Anthony Aguilar: Witness to the Gaza genocide

Stage of the Center

Anthony Aguilar takes the center of the conversation about the heinous GHF in Gaza that he witnessed working as a security contractor. The former US Army Special Forces lieutenant colonel goes into great detail about the operation of aid distribution facilities and how his or her horrors forced him to step down after only 41 days. Aguilar has worked tirelessly to persuade US policymakers to put an end to Israel’s two-year genocide since his return to the country.

Trump wants to ‘freeze’ Russia-Ukraine war: Who gets what if that happens?

Donald Trump, president of the United States, has suggested using the current front lines of negotiations over territory as a point of entry.

Despite Trump boasting during his presidential campaign last year that he could end the conflict in “24 hours” after his inauguration, peace negotiations have so far stalled.

If Russia wants to consider a ceasefire, it insists that it must be able to keep all the land it has seized from Ukraine and be given more. Trump hasn’t moved either way, and Ukraine has resisted doing so.

How Russia and Ukraine have responded to this most recent proposal, and what the current front lines look like:

Trump’s proposals include what?

Trump has suggested that the conflict be stopped where it is currently taking place.

They can bargain later on. But Trump remarked to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, “Cut and Stop at the Battle Line.”

If you’re going to say, “You take this, I’ll take this,” the rest is very difficult to negotiate. We accept that.

Trump declined when asked if he had given Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy advice to cede the entire eastern Donbass region, which borders Russia and has claimed territory there.

“Let it be shaved as is,” It is currently cut up. Trump claimed to believe that 78 percent of Russia’s land has already been taken from it.

You let it continue as it is now. They may negotiate something in the future.

Where are we currently on the front lines?

Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia are the four eastern and southern Ukrainian provinces where Russia has seized territory during its nearly four-year conflict with Ukraine. Additionally, it has a small portion of Kharkiv province under its control.

The Donbas, which has seen the most fighting, is known as the Donbas as a whole.

Russia is in complete control of Luhansk and the majority of Donetsk, as well as the regions that surround the Sloviansk and Kramatorsk cities.

About 75% of Kherson and Zaporizhia are also under Russian control.

Zaporizhia is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and is a significant industrial hub with a reputation for producing steel, aluminum, and aircraft.

How has this proposal been received by Ukraine and its allies in Europe?

Trump’s strategy to freeze the battle lines has received support from Europe and Ukraine.

European leaders and Zelenskyy both signed a statement on Tuesday stating that they “strongly” support Trump’s proposal.

The negotiation process should begin with the current contact, according to the statement.

Ukraine has previously urged everyone to reclaim their land. Trump has, however, changed his mind on whether a peace agreement should require Ukraine to cede land to Russia.

Trump stated that both Russia and Ukraine would have to cede territory prior to the war’s conclusion in August before a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump later told reporters that there will be some land-swapping going on.

Then, in September, Trump appeared to make a U-turn, claiming that Ukraine could militarily win the war and retake control of the Crimean Peninsula and other eastern Ukrainian regions that Russia had seized in 2014. Ukraine could regain its country in its original form, and perhaps even go further than that? Trump stated in a tweet on social media.

What has Russia done to combat it?

The plan has been rejected by Russia.

Sergey Lavrov, the country’s foreign minister, stated on Tuesday that Russia is committed to “a long-term, sustainable peace – not an immediate ceasefire that would lead nowhere.”

According to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, “Russia’s position doesn’t change,” referring to its hardline demands for a complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the eastern regions Moscow has claimed.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Russia demanded control of all of the Donbass, not just the parts it had already seized, in a private communication sent to the US over the weekend.

This week, Trump and Putin had a planned meeting in Budapest, Hungary, that had been scheduled for the following two weeks, but Trump said he didn’t want a “wasted meeting” with Putin.

“I canceled it because it didn’t feel like we were going to get there.” But it will be done in the near future, Trump told reporters on Wednesday.

Court throws out corruption case seeking to oust Turkish opposition leader

A Turkish court ruled that the allegations against the country’s main opposition party, Ozgur Ozel, had no basis in the case.

The case, which involved allegations of vote buying and procedural irregularities at a Republican People’s Party (CHP) congress in 2023, was dismissed by the Ankara court on Friday after the judge found it had “no basis,” according to AFP news agency AFP.

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At the same time as hundreds of party members were in jail this year for alleged corruption, the case, brought by a former party member in February, sought to invalidate the results of the congress, which had resulted in the election of 51-year-old Ozel as chairman.

In Istanbul and other CHP-run municipalities, more than 500 people have been detained by Turkiye’s law enforcement, including 16 mayors, according to a review released by the Reuters news agency.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the CHP’s candidate for 2028 election, was detained for corruption in the crackdown last March, claiming he had lied. The arrest led to the largest protests in Turkiye in more than a decade and a sharp sell-off of the country’s lira, the currency.

After a court found that cash payments had an impact on delegates’ votes at a CHP provincial congress, the party’s Istanbul head was removed from office earlier this month. The party then removed the party’s court-named successor.

Additionally, it recently became known that prosecutors were seeking Riza Akpolat, the mayor of Besiktas’ Istanbul district, to serve a total sentence of 415 years in prison.

All accusations made by Ozel, who publicly accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of starting a “coup against the future ruling party,” in an effort to end one-party rule in Turkey, are politically motivated, according to the CHP.

