Seven weeks into the Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel openly resumes its war crimes in Gaza – blocking humanitarian aid – with the tacit support of the international mainstream media.
Lead contributors: Daniel Levy – President, US/Middle East Project Saree Makdisi – Professor of English and comparative literature, UCLA Samira Mohyeddin – Founder, On the Line Media Mouin Rabbani – Co-editor, Jadaliyya
On our radar:
The LA Times ‘ new AI “bias meter” – which offers a counterpoint to the paper’s opinion pieces, has stirred controversy. Tariq Nafi explores its role in a changing media landscape that’s cosying up to Donald Trump.
Are the ADL’s anti-Semitism stats credible?
The Anti-Defamation League is one of the most influential and well-funded NGOs in the US – and it’s getting more media attention than ever. The Listening Post‘s Meenakshi Ravi reports on the organisation, its high-profile CEO, and its troubling stance: Conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
Featuring: Omar Baddar – Political and media analyst Eva Borgwardt – National spokesperson, If Not Now Emmaia Gelman – Director, The Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been released from prison a day after a court cancelled his arrest warrant.
Footage aired on local TV channels showed Yoon leaving prison on Saturday, waving his hand and bowing deeply to his supporters.
His lawyers said the court decision “confirmed that the president’s detainment was problematic in both procedural and substantive aspects”, calling the ruling the “beginning of a journey to restore rule of law”.
Yoon’s team filed the request to cancel his arrest warrant with the Seoul Central District Court last month, pleading it was illegal. He was arrested in January on insurrection charges over his brief imposition of martial law in December.
Earlier on Saturday, South Korean prosecutors ordered impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to be released from custody.
“The Emergency Martial Law Special Investigation Headquarters has sent a release order for President Yoon to Seoul Detention Center today”, the prosecution said in a statement on Saturday, according to local media outlet Yonhap.
On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court said it accepted Yoon’s request to be released from prison, citing the need to address questions over the legality of the investigations on the president.
Investigators have alleged that Yoon’s brief martial law decree amounted to rebellion. If he is convicted of that offence, he would face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
‘ Throwing people into crisis ‘
On Saturday, some 55, 000 Yoon supporters rallied in Seoul’s main districts, while 32, 500 people demonstrated against him near the Constitutional Court, Yonhap news agency reported.
A Gallup Korea poll on Friday revealed that , 60 percent of respondents want Yoon to be removed from office.
The main opposition Democratic Party criticised prosecutors ‘ decision for “throwing the country and people into crisis”, and urged the Constitutional Court to remove Yoon from office as soon as possible.
Before the prosecutors ‘ decision, hundreds of Yoon supporters also protested in front of the Supreme Prosecutors ‘ Office.
Supporters of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol wave South Korean and the US flags during a rally in downtown Seoul on March 8, 2025]Jung Yeon-je/AFP]
What happens next?
Legal experts say that while Friday’s decision by the district court was not a vindication for Yoon, it did raise questions about the integrity of the indictment and touched on legal issues that do not have a clear precedent.
If “questions about the legality of the investigation process” are not cleared up, it may become grounds for a higher court to overturn any trial court ruling, the Seoul Central District Court said in its statement.
Arguments ended in the separate impeachment trial last week and the court was expected to issue a decision in the next few days on whether to remove Yoon from office permanently or reinstate him.
Scientists are exploring the production of artificial blood amid shortages of blood and the need for safe transfusions.
Millions of people die globally each year due to lack of access to blood, studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) have shown.
Blood carries oxygen throughout the body and removes waste products, among many other critical functions.
Laboratory-grown blood was used on humans in the first clinical trial in 2022, particularly in patients with rare blood groups.
Scientists are also working to develop synthetic blood as part of efforts to support emergency medicine, surgery, and transfusions.
So how close are scientists to developing artificial blood?
What is artificial blood?
Artificial blood is a broad term that includes both lab-grown and synthetic blood.
Synthetic blood, which is still being studied, is a completely man-made substitute and does not contain human cells. These engineered molecules mimic the function of blood cells by transporting oxygen. It is designed mainly for emergency use or military medicine, where immediate oxygen delivery is needed but matching blood types is difficult.
