Israeli settlers’ storming of Islam’s holy site fuels ‘hatred’ and obstructs lasting peace, joint statement says.
Eight Arab and Muslim-majority countries have strongly condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem by far-right groups and thousands of Israeli settlers.
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In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates denounced the “mass incursions by settlers led by extremist Israeli ministers into the Noble Sanctuary” of Al-Aqsa.
The diplomats underscored that the storming of Islam’s third-holiest site took place under the protection of Israeli police forces.
“These provocative actions fuel hatred and extremism, and obstruct efforts to advance a just and lasting peace on the basis of the two-State solution,” the statement said, calling the escalation “an unlawful attempt to alter the historical and legal status quo” of the holy sites in Jerusalem.
“Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem or its Islamic and Christian holy sites,” it said.
More than 4,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday, one of the largest incursions this year, to mark the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection.
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque’s gates, barred large numbers of Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several people.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and formally annexed it in 1980. In 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal.
Under the status quo, the Jerusalem Waqf, a Jordanian-appointed body, manages the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Thursday marked the Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B’Av, that commemorates the destruction, twice, of an ancient Jewish temple, according to religious tradition, believed to have stood at the site known to Muslims as Al-Aqsa and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The joint statement on Thursday denounced “the illegal and extremist acts represented by incitement and calls to mobilise incursions, as well as acts of violence committed by Israeli ministers and extremist groups”.
The statement called on Israel, “as the occupying power, to immediately lift the restrictions” imposed on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It also called on the international community “to take a firm stance obligating Israel to cease its ongoing violations and illegal practices against the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and its violations of the sanctity of these holy sites”. %!s()
This satellite image shows plumes of smoke coming from the Rhinogydd mountains in Gwynedd, north Wales
ByAngharad Thomas
BBC Wales
Satellite images have captured plumes of smoke and damage caused by a wildfire in north Wales.
Data gathered by BBC Verify suggests an estimated 951 hectares (2,350 acres) of the Rhinogydd mountains in Gwynedd have been burned by a wildfire which broke out earlier this month.
Nasa's satellite-based FIRMS monitoring system has also detected heat signatures from four areas of Wales where wildfires have broken out.
It is showing heat sources at Blaenavon in Torfaen, Presteigne in Powys, and Pentre Halkyn in Flintshire.
Natural Resources Wales said a specialist firefighting helicopter will be deployed to Rhinogydd on Friday morning after calls for "aerial support".
Image source, Pat O'Neill
Image caption,
People living close to the Rhinogydd mountains have been advised to keep doors and windows closed
On Wednesday the Welsh government activated "crisis management arrangements" to tackle the wildfires that have broken out across Wales.
NRW said: "While the helicopter is being deployed to support the response in the Rhinogydd, its availability will continue to be assessed in line with operational needs across Wales and the wider UK.
"Should other fire and rescue service require aerial support for incidents in their area, we will remain in close contact to understand those needs and consider how best to assist alongside partner agencies."
In north Wales, the first signs of the fire from the Rhinogydd mountain were visible in satellite images from 13 July.
Members of the public have been urged to avoid areas affected by the wildfires, after reports that some people who travelled to them needed emergency rescue assistance.
Ch Insp Ian Roberts, of North Wales Police, said ignoring road closures and police cordons was "dangerous and may constitute a criminal offence".
"Anyone entering restricted areas or failing to follow police directions could be subject to enforcement action," he added.
Siân Gwenllian, cabinet minister for local government, housing and planning, said the fires at Rhinogydd and Blaenavon were the most "significant wildfire incidents in Wales".
She said: "Both remain active and are being managed reflecting the efforts of those involved.
"Other wildfires have been successfully brought under control and are now being monitored and dampened down - demonstrating both the hard work, expertise and professionalism of our fire service."
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Emergency services were called to a fire on Kilvey Hill, Swansea, on Thursday night
On Thursday night, emergency services said they were aware of a fire on Kilvey Hill in Swansea.
Anyone nearby should keep their windows and doors closed due to the smoke, they warned.
Meanwhile, smoke from the fire at Blaenavon, which covers 220 hectares (543 acres), has travelled as far as Cardiff.
Gwenllian said the blaze was "currently the priority for ground operations" as firefighters and NRW remain on site in "challenging conditions".
She added the fire had "produced a significant amount of smoke", but officials confirmed there was "currently no threat to life or property".
"The fire is expected to continue burning for several days, and firefighters remain at the scene to prevent it spreading further and putting lives, wildlife and property at risk," she said.
South Wales Fire and Rescue (SWFR) said the Met Office anticipated the plume of smoke will settle lower overnight, after being sent east towards Newport earlier on Thursday.
