However, TyC Sports reporter Martin Arevalo, who is in Barcelona where Argentina are preparing for the World Cup, said his channel had never spoken to Messi. "What you are writing is false. Messi has not spoken to the media and not with TyC Sports on this subject. Be accurate. During his preparations for the World Cup, Messi is not talking to the press," he said in a widely shared tweet late Wednesday. Messi, the five-time world player of the year, is not known for courting controversy or issuing political statements. As a UNICEF ambassador and global star anything he says is carefully vetted by his PR team and he has carefully steered clear of divisive issues. WHAT CONCLUSION CAN BE DRAWN? There is no evidence that Messi ever made this statement.
A letter from Gaza to Justin Trudeau. Dear Prime Minister, We hope this letter finds you and the Canadian people well. We have watched with great interest your political career since you assumed office in 2015. We have witnessed how your commitment to freedom and diversity were reflected in the composition of your government. We have also followed with enthusiasm many of your activities, especially those that reflect your humanity, openness, support for civil rights and the struggle against racism. We have seen you engage with different communities - with Arabs, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and others - during their holidays. We have also deeply appreciated Canada's generous support for the Palestinian people, in particular, Palestinian refugees, through institutions such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). However, it was with pain and sorrow that we found out that Canada voted against a resolution of the World Health Organization's General Assembly seeking to send a team of investigators to Gaza and the West Bank to document the "health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory". Our disappointment grew even more when we saw several of your personal tweets, in which you lent support to Israel's assaults on Gaza. You are perhaps unaware of the tragic circumstances in which the people of Gaza have been trapped in. Already in 2003, distinguished Hebrew University professor Baruch Kimmerling described Gaza as "the largest concentration camp ever to exist". In 2006, a brutal blockade was imposed on Gaza after the Palestinian people, in elections that former US president Jimmy Carter praised as "completely honest, completely fair," elected Hamas into power. The consensus among humanitarian and human rights organisations is that Israel's blockade constitutes a form of collective punishment and therefore is a flagrant violation of international law. "I see this extraordinarily inhuman and unjust process of strangling gradually two million civilians in Gaza that really pose a threat to nobody," UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Robert Piper, observed last year. Echoing him, UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein recently deplored the fact that Gazans have been "caged in a toxic slum from birth to death." Did you know, Mr Trudeau, that 95 percent of the water in Gaza is unfit for human consumption and 97 percent of the sea water is polluted? Did you know that Gazans get only four hours of electricity a day? Did you know that 50 percent of essential medicines are unavailable and most of our patients in need of urgent medical care are barred from travelling out of Gaza? Did you know that 70 percent of our population are refugees and half are children? On March 30, we started the Great March of Return as part of our peaceful struggle for freedom, a decent life and the right to have our land back. Israel has killed more than 120 Palestinians and injured more than 14,000 (many of them permanently) in what Amnesty International has called a "murderous assault". And this deadly and unwarranted violence was unleashed on us even though the protesters were overwhelmingly nonviolent and posed "no imminent threat" to Israeli snipers, as human rights organisations have observed. The people of Gaza applaud your courageous statement, in which you declared that "Canada deplores and is gravely concerned by the violence in the Gaza strip that has led to a tragic loss of life and injured countless people. We are appalled that Dr Tarek Loubani, a Canadian citizen, is among the wounded - along with so many unarmed people, including civilians, members of the media, first responders, and children." We Palestinians will never forget this Canadian physician, who risked his life to save Palestinian lives in Gaza. We are a people, Mr Prime Minister, who love life, stability and prosperity. We do not desire death or foment war. We are not attacking anyone. We are not violating the borders of anyone. On the contrary, we are banging on the gates of a giant prison, demanding our freedom and a decent life. Mr Prime Minister, we hope and trust that your love for freedom, justice, equality and decency will prompt you to reconsider some of your harsh statements and take a position that is consistent with the values you uphold. On behalf of the two million Palestinians living in Gaza, I would like to invite you to visit us and to see with your own eyes the dire conditions we are living in after 12 years of Israeli siege. We are also confident that you will carry away with you warm memories of our kind and gentle people. Best regards Basem Naim Basem Naim is head of the Council on International Relations in Gaza and former Palestinian minister of health.
