A U.S.-brokered meeting between the U.N. and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation failed to yield a breakthrough,Israel's Security Cabinet approved a plan to take full control of Gaza City,amid reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to occupy the Strip — a move that U.S. President Donald Trump said it would be "up to Israel" —Germany halted arms exports to Israel,a report alleged that the Israeli military had stored Palestinians' data on Microsoft's European servers,and Lebanon approved the "objectives" of a U.S. plan to disarm Hezbollah.Elsewhere, the Netherlands became the first NATO ally to fund U.S. weapons for Ukraine,Vladimir Putin and Trump agreed to meet in Alaska on Aug. 15 to discuss Russia-Ukraine peace terms,as Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow,where he met with the Russian president,and Russia said it wouldn't abide by the now-defunct Intermediate‑Range Nuclear Forces treaty.In other news, Japan commemorated the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima,South Korea and the U.S. announced joint military drills,Poland signed a $6.5 billion deal for 180 South Korean K2 tanks,Australia awarded Japan a $10 billion contract to build naval frigates,and the U.S. Air Force denied early retirement for some transgender service members.Meanwhile, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a U.S.-brokered peace deal,five U.S. soldiers were shot at Fort Stewart in Georgia,a report placed the death toll from a Rapid Support Forces attack in Sudan's North Darfur at over 1,500,and Sudan accused the United Arab Emirates of hiring Colombian mercenaries in its civil war.

Trump's higher tariff rates took effect on nearly 70 countries,as he doubled India's tariffs to 50%, threatened to impose a 35% levy on EU goods,and announced a 100% tariff on computer chips,and Brazil sought a consultation with the World Trade Organization over the U.S. tariffs.Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance visited the U.K.,Israel's Supreme Court blocked an effort to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara,Bangladesh set national elections for February 2026,Karol Nawrocki was sworn in as Poland's president,and Rushanara Ali resigned as the U.K.'s homelessness minister.This comes as a report alleged that Brazil's Supreme Court exceeded its authority in its response to Jan. 8 protesters,Brazilian opposition lawmakers submitted a request to impeach Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes,as the justice issued a house arrest warrant for former President Jair Bolsonaro,the U.S. offered a $50 million bounty for Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro,and the U.K. sought clarification on China's redacted embassy plans.Elsewhere, the U.S. announced visa bonds for certain foreign visitors,France suspended visa exemptions for Algerian diplomats,Rwanda agreed to receive up to 250 deported migrants from the U.S.,the U.K. and France ratified a small boats return deal,and a BBC News investigation exposed a smuggling gang operating illegal Channel crossings to the U.K.In other news, the Paris office of Israeli airline El Al was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti,a French court blocked the return of a banned pesticide,Argentina's Javier Mile vetoed bills to boost pensions and disability benefits,and a poll found that 56% of Quebec youth support provincial independence from Canada.

Congress subpoenaed the Clintons and several former Department of Justice (DOJ) officials in the Jeffrey Epstein probe,Vance denied reports of hosting a dinner to strategize a response to the Epstein controversy,The New York Times published previously unseen letters and photos belonging to the convicted sex offender,and the DOJ opened a grand jury probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.In other news, Trump said Vance was "probably favored" for the 2028 Republican nomination,as he ruled out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for Federal Reserve chair,and nominated Stephen Miran to the Fed's Board of Governors,the DOJ opened an investigation into New York Attorney Letitia James,Sen. Marsha Blackburn announced her Tennessee governor bid,and Rep. Nancy Mace launched her run for the South Carolina governorship.Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene questioned her relationship with the Republican Party,Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to removeand arrest Democrats who left the state over disagreements with recent congressional redistricting legislation —an effort the FBI agreed to aid —Trump deployed federal forces to Washington, D.C.,after threatening to federalize the city,and the White House ended a Musk-era rule requiring federal workers to detail five weekly accomplishments.This comes as Trump ordered a new census excluding undocumented immigrants,the DOJ listed 35 "sanctuary jurisdictions" that allegedly impeded federal immigration enforcement,the Trump administration froze $584 million in funding to the University of California,and Stanford University moved to lay off hundreds of employees.Elsewhere, the National Park Service decided to reinstall a Confederate statue in D.C.and Trump backed actress Sydney Sweeney's controversial American Eagle ad.

Tennessee executed a convicted murderer despite concerns over his cardioverter-defibrillator,a survey found that 40% of staff at U.S. Antarctic bases reported sexual harassment in the last two years,a U.K. taskforce proposed a ban on "barely legal" pornographic content,a U.K. report alleged that Chinese students are pressured to engage in espionage,and Germany considered deploying Palantir surveillance software across the nation.

The FBI reported a 4.5% decline in violent crime in 2024,a report warned that domestic violence hit an all-time high in Germany last year,a suspect in the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington faced hate crime charges,and last year's Miss USA winner accused Rep. Cory Mills of making revenge porn threats.Meanwhile, the U.S. charged two Chinese nationals with smuggling Nvidia AI chips,a trial began for last year’s terror attack on a Moscow concert hall,British Activist Tommy Robinson was arrested over an alleged assault,and three men faced trial in South Africa for allegedly murdering two Black women and feeding them to pigs.

Tesla's board of directors approved a stock award of around $29 billion for Elon Musk,Disney’s ESPN acquired NFL Network,all major Las Vegas Strip casinos were unionized,McDonald's reported a second-quarter sales increase of 3.8%,and three major Kentucky whiskey distilleries filed for bankruptcy.Meanwhile, United Airlines temporarily grounded all flights due to a technology issue,thousands of Boeing workers went on strike,British Petroleum made its largest oil discovery in 25 years,and Italy approved the world's longest suspension bridge project.

The Bank of England cut interest rates to 4%,a think tank warned that the U.K. faces a budget deficit of £41.2 billion ($55 billion),and Japan's population hit a record low in 2024.

The U.S. canceled $500 million in mRNA vaccine development contracts,the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that ultra-processed foods make up 55% of Americans' daily calories,and a study warned that chemical pollution poses a climate-change-level threat to human health,as researchers estimated that plastic pollution costs $1.5 trillion in global health damage every year.Meanwhile, the U.K. launched the world's first gonorrhea vaccination program,scientists found genetic links to chronic fatigue syndrome,and China battled a Chikungunya outbreak with cannibal mosquitoes.

A fire in California forced thousands to evacuate,France battled its largest wildfire since 1949,Canada's Nova Scotia banned forest activities due to the risk of wildfires,and a flash flood in India killed at least four and left 100 missing.

OpenAI released GPT-5and two new open-weight models,ChatGPT added a new feature to remind users to take breaks,as a study warned that the bot can provide harmful advice to teens,26 tech firms voluntarily signed the EU's AI Code of Practice,and China opened the world's first robot mall.

Scientists identified the bacteria behind billions of sea star deaths along the Pacific coast of North America,and a study suggested that people returned to live in Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

The U.S. Coast Guard concluded that OceanGate's Titan implosion was preventable,and an air ambulance crash killed at least six in Kenya.

NASA fast-tracked the construction of a lunar nuclear reactor,NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore retired,and Italy signed a deal with SpaceX to transport experiments to Mars.

Trump created a federal task force for the 2028 Summer Olympics,and Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley said he declined a Trump invitation to join a sports council.

The first female general director of the U.K.'s MI5 died,and a Danish zoo sought pet donations to feed its predators.