I must admit: I write this piece while starving – too hungry to think clearly, too weak to sit upright for long. I do not feel ashamed because my starvation is deliberate. I refuse my hunger even as it decays me. I can survive no other way.
Since 2 March 2025, Israel has imposed a full blockade on Gaza. Little aid – food, medicine, fuel – is getting in or being distributed. The markets are empty and bakeries, community kitchens and fuel stations are shuttered.
On 27 July, the World Health Organization confirmed 74 deaths from “malnutrition” in Gaza this year – 63 of them in July. Among the dead are 24 children under the age of five and one older child. Starvation is avalanching, nearly unstoppable.
A trickle of aid was dropped. The humanitarian agency Médecins Sans Frontières has called these airdrops “notoriously ineffective and dangerous”. The distribution points of US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation have been denounced as “death traps”, the UN warning that the system violates humanitarian principles and has cost more lives than it has saved.
Famine is no longer a threat – it is here. Some days, my stomach cramps as I try to revise a single paragraph. My fingers feel dry and achy, parched from lack of fluids. Hunger is loud. I read, but hunger is shouting in my ear. I write, but the maw snaps with every keystroke.
A man holds humanitarian aid supplies dropped by parachute near Gaza City. Médecins Sans Frontières has called the airdrops ‘ineffective and dangerous’. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty
And when I try to still myself, to think in the meagre pleasures of drone-infused quiet, my mind floats: what rabbit hole could I be down if I were in a library? Oh, for a coffee in between articles. A sandwich in between sentences. A snack alongside a lazy perusal of the latest issue of TESOL Quarterly.
I wonder: how can I keep my mind sharp when my body has gone so thin and dehydrated?
The hunger starts with a rumble, and it spreads so quickly. My legs barely carry me to the nearest internet cafe. There, I try to keep up with work and commitments, charge my devices, and catch a brief connection to the outside world. But with a heavy laptop bag on my shoulder, the journey feels less like a short walk and more like crossing a desert.
Some days, survival comes down to a single sachet of Plumpy’Nut, a peanut-based nutrient paste usually distributed for free in famine zones, but here sold for about $3.50, a price many can no longer afford. If you are more fortunate, you might buy a few overpriced fortified biscuits.
But the problem is not just paying for food. It is about accessing money in the first place. With every bank in Gaza damaged and not a single functioning ATM left, cash has become both scarce and essential. Online transactions, or Eftpos, are not common here – almost all purchases depend on cash.
After nearly two years of war, banknotes are torn and worn, and often rejected in shops. Getting money from your own account can be exploitative: withdrawing through an informal money exchange outside standard bank processes can cost up to 50% in commission.
Old and worn-out banknotes have to be repaired as Gaza runs out of hard currency. Photograph: Saeed MMT Jaras/Getty Images
This deeply contradicts the spirit of Gaza – known for its generosity, where neighbours always looked after one another, and where, for as long as many of us can remember, no one went to bed hungry if someone else had food to share.
That spirit has not vanished. People still share what little they have. But the scale of deprivation has grown so severe that even the most generous hands are now often empty. Families go to bed hungry and wake up hungry.
One day in particular, I had been working nonstop, pushing through dizziness and exhaustion. By the time I reached the stairs to my apartment, my legs were barely holding me up. My blood sugar had crashed. I collapsed just as I reached my bedroom. I was rushed to the nearest GP, where I was given an IV [intravenous fluids] to stabilise me.
The next morning, I was back at work. Not because I had recovered, but because I felt I could not afford to stop. There were interviews to conduct and transcribe, students to support, messages that needed to be sent. The urgency to bear witness outweighed the need to rest.
This is not about ego. It is about refusing to disappear. About resisting the slow erasure that comes with war and famine. About insisting that our thoughts and our work continue, even when it must be done in the ruins. In Gaza, to be an academic today is to refuse to be reduced to a statistic.
There are days when continuing feels impossible. The body simply gives out. Reading leaves me light-headed. Concentration slips away. Teaching becomes a battle to remain coherent.
And beyond the physical toll, there is another erosion – of identity. As scholars, we are meant to cultivate emancipatory and liberatory thinking among our students. But when our daily realities are hunger, grief and displacement, we begin to question whether we are still fulfilling that role.
