GENEVA: The United Nations said Friday that its findings showed that the shot that killed Al Jazeera TV journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 was fired by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked “Press” and a helmet, was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli army operation in Jenin camp in the northern West Bank.
“We find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli security forces,” UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
“It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation.
“We at the UN Human Rights Office have concluded our independent monitoring into the incident.
“The shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities” she said.
She added that the information came from the Israeli military and the Palestinian attorney general.
“We have found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists,” Shamdasani said.
In line with its human rights monitoring methodology, the UN rights office inspected photo, video and audio material, visited the scene, consulted experts, reviewed official communications and interviewed witnesses.
The findings showed that seven journalists arrived at the western entrance of the Jenin refugee camp soon after 6:00 am.
At around 6:30 am, as four of the journalists turned into a particular street, “several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired toward them from the direction of the Israeli security forces.
“One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder; another single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly.”
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has urged Israel to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing and into all other killings by Israeli forces in the West Bank and in the context of law enforcement operations in Gaza.
UN says Al Jazeera journalist killed by Israeli fire
https://arab.news/jcmw5
UN says Al Jazeera journalist killed by Israeli fire
- Palestinian-American journalist was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli army operation in Jenin camp
- UN finds no information suggesting presence of armed Palestinians in vicinity of journalists
State Department employee fired after questioning talking points on Israel and Gaza
- Shahed Ghoreishi said he was fired after drafting a response on the possible relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to South Sudan, in which he wrote that the US does not support the plan
- State Department spokespeople declined to comment on his firing, calling it an internal personnel matter
WASHINGTON: The State Department has fired a press officer who was responsible for drafting Trump administration talking points about policy toward Israel and Gaza after complaints from the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Officials said Shahed Ghoreishi, a contractor working for the Bureau of Near East Affairs, was terminated over the weekend following two incidents last week in which his loyalty to Trump administration policies was called into question.
Ghoreishi, who is Iranian American, also was targeted Wednesday following his dismissal by right-wing personality Laura Loomer, who accused him of not being fully supportive of the administration’s policies in the Middle East.
According to Ghoreishi and two current US officials, Ghoreishi drew the ire of a senior official at the US Embassy in Jerusalem and then top aides to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for drafting a response to a query from The Associated Press last week. The question related to discussions between Israel and South Sudan about the possible relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to South Sudan.
The draft response included a line that said the US does not support the forced relocation of Gazans, something that President Donald Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff have said repeatedly.
However, according to Ghoreishi and the officials, that line was rejected by the US Embassy in Jerusalem, leading to questions about policy back in Washington. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel changes.
Ghoreishi also said he questioned a statement from the embassy that referred to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria,” the Biblical name for the Palestinian territory that some right-wing Israeli officials prefer. Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, also has repeatedly backed referring to the West Bank by Judea and Samaria.
The ouster shows the lengths that the Trump administration has gone to ensure what it sees as loyalty to the president and his goals, including a foreign policy approach that has offered overwhelming support for Israel in the war against Hamas. The administration this week also revoked security clearances for 37 current and former national security officials, including many who had signed a 2019 letter critical of Trump that was recently highlighted by Loomer.
“Despite a close working relationship with many of my dedicated and hardworking colleagues, I was targeted following two events last week when I attracted the ire of the 7th floor and senior officials in Embassy Jerusalem: stating we are against forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza as President Trump and special envoy Witkoff have both previously claimed and cutting a reference to Judea and Samaria,” Ghoreishi said, referring to the floor where top leaders have offices at the State Department.
“Both of these had been consistently approved at the senior level in the past, so it begs the question why I was suddenly targeted without a direct explanation and whether our Israel-Palestine policy is about to get even worse — including an unwillingness to take any stand against ethnic cleansing. The future looks bleak,” he said.
State Department spokespeople declined to comment on his firing, calling it an internal personnel matter.
Without addressing the specifics, deputy State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement that the agency “has zero tolerance for employees who commit misconduct by leaking or otherwise disclosing confidential deliberative emails or information. Federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the duly elected President’s agenda.”
The firing was first reported by The Washington Post.
Loomer claimed Wednesday that she had a hand in Ghoreishi’s removal from the State Department. She said he was affiliated with pro-Iran groups and jihadists, which Ghoreishi denies.
Just days ago, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review soon after Loomer had posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the US for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas.
18 arrested in second day of staff-led protests at Microsoft HQ
- Demonstators were arrested after they “resisted and became aggressive,” police say
- Microsoft accused the returning protesters of “vandalism and property damage”
WASHINGTON: Police arrested 18 people on Wednesday during the second day of pro-Palestinian protests led by current and former Microsoft employees at the tech giant’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
The arrests came a day after officers dismantled an encampment set up by the worker-led campaign group “No Azure for Apartheid,” which is demanding Microsoft end its ties with the Israeli military amid reports that the company’s technology has been used to facilitate mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and assist in selecting bombing targets during the war on Gaza.
