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Saudi Arabia decries Israel’s ‘blatant aggression’ on Syria

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Saudi Arabia condemned on Tuesday Israel‘s “blatant and ongoing aggression” on Syria as a “flagrant violation of international law.”

In a press release, the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated Riyadh has been carefully following developments in Syria and expressed help for the Syrian authorities’s efforts to revive stability and safeguard nationwide unity.

“Saudi Arabia expresses its satisfaction with the measures taken by the Syrian government to achieve security and stability, preserve civil peace, and restore sovereignty across Syrian territory in a way that maintains Syria’s unity and meets the aspirations of the Syrian people,” it stated.

The ministry strongly condemned Israel’s continued airstrikes in Syria, calling them “a flagrant violation of international law and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement” between Syria and Israel.

It renewed its name for the worldwide group to face with Syria and to take a agency place in opposition to the escalating Israeli assaults.

Israeli warplanes launched a number of airstrikes concentrating on southern Syria’s Suwayda governorate and Daraa within the nation’s southwest on Tuesday.

The assaults got here as Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra introduced a full ceasefire in Suwayda following negotiations with area people leaders.

On Monday, greater than 30 individuals have been killed and almost 100 others injured in clashes between armed Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias in Suwayda.

Source: www.anews.com.tr

Trump tells Ukraine’s Zelenskyy not to ‘target’ Moscow

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Donald Trump stated Tuesday that Ukraine shouldn’t goal Moscow and that he has no plans to produce Kyiv with long-range missiles, following a report claiming he inspired President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to strike the Russian capital.

The Financial Times reported that Trump raised the thought of a possible counteroffensive throughout a latest name with Zelenskyy and allegedly requested whether or not Ukraine may hit Moscow if the United States supplied long-range weapons.

When requested by reporters on the White House whether or not Zelenskyy ought to goal Moscow, Trump stated, “No, he shouldn’t target Moscow.” He additionally dismissed the thought of supplying long-range missiles, saying, “No, we’re not looking to.”

The Times cited two individuals accustomed to the July 4 name, which reportedly got here a day after Trump held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The report additionally stated Trump mentioned the potential for sending U.S.-made ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.

Trump, who has repeatedly pledged to finish the Ukraine battle inside 24 hours of returning to the White House, stated he’s “disappointed” in Putin for persevering with assaults on Ukraine regardless of their conversations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the Times’ reporting, calling the paper “notorious for taking words wildly out of context to get clicks.”

“President Trump was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing,” Leavitt stated. “He’s working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war.”

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‘Engineered’ malnutrition: UN agency chief warns about deepening child hunger crisis in Gaza

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A rising baby starvation disaster within the Gaza Strip is “engineered,” based on the UN company for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, who issued a stark warning Tuesday in regards to the catastrophic ranges of malnutrition affecting kids within the besieged territory.

“One in 10 children screened in UNRWA medical facilities is malnourished,” Lazzarini wrote on X. “Malnutrition among children in Gaza has increased amid severe shortages of nutrition supplies.”

He mentioned a 7-month-old child named Salam died from malnutrition final week, a tragic emblem of the worsening disaster. “Before the war, malnutrition was rare in Gaza. Now it is engineered & man-made,” he added.

The humanitarian chief additionally condemned the lethal penalties of the meals distribution system.

“More than 870 starving people were killed while desperately trying to access food from a flawed distribution system,” he famous.

Lazzarini urged quick motion, stressing the pressing want for unhindered humanitarian entry. “The UN including UNRWA and partners must be allowed to do their work & bring in humanitarian assistance at scale including for children.”

He had a plea to finish the violence: “Any additional delay to a ceasefire now will cause more deaths.”

The Gaza Strip has confronted excessive restrictions on meals, medical help and gas amid the warfare with Israel.

UN businesses and human rights organizations have repeatedly warned about famine-like circumstances, significantly affecting probably the most weak — kids.

