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US envoy working on new aid plan

US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy has visited a food distribution site in the Gaza Strip operated by an Israeli-backed American contractor whose efforts to deliver food to the hunger-stricken territory have been marred by violence and controversy. International experts warned this week that a “worst-case scenario of famine” is playing out in Gaza. Israel’s nearly 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving people.

AP/Reuters

Economy

Trump urges Fed board to wrest control from Powell

US President Donald Trump called for the Federal Reserve’s board of governors to usurp the power of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, criticizing the head of the US central bank for not cutting short-term interest rates. Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Powell “stubborn.“ The Fed chair has been subjected to verbal attacks by the Republican president over several months. The Fed has the responsibility of stabilizing prices and maximizing employment.

AP/Reuters

Ukraine

01 Aug 2025

Russian barrage kills at least 16

Russia has launched waves of missiles and drones on Kyiv, killing 16 people including two children, and wounding well over 100 others, officials in the Ukrainian capital say. President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking earlier in his nightly video address, put the death toll at 14 and said rescue operations were continuing into the evening. The Interior Ministry said more than 1,200 police and rescuers were tackling the aftermath.

AP/Reuters

01 Aug 2025

Emergency

31 Jul 2025

Tsunami danger mostly passed

One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded sent a tsunami crashing into a Russian port and smaller waves barrelling across the Pacific to the Americas and south to New Zealand. The danger had largely passed more than a day after the 8.8 magnitude quake, which was centred off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East. No major damage was reported and tsunami warnings were cancelled in most areas. Chile, however, raised its warning to the highest level early Wednesday for most of its lengthy Pacific coast and started evacuating hundreds of people.

AP/Reuters

31 Jul 2025

Shooting

30 Jul 2025

Skyscraper gunman ‘blamed the NFL’

The man who killed four people in a rampage with a rifle through a Midtown Manhattan office building blamed the National Football League for his degenerative brain disease, New York Mayor Eric Adams said. Police have identified the shooter as Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old Las Vegas resident with a history of mental health struggles.

AP/Reuters

30 Jul 2025

Gaza

29 Jul 2025

Trump: ‘We have to get the kids fed’

US President Donald Trump has expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and urged Israel to get people food, seemingly recalibrating his stance on Gaza as images of emaciated children have sparked renewed worries about...

AP/Reuters

29 Jul 2025

USA

US-Europe deal averts trade war

The US has struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union, imposing a 15 per cent import tariff on most EU goods – half the threatened rate – and averting a bigger trade war between the two allies that account for almost a third of global trade. US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal at Trump’s luxury golf course in western Scotland after an hour-long meeting that pushed the hard-fought deal over the line.

AP/Reuters

Middle East

Trump: ‘Israel needs to make decision on Gaza’

US President Donald Trump says Israel will have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding he does not know what will happen now, after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas. Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue. He added Washington would provide more aid to the Palestinian enclave devastated by US ally Israel’s military assault.

AP/Reuters

Greece

27 Jul 2025

Wildfires burn in Athens suburbs

A wildfire has burned through a northern suburb of the Greek capital of Athens and some residents were ordered to evacuate, the country’s Fire Service says. Residents of the town of Kryoneri, 20km (12.5 miles) northeast of Athens received three SMS messages to evacuate to safe areas, Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis said. Greek media have shown houses on fire. The spokesman said “there have been reports of damages. We will take stock when the fires have been put out.”

AP/Reuters

27 Jul 2025

Ukraine

26 Jul 2025

Zelensky says defences holding firm against Russia

Ukrainian forces are holding back Russia’s concerted summer push to break through defences along parts of the front line, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says. “They are not advancing. It’s very tough for our guys out there. And it’s tough everywhere,” Zelensky told reporters on Thursday, in comments embargoed till Friday. “It’s also very hard for the Russians — and that’s good for us.“ With the war now in its fourth year after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbour, the effort is draining resources on both sides, although Russia has more resources and people to sustain its fight. Ukraine is seeking further support from Western partners.

AP/Reuters

26 Jul 2025

Fire

25 Jul 2025

Wildfires rage in Turkey, Cyprus

Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Turkey and Cyprus that have scorched swathes of land, forced the evacuation of towns and villages and killed 10 firefighters in central Turkey amid a searing Mediterranean heatwave. At least six separate wildfires were burning across Turkey, and Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli warned that strong winds and blazing heat were creating extremely dangerous conditions. Yumakli said 10 firefighters were killed while battling a fire in the central Eskisehir province, adding that 14 others were injured. Fanned by strong winds, the fire later spread to another central province, Afyonkarahisar.

AP/Reuters

25 Jul 2025

China

Xi calls for cooperation at tense summit with EU

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged top European Union officials to “properly handle differences and frictions” as he criticised Brussels’s recent trade actions against Beijing at a tense summit dominated by concerns on trade and the Ukraine war. Expectations were low for the summit in the Chinese capital marking 50 years of diplomatic ties after weeks of escalating tension and wrangling that led to the duration being abruptly halved to a single day at Beijing’s request.

AP/Reuters

Ukraine

Protests likely to continue in Kyiv

Protests across Ukraine have continued and activists are calling for more rallies against a new law that they say weakens Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs, following the first major anti-government demonstration in over three years of war. The legislation, which has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups, has put increased pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky and endangered his public support at a critical phase of the war.

AP/Reuters

Conflict

Kremlin: ‘Do not expect breakthrough’

The Kremlin says there is no basis to expect a breakthrough from a proposed third round of direct Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, and declined to give any time frame for a potential agreement to end the war, while Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his plea to Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter negotiations.

AP/Reuters

Gaza

Allies: ‘War in Gaza must end now’

Twenty-eight countries, including Britain, Australia, Canada, Japan and a host of European nations, have issued a joint statement saying the war in Gaza “must end now” – the latest sign of allies’ sharpening language as Israel’s isolation deepens. The foreign ministers of countries – also including Australia and Canada – said “the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths”. They condemned “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food”.

AP/Reuters

Ukraine

Zelensky: Peace talks this week

Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia – the first in seven weeks – are planned for this week in Turkey, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed. The Kremlin said it was waiting for confirmation of the date of the talks but said the two sides were “diametrically opposed” in their positions on how to end the war. Ukraine has backed US calls for an immediate ceasefire. Moscow says certain arrangements must be put in place before a ceasefire can be introduced.

AP/Reuters

Conflict

Peace talk renews amid capital strikes

The Kremlin says Moscow is in favour of a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine but the two sides’ positions are diametrically opposed so there was a lot of diplomatic work to be done, as the two nations exchanged heavy strikes again overnight. Ukraine disrupted flights in and out of Moscow with its overnight drone strikes, as its own citizens took shelter amid another massive Russian aerial assault on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities.

AP/Reuters

Gaza

Dozens killed seeking aid, strikes go on

At least 67 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire as they waited for UN aid trucks in northern Gaza, the enclave’s health ministry says, as Israel issues new evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced people. The UN food agency accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid, in what the territory’s Health Ministry said was one of the deadliest days for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war.

AP/Reuters