recall

Having scored six goals from seven shots on target, Welbeck is on track to surpass the career-best 10 top-flight goals he scored last season.

Several different strikers have played second fiddle to Harry Kane in recent years, but none are currently enjoying the kind of purple patch Welbeck is.

“If you look at the forward options in Tuchel’s last squad there aren’t many obvious stand-ins for Harry Kane,” Alan Shearer told BBC Sport.

“Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, Bukayo Saka aren’t going to fill that role and Ollie Watkins hasn’t been firing for Aston Villa, so any English striker scoring goals in the Premier League is going to be talked about.

“It’s seven years since Welbeck’s last cap and he’s 35 this month but Tuchel isn’t worried about the future. His only focus is the six weeks of the World Cup so there’s no reason why Welbeck couldn’t be involved if he keeps scoring and stays injury free.”

Injuries have disrupted much of Welbeck’s career and arguably prevented him from adding to his 42 England caps, but he now founds himself in the beneficial position of being able to contribute goals on the pitch and leadership off it.

“I’m loving it here at Brighton, I’ve been very important, integral, on and off the pitch,” added Welbeck.

“I’m enjoying the senior role as well, I know how important it was for me as a youngster coming through having senior members you can speak to, come to for advice, it helped me massively.

“It’s come full circle now, I’m there to pass on advice to youngsters and help those around me. It’s been pretty seamless slipping into this role.”

Welbeck recently told BBC Radio 5 Live that “the door is always open” with England.

He added: “I know that if I’m called upon then I’d love to do the job, but honestly it doesn’t come into my thinking at the moment. I’m just focused on Brighton, winning games and picking up points.”

While Welbeck has played down his chances, Onuoha, who has played against Welbeck in the past, believes he knows Tuchel will be interested in him.

“You almost talk about him like he has never played for England before. He has done that job before,” Onuoha said.

“With the profile he has, he could definitely suit Tuchel’s style as such. For someone to be in that form, he knows he is going to be part of the conversation.”

Wales’ players will assemble at their training base on the outskirts of Cardiff on Monday, 27 October.

New head coach Steve Tandy will then begin his tenure with a match against Argentina on Sunday, 9 November, with Tests against Japan, New Zealand and South Africa to follow.

Those fixtures, which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru, represent a formidable first assignment for ex-Scotland defence coach Tandy.

He takes over a Wales side ranked 12th in the world and one that only broke an 18-match international losing sequence by beating Japan in Kobe in July.

“It’s been really exciting going through the whole process and realising how many good players we’ve got,” said Tandy.

“There’s a really good mix of some young guys coming in, mixed with some experience as well. But the overall feeling is really exciting and I can’t wait to get the boys into camp on Monday.

“It’s a new time and there are some new faces in and around the playing group as well.”

Carre has started the season strongly with Saracens, but was ineligible under Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) selection policy because he has 20 caps, five short of the required number for those playing for clubs outside Wales.

But in its statement confirming the squad, the WRU said Carre had been “included following confirmation by the Professional Rugby Board that he is eligible for Wales selection”.

Second rows Adam Beard and Dafydd Jenkins are back having missed the two-Test series in Japan over the summer because of being given a break and elective surgery respectively.

There are also returns for Jacob Beetham, Rhys Davies, Rio Dyer, Jarrod Evans, Joe Hawkins, Max Llewellyn and Nick Tompkins.

However, fellow lock Will Rowlands is not included having announced his retirement from international rugby shortly before the squad was published on Tuesday.

A return to form for Labuschagne would not entirely solve the issues Australia have around their batting line-up for the first Test against England at Perth on 21 November.

He was pushed up to open in his most recent Test – the World Test Championship final defeat by South Africa in which he returned scores of 17 and 22 – but has been batting at his previous position of number three for Queensland.

Were he to return at number three, the position he has scored all of his Test hundreds, Australia would still be looking for at least one opener.

Twenty-year-old Sam Konstas played in West Indies but managed only 50 runs across six innings. Though he scored a century for Australia A in India last month he has not passed 50 in four innings in domestic cricket this season and was dismissed by Scott Boland for a four-ball duck on Wednesday.

Tasmania’s uncapped opener Jake Weatherald, 30, scored a 99-ball 94 on day two of a low-scoring match against Western Australia on Thursday to push his case.

If Labuschagne returned as an opener then it would allow Australia to pick Cameron Green at number three and retain fellow all-rounder Beau Webster in the middle order, though Green only has one fifty in eight innings in that position since being pushed up the order for the Test final against South Africa.

Webster is currently out with an ankle injury but Green is in Australia’s squad for the three-match one-day international series against India which begins on Sunday.

Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Adam Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (Everton).

Defenders: Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Jay Dasilva (Coventry City), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest).

Midfielders: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Jordan James (Stade Rennais), Aaron Ramsey (Pumas UNAM), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City).

Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark Harris (Oxford United), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City – on loan from Liverpool), Daniel James (Leeds United), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham).

A HUGE carmaker has issued a UK recall, over fears that the brake pedals could fall off one of it’s vehicle models.

Earlier this year, Stellantis, the parent firm of French car manufacturer Citroen issued a huge recall of its motors fitted with Takata airbags, after they were linked to a number of fatal accidents.

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The recall left 120,000 motorists unable to drive their vehicles, and now more models are being recalled, for a separate issue.

