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Reuters

  • Italy warns Gaza could become Vietnam for Israel

    Italy warns Gaza could become Vietnam for Israel

    JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Israel’s far-right finance minister has demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrap his plan to seize Gaza City in favour of a tougher one, while Italy said on Sunday the plan could result in a “Vietnam” for Israel’s army.

    Netanyahu’s security cabinet, of which the minister, Bezalel Smotrich, is a member, approved the plan by majority on Friday to expand military operations in the shattered Palestinian enclave to try to defeat militant group Hamas.

    The move drew a chorus of condemnation within Israel, where thousands of people protested, in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling for an immediate ceasefire and release of hostages held by militant group Hamas, as well as abroad.

    Smotrich said he has lost faith in Netanyahu’s ability and desire to lead to a victory over Hamas. The new plan, he said in a video on X late on Saturday, was intended to get Hamas back to ceasefire negotiations.

    The Israeli army, which opposes military rule in Gaza, has warned it would endanger remaining hostages held by Hamas as well as Israeli troops.

    Smotrich stopped short of delivering a clear ultimatum to Netanyahu.

    The Israeli military has warned that expanding the offensive could endanger the lives of hostages Hamas is still holding in Gaza, believed to number around 20, and draw its troops into protracted and deadly guerilla warfare.

    Italy said Israel should heed its army’s warnings.

    “The invasion of Gaza risks turning into a Vietnam for Israeli soldiers,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in an interview with daily Il Messaggero.
    He reiterated calls for a United Nations mission led by Arab countries to “reunify the Palestinian state” and said Italy was ready to participate.

    BOY KILLED BY AIRDROP

    Israel has already come under mounting pressure over widespread hunger and thirst in the enclave, prompting it to announce a series of new measures to ease aid distribution.

    On Saturday, medics said that a 14-year-old boy was killed by an aid airdrop that fell on a tent encampment in central Gaza. A video, verified by Reuters, that went viral on social media, showed the parachuted aid box falling on the teenager who, among many other desperate Palestinians, was awaiting food.

    The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said the new death raised the number of people killed during the airdrops to 23 since the war began, almost two years ago.

    “We have repeatedly warned of the dangers of these inhumane methods and have consistently called for the safe and sufficient delivery of aid through land crossings, especially food, infant formula, medicines, and medical supplies,” it said.

    Five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said, taking the number of deaths from such causes to 217, including 100 children.

    Israel’s offensive in Gaza has since killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, and left much of the territory in ruins.

    Gaza medics said Israeli fire killed at least six Palestinians on Sunday, four of them in an airstrike in Khan Younis and two more people among crowds seeking aid in central Gaza.

  • Woakes may opt for rehab over surgery in race to be fit for Ashes

    Woakes may opt for rehab over surgery in race to be fit for Ashes

    England all-rounder Chris Woakes said rehabilitation is a risk he is willing to take to be fit for the Ashes 2025 rather than undergoing surgery on the shoulder injury he sustained during last week’s fifth Test loss to India.

    The 36-year-old Woakes is awaiting scan results after suffering a suspected dislocated shoulder on the opening day of the see-saw Test at The Oval when he landed awkwardly trying to save a boundary.

    Judging by the extent of the damage his options would be either surgery or rehabilitation to strengthen the shoulder. The first Ashes 2025 Test begins in Perth on November 21.

    “I suppose… there will be a chance of a re-occurrence, but that could be a risk that you’re just willing to take,” Chris Woakes told BBC Sport on Friday.

    “From what I’ve heard from physios and specialists is that the rehab of a surgery option would be closer to three to four months. That’s obviously touching on the Ashes 2025 and Australia so it makes it tricky.

    Read more: WATCH: Moment Chris Woakes walks out to bat with arm in a sling

    “From a rehab point of view you can probably get it strong again within eight weeks. So that could be an option, but again obviously still waiting to get the full report on it.”

    Although ruled out of the remainder of the fifth Test, he returned to bat on the final morning with his left arm strapped in a sling as England pushed for a series win.

    Chris Woakes entered at number 11 with 17 runs still needed, he did not face a ball but ran four before Gus Atkinson was bowled, leaving India to seal a six-run victory to level the series 2-2 on Monday.

    Woakes received praise for his bravery, though he downplayed it by saying anyone else in the dressing room would have done the same.

    “In my eyes it was just business as usual… in that moment it was to go out there and try and find a way with Gus at the other end to try and get us over the line,” he added.

    “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen but I’m grateful and thankful that I put up the fight and tried to do it for the team.”