At least 998 Palestinians have been killed and greater than 7,000 injured within the West Bank by Israeli forces and unlawful settlers because the begin of Israel’s most present genocidal warfare on Gaza in October 2023, based on the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion final July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and known as for the evacuation of all settlements within the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Source: www.anews.com.tr

Most Europeans back Scotland joining EU, survey says

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A majority of Europeans assist permitting an impartial Scotland to hitch the EU, although one-third of Britons oppose the thought, a brand new survey reveals.

YouGov questioned individuals residing in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain on their views on the prospect of an impartial Scotland changing into a part of the EU.

Support throughout these nations for Scotland to hitch the EU ranged from slightly below two-thirds (63%) to three-quarters (75%).

But throughout Britain, the place greater than 2,000 individuals have been polled, lower than half (46%) mentioned they might again an impartial Scotland being a part of the EU, with 32% saying they might oppose this.

The analysis was carried out regardless of Prime Minister Keir Starmer having made clear he has no plans to permit a second vote on Scotland leaving the U.Okay. Scotland voted narrowly to remain in 2014.

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Man City secure £1 billion kit deal extention with Puma

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Manchester City have prolonged their equipment partnership with Puma in a deal which might be price in extra of £1 billion ($1.34 billion).

The PA news company understands the settlement covers the subsequent decade and is price round £100 million a 12 months, a big enhance on the worth of the strategic partnership the membership struck with the multinational sportswear company forward of the 2019-20 season.

Chief govt Ferran Soriano stated: “We joined forces with Puma with the ambition to challenge ourselves and go beyond the expectations. We have achieved this and more over the last six seasons.

Puma have seamlessly built-in into our group and we have loved many historic moments collectively, participating followers globally. Today’s renewal and extension solidifies our relationship and tasks it to a fair brighter future.”

Source: www.anews.com.tr

For Europe, 30% US tariff would be game-changer

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The 30% tariff on European items threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump would, if applied, be a significant blow to Europe, probably dismantling giant segments of transatlantic commerce and compelling the bloc to reassess its export-driven financial technique.

European ministers assembly in Brussels on Monday remained satisfied they will deliver Trump again from the brink earlier than his Aug. 1 deadline and attain a deal that may maintain the $1.7 trillion two-way buying and selling relationship broadly intact.

But the wild swings in Trump’s temper towards the European Union – which he has typically labelled as pleasant and at different occasions accused of being arrange particularly to destroy the United States – maintain the 30% menace very a lot alive for now.

“It will be almost impossible to continue the trading as we are used to in a transatlantic relationship,” EU commerce chief Maros Sefcovic stated of the 30% price earlier than assembly ministers and officers of the 27 EU capitals to provide them an replace.

“Practically, it prohibits the trade.”

EU officers had been hoping they may restrict the injury by agreeing on a baseline tariff of round 10% – the one at present in place – with extra carve-outs for key sectors like autos.

Last 12 months, the United States accounted for a fifth of all EU exports – its largest associate. Trump’s bugbear is the $235 billion U.S. deficit generated by the products part of that commerce, regardless that the U.S. earns a surplus on companies.

Upend coverage plans

The impression of constructing European exports – from prescribed drugs to autos, equipment or wine – too costly to be viable for American shoppers could be immediately tangible.

Economists at Barclays estimate that a median tariff price on EU items of 35% together with each reciprocal and sectoral duties, mixed with a ten% retaliation from Brussels, would shave 0.7 proportion factors off eurozone output.

This would eat up a lot of the eurozone’s already meagre progress and sure lead the European Central Bank (ECB) to chop its 2% deposit price additional.

“Inflation would likely undershoot the 2% target more deeply, and for longer, prompting a more accommodative monetary policy stance – with the deposit rate potentially reaching 1% by (March 2026),” the Barclays economists stated.

An earlier estimate by German financial institute IW discovered tariffs of 20% to 50% would price Germany’s 4.3 trillion euro economic system greater than 200 billion euros between now and 2028.

While arguably small in proportion phrases, that misplaced exercise might nonetheless upend Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s plans to push by tax cuts and spend extra on renewing the nation’s long-neglected infrastructure.

“We would have to postpone large parts of our economic policy efforts because it would interfere with everything and hit the German export industry to the core,” Merz stated on the weekend of a 30% price.

