On the 30th, Russia will auction the apartment owned by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his wife, Olena Zelenska, in Yalta, on the annexed Crimea peninsula, with a starting price of more than 200,000 euros.

According to the official TASS agency, the apartment, which was confiscated last May by the parliament imposed by Russia in Crimea, annexed by the Kremlin in 2014, will be auctioned in a prefinished state, since the presidential couple never lived in this property. and only the walls were whitewashed.

Zelensky's family apartment has an area of 119.5 square meters and is located in the Imperator residential area in the town of Livadia, located on the outskirts of the popular seaside resort of Yalta, one of the main tourist destinations on the peninsula.

The property, which was registered in the name of Olena Zelenska, has been put up for auction with a starting price of 24.6 million rubles (242,875 euros or $257,562 at the current exchange rate), according to TASS.

Zelensky's apartment has several rooms: a living room with a panoramic window to the balcony, a bedroom with a bathroom and a combined kitchen with a dining room.. There is no furniture or plugs yet, according to the same source.

The apartment is located on the fifth floor and from its balcony there are views of the Black Sea and the Livadia Palace with the adjacent garden. The palace was the resting home of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, shot by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

This imperial palace hosted the Yalta Conference in February 1945 that brought together the Soviet leaders, Joseph Stalin; British, Winston Churchill, and American, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

According to TASS, purchase applications will be accepted until October 26 and auction participants will be required to make a deposit of 50% of the initial price

The acting president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, emphasized this Saturday during his participation in the Cairo Peace Summit on the “need” of the international community to “protect all civilians” involved in the conflict, both Palestinians as Israelis.

“We need to protect all civilians. I repeat. To all civilians. “Those who are hostages must be released unconditionally and immediately, and those suffering the horror in Gaza must be helped,” the president said in English.

Before the representatives of 34 countries and international institutions from around the world, Sánchez warned about the “fragility” of the situation and urged the international community to understand that “it cannot postpone” finding a solution to this crisis “from its roots.” .

Sánchez, who traveled to Egypt accompanied by his Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, also affirmed before a large representation of Arab countries the condemnation of Spain and the European Union “of all enmity against Israel” and recognized his right to defense ” according to international laws.”

“We believe that it is going from bad to worse, there are things to solve: the lives of civilians must be protected and help must reach them. That requires an immediate ceasefire to help the people of Gaza (…) And Hamas has to release the hostages without any conditions. And we all have to guarantee that,” Sánchez said.

The president added that for peace, it is also necessary that “the people of Israel have to be clear that the solution to the conflict is that of the two States, Israel and Palestine, in coexistence.”

“For too many years we have thought that we could live without paying much attention to this, but what has happened has proven that we cannot postpone the solution. The international community has shown that if there is a will, there is a future. The Madrid Peace Conference of 1991 and the Oslo Accords are proof of hope,” he asserted.

The acting president of Spain arrived at the Cairo Peace Summit this Saturday to participate in an unprecedented diplomatic meeting to seek a humanitarian solution to the Gaza crisis and address the situation of the “Palestinian question.”

Sánchez was received by the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, organizer of the meeting, at the Al Masa convention center, located in the New Administrative Capital of Egypt, a new city located in the middle of the desert about 50 kilometers from Cairo .

This meeting constitutes the largest diplomatic mobilization to date to try to stop the escalation of violence between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas after the brutal terrorist attack on October 7 in Israeli territory, which caused at least 1,400 deaths.

The Israeli Army has warned that it will not allow the humanitarian aid that began to arrive this Saturday in southern Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the first shipment since the start of the war with Hamas on October 7, to arrive. to the north of the Strip, where the military has given an immediate exit order to residents while attacking the positions of the Islamist movement there.

The displacement of civilians has increased the overpopulation prevailing in southern Gaza, where more than a million people live without access to basic necessities, denounce the Palestinian authorities and the United Nations.

At a press conference this Saturday, Israeli Army spokesman Daniel Hagari indicated, however, that all humanitarian aid will remain in southern Gaza and, what's more, he warned that he will not allow the delivery of fuel that could be used for firing rockets from Palestinian militias into Israeli territory, reports the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth.

At the moment, this Saturday morning, around twenty trucks with “medicines, medical instruments and a limited amount of food, mainly canned food,” entered the Palestinian enclave, according to Hamas, the territory's authority.. The material has been unloaded by the Palestinian Red Crescent, which will begin the distribution process in the enclave.

After the delivery of the material, the crossing has closed its doors again pending a subsequent decision on the transit of people who have been waiting for days to cross into Egypt, including foreigners and dual citizens, according to the correspondent of the CNN network present at the scene.

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, stated this Saturday that the Palestinians will never leave their territory and will resist to the end Israel's attempts to forcibly relocate the population of Gaza to Egypt in the midst of the current war in the Palestinian enclave.

“We will never leave, we will never leave our lands (…) And we will resist until the end,” Abbas concluded in his speech at the Peace Summit that takes place this Saturday in the so-called New Administrative Capital of Egypt, east of Cairo, to seek a solution to end the war between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.

