Marco

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated the importance of the fragile Gaza ceasefire agreement while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem Thursday.

Marco Penge held his nerve in a play-off to defeat fellow Englishman Daniel Brown and take the Spanish Open title in Madrid.

Penge held a four-shot lead over nearest challenger Joel Girrbach going into the final round, while he was five shots better off than Brown.

However, he only had a one-shot advantage going to the 18th on Sunday after his lead was trimmed.

After Penge made par to finish with a one-over 72 for his final round at the Club de Campo, Brown sank a birdie putt for a 67 which forced a play-off as both finished on 15 under.

At the first time of asking in the sudden-death play-off, Penge birdied the 18th with an eight-foot putt to secure a third European Tour title of the season.

Penge’s victory in Spain also means he has automatically qualified for the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale next year.

“It was a strange day for me,” said Penge, who carded 66, 67 and 64 in his first three rounds.

“I had it in my head that the golfing gods were kind of against me in a way. Dan and Joel played great, they were holing putts and putting the pressure on me.

“I just couldn’t get it in the hole. It felt like I was really up against it, but I felt like I managed myself really well.”

Penge was given a three-month ban in December 2024 for placing bets on multiple events, with one month suspended for a year.

He has resumed his career in fine fashion and said: “I think tee to green I played solid and it was just a matter of the putts – I think I used them all yesterday, but holing that one [on the play-off hole] was worth the wait.”

Switzerland’s Girrbach finished with a 69 as he ended up in third place on 14 under.

Three-time champion Jon Rahm carded a closing 65, which included seven birdies and a bogey, as the Spaniard finished tied for ninth at his home Open.

Sept. 15 (UPI) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the United States’ relationships with Israel and Arab states during a meeting Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

The meeting comes less than a week after Israel said it targeted Hamas leaders in an airstrike on Qatar’s capital, Doha. Hamas confirmed the attack killed five members but not any senior officials.

Speaking at a news conference the meeting with Netanyahu, Rubio said every country was allowed “to defend itself beyond its borders.”

Asked whether the United States was involved in the planning of the strikes on Doha, Netanyahu told reporters, “We did it on our own. Period.” He said the relationship between Israel and the United States was as “durable as the stones in the Western Wall.”

The two leaders visited the holy site in Jerusalem’s Old City, with Rubio placing a note into the cracks of the wall.

“Your presence here today sends a clear message that America stands with Israel,” Netanyahu told Rubio.

Rubio, meanwhile, also told reporters that the United States maintains a strong relationship with Qatar and other Arab allies, who were meeting in an emergency session in Doha on Monday.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani called on international leaders to punish Israel for the strike and stop holding the country to “double standards,” according to BBC News.

An unnamed source familiar with the meeting told CBS News that leaders at the meeting were expected to sign a draft resolution condemning Israel’s “hostile acts, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, [and] starvation” in Gaza.

A State Department official told CBS News that after Monday’s meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Rubio plans to travel to Qatar before heading to Britain for President Donald Trump‘s state visit.

Video shows US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posing for photographs while placing a note in the Western Wall alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Rubio is reportedly ‘seeking answers’ from officials after Israel’s strike on Qatar upended efforts to end the Gaza war.

Sept. 12 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel and the United Kingdom to address security matters in Gaza and globally from Saturday through Thursday.

Rubio first will travel to Israel, where he plans to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and security in the Middle East while affirming the United States’ “commitment to Israeli security,” according to a State Department news release.

“He will also emphasize our shared goals: ensuring Hamas never rules over Gaza again and bringing all the hostages home,” said Thomas Pigott, State Department principal deputy spokesperson.

Rubio and Israeli leaders will discuss Israeli military operational goals and the objectives of the Israel Defense Force’s Operation Gideon’s Chariots II, which targets Hamas leadership and members in Gaza City.

Rubio and Israeli leaders also will discuss “our commitment to fight anti-Israel actions, including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism and lawfare at the [International Criminal Court] and [International Court of Justice],” Pigott said.

Rubio also is scheduled to meet with the families of hostages being held by Hamas to “underscore that their relative’s lives remains a top priority,” Pigott added.

After concluding the visit in Israel, Rubio is scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom to meet with U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss “critical global challenges,” he said.

Those challenges include the war in Ukraine, stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, securing a cease-fire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and competing with China.

Rubio’s diplomatic trip is to occur after Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Adbulrahman al-Thani was to meet with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday.

The prime minister and president are expected to discuss the recent IDF strike against Hamas officials in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and a potential defense agreement between Qatar and the United States.

