Israel is 'sprinting to annex Palestinian territories': Anger over new West Bank settlements

Israel has announced that it's expanding its settlements in the West Bank, in one of its biggest such moves in decades. The American TV channel CBS News says that the announcement has sparked global criticism. The article reminds us that the majority of the international community views settlements as illegal and as the main obstacle to resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict. French left-wing paper Libération says that Israel is "sprinting to annex Palestinian territories". The paper writes that the new plan wants to "dismember" what's left of Palestine. The UK has also condemned the move, the British daily The Independent says. It cites Britain's Middle East minister Hamish Falconer, who wrote on X that the 22 new settlements are a "deliberate obstacle to Palestinian statehood" and that they "further imperil the two-state solution". An opinion piece in Israeli left-wing paper Haaretz writes about the West Bank's "bulletproof vest theory, calling it "not only wrong, but dangerous". The theory encapsulates the idea that settlements serve as a barrier against terror attacks. The opinion piece says that this shifts the blame from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies. The paper dives deep into past examples of why the theory didn't work and concludes that "[today,] the goal of the settlement enterprise isn't security but to create pretexts for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians".

We turn next to the Netherlands, where an uncommon ingredient has been found in sweets. The Dutch paper De Volkskrant reports that cannabis has been found in bags of Haribo cola candy. Several people, including children, felt dizzy and had health complaints after eating the sweets. Some 8,000 kilograms have been recalled. The British daily The Guardian adds that drug smugglers are increasingly using children's candy as a cover-up. They sometimes inject THC into the candy and make THC copies of popular brands that can be found online. 

Finally, researchers have found a new way to track mental workload. The Guardian reports on a new device called an e-tattoo that can be attached to a person's head. It's a "real-time mental workload decoder" that can warn people they need a rest before it's too late. The e-tattoo is lightweight and wireless, the paper explains. It is made from a thin conductive material and electrodes that detect stress. Researchers say it could be very useful for pilots and healthcare workers, for instance, where it's crucial to prevent fatal incidents caused by extreme fatigue or stress.

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