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Trump adds Israel condition to Saudi nuclear deal
A White House spokesperson and Energy Department press secretary denied any internal strife.
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A civilian nuclear agreement signed Wednesday by the United States and Saudi Arabia was thrown into question less than a day later after President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia would have to join the Abraham Accords and said the deal would not allow uranium enrichment.
The agreement was signed at the Energy Department in Washington after months of delay, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright appearing alongside his Saudi counterpart by video from Riyadh.
According to a source familiar with the matter and other sources who spoke to CNN, Trump was upset that Wright announced the deal without his approval and that criticism from experts, Fox News, and The Wall Street Journal followed. Two sources briefed on the matter told CNN the new Abraham Accords condition surprised the administration’s nuclear negotiators.
“President Trump’s energy team is fully aligned, and always has been: the civil nuclear deal being brokered between the United States and Saudi Arabia is contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the successful Abraham Accords, which will help bring true peace to the Middle East,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.
Energy Department press secretary Ben Dietderich disputed any internal split. “This is fake news. The Department of Energy has closely coordinated the negotiations and then announcement of these agreements with the White House and the State Department. Any suggestion otherwise is false,” and added that the deal and the Abraham Accords “achieve a common goal — delivering lasting peace through commerce, not conflict,” he said.
CNN reported that the signed accord did not require Saudi normalization with Israel. It also reported the deal would allow uranium enrichment on Saudi soil if conditions were met and would limit the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ability to inspect suspected covert sites. The White House said letters required for Congress had not been sent, and some Trump aides did not view the deal as finalized.
The agreement traced back nearly two decades. A tentative version was reached in October, and the Trump administration later sent Congress a waiver report because the Saudis were not required to sign the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol.
Critics cited proliferation risks and the lack of enhanced safeguards, while supporters pointed to commercial benefits and the risk that Saudi Arabia could turn to China or Russia.
Questions also arose about whether Israeli concerns played a role, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not spoken, “Not to my knowledge.” She said Trump had raised the issue with Saudi officials before.
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U.S. set to levy 10% tariffs on goods from 80 nations
The tariffs will exempt oil, gas, certain natural resources, goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and products already subject to national security tariffs, including cars and steel.
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The Trump administration will impose tariffs of about 10% on goods from more than 80 countries starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, replacing a global 10% duty that is set to expire at the same time.
The new tariffs, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, will be issued under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The administration said foreign governments failed to pass or enforce laws blocking imports made with forced labor, putting U.S. businesses at a disadvantage.
Canada, which will face a 10% tariff, already bars imports made with forced labor. The European Union, also at 10%, has a ban scheduled to take effect in December 2027. Trump administration officials said those governments have not effectively enforced their laws.
Critics said the administration was using forced labor concerns to restore tariffs that courts had blocked.
The tariffs will exempt oil, gas, certain natural resources, goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and products already subject to national security tariffs, including cars and steel.
The administration has proposed additional Section 301 tariffs on 15 countries and the European Union tied to what the White House called unfair manufacturing practices. An administration official said Thursday that investigation was continuing.
Trump has argued U.S. tariffs on imports were too low. His efforts have faced repeated legal challenges. In February, the Supreme Court struck down his use of an emergency law to impose tariffs and ordered about $160 billion in tariff revenue refunded.
After that ruling, Trump turned to Section 122 of the 1974 trade law as a temporary measure. Federal trade court judges later ruled against that approach, though courts allowed the 10% import tax to remain in effect during the appeal.
Section 301 has survived past court challenges, including tariffs Trump imposed on China during his first term, but it has not previously been used this broadly.
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Trump ties Saudi nuclear deal to Israel ties
Nonproliferation experts have raised concerns that the absence of such guardrails could allow enrichment to weapons-grade levels.
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President Donald Trump said Thursday that a new U.S.-Saudi agreement on a civilian nuclear program would require Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
In a social media post, Trump said the deal did not allow uranium enrichment. “The agreement will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” he wrote. He added, “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
Two people familiar with the matter said the agreement would be submitted to Congress for review and was expected to last 30 years, with U.S. firms involved in developing the program. One of the people, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deal could allow construction of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia after a joint U.S.-Saudi study.
A second person familiar with the decision said the agreement did not include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which allows greater monitoring, inspections, and verification.
Saudi officials have said normalizing relations with Israel would require a clear path to Palestinian statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Palestinian statehood as incompatible with Israel’s security.
The Saudi Energy Ministry said Wednesday that the agreement would support efforts to diversify energy sources, advance technology, and expand cooperation and investment between the two countries.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday in Manila that the agreement would help ensure Saudi Arabia works with U.S. companies, rather than “competitors,” on its civil nuclear program. China, South Korea, France, and Russia are among countries Riyadh could also consider.
“We’re not the only show in town, but we’re the best show in town,” Rubio said. “We want to make sure that it’s our companies they’re picking.”
Trump has sought to expand the Abraham Accords, which in 2020 established formal ties between Israel and three Arab countries. His effort to add Saudi Arabia has been complicated by the war in Gaza and the nearly 5-month-old U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, though his administration has said it remains optimistic about securing a deal before the end of his second term.
Middle East
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Israeli raids hit West Bank towns, UN facility
The Arab League and several Arab states condemned the attacks, including a mosque fire in Tulkarem. Spain also called on Israel to reverse settlement expansion and what it described as shielding settler violence.
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Israeli forces raided at least 20 towns and villages in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Monday, including a United Nations facility, as Arab states condemned escalating settler attacks on Palestinians and their property.
The Jerusalem Governorate said soldiers fired tear gas and detained staff at a vocational training center run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, in Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem. It said soldiers entered the center, held teaching and administrative staff in one hall, and climbed onto the roof of the camp’s local committee building.
The governorate said Israeli forces had entered Qalandia overnight, deploying across several neighborhoods and firing tear gas and stun grenades, sparking a fire.
The raid came about six weeks after the governorate said Israel planned to demolish the Qalandia training center. Israel has already banned UNRWA from operating in occupied East Jerusalem and demolished agency buildings there.
Israeli forces also raided the Jabal Salman area in Beita, south of Nablus, carried out demolitions in Nilin, west of Ramallah, and entered Arrabeh in Jenin with military bulldozers. Raids and arrests were also reported in Deir al-Ghusun, where five Palestinians were detained, and in Balata camp and Asira al-Shamaliya, where Quds News said four young men were arrested.
Soldiers also raided homes and made arrests in Deir Jarir, Jalbon, Kafr Qaddum, Tal, Burqa, Beit Furik, Anabta, Aktaba, Qalqilya, Arroub camp, and Beit Ummar. Quds News reported that soldiers stopped an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman from Qaryut to a hospital in Nablus and that her condition deteriorated, leading to a miscarriage.
Settler attacks were also reported near Taybeh, east of Ramallah, and in Al-Burj, south of Hebron, where settlers released cattle among olive trees, damaging farmland.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for international action in letters to world leaders, the European Union, the Arab League, and the president of the U.N. Security Council.
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Iraqi PM visits Iran, signs agreements in Tehran
Iraq remains heavily reliant on Iranian natural gas and electricity, and bilateral trade exceeds $12 billion annually. Millions of Iranian Shiite pilgrims also travel to Iraq’s holy sites each year.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi visited Iran on Thursday in his first official trip since taking office in May, as the two countries signed agreements and pledged closer cooperation.
The Iraqi News Agency said al-Zaidi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian oversaw the signing of several agreements and memorandums of understanding on foreign affairs, finance, the economy, and energy in Tehran.
According to INA, the talks focused on strategic cooperation, joint economic and infrastructure projects, and regional developments, including implementation of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.
At a joint meeting of senior Iranian and Iraqi delegations, al-Zaidi thanked Iran for supporting Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State group and said Iraq remained committed to security cooperation with Tehran. He also said Iraq would not accept hostile action against Iran by any party.
