Kharkiv to build Ukraine’s first underground school to protect children (www.theguardian.com)
Children in frontline city are currently taught in the underground metro system amid threats from Russia’s missile attacks...
India and Canada steer clear, in UN speeches, of their dispute over Sikh separatist leader's killing (apnews.com)
Mafia boss 'Diabolik' dies in custody after nearly 30 years on the run, Italian reports say (www.cnn.com)
Seven charged in visa scandal engulfing Polish government (notesfrompoland.com)
BRICS MATERIALS: the flourishing intra-BRICS oil trade (bne.eu)
Addition of KSA, UAE, Iran means share has doubled to 42% of crude oil output in 2022. "Saudi pricing oil exports to China and India in non-dollar currencies does not spell the end of the dollar as the international currency of choice,” says ING. Trade within bloc makes trade hard to sanction by West.
Hebron terror attack: Mother shot dead in front of daughter (www.jpost.com)
Five dead, 40,000 evacuated as monsoon floods hit Myanmar (www.channelnewsasia.com)
Indian Minister of Home Affairs blames Manipur violence on Myanmar refugees (www.mizzima.com)
The EU’s reply to Qatargate: Nips, tucks and paperwork (www.politico.eu)
Hungarian bookstores face fines over closed packaging for LGBTQ+ books (www.msn.com)
In a snug, wood-paneled Jewish bookstore in Hungary’s capital, Eva Redai carefully climbed the rungs of a ladder to arrange titles on the shelves. Among the books were volumes bound in plastic wrapping — titles containing LGBTQ+ content that the country’s right-wing government has deemed unsuitable for minors under 18....
Mexican president disputes DEA estimates of cartel strength (www.reuters.com)
MEXICO CITY, July 28 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday pushed back against estimates made this week about the strength of Mexican drug cartels by the top U.S. counter-narcotics official, saying the United States lacked “good information.”...
EU agriculture officials work on ways to move Ukrainian grain to the world (www.barchart.com)
Brussels bombers found guilty after long murder trial (www.bbc.co.uk)
Indonesia arrests 12 for human trafficking in illegal organ trade (www.reuters.com)
Malawi racist videos: Chinese man convicted after BBC expose (www.bbc.com)
A Malawian court has convicted a Chinese national on multiple charges including trafficking and procuring children to take part in entertainment....
New Zealand prime minister says Pacific region more contested, less secure (www.reuters.com)
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Monday, “China’s rise and how it seeks to exert that influence is also a major driver of the increasing strategic competition, particularly in our wider home region, the Indo-Pacific,” Hipkins said in a speech to the China Business Summit....
Russia develops drone for dousing fires using AI (www.plenglish.com)
Students of Irkutsk University developed a unique drone that allows extinguishing fires using artificial intelligence (AI) systems, the Russian National Technological Initiative program reported Saturday....
Pope taps priest who runs LGBTQ Catholic outreach to join major Vatican gathering (www.nbcnews.com)
French police raid home of PSG boss after torture claims (www.france24.com)
Aspartame: popular sweetener could be classified as a possible carcinogen by WHO – but there's no cause for panic (theconversation.com)
Romania seeking to postpone shutdown of lignite power plants (www.naturalgasworld.com)
Pakistan to start expelling undocumented immigrants on Thursday - minister (www.reuters.com)
Slain Hamas militants’ body camera videos show the preparation and tactics behind their attack on Israel (edition.cnn.com)
“I don’t think Hamas wanted us to see” the videos of attacks on civilians, said Gina Ligon, a counterterrorism expert who analyzed the footage for CNN. “That is not congruent with their narrative that they’re defenders of Palestine — that was terrorism.”...
Xi says China willing to cooperate with US as hopes rise for talks with Biden (www.theguardian.com)
The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has said China is willing to cooperate with the US as both sides manage their differences and work together to respond to global challenges, raising hopes of a meeting between Xi and the US president, Joe Biden, this year.