Australia pledged Thursday to slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 percent from 2005 levels over the next decade, a target activists warned was not ambitious enough.
Under the landmark Paris climate accord, each country must provide a headline figure to the United Nations for cutting heat-trapping emissions by 2035, and a detailed blueprint for getting there.
A leading coal exporter, Australia’s pledge has been closely watched given its bid to host next year’s U.N. climate summit alongside Pacific island neighbors threatened by rising seas.
The announcement also comes days after a national climate risk assessment warned rising oceans and flooding caused by climate change would threaten the homes and livelihoods of over a million Australians by 2050.
One prominent climate scientist described the new target as “baffling,” given those findings and Australia’s bid to host climate talks.
“Australia needs to cut its emissions at a pace associated with a 1.5C compatible emission reduction pathway and that properly aligns with bringing emissions to net zero by 2050 in Australia,” said Bill Hare, head of the Climate Analytics research group. “This requires strong government policy action now.”
Climate activists and experts say Australia needs to slash emissions by at least 76 percent from 2005 levels to keep global temperatures from rising over 1.5C higher than pre-industrial levels.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the goal as a “responsible target backed by the science”.
His government said it would fund a new Aus$5 million ($3.3 billion) “Net Zero Plan” to help firms transition to green energy.
It will also help Australians buy more zero emissions vehicles and access clean energy.
The target is “not likely to please anyone,” said Jacqueline Peel, a climate specialist at the University of Melbourne Law School.
And given the risks outlined in this week’s assessment, “this ‘achievable’ target feels very anticlimactic,” she added.
Anote Tong, former president of Pacific nation Kiribati, told AFP Australia’s goals were undermined by its reliance on fossil fuel.
“The problem has been Australia’s high volume of fossil fuel exports and ongoing substantial subsidies to the fossil fuel industry,” said Tong, often called the founding father of the Pacific climate movement.
“These recent decisions by the government become more stark in contrast to the recently released Climate Risk Assessment Report which predicts apocalyptic scenarios, even for Australian citizens, if unheeded,” he said.
Global emissions have been rising but need to almost halve by the end of the decade to limit global warming to safer levels agreed under the Paris deal.
Australia’s previous 2030 commitment was to cut emissions by 43 percent of 2005 levels.
Countries were meant to submit updated targets earlier this year but only 10 of nearly 200 countries required did so on time, according to a U.N. database tracking the submissions.
Australia has poured billions into solar power, wind turbines and green manufacturing and pledged to make the nation a renewable energy superpower.
But its green ambitions are at odds with its deep entanglement with lucrative fossil fuel industries, and it remains one of the world’s biggest coal exporters. (JapanToday)
Prosecutors in Utah announced on Tuesday that they have formally charged the suspect in the murder of prominent US conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead last week during a speaking event on a Utah university campus.
Authorities said 22-year-old Tyler Robinson used a rifle to shoot Kirk with a single bullet to the neck from a rooftop. He was arrested after a 33-hour manhunt.
“After reviewing the evidence that law enforcement has collected thus far, I am…charging Tyler James Robinson, age 22, with the following crimes,” Utah County attorney Jeff Gray told a press conference.
“Count one, aggravated murder, a capital offence, for intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Charlie Kirk under circumstances that created a great risk of death to others.”
Six other charges include obstruction of justice and witness tampering, allegedly for ordering his roommate to stay silent.
“I am filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty,” Gray added.
“I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”
Kirk was the founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.
The father of two used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.
A polarising figure, he often posted carefully edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.
On Monday, the White House announced plans to target a left-wing ‘domestic terror movement,’ raising concerns over silencing dissent.
FBI Director Kash Patel faced heavy criticism for announcing a suspect’s arrest after the shooting, only to retract it later.
Patel faced a grilling from a Senate panel on Tuesday that included some very bad-tempered exchanges with Democratic Senator Corey Booker.
