China welcomes new US-Russia contact as Trump seeks end to Ukraine war
China’s President Xi Jinping has told Russia’s Vladimir Putin he is pleased to see Moscow maintain contact with the United States to advance a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis. The remarks during a phone call between the two leaders on Friday come after the Kremlin said President Putin would meet US President Donald Trump in the coming days. During the phone call, Xi said China would maintain its stance on the need for peace talks and a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine war, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. The Kremlin said Putin had called his Chinese counterpart to update him on the latest US-Russia talks, during which Xi expressed support for a “long-term” solution to the Ukraine conflict. The call between Xi and Putin was their second in less than two months. Putin is expected to visit China in September for events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The two countries have further bolstered their economic, trade and security cooperation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which triggered a sharp deterioration in Moscow’s relations with the West. China has never denounced Russia’s war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine’s allies believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow. Beijing insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine. Trump has voiced growing frustration with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace in Ukraine and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, including China. Advertisement The US president on Wednesday said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25 percent duties he has already imposed on India over its purchases of Russian oil. In response to those remarks, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday that Beijing’s trade and energy cooperation with Russia was “just and legitimate”. “We will continue to take reasonable measures to ensure energy security based on our own national interests,” Guo Jiakun said in a statement. Calls with other allies Putin and Trump are set to hold talks, although no firm date or venue has been set. Both sides have confirmed preparations for a summit are under way and have suggested that a meeting could take place next week. China has been mentioned in media reports as a possible venue for the Putin-Trump summit, with speculation that Trump could join Putin there in early September. The Kremlin also said Putin had spoken to the leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and briefed them on talks he held with US envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday. Putin also discussed Ukraine in a phone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, the Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported. Indian President Narendra Modi also held a phone call with Putin to discuss the situation in Ukraine and bilateral relations. “Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine,” Modi said on X. The Indian president added that he looked forward to hosting Putin in India later this year, without specifying the date. Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged… — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 8, 2025 Pause in conflict may be ‘close’ The calls came amid rising hopes for a breakthrough in the Ukraine war, now in its fourth year. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday that a pause in the conflict could be close, after speaking to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Tusk said Zelenskyy was “very cautious but optimistic” and that Ukraine was keen that Poland and other European countries play a role in planning for a ceasefire and an eventual peace settlement. “There are certain signals, and we also have an intuition, that perhaps a freeze in the conflict – I don’t want to say the end, but a freeze in the conflict – is closer than it is further away,” he told a news conference on Friday. “There are hopes for this.” Advertisement Trump’s efforts to pressure Putin into stopping the fighting have so far delivered little progress. Russia’s bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace. Almost two weeks ago, Trump moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia, as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, if no Kremlin moves towards a settlement were forthcoming. The deadline expired on Friday. It was unclear what steps Trump intended to take as a consequence. Adblock test (Why?)
Why are Israelis ‘not at all troubled’ by starvation in Gaza?
