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TOKYO (AP) — Three times a week, Akiko Sugaya pushes a pink cart through the narrow, winding streets of eastern Tokyo, tooting a small brass bugle and wearing a straw hat as she hawks tofu — the protein-packed soybean staple beloved across much of Asia.

But selling soybean curd in its many forms is only part of what drives her. For Sugaya, this is something far greater than a job. It’s a calling.

Beyond being a purveyor of nutritious food, she functions as an informal community watchdog, keeping an eye on the elderly residents she visits along her route through Tokyo’s Ojima neighborhood — a mostly residential area of modest homes interspersed with stretches of larger apartment buildings.

She knows her customers’ routines the way a family member might, and they know hers. Over the years, she has lost several elderly regulars who passed away alone — a growing reality in Japan, which ranks among the countries with the oldest populations on earth.

“More than once I was the first one to find their bodies,” Sugaya said, speaking from a small shop she also operates on a busy commercial street in the neighborhood.

She explained that access is rarely a barrier in the area. “In an area like this, some people just leave their doors unlocked,” she said. “Or I can get access by asking the landlords.”

In smaller homes along the street, warning signs are easy to spot — newspapers piling up outside or laundry left unattended. Larger apartment complexes, however, make it much harder to notice when something might be wrong.

Sugaya has been making her rounds for 23 years, and the work has given her as much as she’s given her customers. She says she was bullied growing up and lost several jobs before discovering that delivering quality food could feed her own sense of purpose as much as it nourished others.

“Selling tofu on a cart made me think I am OK to be myself,” she said. “I used to be repeatedly put down, but through cart-selling I built up my self-esteem.”

“I was still nervous with women around my age,” she added. “But I felt safe when surrounded by the elderly whose smiles are warm and kind.”

One of her regular visitors is Shinji Saito, who stops by her shop every day. Saito, who has epilepsy, describes Sugaya’s welcoming nature as “magical.”

She also represents a fading tradition. There was a time when vendors routinely walked neighborhood streets offering ramen, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and other goods. That era has largely given way to delivery apps and smartphone orders.

“Delivery of newspapers or tofu, what used to be part of our daily lives, have been replaced by delivery apps or smart phones,” Sugaya said. “One can easily spend a day without having any verbal conversation with others.”

“When you go to a convenience store, you hit a button on a screen and don’t even say hello to anyone. It leaves you empty,” she added.

Her three-hour afternoon walks take her through a labyrinth of streets where sales are sometimes sparse but conversations are plentiful. One customer comes out to buy tofu and ends up chatting about her mischievous cat and a wild vine growing in the garden. Another reminds Sugaya that her kind of work is becoming a lost art.

Regular customer Toshi Niiyama, who calls Sugaya by her nickname “Ako-chan,” said she purposely holds off buying tofu elsewhere just to wait for her arrival. “Even when I’m in need of tofu, I tell myself I’d better wait for Ako-chan,” Niiyama said. “We used to have someone coming to sell vegetables, but he stopped coming.”

Sugaya has no intention of following suit.

“I go this way on Mondays, that way on Saturdays and that way on Thursdays,” she said. “I go even if it’s raining because my customers expect to see me — or just because they want to have a talk.”

Japan’s producer price index climbed 7.1% in June compared to the same period a year ago, surpassing what market analysts had anticipated and marking an acceleration from the previous month’s revised figure of 6.6%.

Economists had forecast a 6.8% increase, but the actual numbers came in higher, reflecting intensifying inflationary pressure stemming from the energy disruption linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Adding to the strain, Japan’s yen-based import price index jumped 29.7% year-over-year in June — a sharp acceleration from a revised 26.1% gain recorded in May. The data was published Friday by the Bank of Japan.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing behind his decision to visit Saudi Arabia, pushing back against critics and arguing that condemning nations from a distance accomplishes little. Speaking Thursday from the Saudi city of Jeddah, Carney called out-of-country lecturing “an ineffective strategy” — one that may feel good but produces no real results.

The trip marks the first time a Canadian head of government has traveled to Saudi Arabia in 26 years. While there, Carney sat down with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who holds the real power in the kingdom.

The visit comes as Carney works to broaden Canada’s economic relationships beyond its heavy dependence on the United States, looking for new trade partners and investment sources as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement put pressure on the existing arrangement.

“Lecturing countries from afar is an ineffective strategy,” Carney told reporters in Jeddah. “It’s satisfying, but it’s ineffective.” He was careful to add that direct engagement “doesn’t mean that we agree with everything that a country is doing.”

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has been under an international microscope since the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. A U.S. intelligence assessment determined that Crown Prince Mohammed likely gave the green light for the operation — something Saudi Arabia continues to deny.

Carney also told reporters in Jeddah that the global landscape is growing more unstable and fragmented, making it essential for Canada to build stronger ties with partners outside the United States, its biggest trading partner.

The approach stands in sharp contrast to that of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government openly criticized Saudi Arabia’s human rights practices in 2018. That public rebuke triggered a five-year diplomatic falling-out, during which Riyadh expelled Canada’s ambassador, froze new trade and investment deals, and pulled thousands of Saudi students from Canadian schools. The two countries didn’t fully restore diplomatic relations until 2023.

