Palestinians alarmed as Israel approves 34 new West Bank settlements

FMT:

Palestinians alarmed as Israel approves 34 new West Bank settlements

The 34 settlements come on top of 68 others already approved since prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government came to power in 2022

The Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. (Reuters pic)

DEIR AMMAR: Israel has approved 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to an NGO and Israeli media, causing concern among Palestinians that their land could soon be confiscated.

“The security cabinet secretly decided to establish 34 new settlements,” said the anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now of the decision taken on April 1.

The 34 settlements come on top of 68 others already approved since prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government came to power in 2022.


The decision has not been officially published by any government body, and the defence ministry, in charge of settlements in the occupied West Bank, declined to respond to AFP’s questions.

“We are not addressing this issue,” a spokesperson for the ministry told AFP.

According to news channel i24News, 10 of the 34 settlements are already existing outposts, which are illegal under Israeli law, but will now be retroactively legalised under the decision.

The remaining 24 are yet to be built.

All settlements are illegal under international law.

In the Palestinian village of Deir Ammar, residents said they were worried that a settler outpost established on a hilltop near their area about a year ago would be one of the legalised settlements.


According to a list of the 34 settlements published by the Palestinian Authority’s Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, which deals with settlement matters, the location of the future settlement of Ramatim Tzofim matches that of the outpost near Deir Ammar, whose residents have been attacked at least three times by the new settlers.


‘We are finished‘

Nael Mussa, a farmer whose chicken coop and its adjacent farmhouse were attacked on several occasions, told AFP he feared the government decision would lead to more land grabs.

“We are effectively finished. If this becomes a settlement, we are finished in Deir Ammar. We will have no land left at all,” 54-year-old Mussa told AFP.


Palestinian farmer Ismail Awdeh expressed a similar sentiment.

“What we fear is that tomorrow this area will become a settlement and the land will be taken from us… of course it will grow,” Awdeh said, referring to the settlement.

“This affects every resident in this area… This land is considered the food basket of the village,” he told AFP.

Residents said settlers placed rocks on a road used by farmers to reach their fields near the new outpost, and damaged an olive tree orchard there.

News website Ynet reported that military chief Eyal Zamir warned during the security cabinet meeting on April 1 that the army could “collapse” because of increasing demands on its manpower.

That included the legalisation of dozens of outposts, granting them official settlement status and therefore for protection from Israeli troops.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis now live there in settlements, among some three million Palestinians.

Settlement expansion has been a policy under successive Israeli governments since 1967, but has accelerated significantly under the current Netanyahu-led coalition, widely regarded as one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history.

Rights groups say approvals of new settlements, land seizures and settler violence have further increased since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

***

Just frigging land robbers like white settlers elsewhere, eg. America, South Africa, Aus, Malaya, Indon, India, South America etc

17% rise in road fatalities during this year’s CNY, Aidilfitri holidays

FMT:

17% rise in road fatalities during this year’s CNY, Aidilfitri holidays

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail says 90 deaths were recorded during the period compared with 77 previously

IGP Khalid Ismail said 9,934 road accidents were reported during the Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays this year, a slight increase from the 9,859 reported in 2025. (JBPM pic)

PETALING JAYA: Road fatalities increased by 17% during the 2026 Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail said 90 fatalities were recorded during the period compared with 77 previously, reported Buletin TV3.

“Therefore, I urge all road users to always comply with traffic laws, remain patient, ensure their vehicles are in good condition, and get sufficient rest before starting their journeys.


“Remember, life is irreplaceable,” he said at an Ops Selamat 25 and 26 appreciation ceremony.

Ops Selamat 25 was carried out during the Chinese New Year holidays, and Ops Selamat 26 was conducted throughout the Hari Raya Aidilfitri period.

Khalid said the total number of road accidents rose slightly by nearly 1%, with 9,934 cases compared with 9,859 previously.

He also said 144,726 summonses were issued nationwide, an increase of 34.8% or 37,361 summonses, compared with the total issued during Ops Selamat 24.

However, he said there was a drop in criminal cases recorded, from 747 this year compared with 858 in 2025.

He attributed this to increased patrols and community policing efforts.

Military Watch:

U.S. Loses Over $3 Billion Worth of MQ-9 Drones During Strikes on Iran

Middle East , Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

April-10th-2026

---

Iranian Downing of MQ-9 (left) and MQ-9

Sources speaking to CBS News have reported that the U.S. Air Force has lost 24 MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft during engagements with Iranian forces. This represents a significant increase from the 16 that had been lost by the beginning of the month, with eight more reported to have been shot down from April 1-9. Losses in early April have reportedly been particularly concentrated around Shiraz and the island of Kish. The updated report on the number of MQ-9s shot down has closely coincided with the reported disappearance of an even higher value type of unmanned aircraft, a U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance jet, which is valued at close to $250 million, fuelling speculation that it may also have been destroyed by Iranian forces. 

U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton

MQ-9 Reaper drones have taken significant losses from the outset of hostilities with Iran, after the U.S. and Israel initiated a full scale assault on the country on February 28. Although they are far from expendable at close to $150 million each, the aircraft can be assigned higher risk missions, including conducting reconnaissance inside well defended Iranian airspace where there risks for manned aircraft are not considered acceptable. The increase in losses may reflect a growing willingness to deploy aircraft for high risk operations, in large part due to the rapid depletion of U.S. and Israeli beyond visual range missile arsenals, which has resulted in a need to strike targets with lower cost shorter ranged munitions. 

