Breakfast News Recap: Ukraine ports hit, Middle East tensions rise and markets rally on risk-on mood

Russia has intensified missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea ports, with Odesa among the main targets, damaging port infrastructure and adding pressure on export routes that are already under strain. NATO says it is working urgently to supply Ukraine with air defences after Kyiv failed to intercept any of the Russian ballistic missiles fired in Wednesday's overnight strike.  🔗  🔗

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In the Middle East, Israel said two reserve soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon as fighting with Hezbollah continued near the border. The Israeli military also said it would keep operating proactively in Gaza, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a US backed plan, while Israeli forces raided Qalandiya refugee camp near Ramallah, injuring eight Palestinians and arresting at least 20.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Iran and Oman have agreed a transit route for ships through the Strait of Hormuz and say they are finalising arrangements for joint management of the strategic waterway, but the plan has already drawn pushback from the shipping industry. Eight of the world's largest shipping associations have urged the United Nations to oppose any compulsory charges for vessels using the strait, amid fears of tolls.  🔗  🔗

Iran's domestic political strain also deepened, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying contact with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is very difficult at the moment after the reported wounding of the leader. In the United States, officials rejected reports that munitions stocks had fallen to dangerously low levels after five months of war on Iran.  🔗  🔗

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Europe faced a separate security scare after German authorities opened an investigation into an armed drone found near cargo planes at Leipzig airport, with police in Saxony saying the device carried an unknown explosive. The continent is also in the grip of a severe heatwave, with record temperatures in Austria, red heat alerts in major Italian cities and fresh wildfire response efforts in southern Europe.  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere in Africa, Nigeria said security forces rescued 308 kidnapping victims in separate attacks in Niger and Kwara states, describing it as the country's largest such operation in recent years. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ebola outbreak is accelerating towards 4,000 cases this week, according to the latest figures.  🔗  🔗

In Asia and the Pacific, Malaysia said it will not return 5,000 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar if their lives would be at risk, while Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Thailand for his first visit there since the 2021 coup. Australia said its only silicon producer, Simcoa, will exit the US market on 14 August after a new tariff decision, and Canberra also moved to block gas only data centre proposals.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the Americas, the United States has refunded about $100bn in tariffs after the Supreme Court ruled Donald Trump exceeded his authority in using emergency powers, and the State Department has notified Congress that it plans to close five consulates and missions in Grenada, Japan, Indonesia, Cameroon and Canada. In Guatemala, authorities said the Fuego volcano eruption has ended, allowing more than 1,700 evacuees to return home.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Other developments include French authorities saying a Russian linked disinformation operation targeted Gabriel Attal ahead of the presidential election, Puntland forces seizing a government held camp near Galkayo airport after clashes, Sheikh Hasina saying she will return to Bangladesh in December despite a death sentence, a Jerusalem court blocking a plan to surround Ketziot Prison with crocodile filled moat, and Brazil's MPF charging two naval repair firms over illegal waste dumping in Guanabara Bay.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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