Israel’s Lapid urges government to lay out post-war plan
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has criticised the government for lacking a plan for the day after the war ends in Gaza.
“Seven months ago I published the program ‘Gaza: The Day After’. I didn’t think the government would take the plan and implement it, but I hoped that Netanyahu would at least implement his own plan in response.
- Hamas says it regards President Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal “positively”, raising hopes of a halt to Israel’s eight-month war that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians – mostly children and women. Nearly 100 killed in the last 24 hours.
- The United States president says the new Israeli proposal for a Gaza truce is “a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages”, adding that “it’s time to end this war.”
- But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on Hamas’s destruction as part of an Israeli plan presented by Biden.
South Africa to embark on new political path after ANC loses majority
After 30 years in power, the African National Congress, which took 40.2% of the vote, must engage in tricky coalition talks with rivals
The African National Congress’s (ANC) three decades of political dominance in South Africa has come to an end after it was announced that it had won just 40.2% of the vote in last week’s general election.
The ANC’s dramatic decline – the first time it has failed to win a majority of the votes since Nelson Mandela led it to victory in the first democratic election in 1994 – will lead to a chaotic round of coalition negotiations, with all of its potential partners posing difficulties.
War with China 'neither imminent nor unavoidable,' US says
The US defense chief has told a security forum that Washington and Beijing must remain in dialogue amid Asia-Pacific tensions. China, for its part, says it sees the US as being the main challenge to peace in the region.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday said a constant dialogue with China and its neighbors was needed to prevent an escalation of current tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, while underscoring Washington's regional security commitment.
Austin's comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore come as the US deepens defense ties with several Asian-Pacific countries in the face of growing territorial assertion by China.
The conference is taking place a week after China carried out military drills around the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, as a "punishment" for comments seen as advocating separatism made in the inauguration speech of new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.
Juno Beach, where locals honour the memory of Canadian D-Day veterans
More than 14,000 volunteer soldiers from across Canada – fighting alongside British and US troops – seized the beaches of Normandy on D-Day to help liberate the region from German occupation. Eighty years since that fatal day in June 1944, a handful of local inhabitants have made it their mission to preserve and pass on the lesser-known stories of Canadian soldiers.
At the break of dawn on June 6, 1944, more than 14,000 Canadian soldiers landed or parachuted on Juno Beach – a 10-kilometre stretch of French coastline in Normandy. Their objective was simple, albeit deadly. Braving intense fire from German defenders, these volunteer servicemen were to take back control of the beach and move inland to liberate the city of Caen from Nazi occupation.
After over a month of intense and bloody fighting in an area that barely covers more than 20 kilometres in total, Canadian and British Allied forces finally liberated Caen on July 9, 1944.
A total of 359 Canadians were killed on D-Day alone and more than 5,000 lost their lives during the Battle of Normandy. Most of them have been laid to rest just a few metres from the battlefields, in two separate cemeteries.
Russia opens a new front: Mapping three key battles in the Ukrainian war
Russia has opened up a new front in its invasion of Ukraine, launching a surprise offensive in the northeastern region of Kharkiv after focusing much of their forces this year on the east.
The assault, which began earlier this month, saw thousands of Russian soldiers punch through the northern border, and forced Ukraine to move in troops from other areas to defend positions.
It serves as an example of how Russia has been exploiting Ukraine’s main vulnerabilities: insufficient manpower, artillery shortages, sparse air defenses and inadequate defensive fortifications.
Philippine president warns China against 'acts of war'
Tessa Wong, BBC News, Singapore
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has warned China not to cross a red line in the South China Sea, where a standoff between the countries continues to escalate.
If any Filipino died as a result of China’s willful actions, he said on Friday, the Philippines would consider it as close to “an act of war” and respond accordingly.
Mr Marcos was speaking at a security forum in Singapore attended by defence chiefs from around the world, including the US's Lloyd Austin.
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