New Wave Of U.S. Tariffs, Ukraine In Mourning, Bangkok Pet Expo

✅ SIGN UP

This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of the news of the day from the world’s best journalism sources, regardless of language or geography.

It’s easy (and free!) to sign up to receive it each day in your inbox: 👉 Sign up here

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine marks 10 years since former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s famous Wir schaffen das (“We can do it”) speech, delivered in the summer of 2015, when the country committed to taking in over 1 million refugees. Today, there are more than 3 million refugees in the country, but there is an ongoing debate over whether Germany has been able to successfully integrate them, as Merkel promised.     

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Trump unleashes wave of “reciprocal” tariffs across the globe, stock markets fall. U.S. President Donald Trump announced fresh tariffs of 10% to 41% on imports for more than 90 countries starting Aug. 7, pressing ahead with his plans to reorder the global economy. Tariffs on Canada increase from 25% to 35%, while India faces 25% duties, Taiwan, 20% and South Africa, 30%. Meanwhile, deals with China and Mexico are still pending. European and Asian stock markets have dropped following the announcement. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government is “disappointed” by the U.S. decision, while the Swiss government responded with “great regret” to the move, as Switzerland faces 39% tariffs, one of the steepest announced by the White House. Read more in this La Stampa analysis, translated from Italian by Worldcrunch.

• U.S. envoy in Gaza as humanitarian crisis worsens. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is currently visiting an aid distribution in the area of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, the BBC reports, one day after his arrival in Israel. This comes as the death toll of Palestinians waiting for food and other aid continues to climb, with the Gaza Health Ministry reporting on Thursday that at least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in 24 hours. Some in Gaza denounced Witkoff’s visit as “a hollow media stunt.”

• Kyiv observes day of mourning after massive Russian strikes. Ukraine is observing a day of mourning following the deaths of 31 people, including five children, in Russian missile and drone strikes on the capital city on Thursday. This marks the deadliest Russian attacks on Kyiv since the full-scale invasion started in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the “despicable” strikes show that “additional pressure and sanctions on Moscow are necessary” while U.S. President Donald Trump called Russia’s actions “disgusting.” 

• El Salvador abolishes presidential term limits. El Salvador’s ruling party approved constitutional changes in the country’s National Assembly that scrap presidential term limits and extend presidential terms from five to six years, opening the door for President Nayib Bukele to serve another term. The measure passed 57-3 amid criticism over democratic backsliding, with legislator Marcela Villatoro of the opposition Republican National Alliance saying on Thursday that “democracy has died in El Salvador.” For more on Bukele, check this El Espectador piece, translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch.

• Thailand returns two Cambodian soldiers ahead of key talks. Thailand’s army has returned two Cambodian soldiers from a group of 20 on Friday, ahead of a key meeting between Cambodian and Thai defense ministers next week in Malaysia to discuss how to maintain the ceasefire along the disputed border. The clashes between the two Southeast Asian neighbors have claimed at least 43 lives and left over 300,000 people displaced.

• Vatican aims to become world’s first carbon-neutral state with solar farm. Italy agreed on Thursday to a Vatican plan to turn the Santa Maria Galeria site, a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome, into a vast solar farm. The Vatican hopes the facility will generate enough electricity to meet its needs, allowing it to become the world’s first carbon-neutral state.

• News Quiz! Which new measure have Italian farmers in the Dolomites region introduced to manage overtourism on “Instagrammable” spots?

A. Surveillance drones
B. Fake photo spots to divert influencers
C. Phone jamming towers
D. Turnstiles charging 5 euros
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

12

China’s Yu Zidi, 12, has become the youngest swimmer in history to win a medal at the World Aquatics Championships. Yu won the bronze medal in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay in Singapore this week, finishing after the U.S. and Australia. Her medal comes after she set a world record in May, as the fastest 12-year-old in the 200-meter individual medley, finishing at 2:10.63. The age limit to compete in the World Championships is 14, but athletes can reach the worlds if they surpass a tough time standard. Yu’s participation has sparked debate over how hard athletes her age should be allowed to train.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇺🇦 The United States faces a lack of practical alternatives to sustaining Ukraine’s defense. With missile production lagging and diplomacy stalled, Washington is struggling to deliver the air defenses Kyiv needs to slow Russia’s advance.
— LIVY BEREG

⚖️ As it recently did with Brazil, the United States is now dissing a court ruling against another conservative politician, in Colombia, and showing the Trump administration’s reluctant respect not just for state sovereignty, but for the rule of law.
— EL ESPECTADOR

🧑‍⚕️ Outdated labels are giving way to a new diagnostic model that sees personality traits on a spectrum. The newest revision of the International Classification of Diseases introduces a shift in how we understand, treat and talk about personality disorders.
— DIE ZEIT

📣 VERBATIM

“We are not anyone’s colony.”

— Peru’s President Dina Boluarte criticized a call by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to suspend a bill that would grant amnesty to the soldiers, police officers and other security personnel involved in the South American country’s Internal Conflict from 1985 to 2000. Boluarte argued the court overstepped its authority in attempting to suspend the law, which passed Peru’s congress in July and was awaiting Boluarte’s approval. The bill has sparked global indignation, seen by many as a way to protect perpetrators from accountability for their actions in the conflict, in which 70,000 people were killed, mostly from Indigenous and rural communities.