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July 13 (UPI) — A federal judge in Florida said Monday that President Donald Trump sued the Internal Revenue Service for an “improper purpose” to reach a settlement with the Justice Department earlier this year.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in the Southern District of Florida added that the settlement Trump reached with the Justice Department protecting him and his family from tax audits is no longer valid.

Williams said Trump’s settlement with a Cabinet-level agency that he presides over is an attempt to “manipulate the judicial process.”

“The nature of the suit itself and the conduct of the Parties and counsel from its filing make plain that this was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law,” Williams wrote.

“In abdicating its responsibility to zealously defend the interests of the United States, the Government entered into a ‘settlement’ that deviated from its litigation posture in similar actions, disregarded DOJ policies, and accomplished objectives beyond those authorized, as well as those specifically prohibited, by law.”

Trump reached a settlement with the government after suing the IRS for $10 billion over a contractor leaking his tax information. Trump is the first president or nominee from the two major political parties in more than 40 years to not disclose his tax information.

Williams has referred Trump’s attorney in the lawsuit, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida bar. The bar will consider whether Brito should be disciplined based on Williams’ finding in her order. She is also sending a copy of her order to the State Bar of New York, where Acting Attorney Todd Blanche is a member.

July 13 (UPI) — The attorneys general of 12 states sued Monday to block the proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros., saying it would undermine competition in the entertainment industry.

A news release announcing the lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James said Paramount Skydance Corp.’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. “would combine two of the five major film studios and two of the five major basic cable companies, creating a massive conglomerate in markets for basic cable and theatrical film releases.”

“For over a century, Paramount and Warner Bros. have competed to create movies and television that bring people together, inspire and sustain generations of artists, and help us understand the world,” James said. “This merger would destroy that competitions, creating a massive company with unprecedented power and influence over news and entertainment across the globe.”

The release said the merger would increase costs for consumers and put jobs at risk.

The lawsuit comes one month after the Justice Department approved the planned merger, saying it doesn’t harm consumers in the United States.

Warner Bros. shareholders gave their blessing to the merger in April after Paramount offered to buy the company for $31 per share — a deal worth $110 billion.

Joining New York in the lawsuit were Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.

Deadline reported that Paramount could threaten to leave California in retaliation for the state’s involvement in the lawsuit. California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the two companies as “behemoths” in the entertainment industry and said their merger would lead to higher prices, lower quality and less content for consumers.

“California’s film and entertainment industry touches the lives of Americans daily — it comes into the living rooms of families, has a starring role in many young people’s first dates, and is a point of immense pride and employment for Californians up and down our state,” he said in a news release.

“Consolidation here not only leads to higher prices — it also leads to fewer opportunities for important stories to come to life, and fewer ways for audiences to encounter stories, ideas, and perspectives beyond their own experiences.”

July 13 (UPI) — Mexico announced the United States will begin to restore Mexican sugar’s access to its market, a measure that could significantly increase exports during the 2026-2027 season and boost income for about 170,000 sugarcane producers.

Mexico’s presidency said in a statement released Friday that the measure is the result of talks with U.S. authorities led by President Claudia Sheinbaum since November 2025.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the country will need to import up to 1,152,000 tons of Mexican sugar during the 2026-2027 marketing year, an amount 512% higher than the estimate for the current marketing year, according to the statement.

The estimate appears in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 10, the Mexican government said.

The presidency said the new conditions could generate a potential increase of up to 4.76 billion pesos, about $272 million, in the price paid by the sugar industry to about 170,000 Mexican sugarcane producers.

The talks that led to the announcement began in November 2025 during a visit by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to Sheinbaum, the statement said.

The Mexican government said the outcome demonstrates that “through dialogue it is possible to build important agreements” benefiting agricultural producers and food consumers in both countries.

Sugar trade between Mexico and the United States has been regulated since late 2014 under the so-called suspension agreements, according to background information published by the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System.

In June 2017, the governments of both countries reached an agreement in principle that reduced the share of refined Mexican sugar to 30% of total imports from the previous 53% limit, while increasing the share of raw sugar, the regional organization reported.

The U.S. sugar industry initially refused to support that agreement. Then-Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Mexico had accepted nearly all of the requests made by the industry, but U.S. producers still did not support the proposed terms.

U.S. refiners argued that high-quality Mexican raw sugar was reaching consumers directly instead of passing through their plants, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System.

