Trump says Israel agreed to 60-day Gaza ceasefire, but Israel has not confirmed
02/07/2025
'Society totally collapsing': Civilians in war-torn Gaza 'desperate, they feel alone and abandoned'
Middle East
01/07/2025
Israel is 'strong and powerful': Netanyahu push for regime change in Iran is 'childish and immature'
Middle East
01/07/2025
Deadly Israeli strikes hit seaside cafe, homes and schools in Gaza
Middle East
01/07/2025
Israeli ministers criticise settler attacks in West Bank
Middle East
30/06/2025
Anti-Israel chants spark controversy at the Glastonbury music festival
Middle East
30/06/2025
Irish MEP urges EU to 'hold Israel to the same standards as other nations'
Middle East
29/06/2025
Iranians flee to seek safety in Turkey amid Israeli strikes
Middle East
29/06/2025
At least 71 killed in Israel's attack on Tehran's Evin prison
Middle East
28/06/2025
Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as UN calls for safe access to aid
Middle East
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France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says two staff members wounded in 'attack'
The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said two American staff were wounded Saturday in an "attack" on one of its aid centres in southern Gaza. "This morning, two American aid workers were injured in a targeted terrorist attack during food distribution activities at SDS-3 in Khan Younis," the organisation said in a statement, noting that the employees were in stable condition. "The attack – which preliminary information indicates was carried out by two assailants who threw two grenades at the Americans – occurred at the conclusion of an otherwise successful distribution in which thousands of Gazans safely received food," it added. An officially private effort, the GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking famine warnings. GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations. More than 500 people have been killed while waiting to access rations from its distribution sites, the UN Human Rights Office said Friday. The Israeli military has blamed Hamas for the incidents. "GHF has repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers and the civilians who rely on our sites for food. Today's attack tragically affirms those warnings," the foundation said. Civil defence says schools hit Israel's security cabinet was expected to meet after the end of the Jewish sabbath at sundown in Saturday to discuss Israel's next steps as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to leave for Washington for talks on Monday with US President Donald Trump. Trump has been making a renewed push for an end to nearly 21 months of war in Gaza, where the civil defence agency said 32 people were killed in Israeli military operations on Saturday. Hamas on Friday said it was ready to start talks "immediately" on a US-sponsored proposal for a Gaza ceasefire. "No decision has been made yet on that issue," an Israeli government official told AFP when asked about Hamas's proposal. Meanwhile, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said Israeli military operations killed 32 people across the war-battered territory on Saturday. Bassal said Saturday's dead included eight people killed in two strikes on schools in Gaza City. The Hamas attack of October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,268 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
EU Commission bewails 'unfair' Chinese Cognac duties
China's imposition of anti-dumping duties on European Cognac is "unfair" and "unjustified", a European Commission spokesperson said on Friday, underscoring a downtick in relations ahead of an EU-China summit scheduled for the end of July. 'China's measures are unfair, we believe they are unjustified, we believe they are inconsistent with the applicable international rule and are thus unfounded,' Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said on Friday. The Asian giant has announced anti-dumping duties of up to 34,9% over EU brandy for a period of five years starting from 5 July 2025, sparing some of the largest EU Cognac producers which had made minimum price commitments, such as Remy Cointreau, Pernod Ricard and LVMH's Hennessy. The Chinese launched an investigation into brandy last year in retaliation for tariffs imposed by the EU on Chinese electric vehicles. It was followed by the announcement of several other investigations into EU pork and dairy products, which have not yet been closed. Anti-dumping duties were also imposed in May on some EU industrial plastics. Gill added that the duties on EU brandy were 'part of a worrying pattern of China abusing trade defence instruments, starting and conducting investigations on the basis of questionable allegations and insufficient evidence, all this within a short period of time.' This blow to EU brandy comes as some media report that China has cancelled the second day of the EU-China summit scheduled for 24 and 25 July. The Commission's chief spokesperson Paula Pinho refused to confirm the cancellation, arguing that the summit's agenda 'has not been agreed yet' by the EU and China. Points of contention are increasing between the two, despite hopes for a diplomatic reset born of the jeopardy both sides face in the face of an ongoing tariff dispute with the US. The South China Morning Post reported on Friday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas it did not want to see a Russian loss in Ukraine because it feared the US would then shift its whole focus to Beijing.
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
Germany sees 50% decline in asylum application in first half of 2025
According to reports by German media outlets, the number of asylum applications in Germany fell significantly in the first six months of 2025 in comparison with figures from the same time period last year. German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported that a total of 65,495 applications were submitted between 1 January and 30 June, citing previously unpublished data from the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) - a decrease of 43% year-on-year. Another media outlet, BILD, reported that only 61,300 first-time applications for asylum were made in Germany in the first half of 2025. In June, the number of new applications was less than 7,000, a 60% decline from June 2024 numbers, and 70% from two years ago. The figure sets a new record for the lowest monthly applications submitted since March 2013. Germany no longer the top destination for asylum in Europe Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the Christian Social Union (CSU) sees the latest figures as confirmation of the effectiveness of his migration policy which has been regarded by many as controversial. In an interview with BILD, he noted the numbers indicate "clear successes of the migration turnaround" and emphasised that his ministry will continue to work to revamp the migration system "from head to toe". Christian Democratic Union (CDU) MEP and migration expert Lena Düpont also sees the declining figures as a major success. Speaking to German media, she noted that partnership agreements with key North African countries played a major role in reducing asylum figures. She also cited greater cooperation between third countries and the EU border protection agency Frontex as reasons behind this success. Europe-wide figures In the first half of 2025, Spain claimed the top spot for asylum application with the Iberian country recording just over 76,020 applications. France came in second, recording some 75,428, while Germany trailed in third place with 65,495 applications. Italy came in fourth with 62,534, then came Greece at 27,718 and Belgium recorded just over 17 thousand. On the lower end of the spectrum. Hungary, which endorses a notoriously strict immigration policy under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, received just 47 applications. Slovakia recorded 84 applications while Lithuania received 152. Countries of origin of asylum seekers in Germany and Europe According to the report, around 22% of asylum seekers in Germany were Afghan nationals, Syrians constituted around 20% of applicants while Turkish citizens made up 11% of applications received by Berlin. Russians made up the fifth largest nationality of asylum applicants, having submitted just over 3%. In total, close to 400,000 people applied for asylum in EU countries, Norway and Switzerland in the first half of this year. This is a decrease of around 23% from total figures of last year. On a continental level, the top three nationalities of applicants were Venezuelans, close to 50,000, Afghans with around 41,000 and Syrians with approximately 23,000.
