Trump says more hostages to be released from Gaza shortly
FILE PHOTO: A person walks on the beach, as a sign asks for the safe return of hostages held in Gaza since October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, near the U.S. Consulate in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
WASHINGTON - Another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, without providing additional details.
Trump made the comment during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House, lauding the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.
"We got most of the hostages back. We're going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly," Trump said.
Trump has been predicting for weeks that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven elusive.
A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, on Friday said the group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, but could revert to insisting on a full package deal if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations.
The truce proposal calls for 10 hostages held in Gaza to be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
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Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. REUTERS
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Straits Times
3 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Spy cockroaches and AI robots: Germany plots the future of warfare
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz talks to soldiers in the so-called \"Forest of Remembrance\" following his visit to the Operational Command of the German armed forces Bundeswehr in Schwielowsee near Berlin, Germany, June 28, 2025. Michael Kappeler/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo MUNICH/BERLIN/FRANKFURT - For Gundbert Scherf - the co-founder of Germany's Helsing, Europe's most valuable defence start-up - Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Scherf had to fight hard to attract investment after starting his company - which produces military strike drones and battlefield AI - four years ago. Now, that's the least of his problems. The Munich-based company more than doubled its valuation to $12 billion at a fundraising last month. "Europe this year, for the first time in decades, is spending more on defense technology acquisition than the U.S.," said Scherf. The former partner at McKinsey & Company says Europe may be on the cusp of a transformation in defence innovation akin to the Manhattan Project - the scientific push that saw the U.S. rapidly develop nuclear weapons during World War Two. "Europe is now coming to terms with defense." Reuters spoke to two dozens executives, investors and policymakers to examine how Germany - Europe's largest economy - aims to play a central role in the rearming the continent. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government views AI and start-up technology as key to its defence plans and is slashing bureaucracy to connect startups directly to the upper echelons of its military, the sources told Reuters. Shaped by the trauma of Nazi militarism and a strong postwar pacifist ethos, Germany long maintained a relatively small and cautious defence sector, sheltered by U.S. security guarantees. Germany's business model, shaped by a deep aversion to risk, has also favoured incremental improvements over disruptive innovation. No more. With U.S. military support now more uncertain, Germany - one of the biggest backers of Ukraine - plans to nearly triple its regular defence budget to around 162 billion euros ($175 billion) per year by 2029. Much of that money will go into reinventing the nature of warfare, the sources said. Helsing is part of a wave of German defence start-ups developing cutting-edge technology, from tank-like AI robots and unmanned mini-submarines to battle-ready spy cockroaches. "We want to help give Europe its spine back," said Scherf. Some of these smaller firms are now advising the government alongside established firms - so-called primes such as Rheinmetall and Hensoldt - that have less incentive to focus primarily on innovation, given their long backlogs for conventional systems, one of the sources said. A new draft procurement law, expected to be approved by Merz's cabinet on Wednesday, aims to reduce hurdles for cash-strapped start-ups to join tenders by enabling advance payment to these firms, according to a version dated June 25, reviewed by Reuters. The law would also entitle authorities to limit tenders to bidders inside the European Union. Marc Wietfeld, CEO and founder of autonomous robots maker ARX Robotics, said a recent meeting with German defence minister Boris Pistorius hammered home how deep the rethink in Berlin goes. "He told me: 'Money is no longer an excuse - it's there now'. That was a turning point," he said. GERMANY IN THE LEAD Since Donald Trump's return to the political stage and his renewed questioning of America's commitment to NATO, Germany has committed to meet the alliance's new target of 3.5% of GDP on defense spending by 2029 - faster than most European allies. Officials in Berlin have emphasized the need to foster a European defence industry rather than rely on U.S. companies. But the hurdles towards scaling up industry champions in Germany - and Europe more broadly - are considerable. Unlike in the United States, the market is fragmented in Europe. Each country has its own set of procurement standards to fulfill contracts. The United States, the world's top military spender, already has an established stable of defence giants, like Lockheed Martin and RTX, and an advantage in key areas, including satellite technology, fighter jets and precise-guided munitions. Washington also began boosting defence tech startups in 2015 - including Shield AI, drone maker Anduril and software company Palantir - by awarding them parts of military contracts. European startups until recently languished with little government support. But an analysis by Aviation Week in May showed Europe's 19 top defence spenders - including Turkey and Ukraine - were projected to spend 180.1 billion this year on military procurement compared, to 175.6 billion for the United States. Washington's overall military spending will remain higher. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, head of Germany's security and defence sector association BDSV, said one challenge was that the military's procurement system was geared toward established suppliers and not well suited to the fast pace that new technologies require. Germany's defence ministry said in a statement it was taking steps to accelerate procurement and to better integrate startups in order to make new technologies quickly available to the Bundeswehr. Annette Lehnigk-Emden, head of the armed forces' powerful procurement agency, highlighted drones and AI as emerging fields that Germany needs to develop. "The changes they're bringing to the battlefield are as revolutionary as the introduction of the machine gun, tank, or airplane," she told Reuters. SPY COCKROACHES Sven Weizenegger, who heads up the Cyber Innovation hub, the Bundeswehr's innovation accelerator, said the war in Ukraine was also changing social attitudes, removing a stigma towards working in the defence sector. "Germany has developed a whole new openness towards the issue of security since the invasion," he said. Weizenegger said he was receiving 20-30 Linkedin requests a day, compared to maybe 2-3 weekly back in 2020, with ideas for defence technology to develop. Some of the ideas under development feel akin to science fiction – like Swarm Biotactics' cyborg cockroaches that are equipped with specialised miniature backpacks that enable real-time data collection via cameras for example. Electrical stimuli should allow humans to control the insects' movements remotely. The aim is for them to provide surveillance information in hostile environments - for example information about enemy positions. "Our bio-robots - based on living insects - are equipped with neural stimulation, sensors, and secure communication modules," said CEO Stefan Wilhelm. "They can be steered individually or operate autonomously in swarms. In the first half of the 20th century, German scientists pioneered many military technologies that became global standards, from ballistic missiles to jet aircraft and guided weapons. But following its defeat in World War II, Germany was demilitarized and its scientific talent was dispersed. Wernher von Braun, who invented the first ballistic missile for the Nazis, was one of hundreds of German scientists and engineers transported to the United States in the wake of World War II, where he later worked at NASA and developed the rocket that took Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. In recent decades, defence innovation has been a powerful driver of economic progress. Tech like the internet, GPS, semiconductors and jet engines originated in military research programs before transforming civilian life. Hit by high energy prices, a slowdown in demand for its exports and competition from China, Germany's $4.75 trillion economy contracted over the last two years. Expanding military research could provide an economic fillip. "We just need to get to this mindset: a strong defense industrial base means a strong economy and innovation on steroids," said Markus Federle, managing partner at defence-focused investment firm Tholus Capital. ESCAPING 'THE VALLEY OF DEATH' Risk aversion among European investors had in the past disadvantaged startups, which struggled to get the capital they need to survive the 'valley of death' – the critical early stage when costs are high and sales low. 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"Society has recognized that we have to defend our democracies," said Christian Saller, general partner at HV Capital, an investor in both ARX and Quantum Systems. Venture capital funding has grown faster in Germany than elsewhere, according to a data analysis by Dealroom for Reuters. German defence startups have received $1.4 billion in the last five years from investors, followed by UK, the data shows. Jack Wang, partner at venture capital firm Project A, said many German defence startups - rooted in the country's engineering prowess - are good at integrating established components into scalable systems. "Quality of talent in Europe is extremely high, but as a whole, there's no better country, no better talent that we've seen other than in Germany," he said. Weakness in Germany's automotive industry means there is production capacity to spare, including in the Mittelstand: the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that form the backbone of Germany's economy. Stefan Thumann, CEO of Bavarian startup Donaustahl, which produces loitering munitions, said he receives 3 to 5 applications daily from workers at automotive companies. "The startups just need the brains to do the engineering and prototyping," he said. "And the German Mittelstand will be their muscles." REUTERS
Straits Times
3 minutes ago
- Straits Times
South Korea stops decades-old propaganda broadcast into North Korea
Find out what's new on ST website and app. In June, President Lee Jae-myung ordered a halt to loudspeaker broadcasts near the border that criticise the Kim regime. SEOUL – South Korea has suspended decades-old radio broadcasts into North Korea in its latest move to ease tensions, marking a symbolic win for Pyongyang by cutting off a rare source of uncensored information for its citizens. South Korea's presidential office said on July 23 the radio broadcasts have been suspended 'for some time now,' saying such a move is better than witnessing inter-Korean ties deteriorating. That confirmed a recent report by the 38 North programme at the Stimson Centre that said that four radio stations believed to have been operated by South Korea's National Intelligence Service went silent in early July. 'In most of the world, cross-border broadcasting is a relic of a bygone era,' Mr Martyn Williams, a senior fellow for the Stimson Centre, said in the report. 'But North Korea is not like most of the world. It is one of the few places where people don't have access to the internet and are banned from accessing foreign media.' The move is especially notable because the programmes, some of which date back to the 1970s, 'have never paused broadcasting since their start, no matter the political relationship between the two Koreas being warm or frosty,' Mr Williams said. The move aligns with South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung's broader effort to improve relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, signalling a departure from the hardline policies of his conservative predecessor. In June, Mr Lee ordered a halt to loudspeaker broadcasts near the border that criticise the Kim regime. While the impact of the suspended broadcasts is hard to measure, North Korea's consistent attempts to jam the signals suggest they were effective in reaching listeners, Mr Williams said.
Straits Times
3 minutes ago
- Straits Times
EU, Japan to work more closely to address unfair trade, says EU's von der Leyen says
Find out what's new on ST website and app. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru attend a meeting at Prime Minister Office, in Tokyo, Japan, July 23, 2025. David Mareuil/Pool via REUTERS The European Union and Japan will work more closely to counter economic coercion and address unfair trade practices, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Wednesday. Von der Leyen's comments came after an EU-Japan summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as the EU struggles to conclude a trade deal with the United States and a day before potentially tough meetings with Chinese leaders. Von der Leyen said the EU and Japan would seek to strengthen economic security. "We will also work more closely together to counter economic coercion and to address unfair trade practices," she said, adding later: "We believe in global competitiveness and it should benefit everyone." REUTERS
