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Acting Thai Premier Phumtham Wechayachai accuses Cambodia of ‘not acting in good faith’ ahead of crucial talks.

A meeting to secure a ceasefire following days of a deadly border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia is under way in Malaysia, says a Malaysian official.

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet are holding ceasefire talks on Monday in Malaysia’s administrative capital of Putrajaya at the official residence of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the regional bloc ASEAN.

The talks between the leaders of the two warring Southeast Asian countries are aimed to halt fighting that has killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 270,000 from both sides of the Thailand-Cambodia border.

The ambassadors of the United States and China were also present at the meeting, the Malaysian official said on Monday, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.

Meanwhile, clashes continue in several areas along Thailand’s disputed border with Cambodia for a fifth day.

In a post on X earlier on Monday, Hun said the purpose of the talks is to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the conflict with Thailand.

However, Phumtham, before departing Bangkok on Monday, told reporters: “We do not believe Cambodia is acting in good faith, based on their actions in addressing the issue. They need to demonstrate genuine intent, and we will assess that during the meeting.”

Thai army spokesperson Colonel Richa Suksuwanon told reporters earlier on Monday that fighting continues along the border, as gunfire could be heard at dawn in Samrong in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, The Associated Press news agency reported.

On Sunday, Thailand said one person was killed and another injured after Cambodia fired a rocket in Sisaket province.

Thailand’s military also reported that Cambodian snipers were camping in one of the contested temples, and accused Phnom Penh of surging troops along the border and hammering Thai territory with rockets.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata on Monday accused Thailand of deploying “a lot of troops” and firing “heavy weapons” into the Cambodian territory.

Socheata claimed that before dawn on Monday, the Thai military targeted areas near the ancient Ta Muen Thom and the Ta Kwai temples, which Cambodia claims are its territory but are being disputed by Thailand.

She also accused the Thai military of firing smoke bombs from aircraft over Cambodian territory and heavy weapons at its soldiers, adding that Cambodian troops “were able to successfully repel the attacks”.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Thailand’s border province of Surin, said the mediators have been “very reluctant” to acknowledge the holding of talks in the Malaysian capital.

“The Malaysian Foreign Ministry was incredibly nervous. Last week, they had said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had brokered a peace deal only to be shot down very quickly by the Thai Foreign Ministry,” Cheng said.

Still, Cheng said a mounting death toll and the number of displaced people could give the two leaders the “motivation” to resolve the crisis peacefully.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said US officials “are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts”, while Anwar told domestic media he would focus on securing an “immediate ceasefire”.

Vote will take place September 15-20 in the first election since President al-Sharaa took power.

Syria will hold parliamentary elections in September, said the head of a body tasked with organising the election process.

Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, told state news agency SANA on Sunday that elections will take place between September 15 and 20.

They will be the first to take place under the country’s new authorities after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December.

One-third of the 210 seats will be appointed by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with the rest to be elected.

In a recent interview with the Erem News site, another member of the elections committee, Hassan al-Daghim, said an electoral college will be set up in each of Syria’s provinces to vote for the elected seats.

Increasingly divided

A temporary constitution signed by al-Sharaa in March called for a People’s Committee to be set up to serve as an interim parliament until a permanent constitution is adopted and general elections held, a process that could take years.

The announcement of impending elections comes at a time when the country is increasingly divided in its views of the new authorities in Damascus after sectarian violence broke out in the southern province of Suwayda earlier this month.

The fighting killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria’s fragile postwar transition.

The violent clashes, which broke out two weeks ago, were sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans and fighters from the Druze religious minority.

Syrian government forces intervened, ostensibly to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans.

Some government troops reportedly executed Druze civilians and burned and looted houses.

Israel intervened, launching air strikes on government forces and on the Defence Ministry headquarters. Israel said it was acting to defend the Druze minority.

A Syrian official tells Al Jazeera Damascus emphasises the unity and sovereignty of Syria are nonnegotiable.

Syrian and Israeli officials have held talks in Paris mediated by the United States, according to a Syrian official, in the wake of an eruption of sectarian violence compounded by Israeli military intervention in southern Syria.

The meeting on Saturday was held to address recent security developments around the southern Druze-majority city of Suwayda, which has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks between Bedouins and Druze fighters.

Israel intervened in the conflict, striking government buildings in Damascus and government soldiers in Suwayda province, saying it was doing so to protect the Druze.

