World, in brief

Russia's foreign ministry said it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine. [1][3]

The trigger was Britain's decision on Monday to let Kyiv build Storm Shadow cruise missiles itself. [1][2]

Britain handed over classified design work, not more missiles. France agreed to license the same technology. [1][2][3]

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Britain and France were playing with fire and told London to back off. [1][4]

Britain's defence ministry said it stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and will keep supplying equipment. [2]

CIA director John Ratcliffe went to Moscow on Tuesday, reportedly warning Russia not to attack a NATO country. [2][38]

A US assessment said Russia might test NATO with a small assault, most likely in a Baltic state. [2]

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the reports scare stories with nothing to do with Russia's intentions. [2]

Trump said Ratcliffe carried no message, then said of Russia: they're not going to attack. [2]

US forces in Europe face what one defence official called a beyond critical shortage of Patriot interceptors. [2]

Poland took delivery of its first South Korean K2 tanks, for deployment near Russia's Kaliningrad region. [2]

Overnight, Russia fired missiles and drones at Ukrainian ports, grain stores, energy sites and steelworks. [3][5]

Ukraine says it shot down seven ballistic missiles and 258 drones during the long attack wave. [3][5]

A strike destroyed all generating capacity at Kherson's heating plant, and the governor asked families to leave. [5][6]

Why it matters. Watch whether Russia acts or lets the threat stand. Moscow has made frequent threats against Ukraine's Western backers through this war without following them. [2]

Nepal's death toll from Wednesday's glacial flood neared 400, with about 1,468 people missing across Nepal and Tibet, more than 500 of them foreigners. [7][8]

Why it matters. Satellite images show 19 bridges and about 40km of road destroyed, which is why the search is slow. [11][9] Survivors describe climbing onto rooftops as the water came. [15]

Chinese state media said a lake formed by a mudslide on the Tibet-Nepal border risks breaching. Nepal said a second debris-dammed lake is rising. [7]

Why it matters. Rescue teams are digging underneath the next flood, not the last one.

ICIMOD, an intergovernmental mountain research body, found ice and rock fell into a Bhote Koshi tributary. River levels rose seven to nine metres in 30 minutes. [10]

Why it matters. Researchers warn unusual heat this year may be loosening the ice that holds mountainsides together. [12][16]

The US naval blockade has choked Iran's fuel imports, and queues formed outside petrol stations. Officials said fuel quotas would be reviewed. [17]

Why it matters. Iran pumps crude but cannot refine enough of it, and subsidised petrol makes any price change explosive.

Traders estimate six to eight million barrels of crude a day now pass the Strait of Hormuz, roughly half the level before the war. [18]

Why it matters. Gulf producers are shipping more while Iran's own exports stay blocked. [17]

Washington sanctioned 60 smaller firms, individuals and vessels in mainland China and Hong Kong over networks it says fund Iran's oil revenue and missile procurement. [19]

Why it matters. China buys up to 90% of Iran's oil exports, and Iran's president attends next week's summit in Kyrgyzstan. [19]

Taiwan detected 244 Chinese government vessels around its main island in July, up from 55 in June. About 60% were coast guard, not navy. [23]

Why it matters. Civilian-flagged ships assert control without crossing the line that would count as an act of war.

Taiwan's parliament rejected the government's special drone budget and passed the opposition KMT's version instead, worth about $7.6bn. [24]

Why it matters. The money was granted, but the terms were rewritten by the people who did not propose it.

Israel is considering removing British officials from the Gaza coordination centre, after expelling Dutch officials this week and Spain earlier this year. [28][29]

Why it matters. Each expulsion followed a European government's own policy on settlements or the war. [28]

Haaretz reported that Israel has armed and supplied Gaza gangs, one with links to Islamic State, and that militia members looted and burned homes. [30]

Why it matters. The Israeli military did not comment. The militia project has expanded since the October 2025 ceasefire. [30]

At least three Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli strikes on Thursday. Defence Minister Israel Katz repeated a threat to expel residents from areas where kites are flown. [32][33]

Why it matters. Gaza's health ministry counts at least 1,303 killed since the ceasefire began, including 300 children. [31]

Israeli authorities placed three new roadblocks on the Ras al-Ain hill above Qusra, near Nablus, cutting farmers off from their land below. [34]

Why it matters. Only Israeli forces hold the keys to the gates.

The US State Department removed Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, in place since 1979. President Ahmed al-Sharaa marked it by paying for coffee with a Visa card. [36]

Why it matters. Syrian banks reconnect to the global payment system after more than fifteen years outside it. [36]

Trump signed a directive renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America, giving the Interior Department 30 days to change federal records. Canada's prime minister denounced it. [37][38]

Why it matters. It followed the collapse of trade talks and a 50% tariff on several Canadian imports. [38]

The White House is weighing tariffs that would cover laptops, games consoles and data-centre servers, not only the chips inside them, Politico reported. [39]

Why it matters. Relief would be tied to building chip plants in the US. [39] A new US aluminium smelter is three years from its first metal. [40]

Budapest's new Tisza government named Russia a security threat in a UN policy document. A Russian MP replied that oil and gas supplies to Hungary are now in doubt. [41]

Why it matters. Peter Magyar beat Viktor Orban in April, and Fidesz is now polling below 20%. [42]

A transmission fault disconnected every province from Holguin to Guantanamo, including Santiago de Cuba, a city of more than half a million people. [43]

Why it matters. Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it needs, and its usual suppliers stopped selling. [43]

Rohingya schools were raided in Malaysia, Salif Keita cancelled South African shows over attacks on migrants, and UK asylum claims fell 21% to 85,891. [44][45][46]

Why it matters. Three governments, three directions, one shared politics of who is allowed to stay.

Seoul said the three countries will hold joint military exercises next month, weeks after Washington cut short a separate set of Korean drills. [25]

Why it matters. Okinawa votes for a governor on 13 September, with the future of a US Marine base at stake. [26][27]

Six months into the Iran war, the US Treasury secretary will press G20 counterparts next week to tighten economic pressure on Tehran. [20][21]

Why it matters. China's state oil giant CNOOC used the same week to talk up energy cooperation with the US. [22]

India's prime minister travels to Uzbekistan, then to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, where Iran's president is also due. [49][19]

Why it matters. Central Asian governments are looking past Russia and China for partners. [49]

Melenchon, Tondelier, Glucksmann, Attal, Philippe, Retailleau and Le Pen debated for the first time on a tennis court at Roland-Garros. No clear winner emerged. [47]

Why it matters. Le Pen leads the polls, and the candidates split openly over Europe. [47]

Liberia's UN ambassador Lewis Brown has coordinated both the African three and the ten elected Council members since 1 August, and hosted the Secretary-General. [48]

Why it matters. The elected ten hold no veto, so their only real power is coordinating with each other.

Moldovan authorities said six Russian drones entered their airspace during the overnight attack, and one was found on the ground. President Maia Sandu condemned it. [5]

Why it matters. Moldova is not in NATO, which is exactly why the drones went there.