A nickel stockpile towers over farmer Moharen Tambiling’s rice paddy in the Philippines’ Palawan, evidence of a mining boom that locals hope a new moratorium will tame.”They told us before the start of their operations that it wouldn’t affect us, but the effects are undeniable now,” Tambiling told AFP.”Pangolins, warthogs, birds are disappearing. Flowers as …
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The United States, Japan, India and Australia pledged Tuesday to work together to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, as worries grow over China’s dominance in resources vital to new technologies.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed his counterparts from the so-called “Quad” to Washington in a shift of focus to Asia, after spending …
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US President Donald Trump urged Hamas on Tuesday to accept a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, saying that Israel had agreed to finalize such a deal, as its forces also stepped up operations in the Palestinian territory.Trump, in a post on social media, said his representatives had met with Israeli officials about the raging conflict, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington next week.”Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Trump wrote.He said representatives of Qatar and Egypt, mediators in the conflict, would deliver “this final proposal.””I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he added.Trump earlier on Tuesday said he would be “very firm” with Netanyahu when they meet on July 7.The end of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran — which followed a US bombing mission on Tehran’s nuclear sites — has provided a window of opportunity for a deal, with Trump keen to add another peace agreement to a series of recent deals he has brokered.Israel’s campaign meanwhile continued to rage on, with Gaza’s civil defense agency reporting Israeli forces killed at least 26 people on Tuesday.In response to reports of deadly strikes in the north and south of the territory, the Israeli army told AFP it was “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities.”Separately, it said Tuesday morning that in recent days it had “expanded its operations to additional areas within the Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of terrorists and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites both above and below ground.”Raafat Halles, 39, from the Shujaiya district of Gaza City, said “air strikes and shelling have intensified over the past week,” and tanks have been advancing.”I believe that every time negotiations or a potential ceasefire are mentioned, the army escalates crimes and massacres on the ground,” he said. “I don’t know why.”AFP photographers saw Israeli tanks deploying at the Gaza border in southern Israel and children picking through the rubble of a destroyed home in Gaza City.Others photographed Palestinians mourning over the bodies of relatives in the city’s Al-Shifa hospital and the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.- Aid seekers killed -The Red Cross warned that Gaza’s few functioning medical facilities were overwhelmed, with nearly all public hospitals “shut down or gutted by months of hostilities and restrictions” on supplies.”The International Committee of the Red Cross is deeply alarmed by the intensifying hostilities in Gaza City and Jabaliya, which have reportedly caused dozens of deaths and injuries among civilians over the past 36 hours,” the ICRC said in a statement.Gaza’s civil defense service said 16 people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza on Tuesday, in the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on those seeking food, with 10 others killed in other Israeli operations.Commenting on the incidents, the Israeli military told AFP its forces “fired warning shots to distance suspects who approached the troops”, adding it was not aware of any injuries but would review the incidents.Referring to an incident in Rafah, it said the shots were fired “hundreds of meters (yards) away from the aid distribution site”, which was “not operating”.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers.- Aid reform call -A group of 169 aid organizations called Monday for an end to Gaza’s “deadly” new US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme which they said was leading to civilian deaths.They urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed until March, when Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza during an impasse in truce talks with Hamas.The new scheme’s administrator, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has distanced itself from reports of aid seekers being killed near its centers.- Netanyahu’s US visit -Netanyahu announced he would visit Trump and senior US security officials next week, amid mounting pressure to end the devastating fighting in Gaza and bring the remaining hostages home.Trump, while visiting a migrant detention center in Florida, said Netanyahu “wants to end it too.”Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP the group is “ready to agree to any proposal if it will lead to an end to the war and a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of occupation forces”.”So far, there has been no breakthrough.”bur-rlp-acc-des/md
Global stocks were mixed Tuesday as markets monitored congressional progress on Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending legislation and weighed the prospects for US trade deals ahead of Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline.The Republican-led upper congressional chamber narrowly cleared Trump’s mammoth domestic policy bill, sending the measure back to the House of Representatives, where the …
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Israel’s military said Tuesday that it had expanded its operations in Gaza, where residents reported fierce gunfire and shelling days before a planned trip to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The intensified operations came after days of mounting calls for a ceasefire, with US President Donald Trump — whom Netanyahu is scheduled to meet next week — among those urging Israel to strike a new deal to halt the war and bring home the hostages still held in Gaza.Israel’s campaign to destroy the Palestinian militant group Hamas has raged on unabated, however, with Gaza’s civil defence agency reporting Israeli forces killed at least 26 people on Tuesday.In response to reports of deadly strikes in the north and south of the territory, the Israeli army told AFP it was “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities”.Separately, it said Tuesday morning that in recent days it had “expanded its operations to additional areas within the Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of terrorists and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites both above and below ground”.Raafat Halles, 39, from the Shujaiya district of Gaza City, said “air strikes and shelling have intensified over the past week”, and tanks have been advancing.”I believe that every time negotiations or a potential ceasefire are mentioned, the army escalates crimes and massacres on the ground,” he said. “I don’t know why.”Amer Daloul, a 44-year-old resident of Gaza City, also reported fiercer clashes between Israeli forces and militants in recent days, telling AFP that he and his family were forced to flee the tent they were living in at dawn on Tuesday “due to heavy and random gunfire and shelling”.AFP photographers saw Israeli tanks deploying at the Gaza border in southern Israel and children picking through the rubble of a destroyed home in Gaza City.Others photographed Palestinians mourning over the bodies of relatives in the city’s Al-Shifa hospital and the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.