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Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi welcomed the plan announced by US President Donald Trump regarding ending the war in the Gaza Strip. The Secretary General considered that any international effort aimed at ending the crisis and putting a stop to the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip deserves praise, engagement, and contribution. He affirmed that a ceasefire, the direct and rapid lifting of restrictions on aid delivery, preventing the displacement of the population from the Strip and protecting them, are priorities that should be at the core of any responsible international action. He stressed that the success of any initiative is contingent on the seriousness of its implementation and on ensuring the protection of civilians and providing suitable conditions for stability. GCC Secretary General indicated that the Cooperation Council views the proposed steps positively, as they could contribute to paving a genuine and just path that guarantees the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. He also underscored the Cooperation Council's readiness to cooperate with regional and international partners to support every effort that leads to ending the crisis in the Gaza Strip and formulating a solution that preserves all the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, based on the two-state solution, and achieves security and stability in the region.

The Italian government welcomed the proposal announced by US President Donald Trump to end the war in the Gaza Strip, affirming its support for all efforts aimed at ending the war. A statement from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers said that this proposal could be "a turning point, allowing for a permanent cessation of the hostilities, full and safe humanitarian access for the civilian population to be achieved." The Italian government expressed its readiness to play its role in close coordination with the United States, European partners, and regional actors, adding that ending hostilities is also crucial to addressing the dire humanitarian crisis affecting civilians in the Gaza Strip, a tragedy that is unjustifiable and completely unacceptable. According to the statement, the Italian government urged all parties to seize this opportunity and accept the proposal, stressing that a just and lasting peace in the Middle East is possible, with two states living side by side in peace and security.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised his US counterpart, Donald Trump, for his efforts to end the war in the Gaza Strip. "I commend US President Donald Trump's efforts and leadership aimed at halting the bloodshed in Gaza and achieving a ceasefire," Erdogan said via X platform. The Turkish president added that Turkiye would continue to support the diplomatic process, aiming to establish "a just and lasting peace acceptable to all parties."

At least four killed and dozens injured in mass Russian attackUkraine says more sanctions are needed against RussiaAttack on Kyiv is one of most sustained of the war so farMoscow says it targeted military-industrial enterprisesRussia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early on Sunday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, in one of the most sustained attacks on the capital since the full-scale war began.Neighbouring Poland closed its airspace near two southeastern cities and its air force scrambled jets in response until the danger had passed.Ukraine's military said that Russia launched 595 drones and 48 missiles overnight and its air defences shot down 568 drones and 43 missiles. It noted that the main target of the strike was the capital Kyiv.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attack, which lasted more than 12 hours, damaged a cardiology clinic, factories and residential buildings.Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday it had carried out a "massive" attack on Ukraine using long-range air and sea-based weapons and drones to target military infrastructure, including airfields.Moscow has denied targeting civilians in its war against Ukraine, although thousands have been killed and residential areas extensively damaged by its attacks.Zelenskiy again urged the international community to act decisively to cut off Russia's energy revenues that fund its invasion. Ukraine has so far failed to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to impose punitive sanctions on Moscow."The time for decisive action is long overdue, and we count on a strong response from the United States, Europe, the G7, and the G20," he said on the Telegram messaging app.Kyiv awoke to loud explosions, drones flying overhead and air defences booming. Smoke from one of the strike sites drifted across the morning sky as the air raid alert ended at 09:13 a.m. (0613 GMT), nearly seven hours after it began.Reuters journalists visited an area in the suburbs of Kyiv, where rows of newly built homes were almost totally destroyed, and parked cars flattened by falling debris.Residents sifted through the wreckage of an apartment block after their windows were blown in by the force of a blast.Some people hurried to metro stations underground, from where they followed events on their mobile phones.Attacks on such a scale have stretched Ukraine's limited air defences throughout 2025. Zelenskiy said on Saturday an additional Patriot missile system from Israel had been deployed and he expected two more to arrive this autumn.He and other officials have asked international partners for more to protect Ukraine's skies, but air defence systems are limited in availability and other nations are keen to bolster their defences amid perceived threats from Russia.Zelenskiy said Sunday's attack targeted several regions, including the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, where authorities said at least 16 people were injured.Emergency services said at least four people were killed, while 67 people were reported wounded across the country by local authorities.Among the fatalities was a 12-year-old girl, although that has not been officially confirmed, Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian Army said that the total combat losses of Russian forces since the start of the war on Ukrainian territory—from Feb. 24, 2022, to Sep. 25, 2025—amount to approximately 1,105,490 personnel, including 940 killed or wounded in the past 24 hours.The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement that the Russian army has lost 11,201 tanks, 23,287 armored combat vehicles, 33,133 artillery systems, 1,501 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), 1,222 air defense systems, 426 aircraft, 345 helicopters, 63,235 operational-tactical UAVs, 3,747 cruise missiles, 28 warships/boats, 1 submarine, 62,736 vehicles and fuel tanks, and 3,975 units of special equipment, according to Ukraine news agency (Ukrinform).Russia and Ukraine have been exchanging reports almost daily since the beginning of the war without independent verification of these claims due to the conditions of the war and ongoing battles since Feb. 24, 2022.

