suspends

Colonel Randrianirina set to assume presidency in Madagascar after President Andry Rajoelina removed.

Military leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina will be sworn in as Madagascar’s transitional president on Friday, the country’s new leadership has announced, as the African Union (AU) said it would suspend the country after a coup to remove President Andry Rajoelina.

Randrianirina “will be sworn in as President of the Refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar during a solemn hearing of the High Constitutional Court” on October 17, said the statement, published on social media by a state television station on Thursday.

Rajoelina, who was impeached by lawmakers after fleeing abroad during the weekend, has condemned the takeover and refused to step down despite youth-led demonstrations demanding his resignation and widespread defections in the security forces.

Randrianirina led a rebellion that sided with the protesters and ousted Rajoelina on Tuesday in the sprawling country of about 30 million people off of Africa’s east coast. Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the country has had a history of coups and political crises.

The latest military takeover capped weeks of protests against Rajoelina and his government, led by youth groups calling themselves “Gen Z Madagascar”. The protesters, who also included labour unions and civic groups, have demanded better government and job opportunities, echoing youth-led protests elsewhere in the world.

Among other things, the Madagascar protesters have railed against chronic water and electricity outages, limited access to higher education, government corruption and poverty, which affects roughly three out of every four Madagascans, according to the World Bank.

Although some suggest the military seized power on the backs of the civilian protesters, demonstrators cheered Randrianirina and other soldiers from his elite CAPSAT unit as they triumphantly rode through the streets of the capital Antananarivo on Tuesday. The colonel has promised elections in two years.

The takeover was “an awakening of the people. It was launched by the youth. And the military supported us”, said the protest leader, Safika, who only gave one name as has been typical with the demonstrators. “We must always be wary, but the current state of affairs gives us reason to be confident,” Safika told The Associated Press news agency.

The protests reached a turning point Saturday when Randrianirina and soldiers from his unit sided with the demonstrators calling for the president to resign. Rajoelina said he fled to an undisclosed country because he feared for his life.

Randrianirina had long been a vocal critic of Rajoelina’s administration and was reportedly imprisoned for several months in 2023 for plotting a coup.

His swift takeover drew international concern. The African Union condemned the coup and announced the country’s suspension from the bloc. The United Nations said they were “deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change of power”.

Oct. 3 (UPI) — Munich International Airport suspended all flight operations due to drones, it said early Friday, making it the latest European travel hub to have flights disrupted by unmanned aerial vehicles.

Several drones were sighted operating near Germany’s second-busiest airport Thursday night, prompting German Air Traffic Control to restrict and then suspend flight operations starting 10:18 p.m. CEST.

“When a drone is sighted, passenger safety has the highest priority,” the airport said in a Friday statement.

The shuttering of the airport impacted nearly 3,000 passengers, halting 17 departing flights and diverting 15 incoming flights to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna and Frankfurt.

Folding beds were set up in terminals for grounded passengers, who were also provided with blankets, drinks and snacks.

Last week, airports in Denmark and Norway temporarily shuttered operations after drones were sighted in their vicinity.

Earlier this month, Estonia, Poland and Romania each lodged complaints over incursions into their airspace by Russian drones and aircraft. Warsaw even shoot down at least three Russian drones.

The nature and place of origin of the drones that were sighted near Munich International Airport were not immediately clear.

French foreign ministry said it also ordered two members of Mali’s embassy in Paris to leave.

France has suspended counterterrorism cooperation with Mali and ordered two staff members of the West African nation’s consulate to leave, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has said.

The two staff members from the Malian embassy and consulate in Paris have been declared persona non grata, France’s foreign ministry added, while Mali declared five French embassy staff members persona non grata.

The suspension announced on Friday comes after a French man, Yann Vezilier, was arrested in Mali last month on charges of plotting a coup.

Mali’s army said at the time that some civilians and soldiers had obtained “the help of foreign states” in their attempt to destabilise the country.

Mali’s security minister, General Daoud Aly Mohammedine, said Vezilier had acted “on behalf of the French intelligence service, which mobilised political leaders, civil society actors and military personnel” in Mali.

Paris said the charges were “unfounded”.

The French foreign ministry said Vezilier was a member of its embassy in the capital Bamako.

