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France formally recognises Palestinian state
France has formally recognised a Palestinian state, becoming the latest in a wave of countries to take the step.
Speaking at the UN in New York, President Emmanuel Macron said “the time for peace has come” and that “nothing justifies the ongoing war in Gaza”.
France and Saudi Arabia are hosting a one-day summit at the UN General Assembly focused on plans for a two-state solution to the conflict. G7 states Germany, Italy, and the US did not attend.
Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra and San Marino are also due to recognise a Palestinian state, after the UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal announced recognition on Sunday.
International pressure is ramping up on Israel over the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza and settlement building in the West Bank.
Israel has said recognition would reward Hamas for the Palestinian armed group’s 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Israeli forces are currently carrying out a ground offensive aimed at taking control of Gaza City, where a million people were living and a famine was confirmed last month.
The French leader told the conference that the time had come to stop the war and free the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas. He warned against the “peril of endless wars” and said “right must always prevail over might”.
The international community had failed to build a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, he said, adding that “we must do everything in our power to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution” that would see “Israel and Palestine side by side in peace and security”.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also addressed the UN, on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He reiterated that a two-state solution was the only way to achieve lasting peace in the region.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would set up a new financial instrument to work on Gaza’s reconstruction.
“We must all do more,” she told the UN General Assembly. “This is why we will set up a Palestine Donor Group.”
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres referred to the situation in Gaza as “morally, legally and politically intolerable” and said a two-state solution was the “only credible path” for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – who was blocked from attending the UN General Assembly in person after the US revoked his and other Palestinian officials’ visas – addressed the conference via videolink.
He called for a permanent ceasefire and said Hamas could have no role in governing Gaza, calling for the group to “surrender their weapons” to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
“What we want is one unified state without weapons,” he said.
Abbas also condemned Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel and addressed Israelis, saying: “Our future and yours depends on peace. Enough violence and war.”
Macron said France was ready to contribute to a “stabilisation mission” in Gaza and called for a transitional administration involving the PA that would oversee the dismantling of Hamas.
He said France would only open an embassy to a Palestinian state when all the hostages being held by Hamas are released and a ceasefire had been agreed.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Dannon, spoke to reporters shortly before Macron’s announcement.
Dannon said a two-state solution was taken “off the table” after the 7 October attack and called this week’s talks at the UN a “charade”. He also refused to rule out Israel annexing the occupied West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted there will be no Palestinian state to the west of the River Jordan, and President Isaac Herzog said recognising one would only “embolden the forces of darkness”.
Ahead of Macron’s announcement, the Palestinian and Israeli flags were displayed on the Eiffel Tower on Sunday night. A number of town halls in France also flew Palestinian flags on Monday, despite a government order to local prefects to maintain neutrality.
Pro-Palestinian protests also took place in some 80 towns and cities across Italy, where Giorgia Meloni’s government said recently it could be “counter-productive” to recognise a state that did not exist.
In Germany, the government has said Palestinian statehood is not currently up for debate, and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul explained as he left for New York on Monday that, “For Germany, recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of the process. But this process must begin now”.
[BBC]
Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England’s ODI series decider against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Sunday, with Jordan Cox likely to replace him and keep wicket. Don Lawrence who is yet to win an international cap in either white-ball format, has been called up to the squad as cover.
Buttler pulled up with a left hamstring injury while running between the wickets in Thursday’s second ODI at Headingley and received treatment from England physio Steve Haw, a recent recruit from rugby union club Exeter Chiefs. He faced two more balls before retiring hurt, and briefly hobbled back to the middle before holing out as England slipped to a 16-run defeat.
Buttler’s eventual 69 was his highest score in ODIs in three years, but his injury will be something of a concern. He is now 36, and has been affected by various soft-tissue injuries in recent years. These have mainly been calf injuries, but he also suffered a similar left-hamstring issue during the 2024 IPL season.
England do not yet know the extent of Buttler’s injury but expect to have more information early next week once he has been for an MRI scan.
