Latest news with #Juri
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
I lost my niece and nephew in Gaza. Until the world calls this a genocide, we have no hope of peace
It has been less than two months since my niece Juri – a bright, giggling six-year-old – was killed in Gaza. We buried her while her sister recovered from her injuries and her father tried to walk again on shattered legs. Just a week ago, I was struck by another unbearable loss. My 16-year-old nephew Ali was killed: a drone-fired rocket tore through him and six members of our extended family while they were sitting outside the last house we had left – the only one that hadn't yet been reduced to dust. Ali was split in two. That's not a metaphor: it's literally what the rocket did to his body. A child trying to escape the stifling heat inside a home without electricity, without water, without safety. A child whose only crime was sitting on a plastic chair in a corridor with his uncles – men in their 60s – trying to breathe, trying to live, trying to find a sliver of comfort in a place where even comfort has become a threat. Why were they killed? They were not fighters. They had no weapons. They were not hiding. They were not 'human shields'. They were not even moving. Just sitting quietly, maybe sipping tea, maybe just sweating and waiting for the night breeze. And then – a drone. A rocket. A flash. A crater. A silence that never ends. There is no 'mistake' here. No misfire. The drone did not guess. It hovered. It watched. It picked its target. It aimed. And it hit. Directly. And still there will be no headlines. No outrage, no press conferences, no candlelit vigils in western capitals, no hashtags, no questions asked. But I want to tell you something else. Even after all the horror inflicted on my family by Israel – the killings, the starvation, the loss – I said yes to an invitation to attend a peace conference in Paris. It was part of a series of gatherings leading up to a major summit that was meant to take place in New York, where President Emmanuel Macron had promised to push for the recognition of a Palestinian state. Not long after the Paris meeting, the New York conference was quietly postponed. No explanation. No urgency. As if peace – like everything else in our lives – could be delayed indefinitely. Still, I went to Paris. I went even though I was warned there would be supporters of the Israeli government in the room. I didn't flinch. I will go anywhere and speak to anyone if it means stopping the mass killing of my people. I went not for revenge but for hope. I sat in a room with Israeli participants who said they wanted peace, just like I did. But something was off. While we all spoke of peace, only I seemed willing to speak of death. None of the Israelis I spoke to would acknowledge the genocide in Gaza. At best, a few admitted that Israel was committing war crimes – but not genocide. This, in spite of the overwhelming consensus among international organisations, Israeli academics and genocide scholars that what is happening in Gaza amounts to a genocide. A couple approached me quietly and, in whispers, confessed that, yes, what was happening was indeed a genocide. But they said it like a secret. A thing too dangerous to say aloud. As if the truth was a weapon that might ruin the prospect of peace. We spoke of peace in abstract terms. Big, sweeping, beautiful ideas about coexistence and shared futures. But no one wanted to confront the blood-soaked ground beneath us. No one wanted to talk about starving children. Or the drone that tore through my nephew's body. Or the silence that follows the screams. Even some fellow Palestinians – from other parts of Palestine – didn't want to acknowledge the ongoing massacre in Gaza. I felt extremely alone. I felt like an obstacle. Like I was too raw, too inconvenient, too real. Everyone else was busy building bridges while I was still trying to keep my family alive. At one point, an Israeli woman asked me: 'Wouldn't it be better if Gazans left for a while, until Gaza is rebuilt?' She said it as if exile was neutral. As if 1948 hadn't happened. As if we hadn't learned that when Palestinians leave, they're not allowed to return. I told her: perhaps in theory, if people could leave temporarily and come back, then maybe. I even said: 'Perhaps they could stay in the Negev desert [in southern Israel] and return when Gaza is rebuilt.' She stormed out. 'You don't want peace,' she told me. But amid all of this, I also spoke with another Israeli woman – kind, thoughtful and honest – who told me that she had been directly impacted by the 7 October attack. She didn't hide her pain. 'We are the minority in Israel,' she said to me. 