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Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle, according to medics, in Gaza City, August 2, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas Israeli airstrikes continued in Gaza for a second straight day yesterday, killing at least 13 Palestinians, despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s Gaza ceasefire agreement.Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said yesterday that there was no deal to halt attacks on Gaza and that he saw a need for Israel, which already controls 70% of the Strip, to take full control of it. Cohen is a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s security cabinet, a small circle of ministers that oversees security and diplomatic policy.Palestinian health officials said Israeli warplanes carried out separate strikes across the enclave in the northern Gaza City, central city of Deir al-Balah, and the southern area of Khan Younis.The Israeli military said the strikes in Deir al-Balah were targeting two commanders of Hamas’ elite “Nukhba” force. The Gaza City and Jabalia strikes also targeted “military operatives” but the military was still reviewing the situation, it said.At least 1,230 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since a ceasefire was reached in October. Trump said on Thursday there had been a breakthrough after Hamas agreed to disarm under a US-backed initiative to implement the ceasefire agreement reached last year in Egypt.Trump’s Board of Peace, the US-led body overseeing the ceasefire, published on Friday a 15-point roadmap setting out the final steps for implementing the agreement.The roadmap has yet to be implemented. Hamas has said it will hand over its weapons for storage only after Israel halts military operations and withdraws its forces in line with last year’s agreement. An Israeli official told Reuters there would be no withdrawal from the military’s current positions unless Hamas undergoes “genuine disarmament”.Cohen told Army Radio he did not believe Hamas would disarm, but that it would rather play games and try to hide its weaponry. Netanyahu has not commented publicly on the initiative, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called it unacceptable and said Israel should continue assassinating Hamas leaders. Former senior Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan, who is based in the UAE, said in a Facebook post that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser involved in the US initiative, had told him he was working with the Israeli side to stop attacks on Gaza.Dahlan said contacts with the US were continuing to ensure the agreement was fully implemented, adding that its success now depended on Israel fully ending its daily attacks on Gaza. Gaza’s civil defence rescue service, which operates under Hamas authority yesterday said eight people were killed in strikes around midnight that hit multiple residential buildings, and five others were killed later in the day. In one overnight attack near the central Gaza Strip, a man and his wife were killed and several others were wounded when an Israeli military helicopter struck an apartment, a civil defence spokesman said.An elderly man and a child were killed in another attack on an apartment west of Gaza City, and three people, including a child, were killed in a strike on a residential building northwest of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. “One person was killed and four others injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting a group of civilians near a camp for displaced people in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip,” he said.A couple and their child were killed in a strike on an apartment west of Gaza City at dawn, the spokesman said, adding that the woman was pregnant.Two others were killed in an Israeli drone strike on their vehicle in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, he said, with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospitals saying they were brothers. Authorities reported on Saturday that eight people had been killed in strikes that damaged a hospital’s medical supplies and targeted a rooftop. Source link
Wales on Monday became the first nation to publicly withdraw support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino's re-election bid over his failed plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup.Infantino had offered its 211 member associations $40 million each if they backed proposals for private investment in its tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups.But he was forced to scrap his plan after a furious backlash from three continental confederations.The Football Association of Wales said Monday it would not back Infantino's candidature in the election in Rabat, Morocco, in March 2027. ‘The Football Association of Wales hereby confirms its withdrawal of support for the candidature of Mr Gianni Infantino, for re-election as FIFA president for the 2027-2031 term,’ the FAW said in a statement.’The recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement have led us to a position where Mr Infantino has lost the confidence of the FAW to remain at the helm of world football. ‘Failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept.’ The English FA is also understood to have written to FIFA making it clear it no longer supports Infantino. English football's governing body issued a statement on Saturday saying it ‘fully supported’ the position of UEFA, which said Infantino had lost the ‘confidence’ of the European governing body.North and Central American football's governing body, CONCACAF called for a ‘comprehensive reckoning with’ Infantino's leadership while the Asian Football Confederation pleaded for transparency. Source link
Crew members of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy ship Qi Jiguang wave as their ship prepares to dock at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya on…
A group of migrants wave from the coastal rocks near the border post of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on August 2. At least 72 people…
Iran yesterday said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after the US called off major strikes to allow for diplomacy.US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his country and Israel had agreed to hold off on new strikes on Iran, saying the “perimeter” of a deal was there. The foes have been at war since February 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise strikes against Iran, though months of on-off diplomacy have led to periods of relative calm.Following a return to strikes last month, fears had mounted that the fighting could escalate once again. Trump had threatened to hit Iran “very hard” and was reportedly considering renewed attacks including against energy infrastructure, with US embassies across the region on alert. But the US leader appeared to have changed course after a flurry of diplomacy, including speaking with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Trump said “we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to”. “Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.It was not immediately clear what the US president meant about the state of negotiations. Iranian media denied that Tehran had asked Trump not to strike.Iranian lawmaker Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for the parliament’s national security commission, said yesterday that mediators were trying to revive the so-called Islamabad memorandum of understanding, which was agreed in June.That memorandum was not intended as a final peace deal, but as a stepping stone to negotiations on a comprehensive agreement, though it did include provisions on Hormuz. Source link
