Black November

November is a painful month in the Palestinian calendar. It is dotted with commemorative days that have one theme in common: the partitioning of Palestine.

Today is the 99th anniversary of the Balfour declaration. Although it did not offer partition, it sowed the seeds for it, which eventually allowed the Zionist movement to take over Palestine.

On November 15, we commemorate the Palestinian Declaration of Independence (issued by the Palestinian National Council (PNC)), which was a reluctant national Palestinian consent to partition, notwithstanding the injustice and criminality involved in such an act.

At the end of the month, on the 29th, we commemorate the UN General Assembly Resolution 181, which recommended in 1947 the partition of Palestine into two states.

Put into the right chronological sequence, we can see a direct line between the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the 1947 UN partition resolution and the 1988 PNC's document. It is worth our while to re-read Edward Said's wise words about the Balfour Declaration.

Police officer stabbed in Blackpool during spot check on vehicle

A police officer is being treated in hospital after being stabbed following a routine vehicle check near Blackpool. 

Lancashire Police said it happened at about 10am on Wednesday morning. 

The force said in a statement: "A PC carried out a routine stop check on a vehicle on Westmorland Avenue in Cleveleys.     

"As the driver emerged from the vehicle, a Peugeot van, the officer was attacked.

"He suffered serious injuries including a knife injury to his torso and facial injuries and was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital for treatment.

"His injuries are not life threatening."

The attacker drove off after the attack but was found not long afterwards in the "Poulton area", the force said.

A 39-year-old man from Blackpool is in custody after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder

South Africa's Jacob Zuma backs down on corruption report

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has dropped his court bid to block the release of a report into his allegedly improper relationship with businessmen.

Mr Zuma's lawyer informed the High Court in the capital, Pretoria, of the decision, but the reasons are unclear. 

Opposition groups are rallying in South Africa's major cities to demand Mr Zuma's resignation. 

He has been dogged by corruption allegations for more than a decade, but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. 

The report by former anti-corruption chief Thuli Madonsela is believed to contain damning allegations against him, reports the BBC's Milton Nkosi from Pretoria.

Ms Madonsela investigated allegations that he let the wealthy Gupta family wield undue influence in his government. 

The Guptas were accused of trying to nominate cabinet ministers in exchange for business favours.

Both Mr Zuma and the Gupta family have denied the allegation.

Mr Zuma's bid to block the report's release was challenged by opposition parties, which are now demanding that he pays their legal costs. 

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said his party would ask the court to order the report's immediate release. 

Thousands of opposition supporters have been rallying in Pretoria, shouting "Zuma must fall."

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Musi Maimane said state coffers was being "plundered" by "crooks", but the "good guys" were winning in the battle to safeguard the democracy which emerged in South Africa at the end of minority rule in 1994. 

"This is about letting Zuma, the Guptas and all their useful idiots know that their days are numbered," Mr Maimane said.

MH370 flight dived rapidly when it vanished, new report says

New analysis of the final moments of doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has suggested the aircraft plunged at an increasing speed with no human intervention.

The report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is spearheading the search into the missing plane, found the aircraft also appeared to be out of control when it disappeared.

A pilot would typically extend the flaps during a controlled ditching. Analysis of wing flap debris  showed the aircraft was not configured for a landing.

Peter Foley, who is leading search operations, said: "You can draw your own conclusions as to whether that means someone was in control."

Image Caption:Some families are still hopeful the missing aircraft will be found

He added: "You can never be 100%. We are very reluctant to express absolute certainty."

Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew on board in one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.

In recent months, some have been pushing the theory that someone was still controlling the plane at the end of its flight. If that was the case, the aircraft could have glided much farther.

The question is crucial because if the aircraft glided the debris field could be outside the 120,000 sq km (46,330 sq mile) search zone which has almost been exhausted.

Some believe gliding might explain why the plane has not been found.

But satellite communications from the aircraft were consistent with it being in a "high and increasing rate of descent", colloquially known as a "death dive", the report said.

The analysis appeared to confirm the authorities' preferred theory - that the plane had no "inputs" during its final descent, meaning there was no pilot or no conscious pilot.

Image Caption:This MH370 flap was found in Tanzania. Pic: Australia Transport Safety Bureau 

They believe the aircraft was on autopilot and spiralled when it ran out of fuel.

The report comes as a team of international and Australian experts begin a three-day summit in Canberra to re-examine all the data associated with the hunt for the plane and develop potential plans for continuing the search.

It contains new end-of-flight and drift simulation to try and define the search area.

More than 20 items of debris suspected or confirmed to be from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines throughout the Indian Ocean.