- Aid seekers killed -The Red Cross warned that Gaza’s few functioning medical facilities were overwhelmed, with nearly all public hospitals “shut down or gutted by months of hostilities and restrictions” on supplies.”The International Committee of the Red Cross is deeply alarmed by the intensifying hostilities in Gaza City and Jabaliya, which have reportedly caused dozens of deaths and injuries among civilians over the past 36 hours,” the ICRC said in a statement.Gaza’s civil defence service said 16 people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza on Tuesday, in the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on those seeking food, with 10 others killed in other Israeli operations.Commenting on the incidents, the Israeli military told AFP its forces “fired warning shots to distance suspects who approached the troops”, adding it was not aware of any injuries but would review the incidents.Referring to an incident in Rafah, it said the shots were fired “hundreds of metres (yards) away from the aid distribution site”, which was “not operating”.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers.- Aid reform call -A group of 169 aid organisations called Monday for an end to Gaza’s “deadly” new US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme which they said was leading to civilian deaths.They said the system forced starving civilians to “trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race” for food.They urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed until March, when Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza during an impasse in truce talks with Hamas.The new scheme’s administrator, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has distanced itself from reports of aid seekers being killed near its centres.- PM’s US visit -Netanyahu announced he would visit Trump and senior US security officials next week, amid mounting pressure to end more than 20 months of devastating fighting in Gaza.Trump vowed Tuesday to be “very firm” in his stance on ending the war when he meets the Israeli premier on July 7.”But he (Netanyahu) wants it too… He wants to end it too,” the US president added.Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP the group is “ready to agree to any proposal if it will lead to an end to the war and a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of occupation forces”.”So far, there has been no breakthrough.”
Once a bustling seafront spot where young people could hope for a rare respite from war, Gaza City’s al-Baqa cafe lay in ruins after an Israeli strike killed 24 people including a journalist and an artist.Blood stains dotted the debris-strewn floor in the aftermath of the strike on Monday, AFP footage showed. Upturned plastic chairs lay alongside wooden planks blown apart in the blast, as tattered fabric gently blew in the sea breeze.The strike triggered a fresh outpouring of grief in the Palestinian territory already devastated by more than 20 months of war, with social media flooded with posts paying tribute to the dead.”Gaza lost a rare talent. The world lost beauty and hope,” wrote two friends of the artist Amina al-Salmi, nicknamed Frans, in an Instagram post after the young woman’s death in the cafe.”The occupation killed her, but it will never erase her voice,” they added. One of the friends, journalist Noor Harazeen, drew parallels between one of Salmi’s last drawings and a photo of the attack showing her face covered in blood.Tributes have also poured in for Ismail Abu Hatab, described by friends as a journalist and videographer.During the final prayer before his body was laid to rest, his press vest was placed on his chest, as Gazans have often done for the numerous Palestinian journalists killed during the war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.Salmi and Abu Hatab were among 24 people killed in the strike, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.Images of the bombed cafe showing several lifeless bodies flooded social media.Journalist and rights activist Bayan Abusultan was also seen in photos posted online, half covered in blood in the aftermath of the blast.”We survived to curse the occupation for one more day,” she wrote on Facebook.- ‘Sea the only refuge’ –Â The Israeli military told AFP it had “struck several Hamas terrorists” and that “steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians”, adding that the incident was under review.The cafe was known before the war for welcoming young professionals and the few foreigners who were able to visit the Gaza Strip under Israeli blockade.Built in several sections, part of which was on stilts above the water, al-Baqa was damaged and then repaired several times in recent months, particularly during the two-month truce that ended in March.A few weeks ago, the cafe was once again able to offer an internet connection, attracting its pre-war clientele back.With food only trickling into Gaza, the kitchens were closed, but customers could still get a cup of tea to drink against a backdrop of destruction.Maher al-Baqa, who co-owns the establishment, told AFP that it is “one of the most well-known cafes on the Gaza coast, frequented by educated youth, journalists, artists, doctors, engineers and hardworking people”.”Young people are fleeing the tragedies and difficult conditions in Gaza. They come here for work meetings or just to relax a little.”Israel “has betrayed these people and bombed the place without any justification”, he added.Journalist Shrouq Aila, who shared photos of the cafe on Instagram, said: “The sea has become our only refuge”.Another journalist, Wassim Saleh, wrote on Facebook that “the sea continues to wash up pieces of bodies, which we bury.”Still in shock but moved by the messages of support, cafe owner Baqa said he lost four employees and three family members in the strike.”I felt, through the great solidarity of the people with this place, that they were defending what remained of their dreams in Gaza.”
