A number of citizens suffocated, this evening, Wednesday, during clashes with the Israeli occupation forces in the village of Toura, southwest of Jenin .

According to local sources, these forces stormed the village, and as a result, clashes broke out, during which the soldiers fired tear gas, causing a number of citizens to suffocate.

In the context, the occupation forces stormed the village of Anin, west of Jenin, and moved their vehicles through the streets of the village, without any arrests being reported.

Today, Wednesday, the Israeli occupation authorities renewed the administrative detention of the secretary of the " Fatah " movement , Musa Abu Mufreh, in Tuqu' , east of Bethlehem , for the second time in a row, for a period of 4 months.

A military judge in the Ofer Military Court approved the decision issued by the Israeli Shin Bet, relying on the so-called secret file that the prisoner and his lawyer are prohibited from viewing, claiming to preserve the sources of information contained therein. However, the representative of the Military Prosecution claimed that Abu Mufreh He poses a threat to the security of the area in which he lives, and he is a member of the "Fatah" terrorist organization, according to his claim.

It is noteworthy that Abu Mufreh is among the activists pursued for administrative detention, as he was arrested for about two years in 2020, and rearrested several months later.

The seventies, Salwa Dana, excelled in playing her role in the movie A Thread of Indigo, which deals with the case of 9 young men who leave the city of Hebron at the end of 1915 AD, to participate in the First World War, but they disappear in the mountains of the city during their departure towards the Beersheba train station, and in the year 2022 the Israeli occupation authorities dig On Al-Sahla Street, a mass grave containing the remains of unknown persons was uncovered.

The mystery of the disappearance
And Dana indicated that the film reveals, through Salwa's granddaughter's search for the mystery of her grandfather's disappearance in the First World War, by tracing the secret of the indigo thread that she encounters everywhere, as the city's women used to wrap a woolen thread in indigo at the hands of the young men leaving for the travel wars in Berlak, In order to identify where they belong.

She pointed out that the film, which was written and researched by Ahmed Al-Harbawi, and directed by Ibrahim Al-Muhtaseb, released a new song from the popular heritage of the city of Hebron, performed by Zakia Ayyash, which is “If you intend to travel”, and it is related to absence and departure, and it was sung to travelers, pilgrims and absentees 150 years ago at least. And it was adopted as the songs of the Berlak era of travel, stressing that Hebron's memory is full of wounds, stories and memories, and we have to uncover it in order for the wound to heal and to return to its civilized face and its luster.

innovative way
The writer, Ahmed Al-Harbawi, believes that the film highlights a series of stories that must appear, even if its main axis is the loss of a group of young people from the city. They left the city of Hebron at the end of 1915 AD to participate in the First World War, but they disappeared. This is a story worth remembering in the tragedies of the First War. , explaining that people were choosing symbols to know the fate of those who go to war in that era.

He explained that the indigo thread is an innovative way for the women of Hebron in the Near East, one of these symbols, which came after the state of recession after the war, and the high prices.

We are nothing
Al-Harbawi stated that the film reveals the Israeli planning to seize Palestine before the Balfour Declaration and the Basel Conference, the first Israeli conference, indicating that the conflict is older, and the occupation still doubts our existence in their attempts to obliterate our identity and history.

He pointed out that the story of the young men, which took place a hundred years ago, proves that Britain dealt with the Palestinians as nothing that does not exist for them, pointing out that the British filled the mass grave of the young men in 1932 AD, and the Israeli occupation repeated the same thing that the British did when the grave that contained the remains of these young men was discovered. , stressing that if these excavations had anything related to the occupation, they would have revealed it and announced it, but they want to obliterate the ancient history of the city and the identity of its people.

Today, Wednesday, the Islamic Endowments Council in Jerusalem called on all Muslims in the West Bank , occupied Jerusalem , and the occupied interior to observe i'tikaaf in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque , stressing that protecting Al-Aqsa is the duty of every Muslim.

The Council also affirmed in a statement that Al-Aqsa Mosque has not and will not be closed to those in i'tikaaf, each according to his ability, program and intention, throughout the days and nights of the holy month of Ramadan.

The Council strongly condemned the brutal assault of the occupation police on the dawn of the fourteenth day of Ramadan 1444 AH / April 5, 2023 AD, on the seclusion inside Al-Aqsa, with severe beatings, expelling them from their worship and arresting them, in addition to attacking the property of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Council called on the Israeli police to remain outside the gates of Al-Aqsa and to enable worshipers from all parts of Palestine to exercise their right to access their Al-Aqsa Mosque throughout the days of the year.

He also demanded the immediate release of all detainees from inside the mosque and the cancellation of all orders to deport dozens of Jerusalemites from it.

The Council affirmed that it is in a state of permanent convening to follow up on the situation and developments in Al-Aqsa Mosque, with direct support from the Custodian of Islamic holy sites and with the support and bond of the people of Jerusalem and Palestine.

Today, Wednesday, the Arab League Council called on the United Nations to immediately stop the Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque , to assume its legal, moral and humanitarian responsibilities towards what is happening in Palestine, and to provide international protection for the Palestinian people.