But a deep sea sonar search for the main underwater wreckage has found nothing.

In a separate development, a lawyer for the families of four Australian victims told the Reuters news agency that Malaysia Airlines had agreed to release information about the missing plane as part of a compensation case.

The information is to include the most recent medical certificates held by the flight crew.

Apple’s Next iPhone Features

Apple’s next iPhone could get some features users had hoped to see this year. The next Apple handset, believed to be known as the iPhone 8, could come with both wireless charging and a new display based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, the Nikkei is 

reporting. Both features were rumored for this year’s iPhone 7 but never came to fruition. Apple’s iPhone 7 requires a cord to be charged, and it has a liquid crystal display (LCD) instead of the newer, more vibrant OLED technology.

Speculation is running rampant over what Apple has planned for the 2017 iPhone. Next year is the 10th anniversary of Apple’s iPhone, which was originally released in 2007. Apple hasn’t delivered a major update to its iPhone since 2014, so many believe the 10-year-anniversary iPhone will be it.

Over the last several months, rumors have suggested that Apple would release an OLED-based iPhone display next year. Those reports say the entire iPhone face will be covered in glass, allowing users to tap around the screen anywhere they wish. The Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which currently sits below the iPhone’s screen, would be baked directly into the glass.

While Apple hasn’t confirmed that’s the case, Tai Jeng-wu, president of Sharp, which makes OLED panels, was speaking to students at Tatung University this week and said the iPhone is moving to OLED panels, according to the Nikkei. Tai didn’t say if his company would be manufacturing OLED panels for the iPhone. Previous reports have said both Samsung Display and LG Display are also in the running to produce OLEDs for Apple.

Offering an OLED screen would be an improvement for the iPhone, allowing it to offer customers a brighter display. The OLED is also exceedingly thin and flexible, stoking rumors that Apple will offer a curved display option in next year’s iPhone.

Meanwhile, the prospect of wireless charging could also prove appealing. Several Android-based competitors, including the Samsung Galaxy S line of devices, come with the ability for users to wirelessly charge their smartphones by placing them on a conductive pad. Some had hoped the iPhone 7 would feature wireless technology, but Apple decided against it this time around.

According to unidentified sources who spoke with the Nikkei, Apple is considering adding the feature to next year’s handset. The only possible hiccup, a source told the Nikkei, would be if manufacturers can’t produce enough wireless charging components in time for next year’s release. It’s believed that longtime Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn will produce the components for the iPhone, but it’s unknown whether wireless charging would come to all iPhone models next year or just one.

For its part, Apple has remained silent on its plans for the future and hasn’t even hinted that a new iPhone will be released in 2017. However, with the 10-year iPhone anniversary just around the corner and rumors mounting, it’s becoming increasingly likely next year’s iPhone will be the one customers had hoped to see this year.

Apple did not respond to a Fortune request for comment.

Trump claims momentum as he takes lead in presidential poll

Donald Trump has taken the lead in a national US presidential poll which has him one point ahead of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

The ABC/Washington Post poll put Mr Trump on 46%, the first time he has led in the poll since May.

Just over a week ago, he had been trailing by 12 percentage points.

As the US presidential election enters the final days of campaigning, Mrs Clinton fought back, labelling her Republican rival a "bully" for his criticism of women's looks.

She was introduced on stage by former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado, who has claimed Mr Trump once called her "Miss Piggy" after she gained weight.

She said Mr Trump had been "cruel" and claimed she had spent years "fighting back eating disorders" as a result of his comments.

Image Caption:President Barack Obama campaigning for Hillary Clinton in Columbus, Ohio

US President Barack Obama echoed that sentiment at a rally in Columbus, Ohio.

Mr Obama suggested that sexism is causing men to support Mr Trump over the woman attempting to become the first female president in US history.

"Has she made mistakes?" he asked the enthusiastic crowd. "Of course. So have I. There's nobody in the public arena over the course of 30 years who doesn't make some.

"She is a fundamentally good and decent person who knows what she's doing."

But he avoided mentioning the biggest threat confronting her candidacy: the decision by FBI director James Comey to renew a probe into her email system.

Image Caption:Hillary Clinton in Florida, where the race is getting tight

Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton focused her efforts on a tightening race in Florida, joined by her husband, Bill.

At a rally in Sanford, she concentrated on drawing sharp contrasts between herself and her Republican rival on issues including terrorism and national security.

"I know what happened not far from here at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando," she told the crowd at a rally in Sanford, Florida.

"I was in New York City on 9/11 as one of the two senators.

