Monday briefing: Israel’s bombing of Qatar threatens the fabric of Gulf security

In today’s newsletter: For decades, Gulf states have believed that a close relationship with US will guarantee their safety. That is no longer the case

Good morning. Last Monday, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, announced that his country had accepted the US ceasefire proposal to end the devastating war in Gaza. The very next day, Israel attempted to kill Hamas’s negotiating team while they were in Qatar’s capital to discuss that same proposal.

Israel, initially bullish about the success of the operation, has since grown more doubtful that it killed any Hamas leaders in Doha. Hamas said that while six people were killed in the bombing – including the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy head of its political bureau – the top leadership including the negotiating team survived.

UK news | Britain will “never surrender” to far-right protesters who use the English flag as cover for violence and to instil fear, Keir Starmer has said, condemning attacks against police officers and racist harassment after more than 110,000 people attended an extremist London rally.

Crime | Christian Brueckner, prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has refused to be interviewed by the Metropolitan police before his pending release from prison in Germany, Scotland Yard has said.

US | The Utah governor, Spencer Cox, has said 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Turning Point USA executive director Charlie Kirk, “does come from a conservative family – but his ideology was very different than his family”. Robinson was not cooperating with authorities, said Cox.

Europe | Poland’s foreign minister has said the Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace was an attempt by the Kremlin to test Nato’s reactions by incremental escalations without prompting a full-scale response, as Romania became the second Nato country to report an incursion in a matter of days.

Television | It was a full sweep for Adolescence at the Emmys, winning every award in which the show was nominated tonight. Fifteen-year-old Owen Cooper made history as the youngest ever actor to win the Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited series. Emmy awards 2025 – full list of winners

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Australia and Papua New Guinea to sign defense pact as China’s influence grows – AP News

  1. Australia and Papua New Guinea to sign defense pact as China’s influence grows  AP News
  2. 'Totally integrated': Australia to join military forces with PNG  Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  3. Australia-PNG relationship on par with US, NZ: Albanese  AFR
  4. Australia PM Albanese Arrives in PNG Ahead of Defence Treaty Signing  U.S. News & World Report
  5. Australia, Papua New Guinea to sign 'historic' defence deal  Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle
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Prime Madeleine McCann suspect refuses Met interview before German prison release

Scotland Yard made formal request to interview Christian Brückner, due for release from seven-year rape sentence

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has refused to be interviewed by the Metropolitan police before his pending release from prison in Germany, the force has said.

The Met confirmed it had submitted a formal international request to question Christian Brückner, the 49-year-old German national who has long been under investigation in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance, but the suspect declined.

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China set to open security forum amid regional tensions – Reuters

  1. China set to open security forum amid regional tensions  Reuters
  2. Beijing Xiangshan Forum to uphold international order  China Daily
  3. China, which showed off its power earlier this month with a military parade attended by the leaders  매일경제
  4. Defense ministry: Over 100 countries to attend China's security forum  news.cgtn.com
  5. Secretary-General of ASEAN to participate in the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum  ASEAN Main Portal
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Philippine president supports public outrage over corruption but says protests should be peaceful – AP News

  1. Philippine president supports public outrage over corruption but says protests should be peaceful  AP News
  2. Philippines' Marcos says no one will be spared in infrastructure corruption probe  Reuters
  3. Philippines president says corruption scandal protests justified  CNA
  4. Cendaña questions appointment of Reyes as ICI chair  Inquirer.net
  5. Marcos Taps Anger Over Philippine Elite in Corruption Fight  Bloomberg.com
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IDF chief to Knesset ahead Gaza offensive: Netanyahu gives no plan, army unsure what’s next – Ynetnews

  1. IDF chief to Knesset ahead Gaza offensive: Netanyahu gives no plan, army unsure what's next  Ynetnews
  2. Report: Israeli Army Chief Says Netanyahu Not Informing IDF on Next Stage of Gaza War  Haaretz
  3. Gaza’s worst fear is no longer bombs but ‘humanitarian cities’  Al Jazeera
  4. IDF braces for Hamas kidnapping attempts in Gaza City offensive, officers say  yahoo.com
  5. Israel weighs Gaza offensive or ceasefire deal  The Jerusalem Post
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Europe’s summer of extreme weather caused €43bn of short-term losses, analysis finds

Greatest damage from heat, drought and flooding done in Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Bulgaria

The violent weather that battered Europe this summer caused short-term economic losses of at least €43bn, according to an EU-wide estimate, with costs expected to rise to €126bn by 2029.

The immediate hit to the economy from a single brutal summer of heat, drought and flooding amounted to 0.26% of the EU’s economic output in 2024, according to the rapid analysis, which has not been submitted for peer review but is based on relationships between weather and economic data that were published in an academic study this month.

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Don’t Overestimate the Autocratic Alliance – Foreign Affairs

  1. Don’t Overestimate the Autocratic Alliance  Foreign Affairs
  2. The axis of upheaval: inside the 12 September Guardian Weekly  The Guardian
  3. China, India, and North Korea back Russia as changing global order takes shape  Atlantic Council
  4. China Shows Unity With Russia and North Korea, but Divisions Linger  The Wall Street Journal
  5. Xi’s show of unity with Putin and Kim could complicate China’s delicate diplomatic balance  The Conversation
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Philippines’ Marcos says no one will be spared in infrastructure corruption probe – Reuters

  1. Philippines' Marcos says no one will be spared in infrastructure corruption probe  Reuters
  2. Philippine president supports public outrage over corruption but says protests should be peaceful  AP News
  3. Philippines president says corruption scandal protests justified  CNA
  4. Ex-solons call ICI a ‘step forward,’ despite concerns over implementation  Inquirer.net
  5. Lacson pins hope on new infra commission  Philippine News Agency
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The Gen Z revolution spreading in Asia – Financial Times

  1. The Gen Z revolution spreading in Asia  Financial Times
  2. Exclusive: Young activists who toppled Nepal's government now picking new leaders  Reuters
  3. ‘More egalitarian’: How Nepal’s Gen Z used gaming app Discord to pick PM  Al Jazeera
  4. The key issues that drove Gen Z protests that toppled Nepal’s government  PBS
  5. Young Nepalis brought down the government. Now they need a plan.  The Washington Post
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Turkey: Thousands protest against crackdown on opposition – DW

  1. Turkey: Thousands protest against crackdown on opposition  DW
  2. Turkey court delays ruling on opposition leader amid political crisis  Reuters
  3. Tens of thousands protest in Ankara against legal crackdown on Turkish opposition  The Guardian
  4. Turkiye court adjourns case challenging CHP opposition party’s congress  Al Jazeera
  5. Transcript: Turkey’s opposition is under siege  Financial Times
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Trump insists foreign workers are ‘welcome’ days after arrest of hundreds of South Koreans

US president says he doesn’t want to ‘disincentivize investment’ after images of workers chained and handcuffed caused widespread alarm in South Korea

President Donald Trump has said foreign workers sent to the United States are “welcome” and he doesn’t want to “frighten off” investors, 10 days after hundreds of South Koreans were arrested at a work site in Georgia.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize investment.

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