.
Europe
Italy
30.07.2025 “The (Russian) Ministry of Foreign Affairs' publication of a list of alleged ‘Russophobes,’ accused of ‘inciting hatred’ against Russia, is nothing more than yet another propaganda operation, aimed at diverting attention from Moscow's grave responsibilities,' the Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said in a statement. Meloni extended her solidarity to Italy’s Foreign Minister Tajani and Defense Minister Crosetto, also targeted with the same accusation. Other European leaders, including Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, are also on the list. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
Spain
30.07.2025 The commission had adopted a flawed strategy by trying to appease and flatter Trump, agreeing to purchase more US weapons and liquefied natural gas areas, Borrell, who served as EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy from 2019 to 2024, said in a post on X. 'Bad strategy leads to bad outcomes,' he argues, adding: "Europe emerges geopolitically weakened from a deal struck in just 1 hour on a golf course.' (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
European Commission
July 30, 2025 The deadline for the EU executive to contest the decision in the EU’s top-tier Court of Justice passed earlier this month without the Commission appealing. At the beginning of July, der Leyen faced a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament over the case. The debate became the first time she has publicly defended herself over the case. In the case that became known as 'Pfizergate,' reporters asked to see the messages after it was revealed in a 2021 New York Times interview with von der Leyen that she had exchanged texts with Bourla ahead of a multibillion-euro vaccine deal agreed between Pfizer 'and the EU'. Whether the Commission’s non-appeal means that the messages will be released 'is another matter'. (Source: Politico - U.S.)
Moldova
30.07.2025 Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said the Moldovan Central Electoral Commission plans to open only two polling stations in Russia, while 73 stations will be opened in Italy, 36 in Germany, 26 in France, and 23 each in the UK and Romania in the Sept. 28 parliamentary elections. Moldova continues to tighten control over opposition political forces, despite its verbal commitment to democratic principles. "In Italy, where around 250,000 Moldovans reside, the authorities plan to open 73 polling stations. In contrast, for the 350,000 Moldovans living in Russia, only two stations are planned'. She highlighted that each polling station receives 5,000 ballots, meaning the setup in Italy will be more than enough to cover the demand, with ballots to spare, whereas in Russia, only 10,000 people out of 350,000 will be able to vote. "There is no doubt that the current authorities have pinned their hopes on the way votes will be cast by the Moldovan diaspora in the West. This is more than just an attempt to influence the outcome but the use of technical methods to produce the desired result,' she said. Kremlin spokesman Peskov went on to highlight violations of the electoral rights of many Moldovans, particularly referring to Moldovan citizens residing in Russia. 'We regretfully acknowledge that the electoral rights of many Moldovans are being suppressed and violated. Regardless of what anyone says in Chisinau, the rights of Moldovans living abroad, including those on the territory of the Russian Federation, should, in our view, be guaranteed," Peskov noted. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
Ukraine
30 July 2025 Live statistics. Since 24 March 2022, the Center for Civil Liberties (joint Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2022) has gathered more than 84,000 cases related to war crimes committed by Russian occupation troops, ranging from murder, rape and disappearances to other violations of fundamental rights. In all the Regions of Ukraine, participant-organisations document events that display features of crimes defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes. (Source: T4P - Ukraine)
(30 July 2025) Late yesterday, Ukraine's armed forces have confirmed a Russian missile strike hit a military training unit, causing a number of casualties. One Ukrainian war reporter, Taplienko, said it was in the Chernihiv region north of Kyiv which borders both Russia and Belarus. Russia's ministry of defence released video of what it claimed was a strike by an Iskander ballistic missile in a wooded area that involved more than 20 cluster-type explosions. It is the third Russian attack on a Ukrainian training unit in little more than two months. An Iskander missile attack on a camp in the norther border region of Sumy killed six servicemen in May. Another strike killed 12 people and wounded another 60 last month. The commander of ground forces Drapatyi resigned after last month's deadly attack. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)
Eurasia
Russia
Wednesday 30 July 2025 07:07 BST Tsunami warnings have been issued after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s Far East early today. A 8.8-magnitude quake struck 119km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations, reported that Kamchatka had seen a tsunami 10-13ft high and urged people to move away from the shoreline. Japan’s weather agency said it expected tsunami waves of up to 10ft and asked people in coastal towns to leave for higher ground. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)
Wednesday 30 July 2025 06:18, UK First tsunami waves hit Russia and Japan after 8.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Kamchatka Peninsula. /Video/ (Source: Sky News - United Kingdom)
Asia
Tajikistan