Carney insisted he takes human rights seriously, pointing to a consular case he raised personally with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, earlier this week. “Because I was with the president, it was addressed favorably. If I sat in Ottawa … I wouldn’t have had that conversation. I wouldn’t have had that impact. That’s a small example,” he said.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, who traveled with Carney to Saudi Arabia, said she also brought up human rights concerns and consular cases in her own meetings.

Saudi Arabia, for its part, has been eager to draw in foreign investment as Crown Prince Mohammed pushes an ambitious plan to shift the kingdom’s economy away from its reliance on oil. Saudi Investment Minister Fahad Al-Saif described Canada as “a trusted long-term partner” and said Saudi investors bring “patient capital” to the table.

On Thursday, Carney took part in a signing ceremony for 13 commercial deals and memorandums of understanding between Canadian and Saudi companies and institutions — including engineering firms Hatch and AtkinsRéalis. The prime minister’s office said those agreements are valued at more than 1 billion Canadian dollars, or roughly $710 million U.S.

Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, offered perspective on Carney’s approach. “Carney says he is taking the world as it is,” Wiseman said. “It doesn’t mean looking beyond human rights; it means being realistic about what preaching about it to authoritarian leaders can accomplish.”

Carney is scheduled to return to Canada on Friday.

BRASILIA — Brazil’s Federal Police moved against communications executive Thiago Miranda on Thursday as part of the ongoing investigation into the collapsed Banco Master bank, according to a court ruling made public that day.

Miranda had been brought on by banker Daniel Vorcaro to lead a public relations campaign defending the now-shuttered financial institution. The operation marks the latest development in a scandal that has been steadily expanding since Banco Master was shut down by Brazil’s central bank last year following a liquidity crisis.

Vorcaro was taken into custody back in March, and his case has since revealed what authorities describe as a broad network of influence that has shaken public confidence in government officials.

A ruling from Supreme Court Justice Andre Mendonca outlined the basis for Thursday’s action, which included allegations that Miranda’s activities involved attacks targeting the central bank and the creation of a dossier on Milton Maluhy Filho, the chief executive of lender Itau Unibanco.

Justice Mendonca authorized law enforcement to seize electronic devices — including computers and mobile phones — along with documents, financial records, cash, and other materials found at multiple locations connected to Miranda.

According to the court ruling, evidence gathered by officials suggests Miranda arranged for social media influencers to publicly support Banco Master while criticizing the central bank. Investigators also believe he may have played a role in efforts to intimidate members of the press and conduct unlawful surveillance of certain individuals.

Miranda, who owns a communications firm, had previously been considered only a witness in the Banco Master investigation. He had cooperated with authorities, sharing details about Vorcaro’s earlier efforts to defend the bank publicly.

However, a review of messages exchanged between Miranda and Vorcaro led investigators to conclude that Miranda had taken an active role in collecting information about some of Vorcaro’s targets — including the Itau CEO and a well-known journalist.

Reuters was unable to reach Miranda for comment, and no legal representatives could be identified or contacted on his behalf. Itau Unibanco declined to offer any statement on the matter.

North Korea has announced a series of steps aimed at boosting its nuclear capabilities both in size and sophistication, according to a report Friday from the country’s state-run news agency, KCNA.

The decisions were made during an expanded session of the Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission on Thursday. During the meeting, leader Kim Jong Un pushed for a broad modernization of the country’s armed forces.

Kim stated that the nation’s security and what he described as “true peace” can only be achieved by developing a military strong enough to counter any threat it faces, KCNA reported.

The commission laid out a set of goals that include overhauling the technical infrastructure supporting combat systems, growing and reinforcing nuclear forces, and bringing military installations up to modern, standardized standards, according to the report.

Officials at the meeting also took up the question of broadening the responsibilities of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the country’s military intelligence arm, with the goal of sharpening its ability to gather information and conduct surveillance.

Additionally, KCNA reported that the session covered plans to build new, modern naval facilities and boost the capacity of shipyards — moves the agency said reflect a significant shift in the importance and mission of North Korea’s navy.

Syrian authorities announced Thursday that they have taken several suspects into custody in connection with a series of recent explosions in Damascus, including bombings that occurred during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the country earlier this week.

According to a statement from Syria’s Interior Ministry, security forces conducted raids in and around the Syrian capital and “succeeded in dismantling the entire cell responsible” for the attacks. Officials did not release any information about who the suspects are or what group they may be affiliated with.

On Tuesday, explosive devices were placed inside a garbage bin and a parked vehicle while Macron was making a historic visit to Syria — a nation still working to recover from years of civil war. Macron was inside the presidential palace when the blasts went off. He was unharmed and proceeded with his scheduled meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Syria’s Ministry of Health confirmed that the explosions resulted in one death and 36 injuries in the final casualty count.

Prior to those bombings, an explosive device went off last week at a cafe located near Damascus’s main judicial complex, leaving at least 10 people dead and more than 20 wounded.

No group has come forward to claim responsibility for either attack.

The bombings represent a significant challenge to al-Sharaa, who has been working to consolidate control over Syria. He has reached out to minority groups who are skeptical of his government’s Islamist-led leadership and has sought backing from Western governments wary of his past role heading Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group formerly tied to al-Qaida.

Al-Sharaa’s government has pledged political and economic reforms following decades of authoritarian rule under the Assad family. That era came to an end when former President Bashar Assad was removed from power during an insurgent offensive in December 2024, led by al-Sharaa.

Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war claimed close to half a million lives and forced millions of people from their homes, leaving widespread destruction and crumbling infrastructure. While other nations and businesses have pledged major investments, the country still requires hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild and lift its population out of poverty.

CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela — Weeks after powerful back-to-back earthquakes devastated parts of Venezuela, both survivors of the disaster and others in surrounding communities are overwhelming relief services being provided by nongovernmental organizations in the most severely affected areas.

The mounting demand for assistance comes as the United Nations announced an appeal for approximately $300 million to reach 1.3 million people in desperate need of help across the South American nation — a country where nongovernmental organizations had until recently faced government crackdowns. Mobile kitchens, traveling clinics, and field hospitals have now been set up in public spaces throughout the northern state of La Guaira, which bore the brunt of the destruction.

U.N. relief chief Tom Fletcher visited Venezuela and spoke with the Associated Press about what he is witnessing on the ground. “It is clear at displacement sites that, particularly after two weeks, that people are turning up because they haven’t been able to get their other treatments,” Fletcher said. “So, they’re not turning up with just the fractures now, they’re turning up with those longer-term health needs. And it’s vital that we’re there for them.”

Medical workers treating patients in the community of Catia La Mar on Thursday reported a noticeable rise in skin problems and diarrheal illnesses, along with a growing number of requests for medications used to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Health officials noted that the worsening conditions are linked to overcrowded living spaces and inadequate access to clean water and sanitation — problems that existed in many communities even before the earthquakes struck.

One resident, 67-year-old Irma Echarri, arrived at a sidewalk mobile medical unit across from a local church clutching the boxes of her usual eyedrops and pain medication, hoping medical staff could replenish her supply. She also sought help for nose pain that developed following the June 24 earthquakes.

“It hurts a lot,” Echarri said while waiting to be seen. “It hurts because it hurts.”

Although Echarri’s own home was left intact, many of her neighbors have been displaced. Venezuelan officials report that 190 buildings collapsed and another 856 were damaged in the twin earthquakes, which claimed the lives of 3,811 people.

The government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez has estimated that roughly 18,000 people were left homeless by the disaster. Those displaced are now sheltering in schools, on sidewalks, in parks, plazas, and other public areas.

Fletcher, who leads the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the AP that the United States has contributed the largest share of earthquake relief aid so far. Much of the on-the-ground assistance is being carried out by local Venezuelan organizations working alongside international humanitarian groups.

Among those seeking care is 41-year-old Zulbey Reyes, who visited a clinic run by the Venezuela-based organization Paluz in collaboration with the global relief agency International Rescue Committee. Reyes, who also lost her job as a nanny due to the earthquakes, came in for newly developed chest pain.

“I thought it was my heart that was sick,” Reyes said after receiving a diagnosis and medication. “But it’s a nerve that became inflamed after the screams that day.”

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has placed the total direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure at around $37 billion.

The open presence of nongovernmental organizations operating freely in Venezuela stands in sharp contrast to the persecution and restrictions they faced in recent years. During the tenure of former President Nicolás Maduro — when acting President Rodríguez served as vice president — these organizations were repeatedly accused of working against the government, and the U.N.’s local human rights office was expelled from the country.

Fletcher acknowledged the political shift, saying: “When you have a crisis of this magnitude, people put the politics to one side and are able to focus on saving as many lives as possible, and that’s what I’m seeing so far in this response.”

BOGOTA, Colombia — A decade after Colombia reached a landmark peace agreement with a now-defunct rebel organization, the court established to address crimes from that conflict is in jeopardy — threatened by a newly elected president who wants to shut it down.

The court, officially called the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, or SJP, has been a source of national controversy ever since it was created, much like the peace deal itself with the rebel group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Colombia’s president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella — who has received an endorsement from U.S. President Donald Trump — has called the tribunal a “failed” institution. However, analysts and legal professionals caution that dismantling it will be far from straightforward, given both constitutional protections and international legal commitments.

The court is shielded by Colombia’s Constitution and has the backing of the International Criminal Court, the world’s foremost international justice body. That court wrapped up its own nearly 20-year preliminary investigation into Colombia back in 2021, determining that the country was fulfilling its global justice responsibilities — a conclusion largely based on the Colombian tribunal’s progress.

Alejandro Ramelli, who leads the tribunal, told The Associated Press that the closure of the international investigation was conditional on the SJP continuing its operations. Without that, he said, Colombia would be in violation of its obligations to the world court.

The SJP’s mission is to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity through 2028, followed by an additional five-year window for trials. After that, Colombia’s Congress would weigh in on whether to extend the court’s term by another five years.

Despite the peace agreement, Colombia has not fully escaped its cycle of violence. Armed criminal groups continue battling over drug trafficking revenues and illegal mining operations. These include FARC splinter factions that rejected the peace deal, the National Liberation Army — known as the ELN — and the Clan del Golfo cartel.

Those who support the tribunal view it as a historic achievement that helped bring Latin America’s longest-running guerrilla conflict to an end and brought accountability for serious atrocities. Critics, on the other hand, contend the court is unfairly biased against former military members.

Since beginning operations in 2018, the SJP has taken on cases involving more than 14,000 individuals accused of crimes tied to the conflict. Roughly 70% of those are former FARC fighters, 29% are former members of the country’s security forces, and the remainder are civilians.

