Israel agrees to join Trump’s Board of Peace as some western European nations say no.

The development underscores European concerns over the controversial and ambitious project — which some say seeks to replace the United Nations’ role in mediating global conflicts — as Trump arrived in Davos, Switzerland, where he was expected to provide more details about his vision for the board.

A White House official said about 30 countries were expected to join the board, without providing details. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal plans not yet made public, said about 50 countries had been invited to join the organization.

Norway and Sweden said Wednesday they won’t accept their invitations, after France also said no — stressing that while it supports the Gaza peace plan, it was concerned the board could seek to replace the U.N. as the main venue for resolving conflicts.

Chaired by Trump, the board was originally envisaged as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan. But the Trump administration’s ambitions have since expanded into a more sprawling concept, with Trump extending invitations to dozens of nations and hinting at the board’s role as conflict mediator.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said he’s agreed to join the board — a departure from an earlier stance when his office criticized the makeup of the board’s committee tasked with overseeing Gaza.

Months into the ceasefire, Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians continue to suffer the humanitarian crisis unleashed by over two years of war. Israeli fire in the enclave on Wednesday left 11 Palestinians dead, health officials said.

The relatives of one final Israeli hostage, whose body remains in Gaza, continued to call on Israel’s government and Trump to ensure the release of his remains. Since the truce went into effect in October, Hamas and Israel have each accused the other of ceasefire violations.
Norway and Sweden say no, following in France’s footsteps

Norway’s state secretary, Kristoffer Thoner, said Norway would not join the board because it “raises a number of questions that requires further dialogue with the United States.” He also said Norway would not attend the signing ceremony in Davos.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on the sidelines of Davos that his country wouldn’t sign up for the board as the text currently stands, Swedish news agency TT reported, though Sweden hasn’t formally responded.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that France says, “Yes to implementing the peace plan presented by the president of the United States, which we wholeheartedly support, but no to creating an organization as it has been presented, which would replace the United Nations.”

Hearing late Monday that French President Emmanuel Macron was unlikely to join, Trump said, “Well, nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon.”

The United Kingdom, the European Union’s executive arm, Canada, Russia, Ukraine and China have also not yet indicated their response to Trump’s invitations.
Israel and Egypt to join, along with several others in the Mideast and beyond

Parties key to the Gaza ceasefire — Israel and Egypt — said Wednesday they would join the board, as did Bahrain, Kosovo and Azerbaijan.

Netanyahu’s decision was significant because his office had previously said the composition of the Gaza executive committee — which includes Turkey, Israel’s key regional rival — was not coordinated with the Israeli government and ran “contrary to its policy,” without clarifying its objections.

The move could now put Netanyahu in conflict with some of the far-right allies in his coalition, such as Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has criticized the board and called for Israel to take unilateral responsibility for Gaza’s future.

Among those who have accepted the invitation are United Arab Emirates, Armenia, Morocco, Vietnam, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Argentina.
Death toll ticks up in Gaza

Israeli forces killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, including three journalists and two boys who were collecting firewood, hospitals said.

The Israeli military said after one strike that it had spotted and struck several people who were operating a drone in central Gaza that posed a threat to its troops.

A man and his 13-year-old son were killed along with a 22-year-old man while collecting firewood near the central Bureij refugee camp, said Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, which received the bodies. The hospital said Israeli drones had fired on the men. It was not clear if the men had crossed into military-controlled zones.

Another 13-year-old boy was shot and killed by troops — also while collecting firewood — in the eastern town of Bani Suhaila, the Nasser hospital said, which received the body. In a footage circulated online, the boy’s father was seen weeping over his son’s body on a hospital bed.

The boy’s mother, Safaa al-Sharafy, told The Associated Press that he was hungry and went out to gather firewood so she could cook. “He told me he’d go quickly and come back,” she said.

Later Wednesday, an Israeli strike in central Gaza hit a vehicle carrying three Palestinian journalists who were filming a newly established displacement camp managed by an Egyptian government committee, said Mohammed Mansour, the committee’s spokesman.