For example, the United States military has invested $46m in developing ErythroMer, a synthetic blood substitute designed to be universally compatible and stable without refrigeration. This product is still undergoing research and testing to establish its safety and effectiveness.
On the other hand, lab-grown blood is created by growing human red blood cells in a controlled environment outside the body.
Once available, lab-grown blood cells could make the treatment of certain medical cases more effective, Cedric Ghevaert, professor of transfusion medicine at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, said. For example, lab-grown platelets may be better at stopping bleeding in trauma patients compared to those given to leukaemia patients, who receive platelets to prevent bleeding rather than to stop active bleeding.
How is lab-grown blood made?
This process starts with stem cells, which are special cells that can develop into different types of cells in the body. They include red blood cells, platelets (which help blood to clot), or even skin cells, depending on where the stem cells are found and how they are stimulated.
Scientists use a specific type of cell called haematopoietic stem cells, which produce all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. They are found in bone marrow – the soft tissue inside bones – or in the blood of a donor.
To turn these stem cells into red blood cells, they are placed in a lab setting and exposed to growth factors – natural substances that help cells develop.
Over several weeks, the stem cells gradually change into mature red blood cells and function just like natural ones.
Ghevaert explained that scientists are able to “gene edit” stem cells to boost blood production and remove blood group markers. This could allow them to create blood that can be administered to anyone, without the need to match specific blood types.
How close are scientists to producing artificial blood?
Lab-grown or synthetic blood products are currently only in the research and development stage.
In 2022, a clinical trial in the UK marked a milestone by transfusing laboratory-grown red blood cells into human volunteers to assess their safety standards and longevity.
More trials would be needed before this product could be medically approved for commercial use.
Additionally, producing lab-grown blood is currently much more expensive than using donated blood.
In 2013, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a US government agency, reported that the chemical materials required to produce one unit of lab-grown blood cost more than $90, 000. Through advances in production methods, this cost has now been reduced to less than $5, 000 per unit. By comparison, hospitals in the US paid an average of $215 per unit of donated red blood cells in 2019.
Has artificial blood been used in clinical trials?
Yes. A 2022 clinical trial in the UK marked the first instance of such a procedure.
A small initial study in Japan in 2022 tested haemoglobin vesicles, tiny artificial blood components designed to carry oxygen in the way that real red blood cells do. The study examined whether they could be a safe and effective alternative to regular blood transfusions.
The study involved 12 healthy male volunteers aged 20 to 50, divided into three groups. Each group received a single intravenous injection of haemoglobin vesicles in increasing amounts: 10ml, 50ml and 100ml.
Some participants experienced mild side effects, such as fever and rash, but these issues resolved quickly. There were no significant changes in vital signs, including blood pressure.
How far are we from manufacturing blood commercially?
There are still several obstacles on the path to commercially manufacturing blood.
These include the issue of how to increase production to meet clinical demand while ensuring the safety and functionality of lab-grown or synthetic blood products.
Additionally, regulators like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency are still determining whether lab-grown blood should be classified as cell therapy or medicine, which would determine how it would be regulated, explained Ghevaert.
“This is a novel type of product for any regulator, which means we are in unknown territory”, he said.
Can artificial blood be made for rare blood groups?
Yes, lab-grown blood can be tailored for rare blood types.
Synthetic blood, which is cell-free, carries oxygen without the need for specific blood group markers. This could make it a universal alternative for transfusions, reducing the need for exact matches.
Besides the typical ABO and Rhesus blood groups, scientists have identified 36 other blood group systems, each with unique characteristics.
In total, there are more than 600 different antigens – tiny markers on the surface of red blood cells that help the immune system recognise blood as “safe” or “foreign”.
A blood type is considered rare if it lacks common antigens that most people have or possesses unusual antigens that most people do not. This makes it more difficult to find compatible donors for transfusions.
The frequency of rare blood types varies between different populations and ethnic groups, meaning some people may have a harder time finding a safe blood match than others.
For example, “Bombay blood”, which originated in India, is a rare subset of the O blood group. With a frequency of less than one in 10, 000 people worldwide, it is most common in India, Iran and parts of Southeast Asia.
Could the creation of artificial blood solve global blood shortages?
Artificial blood has the potential to alleviate global blood shortages, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, experts say.
