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Israeli forces moved yesterday against rogue settlers laying siege to Palestinians amid unusually strong US criticism, even as Israel inaugurated an emblematic settlement elsewhere in the West Bank.The troops took up positions yesterday inside Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, the mayor said, after settlers trapped Palestinian families this week in a siege that Palestinians say is aimed at forcing them from their land.The siege began at the weekend when Jewish settlers closed off the road to the three homes in the Palestinian village of Qusra and set up a tent in their front yards, refusing to allow anyone to enter or leave.The settlers had earlier cut off their electricity and water.By evening yesterday, Israeli troops were still holding positions in three Qusra homes, according to the mayor, Abed al-Athem Wadi, and to residents: one on the village outskirts, among the three that are besieged by settlers; and two closer to the village heart.Reuters photos showed several Israeli soldiers standing outside one of the homes.The soldiers informed the families that operations in Qusra may last until Sunday, village residents said.In a statement, the military said that soldiers had been deployed in Qusra since morning yesterday to protect residents and maintain security, and “were instructed that the Qusra residents will remain in their homes”.The Israeli military said it sent forces to the area overnight and dismantled two outposts, detaining one Israeli.The military added that “soldiers will not operate inside the Palestinian family’s home located near the site where the tent that was evacuated and dismantled had been erected”.It was not immediately clear which of the three homes the military was referring to.Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American based in Ohio whose brother is besieged in his home, said that he felt helpless.”It is terrifying, frustration, fear of my family for their lives,” he told Reuters in a phone interview.Ridi said he had been watching the developments over the security camera installed in his Qusra home, but that the soldiers today removed it.He was planning to travel to the home soon, he said.The United Nations said in a statement that some 15 Palestinians including two children were trapped inside their homes with no water or electricity.The military has come under increasing pressure to halt rogue land seizures by settlers emboldened by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has spearheaded a rapid expansion of settlements in the West Bank.Earlier yesterday, a day after troops deployed tear gas in a failed attempt to remove the settlers, it said it had sent more troops to the area “to carry out defensive missions and patrols in the area to maintain security and protect the area”.Video from earlier in the week showed several Israeli men in green military garb joining the settlers in a morning prayer in the tent.The military said it was taking disciplinary action against any personnel involved.The two families under siege in the area say they are running low on supplies and that the settlers have been damaging their property, throwing stones at their homes and shouting insulting language at them.”So far, no one has been able to get food and supplies to us because the area is completely sealed off by the army,” said Aisha Hassan, trapped in one of the besieged houses.The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said the Israeli military and police “have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this” adding: “The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal.””Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting,” he wrote on X.Ridi welcomed Huckabee’s remarks but said they were not enough.”We need protection,” he said. “We need supplies. We need to live freely in our house.”Palestinians say Israeli authorities allow settlers to seize land and resources across the West Bank with impunity, including in areas where they hold Israel-issued ownership documents.Incidents of settler land seizures are especially common in areas on the outskirts of villages, like Qusra, which sits in an area under complete Israeli security control.The West Bank, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, is home to some 3mn Palestinians and 500,000 settlers.There are some 146 settlements in the West Bank, as well as 390 smaller outposts, according to the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now.The UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory has called on the Israeli authorities to “immediately” act against the settlers.”These criminal actions by the settlers, supported or acquiesced to by Israel, the occupying power, are making life unbearable for these Palestinian families, and are clearly aimed at forcing them to leave their homes and land,” it said in a statement.EU foreign policy spokesperson Anitta Hipper called on Israel to take “concrete action to prevent settler violence”.Violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased dramatically since the events of October 7, 2023. 