Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
An Israeli bill that seeks to label the UN agency for Palestinian refugees as a terrorist organisation would have a "dire" impact if passed, a leading UN official warned on Friday.
On Monday, the Israeli parliament gave preliminary approval to three pieces of legislation which propose severing all ties with the humanitarian agency, banning it from the country, and designating it as a terrorist organisation.
“If these bills pass, which could happen as early as next week, the ramifications will be dire and immediate,” Antonia Marie De Meo, UNRWA’s deputy commissioner general, told a Security Council meeting.
“They will put all UNRWA staff and the agency's General Assembly mandate in direct danger.”
The proposed legislation, which is part of an Israeli effort to dismantle the UNRWA, “makes a travesty of the multilateral responsibilities of member states”, she added.
It also seeks to strip UNRWA's employees of the diplomatic privileges and immunity accorded to UN staff.
UNRWA employs more than 30,000 people serving approximately 5.9 million Palestinian refugees across the region. Israel has accused the agency of employing “more than 400 terrorists” in the Gaza Strip.
Russia, which along with Algeria and China, called for the meeting, urged council members not to “play along with the attempts to discredit the agency”.
“We call upon everyone to rise up in its defence. There is no alternative to UNRWA, and this understanding should be the starting point of the council's efforts,” said Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, accused UNRWA of complicity in the Gaza conflict.
He said Israel had provided the agency's commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, with more than 100 names and military IDs of “terrorist operatives currently employed by UNRWA in Gaza”.
“Why has UNRWA failed to terminate up until today these terrorist employees?” asked Mr Erdan.
“Hamas tunnels and weapons, warehouses were found under 30 UNRWA schools, how can you claim that these facilities are entitled to protection?”
On Thursday, EU foreign affairs minister Josep Borrell urged Israel to revoke its decision to outlaw UNRWA.
“Outlawing UNRWA – and labelling it as terrorist, which it is not – amounts to targeting regional stability and human dignity of all those benefiting from the UN agency work,” he said on X.
“We join many partners in urging the Israeli government to halt this nonsense.”
UNRWA has responded to Israel's accusations saying: “Since the mid-2000s, during conflicts in Gaza, there have been instances when armed actors from both sides have violated the neutrality of UNRWA sites, which are protected by international law.
“They have, for example, entered UNRWA buildings or used them for military purposes. UNRWA has systematically condemned such violations of UN premises.”
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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Damien McElroy: Anti-science attitudes in America are proving lethal
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
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Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
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On Women's Day
Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action
Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?
Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality
Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Dark Souls: Remastered
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The White Lotus: Season three
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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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