Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir taunts jailed Palestinian leader
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BBC News
12 minutes ago
- BBC News
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Frank Gardner BBC Security Correspondent Getty Images It is quite possible that Monday's meeting in the White House could prove even more crucial to the future of Ukraine - and for all of Europe's security - than last Friday's US-Russia summit in Alaska. On the surface, that Putin-Trump reunion seemed to live down to every expectation. There was no ceasefire, no sanctions, no grand announcements. Were Ukraine and Europe about to get cut out of a deal cooked up behind closed doors by the world's two foremost nuclear powers? Not, apparently, if Ukraine and its partners can prevent it. The presence of Sir Keir Starmer, President Macron, Chancellor Merz and other leaders alongside President Zelensky in Washington is about more than making sure he does not get ambushed in the Oval Office again, in the way he did on 28 February. They are determined to impress upon Donald Trump two things: firstly, that there can be no peace deal for Ukraine without Ukraine's direct involvement and secondly, that it must be backed by 'cast-iron' security guarantees. Above all, Europe's leaders want the US President to see that Ukraine and Europe present a united front and they are eager to ensure he is not being swayed by his obvious personal rapport with Vladimir Putin into giving in to the Russian leaders' demands. Watch: How the Trump-Putin summit unfolded... in under 2 minutes This is where the Sir Keir Starmer's diplomatic skills will be sorely tested. Trump likes Starmer and listens to him, and in a month's time Trump will be coming to the UK on a state visit. He also likes Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary-General who will be in attendance, a man who is sometimes called 'the Trump Whisperer'. The US President appears to be less fond of President Macron and the White House was sharply critical recently of his intention to unconditionally recognise a Palestinian state at the next UN General Assembly. For a peace deal in Ukraine to have any chance of working, something has to give. European leaders have said frequently that international borders cannot be changed by force and President Zelensky has said time and time again he will not give up land and besides, Ukraine's constitution forbids it. But Putin wants the Donbas, which his forces already control around 85 per cent of, and he has absolutely no intention of ever handing back Crimea. Yet as the former Estonian PM and now Europe's top diplomat Kaja Kallas once said to me: victory for Ukraine in this war does not have to be exclusively about reconquering occupied land. If Ukraine can obtain the sort of Article 5-type security guarantees now being talked about, sufficient to deter any future Russian aggression and thereby safeguard its independence as a free and sovereign state, then that would be a form of victory. It does now appear that what the US and Russia have been discussing is a proposal that broadly trades some Ukrainian land for security guarantees that it won't have to give up any more to Russia. But the question marks are huge. Could Ukraine accept a deal that ends the war but costs it land, especially when so many thousands have died trying to save that land? If it is asked to give up the remaining 30 per cent of Donetsk Oblast that Russia has yet to occupy then does that leave the path westwards to Kyiv dangerously under-defended? And what of Starmer's much-vaunted Coalition of the Willing? Earlier talk of deploying tens of thousands of boots on the ground have since been scaled back. Now it's more about 'safeguarding skies and seas' while helping Ukraine to rebuild its army. But even if peace does break out on the battlefield we are still in dangerous territory. Every military expert I have spoken to believes that the moment the fighting stops Putin will reconstitute his army, build more weapons, until he is in a position, perhaps in as little as three to four years, to grab more land. If and when that happens it will be a brave Typhoon or F35 pilot who is prepared to fire that first missile on an advancing Russian column. Zelensky and allies head to White House for Ukraine talks
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shock new poll shows what Aussies really think about Anthony Albanese's performance
The percentage of voters happy with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 's performance outnumbers those dissatisfied for the first time in two years, a new poll shows. The Newspoll, published in The Australian on Monday, indicates Mr Albanese's federal Labor Party retains a solid two-party-preferred lead over the Coalition at 56 per cent to 44 per cent. The previous Newspoll, taken in July, had Labor ahead by 57 per cent to 43 per cent. The latest survey said Labor's primary vote was unchanged at 36 per cent, while the Coalition's support rose one percentage point to 30 per cent. The Greens were steady on 12 per cent, One Nation was up one point to nine per cent, and backing for the independents and minor parties category dipped two points to 13 per cent. Mr Albanese's previous net approval rating of zero improved in the new poll to plus three, with 49 per cent of voters satisfied with his performance and 46 per cent dissatisfied. It marks Mr Albanese's first positive net approval rating in a Newspoll since September 2023. Coalition leader Sussan Ley's net approval rating is at minus nine, deteriorating from the minus seven result she received in the prior month. About 21 per cent of respondents to the Newspoll indicated it was still too early to judge her performance. On the question of who would be the better prime minister, 51 per cent said Mr Albanese, 31 per cent said Ms Ley, and 18 per cent were uncommitted - with the latter option gaining two points since the last Newspoll and the leaders each dropping one point. The Newspoll of 1,283 voters was conducted online between August 11 and August 14. Meanwhile, another poll published on Monday by Nine shows voter support for the government's plan to recognise Palestinian statehood is split. The Resolve poll shows 36 per cent don't believe recognition will affect the situation in the Middle East, while 25 per cent believe it will. The remaining 40 per cent were unsure. 'The feedback is that this move is largely symbolic, which is not to devalue the power of symbols,' pollster Jim Reed told Nine. 'But in this case, people don't think Australia's actions will make much, if any, difference on the ground in Gaza.' Australia plans to join France, Canada and the UK in recognising Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York next month. Asked if Australia should wait until Hamas, which controls Gaza, is replaced or until Palestine considers recognising Israel's right to exist, 32 per cent agreed. Another 24 per cent said recognition should happen regardless of who's in power. The Resolve poll of 1,800 voters was taken between August 11–16.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Tens of thousands of protesters gather in Tel Aviv to demand end to Gaza war
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel since the start of the fighting in October 2023. The rally on Sunday evening was the culmination of a day of nationwide protests and a general strike to pressure the government to halt the military campaign. 'Bring them all home! Stop the war!' shouted the vast crowd, which had converged on the so-called Hostage Square in Tel Aviv plaza – a focal point for protesters throughout the war. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the initiator of the day of protest, estimated that about 500,000 people joined the demonstration in Tel Aviv – a figure not confirmed by the police. 'We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war,' said Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan and a leading figure of the protest movement. 'We demand what is rightfully ours – our children. The Israeli government has transformed a just war into a pointless war.' National media published a video message by Matan Zangauker on Sunday, in which the hostage, weak and emaciated, addressed his family and told them he missed them. The video was filmed by Hamas and found in Gaza by the army, the family said. 'This is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages,' demonstrator Ofir Penso, 50, told AFP. The protests come more than a week after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City, 22 months into a war that has created a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group vowed on Sunday that protesters would 'shut down the country' with the goal of bringing back the hostages and ending the war. Throughout Israel, demonstrators blocked traffic arteries, set tyres on fire and clashed with the police. More than 30 protesters were arrested, law enforcement said. Netanyahu criticised the protesters, saying their actions 'not only harden Hamas's position and draw out the release of our hostages, but also ensure that the horrors of 7 October will reoccur'. Egypt said in recent days mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce deal that includes hostages being released, after the last round of talks in Qatar ended without a breakthrough. Some Israeli government members who oppose any deal with Hamas hit out at Sunday's demonstrations. Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, decried a 'perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas' and calls for 'surrender'. However, Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, condemned the government for 'attacking the families of the hostages' while 'bearing responsibility for the captivity of their children by Hamas for nearly two years'. Israel's military offensive has killed at least 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, most of them civilians. The figure does not include the thousands believed to be buried under rubble or the thousands killed indirectly as a consequence of the war.
