US, Russia confirm high-level Ukraine talks without Kyiv
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Ukraine’s president says he “knew nothing about” high-level talks between the US and Russia to end Moscow’s war.
Israeli soldiers used 80-year-old Palestinian as Gaza human shield: Report
Israeli army forced elderly man to scout buildings with an explosive cord tied around his neck, before he was later shot dead along with his wife. The Israeli military forced an 80-year-old Palestinian man to act as a human shield in Gaza by tying an explosive cord around his neck and threatening to have his head blown off, an investigation by the Israeli outlet The Hottest Place in Hell has found. A senior officer from the army’s Nahal Brigade tied the explosive cord around the man’s neck before he was ordered to scout houses. After eight hours, soldiers ordered the man to flee with his wife from their home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood in May, said +972 magazine, which reported the piece in partnership with The Hottest Place in Hell. But when another Israeli battalion spotted the elderly couple on the street, they were shot dead on the spot, according to Israeli soldiers present at the scene. The Israeli soldiers had initially encountered the couple in their home. They told Arabic-speaking soldiers that they were unable to flee to southern Gaza due to mobility difficulties. But even in his condition, the soldiers forced the unnamed 80-year-old to walk ahead of them with his cane, while his wife was detained in their house. Advertisement A soldier told the investigation that the commander had decided to use the Palestinian couple as “mosquitoes”, referring to a procedure where the Israeli army forces Palestinian civilians to serve as human shields to protect the Israeli forces from being shot or blown up. “He entered each house before us so that if there were [explosives] or a militant inside, he would [take the hit] instead of us,” one soldier said. “He was told that if he did anything wrong or didn’t follow orders, the soldier behind him would pull the cord, and his head would be torn from his body.” The man was forced to act as a human shield for eight hours, before he was ordered, along with his wife, to walk towards the so-called “humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza. But the soldiers did not care to tell nearby Israeli divisions that the couple was going to pass through the area, according to the testimonies. “After 100 metres, the other battalion saw them and immediately shot them,” a soldier said. “They died like that, in the street.” Al Jazeera has reached out to the Israeli army for comment on the reported incident. Israeli forces’ use of Palestinian civilians as human shields has been extensively reported on, despite it being forbidden under international law. In August, the Israeli daily Haaretz published an expose revealing that Israeli troops had abducted Palestinian civilians, dressed them in military uniforms, attached cameras to their bodies, and sent them into underground tunnels as well as buildings in order to shield Israeli troops. Advertisement “[I]t’s hard to recognise them. They’re usually wearing Israeli army uniforms, many of them are in their 20s, and they’re always with Israeli soldiers of various ranks,” the Haaretz article said. But if you look more closely, “you see that most of them are wearing sneakers, not army boots. And their hands are cuffed behind their backs and their faces are full of fear”. In the occupied West Bank in June, Israeli forces tied a wounded Palestinian man to the hood of their military jeep, in an apparent use of a human shield. Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territory, slammed the incident, calling it “human shielding in action”. And in January 2024, Palestinian shop owner Bahaa el-Din Abu Ras, 36, recounted how Israeli soldiers used him as a human shield for nearly two hours in Dura, in the occupied West Bank. “So many questions went through my mind: Will I get to go back to my family? Will I be shot or would a rock hit me? Will I be arrested by these soldiers for whatever reason? When or how can I be released, in the middle of this warzone?” Abu Ras said. “I spent about an hour and a half like that, not sure when I would be killed and whether I would ever rest again.” Adblock test (Why?)