In Buttler’s absence, Cox is likely to win only his fourth ODI cap on Sunday and is expected to take the gloves ahead of Tom Banton. Kevin Pietersen, England’s new white-ball mentor, said on Thursday night that opportunities available through injuries would help build depth ahead of next year’s World Cup.
“[We need to] have certain players in certain positions, in order for us to know that if something like this happens to Jos in, say, the final round of whatever game in South Africa, and you’ve got to go and play a quarter-final, that somebody can step up into Jos’s boots – like we’re going to need to have on Sunday,” Pietersen said.
Lawrence, who made three half-centuries in four innings in England’s recent Test series win over Pakistan, has been withdrawn from Surrey’s ongoing Country Championship match at Somerset, having made his sixth hundred of the season on Thursday. He will train with the ODI squad at The Oval on Saturday.
Lawrence was previously called up to England’s ODI squad to face Pakistan in 2021 when their first-choice side went into Covid isolation, but did not play a game in the series. He has only played 28 List A games in his career, the most recent of them in May 2019.
(Cricinfo)
Tens of millions of people across the north-eastern US are in the path of a powerful storm bringing coastal flooding, power cuts, travel chaos and cancelled stadium events.
The so-called nor’easter is bringing “dangerous coastal flooding and beach conditions, strong winds and heavy rainfall” to areas including New York City and Boston on Saturday, the US National Weather Service (NWS) said.
States of emergency have been declared in New York and New Jersey, both of which faced a coastal deluge in some areas. Rain and strong winds are forecast from Virginia to Maine.
Ed Sheeran’s much-awaited Boston concert was among events called off due to the weather.
Residents on kayaks in a Beach Haven West, New Jersey, neighbourhood (BBC)The nor’easter caused widespread power cuts. More than 100,000 households, nearly all in the northeast US, have lost electricity, according to tracker PowerOutage.
The Federal Aviation Administration recommended air passengers check with airlines about their flight status. More than 2,400 flights have been delayed and another 1,199 grounded, according to FlightAware.
Saturday’s full moon is projected to worsen coastal flooding. Streets and homes were inundated with floodwater in the coastal New Jersey communities of Surf City and Manasquan on Saturday.
“I urge all New Jerseyans to take this storm seriously, stay alert and follow local guidance,” Governor Mikie Sherrill said.
NWS said in its alert: “Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses.”
In New York, officials are warning of wind gusts of up to 55mph (86km/h) throughout the weekend, leading to downed trees and power lines
“Don’t travel if you don’t have to,” NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani told residents in a video message. “Do not drive or walk through floodwater.”
In the Boston area, the Red Sox moved the last game in their series against the Chicago Cubs to Sunday afternoon in Florida.
A professional football match between Red Bull New York and St Louis City SC was also cancelled.
(BBC)
US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a week
He told reporters at the White House that Tehran “want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly”.
In a post on Telegram, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Trump’s comments, but said Tehran would wait for an official response from mediators.
On Friday, Araghchi had told reporters at the UN in New York that an agreement could be reached “if the necessary conditions are met” and that these were contained in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two countries in June.
The vital waterway through which around a fifth of the world’s gas and oil supply usually flows has been effectively closed since the outbreak of war in February.
“I’m rejecting their deal,” Trump said on Saturday, adding that the US already had “total control” of the strait, with “massive amounts of oil” passing through it.
“They want to make a deal, and I think that’s fine. I like making a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable,” he added.
Araghchi wrote that Trump “has made many good statements, as well as many contradictory ones, which unfortunately we hear frequently.”
He added that he would await the “definitive views” of mediators, and that Tehran “will make a decision based on that.”
On Friday the Wall Street Journal cited officials as saying Trump was sceptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he saw a renewed bombing campaign as probable.
Iran responded to US and Israeli air strikes, beginning in late February, by attacking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US – as well as blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure has caused wild fluctuations of energy prices.
The economic effects have also increased pressure on Trump to find a way of ending the conflict – particularly as the US heads towards Congressional elections in November.
(BBC)
Buttler out of Oval decider as Lawrence earns ODI call-up
Showers will occur in the Western, Eastern, Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.
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