'Most people are much more anti-Palestinian.' I believed her. And I appreciated her willingness to talk. But even she – someone who truly seemed to want peace – couldn't bring herself to call what's happening in Gaza a genocide. And that left me wondering: if this is the small minority of Israelis who believe in coexistence, and even they cannot confront what is happening in Gaza, what hope do we really have? If those who say they want peace cannot even recognise our suffering, what kind of peace are we talking about? I don't know whether that conference left me hopeless about peace or whether it taught me something essential: that peace between Palestinians and Israelis will require unimaginable courage. The kind that doesn't flinch from reality or hide behind lofty words while people are being buried under concrete and fire. Peace will require Palestinians to be willing to speak about their pain and still see the humanity of those who inflicted it. And it will require Israelis who are brave enough to confront what their government has done, and continues to do, in their name. There will be no real peace until both sides can stand face to face and say: 'We were wrong. We were complicit. And we choose something better.' Ali was killed after I returned from Paris, where I'd sat in the room and tried to build bridges. I'd told people about my niece Juri and begged them to see our pain – and now Ali too is gone. But something inside me has shifted. Not into rage but into resolve. Peace cannot be built on silence or denial. It cannot be built while Palestinians are treated as disposable. It begins with justice, truth and a political solution that guarantees the rights of Palestinians to live in freedom, in dignity and with self-determination. And at the very least, it must begin with the most basic right of all: the right to stay alive. Ahmed Najar is a financial and political analyst as well as a playwright Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
I lost my niece and nephew in Gaza. Until the world calls this a genocide, we have no hope of peace
It has been less than two months since my niece Juri – a bright, giggling six-year-old – was killed in Gaza. We buried her while her sister recovered from her injuries and her father tried to walk again on shattered legs. Just a week ago, I was struck by another unbearable loss. My 16-year-old nephew Ali was killed: a drone-fired rocket tore through him and six members of our extended family while they were sitting outside the last house we had left – the only one that hadn't yet been reduced to dust. Ali was split in two. That's not a metaphor: it's literally what the rocket did to his body. A child trying to escape the stifling heat inside a home without electricity, without water, without safety. A child whose only crime was sitting on a plastic chair in a corridor with his uncles – men in their 60s – trying to breathe, trying to live, trying to find a sliver of comfort in a place where even comfort has become a threat. Why were they killed? They were not fighters. They had no weapons. They were not hiding. They were not 'human shields'. They were not even moving. Just sitting quietly, maybe sipping tea, maybe just sweating and waiting for the night breeze. And then – a drone. A rocket. A flash. A crater. A silence that never ends. There is no 'mistake' here. No misfire. The drone did not guess. It hovered. It watched. It picked its target. It aimed. And it hit. Directly. And still there will be no headlines. No outrage, no press conferences, no candlelit vigils in western capitals, no hashtags, no questions asked. But I want to tell you something else. Even after all the horror inflicted on my family by Israel – the killings, the starvation, the loss – I said yes to an invitation to attend a peace conference in Paris. It was part of a series of gatherings leading up to a major summit that was meant to take place in New York, where President Emmanuel Macron had promised to push for the recognition of a Palestinian state. Not long after the Paris meeting, the New York conference was quietly postponed. No explanation. No urgency. As if peace – like everything else in our lives – could be delayed indefinitely. Still, I went to Paris. I went even though I was warned there would be supporters of the Israeli government in the room. I didn't flinch. I will go anywhere and speak to anyone if it means stopping the mass killing of my people. I went not for revenge but for hope. I sat in a room with Israeli participants who said they wanted peace, just like I did. But something was off. While we all spoke of peace, only I seemed willing to speak of death. None of the Israelis I spoke to would acknowledge the genocide in Gaza. At best, a few admitted that Israel was committing war crimes – but not genocide. This, in spite of the overwhelming consensus among international organisations, Israeli academics and genocide scholars that what is happening in Gaza amounts to a genocide. A couple approached me quietly and, in whispers, confessed that, yes, what was happening was indeed a genocide. But they said it like a secret. A thing too dangerous