Three wanted terrorists and “key operatives” of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed during a joint operation of the police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in the Barikot tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district on Friday.
Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — particularly Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks targeting police stations and posts. In response, the state has also intensified its counterterrorism operations.
“Three wanted terrorists have been killed in Barikot in a major win for Swat CTD. Eliminating the enemies of regional peace, the CTD has killed three important operatives of the Fitna al-Khawarij,” KP Police said in a statement today.
Fitna al-Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to the banned TTP.
Among the terrorists was Ajmal, also known as Waqas, a resident of Malook Abad who was reportedly involved in at least nine terrorism-related cases. He was also involved in the killing of Village Defence Council members and carried a bounty of Rs2 million.
The second individual was identified as Matiullah, also known by the aliases Ishaq and Junaid, son of Ibrat Shah from Dabb Sar Martung in Shangla district, who was wanted in two terrorism cases.
The third slain terrorist was Rahimullah Rehmani, alias Rohullah, son of Amanullah, a resident of Sheray in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province. He, too, was wanted in two separate terrorism cases.
“The terrorists were involved in attacks on security forces and assassinations of police personnel,” said the KP police statement. “A network spreading terrorism with external funding was destroyed, and the terrorists were also wanted in improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and extortion cases.”
“This CTD operation is a blow to the operational wings of Fitna al-Khawarij in Swat and adjacent areas,” Malakand Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sher Akbar Khan was quoted as saying. “We are determined to uproot Fitna al-Khawarij.”
Speaking to reporters, Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Umar Khan said that search and strike operations against militants would continue across the district. He added that security has been intensified at all entry and exit points of Swat to prevent any possible infiltration of miscreants.
“We will not allow the peace and stability of Swat to be disturbed at any cost,” the DPO asserted.
KP Inspector General Zulfiqar Hameed praised the regional police and Swat CTD for striking the “operational command wing” of Fitna al-Khawarij, according to the police statement.
“Operations against terrorists will be further intensified to establish lasting peace and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist activities, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. Attacks have predominantly targeted the police, law enforcement agencies’ personnel, and security forces.
In a series of incidents in KP yesterday, a police official was martyred in the Karak district while police thwarted a separate late-night terrorist assault on a police station in Bannu’s Basyakhel area.
Earlier this month, three suspected terrorists belonging to the TTP’s Tipu Gul group were killed in a joint operation by the CTD and the police in Lakki Marwat. This came nearly a week after the leader of a peace committee and two of his companions were shot dead by terrorists in the same district.
Three terrorists were also killed in Lakki Marwat’s Kot Kashmir area during a gun battle with the police and local peace committee, in which a cop was martyred as well.
A total of 670 terror incidents were recorded in 2024, while 212 militants were killed in counter-terrorism operations, according to a report issued by the CTD.
Getting my hands on MSR’s new Hubba Hubba LT tent several months before it’s officially released in Europe felt a bit like pushing to the front of a queue at a big gig or popular club… but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. And besides – you want to know what to expect when one of the world’s most iconic tents is re-launched, right?
If you’re not familiar with the Hubba Hubba – a tent so good they named it twice – you might be wondering what all the excitement is about. Isn’t this just another lightweight shelter? Well, no, not really – not if you’ve spent years wandering trails and hanging out in crags and campsites where the Hubba Hubba has been an ever-present feature for two decades, an immediate indicator that the people within it know what they’re doing in the outdoors and value quality kit.
The new MSR Hubba Hubba LT2 retains the same symmetrical hub shape (Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Hubba Hubba History
Back in 2004, Mountain Safety Research (an American brand better known as MSR) launched the first Hubba Hubba tent, and promptly transformed overnight hiking experiences for a generation of multiday walkers, thru hikers and backpackers.
A freestanding hub-style shelter, with a semi-geodesic dome shape, the original Hubba Hubba was the first widely available 3-season packable tent to offer a large living space with decent headroom, plus two doors and spacious vestibules – all while being lightweight enough to take hiking and remaining easy and quick to pitch.