The journalists were documenting the committee’s work in the camp, and the strike occurred about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Israeli-controlled area, Mansour said.

Nasser hospital said it also received the body of a woman shot by Israeli troops in the Muwasi area of southern city of Khan Younis. The hospital said she was killed in an area not controlled by the military.

Since the ceasefire started, more than 460 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, according to the strip’s health ministry. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

Most of Gaza’s population depend on firewood for cooking and heat as the strip experiences a cold, wet winter.
The makeup of the board

Many questions remain about the board. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday if the board would replace the U.N. Trump said: “It might.”

Under the ceasefire deal, the board’s Gaza executive committee will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the agreement. That includes deploying an international security force, disarming the Palestinian militant Hamas group and rebuilding the territory. It will also supervise a newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza’s day-to-day affairs.

The White House says its members include Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and the U.N. representative overseeing aid to Gaza.

Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. Mideast envoy, is to serve as the Gaza executive board’s representative overseeing day-to-day matters.

Separate from the Gaza executive committee, the founding executive committee’s members include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

___

By Julia Frankel and Samy Magdy

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Michelle L. Price in Washington, and Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.

#EU chief says Trump’s threats challenge Europe’s security and prosperity, ahead of emergency summit.

“All these three dimensions are being tested in the current moment of transatlantic relations,” European Council President António Costa said. He has convened an emergency summit of the EU’s 27 national leaders in Brussels on Thursday.

Trump’s determination to “acquire” the mineral-rich island in the Arctic region, for what he claims are security reasons, has undermined trust in the United States among allies in Europe and Canada.

Denmark angered Trump after sending a military “reconnaissance” force to Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. A small numbers of troops from several European nations joined, and Denmark is weighing a longer-term military presence there.

Costa said EU leaders are united on “the principles of international law, territorial integrity and national sovereignty,” something the bloc has underlined in defending Ukraine against invasion by Russia, and which is now threatened in Greenland.

In a speech to EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, he also stressed that only “Denmark and Greenland can decide their future.”

He insisted that “further tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and are incompatible with the EU-US trade agreement.” The lawmakers must endorse that deal made last July, but have threatened not to do so over Trump’s tariff threats.

Costa said that “we stand ready to defend ourselves, our member states, our citizens, our companies, against any form of coercion. And the European Union has the power and the tools to do so.”

EU leaders have been galvanized by Trump’s threats over Greenland, and are rethinking their relations with America, their long-time ally and the most powerful member of NATO.

“Appeasement is always a sign of weakness. Europe cannot afford to be weak — neither against its enemies, nor ally,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, long a staunch supporter of strong transatlantic ties, posted on social media on Tuesday.

“Appeasement means no results, only humiliation. European assertiveness and self-confidence have become the need of the moment,” Tusk wrote.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who manages trade on behalf of EU countries, warned that the bloc is “at a crossroads.” Should tariffs come, she said, “we are fully prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination.”

In Strasbourg, she told the lawmakers that the commission is working on “a massive European investment surge in Greenland” to beef up its economy and infrastructure, as well as a new European security strategy.

Security around the island itself should be boosted with partners like the U.K., Canada, Norway and Iceland, among others, von der Leyen said.

Lorne Cook, The Associated Press

Social media addiction’s surprising challenger? Anti-doomscrolling influencers.

It’s simple to accidentally become entranced by an endless loop of videos on Instagram or TikTok. But sometimes, that mindless scroll is interrupted by a reminder that what you thought was a 10-minute break spent on your phone was closer to 30 minutes.

Olivia Yokubonis, armed with a kind voice and scientific research, often pops up in feeds on social platforms, gently reminding viewers that they might not remember the video they saw two videos before she appeared on the screen.

Yokubonis is a content creator who goes by the name Olivia Unplugged online, making videos to combat overuse or mindless use of social media. For the most part, people who view her videos welcome the disruption from the endless loop of content, treating it as a wake-up call to get off their phones. Other times, they are snarky.

