*) Ceasefire in Israel’s war on Lebanon takes effect The ceasefire in Israel’s war on Lebanon has begun as a region on edge wonders whether it will hold. The truce began at 0200 GMT on Wednesday, hours after Israel carried out its most intense wave of air strikes in capital Beirut since the start of its war in the region in October 2023. There were signs of apparent celebration in Beirut and no reported violations shortly after ceasefire took effect. *) US to lead new ‘push’ for Gaza ceasefire with Türkiye, others US President Joe Biden has said the United States would lead a fresh effort to secure a truce in Gaza, as he welcomed a ceasefire to end hostilities between Israel and Lebanon. The US president said Hamas, now, has a “choice to make”. He said “their only way out is to release the hostages, including American citizens, which they hold, and, in the process, bring an end to the fighting”. Biden said the US will make another push with Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar and Israel among others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. *) Pakistani authorities begin crackdown against Imran Khan’s supporters The party of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced it is calling off its protest after security forces launched a massive operation to dislodge Khan’s supporters who had stormed the capital Islamabad to demand his release. This comes after thousands of Khan supporters, defying government warnings, broke through a barrier of shipping containers blocking off Islamabad and entered a high-security zone, where they clashed with security forces, facing tear gas shelling, mass detentions and live gunfire. Tension has been high in Islamabad since Sunday when Khan’s supporters began a “long march” to demand the former premier’s release. *) Russia expels UK diplomat over spying in a fresh diplomatic spat Russia has expelled a British diplomat it accused of spying, telling London it would not tolerate “undeclared” intelligence officers operating on its territory, accusations that have ignited a fresh diplomatic feud with London. Britain has rejected the claims one of its embassy employees was a spy, the latest in a string of espionage allegations that come with relations between the two countries running at an all-time low. The spat comes a week after Ukraine was given permission to start firing UK-supplied long-range missiles at Russia — drawing scorn and threats of direct military retaliation from President Vladimir Putin. *) Impressed by KAAN, US keen to make F-35 sales to Türkiye — Yasar Guler The US has revised its position on the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye after witnessing Ankara’s progress with its domestically developed KAAN fighter jet, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said. When the Americans saw that we could build and fly the KAAN, the Turkish defence minister said, they changed their minds a bit about the F-35. Guler, however, added that no progress has yet been made and insisted on reclaiming Türkiye’s production share and maintaining its request to acquire F-35s