Jerusalem — Israel won’t accept the presence of Turkish armed forces in Gaza under a US plan to end war in the Palestinian territory for good, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
US President Donald Trump’s plan includes an international force in Gaza to help secure a fragile ceasefire which began this month, halting two years of war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
But it remains unclear whether Arab and other states will be ready to commit troops to the international force. “Countries that want or are ready to send armed forces should be at least fair to Israel,” Saar said at a news conference in Budapest.
Once warm Turkish-Israeli relations soured drastically during the Gaza war, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan lambasting Israel’s devastating air and ground campaign in the small Palestinian enclave. Reuters
UN urges Myanmar military to end ‘deplorable’ violence
Kuala Lumpur — Myanmar’s military rulers must put an end to the “deplorable” violence inflicted on the population since 2021 and find a “credible path” back to civilian government, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Guterres said the military takeover had not only “piled calamity upon calamity” on Myanmar but also threatened regional stability.
“I reiterate my call for an immediate end to the violence, a genuine commitment to inclusive dialogue and a credible path back to civilian rule,” he said.
Since the 2021 coup against the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar has been locked in turmoil, with an armed rebellion seizing control of large swathes of territory. Reuters
UK optimistic on swift Gulf trade deal, Reeves says
Riyadh — British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday she was confident a trade deal with Gulf countries can be done quickly after she had “really good” meetings in Riyadh about an agreement that could help her plan to speed up economic growth.
“I am really confident we can get that deal over the line,” she said at a forum held in the Saudi capital, adding she was hopeful that the agreement could be reached “very soon”.
Reeves, making the first visit to the region by a British finance minister in six years, will seek to advance trade talks while attending Saudi Arabia’s flagship investment summit.
She planned to use the trip to speak with her counterparts from Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar to try to progress a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council — a six-nation group.
British administrations have sought to reach an agreement with the GCC after Britain left the European Union in 2020. Reuters
New arrest order for Istanbul’s mayor amid espionage claim
Istanbul — A Turkish court issued a fresh arrest order for Istanbul’s jailed mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, on Monday on suspicion of “political espionage”, marking a new stage in an unprecedented crackdown on President Tayyip Erdogan’s opponents.
It is not unusual for Turkish courts to issue formal arrest orders for people already in custody when a new investigation is launched. Critics say the courts are politicised, an allegation rejected by the government, which says they are independent.
Some analysts said the move against Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival, could lead to the state seizing control of the municipality of Istanbul, which is Europe’s largest city.
The espionage probe marks an escalation of a year-long legal crackdown on the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which the government’s critics see as damaging Turkey’s democratic credentials. Reuters
Berlin downplays tension after China trip cancelled
Berlin — China and Germany sought on Monday to downplay suggestions of rising tension between the world’s second and third largest economies, after German foreign minister Johann Wadephul postponed his first trip to Beijing.
Wadephul was originally due in the Chinese capital from Sunday on the first visit by a minister of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government, but cancelled at the last minute after the Chinese acceded to just one of his meeting requests. Reuters
