MARK CARNEY THE NEW PM OF (51 CANADA)

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 

 MARK CARNEY THE NEW PM OF (51 CANADA)

INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.

2 PETER 3:10-11
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements (NUKES) shall melt with fervent heat,(BLAST) the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.(BUT ITS NO END OF THE WORLD HOGWASH)
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,(BY NUKES INCLUDING 3 BILLION PEOPLE) what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3 PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD IS NOT MOCKED.

ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2  I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3  I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15  So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17  So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:3,30

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)

REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)

REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

NAHUM 3:13
13 Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.

WELL WE HAVE A BRAND NEW NEW WORLD ORDER NUTCASE LIBERAL IN CANADA FOR OUR PRIME MINISTER (GOVERNOR OF THE 51ST STATE OF AMERICA). A COUPLE OF WEEKES TO A COUPLE OF MONTHS THIS LIBERAL NWO NUTCASE CALLED MARK CARNEY THE GOVERNOR OF THE 51ST STATE OF AMERICA. AND PM OF CANADA FOR A LITTLE BIT. AS DADDYS LITTLE PRETTY BOY JUSTIN CAN NOW INSTEAD OF SUCK HOLING UP TO MUSLIMS. CAN POUR PIGS BLOOD ALL OVER THE MUSLIM MOSQUES IN MONTREAL, QUEBEC. DADDYS LITTLE PRETTY BOY JUSTIN IS FINALLY RESIGNED AND NOW HE CAN TALK FRENCH IN MONTREAL AGAIN. WHILE DRINKING HIS BRAINS OUT. CAN PAINT HIS FACE HALF BLACK AND HALF WHITE. THEN DADDYS PRETTY BOY LIBERAL CAN CALL HIMSELF AFTER CHERS SONG HALF BREED. CARNEY WILL SOON BE CALLING A SPRING ELECTION IN CANADA. THEN WE WILL SEE IF THE BRAIN-DEAD LIBERALS WIN THE SPRING ELECTION OR LOSE. AND DADDYS PRETTY BOY JUSTIN CAN ALSO CALL HIMSELF A HALF BREED BY SPEAKING FRENCH AND ENGLISH. THANK GOD THAT LIBERAL TRUDEAU IS OUT OF POWER ONCE AND FOR ALL.    

Monday, Mar 10, 2025

Who is Mark Carney, Canada’s new Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader? Carney’s ascent as the Canadian PM comes at a trying time for the country as it battles an unprecedented trade war with its longtime ally the United States, under its President Donald Trump.Written by Anagha Jayakumar-New Delhi | Updated: March 10, 2025 19:09 IST    

Former central banker Mark Carney on Sunday (March 9) won the leadership election for Canada’s Liberal Party, with 86 percent of the vote. He will now take over as Canada’s Prime Minister, following Justin Trudeau’s resignation in January.Carney’s ascent comes at a trying time for Canada as it battles an unprecedented trade war with its longtime ally and neighbour, the United States. Under President Donald Trump, the US has imposed tariffs on Canada and threatened to annex Canada as the “51st state” of the US. In his victory speech, Carney acknowledged US actions and said, “The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country. If they succeed, they will destroy our way of life.”The former governor of the central banks of Canada and England vowed to uphold the retaliatory C$30 billion worth of tariffs instituted by Trudeau on American imports to Canada, until “the Americans show us some respect”. Carney’s election also marks the first time a political outsider has become the Canadian Prime Minister.Here is what to know about Mark Carney.
1-ECONOMIST OF IRISH ORIGIN-Mark Carney was born in 1965 to Irish-origin educator parents in Canada’s Northwest Territories, and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta.He obtained his bachelor’s degree in economics with high honours at Harvard University in 1988. He then studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar, completing his master’s and doctoral degrees in 1993 and 1995. It was here that he met his wife, British economist Diana Fox.He worked for 13 years at Goldman Sachs, with stints at the company’s offices in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto.In addition to being a Canadian citizen, Carney holds citizenships from the UK and Ireland. However, he has begun the process of renouncing both of these now that he is the Prime Minister.
2-A SEASONED CRISIS MANAGER-Carney served as the governor of the Bank of Canada in 2008 and was commended for his handling of the global financial crisis that unfolded that year.He opted to cut interest rates in the country by 50 basis points to nearly zero and maintained these at record-low levels. He also created new emergency loan facilities.According to a Bloomberg report, Carney helped the country weather the crisis without needing to bail out its banks. This was supported by Canada’s concentrated financial system and risk-averseness to bank supervision.In 2011, he was appointed the Chair of the Financial Stability Board, an international body set up by G20 nations after the crisis, to review and offer recommendations about the global financial system.He became the Governor of the Bank of England in 2013, making him the first non-British person to do so. He steered the British economy through Brexit, all the while cautioning against leaving the European Union. He remained in the post until 2020.He has used these experiences to posit himself as Canada’s best representative to take on the mercurial Trump.
3-CLIMATE CHANGE ADVOCATE-Carney has long advocated for environmental sustainability and awareness of climate change. He was appointed the UN Special Envoy on Climate Change in 2019.In 2015, he delivered the speech, “Breaking the Tragedy of the Horizon” to Lloyd’s investment bank. Criticising politicians for their short-sighted approach to climate crises, he warned that climate change could adversely impact global finances and living standards.“The challenges currently posed by climate change pale in significance compared with what might come,” he said. “The far-sighted amongst you are anticipating broader global impacts on property, migration and political stability, as well as food and water security. So why isn’t more being done to address it?”After leaving the Bank of England, he served as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s advisor for climate finance in the run-up to the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021. He was tasked with “mobilising ambitious action from across the financial system needed to help achieve the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement”, according to a press release from the Bank of England.However, one of his first moves as Prime Minister may be to cut a contested pollution tax from 2018, which he had personally championed. A report by The Guardian hailed the carbon tax as a positive measure that offered quarterly rebates to taxpayers. However, Conservative politicians, led by PM hopeful Pierre Poilievre, have sought to link this with the larger Canadian affordability crisis, and popularised the slogan of “axe the tax”.
4-PRIVATE SECTOR AFFILIATIONS-Carney joined Brookfield Asset Management in 2020, a global investment firm focused on achieving climate goals. However, Conservative politicians have focused their criticism on his link to the company, which in November 2024 relocated its headquarters from Toronto to New York.Also under scrutiny are Carney’s continued links to several private firms, with a report from Canada’s National Post claiming he had not resigned from many corporate boards he serves on.
5-PUSH FOR DEDOLLARISATION-As Bank of England governor in 2019, Carney supported a push to reduce the dependence by global banks on the US dollar as a reserve currency, saying it could be replaced by the Chinese renminbi or a global digital alternative backed by a large group of nations. This, in turn, “could dampen the domineering influence of the US dollar on global trade”, he said in his address to a group of global central bankers in Wyoming.He also argued that in doing so, US economic shocks would be less felt across the world through exchange rates.If Carney pushes for a similar effort as Prime Minister, he will likely run afoul of Trump.In response to reports of BRICS mooting a new currency as an alternative to the US dollar, Trump wrote, “We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new BRICS currency nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar, or they will face 100 per cent tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US economy”. He has since doubled down on this rhetoric, saying "BRICS is dead" and threatening 100 per cent tariffs on the bloc.What next for Canada? Carney’s election has effected a “Lazarus-like” revival in the Liberal camp, according to The Economist.After 10 years with Justin Trudeau at the helm, the party’s popularity plummeted amid widespread discontent about the increase in unemployment and inflation, as well as a housing crisis. Calls for Trudeau to step down were heightened over the last year with party backbenchers petitioning for his resignation last October, and the exit of the New Democratic Party from the minority coalition government a month earlier.The next parliamentary election must be held by October 2025, but this will likely be called sooner.Want to go beyond the news and understand the headlines? Subscribe to Explained by The Indian Express-In recent months, the Conservative party led by Pierre Poilievre, had made major electoral gains and was poised to cakewalk to victory. However, Carney’s victory on Sunday may have well upended that, and could result in an unprecedented third term for the Liberal party.The Indian Express Pvt Ltd-This article went live on March tenth, twenty twenty-five, at fifty-six minutes past six in the evening.