“Iraq will never forget Iran’s support in the fight against the [ISIL/ISIL] terrorist group,” he said, according to Pezeshkian’s office.
Pezeshkian said a comprehensive strategic cooperation plan would provide a roadmap for broader ties between Tehran and Baghdad, and said the two countries’ security was closely linked.
In a joint statement issued after the visit, Iran and Iraq said regional crises should be resolved through dialogue, diplomacy, and engagement among regional countries, and reaffirmed support for political solutions based on international law.
The statement said the two governments agreed to draft a long-term strategic cooperation agreement, accelerate existing bilateral accords, and expand coordination in political, economic, security, and cultural matters. Their foreign ministers were tasked with finalizing the draft for signature.
Iran and Iraq also agreed to expand trade and joint investment, speed up the Basra-Shalamcheh railway project, strengthen cooperation in banking, energy, transport, and transit, and remove legal and administrative barriers to joint projects. They said their Joint High Commission would meet annually, alternating between Tehran and Baghdad, under the leadership of the two prime ministers.
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More than 3,200 Israelis enter Al-Aqsa compound
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque’s gates, barred large numbers of Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several worshippers.
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More than 3,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday during Tisha B’Av, according to Palestinian officials.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection. Tisha B’Av is a Jewish day of mourning marking the destruction of two ancient Jewish temples believed to have stood at the site, which Muslims know as Al-Aqsa and Jews as the Temple Mount.
Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf Department said 3,228 Israelis entered the compound during the morning. The Palestinian administration of the Jerusalem governorate said the number could rise to 5,000 by sundown, exceeding totals recorded in previous years for the holiday.
The Jerusalem governorate said Israeli settlers performed Talmudic rituals inside the compound, including prostrating themselves, singing, and praying. Israeli media reported police allowed more than 1,000 Israelis to pray at the site. Under a 1967 agreement, non-Muslims may visit the site but may not pray there.
Ben-Gvir said Jews visiting the site on Tisha B’Av “feel like the owners,” praising what he called “tremendous progress” there, Haaretz reported.
The Jerusalem governorate called Ben-Gvir’s visit a dangerous escalation, saying it showed official Israeli backing for actions previously associated with groups advocating reconstruction of a Jewish temple at the site.
Hamas said the “blatant acts of aggression will backfire on the occupation and its settlers.” Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit, calling it “a desecration of the sanctity of the mosque, an escalation, a barbaric act, and unacceptable provocation.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Fouad Majali said the visit violated the site’s historical and legal status quo. Jordan urged international pressure on Israel to stop what it described as ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
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Houthis claim Red Sea tanker strikes amid Iran conflict
Iran also said two people were killed in a U.S. missile strike near the passenger terminal at the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.
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Yemen’s Houthi movement said Thursday it struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as part of what it called a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, adding to risks for oil shipments already disrupted by fighting involving Iran.
The Houthis, who control areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, said earlier this week they were imposing a blockade on Saudi Arabia. The U.S. military said Wednesday it had launched a new round of strikes on Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, the 12th straight night of U.S. attacks.
The Houthis said their forces used missiles and drones to attack the Saudi tankers Encelia and Layla in the Red Sea.
A maritime security source said Encelia sent a distress call after reporting it had been struck by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan late Wednesday. British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Saudi-flagged tanker was hit by an unknown projectile on its starboard side about 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq.
Shipping disruptions were already building. Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and three tankers carrying Saudi oil to China and India turned back on Tuesday.
Saudi oil shipments had increasingly been routed to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb is also disrupted, ships would be left with a northern route through the Suez Canal, adding weeks to voyages and raising costs.
Trump said Wednesday the United States would strike an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran fired at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s joint military command said, according to Iranian state media, that if such threats were carried out, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity, and economic infrastructure and stop the export of “even a single drop of oil.”
Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said an explosion occurred on what they described as a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, with one of three oil tankers catching fire and the other two turning back. They said the strait was under their control and “completely closed.”
Iranian state media said Thursday the United States attacked one location in Bushehr, near Iran’s only operating commercial nuclear power reactor, for the second time in two days.
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Kuwait says Iran hit power, desalination plant
About 90% of Kuwait’s drinking water comes from desalination, and any disruption could pose a serious risk in the desert nation.
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Kuwait said Friday that Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage.
Kuwait’s Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said the attack sparked a fire and caused “damage to a large number of electricity generation units.”
The ministry said firefighters extinguished the blaze and crews were assessing the damage and working to restore operations.
The announcement came as fighting continued across the region after the collapse of an interim ceasefire agreed to last month.
Earlier Friday, Iran launched missile attacks at U.S.-allied countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Jordan’s military said it intercepted three incoming missiles. In Qatar, authorities twice warned residents to take shelter, and the Interior Ministry said falling debris wounded a child.
The United States also expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran overnight into Friday. Iranian state television said strikes on bridges in Hormozgan province killed at least seven people. Iran’s Energy Ministry also acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” and urged people in southern provinces to reduce electricity use.
At Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, the state-run IRNA news agency said a U.S. strike caused a tower to collapse. The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit dozens of targets in strikes that ended at dawn Friday.
As of 6 a.m. Friday, U.S. strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran, Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said.
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Three islands in Hormuz strait draw new scrutiny
Some analysts have speculated that U.S. forces could try to seize the islands.
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A U.S. military campaign against Iran has renewed attention on three small islands at the meeting point of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb, seized by Iran in 1971 from what would become the United Arab Emirates, now host Iranian military positions that help Tehran project power near the strait, a waterway through which about 20% of oil and natural gas passes in peacetime.
U.S. strikes on Abu Musa and Greater Tunb in recent days have renewed questions about the islands, whose ownership remains disputed.
Together, the three islands cover about 10 square miles (25 square kilometers), but they sit along the deep-water shipping route between the strait and the Gulf. Abu Musa has a village, but primarily serves as a base for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has stationed fast boats, missiles, and air defense systems there. Greater Tunb also has a military presence, while Lesser Tunb is used only for military purposes.
Iran, under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, took the islands by force on Nov. 30, 1971, two days before the United Arab Emirates was formed.
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran used the islands during the 1980s “Tanker War” to monitor the strait and launch vessels that laid mines or attacked shipping. U.S. estimates said Iran attacked more than 160 ships in that conflict.
In the current war, more than 50 attacks have targeted vessels and oil rigs, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, a coalition overseen by the U.S. Navy. That total includes incidents in which the United States fired on ships it accused of trying to break its blockade on Iran.
In recent years, the United Arab Emirates persuaded China and Russia to include language in joint statements calling for the dispute to be resolved through negotiations or an international court decision.
Latin America
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Cuba blackout prompts U.S. Embassy security alert
The alert said Cuba’s power grid had become increasingly unstable, with seven nationwide outages in the past 18 months.
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Cuba’s electrical grid collapsed July 6, causing a nationwide power outage that began at noon Eastern, according to a U.S. Embassy security alert issued in Havana.
The embassy said Cuban state media had not reported a cause for the collapse, and no timeline for restoring power was known when the alert was issued.
Cellphone and internet outages were also reported. The embassy advised U.S. citizens in Cuba, or planning travel there, to monitor the situation and adjust plans as needed.
The alert said the electrical system remained vulnerable, with regular outages occurring more often and lasting longer than before. Scheduled daily power cuts affected some areas, while unscheduled outages continued across the country.
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4 die during Mexico City World Cup celebrations
More than 1 million people gathered in the streets to celebrate Mexico’s first World Cup knockout-stage victory since 1986, the city government said.
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Four people died during World Cup celebrations in Mexico City on Tuesday, including three from suffocation, city officials said.
A 19-year-old woman, a 48-year-old woman, and a 44-year-old man died after crowds gathered following Mexico’s 2-0 win over Ecuador, the capital’s health authority said Wednesday. City authorities later reported that a 30-year-old man also died after an epileptic crisis.