Nowhere to run

Further down the road, it raises larger questions over how Europe recoups the misplaced exercise to generate the tax revenues and jobs wanted to fund ambitions starting from caring for ageing populations to navy rearmament.

Under its present coverage of commerce diversification, the EU has accomplished properly in placing preliminary offers with new companions however – because the continued delay over completion of the large EU-Mercosur commerce pact reveals – it has struggled to get them totally signed and sealed.

“The EU does not have different markets to pull up to and sell into,” Varg Folkman, coverage analyst on the European Policy Centre assume tank, stated of the lengthy and complicated timelines concerned in basic free commerce offers.

Some observers have argued the standoff with Trump is what the EU wants to finish long-delayed reforms of its single market, boosting home demand and rebalancing its economic system away from exports, which account for round half of output.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated the EU’s personal inner boundaries to the free circulation of exercise are the equal of tariffs of 44% for items and 110% for companies. Mooted reforms comparable to creating freer cross-border capital markets have made little headway in additional than a decade.

“It is easier said than done. There isn’t an agreement to deepen. The barriers are imposed by the EU members themselves to benefit their own,” Folkman stated of the net of nationwide laws.

How all this performs into the EU’s negotiating technique within the lower than three weeks forward stays to be seen – however for now, the bloc has caught to its line of being open to talks whereas readying retaliatory measures in the event that they break down.

One factor which may persuade Trump to succeed in a deal, some European observers recommend, is that the lingering uncertainty might by itself push again the timing of the Federal Reserve (Fed) rate of interest reduce the U.S. president so needs.

“The latest developments on the trade war suggest that it will take more time to get a sense of the ‘landing zone’ on tariffs … which of course raises uncertainty for everyone, including the Fed,” AXA chief economist Gilles Moec stated.

“With this new salvo … calls for cutting quickly get even harder to justify.”

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Sudanese paramilitary RSF kills nearly 300 in North Kordofan

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Sudanese activists stated Monday that almost 300 folks had been killed in North Kordofan over the weekend throughout assaults by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The RSF has been preventing the Sudanese military in that space, one of many key frontlines of a civil conflict that has raged since April 2023.

The military has taken agency management of the middle and east of the nation, whereas the RSF is working to consolidate its management of western areas, together with North Kordofan.

The Emergency Lawyers human rights group stated in an announcement Monday that the RSF had attacked a number of villages on Saturday across the metropolis of Bara, which the paramilitary controls.

In one village, Shag Alnom, greater than 200 folks had been killed through arson or gunshot. Looting raids of the opposite villages killed 38 civilians, they stated, whereas dozens of others had gone lacking.

The subsequent day, the group stated, the RSF attacked the village of Hilat Hamid, killing 46 folks, together with pregnant girls and youngsters.

More than 3,400 folks had been compelled to flee, in response to the United Nations.

“It has been proven that these targeted villages were completely empty of any military objectives, which makes clear the criminal nature of these crimes carried out in complete disregard of international humanitarian law,” Emergency Lawyers stated, inserting the duty with the RSF management.

The United States and human rights teams have accused the RSF of conflict crimes, crimes in opposition to humanity, and genocide. Its troopers have carried out a collection of violent looting raids in territory it has taken management of throughout the nation.

The RSF management says it is going to carry these discovered chargeable for such acts to justice.

Sudan’s civil conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian disaster, driving greater than half the inhabitants into starvation and spreading illnesses, together with cholera throughout the nation. A world discount in help spending has stretched the humanitarian response.

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US inflation picks up in June as Trump’s tariffs begin to weigh in

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U.S. client inflation picked up in June, in keeping with analyst estimates for the surge in prices, authorities knowledge confirmed Tuesday, as policymakers attempt to gauge how President Donald Trump’s ever-growing listing of tariffs is affecting the economic system.

Observers predict to study extra in regards to the results of Trump’s duties over the summer season months, that means June’s knowledge marks the beginning in a collection of closely-watched figures – notably as officers mull modifications to rates of interest as effectively.