International Criminal Court prosecutors have charged former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his "war on drugs."A heavily redacted charge sheet dated July 4 but only made public on Monday lays out the accusations against the 80-year-old former leader, currently sitting in ICC detention in The Hague.The first count concerns his alleged involvement as a co-perpetrator in 19 murders carried out between 2013 and 2016 while Duterte was mayor of Davao City.The second count relates to 14 murders of so-called "High Value Targets" in 2016 and 2017 when Duterte was president.And the third charge is about 43 murders committed during "clearance" operations of lower-level alleged drug users or pushers.These took place across the Philippines between 2016 and 2018, the prosecution alleged."The actual scale of victimisation during the charged period was significantly greater, as reflected in the widespread nature of the attack," said the ICC prosecutors."The attack included thousands of killings, which were perpetrated consistently throughout the charged period," they alleged.The charges against Duterte stem from his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups said killed thousands.The arrest warrant issued for Duterte on March 7 contained one charge of crimes against humanity relating to 43 alleged murders.The prosecutors' charges came on the eve of what was scheduled to be Duterte's appearance at the ICC to hear the accusations against him.However that sitting was postponed as the court weighs whether Duterte is fit to hear the charges.His lawyer Nicholas Kaufman has said his client is not able to stand trial "as a result of cognitive impairment in multiple domains".Kaufman has urged the ICC to postpone proceedings against Duterte indefinitely.Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11, flown to the Netherlands that same night and has been held at the ICC's detention unit at Scheveningen Prison since.At his initial hearing, he followed by video link, appearing dazed and frail, barely speaking.

Britain, Australia, Canada and Portugal on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a coordinated, historic shift in decades of Western foreign policy, triggering swift anger from Israel.Other countries, including France, are due to follow Monday at the annual UN General Assembly opening in New York.Israel has come under huge international pressure over its war against Hamas in Gaza, which has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the statehood moves, later vowing to expand Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Netanyahu spoke after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was formally recognising the State of Palestine "to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution".The UK and Canada became the first members of the Group of Seven advanced economies to take the step, with Australia following suit.Portugal said Sunday it recognises a Palestinian state, making it the latest Western nation to make the symbolic move as the war in Gaza shows no sign of ending."Recognizing the State of Palestine is therefore the fulfilment of a fundamental, consistent, and widely agreed policy," Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel told reporters in New York."Portugal advocates the two-state solution as the only path to a just and lasting peace, one that promotes coexistence and peaceful relations between Israel and Palestine," he added.Three-quarters of UN members now recognise Palestinian statehood, with at least 144 of the 193 member countries having taken the step.Canada "offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future", Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X.Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the move "recognises the legitimate and long held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own".Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas hailed the recognitions as "an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace".French President Emmanuel Macron insisted in an interview with a US television network that releasing the hostages captured in 2023 would be "a requirement very clearly before opening, for instance, an embassy in Palestine".It is a watershed moment for Palestinians and their ambitions for statehood, with the most powerful Western nations having long argued it should only come as part of a negotiated peace deal with Israel.Although a largely symbolic move, it puts those countries at odds with the US and Israel.US President Donald Trump said last week after talks with Starmer during a state visit to the UK that "one of our few disagreements" was over Palestinian statehood.A growing number of longtime Israeli allies have shifted their long-held positions as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive.The Gaza Strip has suffered vast destruction, with a growing international outcry over the besieged coastal territory's spiralling death toll and a UN-declared famine.The UK government has come under increasing public pressure to act, with thousands of people rallying every month on the streets. A poll released by YouGov on Friday showed two-thirds of British people aged 18-25 supported Palestinian statehood.

