Reuters/AP

JERUSALEM/GAZA:&nbsp;The Hamas-run Prisoners Office said&nbsp;on Monday that&nbsp;buses carrying the freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah and in the Gaza Strip. Israel freed more than 1,900 prisoners and detainees after Hamas freed all remaining living hostages held in Gaza under the two sides&rsquo; ceasefire deal. The buses arrived in Ramallah after leaving Ofer prison, in the Israel-occupied West Bank, said the Prisoners Office. At least one bus also crossed into the Gaza Strip, it said. Earlier, Hamas handed over 20 surviving Israeli hostages to the Red Cross as part of US President Donald Trump&#39;s ceasefire deal. News agencies quoting Israel&rsquo;s public broadcaster reported Hamas had handed over all 20 surviving Israeli hostages to Red Cross representatives. Earlier, President Donald Trump arrived in Israel to celebrate the US-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, an agreement that he declares has effectively ended the war and opened the door to building a durable peace in the Middle East. The moment, however, remains fragile, with Israel and Hamas still in the early stages of implementing the first phase of the plan, which includes the release of Israeli hostages that have been held since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants. With families overjoyed at the impending reunions and Palestinians eager for a surge of humanitarian assistance, Trump thinks there is a narrow window to reshape the region and reset long-fraught relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. &ldquo;The war is over, OK?&rdquo; Trump told reporters traveling with him aboard Air Force One while on his way from Washington DC to Israel. &ldquo;I think people are tired of it,&rdquo; he said, emphasizing that he believed the ceasefire would hold because of that. While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners marked a key step toward ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and Hamas. As the war dragged on, demonstrators accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political purposes, even as he accused Hamas of intransigence. Last week, under heavy international pressure and increasing isolation for Israel, the bitter enemies agreed to the ceasefire. With the hostages&rsquo; release, the sense of urgency around the war for many Israelis will be effectively over. While Israel considers the prisoners to be terrorists, Palestinians view them as freedom fighters against Israeli occupation. Israel has warned Palestinians in the West Bank against celebrating after people are released, according to a prisoner&rsquo;s family and a Palestinian official familiar with the plans. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution. Trump in Israel, Egypt&nbsp;Trump is first visiting Israel, where a White House schedule said he would meet with families of the hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel&rsquo;s parliament. Vice President JD Vance said Trump was likely to meet with newly freed hostages. &ldquo;The war is over,&rdquo; Trump asserted to reporters as he departed, adding he thought the ceasefire would hold. Trump will continue to Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi&#39;s office said he will co-chair a &ldquo;peace summit&rdquo; on Monday with regional and international leaders. Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, will attend, a judge and adviser to Abbas, Mahmoud al-Habbash, told The Associated Press. Netanyahu has rejected any role in postwar Gaza for Abbas, though the US plan leaves the possibility open if the Palestinian Authority undergoes reforms. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Other key questions in the ceasefire deal remain unresolved, including the future governance of Gaza and the funding for a billion-dollar reconstruction process. Israel wants to ensure that the weakened Hamas disarms, and Netanyahu has warned that Israel could do it &ldquo;the hard way.&rdquo; Hamas refuses to disarm and wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops completely out of Gaza. The Israeli military has withdrawn from much of Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis, and other areas. Troops remain in most of the southern city of Rafah, towns of Gaza&rsquo;s far north, and the wide strip along Gaza&rsquo;s border with Israel. Under the US plan, an international body will govern Gaza, overseeing Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. Hamas has said that Gaza&rsquo;s government should be worked out among Palestinians. The plan calls for an Arab-led international security force in Gaza, along with Palestinian police trained by Egypt and Jordan. It said Israeli forces would leave areas as those forces deploy. About 200 US troops are now in Israel to monitor the ceasefire. The plan also mentions the possibility of a future Palestinian state, another nonstarter for Netanyahu.

Middle East

Red Cross buses carrying Palestinian prisoners arrive in Ramallah and Gaza; Hamas hands over hostages to the Red Cross; Trump to address Israeli parliament; later, attend the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt, which aims to strengthen peace in Gaza after two years of devastation by Israel.