Remains of MQ-9 Reaper Drone Following Iranian Shootdown in March

Two of the MQ-9s shot down were among the ten aircraft lost during efforts to recover two airmen who had parachuted into Iran, after their F-15E fighter was itself shot down. Israeli Heron drones and United Arab Emirates Wing Loong II drones, which are both relied on for comparable roles, have also been lost, the former in considerable numbers. The MQ-9 previously made headlines 2023-2024 for the significant numbers that were shot down by Yemeni Ansuruallah Coalition paramilitary units, with over ten reported to have been destroyed in the theatre over a period of little over a year. The Iranian conflict has raised further serious questions regarding the aircraft’s survivability and cost effectiveness, particularly if facing more capable potential adversaries such as China or North Korea. 

The five big sticking points in US-Iran talks

The five big sticking points in US-Iran talks

4 hours ago
Paul Adams

Diplomatic Correspondent

Getty Images/Reuters

US Vice President JD Vance is to lead the US team during the talks, while reports suggest Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will co-lead Iran's delegation

The venue is ready, the guards are in place and the curb along the approach road has received a fresh coat of yellow and black paint.

Islamabad awaits.

As hosts of vital US-Iranian talks, the Pakistani government officials are making optimistic noises, emphasising that unlike many others, they enjoy the trust of both sides.

The man heading the US delegation, Vice President JD Vance, is also sounding upbeat.

"If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith," he said before leaving the US, "we're certainly willing to extend the open hand."

But there was a warning too.

"If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive."

It's fair to say that a whole mountain of obstacles lies ahead.

Reuters

A two-day holiday was declared in Pakistan's capital ahead of the talks

Lebanon

Israel's ongoing campaign against Iran's Lebanese ally, armed group Hezbollah, threatens to derail the talks before they've even started.

"The continuation of these actions will render negotiations meaningless," Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, posted on X.

"Our fingers remain on the trigger. Iran will never abandon its Lebanese sisters and brothers."

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says there is "no ceasefire" when it comes to Hezbollah, but Israel's repeated warning to residents of Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate has yet to result in any further action.

Donald Trump says Israel's action in Lebanon will now be "a little more low key", and the US State Department says direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place in Washington next week.

Whether it will be low key enough to satisfy Iran remains to be seen.


Strait of Hormuz

Reuters

Only a trickle of vessels have passed through the Strait since the ceasefire between the US and Iran began

Another issue with the potential to stymie talks from the beginning is the crucial oil shipping passage the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump says Iran is "doing a very poor job" of allowing ships through the Strait, despite initially saying it would.

"This is not the agreement we have!" he declared in a Truth Social post, accusing Iran of being "dishonourable."

Very few vessels are passing through, with hundreds of ships and an estimated 20,000 seafarers still trapped inside the Gulf.

Having achieved its chokehold on this vital waterway, Iran seems determined to formalise it, calling it sovereign Iranian water and talking about a new set of rules to govern what can and can't pass through.

On Thursday, it announced the creation of new transit routes, north of the two existing traffic separation channels. In a statement which played very consciously on existing fears among shipping companies, it said the new routes were necessary "to avoid the presence of various types of anti-ship mines in the main traffic zone".

Amid reports that some of the ships that have made it through in recent weeks have paid a $2m (£1.5m) toll, Trump has warned that Iran "better not be charging fees to tankers".

Nuclear

Arguably the biggest, and certainly the most long-standing, bone of contention is nuclear.

Trump said he was launching Operation Epic Fury, in part, to make sure Iran "can never have a nuclear weapon".

Iran says he has never sought to build a bomb - a claim most western governments view with enormous scepticism – but insists that as signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, they have the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

Iran's 10-point proposal, which Trump described as "a workable basis on which to negotiate" includes a demand for international recognition of its enrichment rights.

Trump's own 15-point plan reportedly demands that Iran "end all uranium enrichment on Iranian soil". But asked about this earlier this week, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth merely said Iran would "never had a nuclear weapon or the capability to get a path to one".

It took years for international negotiators to reach the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which tackled this thorny issue in enormous detail.

Are the two sides ready to discuss a new deal?

Iran's Regional Allies

Iran's network of regional allies and proxies – Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza and an assortment of militias in Iraq – has given Tehran regional clout, allowing Iran to exercise what is often called "forward defence" in its long-running disputes with Israel and the United States.

Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, the network Iran calls the "Axis of Resistance" has been under constant attack. One part of it, the regime of the former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, no longer exists.

But Israel sees what it calls the "Axis of Evil" as representing an existential threat, which needs to be fully eradicated.

At a time when the Iranian economy is buckling, many Iranians would also like to see their government spending less on foreign adventurism and more on making their lives easier.

But there's little sign yet that Iran is ready to give up on its allies.

Sanctions Relief

The Islamic regime has suffered crippling international sanctions for decades. It's demanding the lifting of all US and international sanctions as part of any deal.

On Friday, the speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said an estimated $120bn (£89bn) of frozen Iranian assets must be released before negotiations begin.

This, he said, was one of two previously agreed measures (the other being a ceasefire in Lebanon).

But the 7 April statement from Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announcing the two-week ceasefire said nothing about the release of frozen assets. It's not clear what agreement Qalibaf was referring to.

It seems highly unlikely that the Trump administration is willing to make such a substantial concession just to get the talks started.

Democrat Kamala Harris teases 2028 presidential bid, following Trump loss

Democrat Kamala Harris teases 2028 presidential bid, following Trump loss


Formerly the vice president under Biden, Harris mused to Al Sharpton that she knows ‘what it requires’ to be president

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the National Action Network convention in New York on April 10 [Timothy A Clary/AFP]

By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 10 Apr 2026


Former Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has teased the prospect she could return to the campaign trail for the 2028 presidential election, following her loss to Donald Trump in the 2024 race.

Harris, a former vice president, faced the possibility on Friday while on stage with the civil rights leader Al Sharpton at the National Action Network’s annual convention.

Sharpton, Harris’s interviewer at the event, put the question to her bluntly: “So are you going to run again ’28?”

Her presence at the civil rights conference had met raucous chants of “Run again!” But Harris avoided committing to a new run for public office, though she did hint at a 2028 bid.

“Listen, I might, I might. I’m thinking about it,” she said in answer to Sharpton’s question.

Harris proceeded to underscore her previous experience in the White House, working as second-in-command to President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025.

“Look, I served for four years, being a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States. I spent countless hours in my West Wing office, footsteps away from the Oval Office. I spent countless hours in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room,” she said. “I know what the job is, and I know what it requires.”

Harris was the first Black and South Asian woman to receive a major party nomination in US history, when she took over for Biden as the Democratic frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race.

Her nomination, however, came under unusual circumstances.

During the first major presidential debate that year, then 81-year-old Biden, the incumbent, struggled to answer questions, prompting a Democratic push for him to exit the race.

Biden ultimately did step down in late July 2024, endorsing Harris, his vice president, to be his successor.

She received the Democratic Party nomination in a subsequent roll-call vote, despite not having participated in the primaries as a presidential contender. By that time, there were fewer than four months until the general election.

Trump, who was seeking a second, non-consecutive term, ultimately won the race in a landslide. He picked up 312 Electoral College votes over Harris’s 226.

The popular vote — which does not count in US elections — showed a narrower race. Trump got 49.8 percent of the overall vote, compared with Harris’s 48.3 percent.

In introducing Harris at Friday’s event, Sharpton referenced that history, describing her as an underdog facing uphill circumstances throughout her career.

He also issued a veiled warning about the current Trump administration, suggesting that voters should have supported Harris in greater numbers in 2024.

“She was so used to people doubting, she took it with ease. We got angry. She was calming us down, and she had to calm me down now because we are in trouble,” Sharpton said. “We should have listened and come out in the numbers that we should have come out with.”

Sharpton also highlighted Harris’s vote total in 2024, which surpassed 75 million.

“She’s the first Black woman to have the nomination of a major party, and she is the second largest vote-getter,” Sharpton told the crowd in his introduction. “She got more votes than Barack Obama, than Bill Clinton.”

Harris was just one of the possible 2028 contenders who attended the National Action Network conference.

Democrats Illinois Governor JD Pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Biden’s former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were present, all likely future presidential candidates.

So, too, was House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, alongside other members of Congress like progressive Representative Ayanna Pressley.

While the presidency is not on the ballot this year, Trump’s Republican Party is seeking to maintain its control over Congress in November’s closely fought midterm elections, while Democrats are seeking to flip one or both of its chambers.

The midterm races are expected to be an informal referendum on Trump’s second presidency, and Harris took shots at his track record so far in her remarks on Thursday.

She repeatedly called the US and Israeli war against Iran a “war of choice” and blamed Trump for alienating long-standing US allies with his aggressive postures.

“ America has increasingly, under Donald Trump, become more unreliable as a partner to our friends, and America has increasingly — second point — lost influence,” she said.

“My concern is not only just the fact of it, but it’s going to take a while and some serious work, way beyond the end of this man’s term, to regain whatever we had.”

Though she openly mused about a possible 2028 run for the presidency, Harris ultimately left the subject on an ambiguous note.

“I am thinking about it in the context of then: Who and where and how can the best job be done for the American people?” she said. “That’s how I’m thinking about it. I’ll keep you posted.”

***

I doubt she'll get the nomination.

Ambulance crash near USM goes viral after Axia driver allegedly fails to give way

Ambulance crash near USM goes viral after Axia driver allegedly fails to give way



Deputy Timur Laut police chief Supt Lee Swee Sake said initial investigations found that a Perodua Axia driven by a 19-year-old woman is believed to have collided with the ambulance as it was passing through a traffic light intersection in front of the university. — Bernama pic

Friday, 10 Apr 2026 7:23 PM MYT


GEORGE TOWN, April 10 — An ambulance responding to an emergency was involved in a collision with two other vehicles on Jalan Bukit Gambir near Universiti Sains Malaysia yesterday, with footage of the incident later going viral on social media.

Deputy Timur Laut police chief Supt Lee Swee Sake said a report on the accident was received at 1.06 pm.

He said initial investigations found that a Perodua Axia driven by a 19-year-old woman is believed to have collided with the ambulance as it was passing through a traffic light intersection in front of the university.


“The driver is believed to have failed to give way to the ambulance, which had its siren activated while crossing the intersection. Following the impact, the ambulance lost control, skidded and struck a Proton Saga that was waiting at the traffic lights,” he said in a statement today.


At the time of the incident, the ambulance was not carrying any patient as it was en route to pick one up.

The 51-year-old ambulance driver and three medical personnel, aged between 35 and 41, sustained minor injuries. The Axia driver, who is a student, suffered injuries to her chest, ribs and waist, while the 65-year-old Proton Saga driver, an e-hailing driver, was unhurt.


Lee said the case is being investigated under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for careless driving causing an accident.

He also urged members of the public with information to come forward to assist in the investigation.

Earlier, a two-minute and 30-second video of the incident circulated widely on social media, drawing public attention. — AFP

MACC receives report on alleged suspicious RM500,000 transaction involving former minister

MACC receives report on alleged suspicious RM500,000 transaction involving former minister



MACC said it received an official complaint from the Sekretariat Gempur Media Sosial Rakyat (SekPur) over alleged questionable transactions amounting to RM500,000. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Friday, 10 Apr 2026 8:29 PM MYT


PUTRAJAYA, April 10 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed it received a report alleging suspicious transactions involving a former minister linked to a vending machine project.

MACC said it received an official complaint from the Sekretariat Gempur Media Sosial Rakyat (SekPur) over alleged questionable transactions amounting to RM500,000.

MACC Strategic Communications Division director Hisyam Mohd Yusoff said SekPur Political Bureau chairman Shahbudin Embun, accompanied by an individual identified as Major Razali Zakaria, lodged the report and submitted related documents at about 12.30pm today.

“MACC has received the relevant documents and will review them for further action,” he said.

The report follows earlier media coverage alleging that RM500,000 was paid as lobbying or political funds through an intermediary to a political figure.

Anwar: One Malaysia-bound oil tanker breaks down in Hormuz, another has docked; no petrol supply impact

Anwar: One Malaysia-bound oil tanker breaks down in Hormuz, another has docked; no petrol supply impact



An oil tanker carrying Malaysia-bound crude from the Persian Gulf broke down en route through the Strait of Hormuz, but another vessel has already docked and there is no immediate impact on petrol supply, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on April 10, 2026. — Unsplash pic

Friday, 10 Apr 2026 3:44 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — One oil tanker carrying Malaysian-bound crude from the Persian Gulf has broken down, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.

He gave an assurance that the incident would not have any impact on Malaysia’s petrol supply for now, adding that another tanker linked to the same shipment has already docked.

“One of the vessels had broken down and is now being repaired at a port, but God willing this won’t affect oil supply, and we will continue to have sufficient petrol until May,” he told reporters after performing Friday prayers at a mosque in Cheras here.

The Prime Minister’s Office later said in a statement that one vessel has already departed, while six others have been approved and are currently awaiting their turn to leave.


In March, Anwar said he spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about Malaysia’s “non-hostile” status and neutral foreign policy to secure an agreement for seven Malaysian-flagged vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.


Earlier this month, Putrajaya and the Iranian representative in Malaysia both confirmed that six of these seven ships had successfully navigated the strait and were en route home, specifically to the Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor.

The tanker mentioned in today’s report is the seventh ship. Roughly 38 per cent of Malaysia’s crude oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz.


The government has been under immense pressure to maintain the RM1.99 per litre cap for RON95 petrol, and Anwar, who is also finance minister, has said any prolonged disruption to the “special pass” tankers would force Malaysia to buy more expensive spot-market oil from other regions, potentially blowing the national subsidy budget.

Taiwan opposition leader calls for ‘reconciliation’ after meeting Xi

Taiwan opposition leader calls for ‘reconciliation’ after meeting Xi

KMT leader Cheng Li-wun stressed shared cultural heritage and suggested she would slow-down Taiwan’s military build up

Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's largest opposition party, greets China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China April 10, 2026 [CTI via REUTERS TV]

By Erin Hale
Published On 10 Apr 2026


Taipei, Taiwan – Opposition leader Cheng Li-wun and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met in Beijing, where both leaders stated their opposition to Taiwan independence and expressed a desire for a “peaceful” resolution to the long-running dispute over the island’s future.

They posed for photos at the Great Hall of the People and exchanged public remarks, in addition to holding their closed-door meeting.

Cheng is the highest-ranking Taiwanese leader to meet Xi since President Ma Ying-jeou talked with the Chinese leader in Singapore in 2015. They met again in China two years ago when Ma was a private citizen.

Both Cheng and Ma are members of the Kuomintang, the conservative-leaning Taiwanese political party that advocates for greater engagement with China by Taiwan’s self-ruled democratic government.

During her public remarks, Cheng stressed that Chinese and Taiwanese leaders should work to “transcend political confrontation and mutual hostility”.

“Through the unremitting efforts of our two parties, we hope the Taiwan Strait will no longer become a potential flashpoint of conflict, nor a chessboard for external powers,” Cheng said, according to an English translation.

“Instead, it should become a strait that connects family ties, civilisation and hope – a symbol of peace jointly safeguarded by Chinese people on both sides,” she said.

Cheng’s remarks were sprinkled with well-known Chinese Communist Party talking points, praising its success in eradicating absolute poverty to its goal of achieving the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”

“During their open-door meeting, Xi also emphasised Taiwan and China’s shared history and culture, stating that “people of all ethnic groups, including Taiwanese compatriots,” had “jointly written the glorious history of China.”

“All sons and daughters of China share the same Chinese roots and the same Chinese spirit. This originates from blood ties and is deeply embedded in our history – it cannot be forgotten and cannot be erased,” Xi said.

He added that together with the KMT and other members of Taiwanese society, Beijing was ready to “work for peace” across the Taiwan Strait.

Both leaders said they oppose “foreign meddling” in Taiwan-China relations – a reference to US interference – while Cheng suggested that she would slow Taiwan’s military build up, according to Wen-ti Sung, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.

“She talked about the ‘institutional arrangement for war prevention,’ which was a euphemism for saying that under her leadership, the KMT would not be seeking a defence and deterrence-oriented approach to war prevention,” he told Al Jazeera.

