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United States House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has met privately with Jared Kushner, US President Trump’s son-in-law and a top outside adviser, in a signal that the White House is seeking ways to work with Democrats if they wrestle majority control from Republicans in the midterm elections.

Little is known about the details of the discussion, which was first reported on Sunday by the New York Times. The newspaper described it as a high-profile meeting with the hope of sparking bipartisan “common ground.”

The meeting reportedly touched on issues ranging from housing and immigration to the cost-of-living crisis. Americans are struggling under inflationary prices that Democrats fault Republicans and Trump for failing to curb.

In a statement reported on Sunday, Jeffries did not mention the private conversation but said the Republican administration needed to drop the GOP’s “my-way-or-the-highway” approach that has thus far “failed the American people”.

“To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition”, the New York congressman said. “The question is whether Republicans will join us.”

Kushner also suggested that Jeffries meet with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as a follow-up.

The reported meeting comes in the final stretch of the contentious November midterm elections in which Democrats may have a chance to win back the House majority, a highly anticipated development that would elevate Jeffries to the powerful Speaker of the House role. If they win back the seat, Democrats are expected to use their oversight power to aggressively probe the Trump administration, including allegations of self-enrichment by the president and his family.

Jeffries’ office did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Congressional Republicans are unhappy about the matter. On Sunday, current House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the meeting and denigrated Kushner’s importance, telling Fox News, “I don’t know what that’s about. I know Jared has interest in lots of other things going on.”

Johnson added that Kushner “hedges bets” and is “not really directly involved in the admin, at least in the day-to-day in the White House”.

“I’m telling you what, you better not bet against the House Republicans”, the Louisiana Congressman added, saying that even if the war with Iran was not finished by November, Republicans will still turn up victorious.

The meeting also raised some eyebrows for those who worried that Jeffries was indulging one of Trump’s most corrupt cronies.

Tommy Vietor, previously an aide to former US President Barack Obama and now a co-host of the left-leaning podcast Pod Save America, noted, “Jared Kushner has no actual government job he just uses his family connections to get money from gulf autocrats and fund corrupt deals. The only way [Jeffries] should work with him is with demands for documents and subpoenas.”

Mehdi Hasan, the CEO of Zeteo, echoed Vietor, writing on social media, “The only meeting Hakeem Jeffries should be having with Jared Kushner is to tell him he’ll be subpoenaed by the House for a corruption investigation on day one of Democratic control of the House.” He added, “This is just pathetic stuff from the House Dem leader.”

William Kristol, a former neocon-turned-leading voice in the ‘Never Trump’ movement, posted, “Really? Or, as the kids say, AYFKM?” (The acronym stands for “Are you f****** kidding me?”)

During his time in Congress, Jeffries has remained a fierce critic of Trump’s bellicose foreign policy, repeatedly condemning the administration’s “reckless war of choice” against Iran and for what he called “a failure to adequately prepare for the consequences of launching a war on Iran”.

The meeting shows the depth of Republican Party angst over losing their congressional majority, particularly the House, and the need to make inroads with the opposing party as the White House seeks to stem any potential political fallout on the president.

“The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver”, wrote Jeffries in the statement on Sunday.

The White House did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Jared Kushner is a familiar messenger between Donald Trump and Democratic politicians

Jeffries and Kushner are not strangers.

The two New Yorkers united during the first Trump administration on landmark legislation to allow sentencing flexibility for certain drug offenses as a way to curtail lengthy terms in the federal prison system.

While not necessarily close, they have maintained a professional working relationship despite the repeated punches Trump has inflicted against Jeffries and the Democratic leader’s rhetoric. In Trump’s second term, Kushner has wielded disproportionate influence within the administration despite holding no official White House title. He serves as a top outside adviser and Special Envoy for Peace, shuttling to foreign diplomatic missions as the US war against Iran inches toward its sixth-month mark.

Just last week, Kushner traveled to the Middle East to convene with Qatari, Turkish and Egyptian mediators before heading to Tel Aviv where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the fate of the 15-point Gaza peace plan that Israel had rejected. The trip came after officials from Trump’s newly-created Board of Peace confirmed that Kushner would lead a delegation to break the diplomatic deadlock, via Egypt and Israel.

Trump has only met with Jeffries once since returning to the Oval Office. After the meeting, the president posted AI-generated deepfake content of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer alongside Jeffries wearing a sombrero with a handlebar mustache. The image was widely viewed as a racist trope and a parody of the Democratic establishment just before what would become the longest federal government shutdown in US history.

Trump has thus far been able to discount Congress as he either relies on the unchecked force of executive power to implement his priorities or the lobbying of Republicans in the House and Senate, when needed, to fall in line behind his unilateral decisions.

That may soon change if Democrats control either the House or the Senate, or both, with lawmakers increasingly keen on flexing their own power in Congress as a coequal branch of government more willing to hold the White House in check.

Island nation grapples with violence as it seeks to hold first elections in more than a decade.

At least 30 people have been killed as a new wave of violence grips Haiti.

A powerful gang coalition mounted the deadly attack on a farming community in Kenscoff, south of the capital, Port-au-Prince, late on Sunday, officials reported. The flare-up in violence comes as Haiti hopes to hold its first general election in more than a decade.

Jean Massillon, Kenscoff’s mayor, said armed men “sowed chaos” as they set homes on fire and killed residents.

He said gang members targeted a church and homes, including that of Jean William Pape, a leading public health expert.

Massillon blamed the attack on members of Viv Ansanm, a group that was designated as a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States government last year.

Gangs control an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince. Viv Ansanm has repeatedly targeted Kenscoff, which occupies a strategic position overlooking routes into Petion-Ville, where several embassies, upscale hotels and ⁠the temporary seat of government are located.

A United Nations-backed gang suppression force is mandated to help police fight the gangs and restore order, but it has not yet reached its full capacity of 5,500 members.