This came during the Council's extraordinary session, which it held, chaired by the Arab Republic of Egypt, at the request of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and in coordination with the State of Palestine, to discuss the Israeli occupation's attacks on the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Council affirmed that these attacks constitute a flagrant and condemnable violation of international and humanitarian law, as well as discussing the Arab and international action to confront the brutal Israeli crimes and attacks on the lives of the Palestinian people and their sanctities in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

The Council condemned the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against defenseless worshipers in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which escalated in a dangerous way during the past days of the blessed month of Ramadan, and led to hundreds of injuries and arrests among them, and the implementation of incursions and deliberate desecration of the sanctity of the mosque by extremist Israeli settlers.

He expressed his rejection and condemnation of all forms of Israeli violations of Islamic and Christian holy places, and attempts aimed at changing the historical and legal status quo in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, dividing it temporally and spatially, and undermining the prayers of Muslims in it and distancing them from it.

The Council denounced the occupation's attempts to control the Jordanian Islamic Endowment Administration in occupied Jerusalem, assaulting its employees, preventing them from practicing their work, and attempts to impose Israeli law on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Council affirmed the right of Muslims and Christians to safe and unrestricted access to their places of worship, to freely perform their religious rites.

He held Israel, the occupying power, responsible for what results from these crimes and measures that undermine freedom of worship in Islamic and Christian holy sites in the city of Jerusalem, foremost of which is the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which constitute flagrant violations of United Nations resolutions, international law and international humanitarian law.

The Council warned that these attacks and crimes are a flagrant provocation to the feelings of believers everywhere, and threaten to ignite a spiral of violence that threatens security and stability in the region and the world.

He stressed the importance of the historical Jordanian Hashemite Custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy places in the city of Jerusalem, and its role in protecting them and preserving the legal and historical status quo in them, and emphasizing that the Jerusalem Endowment Administration is the only entity authorized to manage all the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Council paid tribute to the steadfast Palestinian people of Jerusalem in the occupied city of Jerusalem, who defend with their bare chests the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites, in the face of the crimes and systematic brutal attacks of the Israeli occupation forces.

He called for the implementation of the decisions related to the Palestinian issue issued by the Executive Council of UNESCO and its World Heritage Committee, which confirmed that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area of 144 dunums, is a pure place of worship for Muslims only, and an integral part of the world cultural heritage sites.

The Council affirmed the determination of Member States to take the necessary steps and measures at all levels, including launching an intensive diplomatic move through messages, contacts and bilateral meetings, in order to protect the city of Jerusalem, defend its Islamic and Christian sanctities, and support the political, social, economic and human rights of its people.

At the end of its statement, the Council called for coordinating action between the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to protect the occupied city of Jerusalem from the systematic Israeli policies and attacks.

After the Israeli Knesset recently approved the current right-wing government's decision to cancel the "disengagement", the return of settlers to the evacuated "Homesh" settlement has become legal for the occupation and a matter of time. It mediates between the village of Burqa, north of Nablus, and the town of Silat al-Dhahr, south of Jenin.

This decision would pave the way for the legalization of more outposts and settlements in the vicinity of the vital road between Nablus and Jenin, and thus severing the geographical connection between the two governorates, and accordingly the occupation achieves its efforts to establish settlement in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, in turn, condemned the decision, while the United States of America, the European Union, and a number of Arab countries condemned it. This decision cancels the plan of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2005, to evacuate four settlements in the northern West Bank (Ghanim, Kadim, Homesh, Sanur) in conjunction with a unilateral withdrawal. side of the settlements of the Gaza Strip.

Murad Shteiwi, director of the North Directorate in the Commission for Combating the Wall and Settlements, said in an exclusive interview with Al-Quds.com: "The occupation's ambitions in the Qubaybat area did not stop even after the decision to evacuate the Homesh settlement on which it sits, as it was declared a military zone."

Shteiwi asserts that the positions of the Commission and the Palestinian political leadership are consistent with the vision of our people, which rejects all forms of settlement, indicating that there is full readiness to continue organizing popular marches to prevent the return of settlers to that area.

The occupation had controlled an area of about a thousand dunums of agricultural land for citizens since 1978 in order to establish this settlement, as it stole lands estimated at (900 dunums) belonging to Cyrenaica, which is considered the biggest loser, while it seized (50 dunums) from the lands of Silat al-Dhahr. .

After declaring the "disengagement" and evacuating the settlement at that time until now, the occupation army allows settlers to visit this area under the pretext of the existence of a religious school, and in return prevents the original land owners from returning to it for reclamation and cultivation, and closes this area by force of arms.

And as soon as the current right-wing government was formed, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it issued a decision to legalize 9 new settlement outposts, and to endorse the project to cancel the "disengagement" and return to settlements in the northern West Bank.

Later, Netanyahu was forced to clarify his decision after criticizing the United States, stating that the extremist government he leads will not build new settlements in the northern West Bank, adding in his statement that "the Knesset's decision to cancel parts of the" disengagement "law puts an end to discriminatory and humiliating legislation that prevents settlers from Living in the areas of the northern West Bank, which are part of our historical homeland.

Shteiwi added, "We will work with all our strength, whether in terms of popular resistance or legal support, to prevent the passage of this dangerous decision, which is related to the strategic area that mediates the governorates of Nablus and Jenin, and the return of settlement to it means separating the two governorates from each other."

