Tensions have risen between Tel Aviv and Ankara over Israeli airstrikes in Syria, but Israel does not want to turn Turkey into an enemy, according to the report. An Israeli defence official said the two countries are exchanging messages through secret contacts in an effort to avoid conflict. The report was published by Amar Desh Online on August 23, 2026.

The official told Kan News that Israel has to act when messages do not produce results. Israel has warned that it would counter Turkey’s military presence in Syria if it becomes a threat to Israeli security. It is particularly prioritising efforts to prevent the deployment of Turkish air-defence systems, advanced missiles and drones in Syria.

As part of that approach, Israel struck infrastructure and the runway at the Abu al-Duhur military base in northern Syria. Tel Aviv said the strike was carried out before Turkish military equipment arrived and was intended to send Damascus a clear message. Israel said it does not object to strengthening Syria’s military capabilities, but will not allow a new security threat near its border. Turkey denied that Turkish military representatives or troops were at the base during the attack.

Emily Thornberry, chair of the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a Labour Party MP, has urged the UK government to ban imports produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The call was reported on August 23, 2026. Thornberry said individual sanctions alone were insufficient to halt settlement expansion and violence, arguing that trade with the settlements should also stop.

She said Israeli settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank were threatening the prospects for a two-state solution. Thornberry argued that Britain should stop importing settlement goods so that British money is not used to support the expansion of those settlements. She also described violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank as having reached a severe level.

Nearly 140 Labour MPs called in June for a ban on trade with what they described as illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but the British government has not introduced a full prohibition. The government has described Israeli settlements as a violation of international law. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband recently strongly criticised Israel’s new West Bank settlement projects, and the government said further measures to curb settlement expansion would be announced in coming weeks.

Many Bangladeshi tourists are hurriedly leaving hotels in Kolkata and returning home after a devastating fire at Hotel Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market killed nine people, including seven Bangladeshis. The August 23 report said the deaths have created fear and anger among residents, businesses and visitors in Kolkata’s well-known hotel district.

The area, spanning Sudder Street, Marquis Street, Lindsay Street, Mirza Ghalib Street and Free School Street, is popular with Bangladeshi medical travellers because of relatively low-cost lodging and nearby money-exchange services, bus counters and food stalls. Visitors and local accounts alleged widespread illegal hotels, inadequate licensing, narrow access routes, absent fire exits, unsafe electrical wiring and a lack of fire-safety audits.

Tourists also cited visa complications, brokers and long waits at the Benapole border, with some considering Chennai, Vellore, China or Nepal for treatment instead. Authorities have formed an investigation committee to examine the legality of hotels and guesthouses in the area. Municipal, fire-service and electricity officials have begun stricter action, while owners of illegal establishments are reported to be worried.

Former Indian Air Marshal and Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force Nakesh Kapoor has questioned whether the Tejas Mk-2 will remain effective as a frontline fighter when large numbers are expected to enter service around the middle of 2030. In an NDTV interview less than two months after retirement, he said its battlefield relevance could be greatly diminished by then.

Kapoor cited China’s move toward sixth-generation aircraft and Pakistan’s plans to acquire fifth-generation fighters. He questioned the logic of confronting China’s sixth-generation aircraft in 2035 with a fourth-generation platform. The report says fifth-generation fighters such as the US F-22 and China’s J-20 feature stealth, sensor fusion and internal weapons carriage, while India currently has no fifth- or sixth-generation platform.

Kapoor nevertheless said Tejas Mk-2 aircraft would be needed to fill deployment gaps because limited numbers of advanced fighters could not be stationed everywhere across India. He also criticized Hindustan Aeronautics Limited over delays in Tejas Mk-1A deliveries. The Mk-2’s first flight is now expected between March and July 2027, while Kapoor urged consideration of participation in sixth-generation projects such as FCAS or GCAP.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said discussions over a security agreement with Israel are currently suspended, with no date set for their resumption. Speaking to Reuters on August 23, 2026, he said Syria does not trust Israel at this time. He said communication between the two countries stopped after Israel struck Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase earlier in the week.

