ANKARA
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Friday, including Israel killing at least 63 Palestinians in a new wave of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, South Korea’s parliament confirming Kim Min-seok as prime minister, and US President Donald Trump saying no progress was made toward a ceasefire in Ukraine in a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
TOP STORIES
- Over 60 Palestinians killed as Israeli army intensifies attacks across Gaza
At least 63 Palestinians were killed in a new wave of deadly Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip as Israel escalated its genocidal war on civilians in the enclave, medics said.
The official news agency WAFA, citing medical sources, said 28 Palestinians waiting to obtain humanitarian aid were killed by Israeli army fire in central and southern Gaza.
Israeli warplanes also bombed the Mustafa Hafez School in western Gaza City, where hundreds of displaced civilians have sheltered, leaving 13 people dead and dozens injured, WAFA said.
- South Korean parliament confirms Kim Min-seok as new premier
South Korean lawmakers confirmed long-time strategist and political activist Kim Min-seok as the new prime minister of the administration led by President Lee Jae-myung, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The main opposition People Power Party boycotted the vote while Lee’s Democratic Party voted to make the president’s election campaign aide the nation’s premier.
Since being nominated by Lee last month, Kim, 61, faced questioning surrounding his wealth and family.
- Trump says he ‘didn’t make any progress’ with Putin during phone call
US President Donald Trump said he made no progress towards a ceasefire in Ukraine during a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
"We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things, including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine. I'm not happy about that," Trump told reporters as he left Washington, DC en route to Iowa.
"No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all," he added.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- At least four people are dead and 38 missing after a ferry sank on its way to Indonesia’s Bali island, a rescue agency said.
- The US House of Representatives passed a massive tax-cut and spending bill, sending it to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
- Türkiye rejected "in the strongest terms" statements by Israeli politicians and Cabinet ministers calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
- Afghanistan "categorically" rejected US claims that a missing American-Afghan citizen is in the custody of the interim Taliban administration.
- South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called for health reforms amid a boycott by trainee doctors over a medical school admission quota increase.
- Israel is responsible for "one of the cruelest genocides in modern history," the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory said, accusing Tel Aviv of weaponizing Gaza as a testing ground and calling for sweeping international action, including a full international arms embargo and the suspension of trade and investment ties.
- Europe began to show relief from the record-breaking heat wave that has been sweeping the continent through the week, while high temperatures partly remain.
- In a new breach of the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, Israeli army forces infiltrated the southern town of Kfar Kila and blew up a civilian home, local media said.
- Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Mikhail Gudkov was killed in the Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed.
- A British F-35 fighter jet which made an emergency landing in southern India in mid-June is likely to be dismantled, considering it has remained grounded since then, according to a report from India Today.
- Ethiopia announced the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a major hydroelectric project on the Blue Nile, with preparations now underway for its official inauguration in September.
- Russia and Ukraine continue to coordinate dates for a new round of negotiations in Istanbul and are awaiting proposals on timelines from each other, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
- The first Korean prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy at the Vatican, Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, said Pope Leo XIV can play a role in improving ties between the US and North Korea, according to The Korea Herald.
- A 60-day Gaza ceasefire proposal calls for the release of 10 Israeli hostages and the remains of 18 others, Israeli media said.
- The US military apologized to Japan for a sexual assault case involving a serviceman in 2024, after a local court sentenced a US Marine to seven years in prison, according to Kyodo News Agency.
- Four Palestine Action members have been charged in connection with a terrorism investigation after $9.5 million in damage to aircraft at RAF Brize Norton last month, according to counter-terrorism police.
- The number of people detained after illegally crossing from Lithuania into Poland has nearly tripled this year, Polish authorities said, citing shifting migration routes through the Baltic.
- Protesting a months-long political deadlock in the Kosovo Assembly, lawyer Arianit Koci brought four donkeys to the parliamentary courtyard.
- Israel is continuing to use starvation as a weapon of war against civilians in the Gaza Strip as part of a broader effort to “inflict genocide” on Palestinians, human rights group Amnesty International said.
- A drive-by shooting outside a nightclub in Chicago's River North area left four people dead and 14 injured.
- The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory stressed the need for accountability over the recent killings of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza while urging a comprehensive approach to investigate Israeli misconduct in the territory.
- The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has not yet taken a final decision about a Qatari-Egyptian proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, Palestinian sources said.
- Hundreds of firefighters battled multiple forest fires across eastern Germany after a severe heat wave pushed temperatures close to 40C (104F).