  • ‘Tell us how he died’: Salah criticises UEFA tribute to ‘Palestinian Pele’

    ‘Tell us how he died’: Salah criticises UEFA tribute to ‘Palestinian Pele’

    Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah on Saturday criticised UEFA’s tribute to the late Suleiman Al-Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pele,” after European soccer’s governing body failed to reference the circumstances surrounding his death this week.

    The Palestine Football Association said that Al-Obeid, 41, was killed by an Israeli strike targeting civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

    In a brief post on the social media platform X, UEFA called the former national team member “a talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.”
    Mohamed Salah responded: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”

    UEFA was not immediately available to comment.

    One of the Premier League’s biggest stars, the 33-year-old Egyptian Salah has previously advocated for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza in the nearly two-year-old war.

    The PFA later posted a statement on its Facebook page attributed to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, calling Al-Obeid “proof of the joy that can flourish in the hearts of people despite hardship.

    “He gave his talent and dedication to the children of Gaza and gave their dreams a hope to blossom despite the suffering,” the statement read.

    Read more: Mohamed Salah becomes first Liverpool player to score 50 goal in Europe competitions

    “His death is a great loss to the world of football and to everyone who recognises the power of sport to unite people.”

    The PFA said on Saturday that 325 players, coaches, administrators, referees and club board members in the Palestinian soccer community have died in the Israeli-Hamas conflict since October 2023.

    The war began after Gaza’s Palestinian group Hamas carried out a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

    Israel’s subsequent air and ground campaign has leveled entire neighbourhoods in Gaza, displaced most of the population of 2.3 million and pushed the enclave to the brink of famine, according to the United Nations.

    The UN says more than 1,000 people have been killed near aid distribution sites and aid convoys in Gaza since the launch of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S. and Israel-backed aid distribution system, in late May.

  • Germany starts curbing support for Israel as Gaza faces starvation

    Germany starts curbing support for Israel as Gaza faces starvation

    The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to curb arms exports to Israel, a historically fraught step for Berlin driven by a growing public outcry.

    Conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, hitherto a staunchly pro-Israel leader, made the announcement on Friday arguing that Israel’s actions would not achieve its stated war goals of eliminating Hamas or bringing Israeli hostages home.

    It is a bold move for a leader who after winning elections in February said he would invite Benjamin Netanyahu to Germany in defiance of an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister issued by the International Criminal Court.

    The shift reflects how Germany’s come-what-may support for Israel, rooted in its historical guilt over the Nazi Holocaust, is being tested like never before as the high Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza, massive war destruction and images of starving children are chipping away at decades of policy.

    “It is remarkable as it is the first concrete measure of this German government. But I would not see it as a U-turn, rather a ‘warning shot’,” said Muriel Asseburg, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

    It caps months of the German government sharpening its tone over Israel’s escalating military campaign in the small, densely populated Palestinian enclave, though still shying away from tougher steps that other European countries and some voices in Merz’s ruling coalition were calling for.

    Read more: Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israel’s Gaza take over plan

    The suspension of arms deliveries to Israel would affect just those that could be used in Gaza.

    The move reflects a hardening mood in Germany, where public opinion has grown critical of Israel and more demanding that its government help ease a humanitarian disaster – most of the 2.2 million population is homeless and Gaza is a sea of rubble.

    According to an ARD-DeutschlandTREND survey released on Thursday, a day before Merz’s announcement, 66% of Germans want their government to put more pressure on Israel to change its behaviour.

    That is higher than April 2024, when some 57% of Germans believed their government should criticise Israel more strongly than before for its actions in Gaza, a Forsa poll showed.

    Despite Germany helping air drop aid to Gaza, 47% of Germans think their government is doing too little for Palestinians there, against 39% who disagree with this, the ARD-DeutschlandTREND this week showed.

    Most strikingly perhaps, only 31% of Germans feel they have a bigger responsibility for Israel due to their history – a core tenet of German foreign policy – while 62% do not.
    Germany’s political establishment has cited its approach, known as the “Staatsraison”, as a special responsibility for Israel after the Nazi Holocaust, which was laid out in 2008 by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Israeli parliament.

    Reflecting that stance days before his most recent trip to Israel in July, Merz’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Die Zeit newspaper that Berlin could not be a “neutral mediator”.

    “Because we are partisan. We stand with Israel,” he said, echoing similar statements by other conservative figures in Merz’s party.

    But Merz’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), had already been more explicit in wanting to put sanctions against Israel on the table.

