Israel Strikes Houthi Targets In Yemen, Texas Floods Death Toll At 82, Eiffel Dive

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

“BRICS without cohesion,” headlines Brazilian daily O Globo, as the BRICS group of 10 emerging economies opened its summit Sunday with vague condemnations of U.S. President Trump’s increased tariffs, attacks on Gaza and the recent Iran conflict without criticizing the U.S. or Israel directly. As Trump threatens an extra 10% tariff spike for any country aligning themselves with the group’s “Anti-American” policy, the bloc attempts to present itself a safe haven for multilateral diplomacy, even if its unity — with China skipping the summit and Putin joining online due to his arrest warrant for the war in Ukraine — remains in question.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Trump hosts Netanyahu, pressure grows for Gaza ceasefire deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington after Trump voiced hope for a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal “this week.” This comes as Reuters reports that the first session of indirect Hamas-Israel ceasefire talks in Qatar ended inconclusively on Sunday, with two Palestinian sources saying the Israeli delegation didn’t have a sufficient mandate to reach an agreement with the militant group. For more, check this piece by French analyst Pierre Haski, translated into English by Worldcrunch: After Iran, Trump Has New Leverage To Push Netanyahu For Gaza Truce.

• Israel launches first strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen since Israel-Iran ceasefire. Israel says it has launched strikes on three ports and a power plant in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen around midnight local time — the first strikes since the Israel-Iran ceasefire. This comes after at least three Houthi ballistic missiles were launched at Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Defense Minister Israel Katz promised more attacks would follow if the Houthis kept launching drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.

• Russia and Ukraine exchange drone attacks, Kyiv signs deals to boost drone production. A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv overnight wounded 27 people, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday. This comes as both countries struck each other with hundreds of drones on Sunday, throwing Russian air travel in disarray. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced deals with European allies and a leading U.S. defense company to step up drone production. Read more about warfare and technology in this Vazhnyye Istorii/Important Stories analysis, translated from Russian by Worldcrunch.

• Suriname elects first female president amid economic crisis. Lawmakers elected Jennifer Geerlings-Simons as Suriname’s first female president on Sunday after her party won the most seats in legislative elections in May. The 71-year-old physician and lawmaker was left the sole candidate for president after her rivals decided not to nominate anyone to lead the small crisis-hit South American nation.

• Death toll in Texas floods rises to 82 as more rain looms. At least 82 people have been confirmed dead in central Texas and another 41 are accounted for following flash floods on Friday as rescue efforts are still underway. Sixty-eight of the fatalities were in Kerr County, where an all-girls summer camp was ripped apart as the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more life-threatening flooding.

• Erin Patterson convicted of mushroom murders in Australia. An Australian woman was found guilty Monday of murdering three of her relatives and attempting to murder another by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with deadly mushrooms in 2023 in a case that gripped the country. Throughout the so-called “mushroom murders” trial, Erin Patterson, 50, maintained it was a tragic accident. Patterson faces a maximum life sentence.

• News Quiz! Tourists and residents in Shanghai braved sweltering heat over the weekend for the official opening of China’s first theme park dedicated to…?

A. Labubus
B. Legos
C. Winnie the Pooh
D. Pokémon

[Answer below]

💬 LEXICON

Peñico

Archaeologists have announced the recent discovery of a 3,500-year-old city, named Peñico, in Peru’s northern Barranca region, believed to have developed in isolation around the same time that early civilizations florished in the Middle East and Asia. Situated next to the ancient Caral civilization, Peñico’s remains may represent a continuation of the oldest known society in the Americas, providing crucial insights into its evolution after being decimated by climate change.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

☎️ The Kremlin-White House phone call last week has many worried, especially the Ukrainians. Putin is happy to go around the Europeans, and just needs Trump to stay out of the way.
— LA STAMPA

💬 How are you feeling? Is it time to stop? Is it me or my therapist? Here are the questions to ask if you’ve taken that plunge.
— DIE ZEIT

📖 Literature is filled with characters suffering from mental health issues… and with authors who weren’t necessarily much better off. In a fascinating book, a psychiatrist and a journalist attempt to unravel the mysteries of these minds.
— LE FIGARO

📣 VERBATIM

“Illegal migration is simply a crime.”

— Poland reinstated border controls with neighboring Germany and Lithuania on Monday, following similar measures taken by Germany earlier this year. In place for an initial 30 days and subject to extension, the divisive decision came after pressure from far-right groups alleging that Germany was shuffling thousands of illegal migrants into Polish territory, an act which Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak condemned during a news conference on Sunday as “simply a crime.”