Relocations after UK data leak. The UK began secretly moving thousands of people from Afghanistan after a data leak put them at risk from the Taliban. The breach of Britain’s Ministry of Defense data happened in 2022 and revealed details about Afghans who had assisted the UK. A media injunction stopped the information from becoming public at the time; it was lifted yesterday.
RSF accused of killings. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary in Sudan has killed more than three hundred people in raids since Saturday, according to Sudanese activists and rights groups. Its actions targeted villages with civilians, thus violating international law, one group said. The United Nations estimated that 3,400 people fled during recent fighting.
Gaza humanitarian crisis. Malnutrition among children has doubled since Israel broke a ceasefire and severely restricted aid entering Gaza in March, the United Nations said yesterday. Separately, the Israel- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) acknowledged today for the first time that people seeking aid were killed: GHF blamed Hamas for twenty deaths without offering evidence, while witnesses and the Gaza Health Ministry said GHF had used tear gas and caused a stampede. GHF had not previously recognized widely reported killings near its distribution sites, which has been estimated at nearly eight hundred between late May and July 7.
EU retaliatory tariffs. The European Union (EU) will consider countermeasures including levies on bourbon, Boeing aircraft, and cars if trade talks with the United States are not successful, according to a document shared with members and viewed by the Financial Times. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the bloc with 30 percent tariffs last weekend and set an August 1 deadline for talks. The EU has said it hopes to negotiate a deal.
China’s economic growth. The country’s economy grew by 5.3 percent in the first half of 2025 in spite of an ongoing trade war with the United States. The boost was spurred by exports from manufacturers, with both customers and businesses making use of a temporary truce in Beijing and Washington’s trade war; negotiators from both countries are working on a more permanent deal. Earlier this week, Washington reversed a ban on the sale of Nvidia chips in China.
PEPFAR exempt from cuts. The White House has agreed to restore $400 million in funding for a global program to combat AIDS as part of amendments to a rescission package, according to Senate Republicans. The George W. Bush-era initiative has saved tens of millions of lives. Other revisions to the bill could include language that spares maternal health, malaria, nutrition, and tuberculosis programs.
Deportations to Eswatini. The United States has deported five men to Eswatini, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed yesterday. They are from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen. Washington has restarted deportations to non-origin countries after the Supreme Court removed limits on such actions last month. U.S. border czar Tom Homan said last week he didn’t know the fate of eight people with no ties to South Sudan who were deported to that country.
Turkish opposition leader sentenced. Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul and the most popular opposition challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was sentenced to two years in prison this morning. İmamoğlu was found guilty of threatening a prosecutor, which he denies; he has called the country’s legal process politicized. Turkish authorities had arrested İmamoğlu in March, the day before he announced a presidential run. Today’s sentencing does not ban İmamoğlu from politics, though he faces additional legal challenges.