Citroen has urged anyone with a current C3 model to stop driving their cars, due to an issue with the break pedal.

The carmaker revealed that a problem with the assembly of the brake pedal box could result in the car’s brake pedal falling off, which would stop the mechanical brakes from being applied.

“During our regular quality process checks, an investigation revealed that certain right-hand-drive Citroen C3 and Citroen C3 Aircross could have a pedal box assembly that is not to the correct specification and is at risk of loss of brake capability,” it said.

“If this were to happen, the automatic emergency braking (AEB) and the electronic parking brake would remain fully operational.

“We are initiating a stop-drive action to protect all customers of the Citroen C3 and C3 Aircross affected. Customers will be provided a replacement vehicle whilst their car is checked and, if necessary, rectified.”

C3 models affected

All of Citroen’s current C3 range is affected by the recall.

This includes the following models:

• Citroën C3 (2025-present)
• Citroën e-C3 (2024-present)
• Citroën C3 Aircross (2025-present)
• Citroën e-C3 Aircross (2025-present)

Around 1,110 of these cars have so far been delivered to UK drivers, according to Stellantis.

The new Vauxhall Frontera and Vauxhall Frontera Electric models are also affected by the recall, however, these cars have not yet begun to be delivered to UK drivers.

What to do if you’re affected by the recall

If you own one of the affected models, you should stop driving it immediately.

This is because Stellantis has issued a “stop drive” recall, a rare warning that is put in place when the fault caused by the recall is so dangerous.

Courtesy cars will be offered to anyone affected by the recall, whilst their vehicle is checked, and, if required, fixed, by dealerships.

Airbag recall

Earlier this year, Stellantis issued another “stop drive” recall, to owners of the Citroen C3 (2009-2019), DS3 (2009-2019), Citroen C4 (2010-2011), DS4 (2010-2011) and DS5 (2010-2013).

This is due to faulty airbags, with the vehicles all requiring repairs.

The recall was prompted by concerns over airbags supplied by the now-defunct Japanese manufacturer Takata, whose components have been linked to fatal accidents.

In one recent incident, a driver in France was killed after a minor collision resulted in metal shrapnel from a faulty airbag hitting them – prompting an immediate reaction from the company.

A spokesperson for Stellantis said at the time: “The company’s focus is on completing the replacement of airbags in affected vehicles as swiftly as possible.

“Working hand in hand with our Citroen retailer network we are working to maximise the number of vehicles we can repair every day.

“To increase our repair capacity further, work is ongoing on introducing additional airbag replacement sites at convenient locations as well as repair at home options.

“It is inevitable, with such a large number of vehicles affected, that customers will be inconvenienced in the short term.

“However, we are deploying a variety of options to support mobility, recognising that every driver will have individual requirements, and that priority needs to be given to customers with the most urgent needs.”

TWO babies have been killed by an infection reportedly linked to their hospital’s contaminated dish soap – sparking an urgent recall.

The premature tots weighed less than two pounds each when they mysteriously died just hours apart at the San Maurizio Hospital in Italy.

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The pair had previously been diagnosed with an infection caused by Serratia marcescens, a deadly germ for those with underlying conditions. 

Both the babies were born three weeks ago, one the 23rd week of gestation and the other on the 27th.

The babies tragically passed away within hours of each other between August 12 and 13.

The babies developed sepsis from the fatal infection which was linked to the industrial dish soap at the hospital in Bolzano, about 150 miles south of the Italy-Austria border. 

The contamination was confirmed by Josef Widmann, the medical director of the South Tyrolean Health Authority.

Hospital director Pierpaolo Bertoli said: “The presence of this bacterium is not unique because it constantly poses a risk to neonatal intensive care units. 

“This is not so much because of the type of germ but because of the particular vulnerability of these little patients due to their immature immune systems.” 

All dish soap used by the Bolanzo hospital system was very quickly removed from the hospital. 

While the investigation is ongoing, the hospital will not be accepting any more high-risk premature babies, medical director of the hsopital Dr. Monika Zaebisch added.

All other cases, in the meantime, will be diverted to hospitals in Trento, a different region nearly 40 miles outside of Bolzano.

Zaebisch added: “At the Bolzano hospital, we have implemented all preventive measures to prevent the transmission of germs.

“The ward staff strictly adheres to hygiene measures. Unfortunately, these two cases could not be prevented,” Zaebisch assured.

Police have launched a probe into the infants’ deaths.

Authorities are weighing whether or not to order autopsies on the babies, which will help determine if charges of malpractice could be made.

It comes after two people in Italy died after eating a toxic veggie and sausage sandwich in Italy.

More than a dozen people were hospitalised after eating the poisoned sandwiches from a food truck near the town of Diamante in Calabria.

Tamara D’Acunto, 45, died shortly after eating the panini made with turnip greens – a vegetable similar to broccoli – last week.

 Luigi Di Sarno, 52, also died after taking a fatal bite from a sandwich bought from the same vendor.

In total, 17 other people have so far been hospitalised with food poisoning within 24 to 48 hours of eating the sandwiches. 

They all showed signs of botulism – an illness linked to the vegetable.

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A MAJOR garage has closed down at the worst possible time – after thousands of drivers across the country were ordered to avoid using their cars as part of a huge recall.

A serious fault recently discovered in Citroen and DS3 vehicles has resulted in a nationwide safety notice.

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However, the sudden closure of Duff Morgan Citroen and Peugeot – a widely-used service centre in Norwich – has now left many vehicle owners in the lurch.

According to the Eastern Daily Press, the service centre and its Express Service, located on Whiffler Road, closed its doors several weeks ago.

And while the reason for the outlet’s closure has not been revealed, it does coincide with one of the largest car recalls the country has experienced so far this year.

The recall, first announced back in June, targets certain Citroen and DS3 vehicles due to potentially faulty airbags.

It has left thousands of UK drivers unable to use their cars, as Stellantis, the parent company of Citroen, issued an urgent “stop driving” alert.

The affected models include all Citroen C3 and DS3 vehicles manufactured between 2009 and 2016, as well as some DS3 models produced from 2016 to 2019.

Recently, the recall was also expanded to include C4, DS4 and DS5 models.

Reports suggest the expansion added roughly 9,968 UK cars to the total, meaning nearly 106,000 Citroen or DS vehicles in Britain are covered by the stop‑drive action.

The recall was prompted by concerns over airbags supplied by the now-defunct Japanese manufacturer Takata, whose components have been linked to fatal accidents.

In one incident, a driver in France was killed after a minor collision resulted in metal shrapnel from a faulty airbag hitting them – prompting an immediate reaction from the company.

Consumer protection organisation, Which?, has since slammed Stellantis for their “chaotic” handling of the recall and called on them to make urgent improvements.

Thousands of customers across the country have been left unable to drive their cars, with many having no alternative modes of transport, according to Which?.

No incidents are yet to be reported in the UK, but the consumer group has expressed its concern for the lack of clarity around available compensation for customers.

They outlined how “major upheaval” had been caused for customers who were reliant on their cars.

This has only been compounded for Norwich residents, as the closure of the Duff Morgan service centre means many have been unable to get repairs necessary for them to use their cars to access work, healthcare appointments or essential activities, such as taking their children to school.

Elderly individuals in rural areas have also experienced isolation due to the lack of transportation.

Many owners across the country have already complained of substantial delays in receiving necessary repairs, with garages struggling to source replacement airbags.

Sun Motors has contacted Duff Morgan for a comment, an explanation on why the site has closed, and which alternative locations frustrated car owners can take their cars for repairs.

Citroen & DS models affected by UK ‘stop drive’ action

• Citroen C3 (second gen) – built from 2009 to 2016
• Citroen DS3 – built from 2009 to 2016
• DS Automobiles DS3 – built from 2016 to 2019
• Citroen C4 – built from 2010 to 2018
• Citroen DS4 – built from 2010 and 2017
• Citroen DS5 – built from 2010 to 2018

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Julia Wick, with an assist from David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government.

Several millennia ago during the Trojan War, an army of Greeks built a massive wooden horse, feigned departure and left it as a “gift” outside the walled city of Troy.

The Trojans brought the offering — filled, unbeknownst to them, with Greek soldiers — into their fortified city and unwittingly wrought their own downfall. At least that’s how the legend goes.

So if an attack disguised as a gift is a Trojan horse, what do you call a gift disguised as an attack?

One could argue that the attempted recall of Mayor Karen Bass inadvertently fits the bill.

Back in early March, Silicon Valley philanthropist and former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running mate Nicole Shanahan launched an effort to recall Bass. At the time, Bass was still on her back foot — an incumbent, first-term mayor who’d become a national target for her initial response to the Palisades fire.

It’s notoriously difficult to gather enough signatures to trigger a recall. But Shanahan’s extremely deep pockets (her ex-husband co-founded Google) made anything possible. With the mayor already wounded and Angelenos feeling angry and frustrated, a well-funded recall effort could have been the spark that torched Bass’ reelection chances.

That did not come to pass.

Proponents didn’t even finish the paperwork necessary to begin gathering signatures, then tweeted in June that a recall would “no longer be our vehicle for change” and that they would instead focus on holding elected officials accountable at the ballot box in 2026. Their spokesperson has not responded to several emails from The Times.

But the short-lived recall effort had one effect its proponents likely did not anticipate. During a tenuous moment for Bass, they may have unintentionally handed her an extremely useful tool: the ability to form an opposition committee unencumbered by limits on the size of the donations she collects.

The threat from Shanahan’s group allowed Bass to form her own anti-recall campaign committee — separate from her general reelection account, which cannot collect more than $1,800 from each donor. Now, she could raise more money from her existing supporters, in far larger amounts.

Flash forward to this week, when the latest tranche of campaign finance numbers were released, revealing how much was raised and spent from the beginning of the year through the end of June. While Bass’ official reelection campaign took in an anemic $179,589, her anti-recall coffers hoovered up more than four times that amount.

The nearly $750,000 collected by the anti-recall campaign included two major donations at the end of March that we previously reported on: $250,000 from the Bass-affiliated Sea Change PAC and $200,000 from former assembly speaker and Actum managing partner Fabian Núñez’s leftover campaign cash.

Along with Núñez and Sea Change, the largest donors were philanthropists Jon Croel and William Resnick ($25,000 each), businessman Baron Farwell ($25,000) and former City Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski ($15,000). Several others gave $10,000 a piece, including pomegranate billionaire and power donor Lynda Resnick.

It’s far easier to rally donations when you’re dealing with an impending threat. (“Save the mayor from a right-wing recall!” is much catchier than asking for reelection dollars when a serious challenger has yet to jump into the race.) And it’s infinitely faster to stockpile cash when you aren’t limited to $1,800 increments.

“After the fires and what had happened, anything was possible, and we had to mobilize, and that’s what the mayor did,” said Bass campaign strategist Doug Herman. “But the people of the city didn’t want to have a recall in the midst of what they thought were more serious problems.”

Shanahan declined to comment.

When the recall effort officially times out on Aug. 4, the Bass camp will no longer be able to raise unlimited sums to fight it (with a few exceptions, such as expenses related to winding down the committee or settling debt). But the anti-recall committee will still have quite the extra arsenal to fire off in her favor.

Sometimes your loudest enemies are really friends in disguise.

State of play

—WHITHER CARUSO? Brentwood resident and former Vice President Kamala Harris announced this week that she would not be running for governor, intensifying questions about whether former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso might jump into the gubernatorial race … or potentially challenge Bass again for mayor. Through a spokesperson, Caruso declined to comment.

— RACE FOR THE 8TH FLOOR: City Attorney candidate Marissa Roy outraised incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto during the latest fundraising period, delivering a major warning shot about the seriousness of her campaign. For now, Feldstein Soto still has more cash on hand than Roy, who is challenging her from the left.

— COASTAL CASH: In the race for a Westside council district, public interest lawyer Faizah Malik raised a hefty $127,360, but her stash pales in comparison to the $343,020 that incumbent Councilmember Traci Park brought in during the most recent filing period. That’s far more than any other city candidate running in the June 2026 election.

— AHEAD OF THE PACK: Council staffer Jose Ugarte, who’s hoping to succeed his boss, termed out Councilmember Curren Price, in a crowded South L.A. race, raised a whopping $211,206, far outpacing his rivals.

— VIEW FROM THE VALLEY: During this filing cycle, Tim Gaspar and Barri Worth Girvan both brought in real money in the race to succeed outgoing Councilmember Bob Blumenfield in the West Valley. Girvan outraised Gaspar during the past half-year, but Gaspar entered the race earlier and still has substantially more cash on hand.

— WHERE’S MONICA? One incumbent who didn’t report any fundraising is Valley Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. When reached Friday, Rodriguez said she is still planning to run for reelection and was in the process of changing treasurers. She did not answer when asked whether she was also considering a potential mayoral bid, as has been rumored.

— WHAT ABOUT KENNETH? City Controller Kenneth Mejia does not have any campaign finance numbers listed because he qualified his reelection committee after the June 30 fundraising deadline. He’ll be required to share fundraising numbers for the next filing period.

— LOWER LAYOFFS: The number of employee layoffs planned for the 2025-26 fiscal year continued to decline this week, falling to 394, according to a report released Friday by City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo. Bass’ budget had proposed 1,600 earlier this year. Szabo attributed much of the decrease to the transfer of employees to vacant positions that are not targeted for layoff.

— TOKENS OF APPRECIATION: According to her disclosure forms, Bass’ reelection committee spent more than $1,100 on gifts “of appreciation,” including flowers sent to Mayer Brown lawyers Edgar Khalatian, Dario Frommer and Phil Recht; Fabian Núñez; lawyer Byron McLain; longtime supporters Wendy and Barry Meyer; author Gil Robertson; former Amazon exec Latasha Gillespie; L.A. Labor Fed head honcho Yvonne Wheeler; lobbyist Arnie Berghoff; Faye Geyen; and LA Women’s Collective co-founder Hannah Linkenhoker. The most expensive bouquet ($163.17, from Ode à la Rose) went to Lynda Resnick.

— PIZZA INTEL: Bass has not, to my knowledge, publicly shared the names of her reelection finance committee. But her forms list a $198.37 charge at Triple Beam Pizza for food for a “finance committee meeting” with Cathy Unger, Victoria Moran, Ron Stone, Kellie Hawkins, Todd Hawkins, Cookie Parker, Stephanie Graves, Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, George Pla, Wendy Greuel, Byron McLain, Chris Pak, Travis Kiyota, Areva Martin and Kevin Pickett. Bass’ consultant did not immediately respond when asked if that list constituted her finance committee, and if anyone was missing.

— FAMILY-FRIENDLY PROGRAMMING? Speakers at Los Angeles City Council meetings will be banned from using the N-word and the C-word, the council decided Wednesday. But my colleague Noah Goldberg reports that the council’s decision to ban the words could be challenged in court, with some legal scholars saying it could violate speakers’ 1st Amendment free speech rights to curse out their elected officials.

— ZINE O’ THE TIMES: City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield finally named his pick for the city’s Charter Reform Commission: Dennis Zine, who served on the council for 12 years, representing the same West Valley district as Blumenfield. Zine spent more than three decades as an officer with the LAPD while also serving on the board of the Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, and should not be confused with progressive former Santa Monica mayor Denny Zane.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homelessness program went to an encampment next to the 405 Freeway in Van Nuys, moving an estimated 30 people indoors. The operation drew protests from activists who said the mayor was destroying the belongings of homeless people and forcing them into “jail like conditions.” Bass, who was at the encampment, lashed out at the activists, telling reporters: “How dare they sleep in a comfortable bed at night, come here and advocate for people to stay in these kind of conditions. We’re not going to stand for it.”
• On the docket for next week: The City Council’s personnel committee holds a special meeting Wednesday on the plan for laying off hundreds of city workers.
• A political-ish poem to start your Saturday morning: “The book burnings” by Bertolt Brecht, translated from the German by Tom Kuhn and David Constantine.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party is in a moment of crisis as nearly two-thirds of its legislators risk losing their posts through a mass referendum.