At least 9 dead, including 8 in Kentucky, as winter storms batter the US
Dead include mother and seven-year-old daughter swept away in rains in Kentucky. At least nine people have died after harsh winter weather struck the United States, including eight people in Kentucky as a result of heavy rains. The state’s governor, Andy Beshear, said on Sunday that hundreds of people stranded by flooding had to be rescued. Beshear said many of the deaths, including those of a mother and a seven-year-old child, were caused by cars getting stuck in high water. “So folks, stay off the roads right now and stay alive,” he said. “This is the search-and-rescue phase, and I am very proud of all the Kentuckians that are out there responding, putting their lives on the line.” Beshear said the storms have knocked out power to about 39,000 homes, but he warned that harsh winds in some areas could increase outages. Elsewhere, the Northern Plains faced life-threatening cold, and tornado watches were issued for parts of Georgia and Florida. In Kentucky, Hart County Coroner Tony Roberts said earlier that the mother and child were swept away on Saturday night in the Bonnieville community. Advertisement In southeastern Kentucky, a 73-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in Clay County, County Emergency Management Deputy Director Revelle Berry said. Parts of Kentucky and Tennessee received up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain during the weekend storms, said Bob Oravec, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service. “The effects will continue for a while; a lot of swollen streams and a lot of flooding going on,” Oravec said on Sunday. In Atlanta, Georgia, a person was killed when an “extremely large tree” fell on a home early Sunday, according to Atlanta Fire Rescue Captain Scott Powell. Meanwhile, heavy snowfall was expected in parts of New England and northern New York. Meteorologists said the US was about to get its 10th and coldest polar vortex stretching event this season, with the northern Rockies and northern Plains first in line. Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the US and Europe. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says he could meet Putin ‘soon’ as Ukraine, Europe reel from outreach
United States President Donald Trump has said he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon” as officials from the countries prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the war in Ukraine. “There’s no time set, but it could be very soon,” Trump told reporters on Sunday ahead of talks between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia. “It’ll be soon; we’ll see what happens,” Trump added when asked if a meeting could happen this month. Addressing reporters after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier sought to temper expectations of a swift end to the conflict, Trump expressed confidence that Putin wants to end the war. “They have a big powerful machine, you understand that. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon. They’ve been fighting a long time,” Trump told reporters after a flight on Air Force One. “They’ve done it before. But I think he would like to stop fighting.” Asked if he believes Putin wants to seize all of Ukraine’s territory, Trump said he had asked his Russian counterpart the same question and it would be a “big problem for us” if so. Advertisement Earlier on Sunday, Rubio said that Putin had expressed his desire for peace in his phone call with Trump last week even as the top US diplomat cautioned that the conflict would not be resolved overnight. “Now, obviously, it has to be followed up by action. So, the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not,” Rubio said in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation. “Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace. One phone call does not solve a war as complex as this one.” Rubio said the specifics of the talks, including the makeup of the Russian delegation, had not been finalised. “I don’t have any details for you this morning, other than to say that we stand ready to follow the president’s lead on this and begin to explore ways, if those opportunities present itself, to begin a process towards peace,” Rubio said. Trump’s outreach to Russia has raised concerns in Ukraine and Europe that Washington could be racing to secure a peace plan that concedes some Ukrainian territory with little input from Kyiv or its European allies. Neither Ukrainian nor European officials are participating in the talks in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, though Rubio on Sunday stressed that Ukraine and Europe would both have to be involved in any “real negotiations” that result from the meeting. In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press that aired on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would “never accept” any agreement reached without his country’s involvement. Advertisement “This is the war in Ukraine, against us, and it’s our human losses,” Zelenskyy said while attending the Munich Security Conference on Friday. Addressing the Munich conference on Saturday, European foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas drew parallels between the Trump administration’s approach and the failure of appeasement in the run-up to World World II. “As I stand here in Munich tonight, I cannot help but ask, have we been here before? Czechoslovakia,1938,” Kallas said, referring to the Munich Agreement endorsing Nazi Germany’s annexation of the Sudetenland in exchange for a pledge of peace. “We have an aggressor at our door intent on taking the land that isn’t his. And the negotiators, not us, are already giving away their bargaining chips before the negotiations have even begun.” European leaders are set to gather in Paris on Monday for an emergency summit to discuss the conflict and future security of Ukraine. Ahead of the summit, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that he is “ready and willing” to send British troops to Ukraine to help keep the peace in the event of a deal to end the war. “I do not say that lightly,” Starmer said in an op-ed published in the Daily Telegraph. “I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way.” “But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent and the security of this country,” Starmer said. Advertisement “The end of this war, when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again.” Adblock test (Why?)