Al-Shaibani said Damascus hopes talks with Israel will resume soon. He said the United States has continued pressuring Israel to return to the negotiating table. According to the minister, Washington has been applying sustained pressure on Israel to bring it back into discussions.

The Syrian foreign minister also criticized Israel’s military approach to ensuring its security. He said Israel had tried to maintain its security through the use of force but had not succeeded. In contrast, he said Syria has extended its hand for understanding, peace and diplomacy.

Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir will visit Tehran, the Iranian capital, on Monday, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei. The report, published on August 23, 2026, cited Iran’s Fars news agency for the announcement. No further schedule or meetings for the visit were specified in the source.

Baghaei said strengthening bilateral cooperation is among the main objectives of Munir’s visit. He also linked the trip to continuing Pakistan’s “sincere efforts” to establish regional peace and security. The source did not provide details about specific cooperation areas or any planned agreements.

The Tehran visit is described as part of efforts by Pakistan and Iran to further strengthen their bilateral relationship. The two countries are also continuing cooperation on regional peace and security, according to the report. The source did not state how long Munir’s visit would last or identify other officials expected to take part in discussions.

Gaza is facing an acute shortage of burial space after Israel’s ongoing attacks destroyed more than 40 cemeteries across the enclave, according to the report published on August 23, 2026. More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed over more than two years, while families are increasingly burying relatives in gardens, schools, tents and displacement camps because established cemeteries lack capacity.

Omar al-Sawhi, 20, said his father Mohammed was shot dead on June 10 while working at a tea shop near the Israeli-designated “Yellow Line” in Gaza City’s Zeitoun area. With no space in Zeitoun cemetery and burial costs beyond the family’s means, Mohammed was buried in his grandfather’s grave. Since the war began, bodies have also been temporarily buried at hospitals and shelters.

After an October 2025 ceasefire, relatives began recovering bodies from rubble and temporary graves for reburial in cemeteries. Gaza authorities said 529 bodies were recovered from seven mass graves at hospitals. Burial costs have risen to 700–1,000 shekels amid shortages of construction materials and grave markers, prompting families to use stones, paper, mud and building debris as grave identifiers.

Kuwait has condemned an Israeli drone strike on a civilian vehicle in a village southwest of Syria’s capital, Damascus, according to a Foreign Ministry statement posted on social media. Several civilians were injured in the attack. The report was published on August 23, 2026.

Kuwait called on the international community and the UN Security Council to fulfil their responsibilities in stopping what it described as repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory. Its Foreign Ministry said recurring aggression by Israeli occupying forces in Syria must be halted.

Israel defended the strike, saying it targeted “terrorists” and was carried out in response to an “immediate threat” to its forces. The incident was Israel’s second reported strike in Syria within a week. Earlier, Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur air base in Idlib province on Tuesday, saying Turkish troops were being deployed there and that the allegation was the basis for the attack.

At least 14 people were killed and 20 injured when Myanmar’s military carried out an airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in Swe Le Oh village in the Sagaing region, according to the Civil Defence and Security Organisation of Myaung Township. The attack was reported on August 23, 2026. Three women were among those killed.

A local resident said more than 100 people were at the monastery and nearby areas for a Buddhist religious event. A warplane dropped two bombs about 15 minutes apart on the monastery compound, the report said. Myanmar’s military government did not immediately comment on the attack.

The military authorities have consistently said their forces strike only legitimate targets. Myanmar has been in civil war since the 2021 military coup, and Sagaing is described as a major base of armed resistance against the military government. The UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has said that airstrikes in the country have increased significantly in recent times.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi called on Britain and France to take concrete action against Israel in a post on X published by the Iranian side. The report, published on August 23, 2026, said his appeal referred to an open letter signed by 102 former British and French diplomats.