All surviving Israeli hostages, 1,900 Palestinian prisoners released

MELBOURNE: Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Papua New Guinea, its first in more than 70 years, as Canberra seeks to block China from expanding its security presence in the Pacific. Under the Pukpuk defence treaty, which is the first signed by Papua New Guinea, Australia, and its northern neighbour, they are obliged to come to each other&rsquo;s aid if attacked. &quot;This is a historic agreement,&quot; Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the press in Canberra. &ldquo;By continuing to build our security relationships in the region, we safeguard our own security.&rdquo; The treaty allows as many as 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve with the Australian Defence Force, under dual arrangements. Australia was Papua New Guinea&#39;s colonial master until the developing island nation became independent in 1975. Australia, with its population of 28 million, and Papua New Guinea, with an estimated population of roughly 10 million, are the most populous nations in the South Pacific. The United States and Australia have both strengthened their military ties with Papua New Guinea in recent years, which is viewed as a strategically important partner in countering China&rsquo;s growing influence in the Pacific. Albanese said both nations have agreed &quot;not to undertake any activities or enter into any agreements that would compromise the implementation of this Treaty.&quot; &quot;This Treaty was not conceived out of geopolitics or any other reason. But out of geography, history, and the enduring reality of our shared neighbourhood,&quot; Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape told the press. The Papua New Guinea cabinet approved the Pukpuk treaty, which translates to &quot;crocodile,&quot; last week. &quot;We still retain our relationship with China and other nations,&quot; Marape added.

 Anthony Albanese, left, and James Marape

Australasia

Australia and Papua New Guinea signed the historic Pukpuk defence treaty, pledging mutual defence support and closer military cooperation, allowing 10,000 PNG troops to serve with Australia, while reaffirming Papua New Guinea’s ties with China.

Australia, Papua New Guinea sign historic defence treaty

COPENHAGEN: European leaders meeting in Copenhagen warned that Russia is escalating a hybrid war across the continent and moved to bolster air defenses, including a proposed &ldquo;drone wall,&rdquo; while weighing a loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets. Europe &ldquo;is in the middle of a hybrid war waged by Russia,&rdquo; Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said as she hosted the summit. &ldquo;I hope that everybody recognizes now that there is a hybrid war and one day it&rsquo;s Poland, the other day it&rsquo;s Denmark, and next week it will probably be somewhere else that we see sabotage or we see drones flying,&rdquo; AP reported. &nbsp; Drone incursions prompt defense pushThe meeting followed a string of drone incidents at Danish airports and military sites. A special radar system was set up at Copenhagen airport after unidentified drones forced a closure last week. France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom sent aircraft, ships, and air defenses to Denmark. At the same time, Ukraine dispatched a mission to share expertise on combating drones, according to the AP.&nbsp; Reuters reported Frederiksen calling for a European network of anti-drone measures to &ldquo;protect and, of course, also neutralize intrusion from outside.&rdquo; He went on to add, &ldquo;Europe must be able to defend itself.&rdquo; EU considers frozen assets planLeaders discussed preparing Europe to deter Russian aggression by 2030 amid concerns about the United States&rsquo; focus elsewhere. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the gathering by video as leaders considered ways to sustain military and financial support.&nbsp; A European Commission proposal for a &ldquo;reparation loan&rdquo; to Ukraine, backed by frozen Russian assets, was a central topic. &ldquo;We are not confiscating the assets, but we are taking the cash balances for a loan to Ukraine,&rdquo; Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.&nbsp; Rising security concernsRecent airspace incidents sharpened urgency. Several Russian drones breached Poland&rsquo;s airspace on Sept. 10, prompting North Atlantic Treaty Organization aircraft to intercept some devices in what officials described as the first direct encounter with Moscow&rsquo;s hardware since 2022. Days later, NATO jets escorted three Russian warplanes out of Estonia&rsquo;s airspace.&nbsp; Call to rearmAP reported Frederiksen urged Europe to &ldquo;rearm,&rdquo; buy capabilities, and innovate on drones. &ldquo;When I look at Europe today, I think we are in the most difficult and dangerous situation since the end of the Second World War,&rdquo; she said.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz and France's President Emmanuel Macron prior to an informal summit in the Danish parliament at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.

Europe

European leaders meeting in Copenhagen warned that Russia is escalating a hybrid war across the continent and moved to bolster air defenses, including a proposed “drone wall,” while weighing a loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets.