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A file photo shows Alexander Zverev of Germany addressing the media in Montreal on August 2, 2026. (AFP) World number three Alexander Zverev said cutting Masters tournaments back to one week would help players maintain their fitness instead of having to manage their workload and be selective about which events they compete in.Jannik Sinner withdrew from the Canadian Open to prioritise his health after retaining his Wimbledon title, while 24-times Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic also skipped the U.S. Open tune-up to manage his workload.Carlos Alcaraz missed out due to a wrist injury that has kept him out since April.The withdrawals once again left the tournament without three of the sport’s top names after the trio also missed last year’s edition.French Open champion Zverev, who lost his opening match in Montreal, told reporters: “I think that’s what two-week events do.”Unfortunately, especially if there’s a Grand Slam coming after that. If you play everything and you’re a top player, you spend seven weeks here in North America.”That is quite a long time and I think that’s why a lot of top players choose not to play Canada for multiple years now. That’s unfortunately the sad reality of it.”It’s quite simple. Make us be here for two weeks, not seven. For the Masters, it’s two weeks for both of them. I think that’s an easy fix regarding top players playing,” added the German, speaking ahead of the Cincinnati Open.Since 2025, seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events on the calendar have each been held across 12 days, with only the Monte-Carlo and Paris Masters still played over a single week.Players have criticised the extended events, but the ATP has said they choose their own schedules and that it is working to create incentives for an appropriate number of matches to be played during the season. Related Story Source link
Millions of people across Europe — particularly in France, Italy, Spain and the UK — sweltered through another wave of extreme temperatures yesterday as the continent's latest heatwave intensified.Weather agencies recorded temperatures of more than 35C in several European countries, where more than 135mn people had been forecast to endure such weather.’The heat has been unbearable here, honestly,’ said pharmacist Bailey Williamson, voicing concern for hospital patients as the UK saw its fifth-hottest day on record.Europe is the planet's fastest-warming continent and in some places is ill-equipped to deal with hot weather.Repeated heatwaves and drought have fuelled a historically hot summer of wildfires, and contributed to the deaths of thousands of people so far.Scientists blame ever hotter and more frequent heatwaves on human-caused climate change.Temperatures were set to surpass 30C for nearly three out of five European residents (excluding Turkiye) — around 340mn people — according to an analysis based on German weather service forecasts and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre.AFP's findings are consistent with those of Austrian NGO Klimadashboard.— Patients suffering in UK —In London, temperatures hit 38.1C at Kew Gardens, making it the fifth-hottest day on record for the UK, according to official weather agency the Met Office.Williamson, 20, who works for the National Health Service (NHS), said the heat was hitting patients in hospital hard.’People in beds are really, really sick, and they can't even breathe because of the heat problem — so it's really bad,’ he said.Hospitals had recorded an increase in heat stroke cases, and the NHS was struggling to keep up, he added.’It's scary, it's scary,’ Williamson said of the summer's heatwaves. ‘I think it's a real sign about how bad climate change has really got.’Tim Wallace, 60, visiting from Australia, was also struck by the heat.’I've never seen it like this, and it's clearly, it is concerning,’ he said.’We might have summers like this more often, and the grass will burn off more often, and it'll come back. But it's all part of the planet getting hotter.’— Europe swelters —In France, the weather service France Meteo recorded 38C in Paris and much of the country has been put on heatwave alert.In Italy, similar temperatures were forecast to affect 29mn inhabitants, particularly along the west coast, in the Po Valley, the ‘heel’ of the boot, and on the islands.Large parts of the Iberian Peninsula were also likely to be affected, with 25mn people impacted in Spain.Spain's Aemet weather agency recorded temperatures as high as 37C in the centre of the country yesterday.In the UK, temperatures also hit 36C or higher in a total of 40 locations across central and southern England.The country is on track to record its hottest ever summer, the Met Office said on Tuesday.AFP calculates the figures using a method similar to that of Klimadashboard, cross-referencing population density with the weather forecast model from the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) — Germany's national meteorological service — published at 0300 GMT.Residents are counted if the model forecasts temperatures above 30C or 35C at their location at any point during the day.As the model has a resolution of approximately 6.5km it does not fully capture urban heat-island effects, when cities are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas, David Jablonski of NGO Klimadashboard told AFP.Consequently, the analysis ‘likely underestimates the number of people affected in densely populated urban areas’, the organisation notes on its ‘European Heat Tracker’ website. Source link