Patel has faced criticism from both sides since Trump appointed him to lead the FBI, the nation’s top law agency. (Channels)
President Donald Trump relished the glow of a British royal spectacle as he opened a two-day state visit Wednesday, calling the hours of pageantry with King Charles III “truly one of the highest honours of my life” while also making time for a quiet tribute at Queen Elizabeth II’s tomb.
The grandeur-loving president soaked up all the revelry, from the largest guard of honor in living memory, with 120 horses and 1,300 troops, to carriage rides, an air show and a Windsor Castle dinner.
After the pomp comes the real work Thursday, when Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meet to talk trade, technology and geopolitical issues.
No US president, or any other world leader, has had the honour of a second UK state visit; Trump’s first was in 2019, during his previous term. The display of regal splendor was meant to bolster ties with Trump at a time when his America First policies are putting pressure on trade and security arrangements around the globe.
Prince William and his wife, Kate, met the presidential helicopter in the private Walled Garden on the vast Windsor estate, then walked Trump and first lady Melania Trump over to be greeted by Charles and Queen Camilla. A gigantic royal standard – the flag used for official celebration days – flew from the Royal Tower.
The guests travelled to the castle in a procession of horse-drawn carriages, past ranks of soldiers, sailors and aviators. The king and the Republican president chatted in the Irish State Coach during the short journey to the castle quadrangle, where both inspected an honour guard of soldiers in red tunics and bearskin hats.
They continued to chat and joke as the day progressed, with the king occasionally putting his hand on Trump’s back. The president stepped in front of Charles during a review of troops after the king gestured for him to do so. The king’s invitation avoided a violation of protocol, which was not the case in 2019, when Trump stepped in front of Queen Elizabeth.
Part of the day was spent at St. George’s Chapel on the castle grounds, where Trump placed a wreath in honour of Elizabeth, who died in 2022.
The president and Charles toured the Royal Collection Display in an ornate room where officials laid out five tables of artifacts on US-British relations.
Among the items were 18th-century watercolours and documents on the United States seeking independence from King George III. There were materials from the first trans-Atlantic cable, including messages between Queen Victoria and President James Buchanan, as well as a 1930s hot dog picnic that a young Elizabeth wrote about, and a large glass vessel that President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the queen during a 1957 state visit.
The president walked a red carpet on the castle’s East Lawn to watch the Beating Retreat, a military parade ceremony that featured 200-plus musicians, dates to the 1600s and was once used to call patrolling soldiers back to their castle at day’s end.
A scheduled flyover by F-35 jets from the UK and US militaries was scrapped because of poor weather conditions. But the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force’s aerobatics display team, thundered overhead, leaving streaks of red, white and blue smoke in their wake and drawing a visible reaction from both Trumps.
Charles and Camilla also presented the president and first lady with a handbound leather volume celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Union flag that flew above Buckingham Palace on the day of Trump’s inauguration in January. The royals also gave first lady Melania Trump a silver and enamel bowl and a personalised handbag by British designer Anya Hindmarch.
Trump gave Charles a replica of an Eisenhower sword, and Camilla received a vintage Tiffany & Co. gold, diamond and ruby brooch.
The history, tradition and celebrity of the royal family give it a cachet that means presidents and prime ministers covet joining them. In his talks with Trump, Starmer will promote a new UK-US technology agreement. The British government hopes the deal, and billions in investment from U.S. tech companies, will help show that the trans-Atlantic bond remains strong despite differences over Ukraine, the Middle East and the future of NATO.
Trump and Charles walked together, leading a procession for the evening banquet. Trump wore white tie while his wife was in a yellow gown. Charles was in white tie with a blue sash, and Camilla in a blue gown with a tiara.
Beefeaters in traditional red uniforms and ruff collars lined the entrance to the castle’s St. George’s Hall for the dinner, which featured 100 staff members attending to 160 guests. The grand Waterloo table was set with 1,462 pieces of silver sparkling in the light from 139 candles and elaborate floral arrangements handpicked from the castle grounds.
