Category: Global

A majority of Americans have rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to take over Gaza in occupied Palestine. 

A CBS poll has shown that 47 percent of respondents opposed the plan, calling it a “bad idea” while only 13 percent supported it. Another 40 percent said that their opinion will depend upon the circumstances or were unsure. 

Widespread condemnation of the plan hasn’t deterred Trump who told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that he is “committed to buying and owning” Gaza. 

“We’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back. There’s nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site,” he said. 

The President himself received approval from 53 percent of respondents who were satisfied by his approach to the conflict. 

The poll of 2,175 adults had a margin error of 2.5 percent points. 

An overall majority, 54 percent, said they approved of Trump so far in his presidency. However, a clear majority, 66 percent, said that Trump was not doing enough to lower prices of consumer goods, a key promise he made during his election campaign.  

His plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and the European Union were opposed by 56 percent while a similar number approved of the 10 percent tariff he had imposed on China. 

American Presidents usually enjoy positive approval ratings at the beginning of their terms. Barack Obama had a 66 percent approval rating when he started his presidential term in 2009, while Joe Biden had a 57 percent rating one month after becoming President in 2020. Trump himself had the lowest first term approval ratings of any President in the past 70 years when he started off with 44 percent in 2016.

A man took his own life after losing money on a cricket betting app and facing pressure to repay the amount.

The incident occurred in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The man, identified as Kishore Kumar from Kumara Street, lost money on the betting app.

He hanged himself at his home. Before his death, he wrote a note stating that he alone was responsible for the money he lost on the betting app.

His wife, Sunita, is a police officer in the YSR district, while Kishore worked for a private company and ran a waste engine oil business in Bangalore.

Locals said that Kishore and three other people had been betting money on the cricket app for some time.

He was under pressure to repay the money, and after a fight with those demanding payment, he became hopeless and took his own life.

A minister in Sri Lanka has blamed a nation-wide power outage in the island nation on a monkey that he said entered a main grid near Colombo. 

“A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer, causing an imbalance in the system,” Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody told members of the media on Sunday. 

Electricity across the country disappeared around 11:00 am on Sunday, leaving most of its 22 million inhabitants without power for almost a full day. 

While electricity is gradually being restored across the country, hospitals, clinics and water plants are being prioritised. 

Sri Lanka went through multiple blackouts when it defaulted in 2022, leading to many relying on generators for their electric needs. While the country has greatly recovered from the tumultuous from the financial crisis, the power grid remains in a precarious position.

Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual head of Shia Ismailis around the world, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 88 in Portugal. 

Tributes poured in from around the world for the billionaire philanthropist who ran hospitals, charities and universities, many of which are located in Pakistan. 

In 2013 Aga Khan visited India where he gave an interview to NDTV’s Shekhar Gupta.  During the show, Gupta asked him an anti-Pakistan question.

“I feel sort of a little bit ashamed asking this question, given how liberal you are, how Catholic in your view and how much a citizen of the world you are,” Shekhar Gupta began, before moving on to ask, “Why do we find that the angriest Muslims in the world come from Pakistan?” 

However, Gupta’s hopes of getting the Aga Khan to talk against Pakistan were dashed quickly by the smiling Prince. 

“I wouldn’t agree with that,” he said, dismissing the Indian journalist’s quest for an anti-Pakistan statement. “I think there is anger in many many Muslim countries. Because I think the Ummah feels targeted, essentially for 9/11,” he stated. 

After a short moment of silence he told Gupta politely, “So I don’t think that comment, if I may say so, is fair.”

A flustered Gupta was quick to say, “Its wonderful that you disagree.”

Swiss authorities have opened an investigation into an Israeli soldier present in the country for war crimes, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has confirmed on Wednesday. 

The HRF has said in a statement that their complaint to Swiss authorities provides “extensive evidence implicating the individual in war crimes and crimes against humanity, including attacks on civilians, destruction of homes and hospitals, forced displacement, and other grave violations of international law committed in the Gaza Strip.” 

The investigation begins as Israel faces mounting legal troubles for its war crimes in Gaza. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. HRF has focused more on soldiers and commanders of the Israeli army, bringing their atrocities to light in different countries, including Brazil, Spain and now Switzerland. 

The Hind Rajab Foundation, named for the six-year-old Palestinian girl murdered by Israeli soldiers in cold blood,  was formed last year to hold the Israeli army to account for breaking international laws.

The 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismailis, Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, famously known as Aga Khan, “passed away peacefully” on February 5, in Lisbon, Portugal, his official charity page on X (formerly Twitter), posted.

He was 88 years of age.

He built his legacy by becoming a billionaire philanthropist and humanitarian who provided great support to people around the world.

Under The Aga Khan Development Network, he built homes, hospitals, and schools in developing countries and worked on rural economic development.

A large network of hospitals and laboratories has been built all across countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan, providing health care to those who can not afford it.

Similarly, his projects involve providing scholarships to students from underprivileged backgrounds. Tens of millions of dollars have also been spent on the development of local economies.

Prince Aga Karim was only a college student when he was given the responsibility to lead his people.

His grandfather decided to pass over his son, who was known to be a playboy, and chose Prince Aga Karim as the leader of the community at the young age of only 20, becoming the spiritual leader of millions of Ismaili Muslims around the world.

“I was an undergraduate who knew what his work for the rest of his life was going to be,” he said in a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair magazine. “I don’t think anyone in my situation would have been prepared.”

He had a passion for architecture and design, which inspired him to create an architecture prize and establish Islamic Architecture programs at MIT and Harvard. He also worked on restoring historic Islamic buildings worldwide.

His death was announced by the Aga Khan Foundation, and the Ismaili religious community announced it on their websites.

The announcement of his successor is expected to come out soon.

Condolences from around the world have poured in. Prince Charles considered Prince Karim Aga Khan ‘a personal friend of many years,’ and he is ‘deeply saddened’ by the news of his death.

Aga Khan was also a close friend of Queen Elizabeth II, both of whom were avid horse racing enthusiasts, and the two had attended a number of Royal Ascot together.

The late Queen invited Aga Khan for a dinner at Buckingham Palace in 2008. He was considered to be highly regarded by the British monarchy.

Aga Khan was also granted the title of ‘His Highness’ by Queen Elizabeth in July 1957.

US President Donald J. Trump has set off an international diplomatic crisis by stating on Tuesday night that America will “take over” Gaza, suggesting that American troops might be deployed in the occupied Palestinian territory while Gazans are forced to leave. 

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said during a joint press conference alongside International Criminal Court’s wanted war criminal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said he envisioned Gaza as a new Riviera. 

When asked by a reporter whether America could send in its army, Trump did not rule it out. 

“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings,” he said, setting off alarm bells ringing across the globe and his own country. 

“I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East, and maybe the entire Middle East,” Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House. He said later: “This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.”

His statement was in sharp contrast to the stance taken by Arab nations, most of whom have repeatedly rejected any plans involving the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land. Egypt and Jordan, both strong allies of the US and Israel, publicly distanced themselves from Trump’s earlier statements that they will take in two million Gazans. 

Saudi Arabia reacted with a fast rejection. Despite it being 4:00 am in Riyadh, the the Saudi Foreign Ministry released a statement stressing its long-held position that it will not commit to normalization of relations with Israel without guarantees of a Palestinian state.

“Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement said.