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to the media as he attends exercises that are part of Panamax 2026 in Panama City, yesterday. (Reuters) The US military has enough assets to maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday, adding ships could be rotated in and out of the region as needed.Hegseth’s comments suggest he is advising US President Donald Trump that the US military can keep applying economic pressure on Iran for as long as needed to help so-far failed negotiations to end the conflict, begun in February.”Indefinitely the US Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters.He spoke in Panama after addressing the crew aboard the USS Gridley, a guided-missile destroyer, which had previously deployed to the Middle East. Trump on Wednesday said the US is in control of the Strait of Hormuz.”The USA. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, “A WALL OF STEEL,” and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.After the start of the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively shut the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas was previously shipped.The US subsequently imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports, while saying it would protect freedom of navigation for vessels travelling to and from non-Iranian ports.Washington has poured tens of thousands of troops into the Middle East since the war started, including more than 20 warships.Since the blockade started, the US military has redirected more than 55 commercial vessels that were attempting to run the blockade, including disabling three ships and boarding two. Earlier this week, a US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into a Panama-flagged ship’s engine room after it ignored warnings from US forces, the military said. Months of US strikes, which have hit Iran’s leadership and damaged large parts of Iran’s military capabilities, including its Navy, have not broken Tehran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been striking back with missiles and drones against Washington’s allies in the region, while also targeting commercial ships transiting the strait without its permission. Trump has repeatedly oscillated between threats of escalation and claims that a peace deal is imminent. So far, he has resisted some of the most escalatory steps like deploying ground troops or seizing strategic islands and bombing desalination plants. Trump is under pressure to end a war that is deeply unpopular at home ahead of midterm elections in November, and high fuel prices are a top issue in rural areas that have backed him in the past. …
Iran will soon join the New Development Bank, the development lender established by the BRICS group of nations, central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said in a state media report published on Wednesday ahead of a BRICS finance meeting in India, reports Reuters.Iran remains under sweeping US and international sanctions, and it has yet to reach a peace deal to end the current conflict with the US and Israel, giving Tehran added incentive to seek alternative financial channels outside the dollar system.The NDB’s corporate communications division told Reuters it could not confirm information regarding Iran’s membership.Iran joined BRICS in 2024 as the group expanded, in a move aimed at deepening economic ties among emerging economies, and it has since made clear its desire to become a member and shareholder of the NDB.The bank was set up by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in 2015 to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects. It has since expanded its membership to include the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other emerging economies.”The most important result of cooperation among BRICS member countries is the establishment of the New Development Bank, and our country will soon become a member of this bank,” Hemmati said, according to state media. Source link
Iga Swiatek outlasted Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to book a Toronto title showdown with world number two Elena Rybakina.Australian Open champion Rybakina delivered another gutsy comeback, beating fourth-seeded Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to reach Thursday’s final in the hard court warm-up for the US Open.Former world number one Swiatek, seeded seventh, is in her first final of the year, having last lifted a trophy in Seoul almost a year ago.She improved to 5-3 against Svitolina, who had narrowed their head-to-head record with two wins over the Polish star this year.In a match delayed more than an hour by rain, six-time major champion Swiatek raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set.The Ukrainian made Swiatek work to serve it out, saving a pair of set points in the final game of the first.Energized, she raced through the second set before Swiatek rebounded in the third, breaking Svitolina to love for a 5-3 lead before holding serve to secure the win.”Against Elina it’s always tough, so I’m happy that I won this one,” said Swiatek.”Especially that I came back in the third set playing better. So, yeah, that’s for sure a big improvement. I’m proud of myself.”Svitolina, who won the Canadian crown in 2017, was seeking her third 1000 level final of the season after winning at Rome and finishing runner-up in Dubai.But she couldn’t hang on as Swiatek upped her game again in the final set.”Mostly I just wanted to adjust the quality,” Swiatek said. “Because tactics can’t do much if you’re just not hitting the ball right. I knew I can do it, because I did it in the first set. I’m happy that I was patient enough to do that and didn’t get disappointed or didn’t give up.”Rybakina, who also rallied from a set down to beat Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals, is on the cusp of her third title of the season after her triumph in Melbourne and a trophy in Stuttgart.Her Canadian run has her inching closer to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the rankings as the August 31 start of the US Open