Capitalizing on natural resources and a prime geographic location, the island nation considers a host of opportunities to expand exports and encourage foreign investment.
A cultural affinity with the United States and a year-round tropical climate have made the Dominican Republic an attractive destination for tourists from the north. But the number of visitors has trended downward and the new remittance tax in President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” Act have highlighted the need for the island nation to accelerate its long march diversifying the economy.
“The Dominican economy has been diversifying since the fall of the Trujillo dictatorship” in 1961, points out Franklin Vásquez, economist and CEO of CYFRAS Consultores. “We’ve promoted and fostered financial capital, then we moved on to promoting tourism, then the free trade zones, then we opened the economy to early-1990s neoliberalism. Then we supported the agricultural sector.”
Currently, the focus is on services and creating a logistics hub, capitalizing on the republic’s proximity to the US and China’s interest in including it in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Foreign investors can take advantage of free trade zones, of which the Dominican Republic has 92, housing 850 companies. Logistics companies, which accounted for 3.14% of GDP in 2023, are treated the same way, tax-wise, as those that set up in the free trade zones. According to a recent report by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Small Business (MICM), logistics’ slice of GDP could climb to 3.78% over the next decade. Five logistics centers and 33 companies combine for over $2 billion in revenue a year, or 1.58% of the country’s $126.2 billion GDP.
“With adequate policies, we should increase the complexity of our export basket.”
Juan Ariel Jiménez Núñez, former Economics Minister
Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, director general of customs, sees the Dominican Republic becoming the Caribbean’s most important logistics center. Besides its geographical position, Sanz points out that 20% of the country’s $4.5 billion foreign direct investment in 2024 was channelled into manufacturing. Companies including clothing manufacturers Hanes and Timberland, aerospace businesses like Eaton Corporation, and IT companies such as Rockwell Automation have established facilities on the island.
Challenges for companies considering relocation include scaling to provide for the fast-growing Asian market; education needs, especially for engineers; and occupancy rates in the country’s sophisticated business parks, which are running at 99% to 100%. But with a median worker’s age of 28, former Economics Minister Juan Ariel Jiménez Núñez sees a path to reindustrialization as well. That workforce is “willing to learn, willing to speak English,” he says. “I think we should try industrial goods: more medical devices and electrical components.”
That could help meet the challenge posed by Trump’s one percent remittance tax, which could cost the Dominican Republic more than $234 million per year, according to the Center for Global Development. Tourism accounts for 8.3% of GDP value-added; together with remittances, this increases to almost 30%.
“With adequate policies, we should increase the complexity of our export basket,” Former Minister of Industry and Commerce José del Castillo Saviñón argues. “We should do more tourism for sure, but we should do better tourism. We should do health tourism and retirement tourism. It’s not only diversifying away from tourism but also diversifying the tourism industry itself.”
The republic already has a tourism diversification policy in place, which is estimated to have added almost 104,000 tourists from South America this year. Tourist visits from Argentina have doubled since the signing of an open skies agreement in December 2024 that increased direct flights and included international promotion by the government. This has helped offset 88,000 fewer tourists arrivals from North America in the first quarter of 2025, which the Tourism Ministry explains as being due to seasonal factors including the leap year and early Holy Week celebrations.
Increasing the country’s presence in business service processing (BPO), which currently brings in $250 million per year according to Statistica, is another option. At least 14 BPO start-ups are currently operating in and around the capital of Santo Domingo, employing 36,000 call center workers. A report by the Banco Central de la República Dominicana calculates the industry has grown 12% annually for the past five years.
The DR’s Geographical Advantages
Another feature the republic could exploit is its northern port, Manzanillo, which is two days away by boat from the US eastern seaboard. At present, the country mainly uses its southern ports including, Haina and Santo Domingo. While the country continues developing a cruise-ship port in Arroyo Barril in the east, the northern coast remains underutilized.
Jiménez believes the Dominican Republic could also be the main supplier of agricultural and industrial goods to the Caribbean islands. Further afield, he argues for increased integration with the US and possibly Europe, but not Latin America, given that the US offers clearer competitive advantages.
Another option is energy diversification: in particular, nuclear energy.
Franklin Vásquez, economist and CEO of CYFRAS Consultores
In June, Gaddis Corporán Segura, vice minister of Nuclear Energy, revealed that a draft nuclear law is ready to be presented to the Chamber of Deputies. Should the republic go nuclear, it would be the first Caribbean Island to do so. Other, shorter-term measures could include a dosimetry calibration laboratory that could be used region wide. This would allow the Dominican Republic to calibrate instruments used in industry, medicine and research.
The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) has promised $2.5 billion of investment in the region to help improve the ocean economy. The CAF’s aims include preserving oceans, encouraging responsible tourism, managing the region’s coastlines, conserving and restoring marine ecosystems, developing clean technologies and renewable ocean energy, and decarbonizing ports and maritime transport. In June 2024, the Dominican Republic issued its first sovereign green bond for $750 million through the Ministry of Finance.
But despite “good relations” between the Dominican Republic and multilaterals in the region, Jiménez notes that timing will be a major issue, since discussing such projects can take longer than many of the region’s governments typically last. As a result, the Dominican Republic has had to rely more on sovereign bond issuance than multilateral loans.
Mining has always been one of the republic’s largest export industries. Last year, the sector contributed 43.3% of the country’s exports and 1.4% of GDP. China is a leading export market and experts believe that along with gold—which Barrick Gold has successfully exploited—copper, zinc, bauxite, silver, and precious metal wastes present significant growth opportunities. The southeast of the country, especially, could benefit from new exploration grants from the government: including, says Vasquez, for oil.
Perhaps the republic’s most significant recent economic trend, however, has been the rapid increase in women joining the workforce.
“I believe women have been the greatest beneficiaries of the labor market and economic dynamics,” Vásquez says. “Before, you could have had a labor market that was 20% to 30% female; now, we see that 50% of the labor market is female. If you look at the financial system, the majority of bank and financial institution employees are women. Dominican women have empowered themselves and trained themselves. They have wanted to move forward.”
The larger issue, however, is what types of work women are securing. Assistance from a World Bank program aims to redress an imbalance that sees only 18% of female students choose information and communication technology and women making up only 5% of STEM graduates.
