Namrata Nangia and her husband have been toying with the idea of having another child since their five-year-old daughter was born.

But it always comes back to one question: 'Can we afford it?'

She lives in Mumbai and works in pharmaceuticals, her husband works at a tyre company. But the costs of having one child are already overwhelming - school fees, the school bus, swimming lessons, even going to the GP is expensive.

It was different when Namrata was growing up. "We just used to go to school, nothing extracurricular, but now you have to send your kid to swimming, you have to send them to drawing, you have to see what else they can do."

According to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN agency for reproductive rights, Namrata's situation is becoming a global norm.

World fertility rates in 'unprecedented decline', UN says

Hundreds of millions of people are not able to have the number of children they want, the UN warns.

^{Stephanie Hegarty (BBC News)}

Every tenancy in the country is set to be brought under a Rent Pressure Zone, Government leaders have agreed.

In a meeting on Monday night, leaders met and agreed on a new system of national rent control.

New rent controls: Landlords face increased fines for breaking rules; eviction ban won’t apply to half of all

The Government is looking at increasing fines for landlords who break eviction rules and is consulting the Attorney General on the matter, Housing Minister James Browne has said.

^{Senan Molony, Tabitha Monahan and Gráinne Ní Aodha (Irish Independent)}

https://apnews.com/article/iran-tataloo-rapper-execution-nuclear-f30028aa89cf715e868549bab049addd

Murtaza Hussain, Waqas Ahmed, and Ryan Grim
Jun 09, 2025

"A review of leaked data from Meta, provided to us by company whistleblowers, shows that Israeli companies since 2023 are finding it increasingly difficult everywhere around the world to attract new customers, leading to advertising-cost increases in the billions.

We also just posted the translated audio of an extraordinary interview just given by former Israeli PM Yair Lapid, who is often discussed as a more humane, centrist alternative to Benjamin Netanyahu. Give it a listen and see if you agree with that label."

Leaked Data From Meta Reveal Israeli Companies Are Struggling To Find Customers

For the year 2025, the Israeli government announced it would be earmarking an additional $150 million toward global public relations, an unprecedented increase in spending that comes alongside a striking collapse in perception for Israel around the w…

^{www.dropsitenews.com}

Richard Varvill reflects on the emotional collapse of Reaction Engines, a UK aerospace firm that developed cutting-edge heat exchanger tech for hypersonic flight.

Originating from the 1980s Hotol project, the company came close to success but failed in late 2024 due to a lack of funding, despite promising tech and support from major investors like Rolls-Royce.

Staff were devastated, with many in tears during the final announcement. Former team members take pride in the innovation and culture, though regret the mission remains unfinished.

The company’s closure highlights the harsh reality of funding gaps in long-term aerospace ventures

“we failed because we ran out of money.”

What happens when a high-tech project fails?

Workers at Reaction Engines felt they were close to completing a revolutionary jet engine.

^{Michael Dempsey (BBC News)}

Senate Commerce Republicans have kept a ten year moratorium on state AI laws in their latest version of President Donald Trump’s massive budget package. And a growing number of lawmakers and civil society groups warn that its broad language could put consumer protections on the chopping block.

Republicans who support the provision, which the House cleared as part of its “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” say it will help ensure AI companies aren’t bogged down by a complicated patchwork of regulations. But opponents warn that should it survive a vote and a congressional rule that might prohibit it, Big Tech companies could be exempted from state legal guardrails for years to come, without any promise of federal standards to take their place.

Not to mention, if/when federal standards are created, the standards will be determined by a federal government that is being run by the broligarchs. These are the people we need to be protected from. They've had the idea of federal "regulations" that will allow them to do whatever they need to succeed planned since at least 2019.

Relying only on federal AI regulations to protect Americans in 2025, would be like the federal government relying on George Wallace to create the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.

Sam Altman, 2025:

Altman also later cautioned against a patchwork regulatory framework for AI.

“It is very difficult to imagine us figuring out how to comply with 50 different sets of regulations,” said Altman. “One federal framework that is light touch, that we can understand, and it lets us move with the speed that this moment calls for, seems important and fine.”

Peter Thiel protege, Michael Kratsios regarding AI regulation in 2019

“A patchwork of regulation of technology is not beneficial for the country. We want to avoid that. Facial recognition has important roles—for example, finding lost or displaced children. There are use cases, but they need to be underpinned by values.”

