World

Al Jazeera has obtained details of a plan submitted by Board of Peace Director General Nickolay Mladenov for the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups in Gaza. The plan, part of the October ceasefire to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023, would be implemented gradually over an eight-month, multiphase process in exchange for Israel fulfilling its obligations, including allowing reconstruction materials and increasing humanitarian aid into the enclave. The proposal also envisions the transfer of the territory’s administration to a Palestinian national committee.

A Paris court has sentenced prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan to 18 years in jail for raping three women, two years after he was given a jail term for a separate rape offence in Switzerland. The French case unfolded in 2017, when two of the three women came forward during the Me Too campaign against sexual abuse and harassment.

Zimbabwe's Information Minister Zhemu Soda announced that 15 of the country's nationals have been killed after being recruited to fight for Russia in its ongoing war with Ukraine, with over 60 more still trapped on the frontlines. The minister stated that the Zimbabweans were lured by shadowy agencies promising lucrative jobs abroad, using "social media platforms as their primary hunting ground."

US President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform that he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in China on May 14-15. This marks the first visit by a US president to China in nearly 10 years. Trump also plans to host Xi in Washington DC later this year, but these visits were delayed due to the US-Israel war with Iran.

A jury in Los Angeles has delivered a groundbreaking verdict against two of the world's most dominant digital platforms, Instagram and YouTube, ruling them to be addictive and deliberately engineered as such, while their owners were negligent in safeguarding children. The tech giants Meta and Google have been ordered to pay $6 million in damages to a young woman referred to as Kaley, who claimed the platforms led her to develop body dysmorphia, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

The European Parliament has approved legislation to implement a trade agreement with the United States, following months of uncertainty fueled by tariff threats from the Trump administration. The vote, held on Thursday, saw 417 lawmakers in favor, 154 against, and 71 abstentions, marking a critical step forward for the deal struck in July last year. The approval comes against a backdrop of delayed proceedings, partly due to former President Donald Trump's provocative statements about annexing Greenland and legal challenges against his tariff policies.

European NATO members and Canada increased defense spending by 20% in real terms in 2025, marking the second consecutive year of a 19.6% aggregate growth rate. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte presented the alliance's annual report in Brussels, lauding this as a “historic” increase, with Germany notably reaching 2.4% of GDP after years of sluggish growth.

The European Commission has released a report accusing social media platform Snapchat and four adult websites—Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos—of putting children's rights and wellbeing at risk by failing to enforce adequate age restrictions. According to the commission, underage users can easily access adult content on these platforms by merely clicking a button to confirm they are 18, without undergoing reliable age verification, a practice that allegedly breaches EU digital rules and could expose the companies to significant fines.

King Charles III delivered a historic speech at a state banquet welcoming Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to the UK, stating, "There are chapters in our shared history that I know have left some painful marks." This comes in a year when the monarch is expected to face renewed pressure to issue a formal apology for transatlantic slavery and colonialism, amid growing demands from African and Caribbean nations for reparative justice.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has alleged that the United States is conditioning future security guarantees for Kyiv on Ukraine's complete withdrawal from the eastern Donbas region. In an interview with Reuters, Zelenskyy stated that the US is prepared to finalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine agrees to leave Donbas. This assertion has been welcomed in Moscow, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commenting that a visit by Russian lawmakers to Washington could contribute to the "revival of bilateral relations," while Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly views control over all of Donbas as a prerequisite for a ceasefire.

A Los Angeles jury has found Meta (owner of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp) and YouTube (owned by Google) liable for harming a young user's mental health through addictive features in their products. This verdict could trigger a new wave of lawsuits against social media companies related to user well-being, reports The New York Times.

The online trend known as 'looksmaxxing,' rooted in misogyny, encourages socially isolated young men to undertake painful practices to gain beauty and status. This movement, part of the 'manosphere,' promotes toxic masculinity and hatred toward women, promising participants a higher 'sexual market value' and better life through rigorous self-improvement rituals. The trend comes with its own lingo, significant financial costs, and physical pain, including practices like 'starvemaxxing' (extreme dieting), 'bonesmashing' (using a hammer to reshape facial bones), steroid use, and plastic surgery.