World
Resumption of Jeddah talks between Sudanese army and “rapid support”.
Today (Sunday), Omani voters began voting to elect members of the Shura Council for the tenth term. These elections are conducted through e-voting using the “Chosen” application launched for this purpose.
These elections are usually conducted through electronic applications, such as registering voters, publishing lists or registering candidates, as well as conducting most of the election campaigns, directing voters to vote, and filing appeals and objections. Electronic use.
Oman Telecom confirmed that security systems are working with high efficiency and no cyber attack attempts have been recorded.
As many as 843 candidates, including 32 women, are contesting this election, as per the final lists of candidates to elect 90 members, the voting process continues till 7 pm (today evening).
A total electorate of 753,690 voters participated in the election, electing 90 members from 843 candidates, including 32 women.
Last Sunday, Omani voters abroad cast their ballots, 13,843 of whom voted from outside the Sultanate of Oman via electronic voting.
The Omani Shura Council, established in 1991 to replace a consultative body established in 1981, is a consultative body elected for a 4-year term and has deliberative, proposal and amendment powers of the state. Public and economic policies. According to its constitution, its powers are based on expressing opinions, discussing and making recommendations, but it does not interfere in matters related to defence, internal security and foreign policy.
The Omani Shura Council (elected) is the second legislative chamber along with the State Council (appointed). They form a body called the “Council of Oman” which includes the State and Shura Councils.
Oman was one of the first countries to adopt electronic voting in elections. The technology was used for the first time in 2019 among Omanis voting abroad, and then the technology was used again in the municipal council elections in December 2022.
The Elections Oversight Committee said that the second version of the “Intecap” app has brought a tangible qualitative change in the electoral process in the Sultanate of Oman, introducing new improvements and updates. Optional sign language feature for disabled (blind) and deaf and dumb.
Using the latest technologies in the field of cryptography, the application is characterized by high level of security and the voter data is verified in 3 basic steps: it involves photographing the original ID card on both sides, then reading the ID card data through the NFC feature and taking a personal photo of the voter, the team said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs provided more than 12 electronic election services including election services; Preliminary and final lists of candidates, preliminary and final lists of voters, verification of entry in the voter register and tracking of automatic counting indicators on polling day etc. The application also provides numerical statistics showing each vote percentage. State, and age and gender groups of voters and provides a service that submits recommendations and reports to application users.
The website also offers a special page for candidates through which their election plans are presented and explained to voters, as well as a “dialogue room” that allows discussion of election-related issues.
Stating that data and information will be available with full transparency by broadcasting indicators and statistics directly on polling day, the ministry stressed that the electoral process for the tenth term is characterized by accuracy, transparency of data and speed of its flow. After all electoral services are introduced to digital transformation.
This morning, Interior Minister Hamoud bin Faisal Al Busaidi and several members of the core committee for electing members of the Shura Council visited the operations room to manage the electoral system and its applications hosted on the electronic cloud. At the headquarters of Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel).
Talal bin Saeed Al Mamari, CEO of Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), confirmed that the security systems are working with high efficiency and no attempts at cyber attacks have been recorded.
The electoral process comes as part of the digital transformation in the Sultanate of Oman through the “Intekhab” application, which proves that it is possible to use technology in complex and sensitive processes like the electoral process, which can be fruitful. There are huge efforts by the government and private sectors to facilitate the smoothness and flow of the electoral process.
A number of system improvements have been introduced in the current electoral process to accommodate the high voter turnout, and artificial intelligence techniques have been added to provide tools to monitor the progress of the electoral process in real time.
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World
Efforts to restore a cease-fire in Gaza, and news that Israel is willing to negotiate as the fighting continues
12/2/2023–|Last Updated: 12/2/202302:16 PM (Makkah Time)
Reuters and the Wall Street Journal quoted an Israeli official as saying Israel is willing to negotiate a ceasefire and prisoners held by Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip, but fighting continues.
The Washington-based official told Reuters that Israel was willing to offer additional pauses and could hold talks while the fighting continued.
Freeing the largest possible number of prisoners is a “priority” for Israel, he said, adding that “we have learned the lessons from our operations in northern Gaza and are applying them.”