The dispute involved a coalition of U.S. sugarcane and sugar beet producers, as well as ASR Group, maker of Domino Sugar, and Imperial Sugar.

ASR Group and Imperial Sugar said at the time that the 2014 agreement did not provide sufficient supplies for their refining operations and had asked the U.S. government to end the pact, the regional organization reported.

July 13 (UPI) — Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro has barred President-elect Abelardo De la Espriella from holding his inauguration at a military base, triggering an unprecedented institutional dispute that has clouded the transfer of power and underscored the country’s deep political polarization.

Citing his authority as commander-in-chief of the armed forces until Aug. 7, the leftist president blocked De la Espriella’s plan to take the oath of office before military personnel.

The incoming government had sought to use the ceremony to signal a sharp break with the outgoing administration’s security policies.

“Military and police barracks are under my command until the new president is sworn in and, therefore, until that moment I am the supreme commander of the military forces,” Petro wrote on X.

In the post, Petro reiterated his claim that the incoming government “was not elected by a majority of the people,” adding that Colombia’s next president must take office during a full session of Congress “under the laws of the republic and the Constitution.”

Petro’s decision comes amid an institutional crisis and a fractured transition following the June 21 runoff election. After De la Espriella’s victory, Petro alleged electoral fraud and refused to openly recognize the legitimacy of the president-elect.

In response, De la Espriella unilaterally suspended the administrative transition process, accusing Petro of planning a coup to remain in power. International organizations and electoral authorities have validated the election, but the official transfer of information remains frozen.

De la Espriella campaigned on a “tough-on-crime” platform and promised to restore “honor and dignity” to the armed forces, arguing that they had been mistreated and demoralized by the outgoing leftist government’s policies. His request to take the oath of office at a military installation was intended as a symbolic tribute to the troops.

The confrontation highlights Colombia’s sharp political shift after four years under the first leftist government in the country’s history.

According to local media, De la Espriella’s push to hold the congressional session outside the National Capitol also tests his strength against the legislative branch.

Because his party will not hold an absolute majority in the new Congress, which takes office July 20, Petro’s veto highlights the early institutional challenges and opposition the incoming government is likely to face.

Spain-France clash is filled with superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal, among others.

European giants France and Spain will compete for a place in the World Cup final on Tuesday, as the first semifinal kicks off in Dallas.

Both sides have some star names among their ranks, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Lamine Yamal set to play a key role in securing their country’s place in Sunday’s final.

Here’s a closer look at some of the key players who will decide Tuesday’s first semifinal.

Kylian Mbappe

World Cup 2026 statistics:

• Goals: 8
• Assists: 3
• Minutes played: 563

The French captain has been in remarkable form at this World Cup, breaking numerous records along the way.

After bagging four goals in the group stages, Mbappe has now scored in every knockout round so far, and he has also provided a number of assists.

The Real Madrid forward is in the form of his life and is the biggest threat in a star-studded Les Bleus XI.

After scoring a hat-trick in a World Cup final loss to Argentina in Qatar, Mbappe will be determined to go one step further this year.

Michael Olise

World Cup 2026 statistics:

• Goals: 0
• Assists: 5
• Minutes played: 488

Michael Olise may not have got himself on the scoresheet at this World Cup so far, but he is the player that has provided the most assists.

He has set up five goals for France, and his partnership with Mbappe has been a highlight of the tournament.

The Bayern Munich midfielder has the technical ability to unlock defences, and he will be a key attacking threat in the semifinal with Spain.

Ousmane Dembele

World Cup 2026 statistics:

• Goals: 5
• Assists: 2
• Minutes played: 492

The dynamic Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) forward came into this tournament looking for his first-ever World Cup goal. He now has five of them.

He scored a first-half hat-trick in a group game with Norway and also bagged the second in France’s 2-0 win over Morocco in the quarterfinals.

Les Bleus have been having their own Golden Boot competition, with Dembele pushing Mbappe all the way.

The pair have now scored 13 goals between them at this World Cup, a feat that has not been achieved by two players from the same country since Brazil’s Ronaldo and Rivaldo in 2002.

Lamine Yamal

World Cup 2026 statistics:

• Goals: 1
• Assists: 0
• Minutes played: 405

At a tournament where stars like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane have been prolific, 18-year-old Lamine Yamal has just one goal to date, in a routine 4-0 group drubbing of Saudi Arabia.

