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Germany and Sweden have pushed back as US President Donald Trump again suggested using force to seize the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland.The US general who is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato)'s supreme commander in Europe said meanwhile that the military alliance was having "healthy" talks on Greenland's importance.Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned the US’s "threatening rhetoric" after Trump repeated that Washington was "going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not"."On the contrary, the United States should thank Denmark, which over the years has been a very loyal ally," he said at a conference on Swedish defence. "Sweden, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, and several major European countries stand together with our Danish friends."Kristersson stressed that a US takeover of the mineral-rich Arctic territory would be "a violation of international law and risks encouraging other countries to act in exactly the same way"."It is a dangerous path to take," he added.Meanwhile, Germany reiterated its support for Denmark and Greenland ahead of meetings in Washington today.Before talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadehpul was due to stop in Reykjavik to address the "strategic challenges of the Far North", according to the foreign ministry statement."The legitimate interests of all Nato allies, as well as those of the inhabitants of the (Arctic) region, must be at the centre of our discussions," Wadehpul said in the statement."It is clear that it is exclusively up to Greenland and Denmark to decide questions of Greenland's territory and sovereignty," he previously told Germany's *Bild daily."We are strengthening security in the Arctic together, as Nato allies, and not against one another," German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said ahead of a global summit on critical raw materials in Washington.European capitals have scrambled to co-ordinate a response after the White House said this week that Trump wanted to buy Greenland and refused to rule out military action.Trump says controlling the island is crucial for US national security given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic.Nato Supreme Allied Commander General Alexus Grynkewich told the Swedish defence conference that alliance members were having talks on Greenland's future.The US general added that while there was "no immediate threat" to Nato territory, the Arctic's strategic importance is fast growing.Grynkewich said he would not comment on "the political dimensions of recent rhetoric" but that the 32 member alliance was holding talks on Greenland within its North Atlantic Council."Those dialogues continue in Brussels. They have been healthy dialogues from what I've heard," the general said. "Members of the alliance, who have worked together for so many years, are talking together and working through these thorny issues."A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark.The vast majority of its population and political parties have said that they do not want to be under US control and insist Greenlanders must decide their future."I don't think there's an immediate threat to Nato territory right now," Grynkewich told the defence conference.However, he said Russian and Chinese vessels had been seen patrolling together on Russia's northern coast and near Alaska and Canada, seeking to work together to get greater access to the Arctic as ice recedes from global warming.Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported Sunday that Nordic diplomats rejected Trump's claims of Russian and Chinese vessels operating near Greenland.There have been no signs of Russian or Chinese ships or submarines around Greenland in recent years, the *FT said, citing two senior Nordic diplomats with access to Nato intelligence briefings.Reuters could not immediately verify the report.The White House and Nato did not respond to Reuters requests for comment."It is simply not true that the Chinese and Russians are there. I have seen the intelligence. There are no ships, no submarines,” the *FT quoted one senior diplomat as saying.Another Nordic diplomat said claims that waters around Greenland were "crawling” with Russian and Chinese vessels were unfounded, adding that such activity was on the Russian side of the Arctic.Trump has repeatedly said Russian and Chinese vessels are operating near Greenland, a claim Denmark disputes.He has not provided evidence to support it.Vessel tracking data from MarineTraffic and LSEG show no Chinese or Russian ship presence near Greenland. 

China launched live-fire drills around Taiwan Monday that it said would simulate a blockade of the self-ruled island’s key ports, prompting Taipei to condemn Beijing’s “military intimidation”. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has refused to rule out using military action to seize the island democracy. The latest show of force follows a bumper round of arms sales to Taipei by the US, Taiwan’s main security backer. Beijing warned Monday that “external forces” arming Taipei would “push the Taiwan Strait into a perilous situation of imminent war”, but did not mention any countries by name. Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said any attempts to stop China’s unification with Taiwan were “doomed to fail”. Reporters in Pingtan - a Chinese island that is the closest point to Taiwan’s main island - saw two fighter jets soaring across the sky and a Chinese military vessel in the distance. Visitors said they had been unaware of the drills as they milled around snapping photos. A tourist surnamed Guo, from Inner Mongolia, said she thinks a unification will “definitely happen”. “It’s just a matter of time,” she said. China said early Monday it was conducting “live-fire training on maritime targets to the north and southwest of Taiwan” in large-scale exercises involving destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and drones. Military spokesman Shi Yi said Beijing would send army, navy, air force and rocket force troops for drills code-named “Justice Mission 2025”. He said the drills would focus on “sea-air combat readiness patrol, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, blockade on key ports and areas, as well as all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain”. Chinese authorities published a map of five large zones around Taiwan where the war games would take place. Taiwan said China’s designated exercise zones, some of which are within 12 nautical miles of its coast, have affected international shipping and aviation routes. The island’s government condemned China’s “disregard for international norms and the use of military intimidation to threaten neighbouring countries”, presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said. Its defence ministry said it had detected 89 Chinese military aircraft near its shores Monday - the highest number in a single day since October 2024. It also said it had detected 28 warships and coastguard vessels. Taiwan’s civil aviation administration said China had declared a “Temporary Danger Area” for 10 hours today. It also said “more than 100,000 (air) passengers” on 857 domestic, international and transit flights would be affected by the drills today. Taiwan’s military said it had established a response centre, deployed “appropriate forces” and “carried out a rapid response exercise”, while its coastguard said it “immediately deployed large vessels”. The drills by China’s ruling Communist Party “further confirm its nature as an aggressor, making it the greatest destroyer of peace”, Taipei’s defence ministry said. Chinese military spokesman Shi said the drills were “a stern warning against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces, and... a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity”. 

