Ali Hashem traveled to the remote mountainous region of Afghanistan, where he witnessed survivors searching for a place to go and communities that had been hardest hit by the recent earthquake.
At a ceremony led by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, an Italian teenager from London who is known as “God’s influencer” and a early adopter of the internet to spread Catholic doctrines.
In a ceremony held on Sunday in St Peter’s Square, thousands of people attended Carlo Acutis’s passing, which was celebrated by Leo canonized. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 15 and died in a ceremony. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who passed away in 1924 but was well-known for his charitable work, was also canonized by the pontiff at the Mass.
Leo praised Acutis and Frassati for “making masterpieces” of their lives while emceeding to attendees that “the greatest risk in life is wasted it outside of God’s plan.”
Acutis is a distinct figure from the church’s saints of the past, who were frequently depicted in solemn paintings, and is frequently seen in his casual outfits, scruffy hair, T-shirts, and sunglasses. Acutis has a broader following thanks to this, which makes him a more relatable saint for today’s digitally-focused young people.
Leo argued that Acutis and Frassati’s lives are an invitation to all of us, particularly young people, to not waste our lives and propel them forward.
Acutis was born in London in 1991, but he later moved with his family to Milan, a city in northern Italy, where he lived until he passed away from leukemia in 2006.
Acutis used the skills he gained as a teenager to document recognized church miracles and spread Catholic teaching internationally. His ground-breaking digital endeavors occurred at a time when those subjects were not widely known.
He was also alleged to have regularly attended church services, been kind to the homeless, and treated bullied children, which he deemed to be a threat to Catholic youth around the world.
The mother of Acutis, Antonia Salzano, started advocating for her son’s recognition as a saint shortly after his passing, which required that he perform miracles throughout his life.
The teenager performed two miracles while living, according to Pope Francis, whose death in April of this year caused the saint-making ceremony to be postponed. A boy and a girl who were both injured in Costa Rica and had a birth defect that affected their pancreas, according to the Catholic News Agency.
Pope Francis acknowledged Acutis’ efforts in a letter to Catholics in 2019 and praised his work, saying, “The digital world can expose you to the risk of self-absorption, isolation, and empty pleasure.” However, keep in mind that there are still some young people there who exhibit creativity and even genius. The Venerable Carlo Acutis was one example of this.
In the most recent round of detentions of its supporters since the government declared the pro-Palestinian organization a “terrorist” organization, police in the United Kingdom have detained about 425 people at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action.
According to the Organizing Campaign, approximately 1,500 people showed up at the Saturday demonstration in London dressed up in placards proclaiming “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
As soon as police began detentions, people began chanting “Met Police, pick a side, justice or genocide” and “Shame on you.” As officers removed resistent protesters who became passive during the arrest, the confrontation intensified.
Authorities confirmed more than 425 arrests following the eight-hour demonstration, with at least 25 of whom facing charges of assaulting officers or violating public order. The rest were detained under the Terrorism Act.
According to the UK-based PA Media, police reportedly drew their batons during the altercations, and a protester was seen with blood streaming down his face behind a barrier after being arrested.
Additionally, according to the report, police reportedly had verbal altercations with demonstrators, and that they were thrown water and plastic bottles at them while several protesters eventually fell over in a crush.
Our officers have been punched, kicked, spat on, and had objects thrown at them by protesters, according to Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart. She called the treatment “intolerable” and “intolerable.”
Defend Our Juries refuted the narrative, claiming that police were the ones who started the violence and calling police’s claims “frankly absurd”
More than 700 arrests were made as a result of earlier, related demonstrations, of which 138 were charged under the Terrorism Act.
A 62-year-old blind wheelchair user who was previously detained at a protest came back to demonstrate on Saturday.
“And I’m a terrorist,” you say? That’s the joke,” he claimed. “I’ve already been detained under the Terrorism Act, and I’m going to be,” he said.
“Of course, I’ll keep coming back,” the statement read. What options are there for me?
The British government’s approach, according to the UN’s human rights chief, “misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism.”
Volker Turk expressed grave concerns that the designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization “raises the possibility that the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms in the UK is being hampered by the application of counterterrorism laws that are being applied to conduct that is not terrorist in nature.”
He added that terrorist “acts should be limited to crimes like those that are intended to result in hostages’ deaths or serious injuries,” according to international standards.