Redmond police said they arrested 18 demonstators who “resisted and became aggressive” as officers tried to disperse the protests at Microsoft’s campus.
“A few protesters had poured paint over the Microsoft sign and on the ground. Others had blocked a pedestrian bridge and were using stolen tables and chairs from vendors to form a barrier,” Redmond police department said in a post on X.
18 arrested for various charges during a protest at Microsoft Campus
— RedmondWaPD (@RedmondWaPD) August 20, 2025
Redmond police are at the scene of a demonstration at the Microsoft campus. On Aug 20, around 12:15 p.m., Redmond officers were dispatched to a large gathering of protestors in the Microsoft courtyard.… pic.twitter.com/L4jzjsdxkT
In a statement to Arab News, Microsoft accused the returning protesters of “vandalism and property damage,” a day after 35 demonstrators had cleared the site following police orders that such activities were not permitted on private property.
“They also disrupted, harassed, and took tables and tents from local small businesses at a lunchtime farmer’s market for employees. Local police officers made multiple arrests,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Arab News.
Demonstrators were arrested on multiple charges, including “trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest, and obstruction,” as investigations are underway, the police department said, adding that no injuries were reported at the scene.
Organizers of the “No Azure for Apartheid” group told Arab News that those arrested included current and former Microsoft workers as well as Seattle community members.
They said protesters returned for the second day in a row “to escalate and force an end to the genocide powered by Microsoft technology.”
“Instead of listening to the (group’s) demands and ending its role in the daily massacre of Palestinians, Microsoft chose to militarize its campus,” the group said in a statement to Arab News. They accused the tech giant of enabling Israel’s military campaign and starvation in Gaza, as well as assisting the displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank.
The group noted that the demonstrations aimed to “demand Microsoft stop exploiting our labor to build technology that murders Palestinians.”
Microsoft has reiterated its pledge to conduct “a thorough and independent review of new allegations” raised earlier this month in a Guardian media investigation, which reported that Israel used the tech giant’s Azure cloud services to record millions of daily phone calls made by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
“Microsoft will continue to do the hard work needed to uphold its human rights standards in the Middle East, while supporting and taking clear steps to address unlawful actions that damage property, disrupt business or that threaten and harm others,” the company’s spokesperson told Arab News.
On Friday, the tech giant said that it hired law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct the review on Israel’s commercial agreements with Microsoft and will make the findings public once the review is complete.
Russia orders state-backed MAX messenger app, a WhatsApp rival, pre-installed on phones and tablets
- Critics say it's a spy app, state media deny that
- The new app is being integrated with government services
MOSCOW: A Russian state-backed messenger application called MAX, a rival to WhatsApp that critics say could be used to track users, must be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets from next month, the Russian government said on Thursday.
The decision to promote MAX comes as Moscow is seeking greater control over the internet space as it is locked in a standoff with the West over Ukraine, which it casts as part of an attempt to shape a new world order.
The Russian government said in a statement that MAX, which will be integrated with government services, would be on a list of mandatory pre-installed apps on all "gadgets," including mobile phones and tablets, sold in Russia from September 1.
State media says accusations from Kremlin critics that MAX is a spying app are false and that it has fewer permissions to access user data than rivals WhatsApp and Telegram.
It will also be mandatory that from September 1, Russia's domestic app store, RuStore, which is pre-installed on all Android devices, will be pre-installed on Apple devices.
A Russian-language TV app called LIME HD TV, which allows people to watch state TV channels for free, will be pre-installed on all smart TVs sold in Russia from January 1, the government added.
The push to promote homegrown apps comes after Russia said this month it had started restricting some calls on WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, and on Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.
WhatsApp, which in July had a reach of 97.3 million in Russia, responded by accusing Moscow of trying to block Russians from accessing secure communications, while Telegram, which had a reach of 90.8 million users, said it actively combats the harmful use of its platform.
The third most popular messenger app in July, according to Mediascope data, was VK Messenger at 17.9 million people, an offering from the same state-controlled tech company VK which developed MAX.
MAX said this week that 18 million users had downloaded its app, parts of which are still in a testing phase.
Russia's interior ministry said on Wednesday that MAX was safer than foreign rivals, but that it had arrested a suspect in the first fraud case using the new messenger.
US senators push for improved press access in Gaza
- A group of 17 US Senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday calling for the United States to press Israel to grant access and protection to journalists in Gaza
WASHINGTON: A group of 17 US Senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday calling for the United States to press Israel to grant access and protection to journalists in Gaza.
The letter comes one week after an Israeli strike killed a group of Palestinian journalists in the besieged territory.
“The United States must make it clear to Israel that banning and censoring media organizations and targeting or threatening members of the press is unacceptable and must stop,” the Democratic senators said in a statement.
The letter to Rubio, a staunch supporter of Israel, said: “We urge you to press the Israeli government to protect journalists in Gaza and allow international media to access the territory.”
