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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
President Trump yesterday said he did not believe China and Russia were helping Iran “at all” and added that the two countries had “too much to lose” if they enabled Iran. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – YEMEN
Saudi Arabia yesterday said it was facing a new barrage of incoming fire and that Riyadh airport would remain shut for now. The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemeni government forces reported incoming drones and missiles, but there was no immediate news of whether they were intercepted. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei yesterday confirmed Iran “repeatedly expressed our readiness to help facilitate dialogue” between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi Arabia. Timour Azhari reports for Reuters.
Saudi Arabia stopped issuing public warnings of imminent military attacks days before the weekend of deadly strikes on Riyadh airport. The government has not said why there were no alerts to the public before the four attacks in the past week. Timour Azhari reports for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham yesterday told his parliament that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was “almost certainly” behind the suspected plot to attack Royal Air Force Fairford. Burnham’s statement marks the first time the United Kingdom has officially blamed Iran for the alleged planned attack. Iranian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Seyed Ali Mousavi told Iran state news that Iran “categorically rejects” the accusation, while U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband summoned Ali Mousavi to make clear that “Britain will not tolerate threats on our soil.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Vicky Wong reports for BBC News.
Sixty countries yesterday supported a declaration pledging to work to preserve freedom of navigation and opposing the introduction of tolls through straits used for international navigation. Countries who signed included members of the EU, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Lili Bayer reports for Reuters.
LEBANON
A New York Times analysis of satellite imagery of southern Lebanon published yesterday revealed that most of the villages in the region were flattened by Israel after an April cease-fire. Israel said it carried out attacks to remove the threats posed by Hezbollah, while Israeli forces deliberately demolished homes, schools, mosques, and roads, predominantly in Shiite Muslim villages. 48 of the 60 villages and towns within Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon are mostly levelled. Christina Goldbaum, Samuel Granados, and Adina Renner report.
Hezbollah Executive Council Chairman Ali Damoush today said the group will provide up to $14,000 in financial assistance to families whose primary homes have been destroyed or made uninhabitable during this year’s war with Israel. Under the plan, eligible families in Lebanon’s capital Beirut and its southern suburbs will receive $14,000, including $8,000 for furniture and $6,000 for rent. Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday told the Warsaw Security Forum that Russia has continued to attack Ukraine’s energy sites despite Trump’s announcement that both sides had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had refrained from attacking Russian energy sites since Trump’s announcement on Sunday and was ready to honor a ceasefire as “a good first step” toward ending the war. Samya Kullab reports for AP News.
Russia’s Defense Ministry today and yesterday said Russian forces carried out drone strikes on various targets in Ukraine, including vessels carrying military cargo. The reports did not mention any energy facilities. Reuters reports; Reuters reports.
Former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Ukraine has stabilized the front line and “broken Russia’s ability to advance” by killing many Russians, in a BBC News interview released yesterday. Syrskyi also addressed his sacking, and disagreed with critics who declared him too “old school” to command Ukraine’s new, technologically advanced forces. Abdujalil Abdurasulov reports.
U.S. Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Friday told Ukrainian officials that a deal to allow Russian diesel exports is part of a bid to draw Russia back to negotiations, sources told Reuters. Witkoff and Kushner told the Ukrainians that Putin was not prepared to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine and that the deal could help restart trilateral talks. Erin Banco, Daniel Flynn, and Gram Slattery report.
Trump yesterday defended his diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said the deal would help bring down high fuel prices. Steve Holland reports for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev today said drones struck two ships in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria. Rescuers evacuated 15 crew members from one ship which included seven Ukrainian citizens and eight Azerbaijan citizens, and saved one crew member from the sunken vessel. Radev called the attacks “completely unacceptable,” and said Bulgaria was seeking NATO and EU assistance. Eleven sailors are still missing. Bulgaria did not formally accuse Russia of carrying out the attacks but Radev said the outcome of the strikes “benefits the Russian Federation,” and Bulgaria has summoned Russia’s ambassador. AP News reports; Alex Lefkowitz reports for Reuters.
Director General of the Czech Security Information Service Michal Koudelka yesterday told a Czech parliamentary security conference that Russia could resort to riskier and more significant operations in NATO member states supporting Ukraine within months. Koudelka said Russia seems to be adopting a tactic of “escalation for de-escalation.” Jason Hovet and Michael Kahn report for Reuters.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich yesterday told the Warsaw Security Forum that the alliance would be “ready to fight tonight” if it is attacked. Grynkewich said if Russia decides to attack NATO, the alliance will respond using sensors, autonomous systems and military force to stop any assault, and Grynkewich also set out NATO’s “Theory of Victory,” which involves preparation for war while maintaining open lines of communication to “resolve misunderstandings.” Emma Burrows reports for AP News.
German police today detained two more people in connection with a fire at a Starlink station in Poland last month, according to a private Polish broadcaster. Poland yesterday said two Turkish men had been detained in Germany on suspicion of being responsible for the blaze. Alan Charlish, Marek Strzelecki, and Pawel Florkiewicz report for Reuters.