Dear Mr. Naim. The dire conditions the Palestinians are living under is a direct consequence of the choices their leaders have made. If you are one of those leaders then the problem is on you to solve. If you can't solve it, get out of the way and let someone be a leader that will. You'll catch more flies with honey than with suicide bombings, just a hint. Best regards
@Cactus Ed I've always been puzzled by your commited support for Israel and it's ongoing attempt to wipe out the Palestinian people. Whilst we probably don't agree on much I've always liked your style Ed. Unlike most here you're a free thinker of sorts and don't seem to be motivated or invested in any particular dogma. Just curious old timer.
I just call um as I see um P. I don't see Israel trying to wipe out Palestinians, they act in self defense for the most part. Sure, some individuals go too far but they do on all sides. The Palestinians are poorly led and unfortunately that's not going to change. Just like Kim put away his nukes and the sun's rising bright on North Korea, so could the Palestinians put away the sword and enjoy the fruits of peace. What a pity.
I don't think we can really compare the plight of the Palestinians with North Korea. NK has control of it's own land and is not having the same lands stolen on a daily basis. You should look into the carry on of the Israeli settlers (religious extremists). I think if you really dug in here Ed you might be coming to a different conclusion. I think Kim could prove a very valuable ally to the US but they won't be giving up their nukes. Why would they? It would be suicide. When NK speaks of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula they see this as part of a worldwide denuclearisation. They've been harping on about this since 1992. I've had an interest in NK for the last 20 years ago or so and whilst the human rights abuses are deplorable, what Kim, his dad and grandad have achieved is astonishing. They fought a war with the US and held out for 60 odd years. Kim knows well that the only reason the Don came to the table is because NK's got nukes. If you got nukes Uncle Sam won't come collecting alms. Now if the Palestinians had a nuke we'd be looking at a swift conclusion to the current situation. They'd find themselves in Tel Aviv shaking hands on a podium with Nethanyahu. Why do you think the Israelis are so terrified at the thoughts of Iran getting nukes? Israel isn't happy that Iran is not trying to throw a nuke together, they want to level the country just in case. It's not that Israel is afraid of being nuked if Iran had a nuke, it's the leverage a nuke gives. The Iranians are involved in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine because they're the only country in the region with a set of balls to stand up to the savagery of the Israeli state. Anyway my fingers are itching to roll a smoke so I'll say toodle pip Ed. Take it easy my friend.
I think Kim is giving up his nukes. I think China had a fireside chat with Kim and China sure don't want nuclear bombs going off next door and if an accident happened and NK needed a small nuking it would be problematic with the fallout heading towards China. China may be the real motivation behind Kim giving up his nukes and not Trump. Now Kim is like a kid looking at his gifts the day before Christmas, nothing is going to prevent him from modernizing his country. I hope we don't have to foot the whole bill. Regardless who I think is at the bottom of the discontent in Israel I realize the Palestinians have it tough. Thank god I'm not one because I love making rockets. Toodle pip back at you, friend
I just wanted to point out, partly based on my personal interactions with a Palestinian, that not all "palestinains" want to fight. they just want somewhere to call a home and they are being tricked, lied and mislead. for the most part, it dosnt matter where a third world person is from, once they get a hit of that Americanism, they want more. grow up being told to hate it all you want, when you get a taste and see what its about and what you can have, why go back to the ideas that keep you down and living in a third world country
I think its great and all that nk wants to make peace...but what lead to it? I find it odd that their mountain collapse and that radioactive cloud went to china- a few weeks later they want to make peace. they seemed to be quick to show off that they dismantled their testing facilities. they are showing us one hand, whats going on with the other hand? do you trust that china would just let kim go away from their protection and make peace with America. would it benefit china for north korea to be friends with its economic enemy? it just seems to be more then that somethings up, I think... they talking about someone from kims inner circle is going to kill him because he is abandoning his dad and grand daddy, how is he still alive?
Why don't you ask Hezbollah didn't they defeated Israel in Lebanon, the so called well trained IDF lost to a bunch of guys in flip flops and Adidas track pants. LMAO It's easy to kill Palestinians when their throwing rocks, huh
The Likud party doesn't want peace. I think you're incapable of being pragmatic. You'll find on both sides of the aisle hard liners incapable of peace. You've pointed out the Palestinians, but what of the Likud Party: