Foreign News
Arab leaders approve $53bn alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan
A $53bn (£41.4 billion) reconstruction plan to rival President Donald Trump’s idea for the US to “take over Gaza” and move out more than two million Palestinians has been approved by Arab leaders at an emergency summit in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
“The Egypt plan is now an Arab plan,” announced the secretary general of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the end of this hours-long gathering.
Without referring specifically to President Trump’s ideas, he underlined that “the Arab stance is to reject any displacement, whether it is voluntary or forced”.
Egypt had produced a detailed blueprint, with a 91-page glossy document including images of leafy neighbourhoods and grand public buildings, to counter a US scheme labelled as a “Middle East Riviera” which shocked the Arab world and beyond.
What sets this new plan apart is it is not just about property development; its banners are politics and the rights of Palestinians.
In his opening remarks, Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi also called for a parallel plan alongside the physical reconstruction to move towards what is known as the two state solution – a Palestinian state alongside Israel. This is widely seen by Arab states, and many others, as the only lasting solution to this perpetual conflict, but it is firmly ruled out by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies.
This new plan proposes that Gaza would be run, temporarily, by a “Gaza management committee under the umbrella of the Palestinian government” comprised of qualified technocrats.
It glosses over the issue of what role, if any, Hamas, will play. There is a vague reference to the “obstacle” of militant groups and said this issue would be resolved if the causes of the conflict with Israel were removed.
Some Arab states are known to be calling for the complete dismantling of Hamas; others believe those decisions should be left up to the Palestinians. Hamas is said to have accepted it will not play a role in running Gaza but has made it clear that disarming is a red line.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has described President Trump’s plan as “visionary”, has repeatedly ruled out any future role for Hamas, but also for the Palestinian Authority.
The other sensitive issue of security was dealt with by calling on the UN Security Council to deploy international peacekeepers.
And a major international conference will be held next month to raise the huge sums of money necessary for this rebuilding project.
Wealthy Gulf states appear willing to foot some of the colossal bill. But no one is ready to invest unless they are absolutely convinced buildings won’t come crashing down in another war.
A fragile ceasefire which now seems to be on the brink of collapse will only amplify that hesitation.
This new Arab plan to rebuild Gaza would unfold in three phases including an initial period of about six months, called the early recovery stage, to start clearing the massive amounts of rubble as well as unexploded ordinance. Two subsequent stages would last several years.
During this time displaced Palestinians, said to number 1.5 million, would be housed in temporary containers. Photographs in the glossy brochure present them as well-built and designed housing units set in pretty landscaped areas.
President Trump continues to wonder aloud “Why wouldn’t they want to move?” His description of Gaza as a “demolition site” underlines how the territory lies in utter ruin. The UN says 90% of homes are damaged or destroyed.
All the basics of a life worth living, from schools and hospitals to sewage systems and electricity lines, are shredded.
The US President deepened the shock and anger around his ideas when he posted an AI generated video of a golden Gaza on his Truth Social account which featured a shimmering statue of himself, his close ally Elon Musk enjoying snacks on the beach, and he and the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu sunning themselves, shirtless. All to a catchy tune, with lines like “Trump Gaza is finally here”.
“They had President Trump in mind,” remarked one Western diplomat who attended a briefing about Egypt’s plan at the foreign ministry in Cairo. “It’s very glossy and very well-prepared.”
Cairo’s proposal is said to have drawn on a wide range of expertise, from World Bank professionals on sustainability, to Dubai developers on hotels.
There are also lessons learned from other ravaged cities which rose from the ruins including Hiroshima, Beirut, and Berlin. And the proposed designs are also influenced by Egypt’s own experience in developing its “New Cairo”, its grand megaproject which has seen a new administrative capital rising from the desert – at great expense.
The American President has said he won’t “force” his ideas on anyone but still insists his plan is the one “that really works”.
Now it is up to the Arab states and their allies to prove that their plan is the only plan.
[BBC]
A strong magnitude 7.5 earthquake has struck off northern Japan, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet).
The quake hit on Monday at 4:53pm local time (07:53 GMT) in waters off Iwate prefecture on Japan’s Pacific coast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). It was felt across a wide area, shaking buildings in Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres (miles) to the south.
The JMA warned that the first tsunami waves could reach parts of the northern coastline immediately. “Evacuate immediately from coastal regions and riverside areas to a safer place such as high ground or an evacuation building,” the agency said.
“Tsunami waves are expected to hit repeatedly. Do not leave safe ground until the warning is lifted.”