The Syrian official told Al Jazeera Arabic that Damascus’s delegation at the Paris meeting emphasised that the unity and sovereignty of Syria are nonnegotiable and Suwayda and its people are an integral part of Syria. It also rejected any attempt to exploit segments of Syrian society for partition, the official said.

The source said the Syrian delegation held Israel responsible for the recent escalation and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the points they had recently advanced to during the unrest.

‘Honest and responsible’

Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya TV, quoting its own diplomatic source, reported that the meeting did not result in any final agreements but the parties had agreed to continue talks aimed at maintaining stability.

The TV source described the dialogue as “honest and responsible” in the first confirmation from the Syrian side that talks had taken place.

On Friday, US envoy Tom Barrack said officials from both countries spoke about de-escalating the situation in Syria during talks on Thursday.

Hundreds of people have been reported killed in the fighting in Suwayda, which also drew in government forces. Israel, which carried out air strikes, during this month’s violence, has regularly struck Syria and launched incursions into its territory since longtime former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.

Last week’s fighting underlined the challenges interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in stabilising Syria and maintaining centralised rule.

Syria’s government announced a week ago that Bedouin fighters had been cleared out of Suwayda and government forces were deployed to oversee their exit from the entire province.

The announcement came after al-Sharaa ordered a new ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze groups after a separate US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military attacks on Syria.

The diplomatic source, who spoke to Ekhbariya TV, said the meeting on Saturday involved initial consultations aimed at “reducing tensions and opening channels of communication amid an ongoing escalation since early December”.

China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran.

Iran, France, Germany and the United Kingdom will hold nuclear talks in Istanbul following warnings by the three European countries that failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Tehran.

The talks scheduled for Friday come after foreign ministers of the E3 nations, as those European countries are known, as well as the European Union’s foreign policy chief, held their first call on Thursday with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi since Israel and the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago.

The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran, from which the US withdrew in 2018, that had lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.

“The meeting between Iran, Britain, France and Germany will take place at the deputy foreign minister level,” Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, was quoted by Iranian state media as saying.

The E3 have said they would restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran by the end of August if nuclear talks that were ongoing between Iran and the US, before Israel launched a surprise attack, do not resume or fail to produce concrete results.

Iran has accused the US of complicity in the Israeli attack, which killed top Iranian military officials, nuclear scientists and hundreds of civilians. The US also launched strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites, claiming to have “obliterated” them. A ceasefire took effect on June 24.

“If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the ‘snap-back’ for which they lack absolutely moral and legal ground,” Araghchi said last week.

Before the Israel-Iran war, Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman but faced major stumbling blocks such as uranium enrichment in Iran, which Western powers want to bring down to zero to minimise any risk of weaponisation.

Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme is solely meant for civilian purposes.

Middle East assessments

Also on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a surprise meeting in the Kremlin with Ali Larijani, the top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader on nuclear issues.

Larijani “conveyed assessments of the escalating situation in the Middle East and around the Iranian nuclear programme”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the unannounced meeting.

Putin expressed Russia’s “well-known positions on how to stabilise the situation in the region and on the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear programme”, he added.

Moscow has a cordial relationship with Iran’s clerical leadership and provides crucial backing for Tehran, but it did not swing forcefully behind its partner even after the US joined Israel’s bombing campaign.

A fragile ceasefire in Syria’s mainly Druze city of Suwayda appears to be holding after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a new truce on Saturday following a week of fighting. Gov’t forces deployed to clear Bedouin fighters out of the governorate.

When it comes to special teams, Mira Costa’s football team has a dream group ready to handle punting, kicking, long snapping and holding.

The senior trio of punter Jackson Shevin, kicker Nico Talbott and long snapper Jackson Reach is an impressive group.

Shevin, who’s also the holder on PATs and field goals, averaged 38 yards on punts last season. Talbott waited his time to handle kicking duties on junior varsity and being the backup. He has performed well at the Chris Sailer kicking camps. Reach is an elite long snapper and terrific linebacker.

Shevin also says he’s ready to pass or run if coach Don Morrow calls for any fake punts or fake field goals.

“It’s pretty cool,” Morrow said of his special teams trio. Morrow is entering his 33rd season at Mira Costa and No. 37 overall and thinks special teams is pretty important for a football program.

With two of the three named Jackson and being from Manhattan Beach, you can imagine the trust and fun they have playing on the same team.

Mira Costa is one of a talented group of teams in the Bay League joining Palos Verdes, Inglewood, Leuzinger and Culver City, all of whom could be title contenders depending on what division they are placed in.

Mira Costa returns top quarterback Liam Meeker and top running back AJ McBean. But they know if they need a punt or a field goal, the “Three Amigos” are ready.