Marco Rubio meets Netanyahu as Israel strikes Rafah despite ceasefire
NewsFeed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first official visit to Israel made no mention of Palestinians in a press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spending most of his time criticising Iran’s influence in the Middle East. During Rubio’s visit, less than two weeks since Netanyahu met Trump at the White House, Israel killed two people in southern Gaza. Published On 16 Feb 202516 Feb 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
African Art Renaissance: Voices from the continent and the diaspora
Exploring contemporary African art with three influential women bridging the continent and its global diaspora. In this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera, we delve into the dynamic world of contemporary African art. From the vibrant scenes of the Dakar Biennale to global platforms, three influential women – a Senegalese art critic, an African-American photographer, and a Senegalese curator – share their insights. They discuss reclaiming Africa’s artistic narratives, the interplay between history and modernity, and the evolving role of the diaspora in shaping the continent’s cultural future. Adblock test (Why?)
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Teams, schedule, venues, tickets, how to stream
The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Champions Trophy returns after an eight-year hiatus, with Pakistan hosting the tournament from February 19 to March 9. The tournament will be the ICC’s only men’s limited-overs competition in 2025, with eight teams vying to lift the trophy and adorn the winners’ white blazers. Here’s Al Jazeera’s ultimate guide to the tournament: What’s the Champions Trophy and why is it so important for Pakistan? The championship, originally named the ICC Knockout, was conceived as an elite tournament among cricket’s Test-playing nations and devised to fill the four-year gap between the ICC’s 50-over World Cup and help expand the game globally. The inaugural edition was held in Bangladesh in 1998 and won by South Africa. With the introduction of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 and the ICC World Test Championship in 2019, the Champions Trophy was discontinued after the 2017 edition, which was hosted by England and won by Pakistan. As the tournament makes its comeback for the ninth edition, the holders are hosting Pakistan’s biggest international sport event in 29 years. Advertisement The South Asian nation last hosted an ICC event in 1996, and the March 2009 gun attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus in Lahore caused the cancelation or disruption of professional cricket tours in Pakistan for years to come. For Pakistan, hosting a successful international tournament can help change the country’s perceptions, cricket experts told Al Jazeera. Pakistan will host their first ICC tournament since 1996 [File: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters] Which teams are participating in the Champions Trophy 2025 and what’s the format? Hosts Pakistan and the top seven ODI teams from the 2023 Cricket World Cup group qualified for the Champions Trophy. The tournament has been divided into a simple group-stage and knockout-stage format. The 2025 edition sees high-flying limited-overs side Afghanistan make their tournament debut. Following their round-robin fixtures, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals. Group A: Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand Group B: Australia, South Africa, Afghanistan, England Afghanistan are gearing up for their maiden #ChampionsTrophy outing 🏏 pic.twitter.com/LSYyv71XuM — ICC (@ICC) February 13, 2025 When is the opening match and when is the Champions Trophy final? Pakistan will host New Zealand in the tournament opener at Karachi’s National Stadium on Thursday, February 19. The final is scheduled for March 9, with the venue subject to India’s qualification for the match. Group stage matches will be held from February 19 to March 2 and the semifinals will be played on March 4 and 5. Advertisement The tournament’s full match schedule is available here. Why aren’t India playing their matches in Pakistan? Up until a few weeks before the opening fixture, the tournament’s schedule hinged on India’s refusal – ostensibly based on their government’s directions – to travel to Pakistan and the host nation’s reluctance to move their neighbour’s matches to a neutral venue. The months-long standoff was resolved when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) begrudgingly accepted a tit-for-tat hybrid model for the tournament, wherein India would play its Champions