US reportedly warns Iraq of consequences if it doesn’t ensure kidnapped Israeli freed-Trump envoy Adam Boehler tells Iraqi PM there will be political, economic repercussions if academic Elizabeth Tsurkov remains captive, Qatari paper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports-By Lazar Berman-Today, 3:16 pm-MAR 10, 25

The US has warned Iraq’s prime minister that there will be consequences unless he ensures the release of kidnapped Russian-Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported Monday, citing two Iraqi officials.The Trump administration threatened “political and economic consequences” if they did not resolve the issue, said the Qatari newspaper.Iraq’s national security adviser said last week that authorities were actively searching for Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University and fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy who is believed to have been held by Islamist terrorists since March 2023.Israeli authorities have blamed the Iran-backed Iraqi terror group Kataeb Hezbollah, though no group has claimed responsibility for her disappearance.The two Iraqi officials told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the government is enlisting the help of Shiite political leaders to secure Tsurkov’s release.US President Donald Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler has sent direct messages to Iraqi premier Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and “threatened a package of US punitive measures against Iraq, political and economic, if Tsurkov’s detention continued, and considered that the Iraqi government is responsible for returning her as soon as possible,” one official said.“Washington is now the negotiator for Tsurkov’s release, not Israel,” said the other official, who sits on Iraq’s National Security Council. Iraq, the official said, sees the situation as “very embarrassing, due to the lack of response from any armed group to the crisis.”Iraq “has been making real and important efforts in this case for months,” insisted the official, “but the kidnappers are not responding in any way, and their goal is not the financial ransom, which makes the case difficult.”The officials spoke to the Qatari paper a day after US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Sudani that the White House had let a waiver allowing Iraq to pay Iran for electricity lapse in order to maintain pressure on Tehran relating to its nuclear program. Iran supplies a third of Iraq’s gas and electricity, providing Tehran with substantial income.Tsurkov, who had likely entered Iraq on her Russian passport, had traveled to the country as part of her doctoral studies after previously traveling to the country and other Arab countries in the region.In November 2023, Iraqi channel Al Rabiaa TV aired the first hostage video of Tsurkov known to the public since her kidnapping.In the video, Tsurkov mentioned the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which raged after the Palestinian terror group launched its October 7, 2023, onslaught.Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 520
US-Hamas talks focused on last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, group says-Political adviser to terror group’s leader says Hamas not opposed to releasing soldier; Hamas spokesman rejects extension of original deal’s first phase-By Agencies, Nava Freiberg and ToI Staff Today, 6:11 pm-MAR 10,25

Meetings between Hamas leaders and US hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days have focused on the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, a senior Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday.“Several meetings have already taken place in Doha, focusing on releasing one of the dual-nationality prisoners. We have dealt positively and flexibly, in a way that serves the interests of the Palestinian people,” said Taher Nunu, political adviser to the leader of the terror group, confirming that talks took place over the past week.The US-Hamas discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US has designated terrorist organizations. Hamas has been proscribed as such since 1997.Nunu said the sides had also discussed how to see through the implementation of the phased agreement with Israel that went into effect on January 19.“We informed the American delegation that we don’t oppose the release of the prisoner within the framework of these talks,” Nunu told Reuters.Alexander, a 21-year-old who grew up in New Jersey and then returned to Israel, where he was born, to serve in the IDF, is believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, though the bodies of several Americans are also believed held in the Strip.In total there are 24 presumed-living hostages and 35 bodies held by Hamas or its allies in Gaza.US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House last week that gaining Alexander’s release was a “top priority for us.”Nunu praised what he described as the “important role” played by Witkoff — who is expected to travel to Doha this week, according to Axios — in reaching the January 19 ceasefire agreement that halted the fighting in Gaza.“We hope that he (Witkoff) will work to succeed in the negotiation of the second phase,” Nunu said.In remarks on Sunday defending the US-Hamas talks, Trump’s hostage envoy Boehler said, “I want to note the American hostages that are there. One in particular that’s alive. Adi [sic] Alexander and four dead bodies of Americans. There have been about 50 killed, and that is just not acceptable.”Hamas spokesman: No extension of phase one-Meanwhile, in an interview aired by al Jazeera early Sunday morning, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the terror group “does not mind the release of Israeli prisoners with American citizenship,” but added that this will only happen “within a comprehensive agreement.”Qassem said Hamas is sticking to its conditions for a second phase to the ceasefire with Israel — a hostage-prisoner exchange, Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and a guarantee of no return to war — stressing that Hamas “rejects extending the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.”Qassem said he does not “rule out the possibility of meeting with representatives of the US administration.”“Hamas understands that Washington has the ability to pressure” Israel on these conditions, he added.On March 1, the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas officially drew to a close.Talks regarding the terms of a potential second phase were supposed to have begun on February 3, but Israel has effectively refused to engage in them, as phase two would require it to withdraw fully from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining living hostages.According to Axios, the Trump administration hopes to extend the first phase of the previously agreed-upon hostage deal through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and until the end of the Jewish holiday of Passover on April 19. The report cited two US officials familiar with the matter.Israel sending delegation to Qatar for talks-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced late Saturday that he would send a delegation to Doha on Monday in an attempt to move negotiations forward.The delegation will be headed by the government’s hostage point man Gal Hirsch, and senior Shin Bet official “M.,” an Israeli official told The Times of Israel. Netanyahu’s political adviser Ophir-Falk will also join the delegation. The delegation that flew to Qatar in February was made up of the same officials.M. is flying in place of the head of the security agency, Ronen Bar, whom Netanyahu removed from his negotiating role and is reportedly seeking to fire.Netanyahu convened his cabinet, and is set to convene his security cabinet, on Sunday to discuss the path forward regarding efforts to free the hostages.The 59 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza include 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists during the group’s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, which started the ongoing war.They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF. The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas, and is counted among the 59 hostages.Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman contributed to this report.

Germany's Merz open to France extending nuclear deterrent-by AFP Staff Writers.

Berlin (AFP) Mar 9, 2025-Germany's Friedrich Merz on Sunday reiterated that he was open to France extending its nuclear deterrent in Europe, as the continent seeks to respond to US President Donald Trump's upending of the transatlantic alliance."We simply must become stronger together in nuclear deterrence in Europe," Merz, expected to become Germany's next chancellor after his conservatives won last month's elections, said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio.Discussions should also involve Britain -- western Europe's only other nuclear power -- Merz said."The changed global security situation now necessitates that we Europeans discuss this matter together," he said.French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that he would open a debate on extending France's nuclear deterrent to other European nations, following a call from Merz on the subject.It came after Merz said last month he wanted a discussion on "nuclear sharing" with Paris and London.The moves come after Trump began his second stint in the White House by reversing US policy on Ukraine and risking a historic rupture with Europe.In Sunday's interview, Merz stressed however that any discussions in Europe would take place with a view to "complementing the American nuclear umbrella, which we of course want to maintain".He also made it clear that "Germany will not be able, or allowed, to possess nuclear weapons itself".Germany cannot acquire its own nuclear weapons without violating an international treaty on non-proliferation (NPT) of which it is a signatory.With Trump pivoting away from the United States's European allies, some in Germany, including politicians from the far-right AfD party, have called for the country to acquire its own nuclear weapons.The developments spurred Merz, whose CDU/CSU bloc are in negotiations to form a coalition with the centre-left SPD, to announce last week plans to invest massive sums in defence.
 
US takes rivalry with China to the high seas-By Fabien ZAMORA.