    FAdis Ahmetovic, an SPD foreign policy spokesperson, said suspending weapons shipments was only the first step.

    “More must follow, such as a full or partial suspension of the (European Union) Association Agreement or the medical evacuation of seriously injured children, in particular,” Ahmetovic told Stern magazine. “Furthermore, sanctions against Israeli ministers must no longer be taboo.”

  • Turkey says Muslim countries must be united against Israel’s Gaza takeover plan

    Turkey says Muslim countries must be united against Israel’s Gaza takeover plan

    ANKARA: Muslim nations must act in unison and rally international opposition against Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday after talks in Egypt.

    Regional powers Egypt and Turkey both condemned the plan on Friday. Ankara has said it marked a new phase in what it called Israel’s genocidal and expansionist policies, while calling for global measures to stop the plan’s implementation.

    Speaking at a joint press conference in El Alamein with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty, after also meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Fidan said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation had been called to an emergency meeting.

    Fidan said Israel’s policy aimed to force Palestinians out of their lands through hunger and that it aimed to permanently invade Gaza, adding there was no justifiable excuse for nations to continue supporting Israel.

    “What is happening today is a very dangerous development… not only for the Palestinian people or neighbouring countries,” Abdelatty said, adding that Israel’s plans were “inadmissible”.

    Abdelatty said there was full coordination with Turkey on Gaza, and referred to a statement issued on Saturday by the OIC Ministerial Committee condemning Israel’s plan.

    The OIC committee said Israel’s plan marked “a dangerous and unacceptable escalation, a flagrant violation of international law, and an attempt to entrench the illegal occupation”, warning that it would “obliterate any opportunity for peace”.

  • Spain’s Coll lost her bottle, notes in Euro 2025 final shootout

    Spain’s Coll lost her bottle, notes in Euro 2025 final shootout

    Aug 9: Spain keeper Cata Coll was left without her tactical notes during the penalty shootout in last month’s European Championship final, because England keeper Hannah Hampton had thrown the bottle they were written on into the stands.

    Hampton replaced Coll’s bottle with her own as the 24-year-old Chelsea keeper led England to their second continental title in a row, beating the world champions 3-1 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw in Basel.

    “It wasn’t hard. When she’s in the goal it’s on its own… you just pick it up,” Hampton told TalkSport.

    “I just put mine in there, chucked her one into the fans and she had an empty bottle. She was looking for where it is. She was walking back and I was walking the other way. She was so confused. I was trying so hard not to burst out laughing.”

    Australia keeper Andrew Redmayne did the same to Peruvian counterpart Pedro Gallese during a qualifying playoff for the 2022 World Cup. Redmayne saved the final penalty as Australia won the shootout 5-4.

    Coll saved Beth Mead’s re-taken penalty as Spain took the lead, before Hampton saved two spot-kicks and Spaniard Salma Paralluelo shot wide.

    Hampton said she wrote down her notes on her arm to keep them safe. “I never put it on a bottle because anyone can do that,” she added.

  • Portugal’s top court blocks bill restricting immigration

    Portugal’s top court blocks bill restricting immigration

    LISBON: Portugal’s Constitutional Court has blocked a bill approved by the right-wing parliamentary majority that was designed to limit the inflow of immigrants, citing obstacles it creates for family members in joining immigrants legally resident in Portugal.

    Immediately after late Friday’s decision, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sent the bill back to parliament, which is on recess until September. Last month, the president told the court to check the document for potential infringements of the principles of equality, proportionality and legal security.

    The bill illustrates the rightward shift in politics in much of Europe, as governments try to fend off the rise of the far-right by being tougher on immigration.

    The bill would have made hundreds of thousands of migrants legally resident in Portugal wait for two years before they could request permission for immediate family members to join them. Only highly-skilled workers and investors with special residence permits would be exempt.

    The court ruled that the bill was “likely to lead to the separation of family members” of foreign citizens legally resident in Portugal, which it said would be a “violation of the rights enshrined in the constitution”.

    Last year, the government scrapped a programme that allowed migrants entering Portugal on a tourist visa or waiver to stay and get residence permits if they find work.

    Immigrants from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries still enjoy most such privileges but the bill would impose the requirement of a long-term work or residence visa that they would need to apply for in the country of origin.

    Parliament approved the bill on July 16 with support from the centre-right ruling coalition and far-right Chega party, which emerged as the second-largest parliamentary force in a May general election.

    Left-wing opposition parties have criticised the government for what they call an inhumane bill, and for allowing Chega to impose its anti-immigration agenda on the minority administration.