A coalition of countries has announced at a meeting in the Colombian capital of Bogota that they will pursue accountability for Israeli abuses in Gaza, including by preventing the transfer of weapons to Israel.

The two-day meeting concluded on Wednesday with two dozen countries agreeing to six measures to “restrain Israel’s assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.

They include Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and South Africa.

“We believe in protagonism, not supplication,” said Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the executive secretary of The Hague Group, which organised the summit.

“Today marks an end to the era of the impunity and the beginning of collective state action by governments of conscience.”

Founded in January, the Hague Group seeks to bring together countries from the “Global South” — a loosely defined region of developing economies — to pressure Israel to end its war on Gaza and the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Among the steps announced by the group are the denial of arms to Israel, a ban on ships transporting such arms and a review of public contracts for possible links to companies that benefit from the Israeli occupation.

The six measures also included support for “universal jurisdiction mandates”, which would allow states or international bodies to prosecute serious international crimes, regardless of where they took place.

“The delegates here that have been discussing these measures for two days are calling it the most ambitious, multilateral plan since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza 21 months ago,” Al Jazeera correspondent Alessandro Rampietti reported from Bogota.

The 12 countries that agreed to the measures, however, represent fewer than half of the 30 countries in attendance at the Bogota summit.

And critics question how effective smaller economies can be in dissuading Israel from its military campaign, especially given the multibillion-dollar support it receives from the United States.

Israel has given little indication that international outrage has slowed down its attacks on Gaza, even after experts at the United Nations (UN) and major humanitarian organisations compared its tactics to genocide.

Israeli forces continue to displace Palestinians and restrict their access to food, fuel and water. At least 58,573 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October 2023.

While the majority of the countries at this week’s Bogota conference did not immediately sign on to Wednesday’s measures, the Hague Group expressed optimism that more could join in.

In a statement, the group set a deadline of September 20 for others to participate — a date chosen to coincide with the start of the UN General Assembly.

“Consultations with capitals across the world are now ongoing,” the statement said.

Officials attending the summit also hailed the six measures as part of a larger effort to chip away at Israeli impunity.

“Ministers, the truth is that Palestine has already triggered a revolution, and you are part of it,” said Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.

“Palestine has changed global consciousness, drawing a clear line between those who oppose genocide and those who accept it or are part of it.”

Albanese was recently sanctioned by the US for her outspoken criticism of Israel’s actions.

The summit has become a symbol of the growing calls from non-Western nations for world leaders to enforce international law in Gaza, where critics say Israel has consistently flouted human rights law.

Developing nations such as South Africa and Colombia, which cohosted the conference, have been at the forefront of such accountability efforts.

South Africa, for instance, filed a case in December 2023 at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that Israel perpetrated genocide in Gaza. And Colombia announced it would cut ties with Israel in May 2024 over its military campaign.

“We came to Bogota to make history,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro said in a statement. “And we did.”

During Tuesday’s instalment of Good Morning Britain, presenters Charlotte Hawkins and Richard Madeley shared the latest headlines with ITV viewers

Things took an emotional turn on Tuesday’s (July 15) instalment of Good Morning Britain.

During the programme, ITV viewers saw hosts Charlotte Hawkins and Richard Madley speak to a man called Tristan, who recently lost his wife to breast cancer.

Before her death, Dr Susan Michaelis campaigned for there to be research into lobular breast cancer, after living with the disease for 14 years.

While speaking to Tristan on the show, it seemed as though Charlotte was overcome with emotion as the interview wrapped up.

This is a breaking showbiz story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly to get the latest news, pictures and videos.

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‘Positive trend’ in US-Russia ties remains despite Washington’s ‘zigzag’ policy, Moscow says.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio have met again at the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur, according to Russia’s state-run TASS agency, with the war in Ukraine the key focus.

The conversation followed a longer 50-minute meeting between the two top diplomats the previous day.

While no details have yet emerged from Friday’s exchange, Rubio told reporters after Thursday’s talks that the two sides had discussed a possible “new and different approach” to reviving peace efforts over Ukraine.

“I wouldn’t characterise it as something that guarantees peace,” he said, “but it’s a concept that I’ll take back to the president.”

Lavrov said on Friday that he set out the Kremlin’s position on settling the war. “We discussed Ukraine. We confirmed the position that President [Vladimir] Putin had outlined, including in his July 3 conversation with President [Donald] Trump,” Lavrov told Russian media on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering.

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the diplomats held a “substantive and frank exchange” of views on Ukraine, as well as on Iran, Syria and broader global issues.