EU leaders in Denmark call for drone defense, Ukraine funding

MADRID/ROME: Spain&#39;s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, announced on Wednesday that he will send a military warship to protect the Sumud flotilla to Gaza after it was attacked by drones off Greece.His announcement follows Italy&rsquo;s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto&#39;s statement, who told parliament that Rome would send its second navy ship to escort the aid flotilla, according to Reuters.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S&aacute;nchez said in New York, where he has been attending the UN General Assembly, that Spain would dispatch a naval vessel from Cartagena &ldquo;with all necessary resources in case it was necessary to assist the flotilla and carry out a rescue operation,&rdquo; Reuters reported.&nbsp;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 697px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1970920065533898892&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fmedia-library%2F&sessionId=a8772acc9d5df009006a83b6df210ef92ba42eb9&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">S&aacute;nchez stressed that &ldquo;international law must be respected&rdquo; and that Spanish citizens had the right to sail safely through the Mediterranean.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Italy&rsquo;s sending rescue reinforcements&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Italy&rsquo;s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Rome had activated the navy frigate&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fasan<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which was heading to the area from north of Crete &ldquo;for possible rescue operations.&rdquo;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He added: &ldquo;In a democracy, demonstrations and forms of protest must also be protected when they are carried out in accordance with international law and without resorting to violence,&rdquo; AP reported.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Italy&rsquo;s Foreign Ministry meanwhile reported its computer systems were hit by a &ldquo;mail bombing&rdquo; campaign after the flotilla urged supporters to pressure Rome into condemning the attack, saying the flood of emails hindered its crisis unit&rsquo;s work. Italian officials said 58 citizens, including lawmakers, were aboard the flotilla, AP reported.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The European Commission said freedom of navigation under international law &ldquo;must be upheld,&rdquo; while the UN Human Rights Office called for an investigation.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thunberg on the move&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Global Sumud Flotilla, involving about 50 civilian boats carrying lawyers, activists, and aid &mdash; including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg &mdash; is seeking to break Israel&rsquo;s naval blockade of Gaza.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A spokesperson for March to Gaza Greece told Reuters the vessels were attacked by 12 drones in international waters 30 nautical miles (56 km) off the Greek island of Gavdos.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thunberg told Reuters earlier that drones had flown over them nightly: &ldquo;This mission is about Gaza, it isn&rsquo;t about us. And no risks that we could take could even come close to the risks the Palestinians are facing every day.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Attacks on Flotilla&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The flotilla has reported several attacks since it set sail from Spain on Sept. 1, including two while some of its boats were in Tunisian waters.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Activists have launched several flotillas aimed at breaking the blockade over the years, nearly all of them intercepted by Israel. Another vessel said it was attacked by drones in May in international waters off Malta. An overland convoy traveling across North Africa also attempted to reach the border but was blocked by security forces aligned with Egypt in eastern Libya.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara, a boat participating in an aid flotilla attempting to breach the maritime blockade of Gaza, killing 10 Turkish activists in clashes on board.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Israel has criticized the flotilla as tacitly supportive of Hamas but did not comment on the drone attack on Tuesday as reported by Reuters.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since the war in Gaza began, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities, with famine, mass displacement, and destruction continuing.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez arrives for a press conference in New York

Spain and Italy will each deploy naval vessels to assist an international flotilla delivering aid to Gaza after it was attacked by drones off Greece.

Spain to send warship to protect Gaza aid flotilla

Asfandyar Yahya

It&rsquo;s not English. It&rsquo;s not nonsense. It&rsquo;s everywhere. Lorem Ipsum has outlived empires, printing presses, and software updates, and somehow ended up on your Canva template.In this episode, we explore the history behind the internet&rsquo;s favorite filler text.

