torsdag 16 juli 2026
Lastest news
Israel-US Relations
Every Second Democrat Wants to Cut Off Support for Israel: “Dramatic Shift”
Almost half of the Democrats in the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday in favor of a proposal to cut off US military and humanitarian aid to Israel, US media reports.
The New York Times describes it as a "rapid and dramatic shift". Democrats, like Republicans, have unconditionally supported Israel for many years.
Several of those who voted in favor of the proposal say it is the only way to protest the Israeli government's actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. However, they opposed cutting off humanitarian aid.
"I would have liked to have been able to vote on a proposal that only affected military aid and at the same time continue to support humanitarian efforts. But we don't have that option," says Rep. Greg Casar.
However, the Democratic votes were not enough to pass the proposal, which fell by 104–314.
The change of power in the UK
Starmer's last trip is to Kyiv: "Unwavering support"
The outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is visiting Kyiv today to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyj. The trip will be Starmer's last as Prime Minister ahead of the upcoming change of power.
Ahead of the visit to Ukraine, Starmer said that Britain's "unwavering" support for the country continues, reports the BBC. He also said that the Ukrainian people have "preserved the security of Europe".
Tomorrow, Friday, Labour is expected to elect Andy Burnham as the new party leader. The Prime Ministership will be handed over on Monday, July 20.
Political situation in Myanmar
UN: Over 500 may have died in boat accidents off Myanmar
The UN fears that over 500 people may have died after two boats were reported to have sunk off the coast of Myanmar, writes Reuters.
The boats are said to have left Myanmar at the end of June. One boat disappeared shortly after departure, while the other is believed to have sunk on July 8. The boats are said to have had around 250 and 280 passengers, respectively. A majority of the passengers are said to have belonged to the Muslim Rohingya minority.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR emphasizes that the information is not confirmed, but writes that it is “deeply concerned about the risk of a very large number of casualties.”
Six-kilometer-long iceberg drifting off Greenland
An iceberg that is a full six kilometers long and four kilometers wide is currently drifting off the east coast of Greenland, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).
The iceberg has currently traveled about 1,200 kilometers after breaking off the Nioghalvfjerds glacier on the northeast coast of Greenland.
“We can expect it to break up into smaller icebergs as it continues to drift south,” says Hans Henrik Light, ice analyst at DMI, in a press release.
Icebergs are common off the coast of Greenland and drift south, but they are usually between 200 and 500 meters long, according to Light.
Eleven dead after fire at orphanage in Algeria
Eleven people have died after a fire broke out at an orphanage on the outskirts of the Algerian capital Algiers on Thursday morning, Reuters reports.
According to the AFP news agency, it is still unclear what caused the fire. Algerian authorities have not released any age information on the dead. 19 people are said to have been injured in the fire.
Algeria has been plagued by a heat wave for the past week. During the same period, almost 1,000 fires have broken out around the country, AFP writes
Trump's USA
Investigation
JD Vance: We messed up with the Epstein files
US Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration failed to communicate in connection with the release of the Epstein files. He says this in the podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience", writes Politico.
- I say this quite frankly: we really messed up the communication around the Epstein documents - we really did, he says in the episode.
He says it was not to hide anything, but that they should have been faster in publishing the content.
The Trump administration was criticized for repeatedly postponing the publication of the files and for the fact that some files were redacted. Among other things, Trump himself appeared in the files.
Trump's candidate was pressured in the Senate - refused to say who won the 2020 election
Jay Clayton was pressed hard when he was questioned in the US Senate on Wednesday, reports CNN. Clayton has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be the director of national intelligence.
Clayton was asked, among other things, who won the 2020 US presidential election. Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that Joe Biden actually lost the election, without ever presenting any evidence of election fraud.
However, Clayton would not answer yes or no to the question, but replied that Joe Biden was “approved” for president.
– Isn’t it humiliating not to be able to answer this question and to have to fully embrace the president’s delusions? Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff told Clayton.
The former director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, left the post in March of this year.
Huge iceberg drifting along Greenland coast
A huge iceberg – almost six kilometers long and four kilometers wide – is currently drifting along the eastern coast of Greenland, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).
The iceberg has traveled a distance of about 1,200 kilometers and is, according to the DMI, entering a new phase.
"We can expect it to break up into smaller icebergs as it continues to drift south," says Hans Henrik Light, an ice analyst at the DMI, in a press release.
Large, plateau-shaped icebergs drift with the pack ice along Greenland's eastern coast during the winter and spring and reach southern Greenland during the summer. At that time, they usually measure a modest 200–500 meters.
- We only see icebergs three to six kilometers across, like this one, every two or three years, says Hans Henrik Light.
Middle East crisis Iran war
US Attacks Oil Tankers: “Ignored Multiple Warnings”
On
Wednesday, the US attacked an empty oil tanker that was heading towards
the Iranian island of Kharg in the Persian Gulf. This was stated by the
US military command for the Middle East in a post on X.
“The
commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to breach
the US blockade,” the post says, adding that the ship was then disabled
by firing missiles at its smokestacks.
According to CNN, the oil
tanker is the first ship to be attacked by the US since the blockade
against Iranian ports was re-established on Tuesday. It is unclear how
seriously the ship was damaged and whether any people were injured or
killed in the attack.
Bombing and Ground Troops – How Trump Could Expand the War
Using
ground troops to occupy islands in the Persian Gulf – or bombing the
tunnels under the Kuh-e Kolang mountain. These are two options that US
President Donald Trump is considering to expand the war against Iran,
according to sources in several US media.
Both proposals are said
to have come up during a meeting that Trump held on Tuesday, with,
among others, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump has asked for
suggestions on what the US can do to force Iran to either surrender or
return to the negotiating table.
Regarding Kuh-e Kolang – a
tunnel system near Iran's previously damaged nuclear facility – Trump
already said on Monday that the US would bomb the mountain "relatively
soon", according to Reuters. However, this has not happened yet.
Continued attacks between the US and Iran – hospitals had to evacuate
During
the night, explosions were heard in several places in Iran, including
in the capital Tehran, according to state media, CNN reports. A hospital
in Ahvaz in southwestern Iran was forced to temporarily evacuate after
explosions were heard nearby.
The US command for the Middle East,
Centcom, writes on X that it has struck command centers, air defense
and drone resources. The wave of attacks is said to have ended on
Thursday morning. The US believes that the latest attacks were carried
out to prevent Iran from “threatening ships that freely pass through the
Strait of Hormuz”.
At the same time, Iran states that it has
carried out further attacks on American targets in Kuwait and Jordan.
According to Kuwait's military, it has shot down several missiles from
Iran. Air raid sirens are also said to have been heard in Bahrain during
the night, Reuters reports
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