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Melania Trump to speak to new American citizens about responsibility of ‘guarding our freedom’

EXCLUSIVE: Former first lady Melania Trump will speak to new American citizens on Friday about the “responsibility” of citizenship and the importance of “guarding our freedom” during a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives.  Trump will reflect on her own experience and the “sense of success” she felt “immediately” after becoming a U.S. citizen, according to excerpts of prepared remarks obtained by Fox News Digital. The National Archives is hosting a naturalization ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday in the historic National Archives Rotunda. The ceremony will feature 25 people from 25 nations sworn in as new citizens of the U.S. before the Constitution and other founding documents. MELANIA TRUMP ROLLS OUT ‘AMERICAN CHRISTMAS’ ORNAMENTS, NFTS TO HELP FUND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FOSTER CHILDREN The former first lady will speak at the ceremony and discuss the responsibilities that come with being an American citizen. “It means actively participating in the democratic process and guarding our freedom. It also means leading by example and contributing to our society,” the former first lady is expected to say. “It is a life-altering experience that takes time, determination and sometimes even tremendous strength.” “Throughout our lives, we cross thresholds,” Trump will say. “And although obstacles often stand in the way of our goals, we persevere, as we understand that conquering them will provide great access to personal development, fulfillment and eventually self-actualization.” Ahead of the ceremony, the former first lady told Fox News Digital that she was “honored to receive the invitation to participate in the Naturalization Ceremony on Bill of Rights Day.” MELANIA FULLY BEHIND TRUMP’S 2024 CAMPAIGN, SAYS IT WOULD BE A ‘PRIVILEGE’ TO SERVE AS FIRST LADY AGAIN “I can personally relate to the wave of emotions experienced by the individuals in today’s celebration and remember the sense of success I felt immediately after becoming a United States citizen,” Trump said. The former first lady said that the “weight of this transformative moment is accentuated by the magnificence of the venue itself,” referring to the Rotunda of the National Archives.  “How fortunate to be with the naturalizing individuals and their families as they recite the Oath of Allegiance and become Americans before our great nation’s founding documents,” she said.  The former first lady, in a previous interview, told Fox News Digital that she supports her husband’s presidential campaign and looks forward to “restoring hope for the future and leading America with love and strength” during a possible second term in the White House. Trump said that if she has “the privilege” to serve as first lady again in 2024, she would continue to prioritize initiatives focused on the well-being and development of children, to ensure they have the “support and resources they need to reach their full potential.” Former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead over the GOP primary field.  During her time as first lady, Trump hosted virtual roundtables on foster care as part of her “Be Best” initiative, and focused on strengthening the child welfare system. She worked with members of Congress on legislation that secured funding for grants awarded to youth and young adults currently or formerly in foster care to help pay for college, career school or training. The bill ultimately was signed by then-President Trump in December 2020. Since leaving the White House, the former first lady also created special edition Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). A portion of those proceeds went towards her initiative “Fostering the Future” to secure education opportunities and scholarships for children in the foster care community.

Republican attorney general exposes DOJ funding to Soros-backed group that trains left-wing prosecutors