Wildfires that broke out on the Greek island of Kefalonia forced residents to evacuate their homes as the flames spread dangerously close to residential areas, while aircraft conducted water-dropping missions over the island in the Ionian Sea.In a statement, the Greek Fire Service said the blaze had also spread in the western Attica region near the capital, Athens, advancing toward residential neighborhoods and an industrial area outside the city of Megara. Strong winds prevented firefighting aircraft from scooping up water from the sea.Around 500 firefighters and 23 aircraft were deployed, but powerful winds drove the flames through the dry forests, hampering firefighting efforts.Authorities ordered the evacuation of residents as thick smoke billowed over the mountains. Fire crews also expressed particular concern about the coastal town of Porto Germeno. Source link
Cuba experienced another nationwide blackout on Sunday after the country’s national electricity grid collapsed, according to the state-run utility, Union Electrica.The outage follows three nationwide blackouts in July and comes as a US-imposed oil blockade further strains the island’s ageing energy infrastructure.Since October 2024, Cuba has suffered several nationwide power outages due to malfunctions in power facilities, hurricanes, and other factors. Related Story Source link
Ankara and Baghdad on Saturday agreed to extend an oil pipeline agreement by one year, just days after a top-level visit by Iraqi Prime Ali al-Zaidi, officials on both sides said. In a post on X, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the agreement was signed following a “productive meeting” in Ankara with Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair.Zaidi also hailed the deal in a post on X, describing it as “an important strategic milestone” which would involve “a minimum export capacity of 750,000 barrels per day”. The decades-old agreement on the pipeline — which carries Iraqi crude to Turkiye’s Mediterranean export terminal of Ceyhan, a key outlet for regional oil shipments — had expired on Monday.“While our efforts continue toward a new long-term agreement for this pipeline.. We have implemented this transit arrangement covering a daily capacity of 750,000 barrels,” Bayraktar wrote.Zaidi said Iraqi and Turkish companies would begin implementing the agreement while the two governments would push ahead with efforts “to finalise a comprehensive framework agreement covering the oil, electricity, and water resources sectors. ” The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has a maximum capacity of about 1.5mn barrels per day, although actual flows have been well below that in recent years.Bayraktar went to Baghdad for talks on oil and gas cooperation in early July, and on Tuesday, the Iraqi premier and several top ministers were in Ankara to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and their counterparts. Source link
British trip-hop band Massive Attack has been barred from performing in Singapore after an investigation found two members unfurled a Palestinian flag during a concert, police said. Two band members who held the flag on stage during a concert on Wednesday were also banned from re-entering Singapore and issued with warnings, police said in a statement late Friday, without naming the pair.Singapore, known for its tough laws on public speech and assembly, bans the open display of all foreign flags, national emblems or banners without a permit. A video circulating online showed two Massive Attack members on stage unfurling a Palestinian flag to loud, prolonged cheers from the audience, prompting the police probe.After concluding their investigation and in consultation with state prosecutors, police said they “administered stern warnings to both men” and barred them from coming back to the city-state.The media regulator is also probing possible breaches of licensing conditions. “Notwithstanding the event organiser’s prior acknowledgement of the licence conditions, during the performance, two band members held a foreign flag on stage, and one of them also shouted ‘Free Palestine’,” police said. The media regulator “will also not grant any future application for performances by the band in Singapore in view of the entry ban”, police said.The concert promoter has not responded to an AFP request for comment. The band is known for its criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and has used its popularity to support the Palestinian cause. In April, frontman Robert Del Naja was among more than 200 people arrested at a protest in London’s Trafalgar Square in support of Palestine Action, an activist group banned by British authorities. Affluent Singapore has established itself as a top concert hub for Southeast Asia, boasting of multi-night performances by Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars.The police urged the public, including foreigners, “to refrain from importing foreign politics as this can undermine our social cohesion and the rule of law”. Source link
The US State Department will make permanent a visa bond program that could require applicants from 50 countries, mostly from Africa, to post bonds of up to $20,000 when seeking US visas, according to a federal notice posted online on Friday. The Federal Register notice applies to B1 and B2 visas, which are issued for business and tourism travel.“Consular officers may require covered nonimmigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $20,000 as a condition of visa issuance, as determined by the consular officers,” the notice said. “The 2025 visa bond pilot, which provided a framework for the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Treasury to assess the feasibility of administering a visa bond program, has provided sufficient data to suggest that a visa bond program is an effective tool for enforcing compliance among bonded visa holders.” In the pilot program, consular officers could require bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or up to $15,000. The final rule eliminates the $5,000 option and raises the maximum bond to $20,000.The final rule goes into effect on August 3 when it is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register. In the list of 50 countries for whose citizens this program applies, 30 are from Africa.US officials say the policy is intended to reduce visa overstays. Immigration advocates argue it will deter legitimate travel to the US. Rights advocates say President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown violates free speech and due process, while creating an unsafe environment for ethnic minorities and encouraging racial profiling. Trump has defended the measures as necessary to bolster national security. While Trump says he wants to curb illegal immigration, his administration has made legal immigration more difficult, for example, by imposing new and expensive fees for applicants of certain visas and by enforcing social media vetting for applicants and immigrants already in the country. Source link