Biden campaign refuses invitation to address US Muslim voter advocacy groups Muslim voters say the campaign's refusal to engage 'reveals the disconnect' between Biden and voters, as Muslims hear from third-party candidates MEE staff Fri, 04/26/2024 - 20:17 A Muslim organiser talks to voters outside of a polling location at Maples Elementary School in Dearborn, Michigan, on 27 February (Kevin Dietsch/AFP) US President Joe Biden's reelection campaign team refused an invitation to address a symposium regarding the voter engagement of more than one million Muslim Americans in the country, accord ..read more

War on Gaza: Why are students protesting at campuses across the US? Hundreds of students and faculty have been arrested by police for participating in protest encampments on university campuses in support of Palestinians Umar A Farooq Fri, 04/26/2024 - 16:56 Mounted police were mobilised against demonstrators protesting against Israel's war in Gaza at the University of Texas at Austin, on 24 April (Brandon Bell/AFP) Students at the Columbia University encampment protesting against Israel's assault on Gaza have over the past week sparked a wave of similar actions on college campuses acro ..read more

Israel: Ben Gvir rushed to hospital after car accident Far-right Israeli minister's car overturned resulting in moderate injuries MEE staff Fri, 04/26/2024 - 16:16 Israeli police cordon off the site of a car accident that involved Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Ramla south of Tel Aviv, 26 April 2024 (Ahmad Gharabli / AFP) Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir has been rushed to hospital after he was involved in a car accident in central Israel on Friday.  The national security minister was reportedly near Ramla when the accident happened.  According to Israeli media, his ca ..read more

Sudan: El-Fasher faces massacre as final fight for Darfur looms The Rapid Support Forces have the state capital of North Darfur under siege, leaving a million civilians with no way out Oscar Rickett Fri, 04/26/2024 - 14:18 A crowded ward at a hospital in el-Fasher in Sudan's North Darfur region (AFP/MSF) Sudanese and international experts are warning of a massacre that could generate “Hiroshima and Nagasaki-level casualties” in the Darfur city of el-Fasher, which is surrounded by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The estimated one million civilians inside the state capital of Nort ..read more

Gaza boycott: Calls for Egypt's Al Ahly to end Coca-Cola contract over alleged Israel links Al Ahly SC faces a boycott campaign after a senior official called on fans to buy club merchandise with Coca-Cola brand MEE correspondent Fri, 04/26/2024 - 11:06 Fans of Al Al Ahly raise the Palestinian flag during the African Football League semi-final match with Mamelodi Sundowns FC, at Cairo International Stadium, Egypt, 1 November 2023 (Ayman Aref/NurPhoto/via Reuters) Egypt's Al Ahly sports club is facing mounting pressure to sever its ties with Coca-Cola due to the latter's alleged links to ..read more

Israel's Smotrich urges 'complete destruction' of Gaza instead of truce talks Far-right minister condemns indirect negotiations with Hamas and calls for their assassination across the globe MEE staff Fri, 04/26/2024 - 10:19 Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, enters the Old City of Jerusalem during the Israeli 'flags march', on 18 May 2023 (Hazem Bader / AFP) Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the "complete destruction" of the Gaza Strip as he hit out against truce talks between the government and Hamas. Writing on X, formerly known as Twi ..read more

US State Department Arabic spokesperson resigns over Gaza policy Hala Rharrit is the third State Department official to step down over Washington's support for Israel's war MEE staff Fri, 04/26/2024 - 10:14 Hala Rharrit, Arabic language spokesperson for the State Department, has quit in protest (United States Department of State) The Arabic language spokesperson of the US State Department has resigned over Washington's Gaza war policy, in the third resignation from the department since the war began. Hala Rharrit, a Palestinian-American, posted her resignation on the ..read more

Pro-Palestinian students vow to 'de-occupy' Princeton after administration halts encampment Princeton University is widely considered to be more conservative than other major east coast universities Azad Essa Thu, 04/25/2024 - 15:00 Protesters at Princeton University are demanding complete divestment from companies involved in the Israeli occupation of Palestinians (Azad Essa/MEE) Hours after administrators shut down a fledgling encampment at Princeton University on Thursday morning, hundreds of students took control of a central courtyard at Princeton University, vowing to remain until the ..read more

UK under pressure to restore Unrwa funding following Colonna report Scottish National Party and Labour both call on Rishi Sunak and David Cameron to respond to report on Unrwa neutrality Oscar Rickett Thu, 04/25/2024 - 16:04 Displaced Palestinians receive food aid at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) centre in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 28 January 2024 (AFP) The British government is coming under increased pressure to restore future funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) and to respond publicly to the Colonna rep ..read more

'My heart will always ache': Pain and patience at Gaza's mass graves At Nasser hospital, dozens of bodies are exhumed every day. Mothers of missing Palestinians check their faces, teeth and clothes for signs their son is among them Maha Hussaini Thu, 04/25/2024 - 15:24 Palestinian health workers unearth bodies buried by Israeli forces in the grounds of Nasser hospital on 21 April (Reuters/Omar Ashtawy/apaimages) For the past four mornings, Amal al-Baiouk has come to Nasser hospital to watch the dead bodies be brought out. Like the other parents of missing people, who keep returning to this d ..read more