The meeting marked a rare moment of direct engagement between Washington and Moscow as bilateral relations remain fraught. However, Russian officials downplayed suggestions that ties were deteriorating.

“I do not agree that the positive trend in relations between Moscow and Washington is fading,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the RIA news agency. “I think that the current US administration acts in a zigzag manner. We don’t dramatise over this.”

Ryabkov said a new round of US-Russia talks on unresolved bilateral issues could be held before the end of the summer.

Despite the strain, both Moscow and Washington appeared to leave the door open to further dialogue, though with caution. “We are talking, and that is a start,” Rubio said. “But much depends on what comes next.”

Top US, Chinese diplomats set to meet

Rubio, on his first official trip to Asia since assuming office, is also set to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. The in-person meeting is their first and comes as the US aims to reassert its presence in the Asia Pacific.

The US secretary of state is attending the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, which brings together key players including Japan, China, Russia, Australia, India and the European Union.

The flurry of diplomatic meetings comes amid worsening US-China trade relations. Beijing has warned Washington against reintroducing sweeping tariffs next month, after being slapped with duties exceeding 100 percent during earlier tit-for-tat exchanges.

China has also warned of retaliation against countries that support efforts to exclude Beijing from critical global supply chains.

While Rubio’s trip signals a renewed US focus on Asia, tensions stemming from Trump’s global tariff strategy continue to cast a long shadow.

From August 1, steep import tariffs targeting eight ASEAN nations, including Malaysia, as well as close allies Japan and South Korea, are due to take effect.

Washington has said the move is part of its effort to “rebalance trade,” but critics warn the policy could undermine the very partnerships the US is seeking to strengthen.

ASEAN’s foreign ministers noted their concern on Friday over rising global tensions and underscored how critical a “predictable, transparent, inclusive, free, fair, sustainable and rules-based multilateral trading system” was in a joint communique.

“We reaffirmed our commitment to work constructively with all partners to this end,” the regional bloc’s foreign ministers said.

“I’m going to give you everything you want,” President Trump told disaster-stricken residents and local officials. “I’m going to give you more than any president would have ever given you.”

That was in January, in Los Angeles, in the wake of the catastrophic Palisades and Eaton fires. If Trump could express such magnanimity in California, typically the blue-state butt of his partisan jabs and threats, imagine what he’ll tell red-state Texans on Friday when he visits the flood-ravaged Hill Country, where the usually easy-going Guadalupe River turned mass killer on the Fourth of July.

He’s sure to promise that the federal government will spare no expense. (Note: California is still waiting.) But words are cheap, especially for the truth-challenged Trump. Even as the president, playing Daddy Warbucks, promises money in the moment, he must be held to account for his administration’s continued mindless axing of federal funds and government-wide expertise (a process greenlighted on Tuesday by the ever-accommodating Supreme Court) — and not least in gutting essential agencies that forecast weather, warn of storms and then help Americans recover from disasters.

Trump isn’t to blame for the deaths and destruction in Texas. But raising questions about the effect of his, and the now-disfavored Elon Musk’s, reckless rampage through government offices isn’t “depraved and despicable,” as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fulminated on Monday. It’s merely holding the government to account, which is, to be sure, a foreign concept to a president accustomed to impunity. (Leavitt’s protestations are particularly rich considering that Trump falsely blamed then-President Biden after Hurricane Helene during last year’s campaign, and initially suggested on Sunday that the Texas tragedy was somehow a “Biden set-up.”)

For a decade now, Trump has exploited Americans’ disdain of government, even when he’s at the head of it. But Americans don’t like government until they need it, and they expect it to keep them safe in the meantime. Because Trump is taking Musk’s chainsaw to federal agencies, with the acquiescence of Congress’ Republican majorities, he should be on the defensive from here on out for every emergency, crisis and tragedy that might have been prevented or at least mitigated by federal action.

Most of Trump’s proposed and attempted cuts have yet to take effect. Some — say, cutbacks in public health and scientific research programs — might not be fully felt for years. Yet even if administration reductions, eliminations and layoffs aren’t culpable this time, in this tragedy, what about the next? Because there will be a next time.

Consider: Climate change is demonstrably turbocharging the number and intensity of severe storms, yet Trump’s budget calls for closing the National Severe Storms Laboratory, which has pioneered forecasting technology for years.