Live footage from public broadcaster NHK showed no immediate signs of damage at several ports in Iwate.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government had set up a crisis management team and was working to assess the impact of the earthquake.
“For those of you who live in areas for which the warnings have been issued, please evacuate to higher, safer places such as higher ground,” Takaichi told reporters.
[Aljazeera]
Thousands of prisoners in Myanmar have been granted amnesty or had their sentences reduced. The pardon order by Min Aung Hlaing is one of his first official acts since the coup leader became president this month.
The move comes as the lawyer for jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi told the Reuters news agency that her sentence has been reduced. Former president Win Myint, detained since the 2021 coup, was also pardoned of his convictions, a statement from the presidency said.
Min Aung Hlaing approved an amnesty for 4,335 prisoners, Myanmar’s state television MRTV reported.
A communique on behalf of Min Aung Hlaing said “those serving death sentences shall have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment”, without naming specific prisoners.
“The President has pardoned Win Myint,” said another statement from Min Aung Hlaing’s office. Win Myint was “granted a pardon and the reduction of his remaining sentences under specified conditions”, MRTV said.
Suu Kyi, 80, is serving a 27-year sentence on charges her allies describe as politically motivated. Her sentence was cut by one-sixth, her lawyer told Reuters, but it remains unclear whether the Nobel Peace Prize winner will be allowed to serve the rest of her sentence under house arrest. Min Aung Hlaing placed Suu Kyi under arrest after the coup.
Amnesties typically happen as Myanmar marks Independence Day in January and its New Year in April.
Among those to be released are 179 foreign nationals, who will be deported. The amnesty also includes the commutation of all death sentences to life imprisonment, life sentences reduced to 40 years, and a one-sixth reduction in term lengths for all other prisoners.
[Aljazeera]
Several armed men robbed a bank in broad daylight in Naples, holding 25 people hostage before making their escape via a tunnel.
Police surrounded a branch of Crédit Agricole in the southern Italian city shortly after the robbery began around midday local time (10:00 GMT).
Local outlets reported that they negotiated with the robbers before the hostages could be released, about two hours into the robbery.
Firemen could be seen smashing in a window with battering rams and helping people climb out from inside in videos shared on social media.
Some hostages simply shook off the shards of glass and walked on.
But others looked visibly shaken, crying and hugging their relatives. Six people, who were in a state of shock, were offered medical assistance.
One man later told local news site Fanpage.it that the robbers had locked them into a room and that, while they were armed, “they did not use violence”.
Nobody was seriously injured. “Thanks to the swift response… all the hostages were freed shortly after 13:30 without serious injuries,” regional official Michele di Bari said in a statement.
A large crowd of bystanders, local residents and firefighters gathered in the square waiting for developments, while ten of thousands of people tuned into a livestream from the scene of the crime.
Members of the special forces of the carabinieri armed police were urgently flown in from Tuscany.
It was not until several hours later that they stormed the bank by breaking a window.
Several shots and the loud noises of stun grenades could be heard on the live feed shortly after.
But by then, the robbers had reportedly escaped through a tunnel, local media reported. It was thought they could have vanished into the sewer system.
The video feed later showed a number of carabinieri and firefighters peering into a manhole nearby as a crowd continued to mill about the square.
Fanpage.it reported that it was not yet possibly to quantify the value of the loot taken because the robbers had seized personal safety deposit boxes rather than cash.
(BBC)
INS NIREEKSHAK makes port call in Colombo
Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and Mannar, Vavuniya, Ampara, Batticaloa districts
US, Iran exchange threats as fragile ceasefire set to expire
Six Foreign Envoys Present Credentials to President Dissanayake
Tilak ends Mumbai Indian’s losing streak with 45-ball century
Showers or thundershowers will occur at most places of the island after 1.00 pm
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Business4 days agoHarnessing nature’s wisdom: Experts highlight “Resist–Align” path to resilience
-
News6 days agoPNS TAIMUR & ASLAT set sail from Colombo
-
News24 hours agoRs 13 bn NDB fraud: Int’l forensic audit ordered
-
News4 days agoGratiaen Trust announces longlist for the 33rd Annual Gratiaen Prize
-
News3 days agoFrom Nuwara Eliya to Dubai: Isha Holdings markets Agri products abroad
-
Opinion2 days agoShutting roof top solar panels – a crime
-
News4 days agoHeroin haul transported on 50-million-rupee contract
-
Latest News5 days agoSingapore Zoo’s first Sri Lankan leopard cubs make their public debut