Nevertheless, greater economic participation by women has contributed to improved social stability in a country that already has economic and political solidity, according to Vásquez. A plethora of laws and policies aim to limit public spending and increase access to financial services, potentially broadening the tax base.
Given these attributes, “the Dominican Republic is the diamond in Latin America,” Jiménez says. “With adequate policies, especially with a better education system, we can shine that diamond quite a lot.”
France is celebrating Bastille Day with nationwide festivities commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison, a pivotal moment in the French Revolution.
In Paris, the celebration features 7,000 participants marching along the Champs-Elysees, including troops and armoured vehicles, followed by fighter jet flyovers and a spectacular drone light show at the Eiffel Tower.
The holiday showcases revolutionary spirit and military prowess. The parade beneath the Arc de Triomphe began with President Emmanuel Macron reviewing troops and relighting the eternal flame. Each uniform carries symbolic elements, particularly the distinctive French Foreign Legion contingent with their bearded troops wearing leather aprons and carrying axes.
In his Bastille Day speech, Macron highlighted growing global threats and announced increased military spending.
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto was the guest of honour this year as 200 Indonesian drummers joined the parade. The visit is expected to yield agreements on French military equipment purchases, including Rafale jets. Finnish, Belgian, and Luxembourg troops also participated, reflecting the event’s increasingly international character.
Special guests included Fousseynou Samba Cisse, a French man who received a personal invitation from Macron after rescuing two babies from a burning apartment. The holiday period also featured prestigious awards, with this year’s Legion of Honour recipients including Gisele Pelicot, who became a symbol for sexual violence victims during a high-profile trial.
Beyond Paris, the holiday brings family gatherings, firefighters’ balls, and rural festivals throughout France.
Exercise Talisman Sabre, the largest ever war drills in Australia, is under way and expected to attract the attention of Chinese spy ships. Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a biennial joint exercise between the United States and Australia.
This year, more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations, including Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom, will take part over three weeks, Australia’s Department of Defence said on Sunday.
Malaysia and Vietnam are also attending as observers.
The exercise will also take place in Papua New Guinea, Australia’s nearest neighbour. It is the first time Talisman Sabre activities have been held outside Australia.
Chinese surveillance ships have monitored naval exercises off the Australian coast during the last four Talisman Sabre exercises and were expected to surveil the current exercise, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.
“We will adjust accordingly. We will obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia, but we will also adjust how we conduct those exercises,” Conroy said.
The exercise, showcasing Australia’s defence alliance with the US, started a day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese began a six-day visit to China, where he is expected to meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday.
Albanese said Chinese surveillance of Talisman Sabre would not be raised with Xi. “That would be nothing unusual. That has happened in the past and I will continue to assert Australia’s national interest, as I do,” Albanese told reporters in Shanghai on Monday.
Investors in Europe reeled from US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on Monday morning, sending the major indexes into negative territory.
As of around 9.30am CEST, France’s CAC 40 was down 0.52% at 7,788.23, the UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.38% to 8,941.12, and Germany’s DAX dropped 0.85% to 24,049.73.
Spain’s IBEX 35 fell 0.80% to 13,897.80, while Italy’s FTSE MIB dropped 0.86% to 39,726.27.
The STOXX 600 slid 0.48% to 544.73 and the STOXX 50 fell 0.83% to 5,338.57.
The movements come as EU trade ministers are meeting on Monday morning to discuss President Trump’s surprise announcement of 30% tariffs on the European Union. Trump shared the plans on Saturday and said that the same rate, set to kick in on 1 August, would be applied to goods from Mexico.
European officials have been working to secure a deal with the US after the president threatened a 50% tariff on EU exports in May, up from an initially proposed 20% rate. President Trump then retracted the threat of a 50% duty, although retained separate tariffs on exports like steel, aluminium, and cars.
In response to Trump’s announcement over the weekend, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would not impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports before 1 August, allowing time for negotiation.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, also told reporters ahead of the meeting on Monday: “We shouldn’t impose countermeasures at this stage, but we should prepare to be ready to use all the tools in the toolbox.”
He added: “So we want a deal, but there’s an old saying: ‘If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.'”
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade representative in its talks with the US, also said on Monday that negotiations would continue. “I’m absolutely 100% sure that a negotiated solution is much better than the tension which we might have after 1 August.”
He told reporters in Brussels: “I cannot imagine walking away without genuine effort. Having said that, the current uncertainty caused by unjustified tariffs cannot persist indefinitely and therefore we must prepare for all outcomes, including, if necessary, well-considered proportionate countermeasures.”
In light of US isolationism, the EU is also looking to expand trade with alternative partners. Leaders from the bloc will travel to China for a summit later this month, seeking to promote stronger relations despite disagreements over the alleged “dumping” of cheap Chinese goods in Europe. This accusation prompted the EU to impose its own tariffs on Chinese goods last year.
While in China for the summit, EU leaders will also be courting other Pacific nations like South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, whose prime minister visited Brussels over the weekend to sign a new economic partnership with the EU.
The downbeat investor sentiment in Europe also comes despite pledges to increase defence spending. France’s president Emmanuel Macron on Sunday pledged to raise France’s military spending by €6.5 billion over the next two years. Macron said the 2026 defence budget would be raised by €3.5bn, and another €3bn in 2027.
About 50 to 80 other structures also destroyed as two wildfires burn at or near the Grand Canyon’s North Rim in Arizona.
Wildfires have engulfed a historic lodge, destroying it and dozens of other structures along the Grand Canyon’s North Rim in the state of Arizona in the southwestern United States, park officials say.
Rangers were forced to close access to that part of the Grand Canyon National Park on Sunday. Superintendent Ed Keable said the Grand Canyon Lodge was consumed by flames.
He said a park visitor centre, petrol station, wastewater treatment plant, administrative building and employee housing were also among the 50 to 80 structures lost.
Two wildfires are burning at or near the North Rim. They are known as the White Sage Fire and the Dragon Bravo Fire. The latter is the one that destroyed the lodge and other structures.
Started by lightning on July 4, the Dragon Bravo Fire was initially managed by authorities with a “confine and contain” strategy. However, due to hot temperatures, low humidity and strong winds, it grew to 20 square kilometres (7.8 square miles), fire officials said.
No injuries have been reported so far.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs urged the federal government late on Sunday to investigate the National Park Service’s response to the wildfire.
