Author: DW

There are many in Israel who don’t believe Benjamin Netanyahu wants a new hostage deal, and they’re not just the families of those still being held in Gaza.Such is the scepticism with which Israel’s prime minister is now regarded, a growing number of Israelis are starting to think their embattled leader wants to string out the fighting as long as possible as a means to remain in office. Having spent much of Monday blaming Hamas for collapsing ceasefire talks, the group’s dramatic acceptance of a ceasefire proposal last night certainly threw the Israeli government. Please use Chrome browser for a…

At least three people have died and dozens more are believed to be trapped under rubble after a building under construction in South Africa collapsed.Officials in the city of George, on the country’s southern coast, say 51 people are still trapped while 24 have been taken to hospital after the disaster on Monday afternoon, local time. Western Cape premier Alan Winde said: “Seventy-five members of construction crew have been confirmed on site at that time of the incident.” Image: CCTV footage shows the building before it collapsed. Pic: Reuters CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a cloud of dust as…

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday it had opened an investigation into Boeing after the American multinational corporation admitted it may not have completed required inspections on certain 787 aircraft. These checks are needed to ensure a safe and functional electrical flow between aircraft components. More specifically, these inspections are needed to “confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes,” according to the US air safety authority. “The FAA is investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records,” the FAA continued. “At the same time, Boeing is reinspecting all 787…

Israel has rejected a ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas and announced it is pushing ahead with an assault on the town of Rafah in southern Gaza.The Israeli military said it was conducting “targeted strikes” against Hamas in the east of the city, which is the group’s final stronghold in Gaza. Soon after Israeli tanks entered Rafah and advanced as close as 200m from Rafah’s crossing with Egypt, the Associated Press reported, citing an Egyptian official who said the operation appeared to be limited in scope.Middle East latest: Follow live updates Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player…

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday for talks on Russia’s war in Ukraine and trade between China and the European Union. Xi arrived in France on Sunday for a rare European visit that included meeting with President Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Macron welcomes ‘commitment’ not to sell arms to Russia Speaking at a press conference after the talks, Macron said he welcomed Chinese “commitments to refrain from selling any arms” or providing “any aide” to Russia in support of Moscow’s war in Ukraine. He said France…

Many people in the United States and observing the scene from abroad over the last several weeks may be asking themselves, “What’s going on?” The title of the 1971 song by soul legend Marvin Gaye spoke to an era of civil unrest sparked by war, racism and political disillusionment, when students and young people were putting themselves at the center of demands for major change. If he were still alive today, Gaye would likely find just as much reason to produce that hit. Once again, US youth are turning their university campuses into stages to spotlight what some have described as “genocide…

Hamas says it has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar – as Israel suggests it will not accept the proposal in its current form.The Palestinian militant group has issued a statement saying its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had expressed his agreement in a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence minister.Mr Haniyeh said in a call with Qatar’s head of state that Israel should “seize the moment” and accept the proposal.It comes as Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Mr Haniyeh told him the “ball is now in Israel’s court”.A Hamas official has said the…

When will the Rafah offensive begin? Discussions about a possible military offensive on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, have been ongoing in Israel since early February. Israeli media reports in late April said troops had finished their preparations for the ground offensive. All that remained was for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give the word. After the failure of indirect negotiations with Hamas regarding a cease-fire and the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners over the weekend, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said military action was required in Rafah and there was “no other alternative,” according to news agencies. On Monday,…

Russia has warned that Ukrainian strikes on its territory with UK-supplied weapons could bring retaliatory attacks against British military facilities and equipment on Ukrainian soil or elsewhere.During a trip to Kyiv last week, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said Ukraine “absolutely has the right” to strike back at targets inside Russia using British-supplied weapons. Russia’s foreign ministry said the UK’s ambassador to Moscow had been “summoned” to make him “reflect on the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps by London”.The UK’s Foreign Office, however, contested the claim saying the ambassador had not been “summoned” but he had just taken part…

Each day, buses driven by volunteers travel from the town of Sumy to the Ukrainian-Russian border and back. They’re collecting people who have crossed at the Kolotilovka-Pokrovka checkpoint, the former being a village in the Russian region of Belgorod and the latter in the Ukrainian region of Sumy. Since April 2022, this has been the only humanitarian corridor through which Ukrainians from the Russian-occupied territories can reach areas controlled by Kyiv. On this day, 11 people and a howling dachshund are on the bus to Sumy. The passengers are mostly women and older people, but two teenagers are also on board. Some people gaze wearily…