The two Malian diplomats being expelled were told to leave in response to Vezilier’s arrest, a French diplomatic source told the AFP news agency. French media reported that they had to leave by Saturday.

The source added that “other measures” would be implemented soon, “if our national is not released quickly”.

France said in August that it was in talks with Mali to “clear up any misunderstanding” and secure the “immediate release” of the arrested envoy.

France’s formerly strong ties with Mali, an ex-French colony, have deteriorated since soldiers took control nearly four years ago.

Under President Assimi Goita, the military government has distanced itself from France, expelling French forces and seeking security support from Russia.

Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, as well as local criminal gangs.

In June, Goita extended his rule for another five years, defying earlier assurances from the military government that civilian leadership would resume by March 2024.

The extension came after the military disbanded political parties in May.

Aug. 28 (UPI) — Mexico is temporarily suspending postal and parcel shipments to the United States, making it the latest country to halt mail delivery to the North American nation in response to President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.

Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the suspension of Correos de Mexico service to the United States in a statement Wednesday. The suspension of postal and parcel shipments went into effect Wednesday and will be in place “until new operational processes are established,” it said.

“Mexico continues to dialogue with U.S. authorities as well as international postal organizations to establish mechanisms that will allow the resumption of services in an orderly manner, providing certainty to users and avoiding disruptions in the delivery of goods,” it said.

Trump signed an executive order on July 30 suspending duty-free de minimus, which is tax free entry into the United States of packages containing goods valued at $800 or less.

The American president described the measure as one aimed at closing a “catastrophic loophole” used to evade tariffs and enable drug trafficking.

The tariffs, effective Friday, will be applied to packages and parcels originating from any country.

“For this reason, Correos de Mexico, will temporarily suspend postal and parcel shipments to the United States starting August 27, 2025,” the ministry said.

Mexico adds its name to a growing list of countries no longer shipping goods to the United States, including Australia, Britain, Germany, South Korea and others.

State Department move comes as Israel’s war and induced-famine in Gaza reach new extremes, with 61,827 killed so far.

The United States has announced that it is halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a “a full and thorough” review, a day after social media posts about Palestinian refugees sparked furious reactions from right-wingers.

The Department of State’s move on Saturday came a day after far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer posted on X that Palestinians “who claim to be refugees from Gaza” entered the US via San Francisco and Houston this month.

“How is allowing for Islamic immigrants to come into the US America First policy?” she said on X in a later post, going on to report further Palestinian arrivals in Missouri and claiming that “several US Senators and members of Congress” had texted her to express their fury.

Republican lawmakers speaking publicly about the matter included Chip Roy of Texas, who said he would inquire about the matter, and Randy Fine of Florida, who described the alleged arrivals as a “national security risk”.

By Saturday, the State Department announced it was stopping visas for “individuals from Gaza” while it conducted “a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days”. It did not provide a figure.

All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.

— Department of State (@StateDept) August 16, 2025

The US issued 640 visas to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document in May, according to the Reuters news agency. B1/B2 visitor visas permit Palestinians to seek medical treatment in the US.

Loomer greeted Saturday’s State Department announcement with glee.

“It’s amazing how fast we can get results from the Trump administration,” she said on Saturday, though she later posted that more needed to be done to “highlight the crisis of the invasion happening in our country”.

While I appreciate the State Department and @marcorubio issuing this statement, I want to press even harder to highlight the crisis of the invasion happening in our country.

The visas and arrivals of GAZANS to US airports isn’t new. This has been drastically increasing in speed… https://t.co/mI5APTairz

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 16, 2025

The decision to cut visas comes as Israel intensifies its attacks on Gaza, where at least 61,827 people have been killed in the past 22 months, with the United Nations warning that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in famine-related deaths.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing to seize Gaza City as part of a takeover of the Strip, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to concentration zones.

SEOUL, July 18 (UPI) — Just weeks after opening a massive new beach resort, North Korea has banned foreign visitors from the self-proclaimed “world-class” facility, according to a state-run tourism promotion website.

“Foreign tourists are temporarily not accepted at the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist zone,” a notice on the official DPR Korea Tour site said Wednesday. No explanation was given for the ban.

