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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris see the end of the conflict in Gaza closer after the death of the Hamas leader
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the vice president and Democratic candidate for the White House, Kamala Harris, reacted this Thursday to the death of the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, in an Israeli operation and pointed out that there is now more room to “end the war.”
In a statement, Biden said that Sinwar’s death is an “opportunity” to reach an agreement that “provides a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians” and that allows the Gaza Strip to access a “day after” without Hamas in power.
“Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all those goals. That obstacle no longer exists, but there is still a lot of work ahead,” said Biden, who later spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, Biden congratulated Netanyahu on Sinwar’s death and both agreed that this fact opens an opportunity for the release of the hostages in the hands of Hamas.
The White House also indicated that the two leaders talked about “how to take advantage of this moment to take the hostages back home and close the conflict, guaranteeing Israel’s security and preventing Hamas from controlling Gaza again.”
The conversation took place while Biden was traveling to Germany on the Air Force One presidential plane.
Kamala Harris sees a better world
For his part, Harris, in statements to the press from Wisconsin, said that “Justice has been done. The United States, Israel and the rest of the world are a better place.”
According to the vice president, U.S. special operations and intelligence personnel worked closely with their Israeli counterparts to locate the leader of the Islamist group.
After Sinwar’s death, said the Democratic Party candidate in the US presidential elections, Hamas is decimated” and that opens up an “opportunity to end the war in Gaza.”
The end of the conflict, he said, must include security guarantees for Israel, the release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas and the end of the “suffering” of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“We will not give up these goals and I will always work to create a future of peace, dignity and security for all,” said the Democratic candidate.
Who was the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar?
Born in a refugee camp in Jan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, Sinwar was elected leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017 after arbilling a reputation as a bitter enemy of Israel and on August 6 – after the murder in Tehran of the then head of the political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh – he was chosen to occupy the highest position in the organization chart of the Islamist group.
He represented the hardest and most belligerent line of the group and is considered by Israel as the mastermind of the attacks of October 7 against Israeli territory in which some 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were kidnapped, which made him the man most wanted by Israel.
Around 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT), the Israeli Army announced that it was investigating whether one of three militiamen killed in operations in Gaza was Sinwar, but said it could not confirm it until it had the results of fingerprint, dental and DNA tests, all of which were already positive.
According to the scarce information revealed so far, Sinwar’s death occurred yesterday, Wednesday 16, in a fortuitous encounter between Israeli troops and militiamen in Rafah, southern the Palestinian enclave, but it was not based on intelligence information.
According to the Army, together with him they did not find any kidnapped nor were their lives in danger.
Israeli media point out that Sinwar would have remained hidden with Israeli hostages in the tunnels of the Strip until the end of August, when Hamas murdered six kidnapped people in Rafah a day before Israeli troops approached them.
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Trump renews criticism of Pope Leo XIV amid tensions over Iran
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, renewed his criticism of Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday night, urging that “someone tell him” that Iran has “killed at least 42,000 innocent protesters” and insisting that it is “unacceptable” for the country to possess nuclear weapons.
“Can someone please inform Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 completely unarmed, innocent protesters over the past two months, and that it is absolutely unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear bomb?” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
The statement comes amid an escalating public dispute between Trump and the pontiff over the conflict in Iran and the broader Middle East. The US president concluded his message with the phrase “AMERICA IS BACK.”
Pope Leo XIV, who was born in the United States, has repeatedly spoken out—both directly and indirectly—against Washington’s stance toward Tehran, while calling for peace in the region.
On Monday, Trump openly criticized the pope, describing him as “weak” and “terrible on foreign policy.”
Speaking aboard a flight to Algeria, the first stop of his trip to Africa, the pontiff said he was “not afraid” of the Trump administration and would continue to raise his voice against the ongoing conflict.
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Tehran engulfed in toxic cloud after strikes on fuel facilities
Tehran woke up under a sky that shifted from gray to black following strikes on fuel infrastructure, as the city has become engulfed in a toxic cloud that is turning daily life into a public health and environmental emergency.
Residents warn that what is falling from the sky is no longer just rain, but a mixture of oil and pollutants. Attacks on fuel depots have triggered prolonged fires, releasing thick plumes of smoke that continue to spread across the العاصمة.
For several days, facilities have remained ablaze, while a dark layer has settled over streets, homes, and even water reserves. Authorities have urged the population—more than nine million people—to remain indoors, especially vulnerable groups.
The extreme toxicity is linked to mazut, a dense petroleum byproduct with high sulfur content still used in Iran due to industrial limitations and sanctions. When burned, it releases hazardous particles that, when combined with moisture, result in contaminated rainfall.
The situation is worsened by Tehran’s geography. Surrounded by mountains, the city is affected by a temperature inversion phenomenon that traps pollutants near the ground, preventing their dispersion and creating a stagnant layer of toxic air over the population.
Residents have reported symptoms such as eye and skin irritation, headaches, and respiratory difficulties. Emergency agencies have also warned of potential chemical burns caused by acid rain.
Long-term concerns are mounting, as prolonged exposure to fine particles and heavy metals could lead to serious health conditions, including lung damage and cancer.
Contamination is also spreading to water sources and agricultural land, threatening the food supply in a country already facing water scarcity.
At a regional level, the environmental impact is expanding, with oil spills reported in the Persian Gulf, affecting marine ecosystems and fishing communities.
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FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Arrested in Mexico and Deported to U.S.
Authorities in Mexico announced Thursday that Samuel Ramírez Jr., a U.S. citizen accused of murdering two women and listed among the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, was arrested in the northern state of Sinaloa.
Ramírez Jr., 33, was detained Tuesday in Culiacán just 1 hour and 13 minutes after being added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Ten Most Wanted list, the agency said in a statement.
The suspect, who was born in California, has already been deported to the U.S. state of Washington, where he faces charges related to the fatal shooting of two women at a bar in Federal Way in May 2023.
A court issued an arrest warrant for Ramírez in November last year, and the FBI initially offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture, later increasing the amount to up to $1 million.
“To protect individuals’ privacy and ensure continued cooperation from the public, the FBI does not confirm the identity of those who provide information,” the agency said in its statement.
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