US imposes visa sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials
The United States imposed sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, accusing them of ‘undermining peace efforts’ with Israel even as other Western powers moved toward recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The State Department said the two Palestinian organisations had ‘taken actions to internationalise’ their conflict with Israel, including through the International Criminal Court, and both had continued ‘to support terrorism.’
Trump’s new global tariff rates from 7 Aug
US President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Thursday evening to impose tariffs of between 15 and 41 per cent on goods shipped to the US from more than 67 countries, pushing up tariffs to the highest levels in more than a century. The new duties won’t go into effect until 7 August, giving countries yet another window to try to negotiate them down.
British Sikh man stabbed to death in London, two arrested
A British Sikh man, aged 30, was stabbed to death on 23 July in east London in an attack involving people known to each other, said UK police. Gurmuk Singh, also known as Gary, died last week and was formally named by Metropolitan Police on Thursday.
Officers arrested Amardeep Singh, 27, on suspicion of murder. He has since been charged with one count of murder and remains in custody until his next court appearance for trial on 5 January, 2026.
Japan ‘seriously concerned’ about Myanmar polls without release of detained
Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Friday said he is ‘seriously concerned’ that Myanmar’s elections without the release of those detained could provoke ‘further strong backlash from the people’ and making a peaceful resolution more difficult.
The foreign minister’s comment comes a day after the Myanmar military lifted a state of emergency and transferred power to a civilian-led government ahead of voting in the elections that are planned to be held in December and January.
Zelenskyy signs law restoring power to anti-corruption bodies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill into law that returned independence to key state anti-corruption agencies. Lawmakers in Ukraine decisively supported Zelenskyy’s new bill on Thursday, after nationwide protests that helped shoot down a previous bill.
El Salvador approves indefinite presidential re-election
El Salvador President Navib Bukele approved constitutional changes in the country’s Legislative Assembly that will allow indefinite presidential reelection and extend presidential terms to six years. The New Ideas party proposed changes to five articles of the constitution, including the elimination of the second round of elections.
South African scientists making rhino horns radioactive, to fight poaching
A South African university has launched an anti-poaching campaign to inject the horns of rhinos with radioactive isotopes that are harmless for the animals but can be detected by customs agents. They are calling it the Rhisotope Project.
Under the collaborative project involving the University of the Witwatersrand, nuclear energy officials and conservationists, five rhinos were injected in what the university hopes will be the start of a mass injection of the declining rhino population.
31 older people trapped in a senior center died in Beijing floods
Officials offered a rare public apology when they announced the deaths of elderly people who were trapped in a flooded nursing home. They reported, 31 people died at the Taishitun Town Elderly Care Center when Beijing’s Miyun district became one of the hardest hit areas by storms. Flood waters entered the area on Monday and many were caught unprepared.
At least 70 died during powerful storms that lashed Beijing and neighbouring provinces.
Indonesian President Prabowo pardons political opponents
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto pardoned two political rivals a few weeks after both were sentenced to jail, officials said.
Prabowo granted amnesty to Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary general of parliament’s largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas said late on Thursday in a news conference broadcast by local media, after meeting the House’s deputy speaker.
Sweden urges EU to suspend trade ties with Israel over Gaza
Sweden became the latest EU member country to publicly call for the suspension of trade of the bloc’s association agreement with Israel, as humanitarian conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate.
“The situation in Gaza is utterly deplorable, and Israel is not fulfilling its most basic obligations and agreed-upon commitments regarding humanitarian aid,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.
New Jersey issued a state of emergency, and flooding swamped parts of New York City.
Widespread storms moving through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast brought periods of intense rain and flash flooding. It swamped streets and subways in New York and paused air travel across the East Coast. Much of the region was spared from more serious flooding.
Macao police arrest former pro-democracy lawmaker
Macao Police detained a prominent pro-democracy advocate Au Lam San, on suspicion of colluding with an anti-China group and provided false and seditious materials for public display online or abroad in breach of the national security law, in what is the first publicly known arrest under the legislation.
Kasturi Walimbe is an alum of ThePrint School of Journalism, currently interning with ThePrint
(Edited by Shashank Kishan)
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