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An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed seven people and injured three, one of the deadliest attacks since a recent truce between Israel and Lebanon. Additionally, two tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil shipments, increasing tensions in the Middle East.
Key Facts
The airstrike hit a home near Ansar village in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
Seven people were killed and three were wounded in the Israeli strike.
The strike is one of the deadliest since a June 26 framework agreement aimed at Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group, was not part of the agreement and refuses direct talks.
Two oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz were attacked on Friday.
One attacked tanker is owned by ADNOC, Abu Dhabi’s state oil company.
No injuries were reported from the tanker attacks.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key route, carrying about 20% of the world’s traded oil and natural gas before the recent conflicts.
Shipping in the strait has been severely disrupted since the Iran war began on February 28, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
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The Taliban marked five years since retaking Kabul and returning to power in Afghanistan. The government says the country is more secure and free, but many people criticize harsh rules on women, job shortages, and ongoing economic problems.
Key Facts
The Taliban regained control of Kabul five years ago after US troops withdrew.
The government is celebrating with events like a cricket match that women and girls cannot attend.
Many Afghans feel the country is more secure now, but there are fewer job opportunities, especially for young people.
Economic challenges persist, with GDP per person falling partly due to migrants returning from Iran and Pakistan.
Women face strict restrictions: they are banned from most jobs, public spaces, and girls over 12 cannot go to school.
The Taliban had promised some freedoms for women but quickly imposed strict rules after taking power.
Public life in Kabul includes displays of Taliban symbols and more security checkpoints.
The government says it is working to build the economy but asks for patience from the people.
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The first death of a little penguin from the H5 bird flu in Australia was confirmed on Phillip Island, Victoria. The Victorian government plans to vaccinate thousands of little penguins to try to protect the colony from the virus.
Key Facts
A little penguin on Phillip Island has died from H5 bird flu, the first confirmed case in Australia for this species.
Phillip Island has about 40,000 little penguins, the world’s largest colony of this species.
The Victorian government will start vaccinating up to 5,000 little penguins at Phillip Island and St Kilda beach.
Vaccinating wild birds is difficult but possible here because little penguins usually return to the same burrows every night.
Vaccination requires two doses given weeks apart.
The virus has also been found in other wild birds in Victoria, including greater crested terns at Lakes Entrance and Dromana.
The discovery on Phillip Island raises concern about how quickly the vaccination can protect the penguins.
Wildlife experts emphasize the need for government support to help native species survive the bird flu outbreak.
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A report finds that weight-loss drugs called GLP-1 medications are very expensive and mostly benefit only wealthy people. Most users pay privately, and only those with high incomes save money on food bills after buying these drugs. Lower earners often spend more overall because the drug costs are higher than their grocery savings.
Key Facts
GLP-1 weight-loss drugs cost about £1,200 a year on average.
Only people with nearly £100,000 in disposable income save money after buying these drugs.
Lower and middle earners spend more on the medication than they save on groceries.
Many users also spend extra on vitamins and personal care to handle side effects.
About 5% of adults in Britain currently use weight-loss medication, expected to rise to 13% next year.
Sixty percent of GLP-1 drug users are women.
Access through the NHS is limited to a small group, so most buy the drugs privately.
Frequent stopping and restarting due to high costs can cause weight regain and financial strain.
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung suggested starting talks with North Korea to officially end the Korean War. He wants to replace the current ceasefire agreement with a peace deal and believes talks could help limit North Korea’s growing nuclear weapons program.
Key Facts
The Korean War has never officially ended, only paused by a ceasefire called an armistice.
President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea is calling for new talks with North Korea.
The goal is to create a formal peace agreement to replace the existing armistice.
President Lee thinks dialogue could slow or stop North Korea’s expanding nuclear weapons development.
The proposal aims to improve security and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea and often refers to its government.
The Korean War started in 1950 and ended in 1953 with an armistice, but no peace treaty.
A peace regime would mean a lasting, official end to the conflict between North and South Korea.
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Palestinian families in Qusra, near Nablus in the West Bank, say they are blocked from food and supplies due to a siege by Israeli settlers. The Israeli military has not acted to stop the settlers, highlighting political challenges in Israel.
