Even Mother Earth’s fury has failed to awaken us

Even Mother Earth’s fury has failed to awaken us

Even Mother Earth’s fury has failed to awaken us
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Mother Earth has been the archetype of generosity and graciousness for as long as our planet has existed. Like every mother, though, there is a point where we push her too far and she loses her patience.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Mother Earth had already been giving us polite warnings that we were pushing her and our planet too far. Since then, she has started to show her frustration more frequently.

And yet we have continued to ignore the rapidly deteriorating state of our environment to the point where it is starting to threaten our very existence.

The weapons used in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and elsewhere to destroy families and territories are not unlike the tools we humans have turned on Mother Earth, cutting down and torching her forests, parching her of freshwater, poisoning her soil, and overexploiting her resources.

We are right to be concerned about the harm humans are inflicting upon other humans, but we should be far more concerned by the existential threat posed to humanity by our wretched destruction of the environment that sustains us.

As we look around us, we see lakes and arable land disappear, pollinating insects dwindle, fish vanish from our oceans, and weather phenomena become ever more extreme.

We have continued to ignore the rapidly deteriorating state of our environment to the point where it is starting to threaten our very existence.

Hassan bin Youssef Yassin

The year 2023 was not only the hottest on record; it was an outlier in the trend of global warming, a slowly rising line suddenly turning exponential. 

Livelihoods around the world are being decimated by the greed of our fishing fleets, intensive agriculture, and our collective inability to acknowledge the harm, waste, and pollution that our daily lives inflict on the planet.

Despite our highly advanced information and communication technologies, empathy and understanding are losing ground, creating division at the very moment that we most need cooperation to stave off this common threat.

The hurt and delusion, the staggering self-interest of the media, corporations, and politicians, and the tragic blindness and complacency of humanity are all leading us toward the precipice.

Even the rage of Mother Earth has failed to awaken us. Must it take an even greater natural disaster to jolt us into action before it is too late? 

Hassan bin Youssef Yassin worked closely with Saudi Arabia’s petroleum ministers Abdullah Tariki and Ahmed Zaki Yamani from 1959-67. He led the Saudi Information Office in Washington from 1972-81 and served with the Arab League’s observer delegation to the UN from 1981-83.
 

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

Israel may change tack to allow aid groups in Gaza to stay in charge of non-food aid

Israel may change tack to allow aid groups in Gaza to stay in charge of non-food aid
Updated 1 min 34 sec ago
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Israel may change tack to allow aid groups in Gaza to stay in charge of non-food aid

Israel may change tack to allow aid groups in Gaza to stay in charge of non-food aid
  • The group says it plans to handle food aid, initially from a handful of hubs in southern and central Gaza with armed private contractors that would guard the distribution