Paris (AFP) Mar 9, 2025-The United States may still have the world's most powerful navy but it seems to have realised that this is no longer sufficient to reassert US supremacy over the high seas.If President Donald Trump's pronouncements on shipbuilding, the Panama Canal and Greenland are anything to go by, he wants to increase US sea power on several fronts -- just as China is already doing.Beijing's expanding influence on the world's oceans is a challenge to Washington's efforts to protect its interests.While the United States still dominates the seas militarily, it is weaker in other maritime sectors, such as merchant shipping and shipbuilding itself, analysts told AFP.Trump told the US Congress last week that his administration would "resurrect" the country's nautical construction industry "including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding".On China, he has complained that Beijing "controls" the Panama Canal and has refused to rule out military force to wrest control of a vital strategic asset.The president has been equally blunt about wanting to take over Greenland, a Danish territory whose untapped mineral and oil reserves he covets.And he wants to tax any Chinese vessel that docks in US ports.Researcher Sophie Quintin, of Portsmouth University in the UK, said Trump's approach smacked of a return to "navalism" -- a theory stressing the importance of sea power espoused by 19th-century US naval officer Alfred Mahan.On the other hand, Trump might just be appealing to his populist voter base, the Make America Great Again (MAGA) faithful."It's difficult to know if it's the fruit of a real strategic reflection," said Alessio Patalano, a specialist in maritime strategy at King's College, London."In the end, it doesn't matter. Serving the interests of MAGA voters by restarting naval shipyards or taxing Chinese boats leads to a navalist policy."- Chinese sea power -In any case, China understands the importance of sea power, said Nick Childs of Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies.At a Paris conference last month, Childs pointed to China's rapid expansion in maritime sectors other than its own navy."There are the investments we've been hearing about in global ports, global maritime infrastructure and the weaponising of the fishing fleet," he said.Washington is concerned by the expansion of Chinese shipping companies, which they see as serving the interests of the Beijing government."Beijing's economic control of port operations at strategic chokepoints across the world -- many of which are part of the Maritime Silk Road initiative -- pose a threat to the United States and its allies," opined US think tank the Jamestown Foundation in February.It cited in particular two state-owned firms, COSCO and China Merchant Ports.Beijing could also exert "significant influence" on a third, the privately owned Hutchison Port Holdings, which controls two ports on the Panama Canal, it said.But Paul Tourret, of France's Higher Institute of Maritime Economics (ISEMAR), cautioned against too "simplistic" a reading of China's maritime policy."COSCO, for example, follows a financial logic. It merely delivers to the United States the goods that Americans consume," he said.Nevertheless, pressure from Washington seems to have had some effect.Hutchison announced last week it had agreed to sell its lucrative Panama Canal ports to a US-led consortium, although it insisted this was a "purely commercial" decision.- Gaps in US presence -While the United States may have the world's most powerful navy, its merchant fleet is not in such good shape, said Quintin."US shipping companies have significantly declined and what remains of its commercial fleet is ageing," she said."That has repercussions for its strategic fleet," she added, referring to civilian ships used for military transport."Furthermore, the shipbuilding sector is in crisis."Tourret agreed: "There's no way the US can build ships quickly.""The problem with US shipbuilding is that they don't have the know-how of the Japanese and Koreans, and they don't have the scale of the Chinese, who churn ships out like biscuits," added Patalano."When Europe is one year behind on a military programme, the US is three or four years late," said a European industry source on condition of anonymity.Trump's avowed desire to seize control of Greenland and Canada can also be viewed as a bid to regain US dominance over the seas.Global heating is melting Arctic ice at an alarming rate, endangering natural ecosystems and contributing to further climate change.But that melting could also open up the region to vessels -- both commercial and military -- and to oil and mineral exploration.Those prospects have not been lost on China, Russia or the United States."The Arctic space will become increasingly important for power projection, especially for missile-launching submarines," said Patalano, who sees these as "an essential component of deterrence".Here again, "the United States is lagging behind", said Quintin."While China is capable of deploying three icebreakers, the US Coast Guard struggles to keep its two ageing vessels in service," she said.fz/ico/mm/gil/sbk/lb .

Trump again casts doubt on his commitment to NATO-by AFP Staff Writers.

Washington (AFP) Mar 6, 2025-President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed doubts over his commitment to the NATO alliance, saying countries that are not spending adequately on their militaries do not deserve defense."If they don't pay, I'm not going to defend them," he told reporters in the Oval Office.Trump has frequently questioned whether the United States -- by far the biggest military in the transatlantic alliance and ultimate guarantor of Europe's security since World War II -- should continue its central role in NATO.The Republican, who began his second term in January, doubled down on his criticism that some NATO members do not spend enough on their defense budgets and overly rely on the United States."They should be paying more," he said.Trump was responding to reporters after NBC News reported earlier Thursday that he is considering a plan to calibrate US military support in a way that favors member countries which spend a higher proportion of more of their GDP on defense.The president has previously called for allies to lift annual defense spending to five percent of GDP from the current two-percent target, which NATO expected only 23 of 32 members to meet last year.Countries deemed to be underspending might not be defended if attacked, according to the reported plan.The move would weaken NATO's core Article 5 which stipulates that any member attacked will be defended by all the others.Trump also questioned whether allies, including France, would defend the United States."If the United States was in trouble and we called them. We said, 'We got a problem, France. We got a problem. A couple of others, I won't mention. Do you think they're gonna come and protect us? Hmm. They're supposed to. I'm not so sure," Trump said.French President Emmanuel Macron, however, said France was a "loyal and steadfast ally.""We have always been there for each other," Macron told reporters in Brussels after a meeting of EU leaders, where they agreed to strengthen Europe's defense.Macron said France had shown "respect and friendship" to the United States, and "we are entitled to ask for the same thing."burs-sms/dc/raz/ub/des.

Russia calls French nuclear comments a 'threat'; EU shifts on defence, 'Macron was right'by AFP Staff Writers.

