Georgia has been rocked by protests after its increasingly autocratic government said it would halt the former Soviet country’s bid to join the European Union.

The ruling Georgian Dream party, which claimed victory in last month’s election that observers said was fraudulent, announced on Thursday that it would suspend accession talks with the EU until 2028.

Its decision quickly sparked protests in the capital, Tbilisi, where demonstrators were heard chanting “Russian slaves” at police officers guarding the parliament building.

The protests were eventually put down early morning Friday. Police fired water cannons and tear gas at protesters, while men wearing balaclavas were seen running into the crowds and beating individuals.

Salome Zourabichvili, the country’s pro-Western president whose powers are mostly ceremonial, claimed that the police “targeted journalists and political leaders.”

The protests are part of the ongoing fallout from the country’s October 26 parliamentary election, which was seen as a referendum on alignment with Russia or the West. After years of moving closer towards Europe – and securing EU candidate status late last year – Georgian Dream has taken a sharp authoritarian turn. In May, it forced through a Kremlin-style “foreign agent” law, which critics say aims to shut down watchdogs who call the government to account.

Georgian Dream claimed victory with 54% of the vote, but opposition parties claimed the election was rigged. Zourabichvili also appealed the results to the country’s Constitutional Court.

Earlier Thursday, the European Parliament rejected the outcome of the election and called for a re-run to be held within a year. It said the vote was “neither free nor fair” and was another instance of democratic backsliding in Georgia, “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible.”

Hours later, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said his government would remove EU talks from its agenda and refuse the bloc’s budgetary grants until 2028, accusing some of the bloc’s politicians of “blackmail and manipulation.”

During the election campaign, Georgian Dream repeatedly assured voters it was committed to pursuing EU membership, which polls show more than 80% of Georgians support.

Protesters in Tbilisi said that, while many doubted the sincerity of Georgian Dream’s commitment to joining the EU, they were shocked that it changed its course so soon after the disputed election.

Ketevan Chachava, a non-resident fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), said she was surprised the mask had dropped so quickly.

Tsotne Jafaridze, a winemaker who lives in Tbilisi, said the police response to Thursday night’s protests was exceptionally brutal.

Salome Khvaratskelia, a nurse, said the police had used new equipment to disperse the crowds. Shortly before the election, Georgia’s interior minister announced the government had purchased several new water cannons to bolster the riot police.

Tbilisi has been regularly rocked by protests in recent years in response to moves by Georgian Dream, particularly over the “foreign agent” law, which critics say was a copy of legislation passed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But the government’s halting of the country’s EU bid appears to have sparked the protest movement into life. Demonstrations are expected to resume later Friday.

British members of parliament have voted to legalize assisted dying, approving a contentious proposal that would make the United Kingdom one of a small handful of nations to allow terminally ill people to end their lives.

Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted by 330 to 275 to support the bill, after an hours-long debate in the chamber and a years-long campaign by high-profile figures that drew on emotional first-hand testimony.

Britain is now set to join a small club of nations to have legalized the process, and one of the largest by population to allow it. The bill must still clear the House of Lords and parliamentary committees, but Friday’s vote marked the most important hurdle.

It allows people with a terminal condition and less than six months to live to take a substance to end their lives, as long as they are capable of making the decision themselves. Two doctors, and then a High Court judge, would need to sign off on the choice.

Canada, New Zealand, Spain and most of Australia allow assisted dying in some form, as do several US states including Oregon, Washington and California.

Debate over the issue sharply divided lawmakers, many of whom have labored to choose a side during an unusually strained week in Westminster. MPs were given a free vote on the issue, meaning they can support either side according to their conscience, with no political ramifications.

In an open letter to MPs ahead of the vote, Esther Rantzen, a BBC TV presenter with advanced lung cancer who has become a prominent supporter of assisted dying, wrote: “Under our current criminal law the only choice for most people who are terminally ill, if they are facing an agonising death, is between suffering, Switzerland or suicide.” Rantzen has previously said she is herself considering using the Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas to end her life.

She urged MPs on all sides to vote on the issue. “This will probably not come before Parliament as an issue to debate for another decade,” she wrote. “How many more will be forced to suffer until then?”

An emotional debate

It is rare that British lawmakers are asked to decide for themselves on such an intimate issue, and many have agonized this week over how they will vote.

