Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster

Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster
Benjamin Netanyahu denies all corruption charges against him, and has cast the trials as a politicized bid to force him from office. (AP)
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Updated 23 March 2023

Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster

Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster
  • May be meant to shield the incumbent leader from any fallout from his corruption trials
  • ‘What we see before our eyes is a cluster of legislation elements that are most troubling and are being advanced at great speed’

JERUSALEM: Israel ratified a law on Thursday limiting the circumstances in which a prime minister can be removed, despite worries voiced by a government jurist that it may be meant to shield the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu from any fallout from his corruption trials.
The amended definition for the “incapacity” of national leaders is among legislative measures by the religious-nationalist coalition that have tipped Israel into crisis, with the opposition arguing that judicial independence is in peril.
The coalition says the overhaul is aimed at pushing back against what it calls Supreme Court over-reach and restoring balance among branches of government.
By a 61-to-47 final vote, the Knesset approved the bill under which prime ministers can be deemed unfit — and compelled to step aside — either if they or three-quarters of cabinet ministers declare them so on physical or psychological grounds.
The stipulations fleshed out a quasi-constitutional “basic law” that provides the government with guidance in the event of a non-functioning prime minister — but which previously lacked details on circumstances that may give rise to such situations.
According to the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, the rule had earlier left Netanyahu vulnerable to a possible assertion of his incapacity by Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, should she perceive an attempt by him to halt his three court cases.
The new law precludes this, IDI senior researcher Amir Fuchs said — while adding that he had considered such a finding by Bararav-Miara to be an unlikely “extreme case.”
Netanyahu denies all charges against him, and has cast the trials as a politicized bid to force him out of office.
Baharav-Miara — who was appointed by the former, centrist Israeli government — said last month that Netanyahu must stay out of his coalition’s push for a judicial overhaul because of what she deemed a conflict of interest arising from his trials.
Baharav-Miara’s deputy, Gil Limon, voiced misgivings over the incapacity bill during a Knesset review session on Tuesday.
“What we see before our eyes is a cluster of legislation elements that are most troubling and are being advanced at great speed,” Limon said, according to an official transcript.
“They have the potential to serve the personal interests of a man regarding the outcomes of legal proceedings he is facing.”
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel filed a Supreme Court appeal against the new law. Should the court rule to overturn the law, that would in itself fuel the feud.
“Netanyahu and his coalition of corrupt men are trying every possible maneuver in their attempts to escape the threat of justice,” a statement from the watchdog group said.


Iraq top court invalidates decisions of Kurdish parliament

Updated 9 sec ago

Iraq top court invalidates decisions of Kurdish parliament

Iraq top court invalidates decisions of Kurdish parliament
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s supreme court on Tuesday ruled as unconstitutional the extended mandate of autonomous Kurdistan’s parliament, rendering invalid votes taken by the chamber since last year.
It is the latest controversy between Iraq’s federal authorities and Kurdistan whose leaders had on Saturday denounced amendments in the federal budget affecting oil sales from the region in Iraq’s north.
Elections in Iraqi Kurdistan had been scheduled for late 2022, but disputes between its two main parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), forced the assembly to extend its mandate for another year.
Fresh elections were scheduled for November this year.
In his ruling Judge Jassem Mohammed Aboud, president of the top federal court in Baghdad, found unconstitutional the year-long extension of the chamber’s mandate.
As a result, decisions taken by the Kurdistan parliament since October 2022 “are constitutionally invalid,” Aboud said.
His ruling came after some Kurdistan opposition legislators who were upset with the mandate extension took their case to the court.
Last week, deputies in Kurdistan’s parliament came to blows after the KDP scheduled a late vote to activate the commission organizing the elections. PUK lawmakers wanted the vote postponed.
The KDP currently holds the largest bloc of 45 seats, trailed by the PUK with 21 in the 111-seat chamber.
Shivan Fazil, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said the court’s ruling “is unprecedented” because it also nullifies “the government that has been sworn in” before the regional parliament.