07/30/2025 Dushanbe expels Afghans. At the beginning of July, all refugees and asylum seekers in Tajikistan received text messages ordering them to leave the country within 15 days, otherwise they would be forcibly deported. A statement from the press office of the border control forces reporting to the National Security Committee refers to a growth in the flow of foreign citizens who have entered Tajik territory illegally, some of whom 'clearly violate the rules established for coexistence". These violations include participation in drug trafficking, propaganda of extremism, including through unacceptable behaviour, the presentation of false documents to obtain refugee status, the use of the territory for transit to third countries and the possession of documents of another nationality. Reports have since emerged of the arrest and expulsion of many people, as first reported by the 'Afghan television channel' Amu, according to which these measures also affected those who were officially registered and living in Tajikistan on a completely legal basis. Among those deported are also former collaborators of Afghan state structures who fled immediately after the return of the Taliban in 2021 and who, upon returning to their homeland, risk their lives, as has already happened to many citizens who collaborated with the pro-Western government overthrown after the Americans left the country. There are currently around 9,000 Afghan refugees living in Tajikistan, and the human rights agency in Dushanbe has stated that in 2024, 11,000 asylum seekers were registered by the Ministry of the Interior, 63% of whom came from Afghanistan. Of these, 2,280 have received documents certifying their official refugee status, 2,591 have been granted temporary residence permits. This crackdown comes on top of others already in place against Afghan exiles in Pakistan and Iran in recent months. /Source: Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) - headquarters in Rome, Italy)
North America
United States
(Wednesday), July 30, 2025 After the trade talks between the US and China concluded, in Stockholm, Sweden, yesterday, US Treasury Secretary Bessent said he warned Chinese officials that continued purchases of sanctioned Russian oil would lead to big tariffs due to legislation in Congress, but was told that Beijing would protect its energy sovereignty. Wrapping up two days of US-China trade talks in Stockholm, Bessent said he also expressed US displeasure at China's continued purchases of sanctioned Iranian oil, and its sales of over US$15 billion worth of dual-use technology goods to Russia that have bolstered Moscow's war against Ukraine. Bessent said legislation in the US Congress authorising Trump to levy tariffs up to 500 per cent on countries that purchase sanctioned Russian oil would draw US allies into taking similar steps to cut off Russia's energy revenues. Trump on Monday shortened a deadline for Moscow to make progress toward a Ukraine war peace deal or see its oil customers slapped with secondary tariffs of 100 per cent in 10 to 12 days. Chinese officials responded by saying China was a sovereign nation with energy needs, and oil purchases would be based on the country's internal policies, Bessent said. China remains the largest buyer of Russian oil, at about two million barrels per day, followed by India and Turkey. Bessent said he also has warned his counterpart, Vice Premier He that China's continued sales of goods to Russia that wind up in weapons contributing to the war ’on the European border’ will hurt its efforts to boost trade ties with Europe. (Source: AsiaOne – Singapore)
July 30, 2025 It is a frenzied, renewed interest in the Epstein saga following the Justice Department's statement earlier this month that it would not be releasing any additional records from the investigation, an abrupt announcement that stunned online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump's political base who had been hoping to find proof of a government coverup. The Republican president has faced an outcry over his administration's refusal to release more records about Epstein after promises of transparency, a rare example of strain within Trump's tightly controlled political coalition. Trump has attempted to tamp down questions about the case, expressing annoyance that people are still talking about it six years after Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial, even though some of his own allies have promoted conspiracy theories about it. Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned former girlfriend, was recently interviewed inside a Florida courthouse by the Justice Department’s No. 2 official, Deputy Attorney General Blanche. She’s willing to answer more questions from Congress if she is granted immunity from future prosecution for her testimony and if lawmakers agree to satisfy other conditions. Aboard Air Force One while returning from Scotland, Trump said he was upset that Epstein was 'taking people who worked for me.” The women, he said, were 'taken out of the spa, hired by him - in other words, gone.” “I said, listen, we don’t want you taking our people,” Trump said. When it happened again, Trump said he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. Asked if Giuffre was one of the employees poached by Epstein, he demurred but then said 'he stole her.” Giuffre, Epstein’s most well-known sex trafficking accuser died by suicide earlier this year. She claimed that Maxwell spotted her working as a spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago in 2000, when she was a teenager, and hired her as Epstein’s masseuse, which led to sexual abuse. She accused Epstein of pressuring her into having sex with powerful men. Maxwell is serving a 20-year-prison sentence in a Florida federal prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls. (Source: The Korea Herald - South Korea)
.5 7 30 11:34