Despite this, the Barcelona teenage sensation remains a key attacking threat for La Roja and scored against France in the semifinals of Euro 2024.

He was awarded player of the match for his performance in Spain’s quarterfinal win over Belgium, and he has also recorded the most successful dribbles at the tournament so far.

“I know I can contribute even if I don’t score. I know my movements draw in many opponents, so I do everything I can to help the team,” Yamal said after Spain’s victory over Belgium.

Mikel Oyarzabal

World Cup 2026 statistics:

• Goals: 4
• Assists: 1
• Minutes played: 519

The Real Sociedad forward is Spain’s top scorer at this World Cup, and he will be La Roja’s biggest hope for goals in Tuesday’s semifinal.

He scored six goals in six games during World Cup qualification and has followed that up with four goals at the tournament proper.

Oyarzabal also has experience of scoring crucial goals at the business end of tournaments. He bagged an 86th-minute winner against England in the Euro 2024 final, proving he can perform under pressure on the biggest stage.

La Roja will hope for more of the same this week.

Mikel Merino

World Cup 2026 statistics:

• Goals: 2
• Assists: 0
• Minutes played: 180

If Spain need a goal against France in the closing stages of the semifinal, then Luis de la Fuente will be turning to one man on his bench.

Mikel Merino has twice played the role of super-sub at this World Cup, coming off the bench to score late winners against Portugal and Belgium.

The Arsenal midfielder is unlikely to start against Les Bleus on Tuesday, but he remains a key part of Spain’s squad and will pose a real threat against tired legs towards the end of the match.

July 13 (UPI) — The European Union plans to implement a social media ban on users younger than 13-years-old, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday.

The ban would still allow users younger than 13 to use social media with parental supervision. Von der Leyen presented an expert report on the harms of social media use on children that recommended the ban to limit time spent on the platforms.

“It is very clear that we need age-appropriate restrictions to platforms,” von der Leyen said. “This is not about whether children can access social media. It is about whether and when social media can access our children.”

The report, written by child psychiatrist Jorg Fegert and epidemiologist Dr. Maria Melchior, also recommends that social media use be limited to platforms that have certain features such as limits to infinite scrolling. They also recommend that children under the age of 3 have no screen time.

Von der Leyen is expected to announce a law outright banning children and teens from using some social media sites in the coming months. Monday’s report is the first step toward that law.

The European Union is just one body that has considered banning children and teens from accessing social media in recent years. Australia was the first country to implement a ban, barring children under 16-years-old from using social media last year.

Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, India, Indonesia and Malaysia are either considering similar restrictions or have adopted them.

Along with efforts to restrict access to social media, governments and coalitions across the globe have been encouraging major social media companies to change their policies to make their sites safer for children. Among the features they are pushing for are greater control of the data of children, the elimination of features that encourage compulsory use like infinite scrolling and control over age-inappropriate content.

July 12 (UPI) — An intense fire that ripped through a Bangkok pub early Monday killed at least 27 people and injured nearly 20 others, officials said as an investigation was launched into the cause of the blaze.

Authorities received a report of the fire at the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao pub in Bangkok’s densely populated Chatuchak district at 12:02 a.m. local time, Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said in a statement.

“The fire was burning intensely,” according to the department, which said responders from various agencies worked to extinguish the blaze and rescue the injured and people trapped inside.

Videos of the bar’s entrance posted online show people screaming and running out of the establishment followed by flames erupting from the door.

Officials said the fire was brought under control by 12:32 a.m.

Images of the aftermath posted online by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation show the charred remains of the bar’s interior.

A preliminary inspection of the scene found that 27 people had been killed, the department said. The identities have not been released, but the department said 18 were women and nine were men.

Of the 18 people injured, eight were listed as red cases, meaning they were either in critical or life-threatening condition, seven were labeled yellow for serious but stable condition and three were considered green cases with minor injuries, the department said in an update.

“Forensic investigators are examining the scene to determine the cause of the fire,” the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul arrived at the scene at about 1:30 a.m. and was joined by Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Director-General Teerapat Katchamat and Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt.

Anutin told reporters at the scene that most fatalities were the result of smoke inhalation. He said that he was told by witnesses that the fire appeared to have started near a circuit breaker on the restaurant’s stage before the facility was plunged into darkness, the Bangkok Post reported.