According to the WHO, approximately 118.5 million blood donations are collected worldwide, with 40 percent gathered in high-income countries, which comprise only 16 percent of the global population.
Recent studies also show that nearly 2, 000 units of blood per 100, 000 people are needed to meet global medical demands, yet severe shortages persist, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Oceania.
In these regions, where blood supply is critically low, mortality rates from haemorrhage are significantly higher than in wealthier nations.
Rural communities in low- and middle-income countries are hardest hit, forming “blood deserts” – areas where more than 75 percent of patients needing transfusions cannot access blood.
However, those shortages are primarily due to blood storage and access issues. For example, with blood banks often hours away, doctors in these regions are forced to delay or cancel lifesaving surgeries.
]HEADLINE: We promise to tell readers where to watch and stream, but we don’t include that info in the story]
Who: Manchester United vs Arsenal What: English Premier League When: Sunday at 4:30pm (16:30 GMT) Where: Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom Follow Al Jazeera Sport’s live text and photo commentary stream.
Arsenal will seek to maintain their challenge for the Premier League at Manchester United in one of English football’s fiercest match-ups.
The teams were locked together as title rivals in the 1990s and early 2000s before the Gunners ‘ competitiveness faded. United underwent a similar slide after the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013 – the last time the Red Devils won the league.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, however, have finished second in the league for the past two seasons and are looking to go one better this year. Al Jazeera takes a closer look at Sunday’s game at Old Trafford:
Amorim expects more pressure than Arteta endured
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim does not believe he will get as much time to turn things around at Old Trafford as his opposite number on Sunday, Arteta, was given to revive Arsenal’s fortunes.
The 40-year-old Portuguese has struggled since succeeding Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford in November with the Red Devils languishing at 14th in the table and out of both domestic cup competitions.
The Europa League is the only remaining route to silverware and, realistically, continental qualification for a threadbare side as they prepare to take on an Arsenal team second in the Premier League and buoyed by a 7-1 Champions League last-16 win at PSV Eindhoven.
Arteta has made the Gunners a force again with some eye-catching decisions as he reshaped the squad after being appointed in late 2019, including getting rid of senior players.
Asked if he saw similarities between Arteta’s position and his job at United, Amorim said: “I don’t feel that. I will not have the time that Arteta had. I feel that. It’s a different club.
” So we just need to survive with the players on Sunday and during these games.
“It’s a different club. In that aspect, the way Arteta dealt with that is an inspiration for everybody. I will not have the time like Arteta had”.
Besides defeating Manchester United, managed by Ruben Amorim, left, in the Premier League this season, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has also emerged victorious over Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League round of 16 two seasons ago]John Sibley/Reuters]
What is Man Utd’s recent form?
United secured a 1-1 draw away to Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.
They were without 11 first-team players in Spain, where the lack of options in their 18-man travelling squad and recent exertions took their toll.
“We need to survive Sunday”, said Amorim, who has made a clear decision that United will be rebuilt in his playing style. “The team was so tired in the last 20 minutes. We have to prepare Sunday and then think about this important game for our season on Thursday” in the return leg against Real Sociedad.
What is Sunday’s planned protest at Old Trafford about?
A protest against United’s American owners, the Glazers, is planned around the game by the 1958 fan group.
The American family took over United in 2003, and despite Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS acquiring footballing control of the club in December 2023, it remains only a significant minority shareholder while the Glazers remain the majority shareholders.
“I think for everybody in our club, it’s a really tough moment”, Amorim said when asked about the planned protest. “It’s everything at the same time. The only thing I can do and our players can do is perform well and win.
” People have the right to protest. I think it’s a good thing to do that. It’s part of our club. Everybody has a voice.
“But our job and my job is just to improve the team and give them something in this moment because they deserve it and they are amazing”.
Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard scores his side’s fifth in the seven-goal demolition of PSV Eindhoven on March 5, 2025]Matthew Childs/Reuters]
Arteta’s Arsenal will not take United lightly
Arteta has praised United’s character and legacy before Sunday’s clash while highlighting the boost his side got from their midweek win at PSV Eindhoven as the key to maintaining momentum.
Arteta’s side start the latest round of matches 13 points adrift of Liverpool with a game in hand in the Premier League standings and six points ahead of Nottingham Forest in third.
