Why Israel hit this empty base
Picture this: it's just before dawn on Tuesday, high in the dry rolling hills of Syria's eastern Idlib right up near the Turkish border.
Read this storyPicture this: it's just before dawn on Tuesday, high in the dry rolling hills of Syria's eastern Idlib right up near the Turkish border.
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UNITED STATES
A landmark trial against Meta has kicked off, with 29 US states accusing the tech giant of making its social media platforms deliberately addictive and targeted at children. The attorneys-general are seeking $200B in damages, equivalent to Meta’s 2025 full-year revenues. (Guardian)
UKRAINE
Former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, the popular and tech-savvy young figure whose ousting triggered protests earlier this summer, has now called for wartime elections in a clear challenge to President Zelensky. (Politico)
TONGA
The Pacific Island monarchy of Tonga has now nominated Ecuador’s Ivonne A-Baki as the eighth candidate (and second Ecuadorian) hoping to become the next UN secretary-general in the new year. (Reuters)
SOUTH KOREA
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi is travelling to South Korea today (Wed) for his first official visit there in five years! (Japan Times)
NIGERIA
12 years after introducing it, the US Coast Guard has now ditched an extra security screening for ships coming from Nigeria, citing significant improvements in the country’s maritime security. (BI Africa)
VENEZUELA
With a bit of US cajoling, Venezuela’s government and opposition now have some rare common ground: they’re lodging a joint request for the Bank of England to return $4B (31 tonnes) of gold now earmarked for reconstruction after June’s twin earthquakes left more than 6,000 dead. (EuroNews)
UNITED KINGDOM
Newly installed Prime Minister Andy Burnham has exchanged texts with somebody pretending to be Susie Wiles, President Trump’s chief of staff. Andy boy insists the brief conversation was “of no significance”, while the White House has denied initial claims Susie’s phone was hacked. (Politico)
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18 August

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