TEL AVIV, Israel: As pressure mounts to get more aid into Gaza, Israel appears to be changing tack and may let aid groups operating in the battered enclave remain in charge of non-food assistance while leaving food distribution to a newly established US-backed group, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
The development indicates Israel may be walking back from its plans to tightly control all aid to Gaza and prevent aid agencies long established in the territory from delivering it in the same way they have done in the past.
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid but the United Nations and aid groups deny there is significant diversion. The UN has rejected Israel’s plan, saying it allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates human humanitarian principles and won’t be effective.
Israel had blocked food, fuel, medicine and all other supplies from entering Gaza for nearly three months, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians there. Experts have warned of a high risk of famine and international criticism and outrage over Israel’s offensive has escalated.
Even the United States, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis.
The letter, dated May 22, is from Jake Wood, the head of the Israel-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, and is addressed to COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to the territory.
It says that Israel and GHF have agreed to allow non-food humanitarian aid — from medical supplies to hygiene items and shelter materials — to be handled and distributed under an existing system, which is led by the United Nations. UN agencies have so far provided the bulk of the aid for Gaza.
The foundation would still maintain control over food distribution, but there would be a period of overlap with aid groups, the letter said.
“GHF acknowledges that we do not possess the technical capacity or field infrastructure to manage such distributions independently, and we fully support the leadership of these established actors in this domain,” it said.
The foundation confirmed the authenticity of the letter. A spokesman for GHF said the agreement with Israel came after persistent advocacy. While it acknowledged that many aid groups remain opposed to the plan, it said GHF will continue to advocate for an expansion of aid into Gaza and to allow aid groups’ work in the enclave to proceed.
COGAT declined to comment on the letter and referred the AP to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which did not respond to a request for comment.
UN officials also did not reply to requests for comment.
Unclear who is funding GHF
The GHF, which is not yet up and working in Gaza, is run by security contractors, ex-military officers and humanitarian aid officials, and has the backing of Israel.
The group says it plans to handle food aid, initially from a handful of hubs in southern and central Gaza with armed private contractors that would guard the distribution. Additional sites will be opened within a month, including in northern Gaza.
The letter says aid agencies will continue providing food assistance in parallel to the GHF until at least eight sites are up and running.
Aid groups have been pushing back on the GHF and Israel’s plans to take over the handling of food aid, saying it could forcibly displace large numbers of Palestinians by pushing them toward the distribution hubs and that the foundation doesn’t have the capacity to meet the needs of the Palestinians in Gaza.
It’s also unclear who is funding the GHF, which claims to have more than $100 million in commitments from a foreign government donor but has not named the donor.
’Functioning aid’
The letter says that GHF’s Wood was on a call with the CEOs of six aid groups discussing the new plans, including Save the Children, International Medical Corps, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, CARE International and Project HOPE.
Rabih Torbay, head of Project HOPE, confirmed the call and said his organization was encouraged to hear that the delivery of medicines and other non-food items would continue under the current system.
Still, Torbay appealed for food aid to be allowed into Gaza without “obstruction or politicization.”
A spokesperson for CARE said it has shared its concerns regarding GHF’s proposal for food distribution in the hubs and reiterated the importance of using existing distribution mechanisms under the UN The spokesperson said the meeting was an opportunity to ask a lot of questions, but CARE’s attendance was not an endorsement of the effort.
Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel for the International Crisis Group, says the letter is a clear sign that both Israel and the GHF recognize the humanitarian catastrophe people face in Gaza and the need for immediate aid.
“The GHF and Israel are clearly scrambling to get something that works — or at least the appearance of functioning aid — and that this mechanism is not ready or equipped or fitting for the needs of the population in Gaza,” Zonszein said.
Ahmed Bayram, Middle East spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that Israel is part of the conflict and should not be in control of the aid distribution.
“Israel interfering in parts or all of that process would be damaging to the independence and neutrality of humanitarian aid,” Bayram said.
Humanitarian principles
The GHF came under more scrutiny this week, with TRIAL International — a Geneva-based advocacy group focusing on international justice — saying Friday that it was taking legal action to urge Swiss authorities to monitor the group, which is registered in Switzerland.
The foundation’s spokesperson has insisted that it abides by humanitarian principles and operates free from Israeli control. The spokesperson, speaking anonymously under the foundation’s policy, told the AP earlier this week that it is not a military operation and that its armed security guards are necessary for it to work in Gaza.
The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.


Bashir’s six-wicket haul seals dominant England win over Zimbabwe

Bashir’s six-wicket haul seals dominant England win over Zimbabwe
Updated 9 min 23 sec ago
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Bashir’s six-wicket haul seals dominant England win over Zimbabwe

Bashir’s six-wicket haul seals dominant England win over Zimbabwe
  • Off-spinner Bashir had Test-best figures of 6-81 from 18 overs to finish with a match haul of 9-143