The Turkish government maintains that the judiciary is impartial and rejects any political motivations for the inquiries into what Erdogan has described as a “corruption network whose arms extend to other parts of Turkiye and abroad.”

Most polls favor the CHP and Erdogan’s AK Party ahead of the presidential election in 2028.

Sinem Koseoglu, a reporter from Ankara, claimed the case was “critical” and that the ruling would “boost his]Ozel’s] legitimacy” and give him the opportunity to “strengthen his base” before the 2028 election.

She claimed that the court “probably hesitantly rendered such an annulment decision.”

Because political parties are private entities, constitutional experts have always advised people to ask them about handling any allegations involving them on the higher election board. She said a local court is permitted to not interfere.

Curry’s heroics overshadow Gordon’s 50-point night in Warriors’ OT win

Stephen Curry stole the show on an Aaron Gordon career night by doing what he does so frequently.

The Warriors overcame Gordon’s 50-point night and defeated the Denver Nuggets 137-131 on Thursday night with the help of Curry’s tie-breaking 3-pointer late in regulation and finishing with 16 straight points.

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Curry finished with 42 points, which is “kind of like a playoff-style vibe where someone has an out-of-body experience and you dig deep to steal one pretty much.”

Making 10 3-pointers, which is three more than Gordon had ever made in a game, set the record for the seventh 50-point season opener in NBA history.

Due to Curry’s performance down the stretch, it wasn’t enough.

Gordon responded, “It stinks.” They inquired as to whether I wanted the game ball. No. I’m not interested in carrying the L. It’s terrible. However, there is only one game. Our first game is this.

With 2:42 left, the Warriors were seven points down late when Curry reached the line and made two free throws. After encouraging the crowd to get loud before he went to the line, he was then fouled on a 3-pointer the following time.

With 25.7 seconds left, Curry then tied the game with 1:24 to play, only to see Gordon respond with a 3 of his own to put Denver at 120-117.

Curry referred to Gordon’s 10-for-11 shooting night as “ridiculous” from a long range perspective. “Whatever he did this summer worked,” he said.

Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield (7) is a defensive end for Denver Nuggets starter Aaron Gordon (32) during the fourth quarter [Bob Kupbens/Reuters]

With 21.4 seconds left in the game, Curry made the game-tying 3 with a pick-and-roll to get a crack at the space.

Curry said, “On that one, I kind of did a little snake and I saw a little bit of daylight.” “Decisive.” No second-guessing your actions.

The Nuggets were amazed by the shot.

Gordon remarked, “He hit a very tough shot to send it to OT.” “Steph is Steph being Steph.”

Nikola Jokic missed a shot in the lane just before the buzzer, which made the game overtime. In the extra session, Curry scored seven points, and Jimmy Butler’s 3-pointers helped him to increase Golden State’s season total to 2-0.

After Butler’s 3 in the final minute of overtime, Curry even made his signature “night night” move.

The Nuggets will now be left wondering how they wasted such a stellar night on Gordon, who tied Terry Rozier’s NBA record with 10 3-pointers in the first half and broke Alex English’s franchise record of 47 points in the opener.

RSF drones target Sudan’s Khartoum in fourth day of sustained attacks

As the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) tries to resume air traffic after regaining control of the city several months ago, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been using drones to target Sudan’s capital Khartoum and its main airport for a fourth day in a row.

Residents who live close to the Khartoum International Airport reported to Al Jazeera that drones and surface-to-air missiles were audible above the capital before loud explosions started to sound.

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The extent of the damage and whether the capital’s main airport was successfully struck are unknown.

The airport was scheduled to open its doors on Tuesday, one day before the airport’s fourth consecutive day of attacks, which came after at least two years of hostilities.

A single plane operated by the nearby Badr Airlines made an afghan landing on Wednesday, before a local airport official informed AFP on condition of anonymity that the airport’s reopening has been postponed “under further notice” due to incoming attacks.

According to Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, who is based in Khartoum, “there are concerns that this will not happen, despite authorities saying that operations are scheduled to begin on October 26.”

The war, which began in April 2023, has caused the most human-caused humanitarian crisis in the world, killing tens of thousands of people and displaced about 12 million more.

Return to Khartoum

In March, the Sudanese military retakes the city from the paramilitary force. Residents have since attempted to go back to their homes, frequently finding them destroyed.

The walls and ceilings of Alfatih Bashir’s Omdurman home, which he constructed with all of his savings, have collapsed. Bashir claimed to have constructed it while working abroad, not knowing how much money was left over to repair the damage.

“I’m just sitting quietly with my wife and two kids, not working.” Sometimes, we only have enough food to last. How do I even begin rebuilding?” he stated.

Authorities are still assessing the number of homes that have been damaged in the conflict, but the RSF and the military have left scars all over the city.

Afaf Khamed, a different resident, claimed she saw the extent of the damage and quipped, “I saw it go away.”

“We were born here, where all of our family members were married,” the statement read. She told Al Jazeera, “My sister and I now live here, and we can’t rebuild because we don’t have anyone to assist us.”

Reconstruction is a challenge for those who have worked during the war because the local currency is now in decline. The Sudanese pound increased from 600 to the US dollar in April 2023, when the conflict first started, to 3,500 pounds, despite salaries remaining stable.

The war-torn nation’s ability to support reconstruction is also hampered by poor transportation. Mohammed Ali, the owner of the store, claimed that because of security checks, materials take too long to arrive. In consequence, he claimed, “fewer and fewer people are purchasing building materials.”