Marco Reus and Diego Fagúndez scored goals and Galaxy defeated D.C. United 2-1 on Saturday night.

Reus scored in the 23rd minute with a right-footed shot from the right side of the box to the lower left-central zone and the Galaxy carried the 1-0 advantage into the halftime break.

The Galaxy outshot the United 13-11 overall and 5-3 on goal.

Fagúndez made it 2-0 for the Galaxy early in the second half when he scored with from the center of the box to the bottom left corner.

In the 77th minute, Gabriel Pirani got the United on the board, connecting from the center of the box to the bottom right corner.

Pirani’s goal was the first for the United (4-11-7) in four games. They are winless in their past five matches.

Novak Micovic had two saves for the Galaxy (3-13-6) and Luis Barraza had three saves for United.

July 11 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Friday in his first trip to Asia since his appointment to the cabinet post.

Rubio and Wang spoke for about an hour while at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rubio told reporters it was a “very constructive, positive meeting” and said there is more the two countries could work on together.

He hinted at a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said the odds for that meeting are high, and “I don’t have a date for you, but I think it’s coming.”

At the meeting, Rubio has been working to try to shore up support for United States policies on trade with China. Wang has been pushing Southeast Asian nations to resist American pressure and lean on Beijing.

During the meeting, Rubio emphasized the importance of keeping channels of communication open, and they agreed to explore areas of potential cooperation, while seeking to manage differences, according to State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

“The Secretary emphasized the need for continued discussion on a range of bilateral issues. The Secretary also raised other issues of regional and global importance,” she said in a press release.

Trump has made new tariff threats on Southeast Asian nations, angering the foreign leaders at the conference, including the host country Malaysia. Japan and South Korea are also facing the threats, which cast doubt on Rubio’s efforts.

Wang met with a Bangladeshi official on Friday and said it was unreasonable and unethical for the U.S. to put 35% tariffs on Bangladesh, which is one of the least developed in the world. China has warned countries that they would face consequences if they worked with the U.S. to impede Chinese exports.

“China has always been the most reliable stabilizing force in a turbulent world and the most reliable partner” for Southeast Asian countries, Wang said on Thursday at a meeting with the region’s diplomats.

WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.

The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by the Washington Post.

The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voicemail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with the Associated Press.

“The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” it said. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.”

It declined to comment further due to “security reasons” and the ongoing investigation.

It’s the latest instance of a high-level Trump administration figure targeted by an impersonator, with a similar incident revealed in May involving President Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. The misuse of AI to deceive people is likely to grow as the technology improves and becomes more widely available, and the FBI warned in the spring about “malicious actors” impersonating senior U.S. government officials in a text and voice messaging campaign.

The hoaxes involving Rubio had been unsuccessful and “not very sophisticated,” one of the officials said. Nonetheless, the second official said the department deemed it “prudent” to advise all employees and foreign governments, particularly as efforts by foreign actors to compromise information security increase.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised,” the cable said.

The FBI has warned in a public service announcement about a “malicious” campaign relying on text messages and AI-generated voice messages that purport to come from a senior U.S. official and that aim to dupe other government officials as well as the victim’s associates and contacts.

This is not the first time that Rubio has been impersonated in a deepfake. This spring, someone created a bogus video of him saying he wanted to cut off Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service. Ukraine’s government later rebutted the false claim.

Several potential solutions have been put forward in recent years to the growing misuse of AI for deception, including criminal penalties and improved media literacy. Concerns about deepfakes have also led to a flood of new apps and AI systems designed to spot phonies that could easily fool a human.

The tech companies working on these systems are now in competition against those who would use AI to deceive, according to Siwei Lyu, a professor and computer scientist at the University at Buffalo. He said he’s seen an increase in the number of deepfakes portraying celebrities, politicians and business leaders as the technology improves.

Just a few years ago, fakes contained easy-to-spot flaws — inhuman voices or mistakes such as extra fingers — but now the AI is so good, it’s much harder for a human to spot, giving deepfake makers an advantage.

“The level of realism and quality is increasing,” Lyu said. “It’s an arms race, and right now the generators are getting the upper hand.”

The Rubio hoax comes after text messages and phone calls went to elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone, the Wall Street Journal reported in May.

Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles’, which may have been generated by AI, according to the newspaper. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles’ number, the report said. The government was investigating.

Lee writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Eric Tucker and David Klepper contributed to this report.

Marc Marquez beats Marco Bezzecchi in a drama-filled race that claimed his brother Alex, who crashed out of the contest.

