Author: France 24

‘HEGEMONY OF PSG’: As Qatar’s shining football jewel continues its dominance of both French and European football, France’s League 1 ‘is struggling with an identity problem”, explains Ed Dove, ESPN/North Star Network Journalist. And while PSGs wildly successful season and “star factor will make them a more appealing draw to international audiences, that might not translate into other teams in the division.” While there are some highly competitive teams in the League 1, “when you see the giants of the French game encountering financial struggles,” including Saint-Etienne and Olympique Lyonnais, “it makes the league less appealing to international audiences”.

The Israeli military stepped up its bombardment of Gaza City overnight, ahead of a key meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers on a potential ground operation to seize the enclave’s largest city. The army has already called up 60,000 reservists, signalling that the government may move ahead despite growing international condemnation. One military official said most reservists are not expected to see combat and that plans to take Gaza City remain under discussion. For in-depth analysis, Annette Young welcomes Yossi Mekelberg, Associate Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programme at Chatham House in London.

Racing Club Strasbourg host Danish side Brondby in the first leg of the Conference League play-offs. Strasbourg has not played in Europe since 2006.

The Miss Universe organisation has announced that Palestine will be represented for the first time in the 2025 edition of the competition, which will be held on 21 November in Thailand.

Real Madrid was far from perfect in their first appearance of the season, but the 15-time European champions only needed one goal to beat Osasuna. And who else to provide it other than Kylian Mbappé, whose penalty was enough to secure the win – the first in La Liga for Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid head coach.

A senior Israeli official told AFP on Tuesday that the government had not changed its stance on a potential ceasefire deal and that it demanded the release of all hostages held in the Gaza Strip. On Monday, Hamas agreed to a deal that would see only a partial hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners, a 60-day truce and aid to enter the enclave.

The dream final never materialised. Jannik Sinner was forced to retire in the first set due to illness against Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open final. The Italian said he had been feeling unwell since Sunday and could no longer continue. For Alcaraz, it’s his sixth title of the year and his first in Cincinnati.

Hamas negotiators in Cairo have received a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a Palestinian official said Monday. Despite ongoing mediation by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, attempts to broker a lasting ceasefire in the nearly 22-month-long conflict have so far fallen short, while the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen.

PSG began the defence of their Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 victory at Nantes. Vitinha scored the only goal of the match 25 minutes from the final whistle with a deflected shot from outside the box. In other matches, Brest and Lille played out a thrilling 3-3 draw, with Lille striker Olivier Giroud opening the scoring as he returned to Ligue 1 after a 13-year absence.

Protestors in Israel demanding their government make a deal to secure the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza escalated their campaign on Sunday, (August 16) staging a strike. Meanwhile, Israel said it is preparing to move Palestinians from combat zones to southern Gaza. FRANCE 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky tells us more. “It may be part of a psychological warfare operation to try and persuade Gazans to leave their homes or whatever spaces they were in, in central Gaza”, she said.