According to the UN, gang violence has displaced 1.5 million people across Haiti. The violence has persisted despite efforts to rein it in. More than 3,100 people were reported killed and 1,189 injured from January to June as gangs continued a reign of terror in Port-au-Prince that sparked international concern last year.

Haiti’s prime minister’s office on Monday condemned the “heinous attack” and sought to reassure Haitians that security forces were on high alert and reinforcements were being deployed.

“Kenscoff will not be abandoned,” a statement read. “The government’s authority will be restored, ⁠without weakness and without delay.”

Haitians have been registering to vote in elections planned in January, but experts have warned it’s currently too dangerous to hold the vote.

Aug. 24 (UPI) — A group of grocers filed two lawsuits Monday over New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open five city-run grocery stores, saying it would harm neighborhood supermarkets.

The Multicultural Business Coalition, an organization that says it represents owners of smaller stores, said in the filings that the city would violate business owners’ civil rights if the new stores open and that officials did not study how the planned stores would affect existing businesses.

Kenneth Roldan, the president of the coalition, said the plan would have a “devastating” effect on small grocery stores. He called it “a direct assault on minority business,” The New York Times reported.

The plan for city-owned grocery stores, which would sell some items at a 30% discount, was part of Mamdani’s platform as he ran for mayor. It calls for five stores, one in each borough of New York City, to open by 2029.

Mamdani said at a news conference Monday that the new stores are needed to address the high cost of groceries and that they would not offer significant competition in the city.

“I’m confident both in the legality of this, that it will stand up in court, and the importance of delivering it,” Mamdani said.

The new stores would reevaluate prices once a month and set the cost for food items at 30% below retailers, The Hill reported. The city would own the land and cover the rent and construction costs. A private operator, selected through a request for proposals, would manage daily operations.

“We are talking about a reflection of a cost-of-living crisis that has seen grocery prices increase by about 30 percent over the last few years, and we’re also talking about delivering five city-run grocery stores in a city of 8.5 million people that has more than 1,000 grocery stores,” Mamdani said.

The first store is expected to open in 2027 in the Hunts Point neighborhood in the Bronx. An East Harlem store is expected to open by 2029. The city has not yet selected sites in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Mass kidnappings highlight Nigeria’s security crisis in the north as elections approach.

Kidnappers have released a video of what appears to be a large group of people being held captive by armed men in a forested area in Nigeria.

The video emerged on Sunday, two days after gunmen abducted as many as 600 worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Dekera village in Nigeria’s north-central Niger state.

The incident comes as Nigeria prepares for presidential elections in January, with security likely to be high on the agenda due to a wave of mass kidnappings for ransom across the north of the country.

Dekera village residents have reported that gunmen took people away in simultaneous raids on several communities.

In the video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp and circulating widely, children can be heard crying. A gunman speaking in the Hausa language speaks directly to families of the captives, telling them to identify relatives.

“These are all your people,” the gunman ⁠says.

News agencies reported that they could not verify the exact date or location where the video was filmed. However, no older version of the video has been found posted online before Sunday.

Residents, including Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi, were able to confirm the identities of some ⁠of the hostages.

“We have identified our elders, relatives, and some of us have seen their wives and children in the video,” he said.

Police and state authorities have not responded to requests for comment.

Amnesty International has urged Nigerian authorities to secure the release of the worshippers, warning of the growing threat posed by mass abductions in northern Nigeria.

State Commissioner for Information and Orientation Obed Nana told the Anadolu news agency that an operation is under way to “assess the situation, track the attackers, and facilitate the rescue of the abducted worshippers”.

Mass abductions for ransom have become common in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, with armed gangs frequently raiding villages, schools and highways and holding abductees until the gangs are paid large sums of money.

Increasingly, the gunmen are targeting communities further south, beyond ‌hot spots in the north.

As he prepares for the election, President Bola Tinubu has faced growing criticism over lax security.

Aug. 24 (UPI) — Immigration officials arrested the father of a sailor on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that’s come under scrutiny for conditions on board.

In a Facebook post Sunday, sailor Joshua Aviles said his father, Luis Manuel Aviles Roa of Nicaragua was arrested Saturday.

Department of Homeland Security officials told CBS News the arrest happened during a traffic stop in Key West, Fla. Luis Manuel Aviles Roa was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and faced deportation proceedings.

“I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE,” Joshua Aviles wrote. “If you know my dad, you know he is a hardworking, humble man who is always willing to help anyone if he can.

“This is heartbreaking for me. I don’t know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal.”

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been under an extended deployment to the Middle East and was en route back to the United States. The journey could take several weeks.

Luis Manuel Aviles Roa’s stepdaughter, Katty Delgado, told NBC News that he had been living in the United States for about two decades. She said she had no knowledge of any criminal history for her stepfather and that he had a pending immigration application seeking legal status.

“He’s doing everything the right way,” she told the outlet.

DHS did not deny that Luis Manuel Aviles Roa lacks a criminal record. Officials said that having “a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws.”

“We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress,” the DHS statement said. “This administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce.”

The 31-year-old Durham bowler will not play against Pakistan in the upcoming second Test match.

England fast bowler ‌Brydon Carse has been dropped from the squad for the second ⁠Test against ⁠Pakistan amid an investigation into an incident at a club in Derby, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said.

“Following a ⁠referral from the ECB, the Cricket Regulator has confirmed that they will investigate events on Saturday night in Derby,” the board said in a statement on Monday.

“Brydon ⁠Carse will no longer be available for selection for the second men’s test while this investigation is ongoing and the full facts are obtained.”

Carse, who did not play in the opening test victory at Headingley, will be replaced by Sonny ‌Baker.

Videos circulated on social media appearing to show the 31-year-old Durham bowler in handcuffs being spoken to by police officers outside a venue. According to reports, Carse was not arrested and no charges were brought.

