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Cate Blanchett to Head Cannes Film Festival Jury

Cast member Cate Blanchett poses during a photocall for the film "Carol" in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, May 17, 2015. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo
Cast member Cate Blanchett poses during a photocall for the film "Carol" in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, May 17, 2015. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo
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Cate Blanchett to Head Cannes Film Festival Jury

Cast member Cate Blanchett poses during a photocall for the film "Carol" in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, May 17, 2015. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo
Cast member Cate Blanchett poses during a photocall for the film "Carol" in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, May 17, 2015. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo

Australian movie star Cate Blanchett will head the jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera, its organizers said on Thursday.

Blanchett, 48, received international acclaim for her role as Elizabeth I of England in Shekhar Kapur’s 1998 film ‘Elizabeth’ and has won three Golden Globe awards.

Other jury members for the 71st edition of the festival, which will run from May 8-19, will be announced at a later date.

Blanchett, who recently took part with other Hollywood figures in a campaign to help fight sexual harassment following the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal, will become the 11th woman to chair the event in the festival’s history.

She will take over from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar as jury head at Cannes, which last year awarded its “Palme d‘Or” to the Swedish satirical drama film ‘The Square’.

Blanchett will lead a panel, usually made up of actors and film-makers, who will choose the winner of the Palme d'Or - the influential Cannes award for best film.

They will also select the festival's other main prizes.

Blanchett has won two Oscars - for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine - and been nominated five more times.

Cannes president Pierre Lescure and delegate general Thierry Fremaux said: "Our conversations this autumn convince us she will be a committed president, and a passionate and generous spectator."

She's the third female jury president in the last 10 years - the others being director Jane Campion in 2014 and actress Isabelle Huppert in 2009.

Blanchett said: "I have been to Cannes in many guises over the years - as an actress, producer, in the marketplace, the Gala-sphere and in competition but never solely for the sheer pleasure of watching the cornucopia of films this great festival harbors.

"I am humbled by the privilege and responsibility of presiding over this year's jury.

"This festival plays a pivotal role in bringing the world together to celebrate story: that strange and vital endeavor that all peoples share, understand and crave."

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Gulf

Saudi Air Force Takes Part in 'Desert Flag' Drill in UAE

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) is participating in the drill with all of its air, technical and support teams. (Saudi Defense Ministry)
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) is participating in the drill with all of its air, technical and support teams. (Saudi Defense Ministry)
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Saudi Air Force Takes Part in 'Desert Flag' Drill in UAE

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) is participating in the drill with all of its air, technical and support teams. (Saudi Defense Ministry)
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) is participating in the drill with all of its air, technical and support teams. (Saudi Defense Ministry)

Saudi jets took part in the "Desert Flag" air drill in the United Arab Emirates.

The pilots took part in over 70 hours of flight training at the al-Dhafra air base.

Several friendly countries were also involved in the three-week exercise, including Oman, Türkiye, the United States, France and South Korea.

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) is participating in the drill with all of its air, technical and support teams.

The exercise aims to exchange military expertise in planning and execution and raising the combat readiness of forces. It also seeks to bolster relations between the participating forces.

The drill kicked off at the al-Dhafra base on April 22.

Arab World

EU to Unveil Economic Aid for Lebanon to Stop Refugee Flows

Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon toward Syrian territory through the Wadi Hamid crossing in Arsal on Oct. 26, 2022. (Getty Images/AFP)
Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon toward Syrian territory through the Wadi Hamid crossing in Arsal on Oct. 26, 2022. (Getty Images/AFP)
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EU to Unveil Economic Aid for Lebanon to Stop Refugee Flows

Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon toward Syrian territory through the Wadi Hamid crossing in Arsal on Oct. 26, 2022. (Getty Images/AFP)
Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon toward Syrian territory through the Wadi Hamid crossing in Arsal on Oct. 26, 2022. (Getty Images/AFP)