It’s way past time to ignore the familiar post-catastrophe mantra that people inappropriately politicize calamity by raising questions, proposing remedies and, yes, laying blame: Only thoughts and prayers allowed. We’ve heard it in recent days not only from the likes of Leavitt, but also from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his fellow Republican, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who inserted further cuts to weather forecasting funds as part of the One Big Ugly Bill that Trump signed into law on the Fourth, as Texans dealt with the flood nightmare.

The victims deserve more. We all do.

For months since Trump took office and began his slashing spree on Day 1 with his executive orders, critics and experts have predicted that his actions could boomerang, in particular when it comes to weather-related threats, such as the hurricane season underway.

Just to cite one example: Back in April, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of San Jose, the senior Democrat on the House committee that oversees the National Weather Service, complained (presciently?), “Chaotic and illegal firings, coercions to resign, reductions in force, and a general obsession with destroying the morale of dedicated public servants have left the National Weather Service’s work force so strained they cannot carry out their duties as they once did.”

So when we have a natural disaster like that in Texas, where survivors lament inadequate warnings, why should Lofgren or anyone else keep quiet and just think and pray? It’s political, but it’s proper as well that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York asked for an investigation of whether staffing shortfalls at the weather service contributed to the Texas flood’s death toll. A Republican, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, cited Texas’ plight at a Senate hearing on Wednesday to complain that Trump’s federal hiring freeze has also left his state and others short of meteorologists, and without 24/7 coverage when tornadoes ripped through Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas in May.

Early evidence and anecdotes suggest that federal forecasters did their job in warning Texans of flooding hours in advance. But years of penny-pinching and antitax zeal at the local and state levels, especially, meant that the region — known as “flash flood alley” — had no system in place to adequately transmit the warnings to rural residents in the dead of night.

Yet the feds — Trump mainly — still have much to answer for. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service, was among the earliest targets of his misnamed Department of Government Efficiency. Trump said he wants to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency completely.

Months before the storm, a union official representing staff of the weather service, Tom Fahy, told the New York Times that its offices nationwide were “struggling to maintain operations” amid what the agency acknowledged as “severe shortages” of meteorologists and other employees. After the storm, Fahy said that vacancies at the two offices overseeing the Texas Hill Country were roughly double what they were when Trump took office. The longtime “warning coordination meteorologist” for the Hill Country in April announced that he was “sad” to prematurely end his career amid the administration cutbacks and early-retirement offers.

A local media outlet lamented the man’s departure: “The importance of experience” in the job he’d held “cannot be understated.” Abbott is being defensive, as he should be. “Who’s to blame?” the three-term governor snapped at a reporter on Tuesday. “That’s the word choice of losers.” Expect more such vituperation when the Guv greets his friend, the president, on Friday — from both men — should anyone suggest they bear any blame.

Losers? If the word fits…

@Jackiekcalmes
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Tehran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi visits Saudi Arabia for the first time after Iran’s 12-day war with Israel.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Jeddah in the first visit by a top Iranian official to the Gulf kingdom after Israel’s war with Tehran.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Araghchi’s talks with Prince Mohammed and other Saudi officials on Tuesday were “fruitful”.

The visit after the 12-day intense conflict between Israel and Iran, which saw the United States bomb three Iranian nuclear facilities before mediating a ceasefire, suggests that the war did not derail the rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia’s official news agency, SPA, said Araghchi and Prince Mohammed “reviewed bilateral relations and discussed the latest regional developments and the efforts being made in that regard”.

“The Crown Prince expressed the Kingdom’s aspiration that the ceasefire agreement would contribute to creating conditions that promote security and stability in the region, emphasizing the Kingdom’s stance in supporting dialogue through diplomatic means as a path to resolving disputes,” SPA said.

It added that Araghchi expressed his gratitude to the kingdom for “condemning the Israeli aggression”.

The top Iranian diplomat also met with Saudi Minister of Defence Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

Israel launched a massive bombardment against Iran on June 13, without direct provocation, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists as well as hundreds of civilians.

Iran retaliated with missile barrages that left widespread destruction in Israel.

After the US targeted Iran’s nuclear sites, Tehran responded with a missile launch against a US airbase in Qatar. Shortly after that attack, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

While Arab countries condemned the attack as a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty, Iran appears to be pushing to repair relations with Gulf states.

Ties between Tehran and Riyadh were strained for years over disagreements around regional conflicts and mutual accusations of spreading instability.

But the two countries agreed to restore formal relations as part of a deal brokered by China in 2023, and top Saudi and Iranian officials have been in regular contact.

Before the outbreak of the recent war, Saudi Arabia had welcomed Iran’s nuclear talks with the US, saying it supported efforts to resolve regional and international disputes.

On Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he believed Tehran could resolve its differences with the US through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after the attacks on his country.

In an article published by the Financial Times earlier on Tuesday, Araghchi accused Israel of preferring conflict over diplomacy.

“Iran remains interested in diplomacy, but we have good reason to have doubts about further dialogue,” he wrote. “If there is a desire to resolve this amicably, the US should show genuine readiness for an equitable accord.”

Negotiations resume in Qatar as the Israeli leader is set to hold talks with the US president, who has said a deal could be reached this week.

Israel and Hamas are set to hold indirect talks in Qatar for a second day, aimed at securing a ceasefire and a captive deal in Gaza, ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United States President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.

The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, aiming to broker a deal on a truce and the release of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The US president has said a deal could be reached this week.

Before departing for the US on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israeli negotiators were given clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire under conditions that Israel has accepted.

“We’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” he told journalists, adding that his meeting with Trump could “definitely help advance this” deal.

Of the 251 captives taken by Palestinian fighters during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 people the Israeli military says are dead.

Netanyahu had previously said Hamas’s response to a draft US-backed ceasefire proposal, conveyed through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, contained “unacceptable” demands.

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Jordan because Israel has banned the network from reporting in Israel and the occupied West Bank, said Netanyahu “cannot seem to be going against Trump’s wishes”, adding that the Trump-Netanyahu meeting is being set up as a “very important meeting” for Israel’s regional agenda, not just on Gaza.

“There are disagreements within the Israeli cabinet that it will find difficult to adopt, especially on the issues of redeployment and food aid distribution,” she said, stressing that Netanyahu is under pressure both from Trump and his coalition back home.

Trump is expected to meet the Israeli leader around 6:30pm local time (22:30 GMT) on Monday, the White House said, without the usual presence of journalists.

The truce talks have been revived following last month’s 12-day Israeli and US air strikes on Iran.

Ending war the sticking point

The US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire envisages a phased release of captives, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.

Concluding the war has been the main sticking point in past rounds of talks, with Hamas demanding a full end to the conflict in return for releasing all captives, and Israel insisting it would fight on until Hamas is dismantled.

Some of Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partners oppose ending the fighting. But, with Israelis having become increasingly weary of the 21-month-old war, his government is expected to back a ceasefire.

Since Hamas’s October 2023 attack and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in the fighting. They have seen captives freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel’s rejection of Hamas’s demand for a lasting ceasefire.

Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza has killed more than 57,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities, led to a hunger crisis, displaced nearly all the population, and left most of the besieged territory in ruins.

Australia won the first Test in Barbados by 159 runs on day three, in a game where neither team passed 200 in the first three innings, and this match also looks set to be heading to an early conclusion as batters on both teams continue to struggle.

Teenage opener Konstas has now failed to make it into double figures in three of his four outings in the series, and veteran partner Khawaja hasn’t passed 20 in three innings.

Jayden Seales, who took six wickets in the first Test and one in the first innings in Grenada, blew away the two openers inside three overs as Australia failed to navigate a short spell prior to close of play.

The West Indies have a struggling opener of their own, with former captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who made four in both innings in Barbados, caught and bowled by Hazlewood in the second over of the day.

Keacy Carty was then removed for six by Cummins with the same method of dismissal, but King warded off a collapse, adding steady runs alongside Campbell, Roston Chase and Shai Hope.

Having made his maiden Test half-century in his second game in the format, he was dismissed between Chase and Justin Greaves in a flurry of wickets that left West Indies at 174-7 and at risk of a significant first innings deficit.

But the two Josephs frustrated the Australian bowlers with their stand for the eighth wicket, before Seales caused chaos in the final overs of the evening session.

Paul Kagame gives cautious welcome to US-brokered agreement, but says success depends on goodwill from warring parties.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has cautiously welcomed a United States-brokered peace deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while suggesting Kigali will retaliate if provoked.

Speaking at a news conference in Kigali on Friday, Kagame said Rwanda remained committed to the agreement but questioned whether Kinshasa would uphold its part of the deal.

“If the side that we are working with plays tricks and takes us back to the problem, then we deal with the problem like we have been dealing with it,” Kagame said.

The agreement, backed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, was signed last week and calls for Rwandan troops to withdraw from eastern DRC within 90 days.

The region has seen intense fighting this year, with M23 rebels seizing major towns. The United Nations has accused Rwanda of backing the group with thousands of troops – an allegation Kigali denies.

