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Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza City, on August 27, 2025.
What We’re Watching: Trump to talk Gaza plan, Niger’s anti-colonial crusade gives Russia an opening, Australia follows the money to Tehran
There is a US plan for Gaza
US President Donald Trump will convene a “large meeting” at the White House today to discuss a plan for managing Gaza once the war there ends. US special envoy Steve Witkoff even appeared to acknowledge that the US had a plan, adding that he hopes the war is resolved by the end of the year. The meeting comes as an inquest begins into Monday’s double Israeli strike on a hospital in Khan Younis that killed 20 people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “tragic mishap.”
Russia uses Niger to go nuclear on France and the West
Russia may be focused on its invasion of Ukraine, but that hasn’t stopped it from making other moves to weaken the West: Moscow has offered to build a nuclear power plant in Niger that could hurt parts of France’s nuclear industry. Niger, a uranium-rich nation in the Sahara Desert, has previously exported the metal to France for further refining, but the ruling military junta has been cutting ties with the former colonial power ever since overthrowing the government in 2023 – and Russia eyes an opportunity. The plan is fraught with challenges, though, and the plant may never come to fruition.
Australia identifies Iran funding to synagogue attackers
Australia is following the money in its investigation of the antisemitic attack on a Melbourne synagogue last year, with officials saying Wednesday that the funds that the alleged perpetrators received traced back to Iran. It’s possible that those charged didn’t even know Tehran was involved. This revelation comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday that Iran orchestrated this terrorist attack, as well as another in Sydney. Australia isn’t the only country probing the role of Iran’s government in carrying out terrorism: British and Swedish security forces have also warned that the Islamic Republic were attempting to use proxies to commit attacks in their countries.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook attends the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's 2025 economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA, on August 23, 2025.
What We’re Watching: Trump says he’s firing a Fed governor, French PM faces the guillotine, Botswana declares public health emergency
In latest attack on Fed, Trump says he’s firing a governor
US President Donald Trump said he’s firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, citing alleged false statements on her mortgage agreement as cause for her sacking. The legal authority for this move is unclear. Cook, the first Black woman to be on the Fed’s board of governors, said the president has no authority to remove her, and her lawyer vowed to reverse her dismissal. The president had repeatedly targeted Cook in recent days, the latest move in a series of extraordinary attacks on the Fed’s independence since he returned to office. The move prompted a sell-off of long-term US government bonds.
French Prime Minister faces likely ouster, markets reel
Prime Minister François Bayrou has called a confidence vote for Sept 8 on his €44 billion deficit-cutting budget — a move widely expected to topple his minority government, as key opposition factions have vowed to vote against him. If Bayrou loses, France would face another government collapse, prolonging political gridlock and raising the risk of snap elections that could hand the right wing an outright majority. Markets reacted immediately: France’s 10-year borrowing costs surged to 3.53%, and the CAC 40, France’s benchmark stock index, fell for a second straight day.
Botswana declares public health emergency
A shortage of medicines and medical equipment, including for cancer and tuberculosis treatments, prompted Botswana President Duma Boko to declare a nationwide public health emergency yesterday. A country of 2.5 million people in southern Africa, Botswana has suffered badly from a downturn in the diamond industry, fueling unemployment and poverty. US aid cuts have exacerbated these issues: the United States used to fund a third of Botswana’s aid response, per UNAIDS. The shortages are a major test for Boko, who is in his first year office after ousting the party that had governed for 58 straight years.View of Tehran at sunset on February 26th, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Iranian water shortages prompt public holiday, Trump admin to burn contraceptives, Ozzy leaves the stage for the last time, & More
1: Iran announced an impromptu one-day public holiday on Wednesday for Tehran’s residents, in an effort to save on water and electricity. Intense heatwaves have added strain to an already-worsening water crisis in the country, brought about by climate change and mismanagement.
