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AFP

  • France, 14 other nations urge recognition of Palestinian state

    France, 14 other nations urge recognition of Palestinian state

    PARIS: France and 14 other Western nations called on countries worldwide to move to recognise a Palestinian state, France’s top diplomat said Wednesday.

    The foreign ministers of 15 countries late Tuesday issued a joint statement following a conference in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians.

    “In New York, together with 14 other countries, France is issuing a collective appeal: we express our desire to recognise the State of Palestine and invite those who have not yet done so to join us,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X.

    President Emmanuel Macron announced last week he would formally recognise Palestinian statehood in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the United States.

    France is hoping to build a momentum around the formal recognition of a Palestinian state.

    On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps”, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

    Starmer’s move, paired with Paris, would make the two European allies the first G7 nations to do so.

    In the statement, 15 nations including Spain, Norway, and Finland affirmed their “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution.”

    Nine of the signatories which have not yet recognised the Palestinian state expressed “the willingness or the positive consideration of their countries” to do so, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

    Seventeen countries plus the European Union and Arab League during the conference joined calls for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

  • Shanghai evacuates 283,000 people as typhoon nears: state media

    Shanghai evacuates 283,000 people as typhoon nears: state media

    SHANGHAI, China: Shanghai has evacuated almost 283,000 people as Typhoon Co-May approaches the city on Wednesday, bringing lashing rains and high winds, state media reported.

    The Shanghai Central Meteorological Observatory on Wednesday afternoon upgraded an earlier yellow rainstorm alert to orange, the second highest warning level.

    Typhoon Co-May made landfall in eastern Zhejiang Province at about 4:30 am Wednesday (2030 GMT Tuesday) and is expected to make a second landfall in financial hub Shanghai in the evening.

    “From last night to 10:00 am today, 282,800 people have been evacuated and relocated, basically achieving the goal of evacuating all those who needed to be evacuated,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.

    Live shots from China’s coast showed waves overrunning seaside walkways, while broadcasts from the city of Ningbo showed residents splashing through ankle-deep water.

    Separately, China issued a tsunami warning for parts of the eastern seaboard after a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.

    However, the warning was later lifted, according to CCTV.

  • FIFA World Cup draw in Vegas on December 5: reports

    FIFA World Cup draw in Vegas on December 5: reports

    LOS ANGELES, United States: Las Vegas will play host to the 2026 World Cup draw on December 5, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.

    ESPN and TUDN’Mexico said Vegas had been picked for the draw of the expanded 48-team event, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

    In all, 12 groups of four nations will be drawn.

    When the United States played host to the 1994 World Cup, the draw ceremony was also conducted in Las Vegas.

    ESPN’s original report said that The Sphere, a 17,500-seat venue which opened in 2023, was seen as the front-runner for the draw site.

    But Sphere sources confirmed to AFP the World Cup draw would not take place there, and ESPN later reported Sphere sources told the sports network it would not be held there.

    In 1994, the draw was staged in Las Vegas even though it was not a host city for any matches, a situation that is also the case for next year’s event.

  • Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ‘jeans’ campaign lands in hot water

    Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ‘jeans’ campaign lands in hot water

    An advertising campaign starring Sydney Sweeney for the clothing brand American Eagle has triggered the latest online firestorm, causing an internet meltdown.

    Sydney Sweeney – News and Updates

    Some social media users are outraged, saying the wordplay of the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” coupled with the actor’s blue eyes and blonde hair, has racial undertones. Others are praising the campaign as lacking ‘woke’ politics.

    “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My genes are blue,” Sweeney, wearing denim on denim, says in one video.

    People across social media have levelled criticism spanning the gamut, with some saying the campaign promotes ‘white supremacy’ and ‘eugenics’, while others have called it ‘sterile’, a sign of ‘regression’ or simply ‘rage bait’.

    But many others have applauded the campaign, posting comments like “woke is broke!” and “culture shift!”

    Conservative Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas posted a photo of Sweeney on X and wrote, “Wow. Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women. I’m sure that will poll well.”

    Neither American Eagle nor the Emmy-nominated Sweeney, the 27-year-old actor best known for roles in the series ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘Euphoria’, have publicly responded to the backlash.

    “Sweeney’s girl next door charm and main character energy – paired with her ability to not take herself too seriously – is the hallmark of this bold, playful campaign,” AE said in a statement last week when the advertisements launched.

    Also Read: Sydney Sweeney sparks new romance with mystery man

    ‘Values of another time’

    The company said its collaboration with Sweeney was meant to ‘further elevate its position as the #1 jeans brand for Gen Z’.

    As part of the campaign, AE had also said it was launching a limited-run ‘Sydney Jean’ that retails for $79.95 and features a butterfly motif on the back pocket, which the brand said is meant to represent domestic violence awareness.

    Proceeds from the jeans will go to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit offering mental health support, AE, a company started in 1977, said.

    In the wake of the chatter triggered by the campaign, Washington Post fashion critic Rachel Tashjian wrote that whether or not the ad had racial undertones or anything intentional to say beyond selling jeans, it ‘is part of a wave of imagery of influencers, pop stars and musicians that feels tethered to the values of another time’.

    “For the past five or six years, it seemed like fashion and pop culture were very interested in – even dedicated to – body positivity. Now we’re being fed a lot of images of thinness, whiteness and unapologetic wealth porn,” Tashjian said.

  • Huge quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunami warnings

    Huge quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunami warnings

    TOKYO: One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s sparsely populated Far East early Wednesday, causing tsunamis of up to four metres (12 feet) across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan.

    The magnitude 8.8 quake struck at 8:24 am (2304 GMT Tuesday) off Petropavlovsk on Russia’s remote Kamchatka peninsula and was one of the 10 biggest recorded, according to the USGS.

    Russian authorities said a tsunami hit and flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, while local media said one of between three and four metres high was recorded in the Elizovsky district of Kamchatka.

    A video posted on Russian social media appeared to show buildings in the town submerged in seawater. Authorities said the population of around 2,000 people was evacuated.

    Several people were injured in Russia by the quake, state media reported, but none of them seriously.

    “The walls were shaking,” an Elizovsky resident told state media Zvezda.

    “It’s good that we packed a suitcase, there was one with water and clothes near the door. We quickly grabbed it and ran out… It was very scary,” she said.

    Authorities in Russia’s far eastern Sakhalin region declared a state of emergency in the northern Kuril Islands, where tsunami waves have damaged buildings and caused flooding.

    “A state of emergency has been declared in the North Kuril District, where an earthquake and tsunami occurred today,” the Sakhalin government said in a statement.

    The mayor of Russia’s northern Kuril islands district said that “everyone” there had evacuated to safety following a tsunami which caused flooding and swept away buildings.

    “Everyone was evacuated. There was enough time, a whole hour. So, everyone was evacuated, all the people are in the tsunami safety zone,” Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov said at a crisis meeting with officials.

    Officials from countries with a Pacific coastline in North and South America — including the United States, Mexico and Ecuador — issued warnings to avoid affected beaches.

    In Japan, people evacuated by car or on foot to higher ground — including in Hokkaido, where a first wave measuring 30 centimetres was observed.

    There were no injuries or damage reported in Japan as of midday (0300 GMT).

    In Hawaii, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said residents and the thousands of visitors should get to safety on upper floors of buildings or on higher ground.

    “People should not, and I will say it one more time, should not, as we have seen in the past, stay around the shoreline or risk their lives just to see what a tsunami looks like,” governor Josh Green said.

    “It is not a regular wave. It will actually kill you if you get hit by a tsunami,” Green said.

    Pacific warnings

    Wednesday’s quake was the strongest since 1952 in the Kamchatka region, the regional seismic monitoring service said, warnings of aftershocks of up to 7.5 magnitude.

    The epicenter of the earthquake is roughly the same as the massive 9.0 temblor that year which resulted in a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami, according to the USGS.

    At least six aftershocks have further rattled the region, including one of 6.9 magnitude and another listed at 6.3.

    The US Tsunami Warning Centers said waves exceeding three metres above the tide level were possible along some coasts of Ecuador, northwestern Hawaiian islands and Russia.

    Between one- and three-metre waves were possible along some coasts of Chile, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Japan and other islands and island groups in the Pacific, it said.

    Waves of up to one metre were possible elsewhere, including Australia, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Tonga and Taiwan.

    It described the potential conditions as “hazardous.”

    At Inage Beach in Chiba prefecture in Japan, a security perimeter was set up, and a rescue worker told AFP that the seaside area was off limits until further notice.

    Television footage showed several whales washed up on a beach.

    Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan — destroyed by a huge quake and tsunami in 2011 — were evacuated, its operator said.

    Aftershocks

    Tsunami alerts were pushed to mobile phones in California, according to local AFP reporters.

    “STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!” US President Donald Trump said on social media.

    Tsunami sirens blared near Hawaii’s popular Waikiki surf beach where an AFP photographer observed gridlocked traffic as Hawaiians escaped to higher ground.