Friday’s emotive discussions in the House of Commons bore similarities to previous free votes concerning abortion and same-sex marriage.

Proponents of the bill say assisted dying can bring dignity to terminal patients at the end of their lives, averting months of suffering and physical decline, and easing pressure on the country’s palliative, or end-of-life, services. Polling indicates that a comfortable majority of the public supports assisted dying.

In her open letter, Rantzen wrote: “The tragic truth is that no matter how excellent the palliative care is, it cannot prevent some kinds of suffering, fecal vomiting for example, or suffocating to death, or deep-rooted agony.”

But critics fear the bill’s guardrails are not stringent enough, and suggest patients could feel pressured to opt for an assisted death only to avoid becoming a burden on their families. Others have concerns that the bill has been sprung on MPs – hundreds of whom are in their first few months in the job following July’s election – without a thorough impact assessment or time to consider the proposal.

“I really believe that Labour got elected because the NHS is such a mess… we’ve got to sort the NHS out before we go down this route,” she said. “Pressing ahead now is ignoring the imperative we’ve got to address the woefully underfunded palliative system.”

The proposed bill is broadly in line with the Oregon model, and does not go as far as Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada, which allow assisted death in cases of suffering, not just for terminally ill people. It differs from euthanasia, the process in which another person deliberately ends someone’s life to relieve suffering.

It is currently a crime to help somebody die in England and Wales, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Performing euthanasia on a person, meanwhile, is considered murder or manslaughter.

This is a breaking story. More details soon…

Syrian armed rebels claim to have entered Aleppo, the first time rebels have entered the country’s second largest city since government forces recaptured the city in 2016.

Rebel forces launched a surprise attack this week, capturing a number of villages and reigniting conflict that had been largely static for years.

The Syrian military said it was confronting a “major attack” launched by “terrorist organizations” armed with heavy weaponry and drones.

The rebel ‘Military Operations Command’, said earlier that they seized control of the Syrian government’s Military Scientific Research Center on the outskirts of Aleppo city after “intense clashes with the regime forces and Iranian militias.”

Earlier that day, an artillery shell struck Aleppo University’s student housing, killing four people, according to Syria’s state news agency, SANA, which blamed opposition factions for the attack. The spokesperson for the rebel groups Hassan Abdulghani refuted the accusations by the Syrian government media as “baseless lies.”

On Thursday, at least 15 civilians, including six children and two women, were killed, and 36 others were injured in airstrikes and shelling on rebel-held areas in Aleppo and Idlib countryside, according to the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group. Iranian state media said that an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Kioumars Pourhashemi was also killed in the city .

In a call with his Syrian counterpart to discuss the escalation, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of the “reactivation” of the rebels, and “stressed the continued support” of Iran to the Syrian government and army.

The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called on the Syrian authorities to “quickly restore order in this area and restore constitutional order.” Both Iran and Russia are key allies to Syria.

On a recent Sunday afternoon in the Canadian city of Brampton, just outside of Toronto, a face-off between two religious groups outside a Hindu temple erupted into violence.

Pro-Khalistan Sikhs, there to protest a visit by Indian consular officials, clashed with members of the Hindu congregation. Each side hurled flagpoles and fists at one another in an incident which triggered days of violence across Canada and led to multiple arrests.

The clashes earlier this month were the latest flashpoint in a broader dispute between Canada and India, which has simmered for decades but boiled over in the last year over the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

Last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had credible information linking the Indian government to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an Indian-born Canadian national and Sikh dissident who was an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, a proposed autonomous homeland for Sikhs in northern India.

Canadian authorities have repeatedly said they have shared the evidence with Indian counterparts. Indian government officials deny that Canada has provided evidence and have called the allegations absurd.

New Delhi had previously designated Nijjar as a terrorist and accused him of being behind a banned militant group that sought to “radicalize the Sikh community across the world” in support of Khalistan. The movement is banned in India and considered a national security threat.

Tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi further escalated last month when the Canadian government publicly accused Indian government agents – including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s closest aide – of plotting to kill pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Canada, which is home to one of the largest Sikh communities outside of India.

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, after police linked the envoys to homicides, extortion and other violent acts against Sikh separatists in the country, including Nijjar. Canada’s national police force also said it had uncovered more than a dozen “credible and imminent threats to life” of members of the South Asian community, specifically from the pro-Khalistan movement.

India, in turn, expelled six Canadian diplomats.