The message, in short, was that “Taiwan ought to slow down on defence buildup and buying US arms,” Sung said.

Taiwan’s military expansion has been a hotly debated issue in the legislature, where the KMT has for months blocked a $40bn special budget to acquire US weapons. The opposition party alleges that the defence bill is too large and too vague. It offered a smaller $12bn alternative instead.

Writing on Facebook ahead of the meeting, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wrote that the KMT continues to “deliberately avoid cross-party negotiations” while delaying approval of the special defence budget.

Lai said that his government also supports peace, but not “unrealistic fantasies”. Despite promises of peace from Xi, China has steadily ramped up its military presence in the waters and airspace around Taiwan in recent years. Since 2022, China’s armed forces have had six rounds of multi-day live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait, the 180-kilometre wide waterway dividing Taiwan from mainland Asia.

“History tells us that compromising with authoritarian regimes only sacrifices sovereignty and democracy; it will not bring freedom, nor will it bring peace,” Lai wrote on Facebook.

China accuses the ruling DPP’s leadership of pushing a “separatist” agenda. The DPP advocates for a distinct Taiwanese identity and, over the past decade, has tried to raise Taiwan’s profile on the world stage — which has provoked anger in Beijing.

The Chinese leadership cut off formal contact with Taipei shortly after the DPP came to power in 2016, although it continues to communicate through different groups, including the KMT.

That is partly why Cheng’s trip to China has been viewed with scepticism in some corners of Taiwan, particularly among the ruling DPP.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Cheng sidestepped questions of whether she supported Taiwanese and Chinese unification, but said her main goal was to seek “reconciliation” based on shared history and culture.

However, the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party have not always got along.

They fought a bloody civil war from the 1920s to the 1940s during China’s republican era, only pausing to fight the Japanese during the Second World War.

The KMT-led Republic of China government later retreated to Taiwan, a former Japanese colony, in the late 1940s, vowing to one day return to China. The conflict was never fully resolved. The CCP continues to claim Taiwan as a province, and remains committed to annexing it one day, peacefully or by force.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council – which sets Taiwan’s policy towards China – said this week that Cheng’s talking point that Taiwan and China are “one family” mischaracterises Taiwan’s sovereignty dispute as an internal disagreement rather than one between two governments.

While still formally known as the Republic of China, Taiwan has undergone a cultural and political sea change since democratisation in the 1990s, accompanied by a rise in Taiwanese nationalism.

In 2025, a national identity survey by the National Chengchi University in Taiwan found that 62 per cent of respondents identified as “Taiwanese”, up from 17.6 per cent in 1992, the first year of the survey.

The percentage of respondents who identify as “Taiwanese and Chinese” has fallen from 46.4 per cent to 31.7 per cent over the same period, while respondents identifying as “Chinese” fell from 25.5 to 2.5 per cent.

Inside the church of Pete Hegseth, the man who has been leading the US through war

Inside the church of Pete Hegseth, the man who has been leading the US through war

By correspondent Rachel Clayton in Washington DC

13 hours ago




Pete Hegseth has been one of the chief spokesmen for the US's war on Iran. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)



By the time I arrived at Pete Hegseth's church, the entire block had been cordoned off by police officers and the National Guard.

Across the road, protesters screamed incoherent messages into megaphones directed at the brick building.

Sirens cut through the demonstrators as a convoy of seven black Suburbans pulled up, lights flashing.

The US secretary of defense, his wife and their seven children emerged from their vehicles and were whisked inside by Secret Service agents.

"You can go in now," an officer told me once the Hegseth family had disappeared.

I walked into Mr Hegseth's church, eager to better understand a belief system that challenges the legitimacy of democracy and key principles in the US constitution yet is shaping the man leading the world's most powerful military.

Inside, I looked down at my pants. Around me, every woman wore flowing floor-length dresses. Every man had his polo shirt tucked neatly into belted slacks. The children sat still.

Christ Church in Washington DC is inside a nondescript double-storey brick rowhouse. (ABC News: Bradley McLennan)

A security guard introduced me to someone in charge who had immediately sized me up as a reporter.

"We were expecting a journalist," he said to me with a smile. I could stay, he said, but no photos and no asking anyone any questions.

I was shown to a seat with a direct line of sight to the US defense secretary. To my right sat a young man. To my left, a young couple who clutched each other through the entire 90-minute service.

Outside, the competing drone of screaming megaphones persisted.

The pastor didn't ignore it. Instead, he told the crowd of roughly 185 people that if two people can make that much noise, the potential for those in the room to spread the message of Christ was infinite.

'Far outside mainstream American Christianity'

From the outside, the church is easy to miss; a double-storey brick rowhouse with mirrored windows, no steeple, no cross, and no open doors with a welcome sign.

But inside, those who frequent this place belong to a particularly hardline strand of conservative Christianity in the United States.

Pastor Doug Wilson has argued women's priorities should be "in the home" and laws against sodomy should be brought back. (AP: Lindsey Wasson)


Christ Church (also called Christ Kirk) lies opposite the Library of Congress in Washington DC. It is part of a network of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) founded by Doug Wilson, a pastor from Idaho who has spent decades promoting biblical governance.

"I do believe in the separation of church and state," Mr Wilson told the ABC. "But I don't believe in liberal democracy, and I want education to be privatised."

Some of the most contentious ideas promoted by church leaders relate to the role of women.

Mr Wilson said he believed their "priority is the home". They should submit to their husbands and fathers, and should "not ordinarily" hold political roles, he told the ABC.