approaches.Kazakhstan’s Rybakina polished off the victory over Gauff shortly before 1 a.m. local time, taking advantage as the American began to falter in the face of pressure on her serve.”She served really well in the first set,” Rybakina said. “It was pretty close the first one, and then I feel like on my serve I rushed a little bit in the end.”I knew that I need to start straight away the second set well. I’m happy that I did a couple of good returns, and then things turned around.”While Rybakina had to battle past Osaka to reach the semis, Gauff had advanced via a walkover. But Rybakina said the hard work may have helped her.”I guess the adrenaline and so many hours on the court helped a bit,” she said. “In the third set also, few moments I felt like I was just swinging, and some crazy return at 30-all, and it went my way.”So, I got my opportunities, I took them.” Related Story Source link
President of the Bundestag Julia Kloeckner and Berlin’s mayor Kai Wegner attend the Central Commemorative Ceremony of the State of Berlin and the Federal Government on…
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has issued a royal decree on Thursday, restructuring the Council of Ministers. The decree provides for the reshuffling of the Council of Ministers and retaining the ministers in office under the chairmanship of HH Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), this followed a review of the Basic Law of Governance issued in 1412 AH and previous royal decrees related to the formation of the council. The decree also referred to Council of Ministers Law, Article 9 of which stipulates that the council’s term should not exceed four years, unless dissolved earlier by royal decree Source link
First-placed Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson reacts after competing in the women’s 800m semi-final during the European Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on August 13, 2026.…
Millions of people across Europe — particularly in France, Italy, Spain and the UK — sweltered through another wave of extreme temperatures yesterday as the continent's latest heatwave intensified.Weather agencies recorded temperatures of more than 35C in several European countries, where more than 135mn people had been forecast to endure such weather.’The heat has been unbearable here, honestly,’ said pharmacist Bailey Williamson, voicing concern for hospital patients as the UK saw its fifth-hottest day on record.Europe is the planet's fastest-warming continent and in some places is ill-equipped to deal with hot weather.Repeated heatwaves and drought have fuelled a historically hot summer of wildfires, and contributed to the deaths of thousands of people so far.Scientists blame ever hotter and more frequent heatwaves on human-caused climate change.Temperatures were set to surpass 30C for nearly three out of five European residents (excluding Turkiye) — around 340mn people — according to an analysis based on German weather service forecasts and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre.AFP's findings are consistent with those of Austrian NGO Klimadashboard.— Patients suffering in UK —In London, temperatures hit 38.1C at Kew Gardens, making it the fifth-hottest day on record for the UK, according to official weather agency the Met Office.Williamson, 20, who works for the National Health Service (NHS), said the heat was hitting patients in hospital hard.’People in beds are really, really sick, and they can't even breathe because of the heat problem — so it's really bad,’ he said.Hospitals had recorded an increase in heat stroke cases, and the NHS was struggling to keep up, he added.’It's scary, it's scary,’ Williamson said of the summer's heatwaves. ‘I think it's a real sign about how bad climate change has really got.’Tim Wallace, 60, visiting from Australia, was also struck by the heat.’I've never seen it like this, and it's clearly, it is concerning,’ he said.’We might have summers like this more often, and the grass will burn off more often, and it'll come back. But it's all part of the planet getting hotter.’— Europe swelters —In France, the weather service France Meteo recorded 38C in Paris and much of the country has been put on heatwave alert.In Italy, similar temperatures were forecast to affect 29mn inhabitants, particularly along the west coast, in the Po Valley, the ‘heel’ of the boot, and on the islands.Large parts of the Iberian Peninsula were also likely to be affected, with 25mn people impacted in Spain.Spain's Aemet weather agency recorded temperatures as high as 37C in the centre of the country yesterday.In the UK, temperatures also hit 36C or higher in a total of 40 locations across central and southern England.The country is on track to record its hottest ever summer, the Met Office said on Tuesday.AFP calculates the figures using a method similar to that of Klimadashboard, cross-referencing population density with the weather forecast model from the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) — Germany's national meteorological service — published at 0300 GMT.Residents are counted if the model forecasts temperatures above 30C or 35C at their location at any point during the day.As the model has a resolution of approximately 6.5km it does not fully capture urban heat-island effects, when cities are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas, David Jablonski of NGO Klimadashboard told AFP.Consequently, the analysis ‘likely underestimates the number of people affected in densely populated urban areas’, the organisation notes on its ‘European Heat Tracker’ website. Source link