UAE launches training initiative for nation’s diplomats

UAE launches training initiative for nation’s diplomats
Updated 9 min 6 sec ago

UAE launches training initiative for nation’s diplomats

UAE launches training initiative for nation’s diplomats
  • Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy holds lectures in six capital cities
  • Scheme aims to boost skills in line with UAE’s foreign policy objectives

ABU DHABI: The Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi has launched a new training platform to enhance UAE diplomats’ knowledge of international relations.
Known as [email protected], the initiative was created in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Cabinet and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It aims to develop diplomats’ skills in line with the UAE’s foreign policy objectives and its international diplomatic profile, the Emirates News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Dr. Mohamed Al-Dhaheri, AGDA’s deputy director-general, said: “[email protected] supports the … UAE government’s objective of enhancing international cooperation in line with the ‘We The UAE 2031’ vision … to make an immensely positive impact on both society and the world.”
AGDA’s research faculty traveled to six capital cities to hold lectures and discussions with members of the UAE’s diplomatic community and Emirati students on a range of topics, including diplomacy, climate change, GCC relations with countries in Asia and Africa, and the role of women in diplomatic service and leadership.
Director-General Nickolay Mladenov said the lectures, which started at the UAE Embassy in Cairo, were in line with the academy’s goal to support the country’s foreign policy.
As well as the lecture series, the researchers conducted “Generation Diplomacy,” which provided a platform for senior diplomats from various UAE embassies to share their expertise with aspiring foreign policy practitioners from all over the world.
[email protected] is one of the UAE’s transformation projects, which are designed to move the country forward and enhance its competitiveness.


MENA has highest prevalence of diabetes

MENA has highest prevalence of diabetes
Updated 18 min 49 sec ago

MENA has highest prevalence of diabetes

MENA has highest prevalence of diabetes
  • Kuwait, Egypt among top 10 countries for rates of the condition worldwide in 2021
  • Mauritania, with a rate of just 2.1% of population, came in at 205 on list of 211 states

LONDON: The Middle East and North Africa region has the highest prevalence of diabetes, research has revealed, with Kuwait and Egypt among the top 10 countries for rates of the condition worldwide in 2021, the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday.

The figures from Our World In Data used information from the International Diabetes Federation to measure the prevalence of diabetes among populations aged 20-79 in 211 countries.

Kuwait placed third, with 24.9 percent of the population suffering from diabetes. Egypt came in 10th, with 20.9 percent of people being diabetic. Saudi Arabia placed 18th, with 18.7 percent of the population suffering from diabetes.

But Mauritania, with a rate of just 2.1 percent, came in at 205 on the list of 211 countries — the only Arab state in the bottom 10.

The prevalence of malnutrition and physically intensive agrarian lifestyles have been cited as a cause of low rates in some African countries.

Research has shown that ethnic groups across MENA and South Asia have greater genetic predispositions to insulin resistance — a trigger for diabetes.

Pakistan, with 30.8 percent of its population suffering from the condition, came in first place. Diabetes rates in the South Asian country are surging, with 33 million adults living with the condition this year — a 70 percent increase since 2019, with an estimated one-quarter of adults remaining undiagnosed.

Worldwide, the International Diabetes Federation said the condition accounted for more than 400,000 deaths in 2021.

The placement of Western countries on the list, including the US and UK, came in lower than expected, ranking 59th and 136th respectively.

Research has linked the prevalence of diabetes to a range of aggravating factors, including obesity, high consumption of added sugars, high salt intake and sedentary lifestyles.

The chronic condition results from a failure of the body to produce enough insulin, causing dangerous levels of blood sugar to remain in the bloodstream.

About 90 percent of people suffering from diabetes have type 2, which typically begins in adulthood.

The surge in ultraprocessed food consumption worldwide may also play a role in the prevalence of the condition, research has shown, with obesity considered a central factor.

Certain national diets have been praised for their health benefits by researchers. Japan’s traditional diet — with a focus on raw or lightly processed meat and small portions — has been demonstrated to lower the likelihood of type 2 diabetes and a range of other health conditions, including heart disease.

But in the US, a study conducted last year by Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute estimated that about 73 percent of national food intake was ultraprocessed, containing high levels of added salt and sugar.


