Australia cancels Kanye West's visa over release of Heil Hitler single
Home affairs minister Tony Burke revealed that Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – has been travelling for years to Australia, where his wife of three years, Bianca Censori, was born.
Her family live in Melbourne.
Mr Burke said Heil Hitler, released in May, promoted Nazism. It has been criticised as an antisemitic tribute to German dictator Adolf Hitler.
'He's been coming to Australia for a long time. He's got family here. And he's made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released the Heil Hitler song and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia,' the minister told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
'We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry,' he added.
Australia's Migration Act sets security and character requirements for non-citizens to enter the country.
Its largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have seen a spate of antisemitic attacks since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 2023.
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Hamas says it is ready to enter ceasefire negotiations in ‘positive spirit'
Hamas said it had responded on Friday in 'a positive spirit' to a US -brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal and was prepared to enter into talks on implementing the deal which envisages a release of hostages and negotiations on ending the conflict. US president Donald Trump earlier announced a 'final proposal' for a 60-day ceasefire in the nearly 21-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, stating he anticipated a reply from the parties in coming hours. On Friday evening Hamas wrote on its official website: 'The movement has delivered its response to the brotherly mediators, which was characterised by a positive spirit. Hamas is fully prepared, with all seriousness, to immediately enter a new round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework.' Earlier a source said Hamas leaders were close to accepting a proposed deal for a ceasefire in Gaza but wanted stronger guarantees that any pause in hostilities would lead to a permanent end to the 20-month war. The militant Islamist group has come under immense pressure in recent months, with its military leadership decimated and the Israeli military forcing its fighters out of former strongholds in the southern and central parts of Gaza. In recent days, Israel has ramped up its offensive, launching an intense wave of air strikes across Gaza, killing more than 250 Palestinians, including many women and children, according to medical and civil defence officials. Hardline factions within Hamas had reluctantly accepted the need for a ceasefire to allow the organisation to regroup and plan a new strategy, one source familiar with the internal debate said. Since a previous ceasefire collapsed in March, more than 6,000 people have been killed in Gaza and an acute humanitarian crisis has worsened. Efforts for a new truce in Gaza gathered momentum after the US secured a ceasefire to end the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran last month. On Tuesday, Mr Trump announced that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the war. When asked on Thursday if Hamas had agreed to the latest ceasefire deal framework, he said: 'We'll see what happens. We are going to know over the next 24 hours.' Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on Friday. Photograph: Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to fly to Washington on Sunday for talks with Mr Trump about the war in Gaza, the recent war between Israel and Iran and other regional issues. The Israeli prime minister has long resisted a permanent end to the war in Gaza, partly to retain the support of far-right allies in his ruling coalition. But Israel's successes in the war with Iran have strengthened his political position and opinion polls in Israel show strong support for a deal. [ Israel continues deadly attacks on Gaza as Trump awaits Hamas reply to ceasefire plan Opens in new window ] A senior Israeli official told Channel 12, a major Israeli TV network: 'Judging by the signals from Hamas, there is a high probability that we will start proximity talks in the next few days. If there is consent to proximity talks, there will be a deal.' Other Israeli officials said preparations were in place to approve the ceasefire deal and that an Israeli delegation was getting ready to join indirect talks brokered by Qatar and Egypt to cement the deal if Hamas responded positively. The proposal includes the release of 10 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that triggered the conflict, and the return of the bodies of 18 more, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, an official familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday. Hamas seized 251 hostages during the 2023 attack. Fewer than half of the 50 who remain in Gaza are believed to be alive. Aid would enter Gaza immediately under the agreement, and the Israeli military would carry out a phased withdrawal from parts of the territory, according to the proposal. Negotiations would immediately start on a permanent ceasefire. 'We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept,' Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, told Channel 12 on Thursday. 'One thing is clear: the president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over.' The delivery of more aid to Gaza has been a principal demand of Hamas throughout negotiations. Israel imposed an 11-week blockade in March, which was only slightly eased in May under huge international pressure as famine loomed. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a secretive private organisation backed by the US and Israel that was charged with delivering food in Gaza, has been dogged by controversy. Hundreds have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid at GHF hubs and after gathering in crowds at locations where convoys sent by the UN have been stopped. On Friday, a report by the BBC quoted a former GHF employee describing colleagues firing towards Palestinians who had posed no threat, with many appearing to have been seriously hurt on several occasions. The GHF employee told the BBC he and others had been given no clear rules of engagement or standard operating procedures, and were told by one team leader: 'If you feel threatened, shoot – shoot to kill and ask questions later.' The GHF said the allegations, which were also made by former employees quoted by the Associated Press on Thursday, were categorically false and that no civilians had come under fire at their distribution sites. The Israeli military has denied any intent to harm civilians seeking aid, saying it only fired warning shots. Speaking to journalists while on his way to a rally in Iowa on Thursday, Mr Trump said: 'I want the people of Gaza to be safe. That's more important than anything else. They've gone through hell.' Mr Netanyahu visited Israel's Nir Oz kibbutz on Thursday for the first time since the 2023 Hamas attack. The community was one of the worst-hit in the attack, with nearly one in four residents kidnapped or killed. He said: 'I feel a deep commitment – first of all to ensure the return of all of our hostages, all of them. There are still 20 who are alive and there are also those who are deceased, and we will bring them all back.' The prime minister has been heavily criticised for refusing to take responsibility for the failures that allowed the 2023 attack, during which Hamas-led militants killed 1,200, mostly civilians, and has been repeatedly accused of prioritising his political survival over the fate of the hostages. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 57,000 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to a count by the territory's ministry of health that is considered reliable by the UN and many western governments. The Israeli military said it 'follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm' when striking 'terrorist targets'. – Guardian
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Hamas give 'positive' response on ceasefire proposal, Palestinian official says
Hamas has submitted its response to a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal, a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations has said, describing the response as a positive one that should "facilitate reaching a deal." US President Donald Trump earlier announced a "final proposal" for a 60-day ceasefire in the nearly 21-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, stating he anticipated a reply from the parties in coming hours. "We have handed the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, our response to the ceasefire proposal," a Hamas official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "The Hamas response is positive and I think it should help and facilitate reaching a deal," said the Palestinian official close to the talks. Mr Trump said that Israel had agreed "to the necessary conditions to finalise" a 60-day ceasefire, during which efforts would be made to end the US ally's war in the Palestinian enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on Mr Trump's announcement and in their public statements, the two sides remain far apart. Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss. Mr Netanyahu is due to meet Mr Trump in Washington on Monday. Asked early this morning if Hamas had agreed to the latest ceasefire deal framework, Mr Trump said: "We are going to know over the next 24 hours." Mr Trump has said he would be "very firm" with Mr Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza ceasefire while noting that the Israeli leader wants one as well. "We hope it's going to happen. And we're looking forward toit happening sometime next week," he told reporters earlier this week. "We want to get the hostages out." Israeli attacks have killed at least 138 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours, local health officials said. Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city overnight, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war. The Israeli military said troops operating in the Khan Younis area had eliminated militants, confiscated weapons and dismantled Hamas outposts in the last 24 hours, while striking 100 targets across Gaza, including military structures, weapons storage facilities and launchers. Later on, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight. "There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother," said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr as she wept. Her brother, Mahmoud, was shot dead in another incident, she said. "He went to get aid, so he can get a bag of flour for us to eat. He got a bullet in his neck. It killed him on the spot," she said. Adlar Mouamar said her nephew, Ashraf, was also killed in Gaza. "Our hearts are broken. We ask the world, we don't want want them to end the bloodshed. We want them to stop this war." In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a US Embassy building on US Independence Day, calling on Mr Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives. Demonstrators set up a symbolic Sabbath dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza. Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Mr Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, "MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THEHOSTAGES BACK!!!" The Sabbath, or Shabbat, observed from this evening to tomorrow night, is often marked by Jewish families with a traditional Friday night dinner. "Only you can make the deal. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal," said Gideon Rosenberg, 48, from Tel Aviv. Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of hostage Avinatan Or, one of his employees who was abducted by Palestinian militants from the Nova musical festival on October7, 2023. He is among the 20 hostages who are believed to be alive after more than 600 days of captivity. Ruby Chen, 55, the father of 19-year-old American-Israeli Itay, who is believed to have been killed after being taken captive, urged Mr Netanyahu to return from meeting with Trump in Washington on Monday with a deal that brings back all hostages. "Let this United States Independence Day mark the beginning of a lasting peace... one that secures the sacred value of human life and one that bestows dignity to the deceased hostages by ensuring their return to proper burial," he said, also appealing to Mr Trump. Itay Chen, also a German national, was serving as an Israeli soldier when Hamas carried out its surprise attack on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage. Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas has devastated Gaza, which the militant group has ruled for almost two decades but now only controls in parts, displacing most of the population of more than 2 million and triggering widespread hunger. More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of them civilians, according to local health officials. UN says 613 killed near aid points and humanitarian convoys in Gaza The UN human rights office said it had recorded at least 613 killings both at aid points run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief groups including the UN. A spokesperson for the UN office said it is clear that Israel has "shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points". The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says had let militants divert aid. The United Nations has called the plan "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. "We have recorded 613 killings, both at GHF points and near humanitarian convoys - this is a figure as of June 27. Since then ... there have been further incidents," Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva. "It is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points," she added. "How many killings? Who is responsible for that? We need an investigation. We need access. We need an independent inquiry, and we need accountability for these killings." The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May and has repeatedly denied that incidents had occurred at its sites. Of the 613 people killed, 509 were killed near the GHF distribution points, the OHCHR said. The OHCHR said its figure is based on a range of sources such as information from hospitals, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs, and its partners on the ground. It said it is verifying further reports and cannot yet give a breakdown of where they were killed. The GHF previously claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians in five weeks, and claimed other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted". Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on 19 May.
Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Trump has 'good conversation' with Zelenskyy after heavy bombardment of Ukraine by Russia
Donald Trump spoke with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday as the US president appears increasingly disheartened over his chances of fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The call with Zelenskyy comes as Washington has halted its latest shipment of military aid to Ukraine including Patriot air defense missiles and other crucial munitions meant to support the country's defenses, and hours after Russia launched a devastating air attack on Kyiv using a record number of drones and ballistic missiles. Zelenskyy called the conversation 'important and useful' and said in a post said that he and Trump had discussed Ukraine's air defense capabilities, joint defense production and 'mutual purchases and investments', all potentially avenues for Ukraine to restart aid from the United States by providing incentives for the Trump administration to rush crucial munitions to Kyiv. He said that the two sides had also agreed to 'increase aerial protection', a particular focus for Kyiv as Russia has increased bombardments of Ukrainian cities despite outrage from Trump and other world leaders. Yet it was not immediately clear if Zelenskyy had achieved any concrete progress with Trump and in his statement he did not mention the halt of aid shipments from the US or announce their resumption. Axios reported that a source described the call as a 'good conversation'. Trump said he was 'very disappointed' after a telephone call with Vladimir Putin on Thursday. A Putin aide told reporters that the Russian president was not willing to make concessions on what the Kremlin has called the 'root causes' of the war with Ukraine, a list of grievances that includes Nato expansion and Ukraine's desire to join western economic and security blocs. 'I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with president Putin, because I don't think he's there,' Trump told reporters after holding a rally in Iowa on Thursday evening. 'I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed. I'm just saying, I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad.' The US has said that it halted the shipments, some of which were already in Poland, due to a review of US military stockpiles that suggested that the country is running low on munitions for its own troops. Germany has said that it is in 'intensive talks' to buy the Patriot missiles for Ukraine, although it's unclear whether those stocks would be available immediately. 'There are various ways to fill this Patriot gap,' a German government spokesperson told a news conference in Berlin on Friday. One option being considered was for the German government to buy the Patriot missile batteries in the United States and then send them to Ukraine. 'I can confirm that intensive discussions are indeed being held on this matter,' the spokesperson said. The shortage of Patriot missiles was further highlighted by the record bombardment of Ukraine in which Russia sent more than 550 drones and ballistic missiles at major cities in what Zelenskyy described as a 'deliberate act of terror'. The strike immediately followed the call between Putin and Trump, Zelenskyy said, and was a 'clear interpretation of how Moscow interprets diplomacy'. — The Guardian Read More Trump criticised for using antisemitic term to describe money lenders
