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Russia's newly re-elected president has said he is open to French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to propose a ceasefire during this summer's Paris Olympics.
Macron said in an interview from Paris shown on Ukrainian television on Saturday that Russia would be asked to observe a ceasefire, in line with the customary host country's appeal for peace.
Vladimir Putin said Russia's interests would always take precedence, but he would consider the request:
"We are for peaceful negotiations, but not because the enemy is running out of ammunition. We are for it, if they really seriously want to build peaceful, good neighbourly relations between the two states in the long term, instead of taking a pause for one and a half or for two years to rearm," he said.
The call for a ceasefire comes after Macron recently said that sending Western troops into Ukraine should not be ruled out — though he said the current situation does not require it and insisted Russia cannot be allowed to win the war.
Macron still doesn't rule out sending troops to Ukraine IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee for incorporating Ukrainian sports regions
The International Olympic Committee in December decided against a blanket ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes over the invasion of Ukraine.
“As the athletes will participate in an individual and neutral capacity, they will not march in the Opening Ceremony on August 28 or have a flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony on September 8,” the IPC said.
On Thursday, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee said the ROC would not boycott this year's Paris Olympics, despite the restrictions placed on athletes.
The Paris Olympics take place from 26 July to 11 August with 10,500 athletes from 206 countries competing over the two and a half weeks.
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Monday marked another day of protests at prisons in Spain after a cook was murdered by an inmate in a centre in Catalonia last week.
Prison workers are demanding safer working conditions.
Despite a deal this Sunday, prison workers in Catalonia have taken to the streets again, putting up barricades and burning tyres at the entrances of detention centres to prevent both the entry and exit of officials and prisoners, as well as food and other services.
The aim is to generate tension inside the centres by preventing shift changes, although in some prisons workers were urged to stay overnight to ensure the service on Monday.
Councillor Gemma Ubasart indicated that Monday's blockade affects some 4,000 inmates, as it has been impossible to let some out of their cells.
Ubssart said the "situation is serious and worrying", as "the right to protest cannot prevent the functioning of essential services."
She added some lawyers have not been able to assist clients, "violating the right of defence".
Plus it has not been possible to carry out non-urgent health outings or to make videoconferences in the centres at the request of the judiciary.
"We are in a situation of restrictions that did not even occur in the pandemic", said Ubasart, urging unions to return to the negotiating table to resolve the blockade.
Anti-riot police have been sent to some prisons to allow access of goods and staff.
Unions are demanding the resignation of prison directors, Gemma Ubasart and the secretary of Penal Measures Amand Calderó.
Unlike previous days, there has been more police presence this Monday in the main Catalan prisons to ensure normal service in the centres.
Protests on Friday and Saturday generated problems of coexistence when thousands of prisoners could not leave their cells because there were not enough staff and family members were not allowed to visit.
Police carried out actions to prevent the blockades but only succeeded in two prisons.
Israel's military raids Shifa hospital in Gaza
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Israeli forces have launched another raid on the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
It claimed Hamas militants are using the medical facility as a base, though this allegation is disputable and Israel has previously not provided evidence for such claims.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman for Israel's military, said the army had launched a “high-precision operation” in parts of the medical complex.
He said senior Hamas militants had regrouped there and were directing attacks from the compound, without providing evidence.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli forces attacked the hospital early Monday, directing gun and missile fire at a building used for specialised surgeries. It says a fire broke out at the hospital’s gate.
The ministry says around 30,000 people are sheltering at the hospital, including patients, medical staff and people who have fled their homes seeking safety.
Gazans struggle to receive aid
Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City have been waiting for food aid outside the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
They have gathered there amid an increasingly dire humanitarian situation, which is particularly acute in the north, cut off by Israeli forces since October.
Up to 300,000 Palestinians are believed to still be there despite Israel ordering that the area should be evacuated.
Aid groups have said it remains impossible to deliver aid by land in the Gaza Strip due to restrictions caused by the Israeli army and ongoing hostilities.
According to UNRWA, 1 in 3 children in northern Gaza are malnourished.
Olaf Scholz calls Gaza situation 'desperate'
Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz commented on the situation in Gaza during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
Scholz confirmed that Germany "will continue to support Israel, but he warned that "the more desperate the situation of people in Gaza becomes, the more this begs the question, no matter how important the goal, can it justify such terribly high costs, or are there other ways to achieve your goal?”
Scholz went on to say Germany is concerned about Israel's plans for an offensive in Rafah, warning this would cause a large number of civilian casualties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved plans for a military operation in Rafah, insisting that Hamas cannot be removed from Gaza without it.
The plan has received widespread criticism from aid groups, despite the Israeli army saying that they would ensure the evacuation of civilians before the offensive.
More than a million people from other parts of Gaza are sheltering in Rafah.