A ban on state AI laws could smash Big Tech’s legal guardrails

The Senate is pushing ahead with language in its budget bill that could restrict states from regulating AI for a decade, and opponents warn it could hamper other consumer protections.

^{Lauren Feiner (The Verge)}

• Prisoner exchange follows Istanbul talks on June 2
  
  • Emotional reunions as POWs return home
  • Kyiv and Moscow remain far apart on ending the war

  
  

CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine, June 9 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of war under the age of 25 on Monday in emotional homecoming scenes, the first step in a series of planned prisoner swaps that could become the biggest of the war so far.

The exchange was the result of direct talks between the two sides in Istanbul on June 2 that resulted in an agreement to exchange at least 1,200 POWs on each side and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in Russia's war in Ukraine.

The return of POWs and the repatriation of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have managed to agree on as broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year.

Fighting has raged on, with Russia saying on Monday its forces had taken control of more territory in Ukraine's east-central region of Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv saying Moscow had launched its largest drone attack of the war.

Officials in Kyiv said some of the Ukrainian prisoners who came home on Monday had been in Russian captivity since the beginning of the war.

At a rendezvous point for the returning Ukrainian prisoners, soon after they crossed back into northern Ukraine, an official handed one of the freed men a cellphone so that he could call his mother, a video released by Ukrainian authorities showed.

"Hi mum, I've arrived, I'm home!" the soldier shouted into the receiver, struggling to catch his breath because he was overcome by emotion.

The released Ukrainian men were later taken by bus to a hospital in northern Ukraine where they were to have medical checks and be given showers, food and care packages including mobile phones and shoes.

Jubilation was tinged with sadness because outside the hospital were crowds of people, mostly women, looking for relatives who went missing while fighting for Ukraine.

The women held up pictures of the missing men in the hope that one of the returning POWs would recognised them and share details about what happened to them. Some hoped their loved ones would be among those released.

Oksana Kupriyenko, 52, was holding up an image of her son, Denys, who went missing in September 2024.

"Tomorrow is my birthday and I was hoping God will give me a gift and return my son to me," she said, through tears.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-ukraine-exchange-group-younger-prisoners-war-moscow-says-2025-06-09/

I'd argue this isn't internal US news considering an international reporter was shot. TWO international reporters shot in a single day.

Also...

“People came over to help and got me on the curb. A medic was called, who cut off my clothes. In my leg was what felt like a five centimeter hole with muscle hanging out of it and blood all down my leg. The medic put a tourniquet on it, and a journalist I was with took me to ER.”

British photojournalist hit by non-lethal rounds during Los Angeles protests

Nick Stern to undergo surgery for wound sustained during the standoff between police and anti-Ice protesters

^{Edward Helmore (The Guardian)}

Update: I will no longer be updating this thread. New Information will be coming soon undoubtedly.

(01:40 GMT) Israel does not have authority over Gaza waters

A video obtained by Al Jazeera shows a uniformed officer telling the people on board the Madleen there are other means for delivering aid, before the ship was intercepted.
“If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, you’re able to do so through the port of Ashdod,” the uniformed officer says. “We have established channels and distribution centres.”
However UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese told Al Jazeera this is not accurate.
“Israel has no authority over Gaza. This is the thing. Israel needs to end the siege.”
“The people of Gaza need to be helped.”

(01:23 GMT) Israeli MFA says Madleen being taken to Israel’s Ashdod port

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Israeli authorities intercepted the Madleen.
“The “selfie yacht” of the “celebrities” is safely making its way to the shores of Israel,” the ministry said in a post on X.
The post accused “Greta and others” of attempting “to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity” claiming sufficient aid has reached Gaza in the past two weeks.
However Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza after allowing some food to return to the strip following its longest ever total blockade.
Dozens of people have been killed while trying to reach aid distribution sites, including at least 13 Palestinians on Sunday alone.

(01:00 GMT) ‘If you see this video, we are being intercepted and kidnapped’

Greta Thunberg has shared a pre-recorded video appealing for international help.
“My name is Greta Thunberg, and I am from Sweden,” Thunberg said in the video recorded on board the Madleen, before tonight’s events.
“If you see this video, we are being intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel,” she said.
“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.”

