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Israel’s security cabinet was set to meet on Thursday to discuss military plans in Gaza, as the families of hostages launched a desperate plea for help aboard a flotilla headed for the Palestinian territory.The meeting comes as international outrage over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza has ratcheted up pressure on Israel, with UN agencies warning of famine in the devastated territory.An Israeli government official told AFP that the meeting would start at around 1500 GMT.Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to seek approval to expand military operations, including in densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held.This comes despite growing concern among Israelis about the fate of the remaining hostages, some of whose families set sail from the port of Ashkelon on Thursday seeking to approach the Gaza Strip.Organisers said they hoped to “get as close as possible to their loved ones”.Speaking in English through a megaphone, Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is among those held captive, shouted: “Mayday, mayday, mayday. We need all international assistance to rescue the 50 hostages who are nearly two years held by the hand of Hamas.”- ‘More destruction’ -Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, rumours have been rife in the Israeli press about disagreements between the cabinet and Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who is said to oppose plans to fully reoccupy Gaza.On Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz had weighed in on social media saying that “it is the right and duty of the chief of staff to express his position”, but the military must ultimately respect any policies adopted by the government.In a statement released by the military on Thursday, Zamir underscored his independence, vowing to “continue to express our position without fear”.”We are not dealing with theory — we are dealing with matters of life and death, with the defence of the state, and we do so while looking directly into the eyes of our soldiers and citizens,” Zamir said in the statement.In Gaza, meanwhile, fears grew over what an expansion in combat operations would entail.”Ground operations mean more destruction and death. There is no safe place anywhere,” said Ahmad Salem, a 45-year-old from Jabalia refugee camp now displaced to western Gaza.”If Israel starts and expands its ground operations again, we’ll be the first victims.”The Israeli government is under mounting international and domestic pressure to end the war.In Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, hundreds took to the streets calling on the government to secure the release of the remaining hostages.Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.- ‘Unrealistic costs’ -Global criticism has also soared over the suffering of the more than two million Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza, after the United Nations warned that famine was unfolding in the territory.On Thursday, displaced Gazan Mahmoud Wafi said that the prices of available food remained high and erratic. “We hope that food will be made available again in normal quantities and at reasonable prices, because we can no longer afford these extremely high and unrealistic costs,” the 38-year-old told AFP from Al-Mawasi, near Khan Yunis. Gaza’s civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 35 people were killed in Gaza on Thursday following air strikes in multiple areas, with dozens more wounded. In late July, Israel partially eased restrictions on aid entering Gaza, but the United Nations says the amount allowed into the territory remains insufficient.Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network in the Gaza Strip, told AFP that lengthy inspection procedures at entry points meant few trucks could come in.”What is currently entering the Gaza Strip are very limited numbers of trucks — between 70 to 80 per day — carrying only specific types of goods,” he said.He added that over the past few days, “around 50 to 60 trucks” destined for the private sector were able to enter for the first time in months.The UN estimates that Gaza needs at least 600 trucks of aid per day to meet its residents’ basic needs.

Shrouded in fog in the lush mountains of southern Oman, a giant chasm plunges into the landscape, echoing with mysterious sounds that have spawned myths and legends among nearby tribes.This enormous sinkhole is one of four that dot Dhofar governorate, including one of the world’s biggest: the yawning Kahf Teiq, 211 metres (692 feet) deep and 150 metres wide.At the Tawi Atair sinkhole, tourists potter around on concrete paths and stairways. Not all of the holes are so welcoming, however.The sheer drop of the Sheeheet pit, a 40-minute drive away along mountain roads, is ringed with slippery mud, prompting the authorities to put up a fence and warning signs.During AFP’s visit, one tourist slipped and slid perilously close to the edge. Dhofar’s governor, Marwan bin Turki Al-Said, gave assurances in a briefing attended by AFP that safety was a priority at the sinkholes.Tawi Atair means “Well of Birds” in Dhofar’s regional language, a reference to the avian twittering, distorted by echoes, that reverberates off the rock.It lay unknown to the outside world until 1997, when a team of Slovenian researchers working with Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University brought it to international attention.Now the sinkholes are marketed as a tourist attraction in Dhofar, whose temperate climate draws many visitors from the Gulf during its punishing summers.Long on the margins of the mainstream tourism circuit, Oman as a whole is increasingly attracting attention from international travellers seeking natural beauty and authenticity.The country welcomed nearly four million visitors in 2024, with the government aiming to triple that figure by 2040 by focusing on sustainable tourism.Dhofar folklore has it that the sinkholes were created by meteorite strikes, direct hits from outer space that gouged the colossal craters.But Ali Faraj Al-Kathiri, a geologist based in Dhofar, explains that water seeping into the porous limestone forms an acid that then dissolves it, creating the caverns over a period of thousands of years.The Oman sinkholes are not to be confused with the “Well of Hell”, the foul-smelling, pitch-black Barhout pit across the border in eastern Yemen that is reputed to be a prison for demons.

