Trump asks Egypt, Jordan to take more Palestinian refugees from Gaza to ‘clean out the whole thing’
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Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has said that Jordan and Egypt should take more Palestinian refugees from Gaza to "clean out" the area, which has been converted into a demolition site due to the Israel-Hamas war.
Trump spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan on this matter on Saturday and plans to talk with the Egyptian leader as well.
Trump said that his call with Abdullah II was very good.
"He's a friend of mine. I know him very well. I've gotten along with him over the years very well. He's done a wonderful job. He really houses, you know, millions of Palestinians, and he does it in a very humane way. I compliment him on that,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
“I said to him, I'd love you to take on more (Palestinian people from Gaza). I'm looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it's a mess. I'd like him to take people. I'd like Egypt to take people,” he said.
Trump said that he was looking to talk to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday.
“I'd like Egypt to take people. I'd like Jordan to take people. You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. Over the centuries that says many, many conflicts inside. Something has to happen," Trump said.
"It is literally a demolition site right now, almost everything's demolished, and people are dying there. I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace,” he said.
The president said that the potential housing “could be temporary” or “could be long term.”
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Indian visa application centre suspended indefinitely in Bangladesh's Chattogram
Dhaka (PTI): India on Sunday suspended visa operations at its mission in Bangladeshi port city of Chattogram until further notice, according to media reports.
The move comes in the wake of a fresh wave of unrest witnessed in the country following the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
His death triggered attacks and vandalism across Bangladesh, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram on Thursday.
Hadi, a prominent leader of the student-led protests last year that led to the ouster of the prime minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, was a candidate for the scheduled February 12 general elections.
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He was shot in the head on December 12 by masked gunmen at an election campaign in central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area and died while undergoing treatment in Singapore on December 18.
“Due to the recent security incident at Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) Chittagong, Indian visa operations at IVAC Chittagong (Chattogram) will remain suspended from 21/12/2025 until further notice,” the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) said in a brief statement.
The announcement for reopening the visa centre will be made after reviewing the situation, the statement added. The decision came into effect on Sunday.
There are five IVAC facilities across Bangladesh at Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Chattogram and Sylhet. An IVAC official told PTI that the other four offices have remained operational as of Sunday.
India on Thursday resumed operations at its visa application centre in Dhaka, a day after closing it over escalated security concerns, but closed for a brief period two other identical facilities in Rajshahi and Khulna as anti-India protestors tried to march towards the Indian missions there.
On Saturday, security was strengthened at the Indian Assistant High Commission office and the visa application centre in Bangladesh's Sylhet city.
The enhanced security measures were put in place to ensure that “no third party can exploit the situation,” Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police Saiful Islam was quoted as saying by The Dhaka Tribune newspaper on Saturday.
Hadi, 32, was laid to rest on Saturday amid extra-tight security beside the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam near the Dhaka University mosque.
Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral prayers, and ahead of the ritual, chanted anti-India slogans like “Delhi or Dhaka - Dhaka, Dhaka” and “brother Hadi’s blood will not be allowed to go in vain.”
Earlier on December 17, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned Bangladesh envoy Riaz Hamidullah and conveyed its strong concern over certain extremist elements announcing plans to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka.
“We expect the interim government to ensure the safety of Missions and Posts in Bangladesh in keeping with its diplomatic obligations,” it said.
The envoy was apprised of India's strong concerns about the deteriorating security environment in Bangladesh, it added.