Besides the two-sided symmetrical hub, a major innovation was the ‘brow pole’, a short pole positioned perpendicularly to the main cross pole, which pushed the side of the structure out, vastly improving the useful space in both the inner tent and the vestibules. This, combined with the use of cutting-edge materials and some super smart design, resulted in a shelter that provided reliable 3-season protection from the elements, plus excellent comfort levels and enough covered outdoor space for hikers to store their walking boots and backpacks, and use a camping stove in rough weather. It was a game changer, and would go on to be one of the most popular backpacking tents of all time.
The Hubba Hubba 1-P bike packing tent in action on Dartmoor (Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Hubba Bubbles
For the next 15 years, MSR incrementally evolved the design of the Hubba Hubba, adding little innovative elements such as internal drying/hanging lines, a loft and rain gutters on the fly, carefully refining what many regard to be the classic 2-person shelter to arrive at the MSR Hubba NX, which came out in 2019. The brand also adapted the Hubba design to produce a 1-person tent for solo campers , launched a 3-person Mutha Hubba, a 4-person Papa Hubba, and developed a 1-person and 2-person iteration of the tent specifically for bikepackers.
Earlier this year, however, came the exciting news that, after two decades, MSR had decided to substantially reconfigure the Hubba Hubba. The new design – the LT – would be available in January 2026 (in Europe, and a bit earlier in the United States), with 1-person, 2-person and 3-person versions available.
All the latest inspiration, tips and guides to help you plan your next Advnture!
I was lucky enough to get a preview of the new designs at the Outdoor Trade Show in June, but having been teased with a tantalising glimpse, I couldn’t wait another six months to properly test this exciting new-generation tent out. So I travelled to Midleton in County Cork in the Republic of Ireland, where Cascade Designs (MSR’s parent company) have their European HQ, to get my hands on an early sample of the Hubba Hubba LT 2-Person Backpacking Tent, and then I took it out into the wilds in the Wicklow Mountains. This is what I found:
The flysheet has been made in a more sustainable way, and the venting has been improved on the new Hubba Hubba LT2 (Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Ch ch ch changes
Before we get overexcited – please note that, at first glance, the Hubba Hubba LT doesn’t immediately look dramatically different to the NX – at least not on the outside.
It retains essentially the same shape and the flysheet’s neutral color scheme is a subtly different shade (the U.S. and European versions differ from one another in color slightly too). And to be fair, these elements didn’t need to be tinkered with – the symmetrical shape works well for dealing with wind while offering good amounts of living space, and the natural color is ideal for discretion when you’re wild camping – so why change them?
As you can see, the inner profile of the new Hubba Hubba LT 2 (above) is significantly different (and larger) than the Hubba Hubba NX 2 (below) (Image credit: Cascade Designs)
(Image credit: Cascade Designs)
There have been some changes to the design of the design of the DAC pole skeleton, however, with the four legs in the >–|–< shape being lengthened, and the brow pole being slightly extended, adaptations that have increased the internal living space and the usefulness of the vestibules. The corner hardware, where the ends of the poles slot into the feet at the four corners of the groundsheet, has also been upgraded, so the components are now all metal and highly durable. The new pegs are lightweight, but very sturdy, ‘mini groundhog’ stakes.
And although it looks similar, the materials used in the flysheet (and the floor and internal mesh walls) are now solution-dyed, a process that reduces carbon emissions by a minimum of 80% compared to the fabrics previously used by MSR (and other brands). The window vents have also been enhanced.
It’s worth noting, however, that while the flysheet retain a hydrostatic head (HH) rating of 1,200mm (the same as the NX), the HH rating of the tent body (ground sheet) has dropped from 3000mm on the NX, to 1,800mm on the new LT. For a hardier (but heavier) tent, have a look at the Hubba Hubba HD, which includes a rainfly with a HH of 3,000 and groundsheet with a 6,000mm rating.
Although larger when pitched, the new Hubba Hubba LT is actually lighter and easier to pack and carry than its predecessor (Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
In numerical terms the increases might seem minor – with the new pole design you get 1in (2cm) extra head space, and the rectangular inner has 4in (11cm) additional length and 2in (5cm) extra width (to give you 32 sq ft of space total) but these changes make a tangible difference to the comfort levels.
As soon as I pitched the LT, rolled out my camping mat and sleeping bag, and stashed my stuff in the vestibule, the tent felt substantially larger than the NX. And as I got changed out of my hiking pants and crawled into bed that evening, I certainly appreciated the additional headroom.