It has been a busy summer for England’s Cricket Regulator, the body set up to investigate matters where there is an allegation of a breach of ⁠the ECB’s code of conduct.

In June, it concluded an ⁠investigation into former test captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson after a nightclub incident following the first test against New Zealand.

Both were left out of the second test before ⁠the regulator ruled that there was insufficient evidence to establish that any regulatory breach occurred.

The latest investigation comes five ⁠days after England’s returning test captain Joe Root ⁠spoke of the players being “really good role models and human beings” following a series of incidents and accusations of a drinking culture.

Controversy has followed England recently, with off-field issues ‌during last winter’s tours – including Harry Brook being fined 30,000 pounds ($41,000) following an altercation in Wellington, New Zealand – as well as reports of drinking during a mid-Ashes series trip ‌to ‌Noosa.

Stokes retired from international cricket after returning for the third test against New Zealand and Brendon McCullum was sacked as test coach.

Aug. 24 (UPI) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he canceled a planned sit-down meeting with Paramount to discuss the company’s attempt to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery after details from an earlier meeting leaked.

Bonta accused Paramount of acting in bad faith in a statement issued Sunday night to The New York Times and Deadline.

“Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” he said. “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.”

Bonta is one of 12 attorneys general who sued in July to block the proposed $111 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros., saying it would undermine competition in the entertainment industry, increase costs for consumers and put jobs at risk.

The lawsuit came one month after the Justice Department approved the planned merger, saying it doesn’t harm consumers in the United States.

State officials met with Paramount representatives on Friday to set the agenda for Monday’s scheduled meeting. California Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed the meeting happened Friday, Deadline reported. The entertainment news outlet said it learned of the meeting from multiple sources.

The Times reported that state officials and Paramount representatives sought to work toward negotiations after the company threatened to leave California and Newsom said he wanted a settlement in the case.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, (MBS), is on the second day of his two-day state visit to France, where he’s meeting President Emmanuel Macron.

In this explainer, we outline what they are expected to discuss and examine how their latest meetings build on an already evolving relationship.

What is on the agenda?

MBS’s visit to Paris began on Sunday evening alongside President Macron at the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup. It was the first time the Esports tournament, which includes competitions ranging from video games to chess, had been held outside Saudi Arabia.

On Monday, Macron and Bin Salman are expected to sign several agreements on health, transport and energy.

French media reported that a deal to build a Dragon Ball-themed amusement park, backed by a Saudi investment fund and inspired by the iconic Japanese manga series, could be signed.

Valerie Pecresse, President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France in Greater Paris, told French broadcaster TF1 that the regional government had been working on the project for 18 months.

“There is a very important meeting at the Elysee today that may result in the signing of this agreement. We are waiting for the signature,” she said, describing the project as “on the scale of Disneyland”.

Bin Salman and Macron are also holding bilateral discussions on regional security and their economic ties.

That is expected to include discussions about energy routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, such as new pipelines, capacity upgrades and alternative port networks.

France is a major buyer of Saudi oil and mineral products.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, shipping has been severely disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz – the vital waterway on which oil exporters in the Gulf are heavily reliant and where 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies are shipped from during peacetime. The disruption sent oil prices soaring.

Before the war, a barrel of Brent crude – the global benchmark – cost about $66. Over the course of the conflict, prices have climbed above $100 – hitting a high of $119 early on in the war.

On Monday, Brent was trading around $93 a barrel.

Bin Salman and Macron are also expected to discuss the war in Iran, the bloodshed in Palestine, as well as developments in Syria and Lebanon, where Israel occupies around one-fifth of its territory.

Other expected topics on Monday’s agenda include global events that Saudi Arabia is set to host in the coming years, including Expo 2030, focusing on sustainability and urban innovation, and the 2034 football World Cup.

How much trade does Saudi Arabia do with France?

The two countries have a fairly equal trading balance.

In 2024, France exported $4.5bn worth of goods to Saudi Arabia and imported $4.6bn worth, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), an online platform that compiles and visualises international trade statistics.

Refined petroleum accounted for 72 percent of Saudi Arabia’s exports to France in 2024. Besides refined petroleum, Saudi Arabia exported crude petroleum and other mineral products to France. It also exported small amounts of machinery, chemicals and cars.

France’s exports to Saudi Arabia in 2024 were more diverse, including airliners, helicopters, gas turbines, pharmaceutical products and perfume, among other products.

What have relations between Saudi Arabia and France been like?

Sunday’s visit marked the third time MBS has visited France after trips in 2022 and 2023.

In December 2024, Macron visited Riyadh, where the two countries founded the Saudi-French Strategic Partnership Council, which formalised and upgraded political and economic ties between Saudi Arabia and France.

The current visit is also MBS’s first international trip since the August 7 signing of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, known as the Mecca pact – the mutual defence agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.

Signed by the prince, Turkiye’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, the agreement commits all three states to treat an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all three.

Analysts say the pact shows that Saudi Arabia is taking steps to diversify its security partnerships beyond Washington.

Aug. 24 (UPI) — On his first visit to Ukraine as British Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised Monday to share Anglo-French long-range cruise missile technology with Kyiv in its fight with Russia, saying Britain would stand with Ukraine until there was “a just and lasting peace.”

Burnham said European defense contractor MBDA would be authorized to declassify blueprints for the parts of the Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles that are made by Britain to help Ukraine build its own version of the weapon that Britain has for the past three years been giving to Kyiv.

The Storm Shadow enables Ukrainian forces to hit targets 150 miles inside Russia.

Burnham said Britain would join forces with France to build production plants in Ukraine following a similar pledge of help by President Emmanuel Macron, who also told Zelensky at the weekend that France would supply Kyiv with more anti-missile interceptors in the wake of a series of deadly ballistic missile strikes.

