Qatar, Egypt, US invite Israel, Hamas to resume Gaza ceasefire talks – Newstrends
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Qatar, Egypt, US invite Israel, Hamas to resume Gaza ceasefire talks

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8 months ago

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Palestinian girl Maisa al-Ghandour, who was wounded in an Israeli attack along with her two siblings and mother, cries as she gets treatment in Khan Younis, Gaza [File: Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Qatar, Egypt, US invite Israel, Hamas to resume Gaza ceasefire talks

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have called on Israel and Hamas to resume talks to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as Israel’s continued bombardment of the territory has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians and raised fears of further regional escalation.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the three countries urged Israel and Hamas “to resume urgent discussion” on August 15 in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay”.

“It is the time to conclude a ceasefire agreement and release hostages and prisoners,” they said.

“We have worked for months to reach framework agreement and it is now on the table, with only details of implementation missing.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office quickly responded to the call, saying in a statement that Israel would send a delegation to attend talks next week “in order to finalise the details and implement the framework agreement”.

Hamas, the Palestinian political faction that governs Gaza, has yet to respond.

The joint statement comes amid months of failed attempts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel’s military assault has killed at least 39,699 Palestinians and injured 91,722 others since early October.

The recent killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran – widely believed to have been carried out by Israel – also spurred questions about the prospect of continued ceasefire negotiations.

The assassination of Haniyeh – who had been a key figure in the talks – was seen by many as an effort by Netanyahu’s government to scuttle efforts to negotiate an end to the war.

Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera correspondent Hamdah Salhut said the circumstances of Haniyeh’s death will add to the complexity of any future negotiations.

“There are a lot of moving parts here,” she said, pointing to the risk of a “retaliatory attack” from Iran or one of its proxies.

“Additionally, we have to remember that the Israelis are now going to be negotiating with Yahya Sinwar, who is the new political leader of Hamas,” Salhut added, referring to Haniyeh’s replacement.

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“He’s considered a hardliner. Benjamin Netanyahu is considered a hardliner. He’s gone into these negotiations previously with several non-negotiables and has added to that list.”

Still, in Thursday’s statement, Qatar, Egypt and the US said it is “time to bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families”.

“There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay,” the countries said.

The statement was undersigned by US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, said the statement shows the mediating nations are running out of patience.

“The US is being pushed to exert greater pressure due to the threat of a wider regional war,” Bishara explained.

“I think the idea here is that they’re going to go back to the table, come August 15, and both Hamas and Israel would be looking at hammering the details,” he said.

Bishara said many details are still unclear, including which Palestinian prisoners and captives held in Gaza would be released in the first phase of the deal – and how many.

But said the mediating nations believe they “have a good framework agreement now for a three-stage ceasefire agreement”.

“I think this is more or less a call for action, a call for urgency – to act quicker than before.”

Ariel Gold, executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a US-based non-violence group, said Thursday’s statement is not yet cause for celebration.

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“We have in many ways been here before,” Gold told Al Jazeera, noting that President Biden’s administration has “many times [said] that we are at the final stretch” of negotiations.

Gold said Biden, who has provided staunch military and diplomatic support to Israel amid the war, should make it clear to Netanyahu that there will be “a real, definitive consequence for refusing this ceasefire deal”.

For months, Palestinian rights advocates in the US have urged Biden to stop sending weapons to Israel as the war drags on.

Rami Khouri, a professor at the American University of Beirut, said the timing of the statement is likely a reflection of the pressures Biden is facing.

“Why the 15th?” Khouri asked, referencing the date in the joint statement to restart negotiations. “I think it’s because the two most desperate people in the world now for a ceasefire, other than the Palestinians, are Kamala Harris and Genocide Joe Biden, as he is well known in the US.”

Khouri pointed out that August 15 comes mere days before the Democrats are set to hold their national convention in Chicago, Illinois. The ongoing fighting in Gaza could spark discord and protest at the convention, which is designed as a platform for Harris’s presidential campaign.

“They’re desperate to have this ceasefire happen,” Khouri said, adding that “the timing is unbelievably significant”.

Qatar, Egypt, US invite Israel, Hamas to resume Gaza ceasefire talks

Source: Al Jazeera
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Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000

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2 days ago

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April 15, 2025

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Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000

A lady’s pocket watch discovered among the belongings of one of the passengers who drowned on the Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage could fetch up to 50,000 euros (66,000 dollars) at auction.

Hans Christensen Givard, a 27-year-old Danish second-class passenger, was one of 1,500 people killed when the ship collided with an iceberg in 1912.