The guest list included Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Open AI’s Sam Altman and US Masters-winning golfer Nick Faldo. Also appearing was publishing mogul Rupert Murdoch, whom Trump recently sued for $10 billion over The Wall Street Journal’s report on a sexually suggestive letter purportedly written by Trump for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The menu featured Hampshire watercress panna cotta with Parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad, along with Norfolk chicken ballotine. Dessert was vanilla ice cream bombe with a raspberry sherbet interior and lightly poached Victorian plums.
Trump avoids alcohol, but the bar offerings included a cocktail known as a Transatlantic whiskey sour infused with marmalade, Warre’s 1945 Vintage Port – Trump is the 45th and 47th American president – and Hennessy 1912 Cognac Grande Champagne. That was the year Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in Scotland.
The musical playlist included the theme from the James Bond movies and pop and rock staples, as well as top showtunes, often featured at Trump’s campaign rallies.
In his toast, Charles saluted Trump’s British roots and his recent visits to the UK In a nod to the president’s favourite sport, he said, “I understand that British soil makes for rather splendid golf courses.”
Trump read from prepared remarks and was on his best behaviour, declaring, “This is truly one of the highest honours of my life” and sneaking in only one dig about his predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden, by saying the US was “sick” a year ago.
Trump also touched on Britain’s contributions to literature, history and the arts and said “special” does not begin to do justice to his country’s relationship with the UK.
“Together we’ve done more good for humanity than any two countries in all of history,” he said.
Thousands of demonstrators marched through central London on Wednesday to protest Trump’s visit. Some held banners that said “No to the racism, no to Trump.” Though the activities were smaller than during Trump’s visit in June 2019, they included mini versions of the giant Trump baby blimp, an orange-tinted caricature of the president in a diaper that made a big impression during those demonstrations six years ago.
In Windsor, protesters projected an image of Trump and Epstein on a tower at the castle, a reminder of the president’s relationship with the late American financier. Police said they arrested four people. (France24)
US President Donald Trump arrived in Britain on Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit, with the UK government rolling out a royal red carpet welcome to win over the mercurial leader.
“A lot of things here warm my heart,” the 79-year-old Republican told reporters after he arrived with First Lady Melania Trump. “It’s a very special place.”
King Charles III will host Trump at Windsor Castle for a lavish banquet and carriage ride on Wednesday, before Trump meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his country residence on Thursday.
In a sign of the pomp and pageantry to come, a guard of honour greeted the Trumps as they stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport near London.
Trump then expressed his admiration for the British monarch.
“He’s been a friend of mine for a long time, and everyone respects him, and they love him,” Trump said as he arrived by helicopter at Winfield House, the US ambassador’s residence in London, where he will spend the night.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a very big day.”
Trump is the first US president to be invited for two state visits, after previously being hosted by Queen Elizabeth II during his last term in office in 2019 — as Britain tries to keep the so-called special relationship alive.
The British government has been unapologetic about its efforts to get on the right side of Trump, whose mother was Scottish and who owns a number of golf courses in the UK.
But the British public will be kept far away from Trump, with the visit taking place entirely behind closed doors and heavy security.
A large anti-Trump demonstration has been called in London on Wednesday, while protesters projected images of Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the towers of Windsor Castle late Tuesday.
The shadow of the Epstein scandal has hung over Trump for weeks after his administration declined to release files on the issue.
It has also embroiled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who sacked his ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson on the eve of the visit over the envoy’s emails to Epstein.
Starmer’s government is however counting on the sheer scale of the state visit to keep Trump onside, despite his unpredictability over everything from tariffs to Ukraine and Gaza.
In Windsor on Wednesday, Trump will get a ceremonial carriage ride and a flypast by both UK and US jets in what officials call the largest military show for a state visit in living memory.
In the evening King Charles will host Trump for a lavish state dinner where both men will give speeches.
Trump may also relish the royal part of the visit as a chance to escape a turbulent period at home, where the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has caused turmoil.
Politics will take over again on Thursday when Starmer hosts Trump at his country residence Chequers for talks focusing on trade and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
The visit has been timed to line up with announcements of several investments in Britain — the latest being a pledge by Microsoft to spend $30 billion over four years.