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand that their government reach a deal to release two Israeli captives held in Gaza who have been shown as starving in Hamas footage. The video showed that captives have been as badly affected by the blockade Israel imposed on Gaza in March as the rest of the population trapped there. So far, at least 197 people have starved to death in Gaza, 96 of them children and global outrage about the famine Israel is imposing on Gaza has mounted. However, a poll from the Israel Democracy Institute (PDF) found more than half of Jewish Israeli respondents were “not at all troubled” by the reports of Palestinians starving and suffering in Gaza. Front pages of international newspapers previously accused of backing Israel’s war on Gaza have carried images showing the massive human cost of Israel’s actions. Yet, in the past 24 hours, gangs of far-right Israeli agitators have blocked aid trucks from reaching a starving Gaza, in apparent defiance of global anger. Formerly stalwart allies, such as Canada, France and the United Kingdom, have condemned Israel and its actions in Gaza, committing to recognising Palestinian statehood if some kind of resolution is not reached. I guess Israeli settlers are stopping and destroying aid meant for starving Palestinians, so that Israel-first politicians in the West can accuse Hamas of stealing the aid… pic.twitter.com/6ECMP23g8r — Trita Parsi (@tparsi) August 6, 2025 Domestically, two of Israel’s leading NGOs – B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, Israel – have labelled Israel’s war on Gaza a genocide, and protests against the war have grown. Advertisement But a week ago, hundreds of demonstrators led by wounded soldiers and the families of some of the captives marched on the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, demanding that the war on Gaza be continued. Widespread awareness of the extent of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and their government’s role in inflicting it, has yet to dawn upon the bulk of Israeli society, Orly Noy, journalist and editor of the Israeli Hebrew-language magazine Local Call, told Al Jazeera. This is particularly the case because Gaza’s suffering has not been featured in mainstream media. “I avoid Israeli TV,” Noy told Al Jazeera. “However, I was round at my mother’s yesterday, and they were covering the story of the video of the two captives. “So, for once, starvation and famine in Gaza was finally on Israeli news,” she said, adding that, instead of denying that starvation existed in Gaza, the wider Israeli public was being told that the only two people starving there were the captives in the Hamas film. For months now, the mainstream media narrative in Israel has been that the widespread hunger documented by numerous aid agencies is “a Hamas-orchestrated starvation campaign”. This perception runs deeper than the framing by Israel’s nationalistic television channels, political analyst and former government adviser Daniel Levy told Al Jazeera. “It comes from decades of self-justification and dehumanisation,” Levy said. “Most Israelis would be uncomfortable setting out some kind of moral critique of the country, but still have the feeling that something has gone very seriously wrong. There’s a kind of cognitive dissonance at play that helps them make sense of it.” Then there is the language used by politicians, the media and, ultimately, the public to discuss the war, Israeli sociologist Yehouda Shenhav-Shahrabani said. “They’ve corrupted language. Instead of ‘concentration camps‘, they say ‘humanitarian city’. Instead of talking about ‘killing’, they say ‘elimination’. Every military operation has a biblical name, which we now use to measure time. “We don’t say ‘such and such a thing’ happened in June. We say, ‘during Operation Whatever’. It helps people make sense of everything. The jargon’s become a new type of speech. It’s become Orwell’s 1984,” he said, referring to the dystopian novel in which language is dictated by the state. Changing tides However, while most Israelis have continued to see Gaza’s starvation through the lens of its media and politicians, there are signs that, at its fringes, the mood is beginning to shift, observers say. Standing Together’s Alon-Lee Green is arrested while protesting near Gaza [Courtesy of Standing Together] “This isn’t going to hold up,” Aida Touma-Suleiman, a member of the Israeli parliament representing the left-wing Hadash-Ta’al party, said. Advertisement “More and more, people are beginning to understand that there is real hunger in Gaza, and if Israel is making such a big deal of sending food now, then how can it not have been responsible for the hunger before?” Meanwhile, activists such as Alon-Lee Green of the Israeli-Palestinian group Standing Together say resistance to the war is growing across all parts of Israeli society – albeit for often widely differing reasons. “We don’t care why people are protesting the war. We don’t care if it’s because you don’t want to do another tour with the army, or you don’t want your children to go to Gaza and kill people. If you’re against the war, you’re welcome,” he said. However, despite the killing of more than 61,000 Palestinians since October 2023 – and thousands more lost under the rubble and presumed dead – much of Israeli society has yet to accept that the suffering Israel is inflicting on Gaza is real. “From my perspective, we’ve reached the point where the Israeli state and society has lost whatever moral claims they had as a result of the Holocaust,” Shenhav-Shahrabani said. “They’ve spent whatever symbolic capital that was associated with it.” Adblock test (Why?)
