكرت صحيفة “وول ستريت جورنال” أن تنحّي بيل غيتس نهائياً عن رئاسة مجموعة “مايكروسوفت” مرتبط بعلاقة اعتُبرت “غير لائقة” مع موظفة في الشركة تعود إلى مطلع العقد الأول من القرن الحادي والعشرين.
وكان مؤسس “مايكروسوفت” تنحى عن إدارة شركة المعلوماتية العملاقة في آذار/مارس 2020.
ونقلت الصحيفة الاقتصادية عن مصادر مطلعة على الملف قولها “قرر أعضاء مجلس إدارة مايكروسوفت العام 2020 أن على غيتس التنحي من المجلس فيما كانوا يجرون تحقيقاً عن علاقة أقامها الملياردير مع موظفة في مايكروسوفت اعتُبرت غير لائقة”.
ونسبت الصحيفة إلى ناطقة باسم بيل غيتس قولها إنها “علاقة تعود إلى 20 عاماً وانتهت بطريقة ودية. واضافت أن غيتس تنحى من “مايكروسوفت” من أجل التفرغ لعمله الخيري في “مؤسسة بيل وميليندا غيتس”، على ما ذُكِر سابقاً.
وكان الملياردير الأميركي بيل غيتس وزوجته ميليندا غيتس اللذان أقاما معاً هذه المؤسسة غيتس التي تكافح الفقر والأمراض قبل 20 عاماً، أعلنا في 3 ايار/مايو الفائت طلاقهما بعد زواج استمر 27 عاماً.
وأكد ناطق باسم “مايكروسوفت” لوكالة فرانس برس أن المجموعة أُبلِغَت في نهاية العام 2019 بأن “بيل غيتس سعى إلى إقامة علاقة حميمة مع إحدى الموظفات في الشركة العام 2000. ونظرت لجنة من مجلس الإدارة في المشكلة بمساعدة جهة خارجية هي مكتب محاماة، لإجراء تحقيق شامل”.
وأفادت هذه المهندسة في رسالة أنها ارتبطت بعلاقة ذات طبيعة جنسية مع بيل غيتس “لسنوات”، وفق ما أوردت “وول ستريت جورنال” التي اشارت إلى أن غيتس قدم استقالته قبل انتهاء هذا التحقيق.
كذلك كشفت صحيفة “وول ستريت جورنال” أن أعضاء مجلس الإدارة استفسروا أيضاً عن الروابط بين بيل غيتس ورجل الأعمال الراحل في مجال الخدمات المالية جيفري إبستين الذي كان ملاحقاً قضائياً بتهمة الاستغلال الجنسي لقاصرات. وأشارت الصحيفة اليومية إلى أن وكلاء الدفاع عن بيل غيتس أكدوا أن علاقته بإبستين “خيرية” وأنه “ندم عليها”.
وكان غيتس الذي أسس “مايكروسوفت” العام 1975 استقال من الإدارة العامة للمجموعة العام 2000 لكي يركّز على مؤسسته، ثم استقال من كل مهامه التنفيذية في “مايكروسوفت” العام 2008.

Zagreb (AFP) - At a time when inflation is soaring in Europe and geopolitical winds are not favorable for the bloc, Croatia is hoping its switch to the euro will bring some semblance of protection to the Balkan nation in a world of uncertainty.

On January 1, Croatia will deposit its currency, the kuna, becoming the twentieth member of the eurozone.

Croatia, which joined the European Union nearly a decade ago, recorded an annual inflation rate of nearly 13 percent in September, while it reached 10 percent in the eurozone.

And in the period before the transition to the single European currency, the authorities did not stop talking about the advantages of adopting the euro for the country with a population of 3.9 million people.

"The euro brings flexibility," Ana Sabic of the Croatian National Bank told AFP, arguing that Zagreb would be able, if necessary, to obtain better borrowing terms amid tough economic times.

Since July, the European Central Bank has embarked on a policy of monetary tightening as it tries to rein in accelerating inflation caused by high energy and food prices caused by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Analysts consider that eastern European countries in the European Union that hold currencies outside the eurozone, such as Poland and Hungary, were even more vulnerable to higher inflation.

"It's actually the perfect moment to switch to the euro," said Goran Saravania, chief economist at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

"When great uncertainty dominates the global economy, it is always better for a small and open economy like Croatia to be part of a larger union like the eurozone," he added.

Also, Croatia's main trading partners are in the eurozone, while the tourism sector, which accounts for 20 percent of the country's GDP, is energized by large numbers of European visitors.

Croats have also largely adopted the euro, with 80 percent of their bank deposits in euros.

They priced their most prized possessions such as cars and apartments in euros, demonstrating their distrust of the local currency that dates back to the former Yugoslavia, which was in the grip of hyperinflation before its dissolution.

During the Yugoslav era and after Croatia's independence in 1991, real estate was valued in Deutsche Marks until the advent of the euro two decades ago.

"Life will be easier. We calculate everything in euros anyway," said Roman, an economist from Zagreb who declined to give his full name.

For his part, Milan Bator, a retired pharmacist, rejected the concerns of people who fear that some traders will take advantage of the shift to the euro to spin the price numbers upwards.

"It's other reasons, like wars and material shortages, that drive prices up. We can't blame everything on the euro," Bator said.

But some are still concerned that they will suffer a financial blow as a result of the move.

"Maybe the timing wasn't ideal, maybe we could have postponed it a bit given the situation in the world," Zdravka Antonic, a flower seller in a Zagreb market, told AFP.

"People are already worried about how everything will end, and the euro only adds to the uncertainty," she added.

Since the beginning of September, flower bouquets, like other goods and services, have been priced in both currencies, with the conversion rate set by Brussels at 7.53 kuna per euro.

This system will remain in effect throughout the year 2023.

"A country that has its own currency is more independent. But when we joined the European Union, we accepted trading in euros as well," said vegetable seller Ana Bricic.

Right-wing and conservative opposition groups protested the adoption of the new currency, saying that the kuna was an important symbol of national identity, noting that the euro only benefits larger countries such as Germany and France.

But an attempt last year to organize a nationwide referendum to challenge the adoption of the euro failed.

Some Croats fear that once they adopt the euro, the stark reality of how poor they are compared to many citizens of the EU's neighbors will become even more apparent.

According to the latest Eurostat statistics published in 2018, the average monthly salary in Croatia was only 1,179 euros, compared to more than 2,300 euros in the European Union.

About 300,000 Croatian pensioners receive a monthly pension of barely 260 euros.

"It will create a feeling of poverty and misery," said Anna Knezewicz, director of the National Consumer Protection Association.