Abbas has pointed out that the Palestinian National Authority that he presides is the “only entity” that represents the Palestinians and that the only solution for the region is the creation of two states in the former Palestine with east Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.

The Palestinian president has deplored the “murder of civilians on both sides” and has called for the “release of hostages on both sides.” He has reiterated his call for humanitarian corridors and aid entry to the Gaza Strip to be opened, but “of course, Israel did not allow it.”

Israel, through the United States, has finally given permission for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza this Saturday through the Rafah crossing, which connects Egypt with the enclave.

But only 20 trucks have entered so far after two weeks of Israeli bombing and siege as collective punishment for the Hamas attack on October 7, which sparked the current war.

The Rafah border crossing, which connects the north of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula with the Gaza Strip, finally opened its doors this Saturday to allow the entry of humanitarian aid shipments into the Palestinian enclave, according to witnesses and local media. and the UN.

The United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, confirmed this Saturday that 20 trucks with food, water and medicine entered the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, through the Rafah crossing, bordering Egypt.

The deputy director of the OCHA Office in the Palestinian territories, Andrea De Domenico, has assured that the Egyptian Red Cross is leading the operation to bring assistance into the Palestinian enclave.

Hundreds of volunteers and trucks are lining up to access the strip, although the Egyptian government channel Al Qahera News has indicated that about 20 trucks are “passing through the crossing, transporting food, medical supplies, medicines and humanitarian aid.”

This figure coincides, for the moment, with the one offered this week by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, who stated that the first batch of trucks to cross the pass, the only one that is not controlled by Israel, would be about 20 trucks of aid.

The Qatari channel Al Jazeera has stated that “a total of five trucks of the total of 20 that will be able to access the strip this Saturday have already been unloaded.” From the Egyptian part of Rafah, volunteers have commented that no ambulances or fuel trucks have entered and that the aid is provided by the Egyptian Red Crescent and NGOs that are part of the government coalition National Alliance for Civil Development.

However, the deputy director of the OCHA Office has admitted that this aid is not enough for the 2.3 million people living in Gaza, of whom 1.4 million, according to OCHA, are internally displaced by Israel's bombings. in the northern part of the Strip. De Domenico has indicated that there are “negotiations” between the parties concerned so that the delivery of aid is “sustainable” over time.

Images broadcast by the private Egyptian network ExtraNews show dozens of volunteers applauding and cheering with joy, after days of waiting to access the Palestinian enclave, while Egyptian workers worked to restore the pavement damaged by Israeli bombings, which did not allow access. until now.

Al Sisi announces an agreement for a “continued” opening

The president of Egypt, Abdel Fattá al Sisi, urged this Saturday to establish a roadmap so that aid to Gaza continues to flow through the Rafah crossing, which was opened this morning, and the “humanitarian crisis” in the area ends. Palestinian enclave.

In the opening speech of the Peace Summit in the region held in the New Administrative Capital of Egypt, east of Cairo, and in which leaders and ministers from practically all over the world participate, Al Sisi made a call for the reactivation of the peace process in the Middle East based on the negotiation of an immediate ceasefire between both sides.

Thus, he noted that attendees are meeting to “reach a roadmap with the aim of ending the humanitarian crisis and beginning to activate the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”

“I want to make it clear to the world that this crisis will not be resolved without a fair solution. Today we begin to work to agree on a roadmap to reactivate the peace process; one that will begin with an immediate ceasefire leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” Al Sisi said.

In his same speech, the president hinted that the reopening of the Rafah crossing this Saturday could take on a more definitive character in the coming hours or days following an agreement reached with the president of the United States, Joe Biden.

This “continued” reopening, in his words, would remain under the supervision of the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent (which is in charge of the direct distribution of aid), according to the Egyptian president, waiting to determine what It happens with the hundreds of people awaiting transit to Egypt from the Palestinian side of the crossing.

As his Foreign Ministry did yesterday, Al Sisi has assured that his country has never closed the passage of its own will.. The Egyptian Government has denounced Israeli attacks against the crossing and denounced, as the president did again this Saturday, the “forced displacement” of civilians that Israel is causing on the Gazan population.

The Rafah crossing, in the south of Gaza and bordering Egypt, is the only exit to the outside of the Strip, since the rest of the border crossings it has are with Israel.

The opening of the Rafah border crossing occurs on the same day that the New Administrative Capital of Egypt, 50 kilometers southeast of Cairo, hosts an international summit headed by the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, and in which Leaders from all over the world participate.

Among those attending is the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres; the acting president of Spain, Pedro Sánchez; the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas; and the Jordanian king, Abdullah II.

Anguish remains on both sides of the Gaza Strip two weeks after Hamas attacks on Israel. In Palestine, citizens struggle to survive Israeli attacks and the lack of supplies caused by the total blockade of the Strip.. Food and water are scarce as Gaza remains dark, out of fuel and cut off from the rest of the world.. In Israel, for its part, fear consumes the relatives of those kidnapped, who would be around 203 people.. The Israeli State affirmed on Thursday that most of the hostages captured by Hamas are alive and a day later the terrorist organization announced the release of two of them.

