09/06/2026

TUESDAY | JUNE 9, 2026

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‘World in profound crisis’ o End wars, Pope urges politicians of help for the world’s migrants was challenging “the ethical foundation of the international order”.

Talks begin in Cairo over Gaza ceasefire CAIRO: Talks on advancing the fragile Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo between mediators and Palestinian factions, a Palestinian source familiar with the meeting told AFP. The discussions, which started on Sunday, come as violence continues to plague the territory despite the truce in place since October. The talks bring together mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, along with representatives of several Palestinian factions, as efforts continue to push forward negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. According to the source, mediators were due to meet a Hamas delegation before midday yesterday, followed by a wider meeting including all participating factions. Egypt’s Al-Qahera News channel said Sunday’s talks focused on “the proposed roadmap for completing the implementation of the agreement”. “It was held in a positive atmosphere,” the channel reported, adding that there was agreement on the need to continue implementing US President Donald Trump’s plan. The talks come amid rising regional tensions, after Israel and Iran traded fire yesterday. Despite the Gaza truce technically in effect since October, daily violence has rocked the territory, over half of which is under Israeli military control in defiance of the ceasefire’s terms. – AFP ‘Stop underage nude images’ LONDON: Big tech firms operating in Britain must stop children circulating nude images on their phones or they will face legislation forcing them to do so, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday. The announcement is Starmer’s latest effort to protect children from the harmful impacts of technology. It comes as the Times reported that he is also planning to announce a ban on some social media platforms for those aged under 16. “Today I’m calling on tech companies operating in this country to introduce device controls that prevent children from sending and receiving sexually explicit images,” Starmer said in a speech at London Tech Week. “This is not an impossible challenge.” Under the new plans, firms like Apple and Google would have to build or activate technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children. Adults would still be able to take, share or view nude content. If companies do not act within three months, the government said it would bring forward legislation to force them to do so or risk facing fines or, as a last resort, the threat of criminal liability for bosses. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Google said it was deeply committed to protecting children online. “We are working constructively with UK partners to find effective, privacy preserving solutions that deter the spread of harmful content while ensuring a safe digital environment for young people,” a Google spokesperson said. The move is intended to stop children being exploited by abusers who share nude images with others or use them to blackmail minors. – Reuters

estimated 500,000 immigrants to apply for legal status. Leo, who issued a fervent manifesto last month urging governments to slow down the development of AI systems, called yesterday for “rigorous ethical vigilance” over how AI was used in warfare. He said that rising European military spending, which grew last year by the highest amount since the end of the Cold War, was “troubling”. The pope has called European rearmament a betrayal of democracy. Leo also offered some of his most in-depth remarks yet addressing the balance between Church and state. He urged protection of religious freedom, saying that faith “cannot be relegated to silence as though it were irrelevant to public life”. – Reuters

distrust,” the pope said in the address, which came hours after Israel and Iran renewed their attacks on one another in the most serious test of a two-month ceasefire. “Weapons can impose a temporary silence; but they can never build an authentic and lasting peace,” he said. Leo’s speech, delivered in Spanish, was a rare papal address to a national legislature and the first by a pope to Spain’s parliament. It is part of a week-long visit to the country in which the pontiff has met migrants and the homeless, and called on national leaders to stop dividing their electorates. The pope, whose Spain tour will culminate with the pontiff meeting migrants in the Canary Islands who braved dangerous Atlantic waters to enter Europe, said a lack

He said countries must look for solutions that go beyond “the mere management of flows” and should address the causes that force people to leave their countries of origin, including war, poverty and adverse weather. The pope told parliament that “the moral greatness of a nation is manifested above all in its capacity to accompany, protect, and love those lives that pass through the greatest fragility”. More than 3,000 people died in 2025 trying to reach the Canary Islands, off the western coast of Africa, often in makeshift dinghies, according to NGO Caminando Fronteras. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government has opened a mass amnesty programme, allowing an

MADRID: Pope Leo told Spain’s parliament that escalating conflict, deepening polarisation and widespread disregard for human rights had pushed the world into a profound crisis, in one of his most expansive political addresses yet yesterday. Leo, who has adopted a more forceful tone recently against the direction of global leadership, also firmly repeated his opposition to increased European military spending, urging politicians instead to end the wars ravaging the globe and help migrants. “The world is undergoing a profound spiritual and cultural crisis, which is manifested in violence, polarisation and mutual

Two men examining a fallen rocket half-buried in the ground on the outskirts of Jericho yesterday. – AFPPIC Iran fired nearly 30 missiles, says Israel

TEL AVIV: An Israeli military official said Iran fired nearly 30 missiles towards Israel since Sunday night, in the first exchange of fire between the two countries since a truce in April. “Last night the Iranian regime began firing ballistic missiles towards Israel ... they fired close to 30 ballistic missiles towards Israel,” the official told journalists yesterday, adding that Yemen’s Houthi rebels separately fired two missiles at the country. Israel’s military said earlier yesterday it had struck several targets at a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, Iran in retaliation.

Mayadeen television that Tehran’s strikes on Sunday came after weeks of restraint against Israeli aggression. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards called the attack a “warning” after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier in the day, threatening wider strikes in the event of repeated aggression. A separate Iranian attack targeting the headquarters of “terrorist groups” in Iraqi Kurdistan yesterday added yet more strain to hopes for a lasting peace. The Iranian government accuses the Kurdish parties of serving Western or Israeli interests. – AFP

twice to the commander of CENTCOM and they are discussing the situation,” the official said. Air raid sirens sounded across large areas of northern and central Israel, with explosions heard over Jerusalem earlier yesterday. The exchange of fire between the two countries is the first such incident since a truce was announced on April 8. Tehran has insisted any deal to permanently end the war must also halt the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel was pursuing a campaign against Hezbollah. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Safari told Al

“In this complex, chemical materials are produced and used for ballistic missiles that are fired towards here, towards the state of Israel,” the official said. “The strikes and the damage to the complex disrupts their ability to manufacture various types of weapons.” The Israeli military said it also struck Iranian air defence systems. The official said the Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had spoken twice to the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) over the past day. “Over the past day, the IDF chief of the general staff has spoken