I was testing the 2-person Hubba Hubba LT on my own this time, but you can very easily lay two large rectangular Thermarest Neoloft camping mats side by side in this tent (I’ve tried it), which is more than can be said for the vast majority of 2-person shelters. (As an aside, the new 3-person Hubba Hubba LT can comfortably work as a 4-person backpacking tent, if you use mummy shaped sleeping pads.)
The vestibules are also longer, and although they are slightly narrower, the useful amount of porch space has been increased, which comes in extremely handy when you are storing muddy hiking shoes and walking boots, or boiling some water for a brew.
Best of all, because of the change in fabric used for the inner, this size upgrade has been achieved for less of a weight penalty, with the LT weighing just 3lb 6oz (1.54kg), as compared to 3lb 13oz (1.72 kg) for the NX.
More mesh has been used in the construction of the inner on the new MSR Hubba Hubba LT2 (Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
The main tent is now made mostly from solution-dyed micromesh, which is very lightweight but provides excellent breathability (vastly reducing condensation) and bug protection. You can pitch the tent and leave the flysheet off on cloud-free nights, to enjoy some stargazing before you drift into a slumber.
I was camping in the middle of a heatwave that was sizzling (even in Ireland), and I was very comfortable in a lightweight 2-season sleeping bag, but I can’t help thinking the use of this mesh will affect how warm the Hubba Hubba is during the colder months, lowering the internal temperature – this is something I’ll monitor as the seasons change.
The new door design on the Hubba Hubba LT2 (Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Another alteration that becomes immediately obvious when you start looking more closely at the LT is to the internal doors. Instead of the old-style D-shape doors on the inner tent, there is a triangular shaped opening, with two separate zips meeting at the point of the right angle. The benefit of this is that the zips are more durable, easier to use with one hand, and the zipper always ends up in the same place, so you know exactly where to find it without scrambling around with a headlamp in the middle of the night.
One other change I noticed on the inside of the tent is the addition of cable ports in the wall pockets, so you can have things like mobile phones and smartwatches neatly plugged into powerpacks for recharging, without wires dangling all over the place.
The new metal corner tech on the Hubba Hubba LT2 (Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
I have many more adventures planned involving the new LT2, during which I will test the thermal properties of the redesigned inner tent (outside of a heatwave), and I will be uploading a full review here in due course.
You can purchase the Hubba Hubba LT2 in the United States now, and it will be available in the UK and across Europe from 1 January 2026. In the meantime, look out for deals on all iterations of the Hubba Hubba NX, which remains a superb backpacking tent.
The boss discussed United’s current approach to the transfer market while in conversation with club media after training at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Ruben and the squad flew to New Jersey later on Friday ahead of our first game in the USA since arriving on Wednesday.
Fans, players and staff were delighted to see Mbeumo complete his transfer from Brentford in time to come on Tour 2025, presented by Snapdragon, and have the opportunity to gel with his new team-mates. Cunha, meanwhile, signed early on in the window, and both players had reported interest from a number of top clubs, thanks to their stellar performances in 2024/25.
“Cunha and Bryan, they had different solutions [offers],” Ruben told us.
Lauren Jones* was on her way home from a gig when she realised something was wrong. After having no reception all day, her mobile started pinging with message after message containing verifications for her LinkedIn, Vinted and Facebook accounts. Someone was trying to get in and change the contact details.
At home she realised the hackers were also trying to take over her Instagram account. She tried to sort it out but it was late, she had work the next day and, she says: “I thought: ‘What damage could they do?’”
Within 24 hours she knew the answer: using her account, the hackers advertised tickets to Oasis’s Wembley Stadium gig on Saturday 26 July and stole £1,400 from her unsuspecting friends. They then sent a text demanding $100 (£75) to return the Instagram account. All day she was fielding messages from contacts. “I had about 20 different people text, saying they were about to send over the money and can I hold the tickets for them,” she says. “The hackers had impersonated me so well that my friends and family genuinely thought they were speaking to me.”
Three weeks later, she is still locked out of her account, and Instagram has refused to recognise it as being fraudulent. It has ignored her requests for help. It did not respond to Guardian Money’s requests for comment.