    The government denies such accusations, arguing that immigration inflows require better controls, and has already said it intends to adjust the bill to the court’s objections.

  • Messi will not travel for Sunday’s match

    Messi will not travel for Sunday’s match

    August 9, 2025: Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi will not travel for Sunday’s match at Orlando City due to a “minor” muscle injury in his right leg, coach Javier Mascherano said Saturday.

    Messi sustained the injury during last weekend’s Leagues Cup match against Necaxa. There is no timeline for the forward’s return.

    “No, Leo will not be available tomorrow,” Mascherano said Saturday, per ESPN. “Leo is OK, but obviously it would be crazy to take the risk of taking him to Orlando because of all that is ahead. We are optimistic that he will soon return with us.”

    Messi, 38, entered this weekend with 18 goals, tied with Sam Surridge of Nashville SC for the lead in the chase for the Golden Boot. The Argentina native also has nine assists in 18 MLS matches (17 starts) this season.

    After visiting Orlando City, the Herons will host Los Angeles FC next Saturday before facing Tigres UANL in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals on Aug. 20 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

    Football- Soccer News from Around The World

  • Israel signs $35 billion natural gas supply deal with Egypt

    Israel signs $35 billion natural gas supply deal with Egypt

    LONDON: Israel’s Leviathan natural gas field has signed the largest export agreement in the country’s history, worth up to $35 billion to supply gas to Egypt, NewMed, one of the partners in the field has said.

    The deal should ease an energy crisis in Egypt, which has spent billions of dollars on importing liquefied natural gas since its own supplies fell short of demand.

    Egypt’s production began declining in 2022, it has increasingly turned to Israel to make up the shortfall.

    Exports from the gas field were halted during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June but have since resumed.

    Under the deal announced on Thursday, Leviathan, off Israel’s Mediterranean coast, with reserves of some 600 billion cubic metres, will sell about 130 bcm of gas to Egypt through 2040, or until all of the contract quantities are fulfilled.

    The gas is pumped via pipelines, which makes it cheaper than LNG, the cost of which is inflated by the super-cooling required to make it a liquid that can be transported by ship and re-gasifying it when it reaches its destination.

    Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum, which is also responsible for energy imports, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Analysts estimate the average cost of LNG at $13.5 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), compared to $7.75 for Israeli gas. That excludes the cost of leasing floating storage (FSRUs).

    Under the deal, Leviathan in a first stage will supply Egypt with 20 bcm of gas starting in early 2026 after the connection of additional pipelines.

    It will export the remaining 110 bcm in a second phase that will begin after completion of the expansion project and the construction of a new transmission pipeline from Israel to Egypt via Nitzana in Israel, NewMed said.

    Egypt has been struggling to get its gas production up. According to latest figures, production reached 3,545 million cubic meters in May, compared to 6,133 mcm in March 2021 – a decline of over 42% in less than five years.

    The Leviathan reservoir began supplying Egypt shortly after production began in 2020. The field, operated by Chevron, which holds a 40% stake, also supplies Jordan.

  • Ireland to pass trade ban on Israeli settlements despite US pressure

    Ireland to pass trade ban on Israeli settlements despite US pressure

    Ireland will continue to advance legislation banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris has said.

    More than a dozen members of the US Congress had called on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to add Ireland to a list of countries boycotting Israel if the Occupied Territories Bill is passed by Dublin.

    But Harris said Ireland’s government remains undeterred and “isn’t alone” in carrying out the measures.

    “This week we also saw Slovenia take action in relation to trade from the occupied territories, I expect Belgium are likely to do the same and we intend to advance with our legislation,” Harris told reporters on Friday.

    “People in Ireland, people in Europe and people right across the world feel extraordinarily strongly about the genocidal activity that we’re seeing in Gaza, about the starving children and we will use all tools at our disposal,” he added.

    Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund will also announce changes to the handling of its Israeli investments, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, ruling out any blanket withdrawal over the war in Gaza.

    Read More: Israel approves plan to take control of Gaza

    The fund itself said it would provide an update on its Israeli investments on Tuesday. The government this week launched an urgent review of the investments over ethics concerns linked to the war in Gaza and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

    “I see several measures over time, but what can be addressed quickly, must be done quickly,” Stoltenberg told a press conference after holding his second meeting with fund officials in three days.

    He did not say what these measures could be, but added that there would not be a wholesale divestment from all Israeli companies. “If we did that, it would mean we are divesting from them because they are Israeli,” he said.