MailChimp
Cosmic Energy
Login Form
Ads Remote
Who's On Line
We have 84 guests and no members online
Essential Oils
Blinken to Hamas: Accept Israel's 'extraordinarily generous' Gaza truce proposal
Blinken to Hamas: Accept Israel's 'extraordinarily generous' Gaza truce proposal
By Humeyra Pamuk and John Irish
RIYADH (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas on Monday to swiftly accept Israel's latest and "extraordinarily generous" proposal for a Gaza truce to secure a release of hostages, amid a diplomatic drive to end the .
Hamas negotiators were expected to meet Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Monday to deliver a response to the phased truce proposal Israel presented at the weekend, ahead of a threatened Israeli assault on the southern border city of Rafah.
"The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide and they have to decide quickly," Blinken said at a special meeting of the World Economic Forum held in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
"I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision."
A source briefed on the talks said Israel's proposal entailed a deal to accept the release of fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be still held in exchange for freeing Palestinians jailed in Israel, and a second phase of a truce consisting of a "period of sustained calm" - Israel’s compromise response to a Hamas demand for permanent ceasefire.
Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop in the latest of a series of trouble-shooting trips to the Middle East since the Gaza war ignited in October, destabilising the wider tinderbox region.
Blinken reiterated that the U.S. could not support an Israeli ground assault on Rafah - where Israel says Hamas' last four intact battalions are holed up - "in the absence of an (Israeli) plan to ensure that civilians will not be harmed".
He said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had done "intense work together" over the past few months towards a normalisation accord between the kingdom and Israel, a deal that includes Washington giving Riyadh agreements on bilateral defence and security commitments as well as nuclear cooperation.
Diplomats say the eruption of the Gaza war derailed progress towards Israeli-Saudi normalisation.
The U.S. and Saudi components of the agreement are "potentially very close to completion," Blinken said. "To move forward with normalisation, two things will be required: calm in Gaza and a credible pathway to a Palestinian state."
ISRAELI-SAUDI NORMALISATION
In return for normalisation, Arab states are also pushing for Israel to accept a pathway to Palestinian statehood on land it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.
Hamas fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel retaliated by imposing a total siege on Gaza, then mounting an air and ground assault that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Palestinians have been suffering from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine in a humanitarian crisis that has accompanied an Israeli offensive that has demolished much of the impoverished, densely populated strip.
Blinken, speaking earlier at the opening of a meeting with Gulf Arab states, said the most effective way to address the crisis and create space for a more lasting solution was to get a ceasefire that allowed the release of hostages held by Hamas.
He is expected to discuss with Arab foreign ministers what the governance of Gaza might look like after the Israel-Hamas war ends, according to a senior State Department official.
Blinken is also expected to bring together Arab and European countries and discuss how Europe can help reconstruction in Gaza, which has been reduced to a wasteland in a six-month-long Israeli bombardment.
"We will discuss the hostages, humanitarian situation and the ceasefire. Things are progressing, but we must always remain prudent in these discussions and negotiations," French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne told Reuters on Monday.
Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al Khasawneh said all parties needed to find a path towards a two-state solution to the conflict or the Middle East risked another catastrophe.
An assault on Rafah, which Israel says is the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza, has been anticipated for weeks but foreign governments and the United Nations have expressed concern that such action could result in a humanitarian disaster given the number of displaced people crammed into the area.
Conversations about Gaza's rebuilding and governance have been going on for months with a clear mechanism yet to emerge.
The United States agrees with Israel's objective that Hamas needs to be eradicated and cannot play a role in Gaza's future, but Washington does not want Israel to re-occupy the enclave.
Instead, it has been looking at a structure that will include a reformed Palestinian Authority - which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank - with support from Arab states.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and John Irish; Additional reporting by Pesha Majid, Alexander Cornwell and Maha El Dahan; Writing by Andrew Mills and Michael Georgy; Editing by Michael Perry, Angus MacSwan and Mark Heinrich)
Story by Humeyra Pamuk and John Irish: Reuters
'Loan shark', 83, ordered to pay back over £173,000
'Loan shark', 83, ordered to pay back over £173,000
An 83-year-old "loan shark" has been ordered to pay back more than £173,000.
A proceeds of crime hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday was told Tabitha Richardson from Newport will have to sell her home to raise the funds.
If Richardson does not pay the money back within three months she could face 21 months in jail, a Cardiff council news release said.
Richardson's property was raided by officers from Stop Loan Sharks Wales - an agency funded by the UK government which investigates and prosecutes loan sharks throughout Wales - in August 2020.
During the raid, £6,500 in cash was found in a safe. Other items discovered included bank books, lending books, files, and other paperwork.
After an investigation, Richardson pleaded guilty to illegal money lending, engaging in an activity requiring a licence, carrying out a regulated activity when not authorised or exempt, and money laundering.
At a hearing last August, Recorder Benjamin Blakemore said she had avoided an immediate period in custody "by a whisker" after sentencing her to 24 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
He described messages Richardson sent to her victims as "threatening and menacing to a degree".
A spokesperson for the Shared Regulatory Services - a body that jointly provides some services to a number of unitary authorities in South Wales - said "the best way to deal with these matters" was to "recover as much money as possible" and said it was unlikely Richardson would have faced a custodial sentence due to her age.
"Loan sharks are often stereotypically portrayed as hard men wielding baseball bats, but Tabitha Richardson is female and despite her age, was menacing to her victims as well, threatening them when they did not pay their debt, often in the full knowledge that her victims were unable to pay," the spokesperson added.
