discuss

Aug. 17 (UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner and other members of his Board of Peace in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss the president’s plans for Gaza.

Trump has called for Hamas to disarm and demilitarize and for Israel to cease its airstrikes and military operations in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu has pushed back as Israel has continued to launch strikes.

Monday’s meeting followed negotiations between the Board of Peace and leaders of Hamas. During those talks, Hamas officials shared a list of cease-fire violations allegedly committed by Israeli forces.

Last month, Trump announced that Hamas has agreed to a road map toward disarming. Israel’s continued military operations have complicated that plan. Meanwhile, Netanyahu rejected Trump’s proposal earlier this month, urging that Israel will not pull out of Gaza until Hamas has completely disarmed.

NBC News reported that Netanyahu and Kushner reached an agreement that a U.S. military general should supervise the disarming of Hamas. NBC News cited an unnamed source in this reporting.

Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel, and former British Prime MInister Tony Blair were also present for the meeting.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that he and the representatives from the Board of Peace agreed to establish two working groups with two different focuses. One will focus on disarmament and demilitarization. The other will focus on preparations for reconstruction in Gaza, including sanitation efforts, clean water and public health concerns.

Before reconstruction can take place, the sides agreed that Hamas must be disarmed and demilitarized.

Caracas, August 10, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia held a meeting with Orthodox Rabbi Isaac Cohen on Sunday in which the latter formally requested that Caracas reestablish diplomatic ties with Israel.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Cohen delivered a letter addressed to Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, arguing that normalizing relations with Tel Aviv is necessary to “tend to the needs of the Jewish community” in Venezuela.

“Venezuela has historically welcomed with open arms an important Jewish community, which has contributed to the development and well-being of our nation,” Plasencia wrote on social media.

Venezuela’s top diplomat thanked Cohen, on behalf of the Rodríguez administration and the Venezuelan people, for Israeli “assistance” following the June 24 double earthquake.

Cohen, a rabbi from the Venezuelan Jewish Association (AIV), was reportedly one of the intermediaries for the arrival of an Israeli diplomatic and military mission one week after the earthquake. The delegation included IDF officers and weapons contractors, while several Tel Aviv-aligned organizations likewise deployed on-the-ground teams.

Rodríguez held multiple meetings with the Israeli team, praising its members as “highly trained and professional” and thanking them for their work. IDF spokesman Roni Kaplan stated that the Israeli team had created a “dashboard” for Venezuelan authorities to evaluate damaged buildings, while Brigadier General Elad Edri was pictured presenting a “Project for Future Reconstruction” slideshow.

The Israeli mission has sparked growing protests, with Venezuelan popular movements reaffirming support for Palestine, condemning the genocide in Gaza and Lebanon, and burning Israeli flags.

Former President Hugo Chávez severed ties with Israel in 2009, fiercely denouncing the US ally for genocide and demonstrating unwavering support for the Palestinian cause. His stance was maintained by Maduro, who endorsed South Africa’s activation of the Genocide Convention against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024.

Following the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Maduro, Rodríguez fast-tracked a diplomatic rapprochement with Washington alongside a broader radical shift in Caracas’ geopolitical alignment. 

Apart from re-engagement with Israel, the Venezuelan government is also reestablishing ties with far-right US allies in Latin America, including Chile, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, while distancing itself from historic partners in Havana and Tehran. During the recent US-Israel war against Iran, Caracas offered no backing for Tehran, instead voicing “solidarity” with US Gulf allies such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Philadelphia, USA.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov ‘reaffirmed ​readiness’ for a political ​and diplomatic settlement to Russia-Ukraine war.

The top United States and Russian diplomats have discussed the war in Ukraine on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in the Philippines.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday in Manila, with Russian media reporting that the meeting was just over half an hour long.

The sit-down came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had spoken with US envoys in a bid to revive stalled talks aimed at ending the years-long war.

Lavrov “reaffirmed Russia’s readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict”, a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, adding that the minister told Rubio that ⁠Moscow remained committed ⁠to proposals put forward by presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir ⁠Putin at their August 2025 meeting ⁠in Alaska.

Lavrov also “stressed that it was unacceptable to continue supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime”, the ministry said. The minister condemned “a destabilising policy by European countries, which are still seeking to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia,” it added.

The US State Department offered few details about the meeting, with a spokesperson only saying that Rubio and Lavrov “discussed the US-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war”.