Living conditions are harsh and ever worsening in Gaza City. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty
What does it mean to be a scholar when the conditions needed to think, teach and create are stripped away? What does academic freedom mean when intellectual, political and pedagogical freedom is restricted by siege? What does it mean to mentor youth towards critical inquiry when we ourselves are battling to stay upright? These questions linger, not as abstract concerns but as lived tensions. Still, we carry on. Because to stop would be to relinquish one of the last remnants of our agency.
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I often find myself caught between two difficult choices in the classroom: either avoid discussing the crisis, fearing retraumatising my students; or confront it directly, opening space for collective reflection. Both paths are fraught, yet driven by the same hope – to use education not only to inform, but to liberate in helping students believe their voices still matter.
The work goes on. Research calls. Project check-ins. Webinars. Recorded lectures. Training sessions, though they must often pause. This is our reality. Still, we show up: attending classes, writing proposals, giving talks, joining conferences, publishing. Not because we are strong or brave, but because we believe in the transformative power of education. And because to stop would be to give in to silence.
Yet, the most basic truth remains difficult to say aloud: we are hungry. Not by accident, but by design. When did naming that become taboo? For days, split lentils have been my only meal. Finding flour is a scavenger hunt.
And when we do manage to gather ingredients, baking over an open fire is exhausting, physically and emotionally. We burn wood from broken furniture to make bread. Used notebooks and scrap paper become fuel; otherwise, we must buy wood just to finish the job. This is not just about hunger. It is about being forced to fight for survival in silence.
Lighting a fire is a daunting challenge. Matches have run out. Lighters are nearly impossible to replace – and when one is available, it can be prohibitively expensive.
Those who still have a working lighter refill it cautiously with small amounts of gas. In many cases, families or neighbours share a single flame, passing it from household to household – another quiet act of solidarity and enduring spirit.
A handful of spilled lentils in dirt can be all someone has to eat as food shortages intensify in Deir al-Balah. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty
So we keep documenting. Not out of heroism, but to remain present. Because behind every report, every footnote, every lecture lies a deeper truth: knowledge is still being produced in Gaza. Even now. Especially now.
What does solidarity mean when some of us must think, teach and work while starving? What does inclusion mean when access to food, water and safety determines who gets to take part?
This is not a call for charity. It is a call to face an uncomfortable truth: solidarity is meaningless if it does not name – and challenge – the systems that keep people excluded while they struggle to survive under siege, occupation and deliberate deprivation.
True solidarity means asking hard questions: Who gets to speak? Who is heard? Who can keep learning and imagining a future when bombs fall and hunger bites?
Solidarity means changing the way the world works with those in crisis: adapting deadlines, waiving fees, opening access to books and journals, and making space for voices from Gaza and beyond – not as victims but as equal partners. It means understanding that grief, hunger and destroyed infrastructure are not “disruptions” to work – they are our current conditions of life.
To generate knowledge in the context of hunger is to think through pain. To teach students who have not eaten and still tell them their voices matter. To insist, against all odds, that Gaza still thinks, still questions, still creates.
The head of Syria’s commission for missing persons said Monday the number of people who went missing during decades of Assad family rule and the civil war may have exceeded 300,000.
Mohammed Reda Jalkhi, head of the commission created in May, said the body’s mandate ranged from 1970, the year Hafez al-Assad took power, to the present day and had no timeframe for completing its work.
“Our estimates of the number of missing range between 120,000 and 300,000 people, and it could be more,” he told state news agency SANA.
Tens of thousands of people were detained or disappeared during the Syrian civil war alone, which erupted in 2011 after a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests by former president Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December.
During the war, all sides were accused of atrocities including the Islamic State jihadist group, which seized large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, enforcing a strict interpretation of Islamic law and committing widespread abuses including executions.
Bashar al-Assad ruled with an iron fist, like his predecessor, his father Hafez, who took power in a bloodless military coup.
The family’s rule was among the most brutal in the region and its prison system, including feared sites such as Saydnaya, was notorious for disappearing people without a trace.