The information came in a post announcing the July 1 opening of the facility, which runs along 2.5 miles of beachfront and has a capacity for up to 20,000 guests. The tourist zone also boasts recreational facilities such as a water park, gym and concert hall.

When the Wonsan Kalma tourist area officially opened, North Korea promoted it as a destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. A small group of Russian guests visited last week, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un there.

“Our Korean friends have expressed interest in having more Russians at the wonderful resort of Wonsan and other resorts in the DPRK,” Lavrov said at a press conference during his visit, using the official acronym for North Korea. “I have no doubt that this will happen.”

The resort has long been a favored project of Kim, who oversaw its launch in 2014. It was initially slated to open in April 2019 but faced numerous setbacks, including international sanctions on materials.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month, the North Korean leader called the completion of the resort one of the country’s “greatest successes this year” and said it would “play a leading role in establishing the tourist culture of the DPRK.”

International tourism offers a rare chance for the sanctions-hit North to earn foreign currency, but visitors have been almost nonexistent since Pyongyang sealed its borders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020.

Russian travelers were the first to return post-COVID as North Korean carrier Air Koryo resumed a route between Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East and Pyongyang last year. On Monday, Russia’s Transport Ministry announced that budget carrier Nordwind will begin operating direct service between Moscow and Pyongyang later this month.

In May, the United States extended its ban on travel by American citizens to North Korea for the ninth year in a row, citing “imminent danger” posed by any trips to the authoritarian state.

Unite says it has suspended Angela Rayner from her membership of the union, amid a deepening row over the long-running bin strikes in Birmingham.

The deputy prime minister has been urging striking bin workers to accept a deal to end the dispute, which has seen mountains of rubbish pile up in the city.

The union said it would also re-examine its relationship with Labour after an emergency motion at its conference in Brighton.

Bin collection workers walked out in January, with an all-out strike going on since March. Unite is a major donor to the Labour Party, and has previously donated to Rayner herself.

July 2 (UPI) — The Iranian government has suspended cooperation with the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency until the security of Iran’s nuclear facilities and activities is assured.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced the suspension via state-run media on Wednesday after the Iranian Parliament passed a resolution ending cooperation with the IAEA on June 25, Politico reported.

The resolution requires the IAEA to obtain permission from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council prior to entering Iran, which will only be granted when “security of the country’s nuclear facilities and that of peaceful nuclear activities is guaranteed,” Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency reported.

Iranian lawmakers also accused IAEA Director Rafael Grossi of Argentina of producing “politically motivated reports” of non-compliance with international agreements that lead to the June 21 U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities.

Grossi is banned from entering Iran, which last week removed surveillance cameras from its nuclear sites.

Israel also attacked Iran’s nuclear program over a 12-day period and claimed 14 Iranian nuclear scientists died in targeted aerial strikes, according to The Hill.

Grossi on Sunday told CBS News Iran can’t ban the IAEA from inspecting its nuclear program and related facilities because it is subject to an international treaty.

“You cannot invoke an internal law not to abide with an international treaty,” Grossi said, adding that an international treaty takes precedence over a national law.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghachi on Sunday told CBS News Iranian leaders would need assurances that the United States would not attack Iran while its leaders negotiate with the IAEA while resuming its nuclear energy program.

Iran’s suspension of the IAEA inspections drew criticism from leaders in the United Kingdom, Germany and France, in addition to President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet at the White House on Monday to discuss the situation in Iran.

Meanwhile, officials in Germany, France and the United Kingdom could impose sanctions on Iran for suspending the IAEA inspections.

Officials in the three nations on Monday in a joint press release condemned Iran for making “threats” against Grossi.

The Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group also met in Bologna, Italy, on Tuesday to discuss the scientific analysis of nuclear materials to deter “nuclear terrorism” and ensure public safety.

The ITWG has met over the past three decades to “make the world safer through the advancement of nuclear forensics best practices.”

Thailand’s top court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra pending an ethics investigation over a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen. She accepted the decision, after being accused of violating the constitution with remarks about a deadly May border clash that sparked protests in Bangkok.

A Thai court has accepted a petition from senators that accuse the PM of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office pending an ethics investigation over a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian official, heaping pressure on Thailand’s governing political dynasty.

