A quarter of young Africans believe USAID cuts could be positive, survey finds

• Scholars Aslı Bâli and Samuel Moyn argue that the international community must stop mourning the decline of the American-led world order and begin constructing a new multipolar system. • A central proposal is for great and middle powers to commit to ending the practice of instigating or intensifying proxy wars to weaken geopolitical rivals.

• A fragile war pause remains in effect, though Donald Trump has threatened to destroy "Pickaxe Mountain" if a diplomatic deal is not reached. • Mediators report that the United States and Iran are close to resurrecting a previously failed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) deal.

• President Trump has threatened that Iran will "get a beating" as military tensions escalate in the Middle East. • The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have launched joint military strikes targeting Iranian proxy groups located within Iraq.

• U.S. special forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, ending decades of authoritarian rule. • The intervention follows a severe crisis characterized by an 80 percent collapse in GDP and the displacement of nearly eight million citizens.

• On July 30, 2026, Russian authorities charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov over the platform's alleged involvement in Ukrainian spy operations. • The charges center on claims that the messaging app was utilized to facilitate intelligence gathering and espionage activities against Russia.

• Iran considered retaliating against a Ukrainian seaport after a Ukrainian strike hit an Iranian cargo ship on Saturday. • Diplomatic efforts helped de-escalate the tension, including a Sunday conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.

• Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim Aboudi requested on July 28 that NATO Training Mission-Iraq military advisors remain in the country to assist the Iraqi Security Forces with planning and development. • This request comes as US-led international coalition forces are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq by the end of September following the conclusion of their mission to counter ISIS.

Labour’s Bev Craig expected to win contest that lost column inches to Andy Burnham’s ascent and Reform UK leader’s self-imposed Clacton voteVoting has begun in the biggest byelection in British political history, with more than 2 million people eligible to choose Andy Burnham’s successor as Greater Manchester mayor.In normal times, such a large and politically significant byelection would have dominated the headlines for weeks, particularly as senior Labour figures only weeks ago feared losing the prize mayoralty to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Continue reading...

Forty hectares of Oaken Wood could be razed after it was identified as potential site of expansion by Reform-run councilIt was at the confluence of seven forest paths that Allison Sweetman came to a stop. Trees rose on all sides, save for a recently coppiced section to the north-east. The noon heat had silenced most birds, but the quiet was peaceful.“This is what they call Seven Wents,” she said. For centuries, the people of Kent had travelled this way, from East Malling to Barming, from Ditton to Teston, for church, commerce and friends. “It’s on maps going back 400 years.” Continue reading...

Robert Assaf tells Icac that Angus Taylor wasn’t ‘that involved’ but the federal opposition leader ‘definitely wasn’t opposed’ to work of conservative groupA member of a group of young conservative Liberal power brokers being investigated for allegedly soliciting illegal donations has compared their factional work to Mel Gibson’s Braveheart – and said they “didn’t think the law applied to us” when it came to political funding.The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Thursday heard from Robert Assaf, the first witness from the conservative right Liberal factional group the Reformers to give evidence. Continue reading...

Mental health experts to triage triple zero calls, but not all of the changes will be implemented 24/7 or statewideNew South Wales will send specialist nurses rather than police to some mental health emergencies after the state announced long-fought-for reform in the wake of multiple deaths at the hands of police.Rose Jackson and Yasmin Catley, the mental health and police ministers, announced on Thursday a statewide change to how triple 0 calls are triaged, with a new team of mental health experts assessing mental health calls 24/7 in a bid to provide better support. Continue reading...

Removal of Soviet-era statues sped up when Russia seized Crimea in 2014, and since Putin’s 2022 invasion has moved at pace as Ukrainians question their identitySince 2013 the plinth at the bottom of Taras Shevchenko Boulevard in Kyiv has been eerily empty. The scruffy monument is daubed in white paint and graffiti. Someone has stuck a Ukrainian trident where Lenin once stood, gazing down during the years of Soviet communism. A crowd toppled the sculpture during Ukraine’s Maidan revolution, which ousted the pro-Russian government, and smashed it with sledgehammers.In June, Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed putting a new figure on the plinth: Ivan Mazepa, a Cossack military and political leader, who broke with Moscow and fought for Ukraine’s independence. “I am certain that where Lenin fell, Mazepa will stand firm,” Zelenskyy said. He spoke next to a bust of Mazepa in the Pechersk Lavra, an ancient Kyiv monastery hit by Russian missiles. Continue reading...