Month: November 2023

The White House announced on Monday that President Joe Biden will not attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28 taking place on Friday and Saturday in Dubai. The United States will instead send climate envoy John Kerry and other top officials in Biden’s place at the conference, which includes the world leaders’ summit. Biden had participated in the last two summits. and his absence is expected to stand out among the 70,000 delegates who will be attendance. Among world leaders who have committed to the climate summit are Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

A White House spokesperson said in a statement: “Since day one, President Biden has led and delivered on the most ambitious climate agenda in history, both at home and abroad. He secured the largest climate investment ever, putting the U.S. on a path to cut climate pollution in half by 2030, protected more than 21 million acres of public lands and waters, and he continues to rally world leaders to raise their collective climate ambition.”

White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said that Biden could still appear at the conference the following week, however no additions to the president’s travel plans are planned: “although we don’t have any travel updates to share for the president at this time, the administration looks forward to a robust and productive COP28 where Special Envoy John Kerry, National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi, and Senior Adviser John Podesta, among others, will continue to build on the administration’s historic actions to tackle the climate crisis.”

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Qatari officials said on Monday that Hamas has released another group of hostages to the custody of the Red Cross. shortly after officials announced an agreement between the Palestinian group and Israel to extend a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip for another two days. Qatar, who has been mediating between Israel and Hamas, announced the two-day extension of the temporary cease-fire, which was initially set to last four days, ending on Monday.  Al-Ansari said in a social media post: “The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip.”

According to information provided by the Red Cross, Israel’s military said that 11 hostages are on their way to Israeli territory. Spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed Al-Ansari said the group includes 3 French citizens, 2 German citizens and 6 Argentinian citizens. In exchange, Al-Ansari said, Israel is releasing 33 Palestinians — 30 minors and 3 women — from Israeli prisons.

At a news briefing held shortly after Qatar’s announcement at the White House, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby later confirmed the extension. Kirby said Hamas had agreed to release 20 additional hostages being held in Gaza back to Israel over the next two days, and added that they are working to extend the cease-fire further than that.

Under the terms of the temporary truce deal, Hamas agreed to release at least 50 women and children kidnapped in Israel during the Oct. 7 rampage and held captive since then in Gaza. Israel, in turn, agreed to free about 150 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons, while also honoring a cease-fire in the interim.

The original terms of the short-term deal originally called for a four-day cease-fire, however, Israel had said publicly that it would be willing to extend the pause for an additional day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas.

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Four people — two men and two women — were found dead Sunday at a homeless encampment outside of Autryville, North Carolina.

According to the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a report of shots fired near the end of Tanner Lane around 9:22 a.m.  Once on scene, deputies found the four people dead near two tents at a homeless encampment; all four had apparent gunshot wounds.

The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office said based on the preliminary investigation, the incident appears to be a murder-suicide case. No identities have been released; the sheriff’s office, who noted the victims were two men and two women, said their names are being withheld pending identification and notification of the next of kin. They added that it appeared there was no ongoing threat to the public, but the investigation is ongoing to ensure there is no additional foul play.

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Three Palestinian students were shot and wounded near the University of Vermont over the weekend. According to a report from the Burlington Police Department, two of the three 20-year-old men are in stable condition, while the other is in serious condition.

Officers said that the victims were on their way to a Thanksgiving dinner at one of their relative’s homes, with two of them wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, when the shooter fired at least four rounds from a pistol – striking all three students.  Officers from the Burlington Police Department, the University of Vermont police department and other local forces immediately responded to the scene. “Without speaking, he (the shooter) discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot,” police said.

In a joint statement released by the Institute for Middle East Understanding, the victims’ families suggested the attack was a hate crime: “We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice. No family should ever have to endure this pain and agony. Our children are dedicated students who deserve to be able to focus on their studies and building their futures.”

The three students were identified as Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University in Rhode Island; Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Tahseen Ahmad, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut. The students had graduated from Ramallah Friends School, a Quaker-run private nonprofit school in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, according to the school.

The shooter or shooters have not been identified or apprehended, and the police department is “at the earliest stages of investigating this crime.” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a statement. said it is pursuing all angles in its investigation, including the possibility that this was a hate crime: “In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime. And I have already been in touch with federal investigatory and prosecutorial partners to prepare for that if it’s proven.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said in a post on X. “It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, VT. Hate has no place here, or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation. My thoughts are with them and their families.”

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said in a news release that they “have reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab,” and the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced it was offering a $10,000 reward for “information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators” of the shooting.

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