EU help in healing Cyprus' ethnic split could bring benefits to all, officials say
Johannes Hahn, the EU envoy for Cyprus, held his first meeting Tuesday with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in his new capacity, which officials hope will build momentum toward reviving stalled negotiations led by the United Nations.
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hundreds of Palestinian families flee West Bank camp ahead of Israeli demolition orders
TULKAREM REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Hundreds of Palestinians have fled a section of the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank after receiving Israeli demolition orders — joining tens of thousands of people to be displaced by an open-ended military offensive in the area. The residents loaded all of their earthly possessions — mattresses, blankets, washing machines — onto vehicles on Wednesday before taking one last glimpse of their homes and speeding off. The new demolition order affects some 104 buildings, and at least 400 families now face homelessness, said Faisal Salama, a local official in the camp. Late Wednesday, Israel's Supreme Court temporarily froze the planned demolitions in response to a request from Adalah, a Palestinian human rights group in Israel. The order gave the army until Sept. 2 to respond. But as of late Thursday, none of the displaced residents had returned. The Israeli army declined comment on the order. The exodus on Wednesday is the latest triggered by Israeli operations to stamp out militancy in West Bank refugee camps in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in Gaza. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been driven out of their homes this year in the largest displacement in the West Bank since Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast war. The Israeli military justified the planned demolitions in Tulkarem, saying it operates in areas 'with high level of terrorism.' It said the decision to demolish buildings in the camp were made based on 'operational necessity' to allow Israeli forces to operate freely and move in the area, and was made after other options were considered. Israel's raids have emptied out and largely destroyed several urban refugee camps in the northern West Bank, such as Tulkarem and nearby Nur Shams. Israel says troops will stay in some camps for a year. Salama said with the latest orders, a total of 1,000 families have been displaced by recent demolition orders. 'Where will these families live? Where will they go? Their fate is uncertain and unknown,' he said. Subhi Hamdan, 65, said he was given just one day to leave. He is worried he won't be able to afford an apartment despite having registered for assistance with the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority. 'Until now we haven't seen anything at all,' he said. 'Where can anyone go?'
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Melania Trump meets with patients, visits garden at Washington children's hospital
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump was set to visit with sick patients at Children's National hospital in Washington on Thursday as the children made Fourth of July arts and crafts ahead of the holiday. Trump, continuing a tradition of support by first ladies for the pediatric care center, was also expected during her visit to visit a rooftop 'healing' garden she dedicated during the first Trump administration to first ladies of the United States. The Bunny Mellon Healing Garden, set to be decked out in decorations for Independence Day on Friday, was named to honor Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon, a friend of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Mellon was a philanthropist and avid gardener who designed the Rose Garden and other White House gardens during the Kennedy administration. The garden was dedicated to America's first ladies because of their decades-long support for the hospital and its patients, including a traditional first lady visit at Christmastime that dates back to Bess Truman. Trump, along with chief White House groundskeeper Dale Haney, is set to inspect the planting of a new yellow rose bush donated by the White House and planted earlier in the week at the hospital garden. After, the first lady is scheduled to visit privately with a young transplant patient at the hospital. Later Thursday, the first lady was expected to join President Donald Trump in the Oval Office where they set to meet with Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, who was released in May.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Myanmar military fighter jet disappears as resistance group claims to have downed it
BANGKOK (AP) — A Myanmar military fighter jet crashed in a combat zone in the country's east, according to an anti-military resistance organization that claimed to have shot it down. State-run media reported about the disappearance of an aircraft. Maui, the vice commander-in-chief and Secretary No. 2 of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force, or KNDF, told The Associated Press on Thursday that a jet had been shot down early Wednesday by the resistance fighters during heavy fighting near Hpasawng township in Kayah state, which is also known as Karenni. Hpasawng is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of the capital, Naypyitaw. Claims of aircraft being shot down are difficult to independently confirm, because of tight restrictions on the media and the remoteness of where much combat takes place. Maui said that the wreckage of the plane, along with the remains of the two pilots nearby, were found on Thursday morning, after a search was conducted. He also posted photos and video of the jet's smoking wreckage on a hill with the resistance fighters, including him, posing in the background. Local media also posted images of a crashed plane with what appeared to be human remains nearby. The claims that an aircraft had been shot down came a few hours after the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper on Thursday reported that the military fighter jet had suddenly disappeared from radar and lost communications during long-distance training maneuvers on Tuesday night, approximately 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Naypyitaw. The report said that it was possibly caused by a technical fault or bad weather, and a search and recovery effort was underway, without identifying the type of jet or mentioning casualties. The KNDF identified the plane as a two-seater Chinese FTC-2000G, a ground-attack jet. In a statement released on its Facebook page on Thursday, the resistance group said that the military has been launching heavy attacks with various fighter jets after the combined resistance forces seized an army infantry battalion in Hpasawng on Monday. Maui said that the plane could be the same one that the military had declared missing. Kayah, which is the smallest of Myanmar's seven states and dominated by the Karenni ethnic minority, has experienced intense conflict, especially since the army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The area borders Thailand and isn't far from Myanmar's capital. The crisis has led to the growth of armed resistance and embroiled the country in a civil war. The military, which has launched offensives in various parts of the country, makes heavy use of air power, which can't be effectively challenged by the resistance. Most combat aircraft in Myanmar's military come from China or Russia, which also supply other armaments. Many Western nations maintain an arms embargo, in addition to other sanctions on the ruling military, and are making efforts to block the supply of aviation fuel. The military is believed to have lost at least five helicopters and four fighter jets, including two aircraft that crashed in May and June, which opposition groups claimed were shot down by them.