“On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence, the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: the U.K. is behind you today and for as long as it takes. I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine and I want the Ukrainian people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all, Ukraine’s security is our security,” Burnham said in a statement issued Sunday night.

“The friendship between our two countries will long outlast Russia’s illegal war. In both the fight and in the rebuilding to come, we will stand with Ukraine and deliver opportunities for people across both our countries. Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace,” said Burnham.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov likened the missile plan to pouring gasoline on relations with Russia and warned Britain over “participating in this war” on Ukraine’s side, saying that the Russian military was actively collecting data to uncover and destroy any missile production sites.

“Britain is methodically and regularly adding fuel to the fire and methodically and regularly plotting to prevent any progress in the peace process,” said Peskov.

Burnham’s high-profile, public backing for Zelensky came as he faces challenges both from nightly Russian ballistic missile strikes and to his authority, amid calls for elections which have been suspended for more than four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

As well joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Independence Day celebrations in Kyiv, Burnham was also scheduled to chair a meeting of the U.K.-France-led Coalition of the Willing for talks on providing more help to Ukraine.

Established in 2025, the focus of the 34 country plus Ukraine partnership is to provide security guarantees in the event a cease-fire agreement is reached, including providing a multinational force to support and monitor it from day 1, though not necessarily in the format of a traditional peace-keeping force.

The stand by Burnham, coincided with a similar pledge from from Brussels, backed up by a multi-billion dollar package of fresh European Union military aid.

“On Ukraine’s Independence Day, we show our unfaltering support. Today, we approved $7.1 billion for the air and missile defense systems, missiles, ammunition and radars that Ukraine urgently needs. Europe stands with you today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X.

The package is in addition to $18.7 billion already approved by the 27-country bloc, $9.7 billion of which has already been provided to Kyiv.

AVROTROS says escalating international conflicts are undermining the event’s neutrality and fuelling divisions.

The public broadcaster in the Netherlands has announced it will not participate in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest because the event can “no longer be considered neutral” due to ongoing divisions over the war in Gaza.

“It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the Contest, undermining its neutral character. The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division,” said Taco Zimmerman, Director-General of AVROTROS, in a statement on Monday.

The widely-watched show has recently faced a series of boycotts over Israel’s participation. Organisers announced earlier this month that they would exclude any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting the competition.

“However, the recently announced changes… do not provide sufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored,” the AVROTROS statement added.

Israel finished second in the competition – the world’s largest live televised music event – in both 2025 and 2026.

Next year’s Eurovision is due to be held in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Burgas, after Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, won this year’s contest in Vienna, Austria, with her catchy floor-filler ‘Bangaranga’. The contest on May 15 will be the first time the Balkan nation has hosted.

Since its launch in 1955, Eurovision has become the ultimate pop platform, catapulting Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame, while also boosting the careers of artists such as Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.

However, this year’s competition pulled in 131 million viewers, 35 million fewer than last year, after five countries boycotted over Israel’s participation. The Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia all pulled out, with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all.

Aug. 24 (UPI) — Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein announced plans Monday to raise $1.77 billion in its long-awaited IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In a filing to the SEHK, Shein said it will offer nearly 280 million shares with a price range of $6.07 and $6.32 in its Sept. 1 debut, valuing the company at a little under $27 billion. The final price will be fixed on Aug. 31.

The valuation is sharply down from the $100 billion it was valued at in 2020, due to higher costs and a slowdown in the growth of sales, and follows effort to float on the New York, NASDAQ and London stock exchanges in 2023 and 2024 that were abandoned amid roadblocks erected by regulators and lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Analysts said the firm had been hit hard by U.S. President Donald Trump‘s summer 2025 scrapping of the so-called de minimis import tariff exemption on low value packages on which its business model depended, with Shein reporting a $99 million loss in Q1, down from a $395 million profit in the same period in 2025.

The European Union imposed its own flat $3.50 import tax on low value packages coming into its single market, effective July 1, with Britain, another big market for the Chinese online retailers, also expected to implement similar measures to the United States and EU in 2028.

With the Hong Kong stock market’s attention focused on a string of highly sought after AI and chipmaker IPOs, investor enthusiasm for Shein has dwindled along with much of its appeal with consumers under the age of 35 amid the challenge from competition from firms like Temu.

The firm has also had reputational issues with scrutiny over multiple issues from environmental pollution to working conditions in its supply chain, including the possible use of forced labor in its supply chain.

In February, the EU launched an investigation alleging the design of Shein’s app was addictive, a lack of transparency of recommender systems, as well as the sale of illegal products, including “child sexual abuse material.”

Aug. 24 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 79 A.D., thousands died and the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

In 1814, the British captured Washington and burned the Capitol and the White House.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly non-stop across the United States.

In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act outlawing the Communist Party. Though the act has never been repealed, the party exists to this day.

In 1981, Mark Chapman, who claimed devils forced him to kill John Lennon and God told him to confess, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for fatally shooting the former member of the Beatles.

In 1989, Pete Rose, whose slashing singles and head-first slides once made him the embodiment of America’s national sport, was banished from baseball for life, ending a gambling scandal.

In 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev quit as general secretary of the Communist Party central committee. He also ordered his Cabinet to resign.

File Photo by Bruce Young/UPI

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida south of Miami with sustained winds of 145 mph. The storm killed 15 people and caused more than $30 billion in damage.

In 1996, four women became students at The Citadel, a military school in South Carolina that had fought in court to remain all-male.

In 2004, two Russian passenger jetliners crashed within minutes of each other after taking off from Domodedovo Airport in Moscow. Authorities said terrorist attacks caused the crashes, which killed 89 people.

In 2006, Pluto, the small, distant astronomic body that has discovered in 1930, was demoted to “dwarf planet” status when the International Astronomical Union adopted a new definition of “planet.”

In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided to make the “morning-after” contraceptive pill known as Plan B available without a prescription to people 18 and older.