Seven Palestinians were martyred and others wounded today in ongoing Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, marking the 704th day of the genocidal war waged by the Israeli entity. Field sources reported that five aid seekers were martyred by Israeli occupation forces' fire southwest of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. A Palestinian was also martyred as a result of Israeli artillery shelling targeting firewood collectors north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, while a girl was wounded as a result of the occupation forces firing several shells indiscriminately at the Bureij refugee camp. In Gaza City, Civil Defense reported that more than 25 people were missing under the rubble after Israeli aircraft targeted a family home in the Shati refugee camp, west of the city. Field teams succeeded in rescuing a man and a woman from under the rubble of the targeted house, and recovered the body of only one martyr, while the others remained missing under the rubble. The crews are trying to extract and retrieve them in the absence of the necessary tools and equipment. Israeli drones fired explosive bombs in the vicinity of the Ghazali intersection in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, northwest of the city, and also fired smoke bombs in the skies over the Tuffah neighborhood. The death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 64,522 martyrs and 163,096 wounded. The Israeli occupation resumed its aggression against the Gaza Strip after violating the nearly two-month-long ceasefire agreement on March 18. The attacks targeted various areas of the Strip, which is already facing an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy after 22 months of war.

Spain on Monday banned ships and aircraft carrying weapons to Israel from calling at Spanish ports or entering its airspace due to Israel's military offensive in Gaza, measures the Israeli foreign minister denounced as antisemitic.Spain, which recognised a Palestinian state in May 2024 and has been a vocal critic of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip, responded to Gideon Saar's comments by summoning its ambassador in Tel Aviv back for consultations.On top of the ban on ships and aircraft delivering weapons or military-grade jet fuel to Israel, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government said it would not allow anyone who has participated directly in "genocide" in Gaza to enter Spain.Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip in October, 2023, after fighters from Hamas attacked Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages.Spain's Foreign Ministry said that Sanchez's measures were in line with public sentiment in Spain and reflected Madrid's support for peace, human rights and international law.It said Spain was committed to fighting antisemitism, pointing to the granting of Spanish citizenship to 72,000 Sephardic Jews - descendants of those expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century.

A gentle study of dysfunctional families by veteran American director Jim Jarmusch clinched top prize at the Venice Film Festival Saturday, while a harrowing docu-drama about the Gaza war took second. Jarmusch's *Father Mother Sister Brother starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Tom Waits, drew mostly positive reviews for its humourous portrayal of awkwardness and guilt. The *Broken Flowers director, who wrote the script for three family get-togethers in upstate New York, Dublin and Paris, had called it "a kind of anti-action film". "Thank you for appreciating our quiet film," he said during his acceptance speech. In a move that might disappoint campaigners against the Gaza war, the Venice jury under American director Alexander Payne did not reward *The Voice of Hind Rajab with the Golden Lion. Instead, the film about a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli troops last year, which reduced many festival viewers to tears, was given the grand jury second prize. Director Kaouther Ben Hania produced a dramatised re-telling of Hind Rajab Hamada's ordeal after she was trapped in a car that came under fire while she and her relatives were fleeing Gaza City. It was the most talked about movie on the Venice Lido and tipped by many as the likely winner after a 23-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Wednesday. Hind Rajab's story "is not hers alone", Ben Hania said as she accepted her award. "It is tragically the story of an entire people enduring genocide, inflicted by a criminal Israeli regime that acts with impunity," she added. Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix as well as Oscar-winning directors Jonathan Glazer (*The Zone of Interest) and Mexico's Alfonso Cuaron (*Roma) joined the film as executive producers after editing had been completed. Jarmusch signalled his opposition to Israel's continued siege and bombardment of Gaza by wearing a badge saying "Enough" on the red carpet for the Venice awards ceremony. BEST ACTORS Elsewhere Saturday, China's Xin Zhilei won the best actress award for her role in *The Sun Rises on Us All directed by Cai Shangjun. The 39-year-old actress plays a woman trying to make amends with her former lover, who served time in prison for a crime she had committed. Italy's Toni Servillo won the best actor award after wowing audiences in Paolo Sorrentino's *La Grazia, playing a principled politician facing a moral dilemma. The veteran film and stage actor portrayed an Italian president at the end of his career wrestling with whether or not to sign a bill to legalise euthanasia. Big-budget productions such as Netflix's *Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro and *Jay Kelly by Noah Baumbach as well as Yorgos Lanthimos's *Bugonia with Emma Stone went home empty-handed. In the secondary *Orizzonti (*Horizons) section of the festival, Mexican truck driver drama *En el Camino by David Pablos scooped top prize. *Father Mother Sister Brother is the first Jarmusch film to compete at Venice. The American had previously opted to showcase his productions at rival festival Cannes. Film bible *Variety said his film had his "trademark wry humour but also new notes of mellow, generous wisdom". Screen called it a "tender family triptych". Critics were broadly positive about the line-up of films in Venice this year. The festival is an important launch platform for big-budget international productions and arthouse films. Several previous winners of the prestigious Golden Lion have gone on to Oscar glory, such as *Nomadland and *Joker. *The Smashing Machine by American director Benny Safdie, a touching film about late 1990s mixed martial-arts (MMA) pioneer Mark Kerr, picked up the third-place directing prize Saturday. *The Hollywood Reporter called the film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson a "compellingly gritty and offbeat biopic", while Johnson was even tipped by some for a best actor award. *Sotto le Nuvole (Below the Clouds), a sumptuous documentary about Naples by acclaimed Italian documentary maker Gianfranco Rosi, won a special jury prize. The Gaza conflict has been a major talking point throughout this year's festival and many prize winners mentioned the war while on stage on Saturday night. An open letter calling on festival organisers to denounce the Israeli government over its offensive in Gaza has been signed by around 2,000 cinema insiders, according to the organisers.

