Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump calls for war to end

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By Nidal Al-Mughrabi Reuters  The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against  Hamas , as U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to the  war  amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,”  Trump  posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. offi...
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Albania votes as PM Rama seeks fourth term

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By Fatos Bytyci and Edward McAllister Reuters

Albanians started voting in parliamentary elections on Sunday with prime minister Edi Rama seeking an unprecedented fourth term in office after a campaign dominated by promises to join the European Union and accusations of widespread graft.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will close at 7 p.m. Results are expected on Monday.

Rama, in power as head of the Socialist Party since 2013, is favourite to win against his old rival, former prime minister Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party, bolstered in part by an influential network built over 12 years in power, a recent period of healthy economic growth and a largely popular image abroad.

But opposition to Rama has intensified in the past year over a perceived crackdown on the opposition, including Berisha, while Rama weathered a series of scandals of his own. These include the arrest of his ally, the mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj, this year on allegations of corruption and money laundering.

Veliaj and Berisha deny wrongdoing.

Rama has spent the last week reiterating his promise to join the EU by the end of the decade, although some experts doubt that timeline will be possible given the reforms required to join the bloc, including eradicating graft.

“We will get our fourth mandate, and we will not lose a single day for Albania 2030 in the EU,” he said at his final campaign rally on Friday.

Many young voters especially are tired of the likes of Berisha and Rama who have run the country in various roles since the fall of communism in 1990. They point to Albania’s stark income inequality that sees many people drive expensive Range Rovers around the capital Tirana while others live in cramped Soviet-era housing.

Polls show Rama winning more than 40% of the vote, a commanding lead over Berisha, who has been weakened by graft charges. But he may need help from smaller parties to maintain a slim four-seat majority in the 140-seat house.

“I will vote for new politicians because those like Rama and Berisha have been here for three decades and they only replace themselves,” said Arber Qazimi, 21.

An economics student called Erisa said she would not even vote and was instead looking for a way to join the hundreds of thousands of Albanians who have emigrated over the past decade, many of them to nearby EU countries.

“I will vote for new politicians because those like Rama and Berisha have been here for three decades and they only replace themselves,” said Arber Qazimi, 21.

An economics student called Erisa said she would not even vote and was instead looking for a way to join the hundreds of thousands of Albanians who have emigrated over the past decade, many of them to nearby EU countries.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/zAQRXpK

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