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Israel Reopens Rafah Border Crossing as Tensions Simmer in Middle East
Israel reopened the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Monday for limited traffic, a significant step following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to Egyptian and Israeli officials. The reopening occurred amidst heightened tensions in the Middle East, with Iran protesting the European Union's decision to classify its Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) as a terrorist group.
An Egyptian official, speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, stated that up to 50 Palestinians would be allowed to cross in each direction daily. In addition, 50 patients seeking medical attention would also be permitted to cross. The border had been closed for nearly two years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the reopening.
Meanwhile, in Tehran, EU ambassadors were summoned to protest the EU's decision to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Euronews reported that the EU took this action last week, citing the IRGC's violent repression of nationwide protests that resulted in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of detentions. The United States and Canada had previously made similar designations.
Adding to the regional complexities, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about a potential deal with Iran. This followed remarks by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned of a broader regional conflict if the U.S. were to attack. Sky News reported that when asked by reporters about Khamenei's remarks, Trump responded, "Why wouldn't he say that? Of course, he could say that."
In other news, TikTok announced on Sunday that its services had been restored after outages last week. TechCrunch reported that the social network, which has over 220 million users in the U.S., attributed the outage to a snowstorm that caused a power outage at an Oracle-operated data center responsible for TikTok operations. "We have successfully restored TikTok back to normal after a significant outage caused by winter weather," the company stated. The outage affected core features, including content posting, discovery, and the display of video likes.
Separately, the International Transport Workers' Federation reported a record number of seafarer abandonments in 2025. According to Euronews, more than 6,000 seafarers were abandoned on 410 ships, marking the worst year on record. The ITF recovered 16.5 million in unpaid wages. The 2025 total represents a 32% increase in abandoned seafarers and a 31% rise in ship abandonments compared to 2024, highlighting a deepening crisis fueled by the expansion of shadow fleets operating outside international regulations.
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