Lebanon, Israel end second round of maritime border talks
Lebanon, Israel end second round of maritime border talks/node/1755841/middle-east
Lebanon, Israel end second round of maritime border talks
An aircraft flies over a base for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon October 29, 2020. (Reuters)
Lebanon, Israel end second round of maritime border talks
The delegations met for around four hours for a second day straight at a base of the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL in the Lebanese border town of Naqura
The talks have been shrouded in secrecy, with little information emerging about any progress being made
Updated 30 October 2020
AFP
NAQURA: Lebanon and Israel, still technically at war, wrapped up a second round of maritime border talks Thursday under UN and US auspices to allow for offshore energy exploration.
The delegations met for around four hours for a second day straight at a base of the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL in the Lebanese border town of Naqura, Lebanon's National News Agency and Israel's energy ministry said.
The talks have been shrouded in secrecy, with little information emerging about any progress being made.
"At the end it was determined that another round of talks will take place during the coming month," the Israeli energy ministry said.
A Lebanese source close to the negotiations said they would resume on November 11.
A first round of talks had been held on October 14, and the second had started on Wednesday.
After years of quiet US shuttle diplomacy, Lebanon and Israel this month said they had agreed to begin the negotiations in what Washington hailed as a "historic" agreement.
The announcement came weeks after Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab nations to establish relations with Israel since Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
But Lebanon has insisted the negotiations are purely technical and do not involve any political normalisation with Israel.
Lebanon, reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades, is hoping to settle the maritime border dispute so it can continue exploring for hydrocarbon reserves in the Mediterranean.
Exploration is on hold in an area off its coast named Block 9, as a section of it is located in an 860-square-kilometre (330-square-mile) area claimed by both Israel and Lebanon.
NNA said the Lebanese delegation carried with it "maps and documents showing the points of contention and the Israeli enemy infringing on the Lebanese right to include part of Block 9".
In February 2018, Lebanon signed its first contract for offshore drilling for oil and gas in Block 9 and Block 4 with a consortium comprising energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek.
Lebanon in April said initial drilling in Block 4 had shown traces of gas but no commercially viable reserves.
While the US-brokered talks look at the maritime border, a UNIFIL-sponsored track is also due to address outstanding land border disputes.
UNIFIL head Major General Stefano Del Col welcomed Tuesday what he called "a unique opportunity to make substantial progress on contentious issues along" the land frontier.
Pilgrims through the lens: How photographers document scenes of faith during Hajj
Updated 2 min 7 sec ago
Tareq Al-Thaqafi
MAKKAH: Every year, the holy lands transform into a unique visual spectacle pulsing with faith and human diversity, drawing the world’s eyes to Makkah, where millions of Muslims perform the pilgrimage of Hajj.
During this period of spiritual and human momentum, photographers stand as visual historians, conveying to the world unforgettable scenes through their lenses that capture moments of worship, tears, unity, mercy, and cultural diversity.
Photographer Anas Al-Harthi said: “When I carry my camera during Hajj season, I feel that I am not just documenting an event but painting a grand canvas of faith in human colors from every continent.”
He added: “A photographer during Hajj does not just take a picture — he moves with a deep sense that this shot may remain a witness to a moment that will never be repeated in the pilgrim’s life.”
Al-Harthi pointed out that the greatest challenge is respecting the sanctity of the scene without interfering with it, which requires a high artistic sense and an appreciation of place, time and situation.
Photographer Anas Bakhsh said that the experience of photographing during Hajj places the photographer at the heart of human emotion.
“Thousands of faces pass before you, and each face carries a story, every tear bears a prayer, and every movement expresses longing and contentment. Sometimes I feel that the photo I took is an answered prayer for someone in a moment of complete submission to God.”
He said that the scene forever engraved in his memory is when crowds gather on the plain of Arafat at the same time, a majestic sight where differences between people dissolve and the sounds of Talbiyah and supplication rise.
Photographer Faisal Al-Thaqafi said that professional photography during Hajj is not only about technical skill, but also about cultural and religious awareness, and the ability to engage with the scene with the spirit of a believing photographer. “The photographer during Hajj is not just a professional holding a camera — he is an eye pulsing with faith, translating emotion into imagery.”
He added: “Sometimes you capture an image of an elderly pilgrim raising his hands to the sky, and you realize that this photo will remain in people’s hearts more than any commentary or report — because it is sincere, pure, and simple.”
The three photographers agree that the logistical challenges — crowds, heat, and problems involving mobility — do not stand in the way of their passion. Instead, they drive them to exert double the effort to document this unique event.
Bakhsh said: “Every season, I return home with thousands of photos, but I keep only one or two for myself — those images that I feel touched something inside me and perhaps touched the hearts of millions around the world.”
