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EU to Take Part in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ but Not as Member 

European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica speaks during a debate on the “Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire” as part of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France, 10 February 2026. (EPA) 
European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica speaks during a debate on the “Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire” as part of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France, 10 February 2026. (EPA) 
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EU to Take Part in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ but Not as Member 

European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica speaks during a debate on the “Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire” as part of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France, 10 February 2026. (EPA) 
European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica speaks during a debate on the “Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire” as part of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France, 10 February 2026. (EPA) 

The European Union will take part in this week's inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", but a spokesman insisted Monday that Brussels would not be joining as a member.

The European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, will head to Washington to represent the EU at the meeting Thursday.

"She will participate in the meeting of the Board of Peace for the specific part dedicated to Gaza. Let me stress that the European Commission, it's not becoming a member to the Board of Peace," EU spokesman Guillaume Mercier said.

He added the EU executive was participating as part of its "long-standing commitment" to the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire and "to support the reconstruction and the post-recovery in Gaza", he added.

The Board of Peace, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and reconstruction after the war between Hamas and Israel.

But its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, triggering fears the US president wants to create a rival to the UN.

Some EU member states have raised concerns about the board.

"We still have a number of questions regarding several elements in the Board of Peace: one concerning its scope, two concerning its governance, and three, its compatibility with the UN Charter," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

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World

Congo Says Number of Confirmed Ebola Cases Rises to 2,267, Including 893 Deaths

The entrance to the Ebola Treatment Center at Rwampara General Hospital stands unstaffed during a medical staff strike in Rwampara, Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, 13 July 2026. EPA/DIEUDONNE DIROLE
The entrance to the Ebola Treatment Center at Rwampara General Hospital stands unstaffed during a medical staff strike in Rwampara, Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, 13 July 2026. EPA/DIEUDONNE DIROLE
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Congo Says Number of Confirmed Ebola Cases Rises to 2,267, Including 893 Deaths

The entrance to the Ebola Treatment Center at Rwampara General Hospital stands unstaffed during a medical staff strike in Rwampara, Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, 13 July 2026. EPA/DIEUDONNE DIROLE
The entrance to the Ebola Treatment Center at Rwampara General Hospital stands unstaffed during a medical staff strike in Rwampara, Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, 13 July 2026. EPA/DIEUDONNE DIROLE

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo ‌has ‌increased to 2,267, ‌including ⁠893 deaths, government ⁠data showed late on Saturday.

The figure represents the ⁠total number ‌of ‌confirmed cases ‌as of ‌Friday, according to a situation report ‌that documented 86 new cases and ⁠29 ⁠new deaths in the previous 24 hours, Reuters said.

World

Southern China Braces for More Rain, Chongqing Landslide Search Continues

Rescuers work at the scene of a landslide in Pengshui County, southwestern China's Chongqing on Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP)
Rescuers work at the scene of a landslide in Pengshui County, southwestern China's Chongqing on Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP)
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Southern China Braces for More Rain, Chongqing Landslide Search Continues

Rescuers work at the scene of a landslide in Pengshui County, southwestern China's Chongqing on Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP)
Rescuers work at the scene of a landslide in Pengshui County, southwestern China's Chongqing on Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP)

China's ‌meteorological authority on Sunday issued a heavy rain alert for parts of southern China, following a warning a day earlier of mountain flood risks in areas like Chongqing and Yunnan and potential emergency evacuations in vulnerable places.

Cutting south China diagonally, the sprawling rain ‌belt stretches from ‌the southwestern province of ‌Yunnan ⁠to the Yangtze River ⁠Delta in China's eastern coast.

Rail authorities suspended some passenger trains on the Shanghai–Kunming railway on Sunday due to heavy rain, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

In Yunnan, ⁠several scenic spots including ‌the Tiger Leaping ‌Gorge were temporarily closed following heavy ‌rain over the weekend.

Parts of ‌southwestern Guangxi region, still recovering from the impact of Typhoon Maysak earlier this month, was bracing for a new ‌round of rain through Tuesday.

Hydrological authorities in Guangxi's ⁠Baise ⁠said some rivers rose by one to three meters (three to nine feet) over the past 24 hours, CCTV reported Sunday.

A rain-triggered landslide in a county in southwest China's Chongqing on Friday has killed eight people, while rescuers are still racing to find 34 people that remain missing.

World

Democratic Taiwan Must Not Become ‘China’s Taiwan’, President Says

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual congress of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taipei, Taiwan, July 19, 2026. July 19,2026. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual congress of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taipei, Taiwan, July 19, 2026. July 19,2026. (Reuters)
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Democratic Taiwan Must Not Become ‘China’s Taiwan’, President Says

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual congress of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taipei, Taiwan, July 19, 2026. July 19,2026. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual congress of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taipei, Taiwan, July 19, 2026. July 19,2026. (Reuters)

Taiwan must work together to protect its democracy and not become part of China, President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday, calling on members of his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to oppose the "red terror" coming from Beijing.

Lai, who won election two years ago, and his ruling DPP, champion Taiwan's separate identity from China, a position that frequently angers Beijing which views the island as an inviolable part of Chinese territory.

Speaking to the DPP's annual ‌convention, Lai ‌said Taiwan must remain vigilant in times of peace, pointing ‌to ⁠what he said ⁠was China's "legal warfare", such as its new ethnic unity law which gives Beijing the basis to take action against people outside its borders.

That has alarmed Taiwan, because it could give Beijing another legal basis to try and prosecute or arrest Taiwanese it views as separatists. China has rejected all criticism of the law. China's legal system has no jurisdiction in Taiwan.

"I also expect comrades within the party to ⁠stand on the front lines, unite as one, and jointly ‌oppose the threat posed by China's 'red terror' to ‌Taiwanese society," Lai added, speaking in Taiwanese, also known as Hokkien or Hoklo, rather than the ‌main language of government, Mandarin.

"We must work together to protect our ‌democratic and free way of life, and absolutely never allow 'democratic Taiwan' to turn back and become 'China's Taiwan'," he said.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China has rebuffed Lai's repeated calls for talks, calling him a "separatist".

Lai, who is also ‌DPP chairman, reiterated that Taiwan is already an independent country, whose constitutional name is the Republic of China, and it ⁠is not ⁠subordinate to the People's Republic of China.

"Regardless of ethnic group, regardless of who came earlier or later, anyone who identifies with Taiwan is a master of the country. Taiwan's future must be decided jointly by the 23 million people of Taiwan," he said.

The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, who formed the People's Republic.

To this day neither government formally recognizes the other and no peace treaty to end the civil war or armistice has ever been signed.

Over the past decade of DPP government, Lai said Taiwan had not backed down in the face of "authoritarian expansion", disinformation attacks, military threats, and diplomatic pressure.

"Taiwan has shown the world that democracy is not a weakness; democracy is strength," he added.