Image source, Nasa Firms
Image caption,
Data from Nasa's FIRMS satellite monitoring system shows heat signatures - the larger red and orange rectangles - from the wildfires in Wales
Residents said the smoke had caused a "fogginess" and "acrid smell" stretching for several miles between Torfaen and Pontypool.
SWFRS warned residents to keep windows and doors closed, and advised commuters to switch air conditioning to recirculation mode in their vehicles.
The fire service said it had cut a full perimeter line around the incident.
"This offers a line of protection with the aim of keeping the incident contained, supported by two additional water bowsers from partners and contractors," it said.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews continued to monitor the situation in Capelulo, near Sychnant Pass, in the wake of a large grass fire on Conwy Mountain.
Elsewhere, firefighters have tackled fires at Hope Mountain and Brymbo, in Wrexham county, Pentrefelin, Holyhead, and Pentre Halkyn overlooking the A55 in Flintshire.
The fire service said they were continuing to oversee conditions as a precaution, with teams from Mid and West Wales Fire Service on hand to help.
Image source, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service
Image caption,
The Blaenavon wildfire now covers 220 hectares
Mid and West Wales Fire Service said it was tackling a blaze about the size of 120 football pitches - 90 hectares - in the Presteigne area on Thursday morning.
It added that crews were monitoring hotspots in the fire at Hanter Hill, in Gladestry, Powys.
Additional reporting by Alex Murray, BBC Verify%!s()
The US president’s threat comes after another day of Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
United States President Donald Trump says he may launch the largest strikes on Iran yet after Tehran carried out another wave of retaliatory attacks on US allies in the Gulf, including hitting a telecommunications tower in Kuwait.
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In remarks to US news website Axios on Thursday, Trump said he was “considering a massive attack” that would be “bigger than ever before”.
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“I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump said.
The threat raises the stakes yet again in a weeks-long military confrontation in which the US has attacked Iran for 12 straight nights, including hitting bridges and tunnels, according to Iranian media reports.
Iran’s retaliatory attacks have rippled throughout much of the Gulf, sparking fears of a worsening energy crisis.
The spiralling conflict has all but destroyed an interim peace deal signed by the US and Iran last month.
‘Eye for an eye’
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that Tehran would retaliate “an eye for an eye” against any future attacks, including those on Iran’s infrastructure.
After another night of US attacks on Wednesday, Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait on Thursday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attacks in Jordan and Kuwait targeted and hit US military assets.
The IRGC also acknowledged attacking a telecommunications tower in Kuwait, saying it was in retaliation for US attacks on telecommunications towers in Iran.
In a statement addressing the Kuwaiti people directly, the IRGC insisted that the US, not Iran, had breached the Gulf state’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty”.
Later on Thursday, Kuwait said that its Abdali border crossing with Iraq had also come under attack by “hostile drones”.
“The armed forces’ retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the US attacks on the country’s infrastructure and coastal areas continue,” said the Iranian army’s spokesperson, Mohammad Akraminia.
Houthis attack Saudi tankers
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels further expanded the confrontation on Thursday by firing at two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, leading to broad international condemnation and a spike in global oil prices.
“The situation is getting out of control. It is teetering on the edge of the unimaginable,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a meeting of the Security Council. “One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next.”
The Houthis have declared a blockade of Saudi Arabian ports, destabilising a second key global shipping route: the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February.
Reporting from Sanaa, Yemen, Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry cited Houthi sources as saying that the facilities of Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Aramco “could become a future target” of the Houthis if Riyadh does not lift its own blockade on Houthi-controlled ports.
The international oil benchmark Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time in May, in what analysts said could have an even greater impact on the global economy.
“Much of the world’s spare production capacity has already been used, while strategic and commercial oil inventories are lower than when the war began, leaving the market with fewer buffers against a prolonged supply disruption,” said Janiv Shah, vice president of the Rystad Energy consultancy. %!s()
BOSTON: Ranger Suárez of the Boston Red Sox poses for a photo at Fenway Park before a press conference announcing his contract agreement on Jan. 21, 2026. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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The Boston Red Sox made it clear last winter that pitching would be the key to their 2026 season. Their pitching performance during a recent record 15-game winning streak proved the plan was prudent.
The Red Sox gave up only 32 runs during the streak, an average of 2.13 per game.
Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow was the architect of the blueprint. Even when his job appeared in jeopardy after the Red Sox started 2-8 to tumble into last place and stay there, he remained confident that good pitching could turn it all around. He told Kaley Brown of Boston.com on June 26:
“We have to win a lot of baseball games and we don’t have a ton of time to do it. I believe that we’re capable of doing it. It’s going to require more consistent play on the field. But I see no reason that with the pitching that we have and the consistency of the starting pitching, with the strength of the backend of the bullpen, we can’t get ourselves in a position where we do win these games.”
Guess what? Since waking up on June 25 with a 32-46 record, the Red Sox went 20-2 until dropping the second game of a doubleheader to the Baltimore Orioles on July 22. They outscored the opposition 115-44 in the wins and were outscored 18-3 in the losses.
Overall, Boston has allowed 381 runs, fewest in the American League.
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The Pitch For Pitching
A year ago, Boston claimed a wild-card spot in the playoffs with an 83-79 record. The Sox scored 786 runs, third in the AL, and allowed 676, fifth fewest.
Breslow added first baseman Willson Contreras from St. Louis and third baseman Caleb Durbin from Milwaukee in off-season deals, but his main focus was on upgrading the entire pitching staff. The plan was steadfast to pile up premier pitchers to help veteran ace Garrett Crochet (18-5 in 2025) and closer Aroldis Chapman (32 saves in 2025). Boston added, in order:
NEW YORK: Sonny Gray of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 10, 2026. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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Nov. 25: RHP Sonny Gray in trade from Cardinals.
Dec. 4: RHPs Johan Oviedo and Tyler Samaniego in trade from Pirates.
Dec. 10: RHP Ryan Watson in trade from Athletics.
Dec. 15: LHP Jake Bennett in trade from Nationals.
Dec. 18: LHP Alec Gamboa signed minor-league contract.
Jan. 9: RHP Tayron Guerrero signed minor-league contract.
Jan. 21: LHP Ranger Suarez signed for five-years, $130 million.
Mar. 13: LHP Danny Coulombe for one-year, $1 million.
Mar. 19: RHP Tommy Kahnle signed minor-league contract.
All of these pitchers worked during the recent streak, though Coulombe and Kahnle were recently released. Kahnle subsequently re-signed a minor-league deal with Boston and is at Triple-A Worcester (MA).
In addition, Patrick Sandoval made his Red Sox debut on July 9. The lefty signed a two-year, $18.25 million contract with Boston in December 2024 and missed all of 2025 and the first half of 2026 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
CHICAGO: Patrick Sandoval makes his much-awaited debut with the Boston Red Sox against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on July 9, 2026. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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A five-game win streak June 25-29 signaled something big was on the horizon. It started with a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees – Boston’s first four-game wipeout of their arch-rivals since August 2018.
The Red Sox tacked on a 6-3 win over Washington before the pitching went sour for 8-1 and 10-2 losses to the Nationals.
Then came nine consecutive road wins. Boston gave up only 14 runs (1.55 a game) in winning three apiece at the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. The Red Sox scored 48 runs (5.33 a game).
Back at friendly Fenway Park, the Sox swept four from the first place Tampa Bay Rays by an accumulated 28-10 score and beat Baltimore in two see-saw battles, 6-5 and 6-3.
“I think we can beat anybody,” Contreras told Ian Browne of MLB.com. “That’s lesson No. 1. We are a good team that battles. We are resilient and a team that stays together, winning or losing. That was a great ride.”
The streak tied the team record for consecutive wins set 80 years ago when Boston was in first place every day in 1946 and went 104-50. Their Opening-Day 6-3 triumph at Washington was sparked by a home run by Ted Williams.
It Was Not Easy
This streak was accomplished without five expected team leaders in 2026. That includes Alex Cora, who guided the Red Sox to a World Series win in 2018 but was fired as manager with a 10-17 record in April. Ironically, it came after a 17-1 win at Baltimore. Chad Tracy has managed them to a 42-32 record since.
Oviedo pitched only 3 2/3 innings after being acquired. He hurt his right elbow on March 30, has avoided surgery and recently resumed throwing on the sidelines.
BALTIMORE: Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 25, 2026. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
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Crochet went 3-3 before being shut down April 29 with an inflamed left shoulder and lat muscle strain. He recently said he may not pitch again this season unless Boston makes the playoffs.
Shortstop Trevor Story has been out since May 14 after hernia surgery and said today he hopes to start a minor-league rehab assignment in August.
Outfielder Roman Anthony, one of the Red Sox’ most exciting players, has yet to swing a bat after tearing a ligament in his right ring finger on May 4.
Boston Red Sox’ Future
The Red Sox have 61 games to play and can’t quit now. They are seven games behind Tampa Bay and 4 1/2 in back of the second-place Yankees in the AL East. They hold the first wild-card spot by 1 1/2 games over Texas but Seattle, Minnesota, Baltimore, Houston, Detroit and Toronto are all within 6 1/2 games.