Starting this weekend, voters across 31 districts in Taiwan will weigh in on whether they want to keep or remove their members of parliament.

The “Great Recall”, as it has been dubbed locally, is the largest vote of its kind in Taiwan’s history and, depending on the results, could cost the KMT its majority coalition in the country’s legislature.

The outcome will set the tone for Taiwan’s domestic politics for the next three years and also shape the ability of President William Lai Ching-te’s government to act on key issues, such as defence spending.

When will the recall election take place?

On Saturday, eligible voters can participate in recall votes for 24 KMT legislators, followed by a second round of voting for seven KMT legislators in late August.

The recall has been called following a wave of successful petition campaigns earlier this year. Under Taiwan’s election laws, organisers must secure signatures from 10 percent of a district’s registered voters to hold a recall vote.

For a recall vote to succeed, 25 percent of registered voters in each district must participate, and the recall must receive more votes in favour than against.

If voters choose to recall a legislator, a by-election must be held within three months.

The KMT’s traditional stronghold is in the north of the country and notably around the capital city of Taipei, but recall votes will be held across Taiwan this weekend.

The KMT won 52 out of 113 seats in the legislature in 2024, and with the Taiwan People’s Party and two independent legislators, holds a 62-seat majority coalition.

That coalition has been strong enough to block the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which holds 51 seats, and stall the agenda of the country’s DPP President Lai during his first year in office.

Can the recall succeed?

Taiwan typically has high voter turnout during major elections, but recall votes are much more of a wildcard, said Lev Nachman, an expert in Taiwanese politics at National Taiwan University.

“Our prior experience should tell us that these should not pass. However, we’ve never seen mobilisation work like this at recalls before,” he told Al Jazeera, citing the widespread involvement of common people. “We are in a bit of unprecedented times.”

Ho Chih-yung, KMT member and former party spokesperson, told Al Jazeera the recall campaign had created a “national election-like atmosphere” that would test the mobilisation and engagement of Taiwan’s major political parties.

The weather could also tip the scales, he said, as a tropical storm is passing north of Taiwan, and the bad weather may discourage the KMT’s older voter base from going out to vote.

Why is the recall vote international news?

The vote will determine if Lai will be a lame-duck president for the next three years, and whether he has the ability to carry out key defence and foreign policy initiatives, Nachman said.

“Unfortunately, it’s a really big deal because every question that foreign policy people have is contingent upon whether these recalls are successful or not successful,” he said.

The issue carries global significance due to Taiwan’s contested political status and the threat of a future conflict involving China in the Taiwan Strait.

“The classic Taiwan problem is that it’s not just that society is split, it’s that society is split, and the clock is ticking about whether or not there’s going to be a war over this place,” he added.

“Everything here is infinitely more existential.”

Why are voters targeting the KMT?

Despite its success in the last election, picking up 14 seats, the KMT has angered voters and even alienated traditional supporters by trying to expand legislative powers and targeting President Lai’s budget.

The KMT majority in the legislature was able to freeze or cut 207.5 billion New Taiwan dollars (then worth $6.3bn) from Lai’s 2025 budget – impacting everything from Taiwan’s submarine and drone programmes to its Council of Indigenous Peoples.

The budget fight was headline news across Taiwan, but it piqued international interest when the KMT targeted $3.1bn in defence spending.

Brian Hoie, a non-resident fellow at the University of Nottingham’s Taiwan Research Hub and a frequent commentator on Taiwanese politics, said some of the cuts angered a cross-section of voters and groups traditionally aligned with the KMT, such as farmers and Indigenous voters.

“The KMT has done very badly and angered all these random demographics by cutting the budget,” he said.

“That was just very unstrategic,” he added.

What about the China factor?

The KMT is one of the oldest political parties in Asia, but a generational divide over Taiwan’s relationship with China is challenging its longstanding position in Taiwanese politics. Some voters believe that the party has been co-opted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing.

The CCP has threatened to one day annex Taiwan by peace or by force, and Taiwan’s two main political parties offer different approaches for how to respond to Beijing’s threat.

President Lai’s DPP has taken a more outspoken approach by advocating for Taiwan on the international stage and ramping up defence spending, while the KMT follows a more conciliatory approach that favours ongoing dialogue with China.

Fears surrounding China have in the past unseated some of the KMT’s most prominent members, such as party whip Fu Kun-chi, who controversially led a delegation of lawmakers to Beijing last year at a time of significant political tension in the Taiwan Strait.

What does the KMT say?

Party member and former KMT spokesperson Ho said the recall supporters were abusing a system designed to remove individuals deemed unfit for holding their posts for serious reasons, such as corruption.

“This ‘mass recall’ campaign is not driven by the individual performance of KMT legislators, but is instead a blanket attempt to unseat opposition lawmakers across the board,” Ho said.

“To advance this effort, the DPP has deliberately framed the KMT as ‘pro-China’ and accused it of ‘selling out Taiwan’, a tactic designed to inflame ideological divisions and mobilise its base through fear and hostility, thereby increasing the likelihood that the recall votes will pass,” he said.

