Author: Al Suqanawat

Punishing hot weather affects not only a person’s health or work productivity but also affects couples’ fertility and birth outcomes, a project by the National University of Singapore (NUS) found. Rising temperatures could further reduce Singapore’s resident total fertility rate, which dipped below 1 – a record low – in 2023. The rate refers to the average number of babies each woman would have during her reproductive years. Researchers from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine studied sperm samples from 818 men that were already stored at the National University Hospital’s (NUH) andrology section. The scientists then traced the men’s…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh resigned on February 26 in anticipation of postwar governance challenges. “I see that the next stage and its challenges will require new governmental and political arrangements,” Shtayyeh said, emphasizing “the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus.” American and Palestinian officials expect that Abbas will nominate Mohammed Mustafa, the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, as Shtayyeh’s successor. Expert Analysis “Bringing in Palestine Investment Fund chief Mohammed Mustafa and pushing out the current prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh is the rearranging of the…

As we enter a new year, and the fourth month of the war in Gaza, the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access is more urgent than ever. Events across the region in recent days are also a stark reminder of the potential for further escalation. A widening of this conflict would have devastating consequences for the region and for the world. The international community simply cannot allow further civilian suffering and deaths. I urge all parties in the region to exercise restraint and avoid escalation.…

I was watching Jeremy Corbyn being interviewed by media celebrity Piers Morgan the other day and two of the questions he was asked — no less than 15 times — were: “Do you condemn Hamas? Is Hamas a terrorist group?” We were all shocked by the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, or the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, to give it its full name. It was unprecedented and took place in the world’s most volatile hotspot where there are global interests and unimaginable consequences at stake. While Israel was reeling from the attack and working itself up into a…

The Guardian has taken off its website an old text attributed to the late leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, after it resurfaced online and went viral among young TikTok users. Many from the US have found themselves in agreement with his observations and criticisms of US foreign policy, its complicity in the oppression of Palestinians and perceived subservience to Zionism. Bin Laden’s infamous “Letter to America”, penned just over a year after 9/11, was first published by the Guardian on 24 November 2002 but was only taken off the site yesterday. The link to the text now reads: “This page previously displayed a document containing,…

US and coalition forces in Iraq came under attack on Thursday afternoon, as the senior general overseeing US forces in the Middle East was visiting the region to meet with American troops and key leaders. Multiple one-way attack drones were launched against Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, on Thursday, a US official said. There were no casualties or infrastructure damage reported. The attack marks at least 98 against US and coalition forces since they began on October 17. The attack came as Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, was traveling in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday and Thursday. According to a CENTCOM post on…

Analysis: Following attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi militias on US forces, there are fears that Israel’s war in Gaza, and any escalation in Lebanon, could destabilise Iraq. Iraq faces the looming spectre of spillover ramifications from the Gaza-Israel conflict, with potential repercussions extending to its stability, security, political landscape, and oil-dependent economy. Early on 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a multifaceted surprise attack which killed around 1,400 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, wounded hundreds, and saw around 200 hostages captured and taken to Gaza. The historic failure of Israel’s army and intelligence agencies to counter and predict Hamas’s surprise attack shocked the government and its…

Brussels – The EU announced investigations on Thursday into YouTube and TikTok to find out what action the US and Chinese-owned platforms are taking to ensure the safety of minors on their platforms. The European Commission said it had sent formal requests for information to TikTok and YouTube respectively, the first step in procedures launched under the EU’s new law on digital content. The EU’s executive arm said it wanted to know what measures the video-sharing platforms have taken to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA), especially regarding the risks posed to children’s mental and physical health. The DSA…

ELKHART — An Iraq War veteran spoke about his time in the U.S. Army to students at Pinewood Elementary School Thursday. “I just really think about the other people I served with and about the good and bad times,” veteran Travis Linn of Elkhart said by telephone Thursday afternoon. “Being in the military really shaped me into the man I am today.” Linn, 33, served in the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and served a tour in Iraq in 2009. His Iraq tour started at Salman Pak, which is on the outskirts of Baghdad, and ended…

The physical pain of nearly dying when shrapnel from a roadside bomb in Iraq tore through his head 17 years ago was hard enough for ABC newsman Bob Woodruff. Mentally, it was even worse. That’s evident in talking to Woodruff and watching as he takes television viewers on a journey to where his life changed in an instant on Jan. 29, 2006. His first time back to Taji, Iraq, is chronicled in “After the Blast: The Will to Survive,” which airs on ABC Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern and begins streaming on Hulu a day later. At age 44, Woodruff…