EXCLUSIVE — A Republican state attorney general is asking members of Congress to probe a Justice Department grant that he says benefits a “radically progressive” George Soros-linked group responsible for training prosecutors in ways to implement a soft-on-crime approach to their work. Missouri’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey sent letters to congress Wednesday to urge both Republican and Democrat lawmakers “to further investigate and eliminate funding for programs that are counter-productive to public safety” and that “aid or encourage prosecutors to abuse discretion by refusing to bring criminals to justice.” Bailey’s letters follow what he describes as a “galvanizing moment” in Missouri when disgraced St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner – “a progressive soft-on-crime prosecutor” – let a repeat criminal out on bail who then drove his speeding car into a young girl, leaving her with injures that required the amputation of both of her legs. Gardner ultimately resigned after mounting evidence of duty dereliction and criticism from both political parties. ST LOUIS DA SHOVED ‘AGGRESSIVE’ RACIAL EQUITY AGENDAS INTO DAILY PROSECUTION DECISIONS USING SOROS-LINKED ORG “As states like Missouri are leading the fight to uphold justice and put criminals behind bars, organizations and their partners in the federal government are doing just the opposite,” Bailey wrote. “The fact is, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in lock-step with radicals like George Soros, is actively funding organizations like the Vera Institute that are turning our streets into war zones,” he said. Bailey names the Vera Institute — a Brooklyn-based advocacy group that says it wants to “transform the criminal and legal justice systems” with ties to Washington, D.C., Democrats — as a “deeply embedded” key partner in Gardner’s former office, “turning it into a catastrophic social experiment more concerned with lowering prosecution rates than convicting violent criminals.” Soros’ Open Society Foundations donated nearly $11 million to the Vera Institute in previous years. SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR MIRED IN SCANDAL RESIGNS FROM OFFICE Bailey says Gardner “bragged” that her office “partnered with the Vera Institute of Justice’s Reshaping Prosecution program to shrink the system and instigate transformational change in St. Louis” as it implemented a “new approach centered on … racial equity.” “Ms. Gardner’s partnership with George Soros and the Vera Institute, with the aim of ‘actively shrinking the criminal legal system’s footprint,’ was a disastrous experiment, and it unmoored the office from sound law enforcement practices. The Vera Institute is a far-left advocacy organization dedicated to broad and nebulous goals such as moving away from ‘case-by-case’ prosecutorial discretion (deemed to be a ‘narrow view of justice’), choosing instead to focus on ‘systemic impact of case decisions.’”  In a statement to Fox News Digital, Vera said the group “entered into a partnership with then-Circuit Attorney for the City (CAC) of St. Louis Kim Gardner on a project to analyze her office data, measure racial disparities and identify areas for reform, and increase transparency with her community. The partnership helped the CAC implement policy reforms such as increased diversion programs that promote safety by addressing underlying drivers of crime and reducing recidivism.” “Vera’s role was to collect and analyze data and work with CAC staff to conceive policy solutions, which CAC leadership then decided whether to implement,” the group described. “Vera’s recommendations were based on research and data from the St. Louis community. Vera uses industry best practices to analyze local administrative data to understand how prosecutorial decisions impact public safety and racial disparities. Our research is reviewed by the Institutional Review Board and meets the highest standards. More importantly, our recommendations seek to promote public health and safety through alternatives to prosecution and incarceration that have been proven to build safer communities,” the group said. According to publicly available information provided on the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) website, the Vera Institute has been awarded hundreds of millions of dollars since at least 2009.  LESLEY WOLF, PROSECUTOR ACCUSED OF WORKING TO ‘LIMIT’ QUESTIONS ABOUT ‘BIG GUY’ IN HUNTER PROBE, OUT AT DOJ In that same year, then-President Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, gave the keynote address at Vera’s third annual Justice Address in New York City in which he thanked Vera for being an “extraordinary partner to the government in the administration of justice.” The OJP each year chooses law enforcement-related groups working to prevent and control crime to which to provide federal funding. The OJP’s budget is appropriated by Congress. In 2023, OJP’s requested budget was $6.2 billion. According to publicly available documents, Vera was awarded at least $4.5 million in grand money.  “As long as state leaders are forced to fight not only progressive prosecutors and radical billionaires, but also our own DOJ using tax dollars to undermine the rule of law in our communities, the battle becomes far more difficult to wage,” Bailey wrote in his letter. Bailey sent letters to House and Senate Judiciary Committee leadership and House and Senate Appropriations Committee leadership. The Department of Justice did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Top Biden aide’s spouse involved with group pushing electric vehicle transition