(00:50 GMT) Francesca Albanese says she lost contact with Madleen

As we’ve been reporting, the support crew for the Madleen say that communications on board the ship have been cut.
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese also says she has lost contact with the ship.
“I heard the soldiers speaking while the captain was on the phone with me,” says Albanese.
“I lost connection with the captain as he was telling me that ‘another boat is approaching’.”

(00:40 GMT) Madleen crew told to throw phones over board

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has shared a video showing the crew in the moments before the ship was intercepted by Israeli forces.
The crew sat wearing life vests, with their hands in the air and threw their phones in the water.

(00:25 GMT) Crew’s eyes were burning after white substance dropped on Madleen

Here’s more from Huwaida Arraf, the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, which is supporting the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
“Just moments ago, communication seemed to be cut,” Arraf told Al Jazeera from Sicily.
“So, we have lost all contact with our colleagues on the Madleen.”
“Before that, we know that they had two drones hovering above them that dropped some kind of chemical on the vessel. We don’t know what that chemical was,” she said.
“Some people reported that their eyes were burning. Before that, they were also approached by vessels in a very threatening manner.”
So at least for the last hour, hour and a half, they have been threatened by Israeli forces.”
“The last we saw, were able to hear from them, they were surrounded… by Israeli naval commandos and it looked like the commandos were about to take over the vessel.”

(00:21 GMT) Israeli forces intercept the Madleen, cut off comms

Contact has been lost with the Madleen after Israeli commandos intercepted it in international waters.
They demanded that everyone on board turn off their phones, and we have lost contact with Al Jazeera Mubasher journalist Omar Faiad as well as our live feed.
International Solidarity Movement co-founder, Huwaida Arraf, confirmed that they have also lost contact with the Madleen.

(00:12 GMT) Drones drop white paint on Madleen as comms jammed

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla says that quadcopters have surrounded the Madleen and are “spraying it with a white paint-like substance”.
“Communications are jammed and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,” the flotilla said in a post on Instagram.

(23:45 GMT) Two drones hovering over the Madleen

The crew on board the Madleen is now taking cover as two drones are hovering overhead, says UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
“Two drones over the Madleen. They say they are quadcopters, the dangerous ones. TEAM IS TAKING COVER,” Albanese wrote on X.

(23:30 GMT) ‘Psychological warfare’ as two boats remain in front of Madleen

Speaking to Al Jazeera from on board the Madleen, Yasemin Acar, says that four vessels approached the ship and that two remain nearby.
“We are very close to Gaza, approximately 100 miles away,” she said.
“We sounded the alarm because we saw exactly four vessels approaching us all at the same time, two of which had blue lights,” she said.
“We had many lights suddenly surrounding us, and the four vessels suddenly just stopped.”
Acar added that two of the boats came as close as 200 meters from the Madleen before leaving, while the other two vessels remain nearby.
“Two of them are still right in front of me, they just stopped,” she said.
“We are reason to believe that this is psychological warfare.”
“It’s just a way of intimidating us and a way to make us turn back and not tried to challenge the illegal blockade on Gaza.”

(23:15 GMT) Francesca Albanese says Madleen ‘calm and safe now’

The UN Special Rapporteur on the the Occupied Palestinian Territories has said “all looks calm and safe now,” after alarms earlier sounded on board the Madleen.
“I just spoke again with the Flotilla, [including] its [Communication] Room in Catania”, Albanese said in a post on X.
“All looks calm and safe now. Speedboats watching; but the flotilla continues its sailing.”
“It will be a long night. And as they say and we say, ‘we are together’.”

(22:58 GMT) Freedom Flotilla Coalition says surrounding boats have left

In an audio message on the coalition’s Telegram, activist Thiago Avila has said the boats that surrounded the Madleen have now left.
“This, unfortunately, has been a very unlikely false alarm. we have been surrounded by many lights all at once. And they were circling our boat, but in the end, they kept going their own way,” he said.
“Could be IOF (Israel occupation forces) vessels, but in this case they just left and we don’t know,” he added. “We’re not sure.”

