Hamas, Israel entrench Gaza truce positions as latest Cairo talks end - CNA

Netanyahu on Sunday also announced a government decision to close operations in Israel of Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera, which has broadcast round-the-clock coverage of the conflict.

It went off-air a short time later.

The network condemned Israel's decision as a "criminal act", and said it would take legal action.

Gaza's bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,683 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

"HOPELESS"

An AFP correspondent and witnesses reported shelling and gunfire in Gaza City Sunday, helicopter fire in central and southern Gaza, and a missile strike on a house in the Rafah area.

Israel's military said air strikes over the past day killed several militants including three in central Gaza who took part in the October attack.

"We want a ceasefire and for Gaza to return to how it was, or even better," said displaced woman Umm Jamil al-Ghussein in the southern city of Rafah, where about 1.2 million Gazans have sought shelter.

Arwa Saqr, displaced from Khan Younis, said she has "lost hope that the negotiations will succeed".

The Palestinian civilian toll has strained ties between Israel and its main military supplier and ally the United States.

Nonetheless, Washington's Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that "the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas".

Negotiators met in Cairo Sunday without an Israeli delegation present.

Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators had proposed a 40-day pause in the fighting and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by Britain.

Any truce reached would be the first since a week-long November ceasefire saw a hostage-prisoner swap.

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2024-05-05 19:01:00Z
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China's Xi arrives in France for state visit - CNA

"STABILITY OF INTERNATIONAL ORDER"

A key priority of Macron will be to warn Xi of the danger of backing Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, with Western officials concerned Moscow is already using Chinese machine tools in arms production.

Beijing's ties with Moscow have, if anything, warmed after the invasion and the West wants China above all not to supply weapons to Russia and risk tipping the balance in the conflict.

"It is in our interest to get China to weigh in on the stability of the international order," said Macron in an interview with the Economist published on Thursday.

"We must, therefore, work with China to build peace," he added.

Macron also said in the same interview Europe must defend its "strategic interests" in its economic relations with China, accusing Beijing of not respecting the rules on international trade.

But he acknowledged in an interview with the La Tribune Dimanche newspaper that Europeans are "not unanimous" on the strategy to adopt as "certain actors still see China essentially as a market of opportunities" while it "exports massively" to Europe.

The French president had gladdened Chinese state media and troubled some EU allies after his 2023 visit by declaring that Europe should not be drawn into a stand-off between China and the United States, particularly over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan.

China views the island as part of its territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.

"The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must be followers and adapt ourselves to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction," Macron said at the time, warning against a "bloc versus bloc logic".

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2024-05-05 14:59:00Z
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Gifted with learning disabilities: 'A' for IGCSE at 10, but struggles in primary school - The Straits Times

Mohamed Mikail Mohamed Shahrom, 11, struggles to cope in school even though he scored an A for the IGCSE combined science examination. ST PHOTO: HENG YI-HSIN

SINGAPORE – Eleven-year-old Mohamed Mikail Mohamed Shahrom is way ahead of his peers in terms of his science knowledge, but finds it difficult to cope in primary school.

In October 2023, Mikail sat the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) combined science examination, which is similar to the GCE O levels, and scored 87, or an A.

• ST Smart Parenting
• Special needs/Special education
• Education and schools

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2024-05-05 07:00:00Z
CBMijgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdHJhaXRzdGltZXMuY29tL3NpbmdhcG9yZS9wYXJlbnRpbmctZWR1Y2F0aW9uL2dpZnRlZC13aXRoLWxlYXJuaW5nLWRpc2FiaWxpdGllcy1hLWZvci1pZ2NzZS1hdC0xMC1idXQtc3RydWdnbGVzLWluLXByaW1hcnktc2Nob29s0gEA

S’porean man gets mistaken for a kidnapper & mobbed by locals in Indonesia - MS News

Locals in Indonesia mistake Singaporean for a kidnapper

On 29 April, a Singaporean man was almost attacked by a mob in Indonesia after they accused him of being a kidnapper.

According to iNews report, the man identified as GW went to a convenience store in a residential area in Batu Aji, Batam.

Upon leaving the store, he offered some of his sweets to a child playing nearby. But locals mistook the act as an attempt to kidnap the child.

Source: TribunbatamID on YouTube

Mistaken for a kidnapper & mobbed by locals

A local resident who witnessed the interaction had accused GW of trying to abduct the child.

Hearing the commotion, locals began to gather around GW and the mob became increasingly hostile as it grew.

Fortunately, a police patrol car passed by and officers intervened to take the Singaporean man away from the mob.

Source: TribunbatamID on YouTube

Singaporean man deported from Indonesia

As he did not speak Bahasa Indonesia, GW had difficulty explaining himself at the police station.