Al-Thaqafi said that a successful photograph during Hajj is not only one of high visual quality, but one that conveys a genuine emotion. “The strongest images are those that do not need an explanation. You see a pilgrim smiling or crying, and you feel your heart tremble.”
Al-Harthi believes that a photograph can change the world’s perception of Hajj and bring this great ritual closer to non-Muslims as well, saying: “We are not working only for documentation — we are working to build a human bridge, where the spirit of Islam is shown through an honest and professional lens.”
With these sincere lenses, the Hajj season becomes an open exhibition of spirituality, where photos tell stories that words cannot express, and bear witness to the greatest annual human gathering, where everyone is equal in attire, and united in purpose: seeking mercy and forgiveness.
Amid this visual momentum created by photographers through their lenses, the impact of these images is also felt by the pilgrims themselves and by millions of followers on social media. Syrian pilgrim Omar Al-Kadeeb, from Deir Ezzor, said: “Photos of relatives who performed the pilgrimage in the holy sites and near the Kaaba reached my family and friends within minutes and spread widely. At that moment, we felt like we were part of their spiritual journey despite the distance.” He added: “I saw images taken of pilgrims from all nationalities, and I found myself moving emotionally through the scenes — from a father crying in prayer, to a child smiling in Arafat, to a woman raising her hands to the sky in a profoundly moving moment that cannot be described.”
Al-Kadeeb said that the professional photos shared by photographers on platforms such as X, Instagram and TikTok enhance the status of Hajj in people’s hearts and make it feel more relatable and more meaningful to the viewer — even if they are not performing Hajj themselves.
“I believe every beautiful image from Hajj is an indirect invitation for people to dream of Hajj and to realize the greatness of this immense pillar,” Al-Kadeeb said.
He concluded with high praise for the photographers: “They are not just professionals — they are messengers of peace and beauty, delivering the message in today’s universal language: a photo.”
Egypt detains over 200 activists ahead of Gaza aid march
Updated 12 min 14 sec ago
AFP
CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have detained more than 200 pro-Palestinian activists in Cairo ahead of an international march aiming to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza, organizers said on Thursday.
Thousands of people taking part in the Global March to Gaza planned to travel to Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian territory on Friday to call for increased humanitarian aid access.
“Over 200 participants were detained at Cairo airport or questioned at hotels across Cairo,” said the march’s spokesperson, Saif Abukeshek.
The detainees included people from Algeria, Australia, France, Morocco, the Netherlands, Spain, and the US, he said.
Plainclothes officers entered Cairo hotels on Wednesday with lists of names, questioning activists, and in some cases, confiscating phones and searching personal belongings, said Abukeshek.
“After interrogations, some were arrested and others were released.”
At Cairo airport, some detainees were held for hours without explanation, Abukeshek said, adding others were deported, without specifying how many.
More than 20 French activists who had planned to join the march were held at Cairo airport for 18 hours, he said.
“What happened was completely unexpected,” Abukeshek said.
Footage shared with AFP showed dozens of people with their luggage crammed inside a holding room at the airport.
“We’re locked up here in this room with so many people — some 30-40 people,” a German national said in one video.
“I called the embassy and they told me their people are trying to figure things out,” she said.
Another video obtained by AFP shows more than 30 people aboard a deportation flight from Cairo chanting in French: “The world is with you ... Gaza ... Gaza.”
One French traveler, briefly detained and released on Thursday, said he had been held in a room at Cairo airport with around 15 others.
He said he saw between 50 and 60 people being stopped, including elderly people and families.
The Greek contingent said in a statement that dozens of Greek nationals were among those held at Cairo airport, but were later released after 10 hours in custody.
The Global March to Gaza said several people were being released after diplomatic staff arrived at Cairo airport to provide “consular assistance to the detained participants.”
Cairo Security Directorate chief Tarek Rashid did not respond to a request for comment.
After 21 months of war, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, which the UN has dubbed “the hungriest place on Earth.”
Another convoy dubbed Soumoud, or steadfastness in Arabic, left the Tunisian capital on Monday, hoping to pass through divided Libya and Egypt — which organizers say has yet to provide passage permits — to reach Gaza.
The Soumoud convoy arrived in Tripoli — the Libyan capital controlled by the internationally recognized government — on Wednesday.
It remains uncertain whether the convoy will be allowed into eastern Libya.
The Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said around 4,000 participants from more than 40 countries would take part in the event, with many having already arrived ahead of the Friday march.
According to the plan, participants are set to travel by bus to the city of El-Arish in the heavily secured Sinai Peninsula before walking 50 km toward the border with Gaza.
They would then camp there before returning to Cairo on June 19.
Israel has called on Egyptian authorities “to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border.”