The scammers’ post offered four tickets for the Oasis show at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 26 July. Photograph: Supplied
Jones is a music fan and so the Instagram story offering four tickets to a concert did not seem out of place to her 600 followers – even her sister believed she had tickets to sell. “I’ve just returned from Glastonbury and I was away for Bruce Springsteen,” she says. “It’s not as if they’d taken it over and started advertising bitcoin.”
The people who responded via Instagram were taken in by the scammers’ replies – one friend told her he thought they had been having a good catchup. It was only those who moved the conversation to WhatsApp or texts who found out pretty swiftly that the tickets did not exist. “They’re really impersonating me and it’s so invasive,” she says. “It’s distressing not knowing what is being said in my name.”
A former colleague shared the post after a request from the scammers. Photograph: Supplied
The fraudsters did not just leave the post for Jones’s followers to see – they messaged one of her former colleagues and asked them if they would share the posts. They agreed and inadvertently spread the scam more widely.
The tickets were realistically priced and the post had good spelling and grammar. Victims were asked to pay into an account held with the online bank Revolut, with the fraudsters explaining that it was in the name of the friend who had originally bought the tickets.
Official data shows £1.6m was lost to fraud involving gig tickets last year – more than double the previous year’s figure – and Oasis’s high-profile reunion tour has been widely used to lure victims. Earlier this year, Lloyds Banking Group (which includes Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland) said more than 1,000 customers had fallen for scams linked to the Manchester band’s eagerly anticipated UK concerts.
Lloyds said its data suggested that UK Oasis fans had lost more than £2m to fraudsters by March this year – the total is likely to have risen since. It found that fans lost an average of £436 each – about £200 more than the average amount stolen in a concert ticket scam – and said some had handed over more than £1,700.
Chris Ainsley, the head of fraud risk management at the bank Santander, recently saw a Facebook account used for the scam – the post advertised four tickets, again for the 26 July concert, and included details of seat numbers and a WhatsApp number to contact. The scammers used the highlight tool to put it in front of the real account holder’s followers – this, Ainsley says, is a way to make a fraud “grow very quickly”.
His team searched Facebook and found multiple other accounts had posted the same message, suggesting the same people had hacked them all.
Messages from the scammers. Photograph: Supplied
Jake Moore, a cybersecurity expert at ESET, says that by using Instagram and Facebook accounts linked to individuals, scammers give victims a false sense of security. “It’s not an Oasis Facebook group which is completely random – buying tickets there would be a complete gamble. Instead, they’re buying from people they know, or friends of friends – they’re verified. It’s doing exactly what we tell people to do,” he says.
“The scammers can check the messages before and see how you sign off – if it’s a kiss or emoji maybe – and replicate that.” Moore says criminals who may be worried about their spelling or grammar giving them away can use AI to craft their messages. “Even if you take an extra minute to reply, the other person is not going to notice – you can even tell it to sign off each one with a smiley face, for instance.”
You might think the criminals would carefully select accounts that give them the best chance of finding victims – Jones’s would have appealed because she loves live music – but the experts say that the fraud is not that sophisticated.
Ainsley says the account he originally saw compromised had not been used since 2011, so anyone doing some due diligence might have taken that as a red flag. Moore says it is simply a numbers game, with criminals breaking into as many accounts as they can.
Jones is not sure how the hackers got into her account but suspects she may have fallen victim to a phishing attack or used an insecure public wifi network.
Moore says that often accounts are compromised because people use the same password in more than one place. Criminals will try the details across a range of sites – a practice known as “credentials stuffing”.
In-app attacks are another way for fraudsters to get the details they need, Ainsley says. “Sometimes you will get a message that makes it look like you have been kicked off Facebook – it will ask for your details to log you back in,” he says.
The best way to protect your account is to use the social media website’s two-factor authentication or two-step verification settings. “That extra layer will push the criminals to the next account – you are not the lowest hanging fruit,” Moore says.
‘Celebrate the little wins’: Walsh chases progress, not perfection
That support has helped her prepare for the global championships, where she wants to continue her progress – especially in the freestyle events, where her focus has been on developing her speed and endurance.