Tell Me Why

Tell Me Why: Lorem Ipsum matters

SYDNEY: Australia&#39;s leading Adelaide Festival is battling a slew of artist withdrawals and board resignations after disinviting a Palestinian-Australian author citing &quot;cultural sensitivities&quot; raised by the Bondi Beach shooting. Scores of artists have reportedly torn up their invitations, several board members &mdash; including the festival chair &mdash; have quit, and the blocked author&#39;s lawyers have demanded an explanation. Australia&#39;s premier annual cultural event, which lures artists from around the world, unleashed the storm last week when it told Randa Abdel-Fattah it did not &quot;wish to proceed&quot; with her appearance at its Writers&#39; Week. &quot;Whilst we do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah or her writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, given her past statements, we have formed the view that it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi,&quot; it said in a statement. The festival board said it was &quot;shocked and saddened&quot; by the December 14 mass shooting at a Jewish festival on Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people, and its decision to exclude Abdel-Fattah was not taken lightly. But the shunned author and academic said it was a &quot;blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism.&quot; It was a &quot;despicable attempt to associate me with the Bondi massacre,&quot; she said in a statement. Her legal representatives, Marque Lawyers, sent a letter to the festival on Sunday demanding that it identify statements by the author that justified excluding her. Marque Lawyers&#39; managing partner Michael Bradley said the festival had &quot;trampled&quot; on Abdel-Fattah&#39;s human rights, and the board would have to answer for it. Festival chair resigns Abdel-Fattah has faced criticism over some statements, including a post on X in October 2024 saying: &quot;The goal is decolonization and the end of this murderous Zionist colony.&quot; Local media said her exclusion had led more than 70 participants to withdraw from the festival, which runs from February 27 to March 15. They included author and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who posted a video on social media of himself tearing up his invitation. Three Adelaide Festival board members reportedly resigned their positions at an extraordinary meeting on Saturday. On Sunday, the festival chair, Tracey Whiting, announced she, too, had resigned with immediate effect. &quot;Recent decisions were bound by certain undertakings, and my resignation enables the Adelaide Festival, as an organization, to refresh its leadership and its approach to these circumstances,&quot; she said. South Australia&#39;s Premier Peter Malinauskas said he was legally prevented from directing the board&#39;s decisions. &quot;However, when asked for my opinion, I was happy to make it clear that the state government did not support the inclusion of Dr Abdel-Fattah on the Adelaide Writers&#39; Week program,&quot; he told local media. The Adelaide Festival said it had &quot;temporarily unpublished&quot; the list of participants and events in Writers&#39; Week while it works through changes to its website.

Australia's premier annual cultural event unleashes storm after telling Randa Abdel-Fattah it does not "wish to proceed" with her appearance at its Writers' Week; scores of artists have torn up invitations, several board members have quit, and the blocked author's lawyers have demanded an explanation; shunned author and academic says it is a "blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism."





Arts festival faces exodus after dropping Palestinian Australian author

COPENHAGEN: Denmark&#39;s prime minister on Sunday said her country faces a &quot;decisive moment&quot; in its diplomatic battle with the United States over Greenland, after President Donald Trump again suggested using force to seize the Arctic territory. Ahead of meetings in Washington from Monday on, the global scramble for key raw materials, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that &quot;there is a conflict over Greenland.&quot; &quot;This is a decisive moment&quot; with stakes that go beyond the immediate issue of Greenland&#39;s future, she added in a debate with other Danish political leaders. Frederiksen posted on Facebook that &quot;we are ready to defend our values &mdash; wherever it is necessary &nbsp;&mdash; also in the Arctic. We believe in international law and in people&#39;s right to self-determination.&quot; Germany and Sweden backed Denmark against Trump&#39;s latest claims to the self-governing Danish territory. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned US &quot;threatening rhetoric&quot; after Trump repeated that Washington was &quot;going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.&quot; &quot;Sweden, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, and several major European countries stand together with our Danish friends,&quot; he told a defense conference in Salen, where the US general in charge of NATO took part. Kristersson said a US takeover of mineral-rich Greenland would be &quot;a violation of international law and risks encouraging other countries to act in exactly the same way.&quot; No &#39;immediate threat&#39; Germany reiterated its support for Denmark and Greenland ahead of the Washington discussions. Before meeting US counterpart Marco Rubio on Monday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadehpul held talks in Iceland to address the &quot;strategic challenges of the Far North&quot;, according to a foreign ministry statement. &quot;Security in the Arctic is becoming more and more important,&quot; and &quot;is part of our common interest in NATO,&quot; he said at a joint news conference with Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir. &quot;If the American president is looking at what threats might come from Russian or Chinese ships or submarines in the region, we can of course find answers to that together,&quot; he added. But &quot;the future of Greenland must be decided by the people of Greenland&quot; and Denmark, he said. Asked about a possible strengthening of NATO&#39;s commitment in the Arctic, Wadephul said Germany was &quot;ready to assume greater responsibilities.&quot; Earlier Sunday, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said: &quot;We are strengthening security in the Arctic together, as NATO allies, and not against one another.&quot; He was speaking ahead of an international meeting on critical raw materials in Washington. European nations have scrambled to coordinate a response after the White House said this week that Trump wanted to buy Greenland and refused to rule out military action. On Tuesday, leaders of seven European countries, including France, Britain, Germany, and Italy, signed a letter saying it is &quot;only&quot; for Denmark and Greenland to decide the territory&#39;s future. Trump says controlling the island is crucial for US national security because of the rising Russian and Chinese military activity in the Arctic. NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Alexus Grynkewich told the Swedish conference that alliance members were discussing Greenland&#39;s status. While there was &quot;no immediate threat&quot; to NATO territory, the Arctic&#39;s strategic importance was fast growing, the US general added. Grynkewich said he would not comment on &quot;the political dimensions of recent rhetoric,&quot; but talks on Greenland were being held at the North Atlantic Council. &quot;Those dialogues continue in Brussels. They have been healthy dialogues from what I&#39;ve heard,&quot; the general said. A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark. Polls indicate that Greenland&#39;s population strongly opposes a US takeover. &quot;I don&#39;t think there&#39;s an immediate threat to NATO territory right now,&quot; Grynkewich told the conference. But he said Russian and Chinese vessels had been seen patrolling together on Russia&#39;s northern coast and near Alaska and Canada, working together to get greater access to the Arctic as ice recedes due to global warming.

