Day News Recap: NATO opens in Ankara as Ukraine seeks air defences and China storms deepen

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to press NATO leaders in Ankara for more air defence systems after renewed Russian strikes, as Kyiv says the attacks have intensified pressure on its cities and infrastructure.  🔗 Ukraine also launched more than 430 drones towards the Moscow region overnight, one of the largest reported waves aimed at the Russian capital, with strikes also hitting Belgorod and Kaluga.  🔗

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NATO opened its summit in Ankara with a series of defence spending and procurement announcements meant to show allies are responding to pressure to spend more on security.  🔗 The meeting was also marked by Donald Trump reviving his demand that Greenland should come under American control, while criticising NATO allies as the summit got under way.  🔗 Canada separately chose Germany’s TKMS, working with Norway, to build up to 12 new submarines in what officials called its largest defence procurement.  🔗

In the Middle East, Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least two Palestinians and wounded others, including children and displaced civilians, as ceasefire violations continued.  🔗 Hamas said it was dissolving the body that has governed Gaza for nearly two decades, clearing the way for a technocratic committee as talks remain stalled.  🔗 The UN rights body also called for the immediate release of Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia, saying he is in imminent danger while detained.  🔗

Iran continued its public mourning for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with a major funeral procession in Tehran and the body later reaching Qom for further rites, as officials projected defiance.  🔗  🔗 Tehran also reappointed judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei during the funeral proceedings.  🔗 Separately, Iran rejected Donald Trump’s military threat and warned Washington against aggression while nuclear talks remain paused.  🔗

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China faced a string of severe weather disasters, with the death toll from storms and flooding rising to 15 in Guangxi and a reservoir wall breaking in Nanning after Typhoon Maysak, killing at least two.  🔗  🔗 In Hubei, rare tornadoes and severe thunderstorms killed at least 11 people, while in Gansu a landslide left 16 people still buried.  🔗  🔗 China also drew fresh scrutiny after what appeared to be its first submarine launched intercontinental ballistic missile test into the Pacific.  🔗

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan and China coast guards confronted each other near the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.  🔗 In Bangladesh, at least three people were injured when a bomb exploded at a student rally in Savar near Dhaka.  🔗 India and Indonesia signed a defence package including two BrahMos supersonic cruise missile batteries, while an Indian origin businessman was accused of posing as a CIA operative to help advance the deal.  🔗  🔗

Across Africa, multiple villages in Darfur were razed in attacks blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, with dozens reported killed and the UN warning of rising attacks on children.  🔗 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ebola death toll rose above 500 as the outbreak deepened.  🔗 Morocco said it had dismantled an ISIL linked cell planning an attack, while Nigeria warned that anti immigrant violence in South Africa was not easing after two Nigerians were killed in disputed circumstances.  🔗  🔗

In Europe and the wider region, two explosions in central Damascus injured 18 people during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit.  🔗 In Lebanon, Christian villages rejected Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that some had asked to be annexed to Israel.  🔗 In Austria, a court in Vienna convicted a former Syrian intelligence chief and a former police chief of torture and sexual abuse against political opponents.  🔗 In Italy, prosecutors placed businessman Valter Lavitola under investigation over an alleged bomb attack at the home of reporter Sigfrido Ranucci.  🔗

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In the UK, the Bank of England said one million more homeowners are now expected to face higher mortgage bills than it had previously forecast.  🔗 Nigel Farage said he would resign as an MP, triggering a Clacton by election, and later said he would make a statement on his future in public life as questions mounted over funding and undeclared benefits.  🔗  🔗 In Hong Kong, democracy activist Joshua Wong is due to face a plea and sentencing hearing on 2 September in a second national security case.  🔗 Peru’s Roberto Sanchez conceded the presidential race to Keiko Fujimori after the electoral authority certified her narrow victory.  🔗

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