The government’s ban, according to Huda Ammori, was “catastrophic” for civil liberties, “creating a much wider chilling effect on freedom of speech,” according to Huda Ammori, cofounder of Palestine Action.
Famous cultural figures, including bestselling Irish author Sally Rooney, who stated she planned to continue supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide, have supported the organization.
Despite numerous nations, human rights organizations, and academics confirming that it is killing Palestinians in Gaza, Israel categorically rejects the accusations of genocide.
The government argued that other lawful organizations, including pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel voices, are not affected by labeling Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organization.
In the town of Ash-Shuyukh, northeast of Hebron, settler gunfire also caused two Palestinians to suffer injuries in the Khallet al-Eis neighborhood.
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With the aid of Israeli troops who had stormed the area and fired live ammunition, the settlers shot at homes and set fire to agricultural land. Additionally, they stormed and vandalized Nablus’ Hanbali Mosque.
Israeli nationals who illegally reside on private Palestinian land are known as the “settlers.” In 150 illegal settlements and 128 outposts spread out across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, more than 700, 000 settlers reside in Israel, or 10% of the country’s population. With the support of the Israeli army, they have continued to kill and harm residents of Palestine who live there and who are executing them.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, and Border Police from Israel and the West Bank city of Umm al-Fahm, northwest of Jenin, were present in the storming.
Ben-Gvir made the decision as far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich advocated plans to annex large portions of the Palestinian territory, despite condemnation from European and Arab leaders.
In August, according to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Israeli forces and settlers attacked Palestinians and their property across the West Bank, including 431 settlers’ assaults. It claimed that attacks occur “almost daily” as part of a wider push to expel Palestinians from their land.
According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli forces raided seven Palestinians throughout the West Bank.
In Ramallah, two Palestinian men were detained in separate raids, one after another, and one after another in Hebron.
Following an Israeli raid on her home in the village of Kufeirit, a woman was detained in the Jenin governorate. Jenin and al-Yamoun both had additional arrests.
According to Wafa, Israeli forces also detained three residents of the Bethlehem governorate.
Habib Salah Issa Qassem, 40, and Firas Ibrahim Ali Beit Rashid, 39, were taken into custody after Israeli forces stormed the Handaza area in the east of the governorate, according to Wafa.
Salah Nabil Muhammad al-Shaer, 18, was detained in the western village of Husan, according to al-Matina’s al-Mathanian authorities.
During raids across the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Israeli forces shot 26 Palestinians and made 18 arrests, according to reports of three young men being shot in the town of Nilin, west of Ramallah, after fighting broke out during a military incursion.
After conducting field interviews in the town of Anata, northeast of Jerusalem, soldiers stormed homes in large numbers and detained at least 16 Palestinians, according to Wafa.
At an Israeli checkpoint close to Nablus, two other people were taken from a taxi, and residents in Hebron reported harassment and property damage as well. Forces also conducted searches and set up roadblocks in response.
. food . . medical Shelter . movement freedom. Water . Air.
We have witnessed horror as apartheid Israel, supported by some of the most powerful governments in the world, steals the people of Gaza from these fundamental necessities for survival, which are six essential for any human being’s survival.
We have marched, spoken up, and boycotted, expressing the opinions of the world’s majority. However, this has not been enough to compel international organizations to halt Israel’s occupation of Gaza and put an end to a real-life genocide.
We hope to break the blockade and provide food, medicine, and water to a besieged and starving population while we are unable to deliver all six of the essentials listed above. The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) has a mission similar to that.
The largest humanitarian flotilla led by a citizen group has ever been established, combining previous land, sea, and air humanitarian missions to Gaza. It builds on decades of international support for Palestinians. It includes activists, humanitarians, doctors, artists, clergy, and attorneys who have all joined forces to directly intervene to end the siege.
10 members of the South African delegation come from all over the country and from a variety of backgrounds: Jews, Jews, Agnostics, Jews, Christians, and atheists all working together to provide aid to Gaza.
In accordance with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) provisional measures taken on January 26, 2024, and its subsequent orders from March 28 and May 24, 2024, as part of the South Africa v. Israel case, our efforts are closely aligned. The ICJ specifically mandated that Israel take all necessary steps to enable the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza in the provisional ruling.