PM Frederiksen says “we are ready to defend our values — wherever it is necessary  — also in the Arctic. We believe in international law and in peoples' right to self-determination"; Swedish PM condemns US "threatening rhetoric" after Trump repeats that Washington was "going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not."

Danish PM says Greenland showdown at 'decisive moment' after new Trump threats

LONDON: Demonstrators rallied in London, Paris and Istanbul on Sunday in support of protests in Iran that have been countered with a deadly crackdown by the country&#39;s security forces. London demonstrations, initially in front of the Iranian embassy and later in front of the British prime minister&#39;s residence, grew to several thousand as the day progressed. &quot;We want revolution, change the regime,&quot; Afsi, a 38-year-old Iranian, who declined to give her last name, told AFP at the rally in front of Downing Street. Afsi has lived in London for seven years, and has not been able to contact her family in Iran because of an internet blackout imposed by authorities since Thursday. &ldquo;It&#39;s so frustrating, but it&#39;s not the first time,&quot; he said. &quot;This time, we have hope ... we feel like we can do it (overthrow the government) this time.&quot; In Paris, more than 2,000 people waving Iran&#39;s flag from before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 demonstrated, to chants of &quot;No to the terrorist Islamic Republic.&quot; Police did not allow them to approach the Iranian embassy. &quot;Close the mullahs&#39; embassy, the terrorist factory,&quot; some demonstrators yelled. A 20-year-old Iranian student living in Paris, who gave his first name as Arya, said: &quot;In Iran, the people are rising up in the streets, and we Iranians outside Iran are here to show we are with them, and they are not alone.&quot; He said he was waiting to hear what the son of Iran&#39;s last shah, US-based Reza Pahlavi, &quot;will tell us to do.&quot; Pahlavi has emerged as a potential figurehead for government opponents. The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have lasted two weeks and become a movement against the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution. Iranian authorities have called the protesters &quot;rioters&quot; who are backed by the United States and Israel. In Istanbul, demonstrators voicing support for the Iranian protesters gathered in steady rain. Police cordoned off the area outside the Iranian consulate and the crowd was kept away from the mission. &quot;It&#39;s been 72 hours since we had any news from the country, from our families. No internet or television, we can&#39;t reach Iran anymore,&quot; said Nina, a young Iranian living in Turkey who had the Iranian flag and red tears painted on her face. &quot;The regime kills at random &mdash; whether families are on foot or in a car, whether there are children. It spares no one,&quot; she added. The crackdown by Iran&#39;s authorities has resulted in at least 192 deaths, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights. The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received &quot;credible&quot; accounts of &quot;hundreds of protesters&quot; killed across Iran since the internet clampdown started. The leaders of Britain, France, and Germany on Friday condemned the &quot;killing of protestors&quot; in Iran, while US President Donald Trump said Saturday his country stood &quot;ready to help&quot; as Iranians protest. One of the demonstrators in London, Fahimeh Moradi, 52, said she was taking part &quot;to support the Iranian people who are killed and murdered by the Iran regime &mdash; we don&#39;t want the Islamic Republic of Iran, we hate them!&quot; She added, &quot;My son is there, and I don&#39;t know if he&#39;s alive or not. We just want this murderous regime to leave Iran, that&#39;s it!&quot;

The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have lasted two weeks and become a movement against the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution; Iranian authorities have called the protesters "rioters" who are backed by the United States and Israel.

