RAMALLAH: Israeli security forces arrest about 1,000 Palestinian children from the streets, schools and homes of the West Bank each year, and about the same number from East Jerusalem on suspicion of involvement in attacks or protests.

Children’s rights organizations say such practices are abusive and harm youngsters’ physical and mental health. They are prohibited by international laws and agreements related to children’s rights, to which Israel is a signatory.

AMMAN: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs announced Friday that the house of the Jordanian ambassador in Khartoum was attacked and vandalized.

It also confirmed that ambassador Saed Radaideh and his embassy staff were at Port Sudan at the time, and that none of them were harmed in the attack.

The Ministry affirmed Jordan’s condemnation and denunciation of all forms of violence and vandalism, especially those that violate the sanctity of diplomatic buildings.

LONDON: Three men who worked as security guards during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar remain in jail five months after the conclusion of the tournament over a dispute about their contracts.
Shakir Ullah and Zafar Iqbal, both from Pakistan, and an unnamed Indian colleague were allegedly jailed for six months and fined 10,000 Qatari riyals ($2,746.5) each after remaining in Qatar when their employment was terminated three months early by local firm Stark Security Services.

RAMALLAH: The far-right Israeli government was on Thursday accused of taking advantage of the Jewish holidays to turn the Palestinian crisis into a religious conflict.
Palestinian National Council President Rawhi Fattouh made the remarks to Arab News as Israeli authorities closed the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings with the Gaza Strip from Thursday until Sunday, citing the Jewish holidays.

ADDIS ABABA: Africa must not become a “geostrategic battleground” for global powers, as it grapples with several threats to its own peace and security, African Union leaders warned Thursday.
The continent of 1.3 billion people has found itself at the center of a tussle for influence among the major powers, which has redoubled since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago.
And just as the AU marked the anniversary of the creation of its forerunner, the Organization of African Unity, on this day in 1963, Ukraine itself announced it wanted to boost ties with Africa.