Briefly

QATAR

Gaza ceasefire talks resume for 2nd day

Hamas and Israel resumed talks for a second day in Qatar on Monday, aimed at securing a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, ahead of a meeting in Washington between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. An Israeli official described the atmosphere so far at the Gaza talks, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, as positive. Palestinian officials said that initial meetings on Sunday had ended inconclusively.

YEMEN

Israel launches first strikes in weeks

Israel has attacked Houthi targets in three Yemeni ports and a power plant, the Israeli military said early on Monday, marking the first Israeli attack on Yemen in almost a month. The strikes on Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif ports, and Ras Qantib power plant, were due to repeated Houthi attacks on Israel, the military added. Following the attacks, the Houthi military spokesperson said their air defenses confronted the Israeli attack "by using a large number of domestically produced surface-to-air missiles".

INDONESIA

Volcanic eruption disrupts flights

Huge eruptions of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara Province on Monday disrupted air travel and posed serious health risks due to the spread of volcanic ash. Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation reported that the volcano erupted several times, with the tallest ash column reaching up to 18,000 meters into the sky. This triggered the issuance of a red-level Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation, the highest alert, which prohibits aircraft from flying below 6,000 meters in the affected airspace.

Agencies - Xinhua