Such actions “would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
In response, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said that while it backs efforts to put “pressure on Israel,” any foreign delegations visiting the border area must receive approval through official channels.
“We will continue despite what happened because the current numbers in Egypt and those expected to arrive are enough to organize this march,” Abukeshek said.
Final work by the renowned physicist combines complex scientific ideas with accessible explanations, making it a must-read for anyone curious about the cosmos
Updated 12 min 19 sec ago
Ghadi Joudah
Stephen Hawking’s “Brief Answers to the Big Questions” is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of science’s most profound mysteries, offering insights into the origins of the universe and humanity’s place within it.
Published in 2018, this final work by the renowned physicist combines complex scientific ideas with accessible explanations, making it a must-read for anyone curious about the cosmos.
Hawking begins by addressing how the universe came into existence. He explains that the laws of physics are sufficient to describe the universe’s origins, suggesting that it could arise from a state of nothingness due to the balance of positive and negative energy.
By linking this to the nature of time, which began alongside the universe itself, he offers a perspective grounded in scientific reasoning.
The book also delves into the evolution of the universe and the evidence supporting it. Hawking discusses how the redshift of light from distant galaxies confirms the universe’s expansion, while the cosmic microwave background radiation provides a glimpse into its dense, hot beginnings.
Through the anthropic principle, he demonstrates how the unique conditions of our universe make life possible, underscoring how rare such conditions are.
Hawking also considers the possibility of extraterrestrial life, suggesting that while life may exist elsewhere, intelligent civilizations are unlikely to be nearby or at the same stage of development. He cautions against attempts to communicate with alien life, warning that such interactions could pose risks to humanity.
One of the book’s most intriguing sections explores black holes. Hawking examines their immense density, the singularity at their core, and the paradox of information loss. He explains how black holes might release information as they evaporate, preserving the fundamental laws of physics.
Beyond its scientific insights, the book is a call to action. Hawking urges readers to prioritize scientific progress, safeguard the planet, and prepare for the challenges of the future.
Though some sections may challenge non-experts, “Brief Answers to the Big Questions” remains accessible, inspiring, and deeply insightful — a fitting conclusion to Hawking’s extraordinary legacy.
KARACHI: Pakistani leaders and the country’s national carrier offered condolences on Thursday as more than 290 people were killed when an Air India plane with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
The dead included people on the ground as the aircraft — headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital — crashed on a medical college hostel during lunch hour.
At least one passenger is known to have survived the crash, police said.
“Saddened by the tragic crash of Air India flight near Ahmedabad today. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims grieving this immense loss,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this heartbreaking tragedy.”
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PIA, Pakistan’s national carrier, said it stood in “solidarity with our fellow aviation community, offering our deepest condolences to Flight 171 and all those impacted.”
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the head of a Pakistani delegation visiting world capitals to present Islamabad’s position on a recent military standoff with New Delhi, also expressed condolences over the Indian plane crash after his team arrived in Brussels to hold meetings.
“Saddened to hear a tragic incident occurred earlier today,” he said on X. “I express my profound condolences to the people of India.”
Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer, told Reuters approximately 294 had died:
“This includes some students as the plane crashed on the building where they were staying.”
She said police found one survivor who was in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, adding that there could be more survivors in hospital.
Indian media widely reported the survivor had been sitting in seat 11A, after videos shared on social media showed Vishwash Kumar Ramesh — in a bloodied t-shirt and limping, but walking toward an ambulance. (X/Screenshots)
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” 40-year-old survivor Ramesh Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in that name online.
“It all happened so quickly,” he told the paper from his hospital bed.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me … Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
He said that his brother, Ajay, was seated in a different row on the plane.
“He was traveling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,” he said.
FOREIGN NATIONALS ON BOARD
Ahmedabad police chief G.S. Malik said the bodies recovered could include both passengers and people killed on the ground. The dead included Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state, of which Ahmedabad is the main city.
Relatives had been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi told reporters.
Parts of the plane’s body were scattered around the smoldering building into which it crashed. The tail of the plane was stuck on top of the building.
The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, Reuters reported. Air India said 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
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Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.
It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The plane that crashed on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.
CRASH JUST AFTER TAKE-OFF
Thursday’s crash occurred just after the plane took off. TV channels showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
“My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed,” Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told news agency ANI at the government hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ramila, the mother of a student at the medical college, told ANI her son had gone to the hostel for his lunch break when the plane crashed.
“My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries,” she said.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 139 p.m (0809 GMT). It gave a Mayday call, signaling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said one problematic sign from videos of the aircraft was that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up.
Rescue officials work at the site where Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. (AFP)
“If you didn’t know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway,” Brickhouse said.