“They must first take aggressive action to end the wildfire and prevent further damage,” she said in a post on X. “But Arizonans deserve answers for how this fire was allowed to decimate the Grand Canyon National Park.”
I am incredibly saddened by the destruction of the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, and my heart goes out to every person impacted by the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.
Thank you to every firefighter and first responder taking action to combat the flames.
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) July 14, 2025
Millions of people visit the park annually with most going to the South Rim. The North Rim is open seasonally. It was evacuated on Thursday because of the wildfire and will remain closed for the rest of the season, the park said in a statement.
The Grand Canyon Lodge was often the first prominent feature that visitors would see, even before viewing the canyon.
“It just feels like you’re a pioneer when you walk through [the lodge],” said Tim Allen, an Arizona resident and yearly visitor to the Grand Canyon. “It really felt like you were in a time gone by.”
Caren Carney, another visitor to the park evacuated with her family, said she was heartbroken to hear that such a “magical place” had burned down.
Firefighters at the North Rim and hikers in the inner canyon were also evacuated on Saturday and Sunday. The park said that beside the fire risk, they could also potentially be exposed to chlorine gas after the treatment plant burned.
Aramark, the company that operated the lodge, said all employees and guests were safely evacuated. “As stewards of some of our country’s most beloved national treasures, we are devastated by the loss,” spokesperson Debbie Albert said.
One of the greatest wonders of the natural world, the Grand Canyon is the result of the Colorado River eating away at layers of red sandstone and other rock for millions of years, leaving a gash up to 30km (18 miles) wide and more than 1.6km (1 mile) deep.
Last year, almost five million people visited the site.
The death toll in Israel’s war on Gaza passed the grim milestone of 58,000 on Sunday as relentless attacks killed nearly 100 Palestinians since dawn.
An Israeli air raid hit a bustling market in Gaza City, killing 12 people. Among the victims was prominent medical consultant Ahmad Qandil, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported. The Israeli military has not commented on the strike.
Gaza’s Government Media Office also accused Israel and security contractors working at aid distribution points of intentionally attacking civilians. In a statement, it called United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites “death traps” and described the situation as “genocide engineering under US sponsorship”.
At least 805 people have been killed and 5,250 wounded while attempting to collect aid since the GHF started operating in May.
One of Israel’s deadliest attacks on desperate Palestinians occurred in the Nuseirat refugee camp, where a missile strike killed at least 10 people, most of them children, as they queued to collect drinking water. Seventeen others were wounded, according to Dr Ahmed Abu Saifan at al-Awda Hospital.
Israel’s military said it had targeted a Palestinian fighter, but the missile veered off course because of a technical failure. The Israeli claim could not be independently verified.
Gaza has suffered from chronic water shortages, worsened in recent weeks as desalination and sanitation plants shut down due to the ongoing Israeli blockade of fuel. Many residents now rely on dangerous journeys to limited water collection points.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the number of people killed has risen to at least 58,026, with more than 138,500 wounded. More than half of those killed have been women and children.
A charity organisation distributes meals to hungry Palestinians [Hassan Jedi/Anadolu]
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said hundreds have died while attempting to access humanitarian aid from GHF-controlled points.
“People travel up to 15km [9 miles] from the north to Rafah – many on foot, some overnight – just to get one food parcel,” he said. “But even then, they’re met with live fire from Israeli forces.”
‘No fuel, no life-saving services’
Eight United Nations agencies – including UNICEF, WHO, WFP and UNRWA – warned on Sunday that without immediate fuel access, critical services in Gaza could collapse. Hospitals, sanitation centres and food distribution operations face imminent shutdown.
“Without fuel, these lifelines will vanish for 2.1 million people,” the agencies said in a joint statement. “Fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations.”
Attempts to end the fighting received a cautious boost on Sunday when US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said he remained “hopeful” about the ceasefire talks. He was expected to meet Qatari officials on the margins of the FIFA Club World Cup Final.
But optimism appears to be fading. A US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire remains bogged down in disagreements, with both sides blaming each other for delays.
An Israeli official confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned to convene cabinet ministers late on Sunday to discuss the talks, which are focused on ending hostilities, a troop withdrawal and the release of captives held in Gaza.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s deputy leader Muhammad al-Hindi said Israel has resisted committing to key conditions before moving on to the topic of prisoners.
“We’re discussing a framework agreement. It includes three points: ending aggression, withdrawal from Gaza and safe aid distribution,” he said. “Israel wants to skip straight to the prisoners’ file without guarantees on the main issues.”
Al-Hindi accused Israel of seeking to control southern Rafah and force civilians into overcrowded, bombed-out areas under the guise of aid distribution.
“We cannot legitimise these aid traps that are killing our people. The resistance will not sign any agreement that amounts to surrender.”
Netanyahu aide faces indictment
Meanwhile, in Israel, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said that Netanyahu’s close adviser, Jonatan Urich, is facing possible indictment over allegations he leaked classified military information to the German newspaper Bild.
Urich and another aide are accused of passing on secret intelligence to influence public opinion after six Israeli captives died in Gaza last August. The deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and deepened public anger at the government’s handling of ceasefire efforts.
Netanyahu has dismissed the investigation as politically motivated, calling it a “witch-hunt”. Urich has denied any wrongdoing.
The Bild article, published shortly after the captives’ bodies were discovered, aligned closely with Netanyahu’s narrative of blaming Hamas for the collapse of earlier ceasefire talks.
A previous two-month truce, which began in January, saw the release of 38 captives before Israel broke the ceasefire and resumed its devastating military assault.
Buhari, remembered for an anti-corruption drive and faltering economy, leaves behind a contentious legacy.
Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari has died in London at the age of 82 following a long illness.
“President Buhari died today in London at about 4:30pm (15:30 GMT) following a prolonged illness,” President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson announced on Sunday via the social media platform X.
Buhari made history in 2015 when he became the first opposition candidate in Nigeria’s modern era to defeat a sitting president at the polls, unseating Goodluck Jonathan in what was widely praised as the country’s most credible election.
A retired major general, Buhari first ruled Nigeria in the 1980s after taking power in a military coup. He later rebranded himself as a civilian politician, adopting a softer image in flowing kaftans and declaring himself a “converted democrat”.
Known for his austere style and fiery rhetoric against corruption, Buhari was seen by his supporters as a reformer. “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody,” he often declared, seeking to position himself above Nigeria’s entrenched political factions.