“People will comment and they’ll be like, ’Oh, (it’s) ironic that you’re posting. And I’m like, ‘Where else am I supposed to find you, Kyle? Outside? You’re not outside. You are here, sitting here,’” she said. “For us to actually be seen, we have to be where people are.”

Yokubonis’ content responds to the feeling many people have, that they spend too much time on social media or apps.

“Most people have no clue how much time they spend on social media,” said Ofir Turel, a professor of information systems management at the University of Melbourne who has been studying social media use for years. Through his research, Turel found that when he presented people with their screen time information, they were practically “in a state of shock” and many people voluntarily reduced their usage afterwards.

Yokubonis is part of a growing group of content creators who make videos encouraging viewers to close out the app they’re on. Some are aggressive in their approach, some more tame; some only occasionally post about social media overuse, and some, like Yokubonis, devote their accounts to it.

She works for Opal, a screen time app designed to help users “reclaim their focus,” she said, but those who engage with her content might not have any idea she is working for the company. Brand logos, constant plugs to download the app and other signs of branding are almost entirely absent from her page. “People love hearing from people,” she said. Millions of views on her videos point to that being true.

“It’s a fine line and a balance of finding a way to be able to cut through that noise but also not adding to the noise,” she added.

Ian A. Anderson, a postdoctoral scholar at California Institute of Technology, said he finds this kind of content interesting, but is curious whether it’s disruptive enough to prompt action. He also said he wonders whether those with the strongest scrolling habits are “thoughtless about the way (they’re) intaking information.”

“If they’re paying full attention, I feel like it could be an effective disruption, but I also think there is a degree to which, if you are really a habitual scroller, maybe you aren’t fully engaging with it,” he said. “I can think of all sorts of different variables that could change the effectiveness, but it does sound like an interesting way to intervene from the inside.”

With billions of active users across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms, talk of cutting down on screen time is perennial, as is the idea of addiction to social platforms. But there’s tremendous disagreement over whether social media addiction actually exists.
Is social media “addiction” real?

Researchers, psychologists and other experts agree some people spend too much time on social media, but the agreement tends to stop there. Some researchers question whether addiction is the appropriate term to describe heavy use of social media, arguing that a person must be experiencing identifiable symptoms, like strong, sometimes uncontrollable urges and withdrawal, to qualify as addiction. Others, like Turel, acknowledge the term seems to resonate with more people and is often used colloquially.

Anderson said he recognized the prevalence of casual mentions of being addicted to phones and was curious to see if that talk was “benign.”

A recent study of his suggests the debate extends further than academic discourse. In a representative sample of active Instagram users, Anderson found that people often overestimate whether they are “addicted” to the app. On a self-report scale, 18 per cent of participants agreed that they were at least somewhat addicted to Instagram and five per cent indicated substantial agreement, but only two per cent of participants were deemed at risk of addiction based on their symptoms. Believing you are addicted also impacts how you address that issue, Anderson said.

“If you perceive yourself as more addicted, it actually hurts your ability to control your use or your perception of that ability and makes you kind of blame yourself more for overuse,” Anderson said. “There are these negative consequences to addiction perception.”
Cutting down on screen time

For those looking to curb their social media habits, Anderson suggests making small, meaningful, changes to stop from opening your social media app of choice. Moving the app’s place on your phone or turning off notifications are “light touch interventions,” but more involved options, like not bringing your phone into the bedroom — or other places where you often use it — could also help.

Plenty of intervention methods have been offered to consumers in the form of products or services. But those interventions require self awareness and a desire to cut down on use. Content creators who infiltrate social media feeds with information about the psychology behind why people scroll for hours a day can plant those early seeds.

Cat Goetze, who goes by CatGPT online, makes “non-pretentious, non-patronizing” content about artificial intelligence, building off her experience in the tech industry. But she’s also been on a lengthy road to cut down her own screen time. She often makes videos about why the platforms are so compelling and why we tend to spend longer than we anticipate on them.