In 2011, Steve Jobs, co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple Inc., resigned, telling his company’s board he could “no longer meet my duties and expectations.” Jobs, 56, who stayed on as chairman, had battled cancer for several years. He died Oct. 5, 2011.

File Photo by Monika Graff/UPI

In 2012, Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway, was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the longest prison term possible for murder and terrorism under Norwegian law.

In 2013, Bolivian government officials said inmates at a prison in Santa Cruz used knives, machetes, self-made flamethrowers and other weapons in a gang battle that left 30 people dead and dozens injured.

In 2017, a single winner from Massachusetts won $758 million for the largest single-ticket lottery jackpot win in U.S. history.

In 2022, Belgian 17-year-old Mack Rutherford became the youngest person to fly solo around the world after landing in Bulgaria, ending a 30-country, 30,000-mile trek.

In 2023, former President Donald Trump surrendered at Fulton County Jail in Georgia on a 13-count indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

In 2024, French police arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on a warrant accusing him of failing to take steps to curb criminal uses of the social media application, including drug trafficking, child sexual content and fraud. He was allowed to leave the country in March 2025 though the case against him was active.

EXPLAINER

At least 145 countries have reported increases in petrol prices since the attacks on Iran by the US and Israel began on February 28.

Since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran six months ago, petrol prices have risen in at least 145 countries, adding to the burden on consumers worldwide.

The figures are based on data from GlobalPetrolPrices, which tracks fuel prices in 170 countries and territories. Petrol prices in Myanmar rose the most, increasing by 56 percent from $0.77 per litre of 95-octane fuel on February 23 to $1.20 on August 17. Bhutan recorded the next-largest increase at 55 percent, followed by Cuba at 51 percent, the UAE at 50 percent and 48 percent in Nigeria.

In 25 other countries, most of them oil producers with heavily subsidised fuel, prices have either remained unchanged or fallen by single digits.

The table below lists the 145 countries where petrol prices at the pump increased over the past six months.

How higher fuel costs shrink your driving range

Before the war, the US national average for a gallon [3.78 litres] of regular petrol was $2.94. It now costs $4.09, an increase of 39 percent, according to AAA Fuel Prices, which tracks retail fuel prices for the American Automobile Association (AAA).

The extra cost directly affects how far people can travel. Before the war, $50 worth of fuel in the US could take a family sedan roughly 718 km (446 miles). Today, the same amount takes you about 536 km (333 miles) – 183 km less, a 25 percent reduction in driving distance.

That gap varies depending on where you live.

Set your country, car and budget below to see how far your money takes you. If you’re filling up in the US, you can also select a state and fuel grade.

How high oil costs drive up the price of food

Oil prices and food prices move in lockstep, with energy prices affecting every stage of the food supply chain, from the fertilisers used in the fields to the trucks that carry food from field to supermarket shelf.

Rising oil prices also directly impact shipping and the cost of transport.

“The lifeblood of the global economy is transport,” economist David McWilliams told Al Jazeera. “It’s getting stuff from A to B – it’s a logistics problem, a supply chain problem and ultimately transportation is the energy of the global economy.”

In lower-income countries, where populations spend a far greater share of their earnings on food and import large quantities of grain and fertiliser, rising oil prices could rapidly translate into food shortages.

What products are made from oil and gas?

Oil and gas are used for far more than just fuel. They are raw materials for thousands of everyday products.

Plastics, including water bottles, food packaging, phone casings and medical syringes, are all derived from crude oil.

Crude oil is also the hidden ingredient in synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, nylon and acrylic, which are used to make everything from sportswear to carpets. It also underpins the cosmetics industry, as it is used to make products such as petroleum jelly (Vaseline), lipsticks and concealers.

Household items also rely on oil-based ingredients, with laundry detergents, dishwashing liquids and paints all derived from petroleum products.

The global food supply is essentially built on natural gas in the form of fertilisers, used to enhance crop yields and ensure that food production can meet demand.

Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is traveling to Tehran on Monday for talks with senior Iranian officials, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday.

It will be Munir’s third visit to Iran this year as Islamabad continues its push to mediate an end to the United States and Israel’s war on Iran.

Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Al Jazeera that the trip would take place but declined to elaborate on its agenda.

The Pakistani military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), as well as the Foreign Ministry and Information Ministry, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment on the visit, which was unusually announced by Tehran rather than Islamabad.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the trip would build on Pakistan’s efforts to “help strengthen peace and security in the region”.

Munir will hold talks with senior Iranian officials during his stay, Baghaei told reporters in Tehran.

The visit follows two phone calls between Munir and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi within four days, on Wednesday and Saturday.

The two officials discussed “regional developments” and ways to strengthen “peace, stability and security” in West Asia, according to Iranian state media.

A third trip this year

Munir’s first visit to Tehran this year came in April, days after the Islamabad Talks, the first direct US-Iran negotiations in more than four decades, ended without a breakthrough.

He returned in May, arriving hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been “slight progress” in talks between Washington and Tehran.

His latest visit comes as the diplomatic track underpinning the Islamabad MoU has all but stalled, while Washington prepares a new round of sanctions.

The discussions are also expected to touch on this month’s announcement of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, which Munir attended in Mecca.

Yemen’s Houthi fighters, whose attacks on shipping lanes have repeatedly threatened to widen the conflict, are also likely to feature in his conversations with Iranian officials. The Houthis are widely believed to receive support from Tehran.

The issue carries particular weight for Islamabad.

Three Pakistani sailors were killed and several others wounded when Houthi forces struck a Tanzania-flagged commercial vessel in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on August 11.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called the attack a violation of international law and “strongly condemned” it at the time.

Munir is expected to meet Iran’s newly appointed senior military leadership during the visit, according to Reza Afzal Samir, an Iranian journalist tracking the talks.

