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US Holds Direct Talks With Hamas

Published

6 months ago

March 6, 2025

Editor

The United States on Wednesday confirmed unprecedented direct talks with Hamas on hostages, as Israel threatened to renew its military campaign in Gaza despite a fragile ceasefire.

The White House said that President Donald Trump’s envoy on hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, held the talks which focused on Americans among the remaining hostages in Gaza.

“Israel was consulted on this matter,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

“Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the President” believes is right, she said.

The United States had refused direct contact with the Palestinian militants since banning them as a terrorist organization in 1997. But Leavitt said that the hostage envoy in his role “has the authority to talk to anyone.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed Israel was consulted and said in a statement that it “expressed its opinion” on direct talks.

The talks were first reported by Axios, which said Boehler met with Hamas in Qatar about the US hostages but also as part of a longer-term truce.

Five Americans are believed to remain among the hostages seized in the massive October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Four of them have been confirmed dead and the other, Edan Alexander, is believed to be alive.

– Warning by Israel –

The first phase of a ceasefire ended over the weekend after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.

But Israel announced at the end of the first phase that it was halting all entry of goods and supplies into Gaza, which has been reduced to rubble after the relentless year and a half of Israeli operations.

“Hamas has indeed suffered a severe blow, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not yet accomplished,” Israel’s new military chief Eyal Zamir warned.

His remarks echoed warnings by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “consequences that you cannot imagine” if Hamas does not hand over hostages.

Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas’s attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

France, Britain and Germany jointly Wednesday called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “catastrophic,” and urged Israel to ensure the “unhindered” delivery of aid.

South Africa said Israel’s restriction of aid into Gaza since the weekend amounted to using starvation as a weapon of war.

The Hamas assault resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, most of them civilians, while Israel’s military retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,440 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides show.

– Doubts on Arab plan –

Trump has promised sweeping support to Israel and has floated a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its people, an idea that has drawn wide condemnation around the world.

Arab leaders have sought support for an alternative plan they put forward that would finance Gaza’s reconstruction through a trust fund.

A draft of the plan seen by AFP outlined a five-year roadmap with a price tag of $53 billion — roughly the amount the United Nations estimated for Gaza’s reconstruction — but the figure was not included in the summit’s final statement.

The summit also called for representation to be unified under the Palestine Liberation Organization umbrella group that is the dominant political force within the Palestinian Authority — a move that could sideline Islamist Hamas, which is not a member.

But the prospect of the Palestinian Authority governing Gaza remains far from certain, with Israel having ruled out any future role for the body in the territory ruled by Hamas since 2007.

Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the new plan was “far more realistic than what the Trump administration is proposing in terms of being able to be operationalized.”

But Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian political analyst and former PA minister, was skeptical whether it could realistically happen, noting the lack of details on financing and the political hurdles it would face.

“The only two players in Gaza, the only two parties who have influence in Gaza are Israel and Hamas, and… their positions are not coherent with this plan,” he said.

“It doesn’t make sense to expect Israel to drop the plan of Trump and to adopt the plan of the Arabs. There’s no chance.”

AFP

Headline

Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty In US To $405,000 Romance Scam Against American Women

Published

1 day ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

A40-year-old Nigerian man, Daniel Chima Inweregbu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as money laundering, in connection with a romance scam that defrauded American women of more than $405,000.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, in a statement on Thursday, said Inweregbu and his co-conspirators ran the scheme between July 2017 and December 2018, using a fake online persona named “Larry Pham” to lure victims on dating sites and social media targeting US citizens.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson said that Inweregbu, described as a citizen of Lagos, Nigeria, pleaded guilty on August 21, 2025 before United States District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown to two of the counts pending against him.

The counts which include conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and using an assumed name to commit a mail fraud scheme, Attorney Simpson said were in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341, 1342, 1343 and 1349 (Count 1), and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), 1957, and 1956(h) (Count 12). INWEREGBU’s plea stemmed from his role in a lengthy romance scam targeting American citizens.

According to court documents, a “romance scam” was a confidence scheme in which the perpetrator feigned romantic intentions towards a victim, gained their affection, and used the victim’s goodwill to commit fraud.

“These fraudulent acts might involve such acts as obtaining access to the victim’s money, bank accounts, credit cards, passports, e-mail accounts, or national identification numbers; convincing the victim to transmit things of value to the perpetrator or his witting or unwitting co-conspirators; or inducing the victim to, unintentionally, commit or participate in the commission of financial fraud against third parties on behalf of the perpetrator,” the statement read.

It added, “Between at least July 1, 2017, and December 16, 2018, Inweregbu, and his co-conspirators, devised and operated a “romance scam” whereby they sought to obtain money and property from multiple American women, including 4 victims, by means of false and fraudulent representations and promises.

“Specifically, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators created profiles on social media and online dating sites using the alias “Larry Pham,” purportedly a middle-aged male, to attract middle-aged female victims.

“The co-conspirators, including Inweregbu, used online messaging platforms and email, to contact victims, introduce themselves, and appeal to victims’ longing for companionship. If the victim responded favorably, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators began to cultivate a romantic relationship that emotionally attached the victims to “Larry Pham.”

“Once the relationship was established, the defendant and his co-conspirators, posing as Larry Pham, requested victims send them money under various scams and ruses to domestic bank accounts they opened and managed. Inweregbu’s scheme resulted in actual and intended losses to the victims of over $405,000.

“Thereafter, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators laundered the funds, by conducting financial transactions using the proceeds of their wire and mail fraud scheme, designed in whole or in part to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds, by directing the victims’ funds through intermediaries.

“Inweregbu faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $250,000 as to Count 1. He faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $500,000 as to Count 12. He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count. Sentencing before Judge Brown has been scheduled for December 4, 2025,” the partly read.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson, according to the statement praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter and expressed appreciation for the great support provided by United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and the United States Department of State.

“Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, is in charge of the prosecution,” the statement noted.

Headline

UK Bars Over 100 Job Roles From Foreign Recruitment To Curb Migration

Published

1 day ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The British government has unveiled major immigration reforms, blocking foreign workers from filling more than 100 job categories in a move aimed at reducing net migration.

The Home Office, in a statement posted on X Saturday morning, said the decision was geared towards creating more opportunities for local citizens while restructuring the visa regime.

“Cutting net migration means getting the fundamentals right.

“More than 100 occupations are no longer eligible for overseas recruitment – opening up more jobs for British workers. A fairer, skills-focused system is now taking shape,” the Home Office stated.

This policy marks the latest immigration clampdown under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who assumed office on July 5, 2024, after Labour’s sweeping election win that ended Rishi Sunak’s tenure.

However, the measure has drawn criticism, with opponents warning it could deepen staffing shortages in critical sectors such as healthcare and social services.

The Home Office has not yet published the full list of restricted occupations.

Headline

PM Killed In Israeli Strike, Say Yemen’s Huthis

Published

1 day ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The prime minister of Yemen’s Huthis was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with other officials earlier this week, the Iran-backed rebels announced on Saturday.

Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi, who was appointed last year, is the most senior official known to have been killed in a series of Israeli strikes during the war in Gaza.

“We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi… along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy,” a Huthi statement said.

“Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon,” it added.

The Israeli military struck in the area of Sanaa, the Huthi-held capital, on Thursday. The Huthis, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians, have frequently fired missiles and drones at Israel during the Gaza war.

Israeli forces “struck a Huthi terrorist regime military target”, the Israeli military said at the time.

The Huthis have also targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which they claim is linked to Israel during the Gaza war.

The rebel group controls large parts of Yemen, which has been gripped by war since 2014, and is part of Iran’s anti-Israel alliance alongside militant groups across much of the Middle East.