July 13 (UPI) — Exceptionally hot weather in May and June was responsible for the heat-related deaths of at least 2,700 people in England and Wales, according to British research out Monday that found that human-caused climate change was a significant factor.

Temperature records for both months fell during heat waves May 21-29 and June 18-28, with the bulk of the fatalities — 2,200 — in June when the temperature rose to as high as 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit compared with average daytime highs of 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the Met Office said in a news release.

Researchers from Imperial College London, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Met Office modeled excess deaths — those over and above normal levels — during both heat waves using historical mortality records and established peer-reviewed methods.

Notably, almost 6 in 10 of fatalities during the May heat wave were attributed to additional heat contributed by human-caused climate change, compared with a little less than 4 in 10 during the heat wave in June, which was hotter and lasted longer.

The scientists said daytime maximum temperatures approximately 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they would have been without human-induced climate change had fueled temperatures that would have otherwise been far less likely to occur — making the heat waves far more hazardous to human health.

“We all love the sun, but people need to be aware that we are now seeing dangerous climate-change-fueled heat that is claiming lives, disrupting schools and hospitals and shutting down transport and infrastructure,” said Dr. Clair Barnes, Research Associate in Extreme Weather and Climate Change at Imperial College London.

“It’s time we woke up to the fact that we now live in a country with dangerously hot summers. To protect people during future extremes, we must urgently adapt to the reality of the climate we now have, and double down on global efforts to reach net zero emissions to stop this from getting worse,” she said.

Dr. Malcolm Mistry, Assistant Professor in Climate and Geo-spatial Modelling at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, expressed concern that only a few weeks into summer England and Wales had already experienced two record-breaking heat waves.

He warned that with spikes of extreme hot weather more frequent and more intense due to human activity, summer heat waves were “rapidly evolving into a major health risk for people in the United Kingdom.”

Mistry said it was critical that changes to homes, workplaces and critical infrastructure to cope with extreme heat kept ahead of rising health risks in order to protect the elderly, children, babies and other vulnerable groups.

The Met Office said 2026 has been exceptional with the two heat waves topping records that had stood since May 1944 and June 1976.

“For the time of year these events were extreme, even in our warmer climate,” said Climate Attribution Manager, Dr. Mark McCarthy.

The climate division of the U.K. Health Security Agency said that with periods of heat likely to become more intense, longer and more frequent as the world continued to warm, the study showed the “scale of risk associated with extreme heat and the growing threat climate change poses to our wellbeing.”

Continental Europe has also been in the grip of a more or less continuous heat wave since May that has placed health systems under huge pressure, triggered deadly wildfires that have burned through tens of thousands of hectares of woodland and scrubland, crippled power grids and forced schools to close.

The World Health Organization said Sunday that 1,300 excess deaths reported across Europe since June 21 were linked to the high temperatures.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Europe was warming twice as fast as the rest of the world with 150 million people suffering the negative impacts of the extreme heat.

France’s Health Ministry said Sunday that there were 1,000 extra deaths between Wednesday and Saturday alone, compared with previous months.

Seoul shares plunged 9 percent Monday as investors dumped technology stocks for profit-taking amid renewed tensions in the Middle East. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 669.01 points, or 8.95 percent, to close at 6,806.93 after falling as low as 6,783.43.

Trade volume was moderate at 469.86 million shares worth 39.8 trillion won (US$26.5 billion), with decliners far outnumbering gainers 713 to 179.

Institutions and foreigners sold a net 2.22 trillion won and 1.7 trillion won worth of shares, respectively, while individuals bought a net 3.9 trillion won.

After opening 0.85 percent lower, the KOSPI extended its losses, triggering a circuit breaker that temporarily halted trading of KOSPI-listed stocks for 20 minutes. It marked the seventh activation of the measure this year.

On Friday, U.S. stocks advanced, buoyed by South Korean chipmaker SK hynix’s multibillion-dollar U.S. share offering. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.29 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.29 percent.

SK hynix’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq closed at US$168 each, well above the offering price of $149.

Despite the successful U.S. market debut, SK hynix shares tumbled as investors took profits and shifted to the company’s ADRs, analysts said.

Investor sentiment was also dampened by heightened uncertainty in the Middle East after the United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes over the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

“The country’s newly introduced single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds linked to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continued to fuel volatility in the stock market,” Samsung Securities said in a research note.

