10 Things Global News - 3rd July 2026
The US was worried about Israeli spoiler, German courts point the finger at an ally and India cosies up to Japan | Succinct, unbiased global news
U.S. Feared Israeli Strike On Iran Negotiators (Middle East)
Iran Uses Khamenei Funeral To Project Strength (Middle East)
Day Eight Rescue Offers Hope After Venezuela Quake (South America)
Papua Rebels Kill American Pilot In Escalation (Australasia)
Canada Pushes Defence Bank Launch At NATO Summit (Finance)
German Prosecutors Tie Nord Stream Blast To Kyiv (Europe)
Albania Protest Movement Turns Violent In Tirana (Europe)
German Coalition Unveils Broad Reform Package (Europe)
Modi And Takaichi Deepen India Japan Ties (Diplomacy)
First France Sweltered In Record Heat, Now It Burns (Europe)
A succinct daily briefing delivered each weekday to help you stay on top of the stories shaping the world.
U.S. officials believed Israel might have been plotting to kill Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf while Washington was engaged in delicate talks with Tehran this spring. American officials feared that any attempt to kill the two men after negotiations began in earnest in April would derail the talks and reignite the fighting, and some officials said the United States asked other countries in the region to warn Iran.
The concern reflected a wider split in war aims. The war began on Feb. 28 with an Israeli strike that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials. While U.S. strikes focused on Iran’s navy and missile forces, Israel prioritised leadership targets.
In June, Washington and Tehran reached a framework agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz and set the outline for follow-on talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Sources: New York Times, India Today
Iran’s ruling clerics are preparing days of mass funeral rites for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a show of public devotion to the Islamic Republic after he was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes in the first attack of the war. Qom Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad Saidi said a large public turnout would amount to another referendum for the Islamic Republic, as authorities laid on transport, accommodation and food to mobilise millions of supporters.
The funeral events will begin over the weekend in Tehran, with a massive procession planned in central Tehran on Monday, followed by ceremonies in Qom on Tuesday, Iraq’s shrine cities of Najaf and Kerbala on Wednesday, and burial in Mashhad on Thursday.
Security will be tight, with temporary airspace restrictions in place over Tehran and other cities and threats of a powerful response if the United States or Israel resumes attacks.
Sources: Reuters, Times of Israel
Hernán Gil, a 43-year-old Venezuelan security guard, was rescued alive on Thursday after eight days trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building in Catia La Mar, in La Guaira state, following the twin earthquake that struck the country on June 24.
Gil survived by sheltering under the desk of his booth in the underground parking garage of a shopping mall. His voice was first heard on Sunday, about 100 hours after the quakes.
Teams from seven countries joined the rescue, with up to 300 people working in shifts as an adjacent building threatened to collapse and the operation was close to being suspended several times.
The rescue became a symbol of hope after a disaster that, as of Thursday evening, had killed 2,595 people, even as public criticism of the official response grew in some areas.
Sources: Mercopress, BBC
Papua separatist rebels said they shot dead American pilot Nicholas F. Gosselin and set a civilian plane on fire after it landed in Yahukimo in Highland Papua. Sebby Sambom, a spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army, said the attack was a message to the Indonesian and U.S. governments and claimed the aircraft had been frequently dropping Indonesian military personnel.
Indonesia’s military denied that the plane was used to carry troops and said the seven passengers were indigenous Papuan civilians who were unharmed.
The attack points to a widening risk around civilian aviation in a conflict that has grown deadlier and more frequent. Sambom warned that the group would target other civilian aircraft it believes are assisting military operations.
Authorities said efforts to reach the site were hindered by poor weather and difficult terrain, with access possible only by air.
Sources: The Guardian, Associated Press
Canada is aiming to announce around 10 founding nations for a global defence bank at next week’s NATO summit in Turkey, according to Isabelle Hudon, Canada’s top negotiator on the initiative.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is promoting the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank as part of his call for an alliance of middle powers, and the bank’s purpose is to bolster the defence of allied nations by raising up to £100 billion in cheap finance.