“He is well positioned to meet Iran’s newer senior military leadership, the new IRGC chief, the new Chief of General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, and the new Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council,” Samir told Al Jazeera, referring to Munir’s expected meetings with Major-General Ahmad Vahidi, Major-General Ali Abdollahi and Mohsen Rezaei respectively.

The officials were all appointed earlier this month.

A lapsed deal

The visit comes at a fraught moment for Pakistan’s mediation effort, which it has led after the war began six months ago.

The 60-day window set out in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by Pakistan, Iran and the US on June 17, lapsed in mid-August without either side agreeing to extend it.

Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz shut, insisting that Washington first lift its naval blockade, end oil sanctions, unfreeze Iranian assets abroad and halt military threats. Tehran says the US has not met those conditions.

Munir’s trip also coincides with a fresh round of US economic pressure.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to detail on Monday what American officials have called the “toughest sanctions in history” against Iran, a package he has said is intended, alongside the continuing naval blockade, to “collapse” the government in Tehran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called the plan “economic warfare”.

The trip also follows a month of regional realignment. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, a mutual defence pact under which an attack on one signatory would be treated as an attack on all three.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Tehran earlier this month to revive the stalled mediation push but returned without any concrete results.

Tensions elsewhere in the region have sharpened too.

The United Arab Emirates suspended trade and financial transactions with Iran last week after saying it had come under fire from two ballistic missiles launched from Iranian territory, a claim Baghaei denied.

But Munir’s visit, analysts say, signals that key regional mediators have not given up on efforts to revive talks, either direct or indirect, between Iran and the US, even as they try to balance their own relations with Tehran and Washington.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi, who, like Munir, has held recent telephone conversations with Araghchi, is scheduled to visit Tehran on Tuesday, Iran’s state-owned IRNA news agency has reported.

What leverage does Islamabad have?

Analysts remain divided on what Munir’s visit can realistically achieve, given Pakistan’s limited ability to enforce any understanding it helps broker.

“Both sides see Pakistan as a country that has helped facilitate dialogue without any personal stake in the outcome, nothing to gain for itself,” said Qamar Cheema, a political analyst and head of the Islamabad-based Sanober Institute. “That gives it a certain clarity, and the ability to offer an off-ramp to everyone involved.”

Javad Heiran-Nia, director of the Persian Gulf Studies Group in Tehran, said Pakistan’s persistence was driven partly by self-interest.

“Pakistan is concerned about escalating tensions and the outbreak of another all-out war between Iran and the United States, which would further destabilise the region,” he told Al Jazeera, pointing to Islamabad’s reliance on energy imports from the Gulf and the risk of disruption to remittances from Pakistani workers there if instability spreads.

Zahid Mehmood, a retired two-star general and Pakistani defence strategist, went further, describing Munir as still carrying Washington’s own offer to Tehran.

“Pakistan is still carrying, in effect, Washington’s off-ramp to Tehran,” he told Al Jazeera. “The country remains the most trusted conduit available.”

Not every analyst sees Pakistan’s role as this central.

Andreas Krieg, an associate professor of defence studies at King’s College London, said Qatar, not Pakistan, remained the primary channel.

“Qatar is leading the political mediation and remains the essential communication bridge between Washington and Tehran,” he told Al Jazeera.

Munir’s contribution, he said, was narrower, a “military-to-military channel into an Iranian system in which the IRGC and wider security establishment have become increasingly important to decisions about war and peace”.

What Munir can deliver, and what he can’t

Iranian journalist Samir said Pakistan had a significant role in Iran’s calculus because of what it could do.

“Why should Iran listen to Pakistan? Because Pakistan still retains the leverage to actually do something and create a real opening for peace, rather than remaining silent and doing nothing,” he said.

Samir also predicted the Munir visit could be followed quickly by movement on Hormuz negotiations. “I think the timeline for a final agreement between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz is also drawing near,” he said. “If [Munir] succeeds in bringing Iran back to the table, I anticipate a new announcement from Oman and Iran on the strait shortly after.”

Krieg was more cautious about what Munir’s visit could deliver. The most meaningful outcome, he said, would be “confirmation that Iran’s security establishment would abide by a specific Hormuz deconfliction arrangement and restrain escalation through Yemen or Iraq if Qatar can secure reciprocal American movement”.

Without that, according to Krieg, “the communication bridge remains open, but the two sides continue moving towards another coercive cycle”.

Mehmood, the retired Pakistani general, was less equivocal.

“Pakistan is really the only exit card available to either side for their off-ramp,” he told Al Jazeera.

Aug. 23 (UPI) — A fast-growing wildfire in Nevada has grown to 10,000 acres since it began burning just outside Reno on Saturday, officials said.

The Hawk Fire remained uncontained as of Sunday and forced 14,000 homes to be evacuated.

Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency in Washoe County, which contains Reno, and urged residents to stay vigilant and heed warnings.

“This is an active and rapidly evolving situation, and I urge everyone in the affected areas to remain vigilant and follow the direction of local officials,” he said in a statement on X.

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said “structures have already been burned in this fire.”

“Evacuating before the fire arrives also allows our firefighters to focus their efforts on battling the blaze,” the mayor said in a statement on X.

Truckee Meadows Fire Chief Richard Edwards said the fire is being driven by strong winds, ABC News reported.

“The wind-driven fires move very rapidly into our residential areas, creating a lot of challenges for our firefighters to save homes and protect lives,” Edwards added.

Reno’s Northwest Specialty Hospital said it was evacuating patients due to the fire.

“The safety and well-being of our rehabilitation and behavioral health patients and staff remain the highest priority and we are evacuating out of an abundance of caution,” the hospital said in a statement.

“Patients have been safely transported to appropriate locations where their care will continue without interruption ” no patients or staff remain in the building.”

Aug. 23 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday rejected calls for wartime elections, saying the move would “destroy the country.”

Under martial law, elections have been suspended since Russia invaded the country in 2022.