Canada further ratcheted up tensions by outright accusing Amit Shah – India’s home affairs minister and Modi’s number two – of ordering the violent plots. Shah, an influential player in Indian domestic politics, is widely seen as Modi’s potential successor in the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

The stunning and highly public allegations by Canada – which India has strongly denied calling them “absurd and baseless” – have raised concern among its “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing allies – the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand – who have pursued deeper ties with India in recent years, in part to counter China’s increasingly aggressive behavior in the Asia-Pacific region.

The US has also accused an Indian government official of being involved in a conspiracy to kill a Sikh activist and American citizen in New York City. The Indian government similarly denied any involvement in the alleged plot, however New Delhi’s response in setting up a high-level committee to investigate the American accusations contrasts with its vocal condemnation of Canada’s accusations.

While the existence of pro-Khalistan factions in Canada has long bothered India and acted as a wedge between the two countries, experts say tensions have sharply escalated under Modi and Trudeau, with little prospect for resolution.

“It was really like a festering sore for quite some time,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, who said the disagreement over Khalistan “has really torpedoed the relationship.”

The Khalistan disconnect

At the heart of the current conflict between India and Canada is the disconnect in how each side views the Khalistan movement, says Kugelman.

The Khalistan movement grew in the 1980s and 1990s when the Indian government violently cracked down on Sikhs, following the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh security guards in 1984.

Thousands of Sikhs moved abroad to places like Australia, the UK, the US, and Canada. While the Khalistani ideology lost resonance in India, it remained more alive in the diaspora.

India has long accused Canada of harboring Sikh extremists, allowing more hardline elements of the Khalistan movement to thrive – a premise Canada rejects, said Stephanie Carvin, a former Canadian intelligence analyst and associate professor of international affairs at Ottawa’s Carleton University.

Violence related to Sikh extremism in Canada goes back decades with the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, the worst terror attack in Canada’s history, a tragedy that continues to strain relations between the two countries.

Canada-based Sikh extremists planted a bomb on a Mumbai-bound passenger flight from Montreal, killing all 329 people on board, in what was widely seen as revenge against the Indian government. The only person who was convicted in the bombing was released in 2017 by Canadian courts after serving two decades in jail.

For years, India has accused Canada of failing to prevent the attack after it warned the Canadian government of the possibility of a bombing. A Canadian inquiry two decades later found the attack was due to a “cascading series of errors” by the government, police and intelligence services.

While most of the victims were Canadians, the tragedy was viewed by many in Canada as “something foreign,” Carvin said, which some observers allege influenced the government’s response.

Aside from a small minority of violent Sikh separatists, Canada does not see the Khalistan movement as the threat India does, according to Carvin.

Canada has said Sikhs have a right to peaceful protest and Trudeau has largely avoided categorical condemnation of Sikh separatism. However, the Canadian prime minister recently acknowledged that Khalistan separatists “do not represent the Sikh community” in Canada.

“India and Canada have typically taken a very different view as to what constitutes permissible activity, because it doesn’t break Canadian law to advocate for a Sikh separatist state in Canada,” Carvin said.

But the Sikh insurgency of the 1980s and its campaign of violence remains very strong in the memory of the New Delhi political elite, said Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank.

A downward spiral of relations

While the Khalistan issue has persisted for decades, relations between Canada and India have plummeted under Modi and Trudeau.

When Trudeau visited India in 2018 for his first official visit, his calendar, which was light on diplomatic meetings, was seen by many as a “snub” from New Delhi. Local media in both India and Canada linked Trudeau’s reception – or lack thereof – to the issue of Sikh separatists.

A year earlier, the Canadian leader was seen at a Sikh event in Toronto where separatist flags and posters depicting an extremist Sikh leader killed in a 1984 Indian Army operation were displayed.

In October, Trudeau told reporters that India made a “fundamental error” by “supporting criminal activity against Canadians on Canadian soil.”

“Here is a case of the top official in Canada very publicly leveling one of the most serious allegations one could make against India, one that relates to an issue that is extremely sensitive for New Delhi,” Kugelman, of the South Asia Institute, said. “It really reinforced this anger in New Delhi that Canada simply doesn’t care about these concerns, and it’s willing to embarrass India.”

Carvin, the former Canadian intelligence analyst, said she believes Canada was pushed into a corner.