NOTTINGHAM: Shoaib Bashir took six wickets to return his best figures in Test cricket as England completed a dominant innings and 45-run win over Zimbabwe in a one-off match at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
Zimbabwe, following-on, were dismissed for 255 on the third day of four after England had made a commanding 565-6 declared in their first innings that featured hundreds from Zak Crawley (124), Ben Duckett (140) and Ollie Pope (171).
Off-spinner Bashir, who before arriving in Nottingham had only taken two first-class wickets this season at a hugely expensive average of 152, had Test-best figures of 6-81 from 18 overs to finish with a match haul of 9-143.
“It was nice to be back in rhythm,” player-of-the-match Bashir told the BBC after enjoying yet more Test success in Nottingham, where he took a previous Test-best 5-41 against the West Indies last year.
“At the start of the year I went on loan (from Somerset to Glamorgan) just to get some overs under my belt.”
He added: “The (England) boys and backroom staff make you feel 10 foot tall.”
Bashir is still only 21 and this was just his 16th Test, with England captain Ben Stokes saying: “The way he has asserted himself was exceptional. He knows he has the backing of the dressing room and myself... He is going from strength to strength.”
Bashir removed the aggressive Sean Williams (88) and obdurate opener Ben Curran (37) either side of lunch after the third-wicket duo had nearly batted through all of Saturday’s first session in what was Zimbabwe’s first Test in England in 22 years.
Williams was on course to regain the record for the fastest Test century by a Zimbabwe batsman he had lost to Brian Bennett earlier in this match.
But 12 minutes before lunch, he was lbw sweeping at Bashir for an 88 off just 82 balls including 16 fours.
Together with Curran he shared a century stand that revived Zimbabwe from the depths of 7-2.
Zimbabwe were roared on by a colorful band of supporters in Nottingham, with skipper Craig Ervine saying: “Our fans are like no other. A huge thank you to them.”
He added: “The first day didn’t go our way but the guys bounced back after that. Brian Bennett played an unbelievable innings.”
Curran, was dropped twice by Stokes and reprieved by a review when given out lbw on the field to Bashir.
But the son of the late Zimbabwe all-rounder Kevin and brother of England internationals Sam and Tom — gave his wicket away on 37 when he drove Bashir to Stokes at cover.
Stokes, playing his first match of the year in any form of cricket following hamstring surgery, then made another telling intervention with the ball after taking two first-innings wickets.
But he needed the help of Harry Brook, hit in the face while fielding at slip earlier in the session, to remove Wessly Madhevere for 31.
Madhevere struggled to get over the top of a sharply rising short ball from Stokes and his outside edge was brilliantly caught one-handed high above his head by a leaping Brook to the visible disbelief of the England skipper.
Bashir, who during Zimbabwe’s first-innings 265 become the youngest England bowler to take 50 Test wickets, then bowled Tafadzwa Tsiga with a superb off-break that clipped leg stump.
Sikandar Raza made a 57-ball fifty before he too succumbed to Bashir.
The match ended when Tanaka Chivanga was lbw to Bashir, with Zimbabwe then nine wickets down but with injured paceman Richard Ngarava absent hurt after he was also unable to bat in the first innings.


Syrian reboots interior ministry as Damascus seeks to reassure West

Syrian reboots interior ministry as Damascus seeks to reassure West
Updated 14 min 15 sec ago
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Syrian reboots interior ministry as Damascus seeks to reassure West

Syrian reboots interior ministry as Damascus seeks to reassure West
  • The restructure includes “strengthening the role of the anti-drug department and further developing its importance within Syria

