Day: July 29, 2024

Ramallah - Ma'an - The Ministry of Education announced today, Monday, the results of the first round of high school exams for the year 2024. For the first time, the General Secondary Certificate Examinations (Tawjihi) were launched in Palestine without the Gaza Strip. Since October 7, the day the war began, all stages of the educational process have been halted in the Gaza Strip, as schools have been converted into shelters for the displaced. The Ministry of Education said that 39,000 high school students from the Gaza Strip did not take the high school exam this year, and 10,000 of them were martyred, in addition to 400 teachers. She added that there is no general percentage of success as the number of students is not complete. About 50 thousand male and female students from the West Bank and those in some countries (Turkey, Qatar, Romania, Bulgaria, and Russia) took the exams in 506 high school exam halls, with the exception of students from the Gaza Strip, whose number is 39 thousand students, due to the ongoing occupation aggression since October 7th. Source: Maan News Agency

A security source announced that a checkpoint in Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, was targeted by gunfire. The source told the National Iraqi News Agency/NINA/: "Unknown gunmen opened fire, at dawn today, Monday, towards Al-Furat checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Al-Anaz in Abu Ghraib area," stressing: "The incident did not result in any injuries. Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Bethlehem - Ma'an - The head of the Prisoners' Affairs Authority called on the international community to stop the occupation's crimes against Palestinian detainees for 10 months. He added, "We demand an international committee to investigate the occupation's crimes against our detainees, especially in the Sde Timan camp." He said, "Sde Teiman represents the occupation system, and there are documented testimonies of sexual assaults and crimes in other prisons." Source: Maan News Agency

Russia announced, on Monday, that it had shot down 12 Ukrainian drones over Kursk province. Acting governor of the Russian Kursk province, Alexei Smirnov, said via the Telegram application that Russian air defenses shot down 12 Ukrainian drones over the Oboyansky and Medvinsky regions. Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Gaza - Ma'an - The Arab Organization for the Protection of Nature, in partnership with Gaza farmers, has completed the rehabilitation and cultivation of about 400 dunums of Gaza Strip land with agricultural seeds, as part of the first phase of its project "Reviving Gaza Farms", which it launched in conjunction with Palestinian Land Day last March, in response to calls from Gaza farmers. The project comes to confront the starvation war that the Gaza Strip has been suffering from for several months. It has been able to reach about 162 farmers from the northern, central and southern regions so far, and provide them with agricultural crops with high nutritional value and rapid production. Al-Arabiya began its project in cooperation with the Gaza Municipality by planting vegetable seeds and seedlings in the municipality's nursery, with an area estimated at about 6.5 dunams, which was destroyed by the occupation bulldozers at the beginning of the aggression, and tens of thousands of trees and seedlings were destr oyed, with the deliberate uprooting of about 55 thousand trees in the streets and islands of Gaza City. The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature in the central region, Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis and part of Rafah planted about 500,000 seedlings of various vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, hot and sweet peppers, cantaloupe and zucchini, covering an area of ??about 200 dunams. It replanted approximately 170 dunums in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, with 900 kilograms of mallow seeds, and 115,000 eggplant and hot pepper seeds. The first phase of the 'Reviving Gaza Farms' project includes, in addition to planting crops, rehabilitating damaged farms by extending irrigation networks to replace damaged ones, building greenhouses, planting fruit trees, constructing and renovating agricultural ponds and fishing equipment, in addition to rehabilitating broiler farms and honey beehives, all by directly benefiting from the resources available within the sector itself. The second phase, whic h is expected to begin soon, includes planting 50,000 diverse fruit trees, noting that 60% of the war of destruction targeted trees. The head of the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature, Eng. Razan Zuaiter, confirmed that the 'Reviving Gaza Farms' project is not the first implemented by the organization in the Strip, as it has been keen since its establishment two decades ago to implement numerous projects and campaigns, most notably in 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2021, during which it planted 450,000 trees, and worked on rehabilitating greenhouses, agricultural ponds, irrigation networks, poultry, sheep, apiaries, fishing equipment, and others. Zaiter said that this exceptional war required a rapid response to resist the starvation war imposed by the aggression on the people of the Strip, stressing that the agricultural sector has the potential to regain its vitality if it is supplied with the main production inputs. Zaiter stressed the need to focus on the issue of food sovereignty in the Strip, by helping G azans produce and establish local food systems, and not relying on relief aid, which, despite its necessity, remains fragile in light of the siege and the closure of crossings. It is worth noting that the 'Reviving Gaza Farms' project is part of the Million Tree Planting Program, which the Arab Society for the Protection of Nature has been working on since 2001 in the Palestinian territories. During this program, the organization contributed to planting about 3 million trees throughout the Palestinian territories, in place of trees that the Israeli occupation uprooted, or lands that were bulldozed, and working to rehabilitate them again; in order to help Palestinian farmers preserve their lands, enhance their steadfastness, and provide a livelihood for them and their families. Zaiter stressed that the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature will continue to work to support Palestinian farmers through green resistance and planting fruit trees, raising its slogan: 'They uproot a tree...we plant ten.' Source : Maan News Agency