A senior KMT party member also told Al Jazeera that voters may be looking for an outlet for their frustrations amid a rising cost of living and the economic stress resulting from United States President Donald Trump’s trade war and threat of tariffs on Taiwan.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 32 percent on the island-nation’s export-driven economy. Over the past six months, the New Taiwan dollar has appreciated 11 percent, impacting the bottom line of thousands of small and medium domestic manufacturers who must compete with foreign goods becoming cheaper for Taiwan’s consumers as their dollars go further in terms of spending power.

July 24 (UPI) — The United States has recalled its negotiators in Gaza hostage talks after the latest response from Hamas “clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire,” U.S. Mideast Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday.

Negotiators were meeting in Doha and Witkoff said the parties will pursue “alternative options” following the Hamas response in the latest round of negotiations.

“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” Witkoff continued in a statement.

“We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza. It’s a shame Hamas has acted in this selfish way. We are resolute in seeking an end to this conflict and permanent peace in Gaza,” he said.

Israel has also recalled its team of negotiators, but an Israeli negotiator said the talks did not “collapse.”

There was no immediate response from Hamas.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff accuses Palestinian group of showing ‘a lack of desire’ to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

United States special envoy Steve Witkoff has said he is cutting short talks aimed at reaching a truce in Israel’s war on Gaza, after the latest proposal from Hamas showed “a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”.

Witkoff made the announcement in a statement on Thursday, just hours after the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had also recalled its negotiating team from Qatar amid the latest diplomatic flurry.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas. The group has repeatedly accused Israel of blocking a ceasefire agreement.

Earlier in the day, Hamas had submitted its latest response to a ceasefire framework floated by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US. Netanyahu’s office confirmed receipt of the response, and said it was under review. Neither side disclosed the contents.

Both Israel and Hamas are facing growing international pressure to reach an agreement as the humanitarian and hunger crisis in the territory continues to deteriorate sharply amid Israel’s severe restrictions on the entry of aid.

At least 115 people have died from malnutrition since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, mostly in recent weeks, as the United Nations and aid agencies have warned that Gaza’s residents were facing mass starvation.

“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” Witkoff said in a statement.

“We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,” Witkoff said, without elaborating.

Witkoff, a businessman with no formal diplomatic experience prior to his appointment, said the US remains “resolute” in seeking an end to the war in Gaza, adding it was “a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way”.

The current proposal under discussion has been reported to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living captives and the remains of 18 others. In turn, Palestinians imprisoned by Israel would be released and aid supplies would be ramped up as the two sides held negotiations on a lasting truce.

Details of the current sticking point were not immediately clear, but officials from both sides have previously pointed to a dispute over what would happen in the wake of any new ceasefire.

Israel has repeatedly said it plans to deploy the military long term in Gaza, seeking a complete defeat of Hamas, despite warnings that such a goal is unrealistic.

Earlier this month, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz reportedly laid out a plan for the forced transfer of Palestinians to a “humanitarian city” within Gaza, a maximalist approach that critics say would violate international law.

Israel’s government has also faced domestic pressure over the plan, amid fears it would foreclose ceasefire negotiations and block the release of captives still held in Gaza.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi said it remained unclear whether the US withdrawal from the talks was a “negotiating tactic”.

“It’s a very sternly worded tweet, talking about ‘alternative options for a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,’” he said.

“We know that Trump simply hasn’t ruled out ethnic cleansing, so-called ‘self deportation’, in his words, of Palestinians.”

“Right now, we simply don’t know whether it’s a negotiating position or the end of the negotiations,” Rattansi said.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 59,587 Palestinians since it began in the wake of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed at least 1,139 people.

This week, more than 100 aid groups blamed Israel’s restrictions on aid for “mass starvation” in the enclave.

July 4 (UPI) — The United States and Colombia have recalled their top diplomats from their respective countries amid a deepening rift between Washington and Bogota seemingly centered on an alleged plot to oust Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

The alleged plot was first reported late last month by El Pais, and, according to recordings it reviewed and Republican sources, it involved former Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva trying to contact U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to have him and the Trump administration exert pressure to force Petro to resign.

In the recordings, Leyva states he met with Republican lawmakers, including Florida Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Gimenez, as he sought support for his plot.

On Wednesday, Petro commented on X that the previous Biden administration had helped him during “other times that they have wanted to kill.”

“From now on, Bolivar’s sword continues its path of liberation, and the energy of light and the vibrant people — And the U.S. government?” he asked.

In the State Department’s Thursday statement recalling John McNamara, the interim Charge d’Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the move was “for urgent consultations following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the government of Colombia.”

“In addition to the recall of the charge, the United States is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship,” she said.

Hours later, Petro released a statement recalling his ambassador, Daniel Garcia-Pena, from the United States.

“Daniel must come to brief us on the progress of the bilateral agenda to which I committed myself from the beginning of my government,” he said.

Gimenez has hit back at the Petro government, accusing the Colombian president of creating a “media circus” to “distract the Colombian people from his terrible management, corruption and mishandling of public funds.”

“Let these complicit puppets not complain later when they and their families are denied visas to enter the United States,” he said on X.

The alleged plot has shaken the Colombian politics.

Earlier this month, Colombia Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into Leyva and his alleged plot.

