The police have blocked off streets adjacent to the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem ahead of a demonstration by leftists that will take place this evening.

China"s ambassador to the United Kingdom issued a stark warning to the UK government today, threatening that the UK would "pay the price" if it treated China as a hostile state."It is hard to image a "Global Britain" that bypasses or excludes China, decoupling from China means decoupling from opportunities, decoupling from growth and decoupling from the future," China"s ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming told reporters.

Today marks 23 years since a double explosion set off by terrorists in Mahane Yehuda, Jerusalem's open outdoor market, resulted in the murder of 16 people. 178 were wounded.

Paramedics from Magen David Adom, Israel's first aid service, treated hundreds of people that required medical assistance in the course of today's Tisha B'Av fast. Among those treated, 142 suffered from weakness and dizziness, five from dehydradtion and five fainted.Magen David Adom recommends breaking the fast with a beverage along with a piece of cake or two pieces of bread topped with a sandwich spread. Wait an hour and then eat a light dinner.

A huge brush fire has broken out between the villages of Majd al-Krum and Tuval in the Galilee region.Fire fighters are attempted to control the blaze. At the present time, it does not appear that there is any danger that houses in either of the villages will be affected.

China"s ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, said the United States had started a trade war with China and that there would be no winner from such an approach, Reuters reports."It is not China that has become assertive. It"s the other side of the Pacific Ocean who want to start new Cold War In China, so we have to make response to that," Liu told reporters. "We have no interest in any Cold War, we have no interest in any war."We have all seen what is happening in the United States, they tried to scapegoat China, they want to blame China for their problems," he said. "We all know this is an election year.""They want to do anything including treating China as an enemy," Liu said. "Probably they think they need an enemy, they think they want a Cold War but we have no interest, we keep telling America, China is not your enemy, China is your friend, your partner."Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the United States wants to build a global coalition to counter China, saying that the communist state could no longer be treated as a "normal country."All the same, when he was asked if relations with the United States had deteriorated beyond repair, Liu said: "I don"t think we have passed the point of no return."

Russia demanded an explanation from Belarus today, after authorities arrested a group of alleged Russian mercenaries, accusing them of plotting "acts of terrorism" prior to the presidential election, due to be held In August 9.Reuters reports that yesterday, state television in Belarus showed images of around 30 suspected Russian military contractors for private firms being detained near Minsk, the capital. Belarus authorities are claiming that over 200 fighters have entered the country in order to destabilize the regime. Apparently, some of the arrested men have actually confessed to attempting to foment a revolution.Russia has denied all allegations of using mercenaries.

The Yamina party plans to submit a new piece of legislation to the Knesset next week, which if voted into law will grant the Knesset the authority to cancel any Supreme Court ruling that invalidates a law passed by the legislature. This legislation is not a new concept it is already known as the "Override Clause."The Likud, United Torah Judaism, and Shas parties are currently unable to support such a piece of legislation, despite the fact that many of their members support it, due to opposition from the Blue & White party that constrains their actions, in line with the coalition agreement.