
Gaza: a positive development
The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK have signed the statement with a view to successfully persuading the Zionist state to stop war in the interest of Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region. Interestingly, the US is among the countries that have not signed this document.
I have a question: are they not in favor of an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace in the region? US President Donald Trump, in particular, is required to exert his pressure on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to successfully broker a ceasefire.
Salahuddin Syed (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

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Express Tribune
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Hamas stresses aid entry in ceasefire response as Gaza starves
Israeli soldiers stand near tanks in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border on July 20, 2025. — Reuters Listen to article Hamas has confirmed it has submitted a response to Israel's latest proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, according to AFP. 'Hamas has just submitted its response and that of the Palestinian factions to the ceasefire proposal to the mediators,' the group said in a statement posted on Telegram. The response includes proposed amendments to several key clauses, including those related to the entry of humanitarian aid, the provision of maps detailing areas from which Israeli forces should withdraw, and guarantees aimed at securing a permanent end to the war, AFP reported, citing a Palestinian source familiar with the talks in Doha. Israel is examining Hamas's response to a proposed ceasefire in Gaza, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, according to Reuters. The mediators have relayed Hamas's response to the Israeli negotiation team; it is currently being evaluated. — Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 24, 2025 Negotiators from both sides have been engaged in indirect talks in Doha with mediation from regional and international actors, attempting to reach a truce agreement that would include the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. However, the talks have dragged on without progress, with each side accusing the other of refusing to compromise on core demands. In a separate statement, Hamas condemned a symbolic vote passed earlier on Tuesday in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, which expressed support for the annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hamas called the measure 'null and void, and [said it] will not change the identity of the Palestinian territory.' 'This measure constitutes a challenge to international laws and resolutions and an extension of the widespread violations committed by the occupation government in the occupied West Bank, including land theft and settlement expansion, alongside campaigns of killing, arrests, and oppression against our Palestinian people,' the group said in a Telegram post. Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967. The occupation has involved the forced displacement of Palestinians and the establishment of hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlements, which the United Nations and other international bodies consider a violation of international law. Dutch flag Israel as a threat; Canada slams Gaza aid attacks The Netherlands has, for the first time, included Israel in its list of foreign states posing a threat to national security, TRT Global reported, citing a recent assessment released by the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV). The document, titled Assessment of Threats from State Actors, highlights concerns over Israeli efforts to manipulate Dutch public opinion and influence political decision-making through disinformation campaigns. Meanwhile, Canada has condemned Israeli military operations targeting civilians and aid workers in Gaza, calling for the immediate resumption of United Nations-led humanitarian assistance. 'Israeli military operations against WHO staff and facilities, World Food Programme aid convoys, & the ongoing killing of Palestinians seeking urgently needed food and water are unacceptable,' Canada's foreign ministry said Wednesday in a post on X. 1/3 Israeli military operations against WHO staff and facilities, World Food Programme aid convoys, & the ongoing killing of Palestinians seeking urgently needed food and water are unacceptable. Civilians, incl. aid workers, must be protected. — Foreign Policy CAN (@CanadaFP) July 23, 2025 'Hunger in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels … Canada calls for the immediate resumption at scale of UN-led aid,' the statement added. Starvation-related deaths mount to 111 At least 10 Palestinians died of forced starvation in the past 24 hours, raising Gaza's hunger-related death toll to 111, including at least 80 children, according to the territory's health ministry. More than 100 humanitarian organisations have urged governments to open all land crossings, restore access to food, water, medical supplies, shelter, and fuel, and support a UN-led humanitarian mechanism alongside an immediate and lasting ceasefire, Wafa reported. Almost 101 people died because of #starvation, including 80 children' Palestine Red Crescent Society Spokesperson Nebal Farsakh warns 'situation only getting worse' in #Gaza 'Unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe' — PRCS (@PalestineRCS) July 22, 2025 'Aid workers are now standing in food lines, risking gunfire, just to feed their families,' the statement said, blaming Israel's blockade as agencies warn of rapid physical deterioration among staff amid critically low supplies. Israel's war on Gaza The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing at least 58,667 Palestinians, including 17,400 children. More than 139,974 people have been injured, and over 14,222 are missing and presumed dead. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. A proposed 60-day ceasefire deal includes a pause in hostilities, increased humanitarian aid, and negotiations on the release of captives.


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an hour ago
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Columbia University reaches $200 million settlement with Trump
A view of the main campus of Columbia University in New York City, New York, U.S., April 12, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo Listen to article Columbia University said on Wednesday it will pay over $200 million to the US government in a settlement with President Donald Trump's administration to resolve federal probes and have most of its suspended federal funding restored. Trump has targeted several universities since returning to office in January over the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled college campuses last year. He welcomed the agreement between his administration and Columbia in a post on social media late on Wednesday. In March, the Trump administration said it was penalizing Columbia over how it handled last year's protests by canceling $400 million in federal funding. It contended that Columbia's response to alleged antisemitism and harassment of Jewish and Israeli members of the university community was insufficient. Read: Columbia University concedes to Trump's demands in bid to restore funding "Under today's agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants that were terminated or paused in March 2025 will be reinstated and Columbia's access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored," the university said in a statement. Columbia said it also agreed to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $21 million and that its deal with the Trump administration preserved its "autonomy and authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision-making." Read more: Columbia University interim president resigns amid Trump administration pressure After the government canceled funding, the school acquiesced later in March to a series of demands that included scrutiny of departments offering courses on the Middle East and other concessions that were widely condemned by US academics. Policy shifts Last week, Columbia adopted a controversial definition of antisemitism that equates it with opposition to Zionism. The school said it would no longer engage with the pro-Palestinian group Columbia University Apartheid Divest. "Imagine selling your students out just so you can pay Trump $221 million and keep funding genocide," the pro-Palestinian group said on Wednesday, calling the settlement a bribe. Israel denies genocide accusations in Gaza and casts its military attack as "self-defense" after a deadly October 2023 attack by the Palestinian Hamas group. Campus protesters demanded an end to US support for Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza and a commitment that the university will cease investing any of its $14.8 billion endowment in weapons makers and companies that support Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. Members of the Columbia faculty and staff protest against the university's policies at the Columbia University campus in New York City, US, June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ryan Murphy/File Photo Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Columbia agreed "to discipline student offenders for severe disruptions of campus operations, make structural changes to their Faculty Senate, bring viewpoint diversity to their Middle Eastern studies programs, eliminate race preferences from their hiring and admissions practices, and end DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs." The government has labeled pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemitic. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government has wrongly conflated their criticism of Israel's actions with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. New oversight measures Wednesday's announcement came a day after Columbia disciplined dozens of students over a May pro-Palestinian protest in which demonstrators seized its main library. The agreement asks Columbia to "undertake a comprehensive review of its international admissions processes and policies," according to the deal's terms. Also read: Teacher unions sue Trump administration over $400m Columbia funding cut Columbia is required to designate within 30 days an administrator answerable to the university president and responsible for overseeing the deal's compliance. The deal requires Columbia to appoint an additional administrator to look at alleged antisemitism and suggest recommendations. Rights advocates have also raised concerns about anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab bias during the Israel-Gaza war. The Trump administration has not announced steps to tackle Islamophobia. Trump has also attempted to use federal funding leverage with other institutions, including Harvard University. His administration has tried deporting foreign pro-Palestinian students, including at Columbia, but faced judicial roadblocks. Rights advocates have raised due process, academic freedom and free speech concerns.


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South Korean shares cut gains as US postpones trade talks
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