Russia’s embassy in France today said that France’s seizure of tanker DF Peak was a blatant violation of international law. French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday said the French Navy had intercepted and boarded the tanker 450 nautical miles south of Réunion island in the Indian Ocean and that the tanker was suspected of flying a false flag and of being involved in “illicit fuel transportation activities” as part of Russia’s shadow fleet. Reuters reports.
The Paris prosecutor’s office yesterday said a “large-scale” attack was “affecting connected refrigerators in several major food retailers across France.” The hackers raised the temperature to as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) and caused fires and spoiled food. Leo Marchandon and Gabriel Stargardter report for Reuters.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez yesterday said that Moroccan naval vessels entered Spanish waters off Ceuta without permission after July’s mass migrant crossing into the North African enclave. Sanchez played down the incidents, called them isolated, and underscored the importance of relations with Morocco. Graham Keeley and Andrei Khalip report for Reuters.
The top leaders of India’s “cockroach” youth movement today were detained after they jumped barricades to enter the grounds of the Jantar Mantar open air observatory, a popular protest site, and chanted slogans demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign because of a revision of voter lists, according to supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party. Delhi Police yesterday announced that Jantar Mantar was no longer designated as an official protest site. Saurabh Sharma and Adnan Abidi report for Reuters.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar yesterday urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government to stop militants from using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Dar said he had already delivered a warning in Jul. 2025 to Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund during a visit to Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghan Government Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid rejected Pakistan’s accusations and accused Pakistani officials of undermining negotiations and prioritizing propaganda over solutions. Pakistan’s Information Ministry responded to Mujahid’s remarks and said Pakistan is ready for dialogue but Afghanistan must fulfil its counterterrorism commitments. Munir Ahmed reports for AP News.
U.S. AI DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration is planning to move three senior officials from the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence to the White House, according to news site The Information. Leo Schwartz reports; Natalia Bueno Rebolledo reports for Reuters.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay today urged the United States to resume “your serious role as a leader” of human rights and freedom for the rest of the world. Stephanie van den Berg reports for Reuters.
The U.S. Embassy in Fiji yesterday said China-linked hackers compromised a regional organization’s network based in Suva, Fiji between Jul. and Aug. 2026. The embassy informed the Fijian government and the affected organization of the suspected breach and provided technical recommendations to secure networks. Rajveer Singh Pardesi reports for Reuters.
Trump yesterday said he was “looking at” firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after revelations surfaced that she had asked Republican donor Eric Deters to pay her credit card bill in exchange for access to senior Trump officials. Laura Chung reports for the New York Times.
Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy yesterday denied knowledge of any of the shipments bound for Cuba that were intercepted by the Department of Homeland Security last week. O Levy said that Cuba had “no contract of any kind with ENETEC S.A.,” the Cuban state energy trader contracted to the 90 separate shipments of biodiesel. Ayose Naranjo reports for Reuters.
The State Department yesterday said the Trump administration opposes “coercion and aggression” by China against countries exercising their sovereign rights after China sanctioned Belizean and Paraguayan ministers over their ties to Taiwan. Only 12 countries maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Ben Blanchard reports for Reuters.
South Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha today said the United States had raised concerns about intelligence cooperation between the two countries and that South Korea had not yet fully addressed U.S. expectations. Kang said Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the concerns during a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun last month. Joyce Lee reports for Reuters.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Federal agents yesterday executed a search warrant on the home of House Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), sources told the New York Times. The court-approved search of her home comes after DHS said in recent months they were investigating Omar over her family’s immigration paperwork. The search warrant lists a series of potential immigration crimes under investigation, including false statements and fraud in immigration paperwork, as well as a general conspiracy charge. Omar called the raid “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” and said Trump has attacked her with “baseless lies and smear campaigns” for ten years. Devlin Barrett, Hames Aleaziz, Ernesto Londono, and Alan Feuer report.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani yesterday said he had ordered the New York Police Department to review its use-of-force policies and close a loophole that allowed NYPD officer Salvatore Longi to retire on a medical disability pension before internal disciplinary proceedings over his shooting of 19-year-old Win Rozario ended. Rozario was shot and killed in 2024 after he called the police to his home during a psychotic episode. Mamdani said “we have an obligation to Win’s family and to every New Yorker who calls for help in a moment of crisis.” The review represents the first comprehensive examination of NYPD use-of-force policies in a decade. Jack Morphet reports for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. Catholic Archbishop Timothy Broglio yesterday said Catholics serving in the army should not participate in the fire-squad execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009. Broglio said he presided at the funeral of one of Hasan’s victims, and questioned if the United States wanted to “imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries.” Phil Stewart and Joshua McElwee report for Reuters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION
Trump has privately shared misgivings about livestreaming Hasan’s execution, sources told Axios. Trump has been overwhelmed with “negative input” about the idea from bipartisan lawmakers, and White House and external advisers. Marc Caputo reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday ordered a 24-hour halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course in Washington D.C. The judge criticized the government for having deceived her with its actions over the holiday weekend, and said the order was limited to one day to find a key Trump administration official to discuss why tree-cutting at the park needed to occur over the weekend. The 24-hour temporary order could be extended to 14 days if necessary. Gary Fields reports for AP News.
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