The spouse of a top aide to President Biden and first lady Jill Biden is involved with a group that views climate change as a national security threat and pushes for the transition to electric vehicles as part of its efforts, Fox News Digital has found. David Wade, former chief of staff to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and the husband of Elizabeth Alexander, a deputy assistant to President Biden and the spokesperson for Jill Biden, is entangled with the Washington, D.C.-based American Security Project (ASP), which views “climate security” as a critical component of its endeavors. While Alexander advises President Biden, who has directed his administration to aggressively push electric vehicles as part of its broader climate change agenda, Wade aids the ASP in similar endeavors from a national security-focused standpoint as a member of its board of directors. The ASP’s tax filings show the group also paid Wade’s clean energy consulting firm, Greenlight Strategies LLC, $11,000 last year. An ASP spokesperson told Fox News Digital his company received the payment to engage in a project aimed at “providing a forum for bipartisan discussion about climate change and its threats to national security under his LLC.” BEIJING-BACKED GREEN ENERGY FIRM IS EXPANDING IN US, POSING SERIOUS NATIONAL SECURITY RISK: REPORT “We see climate as an accelerant to instability in vulnerable regions. We can see the impact it is having on farming and food supplies, even here in the United States,” the ASP spokesperson said. “Our military is concerned as they are often the first sent in to address instability. U.S. military bases around the world, including right here in the United States, are affected by climate change, as can be witnessed in sea level rise.” Overall, ASP has supported an across-the-board transition to electric vehicles as part of its efforts to tackle climate change in the national security domain. JOE MANCHIN GOES SCORCHED-EARTH ON BIDEN ADMIN OVER EV ACTIONS BOOSTING CHINA In a fact sheet ASP released last year, the group said the “widespread adoption” of such vehicles will “keep the U.S. more secure by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and gas, and reduce financial incentives of petro-state autocracies like Russia.” The document further stated that transportation accounts for 29% of national greenhouse gas emissions, making it a “critical sector in achieving national net-zero climate goals, and enhancing both energy and national security” while referencing the Biden administration’s goal of “transitioning half of America’s vehicles to electric by 2030.” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital, “President Biden has warned for decades that climate change is a national security threat — in agreement with experts across the political spectrum such as Trump Administration Secretary of Defense James Mattis. The president is proud to be delivering on his campaign promise to bring manufacturing jobs back to America and cut Americans’ energy costs by taking on the climate crisis, including by ensuring that the United States wins the global competition for EV manufacturing.” Shortly after taking office in 2021, Biden issued the goal of ensuring 50% of total domestic vehicle purchases are electric by 2030, a first-of-its-kind goal cheered by green energy industry groups and climate advocates. Since then, the administration has pursued various regulations that, while not explicitly mandating electric vehicles, would create strong financial incentives for manufacturers to produce more zero-carbon options and for consumers to transition to those options. In December 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized rules that targeted heavy-duty trucks it said at the time were the “strongest-ever national clean air standards to cut smog- and soot-forming emissions” from such vehicles. The new standards went into effect March 27 and will be implemented for new trucks sold after 2027. INTERNAL DEM MEMO CLAIMS GOP BILL OUTLAWING EV MANDATES MAY LEAD TO PREMATURE DEATHS In April, the EPA proposed the most aggressive federal tailpipe emissions rules on light- and medium-duty emissions ever crafted. If finalized and implemented, 67% of new sedan, crossover, SUV and light truck purchases, up to 50% of bus and garbage truck purchases, 35% of short-haul freight tractor purchases and 25% of long-haul freight tractor purchases could be electric by 2032, the White House projected. Months later, in July, the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued its most aggressive fuel economy standards ever, an action critics say would increase consumer costs. And last year, the EPA also reinstated California’s authority under the Clean Air Act to implement its own emission standards and electric vehicle sales mandates, allowing other states to also adopt California’s rules. The state then approved regulations that mandated all car purchases in the state, which leads the country in annual car sales, be electric by 2035. Still, the electric vehicle industry has faced significant headwinds related to both the increasing costs associated with manufacturing and consumer hesitance around switching from gas-powered cars. “It is not an overstatement to say that the federal government is subsidizing EVs to a greater degree than even wind and solar electricity generation and embarking on an unprecedented endeavor to remake the entire American auto industry,” a recent Texas Public Policy Foundation report concluded.  “Despite these massive incentives, EVs are receiving a tepid response from the majority of Americans who cannot shoulder their higher cost. “It’s time for federal and state governments to stop driving the American auto industry off an economic cliff and allow markets to drive further improvements in cost and efficiency.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Wade for comment.

