Morning Briefing: July 6, 2026

Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including Iran holding a mass funeral prayer for the country's late supreme leader, a Sudanese relief group reporting 30 deaths from a cholera outbreak in West Kordofan state, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denying that US President Donald Trump restricted Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

TOP STORIES

• Iran holds mass funeral prayer for slain supreme leader

A mass funeral prayer was held in Iran's capital Tehran for the country's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Imam Khomeini Mosalla Mosque.

The funeral ceremony for Khamenei and his family members drew hundreds of thousands of mourners, many of whom arrived at the venue in the early hours of the morning carrying Iranian flags.

Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on Feb. 28 and were followed by Iranian retaliation

• Cholera outbreak kills 30, infects 800 in West Kordofan: Sudanese group

A Sudanese relief group reported 30 deaths from a cholera outbreak in West Kordofan state in western Sudan since June 20.

In a statement, the Dar Hamar Emergency Room said 800 people have also been infected with the disease during the same period.

The organization said the outbreak was recorded in the Wad Banda and Al-Nahud localities as well as neighboring villages in the state.

• Netanyahu denies Trump restricted Israeli strikes in Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied reports that the US had restricted Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

"I heard it was said in the media that President (Donald) Trump asked not to act against terror tunnels in Lebanon. This is a legend, fake news. He didn't say anything to me about it, and I didn't ask him. We operate according to our considerations," Netanyahu said during a weekly Cabinet meeting.

His remarks contradicted a report by Israel's public broadcaster KAN late last month that Israel had provided US officials with detailed intelligence on alleged Hezbollah tunnels in the Ali al-Taher Heights in southern Lebanon in an effort to obtain US approval for military operations in the area.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said there will be "no popular normalization" with Israel unless a just peace is achieved that ends the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
• Qatar announced that all maritime navigation activities would resume with immediate effect after nearly a week of suspension.
• The Kremlin said Russia is creating what it describes as a “buffer zone” on its border with Ukraine.
• A cargo ship came under attack off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said.
• Hundreds of firefighters battled wildfires across southern France as a dangerous combination of extreme heat and strong winds raised the threat of new fires in the region.
• A wildfire that spread from forested land into an industrial zone in the municipality of Oraiokastro near Greece's northern port city of Thessaloniki blanketed a large area in toxic smoke, local media reported.
• Russia said Ukraine rejected its proposal to conduct a humanitarian operation to retrieve the bodies of fallen Ukrainian servicemen from the front-line town of Kostiantynivka.
• More than 200,000 people, including over 20,000 children, are facing a worsening humanitarian and public health crisis in western Bara in Sudan's North Kordofan State amid cholera and measles outbreaks and acute shortages of food and medicine, a Sudanese medical group warned.
• Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who headed negotiations with Washington, said that implementing the memorandum of understanding with the US is “difficult but possible,” stressing diplomacy must preserve battlefield gains.
• Two Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli drone strike in Gaza City in a new violation of an ongoing ceasefire deal, the Civil Defense said.
• The Israeli army carried out an airstrike and artillery shelling in southern Lebanon in the latest violation of an ongoing ceasefire agreement, Lebanese media reported.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a high-level security meeting to approve planned withdrawal positions for Israeli forces in southern Lebanon under a US-mediated framework agreement, local media reported.
• The death toll from powerful earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela last month has risen to 3,342, with 16,740 people injured, the country’s Communication and Information Ministry said.
• Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway stunned Brazil 2-1 in a dramatic FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match at New York/New Jersey Stadium in the US, eliminating the five-time champions and securing their debut in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
• Neymar announced his retirement from international football after Brazil's 2-1 loss to Norway in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 eliminated the five-time champions from the tournament.
• England defeated Mexico 3-2 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s Round of 16 match in Mexico City, securing their place in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

ECONOMY & TECHNOLOGY

• South Korea set to launch 4th medium-sized Earth observation satellite

South Korea is set to launch its fourth medium-sized Earth observation satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, local media reported.

The 500-kilogram satellite has completed function inspections and fuel injection over the past month and is now awaiting launch aboard the Falcon 9, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA).

The satellite is scheduled to separate from the launch vehicle about 2 hours and 22 minutes after liftoff and make its first contact with the ground approximately 31 minutes later through the Svalbard ground station in Norway.

• China to export robots capable of locating undersea cables

China is planning to export robots capable of locating marine cables buried beneath the seabed to regions including Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the South China Morning Post reported, citing the official newspaper of China's Ministry of Science and Technology.

"By deepening cooperation in (these) offshore engineering markets, we will integrate Chinese intelligent cable detection solutions into the global ecosystem and bolster the international competitiveness of domestic marine equipment," the report said.

The robots, developed by a team at Dalian Jiaotong University, can locate cables buried under silt with less than a 5% positioning error. They can also cover exposed cables with sediment to protect them.