“It seems pretty clear that the Indian government is not willing to meet with its Canadian counterparts in the same way that they’re willing to meet with (the US),” she said.

Earlier this month the two leaders had what looked like an amicable exchange as they posed for a group photo at the recent G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, alongside US President Joe Biden. Photos showed Biden with his arm around Modi, as the three world leaders shared a laugh.

Growing mistrust

Canadian leaders were quick to denounce the recent violence in Brampton and crack down on those involved in the clashes. At least five people have been arrested, and a local police officer was suspended after he was caught on camera participating in the protest while off duty, according to CBC. Brampton’s city council passed a bylaw prohibiting protests around religious places.

Modi also spoke out on the violence, calling it a “deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada,” slamming the protesters for “cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats.”

“Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve,” Modi wrote on X. “We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.”

That Modi, who up until now has largely avoided weighing in on the diplomatic spat, issued comments on the tussle shows just how fraught relations have gotten, analysts say.

Implicating Shah in the Nijjar killing on Canadian soil was an “incredibly serious provocation” from Ottawa, Kugelman said.

“At this point, the risk is that it could really hijack the relationship, to the point that the areas of cooperation that continue to play out, such as trade, could become casualties,” Kugelman said.

Pant, of the Observer Research Foundation, said he does not believe the relationship is salvageable under current leadership, with so much ill will between Modi and Trudeau. Canada’s next federal election is set to take place before next October.

“The level of mistrust between India and the Trudeau administration has been building up and growing,” Pant said, adding that he doesn’t think there is “space to diplomatically resolve it.”

Three Palestinians, including two children and a woman, were crushed to death on Friday while in line at a bakery in central Gaza amid a worsening food crisis in the enclave, according to Palestinian hospital officials.

“Where did she go? How did she get in? How did she leave? I don’t know. I only found her when they brought her out dead. I have no idea what happened,” Al-Laban said.

Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, said it received the three casualties.

Bakery lines have become sites of desperation and overcrowding as Palestinians fight to find food for themselves and their family.

Soon after the crush, the World Food Programme (WFP) said Friday that all bakeries in central Gaza have shut down due to severe supply shortages. The WFP said that bread was often the only food families in Gaza could access – and “now, even that is slipping out of reach.”

The United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that armed looting – fueled by the breakdown in public order and safety in Gaza – has become increasingly organized.

The agency has said the the challenges involved in delivering aid to Gaza had become “increasingly insurmountable,” with “trucks frequently delayed at various holding points, often looted, and subjected to escalating attacks.”

One called China an “existential threat.” Another called for a “whole-of-society effort” to confront China and was sanctioned – twice – by Beijing. A third claimed the Chinese military was “specifically dedicated to defeating the United States of America.”

US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed cabinet is stacked with so-called China hawks who have made clear an ambition to confront America’s ascendant superpower rival in nearly every policy realm, from the economy to security.

But unlike at Trump’s previous inauguration eight years ago, Chinese leaders may not be caught off-guard by a more confrontational approach.

Instead, experts say this time around Beijing is more experienced in dealing with the transactional leader and the ideological hardliners around him – and may seek to establish back-channels through more China-friendly figures in Trump’s inner circle, such as Elon Musk.

Observers of China’s foreign policy have no illusions about the potential downward trajectory of relations under Trump, who on the campaign trail threatened to slap Chinese imports with upwards of 60% tariffs. This week he said he would impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods on top of all existing levies.

“If you look at Trump’s team, most, if not all, are China hawks. The appointed officials are likely to pursue a hardline policy to bring competition with China to a new level,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington. “I don’t think Beijing sees any of them as good news.”

But some foreign policy thinkers in China believe the president-elect ultimately still wants to make a deal with China – and may be more flexible than his cabinet picks suggest.

Trump is known to be more concerned about the economic challenge from China, while many officials in the incoming administration – from the National Security Council to the departments of state and defense – are preoccupied with the military and security challenges China poses, said Hal Brands, professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

“The interesting question is whether they can use Trump’s general economic hawkishness on China to drive through policies that are strong and assertive on the security dimensions, or whether Trump makes that difficult because he’s just less interested in those aspects of US-China policy,” Brands said.

Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, has declared twice in recent years that the Chinese Communist Party is in a “cold war” with America. His nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio, is known in China as the “anti-China vanguard” and currently sanctioned by Beijing. Pete Hegseth, the former FOX News host tapped for defense secretary, has warned that China is bent on defeating the US and achieving global domination.

Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Shanghai’s Fudan University, said it’s important for Beijing to distinguish Trump’s hawkish advisers from the president-elect himself.

“Many of the hardliners indeed want a full confrontation and decoupling with China, but is that truly Trump’s objective for US-China relations? If not, their policy actions may be tempered by Trump himself,” he said.

The Musk factor

The lineup of China hawks in the incoming administration will likely add to the urgency for Beijing to find alternative channels to Trump’s ear, starting with Elon Musk.

The billionaire founder of Tesla has extensive business interests in China, where his company makes half its electric vehicles. Musk is often invited to meet Chinese officials on his trips there.

“Everyone is watching what role Elon Musk will play on China,” Sun said. “China definitely wants him to be at least a channel of communications and potentially play a positive role.”

Musk often echoes some of Beijing’s talking points, such as maintaining a healthy “win-win” economic relationship and even calling Taiwan an “integral part of China.” The future success of a key Musk business like Tesla could hinge on what course relations between the world’s two largest economies take over the next four years.

But it remains unclear whether Musk is willing, or able, to sway US policy in favor of China.

“It seems the role that Trump carved out for him is more on the government efficiency front, so I don’t expect Musk to have a prominent role in foreign affairs,” said Lyle Morris, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“Although given Elon’s significant business interests in China, I imagine Trump will listen to Elon’s views on the US-China business relationship.”

Either way, Beijing will be bracing for a rocky road ahead. Economists have warned that Trump’s threatened 60% tariffs could deliver a body blow to China’s sputtering economy and cut its growth rate by half.

Trump’s pick for treasury secretary, hedge fund executive Scott Bessent, has called tariffs “a useful tool for achieving the president’s foreign policy objectives” and has described Trump’s threat as a “maximalist negotiating position.”

Jamieson Greer, who’s been nominated as the US trade representative, served as chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, an arch protectionist who led the trade war with China during Trump’s first term. In previous comments, Greer has echoed Lighthizer’s tough stance on Beijing and advocated “strategic decoupling” from China.

Wu, from Fudan University, said China “must be prepared for some serious challenges that may arise in China-US relations. Whether in trade, diplomacy or security, the situation is all pretty grim.”

The first tricky question for Beijing is what to do with the sanctions on Rubio, imposed in tit-for-tat retaliation for US penalties against Chinese officials over crackdowns in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Rubio is set to become the first sitting US secretary of state to have been sanctioned by Beijing, raising the question of whether he will even be able to visit China as the top US diplomat.

Experts in both the US and China are divided over whether Beijing will lift the sanctions on Rubio. But most agree the Chinese government has the pragmatism to not let them get in the way of diplomatic protocols.

And in the eyes of Beijing, Rubio is not even the worst pick, according to Chinese experts.

“Many in China breathed a sigh of relief when Trump announced he won’t invite (former Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo to join his new administration,” Wu said. “In some way, he was a direct catalyst for the deterioration of China-US relations.”

Pompeo, who once called on Chinese people to join an international effort to “change the behavior” of their government, was sanctioned by Beijing along with more than two dozen former Trump-era officials when Biden took office.

Taiwan and ‘red lines’

Some Chinese experts argue that Beijing now has a deeper understanding of Trump’s playbook and is better prepared to deal with his second presidency.

“China is no longer the same as it was eight years ago when Trump first took office, either in terms of mindset, strength or international standing. China has gained more status and confidence,” said Wang Yiwei, a professor of international studies at Renmin University in Beijing.

“We now understand Trump’s personality – once China shows weakness, he will push further. Therefore, China absolutely cannot make concessions, especially at the beginning.”

Chinese leaders will be particularly concerned about Trump’s new foreign policy team’s stance on Taiwan, the reddest of red lines for Beijing.

Rubio has been a steadfast supporter of Taiwan, a self-governing democracy Beijing has vowed to bring under its control, by force if necessary. He has pushed for a raft of legislation to strengthen ties between Washington and Taipei, including fast-tracking US arms sales to the island.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te congratulated Rubio on his nomination in a post on X, thanking him for his “staunch support for Taiwan” and expressing anticipation for “furthering Taiwan-US relations.”