The European Union will reportedly offer economic aid for Lebanon close to one billion euros to stop the flow of Syrian refugees, dpa news agency said on Thursday.
The economic package will be used to bolster health, educational and social services in Lebanon, according to EU officials.
Special funds will also be allocated to provide assistance to the security forces and Lebanon’s army to help them combat human smuggling, and to implement economic and financial reforms.
The European Union will offer the aid when the head of the bloc’s executive and the Cypriot president jointly visit Beirut on Thursday, a Cypriot official said on Tuesday.
EU member Cyprus has grown increasingly concerned at a sharp increase in the number of Syrian refugees making their way to the Mediterranean island. Lebanon, a mere 100 miles (185 km) away from Cyprus, hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.
“The President of the European Commission will present an economic aid package for Lebanon,” Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a statement.
President Ursula von der Leyen, due in Cyprus on Wednesday, would jointly travel to Beirut with the Cypriot President, Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday morning.
Discussions would focus on challenges Lebanon presently faces and stability reforms it needs, Letymbiotis said.
“The implementation of this (package) was at the initiative of President Christodoulides and the Republic of Cyprus and is practical proof of the active role the EU can play in our region,” Letymbiotis said.
Lebanon, in the throes of an economic meltdown since 2019, has not enacted most of the reforms required by the International Monetary Fund to get access to its funding, but has asked friendly countries to continue backing it.
Some Lebanese officials have used the growing presence of migrants and refugees in the country as a bargaining chip, threatening to stop intercepting migrant boats destined for Europe unless Lebanon received more economic support.
Cyprus took in more than 2,000 Syrians who arrived by sea in the first quarter of this year, compared to just 78 in the same period of last year. Earlier this month, it took the unprecedented step of dispatching patrol vessels to international waters off Lebanon to discourage crossings and said it was suspending the processing of asylum applications from Syrians.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia Launches Nusuk Card to Facilitate Movement of Pilgrims

Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Launches Nusuk Card to Facilitate Movement of Pilgrims

Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah launched on Tuesday the Nusuk card that will facilitate the movement of all pilgrims at the holy sites.

It also offers a number of services and privileges that can be accessed through the Nusuk and Tawakkalna apps.

Nusuk acts as an identification card for pilgrims. It is a comprehensive platform that allows the user to register their personal and health data and other important information. The user can also benefit from a broad array of services.

The user can receive the card through Hajj offices after they obtain their Hajj permit.

Nusuk also works to deepen the Hajj experience by allowing the user to access different services, such as places of accommodation and transport. It provides information about historic, cultural and Islamic locations.

It also allows workers involved in the Hajj pilgrimage to meet the needs of and service the pilgrims.

Nusuk is part of a greater plan the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is aiming to launch with the goal of utilizing technology to ensure pilgrims have a smooth journey that begins from the moment they arrive in the Kingdom to the moment they leave.

Saudi Arabia is keen on developing procedures and regulations and dedicating technology to facilitate the holy journey and ensure the largest number possible of Muslims can travel to the Kingdom to perform the Hajj and Umrah.

Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah was in Indonesia where he handed the first Nusuk card to Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Qoumas.

He also met with senior officials, heads of companies and investors to discuss the available opportunities to elevate the services offered during the Hajj.

Along with Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi, he oversaw the signing of an air transport agreement aimed at increasing the number of flights transporting Indonesian pilgrims headed to Saudi Arabia.

