Cyprus says Syria agrees to take back citizens who reach island nation by boat
Nicholas Ioannides says two inflatable boats each carrying 30 Syrians were already turned back in recent days in line with a bilateral agreement that Cyprus and Syria now have in place.
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News24
39 minutes ago
- News24
100 aid organisations warn of mass starvation in Gaza ‘cycle of hope and heartbreak'
More than 100 aid organisations warned on Wednesday that 'mass starvation' was spreading in Gaza ahead of the US top envoy's visit to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and an aid corridor. Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people face severe shortages of food and other essentials after 21 months of conflict, triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel. The UN said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1 000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May - effectively sidelining the existing UN-led system. A statement with 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, warned that 'our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away.' The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms. READ | WHO slams Israel for 'forcing women and children to evacuate on foot' as Gaza strikes kill 12 It came a day after the US said its envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Europe this week for talks on Gaza and may then visit the Middle East. Witkoff comes with 'a strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to flow, that both sides have in fact agreed to', State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters. Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. In their statement, the humanitarian organisations said that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from accessing or delivering the goods. 'Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions,' the signatories said. 'It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage,' they added. It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage. Aid organisations' statement 'Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access.' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that the 'horror' facing Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli military attack was unprecedented in recent years. The head of Gaza's largest hospital said on Tuesday 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days. Israel and Hamas have been engaging in drawn-out negotiations in Doha since 6 July as mediators scramble to end nearly two years of war. But after more than two weeks of back and forth, efforts by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US are at a standstill. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images More than two dozen Western countries recently urged an immediate end to the war, saying suffering in Gaza had 'reached new depths'. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59 106 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1 219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Iranian Officials Suspect Sabotage in String of Mysterious Fires
For more than two weeks, mysterious explosions and fires have erupted across Iran, setting ablaze apartment complexes and oil refineries, a road outside a major airport and even a shoe factory. In public, Iranian officials have shrugged off the events as mere coincidence or blamed aging infrastructure, trying to soothe the frayed nerves of a population still traumatized by the country's war with Israel and the United States in June. But in private, three Iranian officials, including a member of the country's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said they believed that many of them were acts of sabotage. While Iran's government has many enemies that would like to see it falter, the officials have trained their suspicions on Israel, pointing to its history of covert operations in Iran, including explosions and assassinations. And after Israel's 12-day bombing campaign last month in Iran, a senior Israeli intelligence official had vowed to continue operating in Iran. A European official who deals with Iran said he had also assessed the attacks as sabotage and suspected Israel of involvement, based on its history in Iran — both as a form of psychological warfare and to take out targets. The four officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The Iranian officials interviewed did not provide evidence to back up their suspicions, and the authorities who spoke publicly cited other causes for the explosions, including gas leaks, garbage fires and old infrastructure. But they have also not given the public a convincing explanation of why gas explosions are occurring at a rate of one to two per day across the country. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pacific nation ponders taking asylum seekers from US
The United States is looking to send asylum seekers to the sparsely populated volcanic isles of Palau, the small South Pacific nation said Wednesday. Scattered about 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the Philippines, tropical Palau has long been one of the United States' closest allies in the Pacific. Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr last week received a request from Washington to accept "third-country nationals seeking asylum in the United States", his office said in a statement. Whipps' office told AFP on Wednesday the proposal was still under consideration by the nation's powerful Council of Chiefs, an advisory body of traditional leaders. "A meeting was held last week. So far no decision has come out of that meeting," a spokesman said. US President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to expel millions of undocumented migrants, saying the country had been "inundated" by unwanted arrivals. He signed an executive order in January -- titled "Protecting the American People Against Invasion" -- that suspended admissions for countless refugees seeking haven in the United States. Key details of the proposed deal between Palau and the United States were not immediately clear, such as how many asylum seekers it would cover, or what Palau may get in return. "Based on the most recent draft agreement, Palau would have full discretion to decide whether or not to accept any individuals, and all actions would be consistent with our constitution and laws," the Palau president's office said in a statement. US Ambassador Joel Ehrendreich was present at a meeting of senior officials to discuss the request, according to photos published last week by the Palau president's office. The United States has reportedly considered dispatching asylum seekers to the likes of El Salvador, Libya and Rwanda. With some 20,000 people spread across hundreds of volcanic isles and coral atolls, Palau is by population one of the smallest countries in the world. - A tricky ask - The Pacific microstate could find it difficult to deny Washington's request. Palau gained independence in 1994 but allows the US military to use its territory under a longstanding "Compact of Free Association" agreement. In return, the United States gives Palau hundreds of millions of dollars in budgetary support and assumes responsibility for its national defence. The United States Embassy in Palau did not respond to an AFP request for comment. Since coming to power in 2021, Whipps has overseen the expansion of US military interests in Palau. This has included the ongoing construction of a long-range US radar outpost, a crucial early warning system as China ramps up military manuevers in the Taiwan Strait. Palau is one of the few remaining countries to recognise Taiwan's claim to statehood. sft/djw/amj