It is worth noting that, after years of waiting for the people of Burqa village to recover their confiscated lands, they were able to obtain a decision from the Israeli Supreme Court in 2013, enabling them to access their lands for reclamation and cultivation and banning Israeli entry to them, without realizing that the court’s decision would not be applied to the land.

In 2021, Cyrenaica and its surroundings witnessed repeated attacks by settlers, who wreaked havoc on it and destroyed the property of defenseless citizens, while the villagers formed human shields to protect their homes and property, and there are many martyrs, wounded and prisoners during the battle to defend the "Qubaybat".

Subsequently, the Knesset decided to intensify settlement expansion in the area, so that settlers' attention would return to the evacuated settlement and promote it as an area for teaching the origins of the Torah, after a settler was killed and others were injured in its vicinity in mid-December of that year.

Shteiwi clarifies that the Israeli occupation usually does not need justifications to control Palestinian lands, because it robs them of force of arms and orgy, in addition to racist legislation aimed at facilitating settlement and land confiscation.

He added: "The occupation government, which is a tool for implementing settlement plans and a main supporter of the Settlement Council, has taken the killing of a settler as a pretext to revive the idea of returning to the evacuated "Homesh", with the new name "Chummash" outpost, in order to establish the religious school that paves the way for the return of settlement in the area. Al-Qubaybat is surrounded by military points and checkpoints, with the aim of securing settler marches to it from time to time.

Today, Wednesday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh received, in his office in Ramallah, the head of Canada's representative office to the State of Palestine , Ambassador David da Silva, and briefed him on the latest developments and violations of the occupation. They also discussed with him the promotion of joint cooperation between the two countries.

The Prime Minister stressed that Israel, by violating the sanctity of the holy places and worship and the attacks we witnessed against the worshipers and seclusion in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, flouts all international norms and covenants and international and humanitarian law in Palestine.

Shtayyeh called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop all its measures and violations against our people, and to oblige it to all the agreements signed with it.

The Prime Minister discussed with the Canadian representative strengthening joint cooperation between the two countries, and recognizing the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders to protect and preserve the two-state solution, pointing to the importance of enhancing trade exchange and networking the private sector between the two countries.

Shtayyeh appreciated the Canadian support provided to the justice sector in Palestine, women's empowerment, business, humanitarian aid, and UNRWA, stressing the need to open more horizons of cooperation, and Canada's support for a number of development projects that contribute to creating special job opportunities among university graduates, and providing aid In building Nablus University for Vocational and Technical Education and Training.

Qatar Energy Company announced today (Wednesday) that it has agreed to acquire a 25 percent stake in the Integrated Gas Growth Project, a multi-billion dollar project aimed at developing natural gas resources in Iraq .

The company added, in a statement on its website, that the project alliance will consist of the Basra Oil Company with a 30 percent stake, the French operator Total Energies with a 45 percent stake, and Qatar Energy with a 25 percent stake, after completing the contractual arrangements and obtaining Usual regulatory approvals.

The statement did not disclose the value of the deal or any other details about it.

"We are pleased to be part of this important and vital project for the energy sector in the Republic of Iraq," the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Managing Director and CEO of ((Qatar Energy)) Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi was quoted as saying.

Al-Kaabi added that he is looking forward to working with the partners in Total Energies and the Basra Oil Company for the success of this project, expressing his thanks to the Iraqi government for its support to reach this agreement and for its confidence in the Qatari company as a reliable partner.

The Integrated Gas Growth Project, which was signed in September 2021, is a strategic project that includes investments of about $10 billion to design and construct facilities to recover large quantities of gas that was previously flared in the Basra region and supply it to power plants.

The project also includes building an integrated system for treating and distributing seawater to inject it into oil reservoirs to maintain pressure in those reservoirs, according to the statement.

For its part, (Total Energies) stated in a statement today that it had reached an agreement to implement a contract in Iraq that was signed in 2021 and was delayed for two years, to establish four mega projects with investments amounting to $27 billion, according to the website of the "energy" platform specialized in energy markets.

According to the site, the French company targets an initial investment of $10 billion in Iraq during the first phase by starting the implementation of engineering works for some projects.

The deal includes four huge projects represented in extending a marine pipeline that transports sea water to the oil fields with a design capacity of 7.5 million barrels of water per day in order to maintain production from the oil fields, develop the Artawi oil field and increase production from 80,000 barrels per day to 200,000 barrels per day.

It also includes the construction of the Artawi gas complex with a capacity of 600 million standard cubic feet for the purpose of investing in burning gas from the oil fields, in addition to the establishment of a solar power plant with a capacity of up to 1,000 megawatts.

Iraq expects total revenues of profits of up to 95 billion US dollars during the contract period of 25 years, by calculating the price of a barrel of oil at 50 dollars, according to the same source.

Today, Wednesday, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the village of Artas, south of Bethlehem.

The head of the village council of Artas, Lutfi Asaad, stated that a large force of the occupation army stormed the village, stationed in its center, and the Solomon Pools tourist area.

The European police " Europol " announced on Wednesday that thanks to an international security operation, one of the largest electronic piracy platforms in the world, which was selling data belonging to stolen accounts, had been closed.