to say aloud. As if the truth was a weapon that might ruin the prospect of peace. We spoke of peace in abstract terms. Big, sweeping, beautiful ideas about coexistence and shared futures. But no one wanted to confront the blood-soaked ground beneath us. No one wanted to talk about starving children. Or the drone that tore through my nephew's body. Or the silence that follows the screams. Even some fellow Palestinians – from other parts of Palestine – didn't want to acknowledge the ongoing massacre in Gaza. I felt extremely alone. I felt like an obstacle. Like I was too raw, too inconvenient, too real. Everyone else was busy building bridges while I was still trying to keep my family alive. At one point, an Israeli woman asked me: 'Wouldn't it be better if Gazans left for a while, until Gaza is rebuilt?' She said it as if exile was neutral. As if 1948 hadn't happened. As if we hadn't learned that when Palestinians leave, they're not allowed to return. I told her: perhaps in theory, if people could leave temporarily and come back, then maybe. I even said: 'Perhaps they could stay in the Negev desert [in southern Israel] and return when Gaza is rebuilt.' She stormed out. 'You don't want peace,' she told me. But amid all of this, I also spoke with another Israeli woman – kind, thoughtful and honest – who told me that she had been directly impacted by the 7 October attack. She didn't hide her pain. 'We are the minority in Israel,' she said to me. 'Most people are much more anti-Palestinian.' I believed her. And I appreciated her willingness to talk. But even she – someone who truly seemed to want peace – couldn't bring herself to call what's happening in Gaza a genocide. And that left me wondering: if this is the small minority of Israelis who believe in coexistence, and even they cannot confront what is happening in Gaza, what hope do we really have? If those who say they want peace cannot even recognise our suffering, what kind of peace are we talking about? I don't know whether that conference left me hopeless about peace or whether it taught me something essential: that peace between Palestinians and Israelis will require unimaginable courage. The kind that doesn't flinch from reality or hide behind lofty words while people are being buried under concrete and fire. Peace will require Palestinians to be willing to speak about their pain and still see the humanity of those who inflicted it. And it will require Israelis who are brave enough to confront what their government has done, and continues to do, in their name. There will be no real peace until both sides can stand face to face and say: 'We were wrong. We were complicit. And we choose something better.' Ali was killed after I returned from Paris, where I'd sat in the room and tried to build bridges. I'd told people about my niece Juri and begged them to see our pain – and now Ali too is gone. But something inside me has shifted. Not into rage but into resolve. Peace cannot be built on silence or denial. It cannot be built while Palestinians are treated as disposable. It begins with justice, truth and a political solution that guarantees the rights of Palestinians to live in freedom, in dignity and with self-determination. And at the very least, it must begin with the most basic right of all: the right to stay alive. Ahmed Najar is a financial and political analyst as well as a playwright
Express Tribune
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Aespa join Street Fighter 6 with Juri outfit, in-game event and Naevis as commentator
Street Fighter 6 has announced a new collaboration with global K-pop group Aespa, adding exclusive themed content to the game beginning July 4, 2025. Following the title's five million global sales milestone and its launch on the Switch 2, Capcom revealed the crossover event featuring Aespa will include a new outfit for Juri, a Battle Hub takeover, and a fresh voice addition. The event introduces a limited-time Outfit 4 for Juri, inspired by Aespa's style. Available for one year, the design is part of a broader summer content rollout that includes swimwear outfits for seven other characters and the return of fan-favourite Sagat, whose Fighting Pass drops the same week. Fans will also experience a reimagined Battle Hub, fully decorated with Aespa visuals. By logging in during the event, players can unlock themed in-game rewards, including device wallpapers, custom titles, and Aespa-branded photo frames. Adding to the immersive experience, Naevi, Aespa's virtual idol, will join the game as a real-time commentator. This addition reflects Capcom's ongoing strategy of merging global pop culture with Street Fighter 6's evolving gameplay features. The crossover continues a growing trend of K-pop and gaming collaborations, placing Aespa alongside other groups such as BTS, Le Sserafim and TWICE. Street Fighter 6's Aespa event will be available across all platforms from July 4, 2025.
