Sunday, August 3rd, 2025 

U.S. president Donald Trump signs an executive order restoring the Presidential Fitness Test in all public schools nationwide. (USA Today) 

Following Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius decision on Monday, Luftwaffe begins air dropping of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. (German Federal Foreign Office) 

A massive fire is reported at an oil refinery in Sochi, Russia, following a Ukrainian drone attack on the facility. Smoke from the fire prompts Russian authorities to close Sochi International Airport. (BBC News) 

Sixty-eight people are killed, 74 others are reported missing and 12 are injured when a boat carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants capsizes off Abyan Governorate, Yemen. (AP) 

Krasheninnikov, a volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, erupts for the first time since the 15th century and the first in historical records. The eruption takes place four days after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit the same region on July 30, which may have contributed to the eruption. (CNN) 

Four workers are killed while inspecting sewage pipes after falling into a manhole filled with hydrogen sulfide in Gyōda, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. (DW) 

Two people are killed and three others are injured in a mass stabbing attack at a primary school in Caizichi, Leiyang, Hunan, China. (Sina News) 

Israeli forces kill at least 33 Palestinians seeking food while six more die of hunger. (AP) (Reuters) 

Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 

Hamas releases a sign-of-life propaganda video showing an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, in an underground tunnel.  (Jerusalem Post) 

Seven people die from malnutrition in the past 24 hours due to the Israeli blockade, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. (BBC News) 

Ukrainian forces launch drone attacks on Penza Oblast, Samara Oblast, and Rostov Oblast in Russia, killing at least three people, according to Russian officials. (AP) 

The Ukrainian military targets the Ryazan Refinery in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, with drones and causes a fire at the facility. (Reuters) 

M23 rebels briefly capture Kamakombe, Kabare Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo from Wazalendo militia Decisive Movement for the Liberation of Congo. (Radio Okapi) 

M23 and Wazalendo militias clash in the Muzinzi subgroup, Walungu Territory. (Radio Okapi) 

Five children are killed and twelve others are critically injured in a mortar shell explosion in Lakki Marwat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (Kuwait News Agency) 

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, erupts for a second consecutive day, sending a column of volcanic materials and ash up to 18 km (11 mi) into the sky. Today’s eruption is one of Indonesia’s largest since 2010 when Mount Merapi erupted. No casualties are reported. (AP) 

A Tatmadaw court sentences twelve people, including five Chinese nationals to life in prison for their involvement in trafficking Burmese women to forced marriages in China. (AP) 

Four-term National Assembly lawmaker Jung Chung-rae is elected as the leader of the Democratic Party in South Korea during the national party convention at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, defeating his rival Park Chan-dae with 61.74% of the votes. (Yonhap News Agency) 

In association football, the Brazil women’s team wins a record-extending ninth Copa América title after defeating Colombia 5–4 on penalties following a 4–4 draw after extra time in the final held at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado in Quito, Ecuador. Brazilian forward Marta is named the most valuable player of the tournament. (BBC Sport) 

Israeli forces kill at least 57 people in the Gaza Strip, including 35 aid seekers. (Al Jazeera) 

Friday,  August 1st, 2025 

U.S. president Donald Trump orders the deployment of two United States Navy nuclear submarines near Russia for potential military action against Russian forces in response to statements made by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and current deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation regarding Trump’s previously-stated deadline for ending the war in Ukraine. (Reuters) 

M23 rebels clash with Wazalendo militia Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland in Bwito Chiefdom, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Radio Okapi) 

U.S. tariffs on more than 90 countries enter force following a 90-day pause to allow the countries to prepare, including a 35% tariff on some Canadian goods and a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods. (BBC News) 

France temporarily suspends its programme for receiving Palestinian refugees fleeing the Gaza Strip following the deportation of a Palestinian student accused of making antisemitic social media posts. (Le Monde) 

The Seoul Central District Court issues an arrest warrant to former interior minister Lee Sang-min for charges allegedly conspiring with former president Yoon Suk Yeol in his failed martial law attempt on December 3, 2024, becoming the second Yoon cabinet minister to be arrested after Kim Yong-hyun. (Yonhap News Agency) 

