“More Time” Needed For Gaza Ceasefire, Macron’s Historic UK Visit, Pamplona’s Bulls

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

“Europe is splitting,” headlines the German daily Frankfurter Rundschau, after Poland introduced border checks with Germany and Lithuania on July 7. All three countries are members of Europe’s Schengen area of open borders. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the measure is meant to be temporary and aimed at stopping human trafficking and irregular migration. The move comes just weeks after Germany itself ramped up checks along all its land borders, including with Poland, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s new government. Merz said he was working together with Tusk, “because the protection of the external European borders is not sufficiently guaranteed.”

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Israel says Gaza ceasefire can be reached but may take more time. Gaps in Gaza ceasefire talks under way in Qatar between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas can be bridged, but it may take more than a few days to reach a deal, Israeli officials said on Tuesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump, who said on the eve of their meeting that a ceasefire and hostage deal could be reached this week. Meanwhile, five Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack in Gaza, the Israeli military said Tuesday, while health officials in the Palestinian territory said 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes.

• Trump says Ukraine will receive more weapons after U.S. pause on shipments. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he was “not happy” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that Ukraine was “getting hit very hard.” Trump also indicated the U.S. would send primarily “defensive weapons” to help Ukraine’s war effort. Read more about the Trump-Putin relationship in this piece by Italian media La Stampa, translated into English by Worldcrunch.

• Macron kicks off “historic” UK state visit to reset ties with King Charles and Starmer. French President Emmanuel Macron is set to begin a three-day state visit to the UK on Tuesday, aiming to rekindle relations with King Charles III and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with talks expected to focus on Ukraine, defense and English Channel migration. It is the first state visit by an EU head of state since Brexit, in 2020, and the first by a French president since 2008.

• U.S. delays higher tariffs but announces new taxes for some countries. The latest development comes as a 90-day pause the White House placed on some of its most aggressive import taxes was set to expire this week. U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat of a 25% tax on products entering the country from Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, China warned the Trump administration on Tuesday against reigniting trade tensions by restoring tariffs on its goods next month, and threatened to retaliate against nations that strike deals with the U.S. to cut China out of supply chains. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the impacts of U.S. tariffs around the world here.

• Texas floods death toll surpasses 100 as search and rescue enters fifth day. The death toll from flash floods that struck central Texas on Friday has now climbed to more than 100 people and an unknown number of others are missing. More rain and thunderstorms threaten the region, as search and rescue teams look through mud-piled riverbanks for survivors. The White House meanwhile rejected suggestions that budget cuts at the National Weather Service could have inhibited the disaster response.

• Citizens of more than 70 countries can now visit China without a visa. Foreign tourists are coming back to China after the country loosened its visa policy to unprecedented levels. Citizens from 74 countries can now enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, a big jump from previous regulations. The government has been steadily expanding visa-free entry in a bid to boost tourism, the economy and its soft power. 

• News Quiz! La Scala is tightening its decorum guidelines. What has Milan’s prestigious theater announced it would do?

A. Require tuxedos and evening gowns
B. Forbid visible tattoos
C. Ban beachwear
D. Turn away spectators with bad breath
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

21

European Union finance ministers, meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, are set to give the final green light for Bulgaria to adopt the euro on Jan. 1, 2026, making the country the 21st member of the single currency area. The European Commission last month said that Bulgaria, the EU’s poorest member state, had fulfilled the strict conditions to adopt the euro, while the European Central Bank (ECB) also gave a positive opinion. This comes 19 years after the country of 6.4 million people joined the European Union. 

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇸🇻 After turning his war on crime into a global spectacle, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has reportedly cut deals with the Mara gangs, like his predecessors, possibly in return for their quiescence in order to keep Donald Trump happy.
— EL ESPECTADOR

🌏 Some 17 years since its founding, BRICS+ continues to struggle with delivering on its promise to reform global governance and represent the Global South.
— THE WIRE

🐶 As Europe baked in extreme heat, even a rescue mutt knows how to adapt and avoid danger. So why are humans still arguing over what’s staring us in the face?
— LA STAMPA

📣 VERBATIM

“LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE.”

— U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media to accuse Brazilian authorities of carrying out a “WITCH HUNT” against Brazil’s ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial charges for allegedly leading a criminal plot to overturn the 2022 presidential election, risking up to 40 years in prison. Trump compared his own legal troubles to Bolsonaro’s; both leaders have been accused of trying to undermine their country’s elections, following electoral losses. Bolsonaro had refused to publicly concede defeat to his left-wing opponent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022, and thousands of his supporters then stormed government buildings in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, to protest the outcome. Following Trump’s comments on Monday, da Silva said that “no one is above the law.”