Yet his presidency struggled to contain rising insecurity. While he promised to defeat Boko Haram and restore order, armed violence spread far beyond the northeast. Gunmen, separatists, and criminal groups operated with impunity across large parts of the country by the end of his tenure.
Still, Buhari leaves behind a legacy as a symbol of democratic change in Nigeria, even if the transformation he promised remained incomplete.
A mixed legacy
Buhari is being remembered as both a pivotal figure in the country’s democratic evolution and a deeply flawed leader when it came to economic management and security.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from London, Alexis Akwagyiram, managing editor at Semafor and a longtime observer of Nigerian politics, said Buhari will be remembered for achieving what many thought impossible: winning power as an opposition candidate.
“He was the first opposition candidate since the return to civilian rule to win at the ballot box,” Akwagyiram said, referencing Buhari’s 2015 victory over Jonathan. “History will remember him favourably for that.”
Yet Akwagyiram was blunt about the failings that marked Buhari’s time in office. He described the former general as “very ineffective” in managing Nigeria’s economy, citing his insistence on maintaining a strong naira, which led to a convoluted system of multiple exchange rates and two recessions during his tenure.
“His handling of the economy wasn’t great,” Akwagyiram noted, pointing to his fallout with former Niger Delta insurgents that led to renewed attacks on oil infrastructure. Combined with low global oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, these factors pushed Nigeria – once Africa’s largest economy – down to fourth place.
On security, Buhari’s record was equally disappointing, Akwagyiram said. Although elected with a promise to crack down on Boko Haram, an insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast only expanded under his leadership. A rival faction, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP), also emerged and spread, while armed kidnapping gangs flourished in the northwest.
“All that happened was Boko Haram and ISWAP both proliferated under his tenure,” Akwagyiram said. “The armed forces were spread thin across the country and became weakened overall.”
Despite the criticisms, Akwagyiram highlighted why Buhari resonated so strongly with many Nigerians. “He had the personal brand of integrity and honesty,” he said. “In a political climate renowned for corruption, that was appealing.”
Buhari’s austere image and northern support base helped him build a national coalition that twice propelled him to the presidency, a rare feat in Nigerian politics.
“He didn’t try to enrich himself,” Akwagyiram said. “That’s something history will look on favourably.”
Syria has finalised an $800m agreement with Dubai-based DP World to redevelop its Tartous port in a bid to speed up post-war reconstruction.
State news agency SANA said the deal was signed in Damascus on Sunday between DP World and the General Authority for Land and Sea Ports, in the presence of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Syrian officials described the deal as a key step towards modernising the country’s logistics infrastructure.
“This strategic move will bolster our port operations and logistics services,” SANA quoted an unnamed official as saying.
Since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria’s new leadership has been pushing to re-establish economic ties with international companies and bring the war-torn country back into the global market.
Speaking after the signing, DP World CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said Syria’s economic potential remained strong, noting the Tartous port could play a central role in reviving local industry.
“Syria possesses valuable assets,” he said, “and Tartous is an essential hub for trade and exports. We aim to transform it into one of the world’s leading ports.”
‘Laying the groundwork’
DP World manages dozens of port facilities across Europe, Africa and Asia and has been expanding its reach in the Middle East.
Qutaiba Badawi, who heads Syria’s port authority, said the agreement marked more than just a commercial venture.
“We are laying the groundwork for a new era of maritime development, positioning Syria again on the international economic stage,” he said.
The Tartous deal follows several high-profile contracts signed in recent months.
In May, Damascus entered a 30-year agreement with French shipping company CMA CGM to operate Latakia port. That same month, Syria inked a $7bn energy deal with a coalition of Qatari, Turkish, and US firms to revive the country’s power sector.
Earlier this month, the United States said it will revoke its designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a “foreign terrorist organization” as Washington softens its approach to post-war Syria.
Last month, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order lifting several longstanding sanctions on Syria, which Washington said would support the country’s reconstruction. The US Treasury noted the decision would ease restrictions on companies considered vital to Syria’s rebuilding and governance.
Western sanctions had hampered reconstruction efforts for years, further crippling an economy already shattered by more than a decade of civil war and human rights abuses under al-Assad’s rule.
The fires were contained with help from Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese, Qatari and Iraqi firefighting teams.
Wildfires in northwestern Syria, which have burned vast tracts of forest and farmland and forced evacuations, have been brought under control after 10 days.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday, the civil defence agency said, “with the spread of the fires halted and the fire hotspots brought under control on all fronts”, teams on the ground are working to cool down the affected areas while monitoring any signs of reignition.
The blazes in the coastal province of Latakia broke out on July 3 amid an intense heatwave across the region, which also affected the Dortyol district and neighbouring Turkiye.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it destroyed about 100 square kilometres (40 square miles) of forest and farmland.
As the fires raged, Syrian emergency workers not only had to use outdated equipment but also contend with high temperatures, strong winds, rugged mountainous terrain and the danger of explosive war remnants.
This all comes in a country worn down by years of conflict and economic crisis, nearly seven months after the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad and the installation of a transitional government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the now-disbanded armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
In a post on X, Raed al-Saleh, Syria’s minister for emergencies and disaster management, said civil defence and firefighting teams “managed to halt the spread of the fire on all fronts” with help from Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese, Qatari and Iraqi teams.
Turkiye earlier sent two firefighting aircraft to help battle the blazes. Eleven fire trucks and water support vehicles were also dispatched, according to al-Saleh.
“Firefighting teams are intensively working to extinguish remaining hotspots and cool the areas already put out. The situation is moving toward containment followed by comprehensive cooling operations,” said al-Saleh.
“There are still threats due to wind activity, but we are working to prevent any renewed fire expansion.”
Authorities have not reported any casualties, but several towns in Latakia province were evacuated as a precaution.
With human-induced climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.
In June, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said Syria has “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years”.
As Israel’s unrelenting war on Gaza continues, deadly attacks by Israeli settlers and forces against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have also soared to near-daily killings.
According to Shireen.ps, a database compiled by Palestinian journalists, 177 Palestinians have been killed there this year alone.
On Friday, Israeli settlers beat to death 20-year-old American Palestinian Sayfollah Musallet, his family stating that the mob surrounded him for three hours during the assault and attacked medics attempting to reach him.