“There’s a whole infrastructure — there’s an army of nerds whose only job is to get you to increase your time spent on that platform,” she said. “There’s a whole machine that’s trying to get you to be that way and it’s not your fault and you’re not going to win this just (through) willpower.”

Goetze also founded the business Physical Phones, which makes Bluetooth landline phones that connect to smartphones, encouraging people to spend less time on their devices. The inside of the packaging reads “offline is the new luxury.”

She was able to build the business at an accelerated pace thanks to her social media audience. But the early success of Physical Phones also demonstrates the demand for solutions to high screen time, she said.

“Social media will always play a part in our lives. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. If we can get the average screen time down from, if it’s 10 hours for a person to one hour, or from three hours to 30 minutes, that is going to be a net positive benefit for that individual and for society,” Goetze said. “That being said, I’d love to be the person that they’re watching for those 30 minutes.”

Read what France’s Macron and the head of #NATO are saying to Trump behind the scenes.

Trump published a text message on Tuesday that he received from French President Emmanuel Macron, confirmed as genuine by Macron’s office.

Starting with “My friend,” Macron’s tone was more deferential than the criticism that France and some of its European partner nations are openly voicing against Trump’s push to wrest Greenland from NATO ally Denmark.

Before broaching the Greenland dispute, Macron opted in his message to first talk about other issues where he and Trump seem to be roughly on the same page.

“We are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran,” the French leader wrote in English.

Then, he added: “I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” immediately followed by: “Let us try to build great things.”

That was the only mention that Macron made of the semi-autonomous Danish territory that Trump covets in the two sections of message that Trump published. It wasn’t immediately clear from Trump’s post when he received the message.

Trump breaks with tradition

World leaders’ private messages to each other rarely make it verbatim into the public domain — enabling them to project one face publicly and another to each other.

But Trump — as is his wont across multiple domains — is casting traditions and diplomatic niceties to the wind and, in the process, lifting back the curtain on goings-on that usually aren’t seen.

Trump also published a flattering message from Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO, which the alliance also confirmed as authentic.

“I am committed to finding a way forward on Greenland,” Rutte wrote. “Can’t wait to see you. Yours, Mark.”

Rutte has declined to speak publicly about Greenland despite growing concern about Trump’s threats to “acquire” the island and what that would mean for the territorial integrity of NATO ally Denmark. Pressed last week about Trump’s designs on Greenland and warnings from Denmark that any U.S. military action might mean the end of NATO, Rutte said: “I can never comment on that. That’s impossible in public.”
Macron’s relationship with Trump

Macron likes to say that he can get Trump on the phone any time he wants. He proved it last September by making a show of calling up the president from a street in New York, to tell Trump that police officers were blocking him to let a VIP motorcade pass.

“Guess what? I’m waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you!” Macron said as cameras filmed the scene.

It’s a safe bet that Macron must know by now — a year into Trump’s second term in office — that there’s always a risk that a private message to Trump could be made public.

An official close to Macron said that his message to Trump “shows that the French President, both in public and in private, takes the same views.”

The official added that on Greenland, France considers respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is “non-negotiable.” They spoke anonymously in line with the French presidency customary practices.

Still, the difference between Macron’s public and private personas in the message that Trump published was striking.
Hosting Russia and Ukraine together

Most remarkably, the French leader told Trump in his message that he would be willing to invite representatives from both Ukraine and Russia to a meeting later this week in Paris — an idea that Macron has not voiced publicly.

The Russians could be hosted “in the margins,” Macron suggested, hinting at the potential awkwardness of inviting Moscow representatives while France is also backing Ukraine with military and other support against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Macron wrote that the meeting could also include “the danish, the syrians” and the G7 nations — which include the United States.

The French president added: “let us have a dinner together in Paris together on thursday before you go back to the us.”

He then signed off simply with “Emmanuel.”

Baby dies from cold in Gaza as leaders meet to discuss Trump’s Board of Peace

Starting small: How young #investors can begin building wealth with just $500.

