Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Sunday, including Iran, US exchanging fire in the Strait of Hormuz; talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoys in Moscow; and the UK foreign secretary urging more decisive action on the situation in Gaza.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s held talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow that his aide Yury Ushakov described as "substantive, constructive and extremely frank."
Ushakov said the talks in Moscow lasted three hours and 10 minutes and covered not only the Ukraine war but also potential major Russian-US projects.
Putin, the Kremlin aide said, reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to continue working with the US to seek a political and diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian president also stressed the need to address the "root causes" of the war and spoke about the battlefield advances of Russian forces and his confidence that Moscow would achieve its objectives, according to the presidential adviser.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it attacked three US-affiliated vessels and three oil tankers using an "unauthorised" route in the Strait of Hormuz.
The claim came after the US military said it destroyed three Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for attacks on its warships.
The UK must act "more decisively" on the situation in the Gaza Strip, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said after hearing "horrific" accounts from people working in the Palestinian enclave.
Miliband made the remarks after meeting people who had been to Gaza as well as those working on the ground.
"I just came out of this meeting talking about Gaza to people who've been there and are there on the ground. And frankly, it was horrific what is unfolding," he said.
Miliband said he heard accounts of medicine being blocked from reaching those in need, and children dying while awaiting life-saving medical treatment.
"You know, the stories that people were telling me of medicines being blocked, children dying while waiting for vital life-saving treatment," he said.
- US envoy Tom Barrack expressed concern about renewed tensions in Syria’s southern Suwayda province, urging all sides to exercise restraint and pursue dialogue.
- The Israeli army is considering establishing a new "security zone" extending 1.2 to 2.5 miles inside Lebanese territory as part of a plan to reduce its troop presence and redeploy forces in southern Lebanon.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is ready to halt strikes on Moscow after the Kremlin said Putin ordered a three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv, as US envoys visit Russia and Ukraine for peace talks to end the over four-year war.
- Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin discussed Israeli attacks against Christians with a delegation from Churches for Middle East Peace.
- Kites were flown across 11 cities in the Netherlands in solidarity with the children in Gaza.
- Two pilots were killed after a Greek military F-4 Phantom aircraft crashed during an air show in Tanagra.
- An attack involving drones, followed by a clash inside a military compound in northeastern Colombia, killed at least three soldiers and wounded four others.
- German police discovered 12 explosive devices along power lines in the eastern state of Saxony following attacks on the country’s power grid this week.
- Three Palestinians, including a child, were injured by Israeli army fire in the northern Gaza Strip, in the latest daily violations of a ceasefire agreement in force since last October.
- An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-brokered “localized ceasefire” took effect to enable power line repairs needed to restore off-site power to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine after a prolonged outage.
- Spanish authorities are preparing a new site in Ceuta to accommodate hundreds of migrants who are on the streets following large-scale arrivals in July.
- Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said calls for an early general election would be considered, while stressing his government remains focused on governing the country.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France wants the EU to restrict trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Barrot told RFI that he had again urged European countries this week to move forward on the issue.
"The settlements are illegal. It is not normal that the European Union can support this trade," he said.
Barrot compared the proposed measure with the EU’s response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea, noting that the bloc halted imports from the peninsula in 2014.
"This is the same thing that we must do with the illegal settlements," he said, while acknowledging that the step requires agreement among EU countries.
Global food prices rose in August to their highest since late 2022 as disruptions linked to the Ukraine war put renewed pressure on grain markets and Black Sea exports, according to UN data and the Polish Economic Institute (PIE).
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index rose to 133.3 points in August from 130.8 in July, with prices increasing in all five major food categories. The index remains around 17% below its March 2022 peak following Russia’s war against Ukraine.
PIE said attacks on port infrastructure and shipping in July and August halted much of the grain trade from Russia and Ukraine, which together account for around one-third of global wheat exports.
Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports in Odesa and along the Danube reduced Ukrainian wheat exports to 1.6 million metric tons between Aug. 1 and 28, around 60% below the level a year earlier and only about 20% of the country’s potential export capacity, said PIE, citing Ukrainian authorities.
Pierre Gasly claimed the first pole position of his Formula 1 career, stunning the frontrunners in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The Alpine driver clocked 1 minute, 21.786 seconds to beat Mercedes’ George Russell by 0.060 seconds at the circuit where he secured his maiden Grand Prix victory in 2020.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri qualified third, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc joining him on the second row.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton took fifth ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, while Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh.
news_share_descriptionsubscription_contact