Issa says passport reform ‘long overdue’ as bill moves through House committee with bipartisan backing

Legislation that would overhaul the passport processing system in order to clear out a massive backlog facing Americans has passed through a top committee with unanimous support, with the bill’s author saying it now has a good chance of becoming law early next year. The Passport System Reform and Backlog Prevention Act, which aims to reduce processing times for passports, was approved unanimously by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, with both Democrats and Republicans voting in favor. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital he now hopes the bill will make its way to the president’s desk in early 2024. GOP LAWMAKERS WANT TO ELIMINATE PASSPORT BACKLOG WITH SWEEPING REFORM BILL “It’s long overdue, but we took the time to get it right that we could get a unanimous vote,” he said. “You’re never without being surprised when you get unanimous, even on something that one would think was non-controversial.” Americans have been facing lengthy passport processing delays since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the State Department currently timing delays at around seven to 10 weeks. The bill aims to bring processing to the level of other countries, where delays are shorter and there is greater online functionality. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers this year that during the COVID-19 pandemic, “the bottom basically dropped out of the system” at the department for handling both passports and visas due to travel demand plummeting, and the agency is still rebuilding while trying to keep up with the enormous surge in demand. The bill aims to reduce renewal times to within 30 days, in part by the federal government using technology and best practices. To achieve this, it not only sets standards for the government but also allows the State Department to hire dozens of personal service contractors in each of fiscal years 2024-2026 for consular affairs. STATE DEPT WARNS PASSPORT PROCESSING DELAYED AMID ‘UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND’ The targets set include those related to cybersecurity, affordability, customer service and geographic accessibility. The bill also requires within two years the creation of a dashboard to allow congressional staff to track casework for their constituents, a system of communication for citizens to receive email and text alerts about the status of their passport renewal and an app for those communications. Within four years, it would require an internet-based submission system for first-time passports and additional software to adjudicate low-risk renewals. The legislation would also require the Government Accountability Office to review the passport issuance process and see where additional improvements could be made, including possible collaboration with other agencies. Since the bill’s introduction, Issa’s office said that there have been some changes related to timelines and requirements in order to help garner additional support from Democrats, but the overall aim of the legislation remains the same. Issa said that the bill could either be passed on its own or attached to a larger piece of legislation, but he said that he will be working to make sure it gets through the Congress — including the upper chamber — without taking anything for granted. “We know of no opposition per se in the Senate, but I’ll be working with all of the offices to see if there is any and, if there is, to head it off,” he said. “We think that’s the best path to a quick delivery to the president’s desk.” The movement forward of the bill comes at a time when Republicans and Democrats are frequently struggling to find things to agree on, and Issa said that makes victories like this all the more important. “Doing the right thing never goes out of fashion, and at a time when there is so little to come together on, these kinds of legislation are particularly important,” he said.

Chinese official who praised CCP makes another appearance at top Ivy League school: ‘Historic connections’

