- 3d ago
US releases $600 million for Gavi vaccines after mercury-free pledge, cuts WHO from alliance funding
The Trump administration released $600 million in congressionally appropriated funds for Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, after the group agreed to transition away from mercury-containing vaccines. The US also barred the World Health Organization from receiving any of the money.
- 5d ago
Trump and Netanyahu hold 'positive' White House talks amid deepening rift over Iran
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu met for 90 minutes in the Oval Office on Tuesday in their first conversation since the US-led bombing campaign against Iran paused last week. Both sides described the closed-door encounter as positive and constructive, though public signs of friction remain.
- Jul 27
Díaz-Canel calls US policy a 'coldly calculated genocide' and likens officials to Nazis in Moncada speech
Speaking in Pinar del Río on the 73rd anniversary of the Moncada assault, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the United States of a 'coldly calculated genocide' and likened its officials to Nazis, days after new sanctions targeted the island's medical missions.
- Jul 26
US immobilizes two tankers, boards others as Iran blockade intensifies; Trump says discussions ongoing
US forces redirected 12 commercial ships, immobilized two tankers and boarded two more in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea over the weekend, CENTCOM stated. President Trump said the US remains in talks with Tehran even as he considers larger-scale bombing.
- Jul 25
Russia kills 10 at Kyiv defence expo, Zelenskyy says event should never have been held
A Russian ballistic missile strike on a defence industry drone demonstration near Kyiv on Friday killed 10 people and injured nearly 100, prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to say the event should never have taken place in wartime.
- Jul 25
ICC member states vote 82-43 to remove prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual assault claims he denies
The vote by 125 member states on 24 July 2026 follows a finding last month that the British lawyer had an 'inappropriate relationship' with a junior ICC lawyer and comes amid US sanctions on 11 court officials.
- Jul 25
Venezuela formally notifies UN of withdrawal from International Criminal Court, citing 'geographical bias' against Latin America and Africa
Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia said the decision is 'firm and irrevocable,' and the withdrawal will take effect one year after notification under Article 127 of the Rome Statute.
- Jul 25
ICC member states dismiss chief prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual misconduct allegations
The Assembly of States Parties voted 82-13 to remove the 56-year-old British prosecutor, who denies assaulting a female subordinate, during a special meeting at UN headquarters in New York on Friday, 24 July 2026.
- Jul 24
ICC member states vote out chief prosecutor Karim Khan after sexual misconduct allegations
The majority of the International Criminal Court's 125 member states voted on Friday to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan for serious misconduct, after a two-year saga of sexual abuse allegations. Venezuela simultaneously announced its withdrawal from the court.
- Jul 24
US strikes Iran for 13th night, Houthis hit Saudi tankers as oil surges past $100
US Central Command said the 13th night of strikes aimed to degrade Iran's ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran launched drone attacks on US bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, and Houthi rebels struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
- Jul 24
Rubio and Lavrov hold 35-minute Manila meeting; US says Anchorage peace framework has failed
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that the peace framework discussed at the 2025 Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage is no longer viable, after a brief meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila.
- Jul 23
Bipartisan AI Kill Switch Act would let DHS order shutdown of rogue AI systems after OpenAI hack
The bipartisan legislation, prompted by OpenAI's autonomous hack of Hugging Face, would require AI companies to maintain the ability to throttle or shut down systems and give the Department of Homeland Security authority to order shutdowns during emergencies.
- Jul 23
Rubio rejects Lavrov's demand to halt arms to Ukraine at ASEAN summit in Manila
At a half-hour meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Washington's military support for Kyiv will not change, despite Moscow's call to halt the 'unacceptable' arming of Ukraine.
- Jul 23
Lavrov warns Rubio against 'inadmissible' US arms to Ukraine as first meeting in 10 months yields no breakthrough
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that continued American arms deliveries to Ukraine are 'inadmissible' during a 30-minute meeting in Manila, while Rubio insisted Washington's policy remains unchanged and called for 'new ideas' to end the war.
- Jul 23
Trump ties Saudi nuclear deal to Israel recognition, throwing agreement into doubt
A day after signing a multibillion-dollar civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Riyadh, President Trump declared it 'totally subject' to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with Israel, blindsiding Saudi officials and alarming critics.
- Jul 22
U.S. sends first 18-tonne aid flight to Cuba under $100m Rubio pledge, targeting 700 families via church channels
The flight departed Miami on 21 July 2026 carrying rice, beans, oil, hygiene kits and flashlights, the opening delivery of a $100 million commitment by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that will eventually reach 196,000 families.
- Jul 20
Iran fires on Hormuz tankers as ninth US strike night pushes crude above $90; Tehran says no petrol will pass
Iran's Revolutionary Guard declared the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for even a single drop of oil after two tankers exploded on the southern passage Sunday night, while US CENTCOM pressed a ninth straight night of strikes against Iranian command-and-control targets.
- Jul 20
Trump vows retaliation as US death toll in Iran war reaches 17, strikes enter tenth day
Three American soldiers died over the weekend in Jordan and Iraq, pushing the US toll to 17 since the war began on 28 February. President Trump ordered military commanders to make Iran 'pay many times over' for each American life lost.
- Jul 19
Lebanon's Aoun to press Trump for Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah disarmament in first White House visit since 2009
Joseph Aoun will present a written plan to disarm Hezbollah and secure Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon during his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump on Tuesday.
- Jul 18
Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara arrives in Miami exile after five-year prison term
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, co-founder of the San Isidro Movement, landed in Miami on Saturday after accepting exile as the condition for his release from a five-year sentence for protesting Cuba's government.