Health authorities said emergency workers treated three unconscious people at different locations along Paseo de la Reforma before taking them to a hospital.
“After performing first aid and CPR techniques on the patients, they were transferred to a hospital for specialised medical care,” the city’s health authority said.
The agency said the three were later confirmed dead from suffocation and identified by their families.
Mayor Clara Brugada expressed her “most sincere condolences” to the victims’ families and said the city would provide support in the coming days. In a social media post after the deaths were announced, Brugada urged fans to “always celebrate with responsibility, care, and empathy.”
Before the match, Brugada had told fans hoping to watch near the Angel of Independence to go elsewhere because large crowds had already gathered there.
Mexico’s win prompted celebrations at Estadio Azteca and across much of the city, where fireworks continued after the final whistle.
Mexico City’s metropolitan area is home to more than 20 million people. Tuesday’s victory sent Mexico into the World Cup round of 16, where it will face England, which beat DR Congo 2-1 on Wednesday.
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Venezuela quake toll nears 1,500, many still missing
3,150 people were injured, 12,721 were displaced, and 774 buildings had collapsed.
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Rescue teams searched Sunday for survivors after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday, as the death toll approached 1,500 and thousands remained missing or unaccounted for.
Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Assembly and brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, said the death toll rose by 20 on Sunday to 1,450.
The hardest-hit area was La Guaira state, about 40 kilometers north of Caracas, where dozens of buildings collapsed.
“Rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Today (Sunday) we have recovered people alive and, therefore, operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope,” Delcy Rodriguez said after announcing a presidential commission to assess whether buildings were safe to occupy.
She said school classes would be suspended for one more week and electricity service in La Guaira had been restored to 75%.
The government said at least 33 people had been rescued by Saturday evening, including several children. On Sunday, rescue workers pulled a father and son alive from a collapsed building.
Families and volunteers had spent days pulling survivors and bodies from rubble before more than 2,600 foreign rescue workers arrived, amid complaints about limited heavy equipment and a small official presence. Hundreds of aftershocks added to damage and raised safety concerns.
The government has reported hundreds missing or trapped. Separately, an opposition-backed website listed just under 50,000 people as unaccounted for Sunday, down from 55,000 a day earlier.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.
Rescue teams from the United States, Colombia, and Mexico reported saving children over the weekend, including an infant and two 11-year-old boys. Reuters TV reported that one boy, Moises, was found about 3 meters deep in rubble with a broken arm; his mother and sister were killed.
A senior U.S. official said Saturday that additional U.S. funding worth hundreds of millions of dollars was expected within days, on top of $150 million already committed. In western Falcon state, workers said Venezuela’s largest refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay facility, shut down Sunday after a major power outage.
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Venezuelans search ruins as quake toll rises
Authorities said the number of injured had risen to more than 3,300 by midday Friday and that 243 people had been rescued. The death toll was expected to increase.
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Venezuelans searched for missing relatives Friday after back-to-back earthquakes killed at least 920 people and left more than 51,000 listed as missing on independent digital databases.
Residents digging through rubble said they had seen few state rescue teams in some of the hardest-hit areas, even as authorities said they were mounting a broad response. Nearly two days had passed since the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes struck late Wednesday. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours critical for finding survivors.
“Each person saved is a miracle,” Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, said. “We are not going to hide absolutely anything about the magnitude of this tragedy.”
In La Guaira, north of Caracas, government forces distributed food and water as acting President Delcy Rodríguez said officials were “working tirelessly” and welcomed international rescuers and aid. She said La Guaira had been militarized and that more help was on the way, though residents said assistance remained limited.
The International Organization for Migration said up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected, including about 2 million in Caracas.
In Catia La Mar, near the country’s main airport, people took food, toilet paper, and other goods from stores and gathered around vehicles distributing bread and water. Others set up tarps, hammocks, and tents in a pharmacy parking lot.
Venezuelan authorities said 861 international volunteers from Mexico, the United States, El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia, and other countries were working in Venezuela. The United Nations said 1,000 emergency responders in 25 search-and-rescue teams were on their way.
State vehicles, emergency crews, dump trucks, and heavy machinery moved toward affected areas on the country’s main highway.
Media reports and Venezuelan television showed several rescues, including a young man carried out on a stretcher in Caracas and a girl pulled from rubble in La Guaira. Caracas metropolitan rescue team chief Jose Luis Nunez said she was found in a collapsed 10-story building. “We want to highlight this girl’s strength, determination and will to live,” Nunez said.
The U.S. Geological Survey said both earthquakes were centered near Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers, or 105 miles, west of Caracas.
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Colombia says 5 suspects killed after bus bombing
The military action followed the April 26 attack in the municipality of Cajibío, where an explosive device detonated on a bus traveling on the Pan-American Highway in the Cauca region.
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Colombia’s military said Wednesday that it killed five suspected members of an armed group it blamed for an April 26 bombing of a passenger bus in Cauca that killed 20 civilians and injured 45 others.
In a statement, the Military Forces of Colombia said those killed were members of Estructura Jaime Martínez, which it described as an organized armed group. Authorities said the group also stole vehicles along the Pan-American Highway and used drones loaded with explosives.
The April bombing killed 15 women and five men. Initial local reports said 36 people were injured, including several children, but the Colombian military later said 45 civilians were wounded.
Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s armed forces, called the bombing a “terrorist act.” He blamed dissident factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, specifically the Jaime Martínez faction and the network of Iván Mordisco, one of Colombia’s most wanted figures.
Southwestern Colombia has become a center of fighting among illegal armed groups seeking control of coca-growing areas and drug trafficking routes to Central America and Europe.
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Brazil court convicts Bolsonaro son over U.S. lobbying
Eduardo Bolsonaro said he was living in “exile” because he feared arrest if he returned to Brazil.
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Brazil’s highest court convicted Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, of seeking U.S. intervention during his father’s coup trial.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, 41, was charged last year with lobbying U.S. authorities to help his father by imposing tariffs or sanctions on Brazil. A former Brazilian congressman, he relocated to the United States in 2025 before his father was convicted of plotting a military coup and sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Eduardo Bolsonaro wrote on social media Tuesday that the conviction was “baseless and senseless,” and said the justices wanted to silence him and keep him from running for office. He also said he was denied due process because he was never formally served and learned of the case through media reports.
Eduardo Bolsonaro had publicly sought support for his father from the Trump administration, which described the case against the former Brazilian president as a “witch hunt.”
President Donald Trump, who viewed Bolsonaro as an ally, imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last July. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the move “not only misguided but illogical.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said Washington would respond to Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction. The Trump administration had already sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on July 30, accusing him of abuses tied to Bolsonaro-related cases.
Lula said Brazil was willing to negotiate with the United States on trade, but called sanctions on de Moraes an “unacceptable” interference in Brazil’s justice system. The United States later withdrew the sanctions.
Jair Bolsonaro, who governed from January 2019 to December 2022, was convicted over a plot to overturn his 2022 election loss. The case was linked to a broader effort to keep him in power, including the January 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters.
“This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent – Something I know much about!” Trump said at the time. Bolsonaro later thanked Trump for his support.
Africa
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Uganda ends Ebola outbreak as Congo cases rise
Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases. Eighteen patients were discharged, and two died.
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Uganda declared its Ebola outbreak over on Tuesday after completing a 42-day monitoring period with no new cases, even as infections continued to rise in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the country had reached the end of the required monitoring period, which began after the last Ugandan patient with locally transmitted Ebola was discharged on June 16, 2026.
“Throughout this period the Ministry of Health maintained intensive surveillance nationwide, and no new Ebola cases have been detected,” Baryomunsi said.
In a later social media statement, Baryomunsi urged Ugandans “to remain alert” and to continue following public health measures.
Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases. Eighteen patients were discharged, and two died. Both people who died were from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a larger outbreak has been underway since mid-May.
According to Congo’s Health Ministry, the country had recorded at least 3,262 infections and 1,437 deaths. The outbreak is nearing the scale of the 2018-2020 epidemic, the largest ever recorded in the country.
The World Health Organization said the current Ebola outbreak was the fastest-spreading on record and that the true number of cases could be two to four times higher than reported.
The strain circulating in Congo is Bundibugyo, the rarest of the four Ebola variants known to affect humans. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for it.
Ebola is a viral hemorrhagic disease that can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or those who have died from the virus.
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DRC Ebola cases top 2,000, health workers strike
Health workers said they had not received compensation for their work since the outbreak began.
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Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rose to 2,011, including 754 deaths, as health workers in Ituri province went on strike over unpaid wages and working conditions.
Workers at Bunia General Hospital in northeastern Ituri began striking Wednesday and blocked the hospital entrance.
The action followed other strikes in the region. On Monday, dozens of health workers, including epidemiologists and grave diggers at Rwampara General Hospital, walked off the job, saying they had not been paid for months.
Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Medecins Sans Frontieres, said the outbreak was the third largest and fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the actual death toll could be two to four times higher than official figures.
The outbreak began May 15 and was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine or treatment.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the first clinical trial testing whether an antiviral drug can prevent infection in people exposed to the Bundibugyo virus began Tuesday.
“If effective among high-risk contacts after exposure, this could mark a major step forward in Ebola BVD prevention,” Tedros wrote on social media.
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WHO starts trial of Ebola antiviral in Congo
According to latest official figures, the virus has infected more than 1,960 people and killed more than 700.
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The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the first clinical trial has begun to test whether an antiviral drug can prevent Bundibugyo Ebola after exposure in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The trial, called EBO-PEP, will assess obeldesivir as post-exposure prophylaxis for people who had contact with confirmed Bundibugyo cases. The oral experimental drug was developed by Gilead Sciences and has shown efficacy in pre-clinical models against filoviruses, the family of viruses that causes hemorrhagic fevers.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the launch in a post on X.
“Every breakthrough begins with hope,” he wrote.
“If effective among high-risk contacts after exposure, this could mark a major step forward” in preventing contacts from developing disease, he added.
There are no approved vaccines or treatments for Bundibugyo.
The outbreak was declared May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, a northeastern province affected by armed groups.
Cases have been found in five Congo provinces and in neighboring Uganda, though more than 90% are still being detected in Ituri.
The first patients for the obeldesivir trial are being recruited at post-exposure prophylaxis centers next to Ebola treatment centers run by the Alliance for International Medical Action in Bunia and Rwampara, in Ituri.
The study aims to enroll nearly 1,000 participants ages 12 and older who had direct contact with a confirmed case within the previous five days and are not showing symptoms. Participants will be monitored daily for 21 days, with a final visit at 42 days.
Earlier Tuesday, the World Health Organization said the outbreak could be at least two to four times larger than official figures suggest. After returning from Bunia, World Health Organization emergencies chief Chikwe Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva that the outbreak “continues to outpace the response efforts.”
He said 80% of new cases were not on known contact lists and came “from unknown chains of transmission.” He also said many newly reported cases were people who died without reaching a health facility.
A separate trial of two possible treatments for Bundibugyo patients began in Ituri on July 2. It is evaluating the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral remdesivir, alone and in combination. The trial could take months and may require more than 1,000 patients, the World Health Organization said.
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Myanmar approves death penalty in online scam law
Repatriated foreigners have reported being trafficked to sites in Myanmar and tortured by operators.
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Myanmar’s military-backed parliament approved a law Tuesday authorizing capital punishment for people who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centers.
Online fraud operations have expanded in Myanmar, part of a broader scam economy in Southeast Asia that targets internet users worldwide with romance and cryptocurrency investment schemes. Repatriated foreigners have reported being trafficked to sites in Myanmar and tortured by operators.
Myanmar’s government, led by President Min Aung Hlaing, has pledged to crack down on the industry amid pressure from countries including the United States and China. Monitors say raids and arrests have often led scam operations to relocate within the region rather than stop.
Parliament passed the “Anti-Online Scam Bill” at a joint session in Naypyitaw, Speaker Aung Lin Dwe said in a live television broadcast. Lower house lawmaker Aye Chan told AFP the death sentence was included in the final version.
“There were not many significant changes to the proposed draft bill… the important parts of the bill remained the same,” Aye Chan said.
A draft text published in May set penalties ranging from 10 years to life in prison, as well as death, for “violence, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, or cruel treatment against another person for the purpose of forcing them to commit online scams.” For scam offenses causing death, it said, “the death penalty shall be imposed.”
The draft also set a maximum sentence of life in prison for people who run online scam centers or are convicted of cryptocurrency scams.
The law was the first legislation passed by Myanmar’s new government under Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government and helped trigger a civil war. In April, he became civilian president after restricted elections that excluded Suu Kyi and her party.
In April, Min Aung Hlaing also commuted all death sentences in a blanket order, after the junta resumed executions following the coup. Rights groups said those executions targeted anti-coup dissidents. By 2022, more than 130 people had been sentenced to death, according to the United Nations.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said this month that Chinese-origin syndicates were the main force behind the region’s cyberscam economy, operating large compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. In Myanmar’s conflict zones, non-state armed groups were also involved, it said.
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India protests over exam leaks lead minister to resign
On July 20, more than 100 protesters were wounded during a march to Parliament as police used tear gas, batons, and canes.
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Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Saturday he was stepping down after weeks of youth-led protests over an exam paper leak scandal that affected millions across India.
His resignation met one of the main demands of demonstrations that had expanded across the country in recent weeks and posed a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
At a protest site at Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi, Abhijeet Dipke announced the news to thousands of supporters. Dipke had created the satirical Cockroach Janta Party 36 days earlier after a social media post asking: “What if all cockroaches came together?”
He also read the names of students who had died by suicide amid exam paper leaks and cancellations, and dedicated the protesters’ victory to them.
“They called us lazy and unemployed,” said 19-year-old Lavanya Bharti, referring to comments by India’s chief justice likening India’s youth to “cockroaches” and “parasites,” which prompted the creation of the group. “We [are] lazy enough to sleep on our Parliament Street for days; we are unemployed, bro,” she said. “We have erased the fear that Modi spent years building. Cockroaches are crawling all over you, Modi.”
The group later urged protesters to “return home peacefully” after saying the government had accepted all of its demands. Those included compensation for the families of students who had died by suicide, assurances that protesters would face no punitive action, and a public apology from police and paramilitary forces over attacks on demonstrators.
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Japan revises imperial law, keeps male-only succession
Former Imperial Household Agency chief Shingo Haketa told Kyodo News that, under current rules, the monarchy after Hisahito is “extremely unstable.”
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Japan’s parliament enacted revisions Friday to the Imperial House Law that would let princesses keep royal status after marrying commoners and allow adoption of distant male-line royal relatives, while keeping the ban on female emperors.
The changes came as concern grows over the size of the imperial family. Only five of its 16 adult members are men, and there are no children. Under current rules, Emperor Naruhito’s daughter, Princess Aiko, 24, cannot inherit the throne because she is a woman.
Japan’s succession line passes to Naruhito’s younger brother, Crown Prince Akishino, 60, then to Akishino’s 19-year-old son, Prince Hisahito. Third in line is Naruhito’s 90-year-old uncle, Prince Hitachi.
The more contentious measure allows unmarried male descendants, 15 or older, from former imperial branch families in the paternal line to be adopted into the royal family. Imperial Household Agency official Yoshimi Ogata told parliament that 51 members from 11 branch families lost royal status in 1947 to reduce the postwar financial burden on the monarchy. They are at least 36 generations removed from Naruhito, having split from a common male-line ancestor 600 years ago, Ogata said.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other conservatives say the male bloodline is central to the emperor’s legitimacy. Critics say the changes are designed to block female succession.