A Chinese official who sparked controversy for praising the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and denying human rights abuses against the Uyghurs has made several appearances at high-profile institutions over the past year and recently showed up at a Columbia University symposium. “My honor to speak at Int’l Education Symposium ‘Cross-Fertilization of Culture & Education for Common Good’, celebrating 100th anniversary of Int’l Institute of @TeachersCollege, @Columbia, with educators from China, US&beyond,” Huang Ping, consul general of the People’s Republic of China in New York, recently posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Hope to strengthen this strong historic connections!” Over the last year, Huang has appeared at several prominent universities to meet with officials despite his past statements as well as rising concerns from the American public about China’s aggressive presence in the United States. US ALARMED AS CHINA HACKS CRITICAL SYSTEMS: WHAT YOU CAN DO In late November, Huang posted online that he had “fruitful discussions” with leaders at Princeton University. A month earlier, Huang was in Pennsylvania meeting not only with officials at the University of Pennsylvania but also with Democrat lawmakers and the Chester County Economic Development Council. Huang also met in November with top brass at Condé Nast, one of the largest media companies in the United States, with the Chinese government saying that the “current mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the United States has strong momentum, deep foundation and broad space.” Huang, who’s been the consul general of China’s New York Consulate since 2018, previously called the CCP a “great party” and has denied that China is targeting the Muslim Uyghur population in China. PENTAGON ALARMED BY CHINESE RUSH FOR ‘INTELLIGENTIZED’ WARFARE, BUT EXPERTS WARN ABOUT OVERRELIANCE ON AI “There are lots of lies here, fabricated by some people with their own political agenda,” Huang said in an August 2021 interview, denying the existence of genocide and internment camps targeting Uyghurs. “As I said, there’s no genocide, not a single evidence to prove that there’s a genocide or something there. It’s just a slandering.” In addition to praising the CCP, Huang has repeatedly promoted CCP talking points on X and amplified the agenda of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Fox News Digital previously reported that Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Huang met in April 2019 when she was the lieutenant governor to discuss cooperation between New York and China. WORLD SEEMINGLY SILENT AS CHINA EXPANDS CRACKDOWN ON MUSLIMS AND MOSQUES WHERE THEY WORSHIP A post on the website of the Chinese consulate showed a picture of them standing beside each other and smiling while holding a certificate that she presented to him for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In early 2021, he called her an “old friend” in a Facebook post, featuring a video of her, and has attended other events with her. He also stood onstage beside New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, this month at the China Day Celebration Parade Festival in New York, according to a press release. The office of the consul general of the People’s Republic of China did not respond to a request for comment. Huang’s office told Fox News Digital in October that the “recent visit to Pennsylvania is just a regular consular job. We visited high schools, universities and companies, had talks with state senators, entrepreneurs and scholars, to enhance sub-national cooperation and friendly communication between China and the U.S.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Columbia University and the Teachers College for comment. Fox News Digital’s Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report.

