Last Wednesday's Himalayan landslide ended up tearing a 100km (60mi)-long trail of devastation through the Nepal-Tibet border, with more than a thousand folks now confirmed dead and another 4,500 still missing.
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UNITED STATES
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation after less than two years in the role, following months of reported internal clashes with Pentagon boss Pete Hegseth. His deputy (Dave Fitzgerald) is also rumoured to be stepping down later this week. (NYT $)
RUSSIA
Putin’s finance minister has — at DC’s invitation — made a surprise appearance at a G20 finance ministerial in North Carolina, angering European representatives who later ensured the traditional ‘family photo’ proceeded without him. Secretary Bessent met Siluanov on the sidelines and reportedly told him there’ll be no sanctions relief or new deals while Putin’s war continues. (CNBC)Comment: It’s hard to know what’s more significant: that the US itself just invited Russia’s finance minister back into the G20 fold for the first time since Putin attempted his full-scale invasion of a neighbour, or that US allies seemingly got zero heads-up.
UNITED STATES
Longtime hardware engineering chief John Ternus has now officially taken over as Apple CEO, with Tim Cook sliding to Exec Chair (as both Trump and Beijing-whisperer) after 15 years in charge. (WSJ $)
VENEZUELA
The White House is now briefing Reuters reporters that six of the 14 Venezuelan oil fields covered by President Trump’s “biggest oil deal in world history” were previously run by firms out of China (5) and Russia (1). (Reuters)
GERMANY
Merz’s centre-right government is moving to turn June’s expert pension report into law from 2027: end the popular ‘45 years, out at 63’ track, add a Swedish-style capital fund that invests contributions, and let the official pension age drift up with life expectancy. (EBM)
ARGENTINA
President Milei has led a wave of global tributes, dubbing football legend Lionel Messi the “impossible man” after the 39-year-old announced his retirement from international football. (Messi’s Instagram)
SPAIN
Spain’s shockingly handsome Pedro Sánchez argues EU diplomats have found that Russian and Israeli-linked networks amplified disinformation amid July’s migrant crisis in Spain’s north African exclave of Ceuta. Both Israel and Russia have rejected the allegations, and there’s no sign (yet?) of the EU report. (Guardian)
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