Aide to Israel’s Netanyahu arrested in PM corruption probe – Newstrends
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Aide to Israel’s Netanyahu arrested in PM corruption probe

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Aide to Israel’s Netanyahu arrested in PM corruption probe

Israeli police announced on Monday the arrest of two individuals, one of whom was confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party as a senior aide to the long-serving leader.

Israeli media identified the two men as Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, both reportedly aides to the prime minister and allegedly linked to what has been dubbed locally as the “Qatargate Affair.”

The arrests ratchet up political tensions in the country, where the government is trying to fire both the domestic security chief and attorney general, while expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges.

The moves have reignited a protest movement in Israel, coinciding with the government’s resumption of fighting this month in the Gaza Strip.

Feldstein had separately been arrested late last year and released to house arrest on accusations of leaking a classified document related to hostage negotiations in Gaza, to shift critical media coverage of the Israeli leader.

Media reports on Monday further indicated that Netanyahu himself is expected to be questioned by police in connection with the Qatargate case .

Netanyahu is separately on trial over corruption allegations that he denies.

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“Following an investigation being conducted by the National Unit for International Investigations (YAHBAL)… two suspects were arrested today for questioning,” the police said in a statement, noting that the case remains under a court-imposed gag order.

– ‘A new low’ –

Israeli media also reported that a journalist from a prominent Israeli publication had been summoned for questioning.

AFP was unable to independently verify the identities of those arrested.

Requests for confirmation from Netanyahu’s office were not immediately answered.

Qatar, a gas-rich Gulf state, has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long hosted leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

“The brutal arrest of Yonatan Urich marks a new low in the political witch hunt to topple a right-wing prime minister and to prevent the dismissal of the failed head of the Shin Bet,” said a statement released by Likud.

Two weeks ago, the Israeli government unanimously approved Netanyahu’s proposal to fire the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, Ronen Bar.

The Supreme Court froze Bar’s dismissal and is to hold a detailed hearing on the case April 8.

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Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who faces a similar dismissal, said the top court’s initial ruling prevents the hiring of a new security chief, but Netanyahu did so anyway on Monday.

In its statement on Monday, the Likud party linked the Qatargate investigations to efforts to prevent Bar and Baharav-Miara’s dismissals, saying “for weeks, the prosecution and the head of the Shin Bet have been conducting baseless investigations in the dark under a gag order, trying to prevent the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet while using Urich and others as cannon fodder”.

Earlier this month, the Shin Bet agency announced it had started investigating Netanyahu’s aides in relation to the case, barring the publication of any details.

Bar has accused Netanyahu of “personal interest” in firing him to “prevent investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters” being looked at by the Shin Bet.

In a letter, Bar referred to the “complex, wide-ranging and highly sensitive investigation” involving people close to Netanyahu who allegedly received money from Qatar.

Aide to Israel’s Netanyahu arrested in PM corruption probe

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EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports

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April 9, 2025

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U.S President Donald Trump

EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports

EU member states on Wednesday approved initial retaliatory tariffs of 10 per cent to 25 per cent on U.S. imports, which the European Commission says will be implemented next week.

This includes special levies on items such as jeans and motorcycles from the United States, while U.S.-made whiskey and other alcoholic beverages were removed from the commission’s proposed list.

Further counter-tariffs are due to be imposed in mid-May and at the end of the year, affecting products including beef, poultry and citrus fruits such as oranges or grapefruit.

Additional tariffs on nuts and soybeans are planned for early December.

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The tariffs approved on Wednesday are in response to the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium imports imposed about a month ago.

According to EU calculations, the U.S. measures affect exports worth 26 billion euros (28.8 billion U.S. dollars).

The measures being imposed by Brussels target goods worth approximately 21 billion euros, according to EU sources.

The EU has stressed its preference for negotiations rather than escalating the trade dispute.

Work is still under way on a further package of measures in response to the tariffs on cars and almost all other EU exports to the U.S. more recently announced by President Donald Trump.

Trump’s tariff policy aims to correct alleged trade imbalances and shift production to the United States, while partially offsetting tax cuts promised during his election campaign.

EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports
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Israeli strikes kill 20 in fresh attack on Gaza

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April 9, 2025

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Israeli strikes kill 20 in fresh attack on Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a residential building in the Shujaiya area of Gaza City killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, as the military said they were looking into the attack.

The agency’s spokesman, Mahmud Bassal told AFP the strike resulted in “20 martyrs and more than 40 injured” and the search for bodies in the rubble was ongoing.

Israel resumed intense strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Efforts to restore the truce have so far failed.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Wednesday that at least 1,482 Palestinians have been killed in the renewed Israeli operations, taking the overall death toll since the start of the war to 50,846.

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Hamas’s October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told AFP on Tuesday that it was “necessary to reach a ceasefire” in Gaza.

He added that “communication with the mediators is still ongoing” but that “so far, there are no new proposals”.

Badran said Hamas “is open to all ideas that would lead to a ceasefire and stop the genocide enacted against our Palestinian people”.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that new negotiations were in the works aimed at getting more hostages released from captivity in Gaza.

Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s attack on Israel, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

 

Israeli strikes kill 20 in fresh attack on Gaza

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Dominican Republic: At least 98 die in club roof collapse

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April 9, 2025

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Dominican Republic: At least 98 die in club roof collapse

A nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday claimed at least 98 lives and left another 160 others injured.

Hundreds of people along with VIPs had been attending a meringue concert at an iconic nightclub when the collapse took place.

Crews were on Tuesday searching for potential survivors under the rubble at the one-story Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo.

What the rescuers said “We presume that many of them are still alive, and that is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble,” said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations.

Among the victims was Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern Montechristi, as was former Major League baseball player Octavio Dotel.

Reports in the country say merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was performing at the venue, died as a result of the collapse, but Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center, said forensics experts had “not confirmed that they found the body.”

Legislator Bray Vargas was among those injured.

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“It was sudden. I thought it was an earthquake, so I threw myself to the ground and covered my head,” said Enrique Paulino, manager of the singer.

“One of our saxophonists is dead, we tried to get to the area where Rubby was but there was too much debris there,” he said.

Local media said there were between 500 and 1,000 people in the club when the disaster happened.

‘Main objective is to save lives’ Dominican President Luis Abinader posted on the X social media platform that all rescue agencies are “working tirelessly” to help those affected.

“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred,” he wrote.

“All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”

Abinader visited the scene and hugged people looking for friends and family, some with tears streaming down their faces. He did not speak to reporters.

“The main objective is to save lives… We are deeply affected,” he said on his arrival.

Dominican Republic: At least 98 die in club roof collapse

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