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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened further destruction of Gaza if all remaining hostages are not released, and issued an ultimatum to Hamas leaders to flee.Strongly backing Israel as a ceasefire teeters, Trump said he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job” as his administration expedites billions of dollars in weapons.”Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform after meeting freed hostages.”This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance.”Trump also made clear there would be repercussions for Gaza as a whole, where virtually the entire population has been displaced by Israel’s relentless military campaign in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.”To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!”His comments follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warning of “consequences that you cannot imagine” if Hamas does not hand over the remaining hostages seized in the October 7 attack.The first phase of a ceasefire ended over the weekend after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.Israel has ramped up pressure not just with threats but also by halting the flow of goods and supplies into Gaza.”Hamas has indeed suffered a severe blow, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not yet accomplished,” Israel’s new military chief Eyal Zamir warned Wednesday.Also on Wednesday, France, Britain and Germany jointly called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “catastrophic,” and urged Israel to ensure the “unhindered” delivery of aid.South Africa said Israel’s restriction of aid into Gaza amounted to using starvation as a weapon of war.- Talks with Hamas -Trump’s hawkish language came after the United States confirmed unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, with the US envoy on hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, discussing American hostages.”Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president” believes is right, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.The United States had refused direct contact with the Palestinian militants since banning them as a terrorist organization in 1997. But Leavitt said that the hostage envoy “has the authority to talk to anyone”.Both the White House and Netanyahu’s office confirmed Israel was consulted in advance.Five Americans are believed to remain among the hostages — four have been confirmed dead and one, Edan Alexander, is believed to be alive.The Hamas assault resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, most of them civilians, while Israel’s military retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,440 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides show.Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas’s attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.In an interview on Wednesday night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Hamas to take seriously Trump’s threats of retaliation.”He doesn’t say these things and not mean it, as folks are finding out around the world. If he says he’s going to do something, he’ll do it,” Rubio said.- Doubts on Arab plan -Trump has floated a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its people, an idea that has drawn wide condemnation around the world.Arab leaders have sought support for an alternative plan that would finance Gaza’s reconstruction through a trust fund.A draft seen by AFP outlined a five-year roadmap with a price tag of $53 billion — roughly the amount the United Nations estimated for Gaza’s reconstruction — but the figure was not included in the summit’s final statement.The summit also called for unified representation under the Palestine Liberation Organization to sideline Islamist Hamas.Hugh Lovatt at the European Council on Foreign Relations said the Arab leaders’ plan was “far more realistic than what the Trump administration is proposing.”But Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian political analyst and former Palestinian Authority minister, was skeptical.”It doesn’t make sense to expect Israel to drop the plan of Trump and to adopt the plan of the Arabs. There’s no chance.”Speaking after a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza’s future, French diplomat Jay Dharmadhikari said the final plan should neither allow Hamas to continue governing nor eject Palestinians.”We are clear that any plan must have no role for Hamas, must ensure Israel’s security, must not displace Palestinians from Gaza,” he said.burs-sct/lb/tym

