Fresh Russian Attacks On Ukraine, Iran Sanctions Threat, Nvidia in China

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Warsaw-based Gazeta Wyborcza lends its front page to the return of a SpaceX capsule carrying astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary and the United States. The spaceship landed Tuesday off the coast of Southern California, after the crew had undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday at the end of a 20-day mission and 22-hour journey. The mission included about 60 scientific experiments, and was organized by U.S. startup Axiom Space in collaboration with SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire Elon Musk.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• New round of Russia attacks on Ukraine targets energy infrastructure, injures 15. The overnight strikes, which included some 400 drones, took aim primarily at the cities Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Vinnytsia, striking at least 12 targets. Russia’s increased attacks on Ukraine throughout this summer was cited by President Donald Trump as part of his motivation to strike a deal to send more weapons to Ukraine. Read more in Worldcrunch’s latest piece, translated from Italian to English: After Trump’s Threats And Deadlines, Putin Isn’t Blinking

• UK, France and Germany threaten to restore UN sanctions on Iran. Reimposing sanctions by the end of August if no new deal is reached was discussed by the countries’ UN ambassadors at Germany’s UN mission Tuesday and by foreign ministers on a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday, according to U.S. officials. All three countries are part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which contains a “snapback” provision, allowing sanctions to be reimposed if Tehran is not complying with its requirements to restrict its nuclear program. For more, read this analysis translated from Italian to English: The Iranian Nuclear Risk Is 100% Real — Trump’s Calculation Will Be All About Trump

• At least 20 killed at Gaza aid point in Khan Younis. The Israel and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said 19 victims died in stampedes at the aid site while one person was fatally stabbed in a “chaotic and dangerous surge, driven by agitators in the crowd” on Wednesday. Palestinian health officials told Reuters that 21 were killed by suffocation in the crowd.   Meanwhile, the UN said Tuesday that malnutrition rates among children in Gaza doubled since March, when Israel restricted the entry of food. 

• Britain secretly brought thousands of Afghans to the UK after a data breach. In early 2022, a leak by the Ministry of Defence sparked concern that Afghan soldiers who worked with the British military could be targeted by the Taliban. This led then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government to instate the roughly £2 billion ($2.7 billion) relocation scheme, which has moved about 4,500 Afghans and their families to the UK. The security lapse was subject to a “superinjunction,” preventing journalists from reporting the news, which was lifted on Tuesday, leading the British government to acknowledge the resettlement for the first time. 

• Brazil’s chief prosecutor calls the Supreme Court to convict Bolsonaro of coup plot. The request came Tuesday in the closing remarks of a trial, in which ex-president Jair Bolsonaro is accused of trying to overturn the results of the 2022 election won by the current left-wing president Luiz Inacio da Silva. A five-justice panel will make their ruling after the defense presents its closing arguments.If found guilty, Bolsonaro and his co-defendants could face up to 40 years in prison. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump, a Bolsonaro ally who accused the prosecution of a “witch hunt,” has launched an investigation into the Brazilian government’s “unfair” trade practices, which the U.S. argues disadvantages American exports. 

• Arrest in hit-and-run case in India that killed world’s oldest marathon runner. Amritpal Sing Dhillon is being held by Indian police, who have accused him of driving a speeding white SUV and hitting Fauja Singh, a 114-year-old British-Indian runner who was critically injured and died at the Shrimann Hospital in the Jalandhar district. Citing the police complaint, Indian media reported that Singh’s life could have been saved if the driver had taken him to the hospital. 

• News Quiz! Alongside afternoon tea, a restaurant in Taiyuan, China is offering its guests a chance to cuddle with..?   

A. Panda bears
B. Trained physiotherapists
C. Lion cubs
D. AI robots
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

350%

Pop Mart, the Chinese toy firm behind the hugely popular Labubu dolls, said its profits are set to jump by at least 350% for the first six months of this year, as revenues more than tripled. Collectors have been obsessed with the viral Labubu dolls — fictional elf-like creatures with a row of jagged teeth that have attracted celebrities like Rihanna since its 2019 launch. The Beijing-based company, which has a stock market value of more than $40 billion, also said profitability had been boosted by increased global recognition of the brand and cost controls.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇮🇱 The so-called “Hebron Emirate” is not a realistic project — but rather a propaganda tool within a campaign to hinder any progress toward a two-state solution. Netanyahu again succeeds in marketing the illusion of alternative solutions to delay a real settlement.
— DARAJ

🇮🇷 The June ceasefire returned the Israel-Iran war to the shadows, but both sides are already preparing for the renewed conflict.
— KAYHAN-LONDON

🇷🇺 Despite promises of Patriot missiles and steep tariffs, Trump’s latest overtures give Russia time to press its offensive — and the Moscow stock market is celebrating.
— LA STAMPA

📣 VERBATIM

“There are no beggars in Cuba. There are people pretending to be beggars to make easy money.”

— Cuban Minister for Labour Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera has been forced to resign after she made comments denying the existence of beggars on the Communist-run island. Feitó Cabrera also accused people searching through the rubbish of being “illegal participants in the recycling service.” Her comments, made in a parliamentary session earlier this week, were widely criticised by Cubans at home and abroad, and prompted a response from the island’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who —  albeit without mentioning her by name —  said the leadership could not “act with condescension” or be “disconnected from the realities” of the people. Feitó Cabrera resigned soon after.