Netanyahu says Israel intends to take control of Gaza in interview
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, In an interview with Fox News, Israeli PM says Israel wants to take control – but not govern – the Strip. Correction Aug. 7, 2025: This article originally stated that Netanyahu wanted to hand Gaza over to armed forces. He said Arab forces. In an interview with Fox News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel intends to take control of the entire Strip, but does not want to govern it. His comments came on Thursday shortly before Israel’s cabinet meets to consider his proposal to take over the Strip. “We intend to [take over] in order to ensure our security, remove Hamas [from] there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel,” he said. He said in the interview that Israel wants a security perimeter, and that they want to hand it over to Arab forces to govern Gaza. “We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body.” The Israeli security cabinet meeting comes as international outrage over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza has ratcheted up pressure on Israel, with UN agencies warning of famine in the devastated territory. Gaza’s hospitals have recorded four new deaths “due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours”, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, raising the total number of hunger-related deaths to 197, including 96 children, since Israel’s war on Gaza after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel. Israeli media say Netanyahu is set to seek approval to expand military operations, including in densely populated areas where captives are believed to be held. This comes despite growing concern among Israelis about the fate of the remaining captives, some of whose families set sail from the port of Ashkelon on Thursday seeking to approach the Gaza Strip. Advertisement In the run-up to the meeting, rumours have been rife in the Israeli press about disagreements between the cabinet and Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who is said to oppose plans to fully reoccupy Gaza. On Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz had weighed in on social media, saying that “it is the right and duty of the chief of staff to express his position”, but the military must ultimately respect any policies adopted by the government. In a statement released by the military on Thursday, Zamir underscored his independence, promising to “continue to express our position without fear”. “We are not dealing with theory — we are dealing with matters of life and death, with the defence of the state, and we do so while looking directly into the eyes of our soldiers and citizens,” Zamir said in the statement. More to come. Adblock test (Why?)
Nine PSG players dominate Ballon d’Or 2025 nominee list
Nine players from treble-winning Paris Saint-Germain have been nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or this year, along with the club’s coach Luis Enrique, as France Football announced its list of nominees. Ousmane Dembele, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Desire Doue, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha are all on the list of 30 players nominated on Thursday for the big prize. Dembele scored 35 goals and claimed 16 assists in all competitions as PSG won the Ligue 1 title, French Cup and Champions League and were Club World Cup runners-up to Chelsea. Other nominees include Barcelona’s Raphinha (34 goals, 25 assists), Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (34 goals, 23 assists), who was named Premier League Player of the Season, and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (34 goals, five assists). Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele celebrates with the trophy after winning the Champions League [Peter Cziborra/Reuters] Scott McTominay, who won Serie A’s Most Valuable Player after guiding Napoli to the title, was also nominated as the first Scotsman in 38 years to make the shortlist. Barca’s Lamine Yamal (18 goals, 25 assists) made the cut while the 18-year-old winger was also nominated for the Kopa Trophy for best Under-21 player, an award he won last year. Five England players were nominated for the women’s Ballon d’Or after their Euros triumph, including goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Leah Williamson. Marta, who came out of retirement to lead Brazil to the women’s Copa America title at the age of 39, was also nominated. Along with Luis Enrique, Enzo Maresca, who guided Chelsea to the Club World Cup title, and Liverpool’s Arne Slot, who won the Premier League crown in his first season at the club, were nominated for the men’s Coach of the Year award. Advertisement Spanish midfielders Rodri and Aitana Bonmati are the current holders of the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or awards, respectively. The former spent most of last season injured with Manchester City, while Bonmati was a defeated finalist at Euro 2025 as England overcame Spain. Current Ballon d’Or Women’s holder Aitana Bonmati looks dejected after Spain’s Euro 2025 defeat by England [Bernadett Szabo/Reuters] The women’s coach nominees are led by Sonia Bompastor, who won a domestic treble at