The Israeli occupation forces renewed their incursion into Syrian territory on Sunday, detaining six people.The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said that the Israeli forces detained these young men from the Daraa governorate as they were searching for wild mushrooms in farmlands near the town of Qudna, in the southern Quneitra countryside.SANA added that the occupation forces transferred the detainees to the Tal Al Ahmar Al Gharbi military base, with no information available regarding their fate or the reason behind their detention.The Israeli forces, driving four military vehicles, also carried out an incursion into Saida Al Hanout village in southern Quneitra countryside, where it detained a local young man.

Qatar reaffirmed its firm position in support of the unity of Sudan, the integrity of its territory, and the right of its brotherly people to enjoy security, stability, and a dignified life. This came in Qatar's statement delivered by Her Excellency Permanent Representative of Qatar in Geneva Dr Hend bint Abdulrahman al-Muftah, during the 38th Special Session of the Human Rights Council on human rights situation in and around El-Fasher, Sudan held in Geneva.Her Excellency al-Muftah reiterated Qatar's ongoing commitment to promoting and protecting the human rights of the Sudanese people and rejecting any form of interference in Sudan's internal affairs, particularly those that fuel the ongoing armed conflict and contribute to its prolongation.She expressed Qatar's shock and strong condemnation of the atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces in the city of El Fasher following the recent attack, calling for an end to these violations and crimes and for the perpetrators to be held accountable.She also renewed Qatar's call for an end to the war in Sudan and for a peaceful resolution that ensures the country's unity, preserves its institutions, and safeguards its territorial sovereignty.She stressed that the time has come for the world to pay attention to this humanitarian tragedy and work seriously to end it, as each passing day reveals more atrocities that are paid for by innocent civilians, as witnessed in El-Fasher and its surroundings, with fears of recurrence in other areas unless swift action is taken to stop them.Her Excellency al-Muftah reaffirmed Qatar's solidarity with the Sudanese people during this critical humanitarian situation and its continued provision of all forms of support to alleviate the crisis.She called on the international community to intensify its efforts and respond by providing humanitarian aid to meet the growing needs of the Sudanese people.At the conclusion of its special session, the Human Rights Council adopted, without a vote, a resolution calling for an urgent investigation into recent violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law committed in El-Fasher and surrounding areas.

