06/08/2025

WEDNESDAY | AUG 6, 2025

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Israeli Cabinet may order complete Gaza takeover

Plastic pollution treaty talks begin

GENEVA: Countries started the clock yesterday on 10 days of talks aimed at hammering out a landmark global treaty on combating the scourge of plastic pollution. Three years of negotiations hit the wall in South Korea in December when a group of oil producing states blocked a consensus. Since the failure in Busan, countries have been working behind the scenes and are giving it another go in Geneva. Key figures steering the negotiations said they were not expecting an easy ride this time but insisted a deal remained within reach. “There’s been extensive diplomacy from Busan till now,”said UN Environment Programme executive director Inger Andersen. UNEP is hosting the talks, and Andersen said conversations across, between and among different regions and interest groups had generated momentum. “Most countries that I have spoken with have said: ‘We’re coming to Geneva to strike the deal’. “Will it be easy? No. Will it be straightforward? No. Is there a pathway for a deal? Absolutely.” In 2022, countries agreed they would find a way to address the crisis by the end of last year. However, the supposedly final round of negotiations on a legally-binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the seas, flopped in Busan. One group of countries sought an ambitious deal to limit production and phase out harmful chemicals. But a clutch of mostly oil-producing nations rejected production limits and wanted to focus more narrowly on treating waste. Ecuadoran diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chairing the talks process, said an effective, fair and ambitious agreement was now within reach. “Our paths and positions might differ; our destination is the same,” he said on Monday. “We are all here because we believe in a shared cause: a world free of plastic pollution.” – AFP LONDON: New rules in the United Kingdom will bar individuals with a history of violence or domestic abuse from owning firearms. The new guidance, issued yesterday, comes in response to concerns raised by coroners and campaigners. Police officers will be instructed to interview partners or other household members of people applying for a firearms licence to identify signs of domestic abuse or other factors that could make someone unsuitable to own a weapon. They must carry out additional checks to ensure people with a record of violence are not permitted to hold a licence. Evidence of dishonesty will also count against an application, including withholding relevant medical history. Applicants for shotgun licences now require two referees rather than one, bringing the process into line with the rules for other firearms. – Bernama BANNED RUSSIAN MEDIA SITES STILL ACCESSIBLE LONDON: Websites of banned Russian media can still be easily accessed across the EU in the “overwhelming majority” of cases, experts said yesterday, slamming the bloc’s “failure” to publish up-to-date guidance. EU authorities banned Kremlin-controlled media in 2022 from transmitting in the bloc, including online, to counter “disinformation”. But more than three years on, “sanctioned outlets are largely still active and accessible” across member states, said a report released by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. “Russian state media continues to maintain a strong online presence, posing a persistent challenge to Western democracies,” the report said, with blocks imposed by internet service providers “largely ineffective”. EU sanctions banned RT and Sputnik media organisations, as well as other channels, news agencies and newspapers accused of “information warfare”. – AFP BRITAIN TIGHTENS GUN CONTROL LAWS

o Netanyahu wants to seize entire enclave

TEL AVIV: Israel’s Cabinet was poised yesterday to authorise a complete military takeover of Gaza for the first time in two decades, media reported, despite international pressure for a ceasefire to ease appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning towards an expanded offensive and taking control of the entire enclave after 22 months of war against Hamas, Israeli Channel 12 reported. A senior Israeli source said on Monday that more force was an option following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks. Seizing the entire territory would reverse a 2005 decision by Israel to pull settlers and military out of Gaza while retaining control over its borders – a move right-wing parties blame for Hamas gaining power there. It was unclear, however, whether a potential full takeover of Gaza would entail a prolonged occupation or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing hostages. Israel’s coalition government is regarded as one of the most right-wing in its history, with the Cabinet including parties that seek to annex both Gaza and the West Bank and encourage Palestinians to leave their homeland.

An Israeli military convoy heading into Gaza yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

anger and prompted several European countries to say they would recognise a Palestinian state next month. Inside Gaza yesterday, Israeli gunfire and strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians, local health authorities said, including five people in a tent in Khan Younis and three aid seekers near Rafah in the south. Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza earlier yesterday but it was not clear if the move was part of a larger ground offensive. Palestinians living in the last fifth of the territory where Israel has not yet taken military control said any new move to occupy the area would be catastrophic. – Reuters

The country’s military has throughout the war pushed back against the idea of Israel trying to fully occupy Gaza and establish military rule there, which would require it to take over long-term governance. The military has also struggled with manpower issues as the war has dragged on, with reservists being repeatedly called up and putting a strain on capabilities. Israel’s military offensive has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, killing more than 60,000 people. It has forced nearly all of Gaza’s over 2 million people from their homes and caused an unfolding famine. That has caused widespread international

BR I E F S

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (left) stands next to an image of his father, Jair Bolsonaro, during a protest at Copacabana Beach on Sunday. – AFPPIC

Brazil judge puts ex-president under house arrest BRASILIA: A Brazilian judge on Monday placed former president Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest for breaking a social media ban, escalating a dramatic standoff between the court and the politician, who is accused of plotting a coup. social media for the duration of the proceedings and third parties are barred from sharing his public remarks. But on Sunday, his allies defied the order by sharing footage online of a call between the former army captain and his eldest son Flavio at a solidarity rally in Rio de Janeiro. He also barred the country’s former leader (2019-2022) from receiving visitors, apart from his lawyers, and from using mobile phones, and warned that any new transgression would lead to him being detained. Several mobile phones were seized at his home on Monday, the police said. Washington condemned the new

Bolsonaro is on trial at the Supreme Court for allegedly plotting to cling onto power after losing the 2022 elections to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. President Donald Trump has sought to punish Brazil, a longtime US ally, for what he sees as a politically motivated “witch hunt” targeting Bolsonaro by imposing eye-watering tariffs on Latin America’s biggest economy. The 70-year-old Bolsonaro is banned from

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes reacted furiously, declaring that the judiciary would not allow a defendant to “treat it like a fool” because of his “political and economic power”. Criticising Bolsonaro’s “repeated failure” to comply with the court’s restrictions on him during the trial, Moraes placed him under house arrest at his home in the capital Brasilia.

restrictions, with the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs issuing a statement on X. “Alexandre de Moraes, already sanctioned by the United States for rights violations, continues to use institutions to silence the opposition and threaten democracy,” it posted. “Let Bolsonaro speak!” – AFP