Rapist jailed a decade after campaign of abuse against London woman
Rapist jailed a decade after campaign of abuse against London woman
A man has been jailed for rape following a campaign of abuse against a woman.
Goher Ayub, 43, was emotionally, physically and sexually abusive towards a woman, Inner London Crown Court heard.
Ayub, from Ilford, was jailed for six years for rape on 19 April.
Detective Constable Matt Trenfield-Brown said: "This case is an example that no matter how many years have passed, we can achieve justice for terrible crimes.
"We worked tirelessly with colleagues from another force, and the Crown Prosecution Service, to build a case against Ayub. As a result he will now spend years behind bars.
“He was also issued a restraining order and must sign the Sex Offenders Register for life on his release.
"We're very grateful to the victim for her courage in reporting Ayub."
The court heard that the victim contacted police in another force area in 2020 to report that Ayub had been emotionally, physically and sexually abusive towards her.
Officers from the Met were informed and began collected evidence the victim.
Detectives used witness statements and medical evidence to make a case against the suspect.
In December 2020 Ayub was interviewed and denied the offences.
He charged in April 2023 due to the weight of evidence against him.
Thai court adds jail time for rights lawyer who urged monarchy reform
Thai court adds jail time for rights lawyer who urged monarchy reform
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai court sentenced a prominent jailed activist lawyer on Monday to a further two years in prison for royal insults relating to a speech he made at a 2021 protest, his lawyer said.
Human Rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, 39, was handed a jail sentence of two years and 20 days and a fine of 100 baht ($2.70) for royal insult, breaching of an emergency decree and other charges for making a speech at a political rally in 2021, his lawyer Junjira Junpaew told Reuters.
"Arnon denied all wrongdoing," Junjira Junpaew said, adding that his legal team will appeal the sentencing.
Arnon is currently serving eight years in prison for two royal insult convictions, one stemming from a speech at a political rally in 2020 and another from a social media post in 2021. He has been in prison since September last year.
The latest sentence was ordered to run consecutively which means Arnon will now serve 10 years and 20 days, according to legal aid group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Thailand's lese-majeste law, one of the world's toughest, protects the monarchy from criticism and carries a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years for each perceived royal insult.
Monday's verdict is the third of 14 cases against Arnon, a lawyer-turned-protest leader of youth-led democracy movement that held protests in Bangkok in 2020, calling for reform of the monarchy.
At least 272 people have been charged with lese-majeste offences since 2020, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
($1 = 37.0300 baht)
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
Former SNP council leader appears in court charged with sexual offences
Former SNP council leader appears in court charged with sexual offences
A former SNP council leader has appeared in court charged with a number of sexual offences.
Jordan Linden, 28, the former leader of North Lanarkshire Council, appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court on Thursday charged with 17 offences.
They include six counts of sexual assault and eight charges of indecent communication.
Other charges include stalking and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Linden, of Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, made no plea and was released on bail, pending further examination.
A Police Scotland spokesman previously said the alleged crimes were “non-recent” and were “committed at various locations in Scotland”.
His next court date is yet to be confirmed.
Linden resigned as the leader of North Lanarkshire Council in July 2022 after reports of alleged sexual harassment emerged, leading to the collapse of the SNP administration in the area.
He stepped down from the council and left the party earlier this year.
He has previously told reporters he did not accept the allegations which had been made against him.
North Lanarkshire Council said the case is not something they would comment on.
The SNP was contacted for comment.
Subcategories
Articles-Popular
- Main
- Contact Us
- Planetary Existences-2
- Planetary Existences
- TWO REVELATIONS-2
- The Two Revelations
- Jeffery Epstein - The Saga - 9
- Jeffery Epstein - The Saga - 8
- Jeffery Epstein - The Saga - 10
- Universality of Initiation
- The Participants In The Mysteries-2
- The Path Of Initiation
- Initiation and the Devas
- The Fourth Way - Study of Oneself - P.D.Ouspensky
- Impeachment Investigators Subpoena White House - Ukraine
- Discipleship - Group Relations - 2
- The Probationary Path - 2
- The Final Initiation
- The Succeeding Two Initiations
- The Participants In The Mysteries
- Discipleship - Group Relationships
- Discipleship
- Jeffery Epstein - The Saga - 7
- The Fourth Way - Wrong Functions - P.D Ouspensky
- Statues are a mark of honour. Like Edward Colston, Cecil Rhodes and Oliver Cromwell have to go
- Jeffery Epstein - The Saga - 6
Articles - Latest
- Blinken to Hamas: Accept Israel's 'extraordinarily generous' Gaza truce proposal
- 'Loan shark', 83, ordered to pay back over £173,000
- Thai court adds jail time for rights lawyer who urged monarchy reform
- Rapist jailed a decade after campaign of abuse against London woman
- Former SNP council leader appears in court charged with sexual offences
- Former mayor of Winchester smothered elderly mother with cushion, court told
- Spanish PM decides not to quit despite corruption claims against wife
- Scotland's Yousaf set to resign as first minister, UK media say
- Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned
- Jamaica on track to remove King Charles as head of state by 2025, minister says
- Case against Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to be heard in court
- Rwanda needs migrants because of the genocide, says Home Secretary
- Will a state supreme court challenge end California’s ‘racist’ record-setting death row for good?
- Sweden aims to prepare critical infrastructure for potential war with Russia - Bloomberg
- Russia detains deputy of defence minister Shoigu for corruption