“We have a map that includes more than 63 documented mass graves in Syria,” he said, without providing details on where they were located, who dug them or who was thought to be buried there.
He said work was underway to establish a data bank for missing persons.
Syria’s new authorities have pledged justice for victims of atrocities committed under Assad’s rule.
In January, the president of the International Committee for the Red Cross said determining the fate of those who went missing during the war would be a massive task likely to take years.
Jalkhi said his commission’s work was “essential to the process of transitional justice and civil peace,” calling the issue of missing persons “one of the most complicated and painful in Syria”.
Relations between China and India are on a “positive trend” towards cooperation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Indian counterpart in New Delhi, according to a readout of the meeting published on Tuesday.
The world’s two most populous nations are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia, and fought a deadly border clash in 2020.
India is also part of the Quad security alliance with the United States, Australia and Japan, which is seen as a counter to China.
But caught in global trade and geopolitical turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, the countries have moved to mend ties.
During talks on Monday with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, Wang said the two countries should “view each other as partners and opportunities, rather than adversaries or threats”.
He pointed to the resumption of “dialogue at all levels” and “maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas” as evidence that bilateral ties were on a “positive trend of returning to the main path of cooperation”.
Wang is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his three-day visit.
According to Indian media, Modi might visit China this month, which would be his first trip since 2018.
Relations have improved since October, when Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time in five years in Russia.
Chinese and Indian officials have said in recent weeks that the two countries were discussing the resumption of border trade, which has been halted since 2020.
Its resumption would be symbolically significant, and follows discussions to resume direct flights and issue tourist visas.
Good morning. Last night, Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House flanked by a dream team of hastily assembled European heavyweights. Their aim: to coax Donald Trump out of pro-Russian positions he adopted after his Alaska meeting with Vladimir Putin last Friday.
The meeting was a sign of both panic and resolve from Europe. The fact Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and more cleared their diaries at such short notice to fly to Washington is an indication of how alarmed they are by Trump’s desire to move straight to a peace deal without a ceasefire – and his insistence that Zelenskyy give up Ukrainian territory.
Progress was made on US security guarantees, and Trump and Zelenskyy have said they will both be holding face-to-face talks with Putin – although the Russian and Ukrainian leaders still appear worlds apart in their demands. Macron said he had “serious doubts” about Putin’s desire for peace.
For this morning’s newsletters, I had a chat with our senior international correspondent Luke Hardingabout the key points agreed in Washington last night, what it means for international diplomacy, and what is next for Ukraine. That’s after the headlines.
Five big stories
Tax | Rachel Reeves is considering replacing stamp duty with a new property tax that would apply to the sale of homes worth more than £500,000, the Guardian has been told.
UK news | Exposure to pornography has increased since the introduction of UK rules to protect the public online, with children as young as six seeing it by accident, research by the children’s commissioner for England has found.
Conservatives | Leaked WhatsApp messages show Conservative MPs are worried that their party’s “piss-poor” messaging over asylum-seeker hotels is making the party look silly. It follows the release of an advert by Conservative campaign headquarters last week, making claims that have since been challenged as exaggerations, such as that asylum seekers receive free driving lessons and free PlayStation consoles.
Bolivia | Bolivia’s presidential election will go to a runoff, with two rightwing candidates seemingly the top runners. It’s an unprecedented scenario after nearly two decades of leftist rule by the Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas).
Environment | Relentless heat and disastrous wildfires continue to ravage southern Europe, with one-quarter of weather stations in Spain recording 40C temperatures and above, the latest in a series of disasters exacerbated by climate breakdown amid a continental rollback of green policies.
In depth: ‘The meeting was significantly better than their pretty awful encounter in February’
Emmanuel Macron of France, left, and Friedrich Merz of Germany were among European leaders who accompanied Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington. Composite: Aaron Schwartz, Jacquelyn Martin and Yves Herman for EPA and AP
The aim of this rare and sweeping show of diplomatic force was to safeguard Ukraine, and Europe more broadly, from any widening aggression from Moscow. It was probably also a reminder to Trump of Europe’s combined importance as an economic giant compared with Russia’s much smaller economy.