Tech stocks led the decline.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunged 10.7 percent to 254,500 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix plummeted 15.37 percent to 1,845,000 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.95 percent to 444,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace declined 3.21 percent to 936,000 won.

Among gainers, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 0.77 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation climbed 7.09 percent to 110,200 won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,503.4 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 2 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 4.1 basis points to 3.809 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 3.3 basis points at 4.041 percent.

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A Seoul district court on Monday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to two years in prison after finding him partially guilty of accepting illegal political funds in the form of free opinion polls from a self-proclaimed power broker.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted the jailed former president on charges of violating the Political Funds Act in a ruling that marked a departure from a separate trial where his wife was acquitted on the same charges.

Special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team earlier indicted Yoon on charges of colluding with his wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee, and receiving 58 opinion polls worth about 270 million won (US$180,100) in total for free from the power broker, Myung Tae-kyun, between April 2021 and March 2022.

In its ruling, the court recognized that Yoon had received 14 opinion polls from Myung for free over the period, sentencing him to prison and ordering a forfeiture of 13.96 million won.

It recognized the special counsel team’s argument that Yoon had promised to support former Rep. Kim Young-sun’s nomination as a candidate for the conservative People Power Party in the parliamentary by-elections in June 2022 in exchange for the opinion polls.

“The defendant’s actions sowed distrust in politics and undermined the public trust in the development of democracy,” the court said. “A punishment commensurate with the wrongdoing is inevitable.”

The court also sentenced Myung to 18 months in prison on the charges.

The special counsel team had sought a four-year prison sentence for Yoon and a three-year term for Myung.

The ruling diverged from an appellate court’s acquittal of Yoon’s wife on charges of accepting free opinion polls from Myung in a separate trial.

In Kim’s acquittal in April, the Seoul High Court ruled the couple could not be seen as profiting off the opinion polls as Myung had provided them to other people as well. Min’s team has appealed that ruling.

After the ruling, Yoon’s lawyers vowed to appeal, saying the verdict was “difficult to understand” given the former first lady’s acquittal in her trial.

The special counsel team called the latest ruling “very meaningful,” noting the bench appeared to have closely considered the various evidence and arguments presented in its judgment.

It marked the latest conviction for Yoon, who has been standing multiple trials following his failed 2024 martial law bid. In February, Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection through his short-lived imposition of martial law.

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Dramatic video captured the moment waves caused by Typhoon Bavi slammed into a house in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. The storm caused widespread power and phone service outages. Authorities had evacuated more than two million residents.

Retired US General Mark Kimmitt warns renewed attacks in the Strait of Hormuz could push the US and Iran back towards wider conflict.

July 13 (UPI) — Yulia Svyrydenko has resigned as prime minister of Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that she would be assuming a new position amid a shift in the war-torn country’s political strategy.

Svyrydenko stepped down on Sunday, five days short of serving a full year as prime minister. No reason was given.

Her resignation came as Zelensky said in a statement that “Ukraine is changing its political strategy.”

Though he did not detail specifically how or why the change was necessary, he indicated the new strategy would prioritize implementing the agreement with the United States for Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile systems, advancing Europe’s anti-ballistic missile defense project, progressing Kyiv’s European Union membership, improving relations with Poland and Hungary and creating ties with the Middle East for security and economic cooperation and with China to help Russia’s War.

“Accordingly, personnel changes will begin in Ukraine to ensure the implementation of the updated political strategy,” Zelensky said in a statement.

He said he discussed the details with Svyrydenko and together, “we determined that these changes require a renewal of the Cabinet of Ministers.”

“I am grateful to Yulia for her clear, steady and effective work as prime minister, for her years of productive service on Ukraine’s team, and I have offered her the opportunity to lead a new and important area of relations with a key partner,” he said.

“I expect that, together with MPs, we will make the corresponding changes in the government of Ukraine. There will also be changes among the heads of law enforcement agencies.”

Svyrydenko said in a separate statement that she was grateful to Zelensky and was proud to have led the government as the country defended itself against Russia’s invasion.

“At this moment, it is critically important to unite all our strength and resources to make Ukraine stronger,” she said.

“I remain ready to serve the Ukrainian state and carry out every task aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s position, defending our national interests and bringing a just peace closer.”

The announcement also came about seven months after Zelensky’s administration underwent a major reshuffle after 11 officials quit following a mass corruption scandal that rocked the government.