It is also the second public spat between the two allies.

In late January, shortly after President Donald Trump took office, Washington and Bogota threatened one another with tit-for-tat tariffs as the White House was barred from sending military planes loaded with migrants to the South American country.

The issue was resolved with Colombia receiving the migrants.

Prosecutors in Colombia open a probe into an alleged plot to overthrow President Petro as ties sharply deteriorate.

The United States and Colombia have called home their respective top diplomats in an acceleration of worsening ties, against the backdrop of an alleged plot against Colombia’s left-wing leader.

Washington, DC went first, recalling its charge d’affaires John McNamara on Thursday, “following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the government of Colombia,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, without giving specifics.

In addition to McNamara’s recall, Bruce said the United States “is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship”, without further details.

Within hours, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announced he was calling home his top diplomat in Washington, DC, in response.

Ambassador Daniel Garcia-Pena “must come to inform us of the development of the bilateral agenda,” Petro wrote on X, such as tapping South America’s “great potential for clean energy” and the fight against “drug lords and their international finances”.

The diplomatic row came on the heels of the resignation of Colombia’s foreign minister earlier on Thursday – the latest top-ranking official to exit Petro’s government.

“In recent days, decisions have been made that I do not agree with and that, out of personal integrity and institutional respect, I cannot support,” Laura Sarabia, who was also Petro’s former chief of staff, wrote on X.

Deterioration of ties

Colombia was until recently one of the US’s closest partners in Latin America, with decades of right-wing rule, before bilateral relations sharply deteriorated.

Prosecutors in the South American nation opened an investigation this week into an alleged plot to overthrow Petro with the help of Colombian and American politicians, following the publication by the Spanish daily El Pais of recordings implicating former Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva.

“This is nothing more than a conspiracy with drug traffickers and apparently, the Colombian and American extreme right,” Petro said on Monday.

During a speech in Bogota on Thursday, Petro said he did not think US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom he had previously linked to the alleged overthrow attempt, was “in the midst of a coup d’etat” against his government.

“I don’t believe that a government that has Iran as its enemy and nuclear weapons pointed at it … is going to start fooling around with a coup d’etat” in Colombia, he said.

In late January, the US briefly suspended consular services to retaliate for Petro’s refusal to allow US military planes to return Colombian refugees and migrants to their homeland.

Petro accused the US of treating them like criminals, placing them in shackles and handcuffs.

The two countries issued threats and counter-threats of crippling trade tariffs of up to 50 percent.

A backroom diplomatic deal involving the deployment of Colombian air force planes to collect the refugees and migrants averted a looming trade war at the eleventh hour.

Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from Bogota, said the first crisis between the two countries over the deportation of migrants was resolved quickly in January.

“The current situation is obviously very worrisome as it is unclear what will happen in this case,” he said.

“But it shows that ties that were taken for granted might now be unravelling,” Rampietti added.

Colombia’s left-wing government also recently refused a US request to extradite two prominent rebel leaders wanted by Washington, DC, for alleged drug trafficking.

Last month, Colombia was rattled by bombing attacks in Cali in the southwest of the country that killed seven people, and the attempted assassination of a conservative opposition senator and presidential hopeful, Miguel Uribe Turbay, at a campaign rally in Bogota. The eruption of violence raised fears of a return to the darker days of previous decades, of assassinations and bombings.

There have, of course, been many high-profile footballers who have made the move to Saudi Arabia in recent years.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps the most famous of them, but there’s also been Neymar, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, who continued to be selected by their respective national teams after making the moves.

Indeed, Toney could come up against his Al-Ahli team-mate Edouard Mendy when England play Senegal next week.

Looking through the list of squads there are plenty of recognisable names playing in the Saudi Pro League but, despite that, the overall standard of the league is perceived as quite low.

In Opta’s most recent Power Rankings the Saudi Pro League was ranked as just the 29th-strongest in the world, just behind the Ecuador Liga Pro.

“Toney has referenced it himself publicly that he has been very surprised by the standard for football in Saudi Arabia,” Gulf-based sports journalist John McAuley, who covers the Saudi Pro League, told BBC Sport.

“It is a lot higher than he expected and obviously that is because of the influx of proper international players coming into the league now.

“Saudi always had a very high standing in Asian football – Al-Hilal are the record four-time winners of the Asian Champions League.

“The level of local players is still very good but when you think of the defenders Toney is up against, he is still playing against Aymeric Laporte at Al-Nassr, Kalidou Koulibaly at Al-Hilal, Danilo Pereira, who came from PSG to Al-Ittihad – so he is still playing against European standard players.”

Regardless of the perception of the league he is playing in, there’s no doubt Toney arrived at this England camp as a player in form, having enjoyed a brilliant scoring run in the second half of the season to help Al-Ahli become champions of Asia.

“He ended up with a run of something like 19 goals in his last 19 league games, finishing two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot,” McAuley added.

“The huge thing, and something that really integrated him with the fans, is he played a key role in Al-Ahli winning the Asian Champions League Elite for the first time.”

“Making the transition, the first moving to Saudi, it was a big one,” Toney told 5 live.

“Obviously, people are going to think ‘how is he going to cope and how is he going to be?’. As you can see from the stats, they speak for themselves.

“It’s been a good season with winning a trophy also. It was a big thing for me, I haven’t won many trophies, but being part of that one was a big moment.”

