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Palestinian natural gas field

The flow of natural gas from Israel to Jordan and Egypt could be upsetting to many, including Palestinians, who are denied their right to drill and extract gas from the Gaza Marine field - discovered in 1999 off Gaza's seashores.

The field is located a proximity 30 kilometres off the seashore of Gaza, but due to the complexity of the geopolitics of the region and the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, it has laid dormant for nearly 20 years so far since its discovery.

The field is estimated to contain one trillion cubic feet of gas and estimated to have a life of 15 years.

When late leader Yasser Arafat celebrated this discovery, he described the field as "a gift from God to the Palestinian people"....

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan responds to comments by European Commissioner Josep Borrell criticising the lack of response by some countries to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

© AP/Evan VucciBiden speaks to members of the 82nd Airborne Division • Jasionka, Poland

The new aid package includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,000 Javelins, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems, 100 unmanned drones, 100 grenade launchers, 5,000 rifles, 1,000 pistols, 400 machine guns, 400 shotguns, more than 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launcher and mortar rounds, 25,000 sets of body armor and 25,000 helmets.

The equipment will be transferred directly from the Department of Defense to the Ukrainian military, Biden said.

Much of Biden's speech involved placing blame for the Russian invasion into Ukraine directly on Putin and delivering a plea to the Russian people that they not be welcoming or supportive of the war. The comment was a particularly notable moment, however, appearing to mark a shift in Biden's thinking about Putin's position in Russia. It's unclear if the White House meant that Biden muddled his words or went off-script with his comments.

Biden at one point in his remarks declared, "It is Putin, it is Vladimir Putin who is to blame. Period." And he called the war "an example of one of the oldest human impulses, using brute force and disinformation to satisfy a craving for absolute power and control."

The president called Putin "a butcher," when asked earlier on Saturday what he thought of him for having caused the humanitarian fallout. He also on Friday reiterated his belief that Putin has committed war crimes.

Russia considers the following as 'unfriendly' countries: United States and Canada, the EU states, the UK (including Jersey, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar), Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, and also Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan.

© Getty Images/Jeff MitchellUS President Joe Biden during a meeting with the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda
Rzeszow, Poland • March 25, 2022

US President Joe Biden told American soldiers on Friday that "you're going to see" Ukrainian civilians fighting Russian soldiers "when you're there." Despite signaling a potential US deployment to Ukraine, the White House says there's been no change to Biden's position of not sending troops into the country.

Biden told members of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Poland:

"You're going to see when you're there ... some of you have been there. You're going to see women, young people standing in the middle, in the front of a damn tank saying 'I'm not leaving, I'm holding my ground'."

Biden mentioned the same scenes of civilians blocking tanks - widely publicized by pro-Ukrainian outlets - earlier on Friday as well, calling the incidents "Tiananmen Square squared."

The president has thus far remained insistent that American troops will not intervene in Ukraine, and has ruled out establishing a NATO-enforced 'no-fly zone' over the country. The latter, he argued, would see the US and its allies commit to an air war against Russia, which would lead to a "third world war."

It is unclear what Biden meant when he told the troops "some of you have already been there." Members of the Florida National Guard were training with Ukrainian forces when Russia launched its offensive last month, and were swiftly recalled from the country. The 82nd Airborne Division was sent straight to Poland from Fort Bragg in North Carolina in February, although its troops have trained in Ukraine at several points since the 1990s, and the army's 101st Airborne Division deployed there in 2019.

Biden's statement triggered concern that the US may be preparing to intervene in Ukraine. However, a White House spokesperson said shortly afterwards that:

"The president has been clear we are not sending US troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position."

At present, there are around 100,000 US troops in Europe, the most deployed to the continent since 2005. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the conflict in Ukraine has created a "new security reality" in Europe, one that the Cold War-era alliance will meet with more military spending and more deployments of troops and equipment to Eastern Europe.