‘Moment of truth’ for world-first plastic pollution treaty

Immigration officers arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of protests at Columbia University against Israel's war in Gaza, following President Trump's deportation threat to foreign pro-Palestinian student demonstrators. Khalil, a prominent figure in the protest movement, was detained for his activities aligned with Hamas, prompting DHS action in support of Trump's anti-Semitism executive orders. Columbia University faced scrutiny for reports of ICE accessing campus buildings, leading to a $400 million federal grant cut for allegedly failing...

Israel's energy minister announced the immediate cutoff of electricity to Gaza in an effort to pressure Hamas during cease-fire talks, aiming to secure the release of hostages and prevent Hamas from remaining in power. Despite existing restrictions on electricity supply to Gaza, the decision led to the disconnection of a wastewater treatment plant previously operating on Israeli power. Negotiations are ongoing in Qatar with U.S. officials involved, as Israel and Hamas work towards a comprehensive...

Syrian security forces fired gunshots in the air to disperse rival protests in response to clashes between pro-government demonstrators and those mourning dead civilians after reported mass killings of Alawites. Activists had organized a silent protest in Damascus to mourn the victims, resulting in confrontations with counter-protesters chanting anti-Alawite slogans. The violence escalated, with hundreds killed in attacks targeting the Alawite minority, clashes between security forces and pro-Assad fighters, and the fiercest violence since rebels...

Ahmed al-Shara, Syria's interim president, appealed for calm and unity following deadly clashes between government forces and loyalists to ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, with hundreds killed according to monitoring groups. As fresh fighting erupted in Latakia and Tartus Provinces, government forces were reported to be targeting armed fighters from the previous regime. The violence, primarily in Alawite-majority areas, has raised concerns of renewed sectarian conflict, with over 1,000 killed, including 700 civilians, though the exact...

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa called for national unity and peace after over 1,000 people were killed in clashes in coastal Syria. The violence erupted between new security forces and loyalists of the former government, leading to the largest challenge to the new government's forces since Assad's overthrow. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Alawite civilians were among those killed in "executions" by security personnel, prompting fears of reprisals in the region. Full Article

Three days of clashes in Syria have resulted in scores of civilian deaths, with over 1,000 people killed in the coastal provinces of Tartus and Latakia, mostly by government forces, according to two war monitoring groups. The government denied accusations of targeting civilians, stating they operate according to international humanitarian law. The unrest, the bloodiest since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, has raised concerns of a larger sectarian conflict in Syria. Full Article