“The speed on the initial 50 is always gonna be there — that’s my fast-twitch, easy speed,” she said. “But the real struggle comes when I flip and when I’ve gotta bring it home.”
With that in mind, she’s made adjustments to her training, including added aerobic endurance and kick-focused work in practice. Another change includes increased attention to her kick and stroke counts – taking advantage of her natural gifts.
“I have these long arms — and what are they good for if I’m not using them?” she said with a laugh.
As she lines up in Singapore, Walsh will be alongside a familiar opponent and friend: Huske.
The duo have faced each other for most of their careers, from age-group competitions to NCAA meets and the Olympic final in Paris. It’s created a bond that transcends their roles in the pool.
“I think it’s cool because me and Torri definitely have a very different approach,” Walsh said. “But we’ve gotten to really understand each other in that way.”
Walsh says she knows that Huske prefers to keep to herself in the locker room, while she herself takes comfort and energy from little shows of encouragement, like a pre-race fist bump.
The 100m fly world record holder sees that bond continuing in the years to come, including in Singapore, and is relishing the opportunity.
“I’m going to appreciate swimming next to her,” said Walsh. “Because I know that we’re competing for the same reason, we’re striving for the same goal — and she’s going to support me and I’m going to support her.”
The last year has taught Walsh a lot, and she’s ready to put it on full display for the world to see.
She’s not chasing perfection anymore, just solid, steady progress.
“I need to take a step back and realise… to even [go 54] twice is a huge deal,” she said. “And it’s important to celebrate those little wins.”
Which countries have recognised a Palestinian state?
This graphic shows which countries internationally have recognised a Palestinian state.
81 countries recognised Palestinian statehood in 1988, the year it declared independence, with South Africa recognising it in 1995, Brazil in 2010, Chile in 2011 and Thailand in 2012.
But more have recently followed suit in response to the plight of the people in Gaza. Spain and Ireland recognised a Palestinian state last year and Mexico made the recognition this year, while France has recently announced it is due to do so.
International recognition of the Palestinian stateInternational recognition of the Palestinian state
Key events
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli operations killed 11 people on Saturday in the Palestinian territory devastated by over 21 months of war.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the toll included four Palestinians killed in an air strike on the Al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City in the territory’s north.
One other person was killed “after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid” northwest of Gaza City, the agency said.
Eyewitnesses told AFP that several thousand people had gathered in the area to wait for aid.
One of them, Abu Samir Hamoudeh, 42, said the Israeli military opened fire “while the people were waiting to approach the distribution point”, located near an Israeli military post in the Zikim area, northwest of Sudaniyah.
Palestinians pray over the body of a person who was killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, Saturday, July 26, 2025. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
At least 25 killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight
At least 25 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight, according to health officials and the ambulance service on Saturday, as ceasefire talks appear to have stalled and Palestinians in Gaza face famine.
The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought.
Israel’s army didn’t respond to request for comments about the latest shootings.
Those killed in strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said.
The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty.
Palestinians mourn during the funeral of people who were killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, Saturday, July 26, 2025. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
In a statement posted on its Telegram account, the Sunni Jaish al-Adl group took responsibility for the attack in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province and urged “all civilians to immediately evacuate the area of clashes for their safety”.
Sistan-Baluchestan province, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to Irans Sunni Muslim Baluch minority, who have long complained of economic marginalisation and political exclusion.
The Baluch human rights group HAALVSH, quoting eyewitnesses, said several judiciary staff members and security personnel were killed or wounded when the assailants stormed the judges chambers.
Gunmen killed five civilians during “terrorist attack” in southeast Iran
Gunmen killed five civilians during a “terrorist attack” on a judiciary building in southeast Iran on Saturday before being killed themselves, state media reported.
“Unknown gunmen attacked the judiciary centre in Zahedan,” the capital of southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, the judiciary’s Mizan Online said.
“Five people have been killed and 13 injured in this terrorist attack,” the report said while adding that the counts are “preliminary” and the toll may rise.
Separately, the official IRNA news agency reported that three of the attackers were killed during the assault, citing the regional headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Three diplomats told Reuters president Emmanuel Macron had to go it alone to recognise a Palestinian state as London did not want to face the wrath of the United States, and Ottawa took a similar stance.