There have been eight female monarchs in Japan. The last, Empress Gosakuramachi, ruled from 1762 to 1770. Historians say the current male-only system is difficult to sustain in modern Japan. A 2005 proposal to allow female monarchs was shelved after Hisahito’s birth.
The revisions would also let five unmarried princesses, including Aiko and her cousin Princess Kako, 31, remain royals after marrying commoners, though their spouses and children would not gain royal status.
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WHO starts trial of Ebola antiviral in Congo
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The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the first clinical trial has begun to test whether an antiviral drug can prevent Bundibugyo Ebola after exposure in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The trial, called EBO-PEP, will assess obeldesivir as post-exposure prophylaxis for people who had contact with confirmed Bundibugyo cases. The oral experimental drug was developed by Gilead Sciences and has shown efficacy in pre-clinical models against filoviruses, the family of viruses that causes hemorrhagic fevers.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the launch in a post on X.
“Every breakthrough begins with hope,” he wrote.
“If effective among high-risk contacts after exposure, this could mark a major step forward” in preventing contacts from developing disease, he added.
There are no approved vaccines or treatments for Bundibugyo.
The outbreak was declared May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, a northeastern province affected by armed groups.
Cases have been found in five Congo provinces and in neighboring Uganda, though more than 90% are still being detected in Ituri.
The first patients for the obeldesivir trial are being recruited at post-exposure prophylaxis centers next to Ebola treatment centers run by the Alliance for International Medical Action in Bunia and Rwampara, in Ituri.
The study aims to enroll nearly 1,000 participants ages 12 and older who had direct contact with a confirmed case within the previous five days and are not showing symptoms. Participants will be monitored daily for 21 days, with a final visit at 42 days.
Earlier Tuesday, the World Health Organization said the outbreak could be at least two to four times larger than official figures suggest. After returning from Bunia, World Health Organization emergencies chief Chikwe Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva that the outbreak “continues to outpace the response efforts.”
He said 80% of new cases were not on known contact lists and came “from unknown chains of transmission.” He also said many newly reported cases were people who died without reaching a health facility.
A separate trial of two possible treatments for Bundibugyo patients began in Ituri on July 2. It is evaluating the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral remdesivir, alone and in combination. The trial could take months and may require more than 1,000 patients, the World Health Organization said.
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Trump hosts Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi
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President Donald Trump hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House on Tuesday, after backing him during Iraq’s months-long effort to form a government.
Al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political background, emerged as a consensus candidate after a deadlock following last year’s parliamentary elections. When he was installed as prime minister-designate in April, Trump wrote on social media that it was the “beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations — Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before.”
Trump had opposed former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the initial choice of Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties aligned with Iran. Trump said publicly that he opposed al-Maliki and threatened to cut off aid if he were appointed, adding that “if we are not there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of Success, Prosperity, or Freedom.”
Iraq has faced pressure to disarm Iran-backed militias, some of which attacked U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities after the U.S. and Israel launched war against Iran in February. Iraq’s government said nonstate armed groups had until the end of September to disarm, but some powerful militias said they did not plan to comply.
Al-Zaidi had also drawn attention because he chaired Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, one of several institutions barred by Iraq’s central bank in 2024 from dealing in dollars amid U.S. pressure to curb money laundering and transfers to Iran.
Since taking office, al-Zaidi has publicly pursued anti-corruption measures. His government raided offices and arrested dozens of current and former lawmakers and officials, including some affiliated with former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Al-Zaidi’s office said his delegation included business leaders and officials focused on strengthening economic ties, attracting investment, expanding the role of U.S. companies in infrastructure projects, and developing Iraq’s energy sector.
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U.S. launches third night of strikes on Iran
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U.S. Central Command said on X that the United States began launching strikes against Iran for a third consecutive night at 4:45 p.m. EST.
The strikes were carried out on the order of President Donald Trump.
Trump told Salem News Channel on Monday that he had his “eyes on” a fourth nuclear site to strike.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the Strait of Hormuz “is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran.” He said only Iranian ships and their customers would be barred from using the waterway, while other nations would continue to have access under U.S. protection.
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Yemen airport strike, Houthi missiles raise tensions
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Fears of renewed violence in Yemen rose after the internationally recognized government struck Sanaa airport on Monday and Houthi forces later said they launched missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia.
The government said it targeted the runway at Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation from landing. Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, including Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast, are controlled by the Houthis, while the government is based in Aden and backed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
“The Houthi terrorist militia, supported by the Iranian regime, prevented Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the capital’s airport, Sanaa, and insisted that the Iranian aircraft violate Yemeni airspace. Therefore, the airport runway was targeted,” the government said in a statement.
Earlier, the Defense Ministry warned civilians, workers, diplomatic missions, and humanitarian organizations to leave the airport and surrounding area.
Later Monday, the Houthis said the aircraft carrying a delegation from Tehran had landed in Hodeidah. Houthi broadcaster al-Masirah quoted the group’s transport minister as saying “the Iranian plane has landed on the homeland’s soil, carrying a number of medical patients and stranded citizens, accompanied by the official delegation of the Republic of Yemen.”
Iran condemned the strike. State news agency IRNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei as calling the attack “a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as an affront to Yemen’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Saudi authorities did not immediately comment.
Monday evening, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward southern Saudi Arabia. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki wrote on social media: “Air defences intercepted a ballistic missile threat launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region.”
The Houthis later said they targeted Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and drones and warned airlines against flying over Saudi airspace.
Information Minister Moammar bin Mutahar Al-Eryan said the Houthis were holding an International Committee of the Red Cross aircraft at Sanaa airport, along with its pilot and co-pilot.
The conflict escalated after the Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015, following the Houthi takeover of Sanaa and removal of the government. Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, urged all sides to “de-escalate and refrain from any actions that would risk a new cycle of violence in Yemen.”
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Ukraine, 9 countries launch Europe missile shield
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Ukraine and nine European countries said Monday they were forming a coalition to develop defenses against ballistic missiles, drawing on Kyiv’s experience during Russia’s full-scale invasion.
In a statement issued in Paris during talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom said their goal was “to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe.”
The statement said the countries recognized “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles” and called for “an integrated missile defense architecture” for Europe. It gave no timeline and said the plan remained open to other countries.
Zelenskyy sought support from about two dozen leaders for measures to counter Russian missile attacks before winter, when Russia has often increased strikes on Ukrainian energy and utility systems. He said Ukrainian officials were in Paris to present a proposed anti-ballistic program and meet with government officials, security advisers, and defense companies.
President Donald Trump said last week the United States would give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems. Ukrainian officials and experts said putting that into operation would likely take years.
Separately in Brussels, European foreign ministers discussed Ukraine’s military needs and Russia’s threats to Europe.
Russia criticized the Paris meeting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it “a coalition of warmongers” and “a coalition of those who incite the war.” Russian President Vladimir Putin also warned of retaliation for recent Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russian energy and transport infrastructure, saying, “Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful.”
Ukrainian drone attacks continued. Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov from July 6-13, including tankers, cargo ships, a ferry, and tugboats. The claims could not be independently verified, and Russian officials did not immediately comment.
Moldova said a drone launched during Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region crashed on its territory. Russian officials said 350 Ukrainian drones were shot down heading toward Moscow since late Sunday. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 134 drones and three guided missiles at Ukraine, and a strike on port infrastructure in Odesa killed five crew members aboard a Togolese-flagged merchant ship and wounded 10 more.
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Israel may stay in Lebanon if Hezbollah remains
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Israel will withdraw from southern Lebanon only if Hezbollah is removed from designated “pilot zones,” Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
“If Hezbollah is going to stay there, we haven’t accomplished anything, and that’s why they’re called pilot zones,” Leiter said. “If it works, then we continue the withdrawal. If it doesn’t work, then we stay where we are.”
