Category World News

Qatar hints at progress in Gaza truce talks as UN urges lifting of blockade

As the UN urgently requests that Israel lift the “total and complete blockade” of the besieged Palestinian territory, Qatar claims there has been “a bit of progress” in the talks aimed at securing a new truce in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, met with Hakan Fidan, the foreign minister of Turkey, for talks in Doha, which were dominated by Israel’s 18-month conflict in Gaza.

“We saw some improvement on Thursday compared to other meetings, but we still need to address the key issue: how to put an end to this war. The main focus of the negotiations, according to Mohammed, who also serves as foreign minister.

In order to rekindle Israel’s relationship with Hamas, David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, reported to have traveled to Doha on Thursday.

Hamas and Israel are still at odds with one another over the ultimate goal of the negotiations, Mohammed said, not revealing how far the ceasefire talks had gone.

After Israel pulled out of a previous ceasefire and resumed its military operations on March 18, Mediator Qatar attempted to restore a truce, which ended in total secrecy.

The “ethnic cleansing being carried out by Israel in Gaza is against international and humanitarian law,” according to Turkiye’s Fidan.

“Gaza has not received humanitarian aid in the last two months. The entire world is watching and observing this humanitarian crisis. He said we must find a way to put an end to the violence in Gaza and ensure that aid is delivered to those in desperate need.

Palestinians in Gaza are facing starvation threat, according to the UN, because World Food Programme warehouses across the region are currently full after last week’s supply shortage.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stated on Sunday that “the siege must be lifted,” noting that Gaza’s residents have been “plungered into a cycle of deadly violence and deprivation.”

UNRWA criticized Israel in a prior statement, claiming that nothing “can justify the Palestinian people’s collective punishment.”

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, headed by Jonathan Whittall, accused Israel of “weaponizing” aid by denying it to displaced Palestinians on Saturday.

People in Gaza are not surviving right now. He claimed that those who aren’t being killed by bombs and bullets are “dead on the verge”. There is no justification for the inalienable lack of humanitarian aid. Additionally, no weapon should ever be used to provide humanitarian aid.

Israel continued its airstrikes throughout Palestinian territory as a result of the famine warnings in Gaza. As hospitals are still flooded with children among the victims, at least nine have died as of Sunday morning, dawn.

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began 18 months ago, there have been at least 52, 243 Palestinian deaths and 117, 639 injuries. More than 61,700 people have been reported missing under the rubble, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, who added thousands are believed to be dead.

During the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, an estimated 1, 139 people were killed in Israel, and more than 200 were taken prisoner.

Israel’s aerial and ground attacks were described as “devastating,” according to Tareq Abu Azzoum, an Al Jazeera correspondent from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

Russia launches nearly 150 drones, strikes in Ukraine, killing at least 4

At least four people were killed when Russia launched a massive drone assault and airstrikes across Ukraine, according to officials a day after Donald Trump questioned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to put an end to the conflict.

Russia dropped three glide bombs on the city on Sunday, according to a post from the Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office on Facebook. They were located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from the front line. Over the past year, Russian forces have gotten closer to it.

According to the post, a couple, 47 and 48, were killed, as was a 78-year-old pensioner, and 21 homes were ruined. A single-story house that had been destroyed as well as a burned-out car were captured in images taken at the scene.

A drone attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region’s Pavlohrad city, which was hit for the third night in a row, claimed the death of another person and injured a 14-year-old girl.

According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia also fired 149 exploding drones and decoys during the most recent wave of attacks, with 57 intercepted and 67 blocked.

In the city of Zhytomyr, drone attacks on the Odesa region left one person dead, and another left another injured. According to local officials, an air attack in Kherson city on Sunday morning left four people injured.

Following Putin’s claim that Russian forces had regained control of the area’s remaining areas, which Ukrainian forces had taken control of in an unexpected incursion in August, the attacks occurred just hours after. Officials in Ukraine resisted Kursk’s continued fighting.

US criticizes peace efforts

Trump expressed doubts about the potential conclusion of a peace deal on Saturday, saying that he doubts Putin wants to end the more than three-year conflict in Ukraine. Trump had previously stated that Ukraine and Russia were “very close to a deal.”

Trump frequently boasted that he could bring the world to an end in 24 hours during the campaign, but the reality has turned out to be more challenging.

As he flew back to the US after attending Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican, where he briefly met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, Trump wrote in a social media post that “there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities, and towns.” Trump also made hints about putting additional sanctions on Russia.

The leaders’ first direct encounter since their heated exchange at the White House in late February was during the Trump-Zelenskyy summit on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral.

In Saint Peter’s Basilica, the two leaders sat next to one another without any aides, and they reportedly sat there for about 15 minutes, according to Zelenskyy’s office, in addition to the photos that Kyiv and Washington released of the meeting.

Zelenskyy predicted the meeting would be historic if it brought about the peace he desired, and a White House spokesman called it “very productive.”

A peace deal needs to be reached soon, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Washington is weighing whether serving as a mediator is worthwhile.

If this endeavor is going to fail, Rubio said on NBC’s Meet the Press program, “We cannot continue to devote our time and resources to it.”