According to the letter cited by Gharibabadi, Israeli policies are moving toward ethnic cleansing and the destruction of Palestine. Gharibabadi said continued arms supplies to Israel and any form of support amount to deliberate participation in what he described as the crimes of the Zionist regime.

The former diplomats called for an end to arms deliveries to Israel, a ban on trade with illegal settlements, and implementation of decisions by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The report attributed the information to Press TV and did not include a response from the British, French or Israeli governments.

The number of Israeli settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank has risen to 592, with more than 700,000 Israelis living in them, according to the Palestinian government’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission. The figures were reported on August 23, 2026, and cover the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem through the end of July.

The commission said 780,000 Israeli settlers were living across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem by late July. Of that total, 336,000 lived in East Jerusalem. It also said Israel currently controls 42 percent of the occupied West Bank.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem after the 1967 war, and settlement construction in the West Bank has remained a longstanding source of dispute. A large part of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law. The commission said settlement expansion continues across the West Bank, while Israeli control over a substantial part of the territory further complicates Palestinian land claims and the prospect of establishing a future state.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is travelling to Paris on Saturday for a two-day visit at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. The leaders are expected to discuss conditions in the Strait of Hormuz and plans to establish alternative trade routes, according to officials at the French presidency who spoke to the Associated Press.

Potential proposals include increasing trade through ports in Oman outside the Gulf, as well as expanding or doubling oil pipelines in Saudi Arabia and other countries. The creation of new rail links may also be discussed. The stated aim of these measures is to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and develop alternative transport and commercial connections.

Macron and the Saudi crown prince will co-chair the first meeting of the Saudi-French Strategic Partnership Council on Monday afternoon, marking the first session under a new framework for strategic cooperation. The meeting will also address major regional issues in the Middle East and the need for closer coordination between France and Gulf countries to promote regional stability and peace. The strait is a major route for oil and other energy products, and its security can affect international trade and energy supplies.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said neighboring countries have sent Iran multiple messages about building a new regional security framework and expanding economic cooperation. In a post on X on Saturday, he said the region needs an independent, homegrown system to ensure peace and security. The report was published on August 23, 2026.

Ghalibaf sharply criticized US policy, accusing Washington of prioritizing Israel’s interests while neglecting those of its allies. He said this approach had placed the security of several Middle Eastern countries at serious risk and, for a period, threatened the existence of some states in the region.

He wrote that only a domestic and independent arrangement could genuinely guarantee peace and security. Ghalibaf also said Washington had not succeeded in military confrontation with Iran and had failed to demonstrate an ability to reach a diplomatic understanding with Tehran. The report cited Press TV as its source.

Saudi Arabian security forces arrested 14,260 people accused of violating residency, border security and labour laws during joint operations across the country from August 13 to 19, the Interior Ministry said Saturday. The ministry said 13,724 undocumented residents were deported during the same period.

Of those arrested, 6,900 were accused of residency-law violations, 3,982 of border-security violations and 3,378 of labour-law violations. Authorities also detained 1,524 people while they allegedly attempted to enter Saudi Arabia illegally through its borders. Yemenis accounted for 36 percent of those detainees, Ethiopians for 63 percent and people from other countries for the remaining 1 percent.

The ministry said 18,808 people were referred to their countries’ diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents, while 5,386 were sent to complete ticketing and other travel arrangements. It also reported 38 arrests over alleged attempts to leave the country illegally and 24 arrests for alleged involvement in transporting, sheltering or employing undocumented residents. Legal proceedings are under way against 31,922 foreign nationals.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, discussed regional security and strategies to strengthen peace and stability in the region during a phone call, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. The ministry disclosed the conversation in a statement but did not identify further details of the exchange.

According to the statement, the officials addressed challenges to regional security and ways to reinforce stability across the region. No immediate additional information was released about specific proposals, agreements, or outcomes from the discussion.

Pakistan is serving as a major mediator between Iran and the United States during the war, according to the report. It is maintaining close contact with both sides. The report cited Iran’s Foreign Ministry statement and Mehr news agency as its source.