Leiter said the withdrawal plan was not delayed and depended on whether the Lebanese Armed Forces were “receptive” to the pilot zones. “Hezbollah has no business in Lebanon,” he said. “As a matter of fact, Israel and Lebanon are on the same page. We want Hezbollah out for our security and for their sovereignty. We can withdraw the moment that Hezbollah is dismantled.”
Leiter, who said he was “leading the negotiations on Israel’s behalf with Lebanon,” said he knew “a thing or two about the trilateral agreement.” He said Israel would not return to a situation in which it faced threats on its border from Hezbollah, which he described as “an Iranian terror proxy,” adding that it was “firing rockets and planning attacks, like Hamas did on October 7.”
Leiter said his attendance would depend on plans for the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, whom he said died Saturday after health complications.
Asked about any link between the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and Israel’s talks with Lebanon, Leiter said, “Iran is not to be involved in Lebanon.”
“What the agreement with Lebanon does is completely remove Iran from the paradigm,” he said.
Leiter also said President Donald Trump “has been consistent” during the war with Iran and that Israel would join U.S. military action if asked.
“We’re a partner, we’re an ally,” he said. “If the United States calls on us to rejoin kinetic activity against Iran, we’re going to be there for the United States.”
Leiter rejected suggestions that Israel had taken an “I told you so” approach toward Washington after criticizing the memorandum of understanding.
“We express our opinion,” Leiter said. “We saw flaws, but we also expressed hope that it would work.”
“If we have Iran that’s denuclearized, not building ballistic missiles, not supporting proxies around the region, just not being a menacing, mayhem-spreading regime, then we will have accomplished it without kinetic activity,” he added. “We have doubts about the possibility of that actually working, but all we do is express our opinion.”
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Iran, U.S. dispute Hormuz access as strikes widen
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Iran and the United States gave conflicting accounts Sunday about access to the Strait of Hormuz as new attacks were reported in Iran and Kuwait.
Iranian state media said at least 10 “enemy projectiles” hit Qeshm Island in the strait. It also reported strikes on Farur Island in the Gulf that killed a telecommunications worker and wounded two others. Kuwait said three northern border posts were damaged in an attack and that an offshore drilling platform “was targeted by a hostile drone,” injuring one person.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes were intended to reduce Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial shipping in the waterway. It said President Donald Trump authorized the operation.
“At 5 p.m. ET today [21:00 GMT], U. S. Central Command forces began launching more strikes against Iran to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the command said. “The Commander in Chief has directed the strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable.”
The latest strikes followed escalating fighting that began July 7. U.S. Central Command said it hit about 140 Iranian military targets Saturday night, including sites tied to drones, missiles, ammunition, surveillance, and naval operations.
Iran carried out counterattacks in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman.
Iran said Saturday that it had again closed the strait to traffic. The U.S. disputed that. “Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing,” U.S. Central Command wrote early Sunday.
The latest exchange followed an Iranian attack on a commercial ship in the strait that caught fire and was abandoned by its crew. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said, according to the state news agency IRNA, that “the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region.”
Iran said it had targeted two ships in Hormuz earlier Sunday, including the one that caught fire. Oman said it rescued 23 crew members from a commercial ship. The British maritime agency United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the crew had abandoned ship to a lifeboat about 17 kilometers, or 10 miles, east of Oman. India said one Indian sailor was missing from a Cyprus-flagged container ship attacked in the waterway.
Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Jask, Qeshm and Khuzestan province, with one soldier reported killed in Jask. President Donald Trump told CNN, “we hit them very hard last night,” and said the sides had been close to a deal Saturday.
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14 nations, EU back 2016 South China Sea ruling
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The United States, the United Kingdom, and 12 other Western and Asian countries said Sunday that China’s broad claims in the South China Sea are illegal under a 2016 arbitration ruling.
In a joint statement, the 14 countries said they opposed actions in the disputed waters that threaten regional stability. The 27-member European Union issued a separate statement calling the ruling a “landmark decision in the peaceful settlement of disputes.”
Both statements marked the July 12, 2016, ruling by a tribunal in The Hague established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The countries said the decision “is final and legally binding.”
China declined to take part in the arbitration case, which the Philippines initiated in 2013 after a 2012 standoff that ended with Beijing taking effective control of a disputed shoal.
The tribunal largely ruled for the Philippines, saying there was no legal basis under the law of the sea convention for China to claim “historic rights” to resources in most of the South China Sea beyond areas recognized by the treaty.
“We reaffirm the Arbitral Tribunal’s decision that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on `historic rights,’” the joint statement said.
The convention, which took effect in 1994, has been ratified by more than 170 countries and parties, including China and the Philippines.
The 14 countries were the United States, Britain, the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovenia.
The countries also said they opposed “any destabilizing or unilateral actions including by force or coercion” and the use of coast guard, military, and maritime militia forces “to harass, obstruct, intimidate lawful operations by other states at sea or in the air.” They said freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea under the convention must be upheld.
In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry said the tribunal and ruling “seriously contravene the general practice of international arbitration” and “gravely infringe upon China’s legitimate rights as a sovereign state and state party to UNCLOS and are unjust and unlawful.”
The South China Sea remains a key global trade route and a source of longstanding disputes involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.
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U.S., Canada reach deal to open Detroit-Windsor bridge
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The United States and Canada reached a deal to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge, ending a dispute that delayed the project.
The 1.5-mile bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, will open July 27, becoming the fourth crossing between Detroit and Canada.
The bridge had been scheduled to open last month. On June 11, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said the countries agreed to delay the opening to “resolve any outstanding issues.”
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump threatened to block the bridge’s opening unless the United States received an ownership stake. In a Truth Social post early Saturday, Trump said he “was able to cut a MUCH BETTER DEAL for America.”
“The new deal is great, and fair. Thank you and congratulations to the Canadian Government. May we both have many years of success with this wonderful new development!!!” Trump wrote.
On Friday, the bridge authority said the two countries agreed to a “series of cooperative measures” related to tolls.
The Wall Street Journal, citing a Canadian official, reported that half of the bridge’s net profit will go to a regional development fund.
The original agreement directed all toll revenue to Canada until it recovered the roughly 6.4 billion Canadian dollars it spent to build the bridge. Construction began in 2018, and Canada agreed to pay the full cost.
The Canadian official also told the Journal that the bridge authority will need U.S. approval before raising tolls by 10% or more. Approval also would be needed to set tolls below rates at comparable crossings, including the Ambassador Bridge, the official said.
The bridge is named for Gordie Howe, the Canadian hockey player who won four Stanley Cup titles with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1950s.
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U.S., Lebanon delegations discuss Israeli pullback
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U.S. and Lebanese military delegations met in Beirut to discuss the first phase of a U.S.-brokered agreement aimed at securing an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Lebanese sources told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the talks focused on creating a mechanism for the first of two “pilot zones” outlined in the agreement.
The meeting followed reports in Lebanese media and the Financial Times that a U.S. delegation had arrived in Beirut. U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa told President Joseph Aoun on Thursday that the delegation was coming to “determine the mechanism” for implementing the deal.
Under the framework agreement reached on June 26, Israel will gradually withdraw from parts of southern Lebanon where it has deployed troops to fight Hezbollah. The agreement reportedly calls for the Lebanese military to take full control of two small areas described as pilot zones.
Hezbollah rejected the agreement. It does not set a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal, and Israeli officials have said their forces will remain in a 10-kilometer security zone as long as Hezbollah remains armed.
The war began in early March after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. It has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon, according to the United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA.
OCHA said Saturday that more than 732,000 people had returned home, up from 640,000 a week earlier. About 430,000 people remained displaced, it said.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported several Israeli raids in the south on Saturday. It said seven people were injured in residential neighborhoods in al-Mansouri in Tyre district.