Nestled near the iconic Giza pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is preparing for a lavish opening, featuring a towering statue of Ramses II and more than 100,000 artefacts, including Tutankhamun’s golden treasures.After two decades of planning, the GEM is set to open fully on July 3, following a partial opening in October. Its long-awaited debut comes after years of delays caused by political instability, economic crises, and the global pandemic.Ahmed Ghoneim, the museum’s director, said the inauguration could span several days, with celebrations extending beyond the museum and pyramids to sites across Egypt and even abroad.”It will be a spectacular showcase of Egypt’s historical and touristic potential,” Ghoneim told Egypt’s ON TV.President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has invited US President Donald Trump and Spain’s King Felipe VI to attend the ceremony.”This museum is the (world’s) largest museum for a single civilisation, which is the Pharaonic civilisation,” Sisi said in December.Spanning 50 hectares (120 acres), the GEM is twice the size of both Paris’s Louvre and New York’s Metropolitan, and two and a half times the British Museum, according to its director.- Stepping into history -“The landscape of Egypt contributed to this rich civilisation and we wanted to reflect that in the design,” said Roisin Heneghan, co-founder of Dublin-based Heneghan Peng Architects — the firm behind the museum’s design.”You see the pieces in the museum in the context of the pyramids. You are reminded of the place where this all happened,” she told AFP.An 11-metre (36-foot) statue of Ramses II greets visitors, leading to a grand staircase lined with statues of pharaohs, gods and sarcophagi, and ending at a window framing the pyramids.Currently, 12 galleries display around 15,000 artefacts arranged chronologically from prehistory to the Greco-Roman period.They include Queen Hetepheres’s treasures, such as her intricately carved armchair, in sophisticated lighting after years of being tucked away in the old Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.Even before the official opening, the museum left some of its first visitors awestruck.”I cannot get over how the lighting is. It is just atmospheric and helpful, and you end up just drawn to everything that is around,” said Philippa Hunt, a tourist from the United Kingdom.South African visitor Leon Wolmarans said the GEM was a significant upgrade from the old one. “This is much better organised, much better lit. The architecture is impressive,” he told AFP.Among the most anticipated displays for the grand opening are the treasures of Tutankhamun, including his iconic gold mask, which will take pride of place in a dedicated gallery. – Boost for the economy -More than 5,000 Tutankhamun artefacts have been transferred to the GEM, though his full collection, including his sarcophagus and the embalmed remains of his daughters, will be revealed at the official opening. The GEM will also showcase the 44-metre-long cedarwood solar barque, buried near the Great Pyramid around 2,500 BC. Another boat, still being restored, will offer an immersive experience, with visitors watching conservators at work over the next three years.With cutting-edge technology such as virtual reality and interactive exhibits, the GEM promises a fresh take on storytelling, making history come alive for younger generations.The museum website lists entry prices starting at 200 Egyptian pounds (about $4) for adult nationals, and 1,200 pounds for foreigners.Beyond archaeology, the GEM is central to Egypt’s efforts to revive an economy battered by inflation and debt.With tourism recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, the GEM is expected to attract five million visitors annually, adding to a record 15.7 million tourists in 2024.Elhamy al-Zayat, former chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Federation, said the museum’s proximity to the newly opened Sphinx International Airport, the pyramids and a growing number of nearby hotels will be a game-changer for Egypt’s tourism sector. “There will be easy transportation options to and from the museum, making it accessible from anywhere,” he told AFP.”This will definitely transform Egypt’s tourism industry.”

A prominent Iranian pop singer who made a song urging women to remove their headscarves said Wednesday that he was willing to pay “a price for freedom” after being flogged 74 times by the authorities as part of his sentence.Mehdi Yarrahi, arrested in 2023, was released last year after being convicted for his song in support of the “Woman. Life. Freedom” protests that erupted in 2022 and rocked Iran’s clerical leadership.”Today, the final part of the verdict issued by the Revolutionary Court — 74 lashes — was fully and completely implemented at branch 4 of the office for enforcement of judgements of the Tehran moral security prosecutor,” his lawyer Zahra Minouei wrote on X.”The case was closed,” she added.In a defiant subsequent post, Yarrahi added: “The person who is not willing to pay a price for freedom, is not worthy of freedom.”Yarrahi was arrested in August 2023 for releasing what the authorities termed an “illegal song”, namely the track “Roosarito” (“Your Headscarf” in Persian) and voiced support for women’s right to remove the garment that must be worn in public in the Islamic republic.The implementation of his sentence sparked uproar among supporters.Taraneh Alidoosti, an actor who was arrested during the protest movement after she posed without the headscarf, said on Instagram in response to the flogging: “Shame on backwardness, shame on torture, shame on violence, shame on anti-human laws, and shame and disgrace on our helplessness.”Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, on temporary release from a prison sentence, said in a statement the flogging was “retaliation” for Yarrahi’s support of women in Iran.”The lashes on Mehdi’s body are a whip against the proud and resilient women of Iran and the thriving, powerful spirit of the “Woman. Life. Freedom.” movement, she said. Iran’s sharia law provides for flogging sentences that are frequently handed out by judges, though far from always implemented.Yarrahi’s 2022 song “Soroode Zan” (Woman’s Anthem) also became a protest anthem, especially at universities.The death in custody on September 16, 2022 of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress rules for women, sparked months of protests that included calls for an end to Iran’s Islamic regime.The protests have now largely been quashed despite occasional outbursts after a crackdown that saw thousands detained, according to the United Nations, and hundreds shot dead by security forces, according to activists.

Global stocks rallied on Wednesday, buoyed by Germany’s plan to massively boost spending on defense and a move by the White House to pause tariffs on auto imports from Mexico and Canada.In European trading, Frankfurt surged 3.4 percent after the likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, announced the spending plans in the hope of also reviving Europe’s …

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