The two were also expected to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, which has seen Moscow condemn Washington’s strikes on its ally Iran.

“The war in Ukraine, I think, has in many ways impeded the ability of Russia and the United States to find areas of agreement on other topics,” Rubio told reporters on Wednesday.

“That doesn’t mean we won’t seek to find other areas of potential cooperation. But by the same token … we’d like to see that war come to an end,” he added.

Rubio said the US remained open to playing a role in ending the conflict “if that opportunity presents itself”.

For his part, Lavrov earlier indicated the meeting would “be useful in any case”.

“It’s good to ask questions and get answers,” Lavrov said to reporters on Wednesday, adding that he would ask Rubio about the latest statements by Trump predicting that a settlement is getting close.

Discussions aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine have been at a standstill, with US attention now focused on the Middle East and Moscow maintaining its demand that Kyiv cede territory.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy said in a post on X that he had “a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy” with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Rubio spoke briefly with Lavrov at a gala dinner on Tuesday, and the two participated in a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum on Thursday morning.

Trump has voiced support for Ukraine’s campaign of long-range drone strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure, saying it could “help bring about an end” to the conflict.

Ukraine has been escalating its drone strikes, hitting refineries, oil depots and cargo ships at sea, which has caused fuel shortages in Russia.

In late June, a massive barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed at least 30 people in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

A senior North Korean party official and China’s top political adviser have met in Pyongyang and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation, the North’s state media said Thursday.

Jo Yong-won, a secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held talks Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Wang, China’s fourth-ranking official, is leading a Chinese party and government delegation on a three-day visit to North Korea through Friday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the two countries.

During the talks, Jo said the rapidly changing international political situation “has required the two countries to further strengthen the militant unity, support and solidarity and steadily intensify and develop the friendly and cooperative relations” based on the spirit of the treaty.

Jo also said bilateral ties have entered a new stage of development under the leadership of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping, expressing Pyongyang’s willingness to expand strategic communication and cooperation across various sectors.

Wang said the friendship treaty has provided a legal foundation for consolidating the “militant friendship formed at the cost of blood” between the two countries.

He also reaffirmed China’s commitment to elevating bilateral ties to a higher level in line with the consensus reached by Xi and Kim during their summit in Pyongyang in June, according to the KCNA.

The two sides discussed ways to deepen party-to-party exchanges and expand cooperation in various fields, including the economy and culture, with the aim of promoting the well-being of their peoples, the report said.

Wang’s visit comes days after North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song traveled to China to attend events marking the treaty anniversary, where he met with Xi and other senior Chinese leaders.

The exchange of high-level delegations has highlighted increasingly active contacts between Pyongyang and Beijing as the two sides seek to reaffirm their traditionally close ties and deepen cooperation.

“We are closely monitoring the possibility of a meeting between Wang and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as well as any follow-up cooperation that may emerge from the talks,” an official at Seoul’s unification ministry told reporters.

He added the government is also paying attention to the presence of officials involved in urban management at the talks, saying it could signal discussions on cooperation in the economic and urban development sectors.

The latest exchanges reflect efforts by Pyongyang and Beijing to strengthen strategic communication and party-to-party ties, though it remains to be seen whether the current pace of high-level exchanges will continue beyond events marking the treaty anniversary, the official said.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store held talks Wednesday on ways to deepen cooperation between their countries in areas such as security and technology.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Ankara, Turkey, where Lee is participating as the leader of one of the alliance’s partner countries.

In his opening remarks, Lee stressed the importance of cooperation and exchanges between the two countries at a time of growing instability in the global security environment.

The South Korean president noted that against such a backdrop, South Korea and Norway are deepening their ties into a mutually beneficial relationship in the areas of the economy, industry, culture and defense.

“During today’s bilateral talks, I would like to discuss in depth how and in what areas we can further deepen our relations,” Lee said.

The Norwegian prime minister noted that the two countries have made progress in bilateral ties since last year, referring to what he described as important decisions in the defense industry that he said would help elevate bilateral ties into a strategic partnership.

In January, South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace Co. secured a large-scale deal to supply Norway with Chunmoo artillery systems and guided missiles.

The Norwegian prime minister noted the two countries have witnessed progress in cooperation on security, trade and technology, and said he hoped to use Wednesday’s meeting to discuss ways to further deepen their ties.

Lee expressed hope that the two countries would further strengthen cooperation in advanced defense technologies and the broader defense industry, building on Norway’s trust in South Korean weapons systems, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said later.