For many young Canadians, the barrier to entry for investing feels impossibly high. Between student loans, rising rent, and the cost of living, scraping together a starter fund can seem daunting.

Yet, as little as $500 to $1,000 is sufficient enough to begin building the habits that create long-term wealth.

When you have a limited budget, every dollar has to work harder. The margin for error is slimmer, and the overwhelming number of financial products, from ETFs to individual stocks, can lead to analysis paralysis.

Experts say there is no bulletproof way to stock pick in the early stages. Instead, focus on structure, simplicity, and consistency.
First, choose the “home” for your money

Before browsing the stock market, young investors need to decide where their money will live. There are a number of options including the Tax-Free Savings Account, Registered Retirement Savings Plan, First Home Savings Account or an unregistered account.

Diandra Camilleri, associate portfolio manager at Verecan Capital Management Inc., noted that many young Canadians rush to buy a product without considering the tax implications or accessibility of the account they are using.

“Asset location, which is about deciding which accounts hold which investments, is often framed as a tax decision, yet it also affects how accessible your money is and what it can realistically do for you over time,” said Camilleri.

She warned that investors often reach their thirties and forties only to realize they’ve been saving in the wrong vehicle.

Whether it is a TFSA for flexibility or an RRSP for long-term growth, getting advice on the “where” you should put your money is just as vital as the “what.”
The $1,000 strategy: keep it simple

Once the account is open, how should a beginner deploy a lump sum of $500 or $1,000?

Robert Gill, a portfolio manager at Fairbank Investment Management, said simplicity is paramount. While his firm generally favours other investment strategies for larger portfolios, he notes that a small capital base presents a practical exception for using exchange-traded funds.

“With a limited amount to invest, allocating capital across multiple ETFs may introduce unnecessary complexity and excessive diversification,” Gill said. “One broad-based ETF is typically sufficient to provide the diversification and growth potential a new investor requires.”

Gill suggests focusing on those tracking the TSX, S&P 500, or MSCI World, rather than niche sectors. This allows a young investor to participate in the growth of top-tier companies without the fees and complexity of managing a multi-asset portfolio.
Core and satellite: a building block approach

Shane Obata, portfolio manager at Middlefield, echoes Gill’s belief of building a broad, diversified global equity base as a stable foundation.

Once you’ve done that, he suggests you consider a slightly more active, prudent approach, called a “core and satellite” strategy.

“You can layer in specific thematic investments that you believe have long-term durability ... to capture higher growth potential,” said Obata.

However, he advises caution when buying passive indices for complex sectors, such as technology. In fast-moving industries, a passive index forces investors to own the “losers” alongside the “winners,” exposing them to unnecessary risk.
The “all-in-one” ETF debate

A popular option for beginners is the “all-in-one” asset allocation ETF, which holds global stocks and bonds. While convenient, Obata warned they can be a “one-size-fits-most” solution that lack flexibility in response to market conditions.

“By bundling everything together, investors lose some flexibility to adjust their asset allocation based on market conditions,” Obata said.

He also notes that in taxable accounts, these funds limit tax-efficiency strategies, such as tax-loss harvesting, because you cannot selectively sell the underlying holdings.
The $200 monthly habit

After the initial investment, the next step is monthly contributions. If you only have $200 a month to spare, should you spread it around?

Gill advises against it. “A monthly contribution of $200 is well-suited to investing in a single, diversified ETF, but is generally insufficient to be effectively allocated across multiple investment products,” he said.

Young investors also shouldn’t fret that their monthly contribution is on the smaller side. Camilleri said consistency matters far more than the dollar figure. She recommends setting up automatic contributions to build discipline without having to think about it.
Avoid the stock-picking trap

Finally, both Gill and Obata said beginners should avoid the temptation of picking individual stocks.

“Picking individual stocks is a difficult proposition that requires a significant time commitment to research and track companies, which most beginners simply do not have,” said Obata.

Gill agreed, noting that monitoring individual companies requires expertise, patience, and emotional detachment, which can prove challenging and potentially overwhelming for a novice investor.