Hudon said the initial roster would likely all be European, besides Canada, but cautioned that an announcement was not guaranteed because final negotiations over capital commitments were still under way. The project’s fate remains uncertain without the backing of nations crucial to securing a triple-A credit rating, even as Hudon said the project had momentum and Carney said a critical mass of countries intended to join.
Sources: Reuters, Times of India
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German prosecutors said on Thursday that Ukrainian state authorities were behind the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia with Europe. In charges brought against suspect Serhii K., prosecutors said he and six accomplices had acted on the orders of state authorities in Ukraine.
They said Serhii K. was an officer in the Ukrainian army at the time and that the plan was to destroy Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 to permanently halt gas supplies and prevent Russia from using natural gas revenue to finance its war effort.
The accusation creates an awkward moment for Berlin, one of Ukraine’s biggest military backers. Prosecutors said the explosives detonated on Sept. 26, 2022, causing significant damage, and noted that before the incident around half of Germany’s annual natural gas supply was transported via Nord Stream 1. Ukrainian authorities said they lacked sufficient information to respond in detail.
Sources: DW, The Guardian
Albanian police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters in Tirana after demonstrations over a luxury resort development linked to President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner turned violent. The confrontation began after a small crowd near the parliament building started throwing eggs and other objects at vehicles carrying lawmakers and ministers to a plenary session. Police said 23 people were detained and 15 officers were injured.
The unrest marks an escalation in protests that began in early June after preparatory work started for a luxury resort in an environmentally sensitive Albanian coastal area.
The rallies have since widened into a backlash against coastal construction, changes to rules on protected areas, and what protesters describe as corruption and a lack of transparency under Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has defended the project as an extraordinary investment that will bring jobs and higher-end visitors.
Sources: Bloomberg, CBS News
Germany’s ruling coalition agreed on Thursday on a broad package of tax, labour and pension reforms after seven hours of talks, presenting the deal as an effort to revive the country’s sluggish economy. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government was working to increase the flexibility of businesses, cut red tape, protect the welfare state and ease the burden on employees and companies by lowering taxes. The coalition said the tax relief would leave an average family about 600 euros better off per year.
The package also carries political weight. The coalition said the 34 measures include cuts to income tax for low- and middle-income families, tougher rules for sick leave and a gradual rise in the retirement age in line with life expectancy.
The government is keen to show it can get to grips with the country’s problems and diminish the appeal of the AfD, which has been topping national opinion polls for months.
Sources: Euronews, Wall Street Journal
India and Japan agreed on Thursday to expand their longstanding ties as both seek greater stability and security in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi called uncertain times. After meeting in New Delhi, Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said they had signed agreements covering energy self-reliance, security in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and artificial intelligence.
Modi said the two countries were starting a new chapter in their special strategic and global partnership and that the agreement would strengthen regional peace, maritime security and rules-based order.
Takaichi, on her first visit to India as prime minister, said the most important thing was for Japan and India to leverage each other’s strengths. The two leaders also said their defence and foreign ministers would meet later this year.
Sources: New York Times, Hindustan Times
Several wildfires scorched southern France on Thursday after weeks of dry weather and record-high temperatures during the recent heat wave, with strong winds driving the flames across parts of the Mediterranean coast.
Local authorities said the largest fires spread in the Aude and Herault regions, where up to 800 firefighters and 150 vehicles were deployed to combat flames that spread over 900 hectares.
In the Pyrenees-Orientales region, nearly 3,000 tourists and local residents were evacuated after a wildfire broke out in Sainte-Marie-la-Mer and spread to Canet-en-Roussillon near the Spanish border.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said nearly 7,000 fires have broken out since the start of the summer season, with some 8,700 hectares already burned, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said weather conditions remained particularly unfavourable.
Sources: DW, Le Monde
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On this day …
On this day in 1988, Iran Air Flight 655 was mistakenly shot down by the USS Vincennes over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 passengers and crew.
The US Navy cruiser identified the civilian Airbus as a hostile military aircraft during heightened tensions in the closing stages of the Iran-Iraq War.
The tragedy became one of the deadliest incidents involving a civilian airliner and further deepened mistrust between the United States and Iran.
Decades later, the disaster continues to be cited whenever military operations unfold in crowded civilian environments.
It remains a stark reminder that in conflict, catastrophic mistakes can carry consequences for generations.