Trump administration reverses new guidelines tying Fema funds to Israeli boycotts
The change in status came after media reports on Monday explained how funding was conditional on states following Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conditions laid out in April.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) announced on Friday it was making nearly $1bn available to states to protect themselves from natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and fires, as well as terrorist attacks and cyber disruptions.
Read more: Trump administration reverses new guidelines tying Fema funds to Israeli boycotts
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Zawya
34 minutes ago
- Zawya
Trump might meet Putin in UAE over coming days
Moscow: The Kremlin said on Thursday that a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Ukraine was set for the "coming days" as US-led efforts to broker peace rumble on. The Russian president named the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potential location for the summit with Trump, but essentially ruled out a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Trump-Putin summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021. It comes as the Republican seeks an end to Russia's military assault on Ukraine. Three rounds of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to yield any progress towards a ceasefire. The two sides appear as far apart as ever in the conditions they have set for an end to the more than three-year-long conflict. Trump said on Wednesday that he was likely to meet Putin face-to-face "very soon". They last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump's first term as US president, but have spoken by telephone several times since the former reality TV star returned to the White House earlier this year. "Both sides showed interest" in the Russia-US leaders meeting, Putin told reporters on Thursday. "We have many friends who are willing to help us organise such events. One of our friends is the president of the United Arab Emirates," he said, standing next to UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Earlier on Thursday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that the plan to hold a bilateral summit was "at the suggestion of the American side". "Next week has been set as a target date," said Ushakov, adding that both sides have already agreed the venue "in principle", without mentioning it. Putin-Zelensky meeting? Reports of the upcoming summit came after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow. Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Zelensky, but Putin appeared to rule out direct talks with the Ukrainian leader. "I have nothing against it in general, it is possible, but certain conditions must be created for this," he told reporters, adding: "Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions." Putin said in June that he was ready to meet Zelensky, but only during a "final phase" of negotiations on ending the conflict. Zelensky earlier on Thursday had refreshed his call for a meeting with Putin -- which he says is the only way to make progress towards peace. "It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed," he wrote on social media. The Ukrainian leader later spoke with his European allies, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as he called for the continent to be included in any potential peace talks. "The war is happening in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe -- we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes," Zelensky said on social media after the call with Merz. He also said that he would hold several other conversations throughout the course of the day, including with Italian officials. "Today, security advisors will hold an online meeting to align our joint views -- Ukraine and the whole of Europe, the United States," Zelensky said. "Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side. It is time we ended the war," he added. © Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. ( The Peninsula Newspaper
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Israel's Netanyahu says wants to take military control of all of Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel intends to take military control of all of Gaza and will eventually hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly. "We intend to," Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News when asked if Israel would take control of the entire 26-mile strip. "We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body." He said that Israel wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces that would govern it. Netanyahu made his comments to Fox News before the outcome of a meeting he was due to have on Thursday with a small group of senior ministers to discuss plans for the military to take control of more territory in Gaza. The security cabinet session follows a meeting this week with the head of the military, which Israeli officials have described as tense, saying the military chief had pushed back on expanding the campaign. Opinion polls show that most Israelis want the war to end in a deal that would see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas-led Palestinian armed men. Netanyahu's government has insisted on total victory over Hamas, which ignited the war with its deadly October 2023 attack on Israel from Gaza. The idea, pushed especially by far-right ministers in Netanyahu's coalition, of Israeli forces thrusting into areas they do not already hold in the enclave has generated alarm in Israel. The mother of one hostage urged people on Thursday to take to the streets to voice their opposition to expanding the campaign. The Hostages Families Forum, which represents captives held in Gaza, urged military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to oppose widening the war and the government to accept a deal that would bring the war to an end and free the remaining hostages. Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives were achieved. Israeli leaders have long insisted that Hamas be disarmed and have no future role in a demilitarised Gaza and that the hostages be freed. The U.N. has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza "deeply alarming" if true. There are 50 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive. Most of those freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen some more hostages released collapsed in July. A senior Palestinian official said Hamas had told Arab mediators that an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza would lead to a resumption in ceasefire negotiations. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of seizing aid to hand out to its fighters and to sell in Gazan markets to finance its operations, accusations that the group denies. Videos released last week of two living hostages showed them emaciated and frail, stirring international condemnation. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but now controls only fragmented parts, insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war. Israel says the group has no intention of going through with promises to give up power afterwards.
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Turkish foreign minister in Damascus for talks with Syria's Sharaa
Turkey's foreign minister will hold talks with Syria's president in Damascus on Thursday to assess bilateral ties, tensions between Syria and Israel, and recent clashes between a Kurdish-led group and the Syrian government, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said. NATO member Turkey has emerged as one of Syria's main foreign allies after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad last year. It has pledged to help rebuild the war-torn country, train and advise its armed forces, and support it in the international arena. The source said Syria's reconstruction would be among the top agenda items during Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's meeting with President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in addition to Ankara's security concerns over recent violence in Syria. "The talks are expected to assess Turkey's national security concerns stemming from northeast Syria, as well as cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorist organisations... at a time when preserving Syria's territorial integrity and unity is more important than ever," the source said. Ankara considers the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces a terrorist organisation. It has repeatedly said the SDF, which controls much of northeast Syria, must abide by an agreement it signed with Damascus in March to integrate into the Syrian state apparatus, while also providing technical, advisory and military support to Syria to increase its defence capabilities and fight Islamic State militants. Fidan's visit follows clashes this week between the SDF and Syrian government forces in Manbij and Aleppo, and weeks of tensions between Israel and Syria over fighting between Druze and Bedouin forces last month, which Ankara has described as an Israeli sabotage attempt against efforts to achieve stability in Syria. Fidan, who has said Israel aimed to fragment Syria and that Ankara would not allow this, will also discuss "the actions and rhetoric of Israel that pose a threat to Syria and the region's stability", the source said.
