NATO allies temper expectations for summit after Trump’s angry entrance - POLITICO

• Iran's foreign ministry rejected claims that the U.S. can dictate the "timing of war and peace," countering assertions by Donald Trump that Tehran had requested negotiations. • The statement follows efforts by mediators to revive a collapsed interim deal and restore diplomatic relations between the two nations.

• Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that Pakistan would go to war against India if its water security is threatened. • The threat is tied to the potential suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the sharing of river waters between the two nations.

• The Houthi threat to Saudi oil exports is worsening the energy crisis in Asia. • Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines are already reeling from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbating the issue.

• Intensified hostilities in Ukraine and surrounding areas are devastating civilians and threatening global food security, according to senior UN officials. • The conflict has led to a 20 per cent spike in wheat prices since the start of July, as well as attacks on third-party merchant vessels.

• Tensions exist between Armenia and Azerbaijan over a disputed border region. • A joint declaration of peace has been agreed upon, along with a request to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group.

• UNESCO has identified six World Heritage sites at risk due to conflict, insecurity, and environmental pressures. • The Palestinian site is under threat from the ongoing Middle East conflict, development, and plans for a national park that may divide the property.

• The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen has escalated attacks to exploit a period of vulnerability within Saudi Arabia. • The group aims to leverage this conflict to secure significant political concessions regarding the ongoing war in Yemen.

• A new war in Yemen is looming, with signs indicating a re-eruption of conflict is imminent. • Recent developments have strengthened anti-Houthi forces in the country, potentially altering the balance of power.

No deaths reported after twister leveled homes and topples trees and power lines in north-east of stateFirst responders searched homes and buildings on Tuesday for possible victims of a powerful tornado that ravaged several north-eastern Wisconsin communities.The Fox Cities region, which is home to more than 100,000 people in the cities of Appleton, Menasha and Neenah, was left in shambles by Monday’s twister, with homes leveled, cars flipped and power lines and trees toppled. Continue reading...

France had also intervened after Trump administration had opposed the reappointment of UN human rights chiefUS diplomats walked out of a United Nations meeting after France criticized the country’s human rights record under Donald Trump.The staged walkout, which occurred on Monday during a UN security council meeting on the Ukraine-Russia war, came days after the Trump administration cited “forced labor” allegations as it imposed sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries. Continue reading...

Governor Ron DeSantis has made the state’s death chamber the nation’s busiest at the end of his final termA former police officer convicted of the on-duty rape and murder of a young girl was put to death on Tuesday, the first of two lethal injections planned for a single day in Florida, hours before an 80-year-old man was to become the second-oldest inmate executed in modern US history.It has been nearly a decade since any state carried out two executions in one day, when Arkansas had back-to-back executions in 2017. Continue reading...

Prime minister invites Badenoch and Davey – but not Farage – to discuss how to fix decades-old funding crisisAndy Burnham has promised “problem-solving, not point-scoring” before a speech on social care in which he will set out his strategy for resolving one of the most intractable issues in British politics.The prime minister has invited Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, and Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, to discuss how to enact urgent reform on social care, as he attempts to find common ground across party lines. It is understood that both will be represented. Continue reading...