E1 plan cuts West Bank off from East Jerusalemamilies set to lose access to schools, clinics, livelihoodsSettlements form near-total ring around cityRoad project would isolate Bedouin, split communitiesThe land available to Atallah al-Jahalin’s Bedouin community for grazing livestock near Jerusalem has steadily shrunk, as expanding Jewish settlements on Israeli-occupied territory encircle the city and push deeper into the West Bank.Now, the group of some 80 families faces eviction from the last patches of valley and scrubland they have called home for decades.Their predicament is tied to an Israeli settlement project that would slice through the West Bank, sever its connection to East Jerusalem, and — according to Israeli officials — “bury” any remaining hope of a future Palestinian state.As more Western powers move to recognise a Palestinian state amid frustration over the war in Gaza, Palestinians around Jerusalem say they are watching their land vanish under the advance of Israeli cranes and bulldozers. Settlements now form an almost unbroken ring around the city.“Where else could I go? There is nothing,” said Jahalin, seated beneath a towering cedar tree near Maale Adumim, a settlement that has already grown into a Jewish suburb of Jerusalem on Israeli-occupied Palestinian land.The so-called E1 project, recently greenlit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, will fill the last major gap in the settlement belt — an area that, until now, had remained untouched by construction.“This actually cuts the possibility of a viable Palestinian state,” said Hagit Ofran, of Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group. “The territorial continuity from North to South is going to be totally cut.” Israel previously froze construction plans at Maale Adumim in 2012 and again in 2020, following objections from the US, European allies and other powers who viewed the project as a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians.But in August, Netanyahu and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that work would begin.“Whoever in the world is trying to recognise a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground,” Smotrich said. “Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighbourhoods.”The move was condemned by Australia, Britain, Canada, the European Union and Japan as a breach of international law.Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah condemned the announcement, calling it a violation of international law.The offices of Netanyahu and Smotrich did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.Reflecting growing criticism of the Gaza war — which has devastated much of the enclave on Israel’s southern border — Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday, joining about 140 other countries that have already done so.But the timing highlights a stark contrast between diplomatic gestures and the reality on the ground, where Israeli settlements continue to expand rapidly across the occupied West Bank.Most world powers consider all the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel says it has historical and scriptural ties to the area that it calls Judea and Samaria.A UN report says Israel has significantly expanded settlements in the West Bank in breach of international law.Today, about 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 3.4mn Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.Last month, Jahalin’s community was served demolition orders for their homes and told they had 60 days to tear them down themselves. Israeli security forces accompanied by dogs have repeatedly raided their homes at night, acts the community views as intimidation.“When a child wakes up and sees a dog in his face, he gets frightened, it’s a disaster,” said Mohammed al-Jahalin, Atallah’s brother.Mohammed al-Jahalin said they used to challenge the demolition notices in court, but since the Gaza war, “if you reach out to the court it will give you an immediate evacuation order.” Part of the E1 project includes the so-called “Fabric of Life Road,” which would create separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians, cutting off Palestinian access to large swathes of the West Bank. The road would also sever a vital link between Bedouin communities — like the 22 families living in Jabal Al-Baba — and the nearby Palestinian village of Al-Eizariya.As children, the Jahalin brothers walked down the stony hill to attend school in the bustling town below, and their grandchildren follow the same path today.“We are dependent on Al-Eizariya for education as the children go to school there, for health, for everything, our economic situation is also tied to Al-Eizariya,” said Atallah.A few hills over across a highway, the settlement of Maale Adumim is poised to expand under the E1 plan.“I do feel for the Palestinians,” said Shelly Brinne, a settler living in Maale Adumim, citing their struggles with checkpoints and limited work opportunities.“But unfortunately as an Israeli citizen I feel like I have to worry about my security first.” A spokesperson for the Maale Adumim settlement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Bedouin community came to Jabal Al-Baba after what Palestinians call the “Nakba” or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed in the war at the birth of the state of Israel.“Our forefathers lived the Nakba, and today, we go through all the struggle, which we wish our children do not have to go through,” said Atallah, who is the leader of the community.In the evening one of the men made coffee over an open flame while the rest of the community lounged on cushions and traded jokes as the sun dipped behind the hills.Across the highway, the lights of Maale Adumim’s white high-rises glittered.“There is no place for us to go,” said Mohammed, sipping his coffee. “To leave the land that we were born in, and so were our fathers and forefathers, if we have to leave it, it would be like dying.”

The Israeli military destroyed a high-rise in Gaza City Friday, shortly after announcing it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its planned seizure of the urban hub.Despite mounting pressure at home and abroad to halt its nearly two-year offensive in Gaza, Israel has been calling up reservists, intensifying its bombardments and closing in on Gaza City ever since announcing its intention to capture the Palestinian territory's largest city.AFP footage showed the Mushtaha Tower in the city's Al-Rimal neighbourhood collapsing after a massive explosion at its base, sending a thick cloud of smoke and dust billowing into the sky.AFP photographs of the aftermath showed Palestinians inspecting the rubble and debris of the collapsed building.Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal accused Israel of carrying out "a policy of forced displacement against civilians" in its targeting of high-rise buildings.The agency said Israeli strikes in and around Gaza City killed at least 19 people, among at least 32 Palestinians killed across the territory Friday.A member of Hamas's political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, said Israeli claims the group was operating in the high-rises were "nothing but flimsy pretexts and blatant lies."The UN estimates that nearly 1mn people live in Gaza City and its surroundings, an area where it last month declared a famine.