The Israeli official added – according to the agency report – that Israel was working on a plan to minimize civilian casualties in any operation in southern Gaza, as he said.
Reuters cited a US official – described as a senior – that the US was working with Israel “on a plan to minimize harm to civilians in any operation south of Gaza”.
In turn, the Wall Street Journal quoted a U.S. official as saying that Israel had pledged to carry out “highly targeted” military action, which it described as aimed at minimizing civilian casualties and damage to buildings and other infrastructure.
Armistice extension
In this regard, Qatar – which has played a key role in mediation efforts – has said that negotiations with the Israelis and Palestinians to return to the ceasefire are still ongoing, but renewed Israeli bombardment of Gaza is complicating mediation efforts.
For its part, the Wall Street Journal quoted Egyptian officials as saying that Egypt and Qatar’s mediators failed to reach a breakthrough on a ceasefire in Gaza yesterday Friday, and mediators are expected to resume talks today. They stumbled upon the background of deciding whom the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) would release later.
Officials said – according to the newspaper – that Hamas wants Israel to release its remaining women and children, and that the movement is offering to release the bodies of dead and elderly prisoners.
The ceasefire, which began on November 24, has been extended twice, and Israel said it could continue if Hamas released 10 prisoners each day, but mediators could not find a formula for freeing more prisoners, including Israeli soldiers.
A Palestinian official said the ceasefire broke down after Israel demanded the release of female soldiers detained by Hamas.
Back to the bombing of Gaza page
As soon as the cease-fire expired on Friday, Israel returned to a violent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 240 Palestinians and injuring hundreds more within hours.
Yesterday, the Israeli occupation dropped leaflets in the eastern parts of Khan Yunis, ordering the evacuation of residents of 4 towns, not to the rest of the town as happened before, but to the southern town of Rafah.
Israel released a link to a map dividing Gaza into hundreds of zones, which it said would be used to determine safe zones in the future.
Despite this, Israel continues to bombard Rafah and other areas in the south, where hundreds of thousands of Gazans have taken refuge from fighting in the north. Doctors and witnesses said the blasts were intense yesterday in Khan Younis and Rafah.
Genocide and ethnic cleansing
For his part, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a press conference in California that “we will continue to work with Israel, Egypt and Qatar towards the return of peace”, blaming the Hamas movement.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a US official as saying that Israel has pledged to carry out a more targeted military operation aimed at reducing civilian casualties and damage to buildings and other infrastructure.
The official said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli wartime government about how long the war would last and had not received a clear answer.
The officials explained International pressure could force Israel to halt its operations as early as this year, especially if civilian casualties continue to be high, a timetable Israel does not accept.
Hamas accused Washington of green-lighting a “war” on Israel. Genocide and ethnic cleansing.” He said in a statement, “Today you shamelessly repeat Zionist lies …
Hamas takes responsibility for resuming the war and not extending the humanitarian peace.
Meanwhile, Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Reuters that Washington must pressure Israel, “We must push Israel to realize that this is not just a military conflict, but a conflict of hearts and minds. People in the world and people in the United States.” “.
“Creator. Award-winning problem solver. Music evangelist. Incurable introvert.”
The order comes as both Ukraine and Russia seek to make gains on the ground and regroup their forces in a conflict that has seen little change on the front lines in recent months.
This brings the total number of Russian military personnel to about 2,200,000, including 1,320,000 soldiers.
This is the second such military deployment since 2018. This previous reinforcement of 137,000 soldiers, ordered by Putin in August 2022, puts the army at around two million personnel and an estimated 1,150,000 soldiers.
“The Army’s standing force increase is due to the increasing threats to our country associated with special military operations and the continued expansion of NATO,” the military statement said.
He said the number of troops in service would increase by around 170,000, which he said would be an “appropriate” response to the “hostile activity of the NATO camp”.
The report indicated there were no plans to make changes to recruitment rules or organize another mobilization campaign, an unpopular move that saw a mass flight of men from Russia last year.
Instead, in recent months the military has focused on recruitment campaigns with promises of lucrative financial rewards, particularly in remote areas.