Starmer needs the visit to go well after a miserable few days in which some in his Labour party have openly questioned whether he can remain as leader over the Mandelson resignation.
Downing Street has said Trump’s visit would see the “unbreakable friendship” between the countries “reach new heights”.
The visit is “a huge moment for both” men, said Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think-tank.
“For Trump, the state visit is an opportunity to revel in the pomp and ceremony he loves,” she told AFP.
“For Starmer, the visit is a chance to distract from domestic discontent and shift the limelight onto international issues where he has had greater success.” (France24)
President Emmanuel Macron has named close ally Sébastien Lecornu as the new French prime minister, 24 hours after a vote of confidence ousted François Bayrou as head of government.
Lecornu, 39, was among the favourites to take over, and he has spent the past three years as armed forces minister focusing on France’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In a statement the Elysée Palace said Lecornu – the seventh PM in the Macron presidency – had been given the task of consulting political parties with the aim of adopting France’s next budget.
Pushing through a budget as head of a minority government was what brought down Bayrou, with left and far-right opponents condemning Lecornu’s appointment.
Bayrou had visited the president hours earlier to hand in his resignation, paving the way for Sébastien Lecornu to become the fifth prime minister of Macron’s second term as president.
Lecornu wrote on social media that he had been entrusted by the president with “building a government with clear direction: defending our independence and our strength, serving the French people, and [ensuring] political and institutional stability for the unity of our country”.
His immediate task is tackling France’s spiralling public debt, which hit €3.3tn (£2.8tn) earlier this year and represents 114% of the country’s economic output or GDP.
Bayrou had proposed €44bn in budget cuts, and his decision to put his plans to a vote of confidence was always going to fail. In the end France’s National Assembly decided to oust his government by 364 votes to 194.
Lecornu’s appointment was welcomed by centrist allies such as Marc Fesneau from Bayrou’s MoDem party. He called on every political force to reach a compromise – “for the stability of the country and its recovery, especially its budget”.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the radical left France Unbowed was unimpressed, complaining that nothing had changed and it was time for Macron’s departure from the presidency.
There had been suggestions that Macron might try to approach the centre left to broaden his minority government, and Olivier Faure of the Socialists had offered his services the night before.
It soon became clear that Faure would not be getting the call: “I slept pretty soundly so I didn’t hear the phone ring.”
On the far right, Marine Le Pen said the president was ”giving Macronism its last shot from his bunker, along with his little circle of loyalists”.
France has had a hung parliament since Macron surprised his country by calling snap national elections last year, after a poor performance in the June 2024 European vote. There are broadly three main political blocs: the left, far right and the centre.
Édouard Philippe, who was Macron’s first prime minister from 2017-20, thought Lecornu was a good choice as he had learned a lot as defence minister.
“I’ve known him for a long time because he was elected like me in Normandy,” the Horizons party leader told TF1 TV. “He knows how to debate and he’ll need this talent for debate and listening to find a deal in circumstances he knows are pretty complicated.”
Philippe believed Lecornu would have to find some way of bringing the Socialists on board. It was certainly possible to find a majority and also necessary, he thought, because without a compromise on a budget deal, a fresh political crisis would erupt and new elections would be inevitable.
More immediately, a grassroots movement called Bloquons Tout – “Let’s Block Everything” – is planning widespread anti-government protests on Wednesday and authorities are planning to deploy 80,000 police.
Then on Friday the credit agency Fitch will reassess France’s debts and could make its borrowing costs higher if it lowers its rating from AA-. (BBC)
As the world’s attention was focused on Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Israeli forces continued their unrelenting bombardment of Gaza, killing more than 50 people on Tuesday.
Among the dead are nine Palestinians, who had gathered in the enclave’s south seeking aid. Israel pressed on with its offensive in Gaza City after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Palestinians to flee to the south for their lives.