Zelensky separately said Sunday that he met with Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal and Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, among other officials.

Following the passing of Qatar’s Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani on Sunday, his solidarity with the Palestinian people remains one of the defining legacies of his leadership. He is being remembered not only as a regional statesman, but also as a steadfast ally of the Palestinian people and the only Arab leader to physically break the crippling siege on the Gaza Strip.

In October 2012, Sheikh Hamad visited the embattled Gaza Strip, six years after Israel imposed its crippling international blockade on the territory, following the 2006 Palestinian elections.

Accompanied by his wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and a high-level delegation, the emir bypassed the political isolation imposed on the enclave by Western powers and regional actors, leading to a massive official and popular reception.

The head of Hamas’s diaspora office, Khaled Meshaal, told Al Jazeera that the visit to the Strip means that “Jerusalem, Gaza and Palestine mourn him.”

“He was the first Arab and Muslim leader to visit Gaza, standing by its side with chivalry and magnanimity, as if officially announcing the breaking of the siege in its darkest circumstances,” Meshaal told Al Jazeera. “He was intelligent, brave and a man of principles.”

Ahmed al-Sheikh, a senior journalist, Arab affairs commentator and former news director at Al Jazeera Arabic Channel, said the Father Emir had ”a special kind of love for Palestine”.

“Has any other leader in the Arab world done that [visit to Gaza], except Hamad bin Khalifa?” al-Sheikh reflected in a recent interview.

”Why did he go to Gaza? It’s because he saw that everyone around Gaza is neglecting it”, he added.

During that landmark visit, Sheikh Hamad announced an increase in Qatar’s reconstruction grant to the enclave from $254m to $400m, laying the foundation for vital housing, infrastructure and healthcare projects that benefited thousands of Palestinians.

Addressing crowds at the Islamic University of Gaza – which awarded him and Sheikha Moza honorary doctorates for their humanitarian efforts – he praised the resilience of the Palestinian people, while criticising the international community’s double standards.

Personal pain and the ‘spearhead’ of liberation

His commitment to the Palestinian cause predated the blockade on Gaza. In 1999, Sheikh Hamad became the first Gulf leader to visit the Palestinian territories since 1967, meeting with the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat during a critical political impasse.

According to al-Sheikh, the emir viewed the Palestinian struggle through a deeply personal lens. When former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon besieged Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, the emir was profoundly pained. He told his aides that when Sharon attacked the Muqata’a, it felt as though he was attacking Qatar itself.

His connection to Palestine was coupled with a regret that he had never visited Jerusalem before its occupation in 1967, According to al-Sheikh, that prompted him to commission an extensive three-hour documentary on the holy city to capture its history and identity.

Rather than relying solely on international intervention, he believed in the agency of the Palestinian people and that they were the essential spearhead of their movement. “You will do the primary action and without this action there can be no liberation,” the emir once told al-Sheikh.

Defying regional consensus

This stance put him frequently at odds with the regional consensus. During Israel’s devastating 2008–2009 war on Gaza, deep divisions emerged among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members over how to respond to the crisis.

Sheikh Hamad called for an emergency Arab summit in Doha, proposing a $250m reconstruction fund and a maritime corridor to bypass the blockade. He famously expressed his disappointment on live television about the lack of an Arab quorum for the emergency meeting. “God is sufficient for us and he is the best disposer of affairs.”

Some of Gaza’s most vital infrastructure projects before the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023 were the result of financial pledges made by Sheikh Hamad.

Qatar funded the rehabilitation of vital highways and the flagship Sheikh Hamad City in Khan Younis—a $58m public housing project with 53 modern apartment buildings for thousands of low-income families.

Additionally, the Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, which officially opened in April 2019, became the territory’s premier facility for amputees and children with hearing impairments.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has systematically erased much of the infrastructure Qatar helped finance during Sheikh Hamad’s leadership. Satellite imagery from May this year confirms that Hamad City and other areas in southern Gaza have been wiped from the map.

The Sheikh Hamad Hospital managed to resume its vital services last December, despite suffering direct attacks, severe shortages and the broader collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system. Operating the only CT scanner in northern Gaza, the hospital has even opened a new branch in the south to cope with a 225 percent increase in amputation cases.

Sheikh Hamad Hospital’s continued operations during the ongoing genocide in Gaza remain a tangible remnant of the late emir’s unprecedented efforts in the besieged enclave. His support for Gaza will remain for generations to come.