Microsoft Announces $2.2 bn AI, Cloud Investment in Malaysia

(FILES) The logo of Microsoft US multinational technology corporation is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)
(FILES) The logo of Microsoft US multinational technology corporation is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)
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Microsoft Announces $2.2 bn AI, Cloud Investment in Malaysia

(FILES) The logo of Microsoft US multinational technology corporation is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)
(FILES) The logo of Microsoft US multinational technology corporation is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)

Microsoft pledged a $2.2 billion investment in artificial intelligence and cloud computing in Malaysia on Thursday to help develop the country's AI infrastructure.
The tech giant's chief executive Satya Nadella is on a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia -- Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia -- to announce a range of investments in data centers, AI and cloud services.
"Today, Microsoft announced it will invest $2.2 billion over the next four years to support Malaysia's digital transformation -- the single largest investment in its 32-year history in the country," it said in a statement released as Nadella gave a keynote speech in Kuala Lumpur.
It said the cash would help to build AI and cloud infrastructure in Malaysia, creating an AI center of excellence and giving AI training to as many as 200,000 Malaysians.
"We are committed to supporting Malaysia's AI transformation and ensuring it benefits all Malaysians," Nadella said in the statement.
"Our investments in digital infrastructure and skilling will help Malaysian businesses, communities, and developers apply the latest technology to drive inclusive economic growth and innovation across the country."
He also confirmed the investment in his keynote speech, saying he was "really pleased" to announce the expansion.
"We really want to make sure that we have world-class infrastructure right here in the country so that every organization, every software developer, every start-up, can use it to really not only to build for this country, but for the world and the region," he told the crowd.
The pledge comes after he announced a $1.7 bn investment in Indonesia, as well as Thailand's first data center region this week to boost cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Research by global consulting firm Kearney showed AI was poised to contribute $1 trillion to Southeast Asia's gross domestic product by 2030, with Malaysia predicted to see more than a tenth of that, the statement said.
"Microsoft's development of essential cloud and AI infrastructure, together with AI skilling opportunities, will significantly enhance Malaysia's digital capacity," Malaysian Trade Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz said in the statement.
Microsoft began its operations in Malaysia in 1992, according to its official website, and now employs more than 200 employees across its offices in Kuala Lumpur and in northern Penang state.
The company has been hugely rewarded by investors since it aggressively pushed into rolling out generative AI, starting with its $13 billion partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, in 2023.
Nadella said last week sales in January-March rose 17 percent on-year to $61.9 billion, with net profit up 20 percent to $21.9 billion.
The embrace of AI has boosted sales of Microsoft's key cloud services such as Azure, which have become the core of its business under Nadella's leadership.

Gulf

Saudi Defense Minister Chairs Meeting of General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information

Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA).
Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA).
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Saudi Defense Minister Chairs Meeting of General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information

Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA).
Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA).

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired on Wednesday a meeting of the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information (GEOSA) in his capacity as its chairman.

Officials reviewed GEOSA’s efforts in building and developing the national geospatial infrastructure.

The meeting highlighted GEOSA's participation at international events and the strategic partnerships it has forged with various entities from the government and private sectors.

The officials were briefed on sectoral and institutional strategies; current and future plans in the fields of geospatial information, aerial imagery, and remote sensing; and the data, services, and products provided by the authority to entities from both the government and private sectors in line with global best practices.

The officials followed up on the progress made on decisions related policies, standards, evidence, regulations, and regulatory conditions for the sector. They reviewed efforts aimed at boosting and developing national capabilities in the geospatial information sector.

The GEOSA board made decisions related to administrative and financial committees.

Prince Khalid underscored the unlimited support accorded by the Saudi leadership to GEOSA in organizing, elevating and supervising the geospatial and remote sensing sector in the Kingdom, ensuring quality and performance improvement.

This approach has allowed GEOSA to assume a leading role in the field of geospatial information at regional and international levels, he remarked.