The World Health Organisation chief Friday urged Israel to stop the "catastrophe" of people starving to death in Gaza, saying at least 370 people have died from malnutrition since the war began."This is a catastrophe that Israel could have prevented, and could stop at any time," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters."Starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime that can never be tolerated: doing so in one conflict risks legitimising its use in future conflicts," he said.His comments came two weeks after the UN declared a famine in Gaza, blaming the "systematic obstruction" of humanitarian deliveries by Israel.Israel has vehemently denied that its actions had caused famine in Gaza.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported Friday that 373 people, including 134 children, had died from starvation and malnutrition in the besieged Palestinian territory since the war there erupted in October 2023.Tedros repeated the number and said that it included "more than 300 just in the past two months"."People are starving to death while the food that could save them sits on trucks a short distance away," he lamented."The most intolerable part of this man-made disaster is that it could be stopped right now," he said, questioning why Israel was allowing the situation to persist."The starvation of the people of Gaza will not make Israel safer, nor will it facilitate the release of the hostages," he insisted.The WHO chief also stressed that "where hunger goes, disease follows"."Lack of food and clean water and cramped living conditions are leaving people with weakened immune systems exposed to more disease," he said.He said that in the past month alone, more than 100 cases had been reported of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can occur after other infection and lead to paralysis.He also decried that there are currently more than 15,000 patients in Gaza in need of urgent specialised care who are awaiting evacuation."More than 700 people have died while waiting for medical evacuation, including almost 140 children," he said."We call on the government of Israel to end this inhumane war," Tedros said."If it will not, I call on its allies to use their influence to stop it."

The Gulf countries and the entire Middle East region are going through extraordinary times since the outbreak of open war between Iran and Israel in last June, noted several experts at a panel discussion.Organised by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs earlier this week, the discussion ‘ Rethinking Gulf Security Following the Iran- Israel War' brought four experts on the topic who delved deep into current developments and their implications. They felt that the outbreak of an open war between Iran and Israel in June has considerably intensified challenges to Gulf security.Sanam Vakil, director, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House said that the countries in the region are going through a period very much defined by geopolitical competition. She noted that there are a lot of questions about consistency in these countries' relationship with the United States and the reliability of US as a security partner.“Conflicts have doubled across the world, and we are, of course, seeing that in the region, but we don't have to look too far from the Middle East itself to see the devastating impact of a conflict. And multilateralism and the investment of the international community is not just stabilising conflicts. Settling conflicts is also proving to be ineffective. We see this very visibly in Gaza,” said Vakil.The panelists also noted that the region is confronting complicated questions including charting the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and Israel’s increasing incursions on Gaza, the West Bank, and the wider region.Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East Policy, International Institute for Strategic Studies noted that Israel represents and presents an objective threat to the security of the Arab countries.“There are multiple reasons why that is the case. Most certainly, Israel started a war that I would be fairly confident in saying that probably most or at least perhaps all of the Gulf States did not want to be at war. I think Israel actually presents more of a direct threat because of the fact that it seems to have embraced the view of the region as an open battleground. This has direct security destabilising spillover effects for the Arab and the Gulf States,” explained Alhasan.The panel also noted that diplomatic efforts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran have been significantly undermined by the “12-day war.”According to Yasmine Farouk, director, Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Project, International Crisis Group, the picture is much more complex and difficult to manage. “It is very clear that there is a gap in how the US sees the conflicts and this conflict in this region and how the Gulf countries see them. The Gulf countries see the conflicts of the region as interconnected,” she pointed out.Shahram Akbarzadeh, nonresident senior fellow, Middle East Council said that there is a deep distrust, especially among the leadership of the international system, and how the United States manages to utilise the system to its full advantage. The session was moderated by Adel Abdel Ghafar, senior fellow, Foreign Policy Programme director, Middle East Council.