(22:40 GMT) ‘The IOF is here right now, please sound the alarm’

A video posted by Eye on Palestine shows Brazilian activist Thiago Avila wearing a life jacket.
“The IOF is here right now, please sound the alarm. We are being surrounded by their boats,” he said in the video.
“Yes this is an interception, a war crime is happening right now,” he said.

(22:35 GMT) UN rights expert says Israeli speedboats surrounding Madleen

In a post on X, Francesca Albanese said that she is in contact with the Madleen crew as they are now surrounded by Israeli vessels.
“They have just been reached by the Israel speedboats – 5 vessels circling the flotilla,” Albanese said.
“The captain is instructing the team to stay calm and seated, with their passports and life jackets on.”
“I hear them speaking with Israeli soldiers as I type… telling they are carrying humanitarian aid and go in peace. For the time being they are just circled. I am with them, recording everything.”

(19:35 GMT) Israel planning to intercept Madleen tonight

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper has reported that Israel’s Navy is planning to intercept Madleen tonight, and will seek to do so as far from the coast of Gaza as possible.
The newspaper framed the plan to intercept the Madleen deep in international waters as meant to avoid having to take the vessel by force, saying it will give the crew ample time to turn around.
Madleen’s crew has said they remain resolute in breaking the Israeli blockade.
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official told Israel’s Channel 12 that the vessel will be boarded by commandos if it does not turn around and will be taken to Ashdod port.

(16:50 GMT) Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist on board the Madleen vessel, tells Al Jazeera the boat is currently about 185km (100 nautical miles) off the coast of Gaza.

“We are here to support Gaza and demand an end to the bombing and starvation,” Avila said. “Despite threats, we will continue our journey. The world must stand with us.”
He said drones are flying overhead and communication systems had been jammed.
“We know Israeli forces are prepared to confront us with weapons, but we are not afraid,” he said. “What we face is nothing compared to what Palestinians in Gaza endure.”

Click the link to the latest updates.

___

Madleen Gaza flotilla updates: Israel detains Greta Thunberg, 11 activists

Freedom Flotilla crew was detained by Israeli commandos illegally in international waters off of Gaza.

^{Tamila Varshalomidze (Al Jazeera)}

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/31371672

(00:40 GMT) Madleen crew told to throw phones over board

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has shared a video showing the crew in the moments before the ship was intercepted by Israeli forces.

The crew sat wearing life vests, with their hands in the air and threw their phones in the water.

(00:25 GMT) Crew’s eyes were burning after white substance dropped on Madleen

Here’s more from Huwaida Arraf, the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, which is supporting the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.

“Just moments ago, communication seemed to be cut,” Arraf told Al Jazeera from Sicily.

“So, we have lost all contact with our colleagues on the Madleen.”

“Before that, we know that they had two drones hovering above them that dropped some kind of chemical on the vessel. We don’t know what that chemical was,” she said.

“Some people reported that their eyes were burning. Before that, they were also approached by vessels in a very threatening manner.”

So at least for the last hour, hour and a half, they have been threatened by Israeli forces.”

“The last we saw, were able to hear from them, they were surrounded… by Israeli naval commandos and it looked like the commandos were about to take over the vessel.”

(00:21 GMT) Israeli forces intercept the Madleen, cut off comms

Contact has been lost with the Madleen after Israeli commandos intercepted it in international waters.

They demanded that everyone on board turn off their phones, and we have lost contact with Al Jazeera Mubasher journalist Omar Faiad as well as our live feed.

International Solidarity Movement co-founder, Huwaida Arraf, confirmed that they have also lost contact with the Madleen.

(00:12 GMT) Drones drop white paint on Madleen as comms jammed

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla says that quadcopters have surrounded the Madleen and are “spraying it with a white paint-like substance”.

“Communications are jammed and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,” the flotilla said in a post on Instagram.

(23:45 GMT) Two drones hovering over the Madleen

The crew on board the Madleen is now taking cover as two drones are hovering overhead, says UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

“Two drones over the Madleen. They say they are quadcopters, the dangerous ones. TEAM IS TAKING COVER,” Albanese wrote on X.

(23:30 GMT) ‘Psychological warfare’ as two boats remain in front of Madleen

Speaking to Al Jazeera from on board the Madleen, Yasemin Acar, says that four vessels approached the ship and that two remain nearby.

