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Trump to withdraw US from UN Rights Council, extend UNRWA funds ban: Report

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[File pic] Palestinian children, who fled with their parents from their houses in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, gather in the back yard of a UNRWA school, in Sidon, Lebanon, on September 12, 2023 [Aljazeera]

United States President Donald Trump is planning to cut off US engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council and extend a funding ban on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, an unnamed White House official told US media outlets.

US news media, including Politico and NPR, reported on Monday that Trump was expected to sign an executive order withdrawing from the two UN bodies on Tuesday, the same day the White House is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime critic of the UN, and UNRWA in particular.

Since taking office for a second term on January 20, Trump has already withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization [WHO] and the Paris Climate Agreement, which he also withdrew from during his first term – a move that was later reversed by the Biden administration.

Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the UN Human Rights Council would also not be a first for Trump, who withdrew from the council in his first term.

When the Trump administration quit the Human Rights Council in 2018, Trump’s then-UN envoy Nikki Haley claimed the move was due to “chronic bias” against Israel from the body, which is made up of 47 UN member states who are elected for four-year terms.

The council conducts periodic reviews of the human rights records of UN member states, including the US, which is due to undergo its next review in August.

During the council’s last review of the US in 2020, countries offered recommendations on how Washington might improve its human rights record, including by tackling racism and closing the Guantanamo Bay prison. The council is also responsible for appointing human rights experts to serve as independent UN special rapporteurs.

Several UN special rapporteurs have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, including, most notably, the special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese.

As an elected member of the council, most recently from 2022-2024, the US has also leveraged its position to criticise the human rights record of other countries.

[Aljazeera]



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Hamas releases three Israeli hostages in Gaza, after fears over ceasefire

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As with previous handovers, a stage was erected by Hamas for a highly-choreographed handover [BBC]

Hamas has released three Israeli hostages, after days of fears over the Gaza ceasefire.

The freed hostages are Israeli – Russian Alexander Troufanov, Israeli – Argentine Yair Horn and Israeli – American Sagui Dekel-Chen.

Israel is releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners in return, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office- some are now arriving in the West Bank.

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Grant Fisher smashes world indoor 5000m record in Boston

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Less than a week after he took apart the world indoor 3000m record in New York, USA’s Grant Fisher added another world indoor record* to his tally, this time over 5000m at the BU David Hemery Valentine International in Boston on Friday (14).

The double Olympic bronze medallist dropped Jimmy Gressier just after the half way point and continued to extend his lead throughout the second half. After passing 3000m in 7:39.16 – a comfortable 16 seconds outside the world indoor record of 7:22.91 he clocked last Saturday – Fisher continued to churn out sub-31-second laps.

After covering the final 400m in 59.36 seconds, Fisher charged through the line in 12:44.09, a five-second improvement on the previous world indoor record of 12:49.60 set by Kenenisa Bekele in 2004.

Gressier held on for second place in 12:54.92, a European indoor record and outright French record.

[*Subject to the usual ratification procedure]

[World Athletics]

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Ghosh, Ahuja script stunning comeback as RCB complete WPL’s biggest chase

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Richa Ghosh smacked four fours and a six off Ashleigh Gardner in a match-turning 16th over [BCCI]

A run-fest that produced the highest aggregate as well as the highest successful chase in the WPL ended with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru chasing down 202 in a canter in Vadodara.

Richa Gosh who was dropped first ball, showed there was more to her game than just brute force. Her 23-ball half-century injected momentum into RCB’s chase after Ellyse Perry’s dismissal for 57 left them needing 93 off 46 balls. Ghosh’s unbeaten, 26-ball 64 included a stunning takedown of Gujarat Giants captain Ashleigh Gardner in a 23-run 16th over to turn the game on its head.

Ghosh was supported by the diminutive left-hander Kanika Ahunja who scored an unbeaten 13-ball 30. Their unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 93 off just 37 balls completed a sensational RCB turnaround, consigning Gardner’s scarcely believable 37-ball 79 not out from earlier in the evening to second best.

Renuka Singh struggled for accuracy in her first two overs, but her first attempt at bowling stump-to-stump rather than searching for devious inswing led to Laura Wolvaardt being bowled for 6 in the fifth over. D Hemalatha came in at N0. 3 for Giants rather than Harleen Deol, and they were two down when she sliced the offspinner Ahuja to point. Giants were 41 for 2 in the seventh.

Beth Mooney shifted gears in the 10th over after she successfully overturned an lbw appeal through DRS off legspinner Georgia Wareham, whome she hit for three back-to-back fours while bringing up a 37-ball half-century. Mooney then stepped out and lofted legspinner Prema Rawat inside-out to the extra-cover boundary, but fell in the same over when she picked out Smriti Mandhana at midwicket for 56.

That brought in Deandra Dottin and she took just four balls to announce herself. She first thumped Kim Garth over mid-off and then played a neat little glide past the keeper to the deep third boundary.

At the other end, Gardner continued from where she had left off at the Women’s Ashes earlier in the month by taking toll of Rawat’s inexperience and hitting her for three consecutive sixes. After hitting the first two over long-off and long-on, she pummelled the half-tracker that followed over deep backward square leg.

Gardner was able to sustain this momentum against Wareham in the following over when she hit her for back-to-back fours. The Dottin-Gardner partnership had surged to 63 off 26 balls when Perry dropped a set Dottin at long-on, but it wouldn’t cost RCB much as she fell four balls later.

Gardner ended the innings in a blaze, taking down the teenaged seamer VJ Joshita as Giants hit 49 off the last three overs. Garner’s innings was studded with three fours and eight sixes.

Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women 202 for 4 in 18.3 overs  (Richa Ghosh 64*, Ellyse Perry 57,  Raghvi Bist 25, Kanika Ahuja 30*;  Ashleigh Gardner 2-33) beat Gujarat Giants Women  201 for 5 in 20 overs (Ashleigh Gardner 79, Mooney 56, Deandra Dottin 25; Renuka Singh  2-25) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]

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