Foreign Tit Bits Today
Compiled by Yadnom Awu Asaba
America (Washington)
Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has , in Washington, handed his host and American President, Donald Trump, a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The nomination was done by Netanyahu, who, at a dinner for him, personally handed Trump the letter of nomination.
Netanyahu said he had handed the letter to the Nobel Prize Committee for consideration.
Before he handed over the letter, Netanyahu had praised Trump for his peace building efforts all over the world, particularly in the Middle East where Israel, backed by American might, had recently staged wars in Lebanon, Iran, Yemen and Gaza and the West Bank where the Jewish state has been roundly criticised for its high handedness and indiscriminate destruction.
Brazil
Brazil To Join South Africa In Case Against Israel at ICC
Brazil says it will soon join in the case brought against Israel by South Africa.
The case was instituted at the International Criminal Court ( ICC) at The Hague, Netherlands, following Israel ‘s war on Gaza and its economic and military stranglehold on the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The President of Brazil, Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva, made this known at a meeting of the BRICS members holding in Rio de Janeiro.
He said the move was to drive home Brazil ‘s disgust at the ignoble conduct of Israel against Palestinians and to join in the growing coalition seeking the ICC pronouncement making Israel legally accountable for its actions and inactions in Gaza.
The United Nations (UN) and many other countries and organizations across the globe have roundly condemned Israel for its militarism and humanitarian policies in the embattled enclave and the West Bank.
Aside from its nearly two- year long war that has led to 155,000 casualties, including 55, 000 fatalities, mainly women and children, Israeli troops have destroyed all core infrastructure in the enclave, including cultural sites, schools, hospitals and aid centres.
Israel launched the war after the Palestinian group, Hamas, breached its security on October 7, 2023, killing and abducting more than 1,500 soldiers, policemen and civilians.
America(Texas)
Texas Flash Floods Death Toll Reaches 104
Amid frantic Search and Rescue operations, the death toll in Friday’s flash flood incident in Texas, America, has reached the 104 mark.
The dead included 27 teenage girls and their counsellor who had been holding a Christian training programme at Camp Mystic site .
Other victims are believed to be locals or visitors who had come visiting during the National Holiday of Thanksgiving which fell in the fateful day.
The programme , tagged Bubble Inn 2025, ended abruptly when the nearby Guadalupe River overflowed its bank, rising 8 metres (about 24 feet ) in just 45 minutes.
In spite of the steep rise in fatalities, locals say it could still rise as more than a dozen persons still remained missing as of Tuesday morning.
Besides, locals say some of the many holiday makers who had been visiting the area at the time were not officially documented, hence the actual number of the unaccounted for remained unknown.
The tragedy has drawn great public attention to a miscellany of questions, including whether the Weather Service gave adequate advance warning of the phenomenon that had now become an embarrassing disaster to the state.
American President, Donald Trump, who has signed an emergency aid support for the state of Texas, is scheduled to visit the area on Friday.
The disaster area is located in what is called the Flash Floods Alley of America.
Gaza
Hamas Kills 5 Israeli troops in Gaza
At least five Israeli soldiers have been killed and several others wounded in an ambush by operatives of Hamas, the Palestinian group designated as a terrorist group by Israel and its Western allies.
It happened in Beit Hannoun, and sources said that two teams of soldiers who attempted to rescue those attacked initially came under heavy Hamas gunfire.
Other details of the attack remained unclear at press time but it is proof that the group, which political and military leadership had been decimated by Israeli military might, still can bark.
Israeli military sources, unofficially confirmed the attack, but , as is typical of the Jewish state, failed to divulge further details.
The Monday night attack followed a growing pattern of strike- and- disappear strategy which Hamas and its affiliates have adopted in the face of overwhelming Israeli military might.
Last month, which Israel described as the deadliest for its forces in recent times, Hamas successfully launched several ambushes against Israeli military and security forces, scoring hits and causing death and destruction to hardware and personnel.
Israel, known for its reticence on its military and other security engagements, recently admitted to losing 879 troops, including 440 since its war on Gaza started.
Unofficially, some 4,000 Israeli troops have been wounded , many severely, during the conflict.
Israel, on its part, has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians and wounded at least 100,000 others, during its war on Gaza.
It has equally killed around 1,000 others in the occupied West Bank where its troops have launched a high heel military campaign that has displaced more than 70,000 Palestinians.
Israel
Israel Plans To Relocate Palestinians
As negotiations continue on how to deescalate the Gaza war, indications have emerged as to the overall goal of Israel regarding the embattled enclave.
Israeli security sources said the Jewish state plans to relocate Gazans to a concentration camp near Rafah, South of Gaza.
About 600,000 Gazans may be affected under the plan, which also includes what Israel and its backers call the implementation of the voluntary migration of Palestinians to proximate countries willing to absorb them.
It was not clear at press time whether the Israeli Parliament, called the Knesset, which will soon go recess, or the Coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has okayed the proposal.
It equally could not be confirmed at press time if the American government had a hand in the proposal.
However, analysts hold that there is a striking similarity between the plan and what American President, Donald Trump, had proposed much earlier in his second term for the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza and the development of their ancestral land into a Middle East Riveria “for the people of the world.”
The Trump proposal suffered a cold shoulder reception from the global community which described it as forced deportation and an unacceptable solution to the Israeli / Palestinian conflict.
More than 130 countries have recognized a Palestinian State and even Israel’ s long term allies in Europe say only a two state formula is the only effective solution to the conflict .
Israel has completely ruled out the prospect of a Palestinian State, and America and Germany have egged it on.
Qatar
Israel,Hamas Make Slow Progress At Gaza War Talks
Talks between Israel and Hamas are making only slow progress in Doha, Qatar.
Sources close to the indirect talks said the talks recorded slow progress after an initial setback on Monday.
The sources would not indicate how much progress had been made .
However, prior to the talks, Hamas had called for an end to the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF, as well as for the beginning of talks for a permanent ceasefire.
Israel, on its part, thumbed down the Hamas demands, declaring them unacceptable.
American President, Donald Trump, has, of recent, consistently hinted at the prospects of a deal between Israel and Hamas.
Diplomats from Qatar and Egypt have been the go- between at the talks holding in Doha,seat of Qatar.
America (Washington)
American President, Donald Trump has again expressed optimism of a breakthrough in talks between officials of Israel and Hamas.
At a dinner he held for visiting Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, he said he was confident that Hamas would agree to a ceasefire, the terms of which have remained largely confidential.
But both Israel and Hamas have largely maintained their differences at the talks with insiders speaking of only of slow progress at their indirect talks in Doha, Qatar.
While Israel is insistent on a temporary ceasefire, Hamas has repeatedly called for an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Kenya
Protests Continue In Kenya
Police and protesters had ding dong clashes outside Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday.
Unofficial sources said that at least 11 persons were killed during the protests which had been called by rights activists .
The protests had been called in angst at persisting police brutality, high corruption and high cost of living.
Citizens feel that the administration of President William Ruto had failed to address their concerns, and their anger, which had manifested in protests, had turned violent due to what critics say is poor police protest handling capacity.
The police , which deployed live bullets, water cannon and tear gas to quell the protests, say they arrested 550 people on Monday.