Fortunately, the police found no evidence to support the kidnapping allegations made by the locals.

“What the man did was not a common gesture in the area, so the community grew suspicious,” Batam Immigration Office head Samuel Toba told iNews.

Despite the findings, GW was deported from Indonesia to remove him from the hostile situation.

Also read: Man in S’pore charged for faking own kidnapping to pay off gambling debts

Man in S’pore charged for faking own kidnapping to pay off gambling debts

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.

Featured image adapted from TribunbatamID on YouTube.

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Gaza truce talks resume in Egypt, without Israel for now - CNA

"OPEN MIND"

Egypt's Al-Qahera News, which is linked to the intelligence services, quoted an unidentified high-ranking source as saying "there is significant progress in the negotiations" and that the mediators have "reached an agreed-upon formula on most points of contention".

A senior Hamas official told AFP before the talks resumed that the movement "looks with an open mind to changes in the occupation's (Israel's) position and the American position, but there are issues that must be addressed".

Senior Hamas official Hossam Badran accused Netanyahu Friday of trying to undermine the latest truce proposal with his threats to keep fighting with or without a deal.

Badran said Netanyahu's insistence on attacking Rafah was calculated to "thwart any possibility of concluding an agreement".

The top Israeli official, who spoke anonymously, said: "What we are looking at is an agreement over a framework for a possible hostage deal."

He said that the sign of progress "would be if we send a delegation led by Mossad (intelligence service) chief (David Barnea) to Cairo".

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2024-05-04 20:32:00Z
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Vietnam police arrest former head of government office amid anti-graft crackdown - CNA

HANOI: Police in Vietnam have arrested the former head of the government office, Mai Tien Dung, on suspicion of abuse of power, the Ministry of Public Security said on Saturday (May 4), amid a widening anti-graft crackdown in the Southeast Asian country.

The arrest of Dung, 65, is part of an investigation into a bribery case in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the arrest was made on Apr 30.

Dung could not be reached for comment on the accusations made against him.

The crackdown, which is dubbed "blazing furnace" and was launched nearly a decade ago, has recently gained momentum with hundreds of senior officials and high-profile corporate executives having been prosecuted or forced to step down.

The National Assembly on Thursday voted to remove its chairman, Vuong Dinh Hue, after having voted to remove the country's president, Vo Van Thuong, in March.

Both Hue and Thuong were publicly accused of unspecified violations and shortcomings. Neither of the men has commented publicly on the charges filed against them.

Saturday's announcement did not provide details about Dung's alleged crimes but state media said his arrest was linked to a real estate project in Lam Dong province.

Dung served as head of the government office from 2016 to 2021 under then-prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Phuc became Vietnam's president in April 2021 but resigned after less than two years for "violations and wrongdoing" by officials under his control. 

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2024-05-04 13:26:45Z
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Gaza ceasefire talks intensify in Egypt - CNA

PRESSURE FOR DEAL

Before the talks began there was some optimism over a potential deal.

"Things look better this time but whether an agreement is on hand would depend on whether Israel has offered what it takes for that to happen," a Palestinian official with knowledge of the mediation efforts, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

Washington - which, like other Western powers and Israel, brands Hamas a terrorist group - has urged it to enter a deal.

Progress has stumbled, however, over Hamas' long-standing demand for a commitment to end the offensive by Israel, which insists that after any truce it would resume operations designed to disarm and dismantle the faction.

Hamas said on Friday it would come to Cairo in a "positive spirit" after studying the latest proposal for a deal, little of which has been made public.

Israel has given a preliminary nod to terms which one source said included the return of between 20 and 33 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a weeks-long suspension of fighting.

That would leave around 100 hostages in Gaza, some of whom Israel says have died in captivity. The source, who asked not to be identified by name or nationality, told Reuters their return may require an additional deal with broader Israeli concessions.

"That could entail a de facto, if not formal, end to the war - unless Israel somehow recovers them through force or generates enough military pressure to make Hamas relent," the source said.

Egyptian sources said CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo on Friday. He has been involved in previous truce talks and Washington has signalled there may be progress this time.

The CIA declined to comment on Burns' itinerary.

Egypt made a renewed push to revive negotiations late last month, alarmed by the prospect of an Israeli assault against Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have taken shelter near the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

A major Israeli operation in Rafah could deal a huge blow to fragile humanitarian operations in Gaza and put many more lives at risk, according to UN officials. Israel says it will not be deterred from taking Rafah eventually, and is working on a plan to evacuate civilians.

Saturday's Cairo talks come as Qatar reviews its role as mediator, according to an official familiar with Doha's thinking. Qatar may cease hosting the Hamas political office, said the official, who did not know if, in such a scenario, the Palestinian group's delegates might also be asked to leave. 

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2024-05-04 13:10:00Z
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