The court said in a statement that it had accepted a petition from 36 senators, which accuses Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards, in violation of the constitution, over a leaked telephone conversation with Cambodia’s influential former leader, Hun Sen.

Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will assume a caretaker role while the court decides the case against Paetongtarn, who has 15 days to respond.

Paetongtarn will remain in the cabinet as the new culture minister following a cabinet reshuffle.

The controversy stems from a June 15 phone call with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen that was intended to defuse escalating border tensions between the neighbours.

During the call, Paetongtarn, 38, referred to Hun Sen as “uncle” and criticised a Thai army commander, a red line in a country where the military has significant clout. She has apologised and said her remarks were a negotiating tactic.

The leaked call led to domestic outrage and has left Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razor-thin majority, with a key party abandoning the alliance and expected to soon seek a no-confidence vote in parliament, as protest groups demand the premier resign.

Legal perils

Paetongtarn’s battles after only 10 months in power underline the declining strength of the Pheu Thai Party, the populist juggernaut of the billionaire Shinawatra dynasty, which has dominated Thai elections since 2001, enduring military coups and court rulings that have toppled multiple governments and prime ministers.

It has been a baptism of fire for political novice Paetongtarn, who was thrust into power as Thailand’s youngest premier and replacement for Srettha Thavisin, who the Constitutional Court dismissed for violating ethics by appointing a minister who had once been jailed.

Paetongtarn’s government has also been struggling to revive a stuttering economy, and her popularity has declined sharply, with a June 19-25 opinion poll released at the weekend showing her approval rating sinking to 9.2 percent from 30.9 percent in March.

Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin, the 75-year-old family patriarch and billionaire who was twice elected leader in the early 2000s, is also facing legal hurdles.

Divisive tycoon Thaksin, according to his lawyer, appeared at his first hearing at Bangkok’s Criminal Court on Tuesday on charges that he insulted Thailand’s powerful monarchy, a serious offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Thaksin denies the allegations and has repeatedly pledged allegiance to the crown.

The case stems from a 2015 media interview Thaksin gave while in self-imposed exile, from which he returned in 2023 after 15 years abroad to serve a prison sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power.

Thaksin dodged jail and spent six months in hospital detention on medical grounds before being released on parole in February last year.

The Supreme Court will this month scrutinise that hospital stay and could potentially send him back to jail.

July 1 (UPI) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra amid ongoing litigation concerning a telephone conversation with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen that opponents described as evidence of her failure to perform her duty as leader of the country.

The nine-member panel ruled 7-2 in favor of suspending Paetongtarn from her duties as prime minister, effective immediately, until the court issues its final ruling on the controversial phone call.

The ruling comes at the request of 36 senators who signed a petition asking for her to be suspended under charges of violating the Constitution, based on an audio clip of the conversation between her and the Cambodian politician amid border tensions between their two countries.

In the clip, which was made public by local media on June 18, the prime minister is heard referring to the 2nd Army Region Commander, who supervises the Thai border with Cambodia, as an adversary, while seemingly agreeing with Hun Sen.

The phone call sparked protests in Thailand calling for Paetongtarn’s removal.

According to the Tuesday statement from the Constitutional Court, Paetongtarn claimed the conversation was personal and conciliatory, aimed at maintaining peace and protecting Thailand’s sovereignty.

The senators who asked the court to investigate the clip accused Paetongtarn of “seriously violating or failing to comply with ethical standards.”

The two justices who voted against suspending Paetongtarn issued a minority opinion stating that the facts presented by the senators “were not yet clear or conclusive enough to raise reasonable doubt regarding a constitutional violation” and instead suggested the prime minister be prohibited from exercising powers over national security, foreign affairs and fiscal policy amid litigation, in reflection of the seriousness of the accusations.

Paetongtarn will remain in her dual role as minister of culture, while Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit will serve as acting prime minister.

She has 15 days to present her defense in the case.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Canada’s prime minister says trade talks with US will resume after Ottawa drops new levy.

Canada has rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations with the United States, days after US President Donald Trump called off talks in retaliation for the levy.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in a statement on Sunday, said he and Trump have now agreed to resume trade negotiations.

“Today’s announcement will support a resumption of negotiations toward the July 21, 2025, timeline set out at this month’s G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis,” Carney said.