News.com.au
17-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: Vanadium Resources rockets on magnetite MoU
Vanadium Resources signs non-binding MoU to sell magnetite ore from its Steelpoortdrift project in South Africa A strategic alliance will fast-track FEED studies for the Kuda Tasi and Jahal oil fields in Timor-Leste Sunrise Energy Metals has launched a share purchase plan (SPP) to raise up to $1.5m before costs Your standout resources stocks for Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Vanadium Resources (ASX:VR8) This star performer rocketed 164% to a high of 3.7c before closing at 2.2c, a 57.14% rise on the previous close. The backdrop is it signed a non-binding MoU with China Precious Asia Ltd (CPAL) for a magnetite ore supply agreement from its Steelpoortdrift vanadium project in South Africa. Under the terms of the MoU, VanRes would supply CPAL with an average of 100,000 tonnes of vanadium-rich magnetite direct shipping ore per month. This will allow VR8 to become a near-term producer from the substantial JORC resource base and unlock early revenues and operating cashflows in support of its staged development and funding strategy for Steelpoortdrift. VR8 will also retain full flexibility to scale into full development as vanadium market conditions improve. The initiative has been made possible due to the suite of valuable minerals within the Steelpoortdrift orebody and VanRes holding a fully permitted mining right over the Steelpoortdrift 365KT farm. 'We are very pleased to have signed this MoU with a quality partner like CPAL for the supply of magnetite ore,' VR8 executive chairman Jurie Wessels said. 'Through our ongoing strategic equity and offtake process, it became increasingly apparent that there is a compelling opportunity to potentially transition the company toward near-term production, even at this low point in the vanadium market cycle. 'This has been made possible by our advanced permitting status and the suite of valuable minerals within Steelpoortdrift's ore, which contains not only vanadium credits but also iron-rich magnetite. "Based on the company's internal assessments and the volumes proposed under the MoU, we anticipate that a DSO operation at Steelpoortdrift has the potential to generate material positive operating cashflows for VR8 and its shareholders. 'While the MoU is non-binding, the level of engagement and interest from CPAL gives me confidence that a binding and value-accretive commercial agreement can be reached." With vanadium prices not supportive of funding a larger development right now, the magnetite deal will help unlock near term cash flows for the explorer that prevent shareholder dilution. Founded in 2012, CPAL is a metals and minerals trader and processor of magnetite-bearing ore, targeting Asian steel markets. CPAL's focus on vanadium-rich magnetite ore aligns with China's broader push to secure primary sources of vanadium. VR8 also continues to assess additional near-term, value-accretive opportunities, such as profit share agreements with existing operations, that complement the development of Steelpoortdrift and are not mutually exclusive to DSO operations. Finder Energy Holdings (ASX:FDR) Forming a strategic alliance with subsurface technology company SLB (formerly Schlumberger) to fast-track front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies for the Kuda Tasi and Jahal oil fields in Timor-Leste has seen Finder Energy Holdings (ASX:FDR) reach a two-year high of 9.2c. The company was reinstated to ASX quotation on releasing the alliance announcement and investors responded strongly, with shares opening at 7.2c and rising to 9.2c, a 41.54% increase on the previous close on June 12, before settling at 8.5c for a ~31% gain. This deal with the global energy giant will cut about 12 months off the project timeline, with SLB already mobilising teams to kick off drilling and subsea design work. The partnership will reduce Finder's upfront costs through a shared contracting model, and creates a joint project team to drive things forward. SLB has a presence in at least 100 countries and has more than 100,000 employees including a regional office in Perth and a strong presence in Timor-Leste. Having the backing and support of a major industry player such as SLB, provides significant third-party validation for the KTJ development project. Under the Development Alliance Agreement and Accelerated FEED Project Agreement, the two parties will immediately mobilise resources to complete the key drilling and subsea components within six to nine months, about 12 months ahead of schedule. Finder Energy (ASX:FDR) chief operating officer Mark Robertson will lead the joint project team while SLB will deploy technical and project management resources across multiple disciplines including subsurface, well construction and subsea engineering. 'Finder is pursuing an acceleration strategy to bring forward first oil at Kuda Tasi and Jahal,' chief executive officer Damon Neaves said. 