Author: AFP
In a sprawling tent city in central Gaza, Palestinians displaced by war to other parts of the territory are all waiting for one thing: a ceasefire so they can go home. Most of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once by the Israel-Hamas war to other parts of the territory. With a long-awaited truce deal due to take effect on Sunday, they may finally be able to return to their neighbourhoods. Umm Khalil Bakr has been living with her family in the Nuseirat camp, where displaced Palestinians have tried their hardest despite the war to lead a…
France’s president said Friday that Paris will soon host an aid conference to help rebuild Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah war last year, as he visited Beirut in a show of support for Lebanon’s new leaders. After a vacancy of more than two years, Joseph Aoun was elected president on January 9 and named Nawaf Salam as prime minister-designate. “In the middle of winter, spring has sprung,” Macron said at a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart. “You are this hope,” he said, referring to Aoun and Salam. The new prime minister faces the monumental task of forming a government…
President Joe Biden on Friday commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses in what the White House called the largest single-day act of clemency in US history. Those whose sentences were commuted were serving “disproportionately long sentences” compared to what they would receive today, Biden said in a statement. He called the move “an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families.” “With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in US history,” Biden said, adding…
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Lebanon on January 17, Macron’s office said on Tuesday, more than a week after Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun as head of state. “With this visit, the head of state wishes to underline France’s unwavering commitment to supporting Lebanon, its sovereignty and its unity,” said a statement from the French presidency.
At least 17 people were killed and 74 others injured on Sunday in a series of explosions that struck four gas stations in Yemen’s southern Al-Bayda province, according to the Health Ministry under the internationally unrecognized Houthi-led government. As many as 50 others are in critical condition, the ministry said in a statement. Late Saturday, the Interior Ministry’s media platform said the explosions occurred in the Nassefa area of Al-Zahir district. Houthi government spokesperson Hashem Sharafuddin said security forces are actively investigating the incident, though no further details were provided. The group extended “deepest condolences and sympathy to the families…
Landslides caused by torrential rains in southeast Brazil have left at least seven people dead and four others missing, rescue services in Minas Gerais state said Sunday. Six people died in the city of Ipatinga, where 80 millimeters (3.1 inches) of rain fell in the space of one hour on Saturday night, the mayor’s office said. Firefighters pulled the body of an eight-year-old boy from the rubble of a house destroyed by a landslide. Two bodies were found in other parts of the city and rescuers were searching for three other people buried under a mudslide. A body was also…
At least 17 people were killed and 74 others injured on Sunday in a series of explosions that struck four gas stations in Yemen’s southern Al-Bayda province, according to the Health Ministry under the internationally unrecognized Houthi-led government. As many as 50 others are in critical condition, the ministry said in a statement. Late Saturday, the Interior Ministry’s media platform said the explosions occurred in the Nassefa area of Al-Zahir district. Houthi government spokesperson Hashem Sharafuddin said security forces are actively investigating the incident, though no further details were provided. The group extended “deepest condolences and sympathy to the families…
Landslides caused by torrential rains in southeast Brazil have left at least seven people dead and four others missing, rescue services in Minas Gerais state said Sunday. Six people died in the city of Ipatinga, where 80 millimeters (3.1 inches) of rain fell in the space of one hour on Saturday night, the mayor’s office said. Firefighters pulled the body of an eight-year-old boy from the rubble of a house destroyed by a landslide. Two bodies were found in other parts of the city and rescuers were searching for three other people buried under a mudslide. A body was also…
NATO chief Mark Rutte told the European Union on Monday not to create barriers that would prevent companies from NATO countries that are outside the EU from taking part in its defence industrial push. The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, last year proposed spending 1.5 billion euros to give countries incentives to buy jointly from European firms and encourage industry to raise capacity. EU countries have yet to agree on how much of the pot should be reserved for EU companies. Speaking at a European Parliament committee session, Rutte said he applauds the plan, called the European Defence Industry…
The United States and its allies “can’t walk away” from Ukraine, outgoing President Joe Biden said on Monday, as he prepares to step down next week and hand power to Donald Trump. Hailing US and international support for Kyiv since Moscow’s 2022 invasion, Biden said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has “failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives” but that “there is more to do, we can’t walk away.”