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Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on Syria’s defense ministry, according to Al Jazeera TV, in Damascus, Syria, on July 16, 2025.
What We’re Watching: Israel hits Syria’s military HQ, Trump rings up trade wins, Cuban minister resigns over denial
Israel strikes Damascus as feud escalates
Israel struck Syria’s military headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday and continued to bomb areas of southern Syria where the Israel-backed Druze minority group is clashing with Bedouin tribes whom Israel says are being supported by the Syrian regime. The escalation risks further undermining Syria’s fragile post-Assad stability. Meanwhile, Israel also launched its deadliest strike on Lebanon since last year’s ceasefire, killing five Hezbollah fighters as it tries to pressure the militant group to disarm. For more on whether that could ever happen, see here.
Trump’s trade policy gathers some momentum
US President Donald Trump’s efforts to strike trade deals may finally be gathering momentum. The White House on Tuesday announced a deal with Indonesia, its first since Trump sent letters to several major trade partners threatening higher tariffs by Aug. 1. US-China tensions also appear to be easing slightly after Washington rescinded its export restrictions on AI chips. Meanwhile in Canada, Washington’s second-biggest trade partner, Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged that he’ll have to accept some US tariffs in order to reach a deal with Trump, a sign that he too may be ready to strike a trade pact.
Cuban minister resigns after denying existence of beggars
Ignorance is strength, as the slogan from George Orwell’s “1984” goes, and beggars don’t exist – at least not according to Cuban Labor Minister Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera. Her comments sparked a rare public backlash, forcing her to resign. Communist-led Cuba has been suffering from an especially painful economic crisis recently, with frequent blackouts, rising levels of poverty and hunger, and even shortages of basic medicines. The pain is so bad that at least 10% of the island’s population has fled since 2022.