The first grain shipment since the war began left Odesa on Mondaywith three more ships departing on Friday and four on Sunday.Elsewhere, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, occupied by Russia since March, was struck twice this week. This came days after warnings by the UN's Secretary General that "humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation."Putin has insisted that Russia remains faithful to nuclear non-proliferation treaties.Meanwhile, after the July 29th shelling that killed Ukrainian prisoners of war and saw Ukraine and Russia exchange blame, the UN confirmed that it will conduct a "fact-finding mission" into the deaths.This comes as Amnesty International on Thursday released a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians by having military presence in residential areas, while Russia on Tuesday accused the US for the first time of being directly involved in the war.In other news, the US is reportedly preparing a $1B military aid package for Ukraineas the UN Refugee Agency said on Tuesday that upwards of 10M have left Ukraine since the war commenced.

Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was reportedly killed in a US drone strike,Israel struck alleged Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in Gaza,and Burkina Faso's army admitted to accidentally killing civilians in air raids.Meanwhile, a UN report concluded that Rwanda is backing rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),two were killed by UN peacekeepers in the DRC,and Yemen's truce was extended for another two months.

The US Senate ratified Sweden and Finland's NATO membership,Washington sanctioned Putin's reputed girlfriend,and, following a visit to Taiwan, US House Speaker Pelosi promised that the US won't abandon the island,after which China sanctioned Pelosi and halted military and climate cooperation.Meanwhile, an election commission in Pakistan said that ousted PM Imran Khans party received illegal funds,an Iraqi cleric called for the dissolution of parliament and early elections,EU and US envoys urged talks to settle the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia,Kosovo postponed its planned Serbian border rules,and Myanmar's junta extended its emergency rule.

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court upheld an expansion to allow mail-in voting,a Trump-backed lawmaker won Arizona's Secretary of State Republican primary,while in Michigan, Tudor Dixon won the Republican primaryand Rashida Tlaib won the Democratic primary.In other news, Manchin supported an inflation bill in exchange for the completion of the Mountain Valley pipeline,Democrats alleged a coverup of deleted Jan. 6 texts,and the Dept. of Justice subpoenaed former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

Biden announced plans to sign a second order on abortion accessas Indiana's Senate passed a near-total abortion ban,Kansas voted to retain the right to abortion in its state constitution,and the US Dept. of Justice sued Idaho over its abortion ban.Meanwhile, a Florida state attorney was suspended for declining to enforce state laws,and the US border patrol announced plans to investigate the alleged confiscation of Sikh Turbans.

Three were killed in a kindergarten knife attack in China,while in the US, four officers were charged in the death of Breonna Taylor,a man with an AK-47 was arrested near the NYC home of an exiled Iranian journalist,Infowars' founder was ordered to pay $49.3M in damages,and the first Capitol rioter to face trial was sentenced to seven years.Meanwhile, Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison,after which the Kremlin announced that it's ready to discuss a prisoner swap.

US Pres. Biden tested positive in a COVID "rebound" case,California declared a monkeypox emergency,the US Senate passed the previously stalled Veterans Act,and scientists successfully restored pig organs after their death.

US job growth topped forecasts and unemployment fell to 3.5%as housing prices cooled at a record pace,the Bank of England forecasted a recession and raised rates,oil giant BP's profits tripled as UK energy bills continue to rise,and OPEC+ made its smallest oil output increase in its history.Meanwhile, a NY regulator fined Robinhood's crypto division $30M,and 11 people were charged in an alleged $300M crypto pyramid scheme.

At least 28 are dead as historic floods continue to devastate Kentucky,a climate study revealed that the risk of human extinction is "dangerously underexplored,"US Vice Pres. Harris announced $1B for climate resilience projects,and a report said coral cover in regions of the Great Barrier Reef is the highest in 36 years.

The NFL fined and suspended the owner of Miami Dolphins for tampering,Deshaun Watson was suspended for alleged sexual misconduct,and Italian soccer club Napoli announced it won't sign Africans committed to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Elon Musk countersued Twitter,and Amazon announced plans to purchase iRobot..