National security pick Waltz, meanwhile, has urged the next US president to bring the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East to a “swift conclusion” and focus strategic attention on Asia to better prepare for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan – a stance that Trump running mate JD Vance also repeatedly voiced on the campaign trail.

But that doesn’t mean Trump – whose “America First” agenda has promoted a more isolationist foreign policy – will spoil for an overseas fight. Instead, he has long viewed alliances and Washington’s historical commitments in more transactional terms, while often praising autocratic overseas leaders.

On the campaign trail, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” the chip industry from the US and said that the self-governing democracy should pay the US for protection.

Industry experts say Taiwan grew its own semiconductor industry organically through a combination of foresight, hard work and investment. And the island has purchased the vast majority of its weaponry from US arms manufacturers over recent decades. But Trump’s campaign rhetoric nonetheless hinted at a more transactional approach to Taiwan.

Asked by The Wall Street Journal in an interview if he would use military force against a blockade of Taiwan by China, Trump said it would not come to that because Xi respected him and knows he’s “crazy.” Instead, he said he would slap 150% to 200% tariffs on Beijing.

Wang, the professor at Renmin University, said whatever their ideological leanings, Trump’s cabinet picks will ultimately have to comply with his vision.

“I believe Trump is willing to make deals with China, and he will ensure his team stays on course,” he said.

As an uneasy truce between Israel and Hezbollah offers the Lebanese a desperately needed reprieve, Palestinians in Gaza feel abandoned, even as the US pushes for a renewed effort to end the fighting in the enclave.

For almost a year, Hezbollah vowed not to stop battling Israel until it agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza. In September, Israel stepped up its campaign against the Lebanese militant group, assassinating its top brass and launching a ferocious aerial and ground operation into southern Lebanon, which forced Hezbollah to abandon its condition for a ceasefire.

“Gaza is left alone. Hezbollah has its own calculations to abandon Gaza to preserve what was left of its forces… it’s not to our advantage,” said Hatem Mohamed, 47, a resident of Gaza City. “This agreement will allow Israel to only focus on the Palestinians and what is left of the Palestinian cause.”

Negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages have been deadlocked for months, with both sides refusing to compromise on their demands.

Qatar, a key mediator in previous Gaza ceasefire negotiations, stepped back from its role this month and shut Hamas’ political office in the capital Doha after concluding that the two sides are no longer negotiating in good faith. Turkey, which has ties to Hamas, dispelled reports that the group’s bureau had been relocated to the country, but said that Hamas officials come and go from the country on a regular basis.

“I don’t think a ceasefire in Lebanon has changed much for the dynamics of a Gaza ceasefire,” said Tahani Mustafa, senior Palestine analyst at International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.

“Both sides have mutually exclusive demands and there’s no pressure on Israel to really scale back and start taking the negotiation seriously. Israel wants to destroy Hamas, keep troops on the ground and potentially resettle in the north, which is unacceptable to Hamas,” she said. “Hamas wants a total cessation of hostilities, return of people to their homes in the north and no Israeli ground presence…that’s completely unacceptable to Israel.”

Netanyahu ‘not ready’ to end the war

Despite the setbacks, Israeli and American leaders have signaled that the Lebanon truce may present an opportunity to move forward with a ceasefire in Gaza.

The outgoing Biden administration maintains that there might now be “newfound opportunity” to drive forward a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the conditions to reach a deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza “have improved,” but maintained that he will not agree to the end of Israel’s war in the enclave, as Hamas has not yet been dismantled.

“(I’m) ready for a ceasefire at any moment. But ending the war, I’m not ready for that, because we also need to achieve the elimination of Hamas,” he said.

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the US will “make another push” with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, to release the hostages and “end the war without Hamas in power.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament Wednesday his country was ready to contribute in “any way possible.” On Wednesday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi met in Cairo to discuss ceasefire efforts.

Hamas said Wednesday it is committed to cooperating with “any efforts” to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza after a truce was reached in Lebanon but reiterated its demand for Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza, the release of Palestinian prisoners and the return of Gazans to their homes.

More than 250 people were taken hostage and about 1,200 killed during the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. The following month, more than 100 hostages were released as part of a short-lived hostage-and-ceasefire deal. Since then, a handful of hostages have since been rescued by Israeli forces. Of the 101 hostages believed to still being held in Gaza, at least 34 are thought to be dead.