Moscow (AFP) Mar 6, 2025-Russia views comments by President Emmanuel Macron about extending France's nuclear deterrent to other European countries as a "threat", Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.Lavrov also reaffirmed his country's opposition to European forces being deployed in Ukraine if an accord was made to halt the conflict.Macron on Wednesday called Russia a "threat to France and Europe" and said France was "legitimately worried" about the United States shifting its position on the Ukraine conflict under US President Donald Trump.The French leader said he would open a debate on extending France's nuclear deterrent, following a phone conversation with Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz."Of course it is a threat against Russia. If he sees us as a threat... and says that it is necessary to use a nuclear weapon, is preparing to use a nuclear weapon against Russia, of course it is a threat," Lavrov said at a press conference.In an apparent jab at France, Russian President VladimirPutin said later: "There are still people who want to return to the times of Napoleon, forgetting how it ended."French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Russian Empire in 1812 in a disastrous six-month military campaign that ended in Russian victory.Macron hit back at Putin after a summit in Brussels on Thursday, branding the Russian president an "imperialist" who sought to "rewrite history".Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier Thursday that Macron was "detached from reality" and making "contradictory statements".Macron also reaffirmed that European military forces could be sent to Ukraine if a peace accord was signed to guarantee "respect" of a deal.- 'No room for compromise' -Lavrov said Russia was unwavering in its opposition to the deployment of European forces in Ukraine as peacekeepers, suggesting they would not be impartial."We see no room for compromise. This discussion is being held with an overtly hostile aim," he added.Russia would consider such troops in the same way as it would view a NATO presence in Ukraine, Lavrov said.He compared Macron to Hitler and Napoleon, saying that unlike those leaders, Macron did not openly say he wanted to conquer Russia, but he "evidently wants the same thing".Macron is making "stupid accusations against Russia" that Putin has dismissed as "madness and nonsense", he added.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Macron's speech "extremely confrontational", saying Russia felt that "France wants the war to continue."Macron is saying that "Russia has become practically an enemy of France" but not that NATO's military presence is encroaching on Russia's borders, he said.Defence Minister Andrey Belousov visited Russia's nuclear weapons development laboratory on Thursday.During the visit he told nuclear scientists the army was looking forward to getting its hands on "new developments" in the near future, the defence ministry said in a statement.EU shifts on defence -- and concedes maybe 'Macron was right'
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 6, 2025 - As EU capitals line up behind the message that Europe must guarantee its own security, French President Emmanuel Macron could be forgiven for thinking... "I told you so".It is a message Macron has repeatedly drummed home since coming to power in 2017: Europe must be more self-sufficient on defence and break free from dependence on the United States.Today, his stance is being largely vindicated as President Donald Trump seeks a rapprochement with Russia and makes it clear Washington will not indefinitely underwrite Europe's security.Macron is one of a long line of French leaders to be wary of US pre-eminence in NATO. France, which like Britain has its own nuclear arsenal, has since Charles de Gaulle was leader in the 1960s been more sceptical of the United States.Now that European capitals are reaching a consensus that the United States may not be a reliable partner, many are also conceding -- with varying degrees of reluctance -- that "Macron was right," in the words of one diplomat.The bloc's 27 leaders gave the European Commission approval at a summit Thursday to press ahead with plans to mobilise hundreds of billions of euros to boost Europe's defences as a bulwark against Russia.And a sea change is taking place in Germany, Europe's number one economy, which has suggested strict EU spending rules should be changed to allow more long term defence expenditure. Such talk from Berlin would have been unthinkable a year ago."Many European capitals have to learn -- what we have done in several decades -- in only a few weeks," Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu told France Inter radio Thursday."The risk for us French is to appear as being a little chauvinistic and a little 'we told you so'," he conceded.France's sense of vindication has -- indeed -- drawn pushback too."Apparently some people have time to gloat about being right. The rest of us are busy making things right for Ukraine," quipped one EU diplomat."It is not so much a question of who said it first and, in any case, many European leaders have spoken in recent years about strengthening European defence and security," another diplomat told AFP.- Macron's 'judgement error' -Political analyst Sebastien Maillard of the Jacques Delors Institute argued that Macron set the right tone on European defence, but made an "error of judgement about the Russian threat"."History proves Macron right on strategic autonomy," Maillard told AFP, but his big 2017 speech on the subject was "somewhat discredited" by failing to believe US, British and Polish intelligence predicting Moscow's invasion.One diplomat from an eastern European state pointed out meanwhile that the region had been warning for "years" about the risks Russia posed."The French did not listen and did business with Russia. So, we could also say this is an 'I told you so' moment from the eastern perspective," they said.Another diplomat argued France analysed the crisis correctly but "did not apply their own ideas" including sending "more military aid to Ukraine", although Paris has defended its record on support to Kyiv.- EU 'aligned' -There also remains fundamental resistance in some quarters to Macron's strategic autonomy push -- on the grounds that the bloc's security apparatus is not ready to be wholly European.When France argues for developing Europe's defence industry, some critics also hear a bid to enrich its own companies."Of course one can say that Macron is right, yes, and we're all very much aligned now," an EU diplomat said.But the diplomat argued that "openness for third countries" was needed to "build our defence and our defence industry in the best way when it comes to scaling up -- and that cannot only be European".Nonetheless, the emerging consensus around boosting Europe's defences is seen as creating an opportunity for Europe's two biggest economies to unite on a matter of vital importance.Maillard recalled that Macron's autonomy push was "badly received" in Berlin in 2017.Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, who has called for a massive defence surge, could be just the partner the French leader has "lacked", he said.Polish PM hails Macron's 'very promising' nuclear comments-Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 6, 2025 - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday that France's offer to discuss extending its nuclear umbrella to other European nations was "very promising".Scandinavian leaders, traditionally reserved on nuclear matters, gave the proposal a cautious welcome but Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that in the current security circumstances, "everything must be on the table now".Leaders of the 27 European Union states are in Brusseles for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and aim to cement support for the war-torn country after US President Donald Trump's freeze on military aid to Kyiv.President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that he would discuss extending France's nuclear deterrent to other European nations."This readiness of France, this is something very promising," Tusk told reporters in Brussels, adding: "We have to treat this proposal seriously."He also reiterated a call for Europe to strengthen its defences against Russia."It must be one of our priorities to coordinate all our capacities in Europe and to build, in fact, one well-coordinated military power. This is what can give us a clear advantage towards Russia," Tusk said."Europe must take up this challenge, this arms race, and it must win it," he added.Poland, a NATO member and a key ally of its neighbour Ukraine, also shares a border with Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and Belarus, Moscow's ally.Macron said he would open a debate on extending France's nuclear deterrent, following a call from Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz.Merz, whose right-wing party won Germany's elections, said last month he wanted a discussion on "nuclear sharing" with France and Britain, Europe's only nuclear powers other than Russia.In April, Poland's President Andrzej Duda said his country was ready to host NATO's nuclear arms. Moscow in response warned it would take steps to "ensure its security".Denmark's Frederiksen said her country was open to discussions on Macron's proposal. "It's not something that we're working on but you won't hear me say no to other people's ideas."Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also welcomed the debate."Like most people, the Swedes want to have as few nuclear weapons as possible but at the moment we should be happy and grateful that two of our neighbours (France and the UK) have nuclear weapons," he said.

China, Iran and Russia to hold 'Security Belt' military exercise in Indian Ocean-by Mark Moran.

Washington DC (UPI) Mar 9, 2025-Iran, China and Russia will launch a joint military operation Monday called "Security Belt 2025," designed to promote security and trilateral cooperation in the Indian Ocean."The aim is to strengthen military mutual trust and foster pragmatic cooperation among the naval forces of the participating countries," the Chinese defense ministry said in a statement.It's the 7th "Security Belt" exercise, and will include drills that focus on striking maritime targets, damage control, as well as joint search and rescue, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.China is scheduled to dispatch the Baotou, its most powerful guided missile destroyer to participate in the exercise.This year's exercise is scheduled to take place in the Iranian port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman coast.Officials from the Azerbaijan Republic, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the UAE, and Sri Lanka will monitor the exercise, Iranian state media reported.Last year's exercises included the armed rescue of hijacked merchant vessels and firing on targets at sea, the Chinese ministry reported.

Coolant leak at Europe's biggest nuclear reactor: operator.

Helsinki, March 10 (AFP) Mar 10, 2025-About 100 cubic metres of "radioactive coolant" leaked from Finland's Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, the largest in Europe, operator TVO said Monday, adding that the incident posed no safety risk.The leakage struck on Friday during the reactor's annual outage for maintenance "in connection with the filling of the reactor pool," TVO said in a statement."The coolant flowed into containment rooms closed to the environment and into the floor drain system of the containment. The incident did not pose any risk to the personnel, the environment, or nuclear safety," TVO said.According to TVO, the leak was deemed to have been the result of "a human error," as a hatch to the pool had not been closed properly."The significance of the event to radiation safety was low, in the end, owing to the safety actions taken," TVO said.TVO added that the incident would not affect the planned duration of the annual outage, which is scheduled to last until May.The next-generation European pressurised water reactor (EPR), built by the French-led Areva-Siemens consortium, produces more than 10 percent of Finland's electricity.Like several other EPR projects, the reactor, located on Finland's southwest coast, was plagued by repeated construction delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns.Olkiluoto 3 is the single largest nuclear reactor in Europe, while Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant, with its six reactors, is the largest nuclear plant.jll/rlp

UK condemns Beijing's 'dangerous' South China Sea activity.

London, March 10 (AFP) Mar 10, 2025-UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy slammed "dangerous and destabilising" activity by Beijing in the disputed South China Sea on Monday, following a weekend visit to the Philippines."We're concerned about dangerous and destabilising activities by China in this region," Lammy said in a video partly filmed alongside a vessel belonging to the Philippine Coast Guard, which has frequent tense confrontations with its Chinese counterpart."The Philippines is at the sharp end of this, facing frequent challenges to freedom of navigation and international law," Lammy added."Growth in the UK and around the world depends on these trade routes being safe and secure," Lammy said in the video shared on X.China claims the strategically important South China Sea in nearly its entirety, despite an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.Beijing has deployed navy and coast guard vessels in a bid to bar Manila from crucial reefs and islands in the South China Sea, leading to a string of confrontations in recent months.In a Saturday meeting with his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo, the UK and the Philippines signed a joint framework to boost defence and maritime cooperation."This joint framework will help us deliver more cooperation on defence, on regional security, on trade, on science, on tech, on climate and nature over this coming period," Lammy said at a Manila press conference.It follows a deal between the Philippines and Canada last week to boost their security partnership, and is the latest such pact sought by Manila in the face of frequent clashes with the Chinese coast guard.The Philippines has similar agreements with the United States, Australia and Japan.aks/har/phz

NATO says won't let 'security vacuum' emerge in Bosnia.