Last week, an Israeli strike killed four journalists for Al Jazeera, including Qatari television correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, as well as two freelance journalists.
The attack spurred an international outcry.
The letter condemned the attack, writing: “Absent a compelling explanation of the military objective for this attack, it appears Israel is publicly admitting to targeting and killing journalists who have shown the world the scale of suffering in Gaza, which would be a violation of international law.”
Among the signatories were Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and 13 other Democratic senators, as well as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a registered independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
The Washington Post on Wednesday night also reported that a member of the press office for the US State Department’s Bureau of Near East Affairs, Shahed Ghoreishi, was fired after suggesting Washington offer condolences for the journalists killed in Gaza.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in early July that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the war began, including numerous Al Jazeera journalists.
With Gaza sealed off, many media groups around the world, including AFP, depend on photo, video and text coverage of the conflict provided by local Palestinian reporters.
Meme-lord Gavin Newsom riles Republicans with Trump-trolling posts
- California governor has been parodying Trump with a series of posts written in the Republican leader’s distinct style that he hopes will show his Democratic Party how to beat the social media master at his own game
WASHINGTON: All-caps hyperbole, wild accusations and idiosyncratic spelling: not just an average Wednesday on Donald Trump’s Truth Social feed, but a new digital media strategy for California Governor Gavin Newsom that is delighting Democrats — and riling Republicans.
Newsom — hotly-tipped for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination — has been parodying Trump with a series of posts written in the Republican leader’s distinct style that he hopes will show his party how to beat the social media master at his own game.
In recent weeks the governor has posted all manner of manipulated images depicting him in the kind of over-the-top vignettes popular among Trump’s “MAGA” movement — superimposing his face on Mount Rushmore and appearing to pray with MAGA favorites Tucker Carlson, Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan.
When Trump’s one-word weekend post — saying simply “Bela” — left the president’s supporters scratching their heads, Newsom posted a screenshot alongside his own caption: “DONALD (TINY HANDS), HAS WRITTEN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY THIS MORNING — UNFORTUNATELY (LOW IQ) HE SPELLED IT WRONG — ‘BETA.’“
The 57-year-old Democrat mocked Trump’s salesman-like rhetorical style in a post about redistricting plans that he said had led “MANY” people to call him “GAVIN CHRISTOPHER ‘COLUMBUS’ NEWSOM (BECAUSE OF THE MAPS!).”
And he has taken to ending his posts with the much-mocked sign-off that Trump, 79, made famous: “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!“
The tweets have quickly gained currency among Newsom’s supporters, who have shared their own “Trumpian” memes of a shirtless Newsom with bulging muscles, brandishing pistols or riding into battle on a velociraptor.
The governor called Trump’s late-night social media tirades “pathetic,” telling historian and podcast host Heather Cox Richardson that people who normally “can’t stand” politicians had been reaching out to compliment his new approach.
“And they’re maybe paying attention to the childishness that is Donald Trump, that we’ve allowed him to normalize — the way he communicates, talking down to us, looking past us,” Newsom said.
“I’ve got kids, and I’ve got a whole generation of people who thinks this is normal. It is not, and it can’t be normalized, and that’s big part of what we’re also pushing back against.”
The posts are garnering the attention of X’s algorithm while sparking the ire of Republicans, conservative-leaning political commentators and the right-wing media.
Dana Perino, an anchor on Fox News, slammed Newsom’s new strategy, telling viewers: “If I were his wife, I would say you are making a fool of yourself, stop it.”
“NDS — Newsom Derangement Syndrome is a real thing,” Republican political consultant Mike Madrid posted on X, retooling the Republican accusation of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” levied to dismiss criticism of the president.
The snark appears to be working.
The number of followers of Newsom’s official press office account on X — where the cheeky announcement are being posted — has soared by 450 percent since mid-June, according to CNN, with huge strides also seen on Instagram and TikTok.
Daily Google searches for Newsom are up 500 percent since August 1, the network reported.
Newsom says the MAGA-coded posts are not only annoying Republicans, but redefining how Democrats can provide an effective opposition to one of the most media-savvy leaders ever to occupy the White House.
Asked for comment, the White House shared with AFP an image it had initially sent US publication Politico repurposing a scene from the show “Mad Men” to demonstrate that Trump is not just unfazed, but doesn’t think about Newsom at all.
Politico had called it the first official White House press statement delivered exclusively in meme form.
Jeff Le, a deputy cabinet secretary for previous California governor Jerry Brown, said Newsom was responding to widespread discontent at the Democratic Party’s perceived lack of fight when it comes to Trump — and the yawning leadership vacuum.
“His messaging has helped introduce him in a tongue-and-cheek manner that reflects the inside joke that many digital native Democrats understand,” Le told AFP.
But he added that the strategy was “not without risk.”
“If there is a terrible natural disaster — a catastrophic fire or mudslide — it’s fair to say that the White House keeps score,” he said, “and the president may be less inclined to provide timely federal government support and funding for the response.”