$10 million: The Trump administration will incinerate nearly $10 million worth of US-funded contraceptives – intended for poorer nations – in France, after storing them for months in a Belgian warehouse following cuts to USAID programs. The White House reportedly rejected offers from the United Nations and other NGOs to buy or distribute the supplies themselves.
$4 billion: A Saudi business delegation arrived in Syria on Wednesday, where it is expected to sign $4 billion worth of joint projects and deals with Damascus. Riaydh has been a key financial backer in Syria’s post-war rebuilding efforts.
100: Over 100 humanitarian organizations issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling on governments to take decisive action against mass starvation in Gaza. Demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the statement warns that Israel’s partial aid blockade on the enclave has left assistance workers – alongside Palestinian civilians – “wasting away.”
76: Heavy metal pioneer Ozzy Osbourne died at 76 on Tuesday. Just weeks ago, the ailing rock icon held a final reunion concert with Black Sabbath, the supergroup that he started as a young lad in Birmingham, United Kingdom, more than half a century ago. So long Oz, may the Crazy Train keep chugging on into eternity.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou speaks during a news conference to present a major public finance recovery plan in Paris, France, July 15, 2025.
Hard Numbers: French prime minister on the ropes, Hong Kong dissidents appeal convictions, Lesotho MP accuses his king, & More
€40 billion: French Prime Minister François Bayrou is set to present a 2026 budget Tuesday that aims to cut the size of the country’s 2026 annual deficit by €40 billion ($46.7 billion). However, all opposition parties are expected to reject the proposal – and that could spell the end for Bayrou’s minority government.
12: Hong Kong’s pro-democracy dissidents aren’t going to go gentle into that good night. Twelve of them have appealed their recent subversion convictions in a move that shines a fresh light on Beijing’s anti-democracy crackdown in the city. The case, which challenges China’s draconian 2021 national security law, is drawing international attention: foreign diplomats from over six countries were present at the trial. The appeals are expected to take 10 days.
59: Lesotho won independence from the United Kingdom 59 years ago, but one member of the tiny southern African nation’s parliament has accused its king of signing parts of the country away again – to its neighbor South Africa. The accusation stems from a decades-old border dispute, but the MP who leveled the charge now faces criminal charges for doing so. Lesotho gained notoriety in March when US President Donald Trump said “nobody has ever heard of” the country.
6: Six members of United Torah Judaism – an ultra-Orthodox political party – have quit Israel’s ruling coalition again over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to guarantee military exemptions for yeshiva students. While Netanyahu has survived this once before, their departure leaves him with yet another slim majority in parliament.Riot police officers fire tear gas canisters to disperse demonstrators during anti-government protests dubbed “Saba Saba People’s March,” in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, Kenya, on July 7, 2025.
What We’re Watching: Kenya’s president cracks down further, UK and France open an atomic umbrella, Trump meddles in Brazil
Ruto orders police to shoot looters as Kenya protest escalate
Amid ongoing anti-government protests, Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered police to shoot looters in the legs. The order is meant to stop attacks on businesses, but could lead to more casualties after 31 people were killed on Monday alone. The youth-led protesters want Ruto to resign over high taxes, corruption allegations, and police brutality. According to Mercy Kaburu, a professor of international relations at United States International University in Nairobi, Ruto’s government “is not at risk of collapse before the next general election” which is set for 2027. But, she cautions, he “could be threatened if nothing changes.”
United Kingdom and France to open their nuclear umbrella
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a landmark deal aimed Thursday at restricting the flow of migrants across the English Channel. But the cross-channel agreement that may draw more attention globally is a pledge from Europe’s only two nuclear-armed nations to extend their nuclear umbrellas to allies on the continent who face an “extreme threat.” This is a big step toward “common European defense” at a time when Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and uncertainty about the US long-term commitment to NATO have prompted more urgent action in Europe.
