Pope condemns ‘barbarity’ of Israel’s war in Gaza
After pontiff calls for peace, Gaza’s health ministry says 73 Palestinians waiting for aid have been killed
Sun 20 Jul 2025 14.56 BST
Pope Leo XIV has condemned the “barbarity” of the war in Gaza and the “indiscriminate use of force” as Gaza’s health ministry said at least 73 Palestinians had been killed queueing for food.
The Hamas-run ministry said on Sunday that the victims had been killed in different locations, mostly in northern Gaza.
It said 67 of the dead had been killed by Israeli fire while waiting for UN aid trucks entering through the northern Zikim crossing with Israel. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Top European powers plan new Iran nuclear talks as sanctions threat looms
Britain, France and Germany are planning to hold fresh talks with Iran on its nuclear programme in the coming days, a German diplomatic source told AFP on Sunday.
The European powers, known as the E3, "are in contact with Iran to schedule further talks for the coming week", the source said, following warnings from the trio that international sanctions against Iran could be reactivated if Tehran does not resume negotiations.
Ruling coalition on track for losing majority in Upper House
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
July 20, 2025 at 20:28 JST
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, are likely to fall short of the 125-seat majority in the Upper House, including seats not up for re-election this time, according to exit polls.
The LDP is expected to win around 34 seats in this election, according to the polls conducted by The Asahi Shimbun and other organizations.
Komeito is expected to win around seven seats. The ruling coalition may gain a combined total of 40-some seats, far short of the 66 they held prior to the election.
Syria’s armed Bedouins say they have withdrawn from Druze-majority city after fighting
Syria’s armed Bedouin clans on Sunday announced that they had withdrawn from the Druze-majority city of Sweida following over a week of clashes and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as humanitarian aid convoys started to enter the battered southern city.
The clashes between militias of the Druze religious minority and the Sunni Muslim clans killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria’s already fragile postwar transition. Israel also launched dozens of airstrikes in the Druze-majority Sweida province, targeting government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins.
Trump’s big beautiful police state is here
On July 4, United States President Donald Trump signed into law his so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill”, which will reduce taxes for the rich, punish the poor, and otherwise propel American plutocracy to ever more noxious heights.
Just days earlier, Trump’s Vice President JD Vance took to X to underline the key component of the legislation: “Everything else — the CBO [Congressional Budget Office] score, the proper baseline, the minutiae of the Medicaid policy — is immaterial compared to the ICE money and immigration enforcement provisions.”
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