“The last week has really been about figuring out how close these sides really are, and how close enough that this merits a continued time spent working as a mediator,” he continued.

suspect in a car bombing attack

Russian prosecutors charged a man with killing a senior Russian military officer in a separate incident on Sunday, according to the Interfax news agency.

Yaroslav Moskalik, 59, was the latest of a number of Russian military officers and pro-war figures to have been killed since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, according to the Kremlin.

Ukraine has not made any comments on the incident.

Ignat Kuzin, who used to reside in Ukraine, admitted to killing Moskalik and claimed he was recruited and paid by Ukraine’s security services, according to Interfax, citing Russia’s Investigative Committee.

Just before Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to meet with Putin in Moscow, Moskalik, who was the deputy head of Russia’s General Staff’s main operations division, died on Friday in the town of Balashikha.

Thousands visit Pope Francis tomb in Rome day after funeral

A day after Pope Francis’ funeral attracted world leaders and hundreds of thousands of faithful, thousands of mourners gathered in Rome to pay their respects to his tomb.

The tomb, which was opened to the public on the second of nine days of official mourning, had crowds on Sunday. A conclave to choose his successor is scheduled for May 5 and May 10.

Ushers urged visitors to keep moving so that the steady stream of visitors could bid farewell outside St. Mary’s Basilica.

The Argentinian pontiff, who passed away on April 21, 1988, was interred in a modest white marble tomb close to a Madonna icon, which he so revered.

Pope Francis was an inspiration and a guide to me, according to Elias Caravalhal, a resident of Rome who had to leave St. Peter’s Basilica to offer thanks at the tomb.

Reflecting on the site’s simplicity, Polish pilgrim Maria Brzezinska declared, “It’s exactly the Pope’s way.” He was straightforward, and now he is.

Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, left, camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, presided over Pope Francis’ eulogy in Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore [File: Vatican media handout/EPA-EFE]

Francis decided to be buried outside the Vatican, breaking with centuries-old customs, and choosing Rome as his final destination.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state and a potential successor to pope, conducted a special mass earlier on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.

Parolin paid tribute to Francis in a speech addressed to a crowd of 200, 000 people, many of whom were young pilgrims who had initially gathered for Carlo Acutis’ planned canonization.

Pope Francis, the shepherd the Lord gave to his people, has given up his earthly life and left us, he claimed. We are experiencing all of this, including the grief caused by his departure and the sadness that plagues us.

Susmidah Murphy from Kerala, India, was one of those who was mourning. She said, “It’s unbelievable that he’s no longer with us.” “It’s sad. This is not a very common occurrence for popes.

MotoGP Spain: Alex Marquez wins first Grand Prix after brother Marc crashes

Alex Marquez of Gresini Racing won his first MotoGP race at the Spanish Grand Prix to take the title from his older brother Marc, who crashed early and finished 12th overall.

After claiming a dream race victory on home soil on Sunday in front of more than 100,000 spectators with the Spaniard urging them to increase the volume even with only a few corners left in the closing lap. Alex won in both sprints and races this year with seven second-place finishes in the categories of racing.

Yamaha won the podium for the first time since the 2023 Indonesian Grand Prix, led by Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati, who came in third.

As the two Spaniards became the first brothers to win MotoGP, Marc made his way through the crowd to congratulate Alex in the winner’s circle.

However, the Gresini rider had the honor of taking the chequered flag, which was waved by Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, who was leading his older sibling by one point in the standings.

“Amazing birthday gift, the best.” Alex, who turned 29 on Wednesday, described the first one as “something amazing” in Jerez.

I have no desire to request more. I was very clever throughout the entire race.

Quartararo, polesitter, took the lead into turn one with a perfect start off the line, while Marc, the weekend’s sprint champion, finished in fourth place.

By threading the needle between his two bikes, Alex attempted to overtake three riders in front of him early on, but he braked too late and fell behind as Marc and Bagnaia collided while they were battling for position.

[Jose Breton/AP] Celebrates his victory at the Angel Nieto racetrack in Jerez de la Frontera as a member of the BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP.

Marc Marquez crashes

As thousands of fans around the circuit collectively groan as Marc runs in third and tries to overtake his teammate, the Spaniard then crashes at turn seven and rejoins in 22nd place with a damaged bike.

However, Bagnaia was at a loss for time when Alex elbowed the Italian to move up to second and target Quartararo.

The Yamaha rider made an effort to keep Alex at bay, but on lap 11 he overtook Quartararo, who had roared from the Marquez grandstand.

As Bagnaia couldn’t catch up with Alex, who was in the clear, he started to fade into the distance and fought valiantly to overtake Quartararo, who obstinately held onto second place.

“Unbelievable.” The podium position is extremely special, especially with Alex and keeping Pecco [Bagnaia] in the lead, according to Quartararo, the 2021 MotoGP champion.

“I’ve been away for a long time, but I’m thrilled to be back on the podium in Jerez.”

Marc Marquez in action.
Marc Marquez, a Ducati Lenovo Team rider, crashed and damaged his bike at the Spanish Grand Prix, leaving the race in 12th place [Jorge Guerrero/AFP].