Marc Marquez delivered a clinical masterclass at MotoGP’s Cathedral of Speed to claim victory at the Dutch Grand Prix while his brother and closest contender Alex suffered a race-ending crash that left him with a fractured hand.

As Assen celebrated its centenary of motorcycle racing, the elder Marquez seized control on the second lap on Sunday and did not look back as he extended his championship advantage to a commanding 68 points over Alex as he seeks a seventh title.

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi finished second while Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia came third, with the two-times champion now staring at a daunting 126-point gap to his teammate after 10 rounds.

Bagnaia had won the last three races in Assen but despite taking the lead early on, he was pushed down to fourth place before he recovered to finish on the podium ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta.

Marc, who crashed hard twice on Friday, also equalled motorcycling great Giacomo Agostini with 68 premier class victories and now sets his sights on his former rival Valentino Rossi who finished his career with 89 wins.

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo had claimed pole position but crashed in Saturday’s sprint – where Marc claimed his ninth victory
of the season – and the Frenchman was slow off the line while Bagnaia made the perfect start.

Gresini Racing’s Alex was in second place but on turn one of the next lap, Marc made his move to overtake his brother and slot in behind his teammate, waiting patiently to pounce with 24 laps left in the race.

Alex briefly lost his concentration and Bezzecchi, sporting a new aero package on his Aprilia, squeezed his way past the Gresini rider while Acosta also made an overtake stick to push the younger Marquez down to fifth.

Alex Marquez crashes out

Up front, Marc found a gap before the final chicane on lap five to overtake Bagnaia and take the lead while his brother Alex crashed heavily when he leaned into Acosta and lost his balance when they made contact in a battle for fourth.

Alex appeared to lock his front tyre in the incident, which gave a puff of smoke as the bike tipped its rider straight onto the ground.

He was immediately taken to the medical centre where a left hand fracture was confirmed, with Gresini saying the 29-year-old would fly to Madrid for surgery later on Sunday. More information about Alex’s expected recovery timeline is expected to emerge on Monday.

Bagnaia seemed to be losing pace as both Bezzecchi and Acosta moved into podium positions. But the Italian Ducati rider snatched third place back from Acosta at the end of lap 14 to set his sights on Bezzecchi.

But whatever Bezzecchi did to put pressure on Marc, the six-times MotoGP champion did not budge as he managed his tyres and maintained his pace until he took the chequered flag.

The MotoGP calendar has a weekend off before they reunite for the German Grand Prix in a fortnight.

STANFORD — Marco Reus scored in the 70th minute and the Galaxy played the San José Earthquakes to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night in the 104th edition of the California Clásico.

The Galaxy (1-14-5) are unbeaten in their past eight road matches (Stanford Stadium and PayPal Park) across all competitions against San José (7-8-5) dating to June 26, 2021.

San José native Beau Leroux opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a shot into the upper-right corner for his fourth of the season. He settled Mark-Anthony Kaye’s cross with his left foot and curled in a shot with his right from the top of the 18-yard box.

San José goalkeeper Daniel stopped an initial attempt in the 70th, but it bounced right back to Reus for an easy touch home. It was Reus’ first game wearing the captain’s armband.

Daniel made several key saves. He came out of his area to deny Joseph Paintsil on a one-on-one opportunity in the 60th. He also got a hand on Gabriel Pec’s shot on a counterattack in the 88th.

The Galaxy entered with just three of a possible 33 points on the road this season.

San José announced the club sold 40,000 tickets for the game.

June 11 (UPI) — Syrian national Mahmoud Khalil can’t be detained and deported due to foreign policy concerns by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a federal district court judge ruled on Wednesday.

Rubio had determined that Khalil’s presence in the United States — while organizing campus protests favoring Hamas while enrolled at Columbia University — runs counter to U.S. foreign policy.

U.S. District Court of New Jersey Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled Rubio’s determination is insufficient to warrant Khalil’s detention and deportation, NBC News and The Hill reported.

Rubio also suggested Khalil concealed his alleged connections with Hamas when he applied for a U.S. visa.

“It might be argued that [Khalil] would be detained anyway,” Farbiarz wrote.

“The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to remove [Khalil] based not only on the Secretary of State’s determination but also on … the petitioner’s alleged failure to accurately complete his lawful-permanent-resident application.”

While the DHS might have a stronger and enforceable claim to detain and deport Khalil, Farbiarz said Rubio’s determination is not enough to warrant his continued detention and eventual deportation.