“We are very close to Gaza, approximately 100 miles away,” she said.

“We sounded the alarm because we saw exactly four vessels approaching us all at the same time, two of which had blue lights,” she said.

“We had many lights suddenly surrounding us, and the four vessels suddenly just stopped.”

Acar added that two of the boats came as close as 200 meters from the Madleen before leaving, while the other two vessels remain nearby.

“Two of them are still right in front of me, they just stopped,” she said.

“We are reason to believe that this is psychological warfare.”

“It’s just a way of intimidating us and a way to make us turn back and not tried to challenge the illegal blockade on Gaza.”

(23:15 GMT) Francesca Albanese says Madleen ‘calm and safe now’

The UN Special Rapporteur on the the Occupied Palestinian Territories has said “all looks calm and safe now,” after alarms earlier sounded on board the Madleen.

“I just spoke again with the Flotilla, [including] its [Communication] Room in Catania”, Albanese said in a post on X.

“All looks calm and safe now. Speedboats watching; but the flotilla continues its sailing.”

“It will be a long night. And as they say and we say, ‘we are together’.”

(22:58 GMT) Freedom Flotilla Coalition says surrounding boats have left

In an audio message on the coalition’s Telegram, activist Thiago Avila has said the boats that surrounded the Madleen have now left.

“This, unfortunately, has been a very unlikely false alarm. we have been surrounded by many lights all at once. And they were circling our boat, but in the end, they kept going their own way,” he said.

“Could be IOF (Israel occupation forces) vessels, but in this case they just left and we don’t know,” he added. “We’re not sure.”

(22:40 GMT) ‘The IOF is here right now, please sound the alarm’

A video posted by Eye on Palestine shows Brazilian activist Thiago Avila wearing a life jacket.

“The IOF is here right now, please sound the alarm. We are being surrounded by their boats,” he said in the video.

“Yes this is an interception, a war crime is happening right now,” he said.

(22:35 GMT) UN rights expert says Israeli speedboats surrounding Madleen

In a post on X, Francesca Albanese said that she is in contact with the Madleen crew as they are now surrounded by Israeli vessels.

“They have just been reached by the Israel speedboats – 5 vessels circling the flotilla,” Albanese said.

“The captain is instructing the team to stay calm and seated, with their passports and life jackets on.”

“I hear them speaking with Israeli soldiers as I type… telling they are carrying humanitarian aid and go in peace. For the time being they are just circled. I am with them, recording everything.”

(19:35 GMT) Israel planning to intercept Madleen tonight

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper has reported that Israel’s Navy is planning to intercept Madleen tonight, and will seek to do so as far from the coast of Gaza as possible.

The newspaper framed the plan to intercept the Madleen deep in international waters as meant to avoid having to take the vessel by force, saying it will give the crew ample time to turn around.

Madleen’s crew has said they remain resolute in breaking the Israeli blockade.

Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official told Israel’s Channel 12 that the vessel will be boarded by commandos if it does not turn around and will be taken to Ashdod port.

(16:50 GMT) Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist on board the Madleen vessel, tells Al Jazeera the boat is currently about 185km (100 nautical miles) off the coast of Gaza.

“We are here to support Gaza and demand an end to the bombing and starvation,” Avila said. “Despite threats, we will continue our journey. The world must stand with us.”

He said drones are flying overhead and communication systems had been jammed.

“We know Israeli forces are prepared to confront us with weapons, but we are not afraid,” he said. “What we face is nothing compared to what Palestinians in Gaza endure.”

Click the link to the latest updates.

___

teagrrl

2025-06-08 16:53:31

[News] Madleen Gaza Flotilla Live Tracker: Israeli Forces Intercept the Madleen, Cut Off Comms, Kidnap Crew

Update: I will no longer be updating this thread. New Information will be coming soon undoubtedly.

(01:40 GMT) Israel does not have authority over Gaza waters

A video obtained by Al Jazeera shows a uniformed officer telling the people on board the Madleen there are other means for delivering aid, before the ship was intercepted.
“If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, you’re able to do so through the port of Ashdod,” the uniformed officer says. “We have established channels and distribution centres.”
However UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese told Al Jazeera this is not accurate.
“Israel has no authority over Gaza. This is the thing. Israel needs to end the siege.”
“The people of Gaza need to be helped.”