Europol said in a statement that "an unprecedented police operation in which 17 countries participated made it possible to dismantle the Genesis Market, one of the most dangerous electronic markets" dedicated to crime in the world.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Iron Dome system launched two missiles in the sky of Galilee , northern occupied Palestine.

It was found that the missiles were fired as a result of a false diagnosis.

The Israeli army opened an investigation into the circumstances of its activation.

The Israeli army was suspected of infiltrating a drone.

In the context, the dismissed Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant , instructed to maintain high readiness and prepare for any scenario on various fronts.

Gallant, whose dismissal did not take effect, held a security assessment session, during which he called for coordination between the various security agencies to allow "freedom of worship" and prevent any confrontations at Al-Aqsa.

Galant visited the Iron Dome system in the Gaza Strip, threatening to paralyze anyone who tries to harm the Israelis and bring a heavy price. according to his expression.

Next June, Apple is expected to unveil a helmet for "mixed" reality, that is, augmented and virtual at the same time, a step that had been expected for years, but it comes at a time when investor and consumer enthusiasm for the parallel virtual world of "Metaverse" has declined from what it was. He had it last year.

And an interview with the head of the American giant Tim Cook with "GQ" magazine re-launched the rumor in this regard a few days ago.

Without giving concrete information, Cook praised the advantages of augmented reality, which allows "adding elements of the digital world to the real world" in order to "improve communication between people and communication with others."

"It's more about the idea of having this scalable environment than just being content with the digital world," he added.

Many observers and analysts expect Apple to present a helmet for augmented and virtual reality in June during the conference that the American group holds annually for developers.

According to speculation by Daniel Ives of "Widbush Securities", "Apple" will offer "glasses" of this type at a price of approximately $ 2,500.

This launch, if it happened, would allow "Apple" to strengthen its system of products and services, according to the analyst.

"There will be criticism, but we don't think this decision is strategically right for Apple," Ives told AFP.

Experts had expected Apple to launch a helmet of this type last year during its annual developer conference.

And Tim Cook indicated at the end of January 2022 that he sees "many potentials" in mixing virtual and augmented reality, revealing investments related to this vision.

At that time, Metavirus was widely promoted as the future of the Internet, after the World Wide Web and mobile devices, driven especially by the Meta Network.

However, the efforts of the social media giants have not yet led to a widespread adoption of this concept beyond the realm of immersive video games, with or without virtual reality technologies.

A study, the results of which were published on Tuesday by Piper Sandler, showed that 29% of American teens own a virtual reality helmet (compared to 87% who have an iPhone), but only 14% use it at least once a week, a number that has not seen any improvement since the fall.

Quest helmets manufactured from the Meta network accounted for more than 80% of the market by the end of 2022, according to Counterpoint.

But like many other giant companies in the technology sector that were affected by the overall economic situation, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram was forced to lay off thousands of employees, in measures that also affected the Metaverse department.

Last month, Google announced the suspension of sales of augmented reality glasses, “Google Glass”, which did not achieve any significant results.

The two competing companies were forced to refocus their efforts on artificial intelligence, which is witnessing a major boom since the success of the “Chat GPT” program manufactured by the “Open AI” company funded in particular by Microsoft.

"After Facebook has lost so much money in this field, it seems surprising that a new helmet is being launched for consumers," says independent analyst Rob Enderle. "But the train may be on the tracks and it is difficult to stop it."

"In everything we did, we were constantly faced with a lot of skepticism," Tim Cook told GQ in his interview.

He pointed out that “Apple” wants to “control the basic technology” whatever the product, explaining that “assembling pieces of third-party technology does not interest us.”

Apple will try to launch its own version and get other players to catch up, according to speculation by Carolina Milanesi of Creative Strategies.

The analyst points out that Meta wants to develop an immersive form of Facebook, with an advertising-based economic model, while Apple sells luxury devices and a world of user-measured services, from entertainment to payments.

Milanesi expects Apple, for example, to offer augmented reality versions of movies or concerts through streaming applications.

Jordan, in coordination with Palestine , and Egypt , in its capacity as chair of the regular session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level, called today (Wednesday) for an emergency meeting of the League of Arab States at the level of permanent delegates, in light of the developments taking place in Al-Aqsa Mosque , as a result of the Israeli police storming the Haram. Al-Qudsi yesterday, and the attack on him and those in it.

In a statement, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs affirmed the continuation of movement at the Arab level within the series of procedures, communications and coordination undertaken by the Kingdom, to stop the Israeli attacks, which are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, and an unacceptable and condemned act aimed at changing the historical and legal status in Jerusalem and its sanctities.

According to the statement, Jordan affirms that it will take all steps and measures that would stop this dangerous Israeli escalation, and warn of its consequences, and hold Israel, the occupying power, fully responsible for its consequences, which threaten security and peace in the region.

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli police's storming of the Temple Mount and assaulting it and those in it, calling on Israel to immediately remove the police and special forces from the Temple Mount.

It is noteworthy that Jordan supervises the administration of Islamic and Christian holy sites in the occupied city of Jerusalem, according to the peace agreement signed between the two sides in 1994.

The Council of the League of Arab States will hold, this afternoon, Wednesday, an emergency meeting at the level of permanent delegates, chaired by Egypt, to discuss the deteriorating conditions in the occupied city of Jerusalem , in light of the arbitrary Israeli measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the attack on worshipers and those who are in retreat in it.

