Category World News

Members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have been accused of undermining efforts to bring about peace.

More Western governments are publicly criticizing Israel, urging the nation to end its occupation of Gaza and move toward a two-state solution.

More nations have made it clear that they will support the recognition of Palestinian statehood under certain conditions, including Hamas’ disarmament and PA reform.

What’s the purpose of the US sanctions, then?

Are they a bargaining chip for more peace negotiations, or do they indicate there will be more difficulties?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Former Palestine Liberation Organization adviser Xavier Abu Eid

Eli Clifton, Senior Advisor at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

The Cambodian Defense Ministry reported that Oddar Meanchey and Surin province in Thailand were connected via a checkpoint on Friday.

Their return to their home country comes as both governments continue to accuse them of violating international law and alleged civilian targeting during a five-day conflict that broke out last week.

Eighteen additional Cambodian troops were detained on Tuesday during a ceasefire negotiation, and they are still in Thai custody.

According to Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Defense Ministry, “the wounded soldiers were returned through a designated border point,” calling on Bangkok to repatriate the remaining captured soldiers “in accordance with international humanitarian law.”

The two governments’ accounts of the soldiers’ capture are starkly different.

Phnom Penh claims its troops greeted Thai troops with consolation and post-conflict greetings as they approached them with peaceful intentions. Bangkok disputes that claim, alleging that the soldiers’ apparent hostility led to their arrest when they allegedly entered Thai territory while being held hostage.

Officials in Thailand claim that while reviewing the soldiers’ actions, they are following legal guidelines. No release date has been specified.

Nationalist rage is raging online, with social media platforms in both nations flooded with patriotic fervour and reciprocal reproaches as a result of the ceasefire.

In the meantime, both countries have taken foreign diplomats and observers on guided tours of former combat zones. Using the visits to support their narratives, each side has accused the other of inflicting harm.

Infantry clashes, Cambodian rocket fire, Thai air strikes, artillery exchanges, and recent violence. More than 260, 000 people were forced to leave their homes as a result of the fighting, which included more than 30 civilians.

Military representatives from both nations are scheduled to meet in Malaysia the following week to discuss de-escalation measures in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.

The underlying territorial dispute, which has raged for decades, will not be a focus of these discussions, though.

Between August 4 and August 4, Thailand’s acting defense minister Nattaphon Narkphanit announced that the General Border Committee, which coordinates border security, ceasefires, and troop deployments, will meet.

A Malaysian government spokesperson stated to reporters that “defensive attaches from other ASEAN nations will be invited as well as the defense attaches from the US and China.” The country is currently a member of the Southeast Asian regional bloc.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol also stated on Friday that Phnom Penh plans to nominate US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his contribution to brokering the ceasefire.

He thanked Trump earlier in the capital for “bringing peace” and argued that the award was deserved for the US leader.

Megan Romano, the first female and first US athlete to compete in the Olympic-style sport venture that will host an event next year without conducting any drug testing, has been chosen as its first female and first US athlete.

In an event that will allow athletes to use performance enhancers, the Enhanced Games will debut in Las Vegas in May with swimming, track, and weightlifting competitions.

Romano describes the event as “an opportunity to push the boundaries of human performance in a transparent and scientifically supported environment, and to compete on a stage where female athletes are valued and compensated fairly.” equally . This is the future of sport, in my opinion.

Anyone who breaks the 100-meter sprint (track) and 50-meter freestyle (swimming) world records will receive $500, 000 in prize money for each event at The Enhanced Games.

Because international federations must ratify records, which require record-breakers to pass doping tests, those marks wouldn’t count as “official.”

The Enhanced Games would be a good way to end any notion of fair play and fair competition in sport, according to the International Olympic Committee.

However, founder Aron D’Souza claims that the games have gained some traction and raised money in the “double-digit millions” (double-digit millions) since then.

Four male swimmers have signed up for the competition, including Australian Olympic medalist James Magnussen.

The human rights group stated in a statement on Friday that Nigerian police “bizarrely continue to deny strong allegations of extrajudicial execution, torture, and unlawful arrests of the protesters.”

At least 24 people were killed when police opened fire on the protests, which broke out in August of last year under the hashtag #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, according to an investigation conducted by Amnesty International.