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities on Saturday announced an interior ministry restructuring that includes fighting cross-border drug and people smuggling as they seek to improve ties with Western nations that have lifted sanctions.
Keen to reboot and rebuild nearly 14 years after a devastating civil war broke out, the new authorities in Damascus have hailed Washington’s lifting of US sanctions.
The move was formalized Friday after being announced by President Donald Trump on a Gulf tour this month during which he shook hands with Syria’s jihadist-turned-interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba said the interior ministry restructure included reforms and creating “a modern civil security institution that adopts transparency and respects international human rights standards.”
It includes setting up a citizens’ complaints department and incorporating the police and General Security agency into an Internal Security command, he told a press conference.
A border security body for Syria’s land and sea frontiers will be tasked with “combating illegal activities, particularly drug and human smuggling networks,” Baba said.
The restructure includes “strengthening the role of the anti-drug department and further developing its importance within Syria and abroad” after the country became a major exporter of illicit stimulant captagon, he added.
Another department will handle security for government facilities and foreign missions, as embassies reopen in Syria following Bashar Assad’s ouster in December.
A tourism police body will secure visitors and sites as the war-torn country — home to renowned UNESCO World Heritage sites — seeks to relaunch tourism.
Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed Washington’s lifting of sanctions, calling the move “a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country.”
Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said the recent US and European Union steps to lift sanctions were “of critical importance in efforts to bring stability and security to Syria.”
The European Union announced the lifting of its economic sanctions on Syria earlier this month.
Sharaa met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday on his third visit to Turkiye since taking power on a visit to discuss “common issues,” Syria’s presidency said.
Ankara is a major backer of Syria’s new authorities, who are negotiating with Kurdish forces that control swathes of the northeast and that Turkiye considers “terrorists.”
A government delegation made a first visit Saturday to the notorious Al-Hol camp in the northeast that hosts families of suspected Islamic State (IS) group jihadists.
Trump said he wanted to give Syria’s new rulers “a chance at greatness” after their overthrow of Assad.
While in Istanbul, Sharaa met with the US ambassador to Turkiye, who doubles as Washington’s Syria envoy.
In a statement, Tom Barrack said: “President Trump’s goal is to enable the new government to create the conditions for the Syrian people to not only survive but thrive.”
He added that it would aid Washington’s “primary objective” of ensuring the “enduring defeat” of IS.
US sanctions were first imposed on Syria in 1979 under the rule of Bashar Assad’s father Hafez.
They were sharply expanded after the bloody repression of anti-government protests in 2011 triggered Syria’s civil war.
The new administration has been looking to build relations with the West and roll back sanctions, but some governments expressed reluctance, pointing to the Islamist past of leading figures.
The sanctions relief extends to the new government on condition that Syria not provide safe haven for terrorist organizations and ensure security for religious and ethnic minorities, the US Treasury Department said.
Concurrently, the US State Department issued a 180-day waiver for the Caesar Act to make sure that sanctions do not obstruct foreign investment in Syria.
The 2020 legislation severely sanctioned any entity or company cooperating with the now ousted government.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver would “facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria.”
However, Rubio cautioned that Trump “has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities.”
He said lifting the sanctions aims to promote “recovery and reconstruction efforts.”
Syria’s 14-year civil war killed more than half a million people and ravaged its infrastructure.
The interior ministry’s spokesman said around a third of the population had been under suspicion by the Assad government’s feared intelligence and security services.
Analysts say a full lifting of sanctions may take time, as some US restrictions are acts that need to be reversed by Congress.
Syrian authorities also need to ensure an attractive environment for foreign investment.


Libya says oil leak occurs in pipeline south of Zawiya city

Libya says oil leak occurs in pipeline south of Zawiya city
Updated 29 min 55 sec ago
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Libya says oil leak occurs in pipeline south of Zawiya city

Libya says oil leak occurs in pipeline south of Zawiya city
  • The NOC posted a picture showing a stream of leaked oil in the desert

An oil leak forced the shutdown of a pipeline south of Libya's city of Zawiya, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Saturday.
Zawiya, 40 km (25 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, is home to Libya's biggest functioning refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. The refinery is connected to the country's 300,000-barrels-per-day Sharara oilfield.
The NOC posted a picture showing a stream of leaked oil in the desert. Flow from the Hamada oilfields through the affected pipeline was immediately halted, the company said in a statement.
"In parallel with the maintenance work, a team of specialists is conducting an investigation to determine the causes of the leak. Arrangements and coordination are also underway to recover the leaked oil and address any resulting environmental pollution," the company added.


Ruthless Stuttgart beat Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 in German Cup final

Ruthless Stuttgart beat Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 in German Cup final
Updated 34 min 40 sec ago
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Ruthless Stuttgart beat Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 in German Cup final

Ruthless Stuttgart beat Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 in German Cup final
  • Enzo Millot scored twice and Germany forward Nick Woltemade and Deniz Undav got the others
  • Bielefeld, the third-division champion, were playing in the final for the first time

BERLIN: Stuttgart ruthlessly capitalized on errors in Arminia Bielefeld’s defense to win the German Cup with a 4-2 victory in the final on Saturday.

Enzo Millot scored twice and Germany forward Nick Woltemade and Deniz Undav got the others as Stuttgart claimed their fourth German Cup win and the first since 1997.

Bielefeld, the third-division champion, were playing in the final for the first time as only the fourth representative from that division to ever reach German soccer’s end-of-season showpiece.

But there was no fairytale ending for the team’s American captain, Mael Corboz, after he helped the team knock out defending champion Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinals and a host of Bundesliga clubs en route to the final.

Substitute Julian Kania scored a late consolation goal, a minute before Josha Vagnoman’s own goal, to get the Bielefeld fans singing again before the end.

Both sets of supporters displayed huge choreographies before the match in front of 74,000 spectators at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, where they repeatedly ignored appeals to stop setting off pyrotechnics.