(01:23 GMT) Israeli MFA says Madleen being taken to Israel’s Ashdod port

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Israeli authorities intercepted the Madleen.
“The “selfie yacht” of the “celebrities” is safely making its way to the shores of Israel,” the ministry said in a post on X.
The post accused “Greta and others” of attempting “to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity” claiming sufficient aid has reached Gaza in the past two weeks.
However Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza after allowing some food to return to the strip following its longest ever total blockade.
Dozens of people have been killed while trying to reach aid distribution sites, including at least 13 Palestinians on Sunday alone.

(01:00 GMT) ‘If you see this video, we are being intercepted and kidnapped’

Greta Thunberg has shared a pre-recorded video appealing for international help.
“My name is Greta Thunberg, and I am from Sweden,” Thunberg said in the video recorded on board the Madleen, before tonight’s events.
“If you see this video, we are being intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel,” she said.
“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.”

(00:50 GMT) Francesca Albanese says she lost contact with Madleen

As we’ve been reporting, the support crew for the Madleen say that communications on board the ship have been cut.
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese also says she has lost contact with the ship.
“I heard the soldiers speaking while the captain was on the phone with me,” says Albanese.
“I lost connection with the captain as he was telling me that ‘another boat is approaching’.”

(00:40 GMT) Madleen crew told to throw phones over board

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has shared a video showing the crew in the moments before the ship was intercepted by Israeli forces.
The crew sat wearing life vests, with their hands in the air and threw their phones in the water.

(00:25 GMT) Crew’s eyes were burning after white substance dropped on Madleen

Here’s more from Huwaida Arraf, the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, which is supporting the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
“Just moments ago, communication seemed to be cut,” Arraf told Al Jazeera from Sicily.
“So, we have lost all contact with our colleagues on the Madleen.”
“Before that, we know that they had two drones hovering above them that dropped some kind of chemical on the vessel. We don’t know what that chemical was,” she said.
“Some people reported that their eyes were burning. Before that, they were also approached by vessels in a very threatening manner.”
So at least for the last hour, hour and a half, they have been threatened by Israeli forces.”
“The last we saw, were able to hear from them, they were surrounded… by Israeli naval commandos and it looked like the commandos were about to take over the vessel.”

(00:21 GMT) Israeli forces intercept the Madleen, cut off comms

Contact has been lost with the Madleen after Israeli commandos intercepted it in international waters.
They demanded that everyone on board turn off their phones, and we have lost contact with Al Jazeera Mubasher journalist Omar Faiad as well as our live feed.
International Solidarity Movement co-founder, Huwaida Arraf, confirmed that they have also lost contact with the Madleen.

(00:12 GMT) Drones drop white paint on Madleen as comms jammed

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla says that quadcopters have surrounded the Madleen and are “spraying it with a white paint-like substance”.
“Communications are jammed and disturbing sounds are being played over the radio,” the flotilla said in a post on Instagram.

(23:45 GMT) Two drones hovering over the Madleen

The crew on board the Madleen is now taking cover as two drones are hovering overhead, says UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
“Two drones over the Madleen. They say they are quadcopters, the dangerous ones. TEAM IS TAKING COVER,” Albanese wrote on X.

(23:30 GMT) ‘Psychological warfare’ as two boats remain in front of Madleen

Speaking to Al Jazeera from on board the Madleen, Yasemin Acar, says that four vessels approached the ship and that two remain nearby.
“We are very close to Gaza, approximately 100 miles away,” she said.
“We sounded the alarm because we saw exactly four vessels approaching us all at the same time, two of which had blue lights,” she said.
“We had many lights suddenly surrounding us, and the four vessels suddenly just stopped.”
Acar added that two of the boats came as close as 200 meters from the Madleen before leaving, while the other two vessels remain nearby.
“Two of them are still right in front of me, they just stopped,” she said.
“We are reason to believe that this is psychological warfare.”
“It’s just a way of intimidating us and a way to make us turn back and not tried to challenge the illegal blockade on Gaza.”