Eight other Palestinians were also slain this past week – including one child – as a result of settler attacks, as well as targeted assassinations and raids conducted by Israeli troops.
In four instances, the bodies of those killed have been detained by Israeli authorities.
Here are the eight other Palestinians killed in the past week:
Wissam Ghassan Ishtiyeh, 37
Shtayyeh was killed on July 6 during an Israeli raid on the village of Salem, east of Nablus, according to Shireen.ps.
Israeli forces stormed the village and surrounded two houses during the operation, local sources reported.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that Israeli authorities had held his body, refusing to release it to the family for burial.
The Israeli military confirmed the killing.
الشهيدان وسام غسان اشتية وقصي ناصر نصار، اللذان ارتقيا برصاص الاحتلال عقب حصار منزل في قرية سالم شرق نابلس، ولا يزال الاحتلال يحتجز جثمان الشهيد اشتية. pic.twitter.com/Pl2NY2rDHK
Translation: The martyrs Wissam Ghassan Ishtiyeh and Qusay Nasser Nassar, who were killed by occupation forces’ gunfire following the siege of a house in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, and the occupation continues to detain the body of the martyr Ishtayeh.
Qusay Nasser Mahmoud Nassar, 23
Nassar was also killed on July 6 in Salem, caught in the crossfire as Israeli forces killed Shtayyeh.
Israeli forces had detained the young man’s body, but later the Palestine Red Crescent Society received it and rushed him to Rafidia Hospital, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Ahmad Nafeth Gabriel al-Awiwi, 19
Al-Awiwi died on July 8 in Hebron, succumbing to his injuries after being shot by Israeli forces during a raid on the city six months ago, according to Shireen.ps.
The young man was hospitalised a week ago for brain surgery related to his injuries; however, his health deteriorated, and his death was announced last week, local sources reported.
Painful farewells and prayers to the Palestinian youth, Ahmad Nafeth Al-Awiwi, who succumbed to his wounds following his injury by Israeli occupation fire nearly six months ago. pic.twitter.com/vkgqFwaqjM
Shalakhti died of critical wounds on July 9, after being shot by Israeli forces three days earlier in the Askar al-Jadid camp in Nablus, Wafa reported.
The boy was shot with live ammunition by an “Israeli soldier positioned inside a heavily armoured Israeli military vehicle” around 9:30pm on July 6, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine.
“My brother, my life, and friend,” his mother stated in an emotional address following his death, according to footage verified by Al Jazeera.
Mourners carry the body of 12-year-old Shalakhti, who succumbed to his wounds sustained on July 6 during an Israeli raid in Askar al-Jadid camp near Nablus in the occupied West Bank [File: Zain Jaafar/AFP]
Ahmed Ali al-Amour, 54
Al-Amour was shot at by Israeli forces on July 10 and then run over by an Israeli military vehicle in Rummana, west of Jenin, according to local sources.
Authorities in Israel claimed that he was attempting a suicide attack, Shireen.ps reported.
Israeli soldiers seized al-Amour’s body, Wafa reported. Local sources told the agency they also arrested his sons, claiming that a soldier had been moderately injured in a stabbing attack.
The man’s killing was part of a raid on the town, where Israeli forces raided a large number of homes and destroyed their contents, Wafa said. They also deployed sniper teams and launched a wide-scale arrest campaign in the town.
With al-Amour’s death, the number of those killed in the Jenin governorate since the start of Israeli military raids there on January 21 has risen to 41.
Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that the Israeli occupation forces held the body of Ahmad Ali Al-Amour (55 years old), who was killed this morning under the pretext of carrying out a stabbing attack in the town of Rummana, west of Jenin.#Israelpic.twitter.com/AOapzmCFVk
Mahmoud Youssef Mohamed Abed, 23 and Malik Ismail Abdul Jabbar Salem, 23
The men were shot dead on July 10 in the Gush Etzion settlement, south of Bethlehem. Israeli police said they had carried out a stabbing and shooting attack there.
Abed was from the town of Halhul in the Hebron governorate, while Salem lived in Bazariya, west of Nablus, according to Wafa.
The agency reported that the attack by the young men resulted in the death of one Israeli settler. Their bodies were detained by Israeli authorities.
مصادر محلية: الشهيدان محمود يوسف محمد عابد (٢٣ عاماً) من حلحول ومالك إبراهيم عبد الجبار سالم (٢٣ عاماً) من بلدة بزاريا بنابلس منفذا عملية “غوش عتصيون” شمال الخليل. pic.twitter.com/CzHCP8kpIU
Translation: Local sources: The martyrs Mahmoud Youssef Mohamed Abed (23 years old) from Halhul and Malik Ismail Abdul Jabbar Salem (23 years old) from the town of Bazariya in Nablus, the perpetrators of the “Gush Etzion” operation north of Hebron.
Muhammad Rizq Hassan al-Shalabi, 23
Al-Shalabi was lost during a settler attack on the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, on July 11, and was later found dead after being shot and beaten by settlers there, according to local sources.
It was the same attack in which American citizen Musallet was killed.
The Palestinian Health Ministry, citing a medical report, stated that al-Shalabi was killed after being shot in the chest, which penetrated his back.
He was also left to bleed for several hours, the ministry said.
Activist Ayed Ghafri told Wafa that dozens of settlers armed with automatic rifles attacked residents who were protesting against the construction of a new settlement outpost in Khirbet al-Tal, accompanied by foreign solidarity activists.
The attack also resulted in the injury of 10 citizens from the villages and towns of Sinjil, al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, Abwein, and Jaljalia, north of Ramallah, with wounds and fractures, the agency added.
The municipality of Sinjil condemned the killings of the two men, saying it “will only increase our adherence to our land and our determination to defend it by all legitimate means”.
الشهيد محمد رزق شلبي الذي عثر عليه بعد ساعات من اختفاءه وتظهر على جسده علامات تعذيب وضرب مبرح على أيدي المستوطنين خلال تصديه للهجوم على سنجل شمال رام الله. pic.twitter.com/7D78pbVmq5
Translation: Muhammad Rizq al-Shalabi, who was found hours after his disappearance, showing signs of torture and severe beating at the hands of settlers during his resistance to the attack on Sinjil, north of Ramallah.
The Argentinian superstar extends his multigoal record run with a brace against Nashville at Chase Stadium.