Palestinian journalist Mohammed Abu Daqqa was martyred as a result of an Israeli drone strike in the center of Khan Yunis. Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Gaza - Ma'an - Hamas said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added new conditions and demands to the US proposal for a ceasefire. The movement added in a statement that the new demands "retract what the mediators conveyed as an Israeli paper, which was part of (US President Joe) Biden's project and later a UN Security Council resolution." She explained that this shows that Netanyahu "has once again returned to the strategy of procrastination, delay and evasion of reaching an agreement." Source: Maan News Agency

the developer behind the regenerative tourism destinations The Red Sea and Amaala, hosted a celebratory planting initiative on International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem. More than 100 volunteers from the local community, plus representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) and students in RSG's English for Tourism program, took part in the planting initiative, organized in collaboration with Green Umluj, a local NGO. Group Chief Environment and Sustainability Officer at RSG, Raed Albasseet, emphasized the importance of mangrove trees as powerful tools for carbon sequestration, noting their capability to absorb up to 5-10 times more carbon than other plants. He added that establishing a sustainable mangrove ecosystem is crucial to RSG's commitment to safeguarding and enriching the natural environment of their destinations. Last year, RSG opened the Red Sea Mangrove Nursery and has transplanted one million seedlings across its destination areas to date. T his year, it expects to grow a further two million. This latest initiative is part of a larger-scale program called 'From People to Planet,' where members of the local community, RSG partners, and visitors to The Red Sea destination can participate in future planting initiatives. "Through meticulous site selection, we have achieved a remarkable survival rate of 99% among the transplanted mangroves across our destination areas. But beyond the brains needed to achieve this feat, it takes incredible people power. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the partners and local community members who have volunteered to help in our planting efforts to date. Our hope is that through our 'From People to Planet' program, others will support our environmental regeneration efforts," Albasseet added. Last year, The Red Sea welcomed its first guests, with three of its hotels now open. Red Sea International (RSI) has been receiving a regular schedule of domestic flights since September 2023, and international flights began in April 2024, with a twice-weekly route between The Red Sea and Dubai International. Upon full completion in 2030, the destination will comprise 50 resorts, offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms and more than 1,000 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites. The destination will also include luxury marinas, golf courses, entertainment, food and beverage, and leisure facilities. Source: Saudi Press Agency

Rafah - Ma'an - The mayor of Rafah, Dr. Ahmed Al-Sufi, considered the occupation forces' detonation of the main water tank and the Canada well in the Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood, west of the city, as a crime against humanity and an escalation in the policy of collective punishment and genocide. Dr. Al-Sufi said, 'The documented scenes of the occupation soldiers blowing up the Canada water tank, which was supplying the Rafah water network with 3,000 m3 per day, and the Canada well, which operates at an operational capacity of 180 m3/hour, and the soldiers' boasting while carrying out their mission, reveal the truth of their goals of destroying everything that exists, destroying the necessities of life, and their disregard for international laws.' He explained that the total cost of constructing the Canada tank and well amounted to 1,700,000 US dollars, financed by several international institutions. Al-Sufi stressed that the destruction of the main tank will exacerbate the water crisis in the city and will d irectly affect the citizens and water quantities, in light of the lack of capabilities to build alternative tanks or the availability of spare parts to replace what was destroyed. Dr. Al-Sufi appealed to international bodies to quickly intervene to stop the occupation's crimes against the Palestinian people and open the crossings to allow the entry of spare parts and machinery to repair the water and sewage networks. Source: Maan News Agency

The Ministry of Health is preparing for the seventh edition of the Global Health Exhibition 2024 under the theme "Invest in Health," organized by Tahaluf Company and supported by the Health Sector Transformation Program. The exhibition will take place at the Riyadh Convention and Exhibition Center in Malham, north of Riyadh, from October 21 to 23, 2024. More than 1,200 global and local companies and brands from over 70 countries, and more than 500 experts and speakers will participate to discuss the latest developments and investments in the health sector, showcasing the latest technologies with innovators and investors in the field. The upcoming edition of the Global Health Exhibition, one of the three most attended health forums and one of the fastest-growing health forums worldwide, aims to encourage individuals to invest in their health for better well-being and to promote investment in the health sector. It will feature numerous health innovations and technologies that contribute to enhancing public he alth. Moreover, there will be announcements of significant investment launches and agreements in various promising investment opportunities within the health sector. The event will also feature more than 100 panel discussions where experts in medical and health fields will discuss key aspects of the healthcare system and investment in the Kingdom within the context of the Health Sector Transformation Program. In addition, there will be numerous innovations and products showcased across more than nine health sectors: biotechnology, healthcare and public services, imaging and diagnostics, laboratory equipment and devices, as well as pharmaceuticals, nutrition, and IT systems and solutions. The Ministry of Health has provided an opportunity for interested individuals to register for the conference, attend its events, and benefit from the expertise of health professionals via the following link: http://www.globalhealthsaudi.com. Source: Saudi Press Agency