Last week, ousted Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on the president, whose five-year term ended in 2024, to allow Ukrainians to vote again.

Responding to Fedorov for the first time, Zelenky said such a move would split the country.

“I believe that if we want to destroy the country, then during such a war we can move in the selection of elections,” Zelensky told reporters on Saturday.

“I believe that during such a war, elections in general are big risks,” the president added. “Elections right now are a tsunami for the state that will split Ukraine.”

Zelensky said he would consider fresh elections under “specific conditions,” the Guardian reported.

Those conditions include the “participation of the military, in frontline territories, abroad, where millions of our citizens have gone, fleeing the war,” the president said.

Fedorov’s removal as defense minister in July sparked protests across Ukraine. On Tuesday, he said democracy was not a “peacetime luxury.”

“Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” Fedorov said. “We are fighting precisely because we want to remain a free European state.

“Therefore, we must find a legal, safe, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amidst a prolonged war.”

Responding to Zelensky’s comments on Sunday, Fedorov told the BBC, “Democracy should not be the hostage of Putin.”

Zelensky last discussed open elections in December, after U.S. President Donald Trump accused him of using the war as an excuse to stay in power.

Back then, the Ukrainian president said he would hold elections so long as he could secure help from the United States and other allies to keep citizens safe when they go out to vote.

Case fatality rate climbs to nearly 48 percent in the DRC, meaning almost one in two people infected with Ebola are dying.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached  5,515 confirmed cases of infection and killed 2,642 people, with 51 new cases detected in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, according to the latest government figures.

The update on Sunday came as Pope Leo called for ⁠international action to help contain the epidemic, which is now the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the DRC’s history.

Declared in mid-May, it is the DRC’s 17th Ebola epidemic and was designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), its highest alert level, also covering neighbouring Uganda.

The outbreak is now on track to surpass the deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, which was the 2014–2016 outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people.

According to government figures, the case fatality rate in the DRC has climbed from about 20 percent in early June to nearly 48 percent now, meaning almost one in two people infected are dying.

Contact tracing, however, has improved sharply, from 30 percent in June to more than 85 percent.

The disease has also proved deadly for those fighting it. About 160 health workers have been infected, and about 45 have died, according to the WHO.

Efforts to contain the outbreak, however, have been hampered by armed conflict in the affected provinces, displacement, attacks on medical personnel and facilities, a mobile working population and a lack of critical infrastructure.

Vaccines arrive in DRC

There is no approved vaccine or treatment for this particular strain of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, which is rarer than the virus type behind most past outbreaks.

The WHO has pledged 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which is licensed for Ebola and has been effective in past outbreaks. According to the global body, early data from animal trials suggest it may offer some protection against Bundibugyo.

Some 16,250 doses of the vaccine arrived in the DRC on Friday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other officials said the response in the DRC needs to be scaled up two to threefold to contain the outbreak and reach every affected area.

They also called for more support and protection for front-line health workers, including protective equipment, timely payment, and access to rapid diagnosis and high-quality supportive care if they fall ill.

Abdulsalami Nasidi, a public health consultant who helped establish the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told Al Jazeera that the outbreak was “getting out of hand”.

He blamed weak infection control measures and a lack of trust between authorities and affected communities for the continued transmission.

“This is no longer just a national or regional issue; it is a global issue. If it spreads to neighbouring places with lower immunity, it will be a disaster,” Nasidi added.

The WHO currently rates the risk to the global public as low, but warns that the danger inside the DRC remains very high.

Despite the surging cases, Uganda and several health zones in DRC’s Ituri and South Kivu have interrupted transmission, which the WHO said is evidence that rapid detection, decisive leadership, and community cooperation can break the chain of transmission.

At the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Leo offered prayers for the DRC, “in light of the spread of the Ebola epidemic, which is sadly ⁠claiming many lives”.

The pontiff also called for global action to help save lives.

“I urge the international community to ⁠respond in a way that also involves local communities ⁠in prevention efforts to save ⁠as many lives as possible,” he said.

Naivasha, Kenya – For communities living around Naivasha, water is not an abstract resource. It sustains families, livestock, farms and schools.

That reality has taken on new significance after plans for a major Microsoft-G42 data centre in Olkaria, near Lake Naivasha, stalled in May 2026 over concerns about available power capacity.

Microsoft and United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence company G42 announced the project in 2024 as part of a $1bn digital investment package for Kenya. The proposed facility was to run on geothermal energy and eventually scale to as much as 1 gigawatt of capacity.

The uncertainty has also prompted questions about what another major industrial user could mean for water in a region where residents already report shortages.

Microsoft and G42 said the proposed data centre campus would run entirely on renewable geothermal energy and incorporate water conservation technology. The companies did not disclose a project-specific water consumption figure in their 2024 announcement.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) communications director Frank David Ochieng told Al Jazeera that the data centre remains at the design stage and that he could not comment further until the project is ready to proceed.

For residents like Musa Olorkedienye, who spoke to Al Jazeera, water scarcity is already a daily concern. He says communities around Olkaria have seen changes in access to water, including the loss of reliable piped supplies that residents previously received from KenGen.

“Currently, we are relying on water vendors to get water, our animals are walking for kilometres, and we fear things could get worse as demand for water rises,” Olorkedienye says.

Pastoralist Isaac Leshishi, who also spoke to Al Jazeera, says increasingly harsh weather is adding to the pressure.

Why Olkaria?

The choice of Olkaria was closely tied to energy. The area is home to Kenya’s major geothermal operations, making it an attractive location for a power-intensive facility.

KenGen operates the Olkaria geothermal complex, while Microsoft and G42 planned to power the proposed data centre entirely with geothermal energy.

A lake under pressure

Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya’s Rift Valley whose catchment supports agriculture, tourism, livestock and domestic water use. Its basin also hosts geothermal development and other economic activity.