"I will defeat ISIS. I will protect America."

Mr Trump, meanwhile, appeared to be energised by the positive polling.

He told Democrats in Wisconsin that if they had already cast their ballots for Clinton, they should change them - and that state law allowed them to do so.

At a rally in Zorn Arena, he said that if Mrs Clinton were elected her legal troubles would continue.

"She is likely to be under investigation for many years, probably concluding in a very large-scale criminal trial," he claimed, before urging early voters to shift their allegiances, "with buyer's remorse".

Mr Trump appears to be trying to expand the electoral map of Wisconsin, where he's been trailing Mrs Clinton for months.

Rather than focusing on areas where the polls are closer, such as North Carolina, Florida, Nevada and Ohio, his team seem newly emboldened, banking on a low Democratic turnout.

Press briefing notes on Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia / Yemen

(1) Iraq

We have reports that in the early hours of yesterday morning, around 1h00, ISIL brought dozens of long trucks and mini-buses to Hamam al-Alil City, south of Mosul, in an attempt to forcibly transfer some 25,000 civilians towards locations in and around Mosul. We understand that most of the trucks were prevented from proceeding towards Mosul due to coalition flights patrolling the area, and the trucks were forced to return to Hamam Al-Alil. However some buses did reach Abusaif, 15 kilometres north of Hamam Al-Alil City. We have grave concerns for the safety of these and the tens of thousands of other civilians who have reportedly been forcibly relocated by ISIL in the past two weeks.

Using civilians as human shields is a war crime. Under article 8(2)(c) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, taking of hostages in a non-international armed conflict is a war crime, and under Article 8(2)(e)(viii), ordering the displacement of civilians for reasons not connected with their security or imperative military reasons is also a war crime. 

We urge parties to the conflict to ensure that international law is strictly observed, in particular the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attack. All feasible precautions must be taken to avoid and minimise the loss of civilian life and injury to civilians.

We also have further reports of mass killings by ISIL. On Saturday, 40 former Iraqi Security Force soldiers were killed and their bodies thrown in the Tigris River. They were reportedly among the civilians who had been abducted earlier from al-Shura sub-district of Mosul and from villages surrounding Hamam al-Alil. There are also reports that ISIL has been threatening relatives of people they suspect are supporting the Iraqi Security Forces.

(2) Syria

Over the course of the weekend, there were reports of intensified shelling by armed opposition groups of civilian-populated areas in Government-controlled western Aleppo. The areas hit by mortars, rockets and other improvised explosive devices (IEDS) included the neighbourhoods of Salah al-Din, al-Shahbaa, al-Zahraa and al-Hamadaniya.

More than 30 civilians, including at least 10 children, were reportedly killed and dozens of others injured as a result of the attacks on 29 and 30 October on western Aleppo. We have also received unconfirmed reports of families fleeing the hostilities towards opposition-held areas of the city.

Such high numbers of civilian casualties suggest that armed opposition groups are failing to adhere to the fundamental prohibition under international humanitarian law on the launching of indiscriminate attacks, and the principles of precaution and proportionality. The reported use of ground-based missiles along with the use of armoured vehicles loaded with explosives used in an area containing more than one million civilian inhabitants is completely unacceptable and may constitute war crimes.

Shelling of opposition-held eastern Aleppo by Government forces and their allies is also reported to be continuing. Among the neighbourhoods particularly affected are al-Ferdous, Sayf al-Dawla, al-Qaterji and al-Mashhad. At least 12 civilians including two children were reportedly killed as a result of the attacks over Saturday and Sunday. Dozens of civilians were also injured.

While Russian Ministry of Defence representatives are reported to have stated that Syrian and Russian air forces are observing a moratorium on flights closer than 10 kilometres around Aleppo since the launch of the unilateral ceasefire on 18 October, we did receive some reports of airstrikes hitting opposition-controlled eastern Aleppo on 22 and 23 October. While there have not been airstrikes since that time, we remain concerned about 250,000 civilians at risk in this area should they resume.

All parties in Aleppo are conducting hostilities which are resulting in large numbers of civilian casualties, and creating an atmosphere of terror for those who continue to live in the city. Strikes against hospitals, schools, marketplaces, water facilities and bakeries are now commonplace, and may amount to war crimes. 

(3) Saudi Arabia / Yemen

We condemn the firing of a ballistic missile deep into Saudi Arabia by the Houthis and their allies last week. The launching of any weapon indiscriminately into an area filled with civilians is forbidden under international humanitarian law. We urge all parties to the conflict to exercise restraint and to ensure full respect for international human rights and international humanitarian law.