Chelsea, Renee Slegers, who took Arsenal to their second Champions League crown, and Sarina Wiegman, after she helped England retain their Euros title. Ballon d’Or nominations in full Men: Jude Bellingham, Ousmane Dembele, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Desire Doue, Denzel Dumfries, Serhou Guirassy, Viktor Gyokeres, Erling Haaland, Achraf Hakimi, Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Robert Lewandowski, Alexis Mac Allister, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappe, Scott McTominay, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Michael Olise, Cole Palmer, Pedri, Raphinha, Declan Rice, Fabian Ruiz, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Vinicius Jr, Vitinha, Florian Wirtz, Lamine Yamal Women: Sandy Baltimore, Barbra Banda, Aitana Bonmati, Lucy Bronze, Klara Buehl, Mariona Caldentey, Sofia Cantore, Steph Catley, Temwa Chawinga, Melchie Dumornay, Emily Fox, Cristiana Girelli, Esther Gonzalez, Caroline Graham Hansen, Hannah Hampton, Pernille Harder, Patri Guijarro, Amanda Gutierres, Lindsey Heaps, Chloe Kelly, Frida Leonhardsen-Maanum, Marta, Clara Mateo, Ewa Pajor, Claudia Pina, Alexia Putellas, Alessia Russo, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Caroline Weir, Leah Williamson Men’s coach of the year: Antonio Conte, Luis Enrique, Hansi Flick, Enzo Maresca, Arne Slot Women’s coach of the year: Sonia Bompastor, Arthur Elias, Justine Madugu, Renee Slegers, Sarina Wiegman Men’s club of the year: Barcelona, Botafogo, Chelsea, Liverpool, Paris St Germain Women’s club of the year: Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, OL Lyonnes, Orlando Pride Yashin trophy men: Alisson Becker, Yassine Bounou, Lucas Chevalier, Thibaut Courtois, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Emi Martinez, Jan Oblak, David Raya, Matz Sels, Yann Sommer Yashin trophy women: Ann-Katrin Berger, Cata Coll, Hannah Hampton, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Daphne van Domselaar Men’s Kopa Trophy: Ayyoub Bouaddi, Pau Cubarsi, Desire Doue, Estevao, Dean Huijsen, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Rodrigo Mora, Joao Neves, Lamine Yamal, Kenan Yildiz Women’s Kopa Trophy: Michelle Agyemang, Linda Caicedo, Wieke Kaptein, Vicky Lopez, Claudia Martinez Ovando Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Trump announces 100 percent tariff on semiconductor imports
US President Donald Trump said the tariff will not impact companies if they have already invested in US facilities. United States President Donald Trump says he will impose a 100 percent tariff on foreign-made semiconductors, although exemptions will be made for companies that have invested in the US. “We’ll be putting a tariff on of approximately 100 percent on chips and semiconductors, but if you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge, even though you’re building and you’re not producing yet,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Wednesday evening. The news came after a separate announcement that Apple would invest $600bn in the US, but it was not unexpected by US observers. Trump told CNBC on Tuesday that he planned to unveil a new tariff on semiconductors “within the next week or so” without offering further details. Details were also scant at the Oval Office about how and when the tariffs will go into effect, but Asia’s semiconductor powerhouses were quick to respond about the potential impact. Taiwan, home of the world’s largest chipmaker TSMC, said that the company would be exempt from the tariff due to its existing investments in the US. “Because Taiwan’s main exporter is TSMC, which has factories in the United States, TSMC is exempt,” National Development Council chief Liu Chin-ching told the Taiwanese legislature. In March, TSMC – which counts Apple and Nvidia as clients – said it would increase its US investment to $165bn to expand chip making and research centres in Arizona. A semiconductor wafer displayed at Touch Taiwan, an annual display exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 16, 2025 [Ann Wang/Reuters] South Korea was also quick to extinguish any concerns about its top chipmakers, Samsung and SK Hynix, which have also invested in facilities in Texas and Indiana. Advertisement Trade envoy Yeo Han-koo said South Korean companies would be exempt from the tariff and that Seoul already faced “favourable” tariffs after signing a trade deal with Washington earlier this year. TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix are just some of the foreign tech companies that have invested in the US since 2022, when then-President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS Act offering billions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits to re-shore investment and manufacturing. Less lucky is the Philippines, said Dan Lachica, president of Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation. He said the tariffs will be “devastating” because semiconductors make up 70 percent of the Philippines’ exports. Trump’s latest round of blanket tariffs on US trade partners is due to go into effect on Thursday, but the White House has also targeted specific industries like steel, aluminium, automobiles and pharmaceuticals with separate tariffs. Adblock test (Why?)
Why Trump’s secondary tariffs on Russia could bite the US, its allies too
Top United States diplomatic negotiator Steve Witkoff visited Moscow on Wednesday in a last-ditch push to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine before an August 8 deadline set by President Donald Trump. After Witkoff’s meeting with Putin, the White House said that Russia had sought a meeting with Trump. The US president, the White House said, was open to meeting both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump, who during his re-election campaign had promised he would be able to end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours if he came to power, has so far failed to mediate a truce despite months of hectic diplomacy, direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv, and phone calls with Putin. Increasingly frustrated by Putin’s unwillingness to agree to a pause in fighting without imposing conditions unacceptable to Ukraine or the West, Trump has threatened a new wave of economic measures punishing Russia if it does not accept a ceasefire. Since Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US and its allies, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, have imposed more than 21,000 sanctions on Russia’s economy. The new tariffs Trump has threatened are unlike any of those earlier sanctions, however. They target Russia by hitting out against its trading partners, in the hope that they will stop buying from or selling to Moscow. But these secondary tariffs also carry risks for the US and its allies. What are the secondary tariffs Trump is threatening? In mid-July, as peace talks stalled despite Trump’s efforts, the US president threatened Russia with 100 percent secondary tariffs if it did not work towards a ceasefire. He gave the Kremlin a 50-day deadline to cooperate. Advertisement After Moscow suggested that it wouldn’t bow to US pressure, Trump moved up the deadline, which now expires on August 8. It is unclear if Trump’s openness to talks with Putin and Zelenskyy following Witkoff’s Moscow visit has changed that deadline. On Wednesday, Trump doubled the tariff rate on Indian imports from 25 percent – which he had announced in late July – to 50 percent, as punishment for New Delhi’s refusal to stop buying Russian oil. That makes India the country facing the highest US tariffs at present – along with Brazil. If Trump’s secondary tariffs go into effect, goods that the US imports from countries still trading with Russia would face duties of 100 percent on top of the tariffs Trump has already imposed on those nations. That would at least double the price of those products, making them less competitive in the US market. The idea behind these tariffs is to persuade Russia’s trading partners to stop buying and selling with the country, isolating its economy and depriving it of revenue it earns from exports, especially from energy. Despite the sanctions it already faces, Russia has consistently earned more than 500 million euros ($580m) a day from energy exports since 2022. That will be disrupted if countries stop buying all oil and gas from Russia. Which countries could Trump’s secondary tariffs hit? The countries most affected by such secondary tariffs would be: China: Russia’s most important ally, China is by far the largest consumer of its northern neighbour’s exports. In 2023, China bought almost a third of all Russian exports. It also bought almost half of Russia’s oil exports. India: An old friend, India has been buying up large volumes of Russian crude since 2022, including almost 40 percent of Russia’s total oil exports in 2023. That year, 17 percent of Russia’s overall exports went to India. Trump had already imposed a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods. On Wednesday, he doubled that rate as punishment for India’s continued oil purchases from Russia. Turkiye: The third-largest buyer of Russian energy, 8 percent of Russia’s exports in 2023 went to Turkiye. It is a NATO ally of the US. Turkiye isn’t the only ally that could be hit if Trump truly targets all those who trade with Russia. Could US allies be hit? Pushing back against Western threats over its ties with Russia, India has pointed to the EU’s own trade with Moscow. And while that trade has plummeted since 2022, it is still substantial. According to the EU, its total trade with Russia was worth 67.5 billion euros ($77.9bn) in 2024. India’s total trade with Russia in 2024-25, by contrast, was worth $68.7bn. Advertisement The bloc still relies heavily on Russia for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies. In fact, its import of Russian LNG has been rising: In 2024, EU imports of Russian LNG were 9 percent higher than the year before. Europe has already been hit with a 15 percent tariff from Trump. Will Trump punish his closest supporters to pressure Russia to end the war? Could the US face risks, too? It is not just allies – secondary tariffs on those who trade