The Wafa news agency reported that a drone strike on a makeshift tent sheltering displaced families at Gaza’s port killed two civilians and injured others. Warplanes also hit several residential buildings, including four homes in the al-Mukhabarat area and the Zidan building northwest of Gaza City, it reported.
Another house was reportedly bombed in the Talbani neighbourhood of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, while two young men were killed in an attack on civilians in the az-Zarqa area of Tuffah, northeast of Gaza City.
Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency confirmed footage showing an Israeli strike on the Ibn Taymiyyah mosque in Deir el-Balah. The video captured a flash of light before the mosque’s minaret was enveloped in smoke. Despite the blast, the minaret appeared to remain standing.
Israel issued new evacuation threats on Monday, releasing maps warning Palestinians to leave a highlighted building and nearby tents on Jamal Abdel Nasser Street in Gaza City or face death. It told residents to move to the so-called “humanitarian area” in al-Mawasi, a barren stretch of coast in southern Gaza.
But al-Mawasi itself has been repeatedly bombed, despite Israel insisting it is a safe zone. At the start of the year, about 115,000 people lived there. Today, aid agencies estimate that more than 800,000 people – nearly a third of Gaza’s population – are crammed into overcrowded makeshift camps.
Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, described al-Mawasi as a vast camp “concentrating hungry Palestinians in despair”.
“There is no safe place in Gaza, let alone a humanitarian zone. Warnings of famine have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.
The Palestinian Civil Defence warned that “Gaza City is burning, and humanity is being annihilated”.
The rescue agency said that in just 72 hours, five high-rise towers containing more than 200 apartments were destroyed, leaving thousands of people homeless.
More than 350 tents sheltering displaced families were also flattened, it added, forcing nearly 7,600 people to sleep in the open, “struggling against death, hunger, and unbearable heat”.
More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed, some 20,000 of them children, in the Israeli offensive, which has been dubbed a genocide by numerous scholars and activists. The International Criminal Court has also issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes.
The Government Media Office in Gaza said that more than 1.3 million people remain in Gaza City and surrounding areas, despite Israeli attempts to push them south. It described the evacuation orders as an effort to carry out “the crime of forced displacement in violation of all international laws”.
More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times in 23 months of genocidal war, and an Israeli curb on aid entry, including food items, has led to starvation deaths. Last month, a UN agency declared famine in Gaza, affecting half a million people.
On Tuesday morning, Palestinians in central Gaza staged a protest against the latest evacuation orders.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said that demonstrators carried banners reading, “We will not leave”, and “Not going out”.
“The primary goal of the [Israeli] occupation is displacement,” said Bajees al-Khalidi, a displaced Palestinian at the protest. “But there’s no place left, not in the south, nor the north. We’ve become completely trapped.”
Violence also flared in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces killed two teenagers in the Jenin refugee camp, according to the Wafa news agency.
Mourners on Tuesday buried 14-year-old Islam Noah, who was shot while attempting to enter the besieged refugee camp. A funeral was also held for another 14-year-old, Muhammad Alawneh. Two others were wounded in the same incident.
Israel sent missiles at Doha as Hamas leaders were meeting in the Qatari capital for talks on the latest ceasefire proposal from the United States to end the war in Gaza. Hamas said five people were killed, while Qatar said a security official was also among the dead. Hamas said its leadership survived the assassination attempt.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani condemned Israel’s “reckless criminal attack” in a phone call with US President Donald Trump. Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani called the attack “state terrorism”.
The Qatari prime minister said Doha would continue to work to end Israel’s war on Gaza, but raised doubts about the viability of the most recent talks. “When it comes to the current talks, I don’t think there is something valid right now after we’ve seen such an attack,” he said.
Qatar has sent a letter to the UN Security Council, condemning what it calls a cowardly Israeli assault on residential buildings in Doha.
The Doha attack has drawn global condemnation, with the UN chief calling it a “flagrant violation” of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.
The White House claimed that the US had warned Qatar of the impending strike, but Doha rejected that account, insisting the warning came only after the bombing had begun.