Iván Cancino, designated by de la Espriella to serve as justice minister, told radio station Caracol Radio on Wednesday that he has no plans to eliminate the SJP outright, but intends to hold it accountable for results and scrutinize how it spends its budget.

Outgoing President Gustavo Petro has also been critical of the SJP during his time in office, though this week he posted on X that the tribunal’s budget “must be strengthened,” adding that “establishing the judicial truth about the conflict is fundamental to national reconciliation.”

Ramelli warned the AP that cutting the court’s funding “would seriously affect the fundamental right of access to justice,” particularly for victims of the armed conflict. He also cautioned that an “abrupt termination” of the court would leave the legal process in limbo.

He highlighted key rulings the court has already delivered — including findings against the former FARC leadership for more than 21,000 kidnappings, and against a group of former military personnel for more than 100 extrajudicial killings. In both instances, those found responsible acknowledged their actions and received alternative sentences — no prison time, but requirements to carry out projects that benefit victims. The court has also issued a 20-year prison sentence to a former soldier who denied involvement in extrajudicial killings.

“What is the value of the truths uncovered through the judicial process?” Ramelli said. “We now know the true scale of FARC kidnappings, the recruitment of more than 18,677 children, the sexual violence committed by the FARC and the extrajudicial killings carried out by security forces.”

“The country simply did not know the full extent of these crimes,” he added.

Iran fired eight missiles toward Jordan on Thursday in what reports described as an attack aimed at a US military base in the country. Jordanian air defenses successfully shot down all eight missiles before they could cause any harm.

Jordan’s state news agency confirmed that every missile was intercepted after warning sirens rang out across the country. No injuries or property damage were reported. State broadcaster Al-Mamlaka stated, “Alarm sirens sounded in Jordan on Thursday to alert citizens and urge them to follow instructions.”

According to the broadcaster, the Jordanian Armed Forces were placed on high alert and stood ready to respond to any threat to national security. Reports also indicated that the warning sirens could be heard in several Israeli communities located in the Jordan Valley.

At the same time, Iranian officials confirmed that the United States carried out additional military strikes on targets within Iran’s borders.

Iran’s deputy governor of Bushehr province told state media that a US projectile hit the area surrounding the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The official indicated that multiple locations throughout Bushehr province — including areas near the nuclear facility — were struck during the attacks.

In a separate development, Iran’s Fars news agency reported that overnight US strikes caused damage to the Aq Takeh Khan railway bridge in Golestan province, located in northern Iran.

Fars described the bridge as a component of a rail corridor linking Iran to China and Russia by way of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. The agency noted that the route has grown increasingly vital during this year’s US blockade of Iran’s Gulf ports, and has also been used by Russia to move cargo into Iran since late 2025.

A newly released report from NGO Monitor is raising serious concerns about the network of organizations that orchestrated protests across the United Kingdom in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks, pointing to coordinated operations, murky financial structures, and in some instances, connections to extremist actors.

The report tracked 40 major demonstrations and mobilization efforts that took place after October 7, 2023, pinpointing organizations and individuals it says were repeatedly involved in planning, funding, and carrying out protest-related activities. Contrary to how many of these events were presented publicly, the report concludes they were not spontaneous grassroots movements but rather the product of a coordinated international advocacy network.

According to the report’s findings, at least 11 of the 40 organizations examined either have direct ties to extremist groups or include officials who have met with or worked alongside the Iranian regime, its Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hamas, Hezbollah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or the Muslim Brotherhood.

The report also highlights overlapping leadership roles among six key coordinating organizations. It specifically names Jeremy Corbyn as holding the positions of vice president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, deputy president of the Stop the War Coalition, and patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The report notes that funding sources for his organization, the People’s Forum UK, remain unknown.

Youth outreach emerged as a significant component of the campaign activity documented in the report. It identifies Amnesty International UK as running a program focused on anti-Israel activism that trains hundreds of young people in protest rights, media strategy, and campaign organizing. The group Friends of Al-Aqsa was also cited for encouraging young people to take part in pro-Palestinian activism.

When it comes to organizational structure, the report found that 10 of the 40 groups are registered charities, eight are companies, nine are hybrid entities, and 13 operate entirely outside any formal UK regulatory framework — despite collecting substantial amounts of public money. Nineteen of the organizations receive funding through the UK government via the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office or Gift Aid. At least 11 receive taxpayer money from other countries, including the United States, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the European Commission.

Among its policy recommendations, the report urges stricter financial disclosure requirements, stronger oversight of foreign funding, more rigorous vetting processes for government grants, regulation of cryptocurrency-based fundraising, updated guidance from the Charity Commission, and formal inquiries by both government and parliament into how these protest networks are financed and coordinated.

The report additionally calls on the UK to formally designate the IRGC, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Muslim Brotherhood as proscribed organizations, and to take action against any groups found to be engaged in or supporting violence.

Iran fired eight missiles toward Jordan on Thursday in what reports described as an attack aimed at a US military base located in the country. Jordanian air defenses successfully intercepted all eight projectiles before they could cause any harm.

According to Jordan’s state news agency, warning sirens rang out across the kingdom before all missiles were brought down. No injuries or property damage were reported. State broadcaster Al-Mamlaka noted, “Alarm sirens sounded in Jordan on Thursday to alert citizens and urge them to follow instructions.”