At least four people are killed in a mass shooting at a bar in Anaconda, Montana, United States. A 45-year-old suspect fled the scene and remains at large.  (NBC Montana) 

One teenager is killed and five other people are wounded, including two seriously, in a mass shooting at a nightclub in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. (ABC News) 

Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe is sentenced to twelve years of house arrest and fined US$840,000 for witness tampering and bribery. (France 24) 

Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto pardons former trade minister Thomas Lembong and Secretary-General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle Hasto Kristiyanto, two prominent opposition figures sentenced under controversial corruption charges. (Jakarta Globe) 

South African police arrest nearly 1,000 undocumented miners at a gold mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga. (DW) 

Thursday, July 31st, 2025 

Pope Leo XIV declares Saint John Henry Newman, a 19th-century Anglican convert who became a prominent English Catholic theologian, as a Doctor of the Church. (Vatican News) 

Islamic terrorist Osama Krayem is found guilty at Stockholm District Court, Sweden, of involvement in a war crime in which Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh was burned alive inside a cage in Raqqa by the Islamic State on January 3, 2015. (BBC News) 

South Korea and the United States reach a trade agreement that places a 15% tariff on U.S. imports from South Korea. South Korea also promises to invest US$350 billion into American biotech, semiconductors, and shipbuilding over an unspecified time. (CBS News) 

U.S. president Donald Trump announces revised tariff rates set to start on August 1, including a new 35% tariff on Canada. (Reuters) 

The Slovenian government announces a complete ban on the import, export, and transit of arms and military equipment to and from Israel. (Arab News) 

A court in Faisalabad, Pakistan, sentences opposition leader Omar Ayub and over 200 supporters of ousted prime minister Imran Khan to over ten years in prison each for their participation in the 2023 protests. (AP) 

Conor McGregor loses his appeal against a civil court in the Republic of Ireland, finding that he raped Nikita Hand. (RTÉ) 

The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador abolishes presidential term limits, increased presidential terms from 5 to 6 years, and moves the date of the next presidential election from 2029 to 2027. (BBC News) 

Italy and Vatican City agree to transform a 430-hectare (1,100-acre) field in Rome to a solar farm that will power the Vatican, with the goal of turning it into the first carbon-neutral state. (AP) (Bluefield Daily Telegraph) 

The End

The Longest Day

Book of the Week

Empire of AI

The Black Swan

On Deck

Castle Keep; Play Dirty; Len Deighton; Attack and Retreat; Tobruk; Ambush Bay;

x

The Faulklands War

x

Johnny Rico’s Movie of the Week. This one is superb. One of the best World War II movies ever made that nobody has heard of. An action masterpiece from John Frankenheimer. Burt Lancaster as a French resistance specialist. He knows everything about trains. Nazis. The most valuable paintings in the world. And trains. So good.

Monday,  July 28th, 2025 

Israeli attacks kill at least 65 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip. (Al Jazeera) 

Heavy clashes and skirmishes have occurred for the fourth time in ten days in the cities of Beled Hawo and Dolow, followed by intense fighting between Jubaland forces and Somali National Army in the Gedo region of Jubaland, as the conflict between Federal Government and Jubaland escalates. (Garowe Online) 

A peace conference opens in New York City, New York, United States, aimed at reviving the two-state solution and renewing diplomatic efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Reuters) 

Six people are killed, including the perpetrator, and two others are injured in a mass shooting at the Or Tor Kor Market in Bangkok, Thailand. (Reuters) 

At least two people are killed and four others are injured, including the perpetrator, in a mass shooting at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, United States. (Reno Gazette-Journal) (KRNV) 

Philippine president Bongbong Marcos orders a nationwide audit of flood control projects across the county, alongside a crackdown on corruption on these projects, in response to the widespread damage caused by recent flooding brought about by Tropical Storm Wipha and the monsoon season. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) 

Philippine president Bongbong Marcos delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) before the joint session of the newly convened 20th Congress in Batasang Pambansa Complex. (Rappler) 

