WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday demanded Israel launch an “urgent investigation” into the death of a 17-year-old Palestinian-American killed by alleged Israeli fire in the West Bank last week.
Tawfiq Ajaq was shot dead Friday in the town of Al-Mazraa Al-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah, the Palestinian news agency Wafa and relatives of the young man said.
“We continue to engage closely with the government of Israel to ascertain as much information as possible and we have called for an urgent investigation to determine the circumstance of his death,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
Patel said he was “devastated” by the death of the teenager, a US citizen, and reiterated a call for de-escalation.
The United States has “been clear over the tragic escalation in violence in the West Bank,” he said, adding that it was calling “on all parties to avoid escalations.”
Both the US Office of Palestinian Affairs and the US Embassy in Jerusalem have been in contact with the teenager’s family, Patel said.
When asked by AFP, the Israeli army said that an off-duty police officer and a civilian had fired in the direction of a Palestinian suspected of throwing stones.
The army added that a solider was additionally in the area and that claims that he had fired on the teenager were under investigation.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its troops regularly carry out incursions into Palestinian communities.
The raids have escalated since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began on October 7, increasingly lasting days and accompanied by air strikes.
Since then Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 360 people in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
US demands ‘urgent’ Israeli probe into Palestinian-American teen’s death
https://arab.news/87khn
US demands ‘urgent’ Israeli probe into Palestinian-American teen’s death

- Patel said he was “devastated” by the death of the teenager
Eel-eating Japan opposes EU call for more protection
Eel is eaten worldwide but is particularly popular in Japan, where is called “unagi” and traditionally served grilled after being covered in a sticky-sweet sauce.
Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters that the country carefully manages stock levels of the Japanese eel in cooperation with neighboring China, Taiwan and South Korea.
“There is a sufficient population, and it faces no extinction risk due to international trade,” he said.
Japanese media have reported that the EU could soon propose that all eel species be added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which limits trade of protected animals.
There are 19 species and subspecies of eel, many of them now threatened due to a range of factors including pollution and overfishing.
In 2014, the Japanese eel was listed as endangered, but not critically endangered, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which cited factors including habitat loss, overfishing, pollution and migration barriers.
Protecting the animal is complicated by their complex life cycle, which unfolds over a vast area, and the many unknowns about how they reproduce.
US envoy leaves Russia as detente faltering

- Moscow earlier this week accused Washington of not being ‘ready’ to take steps to restore the normal functioning of their embassies
MOSCOW: The US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, is departing Moscow, leaving Washington without a top envoy in the country as a rapprochement being pushed by US President Donald Trump falters.
Moscow earlier this week accused Washington of not being “ready” to take steps to restore the normal functioning of their embassies, hobbled by years of tit-for-tat restrictions and expulsions of diplomats.
Trump has not yet nominated a successor to Tracy, the first woman to hold the post and who was appointed by ex-President Joe Biden and is leaving after two-and-a-half years in the role.
Trump has overhauled Biden’s policy of isolating Vladimir Putin over his Ukraine offensive, holding several calls with the Kremlin chief and raising the prospect of boosting bilateral ties.
“I am proud to have represented my country in Moscow during such a challenging time,” Tracy said in a message posted by the embassy on social media.
She also quoted lines from a poem by Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s famed national poet.
Diplomats from the two countries have held several rounds of negotiations under Trump on issues ranging from the Ukraine conflict and prisoner exchanges to normalizing embassy operations.
But on Wednesday the Kremlin accused Washington of being “not yet ready” to remove barriers to the work of their respective diplomatic missions.
Trump has shown increasing frustration with Putin over his refusal to end Moscow’s three-year offensive on Ukraine.
Since the Republican returned to the White House, Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire, demanded Kyiv cede more territory, urged his troops to keep advancing and escalated deadly missile and drone attacks on Ukraine.
Fusion between culture and modernity as children dance in Kenyan refugee camp