The Canadian levy on technology firms had been set to go into effect on Monday.

Trump said on Friday that the tax, targeting “our American Technology Companies”, was “a direct and blatant attack on our Country”.

The US is home to some of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Apple, Alphabet/Google, Amazon and Meta.

Canada’s Digital Services Tax Act (DSTA) introduces a levy on tech revenues generated from Canadian users – even if providers do not have a physical presence in the country.

It compels large technology firms with global revenues exceeding $820m and Canadian revenues of more than $14.7m to pay a 3 percent levy on certain digital service revenues earned in Canada.

Unlike traditional corporate taxes based on profits, this tax targets gross revenue linked to Canadian user engagement.

Digital services the levy will apply to include online marketplaces, social media platforms, digital advertising and the sale or licensing of user data.

One of the most contentious parts of the new framework for businesses is its retroactive nature, which demands payments on revenues dating back to January 1, 2022.

Warwick won the Le Mans 24 Hours, is a former president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club and is one of the most senior driver stewards in F1.

An ex-F1 driver is always one of the four stewards officiating at every grand prix.

Last week Warwick was quoted as saying that a penalty given to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix after the Dutchman apparently deliberately collided with Mercedes’ George Russell was “right”.

On a gambling website, Warwick said: “Should he have done what he did, in Turn Five with George Russell? Absolutely not. Did he get a penalty for that? Yes.

“It seems to me that, although he dove in, he then did turn away from George, but momentum pushed him against George. It is absolutely wrong and the FIA was right to give him a penalty.”

Warwick is the second driver steward to be punished by the FIA for commenting on races in the past six months.

In January Johnny Herbert was dropped by the FIA, which said his “duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible”.

The FIA’s decision to suspend Warwick came a day after controversial statute changes were passed by the organisation’s general assembly.

The changes are said by critics to “risk further contributing to the erosion of the FIA’s reputation for competent and transparent governance” under president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Ben Sulayem’s time in office since 2021 has been marked by a series of controversies, the majority of which have been focused on the erosion of accountability and good governance and the introduction of measures that enhance his power and reduce oversight.

When there are questions about how stewards arrived at decisions during a grand prix, the FIA refuses to comment on the basis that stewards are “independent from the FIA”.

Parliament voted to impose record suspensions on the trio of legislators for their protest haka.

New Zealand legislators have voted to suspend three MPs who performed a Maori haka in the House to protest against a controversial bill.

The MPs from Te Pati Maori – the Maori Party – were handed the toughest sanctions ever imposed on legislators by New Zealand’s parliament on Thursday.

Te Pati Maori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer were both suspended from parliament for 21 days.

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, New Zealand’s youngest legislator, 22, was suspended for seven days.

The length of the bans was recommended by parliament’s privileges committee, which advised the trio should be suspended for acting in “a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House”.

It recommended Maipi-Clarke be given a shorter sanction because she had written a letter of “contrition” to the parliament.

Previously, the longest suspension imposed on an MP had been a three-day ban.

Prior to Thursday’s vote, Maipi-Clarke told legislators that the suspension was an effort to stop Maori from making themselves heard in parliament.

“Are our voices too loud for this house? Is that the reason why we are being silenced?” she said. “We will never be silenced and we will never be lost.”

The legislators had performed the haka in parliament in November. Their protest interrupted voting during the first reading of a proposed bill to legally define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, the 1840 pact between the British Crown and Indigenous Maori leaders signed during New Zealand’s colonisation.

The proposed law prompted widespread protests amid concerns it would erode Maori rights. It was later scrapped.

Maipi-Clarke had begun the protest by ripping a copy of the legislation, before she and fellow MPs approached the leader of the right-wing party that had backed the proposed law.

Their actions prompted complaints from fellow MPs to the parliament’s speaker that their protest was disorderly, and the matter was sent to parliament’s privileges committee, prompting months of debate.

A report from the privileges committee said that while both haka and Maori ceremonial dance and song are not uncommon in parliament, members were aware that permission was needed from the speaker beforehand.

June 4 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered a suspension of international visas for new students seeking to attend Harvard University, accusing the school of failing to report “known illegal activity” carried out by its students.