Demonstrators in London, Paris, Istanbul back Iran protests 

STOCKHOLM: Sweden will invest 15 billion kronor ($1.6 billion) on bolstering its air defenses, notably potential civilian targets, the government said Sunday, the latest European country to beef up military spending since Russia&#39;s invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;The money will go to ground-based aerial defense systems, the government said, as Russia&#39;s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the United States&#39; increasingly strained ties with NATO allies under US President Donald Trump prompt a European rush to rearm.&nbsp;&quot;Experience from Ukraine demonstrates the importance of a robust air defence,&quot; the Swedish government said.&nbsp;The announcement follows similar moves by countries, including Germany, where parliament approved $59 billion in new defence spending in December.&nbsp;The initial purchases under Sweden&#39;s new plan will be made in the first quarter of 2026, the government said.&nbsp;&quot;With this broad investment in air defence, we are protecting the whole of society, from our military units to urban areas and critical infrastructure,&quot; Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;It is a matter of people&#39;s lives, our freedom, and our ability to withstand attacks in all parts of the country.&quot;&nbsp;Sweden had announced in November it was spending around $366 million on IRIS-T surface-to-air short-range missiles to protect itself against missiles, drones, and combat aircraft.

Sweden will spend 15 billion kronor to strengthen its air defences, focusing on protecting civilians, cities, and critical infrastructure, with ground-based systems to be bought starting in early 2026.

Sweden to spend $1.6B to bolster air defenses

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a series of bilateral meetings with counterparts from Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and other member states on the sidelines of the 22nd Extraordinary Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, reaffirming Islamabad&rsquo;s commitment to regional cooperation and strengthened bilateral relations, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday.&nbsp;The 22nd extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers was convened in Jeddah to address developments concerning Israel&rsquo;s recognition of the Somaliland region and the situation in Palestine.&nbsp;The meeting adopted resolutions underscoring the importance of state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law.&nbsp;Dar attended the session, condemning Israel&rsquo;s recognition of Somaliland as &ldquo;illegal and unlawful,&rdquo; reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s support for Somalia&rsquo;s sovereignty and for an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, while also engaging counterparts from several OIC member states on the sidelines.&nbsp;According to an FO statement, Dar met Bangladesh&rsquo;s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Touhid Hossain, with both sides expressing satisfaction over the &ldquo;robustness of Pakistan&ndash;Bangladesh relations.&rdquo;&nbsp;The leaders discussed cooperation across a range of areas, including high-level exchanges, trade, and educational collaboration, and also exchanged views on regional and global developments.&nbsp;On the sidelines of the Jeddah moot, Dar separately met Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khereiji.&nbsp;The discussions focused on further strengthening the Pakistan&ndash;Saudi strategic partnership and reaffirmed close coordination within the OIC framework, with both sides emphasizing the importance of continued cooperation to promote &ldquo;peace, stability, and security in the region.&rdquo;&nbsp;With Azerbaijan, FM Dar met Deputy FM Yalchin Rafiyev, where both sides appreciated the frequent high-level exchanges, underscoring the commitment of the leadership of both countries to strengthening bilateral ties.&nbsp;&ldquo;Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, met with Dr. Abdulla Khaleel, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Maldives, on the sidelines of the 22nd OIC Extraordinary CFM in Jeddah,&rdquo; the FO said.&nbsp;Pakistan and the Maldives underscored their shared commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties, expressing satisfaction with the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.&nbsp;In another engagement, Dar met his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty.&nbsp;&ldquo;On the sidelines of the 22nd Extraordinary OIC CFM in Jeddah, DPM/FM Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar met Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty,&rdquo; the FO statement said.&nbsp;During the meeting, Pakistan and Egypt reaffirmed their commitment to expanding cooperation across multiple domains and exchanged views on the situation in Gaza and broader regional developments, underscoring support for international law and the just cause of the Palestinian people, the FO added.

Foreign Affairs

On the sidelines of the 22nd OIC Extraordinary Session in Jeddah, Dar holds bilateral talks with Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Maldives, and Egypt, promoting regional cooperation.

