Latest from El Khabar
Asharq Al-Awsat
a few seconds ago
- Sport
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Liverpool Defender Frimpong out for a Few Weeks with Hamstring Injury
Liverpool right back Jeremie Frimpong will be out with a hamstring injury until after the upcoming international break, manager Arne Slot said Thursday. Frimpong was hurt in the 4-2 win over Bournemouth in the opening Premier League game on Friday, coming off in the 60th minute. He will now miss the Premier League games against Newcastle on Monday and then Arsenal, The AP news reported. The Netherlands play Poland and Lithuania in World Cup qualifiers in early September. Slot might be without a designated right back against Newcastle, with another option — Conor Bradley — having recently been injured. Long-time right back Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid during the offseason.
Al Arabiya
a few seconds ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Military options on Ukraine to be presented to national security advisers: US official
Military chiefs from the United States and a number of European countries have developed military options on Ukraine and will be presenting them to their respective national security advisers, a US official told Reuters on Thursday. Reuters has previously reported that US and European military planners have begun exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, following President Donald Trump's pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. 'These options will be presented to each nation's respective national security advisers for appropriate consideration in ongoing diplomatic efforts,' the official said. The official said meetings between the chiefs of defense for the United States, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and Ukraine took place in Washington, D.C., between Tuesday and Thursday. Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Trump's promise during a summit on Monday of security guarantees for Kyiv, but many questions remain unanswered. Officials have cautioned that it would take time for US and European planners to determine what would be both militarily feasible and acceptable to the Kremlin. One option was sending European forces to Ukraine but putting the US in charge of their command and control, sources have told Reuters. Russia's Foreign Ministry has ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO countries to help secure a peace deal.
Morocco World
a few seconds ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Iran Warns Israel of Advanced Missile Response if Conflict Resumes
Casablanca – Iran announced Wednesday that it has developed a new generation of advanced missiles, vowing to use them if Israel launches new attacks, raising fears of another escalation just weeks after a fragile ceasefire ended a 12-day war. 'The missiles used in the 12-day war were manufactured a few years ago,' said Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, quoted by state media. 'Today, we possess missiles with far greater capabilities, and if the Zionist enemy embarks on another adventure, we will undoubtedly use them.' The June conflict was triggered by an Israeli bombing campaign that targeted Iranian commanders, nuclear scientists, and military sites, while also striking residential areas. Iran responded with a wave of missile and drone attacks that it claimed overwhelmed Israel's defenses. The United States briefly joined the fighting with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities before a cessation of hostilities was declared on June 24. Since then, Tehran has repeatedly warned that the truce is tenuous. First Vice President Mohammed Reza Aref said this week that Iran should be 'prepared at every moment for confrontation,' adding: 'We are not even in a ceasefire; we are in a cessation of hostilities.' Iran's army is scheduled to begin a two-day military exercise on Thursday, showcasing a wide range of short and medium range cruise missiles. Western governments have expressed alarm over Tehran's missile program, with France in July urging a 'comprehensive deal' covering both nuclear and missile activities. Iran officials, however, maintain that their defense capabilities are non-negotiable. Read also: US Officially Joins Israel in Strikes on Iran, Bombs Key Nuclear Sites Tags: Iraniran and israelIsrael
7NEWS
a minute ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Nick Kyrgios withdraws from US Open in latest injury blow
Nick Kyrgios has suffered another predictable blow in his ailing tennis career, having to pull out of the US Open men's singles with injury. It's the third successive year that the 30-year-old Australian has withdrawn from the New York grand slam and he has now missed the season's final three majors after getting knocked out in the first round at his home Open in Melbourne in January. Kyrgios, the Wimbledon finalist in 2022, went on to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open that year but has struggled ever since then with a catalogue of foot, knee and wrist injuries. While vowing to try to get back to his best, he's managed to win just one singles match while losing four in his comeback 2025 campaign. He didn't play at all last year and had just one match in 2023, and has now missed 11 of the last 12 grand slams. Kyrgios hasn't played any singles match since being beaten by Karen Khachanov at Miami five months ago, with his long-term wrist trouble still a problem while he also reported in July that his knee was still 'cooked'. He last played — and lost — in a doubles match with veteran Gael Monfils in Washington in July as he sought to rekindle his career, first in the much-hyped mixed doubles competition with Naomi Osaka at Flushing Meadows. But after withdrawing from that, organisers announced, to no great surprise, on Thursday that the maverick seven-time tournament winner would now also not feature in the men's singles, which starts on Sunday. His place will be taken in the draw by a 'lucky loser' from the final round of qualifying.