The agency also reported that Israeli forces used three tanks and several bulldozers to advance into the eastern edge of Beit Yahoun, and that forces in Houla ignited fires that damaged homes and olive trees. It said Israeli forces also blew up homes in Nabatieh district.
Lebanon has conditioned its participation on Israel withdrawing from two pilot zones. The talks come ahead of Aoun’s expected visit to Washington later this month at Trump’s invitation.
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Typhoon Bavi hits China after mass evacuations
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Typhoon Bavi made landfall in China’s eastern Zhejiang province at 11:20 p.m. Saturday, or 15:20 GMT, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the Zhejiang provincial meteorological observatory.
Chinese authorities evacuated more than 1.7 million people and issued high alerts as eastern China prepared for the storm, which had maximum sustained winds of 144 kph (89 mph) near its center. China’s national weather agency issued an orange typhoon alert, the second-highest level in its four-tier system.
State media said Bavi was expected to move northwest inland and gradually weaken after landfall. Meteorologists said the storm remained dangerous because of the large amount of moisture in its rain bands.
Hundreds of flights were canceled, rail service was reduced, and many schools and ferry services were suspended.
In Ningde, Fujian province, more than 3,700 people were evacuated from high-risk coastal areas by Friday evening, Xinhua said. Authorities there placed more than 17,000 emergency rescue workers on standby.
Bavi had earlier brought strong winds and rain to Taiwan and Japan’s southern islands. In Taiwan, at least 36 people were injured, mostly in motorcycle accidents on wet roads during heavy rain and winds. By Saturday morning, 14,210 people had been evacuated, especially from Taichung and Hualien, and schools, offices, and most restaurants were closed.
In Japan, more than 200 flights were canceled as officials in Okinawa warned of high waves, strong winds, and storm surges. Strong winds and rain had affected the Sakishima island chain since Friday.
At least 17 people were killed in the Philippines after heavy rain linked to an enhanced southwest monsoon, worsened by Bavi, triggered landslides overnight Friday.
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Rep. Ro Khanna says settlers detained him in West Bank
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U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna said he and his tour group were detained by armed Israeli settlers during a trip to the occupied West Bank.
In a post on X on Saturday, Khanna said the Israeli military supported the settlers. “When the [Israeli army] arrived, they sided with the settlers and continued our detention,” he wrote, adding that he would release more details later.
Khanna told Reuters on Thursday that “hoodlums … with machine guns” had detained his group a day earlier. “They block off the road. And then they call the [Israeli military] and the [Israeli military] is on their side,” he said. He added that the settlers carried U.S.-made assault rifles.
In an interview with DRM News, Khanna said the trip was the “first time” he had “really been acutely aware of being brown.”
“I saw the arrogance in the eyes of those settlers. Twenty-one and 22-year-olds with guns, laughing that they had detained us. The arrogance of those young [Israeli army] soldiers that my tax dollars are funding. Having no respect for the fact that they were detaining Americans,” he said.
Cameron Kasky, a Khanna aide who was with the group, said they were held for more than an hour and appealed to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for help. He said they were released after officers who appeared to be police intervened.
The Israeli military said troops and police officers intervened after receiving a report of settlers blocking vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian hamlet whose residents were displaced after violent settler raids at the start of the 2023 Gaza war.
The episode renewed attention on settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Rights groups said settlers had been emboldened by the Israeli government, and Amnesty International accused Israel of carrying out a state-backed campaign of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Last month, several Western countries sanctioned networks linked to settler violence.
Israel has long had bipartisan support in Washington, but it has faced increased scrutiny in recent months, with some Republicans and Democrats calling for an end to U.S. military aid. Congress is reviewing military spending legislation that would deepen U.S. defense ties with Israel if passed.
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Report: American woman in Ireland died of suffocation
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Jamey Carney, a 43-year-old U.S. citizen who moved to Ireland in 2021, died of suffocation after suffering head injuries, according to The Irish Times, which cited Irish state pathologist Dr. Linda Mulligan.
Carney was found dead Tuesday at her home in Killarney, County Kerry. Initial reports had suggested she was beaten to death, but The Irish Times reported that a post-mortem found suffocation, not the head injuries, caused her death.
The newspaper reported that Carney’s body was discovered by a family member at the home she shared with her 13-year-old daughter.
Irish police said a person of interest left the country before Carney’s body was found. Some Irish publications reported that the person is an asylum seeker.
According to RTÉ, investigators believed the person of interest first arrived in the United Kingdom before traveling to Ireland. Detectives have contacted airline and transport authorities and were coordinating with British police and immigration officials to trace his identity and movements. Irish police also contacted Interpol and Europol.
Police had not publicly identified the person of interest or released a name, photograph, or physical description. RTÉ reported that police said they were not in a position to comment on his age, name, or nationality for legal reasons.
The Irish Times reported that the person of interest is from the Middle East and has permission to remain permanently in Ireland. The newspaper also reported that investigators believed he took an early-morning bus from Killarney to Dublin Airport, then boarded a flight to Istanbul before Carney’s body was found.
The Irish Mirror reported that the person of interest had been living in state-run accommodation in Killarney, knew Carney, and frequently stayed at her home.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that an American citizen died in County Kerry on July 7 and said it was providing consular assistance to the family.
A woman who said she is Carney’s sister wrote on social media that she and her mother were in Ireland and working with police, and that a GoFundMe had been created to help cover funeral costs.
Irish police appealed for anyone who was in the Muckross Road area between 11 p.m. July 6 and 5 a.m. July 7, and who may have CCTV or dashcam footage, to contact investigators.
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U.S. eases chip, arms export rules for UAE
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The United States eased export controls on the United Arab Emirates on Friday, making it easier to export Nvidia artificial intelligence chips, military equipment, commercial satellites, and spacecraft to the country.
A posting in the Federal Register said the UAE government and approved companies could access advanced computing items without licenses. UAE companies G42 and Core42, as well as U.S. companies and subsidiaries operating there, including Amazon, Apple, and xAI, were among those no longer needing licenses for AI chips and servers.
The Commerce Department said the United States had worked with the UAE for decades to counter Iran and groups it described as its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
“More recently, the UAE played a key role advancing U.S. interests during Operation Epic Fury,” the posting said, referring to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began in February.
The posting also said the UAE was the largest U.S. trading partner in the Middle East and that its foreign direct investment in the United States was valued at more than $1 trillion.
Under the new regulation, the Commerce Department moved the UAE into a country grouping that allows more license exceptions for military and dual-use items it controls. The UAE will be the only country in the group that is not a member of multilateral export control regimes. Other countries in the group include NATO members and other allies. Israel and Saudi Arabia are not in the group.
The change also allows license-free access for certain exports used in oil and gas production and civil nuclear power generation. The Commerce Department said Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Oracle also would no longer need licenses to receive advanced computing items in the UAE.
The United States reached a preliminary agreement with the UAE in 2025 to allow imports of hundreds of thousands of Nvidia AI chips. On Friday, the Commerce Department said the license-free access for the UAE government and approved companies was consistent with the finalized May 2025 framework.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, criticized the move.
“We already know that the UAE royal behind G42 and MGX secretly bought a 49% stake in the Trump crypto company, World Liberty Financial,” Warren said in a statement.
“Now, Trump’s Commerce Department is giving G42 license-free access to advanced AI chips and promising favorable treatment for MGX, despite reported concerns about the diversion of sensitive technology to China and other national security risks.”
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U.S. seeks Iran pledge on Hormuz shipping safety
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The United States is pressing Iran to publicly state that the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships passing through it will not be attacked, senior U.S. officials said Friday, as talks continued under a fragile ceasefire.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations, said renewed strikes this week followed what they described as actions by an Iranian hard-line faction seeking to disrupt the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington. They also said internal power struggles in Iran had complicated efforts to reach and sustain an agreement after U.S. and Israeli strikes at the start of the war killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The U.S. wants Iran to publicly affirm that the strait is open to commercial shipping. But Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said any activity in the waterway, including reopening it or demining it, “rests exclusively with Iran.”
