13/07/2025

theSun on Sunday JULY 13, 2025

WORLD 8

Backpacker escapes bush ordeal by ‘sheer luck’

Truce talks held up by withdrawal plans GAZA CITY: Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by Israel’s proposals to keep troops in the territory, said two Palestinian sources with knowledge of the discussions. Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a halt to the 21-month conflict. Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached. But one well-informed Palestinian source said Israel’s refusal to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress on securing a deal. “The negotiations are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel’s insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army,” the source said. Hamas has said it wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The source said, however, that the Israeli delegation presented a map at the talks which proposed maintaining military forces in more than 40% of the Palestinian territory. “Hamas’ delegation will not accept the Israeli maps ... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement,” the source said. Mediators have asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha, they added. A second Palestinian source said “some progress” had been made on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners and getting more aid to Gaza. But they accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and “stalling and obstructing the agreement”. – AFP No more red lines, says UN expert GENEVA: The top UN expert on Palestinian rights said on Friday that the US decision to place her under sanctions could have a “chilling effect” on people who engage with her and restrict her movements, but that she planned to continue her work. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Francesca Albanese would be added to the sanctions list for her actions, which he described as prompting illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court. Albanese said she now faces asset freezes and potential travel restrictions, warning that the US decision could set a “dangerous” precedent. “There are no red lines anymore ... It is scary,” she said via video link from Bosnia, where she was at events for the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. “It might block me from moving around. It will have a chilling effect on people normally engaging with me. My plans are to continue what I’ve been doing.” The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories is one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues. Albanese, an Italian lawyer and academic, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. She recently published a report calling on states at the UN Council to impose an arms embargo and cut off trade and financial ties with Israel, while accusing the US ally of waging a “genocidal campaign” in Gaza. – Reuters

administration to temporarily halt some of its most aggressive tactics in rounding up undocumented immigrants. Dozens of migrant-rights activists faced off with federal agents in rural Southern California on Thursday. It was the latest escalation of President Donald Trump’s campaign for mass deportations of immigrants. His administration has made conflicting statements about whether immigration agents will target the farm labour workforce, about half of which is unauthorised to work in the US. The Department of Homeland Security said about 200 people were arrested in the raid, which targeted two locations of Glass House Farms. Agents also found 10 minors at the farm, the department said in an emailed statement. The facility is under investigation for child labour violations, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott posted on X. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The scene at the farm on Thursday was chaotic, with federal agents in helmets and face masks using tear gas and smoke canisters on angry protesters, according to photos and videos of the scene. Several farm workers were injured and one died on Friday from injuries sustained after a 9m fall from a building during the raid, said Elizabeth Strater, national vice president of the United Farm Workers. SYDNEY: German backpacker Carolina Wilga (pic) lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush, and only made it out by “sheer luck”, police said yesterday. The 26-year-old walked “confused and disorientated” 24km away from her van after it got stuck in remote bushland in Western Australia. As police searched for her by air, the backpacker’s ordeal ended on Friday when she managed to flag down a woman driving by who took her to police. She was airlifted to a Perth hospital for treatment. “She is still in disbelief that she was able to survive. In her mind, she had convinced herself that she was not going to be located,” said Jessica Securo, acting inspector for the Western Australia police. The rescue was down to “sheer luck”. “I actually spoke to Carolina this morning, so she confirmed that she was Woman recovering in Perth hospital

said she could have planned better.” The terrain “can be quite dangerous”, Securo said. Wilga remained in a Perth hospital, still needing “emotional support” and treatment for some injuries. “She’s had a good night’s sleep. She’s had a shower. We’ve got her some food, which was a massive relief for her. So she’s just taking it one day at a time at the moment.” The backpacker is now in “frequent communication” with her family who are relieved and thankful the Western Australian community came together to “throw every resource at locating their daughter”, Securo said. The family had no plans at this stage to travel to Australia. Police say Wilga had spent two years backpacking around the country, and was working at mine sites in Western Australia while staying mostly at hostels. “Carolina has told me that she loves Australia. She still has so much travel to do here. She hasn’t made it over to the east coast yet, so that’s still on her bucket list.” – AFP

very confused and disorientated,” Securo told a news conference. “She basically looked at the direction of the sun and tried to head west, thinking that that would be her best bet of coming across someone or a road.” Wilga had been last seen on June 29 arriving in the van at a general store in the small agricultural community of Beacon, northeast of Perth. Police found the van on Thursday, abandoned after getting stuck in dense bushland north of Beacon, with plastic orange traction tracks placed beneath the rear wheels. “It appears that she had somewhat lost control of the vehicle, and then it had become mechanically unsound, and bogged,” Securo said. She stayed with the van for one day before leaving the vehicle through “panic”, hoping to find help. Wilga was found “exhausted, dehydrated and hungry”, suffering from cuts and bruises, but “overwhelmed” to have found someone to help her. “She had minimal food and minimal water. From speaking to her, she has

Farm worker dead, hundreds arrested after raid WASHINGTON: A California farm worker died on Friday from injuries sustained a day earlier when US immigration agents raided a cannabis operation and arrested hundreds of workers, according to a farm worker advocacy group. Separately, a federal judge in California ordered the Trump

Protesters gathering in front of federal agents on a road leading to the farm in Camarillo, California on Friday. – REUTERSPIC

raid and some are still unaccounted for, Strater said. DHS said its agents were not responsible for the man’s death, saying that “although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a green house and fell 30 feet.” Agents immediately called for a medical evacuation, DHS said. – Reuters

The dead worker was identified as Jaime Alanis on a verified GoFundMe page created by his family, who said they were raising money to help his family and for his burial in Mexico. “He was his family’s provider. They took one of our family members. We need justice,” Alanis’ family wrote on the GoFundMe page. US citizens were detained during the