You can’t ask for more from Gray, who has a 12-1 record. The Red Sox could use some offense and a return to health by two key starters.
SACRAMENTO, CA: Connelly Early, in his MLB debut for the Boston Red Sox, reacts to striking out Lawrence Butler of the Athletics with the bases loaded to end the fourth inning at Sutter Health Park on Sept. 9, 2025. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
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Suarez, out with a groin strain, is due back in the rotation this weekend. Left-hander Connelly Early has not pitched since June 30 due to an inflamed elbow. Tracy said yesterday the rookie has been throwing on flat ground and could get some mound work this weekend and then perhaps go on a minor-league rehab.
Rookie Peyton Tolle has pitched well (3.31 ERA) in 16 starts since being called up in April to help the injury-riddled rotation. Guerrero, who pitched in Japan last season, has walked only 2 and fanned 27 in short relief outings to help.
Contreras has 22 homers and put on a show in the 2026 All-Star Home Run Derby. But Boston is 12th in the AL in scoring and last with 96 home runs. That is almost unheard of for a franchise playing in hitter-friendly Fenway Park since 1912.
Thus far, Breslow has avoided the urge to call up top prospect Franklin Arias. The 20-year-old infielder has 18 homers and .319 average at Triple-A.
Breslow may seek to add a bat or two at the trading deadline, but don’t discount adding a pitcher. That’s what clearly has gotten the Boston Red Sox this far in 2026. %!s()
Insurance tech, data room software, and coffee-shop startup Corgi is reportedly raising yet another round that closely follows its last raise and would double its valuation, sources have told Forbes.
The round is said to be a second extension of its Series B round and has already closed. Corgi announced its last round, the B1 round of $106 million at a $2.6 billion valuation at the end of May, about eight weeks ago.
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In the AI-funding frenzy, many startups are raising back-to-back rounds at ever-increasing valuations — but even by those standards, Corgi stands out.
The Y Combinator alum (summer 2024) raised a $108 million Series A in January at an undisclosed valuation. (PitchBook estimates $630 million post-money.) Four months later, in early May, it raised its Series B: $160 million at a $1.3 billion valuation. Just three weeks later, it announced a B1 round from the same investors, saying they’d invested $106 million at a $2.6 billion valuation.
Now, eight weeks later, sources tell Forbes there’s a B2. Forbes did not report the amount of money that Corgi raised, though, and the company declined to comment on the potential funding.
Corgi is backed by TCV and Kindred Ventures. Kindred’s Kanyi Maqubela cited the startup’s momentum to TechCrunch as justification for the last valuation leap. The apparent justification for the new valuation is the startup’s revenue trajectory.
When Corgi announced its Series A seven months ago, the founders said their company had already hit $40 million in annualized revenue run rate. Sources told Forbes it’s now on track to increase run rate to $450 million by the end of the year.
Corgi offers AI-powered insurance. It uses AI to give prospects fast quotes and to speed payments on claims. It offers startups various types of liability insurance like general liability, coverage of tech-related incidents, and employment liability, as well as business renters’ and auto insurance.
Insurance is an inherently cash-intensive business but perhaps even more so for Corgi because it uses a type of insurance structure known as a Risk Retention Group (RRG). This is a way for people in the same industry, or those facing similar liabilities, to pool their resources and self-insure collectively.
According to Corgi’s website, RRGs aren’t subject to all the same state regulations as traditional, rated, underwritten insurance carriers. Corgi has adopted some different structures for different types of insurance, however, a spokesperson says. In addition to RRGs, some policies might use state-regulated carriers, for instance.
However, in an RRG insurance business, claims are paid out of the pool, and a steep claim can impact how much is left in the kitty to pay other claims. RRGs aren’t backed by state guaranty funds, so if the pool can’t pay, members bear the loss. If the claims are big enough, they can even bankrupt the RRG.
Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that Corgi wants to grow its coffers.
But even as the startup has expanded the types of insurance it offers, it has also branched out in other ways. Corgi now offers data room software, having weathered a recent uproar over how that software was vibe coded.
Plus, the startup operates two 24-hour coffee shops with cute and sometimes ad-sponsored drink names like “Brexspresso.” Its shops are located in San Francisco and Atlanta, but it says it’s planning to launch five more soon, including several in New York and one in London. Opening up physical cafe locations also requires cash.
Meanwhile, Corgi has a reputation in Silicon Valley for having a demanding corporate culture after founder-CEO Nico Laqua said he expects his employees to work seven days a week.
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