Dar pushes ‘regional cooperation’ in talks with Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and others

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia suspended access to Elon Musk&#39;s chatbot Grok over AI-generated pornographic content, the country&#39;s tech regulator said on Sunday.&nbsp;The decision follows global backlash after it emerged that Grok&#39;s image creation feature allowed users to sexualize pictures of women and children using simple text prompts.&nbsp;On Saturday, Indonesia became the first country to deny all access to the tool, which has been restricted to paying subscribers elsewhere.&nbsp;The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said in a statement it had &quot;directed a temporary restriction on access to the Grok artificial intelligence for users in Malaysia&quot; with immediate effect.&nbsp;When an AFP reporter in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur fed Grok prompts on Sunday, there was no response.&nbsp;&quot;This action follows repeated misuse of Grok to generate obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive and non-consensual manipulated images,&quot; the regulator said.&nbsp;The statement cited &quot;content involving women and minors, despite prior regulatory engagement and formal notices&quot; issued to Musk&#39;s X Corp. and xAI startup which developed Grok.&nbsp;The AI tool is integrated into social media platform X.&nbsp;The Malaysian regulator said it deemed the platform&#39;s safeguards inadequate, adding that access would resume only after the required changes are verified.&nbsp;X Corp. had &quot;failed to address the inherent risks posed by the design and operation of the AI tool&quot;, relying &quot;primarily on user-initiated reporting mechanisms&quot;, the regulator said.&nbsp;European officials and tech campaigners on Friday slammed Grok after its controversial image creation feature was restricted to paying subscribers, saying the change failed to address concerns about sexualized deep fakes.&nbsp;Grok had appeared to deflect the criticism with a new monetization policy, posting on X on Thursday that image generation and editing were now &quot;limited to paying subscribers&quot;, alongside a link to a premium subscription.

Artificial Intelligence

Malaysia suspended access to Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok after it was misused to generate pornographic and sexualized images, including of women and minors, citing inadequate safeguards. The ban follows similar global backlash and Indonesia’s earlier move.

Malaysia suspends access to Musk's Grok AI: regulator

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump urged Cuba on Sunday to &quot;make a deal&quot; or face unspecified consequences, warning that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would now stop.&nbsp;&quot;There will be no more oil or money going to cuba - zero!&quot; Trump said on his Truth Social channel. &quot;I strongly suggest they make a deal, before it is too late.&quot;&nbsp;His remarks come a week after US forces seized Venezuela&#39;s authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro in a nighttime operation in Caracas that killed dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.&nbsp;Earlier on Sunday, Trump reposted a message suggesting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio could become the president of now communist-ruled Cuba.&nbsp;Trump shared that post with the comment: &quot;Sounds good to me!&quot;&nbsp;In his own post soon afterwards, Trump said that &quot;Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided &#39;Security Services&#39; for the last two Venezuelan dictators, but not anymore!&quot;&nbsp;&quot;Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week&#39;s U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn&#39;t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years.&quot;&nbsp;Under a US trade embargo, Havana since 2000 has increasingly relied on Venezuelan oil provided as part of a deal struck with Maduro&#39;s predecessor Hugo Chavez.

Americas

US President Donald Trump warned Cuba to “make a deal” or face consequences, saying Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would stop following US actions against Venezuela’s leadership.

Trump tells Cuba to 'make a deal, before it is too late'

JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Sunday they detained a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspected of obstructing an investigation, with local media reporting that it was tied to leaks of military information during the Gaza war.&nbsp;Police did not name the individual, but Israeli media reported it was Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu&#39;s current chief of staff, who is designated to be Israel&#39;s next ambassador to the UK.&nbsp;&quot;This morning, a senior official in the prime minister&#39;s office was detained for questioning... on suspicion of obstructing an investigation,&quot; the police said.&nbsp;&quot;The suspect... is currently being questioned under caution.&quot;&nbsp;Former Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein recently alleged that Braverman tried to obstruct an investigation into a leak of sensitive military information to the foreign press during the war against Hamas in Gaza.&nbsp;In September 2024, Feldstein leaked a classified document from the Israeli military to the German tabloid Bild, for which he was later arrested and indicted.&nbsp;The document aimed to prove that Hamas was not interested in a ceasefire deal, and to support Netanyahu&#39;s claim that the hostages captured by Palestinian militants in their October 7, 2023 assault on Israel could only be released through military pressure instead of negotiations.&nbsp;In an interview with Israel&#39;s public broadcaster KAN, Feldstein said Braverman asked to meet with him soon after the leak.&nbsp;Braverman informed him that the army had launched a probe into the affair, and said he could &quot;shut down&quot; the investigation, according to Feldstein.&nbsp;In the same interview, Feldstein said Netanyahu was aware of the leak and was in favour of using the document to drum up public support for the war.&nbsp;Israeli media reported that police also searched Braverman&#39;s home on Sunday, and that Feldstein was expected to speak with police later in the day regarding Braverman&#39;s suspected involvement in the affair.&nbsp;Feldstein is also a suspect in the so-called &quot;Qatargate&quot; scandal, in which he and other close associates of Netanyahu are suspected of having been recruited by Qatar to promote the Gulf monarchy&#39;s image in Israel.&nbsp;Qatar hosts senior Hamas leaders and has played a mediating role between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement during the war in Gaza.&nbsp;An investigation is under way, and Feldstein, together with another Netanyahu aide, was taken into custody in late March.&nbsp;In response to Braverman&#39;s questioning by the police on Sunday, opposition leader Yair Lapid called to suspend his appointment as ambassador to the UK.&nbsp;&quot;In light of the new developments in the Qatargate affair, the appointment of Tzachi Braverman as ambassador to Britain must be immediately suspended,&quot; Lapid wrote on X.&nbsp;&quot;It is unacceptable that someone suspected of involvement in obstructing a serious security investigation should be the face of Israel in one of the most important countries in Europe.&quot;&nbsp;Braverman is not suspected of direct involvement in the Qatargate affair, according to Israeli media.

Israeli police detained Netanyahu aide Tzachi Braverman over alleged obstruction linked to Gaza war leaks. Opposition demands suspending his UK ambassador appointment as investigations continue.

Israeli police detain aide to Netanyahu

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban authorities arrested a woman journalist in northern Kunduz province on Tuesday and transferred her to an unknown location, the Afghan Media Support Organization said in a statement. According to a statement posted on the organization&rsquo;s Facebook page, Nazera Rashidi has been detained for four days without disclosed charges. <div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FAfghanistanMSO%2Fposts%2Fpfbid04oKVLy9c2LmT5oG1TTyWJ5CziDA9qDqmDeVCfY3BBshUtEiCyPMFjF56vxB1HCcnl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="687" style="border:none;overflow:hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div> She is the sole guardian for her younger siblings in a household without an adult male, the organization said. The family told the Afghan Media Support Organization that Rashidi &quot;has not engaged in any illegal activities,&quot; according to the statement. The organization called for her immediate release and urged Taliban authorities to &quot;clearly state the legal reasons for her detention.&quot; The arrest adds to documented cases of journalist detentions since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Press freedom decline Afghanistan ranked 175th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, scoring 17.88 out of 100. Within months of the Taliban takeover, 43% of media outlets disappeared, according to Reporters Without Borders. By late 2024, more than two-thirds of Afghanistan&#39;s 12,000 journalists had left the profession, the United Nations documented. Between August 2021 and September 2024, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 336 cases of human rights violations against media professionals, including 256 arbitrary arrests and 130 instances of torture or ill-treatment. Impact on women journalists More than 80% of women journalists have stopped working since 2021, according to a survey by Reporters Without Borders in collaboration with the Afghan Independent Journalists Association. In some provinces, women&#39;s voices are banned from broadcasts, according to Human Rights Watch. Those still working face workplace segregation requirements and must cover their faces on camera. Afghan officials refuse interviews with women journalists or exclude them from press events, Human Rights Watch reported. Recent restrictions The Taliban banned broadcasting images of living beings in several provinces, including Takhar, in 2024 and 2025, and restricted social media access on smartphones. As of late 2025, the Taliban began broadcasting forced &quot;confessions&quot; of journalists online after arrests for alleged &quot;anti-Taliban propaganda,&quot; Reporters Without Borders reported. The General Directorate of Intelligence conducts most arbitrary detentions, while the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice provides oversight, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. The Committee to Protect Journalists and the #KeepItOn coalition condemned nationwide internet shutdowns in late 2025 that Taliban authorities ordered to curb &quot;immorality.&quot; The Afghan Media Support Organization called on international institutions and human rights organizations to &quot;take practical measures to prevent the continued arrests and harassment of female journalists.&quot;

Afghanistan

The Afghan Media Support Organization called on international institutions and human rights organizations to "take practical measures to prevent the continued arrests and harassment of female journalists."

Articles by Reuters/AP