Middle East Experience

Ukraine’s prime minister said Sunday that the strategic port city of Mariupol “has not fallen” and that the encircled forces defending the city from Russian attack will “fight to the end.”Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was speaking to ABC’s “This Week” hours after a Russian ultimatum for the surrender of those fighters, holed up in a fortress-like steelworks, had expired.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“The city still has not fallen,” he said. “There’s still our military forces, our soldiers. So they will fight to the end.”In a sign of the desperate situation facing the surrounded forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that if they were killed, peace talks with Moscow would be scrapped.Russian President Vladimir Putin had already said the talks were at a “dead end.”Shmyhal said on Sunday that Ukraine wanted a diplomatic solution “if possible,” but added: “If the Russians wouldn’t like negotiations, we’ll fight to the end, absolutely. We will not surrender.“We won’t leave our country, our families, our land. We will fight to the end.”Asked about reports that Putin believes Russia is winning the war, Shmyhal pushed back.While several cities are under siege, he said, not one -- with the exception of Kherson in the south -- had fallen. He said more than 900 towns and cities had been liberated.The capture of Mariupol, however, would represent a severe blow to Ukraine, both strategically and symbolically, as it would help Moscow open a land route to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.Shmyhal again implored Western countries to send more ammunition and weapons to bolster outmanned Ukrainian forces, while also pleading for more financial help.The country, he said, is seeing a “huge humanitarian catastrophe,” and needs further help “to save our economy for future recovery.”“Now, only half of our economy is working” and Ukraine faces a huge monthly budget deficit of $5 billion, Shmyhal said.He said Ukrainian officials would be in Washington in the coming week to press the country’s needs at the spring meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.Read more: Strikes kill five in east Ukraine city of Kharkiv: Health officialRussia says NATO activity in the Arctic worrying, warns of ‘unintended incidents’EU can cut Russian energy dependence sooner than previously estimated: Draghi
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Ukrainian forces will ‘fight to the end’ in Mariupol: PM Shmyhal

Security is high as the first day of Passover holiday coincides with Easter Sunday, Orthodox Palm Sunday and Ramadan, bringing worshipers of all faiths.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Violence in Jerusalem's Old City dissipates as tourists flock for holidays

SIHA is an AI-based approach for chronic disease management, and is the latest of innovative solutions to come out of Qatar Foundation. Researchers at the Qatar Computing Research Institute have…..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Researchers in Qatar develop platform to obtain health data from smartwatches

During Israeli Apartheid Week, Doha News looks into the importance of Palestinian poetry..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Beyond the words: the role of Palestinian poetry in resistance

Palestinian officials believe Israel plans to divide Temple Mount in the same way that the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron is divided.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Palestinian Authority warns Israel against ‘dividing’ Temple Mount

Palestinian medics say 17 people were injured after Israeli security entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, just days after violently storming the site..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Israeli Police Wound Palestinians Again Near Flashpoint Jerusalem Holy Site

“The resistance only needs $9 billion and there will be nothing left called Israel in the region," said Mohammed Raad, the head of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc in the Lebanese parliament.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Hezbollah MP says only billion needed to destroy Israel

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has invited French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Ukraine to see for himself the evidence that Russians are committing “genocide” against Ukrainians, a description Macron has side-stepped using.“I think he [Macron] wants to take some steps to ensure that Russia engages in dialogue. I just told him that I want him to understand that this is not war, but nothing other than genocide,” Zelenskyy told CNN in an interview broadcast on Sunday.He added: “I invited him to come when he will have the opportunity. He'll come and see, and I am sure he will understand.”For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Zelenskyy stressed that the atrocities committed by the Russians amounted to genocide: “Look what happened in Bucha. It's clear that is not even a war, it's a genocide. They just killed people. Not soldiers, people. They just shot people in the streets. People were riding bicycles, taking the bus or just walking down the street. There were corpses lining the streets.”Earlier this month, Ukrainian officials entered the town of Bucha, where the authorities said over 410 residents were killed by Russian forces. They reported mass graves, “executed” civilians, and shared images of bodies left on the streets, some with their hands bound behind their backs.Moscow denied targeting civilians and claimed that Kyiv “staged” a “provocation” for Western media.US President Joe Biden said last week that the civilian killings at the hands of the Russians in Ukraine were genocide. “I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting,” he added.Meanwhile, Macron avoided characterizing the Russian atrocities as genocide and warned that accusing Moscow of such a committing that would lead to the war spreading.Read more:Zelenskyy calls Macron’s refusal to talk of ‘genocide’ in Ukraine ‘painful’Accusing Russia of genocide over Ukraine invasion could widen war, Macron warnsBiden accuses Russia’s Putin of committing ‘genocide’ in Ukraine for first time
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy invites France’s Macron to see firsthand ‘evidence’ of genocide

Israeli and Chinese companies sued the government, claiming its decision to block Chinese bids for the project was based on illegal US pressure.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: China sues Israeli gov't for denying light rail tender 'under US pressure'

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the situation in the besieged port city of Mariupol as a “red line” for the peace negotiations with the Russians, adding that there has been no recent diplomatic communication between Kyiv and Moscow at the foreign ministry levels.“After Bucha, it was- it became particularly difficult to continue talking with the Russians. But as my president mentioned, Mariupol may be a red line,” Kuleba told CBS News in an interview on Sunday.“The situation in Mariupol is both dire militarily and heartbreaking. The city doesn't exist anymore. The remainings of the Ukrainian army and large group of civilians are basically encircled by the Russian forces. They continue their struggle, but it seems from the way the Russian army behaves in Mariupol, they decided to raze the city to the ground at any cost,” he added.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Russia gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum on Sunday, offering them amnesty if they lay down their arms in Mariupol, one of the hardest hit cities in Ukraine and one Moscow said its forces has almost complete control over.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier that the elimination of the last Ukrainian forces in Mariupol would end the talks with Russia.“The elimination of our troops, of our men [in Mariupol] will put an end to any negotiations,” he told state-run Ukrinform news agency.Asked about what to expect the Russians would do in the coming weeks, Kuleba said: “Intensification of heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine, in Donbas, large scale offensive of Russia in that part of Ukraine. And also desperate attempts of the Russian forces, as I said, and to- to finish with Mariupol at any cost. These are my expectations. And, of course, missile attacks on Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine seem to continue.”Read more:Ukraine’s Zelenskyy invites France’s Macron to see firsthand ‘evidence’ of genocide‘Elimination’ of last Mariupol troops would end Moscow talks: ZelenskyyUkrainian forces will ‘fight to the end’ in Mariupol: PM Shmyhal
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Besieged port city of Mariupol may be ‘red line’ in talks with Russia: Ukraine FM