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CAIRO: Qatari, Egyptian and US leaders called on Israel and Hamas to resume urgent talks on Aug. 15 either in Doha or Cairo to bridge all remaining gaps in the proposed Gaza ceasefire agreement and start implementing it without any delay, the three countries said in a joint statement on Thursday.
“It is the time to conclude a ceasefire agreement and release hostages and prisoners,” the statement added.
JERUSALEM: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of the military operation in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel.
In a statement, Katz said there would be large-scale evacuation of population from areas where there is fighting, and urged Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli hostages as the only way to end the war.
He did not make clear how much land Israel intends to seize, however.
It has already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, expanding an area that existed around the edges of the enclave before the war and adding a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.
At the same time, Israeli leaders have said they plan to facilitate voluntary departure of Palestinians from the enclave, after US President Donald Trump called for it to be permanently evacuated and redeveloped as a coastal resort under US control.
Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza and sent ground troops back in this month, after two months of relative calm following the conclusion of a US-backed truce to allow the exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Efforts led by Qatari and Egyptian mediators to get back on tracks talks aimed at ending the war have failed to make progress yet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the application of military pressure is the best way to get the remaining 59 hostages back.
France: Paris St. Germain recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat second-tier Dunkerque 4-2 on Tuesday and secure their place in the French Cup final as they chase a record-extending 16th title.
Holders PSG will meet the winner of Wednesday’s clash between fellow Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims and fourth-tier Cannes in the final.
“It was a bit of a strange start to the game, they got into our box twice and scored two goals,” PSG manager Luis Enrique said. “We told ourselves at halftime not to lose our heads, to restructure everything and carry on.”
Dunkerque, making their first-ever French Cup semifinal appearance, took the lead seven minutes in as Vincent Sasso tapped home a flicked ball from Alec Georgen after a set piece.
Muhannad Yahya Al-Saad then fired home a low volley, catching the PSG backline off guard, to extend the hosts’ advantage in the 27th minute.
PSG’s top scorer Ousmane Dembele pulled one back just before halftime, with a powerful shot off Achraf Hakimi’s pass, while Marquinhos equalized three minutes after the restart heading home Dembele’s cross at the far post.
“This match will help us improve for the end of the season. It made us work on our courage,” defender Marquinhos said.
“This is the best possible end to the season, the good times are coming. We’re here now and we need to keep going like this.”
Desire Doue put the visitors ahead in the 62nd minute when his shot took a deflection off a Dunkerque defender before finding the net, before Dembele sealed PSG’s comeback win in stoppage time by scoring his 32nd goal across all competitions this season.
“I’m always in a good position to score goals, but it’s mainly a team effort. It’s just like the first half against St. Etienne. We had to react very quickly,” Dembele said referring to Saturday’s Ligue 1 win
“We’re going to take it one game at a time, it’s the final stretch of the season. We’re going to stay focused.”
PSG are on the verge of securing their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title, needing a single point on Saturday when they host lowly Angers.
After that, they face Aston Villa at home in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Dunkerque, who are in fifth place in Ligue 2, saw their dream Cup run come to an end after a campaign that featured stunning upset wins over top-flight sides Lille and Brest.
WASHINGTON: The United States said Tuesday it has approved the possible sale of $5.58 billion in F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, as Washington backs its ally in rising tensions over China.
The State Department said it was green-lighting a sale that includes 20 F-16 jets and related equipment to the Philippines, a treaty-bound ally of the United States.
The sale would “improve the security of a strategic partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in Southeast Asia,” a State Department statement said.
It would also boost “the Philippine Air Force’s ability to conduct maritime domain awareness” and “enhance its suppression of enemy air defenses,” the statement said.
The news follows months of escalating confrontations between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.
A State Department spokesperson said the deal would be final only after “a signed Letter of Offer and Acceptance” was received from the “purchasing partner.”
Philippine defense department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said he had “not received any official notice of such a decision.”
But the Philippines has publicly expressed interest in acquiring F-16s since at least the administration of former president Benigno Aquino which ended in 2016.
Manila and Washington have deepened their defense cooperation since President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing’s sweeping South China Sea claims.
In December, the Philippines angered China when it said it planned to acquire the US mid-range Typhon missile system in a push to secure its maritime interests.