Jihad Abu Yasser, a 26-year-old baker who lives in northern Gaza, called Hamas’ negotiation tactics “a failure,” saying the hostages alone were no longer sufficient leverage in talks with the Israelis.

“We remained stubborn until half the hostages died, and we are negotiating with a losing card… We have maybe less than 70 hostages alive. If the war continues and we are stalling, and the (Israelis) are stalling, the hostages will die, which is our (leverage) card,” he said, adding that most Gazans feel that way. “All are saying: What are we negotiating over?”

“People are saying if Hezbollah finished (their war) then God-willing we are close (in Gaza)…These are lies,” Abu Yasser said. “For the love of God, stop, stop, stop (the war).”

Thailand is sending almost 1,000 highly endangered tortoises and lemurs home to Madagascar in a landmark victory against animal trafficking, with the first batch on its way on Saturday.

The repatriation is the largest ever between the two countries, according to Thai officials.

Thai police recovered 1,117 animals, eight of which had died, during an anti-trafficking operation in the southern Thai province of Chumphon in May.

Among them were spider tortoises, radiated tortoises, ring-tailed lemurs and brown lemurs, all listed among the world’s “most endangered” animals under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

These species are highly sought-after in Asia as exotic pets, though replicating their natural habitat is extremely difficult, often putting their life at risk.

Some of the animals seized in May have since died due to poor health caused by a lack of food and water when they were smuggled to Thailand. Some also failed to adapt to the new environment.

Thai authorities held an official ceremony in the capital Bangkok on Wednesday to hand over the animals to Madagascan officials.

A total of 961 live animals will be sent back on three flights operated by Qatar Airways starting Saturday.

Dr. Chalermchai Sri-on, Thailand’s minister of natural resources and environment, said the repatriation shows Thailand’s commitment to combating illegal wildlife trafficking as well as prioritizing the welfare of seized species.

“By conducting operations like this and broadcasting them globally, it shows that there are arrests and exchanges happening, making people worldwide aware that possessing these animals is not right,” he said.

“Some might think that if they have the money, they can buy and collect them, but that’s not the case.”

UK-based conservation group Traffic said in a statement that the repatriation was “a true testament to the power of international collaboration in addressing the wildlife trafficking crisis.”

Illegal trades in timber and wildlife have been identified as the second-largest threat to Madagascar’s rich biodiversity, the group said in a 2023 report.

Thailand is the largest importer of wildlife from Madagascar in Southeast Asia, a region that plays “a vital role” in the trade and re-exporting of some of Madagascar’s most threatened species, the report said.

Between 1975 and 2019, Thailand directly and indirectly exported almost 35,000 animals or their products from Madagascar, according to the report.

Pristina, Kosovo (Reuters) – An explosion on Friday evening damaged a canal in northern Kosovo supplying water to two coal-fired power plants that generate nearly all of the country’s electricity, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, blaming what he called “a terrorist act” by neighbouring Serbia.

There were no immediate reports of injuries and the cause of the blast, which also impacted drinking water supplies, was not clear. Serbian officials did not respond to requests for comment, and Reuters found no immediate evidence of Belgrade’s involvement.

“This is a criminal and terrorist attack with the aim to destroy our critical infrastructure,” Kurti said in a televised address. He said that some of the country could be without power if the problem is not fixed by morning.

In a sign of ethnic tensions between the two Balkan countries, Kurti echoed Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani by blaming Serbian criminal gangs without providing proof.

Earlier on Friday, Kosovo police announced increased security measures after two recent attacks where hand grenades were hurled at a police station and municipal building in northern Kosovo where ethnic Serbians live. It was not clear if the incidents were linked.

Local media showed pictures of part of the canal destroyed and leaking water and a heavy police presence at the site.

Faruk Mujka, the head of water company Ibar-Lepenci, told local news portal Kallxo that an explosive device was thrown into the canal and damaged the wall of a bridge.

He said the water supply, which also feeds drinking water to the capital Pristina, must be halted to fix the problem as soon as possible since it was the main channel for supplying Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK), the country’s main power provider.

Independence for ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo came in 2008, almost a decade after a guerrilla uprising against Serbian rule. However tensions persist, mainly in the north where the Serb minority refuses to recognise Kosovo’s statehood and still sees Belgrade as their capital.

The EU’s Kosovo ambassador, Aivo Orav, condemned the attack that he said was already “depriving considerable parts of Kosovo from water supply”.