Grace Kimani, a patrol leader with Lake Naivasha and Oloiden, told Al Jazeera that the reservoir is under growing pressure from population growth, agriculture, water abstraction, climate variability, pollution and ecosystem degradation.

“The planned Microsoft-G42 data centre in Olkaria could bring jobs and investment, but its water demand raises concerns about adding pressure to already competing needs, particularly during dry periods,” she said.

Kimani said there is limited public information about the project’s expected water demand, source and cooling technology. She said transparency and an assessment of its cumulative impact on water resources would be important.

She also called for water-efficient or water-free cooling, water recycling and the use of treated wastewater, as well as sustainable abstraction limits and community involvement in monitoring.

Silas Wanjala of the Lake Naivasha Riparian Association, who spoke to Al Jazeera, said the region is heavily dependent on groundwater and that declining water flows are adding to the pressure.

“These industries, especially EcoCloud, which deal with data, will consume a lot of water at a time when rivers are drying, and demand for water is on the rise,” Wanjala said.

Olkaria EcoCloud Data Centre is a local partner in the G42-led development. In 2024, the Kenya News Agency reported that G42, Microsoft and EcoCloud signed a letter of intent for the wider data-centre initiative, with EcoCloud described as a local partner that had previously signed a memorandum of understanding with G42.

Wanjala points to past fluctuations in Lake Naivasha as a warning.

“This lake in 2010 nearly dried up due to over-abstraction, and this could be repeated due to high demand for water by these investors in Olkaria,” he says.

His concern comes against a wider backdrop of water scarcity in Kenya. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations says Kenya has about 527 cubic metres (527,000 litres) of freshwater available per person, below the 1,000-cubic-metre threshold for water scarcity, and estimates availability could fall to about 475 cubic metres per person by 2030.

The figures do not show what effect the proposed data centre would have on Lake Naivasha. They provide context, however, for why the prospect of another major water user is drawing scrutiny in a region where demand is already high.

How much water would it use?

The amount of water the proposed Microsoft-G42 facility itself would require remains unclear.

The project announcement provides no projected consumption figure.

Existing industrial use offers some context.

A KenGen environmental and social impact assessment records that 195,165 cubic metres of water were abstracted from Lake Naivasha in July 2023 for domestic and commercial uses at Olkaria and for operations and domestic use at Eburru.

Of that total, 153,918 cubic metres were used for commercial operations at Olkaria. The assessment records the abstraction as within Water Resources Authority (WRA) permitted levels.

Those figures relate to existing KenGen operations, not the proposed data centre.

For farmer Eskimos Kobia, who spoke to Al Jazeera, the potential competition extends beyond households and livestock. He says farmers, pastoralists, schools and investors will all face greater pressure as demand increases.

Kimani said climate variability has also led to fluctuations in lake levels, with periods of flooding followed by prolonged dry conditions.

“Water quality is affected by agricultural run-off, untreated wastewater in some areas and invasive species,” she says.

Investment versus local concerns

Not everyone in Naivasha opposes the investment.

Absolom Mukhuusi of the Naivasha Professional Association, who spoke to Al Jazeera, says the technology sector could bring jobs, infrastructure and new businesses to the area. But he says economic benefits should not come at the expense of local communities.

“Even as we welcome the investors, our biggest fear is what happens to our water bodies and communities as water is diverted to Olkaria for the heavy users,” he says.

Could technology help?

Geologist Kenyatta Otieno, who spoke to Al Jazeera, sees another potential benefit.

He recalls the pressure large flower farms once placed on the lake’s ecosystem, saying many have since left or scaled back their operations.

Otieno says the proposed centre would have included a resource centre to monitor lake levels and weather patterns. Such monitoring, he says, could help identify the highest water level over time and guide riparian land zoning.

“The centre being built with water conservation in mind would be futuristic as Naivasha is generally a water-scarce area. It would be a model for future development,” Otieno said.

Kenya already has regulators responsible for managing competing demands. The WRA regulates water abstraction and issues water-use permits, while the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) oversees environmental impact assessments under the country’s environmental regulatory framework.

Attempts by Al Jazeera to obtain comments from WRA and NEMA officials were unsuccessful. Efforts to reach Microsoft-G42 officials and Kenyan government officials for comment on the project’s status and water requirements were also unsuccessful.

For now, the project’s eventual scale, design and water requirements remain unclear, according to KenGen.

“We are now competing with the multibillion [-dollar] companies for water, and we fear that we shall be the losers in the long run,” Leshishi said.

Aug. 23 (UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have warned Hamas of military escalation if the Palestinians do not stop sending children’s kites into Israeli territory.

In a joint statement issued Sunday, the Israeli leaders said the Israel Defense Forces “will act to increase targeted strikes against those responsible” and “evacuate the population” from areas in Gaza used as launch sites for kites, drones and balloons.

The warning came after a “situational assessment” attended by top national security and military officials.

“There will be no return to the state of affairs prior to October 7,” Netanyahu and Katz said. “Israel will not allow the Hamas terrorist organization or any other element in the Gaza Strip to threaten our communities again and compromise our citizens’ sense of security.”

The IDF identified at least six children’s kites that crossed from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory during the past seven days, including four over the weekend, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Military sources said the kites are being sent over by teenagers who are acting on behalf others, most likely Hamas operatives.

IDF officials told Israeli media outlets that nothing suspicious was found on the kites.

However, residents of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, which was attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, have linked them with past efforts by Palestinian militants to use such kites to carry incendiary devices into southern Israel and have demanded action to stop them.

In 2018, Palestinians sent burning kites to the Israeli territory, causing damage to thousands of acres of agriculture and nature reserves.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem dismissed the latest kites as “children’s toys” released from Gaza refugee camps.

The threats issued by Israel “are based on fabricated pretexts and are an attempt to justify the continuation of the aggression and violations against our people,” he said in a statement to The Times of Israel.