“It became increasingly apparent that we could not wait to get partners on board,” said a French diplomat, adding France will work to get more states on board ahead of conference on a two-state solution in September.
A senior French official said: “If there is a moment in history to recognise a Palestinian state, even if it’s just symbolic, then I would say that moment has probably come.”
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 24, 2025. Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
Eleni Courea
Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from his most senior cabinet ministers and more than a third of MPs to move faster on recognising a Palestinian state in response to Israel withholding aid to starving civilians in Gaza.
Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, and Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, are understood to be among ministers who believe the government should take the lead on Palestinian statehood alongside France.
The prime minister is facing a growing clamour to take action amid the international outcry over Israel’s actions, with charities saying that cases of severe malnutrition among children under five in Gaza City have tripled in the last two weeks.
Read our exclusive story on howRayner and Cooper are understood to back action as 221 MPs sign a letter calling for UK recognition of statehood:
Julian Borger
France’s decision to recognise Palestine at the next UN general assembly is an attempt to build momentum for change and make a break from the major western powers’ impassivity in the face of Israel’s mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza.
Emmanuel Macron’s declaration, announced in typically dramatic fashion on social media late on Thursday night, draws a line between the paths followed by the US and France over the Gaza war, and significantly raises the pressure on the UK, Germany and other G7 powers to pick a side.
Macron, Keir Starmer and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, held what the UK prime minister described as an “emergency call” on Friday, to coordinate positions. It led to a joint call for Israel to lift its food blockade immediately, an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas. But there was no apparent shift in Merz’s or Starmer’s position on recognition.
The British prime minister risks either provoking mutiny in his cabinet and party over Gaza or alienating White House. Read our analysis here:
Rates of severe malnutrition among children aged under five at Médecins Sans Frontières’ Gaza City clinic have tripled in the last two weeks, the charity has said, as starvation in the Israeli-besieged strip worsens.
The global aid community has sounded the alarm as Gaza descends deeper into mass starvation, with resulting deaths being reported daily as Israel allows only a trickle of aid into the territory.
MSF said a quarter of all young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women it screened at its clinics last week were malnourished, with the number of people needing care for malnutrition at its Gaza City location quadrupling since May.
MSF is one of the largest medical providers in Gaza, with more than 1,000 staff in the strip providing medical services ranging from maternity care to emergency surgery.
The charity blamed what it called an Israeli “policy of starvation” for the hunger crisis, as global condemnation grows over what more than 100 aid groups say is Israel’s blockade of most aid into Gaza. Read our full report here:
Which countries have recognised a Palestinian state?
This graphic shows which countries internationally have recognised a Palestinian state.
81 countries recognised Palestinian statehood in 1988, the year it declared independence, with South Africa recognising it in 1995, Brazil in 2010, Chile in 2011 and Thailand in 2012.
But more have recently followed suit in response to the plight of the people in Gaza. Spain and Ireland recognised a Palestinian state last year and Mexico made the recognition this year, while France has recently announced it is due to do so.
International recognition of the Palestinian stateInternational recognition of the Palestinian state
Annie Kelly
Twenty-eight doctors from Gaza are being held inside Israeli prisons, eight of whom are senior consultants in surgery, orthopaedics, intensive care, cardiology and paediatrics, according to data from Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation.
Twenty-one of those detained have been held for more than 400 days. HWW said none had been charged with any crimes by the Israeli authorities. Three healthcare workers have been detained since the start of July.
On Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli undercover force detained Dr Marwan al-Hams, head of Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, outside the field hospital of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip. His whereabouts are unknown, and the Israeli authorities have yet to publish a statement on his detention. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that two of its workers were taken into detention from a facility sheltering staff and their families in Dier al-Balah; one remains in Israeli custody.
A rising number of doctors are among hundreds of medical staff detained in Gaza, rights groups say. Read our full story here:
European nations debate Palestinian state recognition
European nations are becoming split on the question of whether to recognise a Palestinian state, as the desperate situation in Gaza continues.
Britain’s prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls to immediately recognise a Palestinian state, after some 221 MPs signed a letter urging the British Government to recognise the state of Palestine at a meeting of the UN next week. While the PM said he was “unequivocal” about wanting to see a Palestinian state, he insisted this needed to be part of a “wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis”.