Al-Mamlaka also reported that the Jordanian Armed Forces were placed on high alert and stood ready to respond to any threat to the nation’s security. Reports indicated that warning sirens were also heard in a number of Israeli communities located in the Jordan Valley.

At the same time, Iranian officials confirmed that the United States carried out additional military strikes on targets within Iran. Iran’s deputy governor of Bushehr province told state media that a US projectile struck the area surrounding the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The official added that several locations throughout Bushehr province, including areas near the nuclear facility, were hit during the attacks.

In northern Iran, the Fars news agency reported that overnight US strikes caused damage to the Aq Takeh Khan railway bridge in Golestan province. Fars described the bridge as part of a rail corridor linking Iran with China and Russia through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. The agency noted that the route had grown in strategic importance during this year’s US blockade of Iran’s Gulf ports and had also been used by Russia to move cargo into Iran since late 2025.

A small earthquake rattled the Czech Republic on Thursday, but it turned out to be far less powerful than early reports suggested, according to geophysics agencies and the Czech news agency CTK.

Germany’s Research Centre for Geosciences, known as GFZ, had initially posted on its website that a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck the area around Plzen, a city located 93 kilometers — roughly 60 miles — southwest of Prague. However, the actual magnitude was later determined to be just 1.8.

Seismic monitoring stations within the Czech Republic also detected a weak tremor, though officials said the precise strength and location would need further analysis. CTK cited Ales Spicak, the director of the country’s Institute of Geophysics, in reporting those details.

To put the numbers in perspective, a 4.6 magnitude quake — the strongest ever recorded in the Czech Republic, which occurred in 1985 — is typically felt by people but causes little to no damage. A 5.5 magnitude event, by contrast, can cause structural damage to buildings that are not well constructed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed Thursday that a Russian strike earlier this week targeted an ammunition depot in the Kyiv region, and announced that a criminal investigation has been opened in response.

The attack struck the small town of Vyshneve, located on the western outskirts of Kyiv, on July 6. The strike hit the weapons warehouse and triggered a chain of powerful secondary explosions. Ukrainian officials reported that 10 people lost their lives and hundreds of residential structures were damaged in the blast.

Speaking to journalists through a WhatsApp media chat, Zelenskiy did not hold back in his assessment of the situation. “As for the investigation into the explosion in Vyshneve, the situation is absolutely appalling: There was an ammunition depot in Vyshneve. The enemy struck this depot, causing a large number of casualties and significant losses,” he said.

It is uncommon for Ukrainian officials to publicly acknowledge damage to military targets following Russian strikes, making Zelenskiy’s admission notable.

The president said a criminal case has been opened and that officials at Ukroboronprom — the state-owned weapons manufacturer that owned the warehouse — would be held accountable, with some facing termination from their positions.

The incident has generated significant public anger, with local residents accusing authorities of negligence and complaining that they were kept in the dark about the presence of the ammunition depot in their community.

A senior United Nations official delivered alarming numbers to the Security Council on Thursday, reporting that Russian strikes claimed the lives of at least 265 civilians in Ukraine during June and left 1,816 others wounded — the worst combined civilian casualty toll recorded since the earliest weeks of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo noted that May had already set a grim benchmark, recording the highest civilian casualties since April 2022. However, figures from the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights showed June’s numbers were even worse — and early indicators suggest July may follow the same pattern.

A U.N. spokesperson confirmed that the complete and final data for June will be made public in late July.

“This concerning trend is seemingly continuing into July,” DiCarlo told the Security Council, pointing to three large-scale waves of Russian aerial attacks that struck Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in just the past week, with many of those strikes aimed at densely populated urban areas.

“Any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately,” she said.

DiCarlo also presented the broader wartime toll, stating that the U.N. has verified at least 16,402 civilian deaths in Ukraine since the war began — among them 802 children — along with 48,428 injuries, including 2,948 children. She cautioned that the true numbers are likely even higher than what has been officially confirmed.

She added that civilians living in Ukrainian territories currently under Russian occupation, as well as people inside Russia itself, have also suffered casualties. Russian authorities have reported that 250 civilians were killed and 1,596 injured inside Russia during the first six months of 2026, though DiCarlo noted the U.N. has not been able to independently verify those figures.

NAIROBI, Kenya — African nations have secured $900 million in new financial pledges aimed at expanding access to cleaner cooking technologies, the International Energy Agency announced Thursday.

The fresh commitment adds to the $2.2 billion raised at the first-ever Africa Clean Cooking Summit held in Paris in 2024, pushing the overall total to more than $3.1 billion. Those funds are earmarked to broaden access to cleaner cooking fuels, stoves, and supporting infrastructure throughout the continent.

The announcement came during a virtual meeting on clean cooking in Africa, organized jointly by the IEA and Kenya. Participants reviewed how much progress has been made since the Paris gathering and discussed priorities leading up to the next summit, scheduled for later this year.

Close to 1 billion people across Africa still do not have access to clean cooking options, instead depending on charcoal, firewood, and other polluting fuels. The IEA estimates these fuels contribute to roughly 850,000 premature deaths each year.

The virtual meeting included Kenyan President William Ruto, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, African Union commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Lerato Mataboge, and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, among other participants.