The emergency meeting at the headquarters of the General Secretariat will discuss the Arab movement and coordination to stop the Israeli attacks, which are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, and a rejected and condemned act aimed at changing the historical and legal situation in Jerusalem and its sanctities.

It also comes in the context of emphasizing the need to stop this dangerous Israeli escalation, and warning of its consequences and holding Israel fully responsible for its consequences, which threaten peace and security in the region.

Ismail Haniyeh , head of the Hamas political bureau, arrived in the Lebanese capital, Beirut , on Wednesday.

Hamas said that Haniyeh arrived on a private visit for several days.

Amnesty International called for an investigation into the death of the Palestinian doctor while he was inside Al-Aqsa Mosque .

Doctor Muhammad Al-Osaibi (26 years) was martyred last week by Israeli police bullets in Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in the Islamic world.

The international watchdog said it was "strongly suspicious of the Israeli police account of the incident" and urged a new investigation "outside the police's internal investigation department".

The Israeli occupation police had claimed that they shot Al-Osaibi in self-defense, but many Palestinians inside, such as former Knesset member Talib Al-Sanea, claimed that Al-Osaibi was killed when he tried to protect a young woman who was assaulted by Israeli security.

Police said the security cameras did not record what happened, which raised Amnesty International's suspicions.

"This is a surprisingly convenient version of the police... When the Israeli police and the Israeli authorities need it, there are no 'dead zones' in East Jerusalem, only dead Palestinians," the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post quoted Gil Neve, a spokesman for Amnesty International, as saying.

Neve added that the police's statements sounded "rough" and "rehearsed", and seemed to contradict each other.

Director of Programs at Amnesty Israel, Dr. Yariv Mohar, expressed doubts about the police version of events and said the organization "calls on all concerned parties not to accept the police position as it is, but to demand an independent and thorough investigation to examine the seriousness." It happened."

The Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is frequently targeted by Israeli forces and settlers. Extremist Israelis routinely entered the compound to provoke Palestinians, and on Sunday night, Israeli forces forcibly expelled worshipers after performing prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club and Addameer Association for Prisoner Care and Human Rights said, on the Palestinian Child Day , which falls on the fifth of April of each year, that more than (9,750) arrest cases were recorded from 2015 until the end of March of this year, and the number of arrests reached Arrest cases Since the beginning of this year, more than (260) arrest cases.

The club stressed that the numbers are not the only indicator of the escalation of violations against children, as the last year in terms of numbers may have been lower compared to the years that preceded it in terms of the number of children who were subjected to arrest, but the level of abuse and the crimes committed were the most severe, and this can be compared to the stage in which The period of the popular revolt followed at the end of 2015, in addition to the escalation in the number of wounded among the children who were arrested, and who were the target of the occupation’s bullets.

Statistics and documented testimonies of child detainees indicate; The majority of the children who were arrested were subjected to one or more forms of physical and psychological torture, through a number of systematic tools and methods that contradict laws, international norms, and conventions on children's rights.

Today, the number of child prisoners in the occupation prisons is about (170) children languishing in (Ofer, Megiddo, and Damon) prisons, including a 16-year-old girl, Nodhout Hammad, from Jerusalem.

The daily arrests of Jerusalemite children constitute the highest percentage compared to the rest of the country's governorates. Arrests are also concentrated in towns, camps, and some areas that are in contact with points of presence of the occupation soldiers, and settlements established on the lands of their towns.

Palestinian children in occupation prisons are exposed to the policies of the occupation, and its continuous violations of the rights of prisoners in general and child prisoners in particular, which take several forms that begin with the arrest process, which often takes place in the late hours of the night, where dozens of heavily armed soldiers storm Palestinian homes suspiciously and wreak havoc. Destruction in citizens' homes before arrest, and in most cases the occupation does not send children prior summons requests.

Children are deprived of their most basic rights, such as the right to education, as the occupation annually denies about 200 Palestinian children their right to education due to arrests in various Palestinian regions. Sometimes to 15 years in prison.

The price of " Dogecoin " rose on Tuesday after the owner of Twitter , Elon Musk , chose the shape of a dog similar to the symbol of this cryptocurrency as the new logo for the social network, after the billionaire faced lawsuits over the promotion of this digital product.

The decision taken by Elon Musk to change the blue bird, the logo of the network since its founding in 2006, whether it was permanent or a joke that would not last long, led to a rise in the price of the “Dogecoin” currency by 21%, to nearly 10 cents, according to “ Coin Market Cap".

The Tesla boss, who bought Twitter last October, has long used the platform for self-promotion and to post satirical content, sometimes in favor of Dogecoin, a highly volatile cryptocurrency that was originally launched as a joke.

The billionaire has indicated in the past that part of his wealth consists of Bitcoin. He also raised the idea of using Dogecoin for online payments, which sparked speculation about his vision to make Twitter a multifunctional platform, similar to the Chinese WeChat that provides various services.

An investor who lost his money betting on Dogecoin filed a lawsuit in June 2022, in which Elon Musk and his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, demanded payment of $ 258 billion, but the billionaire denied these allegations.

In a legal document added to the file on Friday, Musk's lawyers described the lawsuits as "fictional narratives." "It is not illegal to tweet with the aim of encouraging or posting funny pictures about a legitimate cryptocurrency," they said.