Sarajevo, March 10 (AFP) Mar 10, 2025-NATO chief Mark Rutte on Monday threw support behind Bosnia's federal government, which is locked in a power struggle with ethnic Serb leaders, saying the alliance would not allow a "security vacuum to emerge"Tensions have soared since Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik was convicted last month for defying Christian Schmidt, the high representative charged with overseeing the peace accords that ended Bosnia's 1990s war.Dodik, who leads Bosnia's Republika Srpska (RS) statelet, has remained unrepentant after the conviction and helped oversee the passage of laws forbidding access to Bosnia's Serb entity by the country's federal police and judiciary.The laws were later struck down by the constitutional court.Rutte landed in Sarajevo, as Dodik and Schmidt remained locked in their bitter feud with no clear path for de-escalation."This is not 1992 and we will not allow a security vacuum to emerge," said the NATO secretary general at a press conference, referring to the year Bosnia's bloody inter-ethnic war began.Rutte made the remarks following a meeting with the three members of Bosnia's presidency in the capital Sarajevo and called on the trio to help end the ongoing political infighting."You have got to solve this, the three of you," Rutte added.- Tensions -Since the end of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s, the country has consisted of two autonomous halves -- the Serb-dominated RS and a Muslim-Croat region.The two entities have their own governments and parliaments and are linked by weak central institutions, which includes a three-member presidency that includes an ethnic Serb, Croat and Bosniak Muslim representatives.Rutte's visit comes just days after Bosnia's constitutional court suspended legislation signed by Dodik that rejected the authority of the federal police and judiciary within the RS.Dodik reiterated that the laws passed by Republika Srpska will be implemented on its territory."We will show that we have the knowledge, the possibilities, the resources to implement them," he said at a press-conference.On Monday, Bosnia's prime minister Borjana Kristo met with heads of all national agencies and directorates, emphasizing that the "security situation is stable and peaceful" with "no indications of its endangerment".The statement issued by her cabinet says that all security institutions at national level including the central police are working."It is confirmed that they continue to work responsibly and act in full capacity on the principles of independence, professionalism and impartiality", the statement said.Last week, Dodik also ignored a summons from Bosnia's chief prosecutor, who is investigating the leader on allegations of undermining the constitution.Bosnia's divided politics and fragile, post-war institutions have faced increasing uncertainty amid the unfolding crisis.In response to the growing tensions, the European Union Force (EUFOR) last week said it would "temporarily increase" the size of its peacekeeping mission in the country.Dodik's actions come in the context of ongoing tensions with Schmidt, who holds broad powers to intervene in Bosnia's governance.- Trans-Atlantic headwinds -The RS leader had already pushed through two earlier laws that refused to recognise decisions made by the High Representative and Bosnia's Constitutional Court.That led to his conviction last month and his being sentenced to a year in prison and six-year ban from office.For years, Dodik pursued a separatist agenda, while repeatedly threatening to pull the Serb statelet out of Bosnia's central institutions -- including its army, judiciary and tax system, which has led to sanctions from the United States.Rutte's visit also comes as the trans-Atlantic alliance faces concerns unleashed by US President Donald Trump's reshuffling of relations with many of Washington's long-time security partners.For years, NATO has helped underwrite Bosnia's security, following the alliance's intervention in its war during the 1990s, which helped end the conflict that claimed nearly 100,000 lives.With a headquarters in the capital in Sarajevo, the alliance works closely with the EUFOR mission on the ground.

Iran says would consider limited nuclear talks with US.

Washington, March 9 (AFP) Mar 09, 2025-Iran said Sunday it would consider nuclear negotiations with the United States, but only as they pertained to external concerns of the "potential militarization" of the program -- rather than a total shutdown.The post on X by Iran's mission to the United Nations came a day after the country's supreme leader slammed what he described as "bullying" tactics insisting on negotiations, after US President Donald Trump threatened military action."If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-a-vis any potential militarization of Iran's nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration," the post said."However, should the aim be the dismantlement of Iran's peaceful nuclear program to claim that what Obama failed to achieve has now been accomplished, such negotiations will never take place," it continued.The post was referring to the nuclear accord formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), struck between Tehran and major powers in 2015 under then-US president Barack Obama.The deal had offered relief from sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear activities.Trump abandoned it during his first term, in 2018, and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran. Tehran abided by the terms for another year before beginning to roll back on its own commitments.It has since sharply ramped up its enrichment of uranium far beyond the limits set by the JCPOA.US officials now estimate that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within weeks if it chose to do so.On Friday, Trump said he had written to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging new talks on the country's nuclear program but warning of possible military action if it refuses.Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran had yet to receive any letter from the US president by Saturday."Some bully governments -- I really don't know of any more appropriate term for some foreign figures and leaders than the word bullying -- insist on negotiations," Khamenei told officials on Saturday, after Trump's threat."Their negotiations are not aimed at solving problems, they aim at domination," Khamenei said.Tehran has in recent months engaged in diplomatic efforts with the three European parties to the deal -- Britain, France and Germany -- aimed at resolving issues surrounding its nuclear ambitions.

Canada's next PM Mark Carney vows to 'win' US trade war.

Ottawa, March 10 (AFP) Mar 10, 2025-Canada's incoming prime minister Mark Carney struck a defiant note as the former central banker vowed to win US President Donald Trump's trade war, saying his country will "never" be part of the United States.Carney lost no time standing up for "the Canadian way of life" after the Liberal Party overwhelmingly elected him on Sunday to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau."We didn't ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves," Carney told party supporters in Ottawa."So the Americans, they should make no mistake, in trade as in hockey, Canada will win," he said."Canada never ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form," said the 59-year-old, who will take over from Trudeau in the coming days.Carney may not have the job for long.Canada must hold elections by October but could well see a snap poll within weeks. Current opinion polls had the opposition Conservatives as slight favorites.- 'Existential challenge' -Carney warned in his victory speech that the United States under Trump was seeking to seize control of Canada."The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country," he said, adding "these were dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.""We're all being called to stand up for... the Canadian way of life."Carney previously led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He soundly defeated his main challenger, Trudeau's former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who held senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government first elected in 2015.Carney won 85.9 percent of the nearly 152,000 votes cast. Freeland took just eight percent of the vote.Carney campaigned on a promise to stand up to Trump.Trump has repeatedly spoken about annexing Canada and thrown bilateral trade, the lifeblood of the Canadian economy, into chaos with dizzying tariff actions that have veered in various directions since he took office.Trudeau said "Canadians face from our neighbor an existential challenge."- Contending with Trump -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Carney, saying: "I look forward to working closely with him on shared international priorities."China, which has a turbulent relationship with Canada, also congratulated Carney but said it hoped the country could "pursue a positive and pragmatic policy towards China."Celebrating the outcome in Ottawa, party loyalist Cory Stevenson said "the Liberal party has the wind in its sails.""We chose the person who could best face off against (Tory leader) Pierre Poilievre in the next election and deal with Donald Trump," he told AFP.Carney has argued that his experience makes him the ideal counter to Trump. He has portrayed himself as a seasoned economic crisis manager who led the Bank of Canada through the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the Bank of England through the turbulence that followed the 2016 Brexit vote.Data released from the Angus Reid polling firm on Wednesday shows Canadians see Carney as the favorite choice to face down Trump, potentially offering the Liberals a boost over the opposition Conservatives.Forty-three percent of respondents said they trusted Carney the most to deal with Trump, with 34 percent backing Poilievre.The Liberals were headed for an electoral wipeout before Trudeau announced his plans to resign in January, but the leadership change and Trump's influence have dramatically tightened the race."We were written off about four months ago and now we're right back where we should be," former MP Frank Baylis, who also ran for the Liberal leadership, told AFP.- Unproven -Carney made a fortune as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before entering the Canadian civil service.Since leaving the Bank of England in 2020, he has served as a United Nations envoy working to get the private sector to invest in climate-friendly technology and has held private sector roles.He has never served in parliament nor held an elected public office.Analysts say his untested campaign skills could prove a liability against a Conservative Party already running attack ads accusing Carney of shifting positions and misrepresenting his experience."He is unproven in the crucible of an election," said Cameron Anderson, a political scientist at Ontario's Western University.But he said Carney's tough anti-Trump rhetoric "is what Canadians want to hear from their leaders."They are "viewing these things in an existential way."bur-bs-amj/pbtGOLDMAN SACHS GROUP.

Attack on Iran nuclear plant would leave Gulf without water, Qatar PM warns.