Salvage of oil tanker stranded off Yemen can begin: UN

FSO Safer is moored off the coast of Ras Issa, Yemen, prior to the start of an operation led by the UN to unload it on May 30.
FSO Safer is moored off the coast of Ras Issa, Yemen, prior to the start of an operation led by the UN to unload it on May 30.
Updated 59 min 14 sec ago

Salvage of oil tanker stranded off Yemen can begin: UN

FSO Safer is moored off the coast of Ras Issa, Yemen, prior to the start of an operation led by the UN to unload it on May 30.
  • “We’re very happy to be on site where we can start the work,” David Gressly, the UN coordinator for Yemen, said

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations said Tuesday it is ready to start salvage work on an oil tanker stranded off Yemen’s coast with more than one million barrels of crude on board, posing an acute risk to the environment.
“We’re very happy to be on site where we can start the work,” David Gressly, the UN coordinator for Yemen, said by videoconference from aboard a support vessel that has arrived at the stricken ship, the FSO Safer.
In an unprecedented salvage plan, the UN has purchased a super-tanker to remove the oil from the vessel in the Red Sea. The actual pumping will start in about 10 days to two weeks, said Gressly.


Yemeni govt, Houthis exchange bodies of 52 fighters killed in battle

Yemeni govt, Houthis exchange bodies of 52 fighters killed in battle
Updated 30 May 2023

Yemeni govt, Houthis exchange bodies of 52 fighters killed in battle

Yemeni govt, Houthis exchange bodies of 52 fighters killed in battle
  • Swap comes as Iran-backed militia continues to bombard Yemeni troops
  • 3 govt soldiers killed, 4 injured in drone, ground attacks in Lahj province

AL-MUKALLA: The internationally recognized government of Yemen and the Houthis have exchanged the bodies of 52 fighters killed on the battlefield, as the Iran-backed militia escalated their drone and ground attacks on Yemeni troops.

Hadi Jumaan, a local mediator, said the exchange took place this week in the northern province of Jouf, sharing photographs of several pickup trucks transporting piles of bodies wrapped in white burial shrouds through the desert.

Tribal mediators and social dignitaries who have the trust of the warring factions have sponsored a number of similar exchanges over the past eight years.

The latest came as relatives of some of the killed fighters accused the Houthis of mutilating and executing government soldiers they had captured alive.

Abdul Basit Al-Shajea said his brother, Abdul Wahab, was executed after being captured in battle and despite being shown to be alive by the militia’s own media. The Houthis then withheld news of the death from the family for months.

“The Houthi gang executed him and his fellow prisoners, the majority of whom were injured, by shooting them and pouring acid on their bodies,” Al-Shajea said, adding that his family were barely able to recognize the fallen soldier as his features had been burned away.

“Three months ago, my family was shocked to learn of the presence of my brother’s burnt corpse at the Dhamar Hospital mortuary, and its features were only confirmed with difficulty,” he said.

The exchange of the dead took place despite a second round of prisoner swap talks between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, which was supposed to have started this month, being postponed as the two sides traded accusations over obstacles to visits to each other’s cities.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s army said that three government soldiers were killed and four others were injured this week as the Houthis ramped up their drone and ground attacks in the Yafae district of Lahj province.

The militia also attacked government troops on the ground and with explosive-rigged drones west and east of the besieged city of Taiz. Similar attacks have been recorded on government troops defending the energy-rich city of Marib.

Separately, Yemen’s government said on Monday evening that all of the Yemenis who had been stranded in Sudan had now been evacuated. The announcement came soon after a Yemenia Airways flight carrying 150 Yemenis from Sudan touched down in Sanaa, taking the total number of Yemenis evacuated to 2,894.

“I appreciate all of the state agencies’ efforts to conclude the evacuation of our citizens from Port Sudan,” Prime Minister Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed said on Twitter.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak said: “We affirm that the limited capabilities resulting from the Houthi militia’s coup, looting of the state’s capabilities and economic war against the Yemeni people will not prevent the legitimate government from utilizing all of its resources to care for its citizens and overcome all obstacles in their way.”