Author: AFP
Egypt has proposed a $53 billion plan to rebuild Gaza over five years, focusing on emergency relief, infrastructure restoration and long-term economic development, according to a draft document seen by AFP. The proposal, set to be discussed at an extraordinary Arab summit in Cairo later on Tuesday, counters a plan floated by US President Donald Trump last month to assume control of war-torn Gaza and displace its Palestinian population, including to Egypt and Jordan. Palestinians, along with Arab states and many of Israel and the United States’ partners, have condemned Trump’s proposal, rejecting any efforts to expel Gazans. – Early…
The United Nations humanitarian agency’s head condemned on Sunday Israel’s suspension of vital aid into Gaza, which he said was contrary to international law. “Israel’s decision to halt aid into Gaza is alarming. International humanitarian law is clear: We must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid,” OCHA head Thomas Fletcher wrote on X.
The Kremlin said in remarks aired Sunday that the United States’s dramatic shift in foreign policy largely aligns with its own vision. US President Donald Trump has sought to build ties with Moscow since taking office in January, reaching out to President Vladimir Putin and siding with Russia at the United Nations. “The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a reporter from state television. “There is a long way to go, because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the…
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday he was convinced Donald Trump wanted to see a lasting peace in Ukraine despite an ugly row between the U.S. leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday. Speaking on BBC television, Starmer said he was uncomfortable watching the meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy, when the Ukrainian leader was asked to leave after being accused of being ungrateful for the U.S. aid delivered to his country. “I have to say, I’ve spoken to President Trump a number of times. I’ve met him twice … I’m clear in my mind that he does…
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Sunday called for unity between Europe and the United States on Ukraine, saying he hoped an EU summit this week would show Russia that the West “has no intention of capitulating”. “Everything must be done to ensure that Europe and the United States speak with one voice,” he said. The upcoming summit should send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin “that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression”.
Iran’s parliament sacked the country’s finance minister on Sunday after impeaching him over soaring inflation and a plunging currency, state television reported. Economy and finance minister Abdolnaser Hemmati lost a vote of confidence, with 182 of 273 parliamentarians present backing his removal. On the black market on Sunday, the Iranian rial was trading at more than 920,000 to the US dollar, compared with less than 600,000 in mid-2024. Earlier, President Masoud Pezeshkian defended Hemmati, a former central bank governor, telling lawmakers: “We are in a full-scale (economic) war with the enemy… we must take a war formation”. “The economic problems…
UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Sunday for Israel to end its suspension of humanitarian aid to Gaza “immediately.” “The Secretary-General urges all parties to make every effort to prevent a return to hostilities in Gaza. He calls for humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately and for the release of all hostages,” said a statement from the UN posted on X.
US President Donald Trump said visiting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky “overplayed his hand” Friday during their extraordinary Oval Office clash, and insisted “I want a ceasefire now.” Trump, who spoke to reporters while departing the White House for his Florida estate, also said he wanted fighting in Ukraine to end “immediately” and accused Zelensky of opposing a truce.
Germany’s foreign minister said Saturday the “unspeakable” row between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House resembled a “bad dream” as Kyiv’s European allies rallied to its side. “Yesterday evening underlined that a new age of infamy has begun,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a televised statement.
Two passenger buses collided Saturday on a highway in southern Bolivia, leaving at least 37 dead, including two children, and some 30 people injured, police said. “So far we have 37 confirmed deaths,” Colonel Wilson Flores told AFP about the crash near the city of Uyuni in the department of Potosi. The accident, the country’s most serious so far this year, occurred on a narrow two-way road early Saturday. One of the buses was heading to the city of Oruro, the scene this weekend of the Oruro Carnival, one of the largest festivals in Latin America that attracts tens of…