The US foreign aid agency formally closed down Tuesday, with President Donald Trump’s administration trumpeting the end of the “charity-based model” despite predictions that millions of lives will be lost.Founded in 1961 as John F. Kennedy sought to leverage aid to win over the developing world in the Cold War, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has now been incorporated into the State Department — after Secretary of State Marco Rubio slashed 85 percent of its programming.In a farewell to remaining staff on Monday, former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama — as well as U2 frontman Bono — saluted their work and said it was still needed.Bush pointed to PEPFAR, the massive US effort to fight HIV/AIDS that he considers one of the top achievements of his 2001-2009 Republican presidency.”This program shows a fundamental question facing our country — is it in our nation’s interest that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is,” Bush said in a video message seen by AFP.Obama, who like Bush has been sparing in openly criticizing Trump, said that ending USAID was “inexplicable” and “will go down as a colossal mistake.””Gutting USAID is a travesty and it is a tragedy because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world,” the Democrat said.A study published in the medical journal The Lancet predicted that more than 14 million people would die, a third of them small children, by 2030 due to the foreign aid cuts.- ‘Little to show’ -Rubio painted a drastically different picture of USAID, which was an early target of a sweeping government cost-cutting drive led for Trump by billionaire Elon Musk.Rubio said that USAID’s “charity-based model” fueled “addiction” by developing nations’ leaders and that trade was more effective.”Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” Rubio wrote in an essay.He also complained that many recipients of US aid do not vote with the United States at the United Nations and that rival China often enjoys higher favorability among the public.A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that The Lancet study relied on “incorrect assumptions” and said the United States will continue aid but in a “more efficient” way.He said that PEPFAR will remain, with a priority on stopping HIV transmission from mothers to children.But he acknowledged the United States was no longer funding PrEP medication, which significantly reduces the rate of HIV transmission and has been encouraged by high-risk communities.”No one is saying that gay men in Africa shouldn’t be on PrEP. That’s wonderful. It doesn’t mean that the United States has to pay for every single thing,” the official said.He said the Trump administration was looking at “new and innovative solutions” and pointed to food deliveries in war-battered Gaza staffed by US military contractors and surrounded by Israeli troops.Witnesses, the United Nations and local Gaza officials have reported that Israeli troops have repeatedly opened fire and killed Palestinians waiting for aid — although the US-backed initiative, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, denies any deadly incidents.- ‘No line of defense’ -Bob Kitchen, the vice president for emergencies at the International Rescue Committee, said that the 14 million death prediction was consistent with what the humanitarian group was seeing.Among the group’s programming that was funded through USAID, he said that nearly 400,000 refugees who fled the war in Sudan have now been deprived of acute aid and that more than 500,000 Afghans, mostly women and girls, have been cut off from education and healthcare.European Union nations and Britain, rather than filling the gap, have also stepped back as they ramp up defense spending with encouragement from Trump.Kitchen warned that cuts will not only worsen frontline emergencies but weaken more stable countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya, which will have no back-up if rains fail again.Kitchen said that, beyond moral considerations, the cuts will aggravate migration, a top consideration for Trump.”It’s self-interest. If insecurity spreads, outbreaks spread, there’s no line of defense anymore.”