Dubai, March 8 (AFP) Mar 08, 2025-Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has warned that an attack on Iran's Gulf coast nuclear facilities would leave countries across the region without water.In an interview with right-wing United States media personality Tucker Carlson, who is close to US President Donald Trump, the premier said Doha had simulated the effects of an attack,The sea would be "entirely contaminated" and Qatar would "run out of water in three days", he said.The construction of reservoirs since then had increased water capacity, he added, but the risk remained for "all of us" in the region."No water, no fish, nothing... no life," Sheikh Mohammed added in the interview published on Friday, the same day that Trump said he had invited Iran to nuclear talks.Alluding to military action, Trump said he would "rather see a peace deal" but that "the other will solve the problem".Qatar, which sits 190 kilometres (120 miles) south of Iran, relies heavily on desalination for its water supply, as do other Gulf Arab countries in the arid desert region.Iran has a nuclear power plant at Bushehr on the Gulf coast, though its uranium enrichment facilities, key to building atomic weapons, are located hundreds of kilometres (miles) inland.Referring to sites "on the other side of the coast", Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar had "not only military concerns, but also security and... safety concerns".He said Qatar opposed military action against Iran and that it would "not give up until we see a diplomatic solution between the US and Iran".Tehran was "willing to engage", he said."They are willing to get to a level that creates comforts for everybody. And most importantly, they are focused on mending their relationship with the region, and that's something in itself."Western powers have long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, which it denies. In 2015, it signed a deal to lift sanctions in exchange for reining in its nuclear programme, but Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 during his first term.

North Korea's Kim inspects 'nuclear-powered submarine' project.

Seoul, March 8 (AFP) Mar 08, 2025-North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, state media reported Saturday, saying that "radically" boosting the navy was a key part of Pyongyang's defensive strategy.Kim visited shipyards focused on building warships, the Korean Central News Agency reported, without giving details of the exact date or location of the inspection.Kim "learned about the building of a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine," the report said, which was one of Kim's key military goals on a laundry list of high tech weaponry unveiled at a previous party congress.The report is likely referring to a nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles, Yonhap news agency reported, adding this was the first time the nuclear-armed North had revealed construction of a ballistic missile submarine.Kim said the country's "sea defence capability... will be fully displayed in any necessary waters without limitation," KCNA said."The development of the naval force into an elite and nuclear-armed force constitutes an important content in the strategy for the development of the national defence," it added.In 2023, North Korean state media reported on the launch of the country's first "tactical nuclear attack submarine" -- although the South Korean military said at the time that the vessel might not be operational.According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a US-based think tank, North Korea is estimated to have between 64 and 86 submarines, one of the world's largest fleets.However, experts doubt if all of them are operational given their age, according to NTI.Ties between Pyongyang and Seoul are at one of their lowest points in years, with the South accusing Kim Jong Un of sending thousands of soldiers to Russia to help Moscow fight Ukraine, violating rafts of sanctions on both countries.Last week, North Korea carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea, in a drill Pyongyang said was aimed at showing off its "counterattack" capabilities.Joint South Korea-US "Freedom Shield" military exercises are set to begin later this month, and the USS Carl Vinson, the flagship of a carrier strike group, arrived in Busan for a scheduled port visit on Sunday, prompting an angry retort from Pyongyang.Washington and Seoul describe such exercises as defensive in nature, but Pyongyang claims they are rehearsals for invasion and has responded with weapons tests of its own.The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Ahead of Doha talks, Witkoff says ‘deadlines’ key for deal on ceasefire’s next phase-Trump envoy says all on the table if Hamas agrees to disarm and leave Gaza; Israeli delegation heads to Doha with Witkoff proposal on the agenda; Hamas says it’s showing ‘flexibility’By Lazar Berman,Jacob Magid,Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 7:26 pm-MAR 10,25

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Monday said that deadlines were needed on a deal for the next phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and that “all things are on the table” if the terror group agrees to demilitarize and leaving the Gaza StripSpeaking on Fox News a day before he is slated to fly to Qatar for talks with Israel and Hamas, Witkoff said the terror group has “no alternative” other than disarming and leaving Gaza.“If they leave, then all things are on the table for a negotiated peace, and that’s what they’ll need to do,” said.“We need deadlines” for an agreement on the next phase in a deal, Witkoff said, adding that the conditions the hostages are being held in are “unacceptable” and “deplorable.”Witkoff also praised Qatar for its “outstanding” mediation efforts, adding that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also been helful.Channel 12 news reported earlier in the day that the so-called Witkoff outline — which the US backed, but did not claim credit for — is up for discussion in this week’s negotiations. The framework would see Hamas release 10 living hostages, including American-Israeli Edan Alexander, in exchange for a further 60 days of ceasefire.An Israeli official familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the country’s team had left for Doha on Monday. Media reports said the delegation was led by a top official from the Shin Bet security service.Ahead of the delegation’s departure, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum demanded the government give negotiators a “full mandate” to ensure the remaining 59 hostages — 58 of them kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7 massacre — would be returned in a single phase.“An agreement including the return of all hostages is possible and is the duty of the Israeli government to its citizens that remain in Hamas tunnels,” the forum said in a statement.Hamas said Monday that it is showing “flexibility” in the talks with mediators and is awaiting the outcome of efforts from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States in negotiations with Israel.“We dealt flexibly with the efforts made by mediators and [US President Donald] Trump’s envoy, and we await the results of the upcoming negotiations and oblige [Israel] to agree and go to the second phase,” the terror group said.Hamas said negotiations are focusing on ending the war, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and reconstruction of the Strip.The first phase of the three-phase hostage-ceasefire deal agreed to in January ended on March 1 with no agreement on subsequent stages that could secure a permanent end to the war, but both sides have since refrained from resuming full-scale fighting.Talks regarding terms of a potential second phase were supposed to have begun on February 3, but Israel has largely refused to engage in them.Hamas has repeatedly demanded a move to the second phase of the deal, which would include the release of the 24 remaining presumed-living hostages in exchange for a permanent end to the war. A further 35 bodies are still held by the terror group — 34 of those taken captive on October 7 and the remains of one soldier killed in 2014.Israel and the US have sought some arrangement that would extend the first phase of the truce and see the release of further hostages without initiating a permanent end to the war against Hamas.Israel ‘held discussions’ with White House over Boehler comments-Meanwhile, Israel “held discussions” with White House officials in the wake of US hostage envoy Adam Boehler’s interviews on US and Israeli TV on Sunday, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.Boehler on Sunday defended his direct talks with officials in the Hamas terror group, pushing back against private but intense criticism from Jerusalem. Some of Boehler’s remarks further annoyed senior Israeli officials, who told The Times of Israel they were surprised to hear the envoy comment that the US is “not an agent of Israel.”Some Israeli officials believe that Boehler went on television to send a pointed message to Israel.After his evening interviews on Israel’s leading TV outlets and the Israeli conversations with Washington, Boehler issued a post on X clarifying some of his statements.Among a number of missteps Sunday, Boehler sometimes appeared to refer to Palestinian security prisoners as hostages; called Israeli hostages “prisoners”; talked about the “human elements” of Hamas leaders; critiqued Israel for accepting the term of the ceasefire deal with Hamas; stressed that the US is “not an agent of Israel”; and intermittently contradicted himself.Boehler has been involved in separate, direct talks with Hamas that, while broadly aimed at ending the war without the terror group in power, are specifically focused on freeing Edan Alexander as well as securing the release of the bodies of four slain Americans still held by the group.Boehler told CNN Sunday a deal could be reached “within weeks” to secure the release of all remaining hostages, not just the five dual US-Israelis.He added that a “long-term truce” was “real close,” but later Sunday he told Israel’s Channel 12 that Washington would back any Israeli decision, including a return to war.

