Fateh was born in Washington, D.C., and is the son of immigrants from Somalia. He graduated from Falls Church High School and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from George Mason University.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_F…

https://elections.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2023/10/clear-ballot-clearvote-2.4-test-report.pdf

I saw a woman in a store or a girl I knew, say from university.

I looked, she already has a child, and I'm thirty years old and single.

I was offended and left so that she wouldn’t see me.

The US-based nonprofit organization Avaaz has launched a global petition calling for the nomination of Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her outspoken advocacy for Palestinian rights and her defense of civilians in Gaza.

The petition, addressed to eligible Nobel nominators and the Norwegian Nobel Committee, declares, "As people from across the world, we believe Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, and the doctors caring for people in Gaza deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for their work."

Albanese, who has repeatedly condemned 'Israeli' attacks on civilians and raised alarms over what she describes as potential war crimes in Gaza, has faced political backlash for her stance. The petition highlights that the Trump administration imposed sanctions on her for speaking out against 'Israeli' actions.

Over 731K sign petition to nominate Francesca Albanese for Nobel Peace Prize

^{Roya News}

The number of “Israeli” soldiers who committed suicide since the start of 2025 is 15, a recent report by Haaretz said.

Since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, 43 “Israeli” soldiers have committed suicide. The breakdown is as follows:

• Between Oct. 7, 2023 and end of that year: Seven
• 2024: 21
• 2025 (ongoing): 15 soldiers.

Suicides in “Israeli” military: Haaretz report reveals rising trend in 2025

“Israeli” soldiers during a comrade’s funeral. (File)

^{Roya News}

https://www.huaweicentral.com/huawei-regains-first-spot-apple-ranks-fifth-in-q2-2025-chinese-smartphone-market/

Inflation shot up in June as the impacts of Donald Trump’s tariffs slowly started to show in US prices.

Business leaders have said for months that the high, volatile rates of Trump’s tariffs will force companies to raise consumer prices. Prices remained stable in the spring, particularly as many of Trump’s highest tariffs were paused; however, they started increasing in May and have continued to rise in June.

Annual inflation rose to 2.7% in June, up from 2.4% in May, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the prices of a basket of goods and services each month. Core CPI, which leaves out energy and food prices, ticked up slightly to 2.9%, compared with 2.8% in May.

The prices of appliances, furniture and toys, products typically manufactured outside the US, all rose. Food prices increased by 3%, with the price of beef rising by more than 2% over the month, coffee up 2.2% and citrus fruit prices rising 2.3%. While the price of eggs has been dropping over the last few months, a dozen eggs are still 27% more expensive than last year.

US inflation rose in June as Trump’s tariffs start to show in prices

Inflation remains far below the peaks seen three years ago, when price increases reached as high as 9%

^{Lauren Aratani (The Guardian)}

The NEA, the largest labor union in the U.S., passed a resolution last Sunday at its Representative Assembly in Portland, Oregon, calling for an end to its relationship with the ADL. The resolution directs the union to stop using or endorsing ADL materials, reports, or programs. Supporters said the ADL had used accusations of antisemitism to discredit critics of Israel and advocates for Palestinian rights.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the second largest union in the U.S. with 1.7 million members, has issued a response to last week's vote by the National Education Association to cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, saying engagement, not isolation, is the way forward.

Weingarten, who is Jewish and has long been outspoken on issues of antisemitism and Middle East policy, has walked a fine line in recent years, calling out anti-Jewish hate while also pushing for a two-state solution and Palestinian rights.

After largest U.S. teacher's union cuts ties with ADL, head of second biggest rejects 'isolation'

Randi Weingarten, who has long been outspoken on issues of antisemitism and Middle East policy, said her organization agree with the ADL on the importance of educating against racism and antisemitic, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQIA+ hate

^{Etan Nechin (Haaretz)}

The NEA, the largest labor union in the U.S., passed a resolution last Sunday at its Representative Assembly in Portland, Oregon, calling for an end to its relationship with the ADL. The resolution directs the union to stop using or endorsing ADL materials, reports, or programs. Supporters said the ADL had used accusations of antisemitism to discredit critics of Israel and advocates for Palestinian rights.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the second largest union in the U.S. with 1.7 million members, has issued a response to last week's vote by the National Education Association to cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, saying engagement, not isolation, is the way forward.

Weingarten, who is Jewish and has long been outspoken on issues of antisemitism and Middle East policy, has walked a fine line in recent years, calling out anti-Jewish hate while also pushing for a two-state solution and Palestinian rights.

After largest U.S. teacher's union cuts ties with ADL, head of second biggest rejects 'isolation'

Randi Weingarten, who has long been outspoken on issues of antisemitism and Middle East policy, said her organization agree with the ADL on the importance of educating against racism and antisemitic, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQIA+ hate

^{Etan Nechin (Haaretz)}

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/us/politics/trump-russia-ukraine-nato.html

"...was hit by a car and suffered fatal injuries while trying to cross a road in his birth village Beas Pind, near Jalandhar in Punjab, [India] ..."

RIP to an inspirational person. He only started distance running at 89!

British marathon runner Fauja Singh dies in road accident aged 114

His London-based running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, said their upcoming events in Ilford, east London, will be a celebration of his life.

^{PA News Agency (Your Local Guardian)}

Karlsruhe (Germany) (AFP) – Germany's highest court on Tuesday threw out a case brought by two Yemenis seeking to sue Berlin over the role of the US Ramstein airbase in a 2012 drone attack, ending a years-long legal saga.

Plaintiffs Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber first brought their case to court in 2014 after losing members of their family in the strike on the village of Khashamir.

The case has since been through several German courts. But the Constitutional Court on Tuesday ultimately ruled that Berlin is not required to take action against such attacks, which were not judged to be in breach of international law.

Washington has for years launched drone strikes targeting suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, an impoverished country that has been torn by fierce fighting between its beleaguered Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed rebels.

The two Yemeni men, supported by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), had argued that Germany was partly responsible for the attack because the strike was aided by signals relayed via the Ramstein base in western Germany.

"Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen," the group said.

The ECCHR's Andreas Schueller argued that "the German government must put an end to the use of this base -- otherwise the government is making itself complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians".

The court found that Germany "does have a general duty to protect fundamental human rights and the core norms of international humanitarian law, even in cases involving foreign countries".

However, in order for this duty to be binding, there must be "a serious risk of systematic violation of applicable international law".

"Measured against these standards, the constitutional complaint is unfounded," the court said.

The ECCHR said the ruling had "failed to send a strong signal" and meant that "instead, individual legal protection remains a theoretical possibility without practical consequences".

However, Schueller said the verdict "leaves the door open for future cases".

"Violations of international law can be subject to judicial review, even if the court imposes high hurdles. This is an important statement by the Constitutional Court in these times," he said.

According to the ECCHR, the two Yemeni men were having dinner ahead of the wedding of a male family member in 2012 when they heard the buzz of a drone and then the boom of missile attacks that claimed multiple lives.

Their case against Germany was initially thrown out, before the higher administrative court in Muenster ruled in their favour in 2019.

However, the government appealed and a higher court overturned the decision in 2020, arguing that German diplomatic efforts were enough to ensure Washington was adhering to international law.

In a statement shared by the ECCHR, the two men called the ruling "dangerous and disturbing".

"(It) suggests countries that provide assistance to the US assassination programme bear no responsibility when civilians are killed. Our hearts are broken, and our faith in international law is shaken," they said.

The German government welcomed the ruling, which it said showed that Berlin had "a wide margin of discretion in assessing whether the actions of third states comply with international law".

"According to the ruling, the government has no fundamental duty to protect foreigners abroad who are affected by military action by third states if, in the government's assessment, these attacks are within the bounds of what is permissible under international law," the defence and foreign ministries said in a statement.

German court rejects Yemenis' claim over US strikes

^RFI

The matter made its way into the political discourse as the House Rules Committee considered the issue, after a failed attempt by the Democrats to force a vote in Congress on whether the Epstein files should be made public.

As one of the oldest standing committees in Congress, the group's key role concerns the flow of legislation to the House floor.

Khanna's amendment was in effect a procedural measure that was tacked on to the GENIUS Act, which relates to digital assets such as crypto currency. If the amendment had been passed, it would have forced Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish the Epstein documents on a "publicly accessible website."

Republicans Block Vote to Release Epstein Files

Republican lawmakers have blocked a move that could have forced President Donald Trump's administration to release the files on Jeffrey Epstein's investigation.

^{Chloe Mayer (Newsweek)}

today announced the global channel availability of up to 30TB Exos ®M and IronWolf® Pro hard drives. Built on Seagate’s Mozaic3+™ platform and powered by heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology, these drives are engineered to meet increasing demand for scalable, high-performance storage driven by the rise of AI deployments that are supplementing traditional enterprise infrastructure development.

Seagate Ships 30TB Drives to Meet Global Surge in Data Center AI Storage Demand | Seagate US

^Seagate

Microsoft’s “Digital Escort” Program Could Leave Sensitive Government Info Vulnerable to Espionage. Here’s What to Know.

• Chinese Tech Support: Microsoft is using engineers in China to help maintain the Defense Department’s computer systems — with minimal supervision by U.S. personnel.
• Skills Gap: Digital escorts often lack the technical expertise to police foreign engineers with far more advanced skills, leaving highly sensitive data vulnerable to hacking.
• Ignored Warnings: Various people involved in the work told ProPublica that they warned Microsoft that the arrangement is inherently risky, but the company launched and expanded it anyway.

Microsoft “Digital Escorts” Could Expose Defense Dept. Data to Chinese Hackers

The Pentagon bans foreign citizens from accessing highly sensitive data, but Microsoft bypasses this by using engineers in China and elsewhere to remotely instruct American “escorts” who may lack expertise to identify malicious code.

^ProPublica

https://apnews.com/article/vietnam-hanoi-motorcycles-pollution-29bf81ec6b7bad9e8a63bd636ea34d18

While we are all holding our breath for the possible initiatives against Israel that Kaja Kallas, the European High Representative for Foreign Affairs, could present on Tuesday (15 July) to the foreign affairs council, the lawyers of the JURDI Association (lawyers for the respect of international law), are taking action.

On Thursday, they will file an “action for failure to act” with the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg against the EU Commission and Council for their failure to act on the crimes committed by the Netanyahu government in Gaza.

Lawyers file case against EU Commission and Council for 'failure to act' on Gaza genocide

Lawyers specialising in international law will file an “action for failure to act” with the European Court of Justice on Thursday for the inaction of the EU Commission and Council in the massacres perpetrated by the Netanyahu government.

^EUobserver

Just wanted to share a tool I came across recently youtubetotranscript.net/. It lets you paste any YouTube link and get a full transcript of the video (even long ones), which is super useful for:

• Note-taking from tutorials or lectures
• Quickly skimming long videos for key info
• Searching specific parts of interviews or reviews
• Accessibility / easier reading

No login, no ads, and works surprisingly fast. Great for when you don’t have time to watch a full video or just want the text version.

Has anyone tried similar tools? Would love to hear recommendations too!

i ran into a visibility issue when replying from mastodon to a pixelfed user’s followers-only post.

if a pixelfed user has a private account and makes a followers-only post, then a mastodon user (who follows them, but isn’t followed back) replies with the same followers-only visibility, the pixelfed user never sees it, even if they’re mentioned.

apparently this is because “followers-only” on mastodon only includes the sender’s own followers, not the post author or mentioned accounts. this makes cross-platform, non-mutual replies silently disappear.

anyone else think this should be addressed at the AP level? or is it something each app should patch separately (like a “followers + mentioned” visibility option)?

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte shake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on July 14, 2025. Trump said the U.S. will send more weapons to Ukraine, signaling his growing impatience as Russia ignores his demands for a ceasefire and steps up its military campaign. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump threatens Russia with ‘severe’ tariffs if no Ukraine deal reached in 50 days. “We’re gonna be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs that are about 100%, we call them secondary tariffs,” Donald Trump said in a joint press conference in the White House alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Patriot systems, missiles may arrive in Ukraine ‘within days,’ Trump says. When asked when certain weapons, including missiles to Patriot air defense systems, were expected to arrive in Ukraine, Trump responded by saying “a full complement with the batteries… We’re going to have some come very soon, within days.”

Germany says EU discussing ‘more than 3’ Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine. “From the EU perspective, the talks are about more than three Patriot systems for Ukraine,” a German government spokesperson said.

‘He wants to take all of it’ — Putin reportedly told Trump he’ll intensify eastern Ukraine offensive over next 2 months. Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump that Moscow intended to continue offensive operations until it secured the full administrative borders of occupied Ukrainian regions.