    The US Tsunami Warning Centers issued a Tsunami Warning — its highest level alert — for the entire US state of Hawaii, with the first waves expected at 7:17 pm local time (0517 GMT).

    “People are also advised to stay away from the beach and not to go to the coast,” the seismology centre said in a warning.

    Vessels were ordered to head to open water ahead of the expected arrival of waves up to 2 metres, while government employees in Honolulu were sent home early.

  • Palestinian consultant on Oscar-winning film killed by Israeli settlers in West Bank

    Palestinian consultant on Oscar-winning film killed by Israeli settlers in West Bank

    Ramallah, Palestinian Territories: The Palestinian Authority’s education ministry accused Israeli settlers in the West Bank on Tuesday of killing an activist linked to an Oscar-winning film, while Israeli police said they were investigating the incident.

    The ministry said on social media that Awdah Muhammad Hathaleen “was shot dead by settlers… during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair” near Hebron, in the south of the occupied territory.

    The Israeli police earlier said it was investigating an “incident near Carmel,” a settlement neighbouring Umm al-Khair.

    “An Israeli citizen was detained at the scene and then arrested by police for questioning,” a police statement said.

    “Four Palestinians were arrested by IDF (Israeli military) soldiers in connection with the incident, along with two foreign tourists who were at the scene.”

    “Following the incident, the death of a Palestinian was confirmed; his exact involvement in the incident is being verified,” the police added.

    Awdah Hathaleen was a resident of Masafer Yatta, a string of hamlets located on the hills south of Hebron, which have been declared a military zone by Israel.

    Their efforts to prevent Israeli forces from destroying their homes was the subject of “No Other Land”, which won Best Documentary at the Oscars in March.

    Its Israeli co-director, Yuval Abraham, posted a video on Instagram showing a man with a gun in his hand arguing with a group of people, while shouts can be heard in Hebrew and Arabic.

    “An Israeli settler just shot (Awdah Hathaleen) in the lungs, a remarkable activist who helped us film ‘No Other Land’ in Masafer Yatta,” Abraham wrote.

    About three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside nearly half a million Israelis living in settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

    At least 962 Palestinians, including many fighters but also many civilians, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

    At least 36 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed there in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli data.

     

  • France brands Israeli settler violence ‘terrorism’

    France brands Israeli settler violence ‘terrorism’

    Paris: France on Tuesday condemned the “murder” in the West Bank of a Palestinian activist who contributed to an Oscar-winning documentary, describing Israeli settler violence as “terrorism”.

    Palestinian authorities said Israeli settlers killed Awdah Muhammad Hathaleen, a teacher, on Monday. The Israeli police said it was investigating but did not directly comment on the claim that he was killed by settlers.

    “France condemns this murder with the utmost firmness as well as all deliberate acts of violence committed by extremist settlers against the Palestinian population, which are multiplying across the West Bank,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.

    “These acts of violence are acts of terrorism.”

    The spokesman urged Israeli authorities to “immediately sanction the perpetrators of these acts of violence, which continue with complete impunity, and protect Palestinian civilians”.

    The Palestinian Authority’s education ministry accused Israeli settlers of killing Hathaleen “during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair” near Hebron, in the south of the occupied territory.

    The Israeli police said it was investigating an “incident near Carmel,” a settlement neighbouring Umm al-Khair, adding that an Israeli had been arrested for questioning.

    Awdah Hathaleen was a resident of Masafer Yatta, a string of hamlets on the hills south of Hebron, which have been declared a military zone by Israel.

    Their efforts to prevent Israeli forces from destroying their homes was the subject of “No Other Land”, which won Best Documentary prize at the Oscars in March.

    Its Israeli co-director, Yuval Abraham, posted a video on Instagram showing a man with a gun in his hand arguing with a group of people, while shouts can be heard in Hebrew and Arabic.

    “An Israeli settler just shot (Awdah Hathaleen) in the lungs, a remarkable activist who helped us film ‘No Other Land’ in Masafer Yatta,” Abraham wrote.

    About three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside nearly half a million Israelis living in settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

    Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 962 Palestinians, including fighters and civilians, since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, according to an AFP tally based on PA data.

    At least 36 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed there in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli data.

  • Owner of Huthi-sunk ship calls on rebels to release crew: statement

    Owner of Huthi-sunk ship calls on rebels to release crew: statement

    Dubai: The owner of the Eternity C, a ship attacked by Yemen’s Huthis, urged the rebels to release its crew members on Tuesday, a day after the group released footage of the mariners they claimed to have rescued.

    Earlier this month, the Huthis sank the Magic Seas and Eternity C cargo ships in separate Red Sea attacks, ending a months-long hiatus in their campaign against maritime traffic they accuse of links to Israel, begun over the Gaza war.

    On Monday, the rebels released footage of the missing mariners and said in a statement that they had rescued 11 crew members, including two who were injured, and recovered a body from aboard the ship before it sank.

    “We call on all parties to assist in reuniting the 11 individuals with their loved ones and hope that the Huthis will release our crew at the earliest opportunity,” Cosmoship, which owns Eternity C, said in a statement.

    Following the Eternity C attack, the European Union’s Operation Aspides naval task force told AFP that 15 of the 25 people on the ship were still missing — with four of them presumed dead.

    Cosmoship expressed relief that “ten of our missing crew members, as well as one of the vessel’s security guards (11 in total), are alive and appear to be receiving care”, after viewing the video.

    “Our utmost priority remains the safety and well-being of these individuals. We continue to work through every available channel to support their continued care and to facilitate their safe and swift return home to their families,” it added.

    Earlier Tuesday, the Philippines said it would ask “friendly countries” to help secure the release of nine Filipino sailors held by the Huthis.

    In January, the Yemeni rebels released the mostly Filipino crew of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, whom they had detained for more than a year, during a ceasefire in Gaza.

  • Netherlands declares two Israeli ministers persona non grata

    Netherlands declares two Israeli ministers persona non grata

    Amsterdam: The Netherlands has declared Israel’s finance and national security ministers persona non grata for inciting violence and urging ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

    In June, the Netherlands backed a failed Swedish proposal to impose EU sanctions on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

    “They repeatedly incited settler violence against Palestinians, promoted illegal settlement expansion, and called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp told parliament in a letter released late Monday.

    Ben-Gvir said he would continue to act for Israel, even if he was banned from entering “all of Europe”.

    Veldkamp said the Netherlands wanted to “relieve the suffering of the population in Gaza” and was exploring further ways to contribute to humanitarian aid.

    “Airdrops of food are relatively expensive and risky,” he said.

    “This is why the Netherlands is also taking steps to further support land-based aid delivery.”

    Aid drops resumed in Gaza on Sunday as Israel announced temporary humanitarian pauses in parts of the besieged territory.

    Around 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing what UN aid agencies have warned is a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition.

    The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said on Tuesday that famine is unfolding across much of Gaza, with thresholds breached and over 20,000 children treated for acute malnutrition since April.

    Veldkamp said the Netherlands would push to suspend the trade element of the EU-Israel Association Agreement if Israel fails to meet its humanitarian obligations.

    “The summons will also be used to remind Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,” he said.

    After speaking by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the government’s position was “crystal clear”.

    “The people of Gaza must be given immediate, unfettered, safe access to humanitarian aid,” he said.

    Israel’s foreign ministry said Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar had summoned the Dutch ambassador Marriët Schuurman to Jersualem for a formal reprimand on Tuesday afternoon.

    “The conversation will take place in light of the Dutch government’s decisions to take measures against Israel, including against its right to defend itself and against ministers in its government,” the ministry said in a statement.

  • UK leader Starmer to hold urgent govt talks on Gaza peace plan

    UK leader Starmer to hold urgent govt talks on Gaza peace plan

    LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Tuesday recall his ministers from recess for urgent talks on a Gaza peace plan that could pave the way for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

    Starmer is believed to have presented the plan to US President Donald Trump when the pair met in Scotland on Monday.

    Trump said Monday that the US and its partners would help set up food centres to feed the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza facing what UN aid agencies have warned is a deadly wave of starvation and malnutrition.

    But the UK plan is reported to be focused more on achieving a sustainable peace, and outline the conditions that need to be met for London to recognise the State of Palestine.

    The UK has so far said “there can be no role for Hamas”, and the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday the conditions could include the agreement of a ceasefire and release of Israeli hostages.

    The move would follow Emmanuel Macron’s announcement last week that France would become the first G7 nation to recognise Palestine.

    Starmer is under pressure from his party’s MPs and members to make a similar move, which was included in the Labour party’s election-winning manifesto last year.

    Trump said Monday that “I don’t mind him (Starmer) taking a position”, despite the US administration criticising Macron’s move.

    Starmer last week called footage coming out of Gaza “appalling” and “unrelenting”.

    “The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible,” he said.

    Starmer added that he was “working on a pathway to peace” that will “set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace”.

    “Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that,” he added.

    Starmer is expected to present the plan to allies in the “coming days”, the Telegraph reported.