(23:15 GMT) Francesca Albanese says Madleen ‘calm and safe now’

The UN Special Rapporteur on the the Occupied Palestinian Territories has said “all looks calm and safe now,” after alarms earlier sounded on board the Madleen.
“I just spoke again with the Flotilla, [including] its [Communication] Room in Catania”, Albanese said in a post on X.
“All looks calm and safe now. Speedboats watching; but the flotilla continues its sailing.”
“It will be a long night. And as they say and we say, ‘we are together’.”

(22:58 GMT) Freedom Flotilla Coalition says surrounding boats have left

In an audio message on the coalition’s Telegram, activist Thiago Avila has said the boats that surrounded the Madleen have now left.
“This, unfortunately, has been a very unlikely false alarm. we have been surrounded by many lights all at once. And they were circling our boat, but in the end, they kept going their own way,” he said.
“Could be IOF (Israel occupation forces) vessels, but in this case they just left and we don’t know,” he added. “We’re not sure.”

(22:40 GMT) ‘The IOF is here right now, please sound the alarm’

A video posted by Eye on Palestine shows Brazilian activist Thiago Avila wearing a life jacket.
“The IOF is here right now, please sound the alarm. We are being surrounded by their boats,” he said in the video.
“Yes this is an interception, a war crime is happening right now,” he said.

(22:35 GMT) UN rights expert says Israeli speedboats surrounding Madleen

In a post on X, Francesca Albanese said that she is in contact with the Madleen crew as they are now surrounded by Israeli vessels.
“They have just been reached by the Israel speedboats – 5 vessels circling the flotilla,” Albanese said.
“The captain is instructing the team to stay calm and seated, with their passports and life jackets on.”
“I hear them speaking with Israeli soldiers as I type… telling they are carrying humanitarian aid and go in peace. For the time being they are just circled. I am with them, recording everything.”

(19:35 GMT) Israel planning to intercept Madleen tonight

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper has reported that Israel’s Navy is planning to intercept Madleen tonight, and will seek to do so as far from the coast of Gaza as possible.
The newspaper framed the plan to intercept the Madleen deep in international waters as meant to avoid having to take the vessel by force, saying it will give the crew ample time to turn around.
Madleen’s crew has said they remain resolute in breaking the Israeli blockade.
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official told Israel’s Channel 12 that the vessel will be boarded by commandos if it does not turn around and will be taken to Ashdod port.

(16:50 GMT) Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist on board the Madleen vessel, tells Al Jazeera the boat is currently about 185km (100 nautical miles) off the coast of Gaza.

“We are here to support Gaza and demand an end to the bombing and starvation,” Avila said. “Despite threats, we will continue our journey. The world must stand with us.”
He said drones are flying overhead and communication systems had been jammed.
“We know Israeli forces are prepared to confront us with weapons, but we are not afraid,” he said. “What we face is nothing compared to what Palestinians in Gaza endure.”

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Madleen Gaza flotilla updates: Israel detains Greta Thunberg, 11 activists

Freedom Flotilla crew was detained by Israeli commandos illegally in international waters off of Gaza.

^{Tamila Varshalomidze (Al Jazeera)}

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the US had diverted tens of thousands of anti-drone missiles to American troops in the Middle East, speaking Sunday to ABC News.

The 20,000 missiles were originally intended for Ukraine’s defense against Shahed-type drones, which Zelensky said his forces have a “big problem” with – “we will find all the tools to destroy them,” he said.

“We counted on this project,” Zelensky added, even though “it was not expensive, but it’s a special technology.”

Zelensky: US moved 20,000 anti-drone missiles meant for Ukraine to MidEast

The Pentagon sent the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System projectiles to the Middle East instead, where they will help protect US forces from regional threats

^{i24NEWS (i24news)}

Water levels within Kabul’s aquifers have dropped by up to 30 metres over the past decade owing to rapid urbanisation and climate breakdown, according to a report by the NGO Mercy Corps.

Meanwhile, almost half of the city’s boreholes – the primary source of drinking water for Kabul residents – have dried out. Water extraction currently exceeds the natural recharge rate by 44m cubic metres each year.

If these trends continue, all of Kabul’s aquifers will run dry as early as 2030, posing an existential threat to the city’s seven million inhabitants.

Kabul at risk of becoming first modern city to run out of water, report warns

NGO says Afghan capital’s 7 million people face existential crisis that world needs urgently to address

^{Mariam Amini (The Guardian)}