The European delegation included leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and Nato. By arriving as a group they avoided another debacle like Zelenskyy’s February visit to the Oval Office, where Trump and JD Vance chastised him as not showing enough gratitude for American military aid. Here is video of that meeting in case you’d like to remind yourself of the horrific blow-up that Trump thought was “great television”.
“The meeting with Zelenskyy and Trump was significantly better than their pretty awful encounter in February of this year,” says Luke Harding. “I think Zelenskyy was well prepared this time: he expressed gratitude to Trump on many occasions, handed a letter from his wife to Melania the first lady.” There was a fair amount of “sucking up to Donald Trump”, says Luke, and of European leaders not trying to offend him.
Key European demands are that all decisions must be made with Ukraine present, and that a ceasefire is a pre-condition before further peace talks. They were looking to understand what security guarantees the US is willing to offer in the event of a settlement.
Overall, the atmosphere was good, says Luke. “Zelenskyy was even funny on occasions. When Brian Glenn – the reporter who mocked him for not wearing a suit in February – asked a question, Zelenskyy pointed out that Glenn was still wearing the same suit and Zelenskyy had changed his. So overall, the atmosphere was OK.”
Did they get through to Trump?
Rather than concessions from Ukraine, the summit focused on arranging security guarantees in the event of a peace deal. Trump said the guarantees “would be provided by the various European countries [in] coordination with the United States of America”.
The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, described the development as “a breakthrough”. Membership of Nato is not on the table, but the US and European leaders are discussing “Article 5 kind of security guarantees for Ukraine”, Rutte said.
“What is important is that Trump said the US would play a role in providing security to Ukraine in the event of a settlement. You might consider that to be progress, but we don’t know what it means,” says Luke. “As ever with Trump there is a huge gap between what he says and what he does.
“I suspect at the end of the day the White House will not want to do very much, but at least this was something tangible. The Kremlin appears to be quite annoyed – that is modest progress for Ukraine, depending on what the US is prepared to commit.”
Trump is still saying there is no need for a ceasefire – because he says he has stopped a number of wars without one. There appears to have been less movement on this issue. “The European position was that a ceasefire must come before any trilateral talks – that is common sense when Ukrainians are being killed every day,” says Luke.
How did the meetings go for Zelenskyy?
Like Europe, Zelenskyy wants a ceasefire before any peace deal and is unwilling to make any territorial concessions. Kyiv wants Nato-like security guarantees sufficient to deter Russia from attacking again. As a reminder, Russia took Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 and launched a full invasion in 2022, attacking four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump had pushed Ukraine to give up Crimea and abandon its goal of joining Nato – both key demands made by Putin. But Zelenskyy stressed he had been able to present a clearer picture of the battle lines to Trump, whom he met in a one-on-one in the Oval Office.
“This was the best of our meetings,” Zelenskyy said, according to a statement put out by his office. “I was able to show many things, even on the map, to all American colleagues regarding the situation on the battlefield.”
Luke says: “On the substantive issue – which is how to get a peace deal – he correctly and deftly dodged a question on whether Ukraine was ready to swap land in return for peace.” This is Trump’s preferred peace plan after his meeting with Putin in Alaska over the weekend.
Speaking to reporters after the Washington talks, Zelenskyy said “we had a truly warm, good and substantial conversation”. The next steps in the negotiations turn back to Putin, and the Ukrainian president said he was ready for what would be their first face-to-face since Moscow’s invasion nearly three and a half years ago. “I confirmed – and all European leaders supported me – that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin.”
What did Trump get out of the meeting?
Trump shows Zelenskyy round the White House. Photograph: Newscom/Alamy
Trump previously bragged on numerous occasions that he could settle Russia’s war in Ukraine in a day, but on Monday he said repeatedly that it was far more complicated than he ever thought it would be.
Trump previously favoured Kyiv’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire to conduct deeper peace talks. However, he reversed course after the summit and indicated support for Russia’s approach of negotiating a comprehensive deal while fighting continues (for a reminder of how bad things are on the ground in Ukraine, take a look at yesterday’s newsletter).
After the Washington talks, Trump said on social media that he called Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, at a location to be determined. “This was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump said.
Ukraine’s president said he was ready to meet with Russia in “any format” and that territorial issues were “something we will leave between me and Putin”.