Beijing warned such a purchase could spark a regional “arms race.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to redirect US military efforts to Asia to face a rising China, especially as tensions rise over Taiwan, and to lessen involvement in Europe despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, as Chinese ships and warplanes surrounded Taiwan in a simulated blockade, Philippines military chief General Romeo Brawner said his country would “inevitably” be involved should the self-ruled island be invaded.
“Start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan,” he told troops in northern Luzon island, without naming the potential invader.
“Because if something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved.”
He also said that the bulk of this month’s joint US-Philippine “Balikatan,” or “shoulder to shoulder,” military exercises would be conducted in northern Luzon, the part of the Philippines nearest Taiwan.
“These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare,” he added.
On a visit to Manila last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to “reestablish deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region” in light of “threats from the Communist Chinese.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also reiterated US defense commitments to the Philippines, a contrast to the Trump administration’s frequent talk of “freeloading” off the United States by allies in Europe.
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s second presidency was dealt a spinning blow by voters in Wisconsin Tuesday as they elected a liberal to the state’s Supreme Court, despite his powerful adviser Elon Musk pouring millions into the race to sway the polls.
Two months into his barnstorming return to the White House, Trump celebrated victory in a pair of House races in Florida which remained in Republican hands.
But in the first real electoral test of his polarizing presidency, his all-out effort to lodge a new Republican on the Wisconsin Supreme Court fell flat, as liberal judge Susan Crawford came out ahead of the Trump-backed Brad Schimel, according to US media.
Trump had earlier pushed for the conservative judge running for the spot on Wisconsin’s top court, saying on social media that Schimel was a “Patriot” while Crawford was a “Radical Left Liberal.”
Echoing his usual extreme rhetoric, Trump claimed Crawford has a “History of letting child molesters and rapists off” and that a win by her would be a “DISASTER.”
Musk, who has spearheaded Trump’s radical attempts to gut much of the US government in a right-wing cost-cutting drive, went himself to Wisconsin to drum up support for Schimel.
“It’s like one of those strange situations where a seemingly small election would determine the fate of Western civilization here,” Musk said in a discussion on his social media platform X on Tuesday.
The highlight of his weekend visit to the upper Midwestern state reprised a tactic seen during his efforts to help Trump defeat Democrat Kamala Harris in November — handing out money to anyone who signed a petition against so-called “activist judges.”
Senator Bernie Sanders, a major force on the left of the Democratic Party, told supporters on X they had “the power to REJECT Musk and the oligarchy buying our elections.”
Beyond testing the public mood, the Wisconsin result will decide whether the state’s Supreme Court — which rules on things like voting district boundaries — tilts majority left or right.
In Florida, two seats to the US House of Representatives were up for grabs to fill vacancies in Republican strongholds, left by Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and failed nominee for attorney general, Matt Gaetz.
On Tuesday evening, media called the race for Florida’s sixth district in favor of Republican Randy Fine, with Trump tweeting: “Congratulations Randy, a great WIN against a massive CASH AVALANCHE.”
Shortly after, media outlets also called the special election in Florida’s first district for Trump-backed Republican Jimmy Patronis.
Trump took credit for his party’s victory in both deep red districts, posting on social media that “the Trump endorsement, as always, proved far greater than the Democrats forces of evil.”
Democrats have been adrift since losing the presidency to Trump and both chambers of Congress in November, and had hoped that a decent showing in Florida and a win in Wisconsin could be the spark.
In Florida, they were defeated by double-digit percentage margins in both special elections.
Illustrating the stakes of the contest in Wisconsin, the race has set a spending record — much of that in advertising and attempts, particularly by Musk, to drive turnout.
Musk, who spent roughly $277 million on Trump’s 2024 election campaign, presented checks of $1 million to two voters and $100 each to other voters who signed his petition.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, more than $53.3 million has been spent by Schimel and his backers, including $12.2 million from Musk’s America PAC.
Crawford’s campaign and those backing her have spent an estimated $45.1 million.
The spending has made the Wisconsin race the most expensive in US judicial history, the center said.
Billionaire Musk’s Green Bay rally on the weekend had an enthusiastic crowd, but the South African-born oligarch’s role in Wisconsin elections has provoked as much resistance as support.