- The Acholi people, mostly from Uganda and South Sudan, are among refugees who live in Kakuma camp, which was established in 1992 as a safe haven for people fleeing conflict from dozens of east African countries
KALOBEYEI: Beads of sweat drip from the faces of young girls and boys as they dance to the rhythm of traditional drums and open calabashes, while their peers watch them in awe.
These are refugee children, some who were born in one of Africa’s largest camps — Kakuma, located in northern Kenya, where more than 300,000 refugees’ livelihoods have been affected by funding cuts that have halved monthly food rations.
The children use the Acholi traditional dance as a distraction from hunger and have perfected a survival skill to skip lunches as they stretch their monthly food rations that are currently at 30 percent of the UN nutritional recommendation per person.
The Acholi people, mostly from Uganda and South Sudan, are among refugees who live in Kakuma camp, which was established in 1992 as a safe haven for people fleeing conflict from dozens of east African countries.
For a moment, the melodious sound of one of the refugee mothers stops the playground buzz of activity as dozens of children sit down to enjoy the traditional dance performance.
The colorful swings doting the community center at Kakuma’s Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement were donated by a Swiss organization, Terre des hommes, which still manages the playground aptly named “Furaha” — Swahili for Happiness.
But the happiness of these children isn’t guaranteed now as funding cuts have affected operations here. Fewer resources and staff are available to engage the children and ensure their safety.
One of the dancers, Gladis Amwony, has lived in Kakuma for 8 years now. In recent years, she has started taking part in the Acholi traditional dances to keep her Ugandan roots alive.
The now 20-year-old doesn’t imagine ever going back to Uganda and has no recollection of life in her home village.
“I’m happiest when I dance, I feel connected to my ancestors,” the soft-spoken Amwony says after her dance session.
While Amwony and her friends are looking for a cultural connection, just about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from their village in neighboring Kalobeyei Village 3, some boys are in touch with modernity.
The five boys have been practicing a one-of-a-kind dance where they mimic robots, complete with face masks that hide their human faces.
They make their sharp synchronized moves that they have been perfecting for months.
The boys will be part of performances that will be showcased during this year’s World Refugee Day, as an example of the talent and resilience that exists among the refugee community.
This younger generation of dancers make precision moves in a small hall with play and learning items stored in a cabinet that is branded with an American flag, an indication that it was donated by the USgovernment.
Such donations are now scarce, with the United States having cut down on funding in March.
These cuts have affected operations here, with the future stardom hopes for these children dimming by the day.
The center, which previously featured daily programs such as taekwondo and ballet, may not be operational in a few months if the funding landscape remains as is.
“We are now reducing some of the activities because we are few. The staff are few and even per day we only have one staff remaining in the center and it is really hard for him/her to conduct 500 children,” said John Papa, a community officer for Terre des hommes in Kalobeyei Village 3.
These programs do more than entertain the children — they keep them away from issues such as child labor, abuse and crime which as a major concern for humanitarian organizations in Kakuma.
And as the children dance and play beneath the sweltering sun, the only hope is that these child friendly spaces remain operational for years.
Germany charges Syrian national in connection with Taylor Swift concert plot

- Germany charges Syrian national in connection with Taylor Swift concert plot
BERLIN: Germany has charged a Syrian national with supporting a foreign terrorist organization for helping to plan a foiled attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year, the prosecutor general said in a statement on Friday.
Identified as Mohammad A, the suspect helped the would-be attacker by translating Arabic bomb-building instructions and putting him in contact with a member of the Islamic State militia online, according to the charges against him.
Norway to extradite Rwanda genocide suspect

OSLO: Norway will extradite a man sought by Rwanda for his suspected role in the country’s 1994 genocide, police said Friday.
In 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus died in 100 days of slaughter triggered by the assassination of the country’s president, Juvenal Habyarimana.
The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was detained in October 2022 by Norway’s criminal police Kripos. He was wanted by Rwanda for “committing a murder during the 1994 genocide,” Kripos said in a statement.
The Oslo district court ruled in September 2023 that the conditions were met for the man’s extradition, a decision confirmed by an appeals court in April 2024.
The suspect then lodged an appeal with Norway’s Supreme Court which was rejected in June 2024.
With the man’s legal options exhausted, the justice ministry decided in February that the extradition could go ahead, a ruling ultimately confirmed by the government’s Council of State.
“The accused is now to be extradited to Rwanda, where he will stand trial for participating in the genocide,” police attorney Thea Elize Kjaeraas said in a statement.
Norway has seen a string of extradition requests for genocide suspects in recent years, and is among half a dozen Western countries where courts have handed down convictions since 2009.