World
US confirms direct talks with Hamas over Gaza captives
Talks come as Israel continues to block supplies of humanitarian aid into Gaza after first phase of ceasefire expired.
The United States is engaging in direct talks with Hamas as negotiations on a ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian armed group and Israel are hanging by a thread.
“These are ongoing talks and discussions, I’m not going to detail them here, there are American lives at stake,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday, confirming a report by Axios media outlet that talks between the two sides were taking place.
“Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president has proven is what he believes is [a] good faith, effort to do what’s right for the American people,” Leavitt said.
Adam Boehler, Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, participated in the direct talks with Hamas.
A Hamas official cited by the AFP news agency confirmed the negotiations over Israeli-US captives held in Gaza.
The US had previously publicly refused direct contact with the Palestinian group since banning them as a “terrorist” organisation in 1997.
Israel said it had been consulted by the US on the direct talks.
Israeli officials say about 24 living captives – including Edan Alexander, an American citizen – as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Jordan, said the two sides discussed captives held in Gaza.
“We understand it’s in order to secure the retrieval of the bodies of Israeli-American captives who are still being held in Gaza and one Israeli captive with US citizenship who is believed to be alive.
“The Americans are saying that their envoys have the power to negotiate with anyone, and it’s not just over the captives who hold American citizenship, it’s also for an end to the war,” she said.
Fragile truce
Confirmation of the talks comes days after the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire expired, with Israel pushing for an extension while Hamas insists on progressing to the second phase of the deal agreed in January.
The first phase saw Hamas release 33 hostages in exchange for Israel releasing more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Israel has said the proposal to extend the first phase of the truce was drafted by the US envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining captives in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners – a key component of the first phase.
Aid blocked
After the first phase expired, Israel on Sunday suspended humanitarian aid deliveries, including fuel, aid and medicine, into Gaza, as the government aims to put pressure on Hamas to accept the new terms – a move that the Palestinian group slammed as a violation of the original deal.
France, the United Kingdom and Germany on Wednesday warned Israel against using aid as a “political tool”, calling on it to ensure the “unhindered” delivery of humanitarian supplies to the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
“We call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza,” the countries said in a joint statement.
“A halt on goods and supplies entering Gaza such as that announced by the government of Israel would risk violating international humanitarian law,” they said. “Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool.”
The three European nations described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic”.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
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The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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