Foreign
Israel Hails Trump Gaza Plan After UN Security Council Vote
Israel on Tuesday hailed Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan after its endorsement by the UN Security Council, as Hamas rejected the resolution which calls for the deployment of an international force in the Palestinian territory.
The United Nations Security Council voted Monday in favour of a US-drafted resolution bolstering President Trump’s plan for the Gaza Strip — which has allowed a fragile ceasefire to hold between Israel and Hamas since October 10.
The peace plan notably authorises the creation of an international force that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly-trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarise Gaza.
Following the vote, Palestinians living in Gaza embraced a chance for life to improve, but had little faith that Israel would comply.
“Any international decision that benefits the Palestinians now is welcome. The important thing is that the war ends,” said 39-year-old Saeb Al-Hassanat, who lives in a school sheltering displaced people in central Gaza.
“It doesn’t matter who rules us. We welcome international administration of Gaza,” he told AFP, but added that “without strong pressure from the US, Israel will not comply with any decision, and the Security Council resolution will remain worthless.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office hailed Trump’s plan on Tuesday, saying it would lead to “peace and prosperity because it insists upon full demilitarisation, disarmament and the deradicalisation of Gaza”.
On X, Netanyahu’s office said the plan would also “lead to further integration of Israel and its neighbours as well as expansion of Abraham Accords,” under which a few Arab countries have normalised ties with Israel.
There were 13 votes in favour of the text and none against, with Russia and China both abstaining but not deploying their veto as permanent members.
‘In God’s hands’
The Gaza Strip has been largely reduced to rubble after two years of fighting, sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Rawia Abbas, who lives in a partially destroyed house in Gaza City’s Zeitun neighbourhood, said that conditions in the territory remained dire despite the ceasefire.
“We still have no food, no water and no homes. Winter has begun and people’s conditions are catastrophic. My young children stand in line for hours to get a gallon of water and a coupon for some food,” the 40-year-old told AFP.
“Now we are in God’s hands.”
Trump posted on social media that the vote would lead to “further peace all over the world”.
But Hamas, which is excluded by the resolution from any governance role in Gaza, said it did not meet Palestinians’ “political and humanitarian demands and rights”.
In a statement, the Islamist militant group decried the establishment of an international force and said the resolution imposes “an international trusteeship on the Gaza Strip, which our people, its forces, and its constituent groups reject”.
The peace plan authorises the creation of an International Stabilisation Force that is mandated to work on the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”, protecting civilians and securing humanitarian aid corridors.
‘Day after’ in Gaza –
The Palestinian foreign ministry, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the Security Council vote affirmed the Palestinian people’s “right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state” and the unimpeded flow of aid into Gaza.
In a statement on X, it “stressed the urgent need to immediately implement this resolution on the ground”.
In convoluted language, the resolution does mention a possible future Palestinian state — an eventuality firmly and repeatedly rejected by Israel.
Once the Palestinian Authority has carried out requested reforms and the rebuilding of Gaza is under way, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” the text says.
It also authorises the formation of a “Board of Peace”, a transitional governing body for Gaza — which Trump would theoretically chair — with a mandate running until the end of 2027.
The resolution also calls for the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries at scale through the UN, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
In Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the Security Council’s decision a “historic diplomatic achievement… that can and must lead us to the ‘day after’ in Gaza and throughout the region”.
AFP
A Cessna 550 Citation Bravo carrying Brazilian singer Rey Vaqueiro and seven other people has overrun the runway while landing at Parelhas Airport in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
The aircraft, with registration PP-WMO, was involved in the incident during the early hours of Sunday, September 13, according to aviation news platform FL360aero, which reported the incident in a post on X.
The aircraft reportedly ran beyond the runway while landing at the airport and subsequently caught fire, with both engines said to have been engulfed in flames.
Firefighters battled the blaze for approximately five hours before it was brought under control.
All eight people on board, comprising six passengers and two crew members, reportedly evacuated the aircraft.
Some of the occupants were said to have sustained minor injuries, while no serious injuries were reported.
The aircraft was destroyed by the fire.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation by Brazil’s Centre for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA).
The incident involved a Cessna 550 Citation Bravo, a business jet commonly used for private and charter flights.
More flights are expected to be delayed in the United Kingdom (UK) after a technical problem with the country’s air traffic control system led to more than 2,000 cancellations.
A total of 291 flights were cancelled on Wednesday after 1,750 were cancelled on Tuesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by the disruption.