Op-ed-To ensure his political survival, Netanyahu gave Hamas a ceasefire free of charge-For 11 days, Hamas has been free to reorganize without fear of attack or having to free a single hostage. That’s because all that matters now for the PM is passing the budget-Biranit Goren-By Biranit Goren-Today, 10:17 pm-MAR 10,25

“Every minute we sit here talking, Alon is 50 meters underground, terrified, unsure whether he’ll ever be brought home,” former hostage Eli Sharabi told Ilana Dayan in an interview aired 10 days ago on Channel 12. “Think about what he has to endure each day, what he feels – knowing that others were freed while he was left behind.”Sharabi, who returned to Israel alongside fellow survivors Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy on February 8, was held in Hamas’s tunnels for about 14 months together with Levy, Elia Cohen, and Alon Ohel. Cohen was released two weeks after Sharabi and Levy, on February 22. Since then, Ohel has remained in Hamas captivity. Alone.Sharabi described in the interview how their Hamas captors informed the four hostages about the ceasefire and its consequences for them. “A senior commander came into the tunnel and told us, ‘There’s a deal,’” he recalled. “‘Eli Sharabi, Or Levy – you’re being released on February 8. Elia Cohen – you’ll be released on March 1. And Alon Ohel – you’ll be in the second phase, hopefully on March 8.’”“He was horrified. He turned white,” Sharabi said of Ohel. “He realized he was going to be left behind.”It is hard to think of Alon Ohel counting down the days until March 8. And impossible to shake off the frustration, anguish, and sadness of knowing that March 8 has come and gone – and Alon Ohel is still in Hamas captivity. Alone.They gave nothing, they got everything-For 11 days, Israel and Hamas have been in a ceasefire with no quid pro quo. That is, Hamas has received what it values most – time to recover, reorganize, and entrench its control over Gaza, along with an unprecedented influx of humanitarian aid, including valuable equipment – while Israel has received nothing in return.Not a single hostage, alive or dead, has been released in this period. And Hamas certainly has not been disarmed or weakened. Quite the reverse.The ceasefire deal approved by the government on January 17 and implemented two days later stipulated that in the first phase, 33 hostages would be released over a 42-day period.One can debate whether this gradual release approach was justified, whether the hostages could have been freed all at once – but that was the deal, and despite occasional hurdles and violations by both sides, it was carried out. The 33 hostages on the list – 25 alive, 8 deceased – were brought home.However, the agreement also explicitly stated that negotiations for phase 2 would begin 16 days after the ceasefire commenced – that is, on February 4. That never happened. And it has not happened since. phase 2 has become a dead letter.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that he would not agree to end the war as a condition for implementing phase 2, while Hamas made it clear that it would not agree that the war continue.If anyone thinks Netanyahu got his way, they are deluding themselves. If anyone thinks Hamas was left empty-handed, they are on another planet. Just look at the recognition the organization is receiving from the US government – for the first time in 20 years.Netanyahu, who for over a year repeatedly insisted that only military pressure would lead to the hostages’ release, has now abandoned military pressure. He did not bring back all the hostages through combat – and now he is not bringing them back under a ceasefire.This is the same Netanyahu who, in 1999, coined the slogan “If they give, they get; if they don’t give, they don’t get.” Yet now Hamas gave nothing and got everything.Netanyahu’s to-do list-To the dire misfortune of Alon Ohel – and of 23 other hostages believed to be alive, and the hundreds and thousands of family members and friends of all 59 hostages still held in Gaza – March 8, and in fact all of phase 2 falls uncomfortably close to March 31.In Netanyahu’s world, March 31 is a much more significant date.A combination showing all 59 hostages still in Gaza, 24 of whom are thought to be alive.Because the 2025 state budget must pass by March 31, or else the Knesset will automatically dissolve, and Israel will head to elections within 100 days. And to pass the budget, Netanyahu cannot negotiate phase 2, because his far-right coalition partners have promised to bring down the government if he does.But Netanyahu also cannot resume fighting, because the Americans want at least the release of IDF soldier Edan Alexander, who holds US citizenship, from Hamas captivity.On Netanyahu’s to-do list for the remainder of this month: there’s the IDF draft-exemption law or some other arrangement to appease the ultra-Orthodox. There’s maintaining his coalition with Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party and securing support for the budget from fellow far-right leader Itamar Ben Gvir, whose Otzma Yehudit party is currently sitting in the opposition. Perhaps there are even tasks like “Fire the Shin Bet chief” or “Visit Orbán in Hungary,” or “Delay my criminal trial testimony as much as possible.”But nowhere on that list is the task of bringing the hostages home. Nor is the task of destroying Hamas. That will not happen this month.Check back on April 1 – when Netanyahu will doubtless issue some grand pronouncements about absolute victory, our dear hostages, and the rock of our existence.April 1 is, pf course, April Fools’ Day.

Israel strikes former Assad regime bases in southern Syria-Syrian security sources say Israeli jets struck two former bases in country’s Daraa province, as Jerusalem ministers sharpen rhetoric against transitional government By Emanuel Fabian-and Agencies 11 March 2025, 12:50 am

Israeli jets conducted several strikes on former Syrian army barracks and outposts in the southern Daraa province Monday, in the latest string of strikes targeting the country’s military infrastructure following the collapse of the Assad regime, according to two Syrian security sources.The sources told Reuters that at least six strikes hit a base in the town of Jbab, while at least another eight hit a former army base in the city of Izraa. There were no immediate reports of casualties.The strikes were reported at military sites belonging to the former Syrian regime.“The Israeli occupation aircraft carried out several strikes on the surroundings of the towns of Jbab and Izraa in the north of Daraa,” the state news agency SANA said.Israeli officials have vowed to demilitarize the southern Syria area close to Israel’s border following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.Syrian government control is weak in the region, and Israel has threatened to target interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa’s forces if they deploy there.Upon the Assad regime’s collapse, Israel sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights, where it maintains a military presence.Last week Defense Minister Israel Katz called Sharaa “a jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population.”Earlier Monday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the transitional regime “pure evil,”Syria’s Islamist-led government on Monday said it had completed a military operation against a nascent insurgency. The violence had been centred around coastal provinces where most of Syria’s Alawite minority live.Assad is an Alawite, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam, whose family for decades ruled over the Sunni Muslim majority.British-based war monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that 973 civilians were killed by government forces and allied fighters in reprisal killings. More than 250 Alawite fighters were killed and more than 230 members of government security forces were also killed, the group said.Sharaa dismissed the Israeli comments as “nonsense.”“They are the last ones who can talk,” he said, noting the high death toll in Israel’s 17 months of war against Hamas in Gaza.

Trump Arab aide meets with settler leader in bid to lift his standing with Israeli right-Arab and Mideast affairs adviser Massad Boulos expresses hopes for peace in meeting with Samaria Regional Council head, who says, ‘God sent us to work together’By Jacob Magid-Today, 11:36 pm-MAR 10,25

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s Arab and Mideast affairs adviser Massad Boulos met with a settler leader over the weekend, apparently as part of a broader attempt to boost his image among the Israeli right.Boulos was one of Trump’s first appointments after his election — a demonstration of gratitude after the Lebanon-born businessman was credited with playing an integral role in rallying Arab Americans behind Trump during the presidential campaign.Boulos’s background drew some alarm among the Israeli far right, who also pointed to his comments backing Trump’s 2020 peace plan, which envisioned the establishment of a Palestinian state — albeit semi-contiguous and sub-sovereign.In a meeting last week with the leaders of an Israeli think tank, Boulos reportedly maintained that his views on Israel have been misunderstood and that he deeply supports the Jewish state’s security, as well as Trump’s Gaza takeover plan.Over the weekend, Boulos also met with Samaria Regional Council chair Yossi Dagan, whom he called “the governor of Samaria” — the biblical name for the northern part of the West Bank.“It’s a big pleasure and an honor to have met you. I would like to convey through you my heartfelt appreciation to the people of Samaria and our brothers and sisters in the region — in Israel, in Lebanon, and in the entire region,” Boulos said in a video posted on Sunday by Dagan — one of the most hardline Israeli settler leaders in the West Bank.“We are looking forward to peace, and we are aiming for peace. By the grace of God, this will be achieved hopefully soon,” added Boulos, whose son Michael is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany.“God sent us to work together,” Dagan can be heard saying in response.Despite his title, Boulos has had limited involvement in the administration’s Mideast policy, according to sources familiar with the matter. Even the Lebanon file has gone to deputy Mideast envoy Morgan Ortagus, and not Boulos, who was born there and has ties with various political factions in the country.Earlier Monday, the Semafor news site reported that Trump is set to name Boulos as his special envoy for the Great Lakes region in East Africa.Israel’s right has been buoyed by Trump’s return to office, viewing his policies as more favorable to those under his predecessor, Joe Biden. In January, right-wing politicians praised the president’s executive order to cancel a Biden administration-era system set up to sanction Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians.The far-right was also emboldened when Trump tapped former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to be his ambassador to Israel, in one of his first nominations in the week after the election. A longtime advocate of the settlement movement, Huckabee said in November that Trump could support Israel annexing the West Bank.