World

UK Begins Detaining Migrants Set to Be Deported to Rwanda

Campaigners protest against the British government's Rwanda deportation scheme outside a Home Office immigration reporting center in Croydon, south London, Britain, 29 April 2024. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
Campaigners protest against the British government's Rwanda deportation scheme outside a Home Office immigration reporting center in Croydon, south London, Britain, 29 April 2024. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
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UK Begins Detaining Migrants Set to Be Deported to Rwanda

Campaigners protest against the British government's Rwanda deportation scheme outside a Home Office immigration reporting center in Croydon, south London, Britain, 29 April 2024. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
Campaigners protest against the British government's Rwanda deportation scheme outside a Home Office immigration reporting center in Croydon, south London, Britain, 29 April 2024. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN

British authorities have started to detain migrants in preparation for them to be sent to Rwanda in the next nine to 11 weeks, the government said on Wednesday, laying the groundwork for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship immigration policy, Reuters said.
Parliament last month approved a law that paves the way for sending asylum seekers to Rwanda if they arrive in Britain without permission. Sunak, who is expected to call an election later this year in which illegal migration is likely to feature prominently, wants the first flights to take off in July.
More than 7,500 migrants have arrived in England on small boats from France so far this year. The government says the new law will deter people from making the perilous trip across the Channel. Five people died trying to make the crossing last week.
Images released by Britain's interior ministry on Wednesday showed a man being put in a van by immigration enforcement officials, and another being led out of his house in handcuffs.
"Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground," interior minister James Cleverly said in a statement on Wednesday.
One trade union representing civil servants who may be instructed to help enact the policy said it had launched a legal challenge because its members were potentially being asked to breach international law.
"Civil servants should never be left in a position where they are conflicted between the instructions of ministers and adhering to the Civil Service Code, yet that is exactly what the government has chosen to do," said Dave Penman, General Secretary of the FDA union.
OPPOSITION
Other unions and human rights charities opposed to the policy are expected to launch challenges to stop the flights from taking off after the UK Supreme Court declared the policy unlawful last year.
Care4Calais, a refugee charity, said the detentions had started on Monday.
A spokesperson said the group's helpline had received calls from "tens of people", adding that they still did not know who would be earmarked for the first deportation flight, or when it would be attempted. "People are very frightened," said Natasha Tsangarides, Associate Director of Advocacy at charity Freedom from Torture, saying the fear of being detained and sent to Rwanda would push some people to go underground and disengage with their support system.
Britain sent its first asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme, The Sun Newspaper reported on Tuesday, a separate programme to the deportation policy.

World

Death Toll from South China Road Collapse Rises to 36

Guangdong has been hit by a string of disasters attributed to extreme weather events in recent weeks. (AFP)
Guangdong has been hit by a string of disasters attributed to extreme weather events in recent weeks. (AFP)
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Death Toll from South China Road Collapse Rises to 36

Guangdong has been hit by a string of disasters attributed to extreme weather events in recent weeks. (AFP)
Guangdong has been hit by a string of disasters attributed to extreme weather events in recent weeks. (AFP)

The death toll from a highway collapse in southern China's Guangdong province has risen to 36, state media said Thursday, as rescue work continued.
Heavy rains caused a stretch of road running from Meizhou city towards Dabu county to cave in at around 2:10 am on Wednesday (1810 GMT Tuesday), according to state news agency Xinhua.
Vehicles careened into the nearly 18-meter-long (59-foot) gash in the tarmac and plummeted down the steep slope below.
Guangdong, a densely populated industrial powerhouse, has been hit by a string of disasters attributed to extreme weather events in recent weeks.
The storms have been much heavier than expected this time of year and have been linked to climate change.
China is the biggest emitter of the greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change but has pledged to reduce emissions to net zero by 2060.
- 'All-out' efforts -
"As of 5:30 am on (Thursday)... 36 people have died, and 30 people have been injured," Xinhua said, adding that the injuries were not life-threatening.
The death toll was up from 24 people on Wednesday afternoon.
Footage by state broadcaster CCTV showed excavators digging through the muddy hillside below the collapsed road.
Nearby, a crane lifted charred, wrecked vehicles onto a lorry as people watched from behind a cordon.
State media called the road collapse a "natural geological disaster" caused by the "impact of persistent heavy rain".
President Xi Jinping ordered officials to "go all-out in on-site rescue work and treatment of the injured, and arrange for the management of risks and hidden dangers in a timely manner", CCTV said on Thursday.
Around 500 people have been dispatched to help with the rescue operation, it added.
The provincial government has "mobilized elite specialized forces and gone all out to carry out... search and rescue", according to Xinhua.
An official notice on Wednesday advised that part of the S12 highway was closed in both directions, requiring detours.
- More disasters likely -
Parts of central and eastern Guangdong have received up to 600 millimeters of rain in the last 10 days, three times the amount normally expected at this time of year, the national weather office said Thursday.
Up to 120 millimeters more rain was forecast for the province's southwestern areas on Thursday, alongside further downpours across southern China until Sunday.
The conditions "raise the risk of disasters, especially geological disasters, which have a certain lag time", the weather office said.
The emergency management ministry also warned that persistent rain would make such disasters more likely.
Officials have warned people to plan journeys carefully during the May public holiday, which runs until Sunday.
Massive downpours in Guangdong last month sparked floods that claimed four lives and forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people.
And last week, a tornado killed five people when it ripped through the megacity of Guangzhou.