Khan Younis, Gaza – Yazan Musleh, 13, lies in a hospital bed set up in a tent on the grounds of Nasser Hospital, his t-shirt pulled up to reveal a large white bandage on his thin torso.

Beside him, his father, Ihab, sits fretfully, still shaken by the bloodied dawn he and his sons lived through on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of people gathered to receive aid from the Israeli-conceived, and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Ihab, 40, had taken Yazan and his 15-year-old brother, Yazid, from their shelter in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, to the Rafah distribution point that the GHF operates.

They set out before dawn, walking for about an hour and a half to get to the al-Alam Roundabout roundabout in Rafah, near the distribution point.

Worried about the size of the gathering, hungry crowd, Ihab told his sons to wait for him on an elevation near the GHF gates.

“When I looked behind the hill, I saw several tanks not far away,” he says. “A feeling of dread came over me. What if they opened fire or something happened? I prayed for God’s protection.”

As the crowd moved closer to the gates, heavy gunfire erupted from all directions.

“I was terrified. I immediately looked towards my sons on the hill, and saw Yazan get shot and collapse,” he recalls.

Yazid, also sitting by his brother’s bedside, describes the moments of terror.

“We were standing on the hill as our father told us, and suddenly, the tanks opened fire.” He says. “My brother was hit in the stomach immediately.”

“I saw his intestines spilling out – it was horrifying. Then people helped rush him to the hospital in a donkey cart.”

Down by the gates, Ihab was struggling to reach his sons, trying to fight against the crowd while avoiding the shots still ringing out.

“Shooting was coming from every direction – from tanks, quadcopters.

“I saw people helping my son, eventually dragging him away.”

When Ihab managed to get away from the crowd, he ran as best as his malnourished body could manage, towards Nasser Hospital, in hopes that Yazan had been taken there. It felt like more than an hour, he says.

At Nasser Hospital, he learned that Yazan had been taken into surgery.

“I finally breathed. I thanked God he was still alive. I had completely lost hope,” he says.

The bullet that hit Yazan had torn through his intestines and spleen, and the doctors say he needs long and intensive treatment.

Sitting by him is his mother, Iman, who asks despairingly why anyone would shoot at people trying to get food. She and Ihab have five children, the youngest is a seven-month-old girl.

“I went to get food for my children. Hunger is killing us,” says Ihab.

“These aid distributions are known to be degrading and humiliating – but we’re desperate. I’m desperate because my children are starving, and even then, we are shot at?”

He had tried to get aid once before, he says, but both times he came away empty-handed.

“The first time, there was a deadly stampede. We barely escaped. This time, my son was wounded and again… nothing,” he says.

But he knows he cannot stop trying.

“I’ll risk it for my family. Either I come back alive or I die. I’m desperate. Hunger is killing us.”

The group distributing aid

The GHF, marketed as a neutral humanitarian mechanism, was launched in early 2025 and uses private US military contractors to “secure the distribution points”.

The GHF’s head, Jake Wood, resigned his post two days before distribution began, citing concerns that the foundation would not be impartial or act in accordance with humanitarian principles.

Five days later, on May 30, the Boston Consulting Group, which had been part of the planning and implementation of the foundation, withdrew its team and terminated its association with GHF.

International aid organisations have been unanimous in criticising the GHF and its methods.

‘We went looking for food for our hungry children’

Lying nearby in the tent ward is Mohammed al-Homs, 40, a father of five.

He had also headed out early on Sunday to try to get some food for his family, but moments after arriving at the al-Alam Roundabout roundabout, “I was shot twice – once in the leg and once in the mouth, shattering my front teeth,” he says.

“I collapsed, there were so many injured and dead around me. Everyone was screaming and running. Gunfire was coming from tanks, drones everywhere. It felt like the end of the world.”

He lay bleeding on the ground for what felt like an hour, as medical teams were not able to reach the injured.

Then, word spread that the gates had opened for distribution, and those who could move started heading towards the centre.

It was only then that people could start moving the wounded to a nearby medical point.

“This was my first time trying to get aid, and it will be my last,” Mohammed says.

“I didn’t expect to survive. We went looking for food for our hungry children and were met with drones and tanks.”

‘I never imagined I’d face death for a box of food’

Also in the tent is someone who had succeeded in getting an aid package on the first day of distribution, on May 27, and decided to try again on Sunday: 36-year-old Khaled al-Lahham.

Al-Lahham is taking care of 10 family members: his parents, one aunt, and seven siblings, all of whom are displaced in the tents of al-Mawasi.

He had managed to catch a ride with five friends that morning, driving as close as they could to the al-Alam Roundabout roundabout.

As the distribution time approached, the six friends started getting out of the car.

“Suddenly, there was loud gunfire all around and people screaming. I felt a sharp pain in my leg – a bullet had passed clean through my thigh,” says Khaled, who did not make it fully out of the car.

“I was screaming and bleeding while people around me ran and screamed. The shooting was frenzied,” he adds. “There were tanks, quadcopters – fire came from every direction.”

Injured, Khaled could not get out of the car and huddled there until one of his friends managed to return and drive him to the hospital.

“I never imagined I’d face death for a box of food,” Khaled says.

“If they don’t want to distribute the aid, why do they lie to people and kill them like this?

“This is all deliberate. Humiliate us, degrade us, then kill us – for food?”