What next for the war in Ukraine and peace negotiations?
Much remains unresolved, including red lines that are incompatible – like whether Ukraine will cede any land to Russia, the future of Ukraine’s army, and whether the country will ultimately have lasting and meaningful security guarantees.
“I think where it will go from here,” says Luke, “is that when a deal fails to come together and Zelenskyy fails to give away his land, Trump will start blaming Zelenskyy again, saying he’s the problem.
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“Ultimately as things stand, there isn’t really a meaningful way forward to a peace agreement. I mean Putin’s demands are as maximalist as ever – he wants Ukraine to give up a large chunk in the east of the country, in the Donbas region.”
Although this seems to be Trump’s preferred route to ending the conflict, it is unlikely to work for Zelenskyy – were he to make this huge concession, Luke says, he would be swept away by popular protest.
“I think it’s entirely possible that in the next month or so, the Americans will comprehensively exit from supporting Ukraine. Already they’ve stopped delivering weapons. I can see a pull-out from Trump,” says Luke.
“What I find so strange is the way Trump defends Putin, wants to include him, talks about calling him imminently, says he had a great meeting in Alaska. It seems ultimately that is where his sympathies lie – with Russia.”
What else we’ve been reading
‘It’s all about trying to connect and communicate’ … Betsy Lerner. Photograph: Nicole Frappier/The Guardian
The New York Times describes 64-year-old Betsy Lerner as a TikTok star, for the following she’s amassed since she started reading out diary entries that she wrote in her twenties. In a new start after 60, Lerner explains she doesn’t see herself that way. But a generation of 20-year-olds who find solace in her entries today may disagree. Poppy Noor, deputy editor, newsletters
This is the remarkable (and shocking) story of Windrush victim George Lee who has come back to the UK after 28 years of exile in Poland. “I’m past the stage where I can feel angry,” he says. His observations of how life has changed in London during that period are depressing – notably people looking more stressed with “tiredness etched on their faces”. Phoebe
Nesrine Malik’s tender piece about the dogged reporting of journalists in Gaza sheds a light on a potential reason so many have been killed: their commitment, professionalism and talent causes a real legitimacy problem for the Israeli government. “What the Israeli government is trying to do with these killings is not just stop the stream of damning reports and footage, but annihilate the very image of Palestinians that these media professionals convey,” she says. Poppy
A fascinating piece by John Harris on the future of outdoor work in the age of extreme heat, with alarming stories of people being forced to work in inhumane conditions. Particularly timely given the relentless heat currently barrelling its ways across Europe. Phoebe
Perhaps we’d all like to be green-fingered influencers, working leisurely through our homegrown vegetables at the dinner table. But Nicola Slawson’s piece on giving up her allotment after realising that’s just not who she is will speak to the many of us who aren’t. Poppy
Sport
Lukas Nmecha celebrates after beating Jordan Pickford from the penalty spot for Leeds’ late winner. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images/Reuters
Football| Lukas Nmecha’s 84th-minute penalty gave Leeds a 1-0 win over Everton on their return to the Premier League.
Tennis | Carlos Alcaraz has won the Cincinnati Open for the first time in his career after his great rival, world No 1, Jannik Sinner was forced to retire from their highly anticipated final with illness while trailing 0-5 in the opening set.
Tennis| Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu will face each other in the first round of the revamped US Open mixed doubles.
The front pages
“Trump: no need for ceasefire to secure Ukraine peace deal” is the Guardian’s takeaway from events in Washington. The Telegraph announces “US military to protect Ukraine” while the Express has “Trump: US will ensure any deal works” and the Times reports “Trump offers ‘very good’ Kyiv security guarantee”. The Daily Mail assesses the meeting: “It was electric with jeopardy, a chess match with live grenades” while the Mirror pessimises that it was a “Stalemate” with Trump’s peacemaking efforts unlikely to work. “Trump’s White House welcome: we can still do a deal with Putin” says the i paper. Give us your topline, Financial Times: “Trump floats prospect of US security guarantee in bid to end Ukraine war”. Main story in the Metro is “UK’s 5,000 fake online pharmacies”.