Clean cooking involves the use of low-emission fuels and technologies — including ethanol, biogas, and electricity — as alternatives to traditional options like charcoal and firewood. Making the switch reduces dangerous indoor air pollution and leads to better health outcomes for millions of African families.

Wright emphasized the significance of the issue, saying, “Access to clean cooking is one of the most impactful yet overlooked challenges of our time,” and noting that it directly touches the lives of billions of people, especially women and children.

President Ruto pointed to funding as the central barrier to achieving widespread clean cooking access across Africa. “Ambition alone is not enough. It must be backed by investment,” he said.

Birol reported that IEA tracking data shows $740 million — roughly one-third of what was pledged in Paris — has already been put to work across 22 African countries. “The additional $900 million in commitments demonstrates growing momentum, with more expected before the next summit,” he added.

The IEA also released a new report indicating that governments have enacted 121 new clean cooking policies across more than 30 African countries since the Paris summit. Those nations represent approximately 80% of Africans currently without access to clean cooking options.

The agency said it is partnering with the African Union to help governments build stronger national clean cooking policies as part of a continent-wide strategy ahead of the next summit.

Additionally, the IEA launched a new public-private initiative called the Clean Cooking Security Programme, designed to reinforce global supply chains for cooking fuels — particularly liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG. The program was prompted in part by shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year, which impacted roughly 30% of globally traded LPG. More than 3.4 billion people around the world rely on LPG as their main cooking fuel.

The program will offer technical assistance to nations looking to improve their fuel security and explore ways to deepen international cooperation on clean cooking supply chains.

LONDON — Senior British law enforcement officials are sounding the alarm about the growing role that technology and online platforms are playing in threats against the United Kingdom, with hostile foreign governments, extremist groups, and far-right organizations all increasingly exploiting the digital landscape.

Vicki Evans, a senior national coordinator for counterterrorism at the Metropolitan Police, described an ongoing “continual battle” against online threats and stressed that law enforcement cannot tackle the problem without assistance from technology companies. “It’s not something we can do alone,” she said.

Laurence Taylor, head of counterterrorism police, noted that while Islamic extremism continues to pose the greatest overall threat, dangers posed by far-right groups and hostile foreign states have grown considerably over the past five years.

Evans described the threat from hostile states as the “most rapidly escalating mission” currently facing counterterrorism police.

Several high-profile cases have underscored the danger. In July, two Romanian men were sent to prison for stabbing a journalist from a Persian-language television station — an attack the judge said was carried out on behalf of Iran’s government. In June, a Ukrainian man and a Romanian man were jailed for their involvement in setting fire to property connected to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a plot that fits the profile of Russian state-sponsored sabotage. And in May, a U.K. border official and former Hong Kong police officer were convicted of spying for China.

Evans revealed that in 2025 alone, police have identified more than 20 Iranian-backed plots targeting the U.K., including planned assassinations and kidnappings. Investigators are also looking into whether a series of arson attacks on Jewish sites earlier this year may be connected to Iran.

Russia, she added, has been running a “constant stream of surveillance plots” against individuals and institutions in Britain. The goal, she said, is to target people Russian officials view as enemies, work their way into everyday life, and recruit individuals willing to spread Russian narratives or carry out tasks on Moscow’s behalf.

Across Europe, Russia has used messaging apps like Telegram to recruit dozens of people to commit acts of vandalism and arson — including the torching of a London warehouse that housed communications equipment destined for Ukraine. The ringleader of that plot, Dylan Earl, was recruited through Telegram by the Wagner Group, a mercenary organization acting on behalf of Moscow that has been designated a terrorist group by the U.K. government.

Evans also disclosed that teenagers as young as 15 have been arrested in connection with these proxy plots. She warned that “anyone could be targeted,” particularly through online channels.

“This isn’t something that’s happening elsewhere,” Evans said, speaking to reporters at New Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police’s headquarters. “It’s happening here. This risk is in our neighborhoods, in our online spaces and in our workplaces.”

Taylor said the U.K.’s national threat level was elevated in April from “substantial” to “severe,” due in part to a significant rise in cases tied to extreme far-right ideologies. Police have observed a surge in what officials called “vile” online content — a mix of racism, misogyny, and extreme homophobia — with the number of such cases approaching 800.

Taylor said extreme viewpoints are facing less and less pushback, creating an environment where previously unacceptable ideas are becoming more widespread. He pointed to the case of 18-year-old Alina Burns, who was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison in May after attacking a stranger with an ax — a crime Taylor said was driven by her extreme right-wing beliefs. He also cited Alfie Coleman, a 22-year-old sentenced Wednesday to 13.5 years in prison for attempting to purchase a firearm from an undercover MI5 officer — a man who, Taylor said, was radicalized online beginning at age 14.

Evans explained that those exploiting young people online are deliberately crafting content designed to appeal to them, blending propaganda with gaming footage, historical imagery, and music. Young people are then encouraged to carry out violent acts in real life — including being urged to “recreate” brutal scenarios from video games, she said.

In some cases, Evans said, “sadistic online groups” pit users against each other in competitions to cause harm, whether through cyberattacks, extremist activity, serious violence, child sexual abuse, or even terrorism.

The sheer volume of disturbing content online — including extreme violence and graphic imagery — has left some people with a distorted view of what is normal, Evans said, making them especially susceptible to manipulation by outside actors, including foreign governments.