Israeli reservists began responding to call-up orders Tuesday, swelling the military's ranks ahead of a planned offensive to capture Gaza City after nearly two years of devastating war. Despite mounting pressure at home and abroad to end its campaign, Israel has recently been stepping up operations as it lays the groundwork for seizing the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre.Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 82 people Tuesday across the Strip, which has been in the grips of a major humanitarian crisis for months. Gaza's civil defence agency said 10 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a residential building in the southwest of Gaza City.AFP footage from the aftermath of the strike in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood showed Palestinians carrying a dead girl from the rubble of the top floor. "We were sleeping safely in our homes and suddenly we woke up to the sound of bombing and destruction and found most of our neighbours murdered and injured," said Sanaa al-Dreimli. In Tel Aviv Tuesday, a group of reservists refusing to serve in the war who called themselves "Soldiers for the Hostages" held a public event urging their fellow reservists and active-duty soldiers not to report for service.Israeli media has reported that around 40,000 reservists were being mobilised in the first wave. The UN estimates that nearly a million people live in and around Gaza City, where a famine has been declared. Army chief Eyal Zamir told reservists reporting for duty Tuesday they were being deployed to "enhance the strikes of our operation".The military has intensified its bombardment of Gaza City, and has been operating on its outskirts in recent days. "We are already entering places we have never entered before," Zamir said. Weary Palestinians in Gaza City told AFP they felt helpless and desperate ahead of the looming offensive. "There is no place for us to go, and no means to get there.We are exhausted physically and mentally from displacement and from the war," 60-year-old Amal Abdel-Aal, who lives in a tent in the city's west, told AFP by telephone. In a post on X Tuesday, a military spokesman warned Gazans of the upcoming "expansion of combat operations towards Gaza City". "We wish to remind you that in Al-Mawasi enhanced services will be provided, with an emphasis on access to medical care, water and food," Avichay Adraee said, referring to an area in the south that Israel has designated a humanitarian zone but which has been hit by repeated strikes.In mid-August, the UN human rights office said Palestinians in Al-Mawasi had "little or no access to essential services and supplies". Khalil al-Madhoun, 37, who lives in a partially destroyed apartment in western Gaza City said he had travelled twice to the south looking for somewhere to pitch a tent but found no space. "The centre and the south are completely overcrowded," he told AFP by telephone. Most of Gaza's population of more than two million people has been displaced at least once during the war.

The Israeli military pressed operations around Gaza City Wednesday, as President Donald Trump prepared to host a White House meeting on post-war plans for the shattered Palestinian territory.Israel is under mounting pressure both at home and abroad to end its almost two-year campaign in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine.Mediators have circulated a truce proposal which has been accepted by Palestinian group Hamas, but Israel has yet to give an official response.On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 24 people Wednesday.The Israeli military, which is preparing to conquer Gaza City, said troops were operating on the outskirts of the territory's largest city "to locate and dismantle terror infrastructure sites".As aid groups have warned against expanding the Israeli offensive, the army's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said on X that Gaza City's evacuation was "inevitable".The vast majority of the Gaza Strip's population of more than 2mn people have been displaced at least once during the war.In Jabalia, just north of Gaza City, resident Hamad al-Karawi said he had left his home after a message broadcast from a drone ordered people to evacuate immediately."We scattered out onto the streets with no place or home to take refuge in," he told AFP.The UN estimates that nearly a million people currently live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surroundings in the north of the territory.Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US president was to host top officials at the White House later Wednesday to thrash out a detailed plan for post-war Gaza."It's a very comprehensive plan we're putting together," Witkoff told Fox News, without offering more details.Trump stunned the world earlier this year when he suggested the United States should take control of the Gaza Strip, clear out its inhabitants and redevelop it as seaside real estate.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the proposal which sparked a global outcry.In Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood Wednesday, residents reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight."Warplanes struck several times, and drones fired throughout the night," said Tala al-Khatib, 29."Some neighbours have fled... But wherever you flee, death follows you," she said.AFP footage showed thick smoke rising into the sky following air strikes on parts of Gaza City.Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to destroy the city if Hamas does not agree to end the war on Israel's terms.Zeitoun resident Abdel Hamid al-Sayfi, 62, said he had avoided going outside for more than 24 hours."Whoever steps outside is fired upon by the drones," he told AFP by telephone.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.Speaking after a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Netanyahu declined to share what had been decided.The Israeli leader last week said he ordered immediate negotiations aimed at securing the release of all remaining captives, while also doubling down on the plan to seize Gaza City.Out of 251 hostages seized during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Key mediator Qatar said on Tuesday it was still "waiting for an answer" from Israel on the latest ceasefire proposal, which would see the staggered release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody over an initial 60-day truce.