The Israeli Army reported that most of the people kidnapped by Hamas during the attack carried out on October 7 are alive. According to a military spokesman, the number of hostages stands at 203 people and also stated that although “there were bodies that were taken” to Gaza, “the majority of the hostages are alive.”. According to the information released by the Israeli forces, of the total number of kidnapped people, 20 are minors and between 10 and 20 people are over 60 years old.

In a statement, the Israeli Army stated that, “As of today (Friday), there are between 100 and 200 Israelis considered missing persons.”. In comparison, on the first day of the war there were 3,000 people considered missing. This number has decreased dramatically as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed their whereabouts.”. Also among the number of missing are those whose bodies have been transferred to a military base for identification, as well as people whose bodies have not yet been recovered.

Hostage release announcement

During the night of this Friday, Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Al Qasam Brigades, announced the release of two American hostages – a mother and a daughter – who were captured on October 7.. Their names are Judith and Natalie Raanan and their release marks a before and after in this conflict: they are the first hostages released. Both have American and Israeli nationality and are from Evanston, a town located on the outskirts of Chicago.. They were captured by Hamas militants in the Nahal Oz kibbutz, the same town where Maya Villalobo was found, the Spanish woman who remained missing for several days and whose death was confirmed on October 11.

As indicated by the armed wing of Hamas in a statement, the decision to release the hostages was taken for “humanitarian reasons” and thanks to the mediation of Qatar.. It would be a gesture to “demonstrate to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist Administration are false and unfounded,” the message states.. Furthermore, as a Hamas source explained to Efe, the handover of these hostages “is a clear humanitarian step to demonstrate that our conflict is only with Israel.”

The release of the hostages has been confirmed by a spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. Judith and Natalie were initially transferred to the International Red Cross and were later met by General Hirsch and other Israeli soldiers on the border with Gaza.. Currently, the hostages are on their way to a military base where they will be reunited with their families.

The Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, presented his resignation this Friday due to the chain of errors that allowed the terrorist who murdered two Swedish fans in Brussels on Monday to remain in Belgium despite the fact that Tunisia requested more than a year ago his extradition.

“It is an individual, monumental and unacceptable failure. An error with dramatic consequences,” Van Quickenborne declared at a press conference to explain the reasons for his resignation, which Prime Minister Alexander de Croo has accepted.

As explained by Van Quickenborne, the Tunisian authorities requested on August 15, 2022 the extradition of Abdesalem Lassoued, a Tunisian citizen residing irregularly in Belgium who last Monday murdered two Swedish fans in Brussels with an assault rifle and injured a third. .

The extradition request was transferred on September 1 to the Brussels Prosecutor's Office but the magistrate in charge “did not follow it up” and the file “was not dealt with,” the now resigned minister reported.

The alleged perpetrator of the Brussels shooting was a 45-year-old Tunisian citizen named Abdesalem Lassoued. He was in Belgium in an irregular situation and was registered by the authorities.

The young and controversial climate activist, Greta Thunberg, in week 270 of her well-known 'school strikes', has called for a “ceasefire” on her social network X, formerly Twitter, for the conflict that is being experienced in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

Greta Thunberg ha tenido que recortar la foto inicial que acompañaba a su publicación minutos después de subirla ya que, en ella, se podía ver un pulpo azul, símbolo interpretado por algunos como antisemita.

The activist has responded to the criticism she was receiving by clarifying that she was “completely unaware” that the stuffed animal shown could be interpreted as a “symbol of anti-Semitism” and that the toy is nothing more than “a tool that autistic people often use.” use as a way to communicate feelings.

“Of course, we are against any type of discrimination and we condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms. This is not negotiable. Por eso eliminé la última publicación” apuntaba la joven sueca. 

The group of activists' open support for the Palestinian cause has provoked a wave of reproaches and bad reactions also on the social network X, formerly Twitter, where some users have accused it of “supporting the terrorist group ISIS.”

This Friday, a young activist threw green paint at the Minister of Finance of Portugal, Fernando Medina, shouting “without a future there is no peace”, to demand that the Government take concrete measures to combat the climate emergency.

Medina was at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon giving an open class on the upcoming budget when a young woman approached and threw green paint at him with a tube, in an action by the Student Climate Strike group.

The minister cleaned his face and suit and continued the talk, while the young woman was dragged out of the auditorium by members of security and the Police.

In the hallways there were more climate activists who continued shouting slogans and were immobilized by the Police. “We were protesting peacefully and now we are being held in a college,” one of the young women denounced in statements to local media, while she was immobilized against the wall.

Young people demand “concrete” measures in the budget to stop the climate crisis, with the end of fossil fuels by 2030 and 100% renewable and accessible electricity in 2025, explained the activist. Last month, the same group also threw green paint at Portuguese Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro while he was participating in a conference.

Furthermore, in recent weeks, another Portuguese movement of activists, Climáximo, carried out numerous protest actions, such as blocking streets and highways, throwing paint at a painting by Pablo Picasso or sticking their hand to a plane on the Lisbon-Porto route. to report short-duration flights.