Gulf

Kuwait Thwarts Terrorist Plot to Attack American Forces

This picture taken on April 23, 2024 from Salmiya shows a view of an aquatics sports center with the skyline of Kuwait City behind. (AFP)
This picture taken on April 23, 2024 from Salmiya shows a view of an aquatics sports center with the skyline of Kuwait City behind. (AFP)
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Kuwait Thwarts Terrorist Plot to Attack American Forces

This picture taken on April 23, 2024 from Salmiya shows a view of an aquatics sports center with the skyline of Kuwait City behind. (AFP)
This picture taken on April 23, 2024 from Salmiya shows a view of an aquatics sports center with the skyline of Kuwait City behind. (AFP)

Kuwaiti authorities arrested a citizen for plotting to carry out a terrorist attack against American forces deployed in the country.

The General Prosecution said on Wednesday that it ordered the arrest of the suspect on charges of “joining a banned organization and plotting terrorist attacks in the country.”

In a post on the X platform, it said the suspect had posted on social media recordings belonging to the banned group.

Other suspects were also involved in the plot.

The main suspect had learned how to manufacture explosives and had incited others to learn how to do so with the purpose of bombing US army barracks, continued the prosecution.

It has interrogated the accused and he confessed to the charges against him. It has also ordered the arrest of other suspects related to the case.

On January 25, Kuwaiti authorities announced that they had thwarted a terrorist plot to attack Shiite places of worship.

Three people were arrested in connection to the case. They were all members of the terrorist ISIS group and were Arab nationals working in Kuwait.

Arab World

Syrians Accuse Russia of Hitting Hospital in New Complaint Filed with UN Rights Committee

A Syrian man walks across an empty street at Shehel after the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) imposed their control over the town, in Deir ez-Zor province, eastern Syria, 09 September 2023. EPA/AHMED MARDNLI
A Syrian man walks across an empty street at Shehel after the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) imposed their control over the town, in Deir ez-Zor province, eastern Syria, 09 September 2023. EPA/AHMED MARDNLI
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Syrians Accuse Russia of Hitting Hospital in New Complaint Filed with UN Rights Committee

A Syrian man walks across an empty street at Shehel after the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) imposed their control over the town, in Deir ez-Zor province, eastern Syria, 09 September 2023. EPA/AHMED MARDNLI
A Syrian man walks across an empty street at Shehel after the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) imposed their control over the town, in Deir ez-Zor province, eastern Syria, 09 September 2023. EPA/AHMED MARDNLI