7NEWS
a minute ago
- Politics
- 7NEWS
As Israel begins offensive on Gaza City, an exhausted military may face a manpower problem
As the earliest stages of a massive assault on Gaza City take shape, Israel is calling up tens of thousands of reservists to take part in the impending military operation. The takeover and occupation of the largest city in northern Gaza, which Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was one of the last Hamas strongholds, will require the military to bring in 60,000 more reserve troops and extend the service of another 20,000. Those plans have sparked growing condemnation both internationally and domestically over fears that the spiraling humanitarian and hunger crisis in Gaza will worsen — and that the lives of the remaining hostages will be further at risk from an expanded military operation. The Israeli military is already on the outskirts of Gaza City, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Wednesday (US time), in what he described as the first steps of the larger operation. Meanwhile, the Israeli military also said it has begun warning medical officials and international aid organisations in northern Gaza to plan for mass evacuation and displacement of the Palestinian population ahead of the planned Gaza City takeover. The forced evacuation of the healthcare system risks worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis gripping the besieged territory. An Israeli military official told CNN that there will be 'several steps' before Israeli ground forces move into the city. It is partially encircled by Israeli troops, the official said, and some forces are already operating in the area of Zeitoun, west of the city centre. The IDF has begun preparing for the city's evacuation by sending in more tents for displaced Palestinians, but evacuation warnings have not yet been issued. When Israel's security cabinet first approved the takeover of Gaza City, Israeli officials estimated the plan could take five months or more. But on Wednesday, Netanyahu instructed the military to shorten the timeline. After nearly two years of war, and with no end in sight amid the next major operation, Israel's military chief warned of the added burden on the troops, many of whom have been called up multiple times to fight in Gaza. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told the security cabinet earlier this month that the military faced attrition and burnout, but his concerns were dismissed as Netanyahu and his coalition partners pushed ahead with the new war plans. A new survey from the Agam Labs at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggested that approximately 40 per cent of soldiers were slightly or significantly less motivated to serve, while a little more than 13 per cent were more motivated. The findings underscore the stark reality facing Israel's military, which could face limits to its manpower, especially as polls have repeatedly shown an overwhelming majority of the country supports an end to the war. Military leaders have called for the government to draft ultra-Orthodox men into service to supplement the beleaguered troops. But the vast majority of the ultra-Orthodox community has refused to serve, and at their demand, the government is pushing a broad exemption to mandatory military service. That this political debate is happening in the midst of war has only stoked the anger of many of those who serve. After the security cabinet approved the new operation, a small reservist organisation in Israel renewed calls for soldiers to decline military orders to serve. 'Your children do not know how to refuse on their own, because it is difficult. It is almost impossible,' Soldiers for Hostages said on social media earlier this month. Other reservist organisations have not publicly advocated for open refusal, which is more likely to be a private decision not to serve. The IDF does not publish the numbers or percentages of reservists who do not show up when called. 'A death sentence for the hostages' Avshalom Zohar Sal has served more than 300 days in Gaza on four different deployments. His last deployment ended only one month ago, and he is no longer willing to return to the front line, especially to an operation in Gaza City. 'I'm a little in shock that we're still talking about this war that was supposed to end a long time ago,' Zohar Sal told CNN. He says the doubts, that began creeping in a year ago, have only grown stronger and other members of his unit have the same worries as him. 'I think this decision is a death sentence for the hostages,' he said. 'The government talked and said all the time that we're talking about two missions for this war: to return the hostages and to defeat Hamas. Now it's like telling us, there's only one goal, which I believe is not achievable: to destroy Hamas. And even this won't destroy Hamas.' The Israeli military has a relatively small active-duty force, comprised mostly of conscripts. To continue fighting what has become the country's longest war ever, Israel has to rely on reservists. But it's not clear what percentage will answer a new round of calls to serve inside Gaza once again, especially after the military chief warned the operation could endanger the soldiers and the hostages. Defrin, the military spokesman, tried to address those concerns Wednesday, saying at a press conference that the IDF uses 'intelligence and many other capabilities' to protect the lives of the hostages. But all he could promise was that 'we'll do our best not to harm the hostages.' Reserve call-up notices are mandatory for many, but after sending numerous reservists into Gaza multiple times, the military has shown little willingness to punish or prosecute those who decline or otherwise avoid the call. Former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, who led the military during the 2006 war with Lebanon, predicted not all the reservists would show up for duty. 'I believe that some of them will stay home,' he told CNN at a protest by Air Force reservists earlier this month. 'The war is over a year ago,' said Halutz, describing the current plan as having 'no logic.' The retired general was careful not to call on Israelis to refuse to serve, but he encouraged reservists to 'act according to his conscience, to his set of rules.' Netanyahu promised more than a year ago that the worst of the fighting would be over by now. He told CBS in an interview in February of last year that once Israel invaded Rafah in southern Gaza, 'the intense phase of the fighting is weeks away from completion, not months, weeks away from completion.' Now, 18 months later, Netanyahu says a new operation is the fastest way to end Israel's longest war. But that operation also targets a city that is home to more than a million people, many of them already displaced from other parts of Gaza. More than 22 months since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, over 2 million people in Gaza have been struggling with severe hunger, disease and displacement amid Israel's siege. Cases of child malnutrition have tripled across Gaza in 'less than six months,' according to the United Nations, as humanitarian workers urged Israel to lift severe restrictions on aid entering the besieged enclave. Nearly one in three children are malnourished in Gaza City, said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN's agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) in what he called 'a man-made, preventable starvation'. Netanyahu's government have repeatedly denied that starvation is rife in the enclave.