Sunday, July 27th, 2025 

U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announce a trade deal that would boost EU investment into the U.S. by $600 billion and set a 15% tariff on all EU exports, while some U.S. goods entering the EU would be exempt from tariffs. The EU also agrees to purchase $750 billion in American energy products. (BBC News) 

Cambodia and Thailand agree to negotiate a ceasefire following mediation efforts by United States secretary of state Marco Rubio the previous day. (AP) 

At least 73 Palestinians are killed while seeking humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. (Sky News) 

The Israeli Air Force begins humanitarian aid drops over the Gaza Strip amid growing international pressure to allow food into the Palestinian enclave. (BBC News) 

Al-Shabaab seizes control of the central Somalia town of Mahaas in the Hiiraan region following a ground offensive. The attack began with multiple suicide bombings just outside the town, followed by heavy gunfire, prompting the army and local Ma’awisley militias to withdraw. (The Somali Digest) (AP) 

Allied Democratic Forces militants attack the city of Komanda, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 43 people, including 20 during a vigil in a Catholic church. (Radio Okapi) 

Seven New People’s Army guerrillas are killed in a military operation in Uson, Masbate, Philippines, as Philippine troops pursue remaining insurgents. (AP) 

Twenty-five people are killed, 26 others are rescued and around 49 are reported missing when a large wooden boat capsizes in Niger State, Nigeria. (CityNews) (Reuters) 

At least six people are killed and 27 others are injured in a stampede when a high-voltage electric wire falls on a path at the Mansa Devi Temple in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. (AP) (The Independent) 

At least three people are killed, including a railway employee and the driver, and around 50 others are injured, including 25 seriously, when a Deutsche Bahn Regional-Express train carrying 100 people derails in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. (ARD) 

The first commercial flight from Moscow, Russia, to Pyongyang, North Korea, launches. (AP) 

Iran executes two members of the exiled opposition group MEK on charges of carrying out attacks on residential, education, and government buildings. (AP) 

In association football, England defeats Spain 3–1 on penalties in the Women’s Euro final to give the England women’s team its second major football championship, also successfully defending its title. Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí is named the tournament’s best player. (Reuters) 

Saturday, July 26th, 2025 

Cambodia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Chhea Keo, calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire with Thailand. (BBC News) 

Twelve more deaths are reported in Cambodia while a Thai soldier is shot dead on the border as both countries exchange artillery fire. (AP) 

Around 38,000 civilians in Cambodia and almost 140,000 in Thailand flee their homes as fighting intensifies. (Al Jazeera) 

Cambodia closes its airspace over the regions in the country where the conflict is being fought. (Phnom Penh Post) 

Royal Cambodian Army major general Duong Somneang is killed in an artillery strike on the frontline. (Nation Thailand) 

The Royal Thai Navy engages Cambodian forces in the Gulf of Thailand after they launched attacks on Trat province, Thailand. (Thai PBS World) 

Russian forces launch an overnight drone and cruise missile attack on Dnipro, Ukraine, killing at least three people and damaging multiple residential buildings. (Reuters) 

At least nine people are killed, including three attackers and a child, and 22 others are injured, including several critically, in a terrorist mass shooting and grenade attack at a courthouse in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. Sunni jihadist separatist militant group Jaysh al-Adl claims responsibility for the attack. (Kurdistan 24) (RFERL) (DW) 

The United Nations World Food Programme says 90,000 children and women are in need of urgent treatment in Gaza. (BBC News) 

At least 18 people are killed and 48 others are injured when a bus overturns on a highway in the Andes mountains in Junín Department, Peru. (CP24) 

At least eleven people are injured, several critically, in a mass stabbing attack at a Walmart in Traverse City, Michigan, United States. A suspect is in custody. (BNO News) (WPBN-TV) 

In association football, Nigeria wins a record-extending 12th Africa Cup of Nations title after defeating the host nation Morocco 3–2 in the final. Nigerian forward Rasheedat Ajibade is named the tournament’s best player. (The Guardian) 