Lionel Messi has extended his MLS-record scoring streak with two more goals, which made the difference in a 2-1 victory for hosts Inter Miami over Nashville SC in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The 38-year-old’s brace on Saturday helped Inter Miami (11-3-5, 38 points) snap a club-record 15-game unbeaten streak across all competitions for Nashville (12-5-5, 41 points), which lost for the first time since April 19 at Seattle.
Messi scored two or more goals for the fifth consecutive time in an MLS match, which is a league record.
Inter Miami improved to 4-0-1 in its last five matches with Nashville while also winning their fifth consecutive MLS match overall. Miami has won three in a row since it was eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup on June 29.
Messi capitalised on a major mistake by Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis to strike for what turned out to be the match-winning goal in the 62nd minute. Willis chested a ball and tried to clear it out of his zone but kicked it right in Messi’s direction.
Messi intercepted it with his left foot, then worked the ball around Willis and fired it home to put Miami ahead for good.
The goal came 13 minutes after Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar tied the game at 1-1 with a perfectly timed header off a pinpoint cross from distance by Andy Najar. It was Mukhtar’s 10th goal of the season. Patrick Yazbek also had an assist.
Messi’s first goal came in the 17th minute on another spectacular free-kick score. Messi fired a ball precisely through a gap in the wall set up by Nashville’s defenders, and it found the mark just out of the reach of a diving Willis.
Messi with his 16 goals this season is tied for the most in the league with Nashville’s Sam Surridge, who was kept off the scoresheet on Saturday. Messi has 23 goal contributions in MLS games this season and has 22 goals across all competitions.
Each side returns to action on Wednesday as Inter Miami will play at Cincinnati and Nashville will host Columbus.
Messi scores his team’s match-winning second goal against Nashville in the 62nd minute [Chandan Khanna/AFP]
Pelicot has been praised globally for her courage during trial, which forced changes to France’s rape law.
Gisele Pelicot, who has been internationally hailed after testifying against her husband and dozens of other men who raped her, has been awarded France’s top civic honour.
Pelicot, 72, was named knight of the Legion of Honour on a list announced before France’s July 14 national day, the AFP news agency reported on Sunday.
She was among 589 people named for the honour, which recognises merit-based national service.
Pelicot refused to remain anonymous and publicly testified at a trial in 2024 against her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, who drugged her and arranged for her to be raped by dozens of men over a decade.
His co-conspirators tried to claim they were unaware that the acts were not consensual and blamed the husband.
Gisele Pelicot at the time called it a “trial of cowardice” and asserted there was no excuse for abusing her when she was unconscious. Her testimony gripped the world and led to Dominique Pelicot and 50 co-defendants being found guilty in the mass-rape case.
A woman holds a poster honouring Pelicot during a demonstration to mark International Women’s Day in Madrid, Spain, March 8, 2025 [File: Susana Vera/Reuters]
Lauded for her courage in exposing the case, which forced a change in France’s rape law, she has since been named among the world’s most influential people in international lists.
Gisele Pelicot has not spoken further since the trial. She is focusing on writing a book, scheduled for release in 2026, that delves into her perspective of the ordeal, according to her lawyer.
Writers, artists and international figures are also on the Legion of Honour list.
Singer, music producer and clothing designer Pharrell Williams, writer Marc Levy, actor Lea Drucker, singer Sylvie Vartan, and Holocaust survivor and educator Yvette Levy are some of the other recipients.
After trying to learn to drive for years, Diane Morgan has opened up about whether she would ever get behind the wheel. And she’s admitted she’s slowly giving up.
Diane Morgan has been trying to learn to drive for years(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Richard Harrison)
Diane Morgan admits she has more in common with Mandy Carter, her BBC alter ego.
After rising to fame as the deadpan and charming Philomena Cunk, starring in Motherland as Liz, Diane Morgan has provided BBC2 viewers with plenty of belly laughs as the quirky Mandy.
Though Mandy is loosely inspired from a character of the same name in Sky‘s show Rovers, Diane says that, much like Mandy, she’s experienced plenty of chaos before kicking off her acting career. Diane often draws from personal experience – especially when Mandy’s day jobs go spectacularly wrong.
“A lot of them are inspired by things that have happened to me. I’ve had a number of jobs that I’ve been fired from,” Diane says. “Some I haven’t even lasted an hour in. Acting’s about the only job I’ve lasted more than a week in. So I have to stick with it.”
Even Mandy’s lack of driving skills mirrors Diane’s own. “I haven’t passed my driving test. Although I have done 1000s of hours of lessons. I just don’t think I’m one of nature’s natural drivers,” Diane says. “I’m waiting for self-driving cars to kick in now.”
Mandy Carter is back for another season on BBC2 – but she’s still up to her old tricks(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Richard Harrison)
Diane, 49, has made no secret of her trouble with driving – she has yet to pass her driver’s license. Back in 2020, she revealed she’d spent a whopping amount of money to pass her test.
“I’ve been learning to drive for about a year now,” she told the iPaper at the time. “Automatic not manual, obviously.” She added: “I’ve spent so much money learning to drive I could have got a private chauffeur by now.”
In 2022, she even took to X to ask her fans for advice, writing: “Serious question: can anyone recommend an intensive residential driving course? (for automatic not manual). It’s for me so they need to be very patient!” But it may be a while until she’s finally behind the wheel.
In the meantime, Mandy’s newest season features more of its gloriously unhinged heroine, Mandy Carter, stumbling through yet another round of ill-fitting jobs and baffling life choices.
“There’s more of the same Mandy madness,” Diane Morgan says. “She’s still being forced to do jobs she doesn’t like and isn’t good at.” It’s a formula that’s struck a bizarre chord with viewers – and unexpectedly sparked lifestyle changes.
Former EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison is due for a cameo in Mandy(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Richard Harrison)
“I’ve heard that at least four of them have turned vegetarian after watching an episode of the last series where Mandy gets a job in an abattoir,” Diane says. “So that’s good. Especially for cows.”
Why does Mandy connect so deeply? “I suppose it’s always nice to see someone have a worse time than you and still come through without serious mental health issues of HR getting involved.”
And don’t expect a redemption arc anytime soon. “Nothing would happen if she suddenly could do a job well,” Diane says, “It would just be Mandy sitting at a desk. She’s learned nothing. Just keeps making mistakes, like all of us. That’s what makes her charming.”
