Friday, March 29

Types of News: Brief

News briefs are shorter stories about current events. It’s the who-what-when-and-where. “Just the facts, ma’am.” Please see our writers guidelines.

Top PAC Recipients in the U.S. House 2023-2024
Domestic Politics, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief, United States

Top PAC Recipients in the U.S. House 2023-2024

Eye on Politics March 6, 2024-As the U.S. political cycle kicks into higher gear, it's time to take a closer look at who is running with what resources. Political action committees, known as PACs, play a significant role in U.S. elections. Below is a list of House members receiving the most PAC money, according to data from Open Secrets. The top receiver, Jason Smith, Republican from Missouri, is chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. The top five contributors to Rep. Smith in the 2023-2024 cycle are the National Association of Realtors, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Apollo Global Management, Herzog Contracting, and the Alliantgroup.
Senators Say ‘No’ To Biden’s Unapproved Arms Transfers To Israel
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Types of News: Brief

Senators Say ‘No’ To Biden’s Unapproved Arms Transfers To Israel

January 9, 2024—A group of 12 Senate Democrats are pushing back against President Biden's request to gain authority to permit arms transfers to Israel without going through the normal process. Biden's Arms Transfers To Israel Since October 7 Since October 7, 2023, President Joe Biden has twice invoked emergency authority in shipping military weapons to Israel without first securing congressional authority. On December 9, Biden released a $106.5 million sale of high-explosive anti-tank shells, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Notably, it included consulting services by "U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; studies and surveys; and other related elements of logistics and program support." The second unauthorized...
Iraqi PM Says Its Time For US Troops To Go Home
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Geopolitics, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Iraqi PM Says Its Time For US Troops To Go Home

January 6, 2024—As Israel and Hamas continue battling in Gaza, the conflict is having a destabilizing impact on the wider region. It is impacting Iraq and Syria, where the U.S. military has forces, as well as Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and shipping in the Red Sea. This week Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is making it clear to the U.S. government that he is ready for the 2,500 U.S. troops stationed there to go home. The government started "setting the date for the start of the bilateral committee to put arrangements to end the presence of the international coalition forces in Iraq permanently," the prime minister's office said on Friday, according to a Reuters news report. "We stress our firm position in ending the existence of the international coalition after the justi...
G7 Foreign Ministers Call For Pauses In Gaza War
Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, International Development, Middle East, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

G7 Foreign Ministers Call For Pauses In Gaza War

November 8, 2023—A day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a call by the U.S. and world leaders to pause the war, G7 foreign ministers called for "urgent action to address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza." Specifically, the G7 statement called for the protection of civilians. "We support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages. Foreign nationals must also be allowed to continue to depart. We underscore the importance of protecting civilians and compliance with international law, in particular international humanitarian law." The calls for a ceasefire or pause have only grown during the month-long war as civilian deaths and casualties have grown. G7 minis...
WHO Issues Warning About The Middle East
Human rights, Middle East, Types of News: Bit, Types of News: Brief

WHO Issues Warning About The Middle East

October 28, 2023—The World Health Organization issued a warning about escalating hostilities in the Middle East. Specifically, the conflict and deteriorating health conditions are not limited to the Gaza Strip but are also in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, and Syria. Furthermore, they pose a risk of "spilling over to other countries in the region, including Jordan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Iraq." Specifically, in Gaza, the situation is desperate: "The health system is on the verge of collapse and dwindling access to health services, clean water, food and fuel on top of an already weakened healthcare system risks further loss of civilian life. Massive displacement to shelters with inadequate resources will result in disease outbreaks." For more, see the Wor...
Oxfam Warns That Starvation As A Weapon Of War Is Illegal
Foreign Aid, International Development, Human rights, International Law, Legal Battles, Types of News: Brief

Oxfam Warns That Starvation As A Weapon Of War Is Illegal

Gazan Aid Is 2 Percent Of What It Needs Oxfam: People in line waiting for one bag of bread. People line up as early as 6 am before sunrise to get bread in Gaza city. October 25, 2023—Since October 7, people in the Gaza Strip has only received about 2 percent of the humanitarian aid that normally enters according to Oxfam International. A trickle of aid is now entering in—62 trucks, but it is not enough to prevent death by starvation and dehydration. International Humanitarian Law In a statement released today, Oxfam International warned that "International Humanitarian Law (IHL) strictly prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare and as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is bound by IHL obligations to provide for the needs and protection of the population of Gaza...
UN Chief Says Terror Attacks Cannot Justify ‘Collective Punishment’
Diplomacy, Human rights, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

UN Chief Says Terror Attacks Cannot Justify ‘Collective Punishment’

Guterres Stands By His Comments After Israel Misinterprets Message October 25, 2023—United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is standing by comments he made yesterday at the UN Security Council after Israel's ambassador erupted in rage. The flare-up occurred on the sidelines of a day-long meeting by the Security Council on the security situation in the Middle East, the Israel-Hamas war, and the massive humanitarian crisis in Gaza.     'Even War Has Rules' On Tuesday, Guterres clearly condemned the October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel by Hamas, acknowledged longstanding problems with Israel's 56-year occupation of the Palestinians, and reminded all parties that "even war has rules." https://youtu.be/XKSQMYsQEg4?si=qur83ZTBRnjshpz9 Guter...
Western Leaders Release Statement On Israel
Human rights, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Western Leaders Release Statement On Israel

October 23, 2023—Leaders from six Western countries released a joint statement yesterday that supports Israel's war but urges the leaders to protect civilians. The leaders are U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. "The leaders reiterated their support for Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorism and called for adherence to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians," the statement said. It appears the announcement about the statement is the statement itself. It comes a day after global leaders met at a Cairo Summit hosted by Egypt, where many regional leaders accused the We...
Rafah Border Crossing Opens To Limited Convoy As Bombing Continued
Foreign Aid, International Development, Human rights, International Law, Legal Battles, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Rafah Border Crossing Opens To Limited Convoy As Bombing Continued

Bombing continues as a convoy of 20 trucks crosses into Gaza from Rafah. Source: Qatari-run Al Jazeera October 21, 2023—About 20 Red Crescent trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered southern Gaza today. It is the first time the Rafah border crossing has opened since the terror attacks of October 7 and ensuring war. But United Nations and humanitarian officials say relief is just a drop of what aid is urgently needed in Gaza. "This is miniscule. It's just a drop in the ocean of what is needed for the Gaza people," Palestine Red Crescent Director Marwan Jilani said in an interview today with the Qatari-run Al Jazeera. Millions of Lives At Risk Before the Israel-Hamas War, a million people in Gaza relied upon emergency food assistance from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Pa...
UN Chief Calls For Sustained Humanitarian Aid, Not One Convoy
Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, International Development, Human rights, Types of News: Brief

UN Chief Calls For Sustained Humanitarian Aid, Not One Convoy

October 20, 2023—UN Secretary-General António Guterres is in Egypt, and he wants humanitarian aid to start flowing to people in Gaza. As of today, the Rafah border crossing is still closed. "We are witnessing a paradox," Guterres said, emphasizing the dire need for food, fuel, medicine, and water. "We are not looking for one convoy to come. We are looking for convoys to be authorized in meaningful numbers of trucks to go every day to provide enough support for the Gaza people." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOFV-sVhtH0 El Paid, October 20, 2023 The urgent call for opening up the border crossing comes two days after President Biden said he's negotiated a deal to allow 20 trucks into Gaza. The Biden administration, however, also vetoed a broader arrangement to allow more susta...

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