While the British government has announced plans to ban social media use for those under 16, Evans said that measure alone is not sufficient. She called for sustained pressure on technology companies to take a more active role in reducing harmful content online, noting that laws and regulations tend to become outdated quickly while social platforms continue to have powerful tools for pushing content toward young users.

“The tipping point is very swift and steep,” Evans said, describing how quickly some individuals can be drawn into dangerous online spaces.

Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab announced Thursday that the group behind what he described as “terrorist” bombings in Damascus earlier this week has been apprehended, according to Syrian state television.

Khattab said authorities plan to publicly disclose the identities of those arrested, their individual roles, and all connections they may have had — but only after investigators have finished their work.

The bombings took place Tuesday when two explosive devices went off near a hotel in Damascus where French President Emmanuel Macron was staying overnight. The blasts injured 18 people and put a dark cloud over what was a significant diplomatic moment — the first trip to Syria by a head of state from the European Union since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

ANKARA — When allied leaders arrived at this week’s NATO summit in Turkey, they faced a familiar question: which version of the U.S. president would show up — the one who champions the alliance, or the one who threatens to tear it apart?

As it turned out, they got a little of both.

Shortly after arriving Tuesday, Trump publicly blasted the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy, accusing those nations of failing to back the United States in its war with Iran. Wednesday morning brought more turbulence, when Trump announced he would cut off all trade with Spain, calling the country a “terrible partner” and accusing it of blocking the war effort while not spending enough on defense.

“I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits, OK?” Trump said, directing his remarks to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Trump also renewed his push for U.S. control over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory — a demand that has already caused significant tension within the alliance.

Yet by Wednesday evening, the tone had shifted dramatically. Trump was applauding those same European leaders for boosting their defense budgets, and he described a private session among NATO heads of state as brimming with “love.”

“It was sort of pretty wild,” Trump reflected before a packed room of journalists.

The mood swings were jarring but not entirely surprising. NATO leaders, who experienced a similar rollercoaster at last year’s summit, have learned to manage Trump through careful diplomacy — and, when necessary, outright flattery.

In his meeting with Trump, Rutte praised the president’s military strikes on Iran and credited him with pushing Europe to spend more on defense. “Grab the win. It’s there. You did it,” Rutte told him.

Trump appeared to take the advice to heart and later acknowledged that the private charm offensive from European leaders had worked on him.

“They said, ‘Sir, we love you.’ These are grown people saying that. Isn’t that nice?” Trump told reporters. “Maybe they’re doing it to get to me. And in a way they did.”

Diplomats noted that while Trump’s public outbursts made headlines, his tone in closed-door sessions was noticeably calmer. Multiple diplomats said he did not repeat his threats against Spain or bring up Greenland during the private leaders’ meeting.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez downplayed the earlier confrontation, describing his conversation with Trump as “very cordial.”

Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that afternoon, offering praise for the Ukrainian leader — a welcome development for officials in Kyiv who have navigated a turbulent relationship with Washington.

When Trump stepped before cameras at the summit’s closing press conference, NATO officials breathed a collective sigh of relief. No new disputes had erupted among allies.

“They have a lot of good in their heart, not evil, good, and they’re doing a great job for their country,” Trump said of allied leaders.

Still, veteran diplomats are not counting on the warm feelings to hold. At last year’s NATO gathering in The Hague, Trump also praised the alliance’s leadership — only to host Russian President Vladimir Putin in the United States weeks later for a meeting that allies privately criticized.

On the flight back home, Trump called Spain “very generous” and praised NATO’s “tremendous unity” — then, moments later, repeated a threat to withdraw additional American troops from Europe.

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Thousands of people took to the streets of Hungary’s capital on Thursday to push back against efforts by the country’s new government to remove President Tamás Sulyok from office. The rally was organized by the far-right Fidesz party and promoted heavily by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, though Orbán himself did not show up.

Demonstrators crowded around the presidential offices at the grand Sándor Palace in Budapest’s Castle District, voicing support for Sulyok. The new center-right government has pledged to remove him through a constitutional amendment that is scheduled for a parliamentary vote next week.

The amendment would cut short Sulyok’s term in office and also introduce term limits for members of parliament, carry out changes to the court system, and establish a new body to investigate alleged financial wrongdoing during Orbán’s time in power.

Orbán’s 16-year grip on Hungary came to an end following a decisive election defeat in April. The winner of that vote, new pro-European Prime Minister Péter Magyar, has moved aggressively to undo what he describes as Orbán’s “mafia” — removing political appointees and institutional leaders he says helped sustain Orbán’s authoritarian rule.

Magyar has argued that Sulyok, who was appointed during the Orbán era, failed in his presidential duties by not blocking antidemocratic actions taken by Orbán’s government. He made removing Sulyok a central campaign promise and points to his party’s two-thirds majority in parliament as a voter mandate to follow through.

Though the Hungarian presidency is largely ceremonial, the president holds the power to sign legislation into law and can refer bills to the constitutional court for review. Supporters of Magyar’s new government have expressed concern that Sulyok could use those powers to block the administration’s agenda.

One demonstrator at Thursday’s protest, Krisztina Nemerkényi, said the gathering was about more than just one individual. “The point is not whether Tamás Sulyok is popular or not, but that this is simply unacceptable in a democracy,” she said, adding that the protest was “not about the person of Sulyok, but about the office.”