Key Facts
Palestinian residents of three houses in Qusra have been cut off from food and supplies since Sunday.
Israeli settlers have surrounded these homes in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military has not intervened to remove or stop the settlers.
The situation reflects deep political issues within Israel, including a prime minister who has not condemned violent acts.
Qusra is located near Nablus, an area in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The event is part of ongoing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in this region.
News coverage comes from France 24 and correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky.
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An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed seven people and injured three others on Saturday. This is one of the deadliest attacks since Lebanon and Israel agreed on a plan for Israeli forces to leave southern Lebanon and Hezbollah to disarm.
Key Facts
The airstrike occurred early Saturday in southern Lebanon.
Seven people were killed and three were wounded.
Paramedics are still searching for survivors in the rubble.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported the incident.
The attack is one of the deadliest since a June 26 agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
The agreement involves Israel withdrawing its forces from southern Lebanon.
It also calls for Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran, to disarm.
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Mohammad al-Halabi, a farmer from Gaza, lost his large farmland after it was destroyed in February 2024 during Israeli military actions. He now tends a small rented plot to grow crops for his family, while much of Gaza’s agricultural land and water sources remain damaged, severely reducing food production in the region.
Key Facts
Mohammad al-Halabi previously farmed about 40,000 square meters in northern Gaza but lost it due to destruction in February 2024.
His large farmland was bulldozed and is now covered with rubble and war remnants, needing major repairs before it can be farmed again.
Al-Halabi currently farms a small 300-square-meter plot in Nuseirat, growing limited crops mostly for family use.
Over 87% of Gaza’s agricultural land and greenhouses have been destroyed.
About 8,700 agricultural wells and 7,748 animal farms have also been damaged or destroyed.
Annual vegetable and fruit production in Gaza fell sharply from 524,000 tonnes to around 20,000 tonnes.
Gaza’s Ministry of Agriculture says damaged farmland needs soil healing, repaired water and irrigation, and fresh seeds and equipment to restart farming.
These damages are making it harder for farmers to earn a living and for the local market to have enough fresh produce.
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Heathrow Airport has limited access to Terminals 2 and 3 because of flooding. Passengers are advised to use trains and the subway instead of cars while airport teams work to fix the problem.
Key Facts
Flooding has blocked road access to Heathrow’s Terminals 2 and 3.
Passengers should travel by rail or subway to reach these terminals.
Airport staff are actively working to solve the flooding issue.
The disruption happened during a busy school holiday period.
July 19 was Heathrow's busiest day this year, with 267,000 passengers.
The airport recently faced problems after a water leak closed a railway tunnel.
Officials apologized for the inconvenience caused by the flooding.
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Westminster council in London is making it harder for a charity’s soup kitchen to operate by raising complaints about crowds and safety concerns. The charity Friends of Essex & London Homeless (FOELH) says these actions might force them to shut down their weekly support event for homeless people at Charing Cross.
Key Facts
The soup kitchen run by FOELH provides hot meals, clothes, sleeping bags, and food bank services to homeless people every week.
Westminster council has sent agents to warn the soup kitchen about noise and litter, despite volunteers cleaning up after each event.
The council threatened a £500 parking charge for the food transport vehicle and demanded an expensive waste disposal license, which the charity has now obtained.
Police and security have sometimes accompanied council visits, which the charity says feels intimidating.
The council wants to limit the number of soup kitchens operating at the same place and time to reduce crowds and safety risks.
Officials are worried about drug dealers exploiting the crowds and have received complaints about antisocial behavior, littering, and crime near the soup kitchen.
The council claims the Charing Cross site is unsafe for both users of the service and the public.
Westminster council is also working on new rules to restrict new bars and “vertical drinking” in Soho and the West End.
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Myanmar’s government says it has identified over 300,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as former residents of its Rakhine state and plans to accept their return when security improves. The Rohingya crisis began in 2017 after a military crackdown forced hundreds of thousands to flee to Bangladesh, but ongoing conflict and instability have delayed repatriation efforts.
Key Facts
More than 300,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were verified by Myanmar as former residents of western Rakhine state.
Myanmar aims to allow their return when the security situation in Rakhine gets better.
The Rohingya fled Myanmar after a military crackdown in August 2017 following attacks by a Rohingya armed group.