Friday,  July 25th, 2025 

The Royal Thai Armed Forces‘s Border Defense Command declares martial law in eight districts of the provinces of Chanthaburi and Trat on their border with Cambodia, citing “Cambodia’s use of force to enter Thai territory”. (NDTV) 

The Royal Thai Air Force launches airstrikes on targets inside Cambodia, including areas near the Preah Vihear Temple and Prasat Ta Muen Thom. (Nation Thailand) (The Star) 

Russian forces enter the city of Pokrovsk for the first time since the invasion began, and enter the city of Kupiansk for the first time since 2024. (ISW) 

Al-Shabaab targets two military bases operated by AUSSOM and the Somali Armed Forces near the Somali capital Mogadishu using a bomb-laden attack. (Garowe Online) 

Following the capture of Beled Hawo by Jubaland forces, Somali federal troops are deployed to reinforce federal government presence in Gedo. (Garowe Online) 

In a joint military operation, Puntland Counter-Terrorism forces and US SOF capture the financial and foreign recruitment chief of ISIS-Somalia, Abdiweli Mohamed Aw Yusuf “Abdiweli Walalac,” and two others. The operation took place in the Laag area of rural Xumbeys in the Bari region of Puntland. (Garowe Online) 

U.S. Central Command kills senior Islamic State leader Diaa Zoubaa Musleh Al-Hardani along with his two sons in a strike on Al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (Al Arabiya) 

Wazalendo fighters launch an offensive to take the town of Luke, Masisi Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo, which the March 23 Movement had taken the previous day. (Radio Okapi) 

The Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo of the Wazalendo resist an attack on their positions by the M23 in the area of Showa, Masisi Territory. Residents of Luke, Showa, and Bukombo flee to escape the fighting. (Radio Okapi) 

Two Mai-Mai militias continue to fight over the control of agricultural roads in Babila-Babombi chiefdom, Mambasa Territory, DRC. Residents of several villages flee to escape the fighting. (Radio Okapi) 

A boat carrying Egyptian migrants and Sudanese crewmen en route to Europe capsizes off the coast of Tobruk, Cyrenaica, Libya, killing at least 15 people, injuring 10 others and leaving some missing. (AP) 

A gas explosion at a ten-story apartment building in Saratov, Saratov Oblast, Russia kills at least six people, including a child, injures seven others and destroys or damages over 30 apartments. (Anadolu Agency) (Novaya Gazeta) 

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announces India will lend a US$565 million credit line to the Maldives, gift their armed forces several heavy fighting vehicles, and launch formal talks for a free-trade agreement. (AP) 

The trial of former Congolese president and senator for life Joseph Kabila for his crimes in connection with the M23 Movement and the Congo River Alliance begins. The armed forces auditor general charges Kabila with treason, participation in an insurrectional movement, crimes against the peace and security of humanity, intentional homicide, rape, torture, deportation, and condoning crimes. (Radio Okapi) 

The government of Hong Kong places a HK$200,000 (US$25,500) bounty on 19 members of the overseas pro-democracy organization Hong Kong Parliament. (DW) 

Thousands of websites begin implementing age verification to block “adult content” for British viewers under the age of 18, according to Ofcom. (BBC News) 

The End Monday 

Below posted 

Friday,  July 25th, 2025 

At least seven students are killed, around 19 others are seriously injured, including eight critically, and over 32 are trapped under debris when a school collapses due to continuous rainfall in Piplodi, Jhalawar District, India. (The Indian Express) 

The traditional chiefs of Palau and the Palau National Congress reject a proposal by the United States to host asylum seekers, and strongly advise president Surangel Whipps, Jr. to also reject it. (Island Times) 

The Supreme Court of the Philippines rules that the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, filed by the lower house of Congress in February, is unconstitutional. (Reuters) 

Overlap above 

x * x * x * x *

This is amazing. This is why YouTube is the best thing on the planet.

Steve McQueen in Hell is for Heroes 1962 was a turning point in the way I saw things at maybe the age of 12, 11? I can’t pin it down. One of the best performances ever. Directed by Don Siegel.

Where Eagles Dare. Top Ten best ever. Superb. The cable-car scene. Are you kidding me?