Mr Hegseth has publicly backed some of these views in interviews and online.

Last year, he shared a CNN segment on social media featuring church leaders, including Mr Wilson, arguing that in an ideal society, women would not be able to vote. In the video, Mr Wilson also said America should outlaw sodomy. Mr Hegseth captioned it: "All of Christ for All of Life."

In a podcast interview, he said a "misreading of the First Amendment" had resulted in "progressives, communists, Marxists … removing God from the school system" in the 1800s.

The US "is a republic, not a democracy, and our education system pumps democracy down people's throats", he said.

It is not uncommon for US politicians to be outspoken Christians but Mr Hegseth stands out, said Matthew Taylor, a visiting scholar at the Centre on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University.

"What's different in the case of somebody like Pete Hegseth is just how extreme his ideas are, how far outside of what we could call mainstream American Christianity he is," Professor Taylor said.

Conservative religious beliefs become "extremely concerning", he said, when they are so publicly and unapologetically projected from a position of authority.

Prayers at the Pentagon

Mr Hegseth's branch of conservative Christianity has already filtered into policy, leadership, and expectations within the ranks.

In press briefings on the war with Iran, he characterised combat as preparation for the return of Jesus Christ and he prayed for US troops from the Pentagon's press podium.

"May his almighty and eternal arms of providence watch over them and protect them and bring them peace in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen," he said at one recent briefing.

Earlier this year, he began monthly Christian worship services at the Pentagon, which are broadcast on internal TV stations. He told military personnel and civilian employees that "every month it is fitting to be right here" at church service.

Mr Wilson, the church founder, led the February service. Mr Hegseth hosted it in March.

The Pentagon argues the prayer services "undoubtedly improve morale" and "are constitutionally protected".

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said attendees were not given special treatment and no-one was punished for not attending.

"We mostly do it [the monthly service] because I need it more than anybody else," Mr Hegseth told a recent meeting of Christian broadcasters.

"We hear a lot from the freedom-from-religion crowd. They hate it," he said. "The left-wing shrieks, which means we're right over the target."

'Tidal wave' of complaints

Since the war with Iran began, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has reported a "tidal wave" of about 200 complaints about evangelical messages being pushed in the military.

The organisation advocates for religious freedom for the 100,000 personnel across all branches of the US military.

Founder Mikey Weinstein said when Christian nationalism was pushed on people within "the most lethal organisation ever created by humankind" — the US military — "it's a national security threat internally to our country. And it's a planetary security threat".

Complaints to the foundation include officers telling their subordinates the Iran war was "all part of the plan of the Book of Revelation to … bring their version of weaponised Jesus back to the Battle of Armageddon", Mr Weinstein said.

"This stunned people. Superiors invited their subordinates to their homes for Bible studies. It's about as bad as it ever has been, and I'm sure it's going to get worse."

Last month, a member reported that a poster depicting Jesus Christ launching a mortar round was displayed in a command centre headquarters overseas.

A poster of Jesus holding a mortar that was reported as on display at an overseas US military base. (Supplied: Military Religious Freedom Foundation)


Professor Taylor said this crossed a line.

"The US Army should not be fighting on behalf of Christianity," he said. "It fights on behalf of the United States and in the interests of United States citizens.

"This conflation of America with Christianity … only threatens to turn this into a holy war."

Mr Hegseth's visible displays of his faith have been under scrutiny, too.

He was questioned during his Senate confirmation hearing last year about his tattoos, some of which show symbols that have become popular among the far right and some white supremacy groups. They include the Latin phrase Deus Vult, which means "God wills it", and the Jerusalem Cross.

A tattoo of the Arabic word kafir — used in Islam to describe an infidel or non-believer — has also been criticised as being Islamophobic.

Peter Hegseth has the Arabic word kafir tattooed on his right arm. (X: Pete Hegseth)


Mr Hegseth pointed out at the hearing that the Jerusalem Cross also featured on the program for former president Jimmy Carter's funeral, which he had recently attended.

A small church that could be underestimated

While only a minority of Christian Americans subscribe to the same denomination as Mr Hegseth, they "punch way above their weight", Professor Taylor said.

"They are some of the most ardent supporters of Donald Trump and view both Trump administrations as their vehicles for the re-Christianising of America," he said.

"If they can hold on to this very dedicated, die-hard [MAGA] group, then maybe they can thwart the rules of democracy and turn the United States more into an autocratic power.

"We write them off as hucksters or as conmen at our own peril."

The allegations Pete Hegseth faced ahead of his confirmation as defense secretary





When he was preparing to face the Senate confirmation hearing, Pete Hegseth claimed he was the victim of a media smear campaign.

Mr Wilson, the church's founder, told the ABC he wanted his congregation in DC to lobby politicians to help achieve the goal of a Christian nation.

But ultimately, he believed that goal would "be accomplished by planting churches and schools, evangelising, publishing books", he said.

On the war in Iran, Mr Wilson said he wished the US was "still under the older system where … the president was the executive of the war".

"But as a pragmatist, I believe that the Middle East is likely to be a lot more peaceful after this. God draws straight with crooked lines," he said.

He described his relationship with Mr Hegseth as "cordial and friendly", but said he did not advise him on policy decisions.

"That would be totally inappropriate," he said.



Topic: Explainer

Julie Ingersoll, a religious studies professor at the University of North Florida who has studied the decades-long movement of evangelical Christianity, said the church had never enjoyed such proximity to power.

"I think that we still underestimate the significance of this movement," she said.