Oil prices have jumped amid the latest outbreak of hostilities between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude, the main international benchmark, rose more than 4 percent on Monday as Washington and Tehran traded attacks amid their escalating standoff over control of the critical waterway.

Brent futures for September delivery stood at $79.26 a barrel as of 05:00 GMT, the highest since June 22.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday that it had carried out dozens of strikes on Iran to degrade its ability to attack vessels in the strait, hours after striking hundreds of targets in the country.

US forces launched the earlier round of strikes after accusing Iranian forces of “blatantly” attacking a Cyprus-flagged container ship, the MV GFS Galaxy, as it was transiting the strait.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it,” CENTCOM said in a statement late on Sunday.

“US forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations.”

Iranian forces on Sunday launched a wave of missile and drone attacks against the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain in response to the US strikes.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which claims the right to control traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, earlier reiterated that vessels attempting to cross the waterway without using its preferred route would “not be covered by safe passage guarantees”.

“The consequences arising from transit through unauthorized routes shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander,” the authority said.

After ticking up following Washington and Tehran’s signing of a memorandum of understanding on ending the war last month, maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has declined sharply amid the renewed fighting between the sides.

Just six vessels were tracked crossing the strait between 18:00 GMT on Thursday and 06:00 GMT on Friday, compared with 18-22 daily crossings earlier this month, according to maritime intelligence platform Windward.

Nine vessels were tracked in the waterway between 18:00 GMT on Saturday and 06:00 GMT on Sunday, four of which were flying the Iranian flag, according to Windward.

Roughly 130 vessels transited the strait, a conduit for one-fifth of the global oil trade in peacetime, each day before the start of the war.

Oil prices, which had returned to pre-conflict levels following the signing of the memorandum on June 17, are now about 9 percent higher than before the US and Israel launched their initial strikes on Iran in late February.

Mukesh Sahdev, founder and chief oil analyst at XAnalysts in Sydney, Australia, said he expects the per-barrel price of Brent to remain in the upper $70s during August and September amid the heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

“There could be occasional spikes and dips outside that range,” Sahdev said in a note to clients on Saturday.

“Long-haul procurement forces refiners to make supply decisions weeks in advance,” Sahdev added.

“Those decisions have already reduced immediate reliance on the Middle East, and the latest escalation is likely to reinforce rather than reverse that trend.”

Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG in Sydney, Australia, said prices are unlikely to approach the much higher levels seen earlier in the war despite the latest turmoil.

“Oil’s return towards pre-war levels in June reflected markets pricing in a best-case outcome for the fragile US-Iran arrangement; last week’s re-escalation exposes how fragile that assumption was,” Yip said in a note to clients on Monday.

“Near-term, the risk premium should keep prices supported, though a repeat of the earlier spike appears unlikely, as demand remains slow to recover while stranded-tanker releases and OPEC+ output quota expansion continue to add barrels to an already oversupplied outlook.”

Major Asian stock markets fell on Monday amid the renewed fighting in the Middle East.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell more than 2 percent in afternoon trading, while South Korea’s Kospi plunged more than 8 percent.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index dipped about 0.2 percent.

July 12 (UPI) — The U.S. military said late Sunday ithad completed a new wave of attacks against Iran, as world leaders raised fears that a fragile cease-fire would collapse and the conflict could widen beyond the region.

The Sunday attack was the second consecutive night that the United States had attacked Iran and was the fourth round in a week, prompting retaliatory strikes from Tehran against regional U.S. military assets following each operation, as the two sides battle over the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route.

U.S. Central Command said its forces had completed the wave of strikes, claiming to have hit dozens of targets with precision munitions with the intent to “degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities and small boats were among the targets attacked by U.S. fighter jets, naval assets and aerial and sea drones on Sunday, CENTCOM said.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

“Iran does not control it.”

The announcement of the operation’s conclusion came hours after CENTCOM said it had begun and after the U.S. military refuted Iran’s claims that it had closed the vital waterway in response to what it characterized as violations of the 25-day-old U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding that established the shaky cease-fire.

“The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway,” CENTCOM declared. “U.S. forces are positioned and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations. Iran does not control the strait.

“Traffic is flowing.”

