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Quick crossword #229

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POPULAR ARTICLES

Africa

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Tunisians rally against president

Hundreds of Tunisian activists have protested in the capital against President Kais Saied, denouncing his rule as an “authoritarian regime” that has turned the country into an “open-air prison”. Under the slogan “The Republic is a large prison,” protesters marched along Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis. They demanded the release of jailed opposition leaders, journalists, and activists. The protest marked the fourth anniversary of Saied’s power grab. In 2021, he dissolved the elected parliament and started ruling by decree, a move the opposition called a coup.

Reuters

Gaza

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Why is aid not getting into Gaza?

The United Nations and experts say that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition. Yet Israel says hundreds of truckloads of aid are waiting at the border for the UN to distribute in Gaza. Israel’s military took journalists to the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing where hundreds of boxes of aid were on pallets filling a huge lot. Israel says it has allowed in around 4,500 aid trucks since it lifted a total blockade in May — around 70 truckloads a day, one of the lowest rates of the war and far less than the several hundred the UN says are needed each day.

AP

Middle East

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Israel, US appear to give up on talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the United States recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu’s statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the United States, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when. The teams left Qatar as President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas’ latest response to proposals for a deal showed a “lack of desire” to reach a truce. Witkoff said the United States will look at “alternative options,“ without elaborating.

Reuters

POPULAR ARTICLES

Africa

frank

Tunisians rally against president

Hundreds of Tunisian activists have protested in the capital against President Kais Saied, denouncing his rule as an “authoritarian regime” that has turned the country into an “open-air prison”. Under the slogan “The Republic is a large prison,” protesters marched along Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis. They demanded the release of jailed opposition leaders, journalists, and activists. The protest marked the fourth anniversary of Saied’s power grab. In 2021, he dissolved the elected parliament and started ruling by decree, a move the opposition called a coup.

Reuters

Gaza

frank

Why is aid not getting into Gaza?

The United Nations and experts say that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition. Yet Israel says hundreds of truckloads of aid are waiting at the border for the UN to distribute in Gaza. Israel’s military took journalists to the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing where hundreds of boxes of aid were on pallets filling a huge lot. Israel says it has allowed in around 4,500 aid trucks since it lifted a total blockade in May — around 70 truckloads a day, one of the lowest rates of the war and far less than the several hundred the UN says are needed each day.

AP

Middle East

frank

Israel, US appear to give up on talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the United States recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu’s statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the United States, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when. The teams left Qatar as President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas’ latest response to proposals for a deal showed a “lack of desire” to reach a truce. Witkoff said the United States will look at “alternative options,“ without elaborating.

Reuters