Boeing said it was in contact with Air India and working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 5 percent as the crash posed a major setback for the plane maker as its new CEO looks to rebuild trust following a series of safety and production challenges.
Aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace said that it would put a team together to go to India and analyze cockpit data, India’s CNBC TV18 reported.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it would lead a team of US investigators traveling to India to help in the investigation.
Britain was working with Indian authorities to urgently establish the facts around the crash and to provide support to those involved, the country’s foreign office said.
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. “It is heartbreaking beyond words.” Gujarat is Modi’s home state.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said images emerging of the crash were “devastating.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles was also being kept updated.
INDIA’S FIRST CRASH SINCE 2020
Ahmedabad Airport, which suspended all flight operations after the crash, said it was operational again but with limited flights. The airport is operated by India’s Adani Group conglomerate.
Rescuers work at the site of an airplane that crashed in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state on June 12, 2025. (AP)
The last fatal plane crash in India, the world’s third largest aviation market and its fastest growing, was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm.
The airline’s Boeing-737 overshot a “table-top” runway in southern India, skidded and plunged into a valley, crashing nose-first into the ground and killing 21 people.
The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara — a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – in 2024.
DEADLY CIVILIAN CRASHES OVER THE DECADES
AUGUST 2020
Twenty-one people died when an Air India Express Boeing 737 plane skidded off the runway in the southern city of Kozhikode during heavy rain, plunged into a valley and crashed nose-first into the ground.
MAY 2010
An Air India Boeing 737 flight from Dubai overshot the runway at the airport in the southern city of Mangaluru and crashed into a gorge, killing 158 people on board.
JULY 2000
More than 50 people were killed when a state-owned Alliance Air flight between Kolkata and the capital, New Delhi, crashed in a residential area of the eastern city of Patna.
APRIL 1993
An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed during takeoff in the western city of Aurangabad and killed 55 people on board.
AUGUST 1991
An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 flight from Kolkata crashed during descent near Imphal, the capital of the hilly north-eastern state of Manipur, killing all 69 occupants onboard.
OCTOBER 1988
More than 130 passengers died when an Indian Airlines Boeing 737, flying from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, crashed as it was coming in to land.
JANUARY 1978
All 213 passengers of an Air India flight were killed when the captain lost control of the plane after take-off and plunged it into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai, India’s financial hub.
Syria condemns ‘blatant violation’ of sovereignty after Israeli incursion
One person killed and 7 captured during the pre-dawn operation in Beit Jin, Interior Ministry says
Updated 18 min 14 sec ago
AFP AP
DAMASCUS: Syria’s Interior Ministry condemned an Israeli incursion in southern Syria, saying Israeli forces killed one person and abducted seven others, calling it a “blatant violation” of the country’s sovereignty.
“We affirm that these repeated provocations constitute a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that “these practices cannot lead the region to stability and will only result in further tension and turmoil.”
The Israeli military said those detained during the pre-dawn raid on Beit Jin were suspected of planning attacks against Israel, and that weapons also were found in the area.
They were taken back to Israel for questioning, the military said.
One person was killed and seven captured in the operation, Syria’s Interior Ministry said, while the father of the young man killed said he had a history of mental illness.
Since the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government in early December, Israeli forces have moved into several areas in southern Syria and conducted hundreds of airstrikes throughout the country, destroying much of the assets of the Syrian army.
Local broadcaster Syria TV described Thursday’s raid as being carried out by about 100 Israeli troops who stormed Beit Jin, near the border with Lebanon, and called out the names of several people targeted for arrest through loudspeakers.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said such incursions spike tensions in the region.
“Such repeated provocative acts are a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty,” the ministry said in a statement.
Village official Walid Okasha said that Israeli troops had entered the outskirts of Beit Jin in recent months, but that this was the first time they entered the center of the village.
He added that Thursday’s operation came four days after an Israeli drone strike hit a car in the village, inflicting casualties.
“They came targeting specific people,” said Okasha, who denied that Hamas members were in the village.
He said the seven people taken to Israel were all Syrians and that two of them were members of the country’s new security forces.
He said the man who was killed suffered from mental illness.
Ahmad Hammadi identified the victim as his son and told the AP that he had a history of schizophrenia.
He said his son was shot dead in front of his home, and that he had no links to Hamas.
He said two of the captured men were his nephews. Hussein Safadi said his two sons, Ahmad, 32, and Mohammed, 34, were captured, adding that his younger son, who raises goats, had lived in Lebanon for years until recently.
He said his younger son was a member of the armed opposition against Assad and recently joined the security forces of the new authorities. As for why Israeli forces seized his sons, “we don’t know the reasons,” Safadi said.
During a visit to France last month, Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent hostilities from getting out of control.