"These folks … are 75 years into a long strategy, and they should not be dismissed because they're serious about it, they're committed to it."

Professor Ingersoll said followers of Mr Wilson's denomination did not think of Christianity "as a personal thing".

"It's public. They want the world to know their beliefs," she said.

"Everything is viewed through religion. They reject the idea there is anything not religious, so this war is about Christianity [for them]."

The Hegseth family is inducted

At the church service in downtown DC, I watched as hymns were sung, prayers were recited, and the congregation said "amen" and "thanks be to God" in unison at all the correct moments.

Then, Mr Hegseth and his family were called forward to be formally inducted into the DC congregation.

Joining a CREC church formally requires elder approval and often an official letter of transfer and release from your previous congregation. Mr Hegseth joined the church in 2023 in Tennessee.

Flanked by American flags, the family stood before the congregation. Mr Hegseth said "we do" to a series of questions about his family's commitment and allegiance to the church.

Professor Ingersoll said the pledge represented the family making "a covenant with the congregation", which puts new members under the authority of church elders.

A woman took notes as the pastor spoke about the duty to serve the "humble needy".

Christ Church is not easily recognisable as a church, but has at times attracted protesters. (ABC News: Bradley McLennan)


The service ended with a bowl passed for donations, a basket of bread and wine for communion, and a closing prayer in which members held their palms up to the ceiling.

Mr Hegseth did not stay long. A couple of handshakes, a few quiet words, then he was folded back into a convoy of black SUVs, a newly anointed man of a denomination that aims to transform the government he represents and works for.

After the September 11 terror attacks, US president George W Bush described the war on Al Qaeda as a "crusade" — a comment that sparked global backlash and was quickly walked back.

Professor Taylor said America's capacity for outrage had withered since then.

"Trump has worn people down. People are just really tired after 10 years of resisting, of reacting," he said.

"I think a lot of Americans just have accepted that extreme things are going to happen, and they don't really feel much power to do anything about it."

Israel bombed Gaza on 36 of the past 40 days while the war raged in Iran

Israel bombed Gaza on 36 of the past 40 days while the war raged in Iran


In that short time, Israel killed at least 107 people, permitted only 8 percent of medical evacuations, and admitted just 20 percent of trucks

By Alia Chughtai and Marium Ali
Published On 9 Apr 2026

The United States and Iran agreed on Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire following 40 days of war, with talks set to begin on Saturday in Islamabad, Pakistan.

But since February 28, when Israel and the US began bombing Iran, Israel has also, on a near-daily basis, launched attacks on Lebanon, Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

While much of the world’s attention has been on Iran, here are three main things that you may have missed in Gaza.

Israel bombed Gaza on 36 of the past 40 days

Since the declaration of a “ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip six months ago, Israel has violated the agreement thousands of times, with attacks on a nearly daily basis.

Over the past 40 days, Israel has not only continued bombing Gaza, but has also closed the Rafah crossing and withheld life‑saving food and medical supplies.

According to an analysis by Al Jazeera, Israel has attacked Gaza on 36 out of the past 40 days, meaning there were only four days on which no violent attacks, deaths or injuries were reported in the Strip.


How many people has Israel killed in that time?


Between February 28 and April 8, Israeli attacks killed at least 107 people in Gaza and injured 342 others.

Since the “ceasefire” in Gaza took effect six months ago, Israeli attacks have killed at least 738 people and injured more than 2,000.

In total, since launching its genocidal war on Gaza, Israel has killed or injured at least 10 percent of the Strip’s population, killing more than 72,000 people, the majority of them women and children, and injuring at least 172,000 others, with thousands more buried under the rubble and presumed dead.

[Al Jazeera]


On Wednesday, as the world awaited the much-anticipated pause in attacks between the US, Israel and Iran, Israel killed another journalist in Gaza – Al Jazeera’s correspondent Mohammed Wiswash, who was killed in a targeted drone strike.



‘Heinous crime’: Al Jazeera condemns Israeli killing of journalist


On the same day, Israel launched one of its largest-ever attacks on Lebanon in a single day, launching a wave of strikes that killed at least 254 people and injured 1,165.


Only 8 percent medically evacuated

On February 28, the day Israel and the US began strikes on Iran, Israeli authorities closed all crossings into Gaza, halting the transfer of wounded patients abroad and suspending medical evacuations.

Among them was Rafah crossing, Gaza’s sole gateway to the outside world through Egypt, which was supposed to open under the US-brokered 20-point ceasefire plan for the Strip. Based on the agreement, 50 patients per day, plus their companions – typically one or two per patient – were supposed to be allowed out of the enclave for treatment.

More than two years of Israeli attacks have left thousands injured and in need of urgent medical treatment. According to OCHA, more than 18,500 critical patients, including 4,000 children, require medical evacuations.

On March 19, Israeli authorities announced the resumption of limited medical evacuations through Rafah.

According to the Gaza Media Office, since February 28, 625 out of 7,800 travellers have been permitted to leave Gaza for treatment – about 8 percent of the agreed number.

[Al Jazeera]

Twenty percent of trucks allowed to enter Gaza

Israel has continued to limit urgent food and medical supplies, exacerbating severe shortages and deepening a humanitarian crisis.

According to the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), the global hunger monitor, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of the population in Gaza are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Of the 1.6 million people analysed by IPC:475,000 people are in Phase 2, food stress.
1,027,790 people are in Phase 3, food crisis.
570,980 people are in Phase 4, food emergency.
1,885 people are in Phase 5, famine.

