Canada To Recognize Palestine, Tsunami Warnings Lifted, Crying Argentina 

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Rio de Janeiro-based daily O Globo lends its front page to the U.S. decision to impose both sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes — who is presiding over the ongoing trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — and severe import tariffs on the country. The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against de Moraes on Wednesday for alleged “oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions” regarding the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who stands accused of plotting a coup after his 2022 election defeat. Later on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose 50% tariffs on Brazil — albeit with numerous major exemptions, including oil, orange juice, timber and aircraft — setting a legal rationale that Brazil’s policies and Bolsonaro’s criminal prosecution constitute an economic emergency under a 1977 U.S. law.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Canada to recognize Palestinian state if democratic conditions met. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that Canada will recognize the State of Palestine at a UN meeting in September, after France and the UK made similar statements. Carney said on Wednesday that the recognition depends on reforms to the Palestinian Authority’s governance, including holding general elections in 2026 without Hamas’ involvement. The same day, at least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded while waiting for food at an Israeli military-controlled crossing Gaza, according to Shifa Hospital. The IDF released a statement saying troops fired warning shots in the area that were not directed at Gazans gathered around aid trucks, and that it “is not aware of any casualties” from the fire.

• Russian airstrike on Kyiv kills at least six. Russian missile and drone attacks hit Kyiv early on Thursday, killing at least eight, including a 6-year-old boy and his mother, and injuring at least 82 others, according to Ukrainian officials. Addressing the Finnish Helsinki+50 conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian leadership of being “mentally stuck in another century” and called on the world to “change the regime.” For more, read this La Stampa piece translated from Italian by Worldcrunch: After Trump’s Threats And Deadlines, Putin Isn’t Blinking.

• Trump makes trade announcements on South Korea, India. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a trade deal with South Korea, setting a 15% tax on imports from the country, including vehicles, which were previously threatened with a 25% tariff. Trump also said a 25% tariff will be imposed on goods from India, along with an additional import tax as a penalty for purchasing Russian oil. The deals come ahead of the U.S. president’s self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline.

• Tsunami warnings lifted across the Pacific rim. Fears of a devastating tsunami across the Pacific have faded after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia’s Far East on Wednesday. Country after country has lifted or downgraded warnings, allowing millions of coastal residents to return home. One death was reported in Japan, and in Russia, several people were hurt while rushing out of buildings. No major damage was reported.

• Myanmar’s junta lifts long-standing emergency rule to hold December elections. Myanmar’s junta has ended the state of emergency it declared over four years ago. The change, announced on Thursday, comes ahead of elections in December, which have been criticized by international monitors and boycotted by opposition groups. The state of emergency was enacted by the military in February 2021, after it annulled the November 2020 election results. 

• Australia wipes $10 billion off student loans. Australia’s parliament has passed a law cutting student loans by 20% on Thursday in order to relieve the cost of living, a key campaign promise of Labour Party Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was reelected in May. The law will be backdated from June 1, 2025 and will remove over 16 billion Australian dollars ($10.31 million) in debt for 3 million people. 

• News Quiz! Archaeologists were able to confirm the earliest use of a substance by studying 4,000-year-old dental plaque. What was the substance?

A. Coca leaves
B. Psychoactive betel nuts
C. Flavored tobacco
D. Cannabis seeds
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

$75 billion

U.S. tech giant Microsoft announced Wednesday that the annual revenue for its flagship Azure cloud computing platform — a centerpiece of the company’s efforts to shift its focus to artificial intelligence — surpassed $75 billion in 2024, up 34% from a year earlier. The end-of-year earnings report also showed a 24% spike in the company’s quarterly profit, reaching $34.3 billion, beating Wall Street expectations. 

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇱🇧 The death of Ziad Rahbani, Lebanon’s legendary composer, playwright, musician, and political provocateur, leaves a profound cultural and emotional void. His plays and songs expressed the nation’s tragedies, anger, and resilience.
— DARAJ

💉 Most of us can accept that animal experiments are ok before allowing new drugs on the market. But allowing such animal testing is important even when no specific application is at stake.
— DIE ZEIT

💔 Argentine journalist and father of two Ignacio Pereyra wonders if some of divorced mothers’ experiences, like personal rediscovery, also apply to separated men.
— RECALCULATING

📣 VERBATIM

“The prospect of a Palestinian state is being eroded before our eyes.”

— Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that Canada plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September, becoming the third G7 nation (after France and the UK) to make such an announcement in recent days. Carney said Canada would formally implement the recognition at the upcoming UN General Assembly, and that it would hinge on commitments by the Palestinian Authority to fundamentally reform its governance and to demilitarize the territory.