US Yazidis sue France’s Lafarge for aiding ISIL violence

Hundreds of Yazidi Americans have launched a class action lawsuit accusing French cement maker Lafarge of supporting violence carried out by ISIL (ISIS). Led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, the group filed the lawsuit on Thursday at a court in east New York, accusing the French conglomerate of conspiring to provide material support to a campaign of violence. Now United States citizens, the Yazidis are survivors of ISIL violence that started when the group targeted their homeland of Sinjar in northern Iraq in 2014. During that campaign, Murad was kidnapped and held by ISIL for three months. After escaping and fleeing to Germany, she became an activist working with survivors of trafficking and genocide. In 2016, she sued ISIL commanders with the help of Clooney. In 2018 she was awarded the peace prize. “When ISIS attacked Sinjar, my family was killed, and I was taken captive as a slave. I was exploited and assaulted every single day until my escape,” said Murad. The plaintiffs were represented by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, former US diplomat Lee Wolosky, and US law firm Jenner & Block. According to the lawsuit, Lafarge “aided and abetted ISIS’s acts of international terrorism and conspired with ISIS and its intermediaries”. The plaintiffs demand that the company “must pay compensation to the survivors”. Lafarge has admitted to a conspiracy that aided ISIL by providing millions of dollars in cash to the group, according to a statement by law firm Jenner & Block and is alleged to have provided ISIL with cement to construct underground tunnels and bunkers used to shelter ISIL members and hold hostages, including captured Yazidis. This is not the first time the company has faced such accusations. Families of US soldiers and aid workers killed or injured by ISIL fighters at the al-Nusra Front filed a similar lawsuit against Lafarge in July. The French company also pleaded guilty last October in a US court to a charge that it made payments to groups designated as terrorists by the United States, including ISIL, so that it could continue operating in Syria. Lafarge agreed to pay $778m in forfeiture and fines as part of the plea agreement. “It is shocking that a leading global corporation worked hand in hand with ISIS while ISIS was executing American civilians and committing genocide against Yazidis,” Clooney said in a statement. “We hope that this case will send a clear message that supporting terrorists cannot be ‘business as usual’ and that there will be justice for the victims.” Centuries of persecution For centuries, the Yazidis have been persecuted for their religious beliefs by the Ottomans, Arabs and most recently, ISIL. “Our religion is an ancient Mesopotamian one, connected to nature. We pray to Tawusî Melek, who is symbolised as a peacock. So, because we pray to a ‘peacock angel,’ we’ve been called ‘devil worshippers,’” Wahhab Hassoo, co-director of NL Helpt Yezidis, a Dutch organisation fighting for the rights of the community, told Al Jazeera. Yazidis mainly inhabit the mountainous regions of northwest Iraq. They consider the mountain valleys of Lalish and Sinjar sacred. The community can also be found in parts of Turkey, Armenia and Syria. ISIL views Yazidis as devil-worshippers. When the group took control of Iraq’s major cities in 2014, it killed and enslaved thousands, forcing many into camps for displaced people in Syria and Iraq. Some also fled to other parts of the world to seek refuge. Women members of Iraq’s Yazidi community hold  photos of victims of the August 2014 massacre carried out in the Sinjar region by ISIL fighters, during a commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the massacre at the Temple of Lalish, the holiest temple of the faith, in the Lalish valley near the Iraqi Kurdish city of Dohuk [File: Ismael Adnan/AFP] In 2016, The US determined ISIL committed genocide against Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims. In May 2021, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, special adviser and head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD), said: “I can confirm to the [UN Security] Council that based on our independent criminal investigations, UNITAD has established clear and convincing evidence that genocide was committed by ISIL against the Yazidi as a religious group.” Murad said that the tragedy for them is that the horrors they experienced took place under the awareness and support of powerful corporations like Lafarge. “Still, the responsible parties have not been held accountable,” she said. “In filing this lawsuit, I stand alongside my fellow Yazidi Americans seeking justice and accountability from those whose actions enabled our nightmare.” Adblock test (Why?)

Diseases spread in Gaza amid health system collapse, Israeli strikes

The besieged residents of the Gaza Strip who have so far survived Israel’s bombs and bullets, are increasingly faced with the spread of diseases amid heavy winter rains that have flooded their makeshift shelters, and an acute shortage of food and potable water. Doctors and aid workers have warned of epidemics given the dire humanitarian situation and with the enclave’s health system on its knees. From November 29 to December 10, cases of diarrhoea in children under five jumped 66 percent to 59,895, and increased by 55 percent for the rest of the population, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). The UN health agency cautioned that the figures likely did not provide the full picture because of a lack of complete information with the health system and other services in Gaza near collapse. Ahmed al-Farra, the head of the paediatric ward at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said this week that his ward was overrun with children suffering extreme dehydration, causing kidney failure in some cases, while severe diarrhoea was four times higher than normal. He said he was aware of 15 to 30 cases of hepatitis A in Khan Younis in the past two weeks: “The incubation period of the virus is three weeks to a month, so after a month there will be an explosion in the number of cases of hepatitis A.” In its latest report on conditions in Gaza, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the WHO has reported cases of meningitis, chickenpox, jaundice and upper respiratory tract infections. Since the truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed on December 1, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to shelter in abandoned buildings, schools and tents. Many more are sleeping in the open with little access to toilets or water to bathe, aid workers said. Twenty-one of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are closed, 11 are partially functional and four are minimally functional, according to WHO figures from December 10. Adblock test (Why?)

Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 70

EXPLAINER Raids continue on Jenin and Kamal Adwan Hospital amid mass protests calling for a ceasefire – here are major updates. Here’s how things stand on Friday, December 15, 2023: Latest developments A court in the Netherlands will rule today on whether the Dutch government needs to stop supplying F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, according to news reports. Jewish protesters in the United States organised demonstrations for a ceasefire in Gaza across eight major cities, blocking roads in some places. “On the 8th night of Hanukkah, 8 cities, 8 bridges,” activist group Jewish Voice for Peace wrote of the protests on social media. Benjamin Reese, a 51-year-old middle school teacher in the US, was arrested last week after he threatened to “behead’” a Muslim child offended by an Israeli flag hung in the classroom, news outlets reported on Thursday. German authorities said on Thursday that they have arrested four people suspected of being linked to Hamas and plotting to attack Jewish sites. A wartime opinion poll among Palestinians published on Wednesday shows a rise in support for Hamas while almost 90 percent of people want Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resign. Human impact and fighting Overnight Israeli attacks on Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza resulted in several casualties, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency. At least 10 people have been killed since dawn, while dozens of injured people from Khan Younis have been arriving at Nasser hospital, Al Jazeera Arabic reported. Israeli forces raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza for a third day in a row, forcing 2,500 displaced people to leave, while two patients died as a result of troops preventing medical staff from providing support, according to the United Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA). In a three-day raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers targeted a mosque where they were filmed chanting Jewish prayers and mocking the Islamic call to prayer over a loudspeaker. The Israeli army claimed on Thursday that those soldiers were “immediately removed from operational activity”. Israel’s military said it has recovered the body of a 28-year-old captive from Gaza. Yemen’s Houthi group said on Thursday that it hit an “Israel-bound” cargo ship in the Red Sea with a drone. Diplomacy Israel cancelled a planned trip of Mossad director David Barnea to Qatar where he was expected to restart talks on another captive release deal with Hamas, CNN reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with the negotiations. While speaking to reporters on Thursday, US President Joe Biden urged Israel to “be focused on how to save civilian lives”, and “be more careful”. In a news conference at the US Capitol on Thursday, labour union leaders joined progressive lawmakers in appealing that the Biden administration call for an Israel-Gaza ceasefire. In a trip to Israel on Thursday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli war cabinet. Sullivan discussed a possible transition to “lower-intensity operations” in the near future, but the administration has not put a “timestamp” on the shift, according to White House spokesman John Kirby. Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen said on Wednesday that the war on Gaza would continue “with or without international support”. In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom said Israel would no longer accept a two-state solution. Adblock test (Why?)

Bhajan Lal Sharma takes oath as Rajasthan CM, PM Modi attends ceremony in Jaipur

Deputy chief ministers Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa have also taken oath along with Bhajan Lal Sharma.