Israel’s security cabinet was expected to meet later Thursday to discuss military plans in Gaza, Israeli media said, as the families of hostages launched a desperate plea for help aboard a flotilla to the territory.The planned meeting comes as international outrage over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza has ratcheted up pressure on Israel, with UN agencies warning of famine in the devastated territory.The Times of Israel said the meeting was set to commence around 6:00 pm local time (1500 GMT).The Israeli press, citing officials speaking on condition of anonymity, has predicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would seek approval on expanding operations, including in pockets of densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held.This comes despite the increasing alarm among Israelis about the fate of the remaining hostages, whose families on Thursday set sail from the central city of Ashkelon, seeking to approach the Gaza Strip.Organisers said they hoped to “get as close as possible to their loved ones”.Speaking in English through a megaphone, Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is being held captive in Gaza, shouted: “Mayday, mayday, mayday. We need all international assistance to rescue the 50 hostages who are nearly two years held by the hand of Hamas.”- ‘More destruction’ -Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, rumours have been rife about disagreements between the cabinet and Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir. Defence Minister Israel Katz also weighed in on the matter, saying on social media that Israel’s military will have to execute any government decisions on Gaza, following reports that Zamir was against moves to fully occupy Gaza.Katz said in post on X that while “it is the right and duty of the chief of staff to express his position in the appropriate forums”, the military must respect policies made by the government.In Gaza, fears grew over what an expansion in combat operations would entail.”Ground operations mean more destruction and death. There is no safe place anywhere,” said Ahmad Salem, a 45-year-old from Jabalia refugee camp now displaced to western Gaza.”If Israel starts and expands its ground operations again, we’ll be the first victims.”The Israeli government is under mounting pressure to end the war, with growing concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.In Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, hundreds took to the streets calling on the government to secure the release of the remaining captives.Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.- ‘Unrealistic costs’ -Global criticism has soared in recent weeks over the continued suffering of the more than two million Palestinian inhabitants in Gaza, after the United Nations warned that famine was unfolding in the territory.On Thursday, displaced Gaza resident Mahmoud Wafi said that the prices of available food remained high and erratic. “We hope that food will be made available again in normal quantities and at reasonable prices, because we can no longer afford these extremely high and unrealistic costs,” the 38-year-old told AFP from Al-Mawasi near Khan Yunis. Gaza’s civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that at least 35 people had been killed in Gaza on Thursday following airstrikes in multiple areas, with dozens more injured. In late July, Israel partially eased restrictions on aid entering Gaza, but the UN says the amount allowed into the territory remains insufficient.Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network in the Gaza Strip, told AFP that long and slow inspection procedures at entry points into Gaza meant few trucks could enter.”What is currently entering the Gaza Strip are very limited numbers of trucks — between 70 to 80 per day — carrying only specific types of goods,” he said.He added that over the past few days, “around 50 to 60 trucks” destined for the private sector were able to enter for the first time in months.The UN estimates that Gaza needs at least 600 trucks of aid per day to meet its residents’ basic needs.str-nk-mib-ds/jsa

Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris arrived in Cairo on Thursday morning for his first foreign visit since assuming office in May, as his country’s army remains gripped by a brutal war with paramilitaries.Idris, a career diplomat and former UN official, held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.During the meeting, Sisi reaffirmed “Egypt’s steadfast position supporting the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan”, the statement said.Egypt has backed Sudan’s military leadership since war erupted in April 2023, when a tenuous alliance between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) collapsed.The RSF swiftly seized large parts of Khartoum, but after months of urban warfare, the army recaptured the capital in March this year.Sudan is now effectively split, with the army in control of the north, east and centre, while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.Idris also met with his Egyptian counterpart Moustafa Madbouly on Thursday.At a press conference after the meeting, the Sudanese prime minister said there is “consensus” between Egypt and Sudan on key regional and international issues.Sudan’s conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and created what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises.Diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict have so far yielded little.A recent ministerial meeting in Washington — involving the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt — stalled after Cairo and Abu Dhabi disagreed on the role the warring parties would play in a potential peace process, two diplomatic sources told AFP.While Egypt remains a key ally of the Sudanese army, the United Arab Emirates — a close partner of Cairo — has been widely accused of backing the RSF, allegedly supplying weapons in violation of a UN arms embargo on Darfur. Abu Dhabi has denied the allegations.The RSF has been working to establish a rival administration in western Sudan — a move the United Nations warned could deepen divisions in the already fractured country.Critics meanwhile say the new civilian-led government under Idris risks serving as a facade for continued military rule.

Germany will push on with temporary border controls beyond a  September deadline as it cracks down on irregular immigration, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Thursday.Berlin also plans to deport more rejected asylum seekers with criminal records to Taliban-run Afghanistan and to war-scarred Syria, Dobrindt said in a podcast with media outlet Table.Today.Germany’s conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed a tough crackdown on irregular immigration, saying this is the only way to stem rising support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.A spate of deadly attacks blamed on asylum seekers and other foreign nationals fuelled public fears during the campaign for the February election, in which the AfD scored a record 20 percent.”We will continue to maintain the border controls” beyond the September 15 deadline, Dobrindt said about the measures first launched last year under the previous government of Olaf Scholz and extended by six months in March.”We are in agreement with our European partners that this is a necessary measure until the (EU) external border protection system is fully operational,” he said.Members of Europe’s Schengen area are allowed to temporarily reintroduce border controls for up to two years in response to serious threats such as terrorism or large-scale unauthorised migration.Merz’s government further tightened the border checks when it took power in early May, moving to also reject most asylum seekers — a step that sparked an outcry from human rights groups.Federal police numbers deployed daily at the borders were stepped up to 14,000 from 11,000.According to ministry data, 9,254 people were turned back at German land borders between May 8 and July 31 — with most recorded cases from Afghanistan followed by Algeria, Eritrea and Somalia. Germany’s border with France saw the most rejections, at more than 2,000 in that period, followed by Poland, Switzerland and Austria. Germany has also twice deported migrants convicted of offences to Afghanistan, most recently last month when 81 were sent back — a move Dobrindt said “cannot remain a one-off measure”.Amnesty International criticised the deportations, saying the situation in Afghanistan was “catastrophic” and that “extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and torture are commonplace”.Dobrindt also said Berlin was working to organise deportation flights to Syria, where an Islamist-led offensive toppled longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

Weeks after he was forced to return from Iran, Mohammad Mohsen Zaryab was still searching for somewhere to live in Kabul, where rental prices have soared along with an influx of Afghans expelled from neighbouring countries. More than 2.1 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan and Iran so far this year, according to the United Nations …

Influx of Afghan returnees fuels Kabul housing crisis Read More »

Indian exporters warned on Thursday that the cost of additional US tariffs risked making businesses “not viable” after President Donald Trump ordered steeper levies totalling 50 percent on imported Indian goods.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was willing to “pay a great personal price”, while opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi called the levies “economic …

India exporters say 50% Trump levy a ‘severe setback’ Read More »