But Kremlin critics saw the move as a “disguised” mobilization, as recruitment into the army continues unabated.
What are NATO’s movements?
- NATO joint forces are being formed near Russia’s borders, and additional air defense systems and offensive weapons are being deployed.
- NATO’s tactical nuclear capabilities are increasing, the statement said.
- The ministry added that the Russian troop build-up was an appropriate response to NATO’s “aggressive actions”.
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T+ D- Normal size
On Friday, the Gaza Strip was subjected to a violent Israeli bombardment that claimed dozens of lives in a single day, ending a week-long ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which had once again vowed to eliminate the Palestinian movement.
International calls to resume the ceasefire continue, warning of the consequences of resuming fighting on civilians in the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian crisis is worsening.
Shells and missiles lit up the Gaza sky after evening rain, while thick clouds of black smoke rose throughout the day from several targeted areas in the besieged region.
For their part, Palestinian factions fired missiles at Israel and sounded sirens in several areas around the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas Health Ministry announced that “the death toll from the Israeli occupation from this morning to today is 178 martyrs and 589 wounded, most of them children and women.”
The Israeli military reported bombing more than 200 targets in the Strip.
A cease-fire between Hamas and Israel came into effect on November 24 at 5:00 PM GMT.
As the strikes began, thousands of residents of the Gaza Strip began returning to hospitals and schools, as Agence France-Presse reporters in the besieged area witnessed.
Israeli government spokesman Elon Levy said “Hamas will now receive a fatal blow”, accusing the movement of not handing over a new list of hostages for release. He added, “Unfortunately, Hamas decided to end the ceasefire by not releasing all the kidnapped women.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his “deep regret” over the resumption of fighting, “expressing his hope that the ceasefire will be renewed. The resumption of military operations shows the importance of achieving an effective humanitarian ceasefire.”
Despite the resumption of fighting, Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed in a statement on Friday that “negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides continue with the aim of returning to a ceasefire” and called on the international community to “move quickly”. The fighting must stop.”
The White House also confirmed on Friday that the United States was continuing to work to extend the humanitarian ceasefire.
A National Security Council spokesman said, “We continue to work with Israel, Egypt and Qatar on efforts to extend the humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.”
The seven-day ceasefire was observed after Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in response to an unprecedented and bloody attack on Israeli territory by the Hamas movement on October 7.
The Israeli military estimates the number of people detained and held hostage in the Gaza Strip in the October 7 attack was around 240.
The ceasefire allowed the release of 80 Israeli hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners. Most Thai expatriates working in Israel were released outside the framework of the cease-fire agreement.
The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had confirmed the deaths of five hostages held in the Gaza Strip, notified their families, and recovered the body of one of them in a security operation.
Hamas had earlier announced that an Israeli bombardment of Gaza had killed nearly sixty hostages.
– “Exclusion” Zones –
On Friday, the Israeli military released a map of the so-called “exit zones” in the Gaza Strip, after an international call for Gaza residents to leave, the establishment of safe zones and a US plea to refrain from killing civilians. .
The map, written in Arabic, divides the Gaza Strip into hundreds of numbered sections and is available on the Israeli military’s website.
The military said the goal of the map was to enable residents to “evacuate specific locations for their safety if necessary.”
Warnings were sent through short text messages to residents of several parts of the Gaza Strip on Friday, warning that the army would launch a crushing military offensive on your residential area on Friday.
The message urged people to take immediate action.
The Palestinian Authority, through presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudayna, condemned what it described as “the continuation of the crime of ethnic cleansing and genocide, and attempts to displace and dissolve the Palestinian cause.”
The Hamas government media office announced on Friday that three Palestinian journalists had been killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip.
read more:
Israeli bombing of Gaza after cease-fire ends
White House: Israel to allow aid trucks into Gaza
The Israeli army has confirmed the killing of 5 hostages in the Gaza Strip and informed their families
Egypt condemns the collapse of the ceasefire and Israel’s renewed violent bombing of the Gaza Strip
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that 178 Palestinians have been killed and 500 injured in Israeli bombardment since the end of the ceasefire.
“Creator. Award-winning problem solver. Music evangelist. Incurable introvert.”
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