China calls visit to Taiwan by U.S. senators threat to sovereignty, Russia accused of jamming GPS signal of plane carrying head of European Commission, Israeli airstrike kills Hamas spokesman.
1. A visit by a pair of U.S. senators to Taiwan has drawn criticism from China, which claims the island as its own and objects to any contact between officials of the two sides. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, and Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer arrived in Taipei on Friday for a series of high-level meetings with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, which acts as Washington’s de facto embassy in lieu of formal diplomatic relations with the self-governing island democracy. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun protested the visit, saying it “undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and sends a gravely wrong signal to the separatist Taiwan independence forces.”
2. A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming over Bulgaria in a suspected Russian operation, a spokesperson said Monday. The plane landed safely in Plovdiv airport and von der Leyen will continue her planned tour of the European Union’s nations bordering Russia and Belarus, said the commission’s spokesperson Arianna Podestà. “We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,” said Podestà. “We have received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia.” Von der Leyen, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, is on a four-day tour of the EU nations bordering Russia and its ally Belarus.
3. The Israeli military announced Sunday that it killed the longtime spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, as the country’s security cabinet met to discuss the expanding offensive in some of Gaza ‘s most populated areas. There were no plans to discuss negotiations for a ceasefire at the meeting, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz identified the spokesperson as Abu Obeida, the nom de guerre for the person who represented Hamas’ Qassam Brigades. He was killed over the weekend. Hamas has not commented on the claim.
4. Hundreds of Yemenis in the capital city of Sanaa mourned Monday morning the loss of Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, who was killed Thursday along with a number of ministers and government officials by an Israeli airstrike. Attendees gathered for the funeral of the Houthi officials, which was held at Shaab Mosque and broadcast by Al-Masirah TV, a Houthi-controlled satellite news channel. Crowds inside the mosque, where funeral prayers were held, chanted against Israel and the United States as they mourned the deaths of the officials, including the foreign affairs, media and culture, and industrial ministers.
5. The U.S. declined for the first time to send any uniformed military or government personnel to speak at a key security conference organized by the U.K. and held in Japan this year, even as regional allies seek to strengthen coordination. The Pacific Future Forum, being held Friday and Saturday on board the U.K. aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in Tokyo Bay, features the U.K. and Japanese defense ministers as speakers, and senior military officials from Japan and Western nations. The U.S. Seventh Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Fred W. Kacher, was among those invited to speak, according to people familiar with the matter, but the organizers received no response.
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