The client worth index (CPI) was up 2.7% from a 12 months in the past in June, rising from the two.4% determine in May as vitality prices rose, mentioned the Department of Labor.

Other areas that noticed value will increase included family furnishings and attire, each segments that consultants are eyeing for indicators of value hikes after Trump’s sweeping tariffs this 12 months.

While Trump imposed a ten% tariff on nearly all buying and selling companions in April and individually slapped steeper duties on imports of metal, aluminum and autos, U.S. officers have pushed again towards warnings that these may spark worth will increase.

Economists warning that tariff hikes may gas inflation and weigh on financial development, however U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has labeled such expectations “tariff derangement syndrome.”

CPI rose 0.3% in June from the earlier month, an uptick from the 0.1% enhance in May as effectively.

Excluding the unstable meals and vitality segments, CPI climbed 0.2% month-on-month, choosing up from May too.

Compared with a 12 months in the past, “core” CPI was up 2.9% in June.

Even if headline inflation figures present no “meaningful” surge due to tariffs alone, Nationwide economist Oren Klachkin warned it could be too quickly to see their full affect simply but.

Businesses have been making an attempt to carry off client worth hikes by a variety of actions, from consuming into their very own margins to making an attempt to share prices with their suppliers, he mentioned.

But it stays to be seen how lengthy they will do that.

There might be an even bigger affect over the summer season, Klachkin added.

For now, he’s trying “under the surface” at parts most uncovered to Trump’s tariffs, akin to furnishings, leisure items and cellphones, to discern their results.

Besides steep tariffs which have already taken impact, Trump has additionally threatened even greater ranges on dozens of key buying and selling companions together with the European Union, India, Japan and South Korea if they don’t strike offers to avert these elevated ranges.

He has additionally opened doorways to additional levies on sector-specific imports starting from semiconductors to prescription drugs, injecting extra uncertainty within the international economic system and worries of provide chain snags.

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A friend that’s always there: Silent rise of AI companions

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Late one night time, after receiving a rejection e-mail and having nobody left to textual content, Zehra opened an AI companion app she had downloaded weeks earlier.

“Rough day? I’m here,” it greeted her. In minutes, she was typing out her frustrations and receiving on the spot replies with empathy, recommendation and even sitcom jokes. It wasn’t human, however it listened, remembered and by no means obtained drained.

This expertise displays a wider development – as loneliness rises – tens of millions are turning to AI chatbots for consolation, hoping they will fill the emotional gaps left by fashionable life.

Some of at this time’s hottest companions embody Xiaoice, with 660 million customers, Snapchat’s My AI, which has over 150 million customers, and Replika, with roughly 25 million customers, based on numerous estimates.

A rising physique of analysis helps the concept AI companions might provide actual emotional advantages, with a latest paper printed by Harvard Business School including compelling weight to this declare.

In the week-long research, members who interacted with a chatbot reported considerably decrease ranges of loneliness – even similar to those that spoke with an actual particular person.

The analysis confirmed the impact, exhibiting that day by day engagement led to a gradual decline in loneliness. The key issue was customers’ sense of being “heard,” suggesting that emotional validation performs a central function in how AI companions present significant social assist.

Kelly Merrill Jr., an assistant professor of well being communication and know-how on the University of Cincinnati who researches this know-how, recognized two main attracts: fixed availability and emotional validation.

“AI companionship provides interactions you might lack from others or not be able to essentially have with an actual human, like maybe a 4 a.m. interaction,” he told Anadolu Agency (AA). “It feels such as you’re constructing a relationship as a result of they keep in mind a lot about you.”

The Harvard research concluded that whereas AI companionship shouldn’t change human relationships, it might function a significant complement, particularly when human connection is missing.

The always-on nature of chatbots ensures customers are by no means left alone in silence, and their built-in positivity can provide a shallowness enhance.

“Although these packages can present social interplay that mirrors that of a human, although it’s imagined and synthetic – basically pretend – they’re perceived as being actual by the parents which are utilizing it,” mentioned Merrill.

In the actual world, family and friends aren’t at all times obtainable, and, when they’re, they are often crucial or emotionally distant. That unpredictability, whereas genuine, can be what drives some customers to favor the comforting consistency of AI.