with Russia carry risks for the US itself, too. Trump’s team is currently working on a trade deal with China, and those talks have led to a pause in a tariff war between the world’s two largest economies. That detente would break down if Trump imposes 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods simply because Beijing also trades with Russia. China, Europe and India are all major suppliers of goods to the US: If the cost of those products – from clothes to lamps to iPhones – doubles, American consumers will feel the pinch. The US also buys chemicals, including uranium hexafluoride – used in uranium enrichment – from Russia. Will India and China stop buying Russian energy? That looks unlikely. China continues to buy oil from Iran, despite US sanctions – and Russia is arguably its closest strategic partner. India has also shown no sign of loosening its ties with Russia. Witkoff isn’t the only foreign envoy visiting Moscow at the moment. India’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, is also in the Russian capital. India’s foreign minister, S Jaishankar, is expected to visit
US soldier charged with attempt to provide Russia with battle tank info
Lee is accused of going online and offering to assist Russian authorities in exchange for Russian citizenship. An active duty soldier has been charged with seeking to pass sensitive information about the United States Army’s main battle tank to the Russian government, the US Justice Department has announced. The suspect, Taylor Adam Lee, has been charged with “attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary and attempted export of controlled technical data without a license”, the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday. Lee, a 22-year-old soldier stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas, has yet to enter a plea in the charges, filed at the US District Court for the Western District of Texas. John A Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said Lee sought to “transmit sensitive national defense information to Russia” regarding the operation of the M1A2 Abrams – the main battle tank used by the US Army. In June, Lee is said to have gone online and offered assistance to Russia in exchange for Russian citizenship. In the alleged messages, Lee, who holds a top-secret security clearance, allegedly “transmitted export-controlled technical information” about the M1A2’s operation and vulnerabilities. “The USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses,” Lee reportedly said. “At this point, I’d even volunteer to assist the Russian Federation when I’m there in any way,” he added. Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, said Lee then shared a memory card containing documents and information about the tank and other US military operations during an in-person meeting in July with someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer. Advertisement “Today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the US – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland,” Rozhavsky said. The documents contained technical data Lee was not authorised to provide, with some marked “Controlled Unclassified Information”, according to prosecutors. “Throughout the meeting, Lee stated that the information on the SD card was sensitive and likely classified,” prosecutors said. Lee is also alleged to have attempted to provide the Russian government with a piece of hardware from the M1A2 Abrams tank at a July 31 meeting at a storage unit in El Paso, Texas. “After doing so, Lee sent a message to the individual he believed to be a representative of the Russian government stating, ‘Mission accomplished’,” according to prosecutors. Adblock test (Why?)
Ghana’s defence, environment ministers killed in helicopter crash
A helicopter crash has killed eight people including the nation’s defence and environment ministers, according to Ghana’s government. Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the victims of the crash in the southern Ashanti region of the country, said Julius Debrah, chief of staff to President John Mahama, on Wednesday. “The president and the government extend their condolences and solidarity to the families of our comrades and soldiers who fell in their service to the nation,” said Debrah. Also among the victims were Alhaji Mohammad Muniru Limuna, deputy national security coordinator and former minister of agriculture, and Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) party. The Ghanaian Air Force had reported earlier Wednesday that a military helicopter had disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Accra at around 9am (local time and GMT), bound for Obuasi, northwest of the capital. Debrah announced that flags would be flown at half-mast. The presidency said that Mahama had suspended all his official activities for the day. More to come… Adblock test (Why?)
Netanyahu wants to ‘occupy Gaza’, what do Israeli people, military think?