Changing the Twitter logo prompted many users to publish messages in which they used the dog's logo, especially from Elon Musk himself.

Musk posted to his 133 million followers a conversation with a user that took place last year, in which he promised to buy Twitter and use the Shiba Inu as its logo.

Dogecoin was launched in 2013, in an initiative aimed at mocking two phenomena on the Internet: cryptocurrencies, which multiplied in the wake of the Bitcoin boom, and the many combinations in which the image of the Shiba Inu dog was used across the network.

Supported by a frantic buying wave due to an unexpected rise in value at the beginning of 2021, in addition to Elon Musk's multiple positive messages on Twitter, the price of "Dogecoin" rose to more than 70 cents in May 2021.

During a satirical program, the billionaire sent out mixed messages, first describing Dogecoin as an "unstoppable financial vehicle destined to take over the world" before deeming it a "scam". At that time, the price of this digital currency began to decline.

VTB Bank, the second Russian bank, announced on Wednesday a loss of seven billion euros in 2022, due to the "unprecedented" sanctions imposed on it in response to the Russian attack in Ukraine , which led in particular to its exclusion from the international payment system SWIFT.

"In 2022, the" VTB "group faced unprecedented difficulties and challenges," the bank's financial director, Dmitry Pyanov, said in a statement to the group.

"We became the first target of the maximum possible sanctions, which led to great losses," Bayanov added.

Western countries imposed a set of sanctions on Russia because of the conflict in Ukraine, including the exclusion of major Russian banks from the international financial system "Swift" for money transfer.

The art collection owned by the famous French actor, Alain Delon , consisting of 81 works, will be displayed in several cities, including New York and Geneva , before it is put up for auction on June 22, according to what was announced by the “ Boomance Cornet de Saint-Cyr ” auction house in Paris .

This group, estimated to be worth between four and five million euros, includes paintings and sculptures as well as drawings from the Italian Renaissance, including a work by Veronese. These works will be presented during a traveling exhibition between May and June that includes New York, Hong Kong, Geneva, London and Paris.

Alain Delon, 87, said in statements made in the auction booklet, "I bought my first drawing in 1964, in London. Over the years, I have acquired drawings, paintings and sculptures that aroused my affection and succeeded in emulating me and sometimes in consoling me. These works have accompanied me for many years and formed part of my life." my life".

Among the main pieces that summarize “60 years of passion” are an oil painting by Raoul Dufy entitled “Saint-Adris Beach, 1906”, estimated at between 600 thousand euros and 800 thousand, and a painting by Eugene Delacroix dating back to the year 1825 entitled “An Arab Horse Tied to the Stall” ( 400,000 to 600,000 euros), auction commissioner Arnaud Cornet de Saint-Cyr explained during the presentation of the auction.

The commissioner noted that Alain Delon was "a giant collector with an instinctive look" and "one of the biggest buyers of cartoons in the 1960s and 1970s, when it wasn't very popular".

In 2007, Alain Delon distributed contemporary works, explaining to Le Monde that he "would prefer to solve the matter immediately" because he "hated" the sales of works after the death of the owners.

(Xinhua) - Chinese President Xi Jinping recently wrote back to representatives of well-known Arab artists who participated in the "Silk Road Artists' Rendezvous" visit to China, encouraging them to create more artworks that reflect China-Arab friendship and make new contributions to enhancing friendship between their people.

Some Arab artists told Xinhua that they are deeply inspired by Xi's reply, pledging to promote exchanges between Chinese and Arab cultures.

Egyptian artist Ibrahim El-Desouki Fahmy "has a strong feeling of pride and delight" when he learned the contents of the letter.

The artist, who taught art at Cairo University from 1992 to 1997, joined some 50 famous Arab artists to write the letter to Xi recently.

"President Xi's words touched my heart, especially his emphasis on the role that culture and art can play in promoting understanding and fostering mutual learning between China and the Arab countries," he said.

Xi said in the letter that culture can connect hearts, and art can interlink the world.

He also noted that from the opening of the ancient Silk Road to the Belt and Road cooperation, exchanges between Chinese and Arab civilizations have spanned thousands of years with mutual appreciation, writing a historical legacy of mutual learning.

Ahmed Nawar, an Egyptian artist who is a co-author of the letter to Xi, said he was very happy when they received the reply from the Chinese president.

Talking about the reason why he wanted to write the letter to Xi, Nawar, a professor with the Faculty of Fine Art in Egypt's Helwan University, said, "I felt it is my duty to express the feelings of artists regarding the progress we saw in China in all fields, especially the artistic, cultural and civilizational spheres."

Describing the journeys as "inspiring at all realms, including human, cultural, and artistic," Nawar said that he also wanted to promote the dialogue between Arab and Chinese civilizations and enhance their artistic and cultural exchanges.

After learning that Xi has replied to the Arab artists, 76-year-old Algerian artist Djemai Rashid, who joined a group of Arab artists on a trip to China in 2012 and attended the Beijing International Art Biennale in 2019, decided to print the letter and treasure it up.

"It was a great honor to receive a reply from President Xi Jinping," he said, hailing Xi as a great leader who highly regards the development of culture and art, as well as cultural exchanges.