National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the UK’s air traffic control provider, blamed the disruption on a technical glitch. Its chief executive, Martin Rolfe, apologised and said a full investigation would be carried out.
He admitted that resolving the problem had taken “longer than hoped”.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described the outage as “unacceptable”, while Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned Rolfe to explain what happened.
The disruption affected several major UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. Airports in Ireland also reported disruption.
At Heathrow, departures were initially paused on Tuesday before operations resumed and then faced further disruption later in the day.
Heathrow said its operations were recovering on Wednesday but warned passengers of further delays because aircraft and crew needed to be repositioned.
Gatwick also said flights had resumed but warned that it would take time for operations to return fully to normal.
Passengers have been advised to check directly with their airlines before travelling to airports. Heathrow said passengers should only travel if they have a confirmed flight.
The technical fault affected NATS’ flight data processing system. Rolfe said it was not the same system that failed during a major disruption in 2023.
However, the latest incident is the third technical problem experienced by NATS in three years. A computer shutdown in 2023 caused widespread disruption affecting around 700,000 passengers, while another outage in 2025 resulted in about 150 cancellations.
Airlines including Ryanair and Wizz Air have called for changes to NATS. Wizz Air UK managing director Yvonne Moynihan said the company needed to consider whether NATS was “fit for purpose”.
Despite the disruption, Rolfe defended the UK’s air traffic control system, saying it remained one of the best in the world.
However, former NATS air traffic control manager Doug Maclean said repeated failures were undermining the system’s reputation.
Even though the technical issue has been resolved, passengers are expected to face further disruption because of the backlog of flights, aircraft and crew.
NATS said it was working to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
(BBC News)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be working royals allowed to carry out official engagements now they have returned to the UK, a letter sent on behalf of King Charles spells out.
The letter is intended to clarify the status of Prince Harry and Meghan, who moved back from California with children Archie and Lilibet last month.
They will still not be able to use titles of “His and Her Royal Highness”, and remain “private citizens”, says the letter sent on behalf of the King by the Lord Chamberlain, a top Palace official.
It comes as Prince Harry appears to have been pictured for the first time since his return, with a photo on social media showing him at a London TV and podcast studio.
The King’s letter has been sent to Prince Harry’s team, government departments, military officials and Lord Lieutenants, according to Palace sources.
Lord Lieutenants, who are the monarch’s local representatives, and government staff are often involved in royal visits and engagements.
This letter makes clear that any engagements carried out by the Sussexes will be in a private capacity and they will not be representing the Royal Family.
It seems to be something of a shot across the bows, making clear that any Prince Harry and Meghan visits should not be treated as royal engagements.
This comes ahead of what are likely to be public appearances by the Sussexes this autumn, as they settle in the UK and support their charities.
The couple have kept a low profile, but the first picture of Prince Harry since coming back to the UK appears to have been posted on the social media account of Tower Bridge Studios in London.
The message from the King emphasises that the position agreed in 2020 when the Sussexes left the UK – the so-called Sandringham Agreement – is still in place.
This ruled out any “half-in and half-out” status, so Harry and Meghan could not pursue their own commercial interests while continuing to be working royals.
“It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the Sovereign, and are no longer working members of the Royal Family,” the letter says.
The letter sent on behalf of the King makes it clear that this remains the case.
“The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity,” it adds.
The King’s message says that any questions from organisations about the reception to be given to the Sussexes, “particularly where recourse to public funds may be required, should be directed to Buckingham Palace”.
Prince Harry and Meghan faced an acrimonious departure from the UK in 2020, which they chronicled in their Netflix documentary.
They established their financial independence in California, including Prince Harry writing a best-selling memoir Spare and Meghan creating an online food range, As Ever.
This summer the couple made a surprise return to the UK, where their children will be going to school.
It’s expected that Prince Harry will be supporting his charities, including the Invictus Games, which are due to be held in Birmingham next year.
There have been reports that Meghan is considering a return to acting.
Disputes about Prince Harry and Meghan’s security in the UK remain unresolved and the letter spells out: “Any operational security issues should continue to be directed to the relevant police authorities.”
Prince Harry has complained about a lack of adequate police protection in the UK, but the Palace says that has to be addressed by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee – known as Ravec – which decides security for royals and public figures.
Palace sources have suggested it was better to make the Lord Chamberlain’s letter public, in a spirit of transparency, rather than risk it emerging in leaks.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s representatives have been contacted for a response.
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