Late Sunday, Iranian media reported explosions near Sirik and west of Bandar Abbas in the country’s south during the second night of U.S. strikes, which came shortly after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted what it called American military assets in Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

As CENTCOM announced the completion of its strikes, state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was targeting U.S. bases in Jordan.

Those attacks drew condemnation from the Gulf states and warnings from world leaders that events were spiraling quickly.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it is “following with deep concern the recent incidents that are further escalating the regional tensions.”

Islamabad, which mediated the memorandum of understanding, “reiterates its strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all brotherly countries in the region, and urges all sides to exercise restraint, take immediate steps towards de-escalation, and uphold respective commitments under the [MOU].”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday similarly expressed “deep concerns” over what he called a “serious escalation & renewed military confrontations in the Gulf, including the Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the attacks by the U.S. on Iran, and the attacks by Iran on targets in the neighboring countries.

“These attacks must all stop,” he said, warning that “a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences — for the peoples of the region, for international peace & security & for the global economy.

“I urge Iran & the U.S. to urgently resume negotiations & to address outstanding issues through diplomacy,” Guterres said.

The fighting comes as the two sides were negotiating the implementation of the MOU, with the Strait of Hormuz appearing to be a sticking point.

The United States resumed striking Iran on Wednesday after Iran attacked three commercial ships in the vital chokepoint. The Trump administration is seeking to regain freedom of navigation through the strait, while Iran seeks to maintain control over ships transiting it.

The Israeli Army has released footage of what it says are hidden tunnels under Lebanon’s historic Beaufort Castle, where it says Hezbollah’s command centres were housed. Israeli soldiers recaptured the 900-year-old fortress in June.

At least 27 people were killed and 63 injured, many critically, after a fire ripped through a popular pub in Bangkok. Authorities are investigating whether the pub, located near the iconic Chatuchak Weekend Market, had adequate escape routes.

The US has launched a new wave of strikes on Iran targeting what it says is Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump has declared the waterway open while Iran insists it is closed leading to a further escalation of attacks, as Heidi Zhou Castro reports from Washington DC.

July 12 (UPI) — A major heat dome expanded from the interior West into the Upper Midwest on Sunday on its way to smothering the East later this week, forecasters said.

The heat in the East is expected to be shorter and less intense than the early July heat wave, but parts of the West are coming within a few degrees of all-time record highs.

Dangerous heat is also gripping even the Desert Southwest, where communities are used to extreme temperatures. The pattern will raise the risk of heat exhaustion, heatstroke and heat-related deaths.

Motorists are urged to carry plenty of water with them in the event of a breakdown.

Temperatures climbed well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit across much of the Great Basin, the Cascades and Sierras east to the western Rockies, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, western Colorado and northern Arizona this weekend.

The building heat dome has already pushed season-high temperatures into the 110s in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Palm Springs, Calif.

The heat expanded north this weekend, bringing highs of 106 in Salt Lake City, 107 in Bismarck, N.D., and 110 in Billings, Mont. Those temperatures are 10-25 degrees above historical averages during what is typically the hottest part of the year.

As the heat shifts east into the north-central United States early this week, some daily record highs will be challenged. As the hot air spreads east of the Rockies into more humid air, AccuWeather RealFeel Temperatures will run as much as 10-15 degrees higher than the actual air temperature.

While the North American monsoon will begin to temper the heat across parts of the West with increasing clouds and thunderstorms, multiple days of 90-degree heat are forecast across the Midwest, including Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland.

Minneapolis and Chicago can expect at least four consecutive days with highs at or above 90.

“Temperatures will peak in the mid- to upper 90s in the Interstate 95 cities of the mid-Atlantic and New England during the heat surge this week,” AccuWeather Vice President of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said. “While high temperatures will still create dangerous conditions, the heat will be somewhat less intense and shorter-lived than the early July heat wave.”

Humidity levels with the heat in the Midwest and Northeast this week will be significantly lower when compared to the week of Independence Day.

The Israeli military has released video showing huge explosions and detonations in villages in southern Lebanon. Israel says they were targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and tunnels. Meanwhile a US military delegation has met with Lebanon’s army in Beirut to discuss Israel’s planned withdrawal from a ‘pilot zone’ in occupied territory.

Israel’s military has attacked several places across Gaza, with Palestinians filming flames and smoke rising over Gaza City as a nine-year-old girl was killed by Israeli gunfire in central Gaza.