Federal authorities arrested Khalil in March with the intention of deporting him, but Farbiarz said Khalil’s “career and reputation” are damaged by his arrest.

Farbiarz said Khalil has suffered “irreparable harm” but agreed the DHS might have a strong enough case to deport him because he did not accurately complete a lawful-permanent-resident application.

Such instances don’t result in individuals being detained, though, Farbiarz said.

“That strongly suggests that it is the Secretary of State’s determination that drives [Khalil’s] ongoing going detention — not the other charges against him,” the judge wrote.

He issued a preliminary injunction and ordered the Trump administration to release Khalil, but not until Friday.

The delay gives the Trump administration time to appeal the ruling.

A federal immigration judge in April ruled the Trump administration can deport Khalil.

President Joe Biden appointed Farbiarz to the federal bench in 2023.

South Africa’s Marco Jansen juggles the ball before successfully completing the catch at slip to dismiss Australia’s Steve Smith for 66 runs on day one of the ICC Test Championship final at Lord’s.

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The US will also ‘enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications’ from China and Hong Kong, the State Department said.

The United States will “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students studying in the US, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced, as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on foreign students enrolled at higher education institutions in the country.

Rubio announced the shock move both in a post on X, as well as a statement published late on Wednesday titled “New Visa Policies Put America First, Not China”.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” the statement said.

“We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong,” it added.

Rubio’s announcement added to the uncertainty for international students in the US, who have faced intensifying scrutiny over recent months amid the administration’s wider assault on higher education institutions.

On Tuesday, the White House also temporarily suspended the processing of visas for foreign students, ordering embassies and consulates not to allow any additional student or exchange visas “until further guidance is issued”.

The State Department also said it plans to “issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applications”.

Washington, DC – Top United States diplomat Marco Rubio has suggested his country’s “engagement” is what led Israel to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza after a months-long blockade on food, medicine and other basic supplies.

At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, Democrat Jeff Merkley pressed Rubio, a Republican, about his stance on Israel’s blockade, which spurred fears of imminent famine in the Palestinian territory.

The secretary of state replied that the US is happy to see humanitarian assistance start to enter the territory.

“Ultimately, I don’t think you would have seen the events of the last couple days without our engagement and the engagement of others,” Rubio said.

Israel allowed several aid trucks to enter Gaza on Monday, and United Nations officials have said that around 100 more were cleared to reach the territory on Tuesday.

But that quantity still represents a fraction of the daily needs of Gaza’s population, which numbers over 2.1 million people.

“Israel remains a strong ally. We’re supportive,” Rubio continued. “We understand why for their security Hamas cannot exist. We are also very happy to see that they have allowed aid to begin to flow, and we hope that that will continue.”

Several Western countries, including close partners of Israel, have recently decried the Israeli siege on Gaza. On Monday, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada said in a joint statement that they were “horrified” by Israel’s military escalations in Gaza and its blockade on humanitarian aid.

They threatened to pursue “concrete actions” like sanctions if Israel continued to expand its military assault.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has remained staunchly pro-Israel, but experts say recent moves from the White House signal a growing gap between the US and Israel.

For example, Trump did not include Israel as a stop in his recent trip to the Middle East. He has also initiated diplomatic talks with Iran and declared a ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthi group — both of which are adversaries of Israel in the region.

The Houthis, for instance, continue to launch missiles and drones at Israel in a show of support for the Palestinians in Gaza.

Still, over the past three months, the US has refused to directly criticise Israel’s decision to prevent food and medicine from reaching Gaza.

But last week, at a stop in the United Arab Emirates, Trump indicated he wanted to get the situation in Gaza “taken care of”.

“A lot of people are starving. There’s a lot of bad things going on,” he said.

Also last week, in an interview with the BBC, Rubio said he was “troubled” by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher also told the BBC on Tuesday that as many as 14,000 children in Gaza are at risk of dying in the next 48 hours if food does not reach them.

Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over possible war crimes in Gaza, including the use of starvation as a method of war.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel would only allow a “basic quantity of food” into the Palestinian territory to stave off international pressure.

“Our best friends in the world – senators I know as strong supporters of Israel – have warned that they cannot support us if images of mass starvation emerge,” he said, according to the publication Haaretz.

The Gaza Government Media Office said on Tuesday that at least 58 Palestinians have died of malnutrition over the past 80 days.

At Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Rubio appeared to acknowledge that more aid needs to reach the Palestinians in Gaza.

“I understand your point that it’s not in sufficient amounts,” Rubio told Merkley. “But we were pleased to see that decision was made.”