Trophy matches at a neutral venue and Pakistan would do the same for any upcoming ICC events hosted by India. The ICC and the PCB then agreed to move India’s three group matches and one semifinal to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The final is set to be hosted at Pakistan’s cricket headquarters in Lahore but could move to Dubai should India qualify for it. India and Pakistan met in the final of the last edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 [File: Paul Childs/Action Images via Reuters] Where will the Champions Trophy matches be played? Pakistan selected Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi as its three host cities for the tournament. Dubai was added to the list as a neutral venue in December 2024. National Stadium, Karachi: One of the oldest and most famous cricket grounds in Pakistan, the National Stadium has hosted hundreds of iconic Tests and limited-overs matches since its opening in 1955. The 30,000-capacity venue in Pakistan’s largest and most populous city has undergone major refurbishment for the Champions Trophy and will host the tournament’s opening match. Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: The headquarters of the PCB and Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy, Gaddafi Stadium is steeped in history and has hosted the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1996, when Sri Lanka lifted the trophy in front of a rapturous crowd. Located in the city known as the beating heart of Pakistan, the 34,000-capacity venue will host three group matches, the second semifinal and the final – subject to India’s qualification. Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium: Despite its relatively smaller size and capacity of 18,000, the Pindi Stadium is famous for always being packed to the rafters for most international fixtures – whether Test matches or limited-overs games. The venue’s location in the Pakistani capital Islamabad’s twin city makes it easily accessible for fans. It will host three group matches, including Pakistan’s fixture against Bangladesh on February 27. Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE: In the 16 years since its inauguration, the venue has established itself as Pakistan and the ICC’s go-to “neutral” venue for international tournaments. With its modern “ring of fire” lighting and compact design, the venue is set to become a cauldron when India play their three group games, including the all-important match against Pakistan. Dubai will also host the first semifinal on March 4 and the final on March 9, should India qualify. Labourers work to finalise an enclosure at the Gaddafi Stadium before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 [File: KM Chaudary/AP Photo] When and where is the India vs Pakistan group match? While the marquee fixture was originally scheduled for Lahore on March 2, the match was moved to Sunday, February 23, in Dubai following an impasse and eventual agreement between both nations. Advertisement Due to the suspension of bilateral tours between the South Asian rivals, the teams play each other only during the ICC tournaments, making this match the only India vs Pakistan men’s fixture in
Mother, daughter die after being injured in Munich car ramming
A two-year-old girl and her mother have died from injuries suffered in car-ramming attack earlier this week in Munich. A two-year-old girl and her mother have died from injuries suffered in a car-ramming attack earlier this week in the German city of Munich that left 37 others injured. “Unfortunately, we have to confirm the deaths today of the two-year-old child and her 37-year-old mother,” police spokesman Ludwig Waldinger told the AFP news agency.An Afghan man was arrested on suspicion of deliberately driving a car into a trade union demonstration on Thursday. According to prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann, the 24-year-old Afghan national admitted to having deliberately driven a white Mini Cooper into a labour union demonstration in the Bavarian capital on Thursday. Tilmann said the motive remained unclear, and there was no evidence to suggest the suspect was affiliated with any “Islamist” or “terrorist” organisations. She added that there was no indication of any accomplices. A damaged car is seen at the scene after a vehicle was driven into a Ver.di demonstration in Munich, Germany [File: Paul Vifogra/EPA] The man was in Germany legally and had no previous convictions. Advertisement On Thursday, Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter corrected an earlier statement by the interior minister that said he was in Germany illegally and should have been deported. Adblock test (Why?)