Over 700,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh during the 2017 crisis.
Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as a legal ethnic group and claims many refugees are not verifiable or linked to terrorism.
Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a two-year plan for refugee repatriation in 2018, but the plan has not worked due to worsening security and military conflicts.
Fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army has continued, with the Arakan Army controlling much of Rakhine by 2023.
Some Rohingya refugees have tried to reach Malaysia and Indonesia by boat because of poor conditions and limited aid in camps.
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Health workers in eastern Congo are struggling to keep up with the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the country’s history. Many new cases are found too late because the system to track and monitor people exposed to Ebola is falling behind the virus’s spread.
Key Facts
Ebola has caused over 2,200 deaths and more than 4,700 cases in eastern Congo.
About 60% to 70% of new Ebola cases are among people not previously monitored as contacts.
Health workers investigate dozens of alerts daily, trying to find and isolate infected people.
The outbreak is spreading faster than the 2014-16 West Africa Ebola epidemic.
Surveillance teams work long hours, often late into the night, to track contacts and educate communities.
The United Nations provided an extra $30.5 million to help fight the outbreak.
Health workers face risks while visiting homes and working in the affected communities.
Effective surveillance is crucial to controlling Ebola, as it helps find cases before the virus spreads further.
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A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Flores island in eastern Indonesia, killing at least 20 people and trapping others under collapsed buildings. Rescue teams are working to find survivors while people evacuate to higher ground due to tsunami fears, which were later lifted.
Key Facts
The earthquake hit early Saturday off the north coast of Flores island.
At least 20 people died, six were injured, and others remain trapped under rubble.
The hardest-hit area is Nagekeo regency, close to the quake’s epicenter.
Landslides caused by the quake blocked several roads, slowing rescue efforts.
Residents fled to higher ground after the sea level dropped, a sign of a possible tsunami.
Authorities issued a tsunami warning but later canceled it, continuing to monitor sea levels.
The quake caused dozens of aftershocks, the strongest measuring magnitude 6.1.
Indonesia lies in the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a zone known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
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A Sudanese refugee named Sahra fled the war in Sudan and now works as the head teacher at a primary school in a refugee camp in eastern Chad. The camp school serves over 1,000 students and helps children from both Sudan and Chad, offering education and protection after many fled violence in Sudan.
Key Facts
Sahra is a Sudanese refugee who became a head teacher in a Chadian refugee camp.
War between Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces caused many Sudanese people to flee to Chad.
Chad now hosts nearly one million Sudanese refugees, making it one of Africa’s largest refugee-hosting countries.
The camp school opened in 2024 with over 1,000 pupils and 30 teachers.
Teachers, including Sahra, come from the refugee community, helping displaced families.
The school runs two shifts daily to accommodate all the students.
Teachers face challenges adjusting to Chad’s curriculum and languages, as Sudanese students mainly speak Arabic and Chadian children speak local dialects.
Education is seen as important not only for learning but also to protect children from violence and early marriage.
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President Donald Trump said he plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. territory following a promise to defeat Iran. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister responded by saying the Strait will remain under Iranian control and only Iran can open or close it.
Key Facts
President Trump announced he would soon claim the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. territory after defeating Iran.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected this, saying the Strait has always been and will remain Iranian.
The UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company reported one of its vessels was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz but no injuries occurred.
Iran has not yet agreed to restart talks with the United States.
Separate talks with Oman focus on defining sea routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. has deployed a record number of Navy forces in operations related to Iran.
The situation is part of ongoing tensions involving economic sanctions and military actions between the U.S. and Iran.
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This summer's heatwaves have caused severe damage across western Europe, visible in satellite images that show dried rivers, retreating glaciers, and large wildfires. Climate change has made these extreme heat events more frequent and intense, affecting landscapes and human activities.
Key Facts
Western Europe experienced its hottest June-to-July period on record, confirmed by the EU's climate monitoring service, Copernicus.
The Danube River has reached its lowest water levels in 30 years, revealing things like mammoth bones and a sunken WWII ship.
Some nuclear power plants along the Danube have shut down or reduced output because they can't use the river water to cool their systems.
Alpine glaciers are melting faster due to less winter snow and early heatwaves; the Rhone Glacier has retreated by about 50 meters since last year.
