Endangered hippos stranded in dry rivers in Botswana amid severe drought



International Desk, Barta24.com , Dhaka
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African countries are suffering from severe drought. A herd of endangered hippos trapped in the mud of a dry reservoir in the drought-stricken African country of Botswana is at risk of dying.

South Africa has been hit by severe drought due to El Nino weather, AFP reported. Crops in the region are under threat, millions of people are starving. Several countries in the region have recently declared national disasters.

Herds of hippos become trapped in dried-up rivers near the vast wetlands of the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana.

Lesego Moseki, spokesman for the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) in Botswana's capital Gaborone, said the river system had dried up and the animals were in a compromised situation.

Botswana is home to the world's largest population of hippos living in the wild. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are approximately 2,000 to 4,000 hippos.

Moseki said hippos in Ngamiland (North West District) depend on water flowing through the Okavango Delta system. They are still investigating how many hippos died in the pools.

Hippos have thick but sensitive skin. They need to bathe regularly in water to avoid sunburn and they usually live in humid areas.

Without water they can become aggressive and approach villages. Local authorities have called for the hippos to be relocated to protected areas to avoid conflict with humans.

El Niño is a naturally occurring climate pattern usually associated with global warming, leading to drought in some parts of the world and heavy rainfall in others.

   

143 countries voted at the UNGA for the creation of an independent Palestine



International Desk, Barta24.com
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143 countries, including Bangladesh, have voted in the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) for the creation of an independent Palestinian state. 9 countries voted against. And 25 countries abstained from voting. AP news.

The resolution was tabled at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday (May 10).

It said, "Let there be another vote in the Security Council in favor of the creation of an independent Palestinian state." Do you have support in this?

143 countries agreed to this proposal. The General Assembly called on the Security Council to become the 194th member of the United Nations by majority vote.

Earlier, on April 18, despite widespread support, the path of recognition of Palestine as a member state of the United Nations was blocked by the veto of the United States.

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said on Thursday that the Biden administration opposed the proposal.

The United States was among nine countries that voted against it, including Israel. 

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Protests in Sweden against Israel's participation in Eurovision



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Thousands of protesters, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, marched in the Swedish city of Malmo to protest Israel's participation in the Eurovision Music Contest.

Demonstrators took to the streets of the port city on Thursday (May 9) wearing the keffiyeh (historic headscarf), a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and waving the country's flag. The semi-final of the music contest is scheduled to take place tonight in Malmö, BBC reports.

Amani Eli-Ali, a Palestinian resident of Malmö, said that it is not right for Sweden to put Israel in the Eurovision contest.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg, who took part in the Palestinian protests, said there was a "moral responsibility" to speak out and do something against Israel's military operation in Gaza.

She said, "If we take thousands of people to the streets of Malmö during the Eurovision contest, it will be said that we will not accept this to continue." And then it will be a very strong signal and it will have some effect.

Another protester told Reuters news agency he wanted Israel disqualified from the Eurovision music contest as was done to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

But Israeli contestant Golan said he was proud to represent his country in the music competition. Nothing can deter him from this competition.

Golan said, I have focused on music. Many are supporting me. Many of the pro-Israel protesters were seen singing Golan's songs in support of him.

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Israel will fight alone if necessary to defeat Hamas: Netanyahu



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US President Joe Biden has threatened to cut off US arms supplies if a major operation is carried out in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would "fight alone" if necessary to defeat Hamas in Palestine.

Netanyahu said these things in a statement on Thursday (May 9). News from The Guardian.

Netanyahu said, 76 years ago in 1948, we were few against many in the war of independence. We had no weapons. There was an arms embargo on Israel, but because of our strong spirit, bravery and unity - we prevailed.

"If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone," Netanyahu said. We will fight with our nails if necessary. But we know there's more to us than our fingernails.

Netanyahu's recent comments and their continued attacks on Gaza will further strain Israel-US relations.

Meanwhile, the White House has said that a major attack on Rafah may not be the only way to defeat Hamas. On Thursday, White House spokesman John Kirby said in a media briefing that, in Biden's view, attacking Rafah alone will not fulfill Israel's goals and objectives. Kirby added that talks between the US and Israel about Rafa are still ongoing.

The Gaza war began seven months ago. The Ministry of Health of Gaza said yesterday that since October 7, 34 thousand 844 people have been killed by Israeli forces.

It was Biden's first public warning to Israel since the start of the Gaza war. Biden admits that Israel is using US weapons to kill civilians in Gaza. Biden expressed regret over the civilian deaths caused by the use of US-supplied bombs in the Palestinian territories.

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Seeing hypocrites through the lens of Gaza war



Shamsunnahar Seba
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The Western nations, including the US, often cite the killing of 1200 Jewish people in Hamas’ October 7 attack to justify Israel’s war on Gaza, which has so far claimed the lives of around 35,000 Palestinians.

The Biden administration has also passed a bill to provide Israel with $14 billion, extending its support for the war against Hamas, a political faction in Palestine governing Gaza Strip since 2007.

Once committed to the extinction of Jews people, Europe and America are now very protective of Israelis’ security. 

They are apparently justifying the killings of Palestinians only to eradicate Hamas, who they think is a threat to the existence of Jews people. 

Supported by its western allies, Israel is carrying out devastation in Gaza, in line with its plan to take control over Palestine. 

It was the protesting students of American universities who compelled the US to pursue a ceasefire deal. However, this move has put both President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the crosshairs, given the upcoming US presidential election in November and the pressure within Israel’s war cabinet, which threatens to strip Netanyahu of the premiership in the event of any deal ending the war.

Meanwhile, devastated by the Israeli offensive, Hamas, which triggered the war through its October 7 attack, has agreed to a ceasefire plan brokered by Qatar and Egypt. However, the US, a key player in brokering the ceasefire deal, has said it is reviewing the plan agreed upon by Hamas, following Israel’s refusal to accept it, citing 'softened conditions'.

While the mediators are struggling to reach a deal in Qatar for days, Israel pressed ahead with its Rafah offensive despite warnings from international agencies including the UN that it would cause a humanitarian catastrophe given the city sheltering more than one million displaced Palestinians. 

Meanwhile, the US, shaken by the students' protests, spurred the Western media into a frenzy, creating drama surrounding the shipment of weapons to Israel. The US paused the latest shipment cautioning Israel against any large-scale operation in Rafah.

It would be unjust not to mention that the US, the self-proclaimed protector of global human rights, has set aside $10 billion out of its $95 billion aid package, intended for Ukraine and Israel, for humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones around the world, including Palestinians in Gaza.

The fraternal Muslim countries have not lagged behind in staging drama surrounding the war, repeatedly calling for an end to the conflict while refraining from taking any concrete action, as if world leaders care about anything but power.

Jews people who were forced to emigrate to Arab regions in the face of state sponsored persecution, mass killings in the 19th and 20th centuries' Europe and America, established Israel following the end of the Second World War. But their struggle for existence is far from over, with the only good news being that the current enemy they are fighting against is much weaker than the previous ones.

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