Iran asks Qatar to release pilot, Qatar denies arrest
On August 16, Iran asked Qatar to release 3 Tehran pilots who crashed in the early stages of the war in the Middle East, but the Gulf nation denied detaining them.
Previously, Iran had announced that a pilot had died and several people were missing after a sortie to Qatar in March, but information about their arrest was not released at that time.
3 Iranian pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces after their Su-24 fighters crashed in the war," said General Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Iranian armed forces.
In response, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote on X social network: "We completely reject the rampant allegations about the detention of Iranian pilots and are surprised by these misleading statements.
Mr. Ansari affirmed that Qatari rescue forces "have performed their duties at the highest level" during the search for the pilots. Doha "has contacted Iran to coordinate the handover of the body of a found pilot".
Qatar has also invited an Iranian working delegation to hear detailed information about the search and rescue operations in April, but Iran has not yet responded to the invitation," the spokesman added.
Colombian leader proposes Trump postpone tariffs due to earthquake impact
On August 15 (local time), new Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella called on his US counterpart Donald Trump to temporarily suspend tariffs targeting this South American nation, while Colombia is struggling with the aftermath of the earthquake disaster.
US tariffs on Colombian goods increased from 10% to 12.5% at the end of July, with some exceptions including coffee and oil. The new tariff takes effect from July 24, replacing a global tax that is about to expire that Mr. Trump issued earlier this year.
I have asked him to consider temporarily suspending the high taxes that are affecting Colombian goods, in order to bring some relief to our business community, who are going through an extremely difficult period due to the impact of the earthquake," Mr. De la Espriella wrote on social network X.
The Colombian leader said he had talked for about 10 minutes with Mr. Trump, who sent condolences for the casualties in the 7.4 magnitude earthquake on August 10.
The conversation was very friendly and open," De la Espriella said. "I told him that we are facing a huge challenge: rebuilding Colombia amidst the extremely difficult and apocalyptic economic situation that I inherited.
The earthquake devastated the cities of Cali and Pereira in western Colombia, killing nearly 300 people and destroying nearly 13,000 homes.
Hamas leader arrives in Cairo to meet the head of Egyptian intelligence
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya will go to Cairo to hold talks with Egyptian officials, a Hamas source told AFP, in the context that US President Donald Trump's envoy, Mr. Jared Kushner, is preparing to visit the region.
Mr. Hayya is expected to meet with the head of Egyptian intelligence agency Hassan Rashad on the morning of August 16.
This is Mr. Hayya's first visit to Egypt since taking over the leadership of Hamas in late July. The timing of the meeting shows that Cairo is actively reconnecting channels of contact with the new leadership of this movement before the US side returns to the negotiating table.
Mr. Kushner will visit Israel and Egypt next week with the hope of narrowing the gap in a Gaza plan that has been rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Accompanying the US envoy was Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, Senior Representative for Gaza under the mechanism called the Peace Council established by Mr. Trump, the agency tasked with implementing the agreement.
The Gaza plan facing opposition from the Israeli government makes Mr. Kushner's trip more exploratory than finalized, while contacts in Cairo are seen as a preparatory step to determine Hamas's position before the two sides enter a new stage of negotiations.