Russia vows to ‘firmly defend’ interests in Baltic after Estonia HIMARS test. “The Baltic region is tense due to the aggressive policies of European coastal states,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

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Ukraine contracts ‘tens of thousands’ interceptor drones. The technology is critical for Ukraine’s air defense as Russia’s aerial attacks have escalated significantly over the past few months

Zelensky announces next prime minister, launches government reshuffle. “I have proposed that Yuliia Svyrydenko lead the Government of Ukraine and significantly renew its work,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Zelensky hints prime minister Shmyhal may be appointed defense minister amid government reshuffle. “Denys Shmyhal’s extensive experience will definitely be valuable in the position of Ukraine’s defense minister,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Denmark to provide European-produced satellite communication services to Ukraine’s military. “Denmark has now contributed to strengthening Ukraine’s satellite-based communications in their defense against Russia. There is a very large potential in space-based solutions that can contribute to both Ukrainian, Danish, and European defense,” Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said.

Slovakia hints it won’t block 18th sanctions package following EU assurances. Slovakia is likely to approve the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia following assurances provided by the bloc to Bratislava, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on July 14.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Trump threatens Russia with ‘severe’ tariffs if no Ukraine deal reached in 50 days

The U.S. will impose “severe tariffs” on Russia unless it agrees to a deal on ending the war in Ukraine within 50 days, U.S. President Donald Trump said in his long-anticipated announcement on July 14.

Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Learn more

Editorial: Right now, Ukraine’s democracy risks a Russian-style backslide

While fighting a war of survival against Russia, Ukraine must not turn into its authoritarian neighbor. As Ukraine’s main independent English-language media outlet, we have a duty to acknowledge and expose this threat.

Photo: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Learn more

Patriot missiles — what they are and why everyone wants them

The U.S.-made Patriot air defense system is one of the few in the world that defend against ballistic missiles, which Russia regularly launches against Ukraine, and which Israel and Iran traded salvos of last month.

Photo: Sam Yeh / AFP via Getty Images

Learn more

Growing pains: The lives of Ukrainian teenagers at war

Russia’s war has struck Ukrainian teens in a uniquely cruel way — already navigating the turbulence of adolescence, they also face the emotional and psychological scars the war continues to leave on them.

Photo: George Ivanchenko / The Kyiv Independent

Learn more

Human cost of Russia’s war

Russian drones strike Sumy, Kharkiv oblasts killing 1 person, injuring at least 21. Russian troops launched drone attacks on Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts on July 14, killing one person and injuring at least 21, local authorities reported.

Russian Mi-8 helicopter goes missing in Far East with 5 aboard. The aircraft had three crew members and two technicians on board, Russian pro-government media outlet Kommersant reported.

International response

Putin’s negotiator calls for ‘constructive dialogue’ as Trump shifts stance on Ukraine. “Constructive dialogue between Russia and the U.S. will always achieve more than the tired, destructive language of pressure,” Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, wrote.

Zelensky meets Trump’s envoy Kellogg in Kyiv. “We discussed the path to peace and what we can practically do together to bring it closer,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote.

Belarus shoots down Russian drone, Ukraine’s HUR claims. Russian Shahed-type drones regularly breach Belarusian airspace as they fly towards Ukrainian cities during mass attacks which have escalated significantly over recent weeks.

5 EU members reportedly unhappy with new Ukraine trade deal. “They believe that a new agreement within the framework of the (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area) DCFTA could destabilize European markets,” a source present during an EU Agriculture Council meeting told European Pravda.

Opinions and insights

Beneath the problematic surface, the New York Times’ Kursk reporting reveals a deeper moral rot

In these fraught times, the New York Times has made a seemingly deliberate and very self-aware choice to paint a picture of this war without the understanding of who is in the right and who is in the wrong.

Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva / AFP via Getty Images

Learn more

5 ways the New York Times fails its readers in its most recent piece about Russia’s war

The New York Times’ recent feature detailing Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast presents a vivid, harrowing account of civilian suffering — it also twists the narrative.

Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP via Getty Images

Learn more

In other news

Ukraine’s new Liut ground drone ‘destroys‘ Russian position with machine gun, HUR claims in new video. The deployment took place in Sumy Oblast, a northeastern region bordering Russia that has recently faced renewed Moscow’s attempts to advance.

Ukraine’s economic crimes bureau remains leaderless amid government interference. Ukraine’s economic crimes agency is still without a head following a controversial selection process, raising fresh concerns about the government’s commitment to anti-corruption and international obligations.

The Kyiv Independent delivers urgent, independent journalism from the ground, from breaking news to investigations into war crimes. Your support helps us keep telling the truth. Become a member today.

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