A Syrian man and an aid organization have accused Russia of violating international law by deliberately bombing a hospital in northern Syria in 2019, in a new complaint filed at the United Nations Human Rights Committee this week.
Russia, which intervened militarily in Syria's conflict in 2015 to bolster the forces of its ally President Bashar al-Assad, has been accused by UN investigators of committing war crimes in Syria, but has not faced any international tribunal.
Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that it violated international law in Syria, Reuters reported.
The new complaint, filed on May 1 but made public on Thursday, accuses Russia's Air Force of killing two civilians in a series of air strikes on the Kafr Nobol Surgical Hospital in the northwest province of Idlib on May 5, 2019.
It was brought to the committee by the cousin of those killed and by Hand in Hand for Aid and Development, an aid group that was supporting the hospital, which was in territory held by armed groups opposed to Assad.
The complaint relies on videos, eyewitness statements and audio recordings, including correspondence between a Russian pilot and ground control about dropping munitions.
"Syrians are looking to the Human Rights Committee to show us some measure of redress by acknowledging the truth of this brutal attack, and the suffering caused," said Fadi al-Dairi, the director of Hand in Hand.
The Geneva-based Human Rights Committee is a body of independent experts that monitors the status of political and civil rights around the world, and can receive complaints by states and individuals on alleged violations.
Individual complaints can lead to compensation payments, investigations or other measures.
While rights groups have accused both Syria and Russia of violating international law within Syria for years, neither country is party to the International Criminal Court's Rome Statute, and opportunities for accountability are rare.
Russia signed onto the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1991, meaning it accepts the Human Rights Committee's ability to consider complaints from individuals against it.
"This complaint before a preeminent international human rights tribunal exposes the Russian government and armed forces' deliberate strategy of targeting healthcare in clear violation of the laws of war," said James A. Goldston, executive director of the Justice Initiative, whose lawyers are representing the applicants.
In 2019, the UN Human Rights Commission - a separate body - said strikes on medical facilities in Syria including the Kafr Nobol hospital "strongly" suggested that "government-affiliated forces conducting these strikes are, at least partly, if not wholly, deliberately striking health facilities".

Arab World

Burhan Agrees to Declare State of Emergency in Khartoum

Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan salutes as he listens to the national anthem after landing in the military airport of Port Sudan on his first trip away following the crisis in Sudan's capital Khartoum since an internal conflict broke out, in the city of Port Sudan, Sudan, August 27, 2023. (Reuters)
Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan salutes as he listens to the national anthem after landing in the military airport of Port Sudan on his first trip away following the crisis in Sudan's capital Khartoum since an internal conflict broke out, in the city of Port Sudan, Sudan, August 27, 2023. (Reuters)
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Burhan Agrees to Declare State of Emergency in Khartoum

Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan salutes as he listens to the national anthem after landing in the military airport of Port Sudan on his first trip away following the crisis in Sudan's capital Khartoum since an internal conflict broke out, in the city of Port Sudan, Sudan, August 27, 2023. (Reuters)
Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan salutes as he listens to the national anthem after landing in the military airport of Port Sudan on his first trip away following the crisis in Sudan's capital Khartoum since an internal conflict broke out, in the city of Port Sudan, Sudan, August 27, 2023. (Reuters)

Acting governor of Khartoum Ahmed Othman Hamza announced on Wednesday that army commander and head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had agreed to a recommendation to declare a state of emergency in Khartoum State.

He said the higher committee for emergencies and crisis management in the state was in the process of issuing several decrees to impellent the state of emergency and tackle what he described as “foreign presence” in the capital.

The presence “has become a real threat to national security,” he added.

Foreigners are taking part in the fighting alongside the “rebel militia”, he went on to say in reference to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The army had in recent months recaptured parts of Khartoum, including areas in Omdurman, that were seized by the RSF.

The RSF still controls large parts of the capital and it is preparing to launch a large-scale offensive on al-Fashir, capital of North Darfur.

Should it succeed, it would have control over all Darfur states in western Sudan.

Doctors without Broders said on Wednesday it had treated over 100 people, including 11 children, who were wounded in the fighting in al-Fashir.