Givard was heading to the United States with two other companions who died in the catastrophe.

The watch was discovered when Givard’s body was recovered from the North Atlantic, and he was buried in Halifax, Canada.

The pockets contained a savings book, keys, some cash in a wallet, a silver watch, a compass, and a passport.

The gold ladies’ pocket watch, which showed signs of saltwater corrosion, was also retrieved.

All of his goods were restored to his brother in Denmark, and his relatives are now selling the watch.

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The tragic incident of Givard led curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist and U.S. resident Mette Hjermind McCall, to publish the book Titanic, De Danske Fortaellinger (Titanic, The Danish Stories), which mentions the pocket watch.

Claes Goran Wetterholm, the world’s greatest specialist on the Scandinavian aspect of the Titanic tale, also showed it in Copenhagen in 2012.

The watch will be auctioned on April 26 by Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said, “This piece is documented in the official list of Hans’s effects compiled by the authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the weeks after the Titanic disaster and has remained in his family ever since.

“It was one of the centrepieces of the display of Titanic memorabilia in the Tivoli in Copenhagen in 2012, which illustrates its importance.

“The watch’s movement is frozen in time at the moment the cold North Atlantic waters consumed not only its owner but the most famous ocean liner of all time, Titanic, on April 15, 1912,” he added.

Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000

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US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status

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2 days ago

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April 15, 2025

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U.S President Donald Trump

US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status

A federal judge on Monday blocked US President Donald Trump’s administration from quickly revoking the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.

The ruling by District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston is the latest order against Trump’s rapid push to carry out mass deportations, particularly targeting Latin Americans.

In March, the administration said it was moving to revoke the legal status of some 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who came to the United States under a “parole” program initially launched by former president Joe Biden in October 2022.

“The court grants emergency relief staying the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans,” Talwani wrote in her order.

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The parole program allowed entry to the United States for two years for up to 30,000 migrants per month from the four countries, which have grim human rights records.

In her order, Talwani said the Trump administration had acted on a flawed interpretation of immigration law, with expedited removal applicable to non-citizens entering the United States illegally, but not those authorized to be in the country, such as through the parole program.

Under Trump’s revocation, the immigrants would have lost their legal protection effective April 24, just 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security published its order in the Federal Register.

Trump has vowed to deport “millions” of undocumented migrants in his second term, after running an election campaign that focused on illegal immigration.

Among other measures, he has invoked rare wartime legislation to fly hundreds of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, which is imprisoning the migrants.

 

US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status

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5 things to do after overstaying your US visa

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2 days ago

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April 15, 2025

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5 things to do after overstaying your US visa

Migration to the US does not totally translate to a long-time staying immunity as it is usually dependent on the number of months or years that your visa carried upon its issuance to you.

Hence, many individuals do not take cognizance of their visas’ possible expiry dates. And when they eventually do be in the know that their visas have expired, they try to evade relevant authorities that come for them, who do not usually have a choice but to deport them to their actual countries.

However, it is advisable that you do not act like these individuals. There are certain steps you can take when your visa expires so as to avoid risk of deportation. Below are some of them:

What to do when you overstay your US visa

1. Beware of your overstay status

More often than not, overstaying in the United States does not totally result in a severe punishment. When your visa expires and you do not have the power to renew or something, be wary of how long you overstay.

For instance, if your overstaying is less than 180 days, you may escape severe punishments if you leave voluntarily. However, you might face riskier measures if you overstay for more than 180 days. These risks include slapping you with a three to six years re-entry ban.

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By seeking a legal counsel immediately, you can escape trouble in the US when you overstay your visit there. A legal counsel would look into your case, guide you to renewal requirements and eventually represent you in the court if need be.

3. Change your visit status

Another measure you can take when you overstay your visit in the United States is to renew your status of stay immediately. When you are given the opportunity to renew it, you can tender very reasonable reasons as to why you want to stay and renew such as furthering education, seeking medical treatments and others.

If possible, you can try change your status totally such that you would be enabled to stay there permanently.

4. Cooperate with relevant authorities

When you overstay your visit in the United States, and you are being contacted for questions or interrogations, do not hesitate to answer the calls. Try to let your legal counsel come in, apply for the cancellation of removal and stay calm.

5. Apply for protective measures

You can apply for protective stay measures such as applying for asylum because your stay in your home country might be risky for you probably because of war, racism and other issues bordering humanity. You can also explore Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which would make the American immigration authorities consider some reliefs for you.

 

5 things to do after overstaying your US visa

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