Israel has since failed to follow these orders, as South Africa has consistently pointed out in its advocacy before the court and in its leadership role as co-chair and founding member of The Hague Group. We can’t stay silent in the face of such impunity, as demonstrated by the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
In an effort to overthrow the illegal Israeli occupation of Gaza, people of conscience started organizing grassroots flotillas.
The Madleen vessel carrying humanitarian aid was intercepted by Israeli forces on June 9. About 70 nautical miles (130 kilometers) away from Gaza, the Israeli occupation forces intercepted the Handala, a second ship carrying supplies, on July 25.
Some of the activists on board were subject to physical assaults and trauma from the Israeli military forces, which constitute crimes and warrant investigation. Continue Gaza’s medieval siege, which amounts to a crime against humanity, by apartheid Israel, which prevented the desperately needed food and supplies on board from getting there.
There are those who will ask, “Why do you think you will succeed where others have failed before?” given the history of activists’ attempts to end the siege of Gaza.
We respond by saying that our democracy was won in large part by the world’s conscienceless citizens who boycotted, divested, and demanded that apartheid be outlawed. In this regard, it is appropriate to take the GSF as a means of humanity.
We have reacted by protesting, boycotting, demanding divestment of our institutions, and putting pressure on governments to impose sanctions. This ongoing action includes the GSF mission.
Although many countries have the authority to ratify Israel and even authorize military action to put an end to the ongoing genocide, they have hardly ever done anything other than make rhyming claims. We applaud the South African government for bringing apartheid Israel to the ICJ for the genocide, but we also take note that South African businesses continue to export coal that fuels the genocide. Our government has not yet followed our requests for a coal embargo.
To maintain both the pressure and the optimism, we are sailing on the GSF. Giving up on Gaza’s citizens and giving them to a bad regime is the only way to lose hope. We must maintain our faith by having a conscience.
As more and more people understand that this is not a war but a genocide, we are attracted to the growing movement for justice and human rights. There are over 50 flotilles from more than 40 nations this time around.
Hunderte of people of good conscience from all over the world are working together to stop the siege and raise awareness of Israel’s planned Palestinian hunger. Although there are only ten South Africans in the delegation, we still represent the majority of South Africans. Ours is therefore a just mission, so we must sail confidently knowing that our people will be watching and wishing us success.
Despite the fact that we are just a few hundred people in the GSF mission, the majority of people around the world have been watching the live-streamed genocide committed by Israel. We travel on the GSF as South Africans who want a better and just world, bearing in mind that, as the president of Colombia Gustavo Petro Urrego wrote in a letter to the flotilla, “Peace is not a utopia, but an obligation.”
What caused the cuts, according to the statement from Sunday, was not provided in more detail.
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Microsoft stated in a status update that “network traffic passing through the Middle East may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea.” The global software tycoon claimed that the cuts did not affect its second-largest cloud computing service, Azure, which is the second-largest in the world after Amazon. However, it added that network traffic was unaffected.
“Network traffic that travels through the Middle East is not affected.” If circumstances change, we’ll continue to provide updates daily or sooner.
Microsoft stated that the disruptions started on September 6 at 05:45 GMT.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and India all reported “degraded” internet connectivity, which the internet connectivity watchdog NetBlocks said “degraded” the access to slow speeds and sporadic interruptions.
According to NetBlocks, the connectivity issues were brought on by IMEWE and SMW4 cable failures close to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
One of the nation’s largest telecoms providers, Pakistan Telecommunications, warned customers on X that the nation “may experience some degradation during peak hours,” adding that its international partners were working to address the issue.
The internet’s backbone is made up of underground cables that transmit global data traffic. A crucial hub connecting Asia and Europe is the Middle East. They are susceptible to anchor damage from ships, but they can also be targeted in attacks that can disrupt them for a long period of time.
Yemen’s internationally renowned government-in-exile claimed in early 2024 that the Houthis planned to attack Red Sea cables. The Houthis denied being responsible for the cuts to several of them.
The Houthis’ Al Masirah TV channel, Al Masirah TV, cited NetBlocks as evidence on Sunday morning.
According to an investigation conducted by The Guardian, + 972 Magazine, and Local Call, Microsoft’s Azure has been storing information for the Israeli military, including intercepted Palestinian phone calls in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Microsoft has opened an investigation in August after discovering that Unit 8200, Israel’s cyber-intelligence division, was using its cloud services to access information obtained through widespread surveillance.