Senior North Korean diplomat defects to South (www.bbc.com)
A high-profile North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba has defected to the South, Seoul’s spy agency has confirmed to the BBC....
Ex-CIA analyst charged with spying for South Korea (www.bbc.com)
JD Vance pick adds to European fears over Trump presidency (www.bbc.com)
European politicians and diplomats had already prepared for changes to their relationship with the US in the event of a second Donald Trump presidency....
Paris Olympics will give out 300,000 condoms to athletes, continuing long-held tradition (www.advocate.com)
Tons of dead fish cover major river in Brazil after alleged dumping of industrial waste (apnews.com)
Several tons of fish have died along one of the main rivers in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state after an alleged illegal dumping of industrial waste from a sugar and ethanol plant, environmental authorities and prosecutors said on Wednesday....
Charles Michel tells Viktor Orbán he has ‘no role’ representing the EU on the world stage (www.politico.eu)
European Council president responds to Hungarian PM’s note about his “peace missions.”...
Historic South African Election Dethrones Ruling Party ANC (unicornriot.ninja)
South Korea to mass produce lasers that can take out drones at $1.50 a hit (www.cnn.com)
South Korea is beginning the mass production of a low-cost laser weapon that has successfully shot down small drones during testing, the country’s key arms agency said Thursday....
Syrian official who oversaw prison where alleged abuse took place arrested by US officials (apnews.com)
A former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where human rights officials say torture and abuse routinely took place has been arrested, authorities said Wednesday....
How climate change is altering the Earth’s rotation (ethz.ch)
The Earth’s axis of rotation is shifting due to climate change and movements in the Earth’s interior. The corresponding polar motion is triggered by shifts in mass such as the melting of polar ice caps....
Hard work underway to reopen Kyiv children’s hospital hit by Russian missile (kyivindependent.com)
Just four days after a Russian missile hit Ukraine’s leading hospital for children, the floors of Okhmatdyt’s main building looked surprisingly spotless....
The world’s power grids are failing as the planet warms (www.japantimes.co.jp)
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/18013671
NATO’s Pledges to Ukraine Fall Short for a Counteroffensive This Year (www.nytimes.com)
Despite billions of dollars in additional weapons and security assistance that NATO announced this week, allied officials said Ukraine would not be ready to launch a dramatic counteroffensive or retake large swaths of territory from Russia until next year....
Woman faces trial after allegedly being prescribed NHS abortion pills by post (www.thepinknews.com)
China suspends nuclear talks with US over arms sales to Taiwan (www.theguardian.com)
Uncontacted tribe seen in Peruvian Amazon where loggers are active (www.theguardian.com)
Moon cave discovered that could one day house humans (www.bbc.com)
Scientists have for the first time discovered a cave on the Moon....
AI mass surveillance at Paris Olympics – a legal scholar on the security boon and privacy nightmare (theconversation.com)
Rwanda: President Kagame reelected with 99% — early results (www.dw.com)
Projected results from the election commission after polls closed in Rwanda put incumbent Paul Kagame on 99.15%. Turnout was said to be 98%. Only two opposition candidates with no real profile were allowed to run....
Wall Street Journal fires new chair of Hong Kong Journalists Association (www.theguardian.com)
The chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association has been fired by her employer, the Wall Street Journal, weeks after being appointed as the head of the embattled union....
Trump says Taiwan should pay for defence, sending TSMC stock down (ca.finance.yahoo.com)
FBI joins probe into deaths of 6 foreigners at Grand Hyatt Erawan in Bangkok | The Straits Times (www.straitstimes.com)
ByteDance must keep gatekeeper label, EU court says in boost for regulators (www.reuters.com)
TikTok owner ByteDance on Wednesday lost its court challenge against its designation as a gatekeeper under landmark European Union rules, in a boost for antitrust regulators seeking to curb the power of Big Tech....
Ukrainian intelligence 'hacks Russian websites, replaces homepages with pig head pictures' (kyivindependent.com)
Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) claimed on July 16 that it had hacked nearly 100 Russian websites that support the Kremlin’s war effort, taking them offline and replacing their homepages with a picture of a bloody pig’s head....