Trump later said he felt “very badly about the location of the attack” and that he had assured Qatar that it would not happen again.
“This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals.” (AlJazeera)
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been sent back to prison after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that his extended hospitalisation following his return from self-imposed exile was unjustified, Reuters reported.
The court found that both Thaksin and his doctors had colluded to avoid serving his sentence behind bars.
The 76-year-old billionaire and political powerbroker was returned to prison on Tuesday, marking the latest chapter in a turbulent political career that has dominated Thai politics for over two decades.
His re-incarceration comes amid a wave of political turmoil, just days after the collapse of the latest government led by his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Thaksin had returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years abroad and was sentenced to eight years for corruption and abuse of power during his 2001–2006 premiership.
The sentence was later commuted to one year by royal pardon. However, he spent only a few hours in prison before being moved to a hospital, citing heart issues and chest pain.
He remained there for six months until his release on parole.
The Supreme Court found that Thaksin’s hospital stay was unwarranted and that minor surgeries were performed to extend his time outside prison.
“The defendant knew the facts or was aware the situation was not a critical emergency.
“The defendant only had a chronic condition that could be treated as an outpatient and did not require hospitalisation,” the court said in its ruling.
According to Reuters, television footage showed Thaksin being escorted by corrections officers and arriving at a Bangkok jail shortly after the court’s decision.
Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn, who was removed from office on August 29, was visibly emotional outside the court. “Me and my family are concerned,” she told reporters, adding, “This is quite heavy.”
Anutin Charnvirakul, the incoming prime minister and a former member of Thaksin’s party, expressed sympathy.
“I am saddened, I sympathise with him.
“For someone who has governed the country, I don’t want him to face something like this,” Anutin said.
Thaksin remains a divisive figure in Thailand. Once a police officer who became a telecom magnate, he won the loyalty of rural and working-class voters with populist policies such as cash handouts, healthcare reforms, and farm subsidies.
However, his rise angered Thailand’s conservative elite, including the military and judiciary, leading to repeated clashes and his eventual ousting in a 2006 coup.
Thaksin is the first former Thai prime minister to be jailed. Whether this signals the end of his political career or yet another chapter remains to be seen. (Punch)
Six people have been killed in a shooting attack in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities say, as the Israeli military’s punishing assault on besieged Gaza rages alongside an accelerated violent crackdown by the army and settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Paramedics said at least 12 people were injured and six were in “serious condition” after the shooting on Monday morning at Ramot Junction. Several others were “lightly injured by glass” and treated at the scene, Israel’s paramedic service, Magen David Adom, said.
Israeli police described the shooting as a suspected “terror attack”.
A security officer and a civilian shot and killed the perpetrators soon after the shooting began, police confirmed.
The police said the perpetrators arrived in a vehicle and opened fire at a bus station.
Israeli forces closed all checkpoints between East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank after the attack, sources told Al Jazeera.
After police said the perpetrators had come from the occupied West Bank, Israeli Army Radio reported Israeli forces imposed a military cordon on four villages in the Jerusalem governorate in the territory – Qatana, Biddu, Beit Inan and Beit Duqu – and conducted raids there.
The Israeli military said it had reinforced its forces in the wider Jerusalem area and was conducting a wide-ranging search for what it described as “accomplices” in the shooting.
Palestinians in the West Bank are preparing themselves to face collective punishment from Israel in retaliation for the attack, a Palestinian journalist said.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank, Leila Warah said Palestinians were “very much on edge, waiting to see what is going to happen”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli forces are pursuing the villages where the attackers hailed from, in what was a now standard Israeli response to such attacks, said Warah.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut – reporting from Amman, Jordan, because Al Jazeera is banned from East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel – said: “Israeli authorities are saying the two perpetrators are from an area in the occupied West Bank that is just west of occupied East Jerusalem. They say the two worked in tandem in this attack, that two gunmen boarded a bus – witnesses say one of them was dressed as a ticket inspector – and opened fire.”
