EU to Gauge Member States’ Willingness to Punish Israel

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a joint press statement with Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Palestinian Prime Minister before a Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) Ministerial Meeting, in Brussels on April 20, 2026. (AFP)

16:49-20 April 2026 AD ـ 05 Thul-Qi’dah 1447 AH

The EU's top diplomat said Monday the bloc will gauge the willingness of member states to take measures against Israel, after Spain re-upped demands to suspend a cooperation deal.

Foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc are expected to discuss the matter at a meeting in Luxembourg Tuesday after a call from Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Attitudes towards Israel among key EU member states, hardened over its conduct in the war in Gaza, stiffened further after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and a new law on the death penalty for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Facing alarm at the civilian toll exacted in the Gaza war, the EU last year already put on the table a raft of potential measures to punish Israel including cutting trade ties or sanctioning government ministers.

But so far none of the steps laid out by Brussels has garnered enough support from member states to be put into action.

Suspending the entirety of the EU's cooperation agreement -- as Spain is pushing for -- requires unanimity among the bloc's 27 countries and would almost certainly be blocked by allies of Israel.

More feasible could be suspending the part of the deal facilitating closer trade ties, a move that only requires support from a weighted majority of EU countries.

That would require a shift in position from EU heavyweights such as Germany or Italy. Rome has already signalled a tougher line on Israel by suspending a defence agreement.

"We already have the measures on the table; some of them that require a qualified (weighted) majority," EU foreign policy Kaja Kallas said.

"First, I think it should be assessed whether it's possible to move with those, if the member states have the wish to do so, to put pressure on Israel."

The recent ouster of staunch Israel backer Viktor Orban in elections in Hungary has also added to the likelihood of movement on measures.

A separate proposal for sanctions on "extremist" Israeli settlers in the West Bank had been vetoed by Budapest for months.

Diplomats and EU officials say they hope to get the greenlight for those measures soon but that it could take until Hungary's new government comes to power in May.

Xi Arrives in US to Personal Trump Welcome

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L), Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan (2-L), US President Donald Trump (2-R), and US First Lady Melania Trump (R) stand during an arrival ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, USA, 23 September 2026. (EPA)

00:37-24 September 2026 AD ـ 13 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1448 AH

Xi Arrives in US to Personal Trump Welcome

US President Donald Trump treated Chinese President Xi Jinping to a rare personal airport welcome Wednesday, kicking off a pomp-filled state visit aimed at smoothing superpower tensions on everything from AI and trade to Iran.

Trump and First Lady Melania shook hands with Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan after the Chinese president descended from his plane at Joint Base Andrews, a US military airfield outside Washington.

Trump, wearing a long coat and gloves, and Xi then stood side by side on the tarmac as a military band played national anthems.

A noisy flyover by two B-1 bombers clearly jolted Trump, who grimaced at the roar of jets, while his Chinese guest stood by impassively.

The personal airport greeting -- a courtesy Trump was notably denied when he visited Beijing in May -- begins three days of pageantry that will include another flyover and a state banquet at the White House on Thursday.

Six F-22 fighter jets and six F-16s were lined up on the tarmac in an apparent display of military might as US officials literally rolled out the red carpet for the Chinese leader.

But expectations of any breakthroughs are low. Analysts say the main aim of the lavish spectacle is to maintain a fragile diplomatic and trade truce between the world's biggest economies.

Xi was accompanied by his right-hand man Cai Qi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, among others, according to Chinese state media.

There were no Chinese CEOs in Xi's delegation, two sources told AFP, despite the fact that top US tech bosses including the leaders of major AI companies are set to attend Thursday's White House state banquet.

Xi's visit will wrap up on Friday morning when the two presidential couples have tea at the White House and then visit the National Archives, home to the US Declaration of Independence.

- Trade war truce extended -

When the two leaders sit down for their highly anticipated talks on Thursday, they will be confronting a host of thorny issues led by fears -- boosted by warnings from tech CEOs -- that artificial intelligence risks wiping out humanity.

But with China and the United States racing for AI supremacy there are few expectations of any deal to regulate the rapidly advancing technology.

Preliminary talks on Sunday between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng included discussion of creating a communication channel for AI concerns.

There was one success Wednesday, when after further talks Bessent announced an extension of a truce in the simmering trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

The "economic detente" will now extend beyond its November 10 deadline to January 10, Bessent said.

Jonathan Czin of the Brookings Institution told AFP that expectations were low for any concrete results from the meeting but "I think there will be some extension of the gentleman's agreement."

Analysts said that China had meanwhile begun to look past Trump, whose second term ends in early 2029, and is in many ways playing for time and using the truce to consolidate its position.

- 'Oppressive dictator' -

Trump's five-star welcome for Xi has drawn criticism from China hawks within his own party, especially amid reports that Beijing supplied Iran with intelligence for attacks on US troops.

"Our commander-in-chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator," said Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee.