He said he was impressed by Xi's promotion of dialogue among civilizations as well as of cultural mutual learning on many occasions, such as the China-Arab States Summit held last December.

While praising China for its "incredible progress" in the field of arts, Rashid hoped that artists from Arab countries and China would have more opportunities to interact, learn from each other and improve together.

Palestinian artist from the Gaza Strip Majed Shala said that the Arabs have witnessed the progress in China's economic development, and that an important factor that facilitates China's fast development is its "ancient and splendid civilization."

China and Arab countries have achieved fruitful cooperation in political, economic and other fields in recent years, and it is necessary to strengthen cultural exchanges, which will help more Palestinians and Arabs understand China, a country with a rich history, said Shala.

In this regard, he lauded the eight major cooperation initiatives proposed by Xi during his visit to Saudi Arabia late last year, which included the promotion of inter-civilizational dialogue between China and Arab countries.

Chinese and Arab civilizations are two important civilizations in the world, while culture and art are important bridges for promoting exchanges between peoples, Shala said.

With the common will of the leaders from both China and Arab countries, cooperation in the cultural field will be further strengthened in the future, he said.

Zeina Barhoum, a Jordanian soprano and founder of the Amman Opera Festival, has been invited to perform in China for several times and has released an album titled "Alcantara II, Zeina in China," which includes a song called "The Dream of Silk Road," a duet with a Chinese tenor.

The album seeks to review the history of the ancient Silk Road and the long-standing China-Arab friendship, as well as to promote cultural communication between China and the Arab world, Barhoum said, adding that Chinese and Arab artists, including singers, can play a greater role in deepening bilateral cooperation, promoting people-to-people bonds and strengthening mutual learning between the two civilizations.

On the China-proposed Global Civilization Initiative, she said that artists need to pay more attention to the inheritance and innovation of civilization, which can tap the value of the times in history and culture, and promote the innovative development of traditional culture in various countries. 

The Captive Club said today, Wednesday, that the number of arrest cases carried out by the occupation forces since the beginning of this year has reached more than 2,200 arrest cases, including about 1,200 from Jerusalem , including the outcome of today's dawn arrests.

The club stated, in a statement, that Jerusalem records the highest monthly rate of arrests, as it witnesses a high daily confrontation with the occupation and intense attacks, especially with the continuous escalation of incursions carried out by the occupation army and settlers against Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the high rate of arrests in Jerusalem affects So are women and children.

He pointed out that the occupation forces escalated the targeting of citizens in Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan, and since 2021 mass arrests have been recorded. .

The Captive Club pointed out that the testimonies that the institutions were able to obtain at the time confirm a high level of violence used against the detainees from the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He stressed that the arrests in Jerusalem are specific in terms of the systematic practices that detainees are subjected to in general. Some Jerusalemite citizens have been subjected to more than 40 arrests over the course of a few years, and each time they are released with conditions such as imposing financial fines, bails, or a condition. House arrest and deportation, specifically from the Old City, including Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He noted that the arrests in Jerusalem constitute one of a number of systematic and consistent policies that target Jerusalemites in particular, and over time.

On Tuesday, the United States announced a new military aid package to Ukraine worth $2.6 billion, which includes ammunition for HIMARS rocket launchers, artillery shells and small arms.

"The United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to meet its immediate operational needs and its long-term security assistance requirements," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The aid package also includes ammunition for the "Patriot" and "NASAMS" air defense systems, in addition to anti-tank missiles used by Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, which Washington previously promised Kiev to supply.

The package also includes 120mm rounds, which a senior US official in the Pentagon told reporters, "will support the newly formed armored battalions in Ukraine, as well as the Abrams tanks, which the United States has committed to provide."

The Abrams tanks are expected to be delivered to Ukraine by this fall, while Kiev has taken delivery of other heavy Western tanks such as the British Challenger and German Leopard.

Most of the military aid, about $2.1 billion, is funded by the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and is used to purchase equipment from the Defense Ministry.

As for the remaining $500 million, it will be drawn from US stockpiles, which means it will reach the battlefield as soon as possible.

"The war is at an important stage. Fighting continues in the east, but there have been no significant shifts in territorial control recently. The front lines are relatively stable," the senior US official added.

"Our focus is on supporting the Ukrainians to change their dynamic on the ground. We want to help Ukraine advance and keep its positions, and we expect a Ukrainian counterattack," he said, referring to a possible attack by Ukrainian forces next spring.

The United States led the pressure to secure international support for Ukraine, and quickly formed an international coalition to support Kiev after the invasion of Russia in February 2022 and coordinated aid from dozens of countries.

Kiev is pressing for some of the equipment its backers have been reluctant to provide, including Patriot air defense systems, eventually pledged heavy tanks and modern warplanes.

According to the US State Department, the latest package brings total aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion to more than $35.1 billion.

The massive influx of military aid into Ukraine has raised concerns that the equipment is being misused.

But the Pentagon has repeatedly stressed that the oversight efforts have not uncovered widespread breaches, with a senior official saying the main concern comes from equipment captured by Russian forces.

In addition to providing military equipment, international backers also train Ukrainian forces.

The Pentagon said last week that Washington has trained more than 7,000 Ukrainian military personnel since February 2022, including 65 who completed their training in the United States on the Patriot system.