After 22 months of full-scale war, killing more than 60,000 Palestinians and forcing Gaza to the brink of famine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly preparing to defy international, domestic and military opinion by escalating the war on Gaza still further and ordering its full occupation. “The die is cast – we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip,” Israeli media cited an anonymous official, supposedly quoting Netanyahu, as saying. Meeting with senior security officials on Tuesday, Netanyahu was said to have come out in support of the military taking complete control of Gaza, even if it meant that the remaining Israeli captives there might be harmed or killed. The fate of the captives taken during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has been a constant theme throughout Israel’s war on Gaza and rescuing them was one of the war aims Netanyahu claimed at its outset. However, despite the destruction of much of Gaza and the displacement and starvation of much of its population, many captives remain and the territory where they are thought to now be is outside Israeli military control. “Netanyahu wants to continue the war,” Ahron Bregman, a political scientist at King’s College London and former Israeli officer, said, echoing a widespread criticism of the prime minister. “He wants time. He wants time to maintain his coalition and time to drag out his corruption trial,” he said of the criminal charges that have dogged Netanyahu since 2019. Advertisement Motivation The specific reason for this latest potential offensive remains unclear. Some have suggested that talk of occupation is a tactic to bring Hamas back to the negotiating table. The siege Israel imposed on Gaza after breaking the last ceasefire in March has caused international outrage because of the starvation it has caused. Others have suggested it may also be a genuine attempt to eradicate Hamas and finally break whatever spirit remains in Gaza’s population and force them into “concentration zone” camps. “It could be any of them,” Israeli political analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg said. “Netanyahu has proven in the past that he doesn’t care about popular opinion or mass protest, as long as his right-wing base is happy. “We saw that in Rafah, which he destroyed, and we saw that with Iran, which he attacked. It doesn’t matter what most people think. He just needs to keep the base on side and worry about elections later. This has been the strategy for much of the last two years.” The real question is whether the army is capable of occupying all of Gaza, Flaschenberg added. Palestinians facing immense difficulties accessing food due to the blockade imposed by Israel wait to receive hot meals in Gaza on August 5, 2025 [Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu] “There’s huge fatigue within the military, extensive PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] and massive numbers of both overt and grey [private] refusals,” he said of what was estimated by the Israeli magazine +972 in April to be a shortfall in troops of more than 100,000. “This is not realistic at all,” former US Special Forces commander Colonel Seth Krummrich of international security firm Global Guardian said of Netanyahu’s plans to occupy Gaza. “To capture and hold terrain takes an enormous number of soldiers and resources. The Israeli population is divided on this issue, so there are domestic headwinds that will not support this level of mobilisation,” he said of widespread protests in Israel calling for an end to the war. Refuseniks Irrespective of the politics, many in the Israeli army and security services have opposed Netanyahu’s and his right-wing allies’ plans to occupy Gaza, as well as continuing with the war on the enclave more generally. Several senior Israeli military officers, including Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, are understood to oppose any further escalation in Gaza at all. On Tuesday, more than 600 former Israeli senior security officials signed an open letter calling on US President Donald Trump to use his influence to help bring the war to a close. “It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel,” the Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS) group said in a post on X, where it shared the open letter to President Donald Trump Advertisement CIS describes itself as “Israel’s largest group of former [Israeli military] generals and Mossad, Shin Bet, Police, and Diplomatic Corps equivalents”. “From the military point of view, [Hamas] is totally destroyed. On the other hand, as an ideology, it is getting more and more power among the Palestinian people, within the Arab street around us, and also in the world of Islam,” Ami Ayolon, the former head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal intelligence agency and one of the letter’s signatories, told the BBC. “The lack of support from the upper echelons of the military would also prove vital,” Colonel Krummrich added. “The military leadership has to ‘own’ this operation. If it fails, the military leadership gets blamed. They have to convince their soldiers that it is worth the cost, especially over the long term – potentially stretching into years,” he said. Photo taken during a controlled embed tour with the Israeli army and subsequently edited under military supervision – The Israeli army is reported to be exhausted and suffering critical shortages of reservists [File: Carlos Reyes/AFP] Why would Netanyahu push for the occupation of Gaza? Any further escalation in Gaza is also certain to prove unpopular with the public, which is already tired of the endless war, analysts said. Some polls show widespread public opposition in Israel to the war, with frustration over Netanyahu’s repeated excuses for his government’s failure to reach a ceasefire deal, which could bring the remaining captives home, tangible. Critically, in May, a poll for Israel’s Channel 12 showed that most Israelis thought Netanyahu cared more about clinging to power than he did winning the war. “When you look at the list of people who’ve come out against this, including Zamir, it begs the question
