Mediator says talks on Gaza not ‘progressing as expected’
Talks on a potential ceasefire deal in Gaza “have not been progressing as expected” in the past few days after good progress in recent weeks, key mediator Qatar said Saturday, as Israel’s prime minister accused the Hamas militant group of not changing its ”delusional” demands.
Speaking during the Munich Security Conference, Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani, noted difficulties in the “humanitarian part” of the negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure to bring home remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, said he sent a delegation to cease-fire talks in Cairo earlier in the week at President Joe Biden’s request but doesn’t see the point in sending them again.
Hamas wants a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Palestinians held by Israel.
New airstrikes in central Gaza on Saturday killed more than 40 people, including children, and wounded at least 50, according to Associated Press journalists and hospital officials.
Hungary PM addresses political turmoil fallout
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sought to contain the political fallout of a presidential pardon scandal during an annual state of the nation address on Saturday, his first public appearance since Hungary’s president, his ally, resigned a week ago.
The nationalist Orbán is under intense pressure from multiple angles as his obstructionist conduct on the international stage has spurred growing frustration among his European Union and NATO allies.
Meanwhile, widespread public outrage has gripped Hungary over a pardon the president issued to a convict in a child sexual abuse case.
In his speech, which marked the 25th anniversary of his first address to the nation during his freshman term as prime minister in 1999, Mr. Orbán immediately addressed the resignation last week of President Katalin Novák. He said that 2024 “could not have begun any worse” and that her resignation was a “nightmare” for the country.
Trump visits ‘Sneaker Con’ to sell $399 shoes
As he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump made a highly unusual stop Saturday, hawking new Trumpbranded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show On Earth!”
Mr. Trump was met with loud boos as well as cheers at the Philadelphia Convention Center as he unveiled what he touted as the first official Trump footwear. The shoes, gold high tops with an American flag detail on the back, are being sold as “The Never Surrender HighTops” for $399 on a new website that also sells Trumpbranded “Victory47” cologne and perfume for $99 a bottle.
The website says it has no connection to Mr. Trump’s campaign, though Trump campaign officials promoted the appearance in online posts.
This isn’t the first moneymaking venture Mr. Trump has announced since launching his third campaign for the White House in 2022. Mr. Trump last year reported making between $100,000 and $1 million for a series of digital trading cards that portrayed him photoshopped in a series of cartoon-like images, including an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero.
Firefighter killed, 13 hurt in Va. house blast
A fire fighter was killed aftera house in Virginia exploded Friday night, injuring 13other people and scattering pieces of the home across the neighborhood, officials said.
Firefighters arrived at the home in Sterling, Va., a suburb of Washington, about 7:40 p.m., said James Williams, the assistant chief of operations for Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. They were responding to a call about a gas leak, said the spokesperson for the department, Laura Rinehart.
Upon arrival, they located a 500- gallon underground propane tank with a leak and called for help from the county’s hazmat team, accordingto Ms. Rinehart.