Off-screen, Diane channels her values into the show. “We decided to use only cruelty-free make-up products that haven’t been tested on animals,” she says.
“We warned all the actors what we were doing and none of them had a problem with it. Most were amazed that some products aren’t cruelty-free. Some well-known brands still test on animals and people aren’t aware of that.”
The UN warns that funding cuts will have catastrophic consequences for the fight against the disease.
The United Nations AIDS agency is warning that severe international funding cuts could lead to an additional 4 million deaths related to the disease by 2029.
The United States was the single biggest donor to the global response to HIV/AIDS before the administration of President Donald Trump abruptly halted foreign development assistance in January.
UNAIDS says the withdrawal of assistance will have catastrophic consequences for the fight against the pandemic.
So, what can countries do to reduce the impact of the funding cuts?
And why did wealthy nations end support for AIDS prevention and treatment programmes?
Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Dr Helen Rees – director of the Reproductive Health and HIV Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand
Dr Krishna Udayakumar – founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center
Nidhi Bouri – former deputy assistant administrator for Global Health at USAID
Washington, DC – The family of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old United States citizen from Florida who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, is calling on Washington to launch its own probe into the incident and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Musallet’s family said in a statement that Israeli settlers surrounded him for three hours during the assault on Friday and attacked medics who were attempting to reach him.
The slain young man, known as Saif, was a “kind, hard-working, and deeply-respected young man, working to build his dreams”, the family said.
“This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,” the statement added.
“We demand the US State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes. We demand justice.”
Washington has previously resisted calls to investigate the killing of US citizens by Israeli forces. Instead, US officials say that Israel is capable of probing its own abuses.
But Israeli investigations rarely lead to criminal charges against settlers or soldiers, despite their well-documented violations against Palestinians.
The State Department said late on Friday that it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas”.
“We are aware of reports of the death of a US citizen in the West Bank. When a US citizen dies overseas, we stand ready to provide consular services,” a department spokesperson told Al Jazeera, declining to provide further details, citing the privacy of the victim’s family.
Israeli settlers lynched 20-year-old Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet, while U.S. officials stayed silent.
Sayfollah was born and raised in Florida. He was visiting family for the summer in the West Bank when settlers beat him to death while he protested illegal land… pic.twitter.com/W4zG8OFD9b
Israeli forces have killed at least nine US citizens since 2022, including veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
But none of the incidents have resulted in criminal charges.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) said the US “must stop treating Palestinian American lives as expendable”.
“Israeli settlers lynched 20-year-old Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet, while US officials stayed silent,” the advocacy group said in a statement.
“Sayfollah was born and raised in Florida. He was visiting family for the summer in the West Bank when settlers beat him to death while he protested illegal land seizures.”
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) questioned whether Trump will stay true to his pledge to prioritise US interests.
“Will he uphold his ‘America First’ promise when it’s a Palestinian-American whose life was taken? Or will he once again bow his head to Israel, no matter the cost in blood?” AMP said in a statement.
But the group stressed that US citizenship should not be a condition for justice. Another Palestinian was killed in the same settler attack as Musallet on Saturday.
“And let’s be unequivocally clear: whether a Palestinian holds American citizenship or not, every single murder committed by this regime must be explicitly prohibited, punished, and condemned,” AMP said.
The US provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. It also protects its ally diplomatically at international forums, often using its veto power to block United Nations Security Council proposals critical of Israeli abuses.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on supporters on Saturday to contact their lawmakers and urge them to condemn the killing of Musallet.
“This was not an isolated incident. It was part of a long, unpunished pattern of violence against US citizens by Israeli soldiers and settlers,” the group said in a statement.
Sarah Leah Whitson, the head of rights group DAWN, said the US has tools to pursue accountability in the Musallet case, noting that Washington is pursuing criminal charges against Hamas officials for the killing of US citizens during the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel.
“What is really missing [in the current case] is the political will from the United States government to protect American citizens of Palestinian origin or Americans protesting Israeli actions in the West Bank,” Whitson told Al Jazeera in a TV interview.
“What it really does is it sets a precedent of encouragement and sets a precedent for open season on Americans just as there is open season on Palestinians.”
Letter demands that London act now to halt ‘erasure and annexation’ of Palestinian land before it’s too late.
Nearly 60 lawmakers in the United Kingdom have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy this week, calling out Israel’s plans for the “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza and demanding the country immediately recognise Palestine as a state.
The 59 lawmakers, all from the governing Labour Party, criticised Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz’s plans to force Gaza’s 2.1 million Palestinians into a so-called “humanitarian city” – likened by some analysts to a concentration camp – built on the ruins of Rafah.
The letter, sent to Lammy on Thursday and made public on Saturday, cited Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard as saying Palestinians were being pushed to the southern tip of Gaza “in preparation for deportation outside the strip”, slamming the move as “ethnic cleansing”.
They urged the foreign secretary to stop Israel’s “operational plan for crimes against humanity”. It also called on London to follow the lead of French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently announced an intent to recognise a Palestinian state, so as not to undermine its own policy in support of a two-state solution.
Dozens of Labour MPs have signed letter calling on @FCDOGovUK Secretary David Lammy to take concrete action on #Gaza including immediate recognition of #Palestine
Here it is in full, though more MPs signing up by the minute
Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego said Macron had given calls to formally recognise Palestine as a state “extra heft” during his three-day state visit to the UK this week.
In an address on Tuesday to the UK’s Parliament, he had said the move was a matter of “absolute urgency” and the “only path to peace”, calling on the country to help create the “political momentum” for a two-state solution.
Gallego pointed out that Lammy had on Tuesday criticised the controversial US-backed GHF sites at Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
“It’s not doing a good job. Too many people are close to starvation. Too many people have lost their lives,” Lammy had said.
Three out of the enclave’s four GHF sites, which have sidelined Gaza’s vast UN-led aid delivery network, are located in southern Gaza, effectively forcing starving Palestinians towards Israel’s new “humanitarian city” in Rafah.
On Friday, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that 819 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for food – 634 in the vicinity of GHF sites, which have been operational since late May. On Saturday, 34 more were killed near a GHF site in Rafah.
Lammy had also said that the UK could take further action against Israel if a ceasefire deal to end the war in the Palestinian territory does not materialise. But he stressed that London wants to recognise Palestine as part of a concrete move towards the two-state solution, not just as a symbolic gesture.