Syrian government inks breakthrough deal with Kurdish authorities in northeast-Accord states US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to be integrated into national army over a decade after formation, during outbreak of civil war-By AFP Today, 11:13 pm-MAR 10,25

DAMASCUS, Syria — The Syrian presidency announced on Monday an agreement with the head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the institutions of the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast into the national government.Syria’s new authorities under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa have sought to disband armed groups and establish government control over the entirety of the country since ousting long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in December, after more than 13 years of civil war.The new accord, which is expected to be implemented by the end of the year, comes after days of violence in the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority that has posed the most serious threat yet to the country’s stability since Assad’s fall.The presidency published a statement on Monday signed by both parties, laying out the agreement on “the integration of all the civilian and military institutions of the northeast of Syria within the administration of the Syrian state, including border posts, the airport, and the oil and gas fields.”State media released a photo of Sharaa shaking hands with SDF leader Mazloum Abdi, following the signing of the agreement.The statement said, “the Kurdish community is an essential component of the Syrian state,” which “guarantees its right to citizenship and all of its constitutional rights.”It also rejected “calls for division, hate speech, and attempts to sow discord” between different segments of Syrian society.The SDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment by AFP.‘Supporting the state’The SDF serves as the de facto army of the de facto autonomous Kurdish administration that controls large swathes of northern and eastern Syria, including most of the country’s oil and gas fields, which may prove a crucial resource for the new authorities as they seek to rebuild the country.The new agreement also mentions “supporting the Syrian state in its fight against Assad’s remnants and all threats to (the country’s) security and unity.”Syria’s new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of Assad that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said had killed at least 1,068 civilians, most of them members of the Alawite minority who were executed by the security forces or allied groups.The violence in the coastal heartland of the Alawite community, to which Assad belongs, broke out on Thursday after gunmen loyal to the deposed president attacked Syria’s new security forces.The fighting also killed 231 security personnel and 250 pro-Assad fighters, according to the Britain-based Observatory.Marginalized and repressed-Marginalized and repressed during decades of Assad family rule, the Kurds were deprived of the right to speak their language and celebrate their holidays and, in many cases, of Syrian nationality.The SDF took advantage of the withdrawal of government forces during the civil war that broke out in 2011 to establish de facto autonomy in the north and northeast.The US-backed SDF played a key role in the fight against the Islamic State group, which was defeated in its last territorial stronghold in 2019.Since Assad’s overthrow, the Kurds have shown a degree of willingness to engage with the new authorities, but they were excluded from a recent national dialogue conference over their refusal to disarm.The agreement comes nearly two weeks after a historic call by jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) founder Abdullah Ocalan for the militant group to lay down its weapons and disband.The SDF maintains it is independent from the PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish government.It is dominated, however, by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as an offshoot of the PKK.The Turkish government, which is close to Syria’s new authorities, has designated the PKK a terrorist organization, as have the United States and the European Union.The Turkish army, which has troops deployed in northern Syria, regularly carries out strikes on areas controlled by Kurdish forces, and Turkish-backed groups have been attacking SDF-held areas of northern Syria since November.

Rubio: US envoy Boehler’s meetings with Hamas were ‘a one-off’ that ‘hasn’t borne fruit’-Israeli negotiators head to Doha to discuss extending truce in return for further hostage releases; hostages’ families urge return of all captives in a single phase-By Agencies and ToI Staff 11 March 2025, 1:35 am

US President Donald Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler’s direct dealings with Hamas officials on the release of hostages in Gaza were a “one-off situation” that as of now “hasn’t borne fruit,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday.The State Department head told reporters that the “primary vehicle for negotiations” would be Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, set to meet in Doha with an Israeli delegation dispatched to the Gulf earlier Monday to resume hostage talks.“That was a one-off situation in which our special envoy for hostages, whose job it is to get people released, had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over these people and was given permission and encouraged to do so. He did so,” Rubio told reporters en route to Saudi Arabia.“As of now, it hasn’t borne fruit. Doesn’t mean he was wrong to try,” Rubio added.As Israeli negotiators set out for Qatar, Hamas issued a statement condemning what it deemed a non-commitment by Israel to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs the length of Gaza’s border with Egypt. The text of the ceasefire deal required Israel to begin withdrawing from the corridor on day 42 and complete the pullout by day 50 — which is today. Israeli troops currently remain in the buffer zoneThe new round of talks will focus on a US-backed outline that would reportedly see Hamas release 10 living hostages, including American-Israeli Edan Alexander, in exchange for a further 60 days of ceasefire.On Monday morning, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum publicly exhorted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take talks further by giving negotiators a “full mandate” to reach an agreement for the immediate release of all 59 hostages — living and dead — in a single phase.“An agreement including the return of all hostages is possible and is the duty of the Israeli government to its citizens that remain in Hamas tunnels,” the forum said in a statement, adding that “foot-dragging in negotiations will cost the lives of additional hostages.”Of the hostages remaining in Gaza, 24 are presumed to be alive, while 35 have been confirmed dead by Israeli officials, based on evidence and intelligence.A separate group of families demanded the government immediately cancel its decision halting the supply of electricity to Gaza, warning that the move would endanger hostages’ lives.“If this poor and dangerous decision is not overturned within 24 hours, we will petition the High Court of Justice,” said the families in a letter addressed to Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Energy Minister Eli Cohen.Cohen’s decision to cut electricity to the Strip will chiefly affect one desalination plant near Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, which serves more than 600,000 residents of the enclave.Monday morning saw several relatives of hostages urge the government to secure the release of their loved ones at fiery Knesset committee testimonies, ahead of negotiators’ departure.The latest round of negotiations come after it was revealed that the US had engaged in separate, direct talks with Hamas focused on freeing the American hostages, led by Trump hostage envoy Boehler.Boehler claimed in interviews with Israeli outlets on Sunday that the ultimate goal of the talks was the release of all hostages.“How is it that I wake up in the morning and see that Adam Boehler is trying to bring my brother back? Who even is he?” Yotam Cohen, brother of Hamas hostage Nimrod Cohen, exclaimed at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.By all accounts, Israel was caught by surprise by Boehler’s actions, and reacted angrily to them behind the scenes.“You, the government, put [Nimrod] there,” Cohen said, telling lawmakers they should be ready to “crawl on all fours in the sand of Gaza” in order to bring his brother back.In an interview with Channel 12, Alon Nimrodi, father of captive soldier Tamir Nimrodi, accused Israel’s political establishment of dragging its feet, stalling for weeks on negotiations to continue the current hostage-ceasefire deal.Talks “should have started on the 16th [day of the truce], and not on the 57th,” said Nimrodi, citing the terms of the ceasefire agreements. “On the 16th day they should have been doing what they are doing today. All these delays are harming the families and hostages. We can no longer bear this endless rigamarole.”Kobi Ohel, father of hostage Alon Ohel, told politicians at a Health Committee meeting that released hostages who met his son in captivity had said they couldn’t even recognize him in a photo taken before his kidnapping.“We understood why Eli [Sharabi] didn’t recognize Alon’s photo. Do you know why? Because Alon looks they way Eli looks,” he lamented, referring to the freed hostage’s emaciated state upon his release, after having lost some 30 kg (66 pounds) in captivity.In a bid to raise attention to the plight of the hostages held in Gaza, families at the Knesset distributed packages to lawmakers marking the upcoming festival of Purim.While most mishloach manot packages traditionally exchanged during the Jewish holiday are filled with sweets, wine and pastries, these gift baskets contained a single pieace of pita bread, highlighting the dire conditions the hostages are being held in. Many returned hostages have recounted often subsisting on a piece of dry pita a day.The parcels, tied with a yellow ribbon, also came with magnets highlighting a comment made by released hostage Sharabi in a February interview with Channel 12’s Uvda program.“People should really contemplate when they open the fridge at home… [The ability] to open the fridge is everything,” the magnet read.