EU warns Georgia over opposition party bans as court hearing looms
The European Union has warned that Georgia's bid to ban five major opposition parties threatens political freedoms and fair competition, as the...
Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday (15 October) and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing as Hamas handed over more bodies of dead hostages, following a dispute that had threatened the fragile ceasefire.
Israel had warned it could keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies because it said Hamas was returning bodies too slowly, showing the risks to a truce that has stopped two years of devastating warfare in Gaza and seen all living hostages held by Hamas freed.
However, the militant group returned several Israeli bodies overnight and two more coffins later on Wednesday (15 October).
An Israeli security official said preparations were under way to open Rafah to Gazan citizens, while a second official said that 600 aid trucks would go in.
Seeking to keep the pressure on Hamas, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would consider allowing Israeli forces to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal that he brokered.
"Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word. If Israel could go in and knock the crap of them, they’d do that," Trump was quoted as saying to CNN in a brief telephone call.
Hamas returned four bodies confirmed as dead hostages on Monday and another four bodies late on Tuesday (14 October), though Israeli authorities said one of those bodies was not that of a hostage.
The Israeli military said it received two more coffins from the Red Cross at a meeting point in northern Gaza Strip late on Wednesday (15 October), and the bodies were being taken for forensic identification.
The dispute over the return of bodies still has the potential to upset the ceasefire deal along with other major issues that are yet to be resolved.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Norway for talks about the Russia-Ukraine war. He is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who arrived in Oslo earlier. Witkoff will also meet European officials.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
An oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said late Sunday.
The European Union has warned that Georgia's bid to ban five major opposition parties threatens political freedoms and fair competition, as the Constitutional Court prepares to hear the case from 21 to 23 October.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said regional issues should be resolved through diplomacy and blamed the United States for insecurity and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, speaking at a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday.
Georgia’s Constitutional Court in Batumi will on Wednesday hear a lawsuit seeking to ban five Georgian opposition parties, four of which collectively gained 784,820 votes (37.79 per cent) in the country’s last national elections in 2024.
Iran and Russia renewed calls for diplomatic solutions to end the ongoing regional conflict, while also pledging to deepen bilateral political and economic cooperation following Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Tehran on Monday.
Türkiye is set to receive Russian diesel under a U.S.-backed agreement, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Sunday, as Ankara pushes ahead with plans to boost domestic gas production and reduce its reliance on imported energy.
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