Europe to be excluded from Russia-Ukraine peace talks, US envoy confirms
US confirms Europe excluded from Ukraine peace talks aimed at ending Russia’s war. Europe will be excluded from talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, the United States lead Ukraine envoy said. General Keith Kellogg made the announcement on Saturday after the US sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Kyiv. Trump took European allies by surprise this week by calling Russia’s President Vladimir Putin without consulting them or Kyiv beforehand and declaring an immediate start to Ukraine peace talks. The Trump administration has made it clear to European allies in NATO to take primary responsibility for the region, stating that the US has other priorities, such as border security and countering China. Asked if he could assure the audience that Ukrainians and Europeans would be at the table for talks, Kellogg told a global security conference in Munich that “the answer to that last question, just as you framed it, is no”. Ukrainians, however, will “of course” be at the table, he said, adding it would be foolish to suggest otherwise. Advertisement European leaders were swift to react. “There’s no way in which we can have discussions or negotiations about Ukraine, Ukraine’s future or European security structure, without Europeans,” Finland’s President Alexander Stubb told the same security conference in Munich. “But this means that Europe needs to get its act together. Europe needs to talk less and do more.” A European diplomat said the US questionnaire included six queries, with one specifically for European Union member states. “The Americans are approaching European capitals and asking how many soldiers they are ready to deploy,” one diplomat said, the Reuters news agency reported. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte chimed in by urging Europeans to get their act together. “To my European friends, I would say, get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up [defence] spending,” he said in Munich. France is discussing with its allies the possibility of holding an informal meeting among European leaders on the issue, a French presidency official said on Saturday. Kellogg told the conference that talks aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine could focus on territorial concessions from Russia and targeting Putin’s oil revenues. “Russia is really a petrostate,” he said, adding that Western powers needed to do more regarding effectively enforcing sanctions on Russia. Kellogg’s announcement came shortly after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of a European army, saying the continent could no longer be sure of protection from the US and would only get respect from Washington with a strong military. Advertisement “Let’s be honest – now we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it,” said Zelenskyy. European nations cooperate militarily primarily within NATO, but governments have so far rejected various calls for the creation of a single European army over the years, arguing that defence is a matter of national sovereignty. Adblock test (Why?)
Children among 15 killed in crush at New Delhi train station in India
Indian officials said the accident happened amid a surge of passengers waiting for trains to attend a major Hindu religious festival. Ten women and three children were among at least 15 people killed in a crowd crush at a train station in India’s capital New Delhi, as thousands of Hindu pilgrims waited to board trains to attend the annual Mahakumbh Mela religious festival. The incident unfolded on Saturday night at about 8pm local time (14:30 GMT) on two platforms at the New Delhi Railway Station as huge crowds waited to board trains to Prayagraj city, where the festival is being held, some 624km (387 miles) southeast of the capital. Delhi’s Chief Minister Atishi, who only uses one name, told reporters that 15 people had died, while the local news outlet NDTV reported that the death toll was 18 people. India’s Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said four trains had been deployed to “evacuate” a sudden and unprecedented surge of travellers at the station and an investigation has been ordered to find out what went wrong. High-level inquiry ordered https://t.co/Egaifp5Onx — Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 15, 2025 Advertisement Video footage shared on social media by local news organisations showed people jostling as they tried to force their way onto packed train carriages. “People were running across platforms and there was a chaotic situation that led to people falling on each other,” a man who witnessed the events told India’s ANI news agency. The Times of India said witnesses reported a “crowd surge” that was sparked by the delay of two trains which led to an unexpectedly large number of passengers waiting on platforms. When people rushed to board an arriving train, “the situation spiralled out of control, with some passengers fainting amid the sudden surge”, the media outlet reported. “This sparked rumours of a stampede, leading to further panic,” it said. The Mahakumbh is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, and officials said about 500 million devotees have already visited the festival since it began in January. Crowd crushes regularly occur at India’s major religious festivals. At least 30 people were killed in a crush at the Mahakumbh last month when tens of millions of Hindus gathered to bathe in sacred river waters. The centrepiece of the six-week festival is the ritual bathing at the point where the Ganges and Yamuna merge with the mythical Saraswati River. At least 36 people were also crushed to death in 2013, the last time the festival was held in Prayagraj, and more than 400 died after they were trampled or drowned on a single day of the festival in 1954. Advertisement India’s railway system, which is the fourth-largest train network in the world, has also witnessed serious accidents in the last two years, including a collision in 2023 that killed at least 288 people. Adblock test (Why?)