The lawmakers welcomed the Labour government’s calls for a ceasefire, its suspension of arms licenses to Israel, and its sanctioning of hardline Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, but said the “desperation and seriousness” of the situation in Gaza required more action.
“We cannot leave actions in our back pocket while the situation facing Palestinian civilians reaches critical and existential levels,” said the letter, which was organised by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, co-chaired by lawmakers Sarah Owen and Andrew Pakes.
“By not recognising [Palestine] as a state, we … set an expectation that the status quo can continue and see the effective erasure and annexation of Palestinian territory,” it added.
The Times of Israel reported this week that an international conference aiming to resuscitate the two-state solution was postponed to July 28-29 after plans to hold it last month were derailed by the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
India post 387 to match England’s first innings in the third Test but tempers flare before stumps on third day.
KL Rahul scored a century while Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant pitched in with crucial fifties as India posted 387, equalling England’s first innings, on a heated third day on and off the field at Lord’s
An injury to Shoaib Bashir blunted England’s pace-spin attack strategy when India looked vulnerable with five wickets down after losing Pant and Rahul in quick succession, before Jadeja steadied their innings with his third fifty-plus knock in a row.
England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, who played a single over from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps, remained unbeaten at 2-0 as the five-match series remains tied as both sides look to go 2-1 up with a win in the third Test.
With two overs scheduled to be bowled before stumps, tempers started to flare when Crawley pulled out of his stance four times – and later in the over called for the physio in what would be the only over of England’s second innings.
The tourists were irate with Mohammed Siraj displaying a thunderous look, before Bumrah slow handclapped and India skipper Shubman Gill confronted Crawley, pointing a finger in the opener’s face.
England opener Zak Crawley makes his own point back to India captain Shubman Gill after the hosts’ batter called for the doctor after being hit on the finger during day three [Stu Forster/Getty Images]
India started well from an overnight score of 145-3 as left-handed batter Pant, who scored twin centuries in the first test, battled through an injured finger on his left hand as he hooked England captain Stokes for six to bring up his fifty.
The 27-year-old survived when an awkward hook on a short ball from Stokes almost got him caught near the fine leg boundary, but a diving Crawley could only lob the ball back inside to prevent a six.
But Pant was run out for 74 on the last ball before lunch as he tried to take a quick single after playing Bashir towards cover point, where Stokes made a quick turn to hit the stumps on the non-striker’s end with a swift, direct throw.
Opener Rahul was the next to fall, edging Bashir’s flighted ball to Harry Brook in the slip on his very next ball after reaching 100, leaving India on shaky ground at 254-5 under a warm London sun.
But Bashir had to leave the ground when he injured a finger on his non-bowling left hand while attempting a low catch from his own delivery as Jadeja shot down the wicket, with commentators saying the 21-year-old might need extra treatment in the evening.
Jofra Archer of England bowls to Jasprit Bumrah of India during day three of the third Test [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]
Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy, new to the crease, looked unsteady as England’s bowlers piled on the pressure. Mix-ups between the batters put Reddy at risk of getting run out on two occasions, but Ollie Pope’s direct throws missed the target both times.
However, as England returned to using two pacers soon after Bashir’s injury, the pair put together a 72-run partnership before Stokes claimed his second wicket of the match, getting Reddy to nick it to keeper Jamie Smith for 30.
Jadeja drove Joe Root down long off for four to complete his half-century, while Washington Sundar took a slow, cautious approach on the other end.
Their 50-run partnership for the eighth wicket got India within 11 runs of England’s total, before Chris Woakes dismissed Jadeja for 72 as the batter’s attempt to send the ball down fine leg only took a thin edge and landed in Smith’s gloves.
Akash Deep, in at number nine, was given out leg before wicket twice by umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat during the same over, but Hawk-Eye showed the ball was missing the stumps when the batter reviewed them, overturning both decisions.
But Deep fell soon after to Brydon Carse for seven, with Brook trapping him at third slip with a low dive.
Sundar brought the scores level with a flick to the mid-wicket, before Woakes dismissed Jaspreet Bumrah for a duck in the very next ball to bag his third wicket.
Jofra Archer got Sundar out for 23 to bring an end to India’s innings, leaving the match finely poised going into the final two days.
Demonstrators gather in British capital for second week in a row in support of recently banned activism group.
United Kingdom police have arrested dozens of people at a protest in London calling for a ban on the campaign group Palestine Action to be lifted.
The protest at London’s Parliament Square on Saturday was the latest demonstration against the UK’s crackdown on Palestinian rights activism.
“Officers have made 41 arrests for showing support for a proscribed organisation. One person has been arrested for common assault,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The arrests followed last Saturday’s detention of 29 people, including a priest and some health professionals, who had gathered at Parliament Square after a last-ditch legal bid to stop the group from being proscribed under “anti-terrorism” legislation failed.
The ban, which cleared Parliament in early July, was passed after activists broke into a military base last month and sprayed red paint on two planes in protest at the UK’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza, which leading rights groups have described as a genocide.
The move has raised fears about freedom of expression in the country, putting Palestine Action on a par with armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the UK, making it a criminal offence to support or be part of the protest group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Protesters at this week’s demonstration had gathered near a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela outside the British Parliament, silently holding up placards saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
The last of the protesters was lifted from the Nelson Mandela statue shortly after 2:30pm local time (13:30 GMT).
Campaign group Defend Our Juries, which had announced it was holding rallies in several UK cities, called the ban “Orwellian” – a reference to the late English writer George Orwell, who wrote about totalitarianism and social injustice.
“Who do the police think they are serving in this?” challenged a spokesperson.
Defend Our Juries posted on X that police had also made arrests at other demonstrations in support of Palestine Action in Manchester, Cardiff and in Northern Ireland. Police have not yet confirmed the alleged arrests.
Launched in July 2020, Palestine Action says it uses “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers” and companies involved in weapons manufacture for Israel, such as Israel-based Elbit Systems and French multinational Thales.
Even before the start of the war on Gaza, rights groups and UN experts have accused Israel of imposing a system of apartheid against Palestinians.
The British government has accused the group of causing millions of pounds of damage through its actions.
Opponents of the ban say using “anti-terrorism” law is inappropriate against a group focused on civil disobedience.