Wildfires and heatwaves grip southern Europe as evacuations ordered
Southern Europe is battling deadly wildfires and extreme heat this week, with record temperatures and dry conditions forcing evacuations across France, Spain and Portugal. An enormous wildfire in southern France’s Aude region has killed one person, injured nine others, marking the country’s largest wildfire this season. The blaze, which erupted on Tuesday, has already scorched at least 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) – an area larger than the city of Paris – in less than 24 hours. Fires have consumed forests, ravaged villages and damaged or destroyed at least 25 homes, with emergency officials warning that the blaze remains out of control. “All of the nation’s resources are mobilised,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X, urging people to act with “the utmost caution”. More than 1,800 firefighters have been sent to battle the flames, backed by 600 vehicles and water-dropping aircraft. “We have at our disposal in the Aude department the maximum number of personnel and resources that we can have in the south of France in its entirety,” said Remi Recio, deputy prefect of Narbonne. An elderly woman who refused to evacuate was killed, while another person is missing. Two civilians were injured, including one in critical condition with burns, and seven firefighters suffered smoke inhalation. Camping grounds and at least one village were partially evacuated, and roads were closed. “I left everything behind me,” said David Cerdan, 51, who fled the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse. “I’m putting it into perspective. I only have material damage.” Advertisement Officials say the fire has already consumed as much land as all French wildfires in 2024 combined – more than double that of 2023. “The fire is advancing in an area where all the conditions are ripe for it to progress,” said fire official Roesch. “This fire will keep us busy for several days. It’s a long-term operation.” An investigation into the cause is under way. France’s environment ministry said drought conditions and dry vegetation contributed to the spread, with water restrictions already in place in the Aude region. “The risk of fire is greatest in the Mediterranean,” said climate and agriculture analyst Serge Zaka. “In France, it is the hottest and driest area. But with climate change, these fire risks are expected to become more significant during the summer.” Last month, a blaze near Marseille injured about 300 people. Scientists warn that climate change is driving more intense heat and dryness across Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent. Spain and Portugal face heat-driven blazes In Spain, a prolonged heatwave since Sunday – with temperatures reaching 43C (109F) – has helped fan multiple wildfires across the country. The resort town of Tarifa in Andalusia saw more than 1,500 people and 5,000 vehicles evacuated after a fire broke out near La Pena, a wooded area close to the beach. The fire, believed to have started in a camper van, was rapidly spread by strong winds. “What concerns us most right now is the wind, whether it shifts between the west and east,” said Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s interior minister. Fire crews worked through the night to keep flames away from hotels and tourist accommodation, but the blaze remains active, and residents have not been allowed to return. Elsewhere, a fire near Ponteceso in the Galicia region forced the evacuation of Corme Aldea village. In Cadiz, a blaze that erupted Tuesday led to mass evacuations, according to state broadcaster RTVE. The Spanish meteorological agency AEMET has issued orange alerts across several regions through Friday. Civil protection authorities warn of “high” or “extreme” fire risk in much of the country. Spain’s Ministry of Health reported 1,060 excess deaths linked to extreme heat in July, a 57 percent increase over the same month last year, based on data from the national mortality monitoring system. While the data does not confirm direct causation, it is widely used to estimate heat-related deaths. In neighbouring Portugal, wildfires have already burned more than 42,000 hectares (104,000 acres) in 2025 – the largest area since 2022 and eight times more than this time last year. More than half of that land was scorched in just the past two weeks. Advertisement Firefighters managed to bring a large blaze under control near Vila Real in the north on Wednesday, but others remain active. A fire in the city of Amarante continued to burn, while another in A Coruna reached emergency level 2 due to its proximity to populated areas. Lisbon declared a state of alert until August 7, with more than 100 municipalities on maximum fire risk amid soaring temperatures. Scientists say Southern Europe is on the front line of climate breakdown. Rising global temperatures are creating the conditions for longer and more destructive fire seasons. Adblock test (Why?)