Today in Focus
People at a protest wearing union flags and holding signs reading ‘Protect our children’ and ‘Enough is enough. Stop the boats’. Photograph: Martin Pope/Getty Images
How far-right rhetoric on migration went mainstream
Academic and author Dr Maya Goodfellow discusses how UK politicians have adopted far-right language on asylum and immigration.
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
Illustration: Ben Jennings/The Guardian
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2018. Photograph: Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images
A new report shows just how impactful a raft of groundbreaking welfare policies by former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador have been. Obrador’s policies, which included a tripling of the minimum wage, and a system of cash transfers for vulnerable groups, made a measurable impact on the lives of millions of everyday Mexicans, according to a dispatch by reporter Oscar Lopez.
When Obrador took office in 2018, there were nearly 52 million people living below the poverty line. Six years later, that number had dropped by 13.4 million, an unparalleled reduction of nearly 26%.
There has never been a single six-year term in which poverty has been reduced or decreased so significantly,” said Viri Ríos, a public policy expert and director of Mexico Decoded. “This is a watershed moment for the Mexican economy.”
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
India and China should view each other as “partners” rather than “adversaries or threats”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday, as he arrived for a two-day visit to Delhi.
Yi met with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar – only the second such meeting between the two sides since 2020 – when deadly clashes in the Galwan valley in Ladakh, a disputed Himalayan border region, led to a complete breakdown of ties between the countries.
Relations are now on a “positive trend” towards cooperation, Yi said ahead of a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
Jaishankar said that India and China were seeking to “move ahead from a difficult period in our ties”.
The two counterparts held discussions on a range of bilateral issues from trade to pilgrimages and river data sharing.
Yi is also scheduled to meet India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval for on-going negotiations on resolving the boundary dispute between the two countries.
The visit is being seen as the latest sign of a thaw in ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
India and China had agreed on patrolling arrangements to de-escalate tensions along the disputed Himalayan border in October last year.
Since then, the two sides have taken a range of steps to normalise relations, including China allowing Indian pilgrims to visit key places in the Tibet autonomous region this year. India has also restarted visa services to Chinese tourists and agreed to resume talks to open border trade through designated passes.
There are also reports that direct flights between the two countries will resume this year.
Yi’s meetings are expected to lay the groundwork for Modi’s first visit to China in seven years later this month, to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional security bloc.
Reports suggest Modi might also hold bilateral talks with China’s President Xi Jinping, but neither side has confirmed this.
The rapprochement between the countries comes in the backdrop of India’s worsening bilateral relationship with the US.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% penalty on Indian imports for buying oil and weapons from Russia, taking total tariffs to 50% – the highest in Asia.
On Monday, White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro wrote an opinion piece in The Financial Times in which he accused India of “cozying up to both Russia and China”.
“India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro wrote.
“If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the U.S., it needs to start acting like one,” he said.
In his remarks after meeting with Yi on Monday, Jaishankar said talks would include global developments.
“We seek a fair, balanced and multi-polar world order, including a multipolar Asia,” Jaishankar said.
“Reformed multilateralism is also the call of the day. In the current environment, there is clearly the imperative of maintaining and enhancing stability in the global economy as well,” he added.
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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday he had started arranging a peace summit between Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, after intensive talks with Zelensky and European leaders at the White House.
Trump said he had spoken by phone with Putin – whom he met in Alaska last week – following a “very good” meeting with the Europeans and the Ukrainian president in the White House.
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Trump, 79, said that he himself would then hold a three-way summit with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.
“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,” Trump wrote.
Putin told Trump that he was ready to meet Zelensky, a source familiar with talks said.
The US president also said he had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Russia, with Europe taking the lead and coordinating with Washington.
Trump said earlier that Putin had agreed to Western security guarantees for Ukraine, despite the Russian leader ruling out Kyiv’s long-held dream of joining the NATO alliance.
“During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America,” Trump said on Truth Social.
The White House was the venue for an extraordinary – and pointed – meeting gathering Trump with Zelensky plus the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Commission and NATO.
Zelensky also met one-on-one in the Oval Office with Trump in their first encounter in the heart of the US presidency since their acrimonious blow-up there in February.
The Ukrainian president said the meeting was their “best” yet.
This time the atmosphere was far calmer than when Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky in front of TV cameras less than six months ago for not being “grateful” for US support.
Trump even complimented Zelensky on his black jacket, after the Ukrainian was criticized by right-wing media because he failed to change his trademark war-leader’s outfit for a suit during the February visit.
The US president meanwhile expressed optimism over the chances of ending Russia’s invasion.
“In a week or two weeks, we’re going to know whether or not we’re going to solve this or is this horrible fighting going to continue,” Trump said as he opened the meeting.
The presence of the European leaders however also underscored continuing nervousness about Trump’s pressure on Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow.
Trump had pushed Ukraine ahead of the meeting to give up Crimea and abandon its goal of joining NATO – both key demands made by Putin.
Trump said that during the White House talks on Monday they also “need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory” between Russia and Ukraine.
Reports had said Putin was pushing for Ukraine to cede its eastern Donbas region, much of which is still partly in Kyiv’s hands, in exchange for freezing the frontline elsewhere.
Ukraine has rejected any such move.
The Europeans nevertheless lined up to praise Trump as they called for a lasting peace to end Russia’s invasion.
“I’m really excited. Let’s make the best out of today,” NATO chief Mark Rutte said as the US president went round the table asking them to comment.
French President Emmanuel Macron, however, called for a separate four-way meeting including Europeans to deal with a grinding conflict that is on their doorstep.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meanwhile contradicted Trump’s call to go straight for a full peace deal instead of an immediate ceasefire, calling for a truce before any leaders’ summit.
He also sounded a note of caution after the talks, saying Ukraine must not be forced to give up territory to Russia.
Russian strikes overnight killed at least seven people in Ukraine, including two children.
The Israeli government has revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, in the latest deterioration of relations between the two countries.
In a statement on social media Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he had also told the Israeli ambassador in Canberra “to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel”.
He said the decision followed Australia’s announcement that it will recognise a Palestine state.
It was “also against the backdrop of Australia’s unjustified refusal to grant visas to a number of Israeli figures”, he said.
These included former minister Ayelet Shaked and the Chairman of the Knesset’s constitution, law and justice committee, Simcha Rothman.
Rothman’s scheduled visit to Australia was stopped by the Home Affairs Department this week. The right-wing parliamentarian has made inflammatory comments including describing Gazan children as “enemies”. It was decided his presence in Australia would risk a reaction from the Islamic community.
Three Australian diplomats based in Israel have visas for the Occupied Palestinian Territories. They go to the West Bank every day, where they have an office and speak with the Palestinian Authority.
They also provide consular assistance to Australians when needed, and were involved in the exit of Australians and family members who received visas to come to Australia in the early stages of the conflict.
These diplomats are likely now to leave Israel, given they cannot do the work assigned to them.
Before announcing Australia’s planned recognition, which will happen at the United Nations next month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke with the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbes, and obtained various assurances ahead of the announcement.
The Israeli government’s decision will make the Australian government’s dialogue with the Palestinian Authority more difficult and complicated.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Israel’s decision was “an unjustified reaction” following the recognition decision.
“At a time when dialogue and diplomacy are needed more than ever, the Netanyahu government is isolating Israel and undermining international efforts towards peace.
“We will continue to work with partners as we contribute international momentum to a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza and release of the hostages.”
Sa’ar said antisemitism was “raging in Australia”. “The Australian government is choosing to fuel it by false accusations, as if the visit of Israeli figures will disrupt public order and harm Australia’s Muslim population. It is shameful and unacceptable.”
Opposition leader Sussan Ley said she regretted how the relationship between the governments of Australia and Israel was deteriorating. On the visa rejection, she said Rothman was “an elected member of the Israeli parliament and it’s a very unusual thing to refuse a visa”.
This coming Sunday pro-Palestine marches will be held in more than 30 cities and towns across the country. There will also be a demonstration at Pine Gap, the joint Australian-US facility near Alice Springs.
Richard Miles, left, and Reg Mead found the world’s largest Celtic coin hoard in 2012
A pair of metal detecting enthusiasts who unearthed almost 70,000 Iron Age coins said they were “very pleased” with proposals for a new law to make reporting and valuing treasure easier.