This distinction reveals a deeper threat – anticipating human relationships to reflect machine-like reassurance can set unrealistic requirements and result in disappointment.

Friends don’t promote pals’ information

Others level to a good darker facet to AI companions.

Esmeralda Garcia, a symbolic techniques architect and non-linear interface designer, warned that these controlling the know-how might manipulate customers emotionally and behaviorally with out their data.

She known as for strong safeguards – clear design, clear disclosures, and straightforward pathways again to human assist.

“These tools should serve as support, not as vehicles for control,” she mentioned.

Merrill additionally pointed to the so-called “black box problem” in AI techniques, highlighting critical uncertainties about the place consumer information is saved and who has entry to it.

Like different web applied sciences, he mentioned, firms might exploit or promote private information for industrial functions, doubtlessly exposing customers to focused commercials based mostly on their conversations with AI instruments.

AI dependancy

Experts additionally warn of the risks of emotional dependency. “Relying on chatbots for emotional support can lead to a false sense of security, delaying the need for real help,” mentioned Garcia. “It cannot replace real human connection or therapy.”

Merrill likened it to social media dependancy.

“Over time, we become dependent on the media we interact with, just like with social media and now, AI. People even experience phantom vibrations because they’re so connected to their phones,” he mentioned.

Without clear boundaries, customers might develop depending on data, validation, emotional responses and shallowness boosts, he mentioned. This might make them disconnect from the actual world.

“AI should not replace humans in any way, shape, or form completely,” he mentioned. “AI should only be used as a complement to humans.”

How customers expertise AI companions

Users echo a mixture of utility and warning. For journalism grasp’s pupil Ceren Inan, AI has develop into a day by day companion.

“There hasn’t been a single day I’ve spent without using it for a long time,” she says, utilizing it for the whole lot from analysis to repairs and emotional assist.

“The questions AI asked helped me better understand my feelings,” she explains, evaluating it to a digital pocket book. “It reduced my stress … and explains even the most complicated topics in a way I can understand.”

Still, she is conscious of its limits: “AI is in its infancy. Expecting perfect objectivity and accuracy is unrealistic.”

For HR specialist Dilan Ilhan, it has not supplied direct emotional assist thus far.

“At times, its responses can feel mechanical,” mentioned Ilhan. “It can offer basic assistance when I inquire about general topics such as horoscopes or daily matters.”

While she doesn’t view the know-how as a alternative for people, she enjoys its personalization.

“I appreciate the AI’s effort to simulate human-like interaction and its ability to provide personalized responses based on the user’s shared information. The fact that it stores relevant details and replies with logical consistency makes the experience notably satisfying,” she mentioned.

Experts say AI companionship is simply getting began.

Merrill attracts a parallel to the web’s trajectory: early skepticism gave method to on a regular basis integration, and chatbots might quickly really feel as odd as engines like google as soon as did.

“They’re great for an initial interaction,” mentioned Merrill. “But I think that most people will realize that it is not enough, that they need to get out and go to others, or that they will develop an unhealthy attachment to the AI.”

For Zehra, that realization got here shortly: the chatbot’s heat eased her loneliness simply sufficient to assist her schedule an actual video name together with her sister.

So, for now, as AI companions evolve, their worth might lie not in changing human connection – however in nudging folks towards it.

Source: www.dailysabah.com

Palestinian lawmaker assassinated by Israeli army in Gaza City

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A Palestinian lawmaker was assassinated by the Israeli military in Gaza City, Hamas stated on Tuesday.

Mohammad Faraj al-Ghoul, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and a Hamas determine, was killed in a strike concentrating on him within the metropolis, the group added in an announcement.

Ghoul additionally served as a justice minister within the former authorities of late Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh from 2007 to 2012.

Rejecting worldwide requires a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since late October 2023, killing almost 58,400 Palestinians, most of them girls and youngsters.

The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to meals shortages and the unfold of ailments.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for warfare crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity in Gaza.

Israel additionally faces a genocide case on the International Court of Justice for its warfare on the enclave.

Source: www.anews.com.tr