World
Israel’s Gallant rejects French initiative to defuse Lebanon tensions
Defence minister says Israel will not participate in trilateral group with US and France because of Paris’s ‘hostile policies’.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has rejected a French initiative aimed at defusing the growing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah as fears of an all-out war between the two sides grow.
Gallant said on Friday that Israel would not take part in a French-proposed trilateral group with the United States and France as he slammed Paris’s position on the war on Gaza.
“As we fight a just war, defending our people, France has adopted hostile policies against Israel,” Gallant said in a statement. “In doing so, France ignores the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli children, women and men. Israel will not be a party to the trilateral framework proposed by France.”
It was unclear whether Gallant, who is the subject of a war crimes investigation by International Criminal Court prosecutors, was speaking for the entire Israeli government or his own office.
Israeli ministers have sometimes released contradictory statements on the same subject, including recently on whether the country accepts the US proposal for an “enduring” ceasefire in Gaza.
Later on Friday, several Israeli media outlets said officials from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Gallant’s statement against France, calling it “incorrect and inappropriate”.
Paris has repeatedly denounced Hamas’s deadly October 7 attacks in Israel, but it has also criticised the Israeli offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza and called on the country to respect international humanitarian law. Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 37,000 Palestinians since October 7.
French President Emmanuel Macron put forward the Lebanon proposal on Thursday after days of escalation at the Lebanese-Israeli border. France, which enjoys close relations with Lebanon, has tried to advance a negotiated resolution.
“With the United States, we agreed on the principle of a trilateral [contact group] – Israel, the United States and France – to advance on the roadmap that we proposed, and we will do the same with the Lebanese authorities,” Macron said.
In February, Paris presented a plan to end hostilities that would see Hezbollah withdraw 10km (6 miles) from the border, Israel halt its attacks on southern Lebanon and negotiations over disputed border areas.
Hezbollah has said any diplomatic agreement can materialise only after an end to Israel’s war on Gaza. The Lebanese organisation started attacking military bases in northern Israel after the outbreak of the war on Gaza in what it says is a “support front” to back Palestinian armed groups.
Israel responded by bombing villages across southern Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah positions. Despite the near-daily exchanges of fire, the confrontations have largely been limited to the border area.
But cross-border clashes have intensified in recent weeks, raising the prospects of a major war.
On Thursday, Hezbollah said it fired 150 rockets and launched 30 suicide drones at Israeli military positions in response to the killing of one of its top commanders this week. Later that day, an Israeli air raid killed two women and injured 15 other civilians in the southern Lebanese village of Jinata.
Hezbollah announced several military operations against Israel on Friday, including claiming a rocket attack against a building housing Israeli soldiers.
Tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and northern Israel have fled their homes to escape the violence.
Hezbollah says it is ready for war if Israel launches a major attack. Meanwhile, Israeli officials have pledged to push Hezbollah fighters farther away from the country’s border.
US and Western officials have warned against an escalation in Lebanon.
“We’re going to continue to work to try to advance calm in the north of Israel and achieve a diplomatic resolution that would allow the tens of thousands of Israelis who have been displaced from their homes and the tens of thousands of Lebanese who have been displaced from their homes to return home,” US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said on Thursday.
“We continue to believe … a ceasefire in Gaza is the best way to achieve that diplomatic resolution.”
World
Ferry tickets to Capri were temporarily halted due emergency
Thousands of keen island-hoppers had to remain on Italian mainland as the mayor of one of the country’s most popular islands, Capri, temporarily banned tourists.
A water emergency prompted the mayor of one of Italy’s most popular islands, Capri, to order a halt to the arrival of tourists on Saturday. The move was prompted by a water crisis that has deprived some areas of any water supply.
Mayor Paolo Falco said that without a water supply, it is impossible to guarantee essential services to “thousands of people” who travel to the island daily during the tourist season.
“The health and hygiene situation is explosive, we have taken our countermeasures and activated the crisis unit and issued a restrictive order,” he said.
The emergency was caused by a failure in the mainland’s water system that provides vital supplies to the famous island.
At the moment water is still being supplied to most of Capri, but some isolated areas of the upper municipality of Anacapri are already dry. Only local reservoirs supply the network, which in the absence of supplies from the mainland risks being run out.
Meanwhile, tanks are expected to reach the island to support essential services that require water.
The Mayor’s order was notified shortly after 9am causing an immediate stop to boat crossings.
The move has created long lines of passengers at the ticket offices at the ports of the southern city of Naples, the departing point for most ferries to Capri.
Ferries and hydrofoils that had already departed for Capri were contacted by radio by the maritime authorities, which ordered them to return to the mainland.
World
No fairytale return to Germany for Lewandowski
World
Medical intern surprises would-be sexual abuser with hidden talent: 'Those lessons saved my life'
A medical intern in Thailand fought off a drunk nurse who tried to grope her one night, busting out fighting skills that helped her kick her would-be assaulter to the curb.
“I have been doing Muay Thai boxing since I was a kid,” Petcharaporn Phadungjai, 22, told reporters. “I know how to kick, knee and punch someone. I know how to wrestle with them. It was my instinctive reaction to protect myself.”
“I’m lucky my grandfather taught me self-defense skills when I was a young girl,” she added. “Those lessons saved my life.”
CCTV footage from around midnight shows the 30-year-old male nurse approaching Petcharaporn from behind as she picked up some food before leaving for the night. He first circles behind her as though just wandering around the area aimlessly before turning and reaching for her.
ANIMAL CARETAKERS IN THAILAND ‘SHOCKED’ AFTER SURPRISE BIRTH OF RARE TWIN ELEPHANTS
As soon as the nurse’s arms wrap around the intern, she grabs him and drives him back towards the far wall. He keeps a strong grip on her, but as soon as she faces him, she drives her knee into his groin, giving herself a chance to pull free.
Once separated, she kicks him again, striking him in the stomach before setting into a defensive stance and yelling at him to back off.
DOZENS ARRESTED AS THAI POLICE DISMANTLE CRIME NETWORK THAT FACILITATED LONG-TERM STAYS FOR FOREIGNERS
The hospital reported the incident to the police and fired the nurse as allegations that he had similarly harassed other female interns emerged, ViralPress reported.
Petcharaporn said she had ordered dinner but could not pick it up herself, so the nurse, who was drinking at a neighboring food stall, offered to bring it to her. She had to go to the general ward, because men are not allowed in the women’s ward.
THAI TOWN OVERRUN BY WILD MONKEYS LAUNCHES CAPTURE AND RELOCATION OPERATION
“When he arrived, he told me to scan the QR code to pay for the food,” Petcharaporn said. “I placed the phone on the desk, and that’s when he grabbed me from behind.”
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She alleged that the nurse had flirted with her during her internship, often calling her “darling” or indicating he liked her, but she had treated it as teasing. She also revealed that she feared that he would try to rape her if she didn’t fight him off.
Thailand suffers a significant sexual violence problem, with at least seven women sexually assaulted or abused per day, according to a report from the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRC).
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