According to the Gaza Media Office, since the US-Israel war on Iran began, Israel has allowed only 4,999 of the 23,400 trucks stipulated in the ceasefire agreement into the Strip – just one-fifth of the promised deliveries.

Strait still shut and Lebanon fighting strains truce as US and Iran aim for first talks

Strait still shut and Lebanon fighting strains truce as US and Iran aim for first talks

By Parisa Hafezi, Maya Gebeily, Maayan Lubell and Ariba Shahid

April 10, 2026, 11:12 AM GMT+10

Updated 51 mins ago

Summary

• Iran says ceasefire must include Lebanon; Israel says it is not covered
• Israel offers direct talks with Lebanon, wants Hezbollah to disarm
• Islamabad locked down to host talks

DUBAI/BEIRUT/JERUSALEM/ISLAMABAD, April 10 (Reuters) - The Strait of Hormuz remained shut on Friday and Israel traded fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which the United States and Iran each described as violations of their ceasefire deal on the eve of their first peace talks of the war.

The two-day-old ceasefire ​has halted the campaign of U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran. But it has so far done nothing to end the blockade of the strait, which has caused the biggest-ever disruption to ‌global energy supplies, or to calm a parallel war waged by Israel against Iran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

Iran was doing a "very poor job" of allowing oil to go through the strait, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post overnight. "That is not the agreement we have!"

In a separate post, he said oil would start flowing again, without saying how.

PAKISTANI CAPITAL LOCKED DOWN FOR TALKS

Iran, for its part, described the ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon as a violation of the truce. Israeli forces launched the biggest attack of the war hours after the ceasefire was announced, killing ​more than 250 Lebanese in sudden surprise strikes on heavily populated areas.

Iran says the truce was meant to apply to Lebanon, a position initially supported by Pakistan, which mediated it. Israel and the United States say ​Lebanon is not covered by the U.S.-Iranian ceasefire. But in a shift on Thursday, Israel said it would open separate talks with the Lebanese government aimed at ending the war there ⁠and disarming Hezbollah.

The rival accusations of violations appeared unlikely to derail the first planned U.S.-Iranian peace talks, set to begin in the Pakistani capital Islamabad from Saturday.

The centre of Islamabad was placed under complete lockdown for a hastily announced public holiday, ​with a security perimeter thrown up for a 3-km (2-mile) "red zone" around a luxury hotel where all guests were ordered out to make room for both delegations.

Pakistani officials were tight-lipped about the exact timing of the arrival of the Iranian delegation to be ​led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. A source involved in the talks said the Pakistani air force would escort the Iranians' plane.

The U.S. delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, is due in time for the start of the talks on Saturday.

US INFLATION DATA TO SHOW WAR'S EARLY IMPACT

The ceasefire has brought an expectation that Middle East oil will resume flowing, and curbed benchmark oil prices based on delivery a month in the future. But the prices for present-day spot delivery have yet to fall and some refineries in Europe and Asia are ​paying record prices close to $150 a barrel.

March U.S. consumer price figures are due on Friday, the first official American statistics to show the war's early impact on inflation.

In the first 24 hours of the ceasefire, just a single oil products tanker ​and five dry bulk carriers sailed through the strait, which typically carries 140 ships a day.

Although Trump has declared victory, the war did not achieve the aims he set out at the start: to deprive Iran of the ability to strike its neighbours, dismantle its ‌nuclear programme and ⁠make it easier for its people to overthrow their government.

Iran still possesses missiles and drones capable of hitting its neighbours and a stockpile of more than 400 kg (900 pounds) of uranium enriched near the level needed to make a bomb. Its clerical rulers, who faced a popular uprising just months ago, withstood the onslaught with no sign of organised opposition.

Iran's agenda at the talks now includes demands for major new concessions, including the end of sanctions that crippled its economy for years, and acknowledgment of its authority over the strait, where it aims to collect transit fees and control access in what would amount to a huge shift in regional power.

Its new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, yet to be seen in public since taking over ​from his father who was killed on the war's first ​day, released a defiant statement on Thursday saying Iran ⁠would demand compensation for all wartime damage.
"We will certainly not leave unpunished the criminal aggressors who attacked our country," he said.

The United States, for its part, wants Iran to relinquish the uranium, forgo further enrichment, give up its missiles and end support for regional allies - years-old demands left over from talks Trump abandoned two days before launching the war.

FRESH ATTACKS IN LEBANON

Israeli ​Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement on Thursday that he had given instructions to start peace talks with Lebanon as soon as possible marked a shift after he rebuffed Lebanese ​calls last month for direct talks.

"The ⁠negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon," Netanyahu said.

Israel invaded Lebanon last month in pursuit of Hezbollah after the group fired into Israel in support of Iran. Around a fifth of Lebanese have been forced from their homes by the Israeli invasion, with troops aiming to occupy the entire southern swathe of the country.

Israel's military said early on Friday it had struck 10 launchers in Lebanon that fired rockets toward northern Israel on Thursday evening, and that Iran-allied armed group Hezbollah ⁠had launched a ​missile at Israel, triggering air sirens.

Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli military infrastructure in the northern city of Haifa. The armed group had initially ​indicated it would pause attacks in line with the ceasefire, but said it would resume fighting after Wednesday's Israeli strikes.

A senior Lebanese official told Reuters Lebanon had spent the day pushing for a temporary ceasefire to allow for broader talks with Israel, describing the effort as a "separate track but the ​same model" as the U.S.-Iran truce.

A U.S. State Department official confirmed the U.S. would host a meeting next week to "discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations".