Israel told to avoid war with Hezbollah

The United States is pressing Israel to avoid a major war against Lebanon’s Hezbollah, with top American officials urging a diplomatic solution in order to prevent another Middle East crisis. Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah are exchanging fire on a near-daily basis, and the Israeli army said last week that plans for an offensive in Lebanon were “approved and validated.” Washington is working to lower the temperature, but those efforts - which come on top of disagreements between the administrations of US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - may further add to tensions between the two leaders.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685495/international/israel-told-to-avoid-war-with-hezbollah

EU launches talks on membership for Ukraine, Moldova

The European Union (EU) yesterday kicked off accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, setting the fragile ex-Soviet states on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block.The landmark move signals in particular a vote of confidence in Kyiv’s future at a time when Moscow has momentum on the battlefield almost two and a half years into the Kremlin’s invasion.“Dear friends, today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said via videolink at the start of the talks.President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a “historic day” as officials from Kyiv and the EU’s 27 member states met in Luxembourg.“We will never be derailed from our path to a united Europe and to our common home of all European nations,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media.Ukraine and later Moldova lodged their bids to join the EU in the aftermath of Russia’s assault in February 2022.The opening of the talks marks just the beginning of a protracted process of reforms in Ukraine that is strewn with political obstacles and will likely take many years — and may never lead to membership.Standing in the way along that journey will be not just Russia’s efforts at destabilisation but reticence from doubters inside the EU, most notably Hungary.But European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called the opening of talks “very good news for the people of Ukraine, Moldova, and the entire European Union”.“The path ahead will be challenging but full of opportunities,” she wrote on X yesterday.So far, Ukraine has won plaudits for kickstarting a raft of reforms on curbing graft and political interference, even as war rages.Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna, vowed that Kyiv “will be able to complete everything before 2030” to join the bloc.Russia’s war in Ukraine has reinvigorated a push in the EU to take on new members, after years in which countries particularly in the Western Balkans made little progress on their hopes to join.The EU in December 2023 also granted candidate status to Georgia, another of Russia’s former Soviet neighbours.It likewise approved accession negotiations with Bosnia and has talks ongoing with Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia.The meetings with Ukraine and Moldova yesterday will set off a process of screening of how far laws in the countries already comply with EU standards and how much more work lies ahead.Once that is done the EU then has to begin laying out conditions for negotiations on 35 subjects, ranging from taxation to environmental policy.Stefanishyna said the next step should come in early 2025.EU countries pushed to start the talks now before Hungary — the friendliest country to Russia in the bloc — takes over the EU’s rotating presidency next month.Budapest has been opposed to pressing ahead with Kyiv’s membership bid, arguing that Ukraine was unfairly moving ahead for political reasons.“From what I see here as we speak, they are very far from meeting the accession criteria,” Hungary’s Europe minister Janos Boka said yesterday.Accepting Ukraine — a war-ravaged country of some 40mn people — would be a major step for the EU, and there are calls for the bloc to carry out reforms to streamline how it works before accepting new members.The start of the talks resonates powerfully in Ukraine, as it was a desire for closer ties with the EU that sparked protests back in 2014 that eventually spiralled into the full-blown crisis with Russia.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685479/international/eu-launches-talks-on-membership-for-ukraine-moldova

Minister goes on hunger strike demanding more water for Delhi

A Delhi city minister has started an indefinite hunger strike to demand more drinking water for India’s capital, where taps in some of its poorest neighbourhoods are running nearly dry in the middle of searing heat.“There are 2.8mn people in the city who are aching for just a drop of water,” Delhi Water Minister Atishi said yesterday, the fourth day of her fast. Millions of Indians face water shortages every summer when water demand rises in farms, offices and homes against a limited supply, but a prolonged heatwave this year has worsened the shortfall, including in Delhi and the southern tech hub of Bengaluru.Delhi relies on the Yamuna River that runs through the capital for most of its water needs but the river slows down during dry summer months, causing shortages that lead to protests and calls for better water conservation.Atishi blamed the neighbouring farming state of Haryana for guzzling up a large share of river water. Haryana’s government responded that it was Delhi’s mismanagement that was causing water shortages. Experts said a federal-level review of decades-old water sharing pacts was needed to accommodate population growth. Delhi, a city of 20mn people, is one of the world’s most densely populated capitals, where upscale neighbourhoods and manicured lawns are just a few miles away from unplanned working-class areas and slums.But, in contrast to growing unplanned development over the years, the city’s water allocation from rivers has remained unchanged since 1994, said Depinder Kapur, the director of water programme at think tank Centre for Science and Environment.“What was true 10-15 years ago is not true anymore. So, there is a situation of crisis and it’s a distribution issue,” he said.The Delhi government is working on plans to improve the groundwater table by reviving lakes and storing water overflow from the Yamuna during the seasonal monsoon rains, but officials say the summer shortfall is difficult to tackle by these measures alone.“Water crisis in Delhi is a year-long crisis because extreme temperatures are not going anywhere,” said environmentalist Vimlendu Jha. “Delhi needs a comprehensive water management plan in which Yamuna can’t be the only major source of water.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685412/international/minister-goes-on-hunger-strike-demanding-more-water-for-delhi

Kenya’s Ruto ready for dialogue with protesters

Kenya’s President William Ruto said yesterday that he was ready for “a conversation” with thousands of “peaceful” young anti-tax protesters, prompting new calls from the movement’s organisers to accept their demand to cancel the levies.Organised on social media and led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests by thousands of people have caught Ruto’s government off guard, as discontent mounts over his economic policies.“I am very proud of our young people...they have stepped forward peaceful and I want to tell them we are going to engage them,” Ruto said in his first public comments on the protests.“We are going to have a conversation so that together we can build a greater nation,” Ruto said during a church service in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu.His characterisation of the protests as “peaceful” came after rights campaigners reported two deaths following Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi.A protest organiser, Hanifa Adan, who told AFP that she was in hiding to avoid arrest, said Ruto needed to “respond publicly” to demands that the proposed hikes be cancelled.“President Ruto can’t claim to support us while his police brutalise peaceful protesters,” she said.“We’re past the talking stage and won’t be silenced. We demand an end to police violence, respect for our constitutional rights, and the freedom to speak up without fear of arrest or harm.” Amnesty International Kenya said yesterday that “in the last 72 hours, protest organisers, content creators, medics and protesters have been profiled, abducted and detained in violation of our laws”.The rights watchdog did not elaborate on the number of detainees, and there was no immediate comment by the police.Thursday’s demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day to disperse protesters near parliament.A Kenya Human Rights Commission official told AFP on Saturday that 21-year-old Evans Kiratu was “hit by a tear gas canister” during the protests and died in hospital. On Friday, a police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by officers in Nairobi after the demonstrations. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said it had “documented the death...allegedly as a result of police shooting” on Thursday. Several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said that at least 200 people were injured in the protests in Nairobi, as thousands of people took to the streets across the country.The protesters have called for a national strike tomorrow.After smaller demonstrations in Nairobi last Tuesday, the cash-strapped government agreed to roll back several tax increases laid out in a new bill.But Ruto’s administration still intends to raise some taxes, saying they are necessary for filling the state coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.Kenya has a huge debt mountain whose servicing costs have ballooned because of a fall in the value of the local currency over the last two years, making interest payments on foreign-currency loans more expensive.The tax hikes will pile further pressure on Kenyans struggling with cost of living surges, with well-paid jobs remaining out of reach for young people.Ruto said yesterday that the annual budget included measures to tackle youth unemployment and improve access to higher education. After the government agreed to scrap levies on bread purchases, car ownership and financial and mobile services, the treasury warned of a budget shortfall of 200bn shillings ($1.56bn).

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685353/international/kenyas-ruto-ready-for-dialogue-with-protesters

Power cut causes chaos at Manchester airport

Manchester Airport, the third-busiest in Britain, cancelled over 100 flights affecting thousands of passengers yesterday following a major power cut.At least 20% of all outgoing and incoming flights were cancelled, a Manchester Airport spokesperson said, adding that it expected further disruption.Earlier aviation analytics firm Cirium said 66 departures and 50 inbound flights had been cancelled with easyJet experiencing the largest number of cancellations.Manchester Airports Group, which also operates London Stansted and the East Midlands airports, said the airport had been “affected by a major power cut in the area earlier this morning” and passengers at two of the three terminals were told to stay away.The power cut led to problems with airport security and baggage systems, according to Chris Woodroofe, the airport managing director. Flights resumed in the afternoon.Woodroofe said on social media he expected flights to be “back to normal operations” today.The airline Jet2 said that as well as cancelling dozens of flights, it was unable to load bags onto planes as the baggage system remained “inoperable”.EasyJet warned of “very long queues” for security and said passengers could only board flights with cabin bags. Some arriving flights were diverted to other airports including London Heathrow and Birmingham.Some flyers took to X, formerly Twitter, to describe the “chaos”, with one passenger saying they had been waiting for their bags after landing after midnight and another saying they were “stuck on the plane”.The UK travel industry has been hit by a series of technical and strike disruptions in recent years that have affecting rail and air passengers.Last month, a nationwide outage of immigration e-gates caused long delays for thousands of passengers. In August last year, Britain faced its worst air traffic control disruption in years due to a technical fault.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685350/international/power-cut-causes-chaos-at-manchester-airport

Prominent designer Van Noten bids farewell at Paris Fashion Week

There was a surprising lack of leather at Hermes, a restrained but celeb-packed Loewe show, and a farewell for fashion great Dries Van Noten (pictured) at Paris Fashion Week on Saturday.Hermes, known worldwide for its homemade leather bags and accessories, presented a show full of cotton and linen whites and blues for its spring-summer 2025 collection.It was a collection “grazed by a gentle breeze... Clothing casts reflections into the transparency of water,” designer Veronique Nichanian said in her press release.Sandals and a sleeveless bomber-style jacket were among the few signs of leather among the docker hats, trench coats and drawstring trousers.Meanwhile, Loewe, the rising Spanish star in the LVMH conglomerate, put on a minimalist show — “the radical act of restraint”, as Northern Irish creative director JW Anderson put it.On the front row were Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, US actor Jeff Goldblum and singer of the moment Sabrina Carpenter.The minimalism still carried the sort of strange and ornate touches that Anderson loves, such as long exotic or golden feathers swooping down from headbands and weird angular collars jutting out from T-shirts.The brand’s signature cargo pants came with an Ottoman harem twist.“I don’t think they were clothes for me, but I loved it,” Almodovar told AFP afterwards.“Coming here is like going to a show, to the cinema, to the opera, to the theatre: each character has to be dressed in a certain way, a lot of emotion is created that way,” he added. Meanwhile, fashion fans were awaiting the last-ever show by Dries Van Noten later on Saturday as he heads into retirement.Van Noten is not a household name but he is lauded in fashion circles for a 40-year career in which he combined audacity, sophistication and poetry.Few designers retire, healthy and successful, at 66, so news of his departure earlier this year came as a shock. He told The New York Times it was time to give up the “addiction” of fashion. “Everything’s too intense. I can’t come down anymore,” he told the newspaper.Van Noten is known for exquisite tailoring and subtle avant-garde styling with bursting clashes of colour.“I’m a gardener, so flowers automatically come up everywhere,” he once told AFP.“The starting point for a collection can be very literal or very abstract: a painting, a colour, someone’s thoughts, anything at all.”His staff will take over collections starting with the womenswear show in September, with the only condition that they remain in Antwerp, away from the Paris fashion glitz.The Puig Group, which acquired a majority stake in the label in 2018, agreed to Van Noten’s request.“After the men’s show, I’m going to have another email address,” he told The New York Times. “I’m not going to be @driesvannoten any more. I have to find an Instagram name now, because my Instagram is Dries Van Noten, and that is the brand. It’s strange. That I didn’t see coming.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685282/international/prominent-designer-van-noten-bids-farewell-at-paris-fashion-week

2mn stranded as floods wreak havoc in Bangladesh

Monsoon rains and upstream river water from India have caused widespread flooding in northeastern Bangladesh, stranding more than 2mn people, and the situation could worsen, officials said on Friday.The UN children’s agency Unicef said trapped residents in the region, including more than 772,000 children, were in urgent need of assistance.“Children are the most vulnerable, facing heightened risks of drowning, malnutrition, deadly waterborne diseases, the trauma of displacement, and potential abuse in overpopulated shelters,” said Sheldon Yett, Unicef representative to Bangladesh.The Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast further heavy rainfall in the next few days that could exacerbate the flooding and cause landslides in hilly areas.At least 10 people, including eight Rohingya Muslims, were killed on Wednesday after heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides in refugee camps in southern Bangladesh.The northeastern region has been particularly hard hit, with heavy rainfall and upstream water from India causing widespread inundation. Bangladesh is still recovering from a cyclone that hit its coastal belt in the south late last month. “I fear it could be as devastating as the 2022 floods,” Sylhet resident Shameem Chowdhury said, referring to flooding that was the worst in the region for 122 years.TV footage showed extensive flooding in fields and villages with people wading through knee-deep water in Sylhet city as the rainfall dangerously swelled water levels along four rivers in the region.Vast areas of land are submerged, posing a significant threat to crops if the floodwaters linger for an extended period, agriculture ministry officials said.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685237/international/2mn-stranded-as-floods-wreak-havoc-in-bangladesh