“This attack took place near an illegal settlement of Ramot, just north of West Jerusalem, and if you look at where the Green Line is on a map, it actually bleeds into occupied East Jerusalem,” she added, referring to the generally recognised boundary between Israel and the West Bank. “These settlements are deemed illegal under international law and are buildings and structures that infringe on the rights of Palestinians and destroy territorial continuity for a future Palestinian state.”
“Israeli officials are now trying to wrap their heads around how exactly this happened, saying that they haven’t seen something like this happen in years, saying that the last shooting like this in greater Jerusalem was back in November 2023,” Salhut said.
Meanwhile, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported that Netanyahu informed judges that he would not attend his corruption trial session scheduled for Monday due to the security developments.
Both Netanyahu and far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have visited the scene of the shooting.
“We are in an intense war against terror on several fronts,” Netanyahu said there. “I want to send condolences to the families of the dead and to the wounded. A pursuit and encirclement of the villages from which the terrorists came is under way.”
In reaction to the shooting, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has “reiterated its firm position of rejecting and condemning any targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians”. Its presidential office said in a statement from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank that the PA denounces “all forms of violence and terrorism regardless of their source”.
Neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the shooting but have expressed “congratulations” for the attack.
Hamas said in a statement that the shooting was “a natural response to the crimes of the occupation and the genocide it wages against our people” and that it sends a clear message that Israel’s plans to “occupy and destroy Gaza City and desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque will not pass without punishment”.
The group said Israel’s aggression against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank “will not weaken the determination of our people and their resistance” and called for more attacks in occupied territory.
The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said in a short statement that the shooting was “a natural and legitimate response to the ongoing crimes of the Zionist enemy” in Palestinian territory.
The shooting most likely originated from the West Bank rather than from Hamas in Gaza, Israeli political analyst Ori Goldberg said.
Speaking from Tel Aviv, Goldberg told Al Jazeera he “seriously” doubted it had been ordered by Hamas.
If Hamas had carried out the attack, then it would mean Hamas was “trying to step up its resistance to what is beginning to look like a superimposed attempt to end the war”, he said, referring to comments from United States President Donald Trump’s administration that it is working on a solution to the war in Gaza.
Goldberg added that Israel has made some Palestinians feel that their only means of resistance is violence because Israel has done its utmost to ensure that they have no “sustainable model of politics”.
“Many Israelis ask where the Palestinian Nelson Mandela is at the moment, and the answer is either at a cemetery or in an Israeli prison. Israel has done everything it can to break any attempts on the part of the Palestinians to try and explore different paths, paths that are not violent like the ones we saw today,” he said, referring to the shooting.
Goldberg added that while Palestinians have also played a part in the failure of Palestinian politics, Israel is “by all means the stronger party” and bears most of the responsibility.
“Israel has done everything it can to break the Palestinian Authority, to arrest any semblance of a political leadership that might be amenable to a political process with Israel and to deny such a political process vehemently and repeatedly at all levels of the Israeli government,” he said. (AlJazeera)
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced he is stepping down after less than a year in the role, following two major election losses.
The move comes a day before his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was expected to vote on whether to hold an internal leadership vote that could have forced him out.
The LDP has governed Japan for most of the past seven decades, but under Ishiba it lost its majority in the lower house for the first time in 15 years and then lost its majority in the upper house in July.
Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy and a key US ally, now faces a period of political uncertainty as tensions rise with China and regional insecurity mounts.
“Now that a conclusion has been reached in the negotiations concerning the US tariff measures, I believe this is precisely the appropriate time,” Ishiba said, referring to a deal signed last week to ease tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Japanese cars and other exports.
Until Sunday, he had resisted calls to resign, saying it was his responsibility to settle the dispute with Washington before stepping down.
“I have strongly believed that negotiations concerning the US tariff measures, which could be described as a national crisis, must be brought to a conclusion under our administration’s responsibility,” he said.
The 68-year-old said he would continue his responsibilities “to the people” until a successor was selected.
The LDP will now choose a new leader, who will become prime minister following a vote in parliament.
