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Eight Arab and Muslim-majority countries have jointly condemned the large-scale entry of Israeli settlers and far-right political figures into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, describing the incident as a serious provocation that threatens regional stability and religious harmony. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates expressed deep concern over the incident. They said the entry of thousands of Israeli settlers into the mosque compound, accompanied by far-right Israeli ministers and protected by Israeli security forces, violated the longstanding historical and legal status of the holy site. The ministers warned that such actions could inflame tensions, encourage extremism and undermine international efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace based on a two-state solution. They stressed that the current status of Jerusalem’s religious sites must be respected and preserved. According to Palestinian officials, more than 4,200 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa compound during the Jewish religious observance of Tisha B’Av, making it one of the largest such incursions this year. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also visited the site under heavy police protection. Palestinian authorities said Israeli security forces imposed strict restrictions on access to the mosque, preventing many Palestinian worshippers and students from entering the compound. They also alleged that several people were assaulted during the operation. The eight countries called on Israel to immediately remove restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and respect the existing arrangements governing the site. They reaffirmed that the Islamic and Christian holy places in Jerusalem must be protected and that any unilateral measures altering their status are unacceptable. The joint statement also urged the international community to take a firm position against actions that violate the sanctity of religious sites and to press for an end to measures that could further escalate tensions in the occupied city. Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of Islam’s holiest sites and is administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf under a long-standing arrangement. The compound remains one of the most sensitive religious and political flashpoints in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with repeated incidents at the site often triggering wider regional tensions.

China has reached a turning point in its energy story. For the very first time, coal supplied less than half the country’s electricity over a six-month stretch, according to officials who spoke on Thursday. Between January and June, coal made up 49.7 percent of total power generation. That figure came from Xing Yiteng, a senior official at the energy administration’s planning office. It marks a steep fall from 65.5 percent back in 2016, based on earlier government data. Clean energy sources picked up the slack. Renewables reached 41.2 percent of the total mix, crossing the 40 percent line for the first time ever. Wind and solar alone made up nearly a quarter of all power generated, a huge leap from just under 10 percent in 2020. The remaining share came from natural gas and nuclear plants. Despite this progress, experts warn that coal use in raw terms might actually increase this year. Electricity demand across China is rising quickly, driven by more electric vehicles on the road, a boom in AI-related data centers, and steady growth in exports. Beijing has pledged that coal use will peak no later than 2030, with wind and solar expected to reach 30 percent of the power mix by then. Gao Yuhe, who works as a project manager at Greenpeace East Asia, thinks that milestone might actually arrive two years early, by 2028. She credited this to the rapid spread of home solar systems paired with battery storage, along with more flexible electricity markets that make better use of renewable supply. China still burns far more coal than most major economies, mainly because it has large domestic reserves and limited natural gas access. For comparison, coal accounted for just 17 percent of America’s utility-scale power output last year, with natural gas covering 41 percent. China’s coal reliance, though, remains lower than India’s, where coal and lignite made up 69 percent of electricity generation last year. Interestingly, China still imported close to 500 million metric tons of coal last year, even with domestic output reaching 4.83 billion tons, mostly to supply power plants along the coast. If coal consumption keeps falling, major exporters like Indonesia, Mongolia, Australia, and Russia could feel the impact, depending on global price trends. Meanwhile, coal remains central to China’s coal-to-chemicals industry, where many facilities continue relying on cheap, locally produced coal to stay competitive.