In a proclamation, Trump said the suspension applies only to new nonimmigrant students who travel to the United States solely or primarily to attend the Massachusetts university. International students are allowed to enter the country to attend U.S. schools under the Student Exchange Visa Program.

Trump also gave Secretary of State Marco Rubio the authority to determine whether existing Harvard students in the country on visas should have theirs revoked.

Citing an increase in crime on the campus — which was also reported by The Harvard Crimson in 2023 — Trump said Harvard has failed in disciplinary actions. He said the school reported misconduct by three foreign students and provided “deficient” data on those incidents.

“Harvard’s actions show that it either is not fully reporting its disciplinary records for foreign students or is not seriously policing its foreign students,” Trump said.

The proclamation is the Trump administration’s latest of multiple attempts to block the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students. He has taken issue with students’ anti-Israel protests over the war in Gaza.

A spokesperson for the university told NBC News it planned to fight the administration’s order.

“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” the spokesperson said.

In May, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to deny Harvard to admit international students. At the time Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem canceled the school’s SEVP certification.

“The administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” Noem said.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed trying to get aid at distribution centres run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation over the past eight days. This is a timeline of the key events that led to the UN labelling it a ‘death trap’.

Israeli military warns access roads to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) aid distribution sites are now considered ‘combat zones’.

The United States- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) will suspend aid distribution in the war-torn territory on Wednesday, a day after Israeli forces again opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers near a GHF distribution site, killing at least 27 and injuring more than 100.

Israel’s military also said that approach roads to the aid distribution centres will be “considered combat zones” on Wednesday, and warned that people in Gaza should heed the GHF announcement to stay away.

“We confirm that travel is prohibited tomorrow on roads leading to the distribution centers … and entry to the distribution centers is strictly forbidden,” an Israeli military spokesperson said.

In a post on social media, GHF said the temporary suspension was necessary to allow for “renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work”.

“Due to the ongoing updates, entry to the distribution centre areas is slowly prohibited! Please do not go to the site and follow general instructions. Operations will resume on Thursday. Please continue to follow updates,” the group said.

The temporary suspension of aid comes as more than 100 Palestinian people seeking aid have been reported killed by Israeli forces in the vicinity of GHF distribution centres since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27.

The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies has triggered mounting international outrage with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanding an independent inquiry into the deaths and for “perpetrators to be held accountable”.

“It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” Guterres said.

The Israeli military has admitted it shot at aid seekers on Tuesday, but claimed that they opened fire when “suspects” deviated from a stipulated route as a crowd of Palestinians was making its way to the GHF distribution site in Gaza.

Israel’s military said it is looking into the incident and the reports of casualties.

On Tuesday, GHF named its new executive chairman as US evangelical Christian leader Reverend Dr Johnnie Moore.

Moore, who was an evangelical adviser to the White House during the first term of United States President Donald Trump, said in a statement that GHF was “demonstrating that it is possible to move vast quantities of food to people who need it most — safely, efficiently, and effectively”.

The UN and aid agencies have refused to work with the GHF, accusing the group of lacking neutrality and of being part of Israel’s militarisation of aid in Gaza. Israel has also been accused of “weaponising” hunger in Gaza, which has been brought about by a months-long Israeli blockade on food, medicine, water and other basic essentials entering the war-torn territory.

Moore’s appointment is likely to add to concerns regarding GHF’s operations in Gaza, given his support for the controversial proposal Trump floated in February for the US to take over Gaza, remove the Palestinian population, and focus on real estate development in the territory.

After Trump proposed the idea, Moore posted video of Trump’s remarks on X and wrote: “The USA will take full responsibility for future of Gaza, giving everyone hope & a future.”

Responding on social media to UN chief Guterres’s outrage following the killing of aid seekers in Gaza on Sunday, Moore said: “Mr Secretary-General, it was a lie… spread by terrorists & you’re still spreading it.

The GHF’s founding executive director, former US marine Jake Wood, resigned from his position before the Gaza operation began, questioning the organisation’s “impartiality” and “independence”.

Critics have accused GHF, which has not revealed where its funds come from, of facilitating the Israeli military’s goal of depopulating northern Gaza as it has concentrated aid distribution in the southern part of the territory, forcing thousands of desperate people to make the perilous journey to its locations to receive assistance.