Armenia officially recognises State of Palestine

Armenia has officially recognised the State of Palestine, raising the number of countries that recognise Palestinian statehood to 149 out of the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly.In a statement on Friday, the Armenian Foreign Ministry highlighted the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the ongoing war as critical issues on the international political agenda that necessitate resolution.'The Republic of Armenia has joined UN General Assembly resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,' the statement read.The ministry emphasised Armenia's pursuit of a peaceful and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution as the only way to achieve peace and security.'Based on the above and reaffirming its commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty, and peaceful coexistence among nations, the Republic of Armenia recognises the State of Palestine,' the statement concluded.This recognition follows similar declarations last month by Slovenia, Spain, Norway, and Ireland, further bolstering international support for Palestinian statehood.Qatar welcomed Armenia's recognition of the State of Palestine, and considered it an important step to support the two-state solution and achieve peace and stability in the region.In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that achieving comprehensive and just peace in the region depends on the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.The ministry also stressed the need to end the war on the Gaza Strip immediately, and return to the political track as it is the only guarantor of achieving stability in the region.The ministry expressed Qatar's hope that more countries will recognise the State of Palestine and strengthen efforts aimed at implementing the two-state solution.The Palestinian Presidency also welcomed Armenia's decision to officially recognise the State of Palestine as an independent and sovereign nation, describing the decision as courageous and significant towards strengthening bilateral relations and fostering peace and stability in the region.In a statement, the Palestinian Presidency underscored Armenia's keenness to support the Palestinian people and their firm and legitimate rights to their homeland and self-determination, pointing out that the move comes as a good contribution from those countries that believe in the two-state solution as a strategic option that upholds international will and legitimacy.The decision positively contributes to safeguarding the two-state solution, which faces systematic challenges, and promotes security, peace, and stability for all parties involved, the statement read.The Palestinian Presidency urged other nations, particularly European countries that have yet to recognise the State of Palestine, to follow suit, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, based on the 1967 borders, which include Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685199/international/armenia-officially-recognises-state-of-palestine

Armenia officially recognizes the Palestinian state

Armenia announced its official recognition of the Palestinian state, following the example of other countries that took a similar step recently, in light of the continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October.The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed in a statement today that Yerevan is interested in bringing peace and stability to the Middle East and has continued, through various international platforms, to call for a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue and support “the two-state principle for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”The Ministry said in this regard: “In confirmation of the Republic of Armenia’s commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty and peaceful coexistence among peoples, it recognizes the State of Palestine.”She stressed that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing war require a settlement today, stressing her accession to the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly that call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.The Parliament of Slovenia had previously agreed, by a majority of votes, to recognize an independent Palestinian state, following in the footsteps of Spain, Ireland and Norway, which brings the number of recognized countries to 149 out of 193 countries in the United Nations General Assembly.On April 18, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by a majority of 143 votes, a resolution declaring the State of Palestine’s eligibility for full membership in the United Nations.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685199/international/armenia-officially-recognizes-the-palestinian-state

Rains and Floods Leave 21 People Killed in Niger

Torrential rains and floods in Niger over three weeks have left 21 dead and nearly 6,000 people affected, according to figures released by the country's Interior Ministry.Director-General of Civil Protection of Niger Bako Boubacar said on state television that 8 people had drowned and 13 had died in houses that collapsed during storm.Additionally, 26 people have been injured, and approximately 4,000 cattle have been killed or lost.Central Niger's Maradi region has been the worst hit since the onset of the rainy season, with a confirmed death toll of 14.The rainy season traditionally runs from June through September in the African nation. In 2022, about 195 people were killed and 400,000 people were affected, many of whom lost their homes.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685198/international/rains-and-floods-leave-21-people-killed-in-niger

TikTok ban in US looks 'inevitable'

TikTok and Chinese parent ByteDance yesterday urged a US court to strike down a law they say will ban the popular short video app in the United States on Jan. 19, saying the US government refused to engage in any serious settlement talks after 2022. Legislation signed in April by President Joe Biden gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 next year to divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban on the app used by 170mn Americans. ByteDance says a divestiture is 'not possible technologically, commercially, or legally.'

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685187/international/tiktok-ban-in-us-looks-inevitable