Six In The Morning Monday 22 September 2025

 

Israel keeps pummeling Gaza as support grows for Palestinian state

By Federica Marsi and Caolán Magee

• At least 37 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the enclave since dawn, including 30 in Gaza City.
• France and Saudi Arabia are due to convene dozens of world leaders to rally support for a two-state solution, with several of them expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state – a move that could draw harsh Israeli and US responses.
• The development comes a day after Canada, Australia, and Portugal joined the United Kingdom in formally recognising Palestinian statehood.

Singapore to sanction Israeli settler leaders, supports Palestine statehood

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, speaking in parliament, has chided those Israeli politicians who have spoken about annexing parts of the occupied West Bank or Gaza, the two Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

“We call on the Israeli government to cease settlement construction and expansion,” he said, citing the so-called E1 settlement project as fragmenting the West Bank. “We oppose ongoing attempts to create new facts on the ground which undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.”

UN and rights groups condemn reported jailing of Wuhan Covid citizen journalist

Zhang Zhan sentenced to four years for second time on charge often used by China to target government critics

Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent

Mon 22 Sep 2025 12.23 BST

The UN, human rights groups and media freedom watchdogs have condemned reports that Zhang Zhan, a Chinese citizen journalist, was sentenced to jail for the second time last week.

Zhang, 42, is thought to have stood trial in Shanghai on Friday on a charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a charge often used in China to target critics of the government. Western diplomats were reportedly turned away from observing the trial.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a media freedom NGO, said on Saturday that Zhang had been sentenced to four years in prison.

Pakistan: 3 transgender women shot dead in Karachi

Matt Ford with AP, AFP

The bodies of three transgender women were found on a roadside, having seemingly been shot at close range. It was the second attack in a week on transgender people in Pakistan's largest city.

Three transgender women were shot and killed on the outskirts of Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, this weekend, local police confirmed on Monday.

The victims, whose bodies were found on a roadside on Sunday, appeared to have been shot at close range, and were later buried in a local graveyard.

Ordering a probe into the shooting, Murad Ali Shah, chief minister of Pakistan's southeastern Sindh province, said "transgender [people] are an oppressed section of society," adding: "We must all give them dignity and respect."

Foreign journalists under pressure as Trump plans to slash visas

Foreign journalists are facing mounting pressure in the United States as the Trump administration prepares to slash correspondent visas and issues warnings seen as veiled threats, raising concerns among media groups about press freedom.

When US President Donald Trump berated an Australian reporter for asking an unpleasant question, his colleagues took that as a warning.

With the administration planning to slash correspondent visas and issuing not-so-veiled warnings, foreign journalists find themselves under pressure in the United States.

Earlier this week, a journalist from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation asked Trump about his business dealings while in office. Trump was visibly irritated.

Prominent Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah pardoned by president’s office

 Egyptian authorities on Monday announced the presidential pardon of prominent activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who has been in prison for almost all of the past 12 years.

A statement from the president’s office said that another five prisoners were also pardoned. It wasn’t immediately clear when they will walk free.

The activist’s lawyer, Khaled Ali, told The Associated Press on Monday that Abd el-Fattah is expected to be released from Wadi Natron Prison, just north of Cairo, immediately after the state’s decision is published in the country’s official gazette, which he expects is likely within the next two days.

Survey: Takaichi favored by general public in LDP election

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

September 22, 2025 at 15:41 JST

Sanae Takaichi is the general public’s preferred candidate in the leadership race of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, but Shinjiro Koizumi is the most popular among party supporters, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

The official campaign kicked off on Sept. 22 for the Oct. 4 election, in which only LDP lawmakers, party members and certain supporters can vote.

The self-identified LDP supporters in the survey may or may not have voting rights in the presidential election.