While the peace deal is seen as a turning point, analysts do not believe it will quickly end the fighting because M23 – a major belligerent in the conflict – says the agreement does not apply to it.

US ‘not to blame’ if deal fails

Rwanda insists its military presence in eastern DRC is a response to threats from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group made up of ethnic Hutu fighters linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Kagame said Kinshasa must act to dismantle the FDLR if the deal is to succeed.

“We are grateful to the Trump administration for its efforts,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, they aren’t the ones to blame.”

There has been no official response from Kinshasa, which has consistently accused Rwanda of fuelling the conflict.

Rwanda-backed M23 is the most prominent armed group in the conflict in eastern DRC, and its major advance early this year left bodies on the streets. With 7 million people displaced in DRC, the UN has called it “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth”.

M23 has not been involved in the US-mediated efforts, although it has been part of other peace talks. On Thursday, both the Congolese government and M23 representatives agreed that they would return to Qatar for further discussions aimed at ending the conflict.

Meanwhile, Washington has proposed a separate investment plan that could allow Western companies to tap into the region’s rich deposits of tantalum, copper, and gold – resources that have long fuelled violence in eastern DRC.

Kagame’s appearance on Friday marked his first public remarks since June 6, prompting speculation during his absence about his health. Dissidents abroad, including former adviser David Himbara, claimed the president was seriously unwell.

Kagame dismissed the rumours with a joke. “Some of my personal health problems might originate from managing you people,” he said, sparking laughter.

“What is the problem? What would people want me to account for? That I am not human?” he added. The president appeared in good health throughout the briefing.

NEW YORK — Natasha Cloud scored 11 of her 23 points in the third quarter and sparked a huge run to lead the New York Liberty to an 89-79 victory over the Sparks on Thursday night.

Breanna Stewart added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu had 20 points for New York (12-5).

The defending champion Liberty trailed 53-42 midway through the third before Cloud and Ionescu got going. Cloud’s three-point play sparked a 13-0 run and then Ionescu scored 10 straight points for New York to give the Liberty a 63-59 advantage.

New York extended its lead to 69-59 by the end of the period. The Sparks (5-13) cut it to five with 3:30 left before Leonie Fiebich hit a three-pointer to seal the win.

Dearica Hamby scored 25 points to lead the Sparks, who got a boost with the return of Rae Burrell. She saw her first action since injuring her knee in the opener. She checked in late in the first quarter and played 12 minutes, finishing with five points.

The game also marked the debut of Julie Vanloo, whom the Sparks picked up off waivers two hours before tip-off. She came in early in the second quarter and played two minutes.

New York was still missing star forward Jonquel Jones, who has been sidelined with a sprained ankle. Jones told reporters Wednesday that she’s progressing well, but didn’t want to put a timetable on her return. The Liberty welcomed back Fiebich, who had been playing for Germany in the EuroBasket tournament over the last few weeks.

The Sparks built a 41-37 halftime lead behind 10 points from Hamby. Stewart had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Liberty guard Marine Johannes had two standout plays in the first half. She hit a three-pointer off one foot as the shot clock ran out, and later made a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Stewart for a layup.

CHICAGO — Kamilia Cardoso scored a career-high 27 points, Angel Reese had a double-double and the Chicago Sky beat the Sparks 97-86 on Tuesday night.

Reese finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Ariel Atkins scored 13 points for the Sky (4-10).

Chicago took its first lead, 74-72, at 7:23 of the fourth quarter on a driving layup by Cardoso and outscored the Sparks 30-17 in the final period.

Azura Stevens scored 21 points and Kelsey Plum had 20 for the Sparks (4-11), who lost their fourth straight. Dearica Hamby had 15 points and Rickea Jackson 11.

Cardoso followed her tiebreaking basket with a short jump shot, and moments later added a free throw to make it 77-72, and Chicago’s lead increased from there.

Cardoso will miss the next four games playing for her Brazilian national team at a tournament in Chile. The Sky also announced veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot had successful ACL surgery on her right knee.

The Sparks took control early, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in less than 90 seconds and had a 27-17 advantage after one quarter. Chicago cut the deficit to 31-28 early in the second quarter before the Sparks surged again, going up 44-32 . The Sky rallied again, getting to within 48-42 at halftime.

In the closing minutes of the third quarter, Rebecca Allen made a three-pointer and a runner, tying the score at 65-65 and 67-67, but the Sky never led. Plum’s basket in the last minute of the third gave the Sparks a 69-67 lead heading into the fourth.

WOLVES face a potential fight to keep hold of boss Vitor Pereira – with Portuguese giants Benfica eyeing a move for the Molineux boss to replace one of his predecessors.

