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For Gaza students, big ambitions replaced by desperate search for food

GAZA (Reuters) -Student Maha Ali was determined to become a journalist one day and report on events in Gaza. Now she and other students have just one ambition: finding food as hunger ravages the Palestinian enclave.

As war rages, she is living among the ruins of Islamic University, a once-bustling educational institution, which like most others in Gaza, has become a shelter for displaced people.

"We have been saying for a long time that we want to live, we want to get educated, we want to travel. Now, we are saying we want to eat," honours student Ali, 26, said.

Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter inside the destroyed Islamic University of Gaza, in Gaza City, June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Philippines voices concern over 'dangerous' Chinese actions after Scarborough Shoal collision

MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines expressed serious concern on Tuesday over what it described as "dangerous manoeuvres and unlawful interference" by Chinese vessels during a coast guard supply mission for Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal on Monday.

"Their actions not only posed a grave danger to Philippine personnel and vessels, but also resulted in the unfortunate collision between the two Chinese vessels," the Philippine foreign ministry said in a statement.

FILE PHOTO: China Coast Guard vessels are pictured at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo

New Zealand politician removed from parliament following comments in Palestinian debate

WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand parliamentarian Chloe Swarbrick was ordered to leave parliament on Tuesday during a heated debate over the government's response to Palestine.

An urgent debate was called after the centre-right government said on Monday it was weighing up its position on whether to recognise a Palestinian state.

Close ally Australia on Monday joined Canada, the UK and France in announcing it would recognise a Palestinian state at a U.N. conference in September.

A pedestrian walks past the New Zealand Parliament Buildings in Wellington, New Zealand, June 14, 2022. REUTERS/Lucy Craymer/File Photo

For Trump administration, US air drops of Gaza aid were never a serious option, sources say

By Phil Stewart, Jonathan Landay and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -During President Joe Biden's administration, the U.S. military carried out waves of air drops of food into Gaza, delivering some 1,220 tons of assistance.

But the option hasn't been seriously considered by Donald Trump's administration, U.S. officials and other sources say, even as he voices concern over starvation in Gaza amid Israel's nearly two-year-old military campaign against Hamas.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Air Force members work on the preparation of a humanitarian aid drop for Gaza residents, in this picture released on March 5, 2024. US Central Command via X/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Analysis-Hamas hostage videos silenced Israeli media's talk of Gaza aid crisis

By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A growing willingness by among Israeli news media to critically explore the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has all but evaporated in recent weeks after militant group Hamas released videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages.

In late July, as images of starving Gazans stirred international outcry, some Israeli press and broadcasters began to carry reports on the worsening conditions there, urging a more robust aid response.

Demonstrators hold a banner, during a protest outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, to demand the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of the war, in Jerusalem, August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

Australia's Albanese says Netanyahu 'in denial' over suffering in Gaza

By Alasdair Pal

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was "in denial" about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a day after announcing Australia would recognise a Palestinian state for the first time.

Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at next month's United Nations General Assembly, Albanese said on Monday, a move that adds to international pressure on Israel after similar announcements from France, Britain and Canada.

FILE PHOTO: Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at a Labor party election night event, after local media projected the Labor Party's victory, on the day of the Australian federal election, in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo

Trump says both sides in Ukraine war will need to cede territory

By Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland, Yuliia Dysa and Lili Bayer

WASHINGTON/KYIV/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kyiv and Moscow will both have to cede land to end the war in Ukraine and talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week will instantly show whether the Kremlin leader is willing to make a deal.

European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plan to speak with Trump this week ahead of his summit with Putin in Alaska on Friday, amid fears Washington may dictate unfavorable peace terms to Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he speaks to the press about deploying federal law enforcement agents in Washington to bolster the local police presence, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House, in Washington D.C., U.S., August 11, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon

Iraq announces nationwide power outage amid 'record' heat

Power was out across Iraq on Monday as scorching summer temperatures pushed electricity grid demand to unprecedented levels, authorities said.

The outage came amid a heatwave that Iraqi meteorological services expect to last more than a week, with temperatures climbing as high as 50C in parts of the country.

Mitigating the grid interruption was the fact that most households rely on private generators, acquired to compensate for daily power cuts to public electricity.

An Iraqi man fans his son at his home south of Hilla amid the heat of August

Syria vows to investigate footage of Sweida hospital killing

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syria's interior ministry said on Monday that it would investigate footage showing men in military fatigues shooting an unarmed man in scrubs at point-blank range in the main hospital in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida last month.

Syria's interior ministry said in a written statement that it had seen the "disturbing video" and "condemns and denounces this act in the strongest terms".

FILE PHOTO: A view shows Sweida National Hospital, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces, in Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File photo

Hundreds evacuated in northwestern Turkey as authorities fight wildfires

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Firefighters in Turkey are battling wildfires in the centre of the northwestern province of Canakkale, fanned by strong winds, and hundreds of residents have evacuated in precaution, local authorities and media said on Monday.

Airplanes, helicopters, vehicles and around 700 personnel are fighting against the blazes, city governor Omer Toraman said in a post on X.

Smoke billows from a wildfire on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Canakkale, Turkey, August 11, 2025. Kanal17haber/via REUTERS