Despite their 21-point lead over 14th-placed United, the Spaniard is not taking Amorim’s side for granted.
“The history of United speaks for itself”, Arteta said at a news conference on Friday. “The players they have, the club they are – there’s a legacy of overcoming difficult situations, and they’re always a dangerous opponent, especially when you least expect it.
” Watching their recent games, you can see the character in their squad. They are more than capable of putting in a strong performance and beating you on the day. “
What is Arsenal’s recent form?
The Gunners have lost only two of their 11 matches since they were eliminated from the FA Cup on penalties at Manchester United on January 12.
Those two defeats have come in Arsenal’s last five fixtures, of which they have won only two. Arteta, however, says Arsenal will try to carry on the positive momentum from their stunning demolition of PSV.
” What happened was we were super effective in the box, and that’s a massive strength, especially in the Champions League, and that’s why we won the game with that margin, “he said.
” The manner of the way we did it lifted everybody, but that is in the past unfortunately. It is about what we do today, the preparation for tomorrow and trying to replicate a great performance again on Sunday.
“But]against PSV], things were coming at the right moment, at the right time, in the right way, and that’s very helpful, but every game is different”.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz has his shot saved by Manchester United’s Altay Bayindir during a penalty shootout in an FA Cup encounter in January 2025]Andrew Couldridge/Reuters]
Head-to-head
This is the 243rd meeting between the two clubs. Manchester United have won 99 of those encounters while Arsenal have won 89.
The Gunners have won their last four Premier League meetings – including a 2-0 win in December in the reverse fixture this season.
United did emerge victorious in the last battle between the sides, though, with that FA Cup win.
Manchester United team news
Amorim said he does not expect any of his injured players to be fit in time to face Arsenal after Harry Maguire and Manuel Ugarte this week joined the lengthy casualty list at Old Trafford.
Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount and Luke Shaw remain out as do Jonny Evans, Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton while Patrick Dorgu is suspended for the visit of the Gunners.
Arsenal team news
Myles Lewis-Skelly returns from suspension for the Gunners.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has urged the Alawite minority to surrender after intense fighting with the Syrian security forces.
Hasan Abdel-Ghani, spokesperson for the Syrian Defence Ministry, told Al Jazeera on Friday that fighters loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday attacked security forces in several places in Latakia and Tartous governorates, home to the Alawite minority sect to which the al-Assad family belongs, killing “a number of security forces” in well-planned operations.
On Friday night, al-Sharaa said in a speech broadcast on Telegram that the Alawite sect had made an “unforgivable mistake”.
“The riposte has come, and you have not been able to withstand it”, he said. “Lay down your weapons and surrender before it’s too late”.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 250 people have been killed in fighting along the western coast, which members of the Alawite minority heavily populate. Amid the ongoing fighting, civilians and their families have entered the Russian Khmeimim base in the countryside of Latakia to seek refuge.
Al Jazeera’s Omar Al Hajj, reporting from the city of Tartous, said on Friday that authorities lost control in several neighbourhoods after the “rebellions”, but “reinforcements … from different provinces and districts” had carried out a “huge security operation” in Tartous, Latakia and Banias.
Syrian authorities said the al-Assad-aligned forces targeted security patrols and checkpoints in the Jableh area and surrounding countryside before spreading on Thursday.
Moussa al-Omar, a figure close to Syria’s new leadership, told the Reuters news agency that tens of thousands of fighters in the newly constituted security forces were deployed to the coast, and order had mainly been restored as of Friday night.
Reporting from the capital Damascus, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar said fighting is continuing in some areas of the country, but a “tragedy” was growing due to the civilian death toll from both sides.
“The remnants of the old regime have killed more than 100 members of the security forces, including 15 civilians”, he said. “That’s why al-Sharaa called on the security forces to show maximum restraint and asked them to protect civilians no matter what, at all costs. This is becoming a huge concern now”.
The attack on Syrian forces by those loyal to the former removed president shakes al-Sharaa’s efforts to consolidate control amid ongoing US sanctions and security challenges, including the presence of Israeli troops in the southwest.
But the Alawite have said their communities in rural Homs and Latakia have been subjected to violence and attacks after al-Assad was overthrown.
