Updated 14 May 2021
May 14, 2021 05:53
BEIRUT: Ibrahim Al-Dika had raised his Belgian shepherd Lexi since she was a tiny pup, but then Lebanon’s economic crisis made him jobless and he had to sell her to repay a bank loan.
“It got to the point where I was no longer able to feed her, the bank was pressuring me, and I hit a wall,” said the 26-year-old, devastated beside her empty kennel outside his Beirut home.
“I didn’t sell a car or a telephone. I sold a soul. I sold a part of me.”
Can you afford to keep your pet? Animal activists say this is a dilemma a growing number of Lebanese owners are facing as their purchasing power nosedives.
Islamic nations hold emergency meet over Israel-Gaza situation
Islamic nations hold emergency meet over Israel-Gaza situation
The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation held an emergency meeting on Sunday over the heavy fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers.
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UPDATED: May 16, 2021 17:18 IST
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation held an emergency meeting on Sunday over the heavy fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers. (Photo: AP/PTI)
The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation opened an emergency meeting Sunday over the heavy fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s militant Hamas rulers, the first major move among Mideast nations still grappling with how to address the conflict.
DW s Tania Krämer and Ines Pohl on Gaza violence
Israel tells UN Hamas is trying to gain political power
Israel s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan told a Security Council session that the recent deadly violence was premeditated by Hamas in order to gain political power. Do you really believe that this property dispute is what caused Hamas to launch these large-scale attacks on the people of Israel? Erdan said, adding that the militant group escalated tensions after the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delayed long-awaited elections.
The envoy also emphasized that Israel makes every effort to avoid civilian casualties, while Hamas makes every effort to increase civilian casualties.