Richard Miles and Reg Mead made the discovery, which included gold and silver ingots and jewellery, in a field in Grouville, Jersey, in 2012.
However, they said there was confusion at the time over how to report their find – now dubbed Le Câtillon II – because there was no statute in place.
The proposed Heritage Law, brought forward by Government of Jersey, will provide more clarity, the hoard finders said.
The hoard was taken out the ground in one piece and weighed about a ton
Coin hoards, metallic objects more than 300 years old and made of at least 10% gold or silver, and groups of prehistoric metal objects, are among the archaeological finds classed as treasure by the UK’s 1996 Treasure Act.
Jersey has no similar rules in place, which was highlighted by their find, said Mr Miles.
“We needed something of a statute law that would lead us… because it was very complicated,” he said.
“We didn’t know whether it was going to be treasure trove, whether it was going to be the customary law of Normandy that would apply, whether the State would come in and say they own it.
“We really didn’t know what would happen to [the hoard] so it was all very complex.”
Jersey Heritage
The find also included Europe’s largest collection of torc neck rings
Mr Miles and Mr Mead followed what they considered to be “best practice” at the time and reported the find to the Receiver General, a representative for the Crown.
They were unsure whether the 14th Century Norman law would apply, which said treasure troves belonged to the Duke of Normandy, who was the English monarch.
Mr Mead said: “It was very difficult because there wasn’t a test case. Because there was no current laws in Jersey, they agreed we would go back to the Treasure Act.”
The act means finders must offer to sell their treasure to a UK museum for a price set by the Treasure Valuation Committee (TVC).
However, the TVC set the value at £2m, while experts representing Mr Miles and Mr Mead provided an 800-page report that claimed it was worth more than £6m.
The entire hoard was purchased by the Jersey government for £4.25m in 2021.
Jersey Heritage
The Iron Age coins were buried more than 2,000 years ago
Under the new Heritage Law, any find more than 50% gold and silver, that has been hidden with the intention of returning, and has no known heirs, is declared treasure.
It must be reported to Jersey Heritage within 14 days and the eventual price will be based on expert advice and linked to the object’s market value.
Mr Miles said: “My view is that the law is actually really good. It follows very closely what the best practice in the UK is.
“It looks after the finders, the landowners, it takes into consideration the Crown and heritage bodies, so really it’s a win-win-win situation for everybody and is very fair.”
Mr Mead added: “It’s been put together better than I could’ve imagined. I’m very pleased.”
Jersey Heritage
There was a long running treasure hunt for the hoard across Grouville fields
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US-based charity HEAL Palestine and other rights groups criticized the State Department’s decision to stop visitor visas for Palestinians from Gaza, saying it will harm wounded children seeking medical treatment on short-term US visas.
The State Department said on Saturday it was halting all visitor visas for Gazans while it conducted “a full and thorough” review, after far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer said Palestinian refugees were entering the US.
HEAL Palestine said there was no refugee resettlement program as stated by Loomer and that the group’s efforts were part of a medical treatment program. It also said the program was run on donations and did not use US government money.
The charity sponsored and brought “severely injured children to the US on temporary visas for essential medical treatment not available at home,” it said in a statement.
“After their treatment is complete, the children and any accompanying family members return to the Middle East.”
The US has issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas, which permit foreigners to seek medical treatment in the US, to holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents so far in 2025. That figure includes 640 visas issued in May.
The Palestinian Authority issues travel documents to residents of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The State Department said a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas were issued to people from Gaza in recent days but did not provide a figure.
The Council on American Islamic Relations and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund condemned the decision to stop the visas.
Loomer told the New York Times she spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to warn about what she called a threat from “Islamic invaders.”
Rubio said the government was evaluating the process of granting such visas after concerns by some members of Congress regarding alleged ties to extremism. He said their offices had presented evidence of such ties but he gave no details.
Gaza has been devastated by Israel’s military assault, which has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis, and prompted genocide and war crimes accusations at international courts.
The US ally denies the accusations and says its offensive is in self-defense after an October 2023 attack in Israel by Hamas fighters in which 1,200 were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
BBC
Jersey Heritage
Jersey Heritage
Jersey Heritage