Trump, however, has played down the need to bring up the allegations of Chinese help for Iran, justifying it on the grounds that both Beijing and Washington spy on each other.

For Trump, Xi's visit is also a chance to focus on pageantry instead of problems at home, where the Iran war's effect on fuel prices has sent his approval rating plummeting to historic lows ahead of midterm elections in November.

American presidents very rarely travel to the airport to greet foreign leaders, although Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin off his plane in Alaska last year.

The last such welcomes at Andrews -- apart from papal visits -- are believed to be John F. Kennedy's welcome for British prime minister Harold Macmillan in 1962, and Dwight D. Eisenhower's for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1959.

World

Ukraine Sent Two Captured North Korean Soldiers to South Korea, Zelenskiy Says

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026. (Reuters)

00:34-24 September 2026 AD ـ 13 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1448 AH

Ukraine Sent Two Captured North Korean Soldiers to South Korea, Zelenskiy Says

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukraine has transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.

"Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea," said Zelenskiy in his speech.

"These guys are not easy to capture alive. One of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate did not ‌let him die."

Zelenskiy ‌did not provide more details about ‌the ⁠return. Ukraine captured the ⁠two North Koreans in Russia's Kursk region in January last year. They were the first North Korean soldiers to be apprehended alive since the country entered the Russia-Ukraine war in 2024.

Zelenskiy said at the time that he would hand them over to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if he ⁠could facilitate their exchange for Ukrainians held captive in ‌Russia.

Human rights groups, however, ‌urged him to repatriate them to South Korea citing the risks of ‌punishments the soldiers faced. South Korean media reported that ‌the two captured soldiers had expressed their desire to defect to South Korea.

South Korea's unification and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Zelenskiy in his speech also criticized North Korea ‌for sending its troops to fight for Russia.

"This is madness too. Why should Koreans give ⁠their lives ⁠in a war against Ukraine? Kim Jong Un uses them like currency. And he gets something in return," he said.

North Korea has sent around 14,000 to 15,000 soldiers since 2024 to support Russia's war against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian and South Korean estimates. Most of them have been deployed in the Russian region of Kursk, where they helped Moscow's forces repel a Ukrainian incursion.

The country has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, ballistic missiles, long-range artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, according to Ukrainian and independent assessments.

World

Australian PM Says OpenAI Hacked Government Health Website

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at a press conference during the United Nations General Assembly, revealing an AI agent developed by OpenAI infiltrated an Australian government website in June, in New York, US, September 23, 2026. (AAP/Mick Tsika via Reuters)

00:31-24 September 2026 AD ـ 13 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1448 AH

Australian PM Says OpenAI Hacked Government Health Website

An autonomous OpenAI program infiltrated an Australian government health website in June in an "unacceptable" breach, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

The artificial intelligence agent accessed public and non-public files of the health statistics service, he told reporters in New York on Wednesday.

OpenAI did not raise the alarm with the Australian government until September, when it sent an email outlining the incident to a generic email address.

"Today I spoke with the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, to express Australia's extreme concern about this incident," Albanese said.

"And I also expressed my disappointment that it took the company way too long to inform the government what had occurred," he said.

"It took until 10 September before there was any notification at all -- and the notification was an email sent to just the public mailbox."

Global worries about the power of advanced AI tools are mounting after a string of hacking incidents involving models from both OpenAI and rival developer Anthropic.

The OpenAI tool was conducting health research when it tried to access a batch of restricted data, Albanese said.

"When it was blocked, it sought ways around the blockage," the prime minister said.

"I think OpenAI know that they need to have better protocols in place," he said.

"This is a research project that has got into areas that it shouldn't have."

- 'Obviously unacceptable' -

The prime minister said there was no available evidence of a broader compromise to the government services network.

"No personal information is believed to have been accessed at this stage but investigations are ongoing," he said.

"Nonetheless this situation is obviously unacceptable."

The Australian Signals Directorate is helping with a "forensic investigation" to gain further information, including what other government systems were impacted, he said.

OpenAI said a recent review showed a number of Australian government websites may have been impacted.

"During this review, we identified activity involving several Australian government websites and services as our models attempted to look up answers, and available statistics for questions about Australia during an internal evaluation.

"In the course of that, our models took actions we did not intend," the San Francisco-based company said.

Altman and other tech CEOs addressed a special meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday about AI risks.

More than 100 organizations around the world, including OpenAI and Anthropic, have signed an open letter calling for a global effort to "strengthen cyber defenses" against AI-powered cybersecurity threats.

Two OpenAI models escaped from a closed testing environment earlier this year and broke into the internal systems of AI platform Hugging Face.

Anthropic recently discovered that its models had gained unauthorized access to three unnamed organizations during testing that was supposed to keep them away from "real-world" systems.

Google's consumer AI model Gemini hacked multiple systems through guessing login credentials, the company said last week.

EU to Gauge Member States’ Willingness to Punish Israel

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