Fidesz lawmaker János Pócs told the Associated Press at the rally that while his party had amended Hungary’s constitution many times — making 15 changes to the document it wrote on its own in 2011 — those changes were made “always in the interest of the country, in order to protect the country, but not for the sake of dictatorship.”

Orbán and Fidesz have characterized the push to remove Sulyok as an attack on democratic principles and the rule of law, and warned it represents an early move toward authoritarian rule — a charge that critics find ironic given Fidesz’s own record in power.

Since taking office in May, Magyar’s government has moved quickly on other campaign pledges as well. It suspended Hungary’s public television and radio news service, which Magyar has called a “propaganda factory” for Orbán’s party. The government also put an eight-year cap on how long a prime minister can serve and removed the heads of the national security and intelligence agencies that operated under Orbán.

Additionally, the new government managed to unlock 16.4 billion euros — roughly $19 billion — in European Union funds that had been withheld from Hungary by pushing through rapid reforms aimed at reversing democratic backsliding that took place during Orbán’s tenure.

LONDON — Andy Burnham, who is widely expected to be named Britain’s next prime minister before the end of the month, has spoken out about the need for the United Kingdom to take a stronger stance against the Israeli government regarding its conduct in Gaza, according to a report published Thursday by the Guardian.

In the interview, Burnham took aim at how current Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially handled Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which began in October 2023 following an attack on Israel carried out by Hamas-led gunmen.

“We’ve got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government … Yes, we have taken some important steps … But let’s be honest, the UK was too slow to call for a ceasefire. And we must now do more to strengthen our approach,” Burnham said.

Starmer had initially pushed back against calls from within his own party — including from Burnham, who was serving as a regional mayor at the time — to demand a ceasefire, opting instead to support a humanitarian pause in the fighting.

Starmer eventually did call for a ceasefire and has since spoken out against the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. His government has also imposed sanctions on far-right Israeli cabinet ministers and formally extended recognition to a Palestinian state.

While a ceasefire reached last year brought the two-year conflict to a close, Israel’s military has continued conducting strikes in Gaza as part of the broader regional conflict involving Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, pointing to ongoing threats or fire from Hamas as justification.

Burnham indicated he wants to go further, stating: “We need to do more, which includes looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements.”

SAN JOSE — Just two months into her presidency, Costa Rica’s Laura Fernandez finds herself in a deep and damaging conflict with the nation’s court system — a battle that experts say is getting in the way of any serious effort to combat a surge in drug-related violence.

The dispute is part of a wider pattern of instability across Central America, a key route for cocaine moving toward the United States, where criminal organizations have exploited weak institutions to fuel corruption and bloodshed.

The friction between Fernandez’s administration and the judiciary has focused on two main flashpoints: steep budget cuts being imposed on the court system, and a legislative push to allow Congress — rather than the Supreme Court — to choose who serves as attorney general.

Matters came to a head last week when Fernandez publicly accused the judiciary of being infiltrated by organized crime “to the core.” She also criticized the courts for blocking the tough “iron fist” security approach her government has been pushing, a strategy modeled after policies used by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whose mass incarceration campaign — roughly 90,000 people jailed — has dramatically reduced crime in El Salvador.

Judicial officials have pushed back hard, denying any corruption and demanding that Fernandez back up her claims with evidence. They warn that the planned budget reductions for 2026 and 2027 would undermine democratic oversight and actually make it harder to fight crime.

Fernandez ran for office on a tough-on-crime message, promising to bring order back to a country of 5.2 million people where approximately two people are killed every day. The murder rate has held stubbornly high since reaching a record 17.2 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2023 — twice the rate seen a decade earlier.

Security Minister Gerald Campos told Reuters the conviction rate for murders is alarmingly low. “The problem here is not a lack of an army… the problem is a lack of convictions in the courts,” he said, noting that only 38% of homicides lead to a conviction.

Both government officials and experts point to drug trafficking networks exploiting Costa Rica’s geography as a key driver of the violence, using the country as a staging point to move narcotics to markets further north.

Evelyn Villarreal, coordinator of the State of Justice report — a research initiative that monitors Costa Rica’s justice system — warned that internal fighting is making an already difficult situation worse. “Facing an enemy with infinite resources… fighting among ourselves makes it very difficult to be prepared,” she said.

Shortly after taking office, Fernandez called on Attorney General Carlo Diaz and senior Supreme Court justices to resign, saying they had failed to address the security emergency. None have done so.

Patricia Solano, who leads the country’s top criminal court, rejected the notion that the judiciary bears responsibility for the rise in crime. She argued the government’s true goal is to weaken an essential democratic institution. “Since 2022, we have seen a systematic attack against the judiciary,” Solano said, pointing to actions that began under former President Rodrigo Chaves, who belongs to the same political party as Fernandez.

Solano also noted that the prison population has grown by 36% since 2020, with Costa Rica’s incarceration rate now at 366 per 100,000 people — ranking 22nd highest in the world in 2024, according to the World Prison Brief.

On the streets, everyday residents expressed exhaustion and frustration with the political conflict. “We are still in bad shape, even if they say they are doing things and fighting each other,” said Karina Bolaños, a 39-year-old shopkeeper in Goicoechea, north of the capital. “The country has changed for the worse.”