- The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that it captured two villages in eastern Ukraine.
- Japan allowed citizens to evacuate the southwest islands amid recurring tremors.
- Thousands of protesters carrying the body of Albert Ojwang, who died in police custody, stormed a Kenyan police station, setting it on fire and demanding answers about his death, residents and authorities confirmed.
- Iran confirmed that it remains committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its Safeguards Agreement.
- Switzerland and Germany have signed an agreement for the joint procurement of IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, officials announced.
- Ukrainian authorities claimed that a Russian strike in the city of Poltava killed two people and injured 47 others, including two police officers and four servicemen.
- Several passengers were wounded in a knife attack on a high-speed train traveling from Hamburg to Vienna, German authorities said.
- The now-defunct far-right Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament, of which French politician Marine Le Pen's National Rally was a member, allegedly misused €4.3 million ($5 million) of EU funds between 2019 and 2024, according to a confidential financial report cited by European media.
- The Trump administration imposed new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil trade as part of its maximum pressure campaign, the US Treasury Department announced.
- Spanish activist Sergio Toribio filed a criminal complaint with Spain’s National Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several top military officials over a naval operation that intercepted a humanitarian mission bound for Gaza.
- One person was killed and three others were injured in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement, the Health Ministry said.
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed alarm over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, warning that vital infrastructure is on the brink of collapse due to a lack of fuel and continued Israeli attacks on civilians.
- President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Moscow's readiness to continue peace negotiations with Ukraine during a call with US President Donald Trump, according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump that peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in Istanbul “will remain bilateral,” a Kremlin aide said.
- The Israeli army launched a series of airstrikes in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon amid ceasefire violations, Lebanese media said.
- Zambia declared an end to a cholera outbreak after five consecutive weeks without recording a new case.
- Russia has officially recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan, the Russian president’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told the RIA Novosti news agency.
- Italy said it does not support any move that could lead to the annexation of the West Bank by Israel.
- A Czech climber died after falling into a ravine in Pakistan, according to a mountaineering club in the South Asian nation.
- At least five people were killed and 12 others injured in a series of Russian strikes on several towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian authorities claimed.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
- French air traffic control strike disrupts European airspace as Ryanair cancels 170 flights
Ryanair announced that it had been forced to cancel 170 flights due to a strike by French air traffic controllers, urging the European Commission to take immediate action to protect overflights during national industrial actions.
The Irish low-cost carrier said the two-day strike, set for Thursday and Friday, is expected to impact over 30,000 passengers across Europe, Le Figaro reported.
"In addition to flights to or from France, this strike will also affect all overflights of French airspace. This is due to France's continued failure to protect overflights during national air traffic control strikes," the airline said in a statement.
- US economy adds 147,000 jobs in June, exceeding expectations
The US economy added 147,000 jobs in June, more than market expectations, according to data from the Labor Department.
The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls last month was set to show a gain of 111,000.
Job additions for May, meanwhile, were revised up by 5,000, from 139,000 to 144,000.
- Turkish CB governor becomes co-chair of Financial Stability Board's MENA Consultative Group
Fatih Karahan, governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), was appointed as co-chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Consultative Group for Middle East and North Africa.
Karahan will serve for a two-year term starting July 1 together with Hassan Abdalla, the governor of Central Bank of Egypt, the FSB said on X
"Honored to be serving as Co-Chair," Karahan said on X. "Looking forward to working with colleagues across the region to strengthen financial stability and deepen cooperation
SPORTS
- Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, 28, dies in car crash in Spain
Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota, a forward for British club Liverpool, died in a car crash in Spain at the age of 28.
His brother Andre Silva, 25, a footballer at Portuguese club FC Penafiel, also died in the crash, which took place in the province of Zamora, bordering Portugal, according to a statement by Pedro Proenca, head of the Portuguese Football Federation.
Proenca expressed his "deep regret and immense pain.”
- Zeynep Sonmez becomes first Turkish tennis player to reach third round at Wimbledon
Zeynep Sonmez became the first Turkish tennis player to advance to the third round at Wimbledon.
Sonmez made history in London by defeating Xinyu Wang in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5.
She also became the first Turkish player to reach the third round in a singles event at a grand slam in 75 years, after Bahtiye Musluoğlu reached the third round of the French Open in 1950.
The 23-year-old will face the winner of the match between the 69th player in the world, Suzan Lamens from the Netherlands, and world No. 17 Ekaterina Alexandrova from Russia.