For someone starting out, the message is clear: start small, automate your savings, and prioritize broad exposure over picking the next hot stock.

Time is your greatest asset, so start using it.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2026.

Kumutha Ramanathan, The Canadian Press

#Putin invited to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, Kremlin says

New charges against son of Norway princess. The son of Norway’s crown princess, who goes on trial in February accused of raping four women, has been charged with new crimes including a “serious narcotics offence”, the prosecutor said on Monday.

Marius Borg Hoiby, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from another relationship before she married Crown Prince Haakon, was charged on August 18 with four rapes and 28 other crimes, including acts of violence against ex-girlfriends.

Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo said in a statement sent to AFP that an additional indictment had been issued on Monday against Hoiby, 29, covering a total of six counts.

One was a “serious narcotics offence” dating from one incident in 2020 “involving 3.5 kilos of marijuana”. Hoiby has admitted to the crime, Henriksbo said.

Hoiby’s lawyer Ellen Holager Andenaes told Norwegian news agency NTB her client had “on one occasion transported marijuana from A to B without earning a penny”.

Two of the counts concerned restraining order violations, while three others were traffic violations for driving a motorcycle at high speed, Henriksbo said.

“The additional indictment will now be sent to the Oslo district court for consideration during the main hearing, which begins on February 3,” he said.

Hoiby was arrested on August 4, 2024, suspected of having assaulted his then-girlfriend.

He has admitted to acts of violence in that case, but has denied most of the charges against him, according to his lawyers.

In a public statement 10 days after his August 2024 arrest, Hoiby said he had acted “under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument”, having suffered from “mental troubles” and struggling “for a long time with substance abuse”.

The four rapes allegedly took place in 2018, 2023 and 2024, the last one after the police investigation began.

It is the biggest scandal to hit the Norwegian royal family.

Hoiby is not technically a member of the royal family, and therefore has no official public role.

The trial will take place in the Oslo district court from February 3 until March 13.

#Syrian government announces a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

RAQQA, Syria — The Syrian government Sunday announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces, taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the northeast for over a decade.

The announcement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push by government forces toward the east. The SDF appeared to have largely retreated after initial clashes on a tense front line area in eastern Aleppo province.

Hours after the government announced the deal, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi confirmed it in a video statement, saying the group had accepted the agreement, which stipulates their withdrawal from Raqqa and Deir el-Zour provinces “to stop the bloodshed.”

“We will explain the terms of the agreement to our people in the coming days,” he said.

Syria’s Defense Ministry said it ordered the fighting to halt on the front lines after the agreement was announced.
New government had struggled to take control

Syria’s new leaders, since toppling Bashar Assad in December 2024, have struggled to assert their full authority over the war-torn country. An agreement was reached in March that would merge the SDF with Damascus, but it didn’t gain traction as both sides accused each other of violating the deal.

Since the push, the government has largely asserted control of the Deir el-Zour and Raqqa provinces, critical areas under the SDF that include oil and gas fields, river dams along the Euphrates, and border crossings.

Syria’s state-run news agency SANA showed President Ahmad al-Sharaa signing and holding the agreement. Abdi, who was scheduled to meet with the president in Damascus was not seen, though his signature appeared on the document. Al-Sharaa told journalists that Abdi could not travel due to bad weather and will visit Damascus on Monday.

“It’s a victory for all Syrians of all backgrounds,” al-Sharaa told journalists in Damascus after signing the agreement. “Hopefully Syria will end its state of division and move to a state of unity and progress.”

The two warring sides are key allies of Washington. U.S. Envoy Tom Barrack met with al-Sharaa earlier Sunday as government forces were sweeping into the city of Raqqa and across Deir el-Zour province. Abdi reportedly joined the meeting over the phone.
U.S. envoy says agreement will lead to dialogue and cooperation

Barrack praised the agreement, saying it will lead to “renewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria,” ahead of working on the details of implementing the integration.

