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It began with a hastily written note and a whisper. It ended with a Gaza deal long sought by Donald Trump.Something was obviously going on when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made an unexpected appearance during a roundtable at the White House on the left-wing Antifa movement on Wednesday.”By the way, we have Marco Rubio. Marco, come on up here please,” Trump said, beckoning him over to his side of the White House’s State Dining Room. “Anything we should know about the Middle East?”There was. But the scrupulously low-key Rubio was not about to do it in public. “That’s what we’re hoping to talk to you about Mr President, once they leave,” said Rubio, pointing to journalists and eliciting a laugh from the 79-year-old Trump.What followed next was history playing out in real time — an extraordinary moment even for a reality TV star-turned-president with a flair for showmanship.With reporters watching carefully for signs about the progress of the Israel-Hamas peace talks in Egypt, Rubio took a seat vacated by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and briefly gave Trump the thumbs up.The top US diplomat then reached over and took a pen and a White House notepad from Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller to his right.While Trump answered a question about “cutting the head off the snake” of Antifa, Rubio scribbled for nearly a minute as Miller leaned over to look.- ‘Very close’ -Rubio then showed the note to Miller, and leaned over to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, seated on Miller’s right. The three of them consulted briefly together before Rubio tore off a sheet of paper.Seconds later, Rubio reached behind the back of US Attorney General Pam Bondi as she answered another reporter’s question, and handed Trump the piece of paper.As the cameras rolled, Trump sat back in his chair and read the note for 10 seconds, with an approving nod.Rubio then got up and went over to Trump and whispered in his ear, with his hand covering his mouth.It was perhaps the most notable presidential whisper since George W. Bush’s chief of staff Andy Card interrupted him during an event at a Florida school to tell him that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.”Ok,” said Trump as Rubio went back to his seat, motioning for reporters to be quiet as they shouted questions. “I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East and they’re going to need me pretty quickly, so we’ll take a couple more questions.” Reporters could not immediately see what the note said. But photographs, including an AFP picture, later revealed the contents of Rubio’s history-making note to the president.”Very close. We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” it said, referring to Trump’s social network.The words “very close” were underlined twice.- ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ -At the end, Rubio stood waiting for Trump, who shook hands with the roundtable attendees on his way out as the clock ticked.Images later shared by the White House showed the urgency of the moment.Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Rubio and Wiles strode purposefully through the Rose Garden colonnade towards the Oval Office as they made the final preparations to announce the deal, in a video posted on social media by Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.Almost exactly two hours after Rubio’s intervention, Trump’s Truth Social finally went out. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” it proclaimed.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Thursday that expanding Israeli settlements threatened a Palestinian state and US-led peace efforts, as France hosted Arab and European ministers hours after a Gaza ceasefire deal was announced. Macron hailed the ceasefire deal as a “great hope” for the region, but said ramped up settlement construction in the occupied West Bank was an “existential threat” to a Palestinian state.It was “not only unacceptable and contrary to international law” but “fuels tensions, violence, and instability”, he said as he presided over the meeting in Paris. “It fundamentally contradicts the American plan and our collective ambition for a peaceful region.”Israel and Hamas earlier agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group. It is being seen as a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.The deal brokered through indirect talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh came two years after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, which triggered a relentless retaliatory assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza.While Europe has strongly supported the ceasefire efforts led by US President Donald Trump, Washington and several European countries are at odds over whether it is the right moment to recognise a Palestinian state.Macron, in a September 22 speech at the United Nations, recognised a Palestinian state on the heels of similar announcements by Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom.The Paris meeting brought together the top diplomats of five key Arab states — Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — with European counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Turkey and the European Union were also represented.- ‘Unnecessary and harmful’ -Before the ceasefire deal was announced, the Paris meeting had angered Israel, further straining French-Israeli relations in the wake of Macron’s recognition of a Palestinian state.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had in a message on X denounced the “unnecessary and harmful” meeting “concocted behind Israel’s back” at the sensitive moment of the negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh.But France is hoping that backing up its recognition of a Palestinian state can boost the prospects of a two-state solution, which Paris still regards as the sole prospect for long-term regional peace.The agenda at the meeting includes the International Stabilisation Force evoked by Trump as part of his peace plan and support for the Palestinian Authority which runs the occupied West Bank, a French diplomatic source said this week, asking not to be named.”It is essential to act together and get down to work,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.Berlin has repeatedly said it disagrees with the move by France and other European countries to recognise a Palestinian state now.