At a pro-Crawford rally, 65-year-old retired electrical engineer Rob Patterson held up a sign showing Musk giving a straight-armed salute.
“Our Supreme Court is not for sale,” the sign read.
WASHINGTON/TAIPEI: The United States on Wednesday reassured its allies in the Asia-Pacific region of its “enduring commitment” of support amid what it called “China’s intimidation tactics and destabilizing behavior.”
“Once again, China’s aggressive military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region’s security and the world’s prosperity at risk,” the US State Department said in a statement posted on its website.
“The United States supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including through force or coercion,” the statement added.
On Tuesday, China conducted large-scale drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan that included an aircraft carrier battle group, as it again warned the self-ruled democracy against seeking formal independence.
The exercises involved navy, air ground and rocket forces and were meant to be a “severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence,” according to Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command. No operational name for the drills was announced nor previous notice given.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status. Any conflict could bring in the US, which maintains alliances in the region and is legally bound to treat threats to Taiwan as a matter of “grave concern.”
Taiwan’s Presidential Office posted on X that “China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the #Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines & the SCS. We strongly condemn China’s escalatory behavior.”
The SCS refers to the South China Sea, the strategic and disputed waterway that China claims almost in its entirety. China’s navy also recently held drills near Australia and New Zealand for which it gave no warning, forcing the last-minute rerouting of commercial flights.
Taiwan tracks Chinese navy vessels
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it had tracked 19 Chinese navy vessels around the island in a 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday. It added that the Shandong aircraft carrier group had entered into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, a self-defined area tracked by the military.
Beijing sends warplanes and navy vessels toward the island on a daily basis, andin recent years it has stepped up the scope and scale of these exercises. Taiwanese officials have recently warned that China could launch a sneak attack under the guise of military exercises.
“I want to say these actions amply reflect (China’s) destruction of regional peace and stability,” said Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo.
Taiwan has set up a central response group to monitor the latest exercises, Koo said.
On the streets of Taipei, people said the atmosphere was tense but they were more concerned about the economy and developments surrounding the administration of US President Donald Trump.
“The Chinese Communists spend so much time and effort on these things but most people don’t pay much attention,” said Lin Hui-tsung, a noodle seller in the Tiananmu district.
China’s Xinhua News Agency said the Eastern Theater Command conducted “multi-subject drills in waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island.”
The theater command “organized its vessel and aircraft formations, in coordination with conventional missile troops and long-range rocket launching systems, to conduct drills of air interception, assault on maritime targets, strikes on ground objects, and joint blockade and control,” Xinhua quoted the command as saying.
The exercises were “aimed at testing the troops’ capabilities of carrying out integrated operations, seizure of operational control and multi-directional precision strikes, the command said.
“The PLA organized naval and air forces to practice subjects such as sea and land strikes, focusing on testing the troops’ ability to carry out precision strikes on some key targets of the Taiwan authorities from multiple directions,” said Zhang Chi, a professor at China’s National Defense University in an interview with Chinese state television.
Beijing sends a message to Taiwan’s president
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the exercises were directed at Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s strongly pro-independence president.
“Lai Ching-te stubbornly insists on a ‘Taiwan independence’ stance, brazenly labeling the mainland as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ and has put forward a so-called ‘17-point strategy’ ... stirring up anti-China sentiments,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement. “We will not tolerate or condone this in any way and must resolutely counter and severely punish these actions.”
In mid-March, Taiwan’s Lai put forward a 17-point strategy aimed at shoring up Taiwan’s security. The points include allowing espionage cases to be tried by military courts and making immigration rules stricter for Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency.
China’s PLA also released a series of videos to publicize their military exercise, including one in which they depict Lai as a green parasite “poisoning” the island by hatching smaller parasites. The video shows Lai’s head on the body of a bulbous green worm, with a pair of chopsticks picking him up and roasting him over a flame set over Taiwan.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war 76 years ago, but tensions have risen since 2016, when China cut off almost all contacts with Taipei.
Philippines should be ready to rescue its citizens
In the Philippines, military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. asked Filipino forces to prepare to rescue Filipinos working and living in Taiwan if China invades the island, speaking during a ceremony marking the founding anniversary of the military command that secures the Philippine region closest to Taiwan.
“If something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved. There are 250,000 overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan and we will have to rescue them,” Brawner said.