The president cited new renewable energy, shipbuilding and maritime affairs as areas in which he hopes South Korea and Norway could achieve tangible cooperation, according to Kang.

Lee also called for the Norwegian government’s cooperation with a South Korean delegation currently visiting Norway to secure additional supplies of Norwegian mackerel, a staple food in South Korea.

Kang said the Norwegian prime minister also voiced hope for stronger cooperation in the maritime and energy sectors, as well as for elevating bilateral ties to a higher level by strengthening cooperation in key areas.

In addition, the two leaders agreed to exchange visits at mutually convenient times while pledging to continue close communication on ensuring peace and stability in the international community, Kang added.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

June 30 (UPI) — American and Iranian delegates arrived Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, for “technical talks” to discuss the memorandum of understanding that created a cease-fire between the two countries.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday that these are not high-level talks.

Unlike the recent talks in Switzerland with Vice President JD Vance and Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, these will be led by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi. They will not meet in person and the talks will be mediated by Qatari officials. President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner also participated.

Witkoff and Kushner met with the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

The discussions will “produce documents that will be elevated to principles in the high-level meetings to agree upon,” al-Ansari said.

Some of the topics expected to come up are: Financial restrictions and lifting sanctions on Iran, how to establish the free flow of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, the future of Iran’s nuclear program, the potential release of Iran’s frozen assets and regional security, CNN reported.

A recent uptick in attacks in the strait could make the talks more contentious.

Iran insists that the MOU gives it authority over the strait and has threatened ships that don’t travel on Iranian-mandated routes.

“If vessels pass through other routes, we will oppose it, we will try to prevent it, and if anything happens to those vessels, the responsibility will be their own,” Gharibabadi said on Monday, according to Iranian state media.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday that the discussions will be about the MOU.

“What will probably take place in Doha tomorrow is a discussion with the Qatari side on the implementation of some provisions of the memorandum of understanding, including the provision concerning the release of Iran’s restricted assets,” Baghaei said.

Three Brazilians with a combined age of 316 have been recognised as the world’s longest-living trio of sisters. Researchers are studying their DNA to better understand the genetic factors behind healthy aging and exceptional genetic longevity.

June 2 (UPI) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate on Tuesday morning that Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz and commit to future talks on its nuclear program before the United States will make concessions.

He testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before a scheduled afternoon meeting with a House panel on State Department spending. Both sessions were planned so that Rubio could defend the department’s nearly $36 million budget request for the 2027 fiscal year.

Rubio is also President Donald Trump‘s national security adviser.

The Washington Post reported that Rubio’s testimony with lawmakers has been mostly friendly. He served in the Senate for 14 years and in the House for 8, representing Florida.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed frustration with the cost and potential political fallout from the war with Iran.

“This war and the administration’s decision to blockade has now held the entire world economy, and the U.S. economy, hostage to the ability to negotiate an agreement with Iran,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn, The Post reported.

The Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed by Iran since late February, must reopen, Rubio stressed. The strait is a critical waterway for shipping of much of the world’s oil, gas and fertilizer. The closure has caused gas prices to rise, causing anxiety as Republicans fear losing House and Senate seats in November.

Rubio said Trump demands that Iran enter into negotiating “severe and long-term limitations” on its nuclear program, including disposing of enriched uranium, and those talks could take months.

But he said he’s optimistic that Iran is more willing to negotiate on nukes.

“They have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program that just a month ago, just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention,” The Guardian reported Rubio said. He warned that it’s “not a guarantee that ultimately it will lead to a deal that’s acceptable,” and Iran’s leadership instability has made the negotiations more difficult.

Rubio said Iran had intended to use its conventional weapons capabilities as a “shield” to protect its nuclear program, The Guardian reported.

“What they tried to do is, they were going to try to build a conventional shield and hide behind that conventional shield,” he said, explaining why Trump wanted to start the war.

He also admitted, after questioning by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that another sticking point for Trump was that Iran stop supporting terrorist proxy groups. He said Trump is not willing to ease sanctions just for opening the strait.

Rubio said that Iranian Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to be alive.

“I would imagine, given what’s happened to multiple leaders in that system, being very public is probably not something that’s recommended for them internally,” he said. “But that said, I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level, although all of his communications have been in writing and through intermediaries.”

Along with Iran, lawmakers were expected to ask Rubio about the president’s comments about Cuba and Taiwan.