It also imposes new sanctions, targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The British government says it will suspend new free trade negotiations with Israel due to its military conduct in the war on Gaza, where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent days under bombardment and as a new ground offensive has been launched.

The United Kingdom also announced on Tuesday that it was imposing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The actions came a day after the UK, France and Canada condemned Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza and assaults and raids in the West Bank.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer ramped up his pointed criticism of Israel on Tuesday, saying the level of suffering by children in Gaza was “utterly intolerable” and repeated his call for a ceasefire.

The Labour government has been heavily criticised at home for not saying or doing enough in support of Palestinians under constant fire and facing starvation in besieged Gaza. Stop the War demonstrations continue to draw thousands of protesters weekly.

Settler violence against Palestinians, backed by the Israeli army, has surged in recent months, as the military also carries out daily raids in the territory.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK’s existing trade agreement is still in effect, but new discussions cannot be undertaken with an Israeli government pursuing “egregious policies” in Gaza and the West Bank.

Lammy said the persistent cycle of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank demanded action. In addition to previous sanctions imposed, the UK  was now imposing sanctions on another “three individuals, two illegal settler outposts and two organizations supporting violence against the Palestinian community”, he added.

“The Israeli government has a responsibility to intervene and halt these aggressive actions,” Lammy said. “Their consistent failure to act is putting Palestinian communities and the two-state solution in peril.”

Israel quickly denounced the UK decision: “Even prior to today’s announcement, the free trade agreement negotiations were not being advanced at all by the current UK government,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry called the UK sanctions “unjustified and regrettable.

Venezuela’s aviation authority said flights will resume a day after Sunday’s parliamentary elections.

Venezuela has suspended flights from neighbouring Colombia after authorities detained more than 30 people allegedly plotting activities to destabilise the country before Sunday’s parliamentary election.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced on state television on Monday that the flight ban was “immediate” and would last for a week.

The arrests were announced just as an independent panel of experts released a report documenting serious human rights abuses committed in Venezuela in the aftermath of the July 28, 2024 presidential election.

Cabello said the antigovernment plans involved placing explosives at embassies, hospitals and police stations in Venezuela. He said authorities had detained 21 Venezuelans and 17 foreigners, some of whom hold Colombian, Mexican and Ukrainian citizenship. Cabello said those detained arrived from Colombia, some by plane, others over land, but had set out originally from other – unnamed – countries.

Cabello, without offering any evidence, said the group included experts in explosive devices, human smugglers and mercenaries, and was working with members of Venezuela’s political opposition.

“The scenario they want to present is that there are no conditions in Venezuela for holding an election,” Cabello said, referring to the opposition.

Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement it had not received any information from Venezuela’s government regarding the detention of Colombian citizens.

Colombia’s civil aviation authority confirmed that commercial flights between the countries had been suspended, while Venezuela’s aviation authority said the measure will last until Monday, May 26 at 6pm local time.

‘Political repression’

The government of President Nicolas Maduro, whose re-election in July 2024 to a third term was rejected by much of the international community as fraudulent, frequently claims to be the target of US and Colombian-backed coup plots.

In an interview over Zoom with the AFP news agency last week, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who went into hiding after last year’s presidential election, pledged a voter boycott on Sunday that would leave “all the [voting] centres empty”.

The opposition says its tally of results from the July vote showed a clear victory for its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who went into exile in Spain after a crackdown on dissent.

The independent panel of experts backed by the Organization of American States on Monday wrote in their report that Venezuela’s post-election period has seen “the most severe and sophisticated phase of political repression in Venezuela’s modern history”. This included the execution of unarmed protesters, enforced disappearances and an increase in arbitrary detentions. They also noted that the state had expanded its repression targets beyond political opponents and human rights defenders to include poll workers, election witnesses, relatives of opposition members, minors and others.

The diplomatic outcry that followed last year’s election saw Venezuela break off ties and flight routes with several countries. Some airlines have also cancelled operations to and from the country due to unpaid debts.

Venezuela and Colombia reopened flight routes in November 2022, after the election of Colombia’s first-ever leftist President Gustavo Petro, who reinstated bilateral ties broken off in 2019 when then-leader Ivan Duque refused to acknowledge Maduro’s re-election to a second term.