'This alliance with SLB brings enormous resources and development capability to the project not only accelerating FEED but establishing a pathway through to FID, the construction phase and beyond.' FDR recently completed reprocessing of the Ikan 3D seismic that covers PSC 19-11 and focuses on the Kuda Tasi and Jahal development area, which collectively host best estimate (2C) contingent resources of 22 million barrels (MMbbl) of oil. The significant improvements in imaging observed within the reservoir pay interval are expected to be used to finalise placement of development wells to optimise production and facilitate other project milestones. Previous modelling of the two fields indicated that they could produce up to 10MMbbl of oil in the first 18 months of production. Development of the KTJ project is expected to be through subsea wells linked to a central manifold that in turn feeds into a floating production, storage and offtake vessel. Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX:SRL) Launching a share purchase plan (SPP) to raise up to $1.5m before costs along with a recent placement that brought in $6m will arm Sunrise Energy Metals to bring the Syerston scandium deposit in central NSW closer to a development decision. The SPP will provide eligible shareholders an opportunity to subscribe for up to $5000 worth of new fully paid ordinary shares at 30c per share without incurring any brokerage or other transaction costs. This is on the same basis as the recent placement of 20m fully paid ordinary shares and is open to all eligible existing shareholders on the company's share register at 7pm AEST on Thursday, April 17, 2025. The offer includes one option for every SPP share subscribed issued at nil consideration and exercisable at a price of 40 cents before May 31, 2027. Sunrise Energy Metals shares have been as much as 43.5% higher to a daily high of 71c. Funds raised in the SPP and placement will support: A drilling campaign aimed at further expanding high-grade scandium zones at Syerston; Completion of the Syerston scandium feasibility study, targeted for Q3 2025; and Continued engagement with potential scandium customers and end-users. FMR Resources (ASX:FMR) After securing a right to earn a majority interest in a prospective copper-gold-molybdenite porphyry project in Chile, FMR Resources hit a new five-year high of 29.5c, a lift of 43.9% on the most recent close. The company has entered into a conditional binding term sheet giving it the right to earn up to a 60% interest in the project with a large porphyry target untested at depth. It will joint venture into selected tenements within the Llahuin Project held by Southern Hemisphere Mining, which overlie the Southern Porphyry Target. With proven fertility along a ~6km corridor at Llahuin, including historical shallow copper porphyry mineralisation directly above the target, this delivers FMR drill-ready targets for Q4 2025. The Southern Porphyry JV tenement package will complement the company's Fairfield and Fintry projects in Canada, which are prospective for copper and rare earth elements. Providing impetus for the acquisition and exploration plans, the company has received firm commitments for a $2.2m capital raising at 16c through a placement to existing and new sophisticated investors. This has seen renowned resources investor and successful explorer Mark Creasy welcomed to the register as a major shareholder. Creasy is a highly supportive shareholder with an enviable record of exploration discovery and value creation over multiple decades. In conjunction, FMR has appointed Oliver Kiddie as managing director. Kiddie is a geologist with more than 20 years of experience across exploration, resource definition, project development and production throughout Australia and internationally. He has extensive experience in base metal and gold exploration through senior management, executive and directorship positions, including Dominion Mining, European Goldfields, the Creasy Group and Legend Mining. Pivotal Metals (ASX:PVT) Canadian-focused explorer Pivotal Metals had a stellar start to the trading day, rising 117% to 1.3c, before a trading halt and speeding ticket from the ASX. That halt will be lifted at the start of normal ASX trading on Thursday, June 19, 2025, or when an announcement is released to the market, whichever occurs earliest. PVT holds the recently acquired flagship Horden Lake property, which contains a JORC-compliant indicated and inferred resource of 37Mt at 1.1% copper equivalent, comprising copper, nickel, palladium and gold. Pivotal intends to grow the mineral endowment of Horden Lake, in parallel with de-risking the project from an engineering, environmental and economic perspective. Horden Lake is complemented by a battery metals exploration portfolio within the prolific Belleterre-Angliers Greenstone Belt (BAGB) in Quebec comprising the Midrim, Laforce, Alotta and Lorraine high-grade nickel-copper-PGM sulphide projects with gold potential. Having delineated the Horden Lake resource, PVT is increasing its focus on the BAGB projects with the objective of making expanded and new copper and/or gold discoveries. Supporting this intention, the company recently identified 28m at 45.2g/t gold in an historical underground channel sample.