The world’s top conservation body kicked off its world congress Thursday in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, where it will unveil its updated “red list” of threatened species a day later.Hundreds of participants were meeting at the venue where the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), whose decisions help set the global agenda on environmental protection, will on Friday publish its list ranking plant and animal species from “least concern” to “extinct”.The congress, held every four years, sheds light on the dire state of the world’s biodiversity. An increasing number of animals suffer from the destruction of their natural habitat, climate change, and water, air and soil pollution.According to the United Nations’s expert scientific panel on biodiversity (IPBES), biodiversity has declined every decade in the past 30 to 50 years.In an update to its “red list” last year, the IUCN said that out of the 169,420 species studied, a total of 47,187 were classified as threatened — more than a quarter.The most impacted species were corals and amphibians, with more than 40 percent of each group under threat.- UAE climate diplomacy -The United Arab Emirates, a major oil exporter that also hosted the UN’s annual climate talks in 2023 (known as COP28), is seeking a bigger role in setting the environmental agenda by hosting these events.”The UAE has become a global convening power to bring countries together, bring all stakeholders on discussions that are very vital for our environment,” UAE climate change and environment minister Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak told AFP at the meeting.”This is a platform where conversations can converge,” Al Dahak said of the congress.She called for translating “those conversations into pledges, into actions and into implementation plans”, urging “more implementation plans and actions on the ground”.The IUCN congress last convened in the French city of Marseille in 2021.The meeting revolves around votes on adopting resolutions.Though not legally binding, the resolutions can “shape the international agenda” and “accelerate” work on treaties under discussion, an IUCN source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss the event freely.”The Congress programme reflects the urgency and ambition of our time,” said Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi and IUCN councillor from the West Asia region.IUCN Director General Grethel Aguilar of Costa Rica said the upcoming announcements “reflect the scale of ambition and the real possibility of delivering the solutions we need to build a planet where people and nature thrive together”.- Synthetic biology debate -The most closely watched vote revolves around two competing motions on synthetic biology — a controversial technique widely used in the pharmaceutical industry and agribusiness.It enables scientists to redesign organisms by engineering them to have new abilities.One motion calls for a moratorium on the technology because “genetic engineering of wild species in natural ecosystems, including in protected areas, is not compatible with the practices, values and principles of nature conservation”.A competing motion argues that synthetic biology could complement conservation efforts, and says IUCN policy “should not be interpreted as supporting or opposing synthetic biology, per se”.Organisers expect 10,000 delegates and 5,000 civil society attendees.The IUCN congress describes itself as the “world’s largest and most inclusive nature conservation forum”.Its voting members include government agencies, national and international NGOs, and Indigenous groups.

