‘Putin has only one chance:’ Trump warns of make-or-break chance with Russian leader

• Putin and Trump will meet Friday at an air base in the far-northern US state, the first time the Russian leader has been permitted on Western soil since his invasion of Ukraine
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has refused to surrender territory to Russia, spoke by telephone Wednesday with Trump, as did European leaders

Lebanon slams foreign interference as Iran security chief visits

• The uncharacteristically blunt remarks hinted at a changed balance of power in a country where Iran has long wielded substantial influence by funding and arming Hezbollah
• The visit by Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani comes after the Lebanese government ordered the army to devise plans to disarm Hezbollah

Israel military says approved plan for new Gaza offensive

• Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, told AFP on Wednesday that "the Israeli forces continue to carry out aggressive incursions."
• AFP footage from Gaza City on Tuesday showed Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes on the Zeitoun and Asqoola using overladen carts, vans and bikes.

Gulf tourists say Polish mountain town is a cool place

• Up to seven flights fly daily from the Gulf region at nearby Krakow Airport.
• Arab customers constitute up to 30 percent of all summer guests at his five-star hotel in Zakopane.

Palestinian mother ‘destroyed’ after image used to deny Gaza starvation

Netanyahu floats ‘allowing’ Palestinians out of Gaza as mediators renew truce push

• Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from US President Donald Trump, have sparked concern among Palestinians and global community
• Netanyahu defended his war policies in a rare interview with Israeli media, broadcast shortly after Egypt said Gaza mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce

Zelensky says US summit in Alaska a ‘personal victory’ for Putin

• Zelensky also ruled out withdrawing troops from Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as part of a peace deal, after Trump said he and Putin might negotiate a land swap to end the war
• The summit, set to take place in Alaska on Friday, will be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since 2021 and comes as Trump seeks to broker an end to Ukraine war

The Elders group of global leaders terms Gaza situation ‘unfolding genocide’

• "What we saw and heard underlines our personal conviction that there is not only an unfolding, human-caused famine in Gaza. There is an unfolding genocide," it added.
• "Transfers of arms and weapons components to Israel must be suspended immediately," it added, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be sanctioned.

Iran security chief meets officials in Iraq before Lebanon visit

• Tehran has suffered a series of blows in its long-running rivalry with Israel, including during 12 days of open war between the two countries in June
• Israel, briefly joined by the United States, struck Iranian nuclear facilities, while Israel has also devastated Hamas and Hezbollah since late 2023

Accumulating bitcoin a risky digital rush by companies?

• Companies frequently own bitcoin to take part in sector activities such as "mining", which refers to the process of validating transactions in exchange for digital tokens
• Other players who had core operations totally unrelated to cryptocurrency, such as Japanese hotel business MetaPlanet, have switched to buying bitcoin