Over 90,000 hectares of land have burned in France this summer, the worst wildfire season on record there.
The largest fire in the Gironde region near Bordeaux burned 42,000 hectares, roughly the size of the Isle of Wight.
Climate change is causing more frequent and intense wildfires by drying out vegetation and soil faster.
Satellite images clearly show large areas of brown, dried-out land compared to previous years.
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Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has gained attention for potentially running for U.S. president in 2028. She is popular among progressive voters and Democratic Socialists and has increased her national profile by supporting other progressive candidates.
Key Facts
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke about her ambition to change the country, not just hold a political title.
Many people believe she could run for president in 2028.
She leads in some opinion polls, including a New Hampshire poll among Democrats.
Ocasio-Cortez has nearly 10 million Instagram followers and support from groups like Democratic Socialists of America.
She joined Bernie Sanders on a nationwide tour against economic inequality last year.
Recently, she shared publicly that she is freezing her eggs to take control of her life.
She made comments distinguishing serious racial justice efforts from some extreme cultural reactions during the pandemic.
Ocasio-Cortez’s relationship status has been subject to speculation, but she has not confirmed details.
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The BBC was warned by whistleblowers that true crime author Christopher Berry-Dee claimed to have had the missing clothes of Karen Hadaway, a child murder victim from 1986, which the BBC lost. The clothes were last confirmed in BBC custody in 1991 but went missing later, and Berry-Dee said he obtained and burned them. Multiple women have accused Berry-Dee of sexual and violent crimes, which he denies.
Key Facts
Karen Hadaway and her friend Nicola Fellows were murdered in Brighton’s Wild Park in 1986.
The clothes Karen was wearing were collected by journalist Martin Bashir in 1991 for a BBC documentary but were later lost by the BBC.
The loss of the clothes was acknowledged by the BBC, which apologized and paid compensation to Karen’s mother.
Christopher Berry-Dee, a true crime author, claimed in the 1990s and 2000s that he had Karen’s clothes and offered DNA testing to the family.
Berry-Dee reportedly received the clothes with the family’s permission before they were given to Bashir, but then again claimed to have obtained them later and said he burned them.
Berry-Dee has faced allegations of sexual and violent offenses but has not been convicted.
The BBC’s whistleblowing unit and senior leaders were informed about Berry-Dee’s claims but decided to take no further action after investigation.
Tim Davie, then BBC director general, apologized publicly for losing the clothes after being questioned by parliament.
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Several countries are increasing diplomatic contact with the Taliban government in Afghanistan despite the group’s record of human rights abuses. The Taliban have banned women from education and work, persecuted minorities, and suppressed activists, yet nations like India, China, Russia, and some European countries are engaging with them for regional security and immigration control reasons.
Key Facts
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, in 2021 after 20 years of conflict.
Since taking power, the Taliban have banned women from universities and most jobs.
Minorities and activists face persecution under the Taliban regime.
Countries including India, China, Iran, Qatar, and Russia have increased diplomatic ties with the Taliban.
Russia recognized the Taliban government and signed a military cooperation deal last year.
The European Union held talks with the Taliban about returning failed asylum seekers.
Some human rights groups worry that diplomatic contacts weaken international pressure for improvements in women's rights and human rights.
Engagement with the Taliban is motivated by concerns about regional security, managing immigration, and acknowledgment that the Taliban will remain in power for now.
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Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Kumanjayi Little Baby, a five-year-old girl from Alice Springs who went missing in April and was later found dead. Her family and community gathered to remember her and express their grief, with a man charged with her murder now awaiting trial.
Key Facts
Kumanjayi Little Baby was a five-year-old girl from Alice Springs who disappeared in late April.
An intensive five-day search was carried out by emergency services and local volunteers.
Her body was found, leading to nationwide mourning and vigils.
A 47-year-old man has been charged with her murder and is awaiting trial.
Hundreds attended the funeral, many wearing pink and T-shirts with her face.
Her grandfather opened the public funeral, inviting the community to grieve together.
In a message read for her mother, Kumanjayi was remembered for her love of shows, games, puppies, and the color pink.
Support services for Indigenous Australians are available, including 13YARN, Lifeline, and Mensline.
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