Trump uses tariffs to meddle in Brazil
US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the US will slap 50% on Brazil starting on August 1. The reason? Trump blasted Brazil for its “unfair” treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a rightwing firebrand and close Trump ally who is currently on trial for allegedly plotting to overturn the 2022 Brazilian election. Trump also cited an “unsustainable” US trade deficit with Brazil, though official data show the US actually runs a small trade surplus with Latin America’s largest economy. Brazil’s leftwing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, reportedly blindsided by the announcement, has vowed to respond with reciprocal measures.
See below for Ian Bremmer’s Quick Take on what Trump’s move really means.
Reservists receive training during the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Taoyuan, Taiwan July 9, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Beijing calls Taiwan’s “bluff”, Copper prices soar, Russia breaks drone attack record (again), wildfire threatens France’s second city
22,000: Taiwan has mobilised 22,000 reservists to carry out its largest-ever military drills this week, with surface-to-air missiles and US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of the maneuvers. When asked about the drills on Tuesday, the foreign ministry in Beijing – which considers self-governing Taiwan a part of China – called the exercises “nothing but a bluff.”
50%: US copper prices surged after President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to impose 50% tariffs on the metal. Copper is essential for home construction, car manufacturing, energy infrastructure, and data centers.
728: Russia launched a record 728 drones at Ukraine overnight, marking the third time in the last two weeks that Moscow has outdone itself. Last night’s attack came after Trump resumed shipments of critical air-defense weapons to Ukraine and declared he was tired of Putin’s “bullsh*t” on Tuesday.
400: A massive wildfire has reached the outskirts of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, prompting the evacuation of at least 400 people and injuring nine firefighters. At its peak, the fire spread at 1.2 kilometers per minute, driven by strong winds, dense vegetation, and steep terrain. Over 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze, which continues to threaten the area.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan leave the St Paul’s Cathedral, where a service of commemoration took place to mark the 20th anniversary of the deadly July 7, 2005, London bombings in which four suicide bombers targeted London's public transport system, in London, United Kingdom, on July 7, 2025.
Hard Numbers: UK marks London bombing anniversary, Japan suffers a thousand tremors, Paris’ main river reopens, & More
20: The United Kingdom today commemorates the 20th anniversary of the suicide bombings on London’s public transport services that killed 52 people and injured over 700 more. The four perpetrators were all UK citizens. Two had trained with al-Qaeda the previous year.
1,000: The Japanese government is warning of more earthquakes this July after 1,000 tremors rattled islands in the Kagoshima prefecture, including a 5.5-magnitude quake Saturday on the island of Kyushu. Authorities have stressed that none of this is related to the popular manga series, “The Future I Saw,” whose prediction of a catastrophic Japanese quake went so viral that it dented tourism – the number of visitors from Hong Kong fell 11% in May compared to the same month last year.
$4 million: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) staff reportedly did $4 million worth of work modeling the costs of relocating Palestinians from the Gaza strip, and supported the launch of the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). BCG has since disavowed its involvement and emphasized that the company “was not paid for any of this work.”
$1.5 billion: The River Seine in Paris reopened to the public this weekend, following a $1.5 billion clean-up project commissioned ahead of the Olympics last year. Swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than 100 years due to concerns over pollution and river traffic.
1: Suriname’s National Assembly elected Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, 71, as the country’s first female president on July 6. A doctor by profession, Geerlings-Simons has promised to meet the needs of young people and will oversee Suriname’s impending oil boom, which is set to start in 2028 with a major offshore project.
Graphic Truth: G7 vs BRICS, who has more economic clout?
The G7 countries – the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Japan – will convene this weekend in Kananaskis, a rural town in the mountains of Alberta, Canada. High on the meeting’s agenda are tariffs, artificial intelligence, and international security, with special focus on Russian sanctions and Israel’s recent attacks on Iran.
While the G7 was originally formed as an informal grouping of the world’s wealthiest democracies, the BRICS – composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa – have sought to challenge their dominance of the global agenda.
Here’s a look at how the share of the global economy held by G7 and BRICS nations has evolved over time.