“This agreement and ceasefire represent a pivotal inflection point, where former adversaries embrace partnership over division,” said Barrack in a post on X.

The agreement includes dismantling the SDF and having its forces join Syria’s military and security forces, while senior military and civilian officials would be given high-ranking positions in state institutions.

The SDF would have to give up the Raqqa and Deir el-Zour provinces -- both Arab-majority areas -- to the Syrian military and government, as well as its border crossings and oil and gas fields. Hassakah Province, the heartland of the Kurdish population, is only expected to give its civilian administration back to Damascus, while the Kurdish-led agencies that handled prisons and sprawling camps with thousands of detained Islamic State group fighters and families would be handed over to Damascus.
President says agreement will be implemented gradually

There was no clear timeline on when and how the different elements of the agreement will take effect. Al-Sharaa told journalists that it will be gradually implemented, beginning with the cessation of hostilities.

It appeared that tensions following clashes in Aleppo earlier this month had calmed after Abdi announced that his troops will withdraw east of the Euphrates River, and al-Sharaa issued a presidential decree that would strengthen Kurdish rights in the country.

Initially the withdrawal appeared to be going as planned, but then new clashes broke out and the Syrian military seized Tabqa, continuing into Raqqa province.

A senior Syrian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly said government forces pushed eastward because the SDF despite saying they will withdraw east of the Euphrates by 7 a.m. did not do so.

Armed Arab clans in Raqqa and Deir el-Zour that largely do not support the SDF backed Damascus. By Sunday evening, the SDF lost control of large swaths of its territory and infrastructure, including dams and oil and gas fields.

The SDF took Raqqa from the Islamic State in 2017 as part of its military campaign to take down the group’s so-called caliphate, which at its peak stretched across large parts of Syria and Iraq. At the height of its control, IS declared Raqqa its capital.

An Associated Press reporter in the area said that large military convoys swept into Raqqa city Sunday evening and were greeted by residents. It appeared that the SDF had withdrawn.
Raqqa celebrates as Qamishli is circumspect

Crowds in Raqqa celebrated in the streets late into the evening, waving Syrian flags and setting off fireworks, while some fired into the air.

“Today, everyone is born anew,” said Yahya Al Ahmad, who was among the revelers.

A couple of thousand Kurdish families who lived in the areas captured by government forces fled to the SDF-controlled city of Qamishli amid the offensive. Many of them had previously been displaced from other areas multiple times during Syria’s 14-year civil war and were living in tents camps. A cultural center in the city was turned into a temporary shelter for them.

Residents of Qamishli expressed both hope and skepticism about the deal.

“The Kurds have become victims of international agreements and international deception,” said Goran Ibrahim, a doctor. But he said, “With regards to this agreement, the positive part is the end of the fighting between Arabs and Kurds in the region.”

Syria’s ambassador to the U.N., Ibrahim Olabi, told the AP, “Really this is now a moment to show that Syrians are able to put differences aside and move ahead…It’s a victory for Syria.”

Ghaith Alsayed and Omar Albam, The Associated Press

Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Sri Lanka unveils a rare purple star sapphire claimed to be the biggest of its kind.

The round shaped gem named “Star of Pure Land” is the world’s largest documented natural purple star sapphire, said Ashan Amarasinghe, a consultant gemologist.

“This is the largest purple star sapphire of its kind,” he told the media, adding that the gem “shows a well-defined asterism. It has six rays asterism. That’s something special out of all the other stones.”

The gem, which has been polished, is owned by the Star of Pure Land Team, who want to remain anonymous for security reasons.

One of the owners said the gem was found in a gem pit near the remote Sri Lankan town of Rathnapura, known as the “city of gems,” in 2023.

It was purchased together with other gems in 2023 and about two years later, the owners found that it was a special stone. They then got it certified by two laboratories.

Amarasinghe said the value of the stone has been estimated at $300 million to $400 million by international valuers. Sri Lankan sapphires are renowned for their unique color, clarity and shimmer.

Bharatha Mallawarachi, The Associated Press