The top 10 moments that shaped women’s football in 2023

It was the year that saw Australia and New Zealand host the biggest and most-watched FIFA Women’s World Cup, which culminated with Spain’s crowning moment as first-time champions with a win over one of the pre-tournament favourites England. Women’s football giants United States faltered at the quarterfinal stage and several minnow nations lit up the group stage. The World Cup was packed with high-quality action, as well as shocks and feel-good stories and culminated with the launch of Spanish football’s #MeToo movement. Elsewhere, US Soccer delegated Emma Hayes with the job of reviving their fading glory as the highest paid women’s football coach in the world. As the year comes to a close, here’s a look at 10 moments that shaped women’s football in 2023: ‘Ever-growing ACL club’ Months ahead of the World Cup, England captain Leah Williamson, New Zealand striker Katie Rood and several other top players were left to rue their luck after being sidelined with ACL injuries. Rood announced the news with a post on Instagram saying, “I’m sad to say that I’ve joined the ever-growing ACL club”. In order to understand the widespread prevalance of the injury among women footballers, Al Jazeera spoke to a wide range of experts and players, who pointed at a number of factors, including the biological differences between men and women, the difference in their kits and boots, physical stress and workload. Researchers also underlined how women’s menstrual cycles could be a factor in their vulnerability to the injury. Player revolt precedes Spain’s historic win Nearly a year before Spain’s glorious run at the World Cup, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) and its players were embroiled in a months-long stand-off. The “Las 15” – a group of 15 players demanded changes to the national team set-up and made themselves unavailable for selection, directing the majority of their complaints at coach Jorge Vilda. They sought improvements in working conditions, blaming them for their poor emotional and physical health. Later, the players entered talks with the federation and three of them, including Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, were included in Spain’s World Cup squad that landed the La Roja their first world title. The player revolt continued after the World Cup in the wake of the scandal surrounding Luis Rubiales’s forced kiss on player Jenni Hermoso’s mouth. However, the squad agreed to end their boycott in October after Rubiales was banned for three years by FIFA and the Spanish federation promised to make “immediate and profound changes.” When Hannah Dingley took over as the head coach of English League Two club Forest Green Rovers, albeit temporarily, she became the first woman to manage a professional men’s football team in England. Dingley stayed at the position for two weeks but was credited for breaking the glass ceiling for young girls taking up managerial roles in men’s football. Previously, Portuguese coach Helena Costa became first woman to coach a men’s football team in France when, in 2014, she took charge of then-league two French club Clermont Foot. Several women have taken up coaching roles in men’s academy teams, but not many have been handed the reins of top-flight men’s teams. We can confirm that Hannah Dingley has been named our Caretaker Head Coach. Dingley will take charge of the team for tomorrow night’s friendly at Melksham Town.#WeAreFGR💚 — Forest Green Rovers (@FGRFC_Official) July 4, 2023 Morocco shine at historic first World Cup Football fans and experts may have believed that Morocco had done their bit by becoming the first Arab team to qualify for the Women’s World Cup, but the Atlas Lionesses were out to prove them wrong. “It’s amazing to keep creating history,” star striker Rosella Ayane told Al Jazeera after her team made it to the round of 16 at the tournament. Back home, from Fez to Marrakech and beyond, fans gathered in cafes, homes and on the streets to get behind the women in red and green as they took on their former coloniser France in the knockout round. Despite their disappointing loss at the hands of the French, the rise of the Atlas Lionesses, several of whom play league football in Europe, endeared them to the football-mad African nation. المستحيل ليس مغربيا 🇲🇦🤯 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬#DimaMaghrib #OneGameOneFamily #AtlasLionesses pic.twitter.com/TEpTEyESh3 — Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) August 3, 2023 Hijab-clad Nouhaila Benzina breaks barriers Morocco had plenty to say at the tournament Down Under as Nouhaila Benzina became the first Muslim woman wearing a hijab to play at the World Cup. Football fans, especially Muslim women, lauded Benzina for breaking the barrier. Millions around the world watched as she stepped on the field in the hijab a month after France banned the Islamic headscarf during games. Activist Shaista Aziz was among the scores of Muslim women who backed Benzina on social media. “The significance of this is HUGE for many #Muslim girls and women including myself,” Aziz wrote on X. Morocco’s Nouhaila Benzina, left, and France’s Kenza Dali compete for the ball during the Women’s World Cup round of 16 soccer match between France and Morocco in Adelaide, Australia, Tuesday, August 8, 2023. [James Elsby/AP Photo] The USWNT juggernaut comes to a halt Most of the pre-tournament predictions and talks were centred at the US Women’s National Team’s prospects of completing a “three-peat” or an unprecedented third consecutive and fifth overall world title. The women’s football giants began their campaign with a 3-0 thrashing of minnows Vietnam, but cracks began to show as they struggled against a strong Dutch side in their second group-stage match, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Needing to avoid a loss to stay in the tournament, they earned a goalless draw against Portugal. However, the juggernaut came to a halt on August 6 as Sweden knocked out the holders in a madcap penalty shootout (5-4). The talismanic retiring great Megan Rapinoe came off the bench to replace forward Alex Morgan in extra time but was unable to create a winner for the Americans who slumped to