Ishiba, who took office in October 2024 promising to tackle rising prices, struggled to inspire confidence as the country faced economic headwinds, a cost-of-living crisis and fractious politics with the US.
Inflation, particularly the doubling of rice prices in the past year, was politically damaging.
Public support further slid after a series of controversies, including criticism of his decision to appoint only two women to his cabinet and handing out expensive gifts to party members. (BBC)
A father who had been on the run with his three children in New Zealand’s wilderness for nearly four years has been shot dead by police.
Tom Phillips, who disappeared with his children in late 2021, had evaded capture despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings over the years.
The case had gripped the country and remains one of New Zealand’s most enduring mysteries.
Phillips was killed in a shoot-out around 02:30 (14:30 GMT Sunday) on Monday, in which a police officer was seriously injured, authorities said.
Officers were responding to a reported robbery at a commercial property in Piopio, a small town in northern New Zealand, when Phillips and one of his children were spotted riding a quad bike.
Police officers then gave chase before laying road spikes to stop them. The bike hit the spikes and went off road.
When police reached the vehicle they were met with gunfire, Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters.
The first attending officer at the scene was shot in the head, and remains in a serious condition, police said.
A second patrol unit then engaged Phillips, who was shot and died at the scene. While the body had not been formally identified at the time of the announcement, police were confident it was Phillips.
The other two children were found later in the day at a remote campsite in dense bush. All three children are unharmed, Rogers said.
The child he was with, who has not been identified, had provided “crucial” information that helped them locate Phillips’ two other children later in the day.
It was unclear whether the children had been informed of their father’s death.
Police have notified their mother and Phillips’ parents that the children are safe, though they declined to comment on who will provide ongoing care.
The children’s mother, known only as Cat, told local media outlet RNZ she was “deeply relieved” that “this ordeal has come to an end” after missing her children dearly “every day for nearly four years.” But, she continued: “We are saddened by how events unfolded today.”
Authorities said Phillips had been evading capture since failing to appear in court in 2022.
Before they disappeared, Phillips and his children were living in Marokopa, a small rural town in the region of Waikato. Phillips, believed to be in his late-30s this year, had been described as an experienced hunter and bushman.
Police believe he took his children after losing legal custody of them.
Marokopa is an area surrounded by a very harsh landscape, a sweeping and rough coastline, dense bush and forested terrain with a network of caves spanning many kilometres.
Locals know Phillips as a bushman with survival skills that would have set him up for building shelters and foraging for food in the wilderness.
Still, there were signs that he got desperate for resources. Since 2023, there have been sightings of Phillips and his children at numerous break-ins at hardware and grocery shops.
Last October, a group of teenagers spotted them trekking through the bush and filmed the encounter. In the video, Phillips and the children were wearing camouflaged clothing and each was carrying their own packs.
The teenagers had briefly spoken to one of the children, asking if anyone knew they were there. The child had replied “only you” and kept walking, New Zealand’s 1News reported.
Last year, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Phillips over his suspected involvement in a bank robbery in Te Kuiti, a small town on the North Island.
Police said he had had an accomplice during the alleged incident.
In fact, over the years, many have wondered if Phillips got any help from the tight-knit community in Marokopa, a town where fewer than 100 people lived, and the question remains unanswered.
Phillips’s death comes less than a month after his family directly appealed to him to come home.
In an interview with local news website Stuff, his sister Rozzi said the family had been “ready to help [Phillips] walk through what you need to walk through”.
“I really want to see you and the kids and be part of your lives again,” she said then.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Luxon has described the turn of events as “sad and absolutely tragic”.
“This is not what anybody wanted to happen today. I think that is a consistent feeling from everybody across New Zealand,” he said in a weekly briefing on Monday.
Other New Zealanders are also concerned about how Phillips’s death would affect his children’s wellbeing.
Marlene McIsaac, a resident in the Waitomo district, says she wished there had been “a happier ending”. “For the kids, you know? The kids will be devastated,” she told 1News. (BBC)
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