Demonstrators erupted in protest of rising fuel prices and inflation, which the government had pushed to bring the economy back on track.

No one member of the security forces has been charged in the year-long ongoing human rights violations, according to Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, in a statement released on Friday.

“These atrocities must be accountable for those who perpetrate them.”

The AFP news agency contacted a spokesman for Nigeria’s Ministry of Justice for comment, but the spokesman declined to respond.

Amnesty International claimed that in all the killings, police shot protesters “at close range, frequently at the head or torso, implying that officers were killing.”

The Nigerian authorities are yet to implement necessary and effective measures to protect, defend, advance, and defend the rights to peaceful assembly, including ending the killing, detention, arbitrary arrests, and mass surveillance, Sanusi said.

The rights group also criticized the hundreds of protesters who were detained for a range of alleged crimes, calling them “sham trials.”

According to Amnesty International, the charges include “levying] war against the state in order to intimidate or overawe the president,” as well as “using WhatsApp group chats,” inciting mutiny, chanting “Tinubu must go,” and calling on the military to take over the government from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and” intent to destabilize Nigeria.”

Economists have praised Tinubu’s reforms, including ending a costly fuel subsidy and floating the naira currency, but they have also caused the nation’s living costs to rise.

The Nigerian government has been forced to step down from its protester prosecutions at times despite the death of no one.

Difficulty and hungry youths, many of them children, showed up in court in November, causing outcry over how they were treated in jail. Later, Tinubu gave the order to release them.

In order to prepare for the T20 World Cup next year, the United Arab Emirates will host a Twenty20 tri-series featuring Afghanistan and Pakistan later this month.

Starting August 29th, Sharjah will host all seven of the tri-series games. The top two teams must compete against each other twice to reach the final.

India and Sri Lanka have already secured direct admission to the T20 World Cup, which will be held jointly. In addition to qualifying, UAE will need to play in Oman for the Asia-East Asia and Pacific qualifiers.

Afghanistan, which finished seventh overall in the last T20 World Cup, hasn’t played a T20 since a bilateral series against Zimbabwe late last year. In the United States, Pakistan is currently playing a T20 series against the West Indies.

Trump, who has been campaigning for interest rates for months, increased his attacks on Powell by suggesting that the central bank chief should be stripped of his authority in a string of social media posts on Friday.

Trump wrote that “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, a resolute MORON, must significantly lower interest rates NOW.”

The board should assume control and carry out what everyone is aware of has been accomplished if he persists in refusing to do so!

Interest rates will remain steady at 4.25 to 4.5% as of earlier this week, according to Powell.

The rates for private lending across the nation are indirectly determined by the central bank.

When the Federal Reserve, or Fed, recognizes the need to boost economic activity, it lowers interest rates to lower borrowing costs and transfer funds to the economy.

The Fed raises interest rates in contrast to bringing inflation under control.

Political officials are not related to the central bank’s activities.

Interest rates dropped to a record low during the COVID-19 pandemic to stop a protracted recession during the lockdown.

The Fed increased interest rates to levels not seen since the Great Recession and supply chain disruption caused by an abundance of money in the economy in 2022.

Trump has been vocal in favor of more US investment because he believes that interest rates should not be kept high because inflation is currently at a sustainable level.

Interest rates have dropped by about 1% over the past year, but Trump has been demanding even greater rates.

Powell’s decision not to cut interest rates was based on a risk of inflation linked to Trump’s trade policies on Wednesday.

He told reporters that while higher tariffs have begun to affect the prices of some goods more clearly, their overall effects on economic activity and inflation are still undetermined.

As Trump’s tariffs began to sputter, a government report earlier this month revealed that consumer prices increased by 0.3% between May and June, up from 0.1% the previous month.

Powell advocated for a cautious approach while monitoring inflation, noting that the price increase may be “short-lived,” but he also warned that it might continue to rise.

Before altering our policy position, he said, “for the time being, we are well positioned to learn more about the likely course of the economy and the evolving balance of risks.” Our current policy position is appropriate to avoid inflation risks, we believe.

The Fed board received surprisingly little dissent from two members, both Trump appointees, who had publicly argued for more rate cuts.

Trump warned Powell on Friday that the dissention “WILL ONLY GET STRONGER.”