Middle East Eye
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Gaza is an open graveyard, yet the West's conscience remains unmoved
My niece is barely alive. A week ago, her sister, Juri, was killed in an Israeli air strike. Juri was just six years old. She was asleep when the missile hit. Her tiny body, wrapped in white cloth, is now one more number in a growing mass grave. Her sister survived the blast, but barely. Their father and grandfather were also injured in the strike. But now, the little girl is fading. Her haemoglobin level has dropped to seven, and she needs a blood transfusion. She needs proper food and safety - but in Gaza, those things no longer exist. There is no food or clean water. There are no working hospitals or blood banks. There is no safety. And yet, this week, Israel announced to the world that it had 'allowed' humanitarian aid into Gaza - as if this was a gesture of mercy that excused the slaughter. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Just five trucks were let through, while the United Nations says at least 500 are needed every day to meet basic humanitarian needs. Five trucks for two million people. This is not aid; it is humiliation. It is a smokescreen. It is dust in the eyes of the world, to allow Israel to carry on with its killing - uninterrupted, unquestioned and unpunished. 'I wish I had died' This is not about defending civilians. It is about breaking them. I spoke to my mother recently. She is displaced now, like nearly every Palestinian in Gaza. Her voice was quiet. I asked her how she was holding up, and she said something that has haunted me ever since: 'I wish I had died at the beginning - so I didn't have to see any of this.' Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of the Israel-Palestine war What do you say to your own mother when she says that; when she has lost her home, her grandchildren, her country - and now, perhaps, her will to live? Now, at last, the governments of the UK, France and Canada have issued a joint statement demanding that Israel change course. Israel hasn't paused. It hasn't listened. It hasn't cared. It continues to drop bombs and block food. It continues to kill. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned: 'If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.' They also called Israel's actions 'wholly disproportionate'. But I want to say this, clearly and without apology: It's not just disproportionate. It has been described as genocide. And it's already too late for tens of thousands of Palestinians. Israel hasn't paused. It hasn't listened. It hasn't cared. It continues to drop bombs and block food. It continues to kill. And if the UK is serious, if Starmer's words are more than diplomatic noise, then it must stop arming Israel. You don't call violence disproportionate and then sell the perpetrator more weapons. You don't condemn an atrocity while financing the next one. War on survival My niece's body is weak, and her blood is dangerously thin. Her life now depends on whether the world finds its conscience - and whether it finds it fast enough. The starvation of Gaza is not an accident. It is not collateral damage. It is policy. Starvation is not separate from the bombs; it is a continuation of the genocide. This is a war on survival itself. And the most painful part is that it is happening in full view of the world, as western leaders watch, calculate, excuse and delay. This is not just a failure of diplomacy. It is a failure of humanity. War on Gaza: This is what starvation feels like. I cannot feed my children Read More » What are we supposed to do with this grief, this rage? I scroll through videos of my hometown reduced to ash. I listen to my brother weep on the phone. I see a photo of my niece, her skin pale, her eyes dim, too weak now to stand. I hear my mother's voice, wishing she hadn't lived to witness this. And I wonder what it means to survive a genocide while the world debates which word to use, which line has been crossed, which moment is 'too far'. My niece is five. As I write this, she is hungry, in pain, and possibly dying. I want to scream at the world: how is this still happening? How are we still debating whether Gaza's children deserve food? How are we still pretending this is complicated? Five trucks. Two million people. Another child - my niece - whose life might end because we've accepted this horror as normal. There is still time, perhaps, to act. But not much. I hope, with every shred of hope I have left, that governments will move quickly - not just to protect my niece, but to save the two million others still trapped in Gaza's open-air graveyard. Because if they don't, then all the statements, condemnations and resolutions will come far too late - to people who will no longer be alive to hear them. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