France on Thursday hosts foreign ministers from Arab and European countries for talks on helping the Palestinians once the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas ends, a meeting that comes hours after the two sides agreed a ceasefire deal.French President Emmanuel Macron will give an introductory address to the gathering from 1500 GMT, the presidency said, after hailing the ceasefire deal as providing “great hope” for the region.Israel and Hamas earlier agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group. It is being seen as a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.The deal brokered through indirect talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh came two years after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, which triggered a relentless retaliatory assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza.While Europe has strongly supported the ceasefire efforts spearheaded by President Donald Trump, Washington and several European countries are at odds over whether it is the right moment to recognise a Palestinian state.Macron, in a September 22 speech at the United Nations, recognised a Palestinian state on the heels of similar announcements by Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom.The Paris meeting brings together the top diplomats of five key Arab states — Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — with European counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Turkey and the European Union will also be represented.Macron “will reiterate France’s constant mobilisation in favour of a comprehensive political solution by working to prepare for the ‘day after'”, the Elysee said in a statement, adding the president supported the full implementation of Trump’s peace plan.- ‘Unnecessary and harmful’ -Before the ceasefire deal was announced, the Paris meeting had angered Israel, further straining French-Israeli relations in the wake of Macron’s recognition of a Palestinian state, which infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had in a message on X denounced the “unnecessary and harmful” meeting “concocted behind Israel’s back” at the sensitive moment of the negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh.But France is hoping that backing up its recognition of a Palestinian state can boost the prospects of a two-state solution, which Paris still regards as the sole prospect for long-term regional peace.The agenda at the meeting includes the International Stabilisation Force evoked by Trump as part of his peace plan and support for the Palestinian Authority which runs the occupied West Bank, a French diplomatic source said this week, asking not to be named.”It is essential to act together and get down to work,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.Berlin has repeatedly said it disagrees with the move by France and other European countries to recognise a Palestinian state now.

Thousands of jubilant Israelis gathered in a Tel Aviv square Thursday, hopeful for the return of hostages held in Gaza, after two years of fear and worry. Many wore stickers reading “They’re coming back”, waving Israeli and US flags and clutching photos of the hostages after Israel and Hamas reached a hostage release and truce deal in a major step towards ending the war. A group of beaming Israelis sang, clapped and jumped in a circle in Hostages Square, which has been the scene of weekly rallies calling for the captives’ return. “We have been waiting for this day for 734 days. We cannot imagine being anywhere else this morning,” said Laurence Yitzhak, 54, a Tel Aviv resident.”It’s a great joy — an immense relief mixed with anxiety, fear and sorrow for the families who haven’t and won’t get to experience this joy,” she said.”As I speak to you, I get goosebumps… It’s too beautiful, and we cannot help but think of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for these hostages,” she told AFP.US President Donald Trump announced that both sides had agreed to a ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner exchange programme as part of a 20-point plan he had proposed last month.The formal agreement is expected to be signed later Thursday in Egypt, a key mediator alongside the United States and Qatar.”There are no words to describe the feeling today. It’s indescribable, like spontaneous joy, excitement, tears,” said Rachel Peery, 49, an employee in the tech sector. “We all came here from the office because we are just unable to work. It’s a day that the entire nation has been waiting for, for two years, every second, every day.”- ‘What hope feels like’ -Businessman Gyura Dishon was equally jubilant that the hostages were coming home.”It’s unbelievable… You couldn’t stop crying,” he said.”It’s like something that you wouldn’t believe can happen and you were wishing for it to happen and then it’s coming true all of a sudden.”The deal could free the remaining living hostages within days, in a major step toward ending the two-year war.Of the 251 people abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack which sparked the war, militants still hold 47 in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.Hamas’s assault on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,194 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.In Jerusalem, a newsagent told AFP he supported the release of the hostages, “but I am against ending the war”.”They started something, they must pay the heavy price,” he said.A man praying to mark the Jewish holiday of Sukkot said it was a “wonderful feeling” and something that “should have been done a long time ago”.”This is not a happy ending,” he said. “We have lost many good people. But it was the right thing to do.”In Tel Aviv, Noam Ekhaus, a 36-year-old photographer and neuroscience researcher said she woke up in the middle of the night, saw the news, and went straight to Hostages Square.”I can’t just celebrate at home alone,” she said.”I haven’t been smiling like this in a while and I don’t think that I’m the only one,” she added.”I’m walking down the street and I’m feeling something different and I’m seeing something different and this is what hope feels like.”mib-vid-jd-acc/amj