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive. “I am very much in favour of the State of Palestine but I am not in favour of recognising it prior to establishing it,” Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica. “If something that doesn’t exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn’t,” Meloni added.
A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make “long-overdue progress” towards a two-state solution.
It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron drew angry rebukes from Israel and the United States when he announced France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly. Macron, who unveiled the decision on X, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France’s intention to press ahead with Palestinian recognition and work to convincing other partners to follow suit.
According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states – including France – now recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988.
Meanwhile today:
The Israeli military said a “projectile” was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Saturday. “A projectile was identified crossing the Gaza Strip from the south and most likely falling in an open area,” the military said in a statement, adding that there were no injuries reported.
Four Palestinian-Americans have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began and their families are losing hope for justice. They told AP Israel and its law enforcement have made them feel like culprits – by imposing travel bans and, in some cases, detaining and interrogating them.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu’s statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic.
Chinese health experts reassured the public that there is no need to panic and that effective precautions can be taken to control mosquitoes and protect oneself during daily activities, as the chikungunya outbreak in southern China has drawn public attention in recent days, with total reported cases surpassing 4,000 in Guangdong’s Foshan.
Thepaper.cn on Saturday reported that as of Thursday, all five districts of Foshan in South China’s Guangdong Province had reported cases of chikungunya, with total cases exceeding 4,000. In Shunde district – the epicenter of the outbreak – 3,627 cases have been confirmed, cases have also been reported in other Guangdong cities, including Guangzhou, Yangjiang, and Zhanjiang.
Macao’s Health Bureau reported that the city confirmed one imported case of chikungunya on July 18, the first such case this year. The patient had visited Foshan’s Shunde district from July 8 to 17.
In response to the outbreak, the Guangdong provincial health authorities issued an open letter on Thursday via their official WeChat account, calling on all residents to join a province-wide campaign to eliminate stagnant water and control mosquito breeding. The campaign aims to curb the spread of both dengue fever and chikungunya fever.
On Friday, the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee convened a meeting to hear updates on chikungunya prevention and control. The meeting noted that epidemic control efforts are at a critical stage, and while initial containment measures have shown results, challenges still remain. In addition, the summer typhoon season and heavy rainfall are complicating prevention efforts. Authorities stressed that there must be no complacency in combating the outbreak, Nanfang Plus reported.
Several cities in other parts of China have issued public health reminders. On Saturday, the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) released a Q&A guide on chikungunya, stating that the virus is primarily transmitted through bites from Aedes mosquitoes. It is not spread through coughing, sneezing, talking, or other casual contact. Most infections are mild, with symptoms including sudden fever and joint pain, which typically resolve within a week.
The Beijing CDC reassured residents that the risk of local transmission in the city remains extremely low and that there is no need for panic.
In another advisory issued on Tuesday, the Beijing CDC noted that although only sporadic imported cases have been found in the city so far, the growing volume of international travel means the risk of imported cases remains.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that a major chikungunya virus epidemic could sweep across the globe, calling for urgent action to prevent it. The WHO said it was observing the same early warning signs as in a major outbreak two decades ago and wanted to prevent a repeat, AFP reported.
“Chikungunya is not a disease that is widely known, but it has been detected and transmitted in 119 countries globally, putting 5.6 billion people at risk,” said the WHO’s Diana Rojas Alvarez, per the AFP.
Zhuang Shilihe, a Guangzhou-based medical expert who closely follows public health issues, told the Global Times on Saturday that for residents in Guangdong, prevention remains the most crucial aspect. Zhuang noted that this disease is not transmitted directly from person to person but through mosquitoes as vectors, making mosquito control measures particularly important.
“At the community level, areas with high mosquito density or standing water should be promptly cleared. On an individual level, people are advised to use mosquito repellent, wear long sleeves and pants, and protect exposed areas such as the neck,” Zhuang said.
While the outbreak has shown signs of spreading beyond Foshan to other cities in Guangdong Province, the overall risk remains controllable, as the disease is spread by mosquitoes, northern regions – where mosquitoes are less prevalent – face relatively lower transmission risks, Zhuang noted.