“Any attempt, by external actors, to interfere with or establish a power arrangement would violate the (interim deal), and undermine its implementation, delay the restoration of normal commercial navigation, jeopardize maritime safety, and increase regional tensions,” Iravani said.
Iran has said the strait should be under its sole control and that ships should pay fees to Tehran, despite the long-standing international view that it is an international waterway. Before the war, about a fifth of traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait.
No one claimed responsibility Friday for airstrikes in Iran after the U.S. said its attacks had ended. U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said there were “no operational updates.” Gulf Arab states and Israel, which participated in the war, did not immediately comment or claim responsibility.
Iran responded Thursday by launching attacks across the Middle East, targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar. One person was reportedly injured in Kuwait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi planned to discuss the strait with his Omani counterpart Saturday in Oman, IRNA reported. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he separately urged restraint and diplomacy in calls Friday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
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Erdogan gave NATO leaders engraved revolvers
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave leaders attending this week’s NATO summit engraved revolvers and six rounds of ammunition, a gift that prompted varied responses because of national gun laws and official protocols.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Peter Magyar posted a photo on X and wrote: “An unusual gift from President @RTErdogan at the NATO Summit: a Magnum revolver with ammunition, engraved with my name.” It was not immediately clear what he did with it.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters the firearm was now in police possession. “It struck me that my gift of maple syrup kind of undermatched,” he said, adding: “I would like to reassure Canadians, they keep guns away from me.”
A spokesperson for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the gift would be decommissioned and donated to a military museum. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said a note in the gift bag waived export controls, but he left the gun behind to be decommissioned because importing it into Britain would be illegal.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed his revolver to airport police on arrival. Officials said the revolvers given to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten were left at their countries’ embassies in Ankara and would also be taken out of service.
In Italy, an official said the gun was logged as a gift at Palazzo Chigi, the prime minister’s office. Greek officials said the firearm would be donated to the War Museum. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said he learned only after returning from the summit that he had been given a gun, and his office said it would probably go to a police museum. “I didn’t take it. I shoot from different weapons,” Milanovic said, referring to his political style.
Turkish media reports said the gift was intended to showcase Turkey’s defense industry, which now produces military systems including drones and warships and is developing a next-generation fighter jet.
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Italy expels 2 Russian diplomats over espionage
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Italy expelled two Russian diplomats as part of an espionage investigation involving former Italian intelligence officers accused of passing classified information to Moscow.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Thursday that Russia had targeted Italy and the West with “hybrid” methods. He described the alleged espionage as “a serious and unacceptable interference with Italy’s institutions and national security.”
Under a decision by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, the two Russian military attachés must leave Italy within three days.
Earlier this week, authorities detained two former Italian intelligence officers, both 59, on suspicion of giving Russia classified information in exchange for money. Investigators believe the two spied for Russia for at least the past year.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would issue a “corresponding response.” Moscow typically answers diplomatic expulsions with reciprocal expulsions.
Italy has been one of Ukraine’s strongest European supporters since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Meloni said at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit this week in Ankara that Italy’s position would not change.
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Germany to buy U.S. Tomahawks, Typhon launchers
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Germany will buy Tomahawk cruise missiles and ground-based Typhon launchers from the United States and station them in Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday, marking a shift from a planned U.S. deployment to Germany’s own long-range strike capability.
Merz told lawmakers he had reached the agreement with the U.S. government on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara. He said the meetings Tuesday and Wednesday had exceeded his expectations.
“We are closing a critical strategic gap in our defence, while simultaneously working to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” he said.
According to German government sources, Washington committed to granting approval in August for Germany to buy Tomahawk missiles and corresponding Typhon launchers in a letter of intent signed Tuesday.
The purchase appeared to align with President Donald Trump’s push for European allies to pay for more of their own security, including by buying U.S. weapons.
The Tomahawk supply had been uncertain after Trump said in May that he would reduce the U.S. military presence in Germany. That was seen as ending a plan under the previous administration to deploy a U.S. battalion equipped with long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany.
That deployment had been intended as an interim measure to deter Russia while European countries developed their own comparable weapons.
Germany already makes its own cruise missile, the Taurus, but its range of about 311 miles is three to five times shorter than the Tomahawk’s.
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DR Congo Ebola outbreak reaches 600 deaths, WHO says
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The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo had caused 600 confirmed deaths as of Thursday, according to World Health Organization figures released three days after the toll passed 500.
The U.N. health agency said 1,759 confirmed cases had been recorded in Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May. It also said 285 patients had recovered, and 304 suspected cases were under investigation.
In neighboring Uganda, two people had died and 17 of 20 confirmed patients had recovered.
“The outbreak continues to expand, and its true scale has not yet been fully established,” Anne Ancia, the World Health Organization’s representative in Congo, said Tuesday.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the outbreak was the “fastest-growing ever.”
“This is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever, not only among the previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, but all the different viruses that are causing Ebola,” Dr. Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response, told reporters.
World Health Organization figures, based on Congolese health authorities’ data, showed a 34% case fatality rate in Congo.
Congo’s latest government report, published late Wednesday, said two new cases were suspected in Kisangani, in Tshopo province, where cases had not previously been recorded. One case was linked to the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri province, where the first cases were reported. The other case “has no apparent geographical connection to known outbreaks,” and authorities were investigating, the report said.
The outbreak had affected four northeastern provinces, with the main concentration in Ituri. It was caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which no approved vaccines or treatments existed.
A trial of two possible treatments began in Congo on July 2. It was evaluating the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir, alone and in combination.
Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, a mineral-rich province affected by armed groups.
“It is still in the expansion phase, unfortunately. We would like to say it is stabilising, but frankly we cannot say it yet,” Ancia told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday.
She said population movement, insecurity, and a fragile health system were complicating the response. More than 10,000 contacts were being monitored, with an 82% follow-up rate, below the 95% that the World Health Organization said was needed.
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South Korea court upholds Yoon’s 7-year sentence
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South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a seven-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over crimes tied to his 2024 martial law declaration and its aftermath.
Yoon is already in detention while he appeals a separate life sentence for leading an insurrection with the declaration, which he has said was motivated by the public interest.
In the case before the Supreme Court, prosecutors accused Yoon of obstructing Cabinet deliberations by convening only a select group of ministers shortly before he declared martial law. Other charges included creating and destroying a false martial law decree bearing forged signatures from the prime minister, ordering officials to distribute a misleading press release to foreign media, directing an army commander to delete records from secure military phones, and using presidential security agents to block his arrest after lawmakers had nullified the declaration.
A lower court in January sentenced Yoon to five years in prison after convicting him on most charges. In April, an appeals court upheld the ruling, added a guilty verdict over the misleading press release, and raised the sentence to seven years.
Both prosecutors and Yoon’s legal team appealed to the Supreme Court, whose rulings are final.
“All appeals are dismissed,” a Supreme Court judge said in a televised ruling, adding that the lower court’s judgment “contained no errors.”
Yoon’s legal team expressed “deep regret,” accusing the Supreme Court of concluding the case “without sufficient deliberation.” His lawyers said they planned to challenge the ruling on constitutional grounds and file a complaint.
Yoon’s late-night televised address in December 2024 suspended civilian rule and triggered a political crisis. Martial law lasted about six hours before lawmakers voted it down in an emergency session.
The move also prompted protests, sent the stock market lower, and caught key allies, including the United States, off guard.
Yoon was ousted over the martial law bid in April 2025, triggering elections won by Lee Jae Myung of the center-left Democratic Party.
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