
Israel Approves New Settlements to Obstruct Palestinian State
Israel will build 22 new settlements in the West Bank including some along its eastern border with Jordan to strengthen its grip on the territory and block the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
The plan, which has been approved by the security cabinet, comes as Israel is facing mounting pressure from European allies to end its 19-month war in Gaza, which has destroyed large parts of the coastal enclave, killed tens of thousands and sparked a hunger crisis. The expansion of settlements is a violation of international law, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Trump's travel ban on 12 countries goes into effect early Monday
Trump's travel ban on 12 countries goes into effect early Monday Show Caption Hide Caption What we know now about President Trump's new travel ban taking effect How could President Trump's travel ban or restriction of nearly 20 countries impact you? Here is what we know now. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on June 9, a move the president promulgated to protect the country from "foreign terrorists." The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The entry of people from seven other countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela — will be partially restricted. Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a "large-scale presence of terrorists," fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers' identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States. He cited the June 1 incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt is not part of the travel ban. 'I caution them not to travel': Expert warns travelers from banned countries to stay home The travel ban forms part of Trump's policy to restrict immigration into the United States and is reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations. Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned expressed dismay and disbelief. Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trump's action. "Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride," he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the United States a luxury airplane for Trump's use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the U.S. Afghans who worked for the United States or U.S.-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the U.S. expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban. Democratic U.S. lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies. "Trump's travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional," said U.S. Representative Ro Khanna on social media on June 5. "People have a right to seek asylum." (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; writing by Mary Milliken; editing by Sandra Maler)


New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
The Tunnel That Leads Underneath a Hospital in Southern Gaza
Two feet wide and less than six feet tall, the tunnel led deep beneath a major hospital in southern Gaza. The underground air bore the stench of what smelled like human remains. After walking some 40 yards along the tunnel, we found the likely cause. In a tiny room that the tunnel led to, the floor was stained with blood. It was here, according to the Israeli military, that Muhammad Sinwar — one of Hamas's top militant commanders — was killed last month after a nearby barrage of Israeli strikes. What we saw in that dark and narrow tunnel is one of the war's biggest Rorschach tests, the embodiment of a broader narrative battle between Israelis and Palestinians over how the conflict should be portrayed. The military escorted a reporter from The New York Times to the tunnel on Sunday afternoon, as part of a brief and controlled visit for international journalists that the Israelis hoped would prove that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as a shield for militant activity. To Palestinians, Israel's attack on, and subsequent capture of, the hospital compound highlighted its own disregard for civilian activity. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Iran says no sanctions relief in US nuclear proposal
Iran's parliament speaker said on Sunday that the latest US proposal for a nuclear deal does not include the lifting of sanctions, state media reported as negotiations appeared to have hit a roadblock. The two foes have held five rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April, seeking to replace a landmark agreement between Tehran and world powers that set restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, before US President Donald Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 during his first term. In a video aired on Iranian state TV, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that "the US plan does not even mention the lifting of sanctions". He called it a sign of dishonesty, accusing the Americans of seeking to impose a "unilateral" agreement that Tehran would not accept. "The delusional US president should know better and change his approach if he is really looking for a deal," Ghalibaf said. On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal, with officials later taking issue with "ambiguities" in the draft text. The US and its Western allies have long accused the Islamic republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge Iran has consistently denied, insisting that its atomic programme was solely for peaceful purposes. Key issues in the negotiations have been the removal of biting economic sanctions and uranium enrichment. Tehran says it has the right to enrich uranium under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while the Trump administration has called any Iranian enrichment a "red line". Trump, who has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said it will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal. On Tuesday, Iran's top negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said the country "will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium". - IAEA meeting - According to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state in the world that enriches uranium up to 60 percent -- close to the 90 percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected the latest US proposal and said enrichment was "key" to Iran's nuclear programme. The IAEA Board of Governors is scheduled to meet in Vienna starting Monday and discuss Iran's nuclear activities. On Sunday the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran warned it could reduce its level of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if it adopts a resolution against it. "Certainly, the IAEA should not expect the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue its broad and friendly cooperation," the Iranian agency's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told state TV. Araghchi on Friday accused European powers of "opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors", warning on X that "Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights". A quarterly report from the IAEA issued last week cited a "general lack of cooperation" from Iran and raised concerns over undeclared nuclear material. Tehran has rejected the report as politically motivated and based on "forged documents" it said had been provided by its arch foe Israel. pdm/ami/dcp