The expert added that Guangdong Province has in recent days launched a province-wide mosquito eradication campaign. Given the disease’s incubation period of around 2 to 9 days, the impact of the control measures will take some time to become apparent.
The transmission of the chikungunya virus typically peaks during the summer season. However, due to increasingly hot weather in recent years, the transmission period may be extended to September, Zhuang said.
China recorded its first imported chikungunya case in 2008. Since then, small-scale outbreaks caused by imported cases occurred in 2010 and 2019, but none reached the scale seen this year.
Why, then, is this year’s outbreak larger than previous ones? Liu Qiyong, chief vector-borne disease expert at the Chinese CDC, explained that the current outbreak is largely driven by the virus’s high global prevalence.
On July 22, WHO experts issued an alert stating that chikungunya transmission has been reported in 119 countries and regions. After the virus entered China, the presence of Aedes mosquitoes, the primary vector, enabled local transmission and small-scale outbreaks, Liu said.
Favorable climate conditions and the specific virus strain have also contributed to the unusually large scale of this year’s outbreak, Liu noted, as warm, humid weather has increased mosquito density. The imported strain – an Indian Ocean lineage – is also particularly efficient at spreading via Aedes mosquitoes.
KARACHI – United Bank Limited (UBL) has unveiled a latest auto financing offer, allowing customers to own their dream Suzuki Cultus with convenient monthly installment plans.
The offer includes three popular variants of Suzuki Cultus: VXR, VXL, and AGS, all with flexible payment terms and a fixed markup rate of 14.50 percent.
UBL aims to make car ownership more accessible through quick processing, minimal documentation, and financing tenures ranging from 1 to 5 years. Customers can also benefit from a residual value option of up to 50 percent.
Suzuki Culuts Latest Prices
The price of Suzuki Cults VXR stands at Rs4,089,490 while the VXL variant is available for Rs4,359,160 and AGS variant for Rs4,591,460 as of July 2025.
Fixed Rate Installments with 14.5%
Under the fixed rate installment plan for Suzuki Cultus VXR, the buyer will deposit Rs1.22 million in wake of down payment with monthly installment standing at Rs67,353.
Similarly, the down payment for Suzuki Cultus VXL will be Rs1.394 million and monthly installment will be Rs69,743.
The down payment stands at Rs1.607 million for Suzuki Cultus AGS while the per month installment will be Rs70,219.
Residual Value Installments
Alternatively, customers can opt for the residual value installment plan, which reduces monthly payments by allowing a balloon payment at the end of the term:
The down payment will be same as for fixed rate installment plan for the Suzuki Cultus variants. However, following will be the monthly installments”
Suzuki Cultus VXR: Rs50,972/month
Suzuki Cultus VXL: Rs52,780/month
Suzuki Cultus AGS: Rs53,141/month
This option is ideal for those looking for lower monthly financial commitments while retaining ownership flexibility at the end of the term.
The Infinix Smart 10, unveiled last month, has landed in India. It comes in a single 4GB/64GB configuration, priced at INR6,799, and has four color options – Iris Blue, Twilight Gold, Titanium Silver, and Sleek Black. The Smart 10 will go on sale in India starting August 2 through Flipkart and retail stores.
The Infinix Smart 10 is powered by the Unisoc T7250 SoC and runs Android 15-based XOS 15.1 out of the box. It’s built around a 6.67″ 120Hz HD+ LCD and packs a 5,000 mAh battery that charges through a USB-C at up to 15W. The smartphone also supports reverse wired charging.
The rest of the Infinix Smart 10’s highlights include an 8MP rear camera, an 8MP front camera, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and an IP64 rating. The Smart 10 also has a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion of up to 2TB and comes with dual speakers and DTS Sound Processing.
Further in-depth analysis, meticulously combining data from TESS with high-precision observations from powerful ground-based instruments, led to the exciting confirmation of a fourth planet (L 98-59 e) and, most notably, a fifth planet, L 98-59 f. This newly confirmed super-Earth, estimated to be nearly three times the mass of our own planet, receives a similar amount of energy from its host star as Earth does from the Sun, placing it firmly within the zone where liquid water, a cornerstone of life as we know it, could theoretically exist.