The Pentagon official revealed that training of Ukrainian forces to use Abrams tanks has not started yet, but added, "I expect that to happen relatively soon."

Tesla 's Shanghai plant delivered 88,869 vehicles in March, up 35 percent year-on-year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.

The American automaker's R&D and Innovation Center in Shanghai is now carrying out more original development work on finished vehicles and freight equipment. In this context, David Lau, vice president of software engineering at the company, pointed out that the company's teams in China are able to design products that suit Chinese consumers.

In 2022, the company's Shanghai plant delivered 710,000 vehicles, an increase of 48 percent over 2021.
Founded in Shanghai in 2019, the Tesla Gigafactory is the automaker's first giant factory outside the United States, with an industrial chain localization rate of over 95 percent and 99.99 percent of the employees are Chinese.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China is the world's largest NEV production and sales market. In the first two months of this year, the nationwide sales of this type of car reached 933,000.

US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday offered an $8.9 billion agreement to end all lawsuits filed against it in North America over the sale of talcum powder, which has been blamed for causing cancer.

According to a statement from the group, the agreement, which still has to be approved by a court, will "fairly and effectively resolve all complaints" accusing talcum powder of containing asbestos and causing ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson says the deal does not constitute an admission of guilt, and continues to maintain that its talc-containing products are "safe", even though it has withdrawn it from North American markets.

The agreement, announced on Tuesday, whose payments by a subsidiary of the conglomerate could extend over 25 years, would "terminate all current and future complaints about talc," according to a Johnson & Johnson statement.

The company indicated that more than 60,000 plaintiffs agreed to such a solution to the judicial dispute.

"The company continues to believe that these complaints are unfounded and lack scientific merit," a Johnson & Johnson legal official said in the statement, but that the agreement would allow "the plaintiffs to be compensated within a reasonable time."

In June 2021, after years of litigation, a court order was issued requiring Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.1 billion in damages.

An appeals court in the US state of Missouri ruled that the group had "intentionally sold asbestos-containing products to consumers," causing "strong physical and psychological suffering."

While continuing to plead its innocence, Johnson & Johnson announced in May 2020 that it would stop selling this talc-containing powder in the United States and Canada, two countries where sales declined due to changing habits and consumer distrust of the product.

Finland announced on Tuesday that it will temporarily close its consular office in Petrozavodsk , Russia .

The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the decision comes after a significant reduction in the basic functions of the office, although it may reopen later if necessary.

Founded in 1990, the Petrozavodsk office focuses on issues related to entry, bilateral contacts, and the promotion of regional and cross-border cooperation.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to close its consular office in Murmansk, which works with the Petrozavodsk office under the supervision of the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg, however the Consulate General in St. Petersburg will continue its activities.

The ministry said the decision does not affect the activities of Russian diplomatic missions in Finland. Petrozavodsk is located about 300 km from Finland's southeastern border.

Last night, the Israeli occupation forces leveled about 10 dunums of lands in Yasuf village , east of Salfit .

The deputy head of the Yasuf village council, Wael Madi, stated that the occupation bulldozers began to bulldoze lands belonging to citizens of the village in the "Za'tara" area, east of the town, near the Za'tara military checkpoint, in favor of settlement expansion.

In turn, the governor of Salfit, Abdullah Kamil, said that the bulldozing operation comes in the context of the occupation's comprehensive aggression and its continuous terror against our people and their land.

He stressed that these violations will not intimidate our Palestinian people, but will increase their steadfastness and adherence to their land and rights, and their determination to confront the occupation and its racist policies.

It is noteworthy that the village of Yasouf is subjected to a systematic Israeli settlement attack, which was recently represented by the uprooting and breaking of dozens of perennial olive trees and the razing of lands.

The Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh , said that the leadership is conducting intensive contacts with the brothers and many countries, to stop the occupation's aggression against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the worshipers.

Al-Sheikh said, "The storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the occupation forces and the attack on worshipers with this brutality requires urgent Palestinian, Arab and international action, and placing everyone before their responsibilities in protecting the sanctities and worshipers from the occupation's oppression."

Despite the eagerness to know who was involved in the bombing of the " Nord Stream " pipelines, some Western officials are not keen to find out who seriously damaged the two natural gas pipelines last September, The Washington Post reported Monday.

A senior European diplomat said that during meetings with decision-makers from Europe and NATO, officials settled into repeating the adage: "Don't talk about Nord Stream," according to the report.

"Since no country has yet been ruled out as a possible perpetrator, officials said they are loath to share suspicions that could inadvertently anger a friendly government that may have had a hand in the Nord Stream bombing," the report added.

VTB Bank, the second Russian bank, announced on Wednesday a loss of seven billion euros in 2022, due to the "unprecedented" sanctions imposed on it in response to the Russian attack in Ukraine , which led in particular to its exclusion from the international payment system SWIFT.

"In 2022, the VTB Group faced unprecedented difficulties and challenges," the bank's chief financial officer, Dmitry Bayanov, said in a statement to the group.

"We became the first target of the maximum possible sanctions, which led to great losses," Bayanov added.

Western countries imposed a set of sanctions on Russia because of the conflict in Ukraine, including the exclusion of major Russian banks from the international financial system "Swift" for money transfer.