Benfica are currently in the USA for the Club World Cup, amid rumours over the long-term future of manager Bruno Lage.

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And if the Lisbon Eagles flop in the States, club President – and former Portugal midfielder – Rui Costa is ready to test Wolves’ resolve to keep Pereira after his impressive first six months at the club.

Pereira has seen the club sell both full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and playmaker Matheus Cunha this summer, with the two Manchester Clubs paying £94.7m between them for the duo.

That came after he had stabilised the club following his arrival in place of Gary O’Neil in December.

Beer-loving Pereira, 59, steered Wolves away from the drop zone to win 10 of his 22 games in charge including a seven-match winning run in March and April that secured their Premier League status.

But the prospect of a return to his homeland – with Benfica facing two Champions League qualifying rounds in August – could tempt the former Porto and Olympiacos chief.

Pereira has not coached in Portugal since quitting Porto for Saudi side Al Ahli after leading them to the title in 2013.

His stock is high with claims that Rui Costa is not happy with Lage – despite official insistence that the coach will start next season at the Stadium of Light irrespective of what happens at the Club World Cup.

Benfica face Argentines Boca Juniors, Kiwi minnows Auckland City and Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in the group stage, with Lage under scrutiny.

Lage, 49, and now in his second spell at Benfica, spent 15 months at the Molineux helm after replacing Nuno Espirito Santos in June 2021.

While they finished 10th in his first season – having been in the top six after 13 games – Wolves scored just 38 goals in the Prem campaign, with just two points from their final seven matches.

He was sacked in October 2022 after picking up a solitary win from the club’s first nine games before landing a job at Brazilian side Botofogo the following summer.

Lage then became embroiled in a legal spat with Botofogo owner John Textor, whose stake in Crystal Palace has threatened their chances of taking up their place in the Europa League.

Earlier this year, Lage – who returned to Benfica in September – launched a £6m suit claiming he had been promised in a “gentleman’s agreement” that he would be offered the Palace job that was given to Oliver Glasner.

While Benfica beating Sporting Lisbon on penalties to win the Portuguese League Cup, they finished two points behind their city rivals in the title race.

Wales captain Ramsey had taken temporary charge as Cardiff were relegated from the Championship last month, Omer Riza having been sacked with three games of the season remaining.

But while it is not clear if a final decision has been made, Barry-Murphy is now the frontrunner to land a first senior manager’s position since leaving Rochdale in 2021.

He would become the Bluebirds’ ninth manager in four years as they prepare to play in the third tier for the first time since 2003.

The Irishman has been on Cardiff’s radar for some time having been under consideration to replace Mick McCarthy in 2021.

Barry-Murphy is a former midfielder with Cork City, Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Bury and Rochdale, becoming player-coach at the latter in 2014 at the age of 35.

He succeeded Keith Hill as manager in 2019, winning praise for the side’s style of play and work with homegrown talent despite the team’s relegation to League Two in 2021.

Barry-Murphy resigned from the job to take to take up the role at Manchester City’s academy, succeeding future Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca and winning two youth titles, coaching the likes of Cole Palmer, Oscar Bobb and Romeo Lavia while working under Pep Guardiola.

After quitting the Etihad three years later, Barry-Murphy went on to be named as part of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s backroom staff at Leicester in December 2024.

But Barry-Murphy had been keen for a frontline role of his own and could now be handed the challenge of returning Cardiff to the Championship.

Buckingham, who guided Oxford to League One promotion in May 2024, has also held talks with Cardiff.

The 40-year-old is currently without a club having left the Kassam Stadium in December following a poor run of results.

Buckingham, who previously coached in New Zealand and managed City Football Group clubs Melbourne City and Mumbai City, had previously been under consideration by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) before the appointment of Craig Bellamy as national boss.

UK companies are holding back on hiring or are not replacing departing workers, sending job vacancies tumbling, official figures suggest.

The number of available jobs fell by 63,000 between March and May while the unemployment rate ticked higher.

“There continues to be a weakening in the labour market,” said Liz McKeown, director of econonic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), adding that there had been a noticeable drop in the number of people on payrolls.

In April, National Insurance Contributions paid by employers increased while a rise in the minimum wage came into force.

The estimated number of available jobs fell to 736,000 over the three months to May.

“Feedback from our vacancies survey suggests some firms may be holding back from recruiting new workers or replacing people when they move on,